The virtuous and hardworking Liu Lanzhi toils day and night, yet finds it hard to please her mother-in-law. Although her husband Jiao Zhongqing has feelings for her, he is bound by filial piety and powerless to protect his wife, ultimately forced to write a letter of divorce. Upon parting, the two make a pledge of reeds and boulders. After returning home, Lanzhi faces successive marriage proposals from powerful nobles, while her elder brother presses her step by step. Amid intertwined misunderstandings, this ill-fated couple sees no hope of staying together: Liu Lanzhi drowns herself and Jiao Zhongqing hangs himself, denouncing through a tragic demise the ravages of feudal ethics on sincere love.