Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty Episode 11 Recap
> Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty Recap
After leaving Ouyang Quan's residence, Pei Xijun expressed her belief that he was lying about selling "The Stone Bridge" to a Persian merchant. She explained that Persian, Arabian, and Sogdian merchants in the Tang Dynasty were primarily known for appraising and trading jewelry, with very few showing interest in calligraphy and painting, even in Chang'an, let alone Nanzhou.
She suspected that Ouyang Quan's lie was related to the Nanzhou Four Scholars' consecutive deaths, which might make the painting seem ominous and worthless. Suddenly, Xue Huan arrived, informing Su Wuming that Lu Lingfeng had already solved the murder case. Su Wuming and Pei Xijun then hurried back. At Nanzhou Prison, Lu Lingfeng presented his findings to Prefectural Governor Xiong, Administrator Luo, and Su Wuming. He declared that Lu Gongfu was murdered and did not die from illness or grief.
After the group examined the body, Governor Xiong and Administrator Luo acknowledged Lu Gongfu was indeed killed, praising Lu Lingfeng's brilliance. Lu Lingfeng then stated the murderer was Lin Bao, the Guqin player, who had already confessed, and the dagger used was recovered. He lamented the Guqin master's tragic end and the potential harm to the Nanzhou Four Scholars' reputation. He then brought Zhong Boqi and Leng Ji to confront the assassin, Tu Yanpi.
Tu Yanpi confirmed that Zhong Boqi paid him and Leng Ji instructed him to capture Lin Bao, torture him for a confession, and eventually execute him at Lu Gongfu's mourning hall during the burial. Leng Ji confessed that after drinking with Zhong Boqi that night, he, feeling unfulfilled, went to another tavern for an hour before seeking out Lu Gongfu. Upon arriving at Lu Gongfu's residence, he discovered his friend was dead.
Fearing that the news of Nanzhou Four Scholars dying violent deaths would ruin their reputation and become a laughingstock, he decided to conceal the truth, even changing Lu Gongfu's clothes himself. When Zhong Boqi questioned him about why he hid the murder, Leng Ji reiterated his concern for their reputation and suggested that Lu Gongfu's missing Guqin might indicate the motive.
He then recalled Lin Bao, who had tried to become Lu Gongfu's disciple, thinking Lin Bao might be the killer out of revenge for Lu Gongfu's public rejection. Lu Lingfeng condemned Zhong Boqi and Leng Ji for concealing the murder and hiring delinquents to lynch Lin Bao. Governor Xiong intervened, requesting leniency, as the Nanzhou Four Scholars represented the face of Nanzhou.
Lu Lingfeng, understanding the Governor's implicit request, agreed to release them, though he maintained Lin Bao was the murderer. He insisted that the details of Lu Gongfu's murder be made public and that Lin Bao be publicly executed. Su Wuming, however, believed it was too soon to conclude Lin Bao was the killer. He dismissed Governor Xiong and Administrator Luo and released Zhong Boqi and Leng Ji, stating he needed to question Lin Bao.
During his interrogation, Lin Bao, fearing more torture, confessed to killing Lu Gongfu with a dagger but denied stealing the Guqin. When asked about the time, he said it was "a little past 1 a. m. ," as he heard the night watchman's bell when he entered Lu's courtyard. He found Lu Gongfu sleeping on his back on the bed and stabbed him in the left chest, noting that Lu Gongfu died instantly without any reaction.
Su Wuming then explained to Lu Lingfeng that a living person stabbed would show bright, wide, blood-stained wounds with tightened skin, while a post-mortem stab would result in intact, pale flesh due to lack of blood circulation. He accused Lu Lingfeng of never conducting an autopsy, merely deducing the crime backward after arresting Lin Bao. Lu Lingfeng admitted he hadn't called a coroner.
Following Su Wuming's prompt, Lu Lingfeng re-examined the body and discovered a deep, dark strangulation mark on Lu Gongfu's neck, starting from the throat and not intersecting at the back of the head, along with bleeding in the eyelids and purple lips, indicating he was strangled with an object. Lu Lingfeng, acknowledging his grave error, offered to resign as acting Minister of Justice. Su Wuming then questioned Lu Lingfeng about the missing Guqin, which Lin Bao denied stealing.
Lu Lingfeng admitted he had overlooked it, believing it wasn't directly relevant to the case. A bailiff then reported to Su Wuming and Lu Lingfeng that, following Lu Lingfeng's earlier instruction to monitor Ouyang Quan, Ouyang Quan was seen going to Treasure House, sighing upon leaving. Later, the owner, Lu Li, left with two items: a box Ouyang Quan had brought and Lu Gongfu's "Guqin of the Three Kingdoms Period."
Su Wuming deduced the box likely contained "The Stone Bridge" painting, emphasizing that both the painting and the Guqin were crucial to solving the case, and ordered Lu Lingfeng to pursue and retrieve them quickly. Lu Lingfeng, accompanied by Xue Huan and others, chased Lu Li's carriage. Lu Li, having paid swordsmen to protect him, ordered them to stop the pursuers while he fled ahead with two others on horseback.
After a struggle where Xue Huan was injured and some of Lu Li's men were subdued, Lu Lingfeng continued the chase on horseback, eventually apprehending Lu Li in a field of rapeseed flowers, seizing both the painting and the Guqin. Back at Nanzhou Prison, Lu Li was interrogated. He vehemently denied killing anyone.
