Resumo do episódio 5 de Unveil: Jadewind
> Resumos de Unveil: Jadewind
Following the shocking discovery of a female corpse hidden within a palace flower wall, the Palace Investigation Bureau begins a search for the truth. Qingquan, a palace maid, provides a crucial lead by identifying the victim as Hanxiao. She recalls seeing another maid, Hongshao, wearing a distinctive red agate gilded pendant that had originally been gifted to Hanxiao by Consort Shu.
When questioned, Hongshao reveals that the pendant was a gift from Hu Da, a supervisor at the Bureau of Palace Ladies (Yeting Bureau), delivered by a mysterious messenger who smelled of mugwort. Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin soon track down Hu Da, finding him attempting to coerce a maid named Birou into a compromising situation in exchange for a loan. Li Peiyi intervenes, allowing Birou to escape safely.
During questioning, Hu Da admits that Hanxiao owed him money but claims she settled her debt before leaving the palace. He vehemently denies any involvement in her death or the theft of the pendant, arguing that he values his life too much to touch a consort’s belongings. While searching Hu Da’s quarters, Xiao Huaijin notices a copy of the "Book of Rites" on the shelf that appears to have been frequently handled—a strange habit for the illiterate supervisor.
Suspecting Hu Da is hiding something, Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin tail him as he leaves the palace to conduct business. However, their pursuit is interrupted by a staged dispute at a tavern. In the chaos, a hooded man in black sprinkles powder onto Hu Da’s clothes. The powder, derived from "linglong grass," attracts a swarm of poisonous bats that attack Hu Da with such ferocity that he is killed almost instantly.
Xiao Huaijin pursues the assailant but loses him near a night-soil cart marked with the seal of the palace lavatories. Back at the bureau, Li Peiyi identifies the suspect as Lou Chuo, a night-soil collector whose lowly status allows him to move through the palace unnoticed. They track him to the eastern suburbs, where he is selling "golden soil" (fertilizer).
After a brief struggle involving more linglong powder and an intervention by Prosecutor Gu from the Court of Judicial Review, Lou Chuo is apprehended. To prevent him from taking his own life and to mask his foul scent, Li Peiyi interrogates him while he is submerged in a hot bath. By falsely claiming that Hu Da survived the attack, she goads a jealous Lou Chuo into a confession.
Lou Chuo reveals he is the son of a disgraced military officer who was forced into a life of filth. He fell in love with Hanxiao after she treated him with rare kindness during a public humiliation. However, his affection turned to bitter obsession when he discovered she had a sexual relationship with Hu Da to secure loans. He claims he later found Hanxiao abandoned and weak in a gutter in Daozheng Ward.
He took her to his home, where he kept her for ten days until she succumbed to illness. He admits to walling her body into the masonry so that he could "visit" her every day during his waste collection route. Li Peiyi remains skeptical of Lou Chuo’s full story, as an examination of Hanxiao’s body revealed signs of severe abuse dating back over six months.
Following Lou Chuo’s description of where he found her—a path filled with the scent of cosmetics and the sound of music—Li Peiyi and Xiao Huaijin arrive at Xiuhong House in Daozheng Ward. Although the proprietress claims the establishment only produces high-end embroidery for merchants, the unnatural silence and the lack of visible workers suggest a much darker secret behind its doors.
