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These merchants are suspicious
and behaving oddly.
Should you check up on them?
Where did they come?
Where are they going?
And who are they?
Xianghe.
Here.
Take care of this.
Yes.
Childe Yingqi, it should be the commissioner.
He is the imperial guard in plain clothes.
Excuse me, are you the commissioner?
Yes. And you're?
I'm Shi Qinghong, the vice-general subordinate to Duke Pingxi.
This is the second son of Duke Pingxi.
You're right.
This is the commissioner.
He's Official Long.
Greetings, Official Long.
You had a long trip.
Childe Yingqi
you really are elegant
and fine-looking.
Yes.
Like father, like son.
You're flattering me.
Oh, Childe Yingqi.
His Majesty
asked me to take Imperial Concubine Li here
to meet Official Shu.
Greetings, Your Grace.
Stand up.
Don't breathe a word about it.
Keep it between us.
I see.
How is Official Shu now?
He's still in a coma.
Your Grace, don't be sad.
May he will wake up
when he sees you.
Qiu Gui.
Why do you think
those villagers are missing out of no reason?
Those remaining villagers
are either old or disabled.
Where do you think they're gone?
If they killed Manager Yang
because he flirted with
the maid of the merchant
they killed them by accident and buried him.
That made sense.
But why did they
take away the villagers?
It doesn't make sense.
Will they
keep them as the witness
and go to the capital for a suit?
That's possible.
Old Liang of Huaiyang Village
is always obnoxious.
Think about it.
We killed her son because he complained about us.
And exiled her grandson when he continued.
Will she easily let go of it?
Besides, the merchants happened
to stay overnight in her house.
She must be complaining a lot about us.
Don't you feel ashamed!
Calm down.
Since you know she's a shrew
why didn't you deal with her earlier?
Now she's trouble to us!
How do I know?
She's too old.
How long would she live with so little to eat?
Who had expected them such merchants
to butt in?
According to the secret report
Shu Jian wrote a secret decree to His Majesty
one month ago.
He told on us and all ministers in Shanxi.
His Majesty was too busy with Oboi
and kept the decree unsolved.
Now, Oboi has been grounded.
It seems His Majesty has the time
to deal with us.
Uh...
Could those secret merchants
be secret envoys from the capital?
What?
What do you mean?
What are they coming for?
Why do you panic?
You know what?
The official circle in Shanxi
is monolithic.
As long as Shu Jian is dead
no one will get anything on us.
It's easy for you to say. When will Shu Jian die?
When will he die?
He has one last breath.
When will he die?
He'll not get through tonight.
Official Long.
Go visit Official Long with Imperial Concubine Li.
I'll search the hostel
with my men
to arrange the security.
Okay. Go ahead.
Yes.
Let's go.
Your Grace. My Lord. This way, please.
Your Grace.
Childe Yingqi. Childe Yingqi.
My master woke up!
What great royal graciousness!
When Imperial Concubine Li and the commissioner came
Official Shu woke up immediately.
I was right.
Official Shu must have known
Imperial Concubine Li would visit him
and he desired to survive.
Then he woke up.
Thank you, My Lord.
His Majesty blesses us!
Childe Yingqi, please show us the way.
Yes.
Your Grace, Official Shu is resting in the room.
Oh.
His Majesty has a secret decree
for Official Shu alone.
Please kindly excuse us.
Okay.
See you then.
Leave us.
Yes.
Yihuan.
You three shall wait at the door.
Okay.
Yes.
Wanxin, when you see your father
you must control your emotion.
Don't get too excited or sad.
Otherwise you may stimulate him.
In this way
he might get worse.
Yes.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Let's get in.
Dad.
Official Shu.
Bro. Zhu, what should we do?
Will Shu Jian recognize that
Sis. Xue is personate?
None of us has expected him to wake up!
Now we have no choice, but to act according to circumstances.
What are you discussing secretly?
Nothing.
