[English subtitles are available.]
Under The Power
Episode 9
The wonderful music you played
will linger forever.
It is said that it takes ten years to learn pipa.
It's hard to learn pipa.
But in the public eyes,
it is just regarded as a normal skill of singers,
and it is not presentable.
Music can refresh our souls,
and it shouldn't be used just to entertain people.
Moreover,
musical instruments have nothing to do with social status.
You are too modest.
Such an outstanding and polite man like you
is so rare nowadays.
It's my good fortune
to meet you today.
It's hard to find a soulmate.
It's my pleasure to meet you, too.
Please take a seat!
Gui'er,
prepare the tea quickly.
Yes.
This is the kind of tea I often drink.
Please don't refuse to have the weak tea.
Please drink it!
Good tea!
Miss Zhai,
your dress is so beautiful.
Seeing the needle-work,
I know that it was made by a very famous artisan.
It's my mistake not to teach her well,
I'm sorry if you feel offended.
It's okay.
My dress
wasn't made by a famous artisan.
I made it myself in my free time.
You are both beautiful and talented.
How smooth-tongued you are!
How lovely!
In the beginning, we just wanted to go for a walk to relax,
and we didn't expect to disturb you.
Nothing.
Forget about it.
I have a question
but I don't know whether I should ask you or not.
What is it?
Could you tell me
whether you have gotten married or not?
My young master...
Some years ago, I...
I got married.
With such personalities,
there may be many people
coming here to propose you, right?
To be honest,
among the people chasing me,
there was a man selling real estate coming to propose me,
but I
have never fallen in love with anyone.
What all these men need is my beauty only,
and none of them really loves me.
So I didn't dare spend the rest of my life with one of them.
I have an unlucky life.
I'm just a lean horse.
You are overanxious.
Such a beautiful girl like you
will soon find your perfect match, definitely.
Tell me.
What did you find out?
You Excellency,
you stayed with her for half of a day,
but she only asked whether you gotten married or not.
Regarding clues,
you should have known more than us.
Shut up.
What you mean is
I have to report to you, right?
I don't dare.
There are not many clues.
I just found out that Lanye is quite good-natured,
and treats her servant well.
Her accommodation
is near the water terminal.
It may be on the lakeside.
Recently,
she went out secretly on a rainy day,
and had a cold.
Moreover,
excuse me, frankly,
it is likely that Zhai Lanye is being controlled,
so she has to act submissively in order to ingratiate herself with the high-ranking officials.
Go on.
Firstly,
her shoes and socks were clean,
but there was mud on her servant's shoes.
So it can be said that
before getting on the boat, they sat in a palanquin.
If the distance is long,
they may have chosen a horse-drawn carriage.
Secondly,
on the upper of Zhai Lanye's shoe, there were about five-six scratches.
Obviously, her servant
had helped her to remove the mud,
and carelessly scratched it.
For such a weak girl like Zhai Lanye,
the mud on her shoes
must have resulted from her going out on a rainy day.
She neither sat in a palanquin nor used a horse-drawn carriage,
so she must have been out secretly.
Thirdly,
Zhai Lanye had a cold.
The family supporting her has money,
but lets her come to the lake while she is ill,
Marrying her
needs 10,000 taels of silver,
which means the family supporting her
wants to use her to earn money.
How could you assume that the family has money?
Only the decoration on the boat
costs more than 2,000 taels of silver,
not to mention her pipa,
which was made by a famous artisan,
and is very expensive.
I heard that
the one supporting her was the younger brother of the prefect's wife.
The day before Zhou Xianyi was caught,
how was the weather?
Your Excellency,
as I can recall from the file, it was rainy that day.
So the one that Zhai Lanye met secretly on that rainy day
was Zhou Xianyi?
I just took 10,000 taels of silver from the public money,
and I have already given it back.
Mr. Lu,
do you dare believe me?
Before tomorrow,
I must have the information
of the year when Zhai Lanye was adopted,
her real parents,
and the people she had met.
Moreover,
the most important thing is
where she went to
the night before Zhou Xianyi was caught.
I got it.
However,
why didn't you ask her directly
about Zhou Xianyi?
Based on her words,
Zhou Xianyi seems to have one-sided love.
Among the ones chasing me,
there was a man selling real estate coming to propose me,
but I
have never fallen in love with anyone.
Even you can come up with that fact,
if I had asked her,
would she have answered me naively?
It's true.
Your Excellency,
do you feel good
when being expressed love by such a beauty?
Zhai Lanye is fair-skinned and beautiful.
