In the side courtyard of Qingwu Town, Xu Tang has had only two treasures since childhood: a cotton handkerchief that A Rou left behind, half embroidered, and the malt candy Pei Zhao first slipped him.
No one in the Xu family cares for him. His birth father, Xu Li, is bent on climbing the social ladder, and their sprawling mansion is as cold as an ice cellar.
Only Pei Zhao comes to find him through the long alley, sharing candy and showing him ants. Their families arranged their marriage when they were young, and the mung bean soup and warm padded coat from the Pei family are the only light Xu has ever known.
But behind the medicinal herb business lurks a vast conspiracy. Xu Li frames Pei’s father, and a wrongful conviction brings the Pei family to ruin, shattering every trace of warmth.
When they meet again, Pei Zhao, eyes bloodshot, roars at him: “Your father killed my father!”
A sea of blood and vengeance stands between them. Pei Rusu vents his resentment day after day, beating Xu with a stick, while Xu Tang says nothing, even with bruises covering his body.
He escapes the locked side courtyard and walks a thousand miles in search of Pei, making a living from embroidery and enduring cold stares, yet refusing to let go of that half-finished handkerchief.
Pei Zhao resents the Xu blood in his veins, but cannot bear to leave him wandering alone.
Cruel words and tenderness pull them back and forth, while the feelings they never let go of lie hidden beneath their many scars.
After many twists and turns, they reach Xi'an Creek, leave the oppressive old house, and finally untangle the knots of the past.
The malt candy that melted long ago, the tattered half-embroidered handkerchief: after more than ten years of circling around each other, they have weathered every hardship, with only each other by their side for the rest of their lives.
Childhood sweethearts and tormented love | A wrongful case involving two great families | Both hiding their feelings | Lovers reunite after a breakup
The malt candy was sweet at first. Then life became nothing but suffering.
After winding their way to Xi'an Creek and casting off the shackles of hatred, they stay by each other’s side day and night, slowly finding the peace and tenderness that came too late.
The old candy may have come late, but it is just as sweet. For all the years ahead, they will have only each other.
