Married First, Love Later

Bian Qinghan takes her younger sister's place in marrying into the Jingyuan Marquis's household. On their wedding night, she spends the night alone, hearing nothing but Shen Zhuonian's cold instruction that they should each mind their own duties.

She hides her disappointment and devotes herself to managing the household: sorting out the accounts, dealing with the old servants' probing, and quietly making nourishing medicinal meals for him. With these little acts of warmth, she slowly melts the cold-faced marquis's heart.

Shen Zhuonian initially treats her as a responsibility, but gradually grows moved by her intelligence and gentleness. He takes a detour after court to buy her favorite candied fruit, shields her from mockery and leads her away at a flower-viewing banquet, and, when an old injury flares on a rainy night, remembers how she stayed by his side all night. He even takes the initiative and suggests, "From now on, let's have our meals together."

From the ease of playing chess in the courtyard to the unspoken understanding they share over meals, their hearts slowly draw closer through the little moments of daily life.

When political rivals frame Shen Zhuonian for treason and confine him to the marquis's residence, Bian Qinghan is no longer merely a marquis's wife who gives quietly. She becomes his strongest support.

She risks reaching out to his former subordinates to find evidence, passes messages over the courtyard wall, and sends him a talisman for his safety. In the end, she clears his name. On the day his confinement is lifted, Shen Zhuonian embraces her for the first time of his own accord.

They hold hands at the Lantern Festival, confess their love beneath a rabbit lantern, and he publicly pins an ornament in her hair at a banquet to show his devotion. Then he asks the emperor for an imperial decree: "For the rest of my life, I will be faithful to Shen alone."

Theme: When love stands between us and the mountains and seas, the mountains and seas can still be crossed