[English subtitles are available.]
The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty
Episode 37
What are you doing?
Rise and shine!
So I helped you sober up.
Don't leave, Mr. Tang.
We need you to do something for us.
Step aside.
Don't you want to know what the thing is?
What else could it be?
Investigating the case, of course.
Don't mention investigating cases to me in the future.
What else are you supposed to do other than investigating cases?
Don't forget you are still a magistrate.
I quit.
With what right can you stop me from leaving?
The one who really killed Dora was not Ding Man,
or Wang Xian.
You know this better than I do.
Moreover,
if you leave,
I won't be able to solve this case.
You are the only one
who can solve the case in the whole country.
At the same time, you are a royal court official.
It's your duty to solve problems for His Majesty
and the country.
But when you're really facing a challenge,
you just want to escape.
If our Ming cannot escape this disaster,
don't you feel guilty to face the people suffering?
I won't try to persuade you anymore.
Leave if you want.
I want to see Wang Xian.
Is it appropriate to
give him my pistol?
Why not?
He has dementia
and he once made many powerful weapons.
Leaving him with a weapon
might be dangerous.
Everything will be alright.
The so-called dementia
actually is a misunderstanding
we ordinary people have of people like him.
Misunderstanding?
Mr. Wang,
you are a very talented person.
But in my opinion
Wang Xian is just as talented as you.
It's only that
the way his brain works is different from yours.
How did it go?
What did you find?
Actually Wang Xian's illness
has been recorded in medical books since ancient times.
They called it dementia.
Is there a treatment for it?
The Song Dynasty's "Yan's Pediatrics Treatments"
and "Taiping Prescriptions" have records of
treatments of this kind of disease.
But I cannot agree with
ancient doctors' cognition
and treatments of such symptoms.
Why?
In my opinion,
this so-called dementia is not a disease.
The so-called "patient" was born
with a different way of behaving and thinking from the majority,
which
leads to
barriers in communication between the two parties.
So in the eyes of ordinary people,
such a person is like a retard.
I will give you an example.
Between the two of us,
I can never
reason a case like you.
And on the other hand,
you will never
understand why I like studying corpses so much.
So there is no cure
for this disease at all.
Born to be human but never understood by others.
I can't imagine
how he must be growing up.
For this kind of people,
if they are raised and educated properly,
and given enough time and opportunities
so that they can do some communication with ordinary people,
they will have no problem
in daily living and communication with others.
But
for them
such things are just an imitation of other people.
It's next to impossible
if you want to turn their thoughts around
like ordinary people.
What should I do
if I want to get some information from them?
He just experienced the previous kidnapping
and was tortured by the Western Depot.
I think
he must shut down inside now.
If you want to get something out of his mouth,
unless…
trying to attract his attention
with something he loves.
Use this as an entry point
to slowly let his guard down.
So I gave him the pistol.
How did you know
he would be interested in my pistol?
Wang Xian is the inventor of machine crossbow.
With such a high accomplishment
he must be very obsessed with weapons.
Your pistol has such a smart design.
I was sure it would attract his attention.
When can you start interrogating him?
Just wait.
We can't be rushed into this matter.
That being the case,
I still have someone else here
whom you can ask now.
Maybe you can have some lead.
My name is Zhang Gongzhu.
Commander Wang,
and Mr. Tang.
Take a seat.
Do you know
how Wang Xian is now?
I heard that the Western Depot has found Mr. Wang.
Is he okay?
Then do you know about Bolang?
This is a taboo in the Ministry of War.
Three years ago,
His Majesty was furious over this thing.
There were even a few officials
beheaded because of it.
Now no one dares to mention this matter again in the Ministry of War.
I am just a low ranking official,
so I really don't know anything about it.
How much do you know about Wang Xian?
I have been working as Mr. Wang's assistant for years.
Although I don't know much about what he was studying,
I know something about his life.
I heard Mr. Wang's ancestors
were famous weapon craftsmen in the previous Yuan Dynasty.
After Emperor Hongwu founded the Ming Dynasty,
he attached great importance to weapon research and development.
So he incorporated Mr. Wang's family into his forces.
Their surname Wang was given by Emperor Hongwu as an honor.
Since then, the Wang family had made many achievements
so it enjoyed a good reputation as the imperial craftsmen of weapons.
But when it came to Mr. Wang's generation,
because he had a dementia,
at the beginning the family did not place high hopes on him.
But no one would expect that
in the fifth year of the Chenghua reign,
His Majesty married Princess Gu'an to him.
After the two got married,
somehow
even his dementia had turned for the better.
With a princess being his wife,
Mr. Wang received respect from
everyone in the Ministry of War.
So gradually
he even stood out among his peers.
After the explosion three years ago
Mr. Wang was promoted to be
an official in the Bureau of Provisions.
Anything else?
Commander Wang,
I have told you everything I know.
Ok.
You can go home.
But remember,
before I lift the ban,
you are not allowed to leave the capital.
Be sure you can be brought up to court when needed.