Seeing her, I can't even help myself from touching her.
What nonsense are you saying?
I'm telling you,
don't reveal your own self.
Our love lasts long but our hatred doesn't.
Is it you?
Your Excellency,
Zhou Xianyi died.
He died?
Yes.
His pupils dilated,
and his eardrum shook so hard that it burst.
It seems that he had been frightened so much before he died.
Moreover,
he had no obvious injuries,
and also showed no signs of being poisoned.
It seems that his heartbeat stopped
within a very short time,
which led to sudden death.
The lock of the detention room wasn't destroyed.
But the death of Zhou Xianyi
is not like a natural death.
Could it be that
he was possessed?
Constable Yuan,
as a public official,
you even believe in those ridiculous things?
I don't.
What I mean is
his death is abnormal.
It's the first time I've heard
someone being killed without knives in the detention room.
If wanting to find the real murderer,
we should find out
the cause of his death firstly.
The investigation of the cause of his death
will be left to Constable Yuan.
Mr. Lu,
Zhou Xianyi embezzled public money,
and now he died in the detention room.
He must have committed suicide for fear of punishment.
I think that
we can report it to the emperor
to end this case.
Mr. Wei,
are you teaching me how to work
or shirking your responsibilities?
I don't dare.
I will follow your words.
Why is he so harsh?
He just bullies the weak and fears the strong.
Okay, let's work.
Mr. Lu,
in this case, the autopsy was left to my student,
so there might be some mistakes.
When I come back,
I will check it carefully,
and report the results to you.
No need to hurry.
Head Constable Yang,
has your leg recovered yet?
Thank you for caring about me.
It's much better now.
It seems that Doctor Shen
enjoys a well-deserved reputation.
Ah, master,
Zhou Xianyi seemed to have been frightened to death.
The cause of his death is abnormal.
What do you think?
Go and investigate
to check later
whether he suffered from an old disease or not.
Yes.
All the dishes are here now,
and we are all hungry,
so let's eat.
Your Excellency, please.
Okay.
Yue,
do you remember that last summer,
in the house in the south of the town,
there was a dead body,
which had been there for over one month
but nobody found out?
Then the room was filled with maggots.
But today
when I carried out the autopsy of Zhou Xianyi,
I paled into insignificance by comparison.
Leader, do you remember?
Regarding the dead body at that time,
even the coroner didn't dare conduct the autopsy.
In the end, you were the one who did it.
You even told me and Yue
to pick out those maggots.
We did it in four hours,
and then we couldn't eat anything the next three days.
Your Excellency, I tell you,
at that time, the maggots
being in the blood,
were white and fat,
and they swarmed,
which was so lovely.
They looked the same as...
the rice in the soup in this bowl.
Yue,
the number of maggots
was enough for four-five people to eat, right?
It was not enough for only you.
Your Excellency, enjoy the meal.
I will check whether there is enough grass for horses.
Your Excellency, please enjoy.
Please eat.
Your Excellency,
that maggot,
at that time I thought
if I tore its body to thousands of pieces,
and got all the things out...
Okay, you guys can go on eating.
Mr. Lu.
Your Excellency, please eat more.
Why are you looking at me like this?
Let's eat!
Can you still swallow?
I just want to make him feel nauseous.
Just think of
how he treated us when we were on the way.
It's hard to have such a good opportunity,
so I should seize it.
You fought against 10,000 enemies
but you lost 3,000 soldiers.
The whole table of dishes is wasted now.
Only a few words can stop you from eating.
If I had known it before,
in the capital,
I would have forced you to eat with the coroner
three meals a day.
I will go to the kitchen to see whether there are steamed stuffed buns left.
Master, please eat.
I've just heard that
Zhou Xianyi had died
and 100,000 taels of silver for repairing the dikes is nowhere to be found.
Mr. Liao.
Here I am.
You are the minister of the Ministry of Works.
Tell me
what happened.
Your Majesty,
when Zhou Xianyi withdrew the money,
he insisted on doing it without official guards.
He himself hired the people from the underworld.
I doubt that
Zhou Xianyi wanted to steal all the money,
so he worked hand in glove with a faction from the underworld
but was betrayed,
thus leading to his death.
An official worked hand in glove with a faction?
It negatively affects the honor of the court
and puts the court in danger.
Mr. Yan.
Here I am.
This case
must be investigated by the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs.
Your Majesty, please don't worry.
I will ask the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs to investigate carefully.
Your Majesty,
regarding the 10,0000 taels of silver being stolen,
the state treasury can't let it go like this.
