When Xiao Yanqiu was little, her parents were framed and her entire family was executed. But because her parents had once saved the young emperor, and because Yun Zhinan, the wife of the Minister of Revenue, had been close friends with Wan Mei since their girlhood, the minister pleaded for mercy and Xiao Yanqiu’s life was spared. She lived in the minister’s residence for two years as a child, then her uncle Wan E brought her back to Songcheng, where she lived with him, her aunt, and her cousins. When she was sixteen, her male cousin got into a fight with someone at the academy and injured the prefect’s son, landing himself in jail.
Yun Chenbi and his elder brother, Yun Zhaobi, traveled south to transport goods. Their caravan was attacked by bandits, and Yun Zhaobi was killed. Yun Chenbi was gravely wounded and remained unconscious for months. After searching everywhere for renowned doctors, the Yun family matriarch, Li Jinhe, summoned a wandering mystic. He declared that Yun Chenbi would recover only if he married someone whose birth chart matched his and who had a strong fate.
The Yun family searched the whole city for someone with a compatible birth chart. Just then, Yun Zhinan returned home to visit her family. The birth chart the mystic had read sounded familiar to her, and she remembered Wan Mei’s son. When she made inquiries, she learned that his family was at their wits’ end trying to save his cousin.
Yun Zhinan proposed that Xiao Yanqiu marry Yun Chenbi, promising to support the Wan family in Songcheng. To repay her kindness, Xiao Yanqiu agreed.
