[English subtitles are available.]
Under The Power
Episode 8
This official order is issued by His Majesty.
From now on,
the Embroidered Uniform Guards will take full charge of this case.
Yes, Your Excellency!
I'll get it done.
This way please, Your Excellency.
Zhou Xianyi,
28 years old,
is from Wuxing, Zhejiang.
He became an imperial scholar in the 12th year of the Jiajing era.
He worked as the chief supervising secretary of the Office of Scrutiny for Revenue in the 23rd year of the Jiajing era.
In the 37th year of the Jiajing era,
he worked as the supervisor of the Bureau of Irrigation and Transportation under the Ministry of Works.
Over a month ago, he received 100 thousand taels of silver
to repair the river dikes in Yangzhou by order.
After arriving in Yangzhou,
he was identified to have misappropriated the public money for repairing the dikes
and got caught with the proof.
He was immediately incarcerated this very day.
Mr. Zhou,
do you have any objections?
I wonder whether you remember
that we met once
three years ago.
At that time, you were chief supervising secretary
of the Office of Scrutiny for Revenue under the Ministry of Revenue
at the ninth rank.
Though you were a speaking official,
you was really taciturn
without any special characteristics.
However,
you left a deep impression to me.
What do you think of this, Mr. Liu?
About this...
Mr. Li.
Mr. Liu.
Today I will definitely report this to His Majesty.
Please take a seat, Mr. Wang.
It's so cold.
Be careful. Today it is freezing.
Exactly.
It was a pair of boots.
that made me remember you.
In the dead of winter,
the officials wore either deer-leather boots
or goat-leather boots
after the snow.
Or at least,
a pair of cotton shoes.
But you wore
a worn-out pair of old leather boots.
I guess
lots of snow water had permeated into the boots.
Everybody knows
that capital officials are poor,
But most of them
have their own ways to gain more perquisites.
Ones that were poor like you
were really rare.
You are...
Mr. Lu Yi?
You still remember me?
His Majesty ordered me
to take full charge of the case on the misappropriation of the national funds for dike-repairing .
If you think you are a victim of injustice,
just tell me.
You trust me?
I only trust what my eyes see.
What you see is not surely the truth.
I...
I did misappropriate the dike-repairing funds.
You admitted it?
Where is the money now?
If I said
I just took 10 thousand taels of official silver
and returned them in full amount…
I have no idea
about where the lost money is.
Do you trust me, Mr. Lu?
On that day, I intentionally ordered my men to go away
and sneaked into the exchequer.
But then,
I didn't spend the 10 thousand taels for some reason,
so I went back to the exchequer
and returned all the money I took.
All of the money was still there at the time.
I was certain that
all the money remained intact.
However,
when the prefect checked the inventory,
all the money was gone.
What did you
steal the 10 thousand taels for?
That was really important.
I...
I have my own difficulty to do so.
I hope you can understand.
If you know it is important,
you should exactly tell us what happened
so that we can prove your innocence.
Both the material evidence and witnesses now are present.
We cannot come to a conclusion
by your one-sided story.
Everyone says the Embroidered Uniform Guards' actions are the most malicious.
And even the punishments in the prison are diverse.
You are willing to listen to me,
instead of using any means of torture.
I am
extremely appreciated.
That is just a rumor.
We Embroidered Uniform Guards are not brainless.
We all know how to determine
when to punish you,
or to let you go.
Probably your secret sorrow
is the key to putting an end to this case.
Your Excellency,
do you believe in what he said?
Do you?
There are so many people
that lie shamelessly.
So,
I only believe in the evidence.
You are a sensible person, Constable Yuan.
The Yangzhou Exchequer is not so far from here
Let's go and take a look.
Your Excellency,
the footprints are very complicated
Many people came in and went out,
but all of the footprints are from officials' shoes.
If all people coming in and going out of here were officials,
maybe,
Zhou Xianyi told the truth?
You see,
if Zhou Xianyi
did embezzle the 100 thousand taels of silver,
it would take a great amount of time and effort for him
to transport the money.
He admitted
that he stole 10 thousand taels of silver,
and that means
he could secretly transport them.
To identify the authenticity of what he said,
we must first find out
why he took the 10 thousand taels of silver.
Let's go.
Where are we going now?
I'm hungry. Let's go for a meal.
Wait a second, Your Excellency!
Wait, Your Excellency!
Your Excellency,
do you always
have simple meals in normal times?
Meals are just for making myself full.
Is there any problem?
No.