I understand.
Please rest assured.
I worked for Mr. Wang for years.
If you can let me see him,
maybe I can be of help.
Not for the moment.
Go home.
Yes, sir.
What do you think?
Don't try Wang Xian for the time being
to avoid giving him more stress.
I'll check on him again in a few days.
And I need you to do one more thing.
I need case files of all the ministries, courts, Offices of Scrutiny ,
as well as Censorate in the past five years,
including the confidential ones.
If I didn't know you so well,
I would have thought you wanted to get me killed.
What…
Sui,
why did you throw away the ingredients I just bought?
Sui.
Your Majesty.
Did you find out anything about Bolang's case?
The case is still under investigation yet.
I came here
to make a bold request to Your Majesty.
The rest of you can leave.
Say it.
Through investigation,
I discovered the bombing three years ago
was the tip of the iceberg.
I need case files of all the ministries, courts, Offices of Scrutiny,
as well as Censorate
in the past five years,
including files that have been sealed,
regardless of the security classification.
Wang Zhi,
do you know what you are asking me for?
I know.
After the Yunhe case,
you have the great power
of personnel transfer of all the departments in your hand.
Now what you're asking will give you
the supervisory power of all departments.
Do you know
this will make
the Western Depot the most powerful department
since the founding of the Ming Dynasty?
I know.
You've got some nerve to bring up such a request.
So you are not afraid
I might suspect you are up to something treacherous?
I am terrified by the thought.
But this is the only way to solve the case.
There is no other way.
Fine.
You have my permission.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Wang Zhi,
I hope you know what you're doing, and your place.
I shall not let Your Majesty down.
Tang, you are back.
Come on in.
You came just in time.
I have to do a lot of desk work these two days
which requires reviewing a lot of files.
I'm here to ask you for help.
Sure.
Easy! Be careful.
Sir.
These are the files of the Ministry of Revenue.
Put in this room.
Yes.
Sir.
These are from the Court of Judicial Review.
Put them in Mr. Tang's bedroom.
Why are there so many of them?
Fan's house can't fit anymore.
Sui.
Sui, you are back!
You came back just in time.
Let's have dinner.
Go get changed now.
Otherwise the dishes will get cold.
I don't feel like eating.
Have dinner without me.
Sui.
Sui, you can't live on air!
Your body won't stand it.
I told you I don't want to eat!
Can you just…
Sui Zhou!
Dong,
if you are not happy here,
you can go live with Tang.
What should you do if I leave?
I'm fine by myself.
It's more relaxing
that I don't have to take care of you.
Where's the helper you said?
Why are you looking at me?
Look over there!
The whole house is stacked with files.
While the files of the Ministry of War
and Censorate have not arrived yet,
there are already so many files.
Once the files of these two departments arrive,
can the two of us even finish reading them?
Sometimes
I really don't understand Commander Wang's act.
His Western Depot has held such great power
not to mention
he already has the right to supervise and examine
the private life of all officials.
And yet today he went even further from there.
Wang Zhi
is either really stupid
or
he is blinded by his lust for power.
What do you mean?
Think about it.
Now he's asking us to read all the previous files
of these departments.
Why?
He wants to expand
the supervisory power of the Western Depot
to the level of royal court
and government affairs.
If something goes wrong,
other will criticize that the Western Depot swayed in state affairs.
Think about it.
Do you still remember how much His Majesty
hated the former emperor's
chief eunuch Wang Zhen for doing that?
What Wang Zhi is doing now
is exactly violating
His Majesty's taboo
of eunuchs getting involved in political affairs.
If I didn't know you so well,
I would have thought you wanted to get me killed.
I have already been demoted as a sixth rank official.
If I was demoted by another three ranks
because of this,
then I would just be…
I don't dare to think about it.
Sir.
What?
Sir.
There is a little girl outside
saying she wants to see Mr. Tang.
Here comes the helper.
Mr. Ma.
The Western Depot has just brought His Majesty's decree
to borrow all the files of the Ministry of War
for Mr. Tang in the Ministry of Punishments to review.
All the files?
How many times do I have to repeat it?
This is His Majesty's decree.
Yes, sir.
You're right.
I will sort out all the files
of the Bureau of the Provisions tonight
and deliver them in person tomorrow.
Sir.
These are debris and waste
we brought back from the explosion site.
The Western Depot met a bottleneck in their investigation.
I was thinking if we can find any clues from the debris.
Sir.
This thing looks like a
iron box, right?
These pieces are the walls of the box
and this is the top.
Sir.
This kind of iron box is rare.
Was it that Oirat guy's stuff?
Wuyun.
Mr. Sui.
Could you take a look at this?
Is this iron box something common in your place?
Whether in our Oirat's territory or our settlement in Ming,
I have never seen anything like this.
Then in your opinion,
is this box something used in a carriage?
Look at its length.
It will take up too much space in the carriage.
Usually no one will use this kind of box in a carriage.
This iron box should belong to Wang Xian.
