Emerald Hill: The Little Nyonya Story

Zhang Qi Ye dies young. His sons continue the thriving post-war family business. Qi Ye’s bereaved wife Xiu Niang shuns Shu Yu for causing Qi Ye’s death. Shu Qin runs the household and convinces Xiu Niang to leave her room on her 48th birthday. Xiu Niang insists Shu Yu cannot pay respects to Qi Ye. Shu Qin gets Shu Yu to make Xiu Niang’s favourite tapioca leaf curry, but the leaves are sold out.

During dinner, Shu Yu tries unsuccessfully to win Xiu Niang’s favour and gets upset at Shu Qin. Yao Guang accidentally injured Yao Ming while playing with a gun. The only witness to the incident, An Ya, turns mute due to shock. The family hides Yao Ming’s death from Xiu Niang. When Xiu Niang rebukes Si Li for arguing with the servants, Si Li reveals Yao Ming’s death. The shocked Xiu Niang faints.

Jin Hai stops Jin Quan from disciplining Si Li. Shu Yu objects to Jin Hai firing Fang. Shu Qin punishes her by forfeiting two months’ pay. Si Li resents being told to respect her elders. An Ya’s condition worsens with Yao Guang’s threats, gets kidnapped, and doesn’t return after the ransom is paid. Seven years later, a homeless con artist Xin Niang defends street urchins and challenges Bai Ah Li.

Xin Niang saves an old man while fighting Bai Ah Li at Disaster Hall and earns his respect. Shu Qin loses her son and continues searching for her long-lost daughter An Ya. An Na resents her parents Jin Quan and Si Li for deeming her a jinx and sending her away. Xin Niang wins a fight with a thug over her wages. Xin Niang’s quick thinking and smarts during a con catch Shu Qin’s eye and impress her.

Shu Qin whips Yao Guang and Yao Liang for calling Yao Zu a bastard. A furious Si Li is ignored by Jin Quan. An Na, bitter, secretly causes Shu Qin’s fall. Zhu gambles her money away. Xin Niang is mocked for living like a beggar. Zhu hears about the long-lost An Ya and has Xin Niang impersonate her. Xin Niang admits to the sham when she meets Shu Qin, who declares she’s An Ya after examining her.

Jin He returns to see Xin Niang fighting with Yao Guang and Yao Liang. Shu Qin admits Xin Niang isn’t An Ya but wants to adopt her. Xin Niang flees and is deemed ungrateful. Zhu severs ties with her after gambling away the money from the Zhangs. Shu Qin and Jin He save Xin Niang on the streets. Seven years pass. Xin Niang prepares Nyonya dishes to welcome Yue Niang. An Na vies for her favour.

Xin Niang’s buah keluak fried rice is praised by Yue Niang. Xiao Lao Shu is hurt in a gang fight. Xin Niang helps him and warns Bai Ah Li to stay away from the triads. An anxious Xin Niang hears that Ah Zhu may be in Siam and helps a woman fleeing the Mansion. Zu Ye audits his bird’s nest business. When he saves Hong Yu, who is fleeing capture, Bai Ah Li interrupts, leading Zu Ye to call the cops.

Xin Niang disguises herself and teams up with Bai Ah Li, who keeps Feng busy while Hong Yu escapes. Yao Zu and the cops turn up and arrest Feng. Xin Niang ignores Yao Zu’s words and insists Bai Ah Li is a worthy friend. Shu Qin gets Xin Niang to help at the warehouse and teach girls to read. She shares Yue Niang’s trials, motivating Xin Niang to earn her title as a Nyonya and start a business.

Hong Yu flees. To avoid Hei Long’s wrath, Bai Ah Li tries to find her. Yao Zu suspects Kang Zhi Jie of abusing his power. Jin Hai berates Yao Zu and Shu Yu defends him. Xin Niang meets Xiao Lao Shu’s girlfriend Hui while teaching. Hei Long kidnaps Hui, threatening to go after Xin Niang if Bai Ah Li doesn’t find Hong Yu. Hong Yu seeks Shu Qin’s help. Caught by Bai Ah Li, Hong Yu curses him.

Xin Niang and Yao Zu find out Guang is colluding with Zhi Jie and are caught while collecting evidence. Xin Niang saves Yao Zu. Jin Hai returns to see Xin Niang getting punished. Yao Zu, nearly killed earlier, wants to expose Zhi Jie. Si Li panics when Jin Quan threatens to divorce her for upsetting Xiu Niang and making her ill. An Na bribes a shaman to mend Si Li’s relationship with Xiu Niang.

