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The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty
♔ Follow @skysoultan on Instagram ♔ Episode 29
Commander Wang is in the building.
There are also so many hostages.
This is the time we save them,
not set a fire.
Get out of my way if you don't want to help.
Save your useless speech.
Listen carefully.
Get the straws
and surround Huanyi Brothel!
Yes, sir!
Hurry!
What are you guys doing?
What is the situation like inside the building?
You work in Office of Transmission at the Ministry of Punishments.
This is none of your business.
Wait.
Let me go in to persuade the robbers.
We Imperial Guards are working on the case.
Who are you to give orders here?
Mr. Wan, please calm down.
Mr. Tang means well.
He is famous for his eloquence.
If he can persuade the robbers to surrender without getting anyone hurt,
isn't this a good thing?
Commander Shang, could you ask someone
to prepare a food container
with some food in it?
Yes, sir!
Commander Shang.
Wait for him to go then we'll set fire.
Mr. Tang.
Even if you go in now,
they'll still set fire.
I know that.
I just want to buy some time.
Let your people get ready for my cue to move anytime.
We have to break into Huanyi Brothel before they set fire.
I got it.
You want to trade hostage?
You can take me
and let a hostage out.
Who?
Him.
Then him.
The two of them are our life safety net now.
Of course we won't make the deal.
Then her.
They want to set fire?
I don't believe it.
They already got straw and torches ready.
Now as long as he gives an order,
they will set fire.
I think you are just bluffing.
Commander Wang is here.
Who dares to act rashly?
I am going to die soon.
I won't lie to you.
It's precisely because you're going to die soon,
what you said is more untrustworthy.
You did it?
I did it.
In fact
I envy you all.
Whether I can get out today or not,
I'm going to die soon.
But you guys are different.
You still have a chance.
As long as you are willing to surrender,
you still have the hope to survive.
As long as there is hope for survival,
you shouldn't give up.
What?
Mr. Wang.
You are our biggest hope now.
You eat it first.
If you don't eat first,
we won't be able to eat .
Eat it!
You can't really count on him as a leverage.
Now outside the building
there are three different departments of the Imperial Guards, Eastern and Western Depots.
No matter who you have in hand,
there is no chance of winning.
Besides,
even if you got away today,
in the days to come, you will live on tenterhooks
worrying day and night you might be caught.
Do you want to
live the life of a fugitive?
Go to the front to take a look.
OK.
Set it on fire.
Didn't you hear what I said?
Xue Ling!
Do it!
Mr. Wan.
Allow me.
You!
You guys
must have some plans
for your future.
I guarantee you,
as long as you surrender,
you will be able to live.
You guarantee us?
Who guarantees you?
You also said
you are going to die.
If my promise won't assure you,
there are still the two of them.
You guys just want to get out.
But people outside want to kill someone with you as the excuse.
If this stalemate continues,
you guys, us, all of the people will die together.
You!
Bro, they really want to set fire.
Bro!
Are you OK?
Sir.
Guang…
Guangchuan…
Look at me!
Ask him to join us.
Be careful, it's still hot.
We didn't expect you to wake up so fast.
Come on.
When I woke up, there was no one at home.
And no one was taking care of me by my bedside.
I was even worried something happened to you.
But
you guys just didn't care about my life!
Pei,
I treat you as my close friend.
But
you left your patient
an enjoyed delicacy here!
Yu,
I'm your brother.
Anyone else can leave me,
but how can you leave me?
Dong,
I treat you so well.
But look at how you treat me!
Wuyun!
Every time I went to restaurants, I brought you with me!
You guys are unbelievable!
And you,
Sui Zhou.
You are so ungrateful.
I took a huge risk to save you.
Is this how you repay my favor?
Do you know how many days you slept?
What do you mean "days"?
Weren't we at the Huanyi Brothel last night?
That was seven days ago.
Then how many days did it take you to wake up?
Why?
Dora has a strong body.
She recovered in three days after she took the antidote.
Your body is too weak
because you never exercise.
So even after you took the antidote,
you slept for several days.
Tang,
that's not what they said when you were sleeping.
They said you were scared.
-Yes. -Hey!
You…
Slow down.
Be careful.
Sit down.
Let's eat.
You must be hungry.
I am.
Here.
Have some noodles.
I am glad you woke up.
Ms. Dong.
I also want a bowl of noodles.
Coming.
You have quite a good appetite.
I haven't eaten yet!
Come on, Cheng, eat your noodles.
Add some soup in it.
Mr. Tang,
don't get us wrong.
We are here for a reason.
This is to celebrate Mr. Sui's return to the Northern Administrative Court.
Really?
But why are you wearing a junior official's uniform?
Commander Wan said
he could come back if he wanted.
But he has to start from the bottom.
It was us who risked our lives to accomplish the job.
