Courtesan Yu Tangchun is set in the Ming Dynasty. The play tells the story of a prostitute who falls in love with a scholar who frequents her brothel. When the scholar runs out of money the procuress bars him from returning. Meanwhile, the prostitute is sold to a merchant from Shanxi Province. The merchant's wife poison her husband and the prostitute is blamed. The scholar has become a high official in charge of justice at Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi Province. He has questions about the merchant's murder and orders the prostitute to be brought to Taiyuan. He sees the accused is his former lover and is so shocked that he loses his self-composure, which betrays his involvement with her. He pays a private visit to her in jail but is discovered by another official, who is persuaded to investigate the case and find the truth. In the end she is cleared of the charge and is married to her former lover.