[English subtitles are available.]
The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty
Episode 16
Please come in.
Magistrate Tang,
this house is not very big,
but it is fully-furnished with sufficient sunlight and a reasonable rent.
Also it is very close to your future office.
I think it'll be perfect for you.
Your Excellency Lu, thank you so much
for helping me find the house so thoughtfully.
I really appreciate it.
It's my pleasure.
I think your appointment to Tongzhou this time
is just for adding a working experience on your resume
for your future promotion, right?
Actually I was appointed here
because I solved a major murder case
a few days ago.
Major murder case?
What is it?
A cold case which hasn't been solved for the past 22 years.
I always said this kid is so brilliant
that he will achieve something great.
Look at that!
Exactly like what I said.
Yes.
A bright future is waiting for you.
Yu.
Go butcher that rooster at the backyard.
We need to entertain Fan properly!
That's right.
Let's get another extra dish.
Sure!
Since you solved such a major case,
the royal court must give you a lot of rewards.
Tell us.
There is no reward.
This case involved a royal clan member.
So I accidentally offended His Majesty.
But he couldn't kill me since now we're under the spotlight of public opinion,
so he just banished me to Tongzhou.
I see...
The weather has been dry these days.
Chicken dish is too greasy for such a weather.
Yu,
don't butcher that rooster.
Let's keep the food fresh and light.
Yes, mother.
Cheng.
Recite the poem Dad taught you
the other day.
Yes, recite it.
Come on!
Sympathy with the Peasants.
Just sow a seed in spring,
and you will reap a lot of food in the fall.
All over the world,
no waste land...ummm...
You forgot it in just two days.
How can you take the imperial exam if you're so stupid!
Come here.
Cheng, you will work hard
and will not let Dad down, right?
Nod and say yes.
Don't hide in your mother 's arms.
You are a man, don't act like a girl.
This bamboo shoot soup
can nourish your lungs.
Drink it while it's still warm.
Come on.
You didn't educate the boy well.
Cheng.
Do you want to play outside?
Let me take you to play.
Come on.
Why are you sitting on the ground?
Yu.
How are you doing these years in here?
Pretty good.
Why did you ask?
You call this good?
They treat you badly when I am still here.
Imagine how your husband's family will bully you
when I'm not here!
No matter what happens, life goes on.
As long as it can still go on, it's good enough for me.
You know?
Tongzhou is the end of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal,
which boosts many trades and businessmen.
That's why this city is so
prosperous and bustling.
This shop
has been running for some years in Tongzhou.
It sells products across the country.
To be honest with you,
I have a sister
who married into a He family
that owns this shop.
I shall bid my goodbye here.
Mr. Tang, please help yourself.
I need to go back to the office to deal with some documents.
Lady,
you have really white skin.
You just said your body hurt...
Is Mr. He here?
I need to talk to him.
I have a heartache.
Heartache?
OK.
Let me give you a massage.
Here.
It won't hurt after that.
Come on.
Tang Fan! You....
When did you come?
You should have told me you were coming.
My sister is the only family I have.
If she's happy, then good.
If she's not...
What are you talking about?
We...
We're happily together.
That's good.
Bastard! What are you doing here?
Now I believe your family doesn't have any other capable man.
You even sent a cook to kill me.
I am impressed.
A cook?
I know in your heart
you have killed me hundreds of times.
But
you can't send a cook to die in vain.
If people know about it,
your family will become a laughingstock.
Did I order you to kill Wang Zhi?
You said it yourself
whoever kills Wang Zhi
can marry Her Ladyship!
Do you know what you are?
Do you know your place?
Whoever
kills Wang Zhi
can marry Her Ladyship!
Shut up!
- Whoever. -Stop it!
-kills Wang Zhi. -I told you to shut up!
can marry Her Ladyship!
How dare you, a servant,
to even dream about marrying Her Ladyship?
If I kill Wang Zhi,
I can marry Her Ladyship!
I am gonna kill you!
