In the 12^th year of Tongzhi Period, the Empress Dowager Cixi orders to rebuild Yuanmingyuan Imperial Garden which was burned by the British and French troops. This engineering and construction task is assigned to LEI Siqi (head of Yangshifang (architectural design workshop under Imperial Affairs Administration) and his son LEI Tingchang. Seven generations of Lei Family have served as chief architects of the imperial court and ritual buildings of the capital city from Kangxi Period onwards, and they are reputed as "Yangshi LEI". After LEI Siqi and his son accept the assignment, they actively take part in the reconstruction and intend to achieve the long-cherished wish of recovering ancestors' great works and revitalizing their family. However, the country falls apart, while the masses live an impoverished life. For the purpose of reconstruction project, the government of the Qing Dynasty levies exorbitant taxes and levies to the people. Young LEI ingchang witnesses that common people live in destitution, and his lover desperately sells herself with bondage to save her poor father.