Father Gone, Son Kept: The Blind Imperial Uncle’s Madness

Shen Zhixi is the wealthy heiress of the Shen family in Yanzhou, a woman who has rejected marriage after discovering her childhood sweetheart, Qin Mu, was plotting to steal her fortune for another woman. Traumatized by male betrayal, she resolves to have a child without a husband, seeking only the best genetic material while avoiding emotional entanglement. Her search leads her to a secluded bamboo house in the mountains where she discovers Song Lianzhou, a critically injured and blind man. Song Lianzhou is actually the powerful Imperial Uncle and brother to the Empress, who was attacked by assassins while protecting the young Crown Prince. To protect his sister, his nephew, and his savior, he conceals his true identity, adopting the alias Tang Zhou.

Shen Zhixi devises a calculated plan to seduce the blind Tang Zhou. She and her maid, Yuanyang, pretend to be poor cosmetic vendors living in the mountains. She tends to his wounds with expensive medicines and fine clothes, carefully managing his recovery while feeding his guilt and gratitude. Tang Zhou, unaware of her true identity, becomes increasingly dependent on her care and emotionally attached to her kindness. He misinterprets her affectionate gestures as genuine romantic interest from a selfless woman, not realizing he is the target of a deliberate scheme. Meanwhile, Shen Zhixi maintains her public life in the city, managing her business empire and rebuffing Qin Mu, who remains obsessed with her wealth and vows to sabotage her new relationship.

A key turning point occurs when Shen Zhixi orchestrates a scenario where Tang Zhou overhears her and Yuanyang feigning distress over the financial burden of his treatment. She claims they have pawned family heirlooms to pay for his jade ginseng and medical care. This act of perceived sacrifice deepens Tang Zhou’s emotional investment and guilt, making him more vulnerable to her influence. He vows to repay her once he recovers, unaware that his repayment is already predetermined by Shen Zhixi’s design. She views him as prey entering her spider’s web, confident that his blindness and isolation make him the perfect candidate for her plan.

As Tang Zhou’s health improves, the tension between his growing affection and his hidden royal identity intensifies. He struggles with the moral dilemma of deceiving the woman who saved him, yet feels compelled to protect her from the political dangers surrounding his true identity. Shen Zhixi, meanwhile, prepares the next phase of her plan, enlisting the help of Mama Cui to stage further emotional manipulations. The story moves toward a collision of their two worlds: Shen Zhixi’s calculated quest for a child and Tang Zhou’s desperate need to survive the imperial succession struggle. Their relationship evolves from patient and caregiver into a complex web of deception, attraction, and hidden agendas, setting the stage for a confrontation where truth and betrayal will determine their fates.