Glory Episode 25 Recap
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Lu Jianglai continued his investigation while Governor Jiang Yiqian resorted to torturing tea plantation workers for false confessions. Lu Jianglai and his aide Jun Dai disguised themselves as merchants and frequented the Kaitai Teahouse near the east gate, a bustling trade hub. Their plan was to lure out the thieves who had robbed the Rong Residence by offering high prices for luxury items. The strategy worked; the greedy bandits, unable to resist the profit, sold the stolen jewels.
Lu Jianglai’s man, Steward Quan, acted as the buyer and successfully recovered a significant portion of the loot, even though the gold had been melted down and the gems removed. Late that night, Lu Jianglai brought Rong Shanbao out of her cell to identify the items. She recognized a unique jade heirloom and shared its history: it had once been embedded in the eye socket of an ancestor who lost an eye in battle.
Although the recovery of the items proved the thieves had been found, the captured bandit, He Cifu, remained stubborn under torture. Lu Jianglai then orchestrated a mock prison break, allowing a guard to "rescue" the thieves. During the staged escape, He Cifu’s accomplice was shot dead. Terrified that he would be executed for escaping and assaulting a guard, He Cifu broke down and confessed everything, revealing that Yang Yitang was the mastermind behind the scheme and disclosing his hiding place.
When Yang Yitang realized the authorities were closing in, he sought refuge with Rong Yunshu. Lu Jianglai, who was monitoring Yang's movements, realized there was an insider within the Rong family. Meanwhile, Bai Yingsheng, aware of Rong Yunshu’s descent into villainy, attempted to save her by forcing her to leave for the capital for the imperial examinations. Yunshu feigned compliance but secretly used Bai Yingsheng’s carriage to smuggle Yang Yitang out of the city.
The situation turned lethal on a small boat in the middle of a deep river. Yunshu served poisoned tea to both Bai Yingsheng and Yang Yitang. When the poison took effect, Yang Yitang realized he had been betrayed and tried to kill Yunshu with a dagger. Bai Yingsheng, driven by his devotion, blocked the attack and was severely wounded.
Yunshu then used a heavy object to knock Yang Yitang unconscious before throwing the injured Bai Yingsheng into the water, where he disappeared. Upon reaching the shore, Yunshu surrendered Yang Yitang to Lu Jianglai, playing the victim and claiming Yang had kidnapped her and caused Bai Yingsheng’s disappearance. Lu Jianglai saw through her act, noting how she had effectively eliminated her accomplice while framing him as the sole culprit.
Governor Jiang Yiqian made a final attempt to salvage his position by appealing to the newly arrived Imperial Inspector, Luo Deze. He accused Lu Jianglai of bias and claimed the Rong family was guilty of rebellion and forging weapons. To prove his point, Jiang Yiqian brought forward a young tea worker named Zhang Zhong, who had been coerced into giving false testimony. The boy led the officials to a mountain cave, claiming it was where Rong Shanbao hid her weapons.
However, the search only uncovered bricks of aged green tea. The boy eventually confessed that Governor Jiang had threatened to beat him to death if he did not lie. Confronting the officials, Rong Shanbao highlighted her family’s decades of loyalty, noting they had transported over a million piculs of grain for the state and even provided relief during droughts.
She presented a magnificent heirloom jade seal and questioned Jiang Yiqian’s motives in framing a family the Empress Dowager herself had praised as a pillar of the state. Seeing the clear evidence of fabricated charges, Imperial Inspector Luo Deze promised a thorough investigation to ensure the true villains faced justice.
