Resumo do episódio 20 de Unveil: Jadewind
> Resumos de Unveil: Jadewind
Li Peiyi confronted Lady Yue, accusing her of attempting to harm her, using banned drugs, and causing the death of a mother-to-be. Lady Yue insisted she was only delivering babies and earning merit. Li Peiyi then revealed her knowledge of the "food-clash trick" she learned from Pei Yu, implying the meal had been intentionally prepared with incompatible ingredients to cause harm.
Pressing further, Li Peiyi questioned if Lady Yue was involved in a dark art from Dvaravati, where infants are turned into "gu kids" by feeding them tainted blood to serve their master, a crime punishable by immediate death. Lady Yue vehemently denied any knowledge or involvement in such a "heartless" practice, stating that the baby, having lost its mother at birth, was simply sent to Vitality Hall to be cared for by a wet nurse.
She maintained that Xu Daoyin was benevolent and had no intention to harm anyone. At that moment, Madam Wu and another man, Wu Lie, entered the room, accusing Lady Yue of colluding with Xu Daoyin. They claimed Lady Yue used the manor as a front for illicit business, making money and harming lives by having newborns delivered at specific auspicious times to "bring in lucky joy and avoid bad omens" for patrons.
Panicked, Lady Yue ignited a black powder charge to create an explosion, using the ensuing chaos to escape through a secret passage. Xiao Huaijin immediately instructed Investigating Commissioner Su Kuangyuan to intervene, and Su Kuangyuan swiftly apprehended Lady Yue’s associates in Qingtan Town. A maid informed Li Peiyi that Lady Yue had indeed escaped via the secret passage.
Knowing that Old Xiao, who had worked closely with Xu Daoyin for over three years, was the most trusted and knowledgeable about the tunnels, Li Peiyi sent for him. Old Xiao, who had been praying at a living shrine, provided a detailed blueprint of the secret passages.
Xiao Huaijin explained that while the tunnels had many entrances, their few, well-hidden exits were designed according to the "five elements' generating cycle," requiring specific interactions, such as turning a white marble mechanism near a stream three times clockwise. Xiao Huaijin, Gu Lingzhou, and Su Kuangyuan divided to search for the exits, while Li Peiyi went to speak with Madam Wu. Li Peiyi asked Madam Wu if she was drugged the night of Wu Siping's death.
Madam Wu confessed her deep hatred for her husband, admitting she was not drugged. She recounted their history: after Wu Siping suddenly claimed illness and quit office, they moved from the Western Capital to her ancestral property in Ping'en County. Her business acumen quickly led to a prosperous life, surpassing their former comfort in the capital. However, after she became pregnant, Wu Siping's business encountered difficulties.
He grew superstitious and began to devoutly follow Xu Daoyin, even installing a statue in their home. Madam Wu recalled an instance where Wu Siping initially reacted with alarm to her presence near the statue, fearing her "blood stains" would "offend the Immortal," but then quickly apologized, claiming Xu Daoyin could ensure a "safe and easy to raise" child and elevate their business. She found his sudden affectionate change puzzling.
Following a miscarriage, Wu Siping brought home Wu Mujin, an illegitimate son, explaining that he needed a child to "carry on the line." Madam Wu, feeling guilty for her inability to conceive, accepted the child. However, Wu Siping kept Wu Mujin isolated in a detached residence, where he arranged "strange formations." Madam Wu discovered through Wu Lie's investigation that Wu Siping had used Xu Daoyin to find poor women to bear "children with lucky fates" to ensure his "smooth fortune."
These wealthy patrons forced a potent drug, Tuohua Decoction, on the pregnant women to induce labor at precisely calculated auspicious times, disregarding the severe harm it caused. Madam Wu realized Wu Siping had administered this very drug to her, disguised as an "antifetal medicine," leading to her premature delivery.
She considered divorce but remained to secretly protect Wu Mujin, swapping his medicine and instructing Wu Lie to dismantle the formation, fearing Wu Siping would harm the boy if his health improved or his business faltered. Madam Wu noticed a change in Wu Siping's treatment of Wu Mujin, becoming less harsh, and also saw him renovating another courtyard, deducing he was preparing for another "lucky child."
