Junying, daughter of the Eldest Princess, is born to the imperial family and is spoiled and domineering.
One day, she falls into water and falls in love with the man who saves her. From then on, she becomes obsessed, prevents Gu Linqing from being with the woman he loves, and forces him to marry her. They are husband and wife for ten years.
Everyone knows Prime Minister Gu has had a hard life. First, he came from a poor family and studied diligently until he rose to prominence. Second, he has a mad, jealous wife.
Gu Linqing loathes her. He can't stand her unreasonable antics, despises her affection, and resents her drugging him and trampling on his dignity, forcing him to bend the knee.
He regrets ever saving her.
Years later, after rising to the highest position in the court and escaping her control, he coldly watches her fall into the water. He never expects that when the woman wakes up, she will have inexplicably lost her memory.
Xiao Junying wakes up to find her world turned upside down. Her beloved companions are all gone, and somehow she's married. She hears she's spent all these years clinging to a man, throwing away her dignity for him.
"What are you making a fuss about now?" Gu Linqing says impatiently. "If you're trying to get my attention, don't bother."
Xiao Junying rolls her eyes. "Tch. What a weirdo."
She doubts her own judgment. She must have had water on the brain back then.
Gu Linqing is surprised. She really does seem different somehow. For one thing, she's stopped pestering him. What a relief.
Xiao Junying spends her days longing for her beloved companions, especially the gentle, considerate little Nightingale. Whenever he sings, she gets hot, and when she gets hot, plum blossom marks appear on her body. He was, after all, someone she'd paid a hefty sum to redeem.
The Huayin Commandery Princess's residence soon becomes lively as before, filled with music and song every night.
As for Gu Linqing, they agree on three rules: they won't interfere with each other. Their hearts are apart, and they don't even get along on the surface.
Sometimes they bicker. He scolds her for being wanton, and she tells him to find someone himself. He leaves in a dark mood, perhaps upset that his unattainable love is now another man's wife.
Sometimes, drunk and muddle-headed, they have sex a few times. As time goes by, they indulge more and more. She suspects she might have married him because he was good in bed and well-endowed.
One night, while a nightingale sings sweetly, the powerful Prime Minister Gu kneels on the floor in a performer's costume, burning his arms all over with a plum-blossom-shaped branding iron.
He begs pathetically, wagging his tail: "A Ying, I get plum blossom marks when I get hot, too. Look at me. Love me, please."
It turns out he's even crazier when he's in love than she is.
Later, the world gains a mad, jealous husband.
The male lead has no one he loves.
Theme: Stay positive and love life