Qian Yixiu, a woman in her thirties, has spent over a decade harboring unrequited love for her childhood friend Shang Qingyun. Despite their shared history from rural village life to careers in a major metropolis, their relationship remains strictly platonic. Shang Qingyun, ambitious and socially climbing, treats Qian Yixiu as an emotional confidante, summoning her whenever he experiences romantic highs or lows. She remains single, waiting for a chance that never comes, while he pursues relationships with clear utilitarian motives. On the day she decides to finally confess or move on, she drives to a resort to meet him. While waiting, she saves a young girl from being struck by a speeding car and is killed in the impact.
Her soul drifts toward the Road to the Underworld but is intercepted by Niutou and Mamian, two underworld officials who admit to grabbing the wrong soul due to intoxication. Lacking a permit for her premature death, Qian Yixiu faces the prospect of becoming a Wandering Soul. Mamian, seeking to avoid punishment, proposes a solution: he will use the permit intended for a deceased child to send her soul into a new body in a parallel world. After some negotiation, during which Qian Yixiu uses her workplace skills in flattery to gain favor, Mamian reveals that the body she is destined to inhabit has not yet been born. It will be the daughter of a young man named Qian Manjiang, who is about to be conscripted into the army. She is instructed to wait in the household of Qian Manjiang’s family until the child dies at age six, at which point she must possess her.
Qian Yixiu’s soul observes the Qian family, a impoverished household in the fictional Great Qian Dynasty. The family consists of her future father, Qian Manjiang; her future mother, a simple-minded girl named Cheng Yue; her frail, crippled father Qian Sangui; and her young sister, Qian Manxia. The family is struggling to survive after Qian Sangui’s medical debts depleted their savings. When Qian Manjiang is conscripted, the family rushes to marry him off before he leaves to ensure an heir. With limited funds, Qian Manjiang’s mother, Mrs. Wu, purchases a dirty, simple-minded girl from a matchmaker, unaware of her true beauty and noble bearing. This girl, Cheng Yue, becomes Qian Yixiu’s future mother.
Qian Manjiang is instantly captivated by Cheng Yue’s beauty despite her mental state. He treats her with kindness, naming her Yue’er and integrating her into the family. Qian Yixiu watches as her parents’ relationship develops, noting Qian Manjiang’s ambition and charm, which remind her of Shang Qingyun, though Qian Manjiang possesses a genuine integrity she finds lacking in her past life. The family prepares for the wedding, with Qian Manjiang expressing hope that he will rise through the ranks and bring honor to his family. Qian Yixiu, now reborn as Qian Manxia, the young daughter, must navigate this harsh feudal society while waiting for the moment she can fully inhabit her own body. The story sets the stage for her journey in a world where survival depends on wit, resilience, and the unpredictable nature of war and family dynamics.
