The protagonist, originally from Xiangyang, daughter of a merchant family. Her parents were killed during the Jie people's siege of Xiangyang when she was twelve. She fled north as a refugee with Granny Zhou, eventually reaching Chenliu. After a street fight with a pawnshop owner, she was discovered by Madam Jiang and brought to the capital. Adopted as Madam Jiang's foster daughter, she was renamed Jiang Mingtang and trained for a year to replace her missing daughter Jiang Mingwei as the betrothed of Prince of Jin. She erased her true personality to become a substitute noble lady, terrified of being cast out.
