Ni Chang Episode 37 Recap
> Ni Chang Recap
Ni Chang, feigning urgency about new lipsticks she had made, subtly got another maid to leave, allowing her to personally deliver supper to Deacon Zhao. Upon entering Deacon Zhao's room, she found her absent. She searched the room for the relevant records and found a record book which contained a specific entry about "Su's" and "Ten pieces of Suzhou brocade." As she was examining the book, someone entered.
Ni Chang quickly hid and, seizing an opportune moment, managed to sneak out with the book. Ni Chang presented the record book to Ouyang Ziyu. He noted the entry regarding "Su's" and "Ten pieces of Suzhou brocade," and explained that they now needed to acquire the Market Bureau's account book to verify if those ten pieces were indeed recorded in storage.
Though Ni Chang questioned the difficulty, Ouyang Ziyu confidently stated that it would not be hard, as someone would assist them. Meanwhile, Mr. Gao, having received news that Ni Chang (referred to as Wuyi by Mr. Gao, signifying her alias) was personally inspecting the Market Bureau's accounts due to discrepancies, rushed to inform Yuan Daocheng. Yuan Daocheng, already aware, deduced that Ouyang Ziyu was orchestrating these actions.
Yan Wenxiu then confirmed Yuan Daocheng's suspicions, reporting that Ni Chang had stolen Deacon Zhao's account book and highlighting her "extraordinary relationship" with Ouyang Ziyu, suggesting a connection between the events. Recognizing the escalating situation, Yuan Daocheng instructed Mr. Gao that it was time to dispose of the contents of his secret vault. Mr. Gao promptly ordered his servants to move the valuable contents from his secret room, emphasizing their fragility and cost.
Once the servants departed, Mr. Gao secretly retrieved a box of gold, silver, and jewelry, intending to keep a portion for himself. He reasoned that with the current difficult times, Yuan Daocheng likely wouldn't notice the missing items. Meanwhile, at the Su family mansion, Su Wenyu was drinking heavily, ignoring his business. His uncle, Su Gongming, stormed in, shattered his wine glass, and berated him as "useless" for his indolence while the family's businesses were failing.
Su Wenyu, in turn, lashed out, asserting that the Su family's reputation had already been ruined under Su Gongming's leadership. He accused Su Gongming of making disastrous decisions, such as forcing him to marry Yan Wenxiu, compelling her to participate in the bidding conference, and then betraying her, which incited Yuan Daocheng's retaliation and led to the family's current predicament.
Su Wenyu concluded by questioning what Su Gongming had truly gained from his manipulations, lamenting that the family was "all over." Ouyang Ziyu informed Ni Chang that although the account books submitted by the Market Bureau appeared flawless, their true objective was not to uncover general corruption but to pinpoint a specific detail.
He revealed that Su Gongming’s record of entering the warehouse on the third day of July, when no Suzhou brocade was recorded as being purchased, had not been erased, indicating foul play. He then instructed Xiaoqin to meticulously create an identical copy of the account book, which Xiao Lu would then return to the Market Bureau to avoid suspicion, emphasizing the critical importance of this original document.
Ni Chang was devastated by the realization that the long-sought enemies, the Su family, who were rival cloth merchants, had been so close all along. She blamed herself for not realizing it sooner, lamenting that her family would never witness their vindication. Ouyang Ziyu embraced her, assuring her it was not her fault and promising that this newfound clue would allow them to uncover the truth and avenge her family.
He comforted her, saying her family in heaven would be proud. Fu San, attempting to escape from his confinement, was apprehended by Ouyang Ziyu's guards. Brought before Ouyang Ziyu, Fu San initially complained about his poor treatment. After being reminded of his grave crime—attempting to poison Ouyang Ziyu—he was offered a chance to atone.
Fu San then revealed crucial information: he had overheard Mr. Gao angrily chastising his subordinates for improperly handling Tiansi cotton that bore the Market Bureau's official stamp, storing it in an underground warehouse located within his utility room. He further deduced that this underground warehouse was likely connected to a secret passage used to store other ill-gotten goods, as he had witnessed Mr. Gao entering the room and then mysteriously disappearing.
Fu San explained that in such temporary warehouses, valuable goods were often intentionally not stamped, then secretly taken, making it a hotbed for corruption. Satisfied with this intelligence, Ouyang Ziyu released Fu San. Rejecting a direct report to the emperor as potentially risky, Ouyang Ziyu devised a "catching a turtle in a jar" strategy. He would host a grand banquet, inviting both Yuan Daocheng and Mr. Gao.
Simultaneously, his men would discreetly surround both their mansions and specifically search Mr. Gao’s residence for the secret passage, aiming to catch them red-handed with irrefutable evidence. Upon hearing from A-Mo that Ni Chang remained at the Luo Family mansion, and receiving Mr. Gao’s unsettling report about Ouyang Ziyu’s calm demeanor after acquiring the account book, Yuan Daocheng grew deeply concerned.
