Riverside Code at Qingming Festival Episode 10 Recap
> Riverside Code at Qingming Festival Recap
Zhao Ban, carrying a small crossbow, spotted the Hat Demon in the street. She shot it down and excitedly rushed home to inform Zhao Buyou, with a crowd following her to witness the spectacle. Zhao Mo examined the prop resembling a hat, discovering gunpowder on it. He explained that military officers used gunpowder on crossbow bolts to increase speed. Lady Zhang Qiniang praised Zhao Mo for his knowledge.
Zhao Buyou, fearing Lady Zhang's attention towards Mo, promised to catch the Hat Demon quickly and urged her to return to her mansion to await news. Lady Zhang, finding the Zhao family intriguing, insisted on staying, even demanding to share a room with Zhao Buyou and Wen Yue. Lady Zhang adopted the air of a hostess, replacing the bedroom furniture entirely and buying a large new bed for the three of them. Zhao Buyou was inwardly dismayed.
Seeing that Lady Zhang had no intention of leaving, Wen Yue showed her a pouch of gold and revealed that someone had hired her to kill Lady Zhang, with only two days left until the deadline. Lady Zhang, relying on her stepfather Zou Mian's backing, admitted she had made many enemies in East Capital through her ruthless business practices. She offered Wen Yue ten times the bounty.
Wen Yue declined the money, stating her goal was to find the person who sent the order, as they must be connected to the Hat Demon case. She proposed becoming Lady Zhang's personal bodyguard to investigate, using Lady Zhang as bait. Lady Zhang agreed, planning to take Wen Yue back to her mansion the next day. That night, Lady Zhang, Ban, and Wen Yue slept on the same bed.
Lady Zhang pestered Wen Yue with questions, but Wen Yue was unresponsive. Ban intervened, warning Lady Zhang, who then quieted down. Before dawn, Zhao Buyou woke to make breakfast. Lady Zhang teased him about being afraid of his wife, but Zhao Buyou explained it was his first time cooking breakfast, doing so because Wen Yue was going to the Zhang Mansion that day.
In front of Lady Zhang, Zhao Buyou openly expressed his deep love for Wen Yue, speaking of how her hands became rough from working hard to support the family when he was useless and his father was ill. Lady Zhang, both envious and regretful, reflected on a past love that was now gone. After breakfast, Wen Yue left in Lady Zhang's carriage. Zhao Buyou, Ban, and Mo bid her a reluctant farewell.
Zhao Buyou watched until the carriage was out of sight before turning his attention back to the case. He asked Ban and Mo to help him investigate the Hat Demon, noting it was the fourth day since he took the case. Meanwhile, Gu Zhen summoned Zhao Buyou to Kaifeng Court.
It was revealed that Kang Qian had been drinking with a commander from the Imperial Guards before his death, and the commander was now under suspicion and had been brought in. The commander vehemently protested his innocence. Zhao Buyou and Gu Zhen calmly reassured him, urging him to tell the truth. The commander explained that he and Kang Qian were old acquaintances who often drank together.
The previous night, Kang Qian felt dizzy and nauseous after only a little wine, then ran out acting delirious, and later died in the street. The commander disclosed that the Hat Demon was a hoax orchestrated by Kang Qian five years ago. He explained that rumors of the Hat Demon only circulated in the Yanglou Street area, causing property prices to plummet. Lady Zhang took advantage of this, buying up most of the street.
Later, news spread that a noble's garden would be built there, and the Hat Demon suddenly stopped appearing. Property values on Yanglou Street then soared, allowing the Zhang family to make a substantial profit. The commander implied that the Imperial Guards did not intervene because of Lady Zhang's powerful connections. Wan Fu, claiming the key to the restraints was in the prison, had the commander taken to the cells.
Gu Zhen concluded that Kang Qian's death was connected to the Hat Demon case. He decided to visit Kang Qian's wife for more information, but finding it inappropriate for two men, he asked Zhao Buyou to bring Ban along. Gu Zhen, Zhao Buyou, and Ban went to Kang Qian's house, where his wife, Chun Xi, was mourning alone. Ban noticed burn marks on Chun Xi's arm, caused by a branding iron.
Looking around the house, they found many cosmetics, including expensive Fourfold Noble Incense and a large bronze mirror, but no lip rouge. Chun Xi explained these items belonged to Kang Qian, who painstakingly maintained his appearance to please Lady Zhang, as required by her household rules. Mo excused herself to go to the autopsy room to assist Yao He with Kang Qian's examination.
As she left, Zhao Buyou subtly mentioned to Gu Zhen about the possibility of Mo joining Kaifeng Court, but Gu Zhen did not give a direct answer. Zhao Buyou then noticed the tea stall owner across the street watching them. He and Gu Zhen went for tea and inquired about the Kang couple. Zhao Buyou noticed the tea stall owner also had the expensive Fourfold Noble Incense.
The owner admitted Kang Qian gave it to her and others, asking them to watch Chun Xi, who rarely left the house. From the branding iron burns on Chun Xi's arm and the tea stall owner's account, Zhao Buyou and Gu Zhen suspected Kang Qian had abused his wife. Gu Zhen ordered his men to keep a close watch on Chun Xi.
Ban, Mo, and Yao He completed Kang Qian's autopsy, determining he was poisoned, and the poison was delivered through lip rouge. Wan Fu reported that three errand boys, Zhang Siwu, Yan Shun, and Chen Xiaoyi, regularly delivered goods to Chun Xi's home and were the only people she had consistent contact with. Wan Fu had them brought in, and they provided delivery records from the past three months, listing cosmetics, injury treatments, and daily necessities, but no poison.
Zhao Buyou, finding no evidence of poison on the list, ordered Wan Fu to release them. However, Zhao Buyou noticed Chen Xiaoyi's unusual behavior and, after ordering the three released, instructed Wan Fu to specifically tail Chen Xiaoyi. Zhao Buyou suspected Chun Xi and Chen Xiaoyi might have colluded to kill Kang Qian using the Hat Demon plot. Wan Fu followed Chen Xiaoyi, who, unlike the others, went straight home instead of taking more delivery jobs.
Zhao Buyou went to Chen Xiaoyi's home and found Sun Bo there. It turned out Sun Bo and Chen Xiaoyi were roommates, and Sun Bo recognized Zhao Buyou, having been classmates with Zhao Mo years ago. Zhao Buyou visited Zhang Zeduan at the Academy of Painting. Zhang Zeduan had been painting street scenes, including the Hat Demon. Zhao Buyou examined his recent works.
He noticed a painting of Yanglou Street during a Hat Demon appearance where, unlike the rest of the crowd looking up at the Hat Demon, Chun Xi and an errand boy were looking directly at each other. Zhao Buyou recognized the errand boy from a detail in the painting, a red knot on a food box he was carrying. Remembering Sun Bo's earlier remark about "just trying to make a living," Zhao Buyou realized the errand boy in the painting was Sun Bo.