Xin Niang insists on bringing Xiu Niang out. Xiu Niang opposes the divorce when Si Li tells her about it. Yao Zu confronts Zhi Jie, who reveals he has Jin Quan’s support. Jin He brings in a witness to expose Zhi Jie and Guang’s crimes. An upset Xin Niang finds out Hei Long hurt Hui. Bai Ah Li and Xiao Lao Shu get arrested for fighting Hei Long to avenge Hui. Xin Niang kneels at the ancestral hall.

Xin Niang visits a grateful Bai Ah Li with dumplings and encourages him to work for his parole. She runs into Zhu and follows her into a pineapple plantation owned by Yue Niang. She is chided for being snooty when advising Zhu to change her ways. Zu Ye runs into Xin Niang and Zhu while inspecting the plantation with An Na. Zu Ye is intrigued upon seeing Xin Niang share her mother’s work.

Zu Ye wakes up in a hospital. An Na tells him he is hurt in a fight with Duo Duo and Xin Niang is missing. An Na suspects Xin Niang’s identity and plots to win Zu Ye’s heart. Xin Niang finds out Shu Qin is pregnant. Xiu Niang gets Shu Yu to run the household. Shu Qin tells Shu Yu her job is to keep the family together. Yue Niang has Zu Ye head to Singapore to visit the Zhangs and meet Xin Niang.

Zu Ye wakes up in a hospital. An Na tells him he is hurt in a fight with Duo Duo and Xin Niang is missing. An Na suspects Xin Niang’s identity and plots to win Zu Ye’s heart. Xin Niang finds out Shu Qin is pregnant. Xiu Niang gets Shu Yu to run the household. Shu Qin tells Shu Yu her job is to keep the family together. Yue Niang has Zu Ye head to Singapore to visit the Zhangs and meet Xin Niang.

Together with Si Li, An Na has the young majie disguise herself as Xin Niang. A dejected Zu Ye leaves. Enroute to the temple, Shu Qin and Xin Niang run into a crippled beggar. He claims to know Shu Qin’s daughter’s whereabouts when she gives him some money. Shu Qin tells a doubtful Jin He, who goes to the Mansion. He hides the truth from Shu Qin and has Chen Dong Hao look into the matter secretly.

Zu Ye tries to clear Hong Yu’s debt and is humiliated by Wu De. Yue Niang tells him to be level-headed. Believing Hong Yu may be An Ya, Shu Qin saves her from the Mansion with Xin Niang and identifies her by a mole on her shoulder. They embrace. Shu Qin tells Xin Niang she’s like her own. Touched, Xin Niang calls her “Nya Nya”. Jin He clears Hong Yu’s debt. Thanking Feng, Hong Yu hints at payback.

An Ya returns to the Zhangs. She is upset that Xin Niang has “replaced” her and bonds with An Na, who was raised by her grandmother. An Ya begs her parents to make Feng pay. Jin He advises endurance. Shu Qin discovers An Na had Ah Ju pose as Xin Niang to deceive Zu Ye, raising Yue Niang’s suspicion. An Na forces Zu Ye to fake an engagement to avoid marriage, but he is bent on finding Xin Niang.

Zu Ye confesses to Xin Niang, agreeing to wait as she’s not ready for marriage. Yue Niang tells Zu Ye to be prepared. An Na fans An Ya’s disinterest in studying. Swayed, An Ya ignores Xin Niang’s advice. An Na gets Jin Quan to make Feng pay and wins An Ya’s gratitude. An Ya questions if studying will mask her dark past and accuses Yan of insulting her. Xin Niang defends Yan when Shu Qin fires her.

Hua sees An Na pushing Shu Qin down the stairs and staging a rescue. When An Na claims credit, Hua keeps mum and Yao Zu tells Xin Niang. Yu Ling’s father George Song disapproves of her with Yao Zu. Xin Niang helps Yao Zu with a grand proposal. She funds Da Chong and Mao, who return to their old ways. They set fire to the Mansion. 10 people die. They flee when Xin Niang spots them being furtive.

An Na suspects Hua spilled her secret and sows discord between Xin Niang and An Ya. When Xin Niang moves to a servant’s room, Shu Qin gets her to stay with her. Jin Quan and Jin He fall out when Jin Quan confesses to the arson to avenge An Ya. Jin Hai supports Jin He. Jin Hai scolds Shu Yu for bringing up Yao Zu’s marriage. She backs down. Zu Ye visits the Zhangs to see Xin Niang, upsetting An Na.

