With Zhao Lu Si and Liu Yu Ning as the leads, it is hard not to notice The Story Of Pearl Girl (珠帘玉幕) if you are a Chinese drama fan. It is one of the most anticipated dramas of 2024. With the leads’ status in the industry, their dramas are expected to have a certain standard rather than another run-of-the-mill kind of production that gets churned out by the truckloads in Chinese dramaland. So, does this drama live up to fans’ expectations or is it overhyped? My review of The Story Of Pearl Girl will give you all the details below.
My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Historical Romance, Revenge
Aired: November 2024
Images credit: Douban Movie
The Cast Of The Story Of Pearl Girl
- Zhao Lu Si as Duan Wu
- Liu Yu Ning as Yan Zi Jing
- Daddi Tang Xiao Tian as Zhang Jin Ran
- Yu Yong Hai as Kang Ju
- Chloe Xie Ke Yin as Cui Shi Jiu
- Tang Zhen Chao as Zheng Zhi Heng
- Fu Bo Han as Xiao Xia Mi / Shrimp
- Wang Yi Ming as Cao Da
- Ma Xiao Yuan as Wei Yan
- Li Dong as Assistant Pang
- Luo Er Yang as Cui Ding
- Liu Ya Jin as Yue Zu Zhang
- Shang Wan Qing as Yue Yun Xiu / Lady Shi Qi
- Ren Zheng Bin as Cui Ba Gong / Master Eight
- Sun Zhi Hong as Xu Nan Ying
- Guo Jun as Zheng Shi Yuan
- Shen Tai as Yu Chi Wu Yi
Main Characters
Duan Wu
Duan Wu is an enslaved pearl collector at the pearl farm of the Cui family. She is a smart and courageous young lady. Duan Wu is not one who is resigned to her fate but is constantly working hard and prepared to take risks to escape and lead a free life.
Yan Zi Jing
Yan Zi Jing is a rich merchant from the Western Regions. He trades mainly pearls and jewelries and owns a big ship called The Mirage. He is a ruthless and tough man who values capability and cleverness over principles.
Supporting Characters
Zhang Jin Ran
Zhang Jin Ran is a son of a minister and a trusted aide to Prince Ying. He is a righteous man who would help the weak and uphold justice. Zhang Jin Ran is an intelligent scholar and an idealistic man.
Kang Ju
Kang Ju is Yan’s righthand-man and confidante. He knows all about Yan’s past and his plans for revenge.
Cui Shi Jiu
Cui Shi Jui is the eldest daughter of the Cui clan which owns a pearl farm. Her father, Cui Jing Chu, is the head of the family. Cui Shi Jiu is eager to prove herself worthy of her father’s trust in a patriarchal society. She is arrogant and ruthless. Cui Shi Jiu is betrothed to Zheng Zhi Heng, an illegitimate son of the Zheng family who are also jewelers.
Zheng Zhi Heng / Zheng Wu
Zheng Zhi Heng is the younger son of Zheng Shi Yuan but born to a concubine. His family is the top jeweler in Yangzhou. Zheng Zhi Heng does not have the same prestige as his elder brother, Zheng Zhi Xing, who is a legitimate son and they are rivals.
Xiao Xia Mi / Little Shrimp
Little Shrimp is a young boy whom Duan Wu regards as her younger brother. They are both slaves at the pearl farm and share a close relationship. Little Shrimp is a clever and observant boy.
Cao Da, Wei Yan & Assistant Pang
The 3 of them are subordinates of Yan aboard his ship. Cao Da manages the lower deck workers and reports to Assistant Pang who heads the upper deck. Both of them are greedy and petty men who would take advantage of the lower ranked workers to make money. Wei Yan is the accountant for Yan’s trading convoy and is a no-nonsense woman.
Cui Ding
Cui Ding is the steward of the Cui family’s pearl farm. He is a cruel and selfish man. He is assisted by Cui Jia who is his personal assistant and Lady Eight who manages the farm.
Yue Zu Zhang
Yue Zu Zhang is the head of the Yue family of Shanzhou. He runs a jade business and has business connections with the Cui family.
