Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty Episode 12 Recap
> Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty Recap
Prefectural Governor Xiong invited Su Wuming, Lu Lingfeng, and Pei Xijun to a celebratory banquet at Master Xie's mansion, as Master Xie's two sons, Xie Ming and Xie Hui, had successfully passed the imperial examinations. At the banquet, Su Wuming and his companions greeted Master Xie. Administrator Luo introduced Su Wuming and Pei Xijun, noting their influence and hinting at future patronage for Master Xie's sons. Master Xie then asked for their care regarding Xie Ming and Xie Hui.
An old servant of the Xie family, who was ferrying guests, expressed his joy for the sons, though he also lamented his own birth as a servant compared to their privileged status as masters. As the old servant rowed Xie Ming and Xie Hui to the banquet pavilion, he suddenly struck them with an oar, knocking them into the water. Both sons drowned. The old servant then consumed poison, taking his own life.
Su Wuming and Lu Lingfeng were bewildered by the servant's extreme hatred for the Xie family. Headman Xie, a relative of the Xie family and a catcher, attempted to explain, but Master Xie quickly silenced him. Later, Lu Lingfeng privately questioned Headman Xie, who revealed the truth. The old servant's son was the same age as Xie Ming and Xie Hui and had served them since childhood.
Fifteen years prior, on the brothers' birthday, a storm erupted during a boat trip on the lake. The old servant's son bravely jumped into the water to save Xie Ming and Xie Hui. However, fearing the boat would capsize, Master Xie selfishly ordered it to leave, abandoning the old servant's son, who subsequently drowned. Headman Xie admitted that while the storm was severe, Master Xie's decision was "somewhat selfish."
Lu Lingfeng was struck by the old servant's profound patience, waiting over a decade for his revenge until both Xie brothers achieved the pinnacle of their careers. Pei Xijun then remembered the "Stone Bridge" painting and asked if Xie Ming and Xie Hui were depicted in it.
She speculated that the two boys playing chess in the painting were Xie Ming and Xie Hui, and the servant seen from behind was the very old servant who had just committed the murders. Lu Lingfeng initially dismissed her theory, telling her not to make "wild guesses," but promised to "greatly thank" her if her prediction proved true.
Su Wuming, taking her insight seriously, proposed that if Pei Xijun's judgment was correct, then not only the Nanzhou Four Scholars but "everyone in the Stone Bridge painting" was destined for death. The following day, Su Wuming visited Master Xie to confirm Pei Xijun's theory. Master Xie, in his grief, confirmed that the two boys playing chess in the painting were indeed his sons.
He recounted that Zhang Xuan, then a struggling artist, had stayed at his home and was introduced to the Nanzhou Four Scholars by his sons. Master Xie also sadly confirmed that the servant in the painting was the old servant who had murdered his sons, admitting the servant's son had drowned while saving his own.
Despite having given the servant a large sum of money, Master Xie realized he had failed to quell the deep-seated resentment that had festered for years. Su Wuming borrowed "The Stone Bridge" painting for further study. Pei Xijun meticulously re-examined it and discovered another hidden figure: a woodcutter nestled in a tree branch. She surmised that this individual, a young man in the painting, would now be around 35 or 36 years old.
Although Lu Lingfeng was no longer a military adjutant, he quickly instructed Headman Huang and Headman Xie to locate the woodcutter. The catchers found the woodcutter, who was known to brag about his appearance in the painting. However, as they approached, the man suffered a sudden chest pain and plunged off a cliff, dying instantly. Retrieving his body from the deep, wild cliff would be a perilous task, possibly taking days, and the body might not be found intact.
The woodcutter's death solidified Su Wuming's suspicions about the true cause of Yan Yuanfu's demise. Accompanied by Lu Lingfeng, Su Wuming went to the prefectural governor's mansion to request an exhumation and autopsy of Yan Yuanfu. Administrator Luo vociferously opposed the idea, accusing Su Wuming of resorting to disturbing the dead because he was at a dead end in his investigation. Su Wuming, however, vowed to accept any punishment if the autopsy revealed no foul play.
Prefectural Governor Xiong, initially hesitant due to Su Wuming's perceived connection to the Princess, grew even more reluctant when Su Wuming clarified he had been exiled from the capital for offending her. Seeing the prefectural governor's resistance, Lu Lingfeng stepped in. He asserted his long-standing close relationship with the Crown Prince, stating that he had already sent his disciple, Xue Huan, to the capital to report the string of bizarre murders in Nanzhou.
Faced with this thinly veiled threat, Prefectural Governor Xiong grudgingly assented. Later, Lu Lingfeng admitted to Su Wuming that he had fabricated the story about sending Xue Huan, humorously adding that he had learned such deceptive tactics from Chicken Fed. Su Wuming remarked on Lu Lingfeng's newfound cunning, a departure from his previously impulsive nature.
The following day, as the exhumation of Yan Yuanfu's coffin began, his elderly mother, Leng Ji, and other family members tearfully attempted to stop the process, accusing Su Wuming of desecration. Just as Su Wuming prepared for the autopsy, a sudden, violent thunderstorm erupted, complete with lightning and thunder. The crowd interpreted this as divine wrath and clamored for Su Wuming's punishment. Prefectural Governor Xiong, unnerved, moved to seek shelter.
