[English subtitles are available.]
The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty
Episode 12
Here's your wine.
Have you arranged that?
Thanks.
Please.
I've sent 14 groups of men.
That little girl is ready, too.
Convey my instruction:
Be vigilant.
There mustn't be any accident happening to the little girl;
her safety must be ensured.
Yes.
Bravo!
So awesome!
Do it again!
Awesome!
Do it again!
Splendid!
Amazing!
Do it again!
Wow!
Wonderful!
Bravo! Bravo!
Do it again! Do it again!
Bravo!
Do it again!
Bravo! Bravo!
Spectacular!
Come take a look.
I've been examining the case files recently,
and I've found that abduction cases have been increasing in recent years.
The most crucial thing is that there is absolu...
There's one thing you need to know.
Don't panic after hearing that.
Your Excellency, please go ahead if you have any instruction.
Tell the kids to infiltrate into the lair
of these human traffickers by hook or by crook,
even if at the expense of being abducted.
Find her after getting in the lair,
and if the situation permits,
bring her out.
If you can't get out with her,
then get out alone yourself
and report to me.
If it's really hard to extricate yourself,
stay inside,
and ensure her safety by all means.
Have you all seen it clearly?
Stop eating. Look!
Have you seen it clearly?
Stop!
Wang Zhi, how cruel you are!
Dong is just a little girl,
and you use her as a bait!
Are you a human or a beast?
Go.
Go, go, go.
Tang Fan, listen to me.
This matter is not like what you've imagined...
Don't try to hoodwink me.
I thought we were friends,
but how could you make use of Dong?
It seems you're willing to betray your father
in order to get promoted and make a fortune!
Tang Fan, could you calm down a little first?
I can't!
You asked Dong to take risks to investigate the case for you,
but have you ever thought about
the dangers Dong might face
if anything happens?
In your eyes,
no one's life matters more
than the goal you want to achieve,
is that so?
How selfish you are!
Well, why don't you speak?
Aren't you a talkative man in normal times?
Speak!
Sui Zhou, what's your opinion?
Stab him.
One, two...
Three!
The most important thing at present
is to find Dong as soon as possible
and rescue her out.
The more time you waste here,
the more dangers Dong will encounter.
Look, she wakes up.
Pei,
one more needle.
No way.
Just one more!
I tell you what,
this method does refresh you forcibly,
but it also greatly undermines your
heart, kidney meridian, and liver.
With one more needle,
you'll be at risk of sudden death.
Do you know that?
Just do it as I said.
No way!
Do it yourself if you want to!
Fine, I'll do it myself!
Do it!
What a reckless boy.
Oh, this is a refreshing therapy.
Don't worry.
What's this?
If you need any help,
feel free to tell us at any time.
Tang Fan.
Guangchuan.
Did you let them in?
Yeah.
Get out.
Why are you driving them away?
Get out!
What did you say?
Aha.
Let's leave here.
What did you say?
Let's go.
Go!
How could you do that to them?
They saved your life at any rate.
When I was defending the border,
there was a time when I received a battlefield report,
saying that some traces of Oirats
were found on the front line.
So I dispatched several batches of cavalrymen to investigate.
In the end, all of them lost contact with us
like stones sinking into the sea.
Then I brought some of my men to check.
Do you know what I found?
All dead.
All the men I had dispatched were dead.
Is that cruel?
These men were all my comrades-in-arms,
my brothers who were closer to me than my kinfolk.
-Come take a look. -Take a look at my products.
There's an ethnic Han man here who treats people well
and has been doing good deeds.
He treats Oirats very well, too.
On the first and 15th day of every month,
he distributes porridge at a porridge shop.
I think we can go to see him and make some inquiries.
Distribute porridge?
Yeah. His surname is Zhu.
It's said that he's a royal member.
People call him "Well-doer Zhu."
How about we give it a shot and go to see him?
Well-doer Zhu.
Calm down, ma'am.
Please feel free to tell me your difficulties.
