Dream of Splendor

Zhao Pan'er (played by Liu Yifei), who runs a tea shop in Qiantang, is shocked to learn that her fiancé, the newly crowned top scholar Ouyang Xu (played by Xu Haiqiao), is going to marry the daughter of a high-ranking official. Unwilling to accept her fate, she vows to go to the capital to seek justice. On her journey, she meets the upright Gu Qianfan (played by Chen Xiao), a commander from a powerful family, and gets entangled in a major case in Jiangnan. The two develop a bond despite their initial conflicts. Zhao Pan'er uses her wisdom to rescue the 'first pipa master in Jiangnan,' Song Yingzhang (played by Lin Yun), who was tricked into marriage and abused, and the free-spirited chef Sun Sanniang (played by Liu Yan), who ran away from her oppressive family. The three women become companions as they reach Bianjing and witness the splendor of the world. To avoid being driven away by Ouyang Xu, who seeks to climb higher socially, Zhao Pan'er, along with Song Yingzhang and Sun Sanniang, faces many hardships and gradually develops their small tea shop into the largest restaurant in Bianjing. They expose the true nature of the heartless and gain their own sincere feelings and life insights, opening a door to equality and redemption for countless ordinary women.