The most important thing is
to find the stolen money
so that the public can not complain
and hate us about this.
Mr. Liao.
Here I am.
The Ministry of Works lost that amount of money,
so your ministry will have to find it.
You have to bring back all of the money lost.
I got it.
Your Majesty.
You're having a headache again.
Do you need to see an imperial doctor?
No need.
Go away!
So I will go away.
Mr. Lu,
you should stay here.
Your Majesty.
Mr. Lu.
This case
needs to be investigated carefully.
If such a small director of the Bureau of Irrigation and Transportation in the Ministry of Works
could embezzle 100,000 taels of silver,
it proves that
there are quite a few loopholes of the court.
You must investigate carefully.
I got it.
Your Majesty, please take care of your health.
I should go now.
Mr. Lu,
I have something to report to you.
Do you feel convenient with it?
Come in.
Yes.
Mr. Lu.
What's wrong?
This is the voucher for renting the boat.
The boat rent fee is 2 taels of silver.
Tea and dessert in the boat cost 0.5 taels.
In total, it cost 2.5 taels.
Please have a look.
I can pay the boat rent fee.
But regarding tea and dessert,
you were the only one who had the dessert.
I didn't eat.
You want me to pay for it?
No way.
I...
I just ate some pieces of dessert.
Just some pieces?
Constable Yuan,
being a human, you should be honest and kind.
Yuan Jinxia, Yuan Jinxia,
how gluttonous you are!
What you ate in half of the day cost 0.5 taels,
which is the money for food for you for over half amonth.
Why is this room dirty today?
I'll clean the room for you.
Isn't it fine?
Fine, fine, fine.
Making you feel comfortable
is what I should do.
There are some over there.
Why is there dust on the leaves of the plant?
I will clean it.
The door seems to be not very clean.
I'll do it.
Done, Your Excellency.
I have cleaned all the places
that I can.
Please have a check.
Well...
I've done the work,
so...
about the money,
could it be...
Tonight, at 9:00 pm,
go to the house of Zhou Xianyi
go to the second floor,
light the lamp,
open the windows,
and wait there.
Wait after the roosters crow three times,
turn off the lamp and go out.
Then the money...
Then it will be reimbursed.
How brilliant you are!
Wait after the roosters crow three times,
turn off the lamp and go out.
Roosters?
Does anyone near here raise roosters?
If I don't hear the crowing of roosters,
then will I have to be here till the New Year?
I am missing you.
Come on, come on.
Very good.
Having you with me is so good.
Can you tell me
whether there are roosters near here?
If yes,
they might have been eaten by you. Right?
Right?
Go, go, go.
Be good.
Could it be...
Why are you here?
Come here!
Your Excellency.
I am late.
Please forgive me, Your Excellency.
Did you find out any clues in the building?
Is the building that you stayed in
the residence of Zhai family?
From the window of Zhou Xianyi's house,
I could see the room of Zhai Lanye.
How suspicious!
The important thing is
after Zhou Xianyi was caught,
Zhai Lanye moved to another place.
I feel that
Zhai Lanye has a suspicious relationship with Zhou Xianyi,
which is different from what she said.
Let's go!
I just guess.
It seems that we should find another opportunity
to meet her again.
This cat is afraid of water.
It getting drenched in the rain
is pathetic.
Your Excellency,
don't you feel that
I'm pathetic too?
Ah, by the way, Your Excellency.
you told me to wait in that building,
and not to go out until after roosters crowed three times.
Why?
The death of Zhou Xianyi is abnormal.
I feel that in this building there may be dirty things.
Since you are righteous,
if you stay there for long,
you can be used to fight against evil spirits.
You played a trick on me?
In your heart,
am I that kind of person?
Of course not.
I know that what you did
is to train me.
You can think like that.
Your Excellency,
I am so loyal and devoted like this,
should I be rewarded?
It is said that the hot water bathing pool is very famous in Yangzhou.
Can
we...
Next time.
Your Excellency.
What's wrong?
There's a person coming here to see you.
Who?
Zhai Lanye.
You've come to see me,
which means you know my real identity.
In the past, I didn't know it,
if you feel offended by any words of mine,
please forgive me.
You don't complain on my hiding my real identity?
When you work,
you have your own reasons for your actions.
You are smart.
Don't you feel curious about
how I knew it?
Aren't you and Miss Shangguan
close friends?
Since that day,
I often docked my boat by the Slender West Lake,
hoping that I am fortunate
to meet you again.
Until
Shangguan told me that
you
are actually the Mr. Lu from the capital.