Yue Yun Xiu / Lady Shi Qi
Shi Qi is Yue Zu Zhang’s foster daughter. She is a talented jade carver. Shi Qi is a naive and trusting young lady whose only interest is in carving jade.
Cui Ba Gong / Master Eight
Master Eight is Cui Shi Jiu’s uncle. He has been ostracized by the Cui clan and is based in Wuling. He controls the mines in Wuling and is a cruel operator.
Xu Nan Ying
Xu Nan Ying is a Special Treasures Envoy. He is Zhang’s disciple brother but is aligned to Prince Tan. Envoy Xu is an opportunistic and corrupt official who is in collusion with the Cui family.
Zheng Shi Yuan
Zheng Shi Yuan is head of the Zheng clan. The family is an established jeweler in Yangzhou. Zheng Shi Yuan is a good and successful businessman on the surface but is a ruthless and coldhearted man in private.
Yu Chi Wu Yi
Yu Chi is merchant from the Western region. He is Yan Zi Jing’s sworn brother.
Synopsis
Duan Wu is a slave at the Cui family’s pearl farm. Like all the other slaves, she is forced to dive to collect pearls from the ocean. Duan Wu’s aim is to gain her freedom and leave the pearl farm. She ends up getting entangled with Yan Zi Jing when he arrives at the farm to buy pearls. When the farm is set on fire, her mother sacrifices herself to ensure Duan Wu escapes from the Cui family. Duan Wu then boards Yan Zi Jing’s ship in order to regain a pearl that belongs to her late mother.
Onboard the ship, Duan Wu is forced to work hard and risk her life to get back her mother’s pearl who is in Yan Zi Jing’s possession. Yan Zi Jing appears as ruthless and a bully but is trying to toughen Duan Wu up in his own way so that she can survive in the environment that she is in. As time goes by, Duan Wu learns about Yan Zi Jing’s quest for revenge against the Cui clan and those who had a hand in wiping out his family in the past. She joins him to investigate what happened back then due to the ties her parents had to the past events. Together, they work to unearth all the criminals behind the deaths of their parents.
The Story Of Pearl Girl Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)
The Story Of Pearl Girl has an open ending. The villains, Prince Ying and Li Kui, are arrested and Zhang Jin Ran are bringing them to the capital to be tried in Episode 39. Although Yan Zi Jing’s health is deteriorating, he refuses Li Kui’s offer to give him the antidote in exchange for his release. He would rather die than to let Li Kui go and tells Zhang Jin Ran so in Episode 39. He also wants Zhang Jin Ran to keep his health a secret from Duan Wu.
In Episode 40, Zhang Jin Ran returns from the capital with the Emperor’s decree that clears the Yan family of the past crime. However, Li Kui has died which means Yan Zi Jing will have no antidote for the poison that is ravaging his body. Yan Zi Jing also learns from Zhang Jin Ran that Duan Wu already knew of his condition much earlier. He also asks his friend to take care of Duan Wu for him in the future.
Yan Zi Jing has planned to leave Duan Wu as he doesn’t want her to see him deteriorating. However, she pleads with him to stay. In the meantime, her creation is voted as the winner of a jewelry exhibition and she is recommended by Cui Shi Jiu to be the new guild leader. However, she turns it down and gives the position to Cui Shi Jiu instead. All she wants is an environment that is just and fair to all.
The drama ends with a very short narration by Duan Wu 40 years later with no mention of Yan Zi Jing. She says she has seen a lot in her lifetime and she hopes all self-reliant people will find success eventually.
Yan Zi Jing’s Identity
Duan Wu realizes who Yan Zi Jing is in Episode 12 after hearing Zhang Jin Ran’s story about past events. The Yan family came to Yangzhou at one point and became increasingly successful as jewelers. They were starting to overtake the established jewelers like the Cui and Zheng families. With their connections in the Western Regions, the Yan family helped to establish relationship between the 2 states. A tribute jade status gift to the Tang Emperor was switched with a replica and the Yan family was blamed as a result. By the time they were ordered to be executed, none of the Yan clan members was found alive.