However, Lu Lingfeng bravely stepped forward, brandishing an official notice authorizing the autopsy. He loudly proclaimed his identity as Lu Lingfeng of the Fanyang Lu family and a former General of the Imperial Guards, intimidating the unruly crowd. He then eloquently defended Su Wuming, citing his status as a disciple of Detective Di and his success in solving the Chang'an black tea case, which had earned him praise from the Emperor, Crown Prince, and Princess.
Lu Lingfeng argued that the escalating and linked murder cases in Nanzhou, particularly those connected to the Stone Bridge painting, made the autopsy a "reasonable and necessary" step. He warned that only the "culprit" would maliciously try to stop the investigation. Prefectural Governor Xiong, observing the change in the crowd's demeanor, quickly interjected, declaring that Lu Lingfeng's words "entirely reflected his own intentions."
After the crisis subsided, Su Wuming sincerely thanked Lu Lingfeng for his unwavering support during the difficult exhumation. Lu Lingfeng, in turn, questioned if the potential loss of his position was worth it for Su Wuming. Su Wuming countered by recalling Lu Lingfeng's own past, where he risked and ultimately lost his official post in Chang'an for investigating the black tea case and confronting the Ghost Four, yet expressed no regrets.
Lu Lingfeng admitted he would "still be nosy" if given the chance to go back. Su Wuming then shared that Detective Di had once described a young Lu Lingfeng as "teachable" and destined to become a pillar of the Tang Dynasty. Lu Lingfeng scoffed, asking why, if that were true, Detective Di hadn't taken him as a disciple. Su Wuming then presented his key finding from Yan Yuanfu's body: a shed insect skin.
Chicken Fed, upon examining it, speculated it was the molted skin of a "Hundred-Poison Bug." He described its terrifying nature: it is born from rotten Honey Dragon Mushrooms, which attract numerous poisonous insects. The bug itself has tiger-like patterns, a fondness for the scent of ink, and a gruesome method of killing. It enters a person's ears or nose, devours their heart, and ultimately emerges from the top of the head.
The shed skin, he noted, is a highly prized and expensive medicine for treating stroke. Su Wuming recalled hearing that Emperor Gaozong had once used costly medicine from Nanzhou for his stroke, wondering if it was this very bug. With this new lead, Su Wuming tasked Lu Lingfeng with protecting Leng Ji, who lived alone and was known for his stubbornness.
Meanwhile, Su Wuming and Chicken Fed went to a local drug shop to gather more information about the Hundred-Poison Bug. The shopkeeper confirmed that the bug, known locally as "Ink Crazed," was a rare and valuable Nanzhou specialty, highly sought after by Chang'an drug merchants for its stroke-curing properties. He further explained that its insidious method of killing involved entering human orifices and devouring vital organs, leading to a painful death within seven days.
After the person died and was buried, the bug would eventually emerge from the head, shedding its skin and transforming into a moth. He demonstrated a live specimen, kept in a special glass jar because the glass's colorful glaze disoriented the bug, preventing it from attacking the staff. The shop was the only one in Nanzhou that could afford to deal in such expensive and dangerous items, acquiring them from a collector named Huang.
Su Wuming summoned Huang, who verified his role in collecting the bugs for the drug shop. When asked if anyone else had purchased the bugs directly from him, Huang recalled a single instance: a wandering monk had bought two live "Ink Crazed" for a hefty sum of gold. Huang noted that the monk, wearing a bamboo hat despite the clear weather, had intentionally turned his back before removing the hat, suggesting he wished to conceal his identity.
Upon returning to his residence, Su Wuming received a letter from Zhong Boqi. In the letter, Zhong Boqi invited Su Wuming, Prefectural Governor Xiong, and Administrator Luo to Stone Bridge Mountain the following day, which marked the fifteenth anniversary of the Nanzhou Four Scholars' first visit to the mountain—the very occasion that inspired Zhang Xuan's "The Stone Bridge" painting. Zhong Boqi expressed a desire to revisit the familiar locale with Leng Ji and enjoy tea.
Pei Xijun, having always wanted to see the "Stone Bridge Wonderland," eagerly agreed to go, and Su Wuming decided to accompany them. Administrator Luo voiced his apprehension, fearing that any mishap befalling Zhong Boqi or Leng Ji would lend credence to the ominous rumors about the painting and a prophecy that a divine rock on Stone Bridge Mountain would fall, bringing disaster upon Nanzhou.
Zhong Boqi, seeming to accept his fate, spoke poetically of his deep connection to Stone Bridge Mountain since his youth, expressing a wish to be buried there and a belief that "heaven would surely bless him." Su Wuming's response was subtly cryptic, suggesting that "heaven does not always grant one's wishes" and that "scheming individuals often end up with nothing."
Prefectural Governor Xiong interjected, admonishing Su Wuming for his "inauspicious" remarks and urging him to focus on the pleasant occasion of tea and camaraderie. Su Wuming, apologizing for his supposed lack of eloquence, offered to personally prepare tea for everyone.
