Legend of the Magnate Episode 1 Recap
> Legend of the Magnate Recap
Ningguta, located at the northernmost reaches of the Qing Dynasty, served as a desolate land of exile for officials convicted of serious crimes, fallen royalty, and even scholars who made literary mistakes. Sent along with their entire families, these exiles endured a perilous journey of thousands of miles through a frozen, sparsely populated wilderness, frequently stalked by wild beasts.
Those who survived the arduous trek were condemned to a lifetime of servitude, with no hope of escape from this "300-year-long frozen hell." The frigid landscape of Ningguta bore witness to an impending clash between Wu's Settlement and Huang's Settlement, sparked by an unforeseen murder. Liu Si of Huang's Settlement had gravely wronged Su Shuhe of Wu's Settlement, leading Su Shuhe’s son, Su Xiaohu, to avenge his father by killing Liu Si.
This act ignited a fierce feud, gathering the young men of both settlements on the icy river, drums beating as they prepared for battle. Head Liu of Huang's Settlement demanded Liu Si’s body, while Head Wang of Wu's Settlement, accompanied by Su Xiaohu, firmly refused. As tensions flared and a fight seemed inevitable, Head Wang cautioned young Su Xiaohu, who was still just a boy, against joining the fray, reminding him it was not his time to die.
Just as the two groups were about to erupt into violence, Gu Pingyuan, an exile himself since the fifth year of Emperor Xianfeng's reign, arrived with a cavalry unit. He declared that he had come on the orders of Commander Xu, the general of Ningguta, and displayed Commander Xu’s seal as proof of his authority. Gu Pingyuan warned them that if any deaths occurred, it would jeopardize the officials' careers and result in their own beheadings.
He ordered Mrs. Su, her child, and the heads of both settlements to come forward, stating that if they failed to reach a peaceful resolution, he would no longer intervene, even if the river filled with their dead. Three days prior, Gu Pingyuan had been at the Manchun Brothel, a gathering place for major pharmaceutical merchants from across the empire, including representatives from Guangzhou's Xing He Tang, Beijing's Tong Ren Tang, and Hangzhou's Hu Qing Yu Tang.
Among them was Li Qin, the young heir of Li Wantang, a capital merchant whose family owned 200 franchise pharmacies nationwide. They were all there to bid on a rare, millennium-old ginseng doll unearthed jointly by Su Shuhe and Liu Si. Su Shuhe explained to Gu Pingyuan that he had risked his life to find the ginseng, hoping to sell it to finance his son Su Xiaohu’s escape from Ningguta.
He wanted his son to assume a new identity, pursue an education, and build a better future, rather than die as an exile like himself. Gu Pingyuan supported Su Shuhe’s plan. Su Shuhe aimed to sell the ginseng for at least 100,000 taels, with a portion going to Commander Xu and the remainder split between himself and Liu Si. Gu Pingyuan, however, felt the price was too low.
Liu Si arrived shortly after, claiming an urgent need for money, and quickly departed, entrusting Gu Pingyuan with the full authority to handle the sale. Gu Pingyuan then gathered all the merchants for an open auction. Bidding quickly escalated, with Li Qin and another merchant driving the price up to 300,000 taels. Li Qin eventually withdrew, leaving the other merchant to claim the ginseng. After Gu Pingyuan verified the banknotes, Su Shuhe solemnly handed over the box containing the ginseng.
However, when the merchant eagerly opened the box, it was empty. The precious ginseng doll was gone. Stunned, Su Shuhe stripped off his clothes to prove his innocence, swearing he had never lied. Gu Pingyuan, recalling Su Shuhe’s conviction that Liu Si had not opened the box, suspected the ginseng had been stolen before the auction, though he lacked concrete evidence.
The enraged merchant, accusing Su Shuhe of being a scammer and insulting Ningguta as a "den of bandits," prepared to leave. Overwhelmed by the unjust accusation and unable to defend himself, Su Shuhe, a man of integrity, decided to prove his honesty with his life. Despite Gu Pingyuan's desperate pleas, Su Shuhe plunged a knife into his own chest, dying instantly. Gu Pingyuan was deeply pained and vowed to uncover the truth.
News of Su Shuhe's death reached Commander Xu and Magistrate Wang. Magistrate Wang expressed concern that the incident could jeopardize their careers, reminding Commander Xu that Su Shuhe had once been a second-rank military attaché, and the Emperor might one day reinstate him. Commander Xu, dismissing Su Shuhe as merely a "notorious convict" in Ningguta, nonetheless understood the need to stabilize the situation.
He dispatched Gu Pingyuan to the settlement, outwardly showing trust but privately wary of Gu Pingyuan's growing popularity among the exiles, observing that a mere scholar commanded such loyalty from the convicts. Gu Pingyuan proceeded to Wu's Settlement for Su Shuhe's funeral. Mrs. Su, seeking details, asked Gu Pingyuan if her husband had suffered. Gu Pingyuan, to spare her pain, falsely assured her that a single stab to the heart was painless.
