Love, Hate, and Revenge

From the Republican era through the years after Reform and Opening-Up, the Lin, Ye, Shen, Chen, and He families are bound together by old grudges and tangled affections.

Lin Qiang of the Lin family controlled Poyang's river shipping docks, making his family one of the richest and most powerful in the area. During his time, he transported grain, people, and guns for Sun's army. He had two sons: the elder, Lin Guodong, and the younger, Lin Guoliang.

The Shen family had served as officials for generations. Shen Yi's grandfather had been a county magistrate, and his maternal grandfather had served as a prefect. Shen Yi had only one beloved child, his daughter Shen Shu. She fell in love with Ye Qihang, the third son of the impoverished Ye family and her childhood sweetheart. But times had other plans. Three years after Shen Shu's father had sacrificed his life for his country, her uncle arranged a marriage between the Shen and Lin families. Since Shen Yi had once helped the Lins, Lin Qiang wanted to seal the alliance through marriage. It came at the cost of a pair of lovers, forced into a union neither wanted.

The Chen family had practiced medicine for generations. Besides treating patients and dispensing medicine, they were practically the only coffin makers in Poyang Town. Chen Shisheng had only two daughters.

The elder daughter, Chen Xinyue, married He Deneng, son of He Qichen, commander of the Poyang garrison. They had a son, He Liren, and a daughter, He Tiantian.

The younger daughter, Chen Xintian, had once been in love with her cousin Lin Guodong. When Guodong married Shen Shu, she married the county magistrate Song Dexin's son in a fit of anger: the spoiled playboy Song Tianbao. They had a son, Song Mingxiao, and a daughter, Song Jiaqi.

Seeking the freedom to pursue true love, Shen Shu discussed eloping with Ye Qihang before the wedding, but he refused. It wasn't that he didn't love her. He simply couldn't give her a peaceful life. He had a greater love for the world.