This is the story of the military life of the Li family, whose patriarch was Li Jiye, the Grand General and Pillar of State of the Tiansong Kingdom. Beginning with their father, Li Jiye, and continuing through his eldest son Li Baisheng, second son Li Baiyan, and third son Li Bailong, generation after generation defended their homeland.
Li Jiye's eldest son was originally meant to inherit the family leadership. But while practicing internal cultivation during a military campaign, he suffered a deviation that left him with recurring tiger bloat. His condition would improve and worsen, making him unfit to lead troops into battle. In a crisis, his third brother, Li Bailong, was appointed to take command and fight the Khitan invaders pressing south into Tiansong. With little experience leading an army, he was hastily married by imperial decree to Yang Yuanhong, daughter of Yang Zhihuan, the Northern Frontier military governor. Guided by a master, Yang Yuanhong had become a fierce female general who wielded a great saber and was virtually invincible. Thus, the Yang clan, which had once relied on its own military power, was brought under the control of the Li family, Pillar of State, setting the stage for a stirring tale of palace intrigue and resistance against foreign invasion.
The story features the emperor's political schemes, the Yang family's ambition to seize command of the Li army, and the tale of Li Bailong, the third young master of the Li family, who takes command in a crisis and gradually grows into the indispensable new Pillar of State of Tiansong. Over the course of his life, Yang Shina, Wang Xiaoxiao, Yang Xiaolin, and Yin Qingping ultimately become Li Bailong's confidantes, along with Yang Yuanhong. All five women risk their lives for him and are eventually granted the title of Lady. Together, they make a truly blessed household of five.
