Xie Lingyi was the legitimate daughter of the Xie family. When she was eight, her birth mother, Madam Liu, died suddenly. On the night she kept vigil, she was feverish and dazed, and dreamed of the life awaiting her: at sixteen, after being brought back to the capital, her family would use her in an arranged marriage, strip her of her entire dowry, and ultimately leave her to die in a carefully laid trap. Not long after she awoke, she was sent away from the capital for eight years, supposedly because her fate clashed with the family and she needed to observe mourning and pray for blessings in Jiangnan. Eight years later, she returned to the family residence with more than a clear head and a carefully laid plan. She also brought back a key passed to her by one of Madam Liu's former servants, half a page from a dowry inventory hidden in a secret compartment, and a secret Nanny Zhou had kept for eight years.
It's very depressing to watch, without passion.