Dou E is a poor woman in Chuzhou. Dou E's mother died when she was very young, and her father Dou was unable to pay her debts. Because he went to Beijing to catch the exam and lacked food expenses, he was sold to the lonely Cai family as a child bride. Dou E is just a woman who swears to abide by feudal ethics such as filial piety and chastity, but the cruel reality pushes her to the abyss.
Scholar Dou went to Beijing to take the exam. When he left, he entrusted his only daughter to Cai and married Cai Gongzi. Dou E's life is very difficult. Shortly after the marriage, Cai Gongzi died of illness, and Dou E and her mother-in-law lived alone. Grandma Cai lives by borrowing some debts, but Dr. Sailu doesn't pay back the money. Grandma Cai came to collect debts, and Dr. Sailu bullied her orphans and widows for defaulting on their debts and tried to harm Grandma Cai. Fortunately, she was rescued by her neighbor Zhang Lver.
Zhang Lver and his son are both ordinary people. When they see the beauty of Dou E, they have evil intentions and want to plot evil. Zhang Lver wanted to marry Dou E, but Dou E flatly refused. Grandma Cai is bedridden with anger. Zhang Maolv failed in forced marriage and became angry from embarrassment. She conspired with Dr. Sailu in an attempt to poison Cai's mother-in-law and occupy Dou 'e. Unexpectedly, Zhang Donkey's father was greedy for money and mistakenly ate the poisoned soup made by Zhang Donkey for Cai's mother-in-law and died of poisoning. The wicked Zhang Maolv complained first, bribed corrupt officials and accused Cai Popo of killing her. Yao Hang, a corrupt official, tortured him and was forced by Cai's mother-in-law. In order to save her mother-in-law's life, Dou E was forced to plead guilty and was imprisoned.
On the third day of June, Dou E's blood spilled on the platform. Before she was executed, she swore to heaven that if Dou E was wronged, three feet of snow would cover my innocent body. Suddenly, heavy snow covered the fertile land. Dou went to high school in Beijing and became an obscure envoy of the imperial court. She got a dream from her daughter, knowing that Dou E had died unjustly, and she was determined to eradicate corrupt officials and avenge her daughter.