Zhou Xianyi died in the detention room.
How could this happen?
The money for repairing the dikes has been lost.
Both you and me know Zhou Xianyi,
Since he died,
your doubt can be cleared up now.
What do you mean?
There is a person call Mr. Lu from the capital
who came here to investigate the case of embezzlement.
Ah, right.
Lu Yi, the man from the Embroidered Uniform Guards,
is Mr. Lu whom you met when you cruised on the lake some days ago.
Since the day I met you,
I have missed you every day.
Therefore,
out of my curiosity,
I investigated you.
I found out that, a few months ago,
you had a close contact with Zhou Xianyi.
You are a smart person.
You don't forget it, right?
I...
Of course not.
Mr. Zhou was well-mannered when speaking.
I never expected that
he...
Have you ever heard him
talking about the money used for repairing the dikes?
I just know that he came to Yangzhou this time
to be in charge of repairing the dikes
Mentioning the close contact,
where did you get that information?
From the beginning,
I have met him for only three...
to four times.
We just chatted.
I don't know much about him.
He has never told me about
the work of the court.
You know very little about him?
You just used a few words to deny
the relationship between you and the man who admired you
and even didn't hesitate to
risk his life for you?
Although I wasn't born in a big family,
I have read "Biographies of Exemplary Women" since I was young.
Talking like that,
you really wants me to live without a shelter?
I don't want to hide it from you.
My adoptive father has brought me up for many years.
He had a rule.
If someone has a gift of 10,000 taels of silver,
he can marry me.
10,000 taels of silver is not small.
But compared to the money used for repairing the dikes,
it is not a big amount.
Actually,
I have been to the residence of Zhou family once.
From the windows of the attic,
guess what I saw.
What?
I saw your room.
Tell me
whether it was a coincidence.
However,
after he was confined in the detention room,
you left that place.
Mr. Lu, you are worthy of someone from the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
Actually, like you,
I really admired the talents of Mr. Zhou.
He chased me.
Following my adoptive father's words,
I didn't refuse him.
I gave him a sachet.
He gave me a box of make-up powder in return.
It's just that.
I am only
a lean horse in Yangzhou that was sold with a low price.
There were some things
I did involuntarily.
It's just that?
Your Excellency, trust me please.
There's nothing wrong with the relationship between Mr. Zhou and I.
I have never
fallen in love with any man,
except for
you.
When I met you for the first time that day,
I fell in love with you immediately.
If you have nothing to do with this case,
don't worry.
Good!
Good! Good!
Good!
Good! Good!
You asked me to thank you.
But you called me here to watch the play with you?
I can't see through you.
You are usually rude,
but it turns out that you have such an elegant hobby.
Don't look down on me.
Although I wasn't born in the family of a senior official like Lu Yi,
I was born in a business family.
Watching plays is obviously a way of entertainment.
Being rich is so good.
I brought you here,
because of this Chunxi Troupe.
Many years ago,
they were very famous in Yangzhou,
and all seats were occupied for all of their shows.
Then after a murder happened,
they lost their reputation.
A murder?
I want to come here to see
whether I can enjoy "The Best Perfume".
This is the best song
I've ever listened to.
Good!
Good! Good! Good!
Finish.
How is it? Is it good?
Good!
Good! Good!
If you can't understand, then forget about it.
Waiter!
Good! Good!
Waiter, give me a bottle of tea.
I heard that Zhou Xianyi died in the detention room, right?
Sir, here is your tea.
Right.
He died without a clear cause.
There were no injuries on his body.
His death is not like
being frightened to death.
Aren't you a lay disciple of the Southern Shaolin Monastery?
In your opinion,
except for suffering from attacks related to spiritual beings,
in what situations,
after one person died, his eardrum broke?
Hearing you talk about it,
I can recall one thing.
My master used to tell me that
in the back of our ear, there is an acupuncture point,
called mastoid process.
Pushing this point strongly
will lead to burst eardrums,
and bleeding in the brain to death.
Mastoid process?
Regarding the cause of death I've mentioned,
as I can recall,
in the murder in the Chunxi Troupe many years ago,
the victim also died this way.
At that time, the local authorities couldn't find out anything.
They even gossiped with each other that
it was caused by ghosts.
In the murder in the Chunxi Troupe many years ago,
the victim also died this way.
Is it a coincidence?
Your Excellency,
were you born in the Year of Cat?
Why didn't you make any sounds?
You scared me to death.
Only people who do something that troubles their conscience
can be scared to death.
What's wrong?
Are you doing something that troubles your conscience?
How can?