I saw you discussing something.
You must be up to something.
You know what?
After working in the palace for thirty years
I finally come this far.
Don't hold me up
for going back to the Forbidden City.
Don't worry, Uncle.
I promise you
you and Kangxi
will go back to the capital safely.
Your Majesty.
Don't rush up. Lie in peace.
I'm not coming to you alone.
See who else is coming for you.
Dad.
You...
You're...
I'm Wanxin.
Wanxin, why are you still wearing the veil?
I'm so happy and worried
and became so numb.
You...
You're Wanxin?
Really you?
Why are you here?
I know
she's your singer daughter.
So I take her
to visit you.
Before we came out,
I had made her Imperial Concubine Li
and rule the Palace of Eternity.
Thank...
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Wanxin.
Since you're the Imperial Concubine
you're my master.
From now on
do not come to see me.
Take good care of His Majesty.
Wanxin.
Don't you remember what I told you?
Stop crying.
Your Majesty.
I can't help!
Fine.
Stay aside and calm down.
I'll have a word with your father.
Yes.
Official Shu.
I come all the way,
to verify the problems
you mentioned in your secret decree.
Besides, I come to investigate your case.
Who the hell assassinated you?
And why did they assassinate you?
Did they try to kill you
because you sent me
the secret decree?
No.
Not for that.
They wanted the golden key!
They're nimble.
They couldn't be normal bandits.
I...
I was badly wounded
when...
when I was desperate to protect the golden key.
If so...
they must have known
the secret of the golden key.
Can you recognize them
from their marital arts?
No.
I just knew
on the night before the accident
Duke Pingxi
sent someone
secretly.
Official Shu.
Wanxin, get him some water.
Yes.
Official Shu. Official Shu.
Official Shu. Calm down.
Take your breath.
Dad. Come on.
Have some water.
Be careful.
Have some more.
How do you feel? Better?
You mentioned Duke Pingxi.
Who did he sent?
Why did he sent the guy?
Your...
Your Grace.
Why are you so thin?
Your jaw is sharper.
Dad.
I miss you so much.
His Majesty is very nice to me.
But when I think of
you're getting old
and no one can take care of you
I can't help worrying about you.
But...
your eyes
look different, too.
Dad, you must be muddled.
I have been in the palace for months
how can I still be the same as the old me?
You look pale.
On the way rushing here
I caught a cold.
I'll get better after taking some medicine.
Don't worry, Dad.
Dad.
Official Shu.
- Dad. - Official Shu.
Dr. Li.
Dad.
Dr. Li.
Master, what's wrong?
He passed out. Check on him.
Master.
His pulse doesn't feel smooth.
I'm afraid he may...
Can you save him?
I'll try.
But...
He was badly wounded.
And his energy was greatly undermined.
Finally he saw you
and her daughter.
He got too excited.
He passed out after talking much.
Within three days at least
no one shall stimulate him.
Nor can you talk with him.
Otherwise, when his energy is ruined again
I'm afraid no one can save him.
I see.
Go get the medicine done.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Your Grace. Master.
Why don't we get out
and leave Official Shu alone for some rest.
Li Defu.
Stay here to take care of him.
Yes.
Go.
Unexpectedly
Shu Jian is so badly hurt.
But he can still find
the tiny difference between me and Shu Wanxin.
Luckily, I put some knockout drops in his water
and got him dizzy.
Wanxin, get him some water.
Yes.
Official Shu. Official Shu.
Otherwise, if he kept asking more questions
even though I could answer
Kang would have suspected me.
I wonder
if Master Xueyi has found Shu Wanxin.
Nothing shall go wrong with us.
Otherwise, Qingcheng will be exposed.
It's okay when I'm exposed.
What if Kangxi is meticulous
and recalls the details in the palace
he might suspect you, too.
Master Xueyi will take care of Shu Wanxin.
As for Shu Jian
he shall not wake up again.
