Sword Rose Episode 15 Recap
> Sword Rose Recap
Tuanyuan Restaurant faced a severe crisis when the landlord, Qian, demanded a steep rent increase that Madam Zhang could not afford. As Qian brought in a new tenant to take over, Wu Bin, the Deputy General Manager of Dingshun Group, arrived just in time. He decisively offered to lease the restaurant for three years at an annual rent of 60,000 yuan, securing Madam Zhang's ability to continue her business and providing a 10,000 yuan deposit to Qian.
The new prospective tenant protested vehemently, but Qian promised to compensate them for the breach of contract, eventually convincing them to leave. Madam Zhang expressed her profound gratitude to Wu Bin. Wu Bin explained that he was acting on behalf of the Dingshun Charity Foundation, which had donated 210,000 yuan to Tuanyuan Restaurant. He revealed that Mr. Ye Xiuming, the head of Dingshun Group, is Deng Yan's cousin and had heard about Madam Zhang's predicament.
Additionally, Wu Bin personally contributed 50,000 yuan, viewing it as a way to contribute to the cause of abducted children. He left his business card, inviting Madam Zhang to contact him anytime, leaving her deeply moved. Later, Fang Zilin, Deng Yan’s sister-in-law, invited Deng Yan’s family to dinner to celebrate Deng Yan's appointment as the Director of the Anti-abduction Office.
Fang Zilin shared news that Dingshun Group was developing a public welfare project called "Bring Lost Children Home" and suggested merging Tuanyuan Restaurant into it. This would solve the venue issues and provide a stable income for the restaurant members. Deng Yan, excited by the prospect, eagerly conveyed the good news to Madam Zhang, Meilian, and Liu.
Meilian and Liu expressed concerns about their age and lack of computer skills, but Deng Yan reassured them that the non-profit organization would assign roles based on their strengths. However, Madam Zhang steadfastly refused to leave Tuanyuan Restaurant. Despite Deng Yan's appeals, Madam Zhang explained her deep emotional attachment to the place. She recounted how her granddaughter, Lin Ranran, disappeared just around the corner from the restaurant over twenty years ago.
Madam Zhang vowed to stay, believing Ranran would return to this familiar spot, where she would be waiting to make her favorite vegetarian rice noodles. Respecting Madam Zhang's profound hope, Deng Yan did not press the matter further. Meanwhile, Yin Jiansheng and Chang Rui interrogated Huang Chuan, presenting him with photographs of children abducted over the years. Huang Chuan, however, adamantly denied any involvement, claiming to be an innocent farmer who had been accidentally caught in a wild boar trap.
He only conceded to the She Qinglin case, dismissing it as a joke and claiming he had returned the child. Yin Jiansheng instructed Yang Jiajia to take a ransom note and a candied haw found at the crime scene in the She Qinglin case to the technical department for handwriting and DNA comparison. He emphasized that confirming these pieces of evidence would be crucial in solidifying the case against Huang Chuan.
In the wake of Huang Chuan’s arrest, his associate Madam Hong became a wanted fugitive. Liu Gang, though he had never met Huang Chuan, felt increasingly paranoid about police surveillance and deleted all monitoring footage from Tianhai Lucky Entertainment City. Consumed by anxiety, he spent his days playing billiards. Madam Hong, observing Liu Gang's distress, proposed a new scheme: recruiting female workers domestically and then trafficking them abroad, where their fates would be left to chance.
Liu Gang found this plan viable, believing it would allow their illicit business to continue under the police's nose. The technical department delivered conclusive evidence: Huang Chuan's handwriting, DNA, and fingerprints matched those found on the ransom note and candied haw from the She Qinglin case. Furthermore, his DNA was found on hair samples collected from Madam Hong's rental residence, confirming their close association.
Chang Rui was eager to resume the interrogation, but Yin Jiansheng advised patience, revealing they still held a "trump card." This trump card was Ruan Meiyu, a past victim of Huang Chuan whom Yin Jiansheng had rescued years prior and encouraged to pursue a career in pet grooming. Ai Xin brought Ruan Meiyu to the Anti-abduction Office to identify Huang Chuan.
Despite her fear, Ruan Meiyu vividly recalled being lured by Huang Chuan under the pretense of a domestic service job, only to endure horrific beatings and torture. She courageously identified Huang Chuan, asserting she would no longer be afraid of him now that he was apprehended. During the subsequent interrogation, Huang Chuan feigned a heart attack in an attempt to evade questioning, but Yin Jiansheng saw through his act.
Yin Jiansheng confronted him with Ruan Meiyu's identification and the undeniable evidence from the She Qinglin case. He revealed that Wang Guangqing had provided crucial details about Huang Chuan's appearance. Yin then pressed him about his connection to Madam Hong. Though Huang Chuan denied knowing her, Yin Jiansheng presented the DNA evidence from his hair found at her residence, proving they were a couple.
He also disclosed that Skinner had revealed Madam Hong had absconded with all of Huang Chuan's money, leaving him to face the consequences alone. Threatened with being charged as the primary offender if he continued to deny, Huang Chuan finally relented. While still claiming ignorance of Madam Hong's whereabouts, he confessed to remembering the locations where he had sold the children he trafficked.
Huang Chuan confessed to selling Yang Caiyun, who was abducted at the age of sixteen, to a buyer in Wushun County. This case held a particular significance for Yin Jiansheng, as it was the very first he handled upon joining the Anti-abduction Office. He sadly recounted that Yang Caiyun's parents had passed away without ever being reunited with their daughter, a fact that had remained a persistent "thorn" in his heart.
Back at Tuanyuan Restaurant, Madam Zhang beamed with joy as she removed more photos of reunited children from the wall. Meilian, observing the shrinking number of missing children's photos, initially felt happy but soon grew tearful as she thought of her own missing son. Madam Zhang comforted her, urging her to maintain hope. Luo Xiaoxing echoed this sentiment, expressing unwavering faith that Director Deng Yan and the Anti-abduction Office would soon find her brother, Luo Xiaoyu.
Following Huang Chuan's confession that he and Madam Hong had trafficked over thirty children, their information was disseminated to various police departments. However, Huang Chuan maintained he did not know Madam Hong's current whereabouts. When asked about Cripple, Huang Chuan claimed he had not been in contact with him for many years and even questioned if the police had apprehended him, which contradicted Skinner's previous statements. Huang Chuan also denied ever hearing of Fei Yan.
Deng Yan and Chang Rui discussed the possibility that Cripple might be dead, with someone else, perhaps Fei Yan, operating under his name. They concluded that locating Fei Yan was crucial to clarifying the situation. Deng Yan decided to first visit "Bring Lost Children Home" to explore additional merger options for Tuanyuan Restaurant before joining Yin Jiansheng in Wushun County.
In Wushun County, local police informed Yin Jiansheng that they had meticulously searched thirteen villages matching Huang Chuan's description of where he sold Yang Caiyun, but had yet to find anyone resembling her. They also began to investigate whether similar child trafficking cases had occurred in those villages two decades prior.
