Xue Qingwu is a widowed woman with both wealth and beauty. Even though she lives in seclusion at a remote country estate, plenty of people still covet her money and looks. The constant attention is a source of great frustration. After much thought, Xue Qingwu decides to get ahead of the problem and find herself a husband who will marry into her family.
It doesn't take long for her to set her sights on the handsome gentleman practicing in the neighboring Taoist temple. He is tall and straight, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. More importantly, his face is as beautiful as white jade and his eyes shine like stars. His elegant, otherworldly bearing is enough to stir anyone's heart.
A man this extraordinary shouldn't be wasting his life in a Taoist temple. He belongs at her side as her lover, where she can cherish him to her heart's content.
The dynasty has changed hands, and the new emperor is weak, leaving the Empress Dowager in control.
To consolidate imperial power, the Empress Dowager is gathering authority and suppressing the feudal princes in the provinces, while arranging marriages between eligible women from her maternal family and members of the imperial clan.
To protect himself, Zhao Huanyi, the Prince of Wei, who had been living quietly in a remote corner of the realm, has no choice but to retreat temporarily to a Taoist temple and bide his time. But who could have guessed that a breathtakingly beautiful young woman, graceful as a lotus in bloom, would be living beside the temple?
And she makes no secret of her interest in him.
There is no way a woman this beautiful could be found in such a desolate, remote place. Zhao Huanyi assumes the Empress Dowager has sent her to seduce him. The woman is so foolish that she makes her intentions obvious.
Since that's the case, he might as well go along with it. Better that than have the Empress Dowager send someone more clever, someone who could catch him off guard. But as time goes by, Zhao Huanyi can't decide whether she is truly foolish or simply very cautious. Not one of the false messages he deliberately gives her to pass on ever reaches its destination.
Then one day, Zhao Huanyi looks at the courtyard, crammed full of gold and silver treasures, and asks wide-eyed in disbelief, "W-what did you just say this was?"
The woman calmly lifts her chin. "The betrothal gifts!"
Zhao Huanyi: "..."
Reader's guide:
1. The female lead is not a virgin; the male lead is. Happy ending.
2. The female lead has her own career storyline.
Synopsis archived.
Theme: Break free from the cage that confines women
