The setti ng is V ienna in 1 914 before the o utbreak of war. The aristocratic and somewhat jad ed P rince N icki, purs ued by all th e ladies, begins a flir tation with Mitzi , a cripple d harpist who works in a suburba n wine-g arden, and who is in turn idolized by Schani, an uncout h and v iolently jealous butc her. Thei r first en counter significantly takes place in front of St. Stephen's Cathedral on Corpus Christi day, with Nicki among the em peror's cavalry regimen t. Lat er, in the refracted lig ht of falling app le blossoms in the wine-garden--scenes of a disti lled, eth ereal beauty--Nicki gradual ly wins her fait h and love . Meanwhil e, amids t the sumptu ous and corrupt milie u of the family palace, N icki is drawn in to compl icity against his will, as his u nscrupulous mother informs him he must marry Cecelia, the daught er of a weal thy commoner, in ord er to revive the fami ly fo rtune. Mitzi ha s a visi on of The Iron Man (a symbol of the declining power and p osition of the Hapsburg dynasty) and f alls before the cruc ifix in fear; but h er love remains s teadfast, and she prote sts her fait h tho ugh ab used by her moth er and Schani. Inf uriate d by her rejec tion, Schani threatens to kill N icki on his wedding day unless Mi tzi agrees to marry him . Fol lowin g the processional splendor of the cathedral weddin g, Schani appears to carry out his threa t, but Mit zi a rrives in time to stop him; and through the downpouring rain Nicki sadly gazes on h is true love in the crowd as he drives aw ay with his bride
精彩剧情/对白：“左国栋的媳妇，是在海边捡来的，谁也不知道她是建州人还是海盗的人亦或是倭寇的人。她没有了记忆，在海边都快要死了，是左国栋救了她，后来他们 两人生了情愫，他的媳妇那么多年也没有 什么问题，这才让他们成亲的。 ”
“我与自己的丫鬟在逛 着，一个人冲过来与 我话，随后突然动手，我的丫鬟还没 有来得及反应，我也只是下意识的护着自己，那人 却当场暴毙了，街 上的百姓很多，很快便造成了围堵，随后便闹到了大理寺，我便被大理寺带走，现 在皇上传唤我过来。”
“在大炎，轻寒乃是 一品的将军，手里拿着 将军令，是建宁帝信任的大将 军。而我，这个护国公主，分量有多重，皇上应该不会不明 白吧？护国公主，那是 比任何一位普通公主分量都重的，来 了白澜，我能做什么？郡主都 轮不上吧？”
“只是选谁合适呢？大皇 子是不行的，朕定然不能立 他这样胆如鼠忘恩负义的人为 太子的。三皇子倒是个好孩 子，但是三皇子太意气用事了，朕就 怕啊，他什么时候 意气用事了，拉不 回来，这不是给咱们大炎添乱吗？剩下的皇子 们，又还，能担什么事情啊，朕还在的时候，倒是 可以帮他 们稳住，那朕要是不在了呢？他们岂不是守不住？”
“二叔三叔虽然尽力了，但是我也知道，他们 毕竟上了年纪，有些时 候容易被别人蒙蔽欺骗，做 的有些决策……也有点 荒唐。但是他 们毕竟年纪大了，糊涂 一点可以理解，但是有人明 明身强力壮，却还摸不透 情景，就让人有些费解了 。”
