Jiang Hechuan, the most celebrated young gentleman in the capital, is a gifted writer, elegant and refined. The eldest legitimate son of the Grand Tutor, he entered the Cabinet and became a close aide to the emperor before he was even twenty. Yet on his birthday, a crude and uncouth "cousin" inexplicably appeared in his life.
Ye Qiqi is a small-time vendor struggling to make a living in the market. She's always covered in grime, and aside from her pleasing figure, there's nothing special about her. But one rainy day, when she delivers vegetables to the abbot of Hanshan Temple, she happens to meet Madam Jiang, who has come to offer incense. To her astonishment, the two look remarkably alike.
It turned out that when Madam Jiang gave birth, the former crown prince launched a rebellion. In the chaos of their flight, the wrong baby was taken.
One is the false young master, a close aide to the emperor. The other is the true daughter, a coarse girl from the streets. Which one should they choose?
Grand Tutor Jiang sighed. Madam Jiang wiped away her tears. In the end, the Jiang family gained only a distant cousin.
Ye Qiqi can't understand the rules for women, can't learn embroidery or the zither, and knows nothing at all about painting or poetry. Her tutor is so angry he throws down his ruler, while Madam Jiang clutches her chest and shakes her head again and again.
Just as she's about to become a laughingstock in the capital's social circles, her cousin Jiang Hechuan kindly agrees to teach her patiently.
He is a man of unmatched refinement, a gentleman as pure as jade. He looks at her tenderly and uses his handkerchief to wipe away her tears. One glance is enough to make Ye Qiqi feel ashamed of herself.
No wonder her parents made that choice.
She carefully tries to learn how to be a proper young lady, while discreetly prying into Jiang Hechuan's likes and dislikes. She hopes she can become a little more like the kind of person he likes, even if only by a bit.
At a later banquet, Ye Qiqi's silk flowers earn the admiration of the Grand Princess. Overjoyed, she takes the jade pendant she's been awarded to show him, but around the corner she overhears him talking with a friend.
"She's just a burden."
The cool, familiar voice speaks words that feel utterly strange.
"I need to get rid of this nuisance soon."
Only then does Ye Qiqi realize that there isn't a single person in the Jiang family worth staying for.
If that's the case, why stay there any longer?
When she arrived, she brought everything she had saved from her life on the streets, almost wishing she could tear out her own heart and bring it too. But when she left, all she took was an embroidered handkerchief stained with tears.
Jiang Hechuan has always known his true identity. He has endured and lain low all these years only to win justice for his parents, who died unjustly.
The appearance of the real Jiang daughter is a problem for him. He needs to get rid of her.
But she smiles at him without a shred of wariness. Her gaze holds not the slightest trace of calculation, and when she tries so carefully to please him, Jiang Hechuan softens for the first time.
Theme: Hard work always pays off
