Mai Tian prays for her missing elder brother by a streamer. She passes by Ye Wuming, the crown prince, who falls off a cliff later. She carries the unconscious prince home to her adoptive father Mai Tianlin, who suspects the stranger’s extraordinary identity. When Ye Wuming regains consciousness, he hides in Mai Tian’s bathing tub and grabs her neck in panic. Their struggle injures his head again, erasing all his memories. Assassin Shen Zhifeng tracks the prince to Penglai Village via blood trails. Meanwhile, the county magistrate covets Mai Tian and arrests her, forcing her to become his concubine. Just as she stumbles for an excuse about a fiancé, Mai Tianlin arrives with the amnesiac Ye Wuming.

With no recollection of his past, the prince is named Ye Wuming by the Mai family. To fend off the magistrate, Mai Tian lies that they privately engaged each other. To save her reputation, Ye Wuming signs a marriage certificate in public. The magistrate threatens the whole family with treason if they refuse to wed. Later, Ye Wuming worries he will ruin Mai Tian’s life with a fake marriage. Heartbroken, Mai Tian plans to submit to the magistrate, but Ye Wuming chases her in rain and agrees to marry her. A grand wedding banquet is held, yet Shen Zhifeng sneaks in. He uses incense to knock the newlyweds unconscious, ready to kill the prince at the nuptial chamber.

Shen Zhifeng halts his assassination after spotting Mai Tian’s jade pendant, which belongs to his lost sister Shen Zhinian. Crown Princess Qiu Yi summons him and demands the prince’s corpse, while Prime Minister Qiu approves of her plot to murder the heir. The next day, Mai Tian and Ye Wuming visit a temple to pray. Having no concept of money, Ye Wuming borrows one hundred taels of usury to buy fine furniture and silk for Mai Tian. Enraged by the huge debt, Mai Tian wants to divorce him. Ye Wuming vows to open an errand shop to pay it off. Shen Zhifeng scolds the loan shark Ding Wu for lending money to the prince.

Ye Wuming’s errand shop gains no profitable orders. The couple takes a copywriting job at a bookstore for extra cash. Reading a romantic novel aloud at night fills the room with ambiguous tension. Mai Tian sprains her ankle delivering herbs to an old mountain woman, and Ye Wuming rushes to carry her back amid falling rocks. At home, Mai Tianlin finds a jade pendant in Ye Wuming’s clothes and suspects he is Mai Tian’s blood brother. While picking wild vegetables in a valley, Ye Wuming accidentally eats epimedium and suffers extreme body heat.

Mai Tian wakes up nestled in Ye Wuming’s arms after their intimate night, both embarrassed and flustered. Mai Tianlin shows the jade pendant to Mai Tian, claiming Ye Wuming is her long-lost brother and vowing to separate them. That night, Ye Wuming confesses sincerely, and they become genuine spouses. The next day, Mai Tian runs into Shen Zhifeng in town. Ye Wuming sees them talking and flies into a jealous rage. Ding Wu and his gang suddenly appear to demand debt repayment. When Ye Wuming cannot pay, the thugs threaten to sell Mai Tian to a tavern, sparking a fight.

Ding Wu draws a dagger and stabs toward Ye Wuming. Mai Tian blocks the blade and collapses bleeding. Shen Zhifeng kicks the thug away and pays him to leave. Back home, Mai Tianlin reveals the jade pendant story, making Mai Tian doubt Ye Wuming is her brother. When she questions him, Ye Wuming recalls the street scene and accuses her of infidelity. Their misunderstanding deepens. Later, Shen Zhifeng kills Ding Wu for hurting his sister, then disguises the thug’s body as the prince’s to deceive Prime Minister Qiu.

Ye Wuming asks Mai Xiang whether Mai Tian had male suitors before their marriage. Dejected, Mai Tian drinks alone at an inn, where Shen Zhifeng finds her and listens to her troubles. Ye Wuming spots them drinking together, gets drunk and confronts the two. To distance herself from Ye Wuming—whom she still believes is her brother—Mai Tian lies that Shen Zhifeng is her lover. Infuriated, Ye Wuming proposes a divorce, and Mai Tian agrees. Shen Zhifeng stays silent, hoping his sister can break ties with the prince.

Mai Tian holds an umbrella over heartbroken Ye Wuming in heavy rain but returns to Shen Zhifeng right after, worsening Ye Wuming’s despair. At Guanyin Temple, Mai Tian notices a ribbon tied in her brother’s unique style, which Ye Wuming cannot replicate, making her suspect he is not her blood kin. Distraught, she accidentally tears their marriage certificate and conceals it in Ye Wuming’s quarters. The next morning, Mai Xiang finds the torn paper and thinks Ye Wuming wants a separation. Ye Wuming sees the jade pendant and grows suspicious of all the odd incidents. Meanwhile, scholar Liu Chen falsely accuses Mai Tian of selling fake medicine, and the biased magistrate orders her to pay a five-hundred-tael fine.