-I am gonna... -That's enough!
Your Excellency!
The six melon seedlings I grew
were pulled out overnight!
And then there are melon seedlings appeared out of thin air
in Chengwu's field.
He must have stolen them from me.
Your Excellency!
When this man married me,
he promised I would be the only love of his.
We only got married for three years
and now I caught him going to brothels!
Isn't it my lawful right
to beat such a scumbag up?
Your Excellency!
This man cheated me out of six coins with tricks!
Your Excellency!
There are visitors from the capital asking to see you.
So anxious?
There must be something important in the capital.
You guys deal with these cases without me.
I'll go take a look.
What brings you here?
I brought some medicines for Cheng.
What is this?
Never seen that before, huh?
Ever since I met tomatoes,
I started to learn other foreign vegetables.
This is
a foreign sorghum from some Western states.
It looks kind of cute.
Is it edible?
Of course.
Well, the taste is
not so good.
I said it's edible,
but it needs to be cooked thoroughly first.
Why didn't you say so earlier?
You didn't ask me.
But I can study the possible recipes for it.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Thank you, Dr. Pei, for specially coming to bring us the medicines.
I made some osmanthus-scented honey.
Try this honey tea.
It's nice.
How is Cheng recently?
The seizure did not recur.
And he eats more than before.
He is also in a better shape.
I am glad to hear it.
By the way,
I slightly adjusted
the prescriptions
by adding extra hawthorns and wolf berries which are good for his spleen and stomach.
Look, these two herbs
have to be decocted separately.
And wait another hour to let him drink it.
OK.
I got it.
Thank you Dr. Pei.
-My pleasure. -Uncle Pei is here!
Cheng.
Come, let me hug you!
-Father, mother. -You're really heavy!
Do you miss me?
Yes I do!
So many medicines.
How much did you spend on them?
Cheng is not sick at all.
Why did you buy so many medicines?
Father, mother.
This is
Dr. Pei Huai, a famous doctor in the capital.
Cheng's getting better
thanks to his acupuncture and decoction.
You are not a doctor, what do you know?
Mother.
Dr. Pei is a sincere friend of Fan.
He didn't charge any money for these medicines.
I really appreciated him.
Tang Yu.
I shall get out of your hair then.
Goodbye.
Remember to let Cheng take the medicine on time.
OK.
Take care on your way home.
Is your brother-in-law's family running a shop?
Yes.
I knew it.
I'm telling you,
they're so mean to your sister.
The child is sick,
but they're not willing to give him treatments.
Anyway, your sister must suffer a lot
living with that family.
I know.
The He family has always bullied my sister
because they thought she has no powerful family members to rely on.
I won't let my sister suffer at the He family anymore.
This is absurd.
Totally absurd.
What's wrong?
These are your favorite dishes.
Are they not tasty?
They are.
You cooked them, how can they be not tasty?
Then what happened to you?
I'm worried.
About?
What else can it be?
Of course it's your marriage.
Sui,
are you really going to
marry that Miss Yu?
This is not even up to me to decide.
Why would you a little girl worry about it?
What you said doesn't make sense to me.
Like Tang said,
one should marry someone they love, and they will not separate ever again.
How come you
don't have a say in your own marriage?
Anyway, I don't think you'll let me have a say in this, either.
Anyway, you're just going to marry Miss Yu.
You saved me
from those bag guys
who outnumbered you by eight people.
How come such a good fighter
can't decide his own life?
What Tang said
only exists in story books.
Are they real stories in the book?
Not all of them.
When I was six years old,
there was a serious disaster in my hometown.
My parents traded me for a bag of millet
to keep my little brother alive.
When the human trafficker came to take me away,
my parents asked me not to hate them.
They just tried to keep both
me and my brother alive.
I don't hate them.
I know they really had no other choices.
I was starved when I was little.
So whenever I was unhappy or
scared,
I always thought I would not afraid of anything
as long as I could still have food to eat.
