During the Republic of China era, Shen Zhiqiu, a concubine-born daughter of the Shen family, was forced by her family to substitute for her legitimate elder sister, Shen Wanying, in a arranged marriage to be married far away to the Tibetan region. Her fiancé, He Zijun, also transferred his affections to Shen Wanying. However, stepping onto the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, she unexpectedly discovered that her husband turned out to be Pema Gyatso, the young marshal of Litang who had once received her life-saving grace and had been bitterly searching for her for many years. After marriage, relying on her extraordinary skills, Shen Zhiqiu took charge of the tea-horse trade route. The couple returned to Nancheng together to attend Shen Wanying's wedding. Shen Wanying's plundered precious earrings were exposed due to jealousy, turning the wedding into a scandal. The He family lost power from then on, and He Zijun, driven to a dead end, colluded with warlords to kidnap Shen Zhiqiu.