| Since her parents' death in a plague Xu Qiuling, a dumb girl, had been adopted by her uncle and aunt. Her aunt was actually eyeing at Xu's family fortune and had been treating her badly. Scared of his wife's ferocity, Xu's uncle could do nothing to protect her. |
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Xu had been in love with He Shixiang, a young man from a
wealthy gentry, since childhood. He, then a college student
studying in town, tried to seek his parents' consent to
marry Xu but failed.
On Ching Ming Festival He Shixiang brought Xu to visit her parents' grave. He promised to marry her after graduation and Xu nodded assent. The following day He returned to the college and before his departure he asked his good friend Zheng Yingqi to look after Xu in his absence. Xu came to see her lover off at the railway station but was late. On her way home there was a rainstorm. He's uncle He Jiqing, who looked upon at Xu's beauty, led her to take shelter in a deserted temple where he forced his attentions on her. |
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| Ashamed and heart-broken, Xu bitterly made her way home but was again condemned by her aunt for staying overnight outside. Xu was on the brink of a mental breakdown. One day when she was pondering in the countryside, He Jiqing came to her again and threatened her to keep his deed a secret by killing her beloved rabbit. Repeated blows plunged her into illness and then she was locked in the storage. |
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Soon her aunt found that she was pregnant and out of suspicions
that she had an affair with her uncle, Xu was driven away from
home. She then took shelter in a deserted temple. Zheng was
the only one who visited her and offered her assistance.
Upon receipt of Zheng's letter which said that Xu was pregnant and driven away from home, He Shixiang hurried home but Xu refused to see him. His uncle wasted no time to spread rumours about Xu and Zheng and days later He Shixiang returned to school with a broken heart. |
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The rumours ran so quickly that Zheng could no longer visit
Xu, who was then forced to beg for a living. When He Shixiang
returned home for winter, he was grieved to see an impoverished
Xu. He pledged to marry her despite all opposition and returned
to the town to look for a job and a house. Meanwhile, He
Jiqing ordered his men to drive her out of the village and
abandon her in the countryside.
When her time came, Xu made her way in a downpour to a ruined temple where she gave birth to a baby boy. Soon it was Spring Festival. Xu suddenly appeared in the cheerful crowd and returned her son to He Jiqing. Enraged at He Jiqing's hypocrisy and dishonesty, the villagers killed him with a rain of fists. He Shixiang pushed his way through the crowd to hold Xu in his arms and vowed that they would never part again.
Starring: |