In the early years of the Hongwu era under the Ming Taizu, the mist and rain of Jiangnan could not wash away the smoke of war from the late Yuan and early Ming periods. Jiang Ziqi, a native of Wu (the area around present-day Suzhou), had been happily married for less than three years. He and his wife had been living a peaceful and contented life outside the walls of Gusu City (the ancient city center of Suzhou). However, news of the advancing army hung over the water towns of Jiangnan like dark clouds, and the clatter of weapons and the thunder of hooves soon reached them, shattering their tranquil life in an instant.

Jiang Ziqi fled with his wife to seek refuge, but in the panic of their escape, he accidentally lost track of her. As his wife wandered alone and terrified through the war-torn wilderness, she was spotted by an officer from a detachment of soldiers, who took her back to his official residence in the north. With this separation, all contact between the couple was severed.

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