The Story of Pearl Girl Episode 1 Recap, Plot

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> The Story of Pearl Girl Recap

The ocean is vast and boundless, and in the dark corners of the reefs, a group of pearl divers lives quietly. During the Tang Dynasty, the Cui family in Yangzhou established a pearl field in Hepu, supplying South Sea pearls each year. Although the pearls are invaluable, the life of the pearl slaves is bleak.

The overseers who monitor the divers are brutal, and those who are weak and unable to dive are condemned to a lifetime of slavery, while the women are imprisoned in breeding pens. Duan Wu is one of these pearl slaves. Although diving for pearls is arduous, it is also the most freeing moment for her. Orphaned since childhood, she is not afraid of the man-eating sharks beneath the waves.

Instead, it is the shameless cruelty of people on land that she cannot forgive. However, having been imprisoned from a young age, Duan Wu can only live carefully. One day, a man in Hepu had long coveted the beautiful Duan Wu. He seized the opportunity to force her, but Duan Wu is not a helpless victim; she carries a sharp dagger to pry open the shells. With the dagger in hand, her opponent dares not to dream of overpowering her.

The supervisor Cui wanted to buy five-inch pearls and spread the word that anyone who could find a large pearl would be handsomely rewarded. Finding a large pearl requires diving into Duan Wang Pool, where sharks and whales are plentiful, making it extremely dangerous. However, upon hearing of the generous reward, Duan Wu immediately signed up, even promising to provide her slave contract.

A girl close to Duan Wu hesitated at the edge of the deep blue sea, afraid to dive in. To leave the pearl field sooner, Duan Wu tied sandbags around her waist and jumped into the water without hesitation. On the surface, a magnificent ship was docked, carrying merchants from the Western Regions. They had gold and silver, and would spend lavishly on anything that caught their eye.

On the deck, a merchant was caught trying to pass off inferior goods as quality products. When exposed, he faced the punishment of having his eyes gouged out and his tongue cut out. As the man begged for mercy, Zhang Jinran stepped forward and condemned the brutal methods. According to Tang law, counterfeit goods warranted only fifty lashes. In business, especially on the deck, Tang law was nearly meaningless.

Zhang Jinran offered to replace the merchant's punishment with his family's heirloom pearls. When the Western merchant saw the pearls in Zhang Jinran's box, he sneered. The pearls, treasured for generations, were merely under two inches, unaware that they had seen larger pearls before. Zhang Jinran remained unconvinced. The Western merchant Yan Zijing offered to show Zhang Jinran more significant treasures, promising that if they found a larger pearl, his would be given to them for free.

Zhang Jinran readily agreed. His subordinates tugged at his clothing, worried that the Western merchants could truly find more valuable pearls. However, Zhang Jinran was unconcerned about losing some wealth. He had come with a mission: in recent years, the maritime tax had been reduced, but the quality of tribute pearls had declined sharply. He aimed to investigate undercover and uncover the truth. After great difficulty, Duan Wu finally found a massive pearl, but her companions intercepted her.

Fortunately, Duan Wu was an excellent swimmer and managed to escape with the pearl from the seabed. Obtaining the pearl was no easy feat, but the matron at the site swapped Duan Wu’s pearl and ultimately gave the slave release document to another diver. Duan Wu cried bitterly, pleading for an investigation into the swap, insisting that her pearl had indeed been replaced. The old matron, knowing she was at fault, suggested that Duan Wu become a pearl maiden.

A pearl maiden sells pearls, and the matron secretly advised her that leaving this place was only possible if she no longer breathed, but becoming a pearl maiden was Duan Wu's only path to rebirth. Supervisor Cui asked who could buy the massive pearl for five hundred thousand coins and promised a great reward. Duan Wu eagerly signed up, hoping Supervisor Cui would grant her two release documents. Supervisor Cui, unwilling to haggle, proposed that selling it for seven million coins would fulfill Duan Wu's request.

Episode 2 Recap

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