Spring's Captive Love: When the Cold Power Minister Breaks His Oath

Xie Zhi, the daughter of a former Yangzhou prefect, faces a catastrophic fall from grace when her father is executed for corruption. Sentenced to slavery, she desperately clings to Assistant Minister of Justice Pei Du, who rescues her from a brothel and brings her to the Changping Marquis Manor in the capital. Despite her gratitude, Pei Du treats her with cold disdain, viewing her as a burden and a scheming woman who exploits his charity. He assigns her to serve in the Old Madam’s courtyard, where she endures the humiliation of being mistaken for his concubine by the household staff, a misconception that isolates her further.

Life in the manor is fraught with peril. Yuyang, the spoiled County Princess and Pei Du’s half-sister, takes a particular hatred to Xie Zhi, accusing her of stealing class drafts and forcing her to swallow ink-stained paper. Xie Zhi’s only solace is her secret passion for learning; she collects discarded manuscripts to educate herself, driven by a desire for independence rather than romantic attachment. When Pei Du returns from a six-month investigation in Yingzhou, he discovers her eavesdropping on lessons and forbids her from the study hall, relocating her to the Snow-Viewing Pavilion library under the guise of punishment, though the Old Madam hopes this proximity will foster a genuine bond.

At the library, Xie Zhi’s talent for bookbinding and illustration catches the eye of Lady Yang and her daughter, Pei Zhaoyin, providing her with a small circle of allies and a means to earn money through illicit illustration work. However, her situation deteriorates when Yuyang, fueled by a misunderstanding involving a man named Qi Songqing, threatens to marry Xie Zhi off to a pockmarked coachman named Shuangfu as retribution. Desperate to escape this fate, Xie Zhi devises a plan to seduce the frivolous Pei Hong, Pei Du’s younger brother, hoping to secure his protection and obtain her slave registry papers to buy her freedom.

Her scheme is thwarted when Pei Du intercepts her gift to Pei Hong and later confronts her about her intentions. That night, Shuangfu and his mother attempt to force Xie Zhi into a compromising situation by pushing her into Xingbo Lake, but she escapes by swimming underwater. Pei Du, who happened to be nearby, rescues her, leading to a heated confrontation where a feverish Xie Zhi accuses him of ruining her life. He carries her back to the manor, and the following day, he moves her to his private residence, Yangshan Terrace, placing her under strict surveillance.

Confined to the terrace and forbidden from leaving, Xie Zhi faces new hostility from the other maids, led by Shuyue, who resent her perceived favoritism. Shuyue destroys Xie Zhi’s clothes, prompting Xie Zhi to retaliate by slashing Shuyue’s wardrobe, establishing a fierce boundary. Meanwhile, Pei Du’s rigid exterior begins to show cracks; he protects her from external threats but remains emotionally distant, driven by his deep-seated trauma regarding his mother’s death, which he blames on his father’s affair with the Princess of Deng. As Xie Zhi navigates the treacherous politics of the manor and her own growing entanglement with Pei Du, she realizes that her path to freedom is inextricably linked to unraveling the secrets of the Pei family and surviving the relentless hostility of those around her.