But I have to make sure.
Ok.
Thank you.
This Wang Xian is really good.
Just by looking at it made me tickle.
If the Imperial Guards have this weapon,
no one would bully us again.
Right?
Don't touch it.
You might trigger another bomb or something.
Be careful, sir!
Look at this.
These marks should be caused by the iron box.
The size fits perfectly with the box, too.
And only by
putting in and taking out the box repeatedly over the years can it leave such marks.
It proves that Wang Xian carried this iron box around
with him all the time.
Carry around with him?
It seems that this thing
is quite important to him.
Maybe Bolang was in the box?
Let's go to
the Bureau of Provision to see
if we can find any new clues
following the lead of the iron box.
Yes.
Please don't go.
We just happened to be looking for you.
The Bureau of Provisions received the decree
so I am about to send these files
to Mr. Tang in the Ministry of Punishments.
I don't know what you two officers need me for?
We want to check Wang Xian's office.
His office is a restricted area now.
No one can enter
without His Majesty's decree.
I can't let you go in. I hope you'll forgive me.
Pease leave.
Let's go.
This batch is finished.
Next batch.
Mr. Tang.
Outside are all the files of the Bureau of Provisions.
As requested,
I sent them here regardless of the security classification.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
By the way,
I don't know how Mr. Wang is doing.
If there is still no progress,
maybe you can let me see him.
After all, I have followed Mr. Wang for many years.
I know his habits and routines.
Maybe I can be of help.
OK.
Bin,
I'm going to the Western Depot.
Dong is tired.
Let her take a nap first
and then she can continue to read the files sent by the Bureau of the Provisions.
Go find
whether there are any clues related to the iron box.
Date?
This first note is
the 29th day of the eleventh lunar month of the year of Wuxu.
Isn't this the day when Wang Xian was kidnapped?
Why would he write it down here?
Can he foresee the future?
The 17th day of the second lunar month of the year of Dingchou.
What date is this?
That would be more than 20 years ago.
If my memory serves me right,
it was about one month after Emperor Yingzong's
second time ascending to the throne.
This third note is
the 21st day of the second lunar month of the year of Gengyin.
Eight years ago.
There's one more.
The eighth day of the eleventh lunar month of the year of Jichou.
What day is this?
Sir.
Let's take these notes
to show Tang Fan.
What's wrong?
You go give Tang Fan these notes.
If he has any clues, you come tell me.
Yes, sir.
Sui.
Dong.
Yesterday I was…
Nothing happened yesterday.
Follow me in.
Don't be shy.
Tang is away.
Did you come to handle the case or not?
You think I was urging you to eat?
If you want to investigate the case,
just follow me in.
I'm so sorry
that I didn't help you guys.
It's ok.
I'm going to ask you
more questions about him in the future.
As long as it's Mr. Wang's business
I will come here
anytime you need me.
Have you reviewed all these files?
I read seventy or eighty percent of them.
Tang read the rest.
Then take a look
at the dates on these notes.
Sui,
if you eat something,
I will help you.
But sorry,
this is our leftover from last night's dinner.
But it's still better than your Turnip Brick.
You're just trying to get rid of leftovers.
You can't ask sir to eat leftovers.
I'll eat it for him!
Sui,
do you eat it or not?
I'll eat it.
Good.
Let me take a look at the clues.
This is the day Mr. Wang was kidnapped.
There is nothing special about the second date.
And this is the day when he got married.
This date…
I read it in the secret records of the Imperial Clan Court.
It was the day of the death of Emperor Jingtai.
It seems that these four dates
are all very important day for Wang Xian.
Look at the second date.
If there is no special meaning popping out,
think about whether
there is anything about Wang Xian
or the Ministry of War that happened on this day?
Did you remember anything?
I think I saw
this date somewhere in the files of the Ministry of Revenue.
But I want to make sure.
What happened?
According to records of the Ministry of Revenue,
this Zhang Gongzhu entered the Ministry of War
on the 21st day of the second lunar month of the year of Gengyin.
He was here not long ago.
Actually it was him who came to call Tang away with him.
Where are they now?
Tang!
Zhang Gongzhu! It's Zhang Gongzhu.
Don't panic. Take your time.
I integrated the clue with Dong.
There is someone very suspicious by Wang Xian's side.
Zhang Gongzhu?
Yes.
This person has a connection with Wang Xian somehow.
We don't know what it is yet.
But it can be speculated temporarily that
this person is related to Bolang.
No wonder Zhang Gongzhu's appearance
made Wang Xian so scared.
He was telling Wang Xian something in code.
This is not good.
We have to arrest him right away
or he might be hide and run away.
Zhang Gongzhu
has been hiding so deep.
Bring Zhang Gongzhu back!
Yes!
Let's go.
Let's go!
Coming.
Father.
Is there
any progress?
Father,
according to Tang Fan's investigation,
the most critical person in the case now is Zhang Gongzhu.
This person seems to be a middle man,
and the mastermind behind Wang Xian.