Duan Wu’s Parents
Duan Wu learns the details about her parents from Yan Zi Jing in Episode 13. Her father, Yu Shi, was the Yan family’s chief jade carver. He was the one who crafted the jade statue meant as a tribute gift to the Tang Emperor. Duan Wu’s mother, Lady Eight, was Yan Zi Jing’s mother’s personal maid. Both the women were close and grew up together.
Yu Shi had died at the hands of the Black Dragon Bandits. Yue Zu Zhang claims that it was Master Eight who introduced him to the Black Dragon Bandits who then became the intermediary between him and the Cui family. He was commissioned by the Cui family to create the statue’s replica and in return, he got to keep the original statue and a yearly payment of pearls as hush money.
When Did The Leads Get Together?
Duan Wu and Yan Zi Jing begin dating in Episode 16. This is after she braved toxic water to save Yan Zi Jing who has been held captive by Master Eight in Wuling. Prior to that, she has been taking care of him after he has consumed poisoned wine served by Cui Shi Jiu in Episode 15. Duan Wu refuses to leave him alone in Master Eight’s territory despite being told to go for her own safety. They have their first kiss in Episode 17.
Is There A Breakup?
Yan Zi Jing’s trading convoy is infiltrated by Black Dragon Bandits operatives and ambushed in Episode 18. Little Shrimp, Cao Da, Loud, and Accountant Wei Yan are killed. During the battle and all the deaths that follow, Duan Wu mistakenly thinks Yan Zi Jing is trying to kill her as he has shot an arrow at her during the commotion. In actual fact, he is just trying to prevent the enemy’s arrow from striking her.
Yan Zi Jing decides to stay away from Duan Wu in Episode 19 and refuses to offer any explanation in Episode 20. He purposely makes her hate him so that they will break up. This is because it is safer for her if they are not together as she won’t be a target of the Black Dragon Bandits. Furthermore, the bandits have killed the only doctor who could detoxify the poisons that have accumulated in his body over the years. He was poisoned while being held as a captive by the bandits when he was young. Without an antidote, Yan Zi Jing would not have long to live. Hence, he feels that a break up is best for Duan Wu’s well-being.
Duan Wu learns the truth from Kang Ju in Episode 29. This is after Yan Zi Jing got seriously injured in an ambush and Kang Ju has to plead with Duan Wu to shelter them from their enemies. Their relationship changes into an ambiguous one in Episode 31 when they kiss after getting tipsy and gradually become close again.
Is There A Love Triangle?
Zhang Jin Ran is also in love with Duan Wu. He hints to her that he wants to fit into her world in Episode 14 but she turns him down. Duan Wu tells Zhang Jin Ran that it is not possible for 2 people to be together if they are from different worlds. In Episode 28, Zhang Jin Ran is honest with Duan Wu that he wants to be there for her always but he would not pressure her in any way. Thus, he hopes he can be there for her as a brother.
Kang Ju’s Background
Kang Ju and Yan Zi Jing were fellow captives held by the Black Dragon Bandits when they were young. This is revealed in Episode 18. They have gone through a lot together as they were abused and tortured during their captivity. Kang Ju were shot in the ankle during their escape which is why he is a cripple.
The Villains
In Episode 28, Zheng Shi Yuan reveals to his son, Zheng Zhi Heng, that the Cui and Zheng families colluded with 2 nobles to wipe out the Yan family by hiring bandits to do the dirty job. The Yans were leading a mission from the Kang State to send a tribute gift to the Tang Emperor. While the Yans were almost wiped out, they purposely let some in the convoy to escape after switching the gift. So, when the Tang Emperor got a replica, the Kang mission became a failure and the Yan family was ordered to be executed. Their assets were confiscated and given to the 2 nobles with the Cuis and Zhengs being beneficiaries as well.
