Episode Summary
This episode solves the nine-person murder case, revealing a plot born from insulted family honor. Wei Tao and Du Yu are arrested after their plan is exposed by Su Wuming, whose information came from the spy Yang Ji. However, a new mystery emerges when Jūniáng, after a display of force, is revealed to be deliberately preventing her sister-in-law Wei Jia from regaining her memory.
Spoiler Alert
A Couple of Loose Ends Get Tied Up
Spies and Traps
Lu Lingfeng goes to check on an old acquaintance. You remember Yang Ji, the skinny beggar boy from a while back. He’s a strong young man now, selling vegetables for a living. Yang Ji doesn’t like the Anshe Society merchants. But he does deliver vegetables to their laborers. So, Lu Lingfeng asks him to keep his ears open and do a little spying.
Then you have Master Fei. He spots the shady Song Weng at the Zoroastrian temple. He gives chase and follows him to a rundown little temple for an Earth God. The place is dark and creepy. Song Weng is nowhere to be seen. Master Fei calls out, but a giant net drops from the ceiling and traps him. Song Weng appears, holding that weird Fenli Wand, ready to finish the job. But just then, Chu Yingtao jumps out of nowhere. She completely turns the tables, and Song Weng is captured easily.
Back at the Office
The Apology
Lu Lingfeng gets back to the Yongzhou government office. He sees Su Wuming is still examining the bodies from the murder case. Lu feels bad about their earlier argument. He walks up and gives a formal apology. They share a look, and just like that, they're good again.
The Evidence
The body count is now up to nine. Su Wuming has found some interesting patterns. The deaths of Ma Kui and He Qian were strange and different from the others. The rest of the victims were all killed by a powerful blow to the back of the head. He also noticed something else. The bodies found in Chang'an County were hit twice with a sharp weapon. The bodies from Wannian County had smoother, flatter wounds.
The Confession
Right then, Master Fei and Chu Yingtao drag in Song Weng. Under questioning, Song Weng admits something. He says he sold a wind raccoon to a woman about six months ago. Pei Xijun hears his description of the woman. She doesn't even need a sketch. She knows immediately it was Jūniáng. Master Fei also has a flashback. He remembers a strange smell at the Du family home. It was sandalwood mixed with the scent of Fenli Liquid.
The Trap Is Sprung
A Very Awkward Party
Du Yu sends an invitation to Lu Lingfeng and Su Wuming. He wants them to come to his mansion to see his family's "valve reading." This turns out to be a giant, impressive pillar. It's engraved with all the achievements of the Du family ancestors. It’s a big, stuffy party. At one point, Yang Xun comes over to Lu Lingfeng. He tries to get on his good side by talking trash about Lu Tong, saying the old man is blind and past his prime.
The Real Plan Revealed
At the same time, He Bi and Shi Qiansui arrive at the Chen family's ancestral hall. They think they're there for a meeting. It's a trap. Chen Chong is already tied up in the woodshed. Wei Tao and Du Yu are waiting for them. They reveal their entire plan. They've been committing murders in a specific pattern across Chang'an City. The locations form the Chinese character for "scholar" (士). Tongji Ward was the next spot on their map. Wei Tao and Du Yu are about to kill He Bi and Shi Qiansui with a broken piece of a stone pillar.
The Cavalry Arrives
Just as they raise the stone, Lu Lingfeng and Su Wuming burst through the door. They yell at them to stop.
It All Comes Out
The Motive
Things get messy fast. He Bi tries to take the fall for everything to protect Du Yu. But Du Yu refuses. He says he'll share the blame with his brother-in-law. Su Wuming points out that Du Yu was actually the one who spared Chen Chong's life three days earlier. He Bi gets desperate. He claims he killed all nine merchants himself. Du Yu tells him to stop lying. He knows Lu and Su must have solid proof if they're here.
Su Wuming then admits they don't have hard evidence. Their information came from Yang Ji. The boy went undercover with the Anshe Society laborers. He learned that workers dug up the stone valve pillars of the Wei and Du families during an expansion of the Golden Light Villa. The families tried to buy the pillars back, but He Bi refused. Instead, He Bi smashed the pillars. He used the pieces as foundation stones and steps for his villa. It was a massive, public insult to their family honor.
Su Wuming asks He Bi why he would do that. After all, he married Wei Jia, a woman from the Wei family. Wei Tao scoffs, saying He Bi was never one of them. Su Wuming lays out the rest. Wei Tao and Du Yu broke into the villa to steal back the pillar fragments. This event brought the two families back together.
The Arrest
He Bi confesses again and tells Du Yu to surrender. But Du Yu is defiant. He says the Wei and Du families are one. They share their honor and their disgrace. Lu Lingfeng moves in and arrests them both. Wei Tao won't explain anything else. He just asks to be executed. Du Yu wants to die with him. Su Wuming talks them down, and they finally surrender.
But Wait, There's More
Jūniáng Makes Her Move
The next morning, Jūniáng shows up at the Yongzhou office. You think she's there to plead for her husband and brother. She is not. She is there to demand the return of the broken valve pillar fragments.
A Show of Force
Lu Lingfeng agrees. He sends Master Fei and Pei Xijun with her. When they get to the Wei Residence, they find a group of thugs. He Bi sent them to grab Wei Jia. Jūniáng doesn't even flinch. She grabs a twelve-foot-long spear. She arranges her maids and servants into a defensive line. Then, about a dozen archers appear on the rooftops, arrows aimed right at the thugs. The thugs panic and run for their lives. Lu Lingfeng and the others are stunned by her courage.
The Last Secret
We learn one last thing. Jūniáng has been using acupuncture to treat Wei Jia's madness, and it was working. But she intentionally stopped the treatment. She is terrified that Wei Jia will remember what happened in the past. Now the team has no way of finding out the original truth.
