Sword Rose Episode 26 Recap
> Sword Rose Recap
Following the interrogation of Ye Xiuming, Fu Haochen remained suspicious that the adoption of a daughter had gone too smoothly. He believed Ye Xiuming had used personal connections to solve the issue, leading him to offer a substantial business deal as a gesture of gratitude. However, Ye Xiuming and his secretary, Zhang Quanzhi, maintained that the adoption had been handled through entirely legal channels. This claim was contradicted by the welfare home, which had no record of any application.
Yang Jiajia, suspecting foul play, sent Zhang Quanzhi's computer to the tech department, theorizing that the website they used was a fraudulent one created to make them believe they were following legitimate procedures. Despite this analysis seemingly clearing Ye Xiuming, Deng Yan remained suspicious and instructed her team to continue the investigation. At the Tuanyuan Restaurant, a hearing-impaired man arrived, seeking help to find his missing wife, Zhang Xiaochu, who is also hearing-impaired.
Madam Zhang patiently listened as he explained through lip-reading that he and his wife, who loved dancing and traveling, were on their travel wedding in Linshan when she was abducted. He recounted that while he was changing his camera lens to photograph her, she was suddenly taken. He reported the kidnapping to the police, but the vehicle's license plate turned out to be fake. Having exhausted all other avenues, he came to the restaurant after hearing it helped reunite families.
Madam Zhang assured him of their help and prominently displayed Zhang Xiaochu's missing person notice on the wall. Meanwhile, Zhen Ni informed Liu Gang that Fu Haochen had signed a massive deal with Dingshun Group, headed by Ye Xiuming, immediately after the child was delivered. This led Liu Gang, who operated as the notorious Cripple, to suspect that Ye Xiuming was the true, hidden mastermind behind the criminal enterprise.
Later, Ye Xiuming and Wu Bin arrived at Liu Gang’s Tianhai Lucky Entertainment Center for a meeting. Liu Gang welcomed them and subtly probed Ye Xiuming about Dingshun's recent major deal, hinting at rumors linking the company to child trafficking. Wu Bin quickly intervened, warning Liu Gang against spreading unfounded rumors.
Liu Gang's internal monologue confirmed his suspicions; he believed Ye Xiuming had installed him as a figurehead, intending to use him as a scapegoat for past crimes, and resolved to find a way out for himself. In a separate development, Yang Jiajia reported that a recently apprehended trafficker confessed to handling a child believed to be Luo Xiaoyu. The trafficker also revealed his superior had arranged for him to find a child for a wealthy businessman named Mu from Gangcheng.
Yang Jiajia identified Mu Zhenliang as a match: his son, Mu Haobo, was the same age as Luo Xiaoyu, and Mu Zhenliang had visited Linshan in 1995, the year Luo Xiaoyu went missing. Deng Yan informed Luo Xiaoxing of the lead, but her hopes were tempered when Mu Zhenliang denied having adopted a child. Deng Yan reassured Luo Xiaoxing that having a lead was still a reason for hope and that the investigation would continue.
In a rural village, Yang Caiyun's daughter, Xiaoyun, told her about a "crazy lady" locked up in the nearby Tu family's house who was heard crying. Meanwhile, the police investigation revealed that a man with the alias "Ding Fengbo" had contacted Ye Xiuming's secretary, Zhang Quanzhