湖广均州大户人家独生女秦香莲，年方二八，美丽聪明，与穷书生陈士美相识并相爱，父母不允，但她重情重义，在丫环帮助下私奔与陈士美成婚，母亲被气死，父亲出了家。

    秦香莲扶持丈夫，孝敬婆母，并生下儿子冬哥。陈士美用功读书，几经波折，终于进京赶考中了状元。而秦香莲在家中又生下女儿春妹，当地洪灾，婆母病死，她拖儿带女进京寻夫。

    陈士美在丞相支使下，隐瞒经历，被公主招为驸马。秦香莲充作秀女进宫，见到陈士美，而陈士美不但不认亲，还在丞相逼迫下，派家人韩其持刀灭口。

    韩其不忍杀害妇幼，又不敢抗命，自刎而死。秦香莲带着染血的刀进京告状，但包公难辨是非，更不能奈何公主与皇后的干涉，差点酿成一场新的冤案。 

    陈士美一入朝廷，早已身不由己。事已至此，他不认秦香莲，就是驸马皇婿，认了秦香莲，就是刀下鬼魂。皇后和丞相几次要杀人灭口，又被秦香莲阴差阳错逃过。

    结果，陈士美终于被包公判斩，秦香莲则拖儿带女离开京城流落他乡。使秦香莲当初进京寻夫只要还儿女一个父亲的初衷完全相反。如今她举目无亲，天下之大，她欲向何方？

湖南电视台
2002年7月25日

A Thirty-part TV Serial 
Qin Xianglian 
A Brief Introduction

The story was set in the Northern Song Dynasty, under the reign of Emperor Renzong. 
Qin Xianglian, the only daughter of a rich and influential family in Jun Zhou in Huyuan Province, was born beautiful and bright and just sixteen at the time. She got to know a poor scholar, Chen Shimei and they fell into love with other. Although Qin Xianglian met with strong opposition from her parents against their love affairs, she stuck firmly to her affection towards Chen Shimei. With the help of her servant girl, she eloped with him and married him. Consequently, her mother was angry to death and her father renounced the family to become a monk.
Qin Xianglian was very supportive to her husband, filial to her parents-in-law, and gave birth to a son, Dongge. Chen Shimei was very diligent in his study and after countless hardships he finally went to the Capital to sit for the imperial examination and was admitted to be the Number One Scholar.
Meanwhile, at home, Qin Xianglian gave a second birth to a daughter, Chunmei, and then she took her son and daughter to the Capital to find her husband, for their hometown had been flooded and her mother-in-law had died of illness.
Instructed by the prime minister, Chen Shimei concealed his previous experiences and was selected to be the princess’ husband. Serving as a chosen beautiful maid in the palace, Qin Xianglian managed to see Chen Shimei. However, Chen Shimei not only didn’t admit the family connection with her, under being forced by the prime minister, he also sent his servant Hanqi to kill her to make her silent about his secret. Hanqi was not cruel enough to kill a poor woman and her little children, but he also was not bold enough to disobey his master’s order, so he had no choice and had to commit suicide. Taking the blooded sword from Hanqi, Qin Xianglian went to the capital and asked Baogong for legal help. However, it was hard for Baogong to tell whether she told the truth or not, and what’s more, the interference from the princess and the empress also served as a great hindrance. Consequently another unjust case nearly came into being.
Once getting into the royal court, Chen Shimei had to behave under compulsion. As the matter had become like that, if he didn’t admit Qin Xianglian as his wife, he would be the princess’ husband, and in the contrary, if he admitted her, he would be sentenced to death. Several times the prime minister and the princess intended to kill Qin Xianglian to make her silent about the matter forever, but luckily, she always could escape accidentally.
Finally, Chen Shimei was beheaded by Baogong. Qin Xianglian, with her son and daughter, left the capital and led a wretched life far from home. Compared with her original intension to find father for her son and daughter in the capital, the result was so opposite and unexpected. Then she had no any relative to turn to. The world was so large, but where was her destination?

Hunan TV
25, July, 2002