The Red Sea Tartary

This film (drama)Also known as红海棠，is aMainland China, Hong KongProducerbeauty live，At2008Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin Chinese，Current Douban rating7.7(For reference only)。

Late 1930s Shanghai. The eldest daughter of the wealthy Tang family, Qiaochu, lost her father at a young age. She shares a close bond with her sister Chuo Yue and her mother. Although they are a family without men, the three of them live happily together. The only thing that bothers Qiaochu is that her mother keeps hoping she will marry into a wealthy family to support them, constantly introducing her to men she dislikes. However, Qiaochu has her own ideas; she dreams of finding a prince charming who will make her heart flutter at first sight, even if he is poor—something her mother dismisses as unrealistic. It seems that heaven favors her, as she unexpectedly meets a man who captures her heart with his smile and a few casual words, igniting the dormant feelings of her heart. This street encounter feels both long and fleeting, like a lifetime in an instant. "He" disappears around the corner in a hurry, without even exchanging names. From that day on, she seems to lose her soul, ignoring the suitors around her. She believes this man is her future happiness and, with a heavy heart, returns to that street corner many times hoping to "bump into" him, but each time she returns disappointed. To her surprise, at her sister's engagement party, the man who made her heart race reappears—only to find out he is her brother-in-law! Seeing her brother-in-law Yang Junde's passionate love for Chuo Yue brings her bittersweet comfort. Soon, her sister and brother-in-law get married, and the family lives joyfully together. During a family trip to the countryside to escape the heat, Qiaochu argues with her mother over her marriage arrangements, becoming angry and carelessly breaking a viewing railing near a cliff. She ties her silk scarf to the railing as a warning for passersby. However, that evening, she receives devastating news: her sister has fallen off the cliff and died. Qiaochu is overwhelmed by immense grief and guilt. She dreams repeatedly of happy moments with her sister while hiding the secret of her role in damaging the railing, leaving her increasingly uneasy. Yang, crushed by the pain of losing his wife, becomes close to Qiaochu as she helps with her sister's funeral and tries to comfort him. They begin to develop feelings for each other, with Yang painfully confessing his profound love for Chuo Yue. Her mother believes Yang is someone they can rely on and facilitates Qiaochu and Yang's marriage. Time dulls her guilt over her sister's death, and Qiaochu happily begins her married life with the man she loves. Yang Junde manages the family business well, and everything is peaceful. But good times are short-lived. Private detective Luo Zhiping suddenly appears at the Tang household, repeatedly threatening Qiaochu with her sister's cause of death while extorting her money. The secret she wanted to avoid has come knocking again, and no matter how she explains, Luo looks at her meaningfully without revealing anything, ultimately producing a few deeply shocking photographs: one of Old Wei being intimate with her mother during a spring outing, and several of her kicking the railing. Before leaving, Luo lightly remarks, "I never expected such a respectable family has so many secrets!" Qiaochu is plunged into great fear: she never imagined that besides her own troubles, there were her mother's secrets—those photos cannot indicate a simple friendship between two ordinary people! Determined to protect her hard-won love and the reputation of the Tang family, she is determined to silence him by any means necessary. Qiaochu thinks that giving him some money will satisfy him. However, Luo's repeated demands force her to siphon off money from the company's accounts. During a dispute while she hastily goes downstairs to give Luo money for the last time, he falls from the balcony and dies on the spot. The police intervene, discovering Luo's private detective records, which include many names and secrets, concluding with Qiaochu. Thus she is invited to assist in the investigation of Luo's death. Qiaochu is filled with anxiety, never expecting Luo Zhiping would die. She learns from the police that Luo was hired by many people, and he was especially investigating her husband, Yang Junde! This revelation deeply disturbs her. Who is investigating Yang Junde? Qiaochu manages to secretly view some of the detective records, which reveal another secret—Yang may have been married multiple times before marrying Chuo Yue! A vague sense of unease grows within her; she feels her beloved husband has secrets. Just as she wants to uncover more, the police station mysteriously catches fire, and all records are lost; the officer in charge perishes in the flames—Luo's case remains unsolved. Qiaochu secretly investigates her husband's marriage history, discovering that before Chuo Yue, he had been married at least twice, with each marriage ending in the widow's death. After each widow's death, he married a wealthier woman—this terrifies Qiaochu! Accepting her friend Wang Qianshi's recommendation, she hires lawyer Lin Dongyun to investigate the causes of Yang's ex-wives' deaths and the benefits he gained through these marriages. Lin Dongyun launches an investigation, revealing that all of Yang's wealth comes from his wives; when a wealthier woman appears, his wife meets her demise! Was her sister's death merely an accident? Qiaochu seems to understand the reason from her mother—Father left a will stating that only the eldest daughter would inherit the estate, so Chuo Yue could not inherit it; Yang must have killed her sister to choose for himself. Learning that Yang married her for money rather than love shatters Qiaochu's dream of love—she may very well be the next deceased wife of Yang! She bitterly questions herself: did I misjudge him? She refuses to believe this answer because Yang Junde's every action has led her to believe he truly loves her and her sister, not just seeking wealth. In her struggle between belief and