Prince Gongsun-Yu of Tingan is in fierce combat with Prince Ch’ou Jong of Northern Yan. Hearing the tragic news of his father’s death, Gongsun leaves the battlefield and hastens back to the palace in the capital.

Upon arriving, he discovers his uncle has both married the Queen, his mother, and has acceded the throne. Full of sorrow and pain, Gongsun is comforted by his young lover, Hsiao Hsiang. But Hsiao Hsiang’s farther, Chancellor Hsiao, turns up unexpectedly at the scene and separates the two lovers. 

The ghost of the late king appears to Gongsun and informs him of the mean plot of his mother and uncle to murder him. Totally shocked, Gongsun begins to behave strangely and is considered insane. His uncle tries to show concern by inviting a theatre troupe to entertain Gongsun. Gongsun uses this opportunity to point out all the wrongdoings of his uncle in public, by asking “the actors to perform a play about the murder of a king” His plan proves successful and the king leaves the play enraged. Full of hatred, the king plans to send the Prince on holiday to a neighbor state, using his mental illness as an excuse.

The chancellor is stabbed by mistake by Gongsun as he eavesdrops on him and Queen behind a curtain. In the meantime, Prince Ch’ou Jong has turned up at the borders again, and Hsiao Yi (Hsiao Hsiang’s brother and the chancellor’s son) is called on to oppose him. When Hsiao Yi hears about his father’s death, he rushes back to the capital.

Gongsun is exiled from Tingan, and the king hires two assassins to follow and murder him in vain. The King plans to save himself by arranging a duel between Hsiao Yi and Gongsun, As he is planning this, the Queen suddenly appears to tell him that Hsiao Hsiang has fallen into the lake and is already dead. Gongsun hears the death of Hsiao Hsiang, and breaks down at her graveside. 

Gongsun keeps his promise and shows up for the duel, and while the two warriors are fighting brutally, the Queen realizes she has been poisoned. Gongsun frantically leaps to stabilize her, and Hsiao Yi takes the opportunity to plunge his poisoned sword at him. Hsiao Yi dies, Gongsun forces his uncle to drink poisoned wine, and dies himself from the poisoned wound. Ch’ou Jong attacks the city to find it in ruins and the people dead, leaving him gaping in surprise.