My family was poor before,
so my old man sold our son
to an official's family, where he became a servant.
These years, my old man has been working outside
and saved some money,
so we want to redeem our son.
But they refused to set him free.
I got it.
Give them this when you go to meet them next time.
Thank you.
And tell them my name.
OK.
Take this if you're in need of money.
Ma'am, please get up.
Please don't do this.
Just go to redeem your son.
Family reunion is the most important thing.
How should I pay back your great kindness!?
Tell your son
to be a good man all his life.
And do his best to help people in adversity
in the future. I'll be gratified if he can do this.
Is there any porridge?
Go. Go to redeem your son right now.
I have a younger sister of Han ethnicity who has gotten lost,
and I think she was abducted by human traffickers.
I've heard that you have wide connections, Mr. Zhu,
so I hope you could make some inquires for me.
Mr. Zhu,
I've come with Aha to see you out of admiration and your reputation,
and we want to seek help from you,
because a little girl
with whom we're familiar has gotten lost.
I am wondering if you could
make some inquires for us.
I got it.
Well, please tell my attendant(s)
the detailed physical features
of the lost girl.
I'll help you inquire about her whereabouts as soon as possible.
Besides, please leave your address
so that I can inform you at once if there's any news.
That's great.
Thank you, Mr. Zhu.
See you.
Mr. Qian , what type of Longjing tea is this?
I've never heard about it.
Isn't its price too high?
Mr. Chen, you're a guest from afar.
Let's leave business aside for the moment
and taste the tea first.
Well, please take a look.
These top-notch Longjing tea leaves
look flat, smooth, straight,
and tenderly green; smell fresh, soft, and pure;
the tea tastes fresh, refreshing, and sweet;
when brewed, the tender leaves unfold like flowers.
These Longjing tea leaves picked before the Qingming Festival
are abbreviated as "Pre-ming Longjing,"
or commendably called as "Newly Wed Girl ,"
a name that comes from the couplet "Outside the courtyard lotus flowers are swaying in breezes and West Lake smiling;
Before Qingming Longjing tea leaves are picked and the girl is newly wed."
Isn't it fragrant?
Yes. Really fragrant.
Wait a sec, Mr. Chen.
Mr. Qian, didn't you say that we taste the tea first?
You have tantalized me,
but now you don't allow me to drink.
Do you still want to run this shop or not?
You're mistaken about my intention.
What I meant was to wait a sec for the tea leaves to be brewed.
Please.
I remember you said just now
that the price for these tea leaves is a little high.
Not at all, not at all.
Such a treasure deserves this price.
I'll order 60 kg first.
No problem.
Boss, a batch of medicinal materials have arrived.
Are you going to check them?
Mr. Chen, excuse me.
I've got some business today.
The tea leaves you ordered will be delivered to your commercial house in a few days.
How about this tea?
I'll give the tea cup to you as a present.
Take your time to drink it on your way back. See you.
Boss, all the goods have been prepared,
ready for shipping at any time.
But every major gate
has been heavily guarded by imperial guards
recently,
so it might be hard to get out of the city.
What's the matter with you guys?
You even abducted a beggar?
Kids like him are wily. What if he runs away?
Because the deadline is approaching,
and we're short of boys.
You know that
there's a lot of patrolling recently in the city,
so it's been hard to catch kids.
We can only catch some beggars to make up the required number.
But you don't need to worry.
Even if they run away from the guests,
that's nothing serious.
We'll just catch them back and sell them.
OK. Feed them something good later,
and knock them out.
I'll escort them out of the city in person afterwards.
There won't be any problem.
OK, boss.
Let's go.
Get in.
Are you Dong?
His Excellency sent me here.
His Excellency?
Mr. Wang.
I've come here to bring you out.
Someone will deliver meals for us later.
You mustn't eat.
What's going on? Will they let us out of the city or not?
Tell me about it! Nearly two hours have passed,
and the queue hasn't moved even a step forward.
Tell me about it!
Sir.
What do you want? Line up!
Can I have a moment with you?
This way, please.
