Episode Summary
Mu Jianhui attends Zhao Youlin's exhibition of "repatriated" relics, recognizing some as items he previously stole and sold. He learns Zhao plans a Song porcelain exhibition and sees an opportunity. Meanwhile, Wang Taiping, to save himself from old enemy Xing Zhaohu, reveals the location of his family's ancestral tomb, rich with Song porcelain. Xing Zhaohu's gang raids the tomb. Elsewhere, archaeologists Fang Kun, Luo Qing, and Guo Shilin investigate a site possibly linked to Empress Dowager Bo. After Xing Zhaohu fails to sell the stolen porcelain to Liu Shusheng and Boss Hong, Mu Jianhui makes a bold offer of five million for the entire haul, aiming to use the porcelain to get close to Zhao Youlin.
Spoiler Alert
So, Mu Jianhui, ever the opportunist, decided to crash Zhao Youlin's fancy exhibition of "repatriated" cultural relics at the Mingde Hall. Zhao's claiming he bought all these goodies back from overseas auctions, but Mu Jianhui, who just waltzed in and paid his own entry fee, wasn't fooling anyone, or rather, wasn't being fooled. The more noticeable guest was actually Boss Hong, who was officially invited.
Boss Hong, never one to miss a chance to gossip, started dishing to Mu Jianhui about Zhao Youlin's not-so-glamorous past. Turns out, Zhao was just a construction foreman who literally struck gold, digging up some treasure on a job site. Suddenly, he’s a big-shot collector. Talk about a glow-up! Mu Jianhui, however, wasn't there for storytime and quickly excused himself to shadow Zhao Youlin.
Inside the exhibition hall, Zhao Youlin was busy schmoozing some white-bearded old gent, going on about how these artifacts were "rescued" from foreign lands. Here’s the kicker: Mu Jianhui clocked several of these "rescued" masterpieces as the very items he personally dug up and sold off. Awkward! The old man then suggested Zhao organize a special exhibition of Song porcelain, an idea Zhao eagerly agreed to, and you could practically see the lightbulb go on above Mu Jianhui's head.
Meanwhile, Wang Taiping, trying to make a living on a construction site, ran into an old cellmate. This buddy introduced him to Xing Zhaohu, who, unfortunately for Wang Taiping, has a long memory. Xing Zhaohu instantly recognized Wang Taiping as the guy who, along with Yan Xiaowu, had royally screwed him over in the past. Old grudges and new anger meant fists started flying. Desperate to save his skin, Wang Taiping spilled a massive secret: his maternal family, the Lus, were a prominent Song Dynasty clan, and their ancestral tomb, supposedly packed with valuables, was ripe for the picking. Xing Zhaohu, though skeptical, decided it was worth a shot and dragged Wang Taiping along to find this alleged treasure trove in Lu Family Village.
Back at his scrap yard, Mu Jianhui was already strategizing. He told Li Yuanguang to start digging up everything he could on Song porcelain. His plan? To use the upcoming Song porcelain exhibition to get in Zhao Youlin's good graces. Li Yuanguang was a bit confused, so Mu Jianhui laid it out: the very treasures they risk their necks to unearth are just becoming tools for guys like Zhao Youlin to build their reputations, while they remain the shadowy criminals. He figures the only way out is to leverage the situation, get "clean," and secure a future for his wife and kids. Li Yuanguang finally got it.
Soon enough, Wang Taiping led Xing Zhaohu and his crew to the general area of the Lu family ancestral graves. His memory was hazy due to the passage of time. Conveniently, Wang Taiping's uncle had just passed away and hadn't been buried yet. So, Wang Taiping waltzed into the Lu household, putting on a grand show of mourning to win the trust of his cousin, Lu Fugui.
Lu Fugui then took Wang Taiping to the ancestral burial ground to pick a spot for the deceased uncle. Wang Taiping seized the moment, sweet-talked the exact location of the old tomb out of his cousin, and then "heroically" volunteered to stay and watch over the grave for the night. Of course, he immediately tipped off Xing Zhaohu's gang. The next morning, after a nightmare where his dead uncle came looking for revenge (karma's knocking, Wang Taiping!), he still let Xing Zhaohu's crew expertly dig up the tomb and make off with a huge haul of Song porcelain burial items.
Elsewhere, the more academic trio of Fang Kun, Luo Qing, and Guo Shilin made a discovery: cobblestone ruins. Their "Shimu" (a respected female mentor figure) theorized it could be connected to Empress Dowager Bo's tomb, as historical texts mention her granddaughter, Princess Guantao, was buried in the area. Guo Shilin decided to report their findings to the research institute to plan their next move. Fang Kun and Luo Qing, however, had to part ways due to their individual assignments. Shimu couldn't help but sigh at the sight, and Guo Shilin, never one to mince words, flat-out called Fang Kun a coward. He pointed out that Luo Qing could have pursued her career ambitions elsewhere years ago but stayed for Fang Kun, and yet, their relationship is still in limbo. Ouch.
The fallout from the tomb raid began quickly. The next day, Xing Zhaohu tried to offload his newly acquired Song porcelain to Liu Shusheng. But Liu Shusheng, having been burned before, wasn't buying Xing Zhaohu's story about the goods' origins. So, Xing Zhaohu turned to Boss Hong, who tried to seriously lowball him, leading to no deal.
Little did Xing Zhaohu know, Mu Jianhui had Li Quan tailing him. Once Mu Jianhui confirmed that Xing Zhaohu was indeed trying to sell genuine Song porcelain, he made his move. He showed up at Xing Zhaohu's door and made a stunning offer: five million for the entire lot.
Xing Zhaohu was floored by the price but, still bitter about their past, tried to play it cool, declaring he wouldn't sell to a "traitor" like Mu Jianhui even for fifty million. Mu Jianhui, cool as a cucumber, pulled out 50,000 yuan as a deposit. He told Xing Zhaohu he’d have the full five million in ten days, and if Xing Zhaohu could find a better offer in the meantime, he was free to take it.
