Synopsis
In late Qing Jiangnan, Shen Qingyan, the legitimate daughter of the Shen family, stubbornly removed her foot-binding bandages, deforming her feet and leaving her with a slight limp, while Su He, a house-born slave, endured pain to bind her feet into perfect three-inch lotus feet. Fate's reversal saw Su He enter a wealthy household as a concubine and rise to become its mistress, while Qingyan became the wife of a down-and-out poor scholar. Su He bought Qingyan back, reversing their master-servant roles. Their forbidden affair was discovered in the dead of night, and to protect Qingyan, Su He was willing to threaten a wealthy merchant with the account books, risking mutual destruction.