Flourished Peony 国色芳华 by 意千重 Yi Qian Chong (HE)

This was an unrestrained, incredibly lively dynasty, and everyone in the world loved peonies. He Wei Fang, whose childhood was Mu Dan (*peony in chinese), was born as the daughter of a merchant. Because of her frail health, she had no choice but to marry into a noble and meritorious family to sheer back luck and sickness  —the Liu family.

But life after marriage was unsatisyfing. Her husband’s fickle nature and her stubbornness could not mix in the end, and finally, they decided to divorce. After leaving her husband’s house, Mu Dan strived for independance, and set up a barren garden by herself. Using her unique technique of cultivating rare peonies, she created her own planting industry, and gained fame in the capital…

(Translated by Vico SDL)

Set in the Tang Dynasty, it tells the legendary and inspirational story of a woman who cultivated peonies and eventually helped the people of the world. He Wei Fang, the daughter of a merchant with the help of Jiang Chang Yang / Hua Wu Shi, an official in Chang’an, divorced from a marriage where only benefits were exchanged. The two met again by chance in Jingcheng.

He Wei Fang relied on her superb skills in cultivating rare peonies and her extraordinary business acumen to form a combination of craftsmen and investors with Jiang Chang Yang. She started her business cultivating peonies and led a group of women who had a rough life to jointly run a flower shop and build a brand. He Wei Fang gradually discovered that the notorious ‘Hua Wu Shi’ was actually a general for the country, who was pure on the outside, clever on the inside, and caring about the world.

Seeing firsthand the hardships of the poor and hard-working people, He Wei Fang was determined to transform the industry into one that benefits the people. On Jiang Chang Yang’s road to serving the country, He Wei Fang repeatedly helped him, and the two sides gradually developed a secret love. After a near-death experience, the two worked together to put down a rebellion, and both retreated into the world of heaven and earth.

(Credit: MyDramaList)

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