New Life Begins is really about sisterhood.
(spoilers)
In New Life Begins, there are nine states, with Xin State being the most powerful. To solidify alliances there is a "selection" every three years where girls from the provinces are chosen as candidates for marriage in the royal family. Our FMC, Li Wei, daughter of a minor official from rural Ji State, is determined to fail the selection and return home to Ji State and her loving family. Li Wei is an energetic, generous person who loves food, and all her snacks are confiscated. She sneaks into a kitchen where a large meal is laid out and eats most of the food before realizing it is someone else's dinner. Sixth Young Lord (his Lordship has 11 sons) was abandoned by his mother and raised in the palace nursery. He has a weak stomach and uses his illness to keep a low profile. He has not been included in the selection process but when he goes to the kitchen he finds Li Wei, who doesn't know who he is, accidentally knocks him out, and leaves her token for the selection behind. Since she's terrible at everything she expects to be sent home but instead finds herself married as a "side wife" to Yin Zheng, Sixth Young Lord. A miscommunication makes her think he has two weeks to live when actually he has two weeks to study before taking the exam to become an official. They start to develop a friendly relationship but her goal is to return to her family and Ji state. After he is sent to Jin state, the Lord of Jin decides to send his daughter, Yuan Ying, to marry Yin Zheng, over his objections. The two of them make a deal. Yuan Ying will help Yin Zheng achieve his goals in Xin and train Li Wei in the duties of a rightful wife if he will give her an honorable divorce and send her home to Jin to be an official. Yuan Ying is frankly terrifying at first. But it is impossible to fully resist Li Wei.
There are a lot of brothers jockeying for position in court. Second Young Lord, the corrupt heir, runs the Ministry of Revenue and is ready to take Yin Zheng down. His rightful wife is Fangru and he takes Li Wei's friend Hao Jia as his concubine. At first it seems like Fangru is going to be the evil first wife but when Second Young Lord gets violent or extra controlling she steps in for Hao Jia. Of all the wives on the show these two seemed the most isolated. Luckily Hao Jia had previous friendships and this eventually saves her life. When Second Young Lord is deposed, both women divorce him.
Third Young Lord has really bitten off more than he can chew. Living outside the palace, he not only has a rightful wife, Haitang, but 24 "solar term beauties" that he "rescued" from "terrible circumstances". He's not a bad guy, but he is mediocre in talent, narcissistic, and impulsive. He is thoughtless and isn't able to tell the women apart, always calling them by the wrong name. The women all seem to get along and enjoy each other's company as long as he's out of sight and when LI Wei visits with Sixth Young Lord they are delighted to welcome her and share all their tricks. Eventually there's a confrontation where all the women leave and Haitang gets a divorce. Third Young Lord can't quite leave them alone, though, and keeps trying to do better. For a while Third Young Lord is caught in the middle of the political struggle between Second Young Lord and Sixth Young Lord, but his bond of brotherhood with Sixth Young Lord is stronger.
Fifth Young Lord married Shangguan Jing, Princess of Dan. He's a silly, pampered, good-hearted guy who does not have the intelligence of others in the royal family, but he is loyal, loving, values family, and has surprising flashes of intelligence and insight. Shangguan comes from a country where women are in charge. She's talented in martial arts and good with weapons, and her temper means she lashes out at Fifth Young Lord physically. She's also sensitive and her feelings are easily hurt. When he is deposed to commoner status and his wealth is seized, he says some pretty cruel things to her to convince her to divorce him even though he has fallen hard for her. Much of his remaining story involves him trying to win her back. He's so terrible at everything and so sweet about it that it is lovely to see them come back together. With Second Young Lord gone, Fourth Young Lord steps into the spotlight and actually gives Yin Zheng some competition. However, following directions of his ambitious wife to abandon a sick Yin Zheng in a remote part of Cang State during a terrible winter backfires on him
While all the politicking is going on and the royal family tries to work out their various relationships, Lin Wei has convinced Haitang and the Solar Ladies, Shangguan, and Yuan Ying all to open a restaurant in the new market Yin Zheng has lobbied for as part of reforming the economy and monetary system. It is against the law for women to show their faces in public in Xin so owning and running a business is something they have to fight for, with backing from Yin Zheng. They call it Nine Delicacies so travelers can find their local cuisine, and it is very popular. There is so much food on this show. I feel like half the scenes are women tasting potential dishes for banquets, menus, or just because. They really are a sisterhood, women making their way without having to depend on a man. And they get very ambitious, with Lin Wei establishing a women's chamber of commerce and new branches of the restaraunt, Shangguan opening a martial arts academy, and Hao Jia started a successful cosmetics company. Even more than in The Name of Blossom, where the FMC actually had business experience and experience with flowers, I found it really difficult to believe that this group of women, all inexperienced at business, not only made a success of their restaraunt but were able to grow their businesses so quickly-- the entire story takes place over a three year period of time, ending with another selection, this time not for marriage, but to choose female officials.
What about the love story between Li Wei and Yin Zheng? Oh, he falls for her WAY before she's ready to fall for him but he is so undemonstrative and quiet about his own desires and she is so naive that it takes a really long time for her to get that he really loves her and even longer for her to realize she's in love with him... and then even the mention of the physical part of marriage makes things so awkward between them. Superintendent Su, the chef, and the maids can hardly stand it. They keep listening at doors, peeking in windows, setting them up (I especially liked "all the mattresses are wet, you guys will have to share" followed by Li Wei saying "never mind, I'll just put on some more layers.) thinking this is the time these two are finally getting somewhere. Thank god it finally happened. I don't think they had great chemistry, but the yearning and the love are there. The Li Wei at the end of the show is calm, gracious, and organized-- she's in love and she's got it together, and has figured out how to get his attention even on their busiest days. I missed the Li Wei who ran around creating and growing things and bringing people and food together but I did like seeing them come together.
One thing this show was great at was showing character growth in many of the characters, especially the women, who seize their opportunities for independence, Hao Jia changes dramatically, as does Fifth Young Lord. I think they may have the most interesting stories and they aren't even leads. There were some very dark moments but this was a joyful and often funny show with a lot of food, a positive ending and, despite family machinations, a lot of love.
