In the 17th year of the Republic of China, the damp wind from the Nanming River swept through the Jiaxiu Tower in Guiyang, wrapped around the carved black tile windows of the Cui family's deep residence, and could not dissipate the loneliness of a foreign land in the eyes of Cui Qingyue, a wealthy girl from Lingnan. She was a guest who came to avoid business troubles. She was confined to the square house and saw all the indigo in Guizhou, but she couldn't find the warmth of home. Until the appearance of Qiao Gillian, a girl from Dong country, was like a wisp of mountain breeze, shattering the tranquility of the whole courtyard.
It was a startling jealousy, the first meeting in the flower hall. The clear and lively look in Gillian's eyes was like a mirror, reflecting Qingyue's past that had been tempered by the years. With a few fingertips, she settled on this companionship of the light and color of the mountains and fields, but she didn't know that this eye contact was actually the beginning of a bond. The crisp sound of the porcelain cup in the deep path was the result of her being overcome by jealousy and deliberately placing the blame on her. Gillian lowered her eyebrows and shed tears, feeling shy and speechless. That grievance awakened Qingyue's kindness, and also added an indescribable tenderness and guilt to this master-servant companionship.
The days and nights to come are about holding each other on the bluestone road, about literacy under the lamp in the flower hall, about the softness of Dong songs, and about the gentleness of Cantonese songs. Gillian's glutinous rice warmed Qingyue's homesickness, and Qingyue's poems and books moisturized Gillian's eyes. The wind in the deep house was still quiet, but the sounds of the two hearts quietly merged in the warm tea and the soft porridge, and the flowing of their eyebrows, giving birth to a love that transcended master and servant and was not afraid of the world.
The whole courtyard is quiet, but the voice in my heart has never been far away. But can this bond that started with jealousy and ended with affection, withstand the storm of the Republic of China and escape the shackles of the world? The mountains and rivers of Guizhou are still gentle, and the water of Nanming River is still long. What kind of ending will these two girls end up in this deep house?
