The Li family are merchants, with one son and three daughters. The eldest son, Li Shangjin, is the heir to the family business. The three daughters, however, were born to three different mothers.
The second daughter, Li Shangyu, was born to the first wife and lost her mother when she was young. Her struggle is being overlooked: though bright and perceptive, she disguises herself as obedient and well-behaved.
The third daughter, Li Shangying, was born to the second wife. Her status as the legitimate daughter cannot make up for her father's absence. Her struggle is her mother's resentment: the branches that strike her are a reminder of her mother's helplessness in her marriage.
The fourth daughter, Li Shangjue, is the illegitimate child of a woman from the pleasure quarter. Her struggle is the sharpest: the world uses her birth to deny her worth, but she refuses to consider herself lowly.
The three daughters inherit three different kinds of hurt, yet they don't grow distant from one another. Instead, within the walls of their grand household, they become the people dearest to each other.
Yet their paths to marriage are fraught with hardship. Li Shangyu is jilted, Li Shangying is told to become a concubine, and Li Shangjue falls in love with someone she shouldn't. They stumble through the mud of marriage and matchmaking, but along the way they see the truth: a woman's fate cannot be to live off someone else. They must live for themselves, at least once.
This is a story about mothers and daughters, sisters, marriage, and awakening. The old wounds of the parents' generation intertwine with the new pain of their children. The inheritance passed down between generations is like an invisible chain, trapping one generation after another. When the prison of the old era meets hearts that refuse to be confined, those small struggles will eventually brew a drama that overturns convention.
Romance:
Li Shangjue x Shen Qingru
It begins with an embroidered handkerchief, growing in the narrow space between what is allowed and what is forbidden. With the bold spirit of youth that says, "I know I shouldn't, but I'll do it anyway," they think they've strayed down the wrong path, only to find the love of their lives.
Li Shangying x Xie Yun
Burning with restraint, letting go to set the other free. "I love you, but I can't lose myself for you."
Li Shangying x Zhou Yanheng
An old lamp, ten years of waiting. "You have the right to experience your own life, even if that means falling in love with someone else."
Li Shangyu x Xie Ang
No one knows when love begins, but once it does, it runs deep. "I don't know exactly when I fell in love with you, but I know I'm willing to give up my freedom for you. The world is vast, yet all I want is to be by your side."
[Both leads are each other's only partners] [Slow burn] [Heartache and sweetness] [Family life] [Ensemble of women]
Author's intent: Explore the romantic and marital struggles faced by women in ancient times.
It's not easy, I finally waited until Shen Qingru came back🐶
Is it Xie Fuchun's goose egg powder?
The matter has reached this point, and there are no close friends at home, so that the specifics of what happened are all based on speculation and hysteria.
Seeing this, I felt that he was the instigator of Qu Zhiyao's death. There is no responsibility, no responsibility, no ability, but you still feel good about yourself. You want to hide the truth but can't do it seamlessly. When you make a choice, you should anticipate the price you will bear, but you don't plan or think too much. He is not very good at business either. As an elder brother, he has to worry about and help from his younger sister. As a husband, he is not responsible enough. He cannot protect others by raising a young wife...
Fortunately, we don't have this path now.
A man in love...
She finally figured it out [covering her face and laughing and crying] [covering her face and laughing and crying]
Great, some paragraphs are too long, it's dazzling to read 🥺
They are all good sisters!! [Purple sugar]
Oops, I accidentally tied it 😆