Temptress Moon

It is the day of Emperor Puyi's abdication, signaling upheaval for a ruling dynasty and the Pang family's fortunes. The estate feels unsettled as old orders crumble. Zhongliang arrives to live with his sister Xiuyi and her husband Zhengda, marking a new, precarious chapter for the clan.

Zhongliang is treated as a servant inside the Pang household, expected to fetch and prepare Zhengda's opium pipe. The atmosphere hints at Zhengda's belief that Zhongliang should submit, feeding into Xiuyi's complicity. After six months of abuse, Zhongliang flees the estate.

After six months of abuse, Zhongliang escapes the Pang estate to leave his childhood behind. The escape ends his life within that household. The narrative then leaps forward ten years to reveal his new path.

Ten years later, Zhongliang has become a gigolo who seduces rich, married women for his boss Biggie. The scheme relies on staged 'murder' scenarios where partners burst in and seal the affair with blackmail to prevent exposure. He harbors a growing affection for one target, the 'woman of Zephyr Lane,' which complicates his loyalty to Biggie.

Zhengda has been ill for a decade, unable to move or speak. When her father dies, Ruyi is named the head of the Pang family, but the elders demand a male leader and appoint Duanwu to assist her. Despite opposition, Ruyi uses her authority to expel concubines, provoking Duanwu to defend her cause and incite the elders' wrath.

Duanwu stands with Ruyi against the elders' wishes, assisting her as she asserts authority. The elders beat Duanwu for defying expectations of masculine leadership. Ruyi recognizes that the freedom given to concubines mirrors the life she desires.

Biggie reaches out to Zhongliang with a plan to swindle the Pang fortune by seducing Ruyi. Zhongliang returns to the estate, but his sister greets him with a sense of owed debt for helping him escape years before. Ruyi's affections are stirred as she sees Zhongliang again.

Ruyi falls in love with Zhongliang and seduces Duanwu to practice for him. Zhongliang, haunted by the past and reluctant, abandons the plan and returns to Shanghai alone. The rift tests loyalties within the Pang circle.

To atone for his failure, Zhongliang agrees to swindle the Zephyr Lane woman. Biggie lures Ruyi to Shanghai, while Duanwu accompanies her. Ruyi and Duanwu witness Zhongliang's deceit from across the room, and the Zephyr Lane woman throws herself to her death, condemning Zhongliang as ruined in Biggie's eyes.

Ruyi confronts Zhongliang at a dance hall, demanding to know whether he loved her or the Zephyr Lane woman. Zhongliang refuses to answer, leaving her pain and ambiguity in the air. The moment marks the collapse of their romance and trust.

Back in the boarding room in Shanghai, Duanwu rapes Ruyi, an act that compounds her suffering. Afterward, she returns to the Pang estate to face the consequences of the impending tragedy awaiting the family.

Ruyi's childhood betrothal Jingyun returns, and Zhongliang also comes back. Ruyi tells him she no longer loves him and will marry Jingyun, severing the old romance. Zhongliang contemplates how to move forward with his desires and regrets.

Zhongliang, seeking atonement, orchestrates a double poisoning plot. He poisons Zhengda's pipe with arsenic, then arranges for Ruyi's pipe to be tainted with his sister's help. He hopes to save Ruyi from a life she doesn't want, but his plan is doomed by conscience.

The next morning, Zhongliang is gunned down at the dock as he tries to board a ship to leave. Duanwu is proclaimed the new head of the Pang clan, while Ruyi is shown confined to a wheelchair, mirroring her brother's state. A final shot returns to their childhood doorway on the night of the abdication.

A brief closing image shows Zhongliang, Duanwu, and Ruyi as children in the doorway, recalling a moment from the night of the emperor's abdication. The scene underscores the cyclical nature of fate and the persistence of the past. The film closes with their fates sealed within the clan.