I am just thinking
that you dignitaries must be very picky on meals.
Are you used to eating the street food?
The eye-catching food may not be delicious,
while the delicious food may not be eye-catching.
Here you go.
The authentic Yangzhou noodles with shrimp dumplings.
Help yourselves!
The smaller a stall is, the more authentic its food tastes.
Just try it. This is a local delicacy.
Boss, one more bowl please!
OK.
I have been eating a little bit fast since I was a child,
Please don't mind me, Your Excellency.
Enjoy your meal.
I was just afraid that the blossoms would fall into your bowl.
Hurry up, boss.
Almost done.
Boss.
Wait, Your Excellency.
There is still a bowl of noodles left.
Here you go, your noodles.
Here you are.
Wait a second. I'll just have some more,
or it will be a waste .
Wait a minute!
Your Excellency,
I have found out
that after getting the 100 thousand taels of silver,
Zhou Xianyi gave them to Wu'an Sect for transportation.
Therefore, when the official funds were delivered to the exchequer,
Shangguan Xi and Xie Xiao were both present.
The Wu'an Sect?
But there weren't any clear prints of common people's boots.
However,
it's a little inappropriate
to hand the dike-repairing funds to a folk sect for transportation, right?
Looks like Zhou Xianyi was afraid
that the money would be deducted level by level with little left
before arriving in Yangzhou.
That's why he invited the Wu'an Sect to help him transport it.
There are plenty of escort groups in Yangzhou,
but Zhou Xianyi preferred
the Wu'an Sect.
Looks like their relationship must be very sophisticated.
[Wu'an Sect]
You didn't give us a notice about your visit in advance, Your Excellency.
I'm sorry.
That's all right, Miss Shangguan.
Are you here
for the case of Zhou Xianyi, Your Excellency?
Now that you are straightforward,
I will get to the point.
Exactly.
We are here for the case of Zhou Xianyi.
You transported the dike-repairing funds
to the exchequer of Yangzhou government,
right?
Yes.
We were in charge of the transportation.
But the money was checked and handed over to the officials,
and none of our people stepped into the exchequer.
After the hand-over, we left right away.
Are you doubting us,
Mr. Lu?
Anyone who handled the money is suspicious
until this case is solved.
We transported all the money to the exchequer.
Now the money was lost in the exchequer,
should we be responsible for it?
Keep calm.
We are just doing our job according to the rules,
We have to check
everyone who handled the money one by one.
Where were you both
on the night when Zhou Xianyi was arrested?
Is there anyone to prove your whereabouts?
On the night when Mr. Zhou was arrested,
Xie Xiao and I were checking the inventory of goods at the port of our sect.
All members in the sect can prove that.
Alright.
If you can prove
your innocence,
we will leave now.
Goodbye.
Please.
Goodbye.
I told you not to transport the official money.
You see, now we are in trouble now.
Any finding
from Miss Shangguan?
I found that
the sachet she takes with her
is very similar to Zhou Xianyi's.
Even the scent of them is identical.
Are you sure about that?
A single sachet doesn't mean anything, right?
Tell me,
is there any outstanding feature of the sachets?
Those two sachets were sewed very carefully.
They are the combination of flat embroidery, colored embroidery and carving embroidery,
among which carving is the most difficult
and the most special.
The one who made both sachets must be very proficient in needlework.
Moreover, both sachets
are identical in both needlework and style.
I am doubting
they are made by the same person.
Go check
where this sachet comes from.
Yes, Your Excellency.
Is it too tight?
That's fine.
Master,
your medicine is ready.
Please drink it when it is still warm.
Alright.
Be careful, Dad.
Master, I've been busy
looking into the case of Zhou Xianyi with Mr. Lu these days,
so I couldn't take care of you.
How are you now? Is your leg still hurt?
It has been several days.
I am fine now.
You knew
my father's temper.
He won't tell us
even if it's hurt.
By the way,
how's the case going?
Zhou Xianyi insists that he doesn't know
where the 100 thousand taels of silver are.
I doubt this is related to the Wu'an Sect.
The Wu‘an Sect?
Is there anything suspicious?
Sha Xiuzhu and Xie Xiao
secretly stole the birthday gifts
of the Defender-commandant of the State.
That shows
they are really professional in stealing the officials' assets.
Moreover,
It is the men of the Wu'an Sect that transported the money.
They might have the intention to embezzle the money.
I found another suspicious point which is very important.
The sachet of Zhou Xianyi
and that of Shangguan Xi
are made by the same person.
