南屏尚書幼女彩鸞原為帝裔,惜生性不羈,長女丹鳳文武全才,故尚書調換二人身份,丹鳳被立為儲君。一日,丹鳳因獵鷹與金城相遇,並互生情意,繼以金銀鏢暗訂終身。選婿之事,太后偏幫其姨甥錦亭,尚書則主張聯姻西蜀。丹鳳相約金城三更見面,但彩鸞擅自改為「二更」並私下赴約,金城匆匆離去遺下銀鏢。彩鸞醉向錦亭投懷,二人春宵一度。丹鳳登基,欲冊封金城為王夫,三位王子各以為自己即將受封而爭論不休。時彩鸞持銀鏢上殿,力指金城與她一夕風流。重重誤會之下,各人怒極回國起兵,欲於沙場一較高下。丹鳳戰敗負傷回宮,欲質問金城負情後自刎。猶幸二人解開二更之誤,冰釋前嫌。時尚書到來坦白兩女身世,最後金城及丹鳳、彩鸞及錦亭分別結為夫婦。
Romance by the Peach Blossom Lake
The Minister of Nanping’s younger daughter, Cailuan, is of imperial descent but has a wild personality. The minister’s elder daughter, Danfeng, has both literary and martial talent. The minister exchanges their identities so that Danfeng can be made crown princess.
One day, Danfeng encounters Jin when hunting eagles and they fall in love with each other. They exchange two arrows, one made of gold and the other silver, as tokens of engagement. Unfortunately, the empress dowager wants her nephew to marry Danfeng while the minister wants his daughter to marry a prince from the state of Shu. Danfeng sends a message to Jin arranging a rendezvous during the third watch, butCailuan intercepts the message, changing the meeting time to the second watch. Jin departs in haste, leaving the silver arrow behind him, while Cailuan gets drunk and spends the night with the nephew of the empress dowager.
Having ascended to the throne, Danfeng wants to make Jin her husband. The three princes quarrel endlessly, each wanting to marry the empress. Presenting the silver arrow, Cailuan arrives before the three and claims that Jin has slept with her. Infuriated by the confusion, all parties concerned return to their own country and start a war. Defeated and wounded, Danfeng returns to her palace with the intention of committing suicide after she confronts Jin about his betrayal. Eventually they clear up the misunderstanding about the rendezvous and forget all past grudges. The minister finally arrives to reveal the identities of the sisters. Jin ends up marrying Danfeng and Cailuan marries the nephew of the empress dowager.