Shen Youyao had been frail and suffered from a heart condition since childhood. By chance, she heard that a wandering immortal physician had stopped in the capital, so she followed her parents there.
They had set out in such a hurry that their residence wasn't ready, so the family stayed temporarily at the Duke's mansion, home to her maternal cousins.
On her first day there, Shen Youyao accidentally bumped into someone. In her panic, she nearly stumbled down the steps, but he caught her around the waist and held her in his arms.
Amid the falling blossoms, Shen Youyao looked up and saw a cold, handsome young man. Her heart drifted along with the falling petals, floating without end.
Only when Shen Youyao followed her parents to pay their respects to her maternal uncle and aunt did she learn that the young man who had made her heart flutter was her cousin: Chu Chengyuan, the heir to the dukedom, renowned throughout the capital.
Chu Chengyuan first saw Shen Youyao in the corridor leading to the rear courtyard of his home.
Shen Youyao was so frail that when she crashed into him, she nearly scared him into falling over. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and caught her in his arms.
For the first time in twenty years, Chu Chengyuan, who had been pure-hearted and free of desire, felt his heart stir.
He saw Shen Youyao again when he welcomed his maternal aunt's family. Shen Youyao followed behind her aunt, her face flushed red.
Only then did he realize that Shen Youyao was the frail cousin his parents had often spoken of.
That night, Shen Youyao dreamed that her cousin held her in his arms and called her by her childhood name, Niaoniao. Beneath the bright moon, they shared a night of passion.
When she woke, Shen Youyao hugged her knees and cried, hating herself for having such thoughts about her cousin.
But she didn't know that Chu Chengyuan had had the same dream that very night.
In his dream, Shen Youyao begged him for mercy, her eyes red from crying.
When he awoke, Chu Chengyuan was certain that his cousin was his destined match.
Later, the two hid their feelings from their elders and let their love grow wildly in their hearts. But by then, the Shen family's residence in the capital was ready, and Shen Youyao was about to leave the Duke's mansion...
Theme: Love is restraint and propriety.