You mean...
there may be some shady business
between Zhou Xianyi and Shangguan Xi?
Not really.
It is just my assumption.
I have no proof.
But, master,
Mr. Xie and you have a special friendship.
If it's Wu'an Sect,
you…
Don't worry about me.
Look into this case
by whatever means you should use.
If it's really Wu'an Sect,
you should handle it fairly,
without any exemption.
With these words,
I know what to do.
Master, is your leg really fine now?
Why do you keep looking at me
without eating so many snacks here?
Have one.
I know you've been fond of me since we were still kids.
But you don't have to look at me like that.
Tell me the truth.
Did you take the official funds?
Jinxia,
that's such a disgrace to me, you know?
I took the filthy lucre from those corrupt officials
for the purpose of distributing it to the poor.
As the 100 thousand tales of silver for dike repairing
are used for the benefit of people,
I'm not that stupid to take them.
You swear.
I swear.
OK.
So,
you still owe me a favor
about Sha Xiuzhu, right?
I thought it was a big deal.
It turns out you come here for a favor.
Tell me.
How should I return the favor?
To marry you?
I won't disagree with that.
I'm not kidding.
I don't think Zhou Xianyi
has such a simple relationship with Miss Shangguan.
What do you mean?
I don't get it.
Miss Shangguan has a sachet
which is identical to Zhou Xianyi's.
A sachet?
She's never been taking such a thing with her.
Are you doubting that
she is involved in the robbery of official funds?
I believe her.
she would never do that.
After Mr. Lu and I interrogated Zhou Xianyi,
I'm sure his sachet
and Miss Shangguan's
are made by the same person.
I'll help you get it clear.
Can you hit me slightly?
[Closed down by the Yangzhou Government of Ming Dynasty]
There is a hole?
Is it a dog-hole?
I should have practiced my qinggong.
Anyway, no one sees me.
My illustrious fame...
Your, Your...
Your Excellency?
Your Excellency,
why are you here?
Where do you think I should be?
How can I
surmise your whereabouts.
Since you are already here,
let's do the investigation together.
Your Excellency, I have something
that I wonder whether I should tell you or not.
But I think I should.
Although I'm a constable,
I'm still a girl.
It's already midnight.
Of course,
I'm willing to do the investigation with you.
However, I'm here alone with you,
and I am afraid this will do harm to your reputation.
So I'd better leave now.
Looks like I should have a personal
talk with Mr. Yang tomorrow.
I can't take you with me for investigation in the future.
For your subsidy,
we can talk about it later on.
If you agree,
I am willing to be at your service any time.
It's not good for us to stay here together.
That will do harm to my reputation.
Your Excellency, I was kidding.
Since we both work for the government,
there should be no difference between men and women.
As you look upright,
I can see you are wearing Joseph's coat.
No one can make up a rumor about you.
But you are so wrong,
I am not wearing Joseph's coat.
However, I have no interest at all
in a girl like you.
Come up here.
Your Excellency,
both of us are officials.
Trespassing into someone's house is illegal.
So Constable Yuan,
why did you go through the dog-hole
of a private house at midnight?
Well...
You can't come up
because you are bad at qinggong , right?
No.
That is not a dog-hole.
Thank you, Your Excellency.
Actually, I can do it on my own.
Yang Chengwan's qinggong,
was outstanding among the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
However, I can't believe
that his disciple is far less competent than him.
That's not true, Your Excellency.
Actually, my qinggong isn't so bad,
but this pavilion is a bit too high.
I'm exhausted.
Your Excellency,
hurry up, let's go.
Your Excellency, let's go now.
It's just a cat,
nothing scary.
A cat?
Why is it here?
Does this cat
belong to Zhou Xianyi?
It has been staying here
because of missing its master too much.
Orchid leaves grow luxuriantly in spring
and cinnamon blossoms brightly in autumn.
Plants are full of life,
naturally conforming to the good seasons.
Can you imagine that a hermit in the mountain forest
is brimming with joy when smelling the fragrance?
Plants gives out fragrance by nature,
and they don't ask to be broken off.
Looks like Zhou Xianyi has a lover in Yangzhou.
Your Excellency.
[One]
This must be spice,
including
patchouli
and clove.
Go take a look over there.
Your Excellency.
Look.
Zhou Xianyi is a lovesick person.
What do you mean?
Those things are used to make rouge.
You see,
if I wrap up the patchouli and clove
with silk wadding,
put them in warm wine and soak
for 1-3 days,
then pour the spiced wine
into the beef marrow
and put some sweet wormwood inside after decocting it with slow fire,
the tincture of oil will be silvery white.