But Wan Tong always took all the credits.
Stop.
Why can't I say it?
How dangerous were you at that time?
But that bastard almost even killed…
Eat a bun.
Here you go. Noodles.
Ice cold noodles.
It feels so good.
Ms. Dong.
How come there is such good stuff this year?
This year's ice is cheap.
So you guys get to eat ice cold noodles.
Eat while it's still warm.
Sorry. Eat while it's still cold.
Ms. Dong.
I want another bowl of noodles!
Got it.
By the way,
on the way I here,
I didn't see any one on the street.
Where is everybody?
I heard Huanyi Brothel just bought a famous escort girl.
It's said that she is a
peerless beauty.
I think people all went there trying to see her.
Sui Zhou.
What happened?
I need your help.
The royal ice cellar can store a total of
3,342 chunks of ice
exclusively for the royal household.
The in and out of every chunk of ice
will be recorded.
There has never been any mistake before.
When did you find that the ice chunks were lost?
The day before yesterday during the inventory.
How many do you lose?
481.
During this period,
has anyone ever entered this ice cellar?
The royal ice cellar is under very strict security.
No one can enter here
except the soldiers guarding the place.
Would it be something went wrong
when they came to fetch the ice?
Every time
I'll count them repeatedly.
It's impossible for anyone to
steal even a chunk of ice in front of me.
Not to mention such a huge number of losses.
These walls and arches
are all made of bricks and stones
with lime to fill all the gaps.
This is a sturdy building.
I took someone to check before.
We didn't find any damage and collapse.
When was this ice cellar built?
It was built by the Mongols in the previous dynasty.
This was originally the dungeon of Khanbaliq, which is today's capital.
When the Emperor Chengzu was given the title of Prince Yan with today's capital as his fief,
he moved the city walls two miles south.
He built today's Forbidden City
on the basis of the original southern city wall
and changed this dungeon into a royal ice cellar
to be part of the royal palace
to facilitate the daily access in the palace to get ice.
What did you find?
This ice cellar is intact.
There is no trace of forced entry.
We also ruled out the possibility of inside job.
So these ice chunks
just vanished into thin air?
Let's go out first.
This royal ice cellar has a quarterly inventory check
to see how much ice is stored.
When was the last inventory check?
About right before April.
As usual, there will be another inventory check in the near future.
If the lost ice cannot be recovered before that,
I will be demoted and held responsible for!
Any thoughts?
Do you remember
in Dong's Restaurant,
Ms. Dong said this year's ice is particularly cheap.
Since it is cheap,
in other words, there is more ice on the market than usual.
You mean
the lost ice in on the market for sale.
Since there is no clue in the ice cellar,
let's think in reverse.
This ice stealer will definitely try to sell stolen goods.
The only place is the black market.
Just find the seller,
and then we will find this ice stealer.
I heard
Commander of Western Depot was hijacked by a group of robbers.
What was going on exactly?
Your Majesty.
I had been tracing this group of people.
I sent Sui Zhou to go undercover in them.
Unexpectedly, they changed their plan.
After the robbery, they went straight to Huanyi Brothel.
Mr. Wang happened to be there.
I brought my team to be there the first time
and confronted them with several attempts.
Finally I seized an opportunity and stormed into it.
Blessed by Your Majesty,
Mr. Wang, Sui Zhou and others
were all safe and sound.
I heard
someone tried to set the place on fire with arrows?
The scene at that time was very chaotic.
All the people of Western Depot and Eastern Depot were there.
I had tried my best to keep things under control,
but…
It was your order, right?
I was…
Noble Consort Wan is here!
Your Majesty.
I made some refreshments
and I personally sent them to you to have a try.
Thank you.
Here you go.
Your Majesty.
The robbers were outlaw fugitives.
Fortunately, Commander Wan arrived in time.
With his wise commanding,
with fake actions of setting fire and shooting arrows,
the gang of thieves were distracted.
So the Imperial Guards seized an opportunity to capture them all
and got me out of danger.
When I saw Mr. Wang was safe and sound,
I could finally
exhale out a breath of relief.
I really want to thank Commander Wan for his care for me.
Your Majesty.
I haven't seen my brother for a long time.
I miss him so much.
I wonder if I can borrow him for a while to have a casual chat?
Sure.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
After I received the news,
the men I brought
immediately surrounded Huanyi Brothel.
At that time, all the people from Eastern and Western Depots had come.
It was
a spectacle!
But the most powerful one was your little brother.
I made you proud.
Later, everyone didn't know what to do.
I told them, no!
We had to storm in there
because we had to save Mr. Wang!
After we entered,
the robbers looked at us fiercely.
I didn't even think about it.
I said, "Come on!"
Then I was the first to rush up…
Don't forget.
Wang Zhi saved you once.
Do you know your position now?
I do.
