Episode Summary
Li Heng secures a better deal on the arms trade while hiding his heartbreak over Jia Yunying’s engagement. Jia Zhong successfully publishes a peace manifesto, triggering a massive manhunt by Lu Wenlu’s forces. An Mi defects to Shen Yihe and gains a high-ranking position. During the engagement party, an assassin murders Jia Zhong just before a critical meeting with the underground envoy, and the killer escapes before Li Heng can stop them.
Spoiler Alert
The Art of the Deal
Li Heng is playing a dangerous game. He meets with Yu Tong in secret. They have a plan for the arms deal with Shen Yihe. The goal is simple. They want to funnel those weapons to the underground party.
Yu Tong drops some personal news during the meeting. Jia Yunying and Wu Shiren are officially engaged. This stings Li Heng. You can tell he still has feelings for her. But he pushes it down. He admits Wu Shiren is a solid guy. He knows she will be safe.
Li Heng takes his next step with Shen Yihe. He hands over surveillance intel on Juntong. This proves the secret service is watching Shen. Shen Yihe is furious. He loves the evidence though. He promises to speed up the arms trade. He even bumps Li Heng’s cut to a fifty-fifty split.
That night, Li Heng and Yu Tong finalize the logistics. They will ship the guns in batches. They will pay Shen enough to keep him happy. Then they will use disguised comrades to intercept the rest.
The Paper Trail
Wu Shiren has a mission of his own. Jia Zhong wrote a manifesto calling for peaceful liberation. It needs to get to the newspaper. Jia Zhong is under heavy watch. He can’t move. Wu Shiren gets creative. He finds a beggar kid on the street. He disguises the manuscript as a regular letter. The kid runs it to the press.
It almost works perfectly. But Wang Xiaofei is lurking near the newspaper office. He sees the handoff. Tang Meng runs this info straight to Lu Wenlu. They know Jia Zhong wrote it.
Changing Sides
An Mi makes a power move. She walks into Shen Yihe’s office. She offers her loyalty. Shen buys it. He calls a meeting right away. He names An Mi the Deputy Director of the Sichuan Investigation Office. She has real power now.
The newspaper publishes Jia Zhong’s article. The city goes into lockdown. Lu Wenlu sends his agents everywhere. They arrest every paperboy in sight. They interrogate everyone. But the beggar kid is gone. He vanished into thin air.
Lu Wenlu sees an opening. He wants to wipe out his enemies. Tang Meng gives Wang Xiaofei a dirty job. Wang knows he might not come back. He goes to the dance hall. He tries to give his family jade to Sisi. It is a goodbye gift. Sisi turns him down. She gives the jade back.
The Wedding Crashers
The engagement party is the target. Li Heng worries about safety. He tells Yu Tong that the venue is a risk. Yu Tong insists they can’t change the date. Li Heng tries to keep Lu Shufen away. She refuses to stay behind. She trusts him to handle the trouble.
They arrive at the Jia Residence. Li Heng is on edge. He scans the perimeter. He looks for anything out of place. Inside, Jia Zhong waits with Deng Xilin. They are expecting a special guest. Wu Shiren sneaks the underground envoy in through the back.
It all falls apart in seconds. Li Heng walks back into the inner hall. He finds Jia Zhong on the floor. There is a dagger in his chest. He is dead. Screams erupt from the front yard. Jia Yunwu and his sister run in. They see their father’s body.
Li Heng remembers a shadow he saw earlier. He sprints outside. He is too late. A car speeds away. The killer is gone.
