Marvelous Women Episode 32 Recap
> Marvelous Women Recap
Cao Yaoniang was sold into a brothel. Her father, Cao Wenbin, discovered her whereabouts but deliberately concealed this information from his wife. He then disguised himself as a kitchen helper among the brothel staff, managing to see Yaoniang from afar. He overheard her words and, adhering to old customs, mistakenly believed she had abandoned her reputation for the sake of survival. Consequently, he put poison into food intended for the brothel women.
A cat ate a pastry from the table and was accidentally poisoned to death. The brothel Madam sought to find the poisoner. Yaoniang recognized her father among the staff. She volunteered to help solve the case, using the investigation as an excuse to meet privately with three suspected individuals, including her father.
In a private room, Cao Wenbin brought up the Cao family ancestral rules, stressing that Yaoniang, having been sold into a lowly status, would never be able to leave the brothel. He was deeply concerned about her damaged reputation, believing it was more important than anything. Yaoniang, however, felt that as long as she stayed within the brothel, she wouldn't hear what people outside said.
Suddenly, Cao Wenbin produced a knife, demanding Yaoniang disfigure herself by cutting her own face twice. He argued that only by doing so could she preserve her status and innocence, and he promised to redeem her once the scandal subsided. Yaoniang found this request absurd and outrageous, asking for a night to consider.
When others waited outside for an update, Yaoniang claimed Cao Wenbin was very suspicious and should be held overnight to suffer and be interrogated again the next day. After thinking all night, Yaoniang made up her mind the following morning. She decisively refused her father's disfigurement request, kneeling to bid him farewell and asking him to inform her mother that she no longer considered herself her daughter.
Yaoniang explicitly stated she would neither disfigure herself nor die, but instead would live beautifully within the brothel. Accusing Cao Wenbin of disrespect, she ordered her people to beat him severely and then had him thrown out of the brothel. Yaoniang casually dismissed the Madam with an excuse, closing the matter. Cao Wenbin returned home and reported to his father that Cao Yaoniang could not return. His wife, Cao Furen, noticed Cao Wenbin's abnormal behavior and secretly followed him.
She observed him bribing someone to place a box of rouge on Yaoniang's dressing table in the brothel. After Cao Wenbin left, Cao Furen swiftly exchanged the rouge box with her own silver bracelet. Distraught, Cao Furen wandered the streets and eventually arrived at Jinxi Fang, where Xiao Lan led her inside. Cao Furen recalled her past, feeling that her lifelong adherence to rules and etiquette seemed ironic given her husband's actions.
She was deeply disappointed by Cao Wenbin's clear desire to see Yaoniang dead. She told Cao Wenbin that she had bought a coffin and a burial plot for Yaoniang, hoping she could rest in peace, as a woman who had lost her honor would not be tolerated by rules and etiquette. Believing she still upheld proper conduct, Cao Wenbin's attitude instantly transformed; he smiled and embraced his wife.
Cao Furen then asked Shen Cuixi for help to check on Yaoniang, and Shen Cuixi, being kind, agreed despite any past grievances. Meanwhile, the brothel Madam visited the Ren family's silk workshop, Qingyue Fang, to purchase fabrics for new clothes for the girls. While being received by Zeng Baoqin, the Madam gossiped about the incident.
She recounted how an official father had ruined his own daughter by getting her sold into a brothel, then sneaked in, handed her a knife, and demanded she disfigure herself, which she found infuriating. However, she also mentioned that the girl, in a rage, ordered her people to beat her own father severely and declared that she would entertain guests proudly with her family's name.
Zeng Baoqin, who had a similar past experience, empathized deeply with the girl and guessed she was likely Cao Wenbin's daughter. The Madam, impressed by the girl's strong will, decided to teach her well to become Suzhou's top courtesan. Later, Shen Cuixi, disguised as an embroiderer—a common person—entered the brothel to measure the girls for their new clothes. She actively took Cao Yaoniang's measurements.
Yaoniang recognized Shen Cuixi but mistakenly thought she was there to harm her, finding it undignified for the esteemed Shen Niangzi of Jinxi Fang to come to a brothel in such a disguise. Shen Cuixi clarified that she was entrusted by Cao Furen to visit her. Separately, Weng Jin scaled the wall of the Ren mansion and saw Ru Yi outside. He called out to her, noting it was their second meeting, and brought her favorite osmanthus cake. Ru Yi was touched but then remembered Shu Yan had also given her osmanthus cake, which suddenly made her feel upset. She turned and left.