Knowing he would come to Qingtan Town around the due date of the new mother, Liuer, she sent Wu Lie to rescue her, but arrived too late. She concluded that Wu Siping deserved to experience the effects of the Tuohua Decoction himself. Meanwhile, Xiao Huaijin discovered a "signal marker"—a bird-shaped device with its beak pointing down to indicate a blocked path and forward for a safe one—in a secret passage. He deduced that someone was guiding Lady Yue.
After checking all exits with Su Kuangyuan, he noticed the "Celestial Market pattern" pointing to the northeast, which is governed by the "Butcher's Star" and "rules over slaughter." This led him to realize the signals were deliberately reversed to "lure into a death trap" Lady Yue. He, Gu Lingzhou, and Su Kuangyuan found Lady Yue dead in the bell tower, hanged from a horizontal beam.
Her death, by strangulation, was less bloody than Wu Siping's, leading Xiao Huaijin to conclude the killer planned for the "bell ringer at the Hour of Yin" to discover her body. A piece of gauze, likely torn from the killer during a struggle, was found near Lady Yue's body, emitting a "smell of incense." Li Peiyi, ruling out Madam Wu due to her soft nature, began to suspect Old Xiao.
Wu Ren investigated the midwives, who revealed that poor women in Vitality Hall were coerced into bearing children for wealthy patrons who wished to avoid the risks of Tuohua Decoction for their own wives. The women, desperate for the promised payment of ten strings of cash, were often told stories of serving immortals and accumulating merit. They feared returning home without the money or with an unwanted child, as their husbands would beat them.
Li Peiyi arranged for their care and temporary shelter. The following day, Xiao Huaijin located Xu Daoyin. The room was sealed with a magnet-controlled lock mechanism designed to trigger a falling dagger upon opening. Inside, Xu Daoyin lay dead, his abdomen grotesquely distended with swallowed "gold ingots"—offerings from patrons. His broken teeth indicated the gold had been forced into his mouth.
The mechanism presented a grim choice for Xu Daoyin: self-termination with the dagger once the door was opened, or a slow, agonizing death by distension if undiscovered. Xiao Huaijin concluded that Old Xiao, who had intentionally omitted the northeast tunnel exit from his map, was the killer. The incense smell on the gauze matched that associated with Old Xiao.
A doorman informed them that Old Xiao had left two kes earlier on Su Kuangyuan's fast horse, claiming to be on a mission from Li Peiyi to seek reinforcements. Xiao Huaijin, Gu Lingzhou, and Su Kuangyuan pursued by boat, leveraging the strong west wind and current to outpace the horse. Wu Ren discovered Old Xiao's past as a carpenter, explaining his intricate knowledge of mechanisms, a skill Xu Daoyin lacked. She also learned Old Xiao had a married daughter.
The pursuit led them back to Wu Siping's manor, where Xiao Huaijin cornered Old Xiao. Old Xiao attempted to detonate black powder but relented when Wu Mujin appeared, allowing Gu Lingzhou to apprehend him. Old Xiao confessed to killing Wu Siping, Liu San, Lady Yue, and Xu Daoyin, stating they all deserved to die. He revealed his daughter, Xiao Wan, had married into the Sun family in Qingtan County seven years prior. As a traveling carpenter, he rarely saw her.
Three years ago, visiting her after finishing a job early, he found her bound, her in-laws claiming she had gone insane after multiple miscarriages, fixated on having a child and attempting to steal one from a wealthy family in a neighboring county. Old Xiao took Xiao Wan home, but while passing through Ping'en County, she suddenly jumped from their cart and ran to a detached residence. There, she met a young boy who strikingly resembled his grandson.
Before he could question her, Wu Siping appeared and took the child. In despair, Xiao Wan then jumped into a river and drowned. Heartbroken by the death of his only family, Old Xiao began a secret investigation. He learned that the Sun family had lied about Xiao Wan never having children. The night before Xiao Wan’s burial, a woman approached him, claiming to know Xiao Wan and her tragic story.
She disclosed that soon after Xiao Wan's marriage, her husband, Sun Renyi, became critically ill, and the Sun family could not afford his expensive treatments. Lady Sun, his mother, hearing of Xu Daoyin’s generosity, took Xiao Wan to his temple to pray for aid. Later, Lady Yue told Xiao Wan she could reside at the manor for "cultivation" and to "build merit," then arranged a private meeting with her.