Finally, the oil should be filtered with silk wadding,
and poured into a ceramic bowl to cool off.
If a bit of cinnabar is added,
we can get the red lip balm.
But it's also available without adding cinnabar.
Then this will become face cream.
You know quite a lot, huh?
It is all recorded in
"The Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People" (Qimin Yaoshu) .
In the past, I tried to.
make some rouge for sale
but the capital was too high
and the sales were quite bad,
so I gave up.
It's so hard to make money during this era.
Go check that cupboard
to see if there is any evidence inside.
Xi,
we haven't had a drink together for a long time.
We should have a nice drink today.
Okay.
Cheers.
I remember the last time we had a drink
was the night when you left three years ago.
During the last three years,
you've been managing Wu'an Sect very well.
Thank you for your hard work.
It's nothing.
As long as I see you back,
everything is worthwhile however hard I work.
Xi,
you never wear girls' stuff like this.
Why do you wear this sachet now?
You mean this?
Lanye gave it to me.
Lanye? Who is she?
Her name is Zhai Lanye.
I met her on the Slender West Lake
after you left three years ago.
She is a person of pitiful life.
If she hadn't convinced me,
I wouldn't know how I could manage all kinds of affairs of Wu'an Sect
during the days when you were away.
Thank you for your hard work, Xi.
A toast to you again.
Your Excellency.
Look.
This official uniform has worn out.
Looks like Zhou Xianyi has spent all of his wage
on the stuff for making rouge.
The procedure of rouge-making is quite tedious.
It was very thoughtful of him
to do it himself.
Your Excellency.
Do you think his lover
is the one who made the sachets?
Quite possibly.
I told you to look into
Shangguan Xi's sachet.
How is it going?
Don't worry, Your Excellency.
I'm already looking into it.
We'll have a result soon.
Your Excellency?
Is this house haunted?
Why is it so windy out here?
I'm sorry, Your Excellency.
I didn't do this on purpose.
I will definitely...
Don't touch it.
It's just a bracelet.
Why are you so angry?
Zhai Lanye?
Miss Shangguan made and gave the sachet to Zhou Xianyi
as a love token, right?
No.
She's never done
any needlework of girls.
So Zhai Lanye is...
She is Xi's bestie
who used to live in the Zhai Mansion in the East of Yangzhou.
I heard she has moved to another place recently.
However, I've no idea where
she's moved.
I told you beforehand
that Xi would never do this.
So according to what you said,
Miss Shangguan
has no special relationship with Zhou Xianyi,
Zhai Lanye does.
Where can I find her?
The boat house by the lake.
She is a lean horse in Yangzhou.
I've heard of that.
That's another kind of human trading in Yangzhou.
Romantically, it is called to feeding the lean horses
That means girls from poor families
would be adopted by the rich
at the age of 7 or 8.
Then they are taught skills
like lute-playing, chess, calligraphy, painting, cooking and so on.
However, they are educated
to become the concubines of men.
Anyway, I don't like girls of this kind.
I also heard that
those lean horses are divided into three levels in terms of appearance, talent and intelligence.
For smart, pretty and refined girls,
the families supporting them will teach them
lute-playing, poem-reciting, calligraphy, painting,
playing the game of go, flute-playing,
backgammon-playing, and domino-playing.
In addition to dressing up
and how to walk, stand and sit appropriately,
they will be even told
to learn the bed stuff
according to the erotic pictures
in the "Lord of Perfect Satisfaction".
Don't you like them as well?
Jinxia.
I can't believe you know so much about this.
Of course.
I have a collection of the "Lord of Perfect Satisfaction".
This is what you are fond of?
I use them for handling cases.
Handling cases…
you don't have to hit me.
What else do you want to ask me?
You know a lot of things, too, right?
Tell me.
Is there anything else related to Zhai Lanye?
You just told me to ask about the sachet,
excluding the profile about Zhai Lanye.
I...
No, stop!
Well…
Why do you always hit me, Jinxia?
I told you
that you can't hit a man's head.
I'm not that patient.
Tell me.
Right now!
Take it easy, OK?
Xi told me
that a few months ago,
Zhai Lanye met Zhou Xianyi when sailing on the lake.
By playing the lute,
two cups of flat tea,
and a short talk,
she drew Zhou Xianyi's attention.
Now that Zhou Xianyi was so fascinated by her,
why didn't he marry her?