Mastermind
After all the happenings, Yan Zi Jing tells Zhang Jin Ran that it is clear that Prince Ying is the mastermind behind the scenes. Prince Ying’s partner is Li Kui, the Black Dragon Bandits leader. In Episode 37, Li Kui has to save Envoy Xu who is to be executed by Zhang Jin Ran for receiving bribes. Envoy Xu threatens to expose a letter that will implicate Prince Ying and Li Kui if they fail to save him. Li Kui fails in his mission and Envoy Xu is killed. Li Kui’s identity is unmasked by Yan Zi Jing and Kang Ju during the fight. He turns out to be Yu Chi.
With Envoy Xu’s death, his personal aide who is in possession of the letter is captured by Zhang Jin Ran. The letter was a past communication between Prince Ying and Li Kui and happened to be intercepted by Envoy Xu. If the Yan family had managed to successfully opened up trade between the Kang and Tang states, Prince Ying and Prince Tan would lose the Emperor’s favor. It would also be disadvantageous to the Black Dragon Bandits in the Western Regions while the Cui and Zheng families would lose their foothold in Yangzhou. Hence, Prince Tan had engaged the Cuis and Prince Ying the Zhengs to collude with the bandits to wipe out the Yans.
With the letter, Zhang Jin Ran arrests Lu Kui in Episode 39. Li Kui’s confession points to Prince Ying as the mastermind. Prince Ying is then arrested as well. Zheng Shi Yuan is killed when he takes Cui Shi Jiu hostage to try to escape.
What Happens To Cui Shi Jiu?
With Yan Zi Jing’s plotting, the Cui family gets mired in debt to repay the penalty for illegally trading in tribute pearls meant for the Tang Emperor. Cui Shi Jiu’s father commits suicide in Episode 20 after finding out that all his shops have been mortgaged to Yan Zi Jing who is looking for revenge. Cui Shi Jiu hates Yan Zi Jing for causing her family’s downfall. To gain revenge, she seduces Zheng Zhi Heng and hooks up with him in Episode 21 to get his support.
Zheng Zhi Heng ends up falling for Cui Shi Jiu and tries to protect her from his father. He is not happy when his father wants him to get rid of her after making use of her to offload stolen goods obtained from the bandits In Episode 34. Zheng Zhi Heng dies in Episode 35 after being shot by the Black Dragon Bandits leader who is affiliated with his father. By then, Zheng Zhi Heng and Cui Shi Jiu are evading arrest for dealing in stolen jewelries. If Zheng Zhi Heng is arrested, it will pose a risk to the villains if he talks. His father wants to burn Cui Shi Jiu alive as well but Zheng Zhi Heng saves her with one last effort before he dies.
Cui Shi Jiu becomes depressed after Zheng Zhi Heng’s death. Duan Wu purposely provokes her to make her move on and rebuild her family business in Episode 36. They become friends in Episode 38 after Cui Shi Jiu stole Zheng Shi Yuan’s ledger and passes it to Duan Wu. Together, they expose Zheng Shi Yuan’s embezzlement to the guild members to cause his downfall.
The Story Of Pearl Girl Review – Female Empowerment
The Story Of Pearl Girl has an intriguing start that will easily grab your attention. Just like Kill Me Love Me, you will immediately be drawn into the world of the female lead who is an enslaved pearl collector. Basically, the story is about her journey from a lowly slave to a successful businesswoman in the jewelry trade. This is meshed with the male lead’s revenge schemes with romance woven into their story. While romance isn’t the central theme of the drama, it still contributes significantly to the overall story due to the heavy emotions involved.
The Story Of Pearl Girl is divided into 2 arcs. The first is about the female lead’s life as a slave and then as the male lead’s deckhand onboard his ship. You will get to watch her struggles to escape her fate and her determination to climb up the ranks in the face of treachery and greed. The second arc is about her business journey as she tries to open a jewelry shop and make it succeed. Personally, I find the first half to be more interesting. By the time the second half comes in, the story has lost a bit of lustre to me. This is because the revenge agenda that drives the first half starts to slow down to give way for the business side of things to develop in the second half.
