Juniper
“Marvelous Women” is an ongoing Chinese drama & after watching the first few episodes, I am hooked as the story is interesting. Set dring the Qing Dynasty, this drama is about the silk industry in Suzhou. The Ren family there is one of the leaders of the industry as their weaving is so excellent that it has caught the attention of the court officials based there. The officials are the villains as they collect bribes and cause trouble for the business people.
Ren Xue Tang is the master of the Ren family. While he has a good, faithful and capable wife in Shen Cui Xi, he is not in love with her. He has a mistress in his childhood sweetheart, Zeng Bao Qin who he wanted to marry instead of Shen Cui Xi but his mother objected as marrying her would have caused the collapse of the Ren family. Ren Xue Tang was forced to marry Shen Cui Xi but after all these years, he has not given up on Zeng Bao Qin, much to the dismay of his wife.
The younger son of the Ren family is a troublemaker who wants to earn some pocket money. He met a stranger in a gambling house who lent him money but the stranger turned out to be a pirate and during those days, even sharing a table with a pirate could get one killed, never mind colluding with them. When Ren Xue Tang and his wife discover the brother has had business dealings with the pirate, they try to go after the pirate but during the hunt, Ren Xue Tang is shot with an arrow and falls into the river, then disappears and presumed dead.
Shen Cui Xi was previously handling the household as well as the business even before her husband disappeared but now she bears all the responsibility. On top of that, she has to deal with the husband’s mistress being pregnant. The husband was intending to bring her into the Ren household as concubine. In order to maintain her status as head of the Ren family, Shen Cui Xi has to take the mistress’ baby to solidify her position. She is being challenged by the elders of the Ren clan.
It seems that in those days, women could easily lose everything once their husband died and relegated to anonymity no matter how capable they were. Shen Cui Xi has two loyal maids and there’s also a story around them. The use of flashbacks is prevalent in this drama to explain how things became the way they are. The mistress is vengeful as she assumed Shen Cui Xi was the one responsible for separating Ren Xue Tang and her but in fact, it was Ren Xue Tang’s mother who called the shots.
Shen Cui Xi has to use her wits to deal with the corrupt court officials who are constantly trying to bring down the Ren business. One of the officials wants the silk price to rise so that he can somehow profit from it. He faces opposition from Shen Cui Xi who organises a union of silk merchants and he is always plotting against her.
Over the next 7 years since Ren Xue Tang disappeared, Shen Cui Xi has to hold everything together. She resolves not to fail the Ren family. This is one strong and formidable woman who is unfortunately not appreciated by her husband. She deserves someone who could truly love her like her stepson’s tutor but they have to hold their feelings for each other as it was forbidden for her (even an assumed widow) to fall in love with another.
So far I have watched 14 episodes, I think there are 35 episodes in total which is great as a long drama can be excruciating. 35-40 episode dramas are just the perfect length.