But when you came to save me,
you risked your own life.
I don't know what I did right in my previous life
that I deserve such a blessing.
I'm willing to stay by your side
and take care of you for a lifetime.
Tomorrow
I want to go to Tongzhou.
I'm going to find Tang.
If you want to.
I was wondering how Tang Fan is doing in Tongzhou.
The case has gradually faded from people's sight.
There is no sign that the royal court wants to continue to pursue him.
Tell him he can rest assured and focus on work in Tongzhou.
She didn't eat dinner last night,
or breakfast in the morning.
She's probably hungry.
I prepared a lunchbox.
You guys can share it on the way.
Baihu Sui,
I've never seen you speak so much.
Are you OK?
All of them are my favorite.
Tang Fan.
Why are you guys here?
I want to talk to you.
You are not going to threaten me today?
I want to ask you a few questions.
Go ahead.
Your He family has
run this shop so well.
You should have a good income, right?
Don't worry.
I have no interest in your property at all.
I just want to ask you,
since the business is booming,
why don't you hire some servants or maids to help?
My sister
not only does all housework,
but also helps out in your shop.
That's funny you ask.
Since she has married into our family,
it's her obligation to
take care of her parents-in-law and handle the housework.
What's wrong with this?
Since she is not blessed to be a wealthy woman,
she has to strictly abide by the female virtues.
What's wrong with that?
Don't you feel grateful at all?
Don't you feel pity for your wife
watching her working so hard day and night?
Fine.
It doesn't matter if you don't pity my sister.
But Cheng is your own son.
Why don't you give him proper medical care
instead of listening to the superstitious nonsense?
You have the nerve to bring this up!
That hoodoo Tang Yu
gave birth to him in the most cursed hour.
The boy was unlucky
so he attracted many evil spirits.
That's why he brought all the wickedness to our house.
Cheng has epilepsy.
He is not possessed by demons.
If he is given proper treatment,
his epilepsy will be healed.
Who are you?
It's not your place to
involve in my son's business.
It seems that my mother was right.
You specially came to give her medicines yesterday.
There must be something fishy with you two.
There is no free lunch
unless you want something from her!
Do you know what you're talking about?
You are slandering your wife's reputation.
Reputation?
That hoodoo is totally capable of
cheating on me.
You bastard!
What are you doing?
How dare you hit your husband?
Do you still want to stay in this family?
It's not a pity to leave this family!
All of you, get out of here!
Let's live with uncle for a while.
Yu, you can live in my room with Cheng.
Pei, let's clean up the lumber room.
We can sleep there.
This tent seems to be perfect for you, Dora.
Dora?
Who is this lady?
Yu,
I forgot to introduce you two.
This is Dora.
She is a good friend of mine.
She helped me a lot.
Dora,
this is my sister
Tang Yu.
You have tears on your face.
Whoever makes a woman cry is a bad guy.
Dora protects you.
-Dong? -Tang!
Why are you here?
Where is Sui Zhou?
What happened to you?
I am fine.
I'm just a little hungry.
Now that you say so,
I'm hungry too.
OK.
I will make something delicious for everyone!
Wuyun, you're amazing!
Sometimes Cheng will reveal children's nature.
Yes.
Coming.
Let's dig in!
Come on.
Dong, your potato slices.
Time for putting meat in the pot.
Have some sesame sauce.
Sure.
This is delicious.
Have some more then.
By the way, Dong.
How is Sui doing?
Miss Yu came to visit him every day.
with all kinds of excuses.
It's so annoying to watch.
I'm so mad
every time I saw how she looked at him.
He is like an elder brother to me,
who gave her the right to stare at him?
Dr. Pei, you haven't gone to sleep yet?
I...
The hotpot you cooked was really delicious.
I ate too much
so I couldn't fall asleep.
You must find me funny.
Take a seat.
OK.
Cheng always eats too many snacks.
I always carry hawthorn pills with me for his indigestion.
Feel better?
