Wan Qingchen: Medical Records of the Southern Dynasties

As the Xie clan of Chen Commandery falls into decline, Xie Wanqing, a legitimate daughter raised amid the misty rains of Jiangnan, is born to a life of wealth and privilege. Yet in her heart, she harbors a pure ambition: to compile a medical text and save lives. She has no interest in court politics or marriage alliances between powerful families.

Peerless in both talent and beauty, she is recommended by Xie Kun and becomes a student of the exceptionally handsome Huan Yi, studying the principles of medicine under him. After years spent together as master and pupil, unspoken feelings quietly take root, but can only be buried in their hearts, a forbidden secret neither can speak aloud. Grateful for the chance he gave her, Huan Yi cherishes her talent, beauty, and ambition. He seeks a suitable match for her even as he protects her path in medicine.

When her father, Xie Ju, dies suddenly, her elder brother Xie Gai’s position as head of the clan is precarious, and the sprawling Xie clan desperately needs support. To protect her brother and preserve what remains of the family’s fortunes, Xie Wanqing sets aside her dream of writing a medical text and the feelings she keeps in her heart, and agrees to marry Lu Hongyi, son of the Jiangzuo Lu clan. When they first meet, both are acting at their families’ behest. He is cold, composed, and farsighted; she is gentle and resilient, concealing her strength within. Bound by the court and their families, their marriage begins as a calculated arrangement.

But as they spend time together, Lu Hongyi sees her lonely courage as she holds fast to medicine within the confines of the inner residence and works tirelessly for the Xie clan. He sees how she restrains herself and stays clear-eyed in the face of forbidden feelings, and respect and compassion for her begin to grow. Xie Wanqing, in turn, discovers that he shields her from the hidden attacks of household intrigue, allows her to compile her medical text in secret, and even steps forward to protect her when she is caught in the currents of the upright officials’ network.

From then on, she wields medicine as her shield and perseverance as her blade. She must guide and protect her brother amid the Lu household’s inner conflicts and the Xie clan’s infighting, preserving the family’s dignity; balance the bonds between master and pupil with those of husband and wife amid the shifting tides of Jiangzuo, while safeguarding her unfinished medical work; and, caught between power struggles, love, and resentment, choose between her original ideals and the place where she belongs.