In his previous life, he was an orphan with no one to rely on, and a copy of The Story of the Stone helped him endure a lifetime of hardship. Driven by his desire to protect the doomed beauties in the book, he died a gruesome death in the street, his blood staining its pages. As he died, he swore: If I am granted another life, I will trade my own for theirs and protect the Twelve Beauties of Jinling so they may live without sorrow.
In an instant, he is reborn as Jia Heng, an inconspicuous son born to a concubine in the Jia household, and enters the world of the Red Chamber with his vow in his heart. The world laments the Red Chamber’s tragic fate and the beauties who wither away, but he alone defies Heaven and refuses to accept its sorrowful design.
Once inside the Rongguo Mansion, he breaks through one crisis after another. He protects Daiyu from dying after shedding all her tears, saves Keqing from her wretched circumstances, keeps Yingchun away from wolves in human clothing, and spares Fengjie her tragic ending. He makes his name as a young prodigy, placing first in both the provincial and palace examinations. He rides in triumph through the streets and welcomes Daiyu as his bride in a grand wedding procession. Later, he battles his way through the imperial court, earning a noble title and high office. With his own strength, he steadies the crumbling Jia family, so the Grand View Garden blooms year after year and its beauties live in peace, creating a happiness unlike any the Red Chamber has known in a thousand years.
But imperial suspicion and the unfathomable hearts of men turn prosperity into a mirage. In a single night, the court collapses and war breaks out. He is imprisoned in the imperial dungeon, covered in wounds. In an instant, Keqing dies for him, Fengjie becomes a nun, and Daiyu vanishes. The Twelve Beauties scatter far and wide. He wins the game of political intrigue, but loses everyone he loves.
Prosperity fades, leaving only sorrow in its wake.
He casts off all worldly trappings, his hair turning white, and alone traverses thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, searching year after year and clinging to his vow, heedless of others’ advice.
Heaven does not forsake the devoted, and time does not betray those who wait.
At last, the peach blossoms are as they were, and his old friends return to the mountains. After all their separation and regrets, they reunite across mountains and seas, at long last finding a happy ending.
In this life, he tears apart the Red Chamber’s tragic script, staking half a lifetime of devotion against the long passage of time and spending the rest of his days by their side through every hardship.
From then on, the flowers bloom in their prime, his old friends remain young, and every year brings peace and safety. They will never part again.
