Because I really love Zhao Lusi dramas I was very excited for this one, until I read the synopsis. I didn't think I would like it. I thought it would be more about her as a rising jeweler and the fight for female rights in her time. I thought it would be a politically heavy drama and I wasn't in the mood for one.

But it was so much more than that.

The story of Pearl Girl starts of with Duanwu. She's a young women enslaved by the Cui family in their pearl diving farm. She's been there since she was eight and has suffered lots of abuse and other forms of cruelty. But this hasn't worn her down a bit. Duanwu remains strong and knows how to stand up for herself. She plans to get away from it all, she just needs the means to escape. Her first opportunity presents itself through a pearl auction where she meets two dashing men. Zhang Jinran (an investigator from the capitol) and Yan Zhijing (a trader from the west). Duanwu manages to escape the farm but the attempt is bloody and ends up burning the whole place down turning her into an enemy of the Cui family. She ends up working for Yan Zhijing and travels with his trading company to be able to earn her true freedom.

I really liked the story of this drama. It was nothing like I had expected it to be and gave me everything I needed. I wasn't familiar with Liu Yuning as an actor but his performance blew me away. I usually like dramas to be a bit more romance heavy but didn't mind at all that this drama focused more on Duanwu's story without having her be head-over-heels for her love interest. Love didn't hold her back. She remained a strong female character throughout the story. It's so different from anything Zhao Lusi's played before. It made me love her acting even more.

Positives:
- The costumes were amazing! I absolutely loved Yan Zhijing's style throughout the show. He made me think of a pirate most of the time.
- The story felt really realistic. It was raw and brutal but never over-the-top.
- They kept the story revolving around Duanwu as a person and her rise from enslavement. We got to see her grow from start to finish.
- The chemistry between Duanwu and Zhijing was on point! Like I said.. I wasn't familiar with Liu Yuning as an actor but he blew me away with his acting. On top of that I have to add his chemistry with Zhao Lusi. I melted at their romantic moments and wished for more each time they parted ways.
- The way they showed the differences between unpaid slavery and paid slavery. Duanwu was an unpaid slave at the Cui family where she had to withstand mental and physical abuse each day (and even the threat of SA) whereas she became a paid slave working for Zhijing. She had to work hard and was still expendable but I really loved the way they showed the differences and had Duanwu go through them.
- Villainy characters became likeable and there was a chance at redemption for them. In particular Zheng Wu.

Negatives:
- After the events in the desert the main characters, being Yan Zhijing and Duanwu, became more like back ground characters. They didn't have that much screentime anymore. The story of Pearl girl became less about the pearl girl and more about the power struggle of families in Yangzhou who were responsible for the fall of the Yan family.
- I don't understand why the script didn't allow Yan Zhijing to find himself a cure for his poisoning. I get why he kept refusing but surely there was a way for him to get cured in the end. If that witch-doctor had ideas of a remedy surely all those court physicians could come up with one. Now it just feels unresolved and I'm left unsatisfied. I can deal with open endings but this one is on a whole new level.
- The ending was so abrupt I had to go to Google and find out if it was the real deal or if my Netflix was broken. I tried to search for an answer for over 30 minutes but Google gave me nothing.
- For a chemistry that intense, it didn't have much romance. I wish the drama had more moments with the two main leads and have them connect. In the later part of the drama we don't see much Yan Zhijing (it's even worse than Duanwu) and we have to miss out on them. I wish they could have given us more time with them before the end.

Overal I really loved this drama. I recommend it to everyone who wants to watch a drama with lots of heavier moments when it comes to tension. It's an emotional rollercoaster so keep tissues close.