In the Southern Song Dynasty, Du Bao, the governor of Nan'an, only had one daughter named Lina. She was 16 years old and not yet engaged. Du Bao hired a 60-year-old scholar named Chen Zuiliang to teach his daughter in order to make her an exemplary woman who is well-educated and understands propriety. However, when Chen taught "The Ospreys" from the Book of Songs, it stirred up Lina's emotions. One day, Chunxiang, Lina's maid who accompanied her during studies, accidentally discovered the garden behind the Du residence and secretly led Lina to visit it. Confined in her boudoir for so long, Lina was inspired by the beautiful spring scenery and yearned to explore more.
After returning to her room, Lina suddenly had a dream. In the dream, a young scholar held a willow branch asking her to write a poem, then embraced her under the peony pavilion and they made love. After waking up, Lina felt listless and drowsy. The next day, she went back to the garden to search for her dream. Disappointed, she fell ill with yearning, and her figure gradually became emaciated. One day, looking at herself in the mirror, she realized how thin she had become, and immediately asked Chunxiang to bring ink and plain silk so that she could paint her own portrait and inscribed a poem on it. She also told Chunxiang about her dream and instructed her to have the painting framed by a professional. When Mr. and Mrs. Du heard that their daughter was critically ill, they hurriedly asked Chen Zuiliang for medicine and invited Sister Shi to recite scriptures, but none of these measures worked. On the Mid-Autumn night, Lina passed away.
Before her death, she instructed Chunxiang to put her self-portrait in a sandalwood box and hide it under the Taihu rockery in the garden. She also instructed her mother to bury her under the plum tree beside the Peony Pavilion in the garden. At this time, Li Quan, a rebel king who had surrendered to the Jin Dynasty, led troops to besiege Huaiyang. The court promoted Du Bao as the Pacification Commissioner of Huaiyang, and he set off immediately.