Later, he confronted Liu Si, questioning his premature departure from the auction. Liu Si maintained that his son had died of "twisted bowel syndrome." A remorseful merchant also approached Gu Pingyuan, blaming himself for Su Shuhe's death with his harsh words. Gu Pingyuan reassured him that Su Shuhe's death was not his fault, hinting at deeper machinations. Li Qin then appeared, making light of Su Shuhe's death and suggesting the ginseng was never meant for him.
Gu Pingyuan directly accused Li Qin of orchestrating a secret deal with Liu Si through his butler, Zhang Guangfa. Li Qin, after some probing, confessed that his father, Li Wantang, had arranged it, claiming Su Shuhe was unworthy of the ginseng and reiterating his belief that "a gentleman's only crime is to carry a jade," implying Su Shuhe's possession of the ginseng was his downfall. Infuriated by Li Qin’s callousness, Gu Pingyuan pulled Liu Si aside and confronted him directly.
He revealed that the brothel girls had informed him that Li Qin's butler, Zhang Guangfa, had, in fact, taken Liu Si’s son out of Ningguta overnight, disproving Liu Si's lie about his son’s death. Facing undeniable evidence, Liu Si admitted to betraying Su Shuhe and selling the ginseng to Li Qin in exchange for his son's escape.
He confessed that he hadn't taken any money but had traded the ginseng for his son's freedom, hoping to give him a future away from the harsh exile land. However, Gu Pingyuan pointed out the grave danger such a young child would face traveling alone back to the Central Plains, pursued by officials and enemies. Overhearing this revelation, Su Xiaohu, consumed by grief and rage, rushed forward and fatally stabbed Liu Si, avenging his father.
Back on the icy river, the horse gang led by Chang Si and his daughter, Chang Yu’er, arrived at Ningguta’s city gates. Heizi, a member of the horse gang, called out to the guards, presenting their salt license and requesting entry. As the city gates opened, Gu Pingyuan and his cavalry rode out to intervene in the renewed conflict. Chang Yu’er was captivated by Gu Pingyuan’s resolute demeanor.
Mrs. Su, enraged by the betrayal that led to her husband's death, demanded vengeance, seeking the life of Liu Si’s son. Gu Pingyuan, holding young Su Xiaohu and making him admit his fear of death, appealed to Mrs. Su's compassion. He spoke of Su Shuhe’s loyalty to his comrades and questioned if he would find peace knowing his wife was seeking further bloodshed purely out of emotion.
Gu Pingyuan then made a solemn oath: if he were ever to return to the Central Plains, he would take Su Xiaohu with him, ensuring the boy would always be fed and clothed before himself, and raising him to adulthood. Convinced, Mrs. Su agreed to cease the conflict and allowed Liu Si’s body to be prepared for burial.
Upon returning to the general’s mansion, Commander Xu, though acknowledging Gu Pingyuan’s mediation, was furious about his unauthorized use of the general’s seal and the still-missing ginseng. Gu Pingyuan, attempting to explain, suggested the ginseng was a "spiritual object" that had simply disappeared, as Liu Si and Su Shuhe had removed the red, cinnabar-soaked rope and needles that bound it, allowing it to become a spirit and flee.
Commander Xu, mocking his explanation, threatened Gu Pingyuan, who, admitting he was merely a "servant ghost" to Commander Xu’s "Mountain God," promised to redouble his efforts to find the ginseng. Meanwhile, Chang Si and his horse gang settled into Ningguta. Chang Yu’er struggled to light a fire in their lodgings, choking on the smoke.
Gu Pingyuan, noticing her difficulty, offered advice on how to properly stack the wood to avoid smoke, and explained that the room would naturally warm up as she cooked. Later, he visited Chang Si, who explained he was transporting sea salt to repay debts after a failed attempt at farming, a business he knew nothing about. Chang Si asked Gu Pingyuan for guidance on doing business in Ningguta.
Gu Pingyuan, introducing himself as an exile who assisted Commander Xu due to his literacy and accounting skills, explained that Ningguta was a place where exiles, if they survived, were forced into military settlements. The strong hunted dangerous animals for the Mulan Hunting Ground to entertain the Emperor and princes, while others dug for ginseng, constantly risking their lives to become "food for wild beasts."
He emphasized that in Ningguta, "respect" was paramount, warning that even more ruthless forces than nature existed there. Later that evening, Gu Pingyuan encountered Li Qin, who had been stripped of his clothes and thrown out of a gambling den after being cheated. Li Qin, explaining he had lost his money when his "tiger heads" were supposedly beaten by "bronze hammers" according to unfamiliar local rules, pleaded for help. Gu Pingyuan, seeing Li Qin’s predicament, took him back inside the gambling establishment, where they saw a woman, Su Zixuan, immersed in a game of chance.
