Shen Zhiyuan, the legitimate daughter of a prominent Southern Liang family, is forced into a political marriage with a general from the Northern Frontier. On the way to her wedding, she is ambushed and saved by Tan Ji, a monk whose identity is shrouded in mystery. Compassionate as a Buddha, he has hidden himself in the monastery to bear the burden of a blood feud; she is a pawn of her family, yet in these turbulent times, the two share life and death. A fateful encounter becomes a forbidden love that crosses the boundaries of faith and hatred, but political schemes and betrayal tear them apart. He personally casts her into the abyss, and she spends ten years learning to hate him, only to discover when they meet again that every cruelty was part of a scheme within a scheme. When the truth emerges, she is already poisoned. He trades his life for hers, ultimately leaving behind an ever-burning lamp to illuminate a lifetime of regret and sorrow.
