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Song Yuqie, a man over fifty, was a straightforward and generous schoolteacher in the countryside. After his wife passed away, Song Yuqie and his eighteen-year-old son, Song Jinlang, lived together. One day, while strolling through a bustling street, Song Yuqie and his son happened to meet an old friend, Liu Youcai, whom they hadn’t seen in over a decade. While drinking and reminiscing, Liu Youcai, who made a living running boats, took a liking to the young and vibrant Jinlang and wanted to marry his clever and dexterous daughter, Yichun, to Jinlang. Song Yuqie politely declined his friend’s kind intentions, unaware that the old friend didn’t want to marry his daughter to his nephew-in-law, Wang Shunquan, who was a constable in the county office. It so happened that just as Song Yuqie and his son were chatting with Liu Youcai, Wang Shunquan walked in. In the brief moment as Wang Shunquan entered and passed by a tall, imposing man with a bushy beard, he recognized him as Wu Han, the leader of the Taihu bandits who was being actively pursued by the authorities. Unfortunately, by the time Wang Shunquan gathered reinforcements, Wu Han, who had been invited to eat by Song Yuqie, had already disappeared. Upon learning that Wu Han had given Song Yuqie several pieces of jade as a reward before leaving, Wang Shunquan, eager to claim credit and reward, decided to investigate Song Yuqie. As a result, the honest and upright Song Yuqie was sentenced to death by the county magistrate, who was eager to close the case, and was thrown into prison. After Song Yuqie was imprisoned, Jinlang was taken aboard Liu Youcai’s ship. Unexpectedly, Jinlang and Yichun fell deeply in love, and before long, they were married under Liu Youcai’s arrangement. However, their happiness was short-lived. When Jinlang learned that his father had been executed by the authorities, he was so overcome with grief that he fell ill with consumption. Seeing that Jinlang, who had once been able to work and serve them, had become a burden, Liu Youcai and his wife, without telling their daughter Yichun, hatched a plan to abandon Jinlang. Jinlang was deceived and left on a deserted island. Yichun was devastated by this. Just as Liu Youcai and his wife thought Jinlang had met his end in Taihu Lake, Jinlang was luckily rescued by Wu Han, the Taihu bandit. Upon learning of the misfortunes that befell the Song family, Wu Han devised a plan to help Jinlang seek revenge and reunite him with his wife. As a result, the county magistrate reaped what he had sown, and Jinlang was able to reunite with his beloved wife.