Fung Loi Temple. 10 years ago
Were you raped by the bandits? The Yeung's is a reputable family
You've lost your chastity. You are a disgrace. You can't stay here anymore
You'd better return to your maiden home
I've done nothing wrong
You bring us bad luck You'd better save your breath
Your dad won't allow you to stay at home Don't stain our place. Go away... Go
It's cold tonight. Mind your health
I met my dad today
Ching-luen has already told me everything I know you were wronged before
Actually you still miss your dad very much
Otherwise you wouldn't have fixed the jade bracelet he gave you and kept it
I've never met him before
I should go to see him long ago and ask him to come over to catch up
I know you want to help me come to terms with him. But it won't work
He doesn't want to see you. Back then you had informed him of our wedding
But he didn't reply at all
You won't see your dad for the rest of your life?
He threw me out. If you hadn't taken me in I really wouldn't know where to go
All of you including mom and Kwong-yuen treat me as a close family member
Sis was your wife When she died, she put you and me together
I'm forever indebted to her Maybe I should thank my dad
He's changed my life. If he wasn't so stone-hearted
maybe I wouldn't have got the chance to serve you guys
You are wrong, honey. I cook every meal for you. It's me who serves you
You insist on doing so... I wonder if mom has enough blankets
I'II check on her and King-fai
I'II go with you OK
Your Honor
lit has never crossed your mind that you will work as a captain here, right?
Is this your arrangement?
You offended my daughter. You took her jade and tricked her. You were so nice to her
Of course I want to return your favor by taking care of you You want revenge?
You are impulsive and fearless You think you are a dare devil
I enjoy giving you a difficult time so as to frustrate you
Back then I thought you spoke for me in the imperial court
out of a sense of righteousness. So in fact you have a hidden agenda
Look at you. You get mad so easily. You are so touchy. How can you do your job well?
Your Honor
Captain Sung, His Honor tested you only
When I was young, I was reckless too But I wasn't as ridiculous as you
As to what you did before I won't pursue it further
From now on, you must work hard If you get achievements, I will reward you
Yes
You walk around with Kiu Tai to familiarize yourself with the place
Yes
I want to read all the past documents
There are so many, Captain Sung I'm afraid you can't finish them all
It's you again, rascal
How dare you You don't kneel before an officer?
You came into the yamen of Luo County without permission
and stole the seal of the governor
How dare you to break the law
I'm the daughter of the governor Of course I have free access here
What's your post then?
I don't get any post
You don't? So you are no different from a trespasser
There are only officers and offenders in a courthouse. Brother Kiu and I are officers
Apparently you are an offender then
You are full of crap. Even if you are an officer, you are a lousy officer
Who is a lousy officer?
Your Honor Your Honor
Your Honor, you must discipline your subordinate
I know there were some conflicts between you and Captain Sung before
That's why you must punish him to show people you are fair
Miss Tik, who never errs? You err too You want people to give you a chance, right?
A person should be generous
I did offend Miss Tik before
I hope Miss Tik will be generous enough to forgive me You do change fast
Thanks for the compliment, Miss Tik
Your Honor What's the matter?
Something's happened to the tribute from the country Ko Kui Lai
2 of the chests fell into the river
When they were retrieved only stones were found inside
The road was slippery as it rained
When we arrived here the wheel of the cart came off
2 chests of tribute fell into the river
When we got them back both locks were broken
So we opened the chests to take a look There wasn't any gold
Only stones were found inside
Open the other 6 chests Yes
How come there are only stones inside?
Someone must have swapped them Kiu Tai, Ma Wing Your Honor
Seal off all the exits. Anyone who comes in or goes out must be interrogated thoroughly
lest the thieves will leave the city with the gold Yes
Cheung Biu Yes
Ask your men to search the entire city Bring in anyone who looks suspicious
Yes
Captain Sung, Ching-luen Yes
Interrogate the soldiers who escorted the gold one by one
Find out where they passed by what they saw and all the occurrences
Yes
Officer Kau
Please tell me in detail how you escorted the tribute to the capital Yes
Do you guys remember the deceased?
I remember him. He's the officer in charge of this rest station
He entertained us last night
How about the other 4?