The magistrate and Liu Chen frame Mai Tian. Ye Wuming defends her in court and challenges Liu Chen to a poetry contest. Though Ye Wuming’s poem is far superior, the magistrate rules him the loser. To spare Mai Tian punishment, Ye Wuming accepts Liu Chen’s demand to whip himself until blood draws. Mai Tian tries to shield him, and Shen Zhifeng intervenes to drive off the magistrate and Liu Chen. Back home, Mai Tianlin sends Mai Tian away and tends Ye Wuming’s wounds alone, letting painful cries echo through the house.

Drunk Liu Chen overhears Shen Zhifeng and Prime Minister Qiu plotting. The prime minister kills Liu Chen to silence him, ordering Shen Zhifeng to dispose of the corpse. Rumors spread of Ye Wuming’s literary talent, booming business at his errand shop. Mai Tian confirms Ye Wuming’s ribbon-tying skill differs from her brother’s and tells her father she was wrong. That night, the couple clears up all misunderstandings and reconciles. Mai Tianlin tells Ye Wuming Mai Tian’s true identity: Shen Zhinian, daughter of the wronged official Shen Jinyuan. The name triggers faint childhood flashbacks in Ye Wuming, triggering a splitting headache.

Ye Wuming studies at Luoshan Academy far from the village, sneaking back to meet Mai Tian under peach trees. He befriends aspiring scholar Su Chun at the academy. When Mai Tian prays at Guanyin Temple, she witnesses Shen Zhifeng tying prayer ribbons. He admits his identity as her elder brother, warning her to keep their bond secret until he settles political vengeance. Ye Wuming returns and sees them conversing, growing hostile toward Shen Zhifeng. Caught between the two men, Mai Tian suffers immense pressure.

Prime Minister Qiu travels to Penglai Village with a fake corpse claiming to be the crown prince. The emperor falls gravely ill after seeing the body, ceding state power to the prime minister. Qiu Yi is pregnant, and her father orders her to eliminate the child’s real father. Later, Qiu recalls the jade pendant he saw in the village and learns Mai Tian is the surviving Shen heiress. He orders Shen Zhifeng to kill her, yet Shen Zhifeng sneaks off to warn Ye Wuming of Mai Tian’s mortal danger.

Qiu’s men mistake Mai Xiang for Shen Zhinian and seize her. Shen Zhifeng tells Ye Wuming they must hide, but Ye Wuming reveals Shen Zhifeng is Mai Tian’s brother, igniting tension. Shen Zhifeng almost slays the prince before Mai Tian interrupts. When Mai Tian hurries home, she finds Mai Xiang dead with a bloodied blade in Shen Zhifeng’s hand. She drives him away in grief, convinced he murdered her sister. Shen Zhifeng leaves without explanation and passes Ye Wuming outside. Mai Tian collapses crying into Ye Wuming’s arms, mourning her adoptive sister.

Mai Tian, Ye Wuming and Mai Tianlin hold a funeral for Mai Xiang, realizing Qiu is the real killer who targeted Mai Tian. Ye Wuming swears revenge. Back at the capital, Qiu Yi threatens Shen Zhifeng with Mai Tian’s prayer ribbon, forcing him to resume hunting the prince. The imperial exam results release: Ye Wuming and Su Chun both rank top provincial graduates and head to the capital palace exam. Shen Zhifeng offers his private residence for Ye Wuming’s preparation. In the capital, Ye Wuming’s familiarity with the city confuses Su Chun. Qiu Yi visits the manor and orders Shen Zhifeng to kill the third pedestrian on the street—Ye Wuming steps out right on cue.

Mai Tian, Ye Wuming and Mai Tianlin hold a funeral for Mai Xiang, realizing Qiu is the real killer who targeted Mai Tian. Ye Wuming swears revenge. Back at the capital, Qiu Yi threatens Shen Zhifeng with Mai Tian’s prayer ribbon, forcing him to resume hunting the prince. The imperial exam results release: Ye Wuming and Su Chun both rank top provincial graduates and head to the capital palace exam. Shen Zhifeng offers his private residence for Ye Wuming’s preparation. In the capital, Ye Wuming’s familiarity with the city confuses Su Chun. Qiu Yi visits the manor and orders Shen Zhifeng to kill the third pedestrian on the street—Ye Wuming steps out right on cue.

Ye Wuming shows Mai Tian hand-molded clay figurines at the lantern fair, but Shen Zhifeng drags his sister away over curfew concerns. In the palace, Qiu submits the rigged exam roster to the emperor and demands the throne for Qiu Yi’s unborn baby, claiming the crown prince is dead. The emperor reluctantly agrees. Back at Shen’s manor, Shen Zhifeng separates the couple again, refusing to let them stay alone. Later, they sneak into the courtyard and confess longing under cherry blossoms before kissing.