The Ancient City Tavern Beneath the Moonlight

When Xue Mei was ten, her father Wenxiu's affair brought ridicule, ostracism, and humiliation upon the whole family from the villagers, dramatically changing her life and outlook. But Wenxiu never changed his ways. Over the long years that followed, he became increasingly brazen, cheating again and again. As a result, Xue Mei's mother, Qingyue, died after her treatment was delayed. All the conflicts caused by his infidelity, which had been building up for years, suddenly erupted and became irreconcilable. Xue Mei suffered terribly, overwhelmed by grief and helplessness, barely able to take a step forward. She earned a place at a prestigious university in the capital, but under her father's control, she could only attend an ordinary local college, changing the course of her life. After taking personal leave from work to care for her sick mother and arrange her funeral, she returned to find that layoffs were being introduced and she was at risk of losing her job. Disheartened, she had no choice but to resign. To survive and begin a better life anew, she traveled to a remote, impoverished mountain region to work as a substitute teacher. But her colleagues resented her, slandering and ostracizing her, making an already difficult situation even worse. She entered married life, only for various factors to lead to a marital crisis. After her husband's death, she was even forced to stand trial as a defendant, nearly losing her job all over again. How many nineteen-year periods can a person have in a lifetime? How will Xue Mei get through these long nineteen years? Will she ever have the chance to begin a better life anew?