I don't remember them
About half a year ago I passed by this rest station too
They were the receiving officers
How about last night? Who received you guys last night?
Save and except this officer Yiu the other 4 were strangers
We don't know them
Possibly the thieves had posed as station officers to receive you guys
When there was a chance they swapped the gold with stones
By the time you guys reach the palace and open the chests for inspection
it will be in the evening already
It will be too late even though you realize by then that the gold has been swapped
But it never occurred to them that after you guys had left the rest station
the cart would fall into the river due to heavy rain
The thieves may not have gone far
Captain Sung, you send someone to the rest station and ask the people around
See if they have seen anyone suspicious passing by carrying chests of stuff
Yes
Stop. Open the casket
What? This is disrespectful to the deceased
God will punish you That's right
Open it
What's the instruction of Her Majesty?
She's mad to learn about the theft She said it would offend our sister country
It's an insult to the nation. She's already put the soldiers involved in jail
She wants me to investigate thoroughly and break the case as soon as possible
so as to maintain the authority of Da Zhou
Ma Wing Yes
You send someone to keep an eye on the soldiers. See if they behave strangely
I'II interrogate them in person later
You think there's a mole among them?
I'm not sure yet. But this is serious We can't afford any mistake
We mustn't let go of any clue Yes
Kiu Tai Yes
Have you checked the background of the soldiers yet? It's here
OK. Captain Sung Yes
What have you got?
There isn't a clue yet
But people complain about the setting up of so many checkpoints in the city
If this goes on, I'm afraid they may hold a demonstration outside the yamen
What we can do is to break the case as soon as possible so as to minimize
the inconvenience caused to the people Let's get down to business now
Yes
Fung Loi Perfucture? 22 years old?
You look so pale. Are there too many cases to handle so that you feel dizzy?
Please come out I want to talk to you OK
My younger brother is really one of the soldiers?
I guess so. His full name is Cho Hon His age and birth place match
How's he doing now?
Her Majesty is mad
She's ordered me to put them in jail Now he's in the cell of the yamen
What will Her Majesty do? Please be candid with me
If the gold isn't found they will be executed
Don't worry
I will do my best to break the case and mitigate for your younger brother
I want to see him OK
Are you Cho Hon? You come with me
What's the matter? Officer Yiu
Where are you taking him?
We've brought Cho Hon here
Younger brother
Elder sis? Elder sis?
Younger brother, it's really you? I haven't seen you for 10 years. You've grown up a lot
How do you know I'm here?
It's a long story
Cheung Biu Yes
Remove his cuff Yes
He is your? He's my husband
Brother-in-law
Please get up... We are family You don't need to be so formal
Honey, you talk to your younger brother
Elder sis Younger brother
I haven't heard from you in all these years I thought I would never see you again
Back then when I married my husband I wrote to dad to inform him
Dad never told us about it Maybe I was too little back then
But every time when I talked about you dad and mom would be so mad
They didn't allow me to talk about you They even said you were dead
Don't talk about me now How come you've joined the government?
It's been 2 years. My plan was to meet dad in the East Capital after finishing this job
I wanted to tour around But then... It's really bad luck
Now I'm in jail. Elder sis, brother-in-law is the governor of Luo County
He can save us for sure. He can help us Elder sis, I'm innocent. I don't want to die
Don't worry. My husband has taken up this case. He will get you out for sure
If you remember anything suspicious you must tell him in detail
It's him. I remember them
According to your description these 4 guys received you back then?
Right Right
There were either scars or moles on the faces of the thieves
Obviously they wanted to cover up their look
Sir, you must catch them to do justice for us
But if you are keeping something from me so that I can't get hold of the clues
it will take a long time before I can break the case
Officer Kau, you are so experienced
How come the thieves could swap the tributes without your notice?
Let's tell the truth Tik will help us
OK. This is what happened That night was my birthday
They wanted to celebrate with me So we drank and got drunk
In other words, there was no one guarding the gold
I failed to discharge my duty It's my fault
Actually we drank just a little bit of wine that night
But somehow all of us felt dizzy and got drunk quickly
Obviously you guys were drugged
It's my fault
If they didn't celebrate with me this wouldn't have happened
You must help us please
Please help us, sir
The gold was stolen in Luoyang I'm the governor of Luo County
Of course I will do my best to catch the thieves and clear your names
Thank you
Milady Any news?