Xin Niang and Zu Ye spend the day together and prepare to visit the college dormitory. Two cops arrest Xin Niang for the arson. An Na prompts An Ya to hurt Shu Qin. The soft-hearted An Ya refuses. Jin He and Zu Ye hire lawyers to help Xin Niang. Officer Gao Si insists on her involvement. Xin Niang denies and accuses Gao Si of staging a coverup. Jin He accuses Jin Quan of escaping blame.

Xin Niang goes to trial. Jin Quan openly denies her ties with the Zhangs. Officer Gao Si uses the reports to upset Xin Niang. Jin He scolds Jin Quan for making the statement on his own. Zu Ye vows to protect Xin Niang. Jin He is torn between saving Xin Niang and implicating An Ya. Zu Ye discovers Gou’s key role in the arson. Bai Ah Li escapes prison to save Xin Niang, causing tensions with Zu Ye.

Gou escapes. Zu Ye helps Bai Ah Li sneak into the police station. With Da Chong and Mao, they expose the corrupted cops. Bai Ah Li forces Da Jin Gang to hand Gou over in exchange for his arm. Jin He, learning that Jin Quan was behind An Ya’s kidnapping, holds him at gunpoint. He is fatally shot by Jin Quan by accident. The corrupt cops get arrested. Gou turns himself in. Xin Niang is released.

Xin Niang finds out Jin He’s dead. She barges into the house to pay her respects. Jin Quan drives her out, claiming she’s not Jin He’s real daughter. Jin Hai allows her final farewell. Xin Niang vows to uncover the truth. Traumatised, she faints outside Yan’s bakery. A shocked Zu Ye is accused of raping An Na, who admits she lied and vows to ruin Zu Ye’s life if he doesn’t give up on Xin Niang.

Bai Ah Li, sold out by Da Jin Gang, is badly hurt while escaping. Shaken, Shu Qin is convinced that Jin He was killed. An Na delays help when Shu Qin enters labour. Xin Niang arrives to help deliver the baby. Before she dies, Shu Qin tells Xin Niang to take care of Yao Peng and An Ya and leaves her a house. The Zhangs seize Yao Peng. To protect Yao Peng and An Ya, Xin Niang submits to An Na.

British troops withdraw from Singapore in the 1970s. When shophouses get sold cheaply, Xin Niang decides to invest with Uncle Qing and Yan’s support. Yao Peng, now 5, is spoiled by An Na. Joining the family business with Yao Liang, Yao Guang suggests moving operations abroad. Bai Ah Li, now a gang leader, matchmakes Zu Ye and Xin Niang. He is shocked when Xin Niang asks if he’d marry her.

Yao Guang and Yao Liang mock Yao Zu’s parentage. Xin Niang defuses their fight. Yao Zu reveals his grandmother is mentally ill and An Ya is bullied by An Na. Xin Niang says she collects trash to protect Yao Peng from An Na. Yao Zu is shocked she has given up on Zu Ye. At the wedding, Zu Ye proposes to Xin Niang, who insists to wed Bai Ah Li. The cops arrive. Bai Ah Li assumes Zu Ye’s betrayal.

Bai Ah Li thinks Zu Ye brought the cops. Xin Niang stops him from acting. Shun is bribed by An Na to kill Bai Ah Li and Zu Ye but is tricked by Bai Ah Li. Zu Ye is shot. Bai Ah Li flees. An Na is engaged to Guo Zhi Bang, who dumps her for An Ya. An Na forces An Ya to marry Zhu Gong. An Ya fights back and tells Xin Niang An Na’s schemes. Shun is killed by Bai Ah Li, who tells Xin Niang to move on.

An Na incites Yao Guang and Yao Liang to rape An Ya. Yao Zu stops them and gets beaten up. Jin Hai is blackmailed by Jin Quan into not punishing the brothers. An Ya insists on finding the truth behind her father’s death. Yao Liang sees a ghost. Jin Hai gets nightmares. Xin Niang and An Ya force Jin Hai to confess the truth. Jin Quan and his son’s poor management causes the business to suffer.

Yao Guang and Yao Liang incur losses in stocks and steal from Si Li. Xin Niang fails to save the family business from bankruptcy. An Ya meets Zhi Bang privately. Yao Guang sells the business to the Guos cheaply to pay his debts and agrees to end An Na’s engagement with Zhi Bang. Shattered, An Na holds Yao Guang, Yao Liang, An Ya, and Yao Peng captive and sets a trap for Xin Niang and Yao Zu.