Episode Summary
In this episode, Qin Wan's medical skills are put to the test as she saves her sister-in-law's child. The discovery of a maid's corpse in the garden pulls her into a dark mystery centered around a forbidden bamboo forest and a syphilis outbreak within the Qin family. As Qin Wan gets closer to the truth, uncovering secrets and lies, the danger escalates with the murder of the Eighth Concubine, leaving more questions than answers.
Spoiler Alert
Coroner's Diary: Episode 6 Spoilers
The episode opens with Qin Wan being urgently called back to the Qin residence. Her sister-in-law, who is seven months pregnant, is hemorrhaging after returning home for a visit. Qin Wan, using her medical skills, manages to stabilize the pregnancy with acupuncture. Later, her brother awkwardly thanks her with a set of expensive jewelry, which Yan Chi notes was likely custom-made for the sister-in-law. Observing that the brother seems more concerned with making a good impression on him—a royal relative—than with his wife's critical condition, Yan Chi concludes that the Qin family's priorities are dangerously skewed. He offers to help arrange Qin Wan's return to the capital city, an offer she accepts as she has a home there and her father is buried.
As Yan Chi prepares to leave Jingzhou, Qin Wan hurries to prepare a golden sore medicine she had promised him. Meanwhile, Yan Chi hasn't given up the search for Shen Wan, ordering his men to meticulously search along the river. He also notices that someone has been spying on Qin Wan at night and summons his subordinate, Ying Qi, to Jingzhou for protection.
The plot thickens when Qin Wan and her maid, Fuling, stumble upon a dead body while fetching medicine in the rain. The deceased is Lian Ye, one of the Old Madam's second-class maids. A man in black is also at the scene in a panic; he turns out to be Qin Wan's cousin, the second son from the third branch of the family. Before they can react, the household's Butler Liu arrives and takes control of the situation, stating he will handle the body and consult the Old Madam on whether to report it to the authorities.
Qin Wan notices a sore on her cousin's face, which she identifies as syphilis. He confesses he was following her to beg for a cure, as his status as an illegitimate son left him with no other options. Qin Wan agrees to help and tells him to return the next day. Her questioning reveals the existence of a forbidden purple bamboo forest in the residence, a place no one is allowed to enter. This piques her interest, as she had found a piece of purple bamboo on Lian Ye's body.
The next day, Qin Wan secretly investigates the purple bamboo forest. From tracks in the snow, she deduces that Lian Ye must have been chased and killed there after witnessing something she shouldn't have. Her investigation is cut short by the sudden, menacing appearance of Butler Liu, who warns her to leave. Later, at the medicine storeroom, Qin Wan encounters the Eighth Concubine, who also has a syphilis sore on her neck. Soon after, Old Madam Qin sends two new maids to "serve" Qin Wan. A quick check of her room confirms her suspicions: her belongings have been searched, and she believes the new maids are connected to Lian Ye's death.
A side plot reveals a disagreement between Yan Chi and his father regarding the Shuoxi Army, whose growing power is causing the emperor to become wary.
That night, Qin Wan's cousin returns for the ointment, his condition having worsened. She gives it to him after he confirms he has no intimate relations with anyone else in the household. Drawn back to the mystery, Qin Wan returns to the purple bamboo forest, where she sees the Eighth Concubine, soon followed by Butler Liu. Before she can see more, another maid named Wan Xing appears and leads her away. As they leave, they hear a commotion and find that another family member, Qin Shuang, has fallen into a well that was being cleaned of mud. After being pulled out, a hysterical Qin Shuang claims there are human bones in the well. However, when Butler Liu searches it, he only produces a dead tree branch.
The episode ends on a cliffhanger: late that night, the Eighth Concubine is murdered.