Don't worry I'II let you know once there's news
Mom, dad is famous for breaking the cases fast. You don't trust him?
Old master, old master Cho is outside He wants to see you
Why do they come here? Let me ask them to leave
Ching-luen, don't be rude. Back off
Please send them in Yes, old master
Siu-pik, get ready to serve the guests
Yes, madam This way please
Welcome dad and mom. Please have a seat
I haven't paid you two a visit personally I'm being disrespectful. I must bow to you
Please get up. You are an official We are commoners only
We can't ask an official to bow to us
Dad, mom, please have a seat
Please drink the tea
We come to ask Your Honor to plead for our son before Her Majesty. Please save his life
Yuet, Hon's your brother. Please save him
Your younger brother is the only son in our family
Last time they didn't say so They refused to call you their daughter
They favored the male only
If Her Majesty knows that you would be in greater trouble
Ching-luen
Yuet, I shouldn't say something like that I deserve to be slapped
I hope you will save Hon
Milady I deserve to be slapped
Milady
I deserve this... Yuet, it's entirely my fault
If you will save Hon, I'll kowtow before you
Mom, please don't do this
Dad, mom, if brother-in-law is innocent I will do my best to rescue him for sure
I want to bow to you
Dad, mom, please don't do this
Poor nurture is the fault of the father Poor discipline is the fault of the teacher
It's wrong for a kid to be lazy
If he doesn't study when he's little what's he going to do when he grows old?
All correct. Good... Good
Mom Old master
Mom Dad, mom
Yan-kit
How do you do, senior madam?
These two are?
Mom, they are the parents of Yuet
Oh, in-laws. Welcome Thank you
King-fai, come over here
OK, grandma
Say hello to your maternal grandpa and grandma
Hello, grandpa. Hello, grandma
Good boy He's such a big boy?
He can even recite the 3-character book?
My daughter-in-law has taught him well King-fai is a very nice boy
I'm so glad to get such a nice daughter-in-law
The duty of a daughter-in-law is to play her role well as a wife and a mom
Mom, you are being modest. Everyone of us respects you and treasures you so much
But some people don't at all Isn't that true?
Mom, you've prayed for so long tonight?
I thought if I recited the scriptures a few times more
maybe Guanyin will save your younger brother's life
Thank you so much, mom
He's your younger brother I'm obliged to do so
It's really been tough for you in all these years Mom
To be frank, back then I objected to my son marrying you. But he insisted on it
There's nothing I could do
But in the past 10 years, you served your husband and taught your son well
You've been very nice to me too You've really given a lot for the family
I'm grateful that you guys took me in back then. Otherwise I would be homeless
It's because you are good You are nice to old people. I know that
God knows that too. Don't worry God will help your younger brother for sure
A good person is blessed, right?
What have you got?
Your Majesty, there isn't any progress yet
Do you know how great the impact this is to Da Zhou?
Yes, I do. If we can't find the gold our authority will be weakened
It may even become an excuse for Ko Kui Lai to accuse us of being disrespectful
It may result in a war
You must find out what happened quickly
Yes, Your Majesty
Your Majesty, I've learned about something I don't know whether I should disclose it
You mustn't hide anything. Say it
I heard that the gold was stolen
because some people had failed to discharge their duties properly Is this true?
Your Majesty, the soldiers who escorted the gold indulged in fun despite their duties
They got drunk. Therefore the thieves could steal the gold Really?
Your Majesty, you may ask officer Tik about it
Your Majesty, the soldiers did drink a little bit on the night the gold was stolen
I suspect they were drugged
Your Majesty, if they didn't indulge in fun how would they be set up?
I urge Your Majesty to punish them severely so as to send the others a message
Your Majesty, please allow me to find out what happened
before you make an order to punish them. They may be innocent
Your Majesty, the gold was stolen due to their neglect of duty
They should be executed
If we are indecisive in this case
the other countries will give us their disapproval for sure
This will harm our reputation Please reconsider the case
OK, OK Your Majesty
Cut it out. Let me think about it
Your Majesty
Officer Sheung Koon has come
Your Majesty Yuen-yee, what's happened?