disbelief, she continues her investigation with Lin Dongyun into Yang, but the subsequent events bring her even greater pain—while secretly following Yang, she sees her friend Wang Qianshi frequently entering the lounge of Yang Junde's company! Wang is wealthier than the Tang family; it seems Yang truly is a villain who kills for money! Qiaochu has never felt such despair: her sister lost her life at his hands, and now it's her turn. She cannot sit idly by; she must protect her own life and seek justice for her sister! She will use all evidence to send this murderer to prison. Not long after, Yang indeed proposes divorce, but Qiaochu intentionally refuses. To preserve her own life and for self-defense, Qiaochu must outsmart Yang and send him to jail before he can harm her. With Lin Dongyun's help, the police finally arrest Yang... Although there are still doubts in the case, Yang is sentenced to death. Before his execution, she cannot bear to part with the man she truly loved, as they shared love in the past. With tears in her eyes, she asks him: Did you ever love me? Did you really want to kill me? Yang Junde replies, "I have been sentenced to death; nothing matters anymore!" According to the will, Qiaochu inherits 226,700 yuan from Yang, while over a million goes to a certain foundation. After a year of experiences, Qiaochu is left emotionally drained, as if she has lived through a nightmare; her sister and love no longer exist. Does money still have meaning? However, this figure makes Qiaochu feel very strange. Lin Dongyun begins to passionately pursue Qiaochu. After experiencing "love" and life and death, Qiaochu has ceased to hope for the future, and soon the two marry peacefully. After the wedding, Qiaochu discovers her "good husband" Lin is also having an affair with Wang Qianshi! Qiaochu is once again asked by the police to assist in investigating Luo Zhiping's cause of death. At this time, Luo's detective records mysteriously reappear, revealing suspicions of Qiaochu's sister's murder and the process of her buying peace—she becomes the prime suspect in Luo's murder! Despite Lin Dongyun's various defenses for her, all evidence cruelly leads to Qiaochu being convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison. She realizes she has fallen into a trap. To uncover the truth, she soon learns a deeply buried secret—Wang Qianshi's mother was Yang Junde's first wife, and the inheritance Yang left was precisely 226,700 yuan! The avenger is Wang Qianshi! She may even have been Lin Dongyun's lover! Her marriage to Yang was orchestrated and destroyed by Wang! Eager to exonerate herself, Qiaochu seizes an opportunity during a prisoner's riot to report it to the warden, successfully reducing her sentence and getting released. After her release, Qiaochu files for divorce, but Lin refuses, voluntarily choosing to abandon Wang Qianshi. To clear Yang's name, Qiaochu continues her investigation, but another result gives her a heavy blow—Lin's pursuit of her and refusal to divorce stems from a will Yang left before he died, in which most of his estate goes to Lin under the condition he must marry Qiaochu and cannot divorce. At this point, Qiaochu decides to continue living with Lin. At this time, Qiaochu unexpectedly sees Yang Junde again on a ferry! Fate has played a cruel joke on her! Despite Yang's repeated disguises, Qiaochu confirms he is her beloved ex-husband, and she feels powerless except to be heartbroken. An even more shocking revelation follows: Yang Junde tells Qiaochu that her sister was killed by her mother's lover, Old Wei! It turns out that Old Wei was Mrs. Tang's first love when she was young, and upon discovering his poor background, she broke off their engagement not long after. Consequently, she became the wealthy Mrs. Tang. Old Wei has lived off the Tang family for years, believing that Mrs. Tang owed him something. After his wife passed, he wanted to marry the wealthy widow, hoping to end his impoverished life, but Mrs. Tang had long been tired of this old lover who had not made a living for many years, repeatedly rejecting his requests. At the same time, he learned he had a terminal illness and believed his miserable life was because of Mrs. Tang. Therefore, before dying, he intended to kill Mrs. Tang, intentionally breaking the railing in a way that made her fall, but it was Chuo Yue who fell instead! Before the execution, Yang reveals all the secrets to Qiaochu. He admits that when he was young, he wanted to prosper by marrying wealthy women, but a rich life was not happy; both of his wives’ families were hostile and distrustful of him, always suspicious of his motives. He finally realized that the wealthy wives saw him merely as a plaything. After their deaths, their families suspected Yang was the murderer, even going so far as to fabricate evidence to imprison him. This life of wealth deeply tormented Yang Junde until he met Chuo Yue and the Tang family, where he genuinely loved Chuo Yue and found joy in this warm family. In all those years of struggle, he had never felt love or happiness, but only the Tang family made him feel alive! The loss of Chuo Yue has left his heart and genuine feelings dead; he must catch the one who killed her! Thus, he pays the price of his life for true love, killing Old Wei, and accepts his own fate! Greed has ruined him; often the desires of life, if misplaced, can lead to tragic outcomes; what is lost can never be regained! Devastated, Qiaochu asks him if he ever loved her, and Yang Junde nods: "I loved you, and I still do; you and your sister are so different, yet equally beautiful. Although you mistakenly thought I was the murderer and sent me to prison for death, I do not hate you. I deserve my fate; after my death, you will send a million of my money to the foundation as atonement." After experiencing life and death, Qiaochu undergoes a significant shift in her outlook on life; she despises the so-called upper class. To live freely in the sunlight in the future, she accepts the love of the progressive young man, Tong Xusheng, who has been pursuing her, preparing to leave this decadent circle behind and seek a different kind of life!