Because her father had financial problems, he allowed his only child Wen Yu He, played by Fan Bing Bing, to become the daughter-in-law of the Gu family, the wife of Madam Gu’s third son.Madam Gu’s first son disappeared and her second son died of a weak body and of sickness, so all of her hopes were placed on Yu He and her remaining son. The third son, Shao Tang, is a playboy who spends his time in the brothel and gambles his money away. Madam Gu purposely chose Yu He because she believe that Yu He could change her son for the better. Yun Kai is a school teacher who enters the Gu Household as a groundskeeper. Although he helps to keep track of the accounting and also the Gu lantern business, he hides his identity and lives as a servant.

When Yu He enters the Gu Family, she is constantly picked on and tortured by her older sister-in-law, or rather the first son’s wife. Will Shao Tang ever come back home and discover Yu He’s true devotion to him? What crafty tricks will Mo Xin come up with to push Yu He further away from Madam Gu? What is Yun Kai doing by hiding his identity and becoming a servant at the Gu Household? This is just the beginning. The Gu Family has more secrets than you can even imagine. What will happen as these old feuds and dark secrets begin to unravel before Yu He? -- Haywires blog

　　民国初年，文家大小姐文玉禾（范冰冰 饰）因父亲欠下巨款嫁到大户辜家，丈夫少棠（于小伟 饰）少不经事，大婚之日竟没回家。自来到辜家，玉禾仿佛置身另一个世界，丈夫游手好闲，婆婆（刘雪华 饰）老谋深算，寡嫂默心（张彤 饰）和小姑守贞（韩晓 饰）更是让人猜不透，还有一个见风使舵的丫头阿桃（李倩 饰），玉禾感到生命都要窒息了，唯有云开（霍建华 饰）伴她左右。在这看似节孝流芳的深宅大院中，实则上演着一出出见不得人的丑剧。看似正经的默心与街上的小裁缝偷情，失踪的二嫂频频现身禁地，婆婆秘不外传的珍馐则和一段谋害亲夫案相连。在这个江南小镇的深宅大院里，究竟隐藏了多少不为人知的密秘……