After finishing breakfast, Luo Shu wants to go out for a walk. Qi Menglin has a gathering planned with his childhood friends, so he can’t accompany her. They leave together. Qin Yi, the wealthiest man in Taiyuan, comes looking for Qi Menglin’s second brother, Qi Yanjin, and greets Luo Shu, who ignores him. Once Qin Yi leaves, Qi Menglin asks how she knows Qin Yi and why he called her “Yulan.” Luo Shu only says she knew Qin Yi before going to Mingke Fang, and that he visited her every time he went to Linfen. Qi Menglin suspects Qin Yi has ulterior motives. Luo Shu doesn’t want to explain and makes an excuse to leave.
Qin Yi has come to see Qi Yanjin about salt licenses. Qi Yanjin is in a tough spot—salt licenses are strictly controlled by the court. Although he manages the Qi family business, the real head of the family is his father, Governor Qi, so Qi Yanjin can’t make the final decision. Qin Yi doesn’t want to give up the profit and hopes to get a piece of it. He encourages Qi Yanjin to seize control of the family as soon as possible. Qi Yanjin claims the brothers have a close bond, so Qin Yi stops pushing. On his way out, Qin Yi warns Qi Yanjin to watch out for the woman Qi Menglin brought home. Qi Yanjin sends his trusted aide, Lian Qi, to investigate Luo Shu’s background.
Luo Shu grew up in Taiyuan. Later, a fire killed her parents, turning her into an orphan. Many years later, she’s back in the bustling city but feels like an outsider. She can’t recall the exact location of her old home—only that there was a big sign at the entrance to an alley and a bun shop with delicious buns. She asks around but finds nothing.After his gathering, Qi Menglin returns home early to see Luo Shu. She quickly helps him remove his coat. Qi Menglin imagines she’s his wife and can’t help smiling. Learning that Luo Shu couldn’t find her childhood home, he sends Lian Shu to ask around based on her memories.
Early the next morning, Luo Shu goes out. Qin Yi happens to come looking for her, wanting to talk. She can’t shake him off and follows him to a teahouse. Lian Qi watches from nearby. Qin Yi deliberately orders snacks Luo Shu used to love as a child. She wants nothing to do with him. Qin Yi regrets letting her down in the past and wants to start over, but she refuses, unwilling to let anyone control her life. Back then, Qin Yi was humiliated in his own family and only Luo Shu cared about him. He used Luo Shu to become head of the Qin household and intended to free her from her servitude, but she wouldn’t allow it. Qin Yi tries to appease Luo Shu, but she doesn’t want to hear it and storms off.
Back at the Qi house, Qi Yanjin summons Luo Shu. He’s investigated her history and demands she leave Qi Menglin or face the consequences. It’s New Year’s Eve. Qi Menglin is busy decorating the house with servants and maids. Luo Shu returns to his courtyard weighed down with worries. Qi Menglin doesn’t notice her mood. He excitedly shows off the decorations and promises to spend New Year’s Eve with her after the family banquet.
Governor Qi and the family gather for a reunion dinner. The eldest son, an official in the capital, reports on his work for the year. Qi Menglin isn’t interested—he just picks a few good dishes for Lian Shu to bring to Luo Shu. Governor Qi asks Qi Menglin to speak about his own work. Qi Menglin eagerly describes leading troops to suppress bandits and crack major cases—suffering injuries in the process. His grandmother is distressed and fusses over him. Governor Qi quietly warns Qi Menglin they’ll settle accounts after the New Year.
After dinner, the entire family watches an opera performance. Qi Menglin has Lian Shu take his seat so he can slip away to see Luo Shu. He runs into Qi Yanjin, who warns him to keep his distance from her. Qi Menglin ignores him and goes straight to Luo Shu.
The next morning, Qi Menglin takes Luo Shu to her old neighborhood. She spots the familiar bun shop and quickly finds her childhood home, now occupied by others. With permission, she enters what used to be her room.
Luo Shu will never forget the fire that destroyed her family. After her parents fell asleep, she crept into the kitchen to eat roast chicken and dozed off. When she woke, the house was ablaze and her parents were trapped. She sees a height mark on a wooden post—her father used it to record her growth. Qi Menglin offers to buy that post, but Luo Shu politely declines.
Outside, Luo Shu runs into Aunt Guo, who’s overjoyed. Aunt Guo was the one who saved her from the fire. That night was strange. There was heavy rain that didn’t put out the fire. Luo Shu was unconscious for a whole day, and shady people came asking if anyone in her family survived. Uncle Guo and Aunt Guo decided to send Luo Shu to relatives in the countryside, but she soon went missing.
Aunt Guo assumes Qi Menglin is Luo Shu’s fiancé. Qi Menglin goes along with it and even invites Aunt Guo to their wedding. Luo Shu feels her parents’ deaths remain unexplained. Qi Menglin promises to help her find out the truth, but it’s been years and there are no leads. Luo Shu vividly remembers a foul burning stench when the fire spread.
Qi Menglin goes to a sundries shop, having the owner burn various fuels to find that smell. With no success, he and Luo Shu visit more shops. The owner recalls that the smell might be from “stone lacquer” (shiqi), a military supply. Zhang, another shopkeeper, has some but it’s expensive, and someone’s already ordered it. After much convincing, Zhang agrees to do a test burn. Luo Shu smells it—it’s exactly that stench. She suspects her home was burned with stone lacquer. Zhang finds it unlikely; only the military could get hold of that much stone lacquer.
Qi Menglin remembers that his father was stationed in Shanxi back then and decides to ask him about the stone lacquer. Luo Shu recalls her tragic past. She was sent to stay with Uncle Guo’s relatives, only to be sold by human traffickers to the Qin family, where Qin Yi brought her into his home.
