Judge Dee's Mystery Episode 8 Recap, Plot

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Cao An gifted Teng Gong's poetry collection to Di Renjie, subtly hinting at something, and promised to sing for him again when she had free time, her tender gaze causing Ma Rong's dissatisfaction. After Cao An left, Ma Rong questioned Di Renjie about how he knew Cao An, but Di Renjie avoided answering. Instead, he entrusted Ma Rong with a crucial task, emphasizing that there could be no mistakes.

Qiao Tai and Hong Liang were full of suspicion, but Ma Rong kept silent. Early the next morning, Di Renjie confronted Teng Kan, using a long saber to scrape off the special coating on the screen's surface, revealing the true reason why the Four Lacquered Screens changed when exposed to hot water.

Thus, Di Renjie exposed Teng Kan in front of everyone, revealing that he had faked madness, planned to murder Yin Lian, framed Li Han, and skillfully manipulated public opinion to gain the reputation of a man who cherished his wife like his own life. Teng Kan was actually not a brilliant poet; those popular poems were all written by Yin Lian, and he had even won the top prize in the capital region based on these manuscripts.

However, Teng Kan had long known that Yin Lian was having an affair with Xu Kai. To maintain his status in the poetry world, he could only suppress his anger and allow her to meet with Xu Kai up to seven times. Finally, Teng Kan angrily swung his saber, aiming at Xu Kai and Yin Lian, and in a fit of rage, stabbed her seven times.

Furthermore, Di Renjie found bloodstains on the horsewhip and speculated that Teng Kan had whipped himself daily to suppress his inner demons. Later, Teng Kan could no longer bear it. He colluded with Lai Er Niang zi to redeem Li Han from prison and fabricated the story of ghosts and evil spirits appearing. On the day of the crime, Teng Kan took the hallucinogenic plant Bimanzi, deliberately creating the illusion of being possessed by a ghost, and murdered Yin Lian.

Unexpectedly, Li Han appeared at the scene and, in his immense grief, cut off a lock of hair to cherish. Since both Li Han and Xu Kai were dead, Di Renjie did not yet have enough evidence to convict him, so Teng Kan was smug.

Just as Teng Kan ordered his servants to move the last box from his study, he was surprised to find that the box which should have contained Yin Lian's poetry manuscripts was filled with stones instead. It turned out that Di Renjie had secretly instructed Ma Rong to sneak into the Teng residence at night and take the poetry manuscripts. By this time, the manuscripts had already been sent to Chang'an.

Although Teng Kan could not be sentenced for murder due to lack of evidence, his act of forging the poetry manuscripts constituted the crime of deceiving the Emperor, and he could not escape death. Seeing that the situation was hopeless and there was no way to turn back, Teng Kan collapsed onto the ground, looking both sorrowful and mad. In the end, he drank poisoned wine and ended his own life.

Hong Liang and Qiao Tai hurried to the Lai residence. Lai Er Niang zi had trapped herself inside the building and set herself on fire, which was lamentable. As the truth of the case came to light and everything settled down, Ba Zong admitted defeat on his wager, and from then on, Penglai City was governed according to law. To thank Cao An, Di Renjie chose a piece of redwood and carved words on it as a gift.

Cao An liked it very much. """ A few days later, a storm raged, whipping up waves, and a multi-decked ship struggled to advance in the dark night. The sailor Wang Lide changed the course without authorization and reassured the leader not to worry. The leader turned back into the cabin and was horrified to see the crew members brutally murdered. By the time he realized who the killer was, it was too late.

Wang Lide cruelly murdered everyone, except for a Baekje sailor who had stowed away and was hiding in a dark cabin. Eunuch Liu arrived in Penglai on imperial order to make purchases. Yi Pan saw the gold, silver, and treasures prepared by the Gu family for him and couldn't help but feel jealous, mocking the Gu family for favoring some over others in their dealings.

Gu Mengbin's confidant, Bai Kai, was sophisticated and dissolved Yi Pan's resentment with a few words, leaving him speechless. Di Renjie encountered his friend Hou Yu at the wharf. Having parted ways in the capital city and reuniting today, both were exceptionally happy. Now that Empress Wu was regent and had carried out a purge of civil and military officials, Hou Yu was also inevitably implicated and dismissed from office.

Di Renjie revealed his purpose for this trip to Hou Yu: to intercept a ship owner named Gu Mengbin. He had summoned the man for a minor case for three days, but the man avoided meeting him every time. At the same time, Gu Mengbin appeared at the wharf with a group of people. The grandeur of his entourage surprised Ma Rong. Qiao Tai stated that Gu Mengbin was the biggest ship owner in Penglai.

Hundreds of ships entering and leaving the port belonged to the Gu family, showing their immense family power. Gu Mengbin ordered his men to quickly put away the gold, silver, and treasures, and specifically reminded Yi Pan not to mention gold, especially the words "Baekje gold". That night, Gu Mengbin hosted a banquet to welcome Eunuch Liu. Yi Pan and Hou Yu accompanied them. Eunuch Liu revealed that he loved two things most in his life: singing girls and gold.

Even with his glib tongue, Yi Pan was taken aback upon hearing this and, surprised, lied that Penglai never produced gold. Di Renjie was unable to meet with Gu Mengbin and decided to take his men to find him. By coincidence, they met Cao An carrying a pipa by the shore. Subsequently, Di Renjie and Cao An entered the painted boat together. Eunuch Liu treated Di Renjie with disdain and neglect but was quite interested in Cao An. In contrast, Qiao Tai proactively struck up a conversation with the Baekje singing girl Yusu but felt bored due to the language barrier.

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