I did not expect
today I become the doctor
for a famous doctor.
You have been living miserably
In the He family.
Why do you have to endure it?
For Cheng.
I can bear it no matter how much I suffer.
But no matter what happened,
they are Cheng's family.
I don't have a choice.
Moreover...
What is it?
Cheng's father won't divorce me.
Why?
My engagement with him was determined a long time ago
while my parents were alive.
I didn't expect my parents to die so early.
But the He family did not regret the engagement.
They insisted that He Lin should marry me.
Fan was afraid my husband's family would look down upon me.
So he gave all our parents' property
to me as my dowry.
He only kept a pair of chopsticks
as a memorial of my parents.
When I married him,
his family's business was at a low point.
They turned the business around
with the support of my dowry.
So the He family won't let me go.
What they don't want to let go is not you,
but your dowry.
I said too much.
Dr. Pei, sorry that you have to hear this.
It's alright.
What happened?
What's going on?
Lady.
Go with me.
Go with you?
Where are you going?
We grew up together
and have been close friends.
You must know how I feel about you.
Let's elope!
I will treat you well.
I won't let others bully you
or make you suffer.
Why did you suddenly tell me all this?
I don't have many friends while growing up.
My two brothers have no time to spend with me, either.
You and I are about the same age,
so we have been playing together since childhood.
I always treat you like my brother.
In my heart you are my best friend.
Brother,
friend?
Yes.
You are like a brother to me.
Besides,
I fall in love with someone.
You really love
that Sui Zhou?
I will definitely marry him.
When I went to his house for the first time,
I got the wrong person.
I thought Tang Fan was Sui Zhou.
Then I really met him
and I found out
he is extraordinarily handsome.
Yes, as everyone said, extraordinarily handsome.
Degui?
Degui!
I see.
Go back to sleep.
I won't tell anyone
what you told me tonight.
Cheng!
Cheng.
Grandma!
Cheng.
Here.
Cheng!
Grandma made your favorite shortbread.
Go back with Grandma.
Cheng!
Is everything alright?
Cheng is gone!
Cheng!
Mom!
-My good boy. -Why didn't you come pick me up earlier?
Mom will take you with me now.
Mother, father.
How can you take Cheng away
without telling me?
Cheng belongs to my family.
I am his grandmother.
I don't need to tell you if I take him away.
I want to take him with me.
You won't!
Cheng!
Who gave you the right to keep Cheng here?
What do you want?
Mom, I want my mom!
The child's surname is He.
So he has to stay with us.
Even if he dies,
he must be buried in the He family's graveyard!
If you insist,
I'm going to file the case to the court.
Ok.
Go ahead.
Isn't your younger brother an official in Tongzhou government?
Do not worry.
We won't bully you.
Let's take this to the court!
Fine!
Let's take this to the court!
Sorry, Your Excellency Lu.
It's OK.
Have some tea
and take another nap.
No, no, no.
Why does the whole office remain idle today?
Are there any
unfinished jobs that I can do?
Even like that kinds of
petty cases yesterday.
Mr. Tang, you are still so young.
Remember,
the first rule of being an official is
no news is good news.
Well, speaking of the devil.
Yu?
Why did you come?
They took Cheng and didn't return him to me.
You go too far!
I haven't settled the accounts with you
about how you bullied my sister!
Now you guys even took Cheng from her?
You've pushed too hard!
Mr. Tang,
so you're saying this lady is your sister?
Yes.
Since the case involves your family,
you have a conflict of interest in the case.
You need to be recused from the matter.
Fan?
Your Excellency's right.
So I am now
standing here as the brother of the victim
to be questioned by you.
Ok.
If that's what you want.
You beat the drum at court, so what complaint do you want to lodge?
Your Excellency.
My name is Tang Yu.
I am making a complaint that the He family took my son.
Is that true?
No!
Tang Yu is my daughter-in-law.
We are a family.
There is no such thing as we "took" her son!
What family?
