In the 43rd year of Kangxi’s reign, Zhang Xiao arrives in the 13 year old (16 year old in the TV series) body of Ma’ertai Ruo Xi and in the Qing dynasty. A year and a half later, she enters the Forbbiden City and becomes a tea maiden servant.
During the 47th year of Kangxi’s reign, it is Ruo Xi’s first outing of the steppes, getting forcibly kissed by Yin Zhen for the first time. Crown Prince Yin Reng gets stripped of his titles for the first time.
In the 48th year of Kangxi’s reign, Ruo Xi and Yin Si start to date for a few months.
In Kangxi’s 49th year of reigning, Ruo Xi staged Min Min’s farewell dance to Yin Xiang.
During the 50th year of Kangxi’s reign, Yin Reng asks Kangxi for Ruo Xi’s hand in marriage.
In the 51st year of Kangxi’s reign, Ruo Xi and Yin Zhen swear to tell truths about each other. Ruo Xi writes “the throne” on Yin Zhen’s hand and asks if he wants it. His answer is yes. After the moon festival, Yin Xiang is thrown to prison and solitary confinement. Ruo Xi is kneeling in the rain for him.
During Kangxi’s 52nd year, along with it being more than a year after Yin Xiang is in prison, Yin Zhen blocks an arrow that nearly shot Ruo Xi.
In the 53rd year of Kangxi, Yin Zhen frames Yin Si for the falcon incident.
In the 54th year of Kangxi, Kangxi wants to give Ruo Xi to Yin Ti for his hand in marriage. She refuses and is then demoted as a punishment for her defiance and becomes a washerwoman because of it.
In the 57th year of Kangxi’s reign, Yin Ti is sent out to war and made a military general.
Either in the 58th or 59th year is when Kangxi asks Ruo Xi to give Lu Wu and Yin Xiang’s daughter a name.
In Kangxi’s 60th year of reign during the 5th month, Yin Ti returns to battlefield. Kangxi is starting to get ill and Li De Quan has to get Ruo Xi back to wait on Kangxi. Kangxi ends up kicking the bucket, and Yin Zhen becomes Yong Zheng emperor. On the 12th month, barely starting his job as an emperor, Lu Wu commits suicide.
Yong Zheng’s first year as emperor has Ruo Lan dying earlier in the year from her terminal illness. Barely after that, Yong Zheng and Yin Ti’s mother kicks the bucket.
In the second year of Yong Zheng’s reign, Yu Tan is sentenced to death by steaming. Ruo Xi marries Yin Ti out of convenience
In the third year of Yong Zheng’s reign, Ruo Xi dies without ever seeing him for the final time. The novel has her never return to the modern era after her death. (In the TV series, she’s in a coma for many weeks after the car accident. She wakes up from it and goes to a museum where she finds a modern reincarnated counterpart of Yin Zhen. Sadly, he doesn’t recognize her and she says nothing as he walks out of the museum. All she does is remove her glasses and starts to cry mostly because she feels so much guilt for all she did when she was previously Ruo Xi.)
In the fourth year of Yong Zheng’s reign, Yin Si and Yin Tang commit suicide in prison.