What do you mean?
You want to kill Shu Jian?
No. I don't agree.
Shu Jian is different from Oboi
as well as Liu Dezhao.
When Oboi was in power
he risked his life to send the secret decree to His Majesty
to help the people.
You want to kill such a good minister?
I don't know about national affairs.
Nor do I know
why masters keep saying to recover the Ming dynasty.
But I know.
In this world
you and masters are my closest families.
Since you say we're people of the Ming dynasty
I should bear the responsibility
to recover the Ming dynasty with you.
But if this task
means killing innocent people
I absolutely disagree.
Yihuan.
Stop. I won't listen.
If you really want to kill Shu Jian
I won't ever speak with you again.
Big Brother.
Even if Yihuan doesn't oppose
I also feel...
it's too risky to kill Shu Jian
in the hostel
in front of so many people.
If anything goes wrong
Kangxi will suspect us.
Won't we be wasting all the previous efforts?
Fine then.
I'll try to add some medicine
to disturb his mind
and make him lose mind for the moment.
When everything goes smooth
I'll help him to regain his mind.
By then
we don't need to
put Shu Wanxin under house arrest.
He will reunite with his daughter.
I agree.
See? When we think about it
and care for others more
we'll have a way out, won't we?
We should just make Shu Jian
lose his mind like Oboi
and make no one know it.
It's harder than killing him directly.
But in order not to let you down
I'd like to take the risk.
Childe Yingqi.
Official Shu told me that
on the night before the accident
Duke Pingxi sent someone for you, right?
Exactly.
One night before
my father sent someone for me.
When we just left Yunnan
we were robbed.
Special local products from Yunnan
and valuable treasure my father paid tribute
were all robbed.
My father was furious.
So he sent someone to ask for the details.
After General Shi and I told them the details
they went back to Diandu.
What's wrong?
Any question, Official Long?
Nothing.
I was just asking.
Any other question?
No.
See you, then.
Okay.
Wu Yingqi was robbed
before he met Shu Jian.
They reported it to me.
That's why I asked Shu Jian to escort them.
But did Duke Pingxi
just send someone
for some inconsequential treasure?
What do you think?
Master.
Didn't you suspect
Duke Pingxi sent someone
to assassinate Commander Shu?
But...
if Duke Pingxi
knew the secret of the golden key
why would he ask his son
to send the key to the capital
and ask others to rob it?
Who do you think is the prime suspect?
I think
Liu Dezhao is promoted by Oboi.
Oboi is crafty.
Could he tell you
the secret of the golden key
and then send someone to rob it secretly?
Master.
Official Shu Jian is...
is dead.
Under your order
I guarded at his door
and let no one in.
But in the middle of night
I had a bellyache.
Before I could wait for the next shift
I went to the latrine.
It took me only a quarter.
After I came back, Official Shu was...
He's still soft.
He was just dead.
Dad.
Your Grace.
The commissioner is still aside.
Come.
Dad.
Dr. Li.
I visited Shu Jian with you before dinner.
His pulse was smooth, wasn't it?
He was getting better.
But I don't know why he...
What? Have you got anything?
I sense the smell of Liaoshan ginseng on him.
But it isn't in my prescription.
Liaoshan ginseng?
Is that poisonous?
No.
But Commander Shu was badly wounded and dying.
The tonic
would kill him instead.
So you mean
he's poisoned?
You may say so.
Official Shu risked his life for the people
but was still poisoned.
The murderer
must be indiscriminate
and frantic.
Master.
I've locked up
everyone in the hostel.
Okay.
Enquire them separately.
Bring whoever is suspicious
to the hall.
I'll interrogate them myself.
Yes.
Bro. Zhu.
You really let me down!
Yihuan.
I didn't kill him.
Not you?
Who else could it be?
Don't you have confidence in me?
Tonight
I put some purgative in Uncle's food.