Sir, you must be tired
with the sun being so scorching.
Please accept my humble offering.
Our fleet of carts are from Wantai Tea House.
The goods in the carts are all tea leaves.
If they keep being exposed to the sun,
I'm afraid all of our harvest this year will be ruined.
Please do me a favor, sir.
Wantai Tea House?
Two, three, four...
Five carts.
There's a problem.
Two taels of silver
for five carts?
You're right, sir.
I miscalculated.
Line up first,
and you'll know what to do when you reach the gateway.
OK, you can go.
Next one.
Sir!
There may be something wrong.
After I get in,
you retreat with the three carts at the back.
-Where to retreat? -Just go back.
Yes.
What is this?
Your Excellency, this is for your subordinates to buy wine with.
I sympathize with their hard work,
and I also want them to do me a favor.
Do you know that a person bribing officials
shall receive heavy punishments
according to Law of the Ming Dynasty?
Where is this place?
We should be in a cart .
Then how come it is so quiet?
Isn't the cart moving?
It seems to be moving.
But it's stop-and-go.
Why's that?
I know it.
We must be at the city gateway now.
Your Excellency, you misunderstood me.
I definitely
have no intention of bribing.
It's really an expression of my sympathy for their hard work.
Your behavior seems very suspicious to me.
Check the carts.
Yes.
The carts are being checked.
What's the matter?
After the carts get out of the city,
it'll be really difficult for us to escape.
Then what do we do?
You mustn't open it. You mustn't open it.
Your Excellency, you really can't open it.
Go away!
Your Excellency... You mustn't open it.
Your Excellency.
Little imp, what trouble are you making here?
Your Excellency, these top-notch tea leaves of mine
can't be exposed to sunlight.
Now that you've opened it,
half of them are ruined,
which is a loss of a hundred taels of silver.
Something is amiss. I remember you had five carts.
How come there are only two now?
Sir, please think carefully.
There are only two carts in our fleet.
The carts behind
have nothing to do with me.
Bullshit! You said you have five carts,
which is why you gave me five taels of silver!
Sir, you must have misremembered.
Think about it. I gave you two taels of silver,
but you insisted that I had five carts.
I thought you meant to ask for more silver from me,
so I followed you by saying I had five carts.
That's it. Stop your sophistries.
If you want to keep saying these deceiving words,
say them at the Northern Administrative Court.
Your Excellency, now that you said that...
I had planned to solve this matter
with a few taels of silver.
But now that you said that...
Your Excellency, can I have a moment with you?
Well, next one.
My name is Qian Tai.
Actually I'm working
for the Office of Commander of Imperial Guards,
reporting directly to His Excellency, Commander Wan.
I didn't intend to reveal my identity today,
but you don't know me.
So we're colleagues who failed to recognize each other.
Then what's your purpose of this journey?
Where are you heading?
Please don't ask about that, Your Excellency.
I dare not reveal anything
without the approval of Commander Wan.
[Xuanwu Gate]
Boss , what's your decision?
Let them go first.
But don't let his carts get out of the city.
Go!
OK, you can go.
Sun,
why are you here in the day?
The body of a 13-or-14-year-old female was found.
We need you to take a look
to see...
to see if it's Dong.
Who has ever allowed you to close the gates of the capital without permission?
Do you have any idea how many merchants enter and exit the capital every day,
and how much money the capital has lost today
as a result of your hindering traffic,
affecting the development of commerce and trade in the capital?
Thousands upon thousands of taels of silver.
If called to account,
do you think you can bear the responsibility?
Let people pass immediately.
But how about those abducted children?
Let people pass! Right now!
Yes, sir.
There's one more thing.
That abduction case has been closed.
There's no need for investigation now.
How strange!
The modus operandi is identical
to that of a murderer many years ago.
But that murderer was arrested
and beheaded seven years ago.
Are you sure the person arrested was really the murderer?
Yes, I suppose.
Because it's been a full seven years
without any similar case.
Why have they come here again?
Have you recognized the dead?
