Shen Jingyan is the most unconventional border-defense general of the Da Qi dynasty. She donned armor as a young girl and has a proud, unyielding spirit, yet remains trapped in the cage of a marriage arrangement in the capital.
At a flower-viewing banquet, her half-sister schemes to steal her marriage, her fickle fiance wavers, and everyone laughs that a cripple like her is unworthy of a good match.
Unwilling to settle for a loveless marriage, she publicly asks to be released from the imperial betrothal. Then she swiftly brings her wicked stepmother and hypocritical half-sister to account, takes back control of the General's Estate, cuts off the ill-fated imperial match, and walks away with her head held high.
Everyone thinks she will spend the rest of her life alone and unsupported. Only Xie Zhuyao, heir to the Marquis Who Guards the Nation, has had eyes for her from beginning to end.
The young nobleman is passionately devoted to her. He crushes the capital's rumors, accompanies her on a thousand-mile journey to the Northwest, and helps her uncover a major case of embezzled military provisions, clearing her family's name.
The two protect each other through life and death. With the wind and sand of a turbulent age as their companions, their feelings quietly bloom in the face of despair, and they pledge themselves to one another in secret.
But just as their love takes root, a feud between their families, dating back twenty years to the battlefield, suddenly comes to light.
Their forebears' sacrifices on the battlefield and the divide of fate become a forbidden gulf between them, impossible to cross.
The Marquis's Estate firmly opposes the marriage, misunderstandings pile up, and their love is sealed beneath ice.
After enduring life-and-death partings, she sees through worldly splendor and devotes herself to protecting her country and bringing peace to its people.
He fights the shackles of his clan, gives up his noble status, and strives for military merit, breaking the chains of fate with the glory he earns.
At last, the fires of war are extinguished, and the battlefield brings them together.
The whole world knows that an old family feud is hard to resolve. Yet Xie Zhuyao braves wind and snow across the land, carrying an imperial decree to the platform where she is holding her martial arts contest to choose a husband.
"Shen Jingyan, I came with an imperial decree."
"If you take one step toward me, I'll marry into your family and spend the rest of our lives taking the other ninety-nine steps."
"If you take half a step back, I'll use the imperial decree to tie you up and carry you home to get married!"
