Su Li and Mu Xue

Su Li was born into a distinguished scholarly family in Jiangnan. When disaster suddenly struck, her father was framed and the Su family fell into ruin. She entered the Marquis's estate as a servant, where she suffered endless humiliation in the servants' quarters. After injuring her head in the garden, she received the heir Xiao Yichen's concern, and feelings began to blossom between them. When Su Li was punished with a day without food for making a mistake, Xiao Yichen secretly brought her something to eat, drawing them closer. The young ladies of the estate grew jealous and schemed against her. Xiao Yichen's defense of her sparked controversy, and their feelings deepened during a moonlit stroll, only for someone to report them. The Marchioness flew into a rage and confined Su Li, forbidding them to meet. Xiao Yichen made a resolute choice and fled with Su Li. Bandits robbed them of their belongings, and he was injured. With help from a skilled stranger, they found refuge in a mountain village, but pursuers soon shattered their peace, forcing them to flee again.

In a town ravaged by an epidemic, Su Li fell ill, and Xiao Yichen stayed by her side. They escaped to a small border town, where he joined an escort agency while she kept house. As tensions mounted along the frontier, he enlisted, while she prayed for him back home. The war ended in victory, and Xiao Yichen returned in triumph. When the master of the Marquis's estate fell gravely ill and its businesses faced a crisis, they returned. The Marchioness disapproved of Su Li, and rival branches of the family fought over the estate. Su Li helped Xiao Yichen gain the upper hand. When the estate's businesses came under pressure, the two turned the situation around. Su Li endured a difficult pregnancy and a perilous labor, but mother and child survived. As their child grew up, disagreements over his education arose, and his mischief caused trouble. At a gathering at the estate, a conspiracy came to light, and the two exposed the culprit. When foreign enemies invaded the frontier, Xiao Yichen went to war while Su Li gathered supplies. He was injured and went missing, and she searched for him until they were reunited.

After recovering, he won the war and received a reward, but the estate's newfound glory aroused jealousy and brought attempts to frame them. Their children grew up. Their eldest son fell in love with a commoner's daughter, but faced opposition. Su Li supported them, and they became a couple. To secure his position, Xiao Yichen tried to arrange a political marriage for their daughter. She refused, but after Su Li spoke with her, she agreed. When the bride went missing on the wedding day, they found her at a temple with her former lover, planning to elope, and handled the matter wisely. The estate prospered, and as the couple grew old, they looked back on their past. Their grandchildren were born, and they passed on their experience. When Su Li fell gravely ill, Xiao Yichen cared for her.