Inside and outside the royal court,
there are so many people who want to get rid of you.
You have to watch out for yourself.
I understand.
But now compared to my safety,
there is one thing that's more important.
What is it?
That Li Zilong may still be in the capital.
If we don't kill him,
he will cause endless troubles in the future.
But since he was exposed,
he wouldn't have continued to stay in the capital.
If I were him,
I would.
I am so glad you two can come.
Sorry I didn't come out to greet you.
Mr. Li, I would like to ask you a question.
Mr. Sui, of course.
This flying fish suit
always looks the best on you.
Be serious.
We have something serious to ask you.
Yes, sir.
I will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Where did you get the ice you sell in in your store?
Umm.
I bought it from Huanyi Brothel.
Who is your supplier?
Who else can it be?
The owner, Ms. Cui.
Guys, be patient.
Mr. Wang, please come in.
Thank you.
Please come on in.
You, stop.
You can't enter.
I told you you can't enter.
She's so beautiful.
Don't push me!
Look at me!
I knew my humble brothel
is honored by distinguished guests' presence.
It turned out to be my life saviors.
Come with me.
How can they cut in line?
Thanks to you
for saving the whole Huanyi Brothel in the crisis that day.
This is
my little something.
It's ok, thank you.
I get it.
How about this?
You guys
will be our lifetime VIP.
All your bills when you come here
will be on the house.
So you consider us as close allies?
Of course!
Why do you even have to ask?
Although I am a woman,
I almost want to become your sworn brother.
Like they say "Sworn brothers wish they die together"…
Ms. Cui,
you are a wonderful woman.
Let the two of us to make a toast to you.
Cheers.
Since we are close allies,
I have one small question that I'd like to ask you.
You can ask me
one hundred if you like.
Ms. Cui,
for the ice you sold to Huichun Pharmacy,
where did it come from?
Come on.
We don't even have enough ice to use in Huanyi Brothel.
How can we have extra ice to sell to Huichun Pharmacy?
Please enjoy.
Sir.
The ice is specially prepared for you guys as distinguished guests.
There won't be any if you come again.
Look how generous you go with the ice.
I bet you found a
mysterious source of the ice.
I'm doing it for business.
Huanyi Brothel might still look busy now,
but the business is no longer as good as before.
Thanks to the new pastimes and drinks with ice that I can get some new customers.
So I bought it from the black market.
Then why do you also sell ice to Huichun Pharmacy?
To make money.
After I bought the ice for a while,
I thought I can be a middleman
to buy low and sell high.
So I talked to my supplier
about expanding my order quantity.
Right now
I even want to buy all his stocks!
Who is the supplier?
I have never met him.
We communicated through crypted correspondence.
I only know his name is Jin San.
This time
he only agreed to meet in person
because I want to buy all his ice.
I'd like to go with you.
Please introduce me to him.
No problem.
Ms. Cui,
Ms. Cui!
I'll be right there.
Ms. Cui, Ms. Cui.
This sly fox.
It hurts so bad!
Why do you say that?
Since she got hurt, of course she can't go to the meeting.
This way she won't offend us or the supplier.
Are you alright?
Don't move.
It hurts!
My leg.
You are so resolute.
What should we do?
My appointment with Jin San is on the way.
But I can't even walk.
Since Jin San has never seen you,
we can just find someone to disguise as you.
Who?
Dong is smart.
But she's still too young.
Dora.
No way.
She's too hot-tempered.
Her behavior will definitely blow her cover.
My sister is about the same age as Ms. Cui.
But she doesn't have this skill to do that.
Who else can we find?
If you shave your beard,
you might be a suitable candidate.
Why are you staring at me?
Ms. Cui.
This is Qingge.
She has perfect technique of makeup.
Who is the makeup for?
You guys in the capital are so wild.
I'll leave it to you.
My leg. Ow.
This is for the case.
What are you doing?
Help you get changed so that I can put make up on you.
I can change myself.
Please leave the room.
I have seen everything you can imagine.
Don't be nervous.
I will do it myself.
Turn around.
I feel so uncomfortable.
You are in good health.
Please go home.
My hands and feet are cold,
and I feel dizzy and hot inside.
My limbs are weak.
My heart…
It's so uncomfortable.
You have a heart disease
and you need to treat it.
I will prescribe you something.
Just drink the decoction and you will be fine.
But my disease
still needs something to cure.
You have to help me.
No!
Tang Yu, I can explain.
This woman is sick, she is sick!
I am sorry
to interrupt you two.
It's not what you think! Tang Yu, listen to me explain.
We didn't do anything!
I'm not what you think.
She and I actually…
Doctor Pei.
This is your private affairs
and it's not my business.
I have washed your laundry.
Sir.
Do you want to have a drink with me?
No, thanks.
Sir?
Sui Zhou!
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