He explained his haste to reach Chang'an was to sell "The Stone Bridge" before news of the Nanzhou Four Scholars' deaths reached the capital, fearing it would devalue the painting. He confessed to buying "The Stone Bridge" from Ouyang Quan for thirty thousand copper coins, after Ouyang Quan claimed it was water-damaged and he had repaired it. Regarding the "Guqin of the Three Kingdoms Period," Lu Li admitted he stole it from Lu Gongfu's residence.
He recounted that after visiting his lover, a woman named Mi whose husband was a night watchman, he passed by Lu Gongfu's house around "4 a. m." Seeing the main gate open, he went in to ask for water. Finding no one, his passion for antiques led him to steal the Guqin, but he did not see Lu Gongfu.
Further investigation confirmed that Lu Li's lover, Mi, indeed had a night watchman husband, and Lu Li consistently left her home around "4 a. m." This meant Lu Li arrived at Lu Gongfu's house after Lin Bao and after the beggar. Su Wuming expressed that the case was becoming more complex, suggesting the murderer was likely already within their sight, and they might have missed crucial details.
Lu Lingfeng then realized his earlier idea of posting a public notice, which Su Wuming had stopped him from doing when he wrongly accused Lin Bao, could now be repurposed. Su Wuming agreed, proposing to publicize the truth of Lu Gongfu's murder and offer a generous reward for information. He called it the most direct and effective way to solve perplexing cases. The notice prompted a beggar to come forward.
He claimed he regularly begged for food from Lu Gongfu through his back window, who was a kind man often sharing food from banquets. On the night Lu Gongfu died, around "midnight," he went to Lu Gongfu's house and witnessed a monk strangling Lu Gongfu. Lu Lingfeng suggested investigating all monks associated with the Nanzhou Four Scholars, especially those close to Lu Gongfu. Su Wuming stressed the importance of paying attention to "details," as they were key to the investigation.
Back at the Sima's residence, Pei Xijun was examining "The Stone Bridge" painting. She observed that Ouyang Quan had deceived Lu Li because the painting wasn't water-damaged. Instead, the "rocks and bamboos" in the lower right corner were a later addition to conceal an original figure, which she sketched out. The figure clearly resembled Ouyang Quan.
Su Wuming theorized that Ouyang Quan was trying to fulfill his lifelong wish of becoming the "fifth scholar" through this modification, imagining that after a thousand years, no one would know if it depicted four or five scholars. Lu Lingfeng compared Ouyang Quan's feelings to Lin Bao's, seeing a transformation from admiration to resentment and hatred towards the Nanzhou Four Scholars. However, he noted Ouyang Quan had an alibi for the night of the murder.
Su Wuming, Lu Lingfeng, and Pei Xijun revisited Ouyang Quan. Su Wuming confronted him about lying about selling the painting to a Persian merchant, revealing it was actually sold to Lu Li and was now in the Nanzhou government's temporary custody. He presented the painting and highlighted Pei Xijun's sketched restoration. Ouyang Quan was ecstatic at seeing his likeness depicted, declaring it a masterpiece and a depiction of "Nanzhou Five Scholars."
He expressed his lifelong desire to be one of the scholars, admitting he had even dreamed of killing Lu Gongfu but claimed his affection for the scholars prevented him from doing so. He offered one hundred fifty thousand copper coins to buy back the painting and pleaded with Pei Xijun to incorporate his image into the original. He promised to confess to all crimes and accept execution if his wish was granted, asking to hold the painting at his execution.
Lu Lingfeng investigated Ouyang Quan's alibi, finding that Ouyang Quan habitually hosted a gathering every third day of March, the Orchid Pavilion Gathering Day, inviting people to impersonate the Nanzhou Four Scholars for drinking and entertainment. The specific night of Lu Gongfu's death, Ouyang Quan had indeed invited four individuals to his garden to role-play the Nanzhou Four Scholars, drinking and making merry all night. This established Ouyang Quan's alibi and cleared him as a suspect.
Lu Lingfeng left to personally interrogate the suspected monks. Su Wuming visited Zhong Boqi and Leng Ji, informing them that Lin Bao was not the killer. He inquired if Lu Gongfu had any enemies, particularly monks. Zhong Boqi stated Lu Gongfu was isolated and had few enemies, especially no monk enemies. Leng Ji added that Lu Gongfu was compassionate and had several monk friends. Lu Lingfeng reported that his interrogations of the monks also yielded no suspects.
He had visited all temples in Nanzhou, confirming no leads. He considered the possibility of a wandering monk but noted the lack of motive since only the Guqin was missing, not other valuables. The case reached a deadlock. The Prefectural Administrator expressed dissatisfaction with their capabilities, implicitly criticizing Su Wuming.
Su Wuming seized the opportunity to inform Governor Xiong that Lu Lingfeng wished to resign as acting Minister of Justice, a position he didn't care for given his past as a General of the Imperial Guards. Governor Xiong agreed and suggested that Su Wuming, Lu Lingfeng, and Pei Xijun attend a celebratory banquet that evening at the Lake Pavilion for Mr. Xie's two sons, who had both passed the imperial examinations.
