Judge Dee's Mystery Episode 18 Recap, Plot

> Judge Dee's Mystery
> Judge Dee's Mystery Recap

Di Renjie chased Qian Hao alone, demanding he abandon the bounty mission. Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, a cold arrow shot from the dark. The two cooperated tacitly to subdue the attacker, finding it was a remaining member of the Lone Wolf Gang attempting revenge. Although Qian Hao let Di Renjie go out of gratitude for saving him, he firmly stated he would continue to accept bounty missions and would hunt down everyone he investigated.

Afterwards, Di Renjie returned to the Red Pavilion. Qiu Yue had left without saying goodbye, and Bi Yu refused to reveal Qiu Yue's whereabouts. Everyone speculated where Qiu Yue might have gone. Di Renjie pinpointed Hongliu Village, not far from the city. However, when they arrived, Qiu Yue had already been taken away by the Black Tiger Gang, leaving clear traces on the ground.

But the Black Tiger Gang knowing in advance meant there was still an mole in the yamen. The disappearance of Clerk Bai happened to illustrate this point. Di Renjie deliberately showed County Lieutenant Li that he was at a dead end and gave him a letter to deliver to Prefect Li. However, County Lieutenant Li opened the letter without permission and found it was Di Renjie's strategy to test him.

Seeing that the matter was exposed, County Lieutenant Li admitted that to protect his family's safety, he had to obey Qian Hao, which was an act of coercion. County Lieutenant Li believed Di Renjie should not blame them. If he was truly capable, he should immediately start changing the situation in Lanfang, otherwise more innocent people would suffer. That day, Di Renjie held court again, but the court table had been sawed off.

He found Qiu Yue's favorite hairpin in Hongliu Village. Combining this with the existing clues, he deduced that Bi Yu had hidden the truth about Qiu Yue's disappearance and staged a scene herself. To force Bi Yu to tell the truth, Di Renjie warned that if she didn't reveal Qiu Yue's hiding place, Qiu Yue would likely be in danger soon. Although Di Renjie's words were very clear, Bi Yu still refused to tell the truth.

Di Renjie had no leads and sought Cao An for answers. Cao An suggested Di Renjie try a different approach: if Qiu Yue and Li Tao truly loved each other, then Li Tao was very likely to have committed suicide for some reason. Di Renjie was greatly inspired by this. Hearing that Coroner Hu had woken up and was scribbling and drawing as if possessed, he rushed over and saw him drawing an image of sand fleas.

Coroner Hu stated that he personally saw a swarm of sand fleas emerge from a red spot on Li Tao's neck. In a panic, he set the body on fire to prevent others from getting infected. Prefect Li, convinced that Qiu Yue had killed his son, rushed into the Red Pavilion with a knife and took Qiu Yue hostage. Di Renjie tried his best to calm Prefect Li down.

He publicly revealed the truth that Li Tao's life was short due to a sand flea infection, and that the sand fleas came from the tulips Prefect Li was raising. It was precisely for this reason that Li Tao deliberately lost his temper with Qiu Yue to make her stop worrying about him.

He even left a suicide note before killing himself, but sadly the note was blown away by the wind and sand, leaving no trace, though it still showed his deep affection for Qiu Yue. Qiu Yue listened, tears streaming down her face. Prefect Li was filled with even greater sorrow. He apologized to Qiu Yue for misunderstanding her and felt guilty for inadvertently causing his son's death.

In front of everyone, Prefect Li pleaded with Di Renjie to give him some dignity. After saying this, he walked towards a room and tragically ended his life. A crowd of servants knelt and wept at the door, which made everyone present feel uneasy. Soon, the city defense army arrived in Lanfang, and the gangs that had been running rampant were wiped out.

Ma Rong and Qiao Tai jointly subdued Qian Hao, burned the gangs' flags, distributed food and clean water to the people, and restored peace to the area. During this time, a masked man sat by the street, his eyes fixed on Di Renjie's figure, subtly planning a new conspiracy. As the county yamen was completed, Di Renjie's prestige in Lanfang grew, and law and order were restored. However, beneath the surface of peace, another complex murder case quietly occurred.

Episode 17 Recap

Episode 19 Recap

Related Posts