My Rich Young Lady from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai

Years ago, an elopement involving one of the capital's most powerful families set in motion three relationships that would remain entangled for half a lifetime. A man who refused to be controlled by his family fled the Imperial Capital. Along the way, he met Su Yu, who was also running away from an arranged marriage, and the two journeyed together to Yunnan. In the mountains, he met the gentle, unassuming Yun Cai. They fell in love, and a child was born of their affection. For ten years, they lived in peace. Then the family set out for the capital so he could reclaim his roots, but he never returned, and all word of him vanished. Left alone, mother and child waited in anguish. Years of grief left the mother gravely ill. The boy, still young, went everywhere seeking help and experienced the world's kindness and cruelty, but in the end he could not raise enough for the life-saving surgery and failed to keep the only family he had left. Alone, the boy carried his mother on his back and walked the long road home. From that day on, a deep, unhealable hatred locked itself in his heart. As the years passed, he wandered the world alone, weathered by hardship. He seemed no more than an ordinary stranger, and no one knew the history beneath his unremarkable appearance or the formidable roots he came from. Then a bright, vibrant heiress entered his dark life and slowly warmed his scarred heart. Just as the two were settling into life together, the man who had vanished all those years ago returned, backed by power capable of turning the capital upside down. Old grudges between wealthy families, long-overdue debts, and love that could heal the heart all came rushing in at once. On one side lay a blood-deep sorrow that had never faded; on the other, a tenderness that could heal the rest of his life. What should he choose?