Qingying marries Hongli as his second wife, along with Gao Xiyue as a concubine and Fucha Langhua as the main wife. Despite her position, Hongli favours Qingying more than his other wives by spending his first night with her. Six years later, Emperor Yongzheng dies and Hongli succeeds to the throne as Emperor Qianlong and Fucha Langhua as his empress. Niohuru Zhenhuan is honored as Empress Dowager and pushes Qingying to choose between her aunt, Empress Ulanara or her life since she can only tolerate one Ulanara existence in the whole inner palace.

To secure the Empress Dowager position, Niohuru Zhenhuan makes the same deal with Empress Ulanara, where she will let Qingying live if the Empress commits suicide. Qingying witnesses her aunt's suicide in front of her eyes, while the Empress expresses her final wish of wanting Qingying to revenge her and bring back glory to Ulanara clan by becoming Empress in the future. With Emperor Qianlong official succession ceremony, the rest of the inner palace residents are also conferred appropriate official concubine ranks and titles. However, due to Empress Dowager wariness to the late Empress Ulanara, she gives edict for Qingying to be confined in the old prince quarter to mourn for her aunt for three years.