Judge Dee's Mystery Episode 16 Recap, Plot

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As the sun set in the west and dusk clouds gathered, Lanfang, located in the frontier region, was far more complex than Di Renjie had imagined. This market town was unlike typical bustling towns; instead, it resembled a ghost village in desolate graves and wilderness, where hungry ghosts seized food and evil spirits committed violence everywhere.

Clearly, the Lone Wolf Gang was seen as those evil spirits by everyone; they monopolized the wells and even mocked and beat those who sought water, incidents that were all too common. Just as Di Renjie was about to step forward to intervene, a veiled young master ran over to stop them.

Although his voice was weak and his body frail, he still protected the suffering people with his own strength, and handed over a bag of silver to satisfy the gang and make them leave, no longer making things difficult for those fetching water. Seeing this, Di Renjie continued leading his horse forward, noticing many people openly observing them with aggressive gazes.

Ma Rong and Qiao Tai went ahead to investigate and returned to report that the county yamen had been burned down last night and was now a charred ruin. Di Renjie found it hard to believe and only accepted the reality after inspecting it himself. As the public order here was vastly different from Penglai and various forces were carving up the city, they had to choose the Red Pavilion as their lodging.

Compared to the chaos outside, the Red Pavilion was a rare haven of elegance, with embroidered chambers and vermilion towers lined up row upon row, accompanied by the unending sounds of clappers and string instruments, and featuring beautiful singing and dancing girls, like a secluded paradise on earth. The landlady Bi Yu led everyone upstairs, briefly introduced the situation of the Red Pavilion, and revealed to them the distribution of power in Lanfang.

Currently, Lanfang has three major gangs: the Azure Dragon Gang, the Lone Wolf Gang, and the Black Tiger Gang, in addition to over ten smaller gangs. In the past seven years, five county magistrates have taken office, but none could effectively govern Lanfang; the situation remained a chaotic scene of one group rising as another fell.

Di Renjie asked if Lanfang had always been this way, and the landlady said that Lanfang was once ruled by the Black Flame, but later the Black Flame was suddenly severely hit and subsequently disappeared completely. The Black Tiger Gang and the Lone Wolf Gang engaged in a fierce fight over the wells. The Black Tiger Gang leader, Qian Hao, brutally killed the Lone Wolf Gang leader and ultimately monopolized all of Lanfang's water sources.

Di Renjie and others witnessed this bloody fight from the upper floor, gaining a deeper understanding of Lanfang's chaos. At the same time, they saw that these gang forces were deeply rooted and probably difficult to deal with. They decided to hold their ground before the city defense troops arrived and draw a map based on their impressions. Afterward, Di Renjie went to ask Bi Yu about some matters and coincidentally met the courtesan Qiu Yue.

Qiu Yue had been taking care of Li Tao's food and daily life, but today she discovered that Li Tao had died by cutting his own wrists. Di Renjie leaned in for a look and found that the deceased was indeed the young master who had intervened and saved people during the day. Qiu Yue revealed that Li Tao had proposed to her and was rejected, implying that he committed suicide because he was troubled by love.

Di Renjie wanted to continue questioning, but Bi Yu came in from outside and interrupted the conversation. She signaled Qiu Yue with her eyes not to speak carelessly, sealed off the scene, and ordered Di Renjie to leave. That night, Di Renjie and his party sneaked into the room to examine Li Tao's body.

They noticed that the position where Li Tao's wrists were cut did not match the bloodstains on the ground, and there were inconspicuous needle marks on his neck. From this, they concluded that Li Tao did not commit suicide but was murdered. The group found some manuscripts under the carpet, many of which were IOUs from others to Li Tao, and even notes about not repaying borrowed money.

At this moment, Bi Yu brought County Lieutenant Li and caught them red-handed. Di Renjie had to reveal his identity, leaving Bi Yu stunned and County Lieutenant Li extremely respectful. Bi Yu's eagerness to classify Li Tao's death as suicide aroused Di Renjie's suspicion. Under repeated questioning, Bi Yu realized she had spoken incorrectly and stated that Li Tao had stayed at the Red Pavilion for forty-seven days, but she still knew nothing about him.

However, Di Renjie did not believe Bi Yu's explanation but could not find any definite points of suspicion about her, so he inquired about the situation from County Lieutenant Li. He learned that Bi Yu had once met a lovesick Young Master Lu, who hanged himself at the Red Pavilion after his proposal was rejected, and from then on, she became famous in Lanfang, with many young women following her example.

Di Renjie noticed that the signature on Li Tao's painting was extremely special. Upon investigation, it was confirmed that the seal belonged to the former prefect Li Jingwei, so he followed County Lieutenant Li to visit him. Li Jingwei was still unaware that his son had been murdered and spoke at length about how kind-hearted and tolerant his son was.

Hearing this, Di Renjie felt compassion and, fearing that Li Jingwei would not be able to accept the news of his death, did not mention a word about it. It was precisely because of this that County Lieutenant Li believed Di Renjie was different from the previous five county magistrates. He admired his compassion and said that if Di Renjie intended to bring change to Lanfang, he would definitely assist him wholeheartedly.

Di Renjie took his people back to the Red Pavilion and saw the people spontaneously mourning Li Tao in the streets. There was a vast crowd with endless weeping, moving everyone present to sadness and emotion. Cao An sighed at how many people Li Tao had benefited, feeling that this case might be an opportunity for Di Renjie, an opportunity to break the deadlock in Lanfang.

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