At six years old, Chen Man was sent from the Lu family's hereditary servants to serve Lu Jinghuai, a frail young master. Through their daily companionship, the two formed a bond deeper than that of master and servant. Lu Jinghuai was sickly from childhood, and her asthma only eased when she reached adolescence. Gentle and restrained, yet lonely at heart, she was forced to return to official service as a Hanlin Academy reader after her father, Lu Jin, and then her mother passed away. Left to support the family alone, she seemed warm but was cold at heart, and grew dependent on Dong Wu, developing a vague fondness for him. Chen Man, meanwhile, grew from a child made insecure by the street urchins into a quiet, patient boy whose loyalty bordered on obsession. Gifted in martial arts, he saw Lu Jinghuai as the sole meaning of his life, yet hid his love in a whetstone, a sash, jade rings engraved with "Huai Jin" and "Ke Yu," and an endless refrain of "I can't bear to let you go." From sharing a pillow as children, flying kites, kneeling in the ancestral hall as punishment, and wandering the market, to Lu Jin's suicide, Madam Lu's death from illness, and the political machinations at court, Chen Man always stood half a step behind Lu Jinghuai. He counted her kowtows for her, shielded her from the wind, received imperial orders for her, and bandaged the wrist she had bitten, all while watching helplessly as she gave a rare smile at Dong Wu's promises. Xu Xin'er boldly confessed her love and was turned down. Chen Man lied, saying the person he loved was dead. Dong Wu begged on his knees, and with a single "I'll go," Lu Jinghuai took the blame for the Dong family's military provisions case and was exiled three thousand li. Chen Man changed his name to Zhao Man and joined the army. He rose from a feared killer on the frontier to become the Marquis of Yuewu. When they reunited, he killed Dong Wu to avenge her, but eventually died young from heart disease. After his death, Lu Jinghuai went alone to Jiangnan, visiting every place he had mentioned in his account books. She returned to the locust tree and followed him in death. From the age of six to twenty-six, the two spent their lives giving meaning to the words "I can't bear to let you go" and "I'll walk with you."
Theme: Love can overcome every hardship.
