Resumen del episodio 24 de Zhan Zhao Adventures
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Bai Yutang had once regarded Zhang, his fourth aunt, as a deeply cherished elder, never imagining she would play a role in his brother's tragic end. Confronting her, he recalled how she was the only one in the Jin family he believed truly cared for him.
When pressed about the murder of Huo Linglong's late aunt, Zhang insisted that Tang Ji was not the killer but had merely given false testimony, and she claimed she did not know the true culprit's identity. Despite her tearful pleas of living in guilt and regret for fifteen years, reminding him of how she lovingly raised him at Jujing Hall, Bai Yutang remained resolute.
He declared that while he could overlook her role in Tang Ji's plot to kill him out of gratitude for her past kindness, he could never forgive her on behalf of his deceased brother, Jin Xuewen. He demanded that Zhang testify in court to expose Tang Ji's perjury and clear his brother's name. However, Zhang refused, desperate to protect her family's reputation.
She feared that testifying would brand her as a disgraced woman, ruining the promising careers of her children—her son, Liang Er, who was an official in the capital, and her daughter, Lan Er, who had married into a noble house. She begged Bai Yutang to kill her on the spot to avenge his brother rather than drag her family through public shame.
Bai Yutang flatly refused, stating that her death would not restore his brother's honor, and insisted that she owed Jin Xuewen her testimony. Meanwhile, Huo Linglong bound Jiao Siyuan to interrogate him, demanding to know why he was so certain the Huo family had killed his father, Jiao Chaogui. Realizing that Huo Linglong and Zhan Zhao harbored no malice, Jiao Siyuan admitted he had been manipulated.
He explained that during his father's funeral, a mysterious informant sent a message claiming Huo Linglong was in Xiangyang at the time of the murder, and another message had tipped him off about her location that very day. Huo Linglong assured him that her family had absolutely nothing to do with Jiao Chaogui's death, advising him to investigate the person feeding him information instead.
When pressed about the sword formation his men had used, Jiao Siyuan revealed that his father and uncles had developed it fifteen years ago. He added that starting from that same year, his mother, Mrs. Jiao, had settled permanently in Xiangyang, never returning to Shengyun Stronghold. Jiao Siyuan recalled that his father had visited Xiangyang that autumn, on the eve of the Jin family's Suwen Assembly.
Huo Linglong and Zhan Zhao brought Jiao Siyuan to confront Mrs. Jiao, demanding the truth about the night Huo Linglong's aunt was murdered. Mrs. Jiao initially tried to deflect, claiming Jiao Chaogui's presence in Xiangyang had nothing to do with the crime and citing a grudge over a concubine as her reason for never returning to Shengyun Stronghold.
However, Huo Linglong exposed the lies, pointing out that the concubine had died that very winter, yet Mrs. Jiao had still refused to return. Under pressure, Mrs. Jiao finally broke down and confessed the harrowing truth. On the night of the murder, Jiao Chaogui had broken into the aunt's residence to demand the location of the Linglong Eye. When she refused to cooperate, he attacked her with a sword, leaving her severely wounded.
The next day, upon hearing that the gentle scholar Jin Xuewen had been arrested, Jiao Chaogui forced Mrs. Jiao to falsely testify that she saw Jin Xuewen entering the courtyard to permanently divert suspicion from himself. To ensure her silence, Jiao Chaogui subsequently murdered Mrs. Jiao's two maids, which terrified her so deeply that she severed all ties with Shengyun Stronghold.
Deeply grieved by the revelation that her aunt's supposed friend had covered up her murder for fifteen years, Huo Linglong wept bitterly. Bai Yutang, who had been listening outside, burst into the room. Disgusted by Mrs. Jiao's belated tears, he demanded that she go to court to deliver justice for the victims. When Mrs. Jiao hesitated out of fear of destroying Shengyun Stronghold's reputation and facing the Huo family's wrath, Bai Yutang coldly threatened Jiao Siyuan's life.
Terrified, Mrs. Jiao begged for her son's safety and agreed to testify. Huo Linglong sternly warned her that if she dared to break her promise or flee, she would personally execute both mother and son. After returning to their old residence, the group tried to process the heavy revelations. Huo Linglong lamented how easily these perpetrators offered empty remorse while continuing to prioritize their own selfish interests over justice.