I guess it really depends on what you like to watch in the story. While it does seem to have a good balance among the 3 main parts of revenge, business, and romance, each part will get pushed to the background at different stages. Hence, some episodes may then seem boring to certain viewers. However, it is still a good drama overall with consistent pacing.
Story And Character Driven
What I do like about The Story Of Pearl Girl is that the story keeps moving forward. It is like reading a novel chapter after chapter as we follow the protagonist’s life journey. It doesn’t get too detailed with the revenge schemes or business setups. The level is just right without overcomplicating the plots or being too simple and bare. It manages to find a good middle ground in its storytelling that allows the story to flow smoothly.
With a strong female character, the drama is both story and character driven. Both of these elements combined in a good way to give the drama a boost. If you like female-centric productions like Blossoms In Adversity, this one should not disappoint especially with such a popular actress playing the lead role. However, on the flip side, the male lead’s importance will diminish a little as the story progresses to focus more on the female lead in the second half.
Another weakness is the anti-climatic ending that sees the villains being nabbed rather easily. There is not much angst and excitement there after the riveting start that makes us hooked to the male lead’s quest for revenge. His role to bring down the villains is limited to behind the scenes plotting especially towards the end whereby the second male lead seems to have a more prominent role.
The Romance (Spoilers Alert!)
I wouldn’t say that the romance in The Story Of Pearl Girl is a great one with the usual breakup trope. The guy’s breaking-up-to-protect-her storyline is definitely nothing new. So, the romance actually fizzles out for a while and it fails to regain its shine to me after their reconciliation. The way they turn from a master-servant relationship to a romantic one is also kind of abrupt especially with how he treated her in the beginning.
However, their love story is touching enough which I’m sure will move many viewers. This has to do with the fate that befalls them in the story as the male lead is destined to die. Unlike A Beautiful Lie, viewers are prepped for this eventuality. But his death is not shown although implied. The scriptwriter has left some parts open to the viewers’ imagination. I feel that it is tastefully done although those who prefer happy endings may not like how it ended.
Acting & Chemistry
Zhao Lu Si needs no introduction to Chinese drama fans after Hidden Love and Love Like The Galaxy. In The Story Of Pearl Girl, she shines again in her role as Duan Wu. She manages to bring the character to life with the way she portrays Duan Wu’s ups and downs. All her emotional scenes are on point and you can feel her pain. She gives Duan Wu a tough personality that you can sense right from the start.
Liu Yu Ning is also great as Yan Zi Jing. His character is a ruthless one but with a shred of humanity still fighting for a place in his heart. This uniqueness in the character is well-portrayed by the actor especially in the beginning of the drama.
As far as the leads’ chemistry is concerned, it is okay but nothing spectacular to me. I find that they have better chemistry in The Long Ballad than The Story Of Pearl Girl. I’m not sure why though. Perhaps the script is not really conducive to a sweet romance and hence, the chemistry doesn’t seem as strong to me although other viewers may feel differently.
My Verdict – Good But Not Great
I can’t say that The Story Of Pearl Girl is a gripping tale. It doesn’t have the intensity to keep you riveted from start to finish. But it does have an interesting beginning to draw you in. By the time you reached the second half though, the story starts to shift direction and new villains are introduced. The excitement and intensity plateau out after a while and the ending doesn’t have the climax that it should have given the revenge focused theme at the start.
However, this doesn’t mean that the story is bad. It does flow well overall and everything fits nicely together as a package. It has its boring parts but they are not prolonged. In other words, the story moves along quickly. This makes you inclined to follow it all the way to the end without skipping. Furthermore, it is not a complicated story like Joy Of Life despite the revenge plots. Instead, the drama’s depth lies in the female lead’s journey towards empowerment and success.
For this review of The Story Of Pearl Girl, I would rate it 7.5/10. I would recommend a watch for this title for the story and main characters despite the weaknesses mentioned above. If you love the leads, then this is a bonus because their acting is also great here. I’m not sure if you should watch this for the romance though because it is not the main focus and it ain’t sweet and fluffy. But it is an integral part of the story that will probably touch your emotions.
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