I thought it was Dong just now,
and I almost freaked out.
There mustn't be anything happening to Dong.
I won't let anything happening to her. Don't you worry.
Well, is there any clue?
This pair of footprints are very suspicious.
There are so many footprints.
Why do you think these two are the most suspicious?
The footprints in the direction of coming here are deeper,
which means the person was carrying a heavy object;
while the ones in the other direction are shallower.
Then it means he had thrown away the body.
And, for any pair of footprints,
one is always deeper than the other.
This guy is probably a cripple.
Moreover, I found some wide ruts outside just now.
What wide ruts?
Wide ruts left by wide wheels.
Such wheels are specially designed for mountain roads,
and such ruts are rarely seen in the city.
Come take a look!
You two have come!
[Orphanage]
I am the sponsor of this orphanage.
Come in and see if there's the person you're looking for.
What is this place?
A place that specially accommodates orphans.
It is financed by him.
Uncle Zhu, uncle Zhu!
Come play with us!
You've grown much taller, Xiu'er!
Take your little brother and sister to play first.
OK.
I'll join you later.
Mr. Zhu, the girl
we're looking for isn't here,
but thank you all the same.
Please don't worry.
I'll think of another way to help you.
Then we'll take leave now.
What do you mean by these?
I have read all the case files and found to my surprise
that there are so many abducted kids,
and only less than 10 percent of them
have been rescued.
And the current clues in those files have no connection
with each other.
These abducted kids
must have been transported out of the city
and distributed at top speed
to other places,
even to places outside the Shanhai Pass.
But what I fail to understand is
how can a trivial group
of human traffickers be so powerful?
It's impossible that these human traffickers
would show up on the street with the kids in broad daylight.
They must have some kind of disguise.
Such a vast transportation network,
in my opinion,
looks more like the paths
of those large-scale trade caravans,
such as caravans trading horses, rice, and tea leaves.
It must be so!
These human traffickers must have disguised themselves as a caravan,
which is the only way to transport the kids out.
Where are you going?
The Northern Administrative Court.
Your Excellency.
Thanks for your help this time, Commander Wan,
otherwise my goods wouldn't have been transported out
and I would have suffered a huge loss.
Don't take it as a precedent. There's no next time.
Commander,
your tea cup is truly an antique!
I've been seeking it everywhere with no gain.
You must sell it to me.
If you like it, Mr. Qian,
I'll just sell it to you.
Pay me as much as you want.
Just 3,000 taels?
This tea cup is worth 5,000 taels at least,
but I've brought only this much today.
I'll send someone
to give the rest 2,000 taels to your place
early tomorrow morning.
Don't forget that.
I definitely won't forget.
You must be very familiar with the antique market.
If the value of the tea cup increases in a few days...
Rest assured, Your Excellency.
I'll surely make up the price difference.
By the way, it seems Mr. Qian's business
is quite prosperous
since you have offered such a high price for this tea cup.
No, no.
I'm just a small business owner,
selling tea leaves and some medicinal materials, such as ginseng and pilose antlers.
It's not worth mentioning.
I don't think that's all.
Aren't you selling wrought iron, too?
There's no profit that businessmen do not seek.
I know that quite well.
Mr. Qian's business has been prospering for a few years,
so you must have made a big fortune.
And I've heard that I have a share in Wantai Tea House.
That's a rumor.
A mere street rumor.
The name Wantai Tea House
contains my surname Wan
as well as your name Tai,
which indeed make people presume my involvement in your business.
During the current administration,
most people have some fear of the name "Wan,"
so it's no wonder
that your business has prospered.
How perceptive you are, Commander Wan.
Nothing escapes your notice.
I'll divide a share for you
after I go back.
It doesn't matter if I have a share in your business.
What matters is that the money you give me is real.
And I don't care if my name
is on your account book either
as long as you keep in mind the benefit I deserve.
Is that right?
How true are your words, Commander Wan!
I can turn a blind eye
to something you do,
but you and your fellows must behave within the limit.
