The grand gates of the Rong family compound shut firmly behind Rong Shanbao (荣善宝). Cast out by the formidable Matriarch for defying family decrees, she leaves with little more than her resolve. Her crimes? Insisting on a proper burial for her aunt and the return of a young cousin wrongly declared dead. In the ruthless social hierarchy of their era, such compassion is seen as a dangerous flaw, a stain on the family's prestige. While Shanbao faces exile, another young woman within those same walls watches silently.
Rong Yunshu (荣筠书), the delicate fifth miss, feigning blindness and fragility, nurses a secret vengeance that will soon ignite a chain of destruction. The stage is set not just for a family dispute, but for a moral collision that questions the very meaning of justice and legacy.
A Tomb's Silent Message
After her banishment, Rong Shanbao performs an act that baffles everyone. She commissions a new tomb near her aunt's resting place, on a peaceful hillside planted with delicate February Orchids. The name carved on the stone, however, is not a relative of hers. It reads: Lin Pingxiang (林萍香). This mystery woman is the long-deceased mother of Rong Yunshu, a tragedy the family never discusses. Shanbao, aware of Yunshu's deep-seated hatred and her false blindness, intends the tomb as a stark symbol. It is a quiet plea for peace, a tangible acknowledgment of a forgotten life meant to appeal to Yunshu's buried humanity.
Lin Pingxiang's story is the root of the rot. Once a maid, she won the genuine love of the family's third young master. Their happy marriage, however, was an affront to the Matriarch, who despised Pingxiang's low birth. Seizing an opportunity during a bitter winter when her son was away, the old woman had Pingxiang thrown out. She perished from the cold in a broken temple. Her grieving husband soon followed, dying of a broken heart. From that moment, the young Rong Yunshu's heart turned to ice, her apparent weakness a carefully crafted mask.
When Yunshu visits her aunt's grave, pretending to pay respects, Shanbao confronts her. She urges the fifth miss to step back from the path of revenge, to see the tomb as a sign to heal. The gesture backfires spectacularly. For Yunshu, the sight of her mother's grave does not bring solace; it delivers a frantic urgency. Shanbao's act of remembrance proves that her secret is uncovered. If Shanbao chooses to expose her, all is lost. The tomb becomes a countdown clock. Yunshu realizes she must accelerate her plans before her vengeful scheme is dismantled.
The Fire of Vengeance
Driven by a desperate timeline, Rong Yunshu's actions escalate from covert manipulation to outright warfare. Her first move is a brutal strike at the family's honor and safety. She conspires with thieves to raid the Rong mansion, then frames the exiled Shanbao for the theft. The evidence she plants is convincing, leading to Shanbao's arrest by the authorities. This move serves a dual purpose: it removes a potential adversary and further tarnishes the family's name under the Matriarch's watch.
Not content with financial ruin and scandal, Yunshu aims for the heart of the Rong identity: their tea. The family's centuries-old tea plantation, the source of their wealth and status, becomes her target. In a night of terror, flames engulf the fields. The final, unthinkable act is the desecration of the Tea King Tree, the ancient, symbolic root of the family's lineage. Yunshu orders it dug up, its roots exposed to wither. This is more than sabotage; it is a ritualistic attempt to sever the family's past and future, to erase the foundation the Matriarch holds most dear.
In her quest to punish one woman, Rong Yunshu's vengeance engulfs the innocent. The servants, the legacy, the livelihoods tied to the Rong estate—all become collateral damage. The narrative poses a piercing question: how does she differ from the Matriarch she despises? The old woman's sin was cold-hearted cruelty rooted in prejudice. Yunshu's sin is willful, widespread destruction rooted in rage. Both sacrifice others for a personal goal. The tragedy is that Lin Pingxiang, whose memory fuels this fire, would likely never have wished for her daughter to become a mirror of the oppression that killed her. The story of Glory (玉茗茶骨) ultimately reveals a bitter truth: unchecked vengeance does not correct the past; it replicates its worst injuries, destroying the avenger from within.