Zhai Lanye is outstanding among those lean horses.
If he wanted to marry her,
he had to pay 10 thousand taels of silver to her owner.
How could Zhou Xianyi
pay such a large amount of money in a lump sum?
If I say,
I just took 10 thousand taels of official silver
and returned them in full amount…
I see.
No wonder Zhou Xianyi admitted that he embezzled 10 thousand taels,
but he wasn't willing to reveal the inside story.
I've told you so much information.
How will you requite me?
If you get fresh with me again,
I will hit you.
You can visit me.
once you decide how to requite me.
I'm leaving.
Well…
Your Excellency.
Why did you get in without knocking the door?
I'm sorry.
I didn't know that you are getting changed now.
I just want to report something important.
What's up?
Your Excellency, I‘ve found out
why Zhou Xianyi had to embezzle the 10 thousand taels.
He did this for a lean horse.
A lean horse?
Her name is Zhai Lanye.
A few months ago,
Zhou Xianyi fell in love with her at first sight.
However, if he wanted to marry her,
he had to pay 10 thousand taels of silver to her owner.
So Zhou Xianyi was so anxious
that he even intended to sell his family's land to raise money.
Finally,
the hero became a prisoner of love.
As far as I know,
if the weather is nice,
Mr. Zhai will take Zhai Lanye to sail on the lake
for gold digging.
Go and arrange a luxurious boat for me.
And spread the news that a rich gentleman from the capital
is going to sail on the lake.
You know what to do?
Digging gold with fragrance?
I've thought about it already, Your Excellency.
Come with Yang Yue tomorrow.
Yes, Your Excellency.
But…well…Your excellency…
What's going on?
I need money to rent the boat,
but I'm a little hard up...
Can you allocate some money to me first?
We won't settle all the accounts until this is over.
How can I rent a luxurious boat without money?
Isn't it easy for you
to get some money?
Thank you for your compliment, Your Excellency. Goodbye.
Jinxia,
this maid hairstyle is adorable.
Red armor over a green coat,
That shows happiness and vigor.
You look great in this suit, Yue.
Really?
Why don't I feel happy
about what you said?
Are you praising me?
Were you praising me just now?
I...
Yes.
Yes?
Do I look happy?
-Do I look happy? -Fine, fine.
What's this here?
This?
You don't understand.
This is my camouflage.
Otherwise, with this appearance,
how can I look like a servant
without any scars?
It's just like
the horns on your head.
Stop, that's enough.
It hurts.
Enough, enough. Yue.
You are becoming more and more annoying.
That's enough. Can you stop?
Let me tell you...
Serve the wine for me.
Hurry up. Go.
Help yourself, Your Excellency.
Constable Yuan,
disguising as a maid
means you have to act like a real maid.
Your carelessness makes you
seen through easily.
Please help yourself, Your Excellency.
Is it okay now, Your Excellency?
Just so-so.
Your look
is really...
I'm really not good-looking,
but I got dressed for handling this case..
Just make do with me.
I'll make do.
It's good if you like.
I wonder if Zhai Lanye
will go sail on the lake on this rainy day.
If she doesn't,
then this will be a huge waste of money.
Have some snacks, Your Excellency. Why don't you eat?
Help yourself.
Looks like Zhai Lanye's boat is coming.
What should we do now?
It's her.
I've enquired
that Zhai Lanye knows a lot about music and is good at playing pipa.
She is here.
Hit her boat.
Okay.
Whose rough boat
is it?
What if you hurt my lady?
Sorry, sorry.
I'm really sorry.
My young master said
that he wants to apologize to your lady in person.
Not everyone can meet our lady.
Gui'er,
Don't be so rude.
Ask the young master of that boat to come over for a talk.
Yes.
Please come on in.
Wait a second.
Your Excellency, she agreed really frankly
as you expected.
You've wasted lots of time in Department Six.
Think about it.
She's more eager to meet me?
Or I'm more eager to meet her?
I'm not sure.
What did you say?
You are really smart, Your Excellency.
This way please.
Nice to meet you.
Sorry for disturbing you.
I've blamed my boatman.
I hope you can forgive me.
You are so serious.
I'm fine.
Thank you for worrying about me.
As I'm a newcomer here in Yangzhou.
I particularly come to the Slender West Lake for sightseeing.
Just now I heard your music from your boat,
and I was really eager to meet you.
I usually like playing instruments.
Please excuse me for that.
Could we have the honor
to hear you play some music?
You are my guests from far away.
Hope you will enjoy.