Analyzing the details, Zhan Zhao pointed out that since Jiao Chaogui had already used a sword, there was no logical reason for him to use a dagger to finish her off. Furthermore, since Jiao Chaogui only decided to frame Jin Xuewen after the arrest, the bloody clothes and the dagger must have been planted by someone else. Bai Yutang confirmed the dagger was indeed Jin Xuewen's, a birthday gift from his fourth uncle.
Zhan Zhao concluded that the real culprit had to be someone close to Jin Xuewen who knew of the dagger's existence. He realized that only a handful of people fit this description, which explained why Zhang was so desperate to protect them. Realizing the danger, Bai Yutang, Zhan Zhao, and Huo Linglong rushed back to the Jin Mansion to lock down Zhang's courtyard, hoping to prevent any attempts on her life.
Inside the mansion, Jin Zhenping remained unnervingly calm, confident that Zhang would never reveal the truth. Meanwhile, Zhang received a reply from her son, Liang Er. Desperate to protect her children's future and fearing that the exposure of her past affair would bring ruin to her family, she instructed her maid to deliver two farewell letters to Liang Er and Lan Er. After warning the servant to ask no questions, Zhang swallowed poison.
Bai Yutang, who was guarding the courtyard, heard a sudden sound and burst into the room, only to find Zhang already dead, tightly clutching Jin Zhenping's jade jue in her hand. During the funeral, a furious Bai Yutang confronted Jin Zhenping, accusing him of driving Zhang to her death to protect his own skin, and produced the jade jue found in her hand.
Jin Zhenping falsely claimed he had never seen the ornament and turned the accusation back on Bai Yutang, sneering that Jin Xuewen would forever remain a murderer and that Bai Yutang would always be a killer's brother. Suddenly, Tang Ji arrived at the funeral hall. Shocked, Jin Zhenping warned him to keep a low profile, mentioning that Zhan Zhao and Huo Linglong were currently away attempting to rescue Mrs. Jiao and Jiao Siyuan from Si Ming's assassins.
Tang Ji, devastated by Zhang's death and realizing Jin Zhenping had driven his childhood sweetheart to suicide to protect his own skin, drew his weapon to kill him once the coffin was closed. Bai Yutang intervened, unwilling to let Jin Zhenping die so easily, and clashed with Tang Ji. As Tang Ji fell into a disadvantage, Jin Zhenping suddenly released the "Tipsy Breeze" poison, temporarily paralyzing Bai Yutang and allowing Tang Ji to escape to protect their shared secrets.
However, upon returning to the Tang Sect, Tang Ji was immediately assassinated by Shao Jizu, who was acting under Si Ming's orders. Shao Jizu declared Tang Tianhao as the new chief of the sect. As Tang Ji lay dying, he firmly held his grieving nephew back, forbidding him from acting impulsively, and urged him to focus solely on preserving the Tang Sect.
As Bai Yutang rested and recovered, Ming Zhu'er bandaged his wounds, teasing him for being overly delicate as he winced at the alcohol-based medicine. Meanwhile, a letter arrived from Lord Bao in the capital, clarifying two vital facts. First, the tragic plague in Tanxi Town had never been reported to the imperial court, meaning the inhumane actions were not sanctioned by the Emperor.
Second, the magistrate who oversaw the case fifteen years ago was Luo Wenjie, who currently served as the Governor of Xiangzhou and was suspected to be the mastermind "Si Ming." Realizing that the high-ranking governor would never willingly reopen the case through standard legal channels, Zhan Zhao proposed a bold strategy: they would invite Luo Wenjie to the upcoming Suwen Assembly and present the undeniable evidence in front of the entire town, leaving him with no choice but to confess.
As the Jin family prepared for the event, the Fifth Uncle summoned Jin Zhenping, demanding to know if he was colluding with the Tang Sect. Jin Zhenping deflected the accusation and warned the elder that if Bai Yutang succeeded in reopening the case, a far more damaging family scandal would be exposed: the forbidden affair between Zhang and Jin Xuewen.
Realizing that clearing one name would only invite public disgrace upon the family, the elder began to waver on whether to allow Bai Yutang to participate. However, their discussion was cut short when Zhao Zhi'er, the steward of Nanqing Palace, arrived bearing a royal token. He announced that Prince Hui (Zhao Zhuoqing) would personally attend the Suwen Assembly at the invitation of his close friend, Bai Yutang, leaving the Jin family with no choice but to proceed with the event.
