Judge Dee's Mystery Episode 12 Recap, Plot

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The Hou family were loyal and righteous, experiencing the ups and downs of being officials and generals for three generations, finally declining at the hands of Hou Yu, all because Empress Wu controlled the court and stripped him of his power. For many years, there was a constant stream of officials in the court opposing Empress Wu, and they even engaged in the smuggling of military supplies through this.

Hou Yu became the intermediary sent by these powerful figures, mainly responsible for negotiating with Wang Lide to jointly establish a maritime route. Coincidentally, Black Flame also targeted Wang Lide and threatened him to steal this gold. Wang Lide knew well that exchanging gold for military supplies involved powerful figures in the court, and the Black Flame organization was powerful and ruthless.

Neither side could be rashly offended, so he could only turn to Hou Yu for help, not realizing he was sending himself to his death. Hou Yu used the plan to his advantage; after Wang Lide killed all the crew members, he personally killed him. Although Wang Lide jumped into the sea to escape and hid on a small island for several days, he ultimately could not escape death.

Originally, Hou Yu thought that as long as Wang Lide was eliminated, he could rest easy, but he did not expect that there was also a Baekje stowaway hidden on the ship. Black Flame suffered heavy losses, and because their whereabouts were exposed and they were wanted by the court, they simply sent Jin Sang to impersonate a survivor, attempting to frame the important figure in Penglai.

Subsequently, Black Flame deliberately left behind the nautical chart to lure Di Renjie and others out to sea. Officer Yi thus revealed his flaws, and Hou Yu simply went all the way, strangling him and faking it as a suicide. Although Gu Mengbin did not know Hou Yu's secret, he was fearful of meeting the same fate as Officer Yi and was uneasy all day, but unfortunately, he was still shot and killed by Hou Yu.

Di Renjie gradually revealed Hou Yu's methods of committing crimes and was angry at his actions of killing many people to cover up the truth of the gold. Hou Yu claimed he did this for the people of the world, stating that only by controlling the gold could he win over court officials, secure his career, and prevent the wicked queen from wreaking havoc on the Great Tang.

Hou Yu possessed great talent but lacked great virtue, and ultimately went down the wrong path. He pleaded with Di Renjie to give him a way out, but Di Renjie's hesitation gradually disheartened him. Therefore, Hou Yu decided to strike first, launching a surprise attack on Di Renjie for a desperate fight to the death. Di Renjie defended against every move, unwilling to harm his friend's life.

In the end, a big wave struck, and Ma Rong and Qiao Tai took Di Renjie and fled the area. Hou Yu had already lost his mind, embracing the gold as he was buried at the bottom of the sea. And wasn't he, too, a pitiable person, a victim of political struggle? With the gold case completely solved, Eunuch Liu returned to the capital to report back.

Di Renjie promised Empress Wu that there would be no more privately traded gold from then on. A few days later, Di Renjie accompanied Cao An to the temple to offer incense, venturing to climb a cliff to pick a cherry branch for her, winning the beauty's smile.

That night, Hong Liang hosted a banquet at his residence to entertain Cao An, creating an opportunity for them to be alone, but Cao An thought for a moment and then rose to take her leave. In the following days, the Penglai County Yamen often received some minor cases. On this day, someone complained that the Zhongji Pawnshop refused to allow the redemption of pawned items. Di Renjie stated that he would investigate the reason and handle it impartially.

Just at this moment, the county yamen received another report, claiming someone had personally witnessed a "zombie," and the witness was a young child. Under Di Renjie's questioning, the child described playing hide-and-seek with his companions, mistakenly entering a reed swamp. While trying to find a way out, he unexpectedly came across a corpse floating on the lake surface, purple and rigid all over.

Di Renjie brought Ma Rong and Qiao Tai to the scene for investigation and indeed found several obvious bloodstains. They followed the bloodstains to a dilapidated watchtower. Hanging directly above the front was a huge and withered bird-man statue—a statue of the Rain Master worshipped by the common folk. Its excessive realism made it appear extremely bizarre and terrifying. On the second floor, Di Renjie found traces of someone having lived there.

Turning around, he saw the crazy young woman Huang Ying'er. A group of soldiers was ordered to patrol nearby. Di Renjie learned that Officer Li had arbitrarily ordered the soldiers to remove the corpse, so he decided to personally meet this person. Officer Li was dismissive of Di Renjie's arrival. Di Renjie insisted on seeing the corpse, but unexpectedly, he had already cremated it. Meanwhile, Ma Rong and Qiao Tai discovered erotic drawings in the soldiers' tent.

Immediately after, they heard footsteps outside and quickly hid. Several child soldiers, around their teens, supported each other as they entered the tent. They had suffered severe military flogging on their chests and backs but did not regret their actions of the previous night, believing it was worthwhile.

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