Your Majesty, there's bad news from Fangzhou
There's a fire in Prince Lo Ling's residence Prince Lo Ling was killed in the fire
Hin... My son Hin. How about the others?
Lady Wai has survived it She's traumatized only
How come there's a fire?
I'm so sorry, Your Majesty
Prince Ngai, you arrange Lady Wai to come to the East Capital
Yes, Your Majesty. As to the soldiers who failed to discharge their duty
are they to be executed?
Kill them... Kill them
Your Majesty
No more argument. I want to be left alone
Good day, Your Majesty
My son Hin was a nice boy He never said no to me
Even though he was rude to me back then he was influenced by others only
I demoted him to the post of Prince Lo Ling so as to train him
I hope after going through the ups and downs, he would become a different person
You must take care, Your Majesty
It was my plan to summon Hin back to the palace
But now... I really can't believe this Now he's dead
Good job, Yin-tak You are as competent as your elder brother
You really haven't let me down
I told you Yin-tak is able You should say thanks to your dad
Thank you dad for giving me a chance
So long as you are able I will give you a lot of chances
Now even Lee Hin is taken out
Your Highness will become the prince sooner or later
No, the entire country will belong to our family the Mo's
Elder brother, Tik Yan-kit is still alive He's a pain in the neck
Is he? Just now I asked Her Majesty to order Tik Yan-kit
to execute his own brother-in-law
His wife will blame him for sure His family will be ruined
This is my revenge I will never forget what he's done to me
It's payback time now
Life is so unpredictable Prince Lo Ling is killed
Prince Sheung Lee Tan could succeed to the throne. But he's too timid
He may not get a chance
The other members of the Lee's clan aren't trusted by Her Majesty
Besides, there are many supporters of the Mo's in the imperial court
I think Mo Shing-tsz will become the prince sooner or later
This guy is autocratic and cold blooded
If he becomes the emperor people will suffer
If Mo Shing-tsz didn't insist on it
the soldiers losing the gold might not be executed
Is it possible to plead before Her Majesty again for mercy on them?
Her Majesty is aggrieved by the death of Prince Lo Ling. This isn't the time
Are they really doomed? Old Master
What's the matter?
Mr and Mrs Cho are making a scene outside They want to see you and madam
You are so wicked. I thought you were so kind to help your younger brother
Actually you want him dead. I know you hate me for throwing you out back then
You want to take revenge, right? You've succeeded now
Your younger brother will be executed Are you happy now?
No, please listen to me
What's there to talk about? You guys are officials. We are commoners only
Dad, mom, please calm down
How? My son Hon is going to be executed The Cho's offspring will end here
It's true that Her Majesty has ordered the execution
But there's still time We shouldn't give up
You want to get results. So you trade off Hon's life to please Her Majesty
You take Hon's life so that you will get a promotion, right?
I was right about you back then I'm still right about you today
You just watch your younger brother and his colleagues get executed
They are innocent. You just watch them die
You are a bad daughter. I'II kill you
Stop it
This is for Hon
Milady I'm fine. Don't worry about me
It's a husband's duty to protect his wife I've really failed to discharge my duty
I failed to help you I even caused you the humiliation
Actually I've got you into trouble
If it wasn't for my younger brother you wouldn't have been wrongfully accused
You wouldn't be insulted like this
If you say so, I feel more ashamed
The humiliation you've suffered in all these years is even worse
For the sake of my younger brother I'm not afraid of it
Dad... Dad What's the matter?
There's another big case
My men and I looked around for the lost gold
When we came to this cave we found these dead bodies
Captain Sung, have you got the sketches of the thieves with you? Yes, I have
Look. If I put some moles on this guy's face and a beard on that one's
do they look like the thieves?
They are the thieves?
You are asking the obvious
Kiu Tai, Ma Wing, blow the lantern off
Yes
You guys examine the other dead bodies See if there's phosphorescence at the wound
Yes There is
This one as well
How come there is phosphorescence?