After he went to the latrine
I was trying to sneak into Shu Jian's room
and feed him the knockout pills.
Unexpectedly
I found that...
Why does my belly ache so much?
Why hasn't the next shift come yet?
Forget it. I'll...
I'll just go.
You mean someone killed Shu Jian before you?
Exactly.
Someone we all know.
The hostel manager.
Hostel manager?
Why did he kill Shu Jian?
Why don't you believe me?
You believe whatever Kangxi told you.
But suspect whatever I told you.
No. Bro. Zhu. Don't get angry.
What you said
relieved me.
You know what?
If you become a cruel and merciless guy
just for recovering the Ming
I'll be very sad and disappointed.
Don't worry.
It's my duty to recover the Ming all my life.
I can't run away from it.
I have to try my best.
But in my heart
you'll always be the most important.
I'd rather die
than let you down
or make you hate me.
Bro. Zhu.
Could you stop staring at me like that?
What you said
put great pressure on me.
Don't feel stressed out.
This is my love for you.
As for you love on me
you decide it.
I won't force you.
Why do you think the hostel manager killed Shu Jian?
Right at this moment?
I have no idea.
Kangxi asked Songgotu
to interrogate everyone one by one.
I don't have a way to unmask the hostel manager.
But the small hostel
has been besieged by imperial guards
secretly.
No strangers could come in.
It's not hard to figure out
who behaved suspiciously at night.
Doomed!
Sis. Fan and Bro. Ye are still here.
Will Songgotu suspect them?
Junior Sister, we're fine.
- Don't worry. - Sis. Fan. Bro. Ye.
I'm glad you're fine.
Junior sister.
Big Brother.
Here we meet again.
Junior Ye.
The gold bracelet you gave Yihuan is nice.
I'd like to thank you for her.
I asked her to put it on
in case of letting you down.
But she didn't want to.
So...
Bro. Ye.
I... I'm...
the commissioner's maid.
I shouldn't wear valuable jewels.
But don't worry.
I've kept it
very carefully.
That's fine.
Just keep it well.
Big Brother.
Songgotu has interrogated us.
With Wu Yingqi as our guarantor
he didn't dare to embarrass us.
Good.
If I guess correctly
Kangxi will soon figure out
the hostel manager poisoned him.
No.
It wasn't the hostel manager.
Shu Jian was getting better.
Wu Yingqi and Shi Qinghong
must have hated it.
Senior sister lives
right across them.
So tonight
I asked her to pay more attention
to what they were doing.
I was observing the opposite room.
I found that
Shi Qinghong sneaked out of his room.
The man in black was Shi Qinghong.
Could Shi Qinghong
also sneaked into Shu Jian's room
except the hostel manager
and me?
Exactly.
Big Brother.
Why don't we take the chance
to bring up the contradiction between Kangxi and Wu Sangui?
This is a good chance.
Junior Ye.
You're always careful and thoughtful.
If you can put all your energy
in our business to recover the Ming
I believe
your father and masters
will be very happy.
I see, Big Brother.
I will clean away distracting thoughts
and recover the Ming wholeheartedly.
Good.
Hope
you'll act on what you say.
This is not a good place for chat.
Songgotu has tied everyone
in the hostel
for Kangxi to interrogate.
We should get back to our room.
Hurry to join him.
Okay. Be careful.
Go.
Be careful.
Please kindly perceive it.
I was just passing by Official Shu's room
when I saw no one guarding out there. I was so worried
that I went in to have a look.
Why would I poison him?
How dare you lie to me!
I asked Dr. Li clearly.
In his prescription
there wasn't Liaoshan ginseng.
The assistant in the pharmacy also verified that
you bought it this afternoon.
People in the hostel saw you
sneaking into the kitchen in the middle of night.
My Lord, please spare me!
I saw Official Shu was too weak.
I wanted to give him some tonic.
I didn't know
it would kill him.
You're still denying, huh?
You think it's easy to fool me?
