It is based on the story of young cartoonist Xiong Dun who encounters double setbacks in love and the workplace. In the face of adversity, she bravely fights her illness and spreads positivity with her infectious smile.
Xiang Yang (Jiang Xin) is a carefree young woman who comes to Beijing to fulfill her dreams of becoming a manhua artist. After persuading her family and finally finding a job and a house, Xiong Dun settles down in Beijing. Life may be hard but Xiang Yang is surrounded by people that she loves.
Unfortunately, life does not treat her kindly. Xiang Yang's boyfriend cheats on her and she experiences a setback in her career. Misfortunes come in threes as she starts to get sick. When her childhood friend forces her to go to the hospital for an examination, Xiang Yang learns that she has a tumor. From being unwilling and unable to accept her circumstances, Xiang Yang gradually finds the strength to live her life to the fullest.
Sui Tang Yanyi begins in the 580s with the conquest of the Chen dynasty (557-589) by the Sui dynasty under Emperor Wen, and concludes with the return of the Tang dynasty's Emperor Xuanzong to the capital Chang'an in 758 near the end of the An Lushan Rebellion (755-763).
The plot is made up of three main story lines.
The first, with Emperor Yang of Sui and his concubine Zhu Gui'er (朱貴兒) as the central characters, covers the events in the political arena and inner palace in the final years of the Sui dynasty.
The second story line narrates a turbulent period known as the transition from Sui to Tang, when heroes such as Qin Shubao,Shan Xiongxin (單雄信), Cheng Yaojin (程咬金) and Xu Maogong rise up to overthrow the Sui dynasty, followed by stories of how Li Shimin (the future Emperor Taizong of Tang) defeated his rivals and eventually solidified the Tang dynasty's sovereignty over China.
The last story line tells of the romance between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Consort Yang, and the events of the An Lushan Rebellion.