Director : Su Zhou

Starring : Du Yulu / Tranquility / Liu Wei / Hou Yong / Zhao Jun / Liu Lili

First broadcast : 2004

Plot Summary :

　　The story unfolds during the Guangxu era of the Qing dynasty. After becoming embroiled in a murder case involving foreigners, Du Changxuan, the Qing envoy to France, and his daughter, Du Yunqing, are forced to flee to their hometown in Taigu, Shanxi, to lie low for a time. While in exile, father and daughter receive aid from Kang San’ye of the prominent Jin merchant family, the Kangs, and Yunqing soon develops a fondness for this refined and eloquent benefactor. Yet scarcely have they escaped one peril when they find themselves caught in another: the Kang and Qin clans, two of Shanxi’s most powerful merchant houses, harbor deep-seated animosity and engage in ceaseless intrigue, resorting to both open hostilities and underhanded schemes to undermine each other. With his influential connections in the imperial court, Du Changxuan naturally becomes a prime target for both families’ efforts to win him over. In the end, Yunqing is left with no choice but to marry the father of Kang San’ye. Having been raised from childhood on Western education, she finds herself utterly at odds with this patriarchal household bound by rigid Confucian customs, and clashes—both internal and external—soon follow in quick succession.

　　At this point, no one yet realized what kind of changes the arrival of this woman would bring to the Kang and Qin families. ……