I am honest, not like you.
You are also very honest.
Your Excellency.
Your Excellency, why are you here?
Yang Yue told me that
you wanted to check the body of Zhou Xianyi once again.
I think you must have found something new.
So I came here.
Your Excellency, you have an incredible foresight.
Come on.
Your Excellency, please have a look.
It is this needle.
That's it.
It was used to kill Zhou Xianyi.
Ah, right,
Xie Xiao told me that
some years ago, a similar case happened in Yangzhou.
Xie Xiao.
You've just come to Yangzhou
but you have got on well with him?
It seems that you are not interested
in the work of a constable that much.
I am...
I...
Your Excellency…
I met Xie Xiao because I wanted to find some new clues.
Your Excellency, wait for me.
It is scary here.
Please have a look.
Your Excellency,
With the clothes on,
you look like an ordinary person.
You seem to be closer.
Your Excellency,
I looked into the documents,
and I can make sure that
in the murder relating to the Chunxi Troupe,
the victim
was killed in the same way as Zhou Xianyi.
Chunxi Troupe had not come back to Yangzhou for many years.
They have just come back,
and the same case happened,
which is abnormal.
Your Excellency,
please be patient.
This is the best way I can come up with
to approach the Chunxi Troupe.
Why didn't you come to see Yang Yue?
Or Cen Fu?
Why does it have to be me?
Because you are more handsome than them.
In this kind of play,
apart from postures and voice,
a good-looking face is important too.
It's the most appropriate sentence of yours
since I met you.
Take a look.
Sir,
give me one.
Okay.
That's a robber, catch him.
Catch him, be quick.
Stop running.
Catch the robber.
Catch him.
Catch the robber.
Is this yours?
Yes, yes, yes.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
It is just a slight effort.
How should
I call you?
I am Yuan Jinxia.
This is my sworn brother,
Lu Shisan.
Okay, okay, okay.
It's my honor to meet you.
I am the head of Chunxi Troupe.
Our troupe is ahead.
If you don't mind,
then could you come back with me?
I will treat you well.
No need.
You are the master?
Great!
Brother,
you know that
I have liked watching this kind of play since I was young.
Isn't this a good chance?
Right?
Master...
I have liked watching this kind of play since I was young.
I always want to learn it
when I grow up,
however, unfortunately,
there were floods in my home town.
The relatives of me and my sworn brother
all died.
Running away from the disaster, we came to Yangzhou.
But we ran out of money.
We can't have a full meal.
We don't even have enough clothes to wear.
We have nightmares every night.
I don't know
what to do in the future.
This turns out like that?
Seeing you skills,
I wonder whether you learned martial arts.
I learnt a little
from a master living near my village.
I have an idea.
Our Chunxi Troupe
are recruiting students.
You are outstanding,
which means the heaven has mercy on you.
Now we can meet each other,
which is our deep fate.
How about following me back to
Chunxi Troupe?
Really?
-Okay, okay. -No need.
-Okay, okay, okay.
No...
Brother,
if we go,
we'll have food to eat
and we won't have to suffer from hunger anymore.
I have been hungry for two days.
Okay, master.
Thank you!
Thank you, master.
This way, please.
Okay, master.
Thank you.
Let's go.
This is where our Chunxi Troupe stays.
Okay.
Raise your leg.
Changsheng,
come here.
Get to know each other.
These are the new apprentices.
This is your senior fellow apprentice, named Changsheng.
He will take care of you.
Changsheng,
take them around
to let them get used to our troupe.
Okay.
Come on, this way.
This is where we practice every day.
That side is the room storing performing costumes and props.
Changsheng,
how long have you been in the Chunxi Troupe?
Over ten years.
Then how about the master?
He has always been the master of the troupe?
Our Chunxi Troupe
was established by him.
It has been more than twenty years.
Although the master
is usually a little bit strict,
he treats everyone very well.
If members face difficulties,
he will always help.
As I can see,
the number of apprentices here is not large.
It is because you couldn't witness our Chunxi Troupe
in glorious days.
That time, all seats were occupied.
There were no vacancies left.
They all came because of our leading actor.
Leading actor?
In short,
since you are here,
you will experience little by little.
I believe that our Chunxi Troupe
will definitely regain our past glory.
Let's go.
I'll take you to choose some performing costumes
and to practice your voice.
Okay.
Let's go.
This way.
Your...
Brother Shisan, let's go.
A pair of affectionate couple leaves each other,
failing to live up to
the solemn vows and pledges.
Not being able to confide in anyone,
I can only cry in secret.