Chunshu was once a maid in the Crown Prince's residence. Just because the newly risen court official Meng Shi glanced at her a couple of times, she was sent to the Meng residence in the middle of the night.
Meng Shi and Chunshu stared at each other, both terribly awkward. He had only been looking at the painting behind her.
With nowhere else to go, Chunshu begged Meng Shi to take her in. Seeing that she had some literary skill, he gave her a job in his study. From then on, she helped him with his writing, her red sleeves adding fragrance to his work.
As they spent day after day together, feelings slowly blossomed. He wanted to marry her, but then he unexpectedly overheard the Crown Prince promising her wealth and glory.
Meng Shi suddenly realized that for three years, all his efforts to root out corrupt officials had been guided by her, and had served only to pave the way for the Crown Prince.
Meng Shi went mad with rage, seized power at court, and threw the Crown Prince into prison. But when he had the residence searched, he couldn't find the person he hated to the depths of his soul.
The Crown Prince, locked in prison, loudly protested his innocence. He had never sent Meng Shi a beautiful maid.
Meng Shi searched through every household registry, but couldn't find anyone named Chunshu. It was as if those three years had all been his own delusion. Until, on an assignment in the south, he saw the face he had dreamed of day and night at the residence of Nie, a wealthy family of imperial merchants.
Nie Zhenshu was born into a declining family of imperial merchants. To help her family's business, she infiltrated the Crown Prince's residence to gather information. But there were too many people doing the same thing, and she never managed to land an important post. Then she heard Meng Shi had a bright future ahead of him, so she simply went to work for the Meng family.
She'd thought managing the study would be an easy job, but Meng Shi was always working through the night and sleeping in the study. She didn't even have anyone to relieve her. One day, after getting drunk, he even said he wanted to keep her by his side for life.
Frightened, Nie Zhenshu packed her bags and went home in the middle of the night. Who wanted to spend a lifetime being his servant?
With three years' worth of inside information, the Nie family became the foremost family of imperial merchants. Nie Zhenshu was sure she could enjoy a life of wealth and comfort at home, but then she ran into Meng Shi again.
"You must have mistaken me for someone else, sir. I'm the eldest daughter of the Nie family's third branch. How could I be a maid?" Nie Zhenshu said calmly.
"No matter. Since the Nie family has sent you to me, I won't refuse." Meng Shi gripped her chin and leaned close to her ear. "Ashu, your scent hasn't changed at all."
"Ashu, they say I seized power and brought ruin to the country, but they don't know that everything I've done was for you."
"Ashu, you don't take care of me like you used to. Why don't you feed me lotus seed soup one spoonful at a time anymore?"
Theme: What you can't forget will surely answer your call