You're a mere hostel manager.
How dared you kill a minister?
There must be someone behind you!
You'd better tell the truth.
Maybe I won't kill you.
My Lord.
You get the wrong idea.
I did put some Liaoshan ginseng in his medicine.
But I didn't kill him.
Tonight
when I took the medicine to Official Shu...
Shi Qinghong.
It was you?
The murderer killed him with Liaoshan ginseng
just like me.
Before Official Shu died
I heard him shouting the name of the murderer.
Shi Qinghong!
Asshole.
That's a pack of lies.
My Lord.
I was playing chess with Childe Yingqi
in his room.
He can be my witness.
Exactly.
My Lord.
Shi Qinghong was playing chess with me
in my room.
We didn't come out
until we heard that Official Shu was dead.
My Lord.
This is no trivial matter.
Shi Qinghong is with me.
This is about the reputation of our family.
My father has been loyal to His Majesty.
Instructed by my father
I'm also loyal to
the royal court and His Majesty.
Please kindly perceive it.
Childe Yingqi, please sit down.
I have my plan.
Shi Qinghong.
You stayed with Childe Yingqi the whole night.
Is there any other witness?
No one else was in the room.
Since no one else was in the room
who knows if you're shielding him?
Miss, you seem to be hostile to me.
Don't be rude.
Duke Pingxi is an important minister.
You mustn't guess around.
But you, manager.
You confessed you had the motive
but who was behind you?
Nobody was behind me.
I had personal enmity with Official Shu.
Official Shu is a third-rank minister.
You're a mere hostel manager.
I'm afraid you don't even deserve to be his servant.
What do you mean personal enmity?
To be honest
Official Shu once lashed me
for a little problem.
I hated him.
But I didn't kill him.
My Lord, you'd better interrogate Shi Qinghong.
Enough.
We have never met before.
Why are you trying to
frame me up?
I did hear
Official Shu yelled your name
before he died.
I'm not lying.
You...
Shi Qinghong.
Don't be rash.
The commissioner must be fair.
Hostel manager.
You're a mere manager.
How dared you kill a minister?
You'd better tell us
who is behind you.
Otherwise
you may have doubly guilt
and get your families involved.
My Lord.
Someone is behind me.
But I can't tell you.
Otherwise
my families
will be dead.
I'm guilty.
But they're innocent.
My Lord.
Allow me to kill myself for an apology.
He had the instant poison under his tongue.
When it didn't go smooth, he bit the pill and killed himself.
Tonight, I saw the hostel manager.
But Shi Qinghong killed Shu Jian before the manager.
It seems three teams
tried to kill Shu Jian.
Master.
Dr. Li, there you are.
Her Grace is too sad.
I'm here to feel the pulse
and get her some relieving medicine.
Wanxin.
Don't be too sad.
Your father is dead.
But I will take care of you all your life.
As for your father's funeral
tell me
if you have any idea.
I'm helpless.
Master, it all depends on you.
Okay.
Early tomorrow morning
I'll have your father's coffin sent back to Taiyuan.
According to imperial rules
my consorts
can't wear mourning dresses for her families.
But now we're out of the palace.
I allow you to wear it.
After we come back to the palace
I'll promote your father
to relieve his spirit in the heaven.
Thank you, Master.
Junior Long.
You must revenge her father.
Shi Qinghong, as the hostel manager said
is the bodyguard of Wu Yingqi.
Keep your voice down.
Wars have ears.
I also suspected Wu Sangui.
He's rather crafty.
Maybe he has planted a spy beside Oboi.
Maybe he didn't know the secret of the gold key
until he gave it out.
It's possible that he sent someone to rob it.
But Wu Sangui rules by force in a region with a strong army.
I don't want to alert him.
No wonder you helped to defend him.
Remnants of Oboi and Wu Sangui
are big concerns.
But we can't be rash.