If you go beyond that limit,
no one will be able to help you.
I got it.
Where are the other fellows?
Except the ones on duty tonight,
all the fellows have gone home after fulfilling their duties.
Call Xue Ling over, gather a few fellows,
and take them to Wantai Tea House.
How about you, Your Excellency?
Time is pressing,
so I'll go before you. If there's any change,
I'll leave a mark.
-Remember. -Yes.
There's no need to mention this to other people.
Oh, there's another one.
Call Tang Fan over and take him to the Tea House too.
Yes.
What a bunch of good-for-nothings you are,
accomplishing nothing but spoiling everything!
Were you all blind?
How dare you kidnap the child of the Assistant Minister?
Do you have any idea how much money
it costed me to suppress the news?
I always asked you to be careful, prudent,
and watchful.
But none of you listened!
In the end I had to clean the mess you made.
I just contacted a big buyer
to whom we can sell all our good s.
We'll deliver them at West Mountain outside the city.
Give him also this bag
at the time of delivery.
Remember to stop your work for three months
after this transaction is completed.
Don't make any move before the situation gets stable.
Stopping for three months!
How are we gonna live without incomes?
Do you want money or your own life?
The imperial guards at the Northern Administrative Court are monitoring us.
Of course we want our lives,
but we need money
to go through the incoming three months.
Yes.
I'll pay your expenses during the three months.
Now get the goods ready
and set off at once. There must be no delay.
Yes.
Go.
The little beggars going out have all come back one after another,
though none has gained any information.
Little Loach is the only one who has lost contact with us.
Where has he gone?
It is said that he sold himself to the human traffickers.
Our men followed him to Wantai Tea House,
and since he has never shown up after that,
he should still be inside now.
Let's go to Wantai Tea House.
Don't be afraid, guys. We will be fine.
I have two big brothers
who will surely come to rescue us.
I'll take action at the right moment later.
No matter what happens,
you must follow me closely.
I'll surely take you out.
Then what about the other fellows?
The others? That's none of my business.
If we escape, we should escape together.
Even if we will save them,
we should get out first before doing that.
Stop making noise! All of you get out!
Go.
You! Get out!
Keep up. Behave!
Let go of me!
Get in!
Any discovery?
I have found a clue.
There are two pairs of ruts in the directions of south and north, respectively.
The southward ruts are deeper,
while the northward ones are shallower, so they were left by a light vehicle.
They have run away. I did a search just now.
But there is a secret room,
which should be the place where the kids were locked up.
Mr. Tang!
Mr. Tang, look. It's the mark left by our boss.
What does it mean?
The carts transporting the kids have gone southward,
while Qian Tai has gone northward. They took action separately.
And our boss has gone southward,
chasing the carts that carry the kids.
Let's go.
Where?
Southward, of course.
Stop.
Unload the "goods" quickly.
Yes.
Get out, get out.
Hurry.
Be quick!
Hold her.
You stay here to guard the kids.
Yes.
You two follow me.
Yes.
We're from Wantai Tea House!
Our boss Mr. Qian said...
Big Guy.
Go over to count the number of kids.
I don't think it's the right sum of money.
One, two, three, four, five,
six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
Ten, ten...
Eleven.
Big Guy, how is your counting going?
Almost done, almost done!
There are more than ten kids anyway.
More than ten? Then it's the right number,
if coupled with the four of you.
Run! Run!
Hurry up!
Stop! Hurry!
Run!
-Stop running! -Stop!
Just run!
Hurry!
I said stop!
Don't run!
You think you can run away?
Over there!
I've seen you!
Come out quickly! I've seen you already.
Miss Dora, what a coincidence.
I was going to visit you.
I've found the kid you've been looking for.
Just follow me now.
What do you mean?
Have you found Dong?
I mean, you don't need to worry about the kid.
The kid you've been looking for has been found.
I've informed Wuyunbulage,
who is hurrying to the place.
It's very urgent.
Let's go quickly.
The human traffickers will run away if we don't hurry.