I don't know. But something's sure They killed each other for the gold
You are saying the obvious
They did kill each other But there's more than 4
You think some are still at large?
All of them are killed by eagle claw strikes at the throat
They are killed by the same guy
In other words, one is still at large Come over here. Look
This deceased is still holding tight to a dagger
He might have put up a fight against the killer
The blood stain on the dagger might belong to the killer
Your Majesty, I've already found some new clues in the case of the lost gold
I would ask Your Majesty to postpone the execution
until I have found out what happened
What are the clues?
Your Majesty, I can't disclose the clues for the time being. Please pardon me
Your Majesty, I believe he hasn't found any new clue at all
He just wants to delay the case Why?
I know one of the soldiers involved is the brother-in-law of his
I suspect he is doing him a favor
He wants to cover up for his relative in blatant breach of the law
Your Majesty, he shows no respect for you as he doesn't respect the law
Will Your Majesty please punish him severely
Is what Prince Ngai said true?
Your Majesty, my brother-in-law is really one of the soldiers in this case
But I'm not trying to delay the execution
I just don't want innocent people to get killed before the truth is found
Your Majesty, I agree with him We shouldn't kill the innocent people
Your Majesty, I understand that everyone in the country is talking about this case
If we act indecisively, I'm afraid people will laugh at us. We'II lose their respect
You've worked very hard for this case. You must be tired
I give you leave to rest at home This case will be taken over by Prince Ngai
Your Majesty
Yes, Your Majesty
Much obliged, Your Majesty
Lady Ngan Lady Ngan
Madam Tik, what a coincidence? You want to see Her Majesty?
I came here by the order of Her Majesty to give her the newly made gold hairpin
Just that? Recently Her Majesty has lost her son
How would she get the mood to look at the hairpin?
This seems to be an inappropriate time for you to see Her Majesty
Honestly speaking, I want to plead for my younger brother before Her Majesty
I hope she will have mercy on him
Once Her Majesty has made an order it can't be changed
If she eats her words for a soldier people will gossip about it
She will become a subject of ridicule
I daren't ask Her Majesty to do so
Prince Ngai has already transferred the prisoners to the imperial prison
You'd better go see your younger brother than plead before Her Majesty
Otherwise you will regret it
Although the situation is dire, I will do my very best so long as there's still hope
I know you are doing this for me Just let it be
If God has mercy on us my younger brother will be fine
If he's really executed we can only accept it
What I want to do the most now is to see my younger brother for the last time
Don't worry, I will do something about it
Yan-kit Mom
It's good you two are here I went to pray in Pure Land Temple
I've got a safety charm for your younger brother. God will save his life for sure
Thank you, mom. I'll say thanks to you on my brother's behalf
You're welcome. Here
Mom, how come your hand is cut? Kam-fa, get me the medicine Yes, madam
Mom, when did you get cut?
I was stabbed by the sticks when I prayed to God
Mom, recently I was troubled by my younger brother's case
I failed to take good care of you I'm so sorry
We are family. Never mind
Mom, let me look at your hand
What's the matter?
What have you touched?
I prayed to God Of course I touched the incense
Is something wrong?
Honey, you told me before that the incense in Pure Land Temple
is different from that in the other temples
Right. Master Sin-yan told me before that
the incense in Pure Land Temple is unique and precious. It's from Tibet
In other words, those who come into contact with such an incense the most must be from
Pure Land Temple. Mom do we still get the incense at home? What?
I hope something will be found when the chicken blood is dripped on it
Do you want to kill me?
You offended me. I'II trample on you hard
Hey, are you really doing this?
You stole my jade pendant You are a scoundrel
This happened a long time ago
If you don't kowtow to me to apologize I'II trample on you again
No way. You can't insult me this way I won't kowtow
You won't? I'll trample on you then
Stop it. Don't do it. Bitch Bitch?
You two shouldn't do this to offend Buddha
You hear that, bitch?
Stop it or else you'II hurt master
I want to beat you up I'II fight back
I dare you Fine. I'll kick you
I'II fight back
What do you want? Oh, you spill wine on master? You are disrespectful to God
It's better than a chicken like you
Again? Enough. Cut it out please
Master, are you OK?
