* Scarlet Heart / Bu Bu Jing Xin ---- Learns how to survive in palace politics .... very talented, smart, and brave..... Amazing female lead .... excellent writing, great story telling.
* Sound of the Desert ---- She is raised among wolves ...Smart and wily .... Learns about survival in society, but also fights and becomes a soldier..... Lots of romance ... same writers/director/actress as above
* Prince of Lang Ling --- Bit Wuxia .... She fights and strategizes .... saves him.
* Legend of the Concord Heroes (2008) ---- Classic Wuxia ... She's the brains and leads the fight against the villains.
There are more good Wuxia, but older .... let me know if u r interested ........... Btw, u r right, in most wuxia, or at least most C-historicals, the females are strong, smart and brave ..... I can't stand the cutsie, weak or dumb females .... especially in C-dramas, they can be overly annoying by also being feisty or stubborn and thus causing many stupid problems ...Ughh!!! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also, not a C-drama.... but if you want smart, strong and brave females in historicals:
* The Princess' Man ---- They don't come better than Se-Ryung ... she is astonishing in her bravery, determination and sticking to her own values.
* Queen Seon Duk ---- Fights as a man in the army, then becomes a great queen.
* Empress Ki ---- learns to fight, is brave, tough, and has brains to rule.