Episode Summary
Xu Xiao and Lin Guoqiang investigate Wang Bingde's home, uncovering evidence of his crimes and a potential accomplice. They then turn their attention to Zhao Zhengru's company and home, discovering a secret room, incriminating evidence, and connections to the murders of Zhou Daye and Wang Yixuan.
Spoiler Alert
"Hanging Mirrors" Episode 13 Recap & Spoilers:
Xu Xiao, with backup, storms into Wang Bingde's place, ready to turn it upside down. Wang Bingde's wife is playing the uncooperative card, and her lawyer is throwing up roadblocks left and right. Xu Xiao isn't messing around – he whips out a search warrant and gets to work.
The lawyer tries to pull a fast one, presenting a divorce agreement claiming Wang Bingde and his wife are dunzo. Cops can't just barge into anyone's house, right? Wrong! The cops are already ahead of the game, knowing they're still shacking up. The lawyer tries to weasel out of it, saying Wang Bingde is just a stubborn houseguest.
But Lin Guoqiang drops the hammer with Wang Bingde's bank records. Turns out, he's been squirreling away his assets in his wife's name – pretty clear sign they're still a tight unit. And to top it off, they find a stash of burner phones and phone-chopping tools in the house.
Xu Xiao, piecing things together from a calendar found in the house, figures out Wang Bingde has an accomplice using a similar calendar to coordinate with different burner phones. Wang Bingde's wife still isn't budging, so Xu Xiao throws down the trump card: photos of Wang Bingde's murders.
It works! The wife is clearly shaken, making a beeline for the toilet to hurl. When she comes back, she's ready to talk. She claims ignorance of the murders but offers up everything she knows about Wang Bingde, including possible hideouts.
Lin Guoqiang reveals photos of a mark on Wang Bingde's body, and they realize the divorce came after the mark appeared. Wang Bingde knew the end was near, hence the strategic divorce.
Chen Nan, poking around, uncovers a trove of antiques and some suspicious pills. He also stumbles upon a fortune-telling session Wang Bingde had before bolting, which pointed him southwest. Chen Nan suggests a search in that direction, but Xu Xiao dismisses it as superstitious nonsense.
Lin Guoqiang is frustrated. The lawyer is stonewalling them, preventing them from properly investigating. But no matter how hard Lin Guoqiang pushes, the lawyer remains calm and uncooperative.
Later, Xu Xiao and Lin Guoqiang hit up Zhao Zhengru's company, hoping for leads. Employees gush about Zhao Zhengru, painting him as a saint who helps struggling workers. While digging around, a female employee, seemingly prompted by Vice President Wang, admits she knows Wang Bingde. She claims she was too scared to admit it yesterday but spills the beans about their companies' past collaborations. They also learn Zhao Zhengru is a bachelor. Lin Guoqiang suggests a visit to Zhao Zhengru's home.
During the search, Lin Guoqiang stumbles upon a secret room – a Zen-style meditation space adorned with ancient修行(xiu xing) portraits. They find a hidden compartment containing turtle shells. Xu Xiao immediately calls for a comparison with evidence back at the station.
In Zhao Zhengru's study, Xu Xiao finds the same setup as in Wang Bingde's house: burner phones and phone-destroying tools. Lin Guoqiang deduces they're dealing with a three-person operation, with Zhou Daming and his crew being just peripheral players.
Xu Xiao and Lin Guoqiang theorize that Zhao Zhengru hired someone to kill Zhou Daye and Wang Yixuan. Zhao Zhengru also wanted Wang Bingde dead, but Wang Bingde got to him first. They find a digital camera with racy videos of a woman doing some, shall we say, interesting dances. Zhao Zhengru's computer is also loaded with similar videos of the same woman. The turtle shells found in Zhao Zhengru's secret room perfectly match the impressions on Zhou Daye's cushion, suggesting they're the same ones.