Master, the death of Commander Shu
and the corruption case in Shanxi
will take a long time to be solved.
On the safe side
why don't you go back to the capital first?
I'll go with Her Grace
to send Commander Shu's coffin
back to his hometown.
Lord Suo made some sense.
Master, you'd better get back soon.
Enough.
I know you worry about my safety.
But since I left the capital
I have met a lot of thing that I haven't ever met before.
I don't like empty talks.
I want to stay in Shanxi for a few more days
to observe the people's condition.
But Master...
Things are really complicated.
If there's any accident
I'm afraid I can't bear the responsibility.
As the emperor
the greatest threat
isn't the assassination from rascals
but the incompetence to rule the country
when my people want me to die.
I can't stay in the palace forever
and rule the country with only memorials to the throne.
I may take some risks
to stay here for observation.
But...
it's worth it and it should be this way.
Good point, Junior Long.
I'm with you.
Whatever decision you make
I will risk my life to protect you.
Like you said
I don't need to pay for boosting.
Boss.
You're not strong enough.
But your spirit matters.
I appreciate your kindness.
Master, you spent the whole night solving the case.
The day is breaking.
You'd better take some rest.
Your health matters most.
How can I get to sleep?
Let's set out as soon as the day breaks.
Yes.
My Lord.
Early this morning
Shi Qinghong went to the manager's house.
According to his neighbors
the head constable
found out a box of stolen money
several days ago.
Now
all his families are in prison.
I see.
Thank you, Childe Yingqi.
My Lord.
My father and I
are loyal to His Majesty
and the royal court.
When you go back to the palace
please kindly put in a good word for us.
Sure, I will.
But please continue sending the remains of Emperor Yongli
to the capital.
Let's call it today and see you someday.
See you someday.
Master, please get on the horse.
Miss Qianying.
Why don't we start the journey
before it's too hot?
Okay.
The commissioner is Long San.
Have you ever heard of him
among those ministers?
Official Long and his men keep a low profile.
They wear plain clothes
and never inform the local government.
As soon as he reached the hostel
he had a secret talk with Shu Jian.
Shu Jian passed out before he could say too much.
The hostel manager had meant to give some poison
and kill Shu Jian at night.
Unexpectedly
the one with Duke Pingxi took action before him.
Official Long didn't dare to offend Duke Pingxi
so
he blamed the manager for everything
and forced him to confess the one behind him.
Aren't we looking for trouble?
The assassination of Shu Jian
had nothing to do with us.
I thought I could get rid of him this time.
Now, humph.
We took
all the blame.
My Lord.
The hostel manager knew he screwed it up.
In case of hurting his families
he killed himself
and didn't expose you.
You know what?
If they investigate it deeper
they'll know
we caught the manager's families.
Then Official Long will see it through.
Worrying doesn't help now.
I think
we must insist that
his families hid the stolen money.
We were handling the case impartially.
As long as Official Long finds no evidence
to prove that the manager killed Shu Jian
he couldn't do anything to us.
Hope so.
Hope this commissioner
is easy-going
as old ones.
Wu Yingqi was rather responsive.
He sent Shi Qinghong
to investigate the manager's house.
According to him
the manager should take the risk
to kill Shu Jian
because he was threatened
by Governor Liu Dezhao of Shanxi.
Master.
Don't believe Wu Yingqi.
Obviously, Wu Sangui
and Liu Dezhao both wanted
to kill Commander Shu.
Liu Dezhao wanted to kill him
possibly because he thought
Commander Shu had something against him.
Those who robbed the golden key
and killed Commander Shu
must be sent by Wu Sangui.
Don't worry. I know it.
Junior Long, don't ride the horse.
It's too hard to ride a horse. Get in the carriage.
No way.
Now I'm the commissioner.
How can I share the carriage with Imperial Concubine Li?
Besides
what happened in the hostel must be spread out
after the big scene.
If my identity is exposed, too
we'll really be in danger.
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