Judge Dee's Mystery Episode 19 Recap, Plot

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

This day, a case was heard in court. The accuser was a former helper in the Han residence. On the day of the incident, there was a banquet inside the residence, and due to a shortage of staff, her young daughter, Han Wangrui, was called in to help. However, the master of the residence, Han Yongnan, allegedly sexually assaulted Han Wangrui while drunk.

As she had not yet reached adulthood, this constituted a severe crime according to the Tang Dynasty laws. But Han Yongnan claimed that Ms. Jin willingly sold her daughter into the residence and even had a written agreement and receipt. Qiao Tai searched Ms. Jin's house and found 3,000 cash, proving that what Han Yongnan said was not false.

Han Yongnan, however, excused himself, stating that he had taken Wushisan, which caused him to have hallucinations and do something beyond his control. Although everyone disbelieved Han Yongnan's words, Han Yongnan exploited a loophole in the law, acted arrogantly relying on his considerable local reputation, and was certain that Di Renjie could do nothing to him.

Ultimately, the case of Han Yongnan assaulting a minor girl resulted in him being granted bail due to insufficient evidence, with a decision to be made another day. The crowd of people watching outside the gate was filled with righteous indignation. Suddenly, a boy rushed out to assassinate Han Yongnan. Upon questioning, he was identified as Han Wangrui's younger brother, Han Wangdong.

Han Yongnan used Han Wangdong's attempted assault in the street as a reason to demand Di Renjie handle the matter impartially. Di Renjie reluctantly took him into custody. Seeing this, the crowd was dissatisfied and cursed him as a corrupt official. Ma Rong knew the situation of Ms. Jin's entire family and felt great sympathy. Di Renjie stated that as an official, one must maintain rationality and always remember that emotion can never outweigh the law.

Cao An saw that Di Renjie was in a terrible mood and personally brewed him a pot of tea, reminding him not to care about others' opinions. She believed taking Han Wangdong into custody today was a form of protection and was confident that in due course, he would be able to uncover the truth.

Hong Liang and Qiao Tai examined the body of the deceased, confirming that this person was Yun Gang from Chongshanfang, also a notorious lecher in Lanfang who had deceived and harmed countless young girls and married women. Some time ago, a woman who had secretly conceived with Yun Gang hanged herself. As a result, not long after, Yun Gang's body appeared outside the city. Qiao Tai suspected it should have been the woman's relatives who hired someone to kill him.

Afterward, Di Renjie visited Han Wangdong in prison and unexpectedly heard Ma Rong declare that next time she would definitely not stop Han Wangdong from acting, and she even gave him a dagger. Han Wangdong was still sulking and being difficult, believing that Black Flame was the one who truly sought justice for the people. Di Renjie became increasingly annoyed as he listened and sternly reprimanded Ma Rong, ordering her to bring out the dagger, and criticized her behavior severely.

Han Yongnan held a banquet and indulged in pleasure at home, summoning two female entertainers and taking Wushisan to enjoy the feeling of ecstasy. The next day, the maids discovered that the female entertainers had been brutally murdered, and Han Yongnan was missing. Di Renjie led his men to the scene to investigate. Based on the clues, he inferred Han Yongnan's process of committing the crime and immediately went to the silver mine to demand a search.

However, the people there relied on the silver mine being a vital national resource and consistently refused to allow access. Di Renjie meticulously searched the stable and found Han Yongnan's discarded outer robe, as well as a box that had been overturned by a carriage, guessing that he had driven away. Ma Rong and Qiao Tai and others notified the villagers, asking them to provide any clues if they knew any in time.

Han Wangdong regretted reporting the case to the authorities and felt he should have gone directly to Black Flame. Di Renjie did not explain this but promised Ms. Jin that he would catch Han Yongnan and uphold justice for everyone. Unexpectedly, Ms. Jin was disappointed in him and directly drove him away. The surrounding villagers were all filled with righteous indignation and cursed and accused him one after another.

At this moment, a guard reported that a carriage had indeed left the silver mine and exited the city. Di Renjie deduced Han Yongnan's whereabouts using the map and tracked him all the way to an post station, where he unexpectedly encountered a masked man. After a confrontation, the masked man pulled off his mask, revealing a young face, and introduced himself as Diao Xiaoguan by name.

He said he had seen Han Yongnan before and was willing to help them search for this person together. Everyone noticed that the post station was somewhat suspicious, especially the door behind the postmaster, which was tightly shut, seeming to be holding something inside. The postmaster lied, saying it was hunted game, but Di Renjie didn't believe him at all. He ordered Qiao Tai to kick open the door.

The result was that they saw several young girls inside, and only then did he realize that the postmaster was using the post station as a cover to secretly engage in human trafficking. Because the postmaster held the girls' contracts of sale, they could all prove that the girls were willingly sold to him by their parents, so there was no violation of the Tang Dynasty laws. Di Renjie had no right to arrest him.

He could only pay out of his own pocket to buy the girls and warned the postmaster not to do such things again in the future, or he would definitely not be spared. A group of bandits suddenly surrounded the post station. Di Renjie and his group could only charge out and fight hard. Ma Rong saw Diao Xiaoguan shoot an arrow at Di Renjie and wanted to stop him, but it was too late.

Episode 18 Recap

Episode 20 Recap

Related Posts