At the end of the Qing Dynasty (1900-1928), the imperial power was on the decline, foreign powers surrounded the country, local warlords were separatist, and people's livelihood was in decline. The protagonist Zhu Yuan rises from the bottom of the ranks and eventually becomes the overlord of his country, adhering to the bottom line of his family and country; the heroine Chen Yuan comes from a scholarly family, but is forced to leave the boudoir due to the turmoil of the times. She transforms from a gentle and talented woman to a soul mate who can stand side by side with Zhu Yuan. The two redeem each other in troubled times, and write a legend of both iron and tenderness in the midst of warlords' melee and invasion by foreign powers.
