Marvelous Women Episode 7 Recap
> Marvelous Women Recap
After Zeng Baoqin requested Ren Rufeng to send for Ren Xiushan, Ren Rufeng used Xiushan’s young age as an excuse not to bring the child out. At this moment, Shu Fang arranged for several boxes of Ren family collections to be brought in. Ren Rufeng explained these were Shen Cuixi’s apprentice gifts for Li Zhao on Xiushan’s behalf, promising a personal thank-you once Xiushan was older.
Zeng Baoqin accused Ren Rufeng of bribing Li Zhao, but Li Zhao’s eyes gleamed at the sight of the collections. He then advised Zeng Baoqin that scholars adhere to etiquette, and they should wait for the child to grow, at which point he would ensure the child was brought to her. Ren Rufeng immediately thanked Li Zhao, and Li Zhao no longer insisted on taking Ren Xiushan.
Shu Fang later thanked Ren Rufeng, noting that if Xiushan had been taken, Ren Rufeng could have rightfully become the family head, making Shen Cuixi's life difficult. Ren Rufeng, however, stated he didn't want the Ren family ruined by him and genuinely wished for Xiushan to be the head. Zhang Biao subsequently returned to Suzhou and sought Ren Rufeng for a business collaboration. Ren Rufeng, surprised and confused, questioned why Zhang Biao targeted the Ren family among so many weavers.
Zhang Biao cursed Shen Cuixi for managing the general ledger and threatened Ren Rufeng over their previous business dealings, giving him two days to consider. Meanwhile, Shu Fang, reviewing the general ledger, discovered a suspicious drop in silk prices. She analyzed this as a deliberate attempt to suppress prices and create trouble for the general ledger office, prompting her to investigate the source of this batch of silk.
Feeling guilty and panicked, Ren Rufeng rushed to the dock overnight to confront Zhang Biao about where the bought silk was being sold. Just then, prefectural authorities appeared. Zhang Biao, realizing Ren Rufeng had betrayed him again, hastily fled, while Ren Rufeng was caught and arrested by the prefect. Upon learning of Ren Rufeng’s arrest, Zeng Baoqin grew concerned, as he was the head of Qingyue Workshop, which would cease to exist without him.
She decided to go to the Weaving Bureau to plead for him but found that Li Zhao was deliberately avoiding her. Later, she coincidentally spotted Li Zhao at Ding Rong’s shop and discovered that Li Zhao intended to appoint Ding Rong as the new Lead Weaver of Suzhou. Li Zhao admitted that supporting Ren Rufeng had merely been a temporary measure.
He explained that despite any conflicts between Ren Rufeng and Shen Cuixi, they were still Ren family members, and he needed his own confidant in Suzhou, with Ding Rong being an excellent choice. Li Zhao also reiterated that Zeng Baoqin, as a woman publicly operating a weaving workshop, was unseemly.
With Ren Xuetang missing, Li Zhao advised Zeng Baoqin that if she wished to remain, she should stay peacefully on Shantang Street, but if she had unresolved worldly attachments, she should consider her path forward. Meanwhile, Shen Cuixi, who resided in a small courtyard, left through a hidden door by the canal and went to the prison to visit Ren Rufeng. She scolded him for not learning his lesson and continuing to associate with Zhang Biao.
Ren Rufeng was dismissive, confidently believing Li Zhao would save him. Shen Cuixi scoffed at his naivete, explaining that Li Zhao had deliberately given him the arduous and unrewarding task of purchasing silk and recruiting artisans to undermine Suzhou’s weaving industry. If successful, Suzhou's weaving industry would become autocratic, disregarding the lives of other merchants, and the Ren family was being used as a test case, with Li Zhao holding no real regard for Ren Rufeng himself.
Shen Cuixi also revealed Ren Xuetang's true mission: his disappearance was not for business, but to find Zhang Biao, to prevent Ren Rufeng from being implicated, and to apprehend Zhang Biao before the authorities did. The message Ren Xuetang sent back via Shu Yan was that "officials" were targeting the Ren family, though it was unclear if it was the Weaving Bureau or the Prefect’s office.
Shen Cuixi emphasized that Ren Xuetang's current disappearance and Zhang Biao's audacious reappearance in Suzhou were no mere coincidence. Ren Rufeng was filled with guilt. Shen Cuixi, knowing Ren Xuetang would try to save his only brother, promised to save him too, earnestly urging Ren Rufeng to change his ways from then on. Ren Rufeng genuinely admitted his mistakes and vowed to reform.
An elderly female relative, anxious to save Ren Rufeng, sought out Seven Uncle to open the main gate to Shen Cuixi's small courtyard. They coincidentally caught Shen Cuixi returning through the canal-side door. Seven Uncle was furious, but Shen Cuixi quickly explained that her actions were solely for the benefit of Ren Rufeng and the Ren family. She stated that while Prefect Cao Wenbin had indeed caught Ren Rufeng, there was no substantial evidence.
Her plan was to curry favor with Cao Wenbin, hoping he would show leniency. She feared that this incident was a power struggle between the Weaving Bureau and the Prefect, innocent Ren family caught in the crossfire, making the Lead Weaver position untenable. Seven Uncle, after asking if Shen Cuixi was confident, agreed to follow her plan. To save Ren Rufeng, Shen Cuixi took the Ren family’s ancestral "Double Lion Rolling Embroidered Ball Song Brocade" to plead with Cao Wenbin.
Cao Wenbin was heavily in debt, with creditors pressing him, so he had surrendered all valuable jewelry from his concubines. When he went to meet his creditors, he found Shen Cuixi waiting instead. His previously obsequious demeanor instantly shifted to one of confidence. Shen Cuixi tore up all his previous IOU's in front of him and presented the valuable Song brocade. Cao Wenbin’s eyes lit up, and his expression immediately changed, as he agreed to handle Ren Rufeng’s matter.
However, despite accepting Shen Cuixi’s gifts, Cao Wenbin had his own agenda: he dispatched men to sea to capture Zhang Biao, intending to use Zhang Biao to control Ren Rufeng, and subsequently Shen Cuixi. After being released, Ren Rufeng returned to the Ren family. He learned that Shen Cuixi had sacrificed the ancestral Song brocade to save him, filling him with immense guilt.
He vowed to be utterly devoted to Shen Cuixi and immediately returned the family head token to her. Shen Cuixi accepted the token directly, stating she did not need his absolute devotion, but rather that he find Ma Yuan’s "Water Map" from the Southern Song Dynasty when he had time. Ren Xuetang had been frantically searching for this very map, as it featured the "dissimilar double-sided tapestry" technique in its mounting.
This highly precious technique had been lost for three dynasties (Yuan, Ming, and Qing). Shen Cuixi stressed that a skill was far more valuable than wealth, and if the Ren family could restore this technique, their future generations would benefit endlessly. The map had once been a treasure of the Zeng family but had gone missing after their house was raided.
Ren Rufeng intended to ask Zeng Baoqin about its whereabouts, but Shen Cuixi warned him to be cautious, emphasizing that this "dissimilar double-sided tapestry" technique represented the Ren family's only chance for a resurgence.
