Riverside Code at Qingming Festival Episode 15 Recap
> Riverside Code at Qingming Festival Recap
Children at Taoyuan Welfare Center eagerly awaited Song Qiyu, who had promised to tell them stories. Witnessing their anticipation brought Mo deep sorrow, remembering Song's violent death. Mr. He, who ran the center, quickly distracted the children with sweet candies made by Chef Shen. Mo's sister-in-law, Wen Yue, arrived, having guessed he would be there. Mo expressed his grief, recalling Song's ambition to publish a poem collection to gather like-minded scholars, a dream now tragically unfulfilled.
Wen Yue stayed to offer support, assuring him she wasn't there to discuss the case but simply to be with him. Mo appreciated her presence, stating he knew she and his brother didn't need to worry as he would recover quickly. Meanwhile, Ban and Yao He conducted an autopsy on the body believed to be Song Qiyu.
They found the cause of death was a throat cut, and the face had been peeled off after death, mirroring the condition of the earlier victim, Kong Er. The body's swollen abdomen was due to it being disemboweled and then stuffed with books before being sewn shut. Inside, they found texts including The Book of Songs, The Book of History, and The Book of Rites.
Coupled with a copy of the Tao Te Ching found at the crime scene, Buyou interpreted the act as not just anger but a deliberate insult, perhaps implying the victim was "full of knowledge" but "had no morals" despite appearing learned. Gu Zhen found this conclusion far-fetched, suggesting the gruesome nature pointed to intense anger and possibly multiple perpetrators. Gu suggested Buyou speak to his brother Mo, who was Song's best friend and the first witness.
Buyou demurred, stating his brother was not open with him but might talk to Wen Yue. When Gu asked about Buyou's relationship with Wen Yue, Buyou became evasive, admitting to some tension but denying any possibility of divorce, stating he had his own way of resolving their conflict. Later that night, a heavily intoxicated Buyou went to Wen Yue's umbrella shop.
He lamented his own life, comparing himself to a small groundhog hiding in its hole while calling her a magnificent, dashing horse. He felt he had kept her confined for fifteen years. He implored her to talk to Mo, emphasizing his brother's deep bond with her, treating her as a biological sister, certain she wouldn't abandon him. Buyou then declared he would not give up on their fifteen years together, demanding she not leave him.
Wen Yue urged him to stop shouting his drunken words and made him sit down to rest. Early the next morning, Ban woke up and found Mo sitting in the courtyard, realizing he had been awake all night. Mo confided in her, recalling a moment before Song's death where he seemed emotional and had previously argued with Supervisor Zhang. Mo suspected Song was forced into surrogate testing, initially resisting but eventually agreeing.
Mo felt Song wanted to confront Supervisor Zhang about the integrity of government officials. Mo decided he needed to go to the Academy immediately to speak with Supervisor Zhang about Song's death, despite Ban's concerns. Buyou woke to find Wen Yue awake as well. She looked troubled. She explained that her earlier argument with him was a misguided attempt to distance him from the danger, and she felt terrible about her harsh words.
She revealed her deep-seated fear stemmed from witnessing the brutal murder of her parents and younger brother by bandits twenty years ago; her real name was Su Yue, and her father was an engineer at Taihu Boatyard. Orphaned, she became homeless before eventually joining the water bandits. She stated her tears had long dried, but she worried intensely about the safety of their current family of five. Seeing her concern, Buyou acknowledged they were finally back together.
Gu Zhen reported that he had reviewed files of deadly fugitives and found one man, Shan Shiliu from Qian Prefecture, who fit parts of the description. Shan's parents died when he was young, he was often bullied, and grew up with an eccentric, extreme personality, injuring people multiple times with a thin blade before escaping banishment to Ya Prefecture. Both Gu Zhen and Buyou considered Shan Shiliu a strong suspect for the recent murders.
Suddenly, Wan Fu rushed in with urgent news: Supervisor Zhang had been murdered at the Academy, and Zhao Mo was the sole suspect found at the scene. Buyou and Gu Zhen hurried to the Academy, where they found Mo distraught and covered in blood outside the gate, which was covered in blood writing. As a crowd gathered and speculated, Buyou tried to comfort his brother, who remained silent.
An old man then emerged from the Academy, directly accusing Mo of the murder, claiming he saw Mo posing Supervisor Zhang's body and that the blood on him was from the killing. Gu Zhen ordered Mo taken back to Kaifeng Court. Wen Yue arrived as Mo was being led away. At the Kaifeng Court, Wan Fu interrogated Mo.
