In the north there is a beautiful woman

A turbulent era, a weathered old city, a remarkably beautiful woman, a sharp and critical adoptive mother, an entangled emotional relationship that can't be easily untangled, a touching bond of family without blood relations, a display of national righteousness from the common people, and a legendary story of a troubled age filled with both suffering and inspiration. In the 1920s, amidst warlord conflicts, official families' children Ji Ping and her brother Zi Jian got separated from their father by accident and were left homeless. While searching for their father, they were unfortunately kidnapped by human traffickers but luckily saved by Wang Dafu, the owner of a steamed bun shop. Due to societal unrest and widespread poverty where even feeding oneself was problematic, the addition of two more mouths to feed was strenuously opposed by Wang Dafu's wife Hong Xiniang, who refused to keep the children. After many twists and turns, the children temporarily stayed with the Wang family, but Hong Xiniang’s sharp nature never truly accepted them. She often gave cold looks to Ji Ping. During Zhang Zongchang's rule over Shandong, heavy taxes led to economic hardship. To support her household and fund her brother Zi Jian's education, Ji Ping apprenticed under Yin Chengru to learn Shandong Qin Book music.