Gu Qingning, the orphaned daughter of the Gu family, was raised in the Marquis of Guangping’s household. She and her cousin Shen Ruoying were engaged around the same time, Shen Ruoying to the heir of the Duke’s manor, Lu Jingyu, and Gu Qingning to his younger brother, Lu Hangzhi. However, after Lu Jingyu was reported killed in battle, Shen Ruoying, desperate to escape her reputation as a ‘husband-killer’, seduced Lu Hangzhi. To Gu Qingning’s shock, Lu Hangzhi then demanded that she willingly lower herself to become his concubine. Unwilling to surrender her dignity, Gu Qingning instead made a fateful choice, to marry the deceased Lu Jingyu, claiming her rightful place as the Young Duke’s wife in both name and honor.
