Dreams of the Old Kingdom

After the overthrow of the Qing dynasty's feudal rule, China once again fell into years of civil war. Warlords carved up the country, the governments of the north and south faced off, and foreign powers watched hungrily from abroad. The people were impoverished, the land lay in ruin, and every industry languished.

One day, at the residence of Shen Jiannan, the newly appointed Minister of Security for the Capital Region, a social gathering ostensibly held to celebrate his birthday, but really meant to build alliances, began amid great fanfare. It ended abruptly with a gunshot. Bai Chongjun, then a minister at the Bank of Communications, was shot dead on the spot on suspicion of colluding with Japan and betraying his country. As the killer fled, he was rescued by Lin Qingqian, a university student attending the gathering. From then on, the two were bound together by an unbreakable bond.

Perhaps it was because this woman's actions were always so startlingly unconventional. Her intelligence and eagerness to learn, her resolve to resist an arranged marriage, and her selfless acts of courage moved him deeply. At last, he gave her his heart. His only wish was to keep her safe in those turbulent times. Yet the treacherous political climate bred misunderstanding after misunderstanding, while plots and schemes fueled by the struggle for fame and power threatened their love. What would become of them?

After losing the only family she had left, she herself pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into his shoulder blade.

After she left, he said weakly, "I taught her how to shoot. In the end, she still couldn't bring herself to kill me..."

The deepest pain in this world has never come from wounds visible to the naked eye. It comes from watching the one you love leave, knowing you have already lost the right to ask them to stay. That is a pain that tears the heart apart.

Consumed by resentment she had no way to dispel, she could only abandon her homeland and cross the ocean. Years later, after making a career of business and charity, she was stopped on a street in Paris by a Chinese man. He said to her, "Madam, the Commander-in-Chief has been hit by a stray bullet. He wants to see you one last time..."

Theme: Patriotic fervor, love in a time of chaos, the pursuit of truth, and women's independence