Shen Qingqing, the Marquis of Yongan's wife, endures a slow, agonizing death in her previous life. Bedridden and terminally ill, she is visited by her three children—Song Yu, Song Xinlan, and Song Xinyin—who force her to drink poisoned medicine. As she lies dying, her eldest son steps on her broken spine while her husband, Song Lingxiao, thanks her for helping his family rise to power. A bolt of lightning strikes as she dies, and she awakens seven years in the past, moments before her maids bring her medicine after she had fallen into a lake. Realizing she has been reborn, she identifies the poisoning and the betrayal that defined her past life.
In this new timeline, Shen Qingqing confronts her daughter Song Xinlan, accusing her of pushing her into the water. She punishes the child by making her kneel in the freezing cold, defying the pleas of her husband and sister-in-law, Yang Wanqing. Shen Qingqing suspects Yang Wanqing of having an affair with Song Lingxiao and of manipulating her children against her. She voluntarily surrenders household management authority to Yang Wanqing, a move that surprises everyone, including her loyal maids Nanzhi and Xijin. Her true intention is to distance herself from the toxic family dynamics and focus on her own survival and revenge.
A physician confirms that Shen Qingqing has been poisoned with pokeweed, a slow-acting toxin that causes gradual organ failure. The poison was administered through the bird's nest soup Song Lingxiao brought her daily. Armed with this knowledge, Shen Qingqing decides to stay at her natal home, the Guogong Manor, to recover and plan. Her family, including her protective brothers Shen Jingzhi and Shen Jingshuo, are outraged upon learning of the poisoning. They vow to help her exact retribution.
The situation escalates when Shen Qingqing discovers a young maid named Lvyun, who was purchased by her daughter Song Xinyin. Lvyun bears a striking resemblance to Shen Qingqing and reveals she was abused by her adoptive parents, who were paid to mistreat her. Shen Qingqing suspects that Lvyun might be her real daughter, while Song Xinyin may have been switched at birth. She recalls that Song Lingxiao insisted on staying during her childbirth, creating an opportunity for such a switch. The revelation shatters her understanding of her family, suggesting that her husband and sister-in-law not only poisoned her but also stole her child.
Shen Qingqing takes Lvyun under her protection, planning to investigate the truth about the child's origins. She begins to systematically dismantle the lies that held her family together, refusing to let her children be used as pawns. Her demeanor shifts from a submissive wife to a cold, calculating woman determined to expose Song Lingxiao and Yang Wanqing's affair and their role in her suffering. As she regains her health, she prepares to turn the tables on those who betrayed her, using her family's influence and her own wits to fight back against the Marquis Manor.