Mo explained he had known Song Qiyu was being coerced into being a surrogate test taker and believed this was the motive behind the murders. He went to the Academy to confront Supervisor Zhang, found him dead, and was examining the body to see if the wounds matched Song's when the old man appeared and accused him. Wan Fu demanded to know why Mo hadn't reported the surrogate testing earlier.
Mo retorted that surrogate testing was common every year, and the Court never investigated such matters. He angrily reminded Wan Fu that he had reported the death of the mule man beaten at the Taohuadong Brothel, but Wan Fu had done nothing, suggesting he had taken bribes and ignored evidence of bribed witnesses. Mo accused them of inaction. Buyou stepped forward to defend his brother, promising to find the true killer and clear his name.
Unable to tolerate Wan Fu's accusations any longer, Wen Yue also argued with him before taking Mo away. Wen Yue suggested Mo return home but mentioned that she had seen Song Qiyu in the back alley of the Great Shop of Mules and Horses while she and Buyou were pursuing a suspect. Mo decided he needed to investigate there immediately. Wen Yue agreed to follow him at a distance to ensure his safety.
At the shop, Mo asked about Song Qiyu, but locals were hesitant to speak, especially an old man, Chen, who was burning paper money and praying to be protected from the "Ghost Examiner." Chen became agitated and tried to make Mo leave. Wen Yue intervened, identifying herself as being connected to the Kaifeng Court through her husband and promising protection if he shared what he knew.
Chen then revealed that Song Qiyu, whom he called "Young Master Song," frequently visited Ding, an old man who worked at the yard. Ding was an honest but unlucky man who injured his leg. Song would visit Ding regularly, often at night, giving him money, and it was clear they had a close relationship, like father and son.
Chen mentioned that Ding was rumored to be an old servant of Song's family who had been dismissed for a transgression and kept his connection with Song a secret. Chen also noted that Ding died on the same day as Song, possibly after going to the Taohuadong Brothel. Unable to sleep, Mo continued to process the events. He recalled Supervisor Zhang writing the character "宋" (Song) on the ground before he died.
This made Mo doubt that Song Qiyu was the murderer, and he erased the character. Ban found him still awake early in the morning. Mo explained to Ban that given the nature of Supervisor Zhang's throat wound and estimated time of death, the blood writing on the gate could not have been done by the victim himself.
Ban then gently suggested that Mo contact Song Qiyu's family so they could arrange for his body to be returned home for a proper burial. At Kaifeng Court, Buyou reviewed lists of test takers obtained from the Ministry of Rites, comparing them with Gu Zhen's list of missing students from the past decade. They found a perfect overlap: every person on Gu Zhen's missing list was also absent from the examination roster.
They strongly suspected these individuals were surrogate test takers who had been murdered to keep them silent. Reviewing the list of successful candidates, they noted a consistent pattern: the powerful Zou family always had two or three members pass each examination cycle, including Zou Yeqing and Zou Yongjin this year. Then, Zhuang Qiang, a guard from the Zou family, arrived to report that Zou Yongjin was missing despite passing the exam, a fact that puzzled Gu Zhen.
Interwoven with the investigation, a conversation between two men revealed that the early discovery of Kong Er's body had alerted someone, allowing them to discover inconsistencies. They discussed a strategy of "Fake it and escape" to deal with those who had become aware. One of the men was instructed to "handle all the rats who manage to escape this year" to prove himself worthy of meeting their master in the south.
Meanwhile, Ban and Yao He conducted a more thorough re-examination of the body found at Song Qiyu's home. Yao He detected an unusual, strong acidic smell, indicating the person was a heavy chronic drinker, which contradicted what they knew about Song Qiyu. Ban also noticed the skin was delicate and lacked calluses, suggesting the person had led a life of luxury, not hard labor or writing.
When they learned from the Zou family guard, Zhuang Qiang, that Zou Yongjin was a heavy drinker and had broken ribs from a childhood fall from a horse, Ban used a xyster and found a fine crack consistent with an old injury on the body's ribs.
Based on the evidence of chronic alcoholism, a luxurious lifestyle, and the specific rib injury matching Zou Yongjin's history, Ban definitively concluded that the body was not Song Qiyu's but that of the missing Zou Yongjin. She immediately reported this crucial finding to Buyou and Gu Zhen, confirming that Song Qiyu was still alive. The new question arose: who had killed Zou Yongjin?