Please forgive us... You stepped on me so hard
The show must look real Otherwise how could we fool master?
See if he's got a scar
There's a scar
Who's outside?
Kneel
How dare you to cover up your identity by posing as a monk so as to steal the gold
It's lucky that my subordinates have made you show your kung fu
The thieves in the cave were killed by your eagle claw strikes. Do you admit it?
Many people in the East Capital know the eagle claw strike
How are you so sure that I did it?
You still deny it? I saw phosphorescence at the wound of the dead bodies
It's caused by the mixing of Tibet's incense and blood
This kind of incense can only be found in Pure Land Temple in the entire east coast
Besides, there's a scar on your body caused by the deceased's dagger
All the above are sufficient proof that you are involved in the theft of the gold
You can't deny it
You are right. I did this I stole the gold. I killed the guys
Tell me what happened
Back then my men and I sedated the people in the rest station
We threatened the head of the station to work with us
My men posed as the station officers
and waited for the soldiers who escorted the gold. I was watching from a dark corner
They celebrated at night. I put drugs in the wine and then swapped the gold
After the soldiers had left on the next day
I killed all the station officers so that no clue was left
What happened after that? Talk
I surmised that when the gold arrived at the palace, it would be in the evening
I thought there was ample time
So I asked my men to take a break before we took the gold out of the city
But when we were close to the city gate something happened
How can they do this to us?
Why are you guys turning back?
The soldiers wanted us to open the casket
before they would allow us to get out of the city
How can we be so disrespectful to the deceased? God bless you
Right
We suspected that our plan had failed So we turned back immediately
I told my men to wait in the cave till the matter had died down
Why did you kill them?
Too many people were getting a cut for the gold, right?
Where are you hiding the gold? Do you want me to torture you?
I'II see whether you are really competent or lousy
Your Highness, I came so late at night as I want to ask you for a favor
Go ahead
I've already arrested the principal offender in the theft of the gold case
There is concrete evidence He's admitted it already
It's good that the truth is known
But the thief refuses to tell us where he's hiding the gold
So I would ask You Highness to postpone the execution for the time being
until I have got some answers from the thief, OK?
What if I say no?
If Your Highness insist on carrying out the execution tomorrow
I'm afraid you will be guilty of killing the innocent when the gold is found
Her Majesty will punish you then
Her Majesty ordered the execution herself
I think it's hard for you to overturn the case
God is merciful. How will Her Majesty do something against God's will?
Her Majesty has ordered you to get some rest
But you have defied her order You are still conducting an investigation
Aren't you afraid that I may file a report against you?
God is watching. He has a clean conscience in doing this
He's serving the country
You aren't entitled to speak
Fine. Presuming you have found the thief where's the gold?
You are famous in breaking cases
You know the importance of evidence Now you can't find the stolen property
You say you've broken the case?
Maybe you've found a scapegoat only so as to cause a delay
Your Highness, you two may think it's no big deal to kill some soldiers
But has it ever occurred to you that they've got parents too?
Their parents will be so heart broken if they are killed
Shut up
Dad, don't mind the dogs You
Captain Sung, there's no point to get mad
We offer the advice to His Highness out of kindness
Whether he accepts it is up to him It's none of our business
Goodbye, Your Highness
Search the place Yes
Hey, Ching-luen, don't be so rude
OK, dad. I'm sorry, Buddha Please forgive me
We've searched for the whole day But we haven't found any secret compartment
The place hasn't been dug up either Where did he hide the gold? Gold... Gold
The gold won't answer you
But they will be executed soon
I've searched the garden I can't find any sealed off place
I think the chance is slim
Even so, we must keep searching
Do you think?
Please excuse me. I'm sorry
They will be executed 4 hours later Now what?
Hon
Dad... Dad... Mom... Mom... Elder sis
Walk Hon
Great. So many people have come to see you off
If you weren't related to Tik Yan-kit how would Prince Ngai execute us so soon?
You've got us killed
Walk... Walk Old master
Hon Hon Walk... Walk
There are only 2 hours left
Do I really need to ask Buddha to show me the way?
If the Buddha statue isn't plated with gold it won't look so noble
I know where the gold is