Checkmate Episode 6 Recap
> Checkmate Recap
The investigation into Luo Wensheng's death kept circling back to its starting point. Situ Yan, however, had identified the stranger who had sent a drunken Luo Shaochuan home the night of the murder. Luo Shaochuan found it perplexing that all evidence pointed to him, yet a stranger had helped him. Situ Yan reassured him, stating that when all clues converge on one person, the truth lying in the opposite direction is often close to being revealed.
Situ Yan met with Jin Qiming, a reporter, to gather information on the Luo family. Jin Qiming revealed that Wei Minxi, Luo Wensheng's fiancée, made substantial monthly payments. Her first husband, a wealthy but abusive businessman who frequently drank, had died suddenly of alcohol abuse two years after they arrived in Harbin. Although police had ruled it a robbery-homicide due to signs of struggle, no one dared to question the cause of death due to the Luo family's influence.
Jin Qiming suspected Wei Minxi was being blackmailed, possibly over her husband's death. Jin Qiming was surprised to find Luo Shaochuan at Situ Yan's residence. Situ Yan mentioned that Wei Minxi had withdrawn a total of 20,000 silver dollars from the bank, a figure that far exceeded the few hundred silver dollars found in Fang Hong's possession. Luo Shaochuan pointed out that Fang Hong, a mere servant, earned very little.
Jin Qiming's investigation into Fang Hong revealed a pattern: after leaving previous jobs, Fang Hong would squander money at expensive entertainment spots like Huifangli on 16th Street, where even the wealthy Mr. Li from Li's restaurant had a secret lover. Jin Qiming suspected Fang Hong had a history of blackmailing his former employers. Luo Shaochuan speculated that Wei Minxi hesitated to expose the blackmailer because Fang Hong was Luo Wensheng's personal attendant, and she feared he might harm his father.
Situ Yan wondered why Wen Yi, the housekeeper, would protect Fang Hong. Situ Yan visited the Luo family mansion and noticed strange opium paste on the ground near the main gate. He confronted Fang Hong, who was cleaning the yard. Fang Hong initially claimed he had received an advance due to his sick family, but Situ Yan pressed him about his expensive habits at Huifangli.
Fang Hong implied that many, including Luo Shaochuan and Xie Bozhou, frequented such places, and even Wen Yi had indirectly led him to his job at the Luo residence. Fang Hong then accused Wen Yi of being the murderer, claiming she was an "evil person" who was trying to blame him. He revealed that he had overheard Wen Yi and Luo Wensheng arguing, with Luo Wensheng angrily telling her to "get out."
Fang Hong stated he had blackmailed Wen Yi because she had been "cooking the books," causing financial losses to the family. He claimed he was merely trying to recover some of the family's assets and suggested that anyone facing decades in prison for such an offense would be driven to kill.
Later, Situ Yan visited a pawn shop, learning that a missing ring belonging to Luo Shaochuan had been shown around by Old Zhang, the owner of the adjacent opium den. When they went to the opium den, a mysterious young man, whom Situ Yan identified as the person who had driven Luo Shaochuan home, fled but was quickly apprehended by Sergeant Bao and his men, along with Luo Shaochuan.
Bao mistakenly believed Luo Shaochuan was an accomplice, but Situ Yan intervened, promising to prove Luo Shaochuan's alibi. At the police station, Wen Yi was interrogated by Situ Yan and Director Xie. Initially reluctant, she broke down upon learning her son had been caught. She confessed that the mysterious man was indeed her son, born out of wedlock, which led to her being disowned. She had met Luo Wensheng in Harbin and deeply admired him.
She had witnessed Wei Minxi's suspicious behavior three years prior: Wei Minxi, a non-drinker, had inquired about wine at a tavern and later poured a bottle of purchased wine into a tree. Wen Yi consulted Dr. Xie, who explained that arsenic poisoning could mimic the symptoms of alcohol-related death, and an autopsy could confirm it. Wen Yi had warned Luo Wensheng about Wei Minxi, but he dismissed her concerns.
Fearing a murderer entering the Luo family, Wen Yi spread the rumor to Bai Shanshan, hoping to prevent the marriage. Situ Yan then asked why she had cooked the books. Wen Yi revealed that her son had developed an opium addiction, and she had been secretly funding his treatment with the help of Dr. Xie. She made the false accounts to acquire money for his treatment, fearing he would resort to stealing or robbery otherwise.
Director Xie clarified that Dr. Xie was his son, Xie Bozhou, who was currently away in Guangzhou for a meeting. Situ Yan concluded that Wen Yi was not the blackmailer of Wei Minxi, as her financial irregularities were for her son, not for personal gain. Director Xie, dismissive of Situ Yan's "trivial" and "inefficient" investigation, stopped him from looking further into Wei Minxi's case and authorized Luo Shaochuan's release.
Bai Shanshan apologized to Luo Shaochuan for orchestrating the theft of the check, urging him not to blame Zou Jingxuan. Luo Shaochuan thanked Situ Yan but implored him to find his father's true killer. Situ Yan and Jin Qiming reviewed the case, confirming that no one from the Luo household was the killer. Situ Yan realized they had overlooked a crucial detail: the phonograph.
He recalled a "recording paper" among Wei Minxi's belongings, which Jin Qiming confirmed was meant to accompany her will. Situ Yan instructed Jin Qiming to find a phonograph, which Fang Hong recognized as a device Luo Wensheng had in his room. Situ Yan gathered everyone at the Luo mansion and revealed that they had all been misled. Luo Wensheng's actual time of death was before 9 p. m. , not 9:30 or 9:45 as previously believed.
He played a recording of Luo Wensheng's voice, in which he spoke of a secret, being blackmailed, and wishing to end the control before his marriage. Situ Yan explained that a phonograph, cunningly hidden by a chair in the study, had played the recording at 9:30, creating the illusion that Luo Wensheng was still alive. Fang Hong's faint hearing and Wen Yi's misinterpretation of the sounds contributed to this deception.
The phonograph had vanished after the murder, indicating the killer had returned to remove the evidence. Situ Yan meticulously reconstructed the crime, pointing to Director Xie as Luo Wensheng's murderer.
He highlighted Director Xie's specific knowledge of the phonograph and his carefully planned actions: bringing an unusually large case (to conceal the phonograph), deliberately taking extra time while leaving the house (to plant fake military boot prints to frame Luo Shaochuan), informing Luo Shaochuan that his father was ill to lure him home, and then returning to the scene.
Situ Yan also exposed Director Xie's "good luck" with Luo Shaochuan's drunkenness and Zou Jingxuan's inadvertently misleading testimony, which provided him a perfect alibi. Crucially, the phonograph paper was discovered at Director Xie's home and contained a recording of Wei Minxi's confession to Luo Wensheng, detailing her long-standing blackmail. Cornered, Director Xie confessed to blackmailing Wei Minxi over her husband's death, a crime he had covered up.
He stated that Wei Minxi's decision to confess to Luo Wensheng had driven him to kill Luo Wensheng out of fear of exposure. He admitted to burning a version of the letter that named him as the blackmailer, but Wei Minxi had also written a second letter that omitted his name, a miscalculation on his part.
Director Xie, driven by ambition and a fear of being perceived as a "loser" who relied on Luo family connections, openly confessed to the blackmail and to killing Luo Wensheng. However, Situ Yan clarified that Director Xie was not the one who had killed Wei Minxi.
