The Wanted Detective Episode 12 Recap
> The Wanted Detective Recap
Following the arrest of Mrs. Huo and Li Xiao, and the ongoing investigation into General Huo's death, Feng Qingzhuo finished preparing a prescription for Madam Feng. Huo Dairong expressed her deep gratitude, and Feng Qingzhuo remarked that the bond between her and Madam Feng was truly touching. Shortly after, Xiao Beiming arrived.
Huo Dairong immediately inquired if Mrs. Huo and Li Xiao had confessed everything, stating that Mrs. Huo and Li Xiao had an affair, and if her father had discovered it, Mrs. Huo would have faced death. Given that Mrs. Huo managed the pharmacy, Huo Dairong believed she had the best opportunity to commit the crime.
However, Xiao Beiming revealed that General Huo had actually known about their relationship and had even signed a divorce agreement, but he passed away before they could leave. He further explained that Mrs. Huo had confessed that General Huo was infertile, though Huo Dairong insisted she was the General's biological daughter, born before his supposed hidden illness. Xiao Beiming then pointed out that managing the pharmacy wasn't conclusive evidence and that there were many ways to poison someone.
He then specifically asked Huo Dairong if any of the wellness tea, which Madam Feng had acquired from a renowned physician for the General, was still available. Huo Dairong, sensing suspicion, agreed to retrieve it, but Xiao Beiming followed her closely. Meanwhile, Zhong Xueman spoke with Madam Feng, pressing her to reveal the truth about an incident that occurred 23 years ago, observing Madam Feng's unusually tense reaction.
Xiao Beiming, upon examining General Huo's study earlier, had noticed that all the tea utensils had been replaced. However, he also observed that one particular flowerpot was positioned differently from others and was still blooming beautifully despite the season. He suspected that General Huo might have had a habit of pouring the last bit of his tea into the flowerpot, and the accumulated tea dregs mixed with fallen leaves in the soil were hard to notice.
He had asked Tong Shuang to retrieve this flowerpot. His presence and Feng Qingzhuo's medical consultation were merely a ploy to distract Huo Dairong and allow Tong Shuang time to collect the evidence. When Huo Dairong returned to her father's study, she discovered the missing flowerpot. Unbeknownst to her, Feng Qingzhuo had already found traces of the same hallucinogenic poison that was found in General Huo's body in the flowerpot's soil.
Upon confirming these findings, Xiao Beiming confronted Huo Dairong with the flowerpot at the Huo Mansion. Faced with irrefutable evidence, Huo Dairong confessed. She admitted to hating her father, claiming he had always treated her like an annoying object and allowed Mrs. Huo to bully her and her mother.
She poisoned him through the wellness tea, using a hallucinogen, intending for him to slowly sicken and die, so she could become the sole mistress of the Huo Mansion and secure a better life for her mother. She claimed he had accidentally strangled himself while hallucinating, viewing it as karma. However, Xiao Beiming did not believe her fabricated story.
Just then, Madam Feng arrived, scolding Huo Dairong for her childish and unconvincing account, and then confessed that she was the true killer of General Huo. She explained that six months prior, the General was troubled, and she sought a solution. By chance, she met a limping physician who gave her pills to add to the General's tea, promising it would alleviate his worries and make him more affectionate.
Initially, the General did become more energetic and loving, demanding the tea daily. But soon, he grew increasingly aggressive and dependent, like a wild beast, even physically harming her when she tried to withhold the tea. One night, while hallucinating from the tea, he saw Huo Dairong and screamed about a "Haiya ghost," attempting to kill her. To protect her daughter, Madam Feng made the desperate decision to increase the dosage of the poison.
She watched him descend into madness and ultimately strangle himself to death. Huo Dairong, desperate to save her mother, offered to conceal Xiao Beiming's true identity as a wanted criminal if he would spare Madam Feng's life. However, Xiao Beiming firmly refused to be blackmailed, stating that his principles were more important than his own life and that he would not yield to coercion.
Meanwhile, Zhuge Kongyun, having also gathered evidence against the mother and daughter, was rushing to the Huo Mansion. Madam Feng, however, began to cough uncontrollably, revealing that she had taken poison earlier, intending to atone for her crime with her own life. Before her death, she divulged a shocking secret: Huo Dairong was not her biological daughter.
Twenty-three years ago, General Huo had brought an infant girl back from the border, whom Madam Feng raised as her own, keeping her true origins a secret even from Dairong. She suggested that General Huo's lifelong coldness toward Dairong might have been due to her unknown origins. Madam Feng urged Huo Dairong to forget past resentments and live a normal life, asking her not to follow down a dark path. With her final words spoken, Madam Feng passed away.
Zhuge Kongyun arrived moments too late, witnessing Madam Feng's body being carried out. That night, Xiao Beiming reflected on the case. He felt that while Madam Feng's confession seemed to protect Huo Dairong, there was a greater, unseen force at play. He suspected her suicide was meant to cover something larger. The next day, Zhong Xueman visited Madam Feng's resting place. Huo Dairong, looking weary, reiterated her promise not to expose Xiao Beiming.
Feng Qingzhuo was about to share information about the limping physician Madam Feng had mentioned, but Xiao Beiming suddenly succumbed to his blood-freezing frost toxin, collapsing. Zhuge Kongyun, still convinced that Xiao Beiming was lurking nearby, wanted to delve deeper into the matter. However, his father, Li Long, urged him to drop the pursuit of Xiao Beiming for the moment and prioritize finding the limping physician, as their own positions were at risk.
Li Long took over the investigation of the limping physician. Feng Qingzhuo tirelessly searched through all his medical texts but found no cure for Xiao Beiming's poison. He eventually considered a perilous "fight poison with poison" method, using an extremely rare and potent herb called the "Fire Cicada" as a primer. This plant, which resembled a cicada, was said to grow only in volcanic craters and was believed to counteract the blood-freezing frost toxin.
Although he had never studied it and couldn't guarantee its effectiveness, he felt it was their only chance. Without hesitation, Zhong Xueman and Feng Qingzhuo set off for the capital's infamous Ghost Market, the only place where the Fire Cicada was rumored to be found. They navigated the eerie market, where goods were acquired through questionable means. They eventually located an old man selling the Fire Cicada. The old man refused money, instead demanding a "trade for one item."
Zhong Xueman offered her father's most valuable heirloom, a bank token, but the old man rejected it, stating he desired one of her eyes. As Zhong Xueman, desperate to save Xiao Beiming, began to raise a dagger to her own eye, Feng Qingzhuo recognized the old man and intervened just in time. The old man then threw ash powder into Zhong Xueman's eyes, temporarily blinding her.
Suddenly, a mysterious figure in the crowd rang a bell, guiding Zhong Xueman toward the old man's location. Despite her blindness, she managed to strike him down. As Xiao Beiming and Tong Shuang arrived on the scene, the old man seized the opportunity and fled.
