Spring Deepens in the Courtyard, Unaware of the Late Hour

Shen Zhiwei, the legitimate daughter of the Shen family, had barely taken charge of the household when her stepmother joined forces with salt merchants to frame her for adultery and imprison her younger sister. Even her father had once abandoned her in a desperate situation. She tears off her mask of meekness, uses her wits to crush her enemies and turn the tables, protects her family and their livelihood, and shatters the prejudice that noblewomen can only rely on men. A legitimate daughter rises to power + mutual devotion: from a pawn at everyone else's mercy, she becomes a capable mistress of the household, standing shoulder to shoulder with Xie Jingheng as they build a life together and welcome spring into their courtyard. But no one knows that the past concealed beneath all those blossoms still holds secrets left untold.