The Moonlight and Pipa of the Borderland

YanLing is the daughter of the Han Palace court musician YongCai. YanLing is talented at song, dance and the Pipa instrument. She is in love with the General Qin Jianxia and secretly bears a child fathered by the General. Royal Nephew Liu Chunhui covets her, and wishes to make her consort. The Princess, on the other hand, finds Qin suave and requests the emperor to make Qin her consort prince. A tragic romance mismatch is thus in the making.

Since YanLing's pregnancy is already conspicuous, an excuse is made to delay the wedding until after the child is delivered. On the day she gives birth, the Princess also delivers a baby, but the child by the Princess is a stillborn. Secretly, a substitute heir is wanted. YongCai quickly seizes the opportunity to replace the stillborn with his own grandson. The Royal Nephew soon discovers his consort, YanLing, is not a virgin, and subject daughter and father to all kinds of abuse. Seeing her old love at the Royal Nephew's birthday banquet, YanLing suddenly becomes unruly. The Royal Grandson subjects YanLing to further abuse despite the Prince Consort's repeated interceding. Helpless, YanLing’s father comes forth to reveal the truth. She then stealthily enters the Consort House to see her child but gets repelled by the Royal Grandson again.

Prince Consort breaks up with the Princess. He takes his son along to look for the child’s real mother. Finally, the Prince Consort finds his sickly lover, who needs to make ends meet, performs in the markets. The Royal Nephew and Princess arrive at the scene. They witness the exile of YanLing, who perishes on trauma, and then the Prince Consort, who takes his own life. What is left is but a sorrowful sight of cold moonlit sheen on the Pipa.

Translation: Loretta Ling Yeung