Fearing that Ouyang Ziyu's continued investigation would expose more secrets, Yuan Daocheng declared that since the Xie family's misfortune began with the Su family, it should also end with them. He dispatched A-Mo to eliminate Su Gongming. Soon after, a black-clad assassin, A-Mo, stealthily entered the Su mansion, strangled Su Gongming, and then staged the scene to appear as a suicide by hanging, complete with a forged suicide note confessing to various crimes.
Su Wenyu, upon being awakened and informed of his uncle's apparent suicide, rushed to find the body. Despite the suicide note, he firmly believed his uncle would never take his own life. Upon closer inspection, he discovered distinct strangulation marks on Su Gongming’s neck, confirming his suspicion of foul play. Meanwhile, Yuan Daocheng, angered by Yan Wenxiu’s repeated failures, harshly reprimanded her.
He warned her to "put herself in a right position" as she had "nothing to rely on" and that he "won't keep useless person by my side." After the mourners departed, Su Wenyu embarked on his own investigation into his uncle's death. While searching Su Gongming's room, he discovered a hidden letter from his late father, Su Gongquan, addressed to Su Gongming.
The letter contained two major regrets: his father's concern for young Su Wenyu, and a revelation about Su Gongming's "big mistake" in the "Xie family matter," urging him to "stop it right now" to avoid dire consequences. Ouyang Ziyu broke the news of Su Gongming’s apparent suicide to Ni Chang, who was deeply agitated by the sudden loss of a crucial clue.
She initially wanted to investigate immediately but Ouyang Ziyu urged caution, believing that Su Gongming’s untimely death, clearly the work of someone acting hastily, would inevitably reveal flaws in their scheme. Meanwhile, Su Wenyu, visiting the Market Bureau, encountered Mr. Gao. Mr. Gao feigned sympathy for Su Gongming’s suicide, mentioning his "suicide note." Su Wenyu, recognizing that the note's existence was not public knowledge, immediately suspected Mr. Gao's involvement.
He directly voiced his doubts about his uncle's suicide, observing Mr. Gao’s noticeable unease. Shortly after, Mr. Gao presented Yuan Daocheng with a box of cash, the proceeds from selling the secret vault items, apologizing for the lower amount due to poor market conditions. He then reported Su Wenyu’s suspicions about Su Gongming’s death.
Yuan Daocheng, though reassured that his trusted assassin A-Mo would leave no traces, still called Mr. Gao and Yan Wenxiu to a meeting to discuss the situation. Yan Wenxiu suspected Ouyang Ziyu's banquet invitation was a trap. However, Yuan Daocheng, accompanied by Mr. Gao, decided to attend, intending to gauge Ni Chang’s significance to Ouyang Ziyu. Ouyang Ziyu had meticulously planned the trap, strategically ambushing his men throughout his mansion.
He had also secured the support of Liu Zixuan, who, despite some playful banter, offered to provide three hundred soldiers, emphasizing his father's eagerness to expose the Market Bureau's corruption. Liu Zixuan advised Ouyang Ziyu to bring Ni Chang to the mansion for her safety during the impending confrontation, and Ouyang Ziyu immediately dispatched Xiao Lu to Ruiyuan to retrieve her. A pigeon post soon confirmed that Yuan Daocheng and Mr. Gao were en route to the banquet.
However, as Yuan Daocheng’s carriage approached the Luo Family mansion, his subordinate reported numerous armed men stationed outside. Realizing Ouyang Ziyu’s trap, Yuan Daocheng ordered his carriage to turn back, believing that Yan Wenxiu had likely succeeded in her mission to capture Ni Chang. Moments later, a frantic Xiao Lu reported that Ni Chang was not in Ruiyuan.
Simultaneously, a letter arrived from Zhao Tongzhen, revealing that someone had been inquiring about Ni Chang’s identity near Yunjin and had been seen lingering at her master’s tomb. Ouyang Ziyu, connecting these events, realized with alarm that Yuan Daocheng had likely discovered Ni Chang's true identity as Xie Xiaoni and was using this knowledge against them.
With Yuan Daocheng having turned back, Ouyang Ziyu swiftly ordered his forces to retreat to prevent further escalation and immediately commanded Xiao Lu to launch a city-wide search for Ni Chang, no matter the cost. One hour prior to these events, Ni Chang had received an ominous letter claiming that Yuan Xiang was in the sender’s custody.
Rushing back to Xiangcao Hall, Ni Chang desperately inquired about Yuan Xiang’s whereabouts, only to learn from her aunt that Yuan Xiang had left early that morning to deliver goods to Mr. Wang and had not yet returned. Distraught, Ni Chang immediately departed to search for her. Later, Yuan Xiang returned, complaining to her aunt about a peddler who had caused a mess and demanded compensation from her.
Her aunt informed Yuan Xiang that Ni Chang had been looking for her and had just left. It became evident that the letter was a decoy to lure Ni Chang away, orchestrated by Yuan Daocheng.
