Lady’s House Thoughts, Overview and First Impressions

With high expectations going into “Cage of Love” I was thoroughly disappointed and after searching for shows to watch, I remembered about this mystery series that received raves when it was aired so I decided to give this a try.

I tend to find mysteries more intriguing and so far this drama has not failed me.

Lady’s House has a total of 30 episodes and was first aired in 2014.

Synopsis:  The story is set in Shanghai in the 1930s where the main character Zhou Jin (played by Han Xue) comes from a poor family. She recently finds out about her birth secret and that her father had died 10 years ago due to an unknown cause. Wanting to know the truth and to help her father reveal any foul play, she conspires with her childhood friend Su Zhi Wen to infiltrate into Shanghai’s prominent Shen’s residence. However she finds out that this “ladies’ house” that has a beautiful and glamorous appearance is actually in a dire crisis. You can read more about the character descriptions, drama overview, and official stills from my previous post here.

Unlike other chinese dramas, you get to hear a majority of the actors in their original voice so if you’re one of those that hate dubbed voices, this series might be good for you. It was such a huge relief for not having to listening to those awfully dubbed voice and it definitely contributed to overall watchability of this drama. I have watched up till episode 11 and couldn’t hold myself from expressing how much I like this drama.

Our main character Zhou Jin has a grudge against the Shen family or mostly her biological mom, Chen Bi Yun, who abandoned her, causing her to grow up poor and going through many hardships including being a dance hostess. She infiltrates into the family hoping to find out about her father’s death but along the way, she tries to reveal the shrouded secrets of her mom and infuses distrust throughout the family.

Her mom has married three times- once to Fan Guo Hua who they gave birth to Zhou Jin and Fang Qin (2rd sister). The eldest sister is Fan Guo Hua’s daughter with his previous wife. The second husband was Zeng Hong who is the father of Ling Ge (3rd sister) and Yu Shan (4th sister). The final marriage was to Su Zhi Wen who married Chen Bi Yun to help Zhou Jin find out the family secrets. Just by going through the family tree, it is already a huge mess and this is where hatred, grudges, and misunderstandings starts to arise from.

The drama opens up with Chen Bi Yun getting married to Su Zhi Wen. Since her mother was remarrying, Ling Ge returns from overseas to attend the wedding, only to find out that her father had died a long time ago while she was overseas.

Ling Ge is a refined young women with a trauma that has been haunting her and prevents her from returning home. She became close friends with Zhou Jin after Zhou Jin saves her from an abduction and lets her stay at her place. After getting Ling Ge’s trust, Zhou Jin burns down her own house and uses that as an excuse to stay at the Shen residence.

The eldest sister Rou Zhi handles the family business and although it looks like she obeys and respects her mother’s decision, she is deceitful and seems to have a hidden agenda. Su Zhi Wen is Rou Zhi’s daughter’s, Xiao Shi, piano teacher and Xiao Shi is angry at him for becoming her grandfather. However despite her animosity toward him, when he was hurt, she rushed toward the medicine cabinet to grab supplies to care for his wounds. The child actress Chen Wen Qi perfectly played the role of an introverted young girl who lacks a mother’s affection. I am amazed at her ability to cry yet enact her lengthy lines with depressing feelings at the same time.

In this household, even a little child has secrets as Xiao Shi’s father is unknown, she is bullied at school. But to keep her pride, she doesn’t let any adults know. Zhi Wen who is more observant and caring finds out about the bullying and lets Rou Zhi know to get closer to her.

Fan Qin, who is the only sister that is biologically related to Zhou Jin, is mentally unstable from the shock of losing her father. However, it is still unknown as to whether she is mentally ill, acting ill, or if someone is giving her medicine to make her look crazy.

Ling Ge is suspicious that Su Zhi Wen only married her mom for money. She searches for clues to support her claim but in the midst of searching, she comes across clues that her best friend, Zhou Jin, may not be as innocent as she thought. A wedge starts forming between these two as she finds out that her childhood crush, Jian Dong Ping likes Zhou Jin.

Yu Shan is a rebellious young women that isn’t afraid to speak her mind. In order to show opposition to her mother’s marriage, she tells her mom she wants to marry a poor man and leaves the house after getting into an argument with her mother. She is constantly in need of money due to wanting to have her own business.

The head housemaid is only loyal to Chen Bi Yun. Feeling that Zhi Wen and the eldest daughter are both scheming for the family’s money, she openly gives attitude to both of them. However while Zhou Jin is searching for secrets of the family, she discovers that even the loyal maid is squandering money from the family.

It seems like everyone in this family have unspeakable secrets and Zhou Jin, with a secret of her own, tries to uncover the family’s secret as she tries to keep her birth secret hidden.

Then one night, Shu Zhi Wen is found dead in basement. Every single lady in the house are a suspects, since everyone has a motive to kill him. Who is the real killer and will Zhou Jin be able to reveal the unspeakable secrets of the family?

So far I like how every single person in the family has secrets and everyone is suspicious of one another even though the family is all related. I like how the writer made every character to have a different distinct personality and style. Zhou Jin’s cool and tomboyish style is such a huge contrast against the sophisticated and feminine Ling Ge.

Jian Dong Ping is a straight-forward man while his best friend, detective Han is a playful, quirky, and nosy person with quick brain that quickly solves mysteries.

I love all the props for this series as you can tell they definitely splurged on the props and costumes. The mansions and scenery were lavish and grand while the costumes highlights each character’s personality.

I am looking forward to find out what the family’s hidden secret is and to see how Zhou Jin handles it.

I am currently watching it on youtube with chinese sub. I don’t think there is english sub so those who don’t know chinese is out of luck. This is not a thriller so if you need something to shock you, this isn’t the one but it is an amazing mystery series so if you do know chinese and want a break from cheesy romantic idol dramas, give Lady’s House a chance.