They're going to get a mutual agreed divorce soon!
Tang Yu.
Did Your husband announce he would divorce you or
a mutually agreed divorce on paper?
Not yet.
That being the case,
you guys are indeed a family.
This is hardly a law suit.
Moreover, even if you have mutually agreed to divorce,
the child is still a member of the He family.
Only when they clearly state on the divorce documentation
they agree to let you take the child away,
will you get the custody of the child.
Do you understand?
Then let's get a divorce right here!
Fine!
Let's do it.
I'll give you the divorce you want.
This is my statement to divorce you.
But there is one thing.
You can't take the boy.
No way.
I don't want to divorce anymore.
Your Excellency.
I don't want to divorce anymore.
Yu!
What are you thinking?
He is so unbearable.
You have to get a divorce!
We'll think about Cheng's problem by then.
No, leave it alone.
What's wrong with your brother?
How can he persuade his sister to divorce?
Tang Fan!
Don't think you
can bully us ordinary people because you are an official!
No.
Your Excellency.
Fan, don't worry about me.
You must!
I don't want to!
Leave us alone.
I'm protecting you.
You must divorce him!
What about Cheng?
Do you understand what this means?
You must leave him!
I will never get a divorce!
Is anyone home?
Anyone in there?
You guys go to check the crime scenes.
Report it to me if you find anything.
-Search the place! -Yes!
Come on!
Go there to take a look.
-Go over there. -OK.
Sir!
Mrs. Yu's body was found in the east chamber.
Sir.
The body of General Yu Zhengpeng was found in the west chamber.
We found a fingerprint with blood.
Miss Yu's body is found,
and there is also a male body.
Sir, that male body
should be their chef.
Sir! Miss Yu is still alive.
Your Excellencies, how can I help you guys?
Commander Wang.
This is an ingot of the official silver by Yunhe government this year.
What's wrong with it?
It looks authentic and feels authentic.
Look at this one.
Lead in official silver ingots.
What's the matter?
Didn't you see I am busy?
It's the Yu family.
Yu Zhengpeng!
When will he stop?
He really thinks I'm afraid of him?
Something happened to the Yu family.
The whole family were killed last night.
Commander Wang.
His Majesty calls you to go to the palace.
Baihu Sui.
Miss Yu's heart artery was cut by a knife.
That's why she would seem to be dead before.
It's a blessing that they realized she was alive.
But after all, the injury is too serious.
I've done everything I could.
Whether she can wake up or not
is now up to the God.
Baihu Sui,
I'd like to ask you for forgiveness in advance
in case she doesn't make it.
Your Majesty, Wang Zhi is here.
You finally show up.
Something serious happened.
Everyone in the Yu family was killed.
You're a bit too ruthless this time.
Your Majesty,
although Wang Zhi went too far this time,
he has his own reasons.
Yu Zhengpeng
embarrassed him several times.
He pushed Commander Wang too hard.
Nevertheless, our Commander Wang
is a royal court courtier, right?
But he couldn't spare the lives of Mrs. Yu
and the chef.
Isn't this a bit too...
I am telling you what,
a few days ago,
Yu mansion's chef assassinated Wang Zhi in Huanyi Brothel
but was caught red-handed.
I didn't know that! Really?
Of course.
Wang Zhi,
did you do it?
Your Majesty.
No.
I don't think it's you.
First,
you are not stupid.
You wouldn't do it so openly.
Second,
you could have killed Yu Zhengpeng in many ways.
You wouldn't do it in such a stupid and
sloppy way.
Third,
I don't think you get any benefit from
the fact the whole Yu family is killed. Right?
No.
Would you do something with no benefit?
No.
What do you think?
Your Majesty is right.
Exactly.
I don't think it was done by Commander Wang, either.
He must be framed by someone else.
Whoever did this must harbor malice to him!
All right.
You can leave.
Yes, Your Majesty.
You still have anything else?
Yes.
Your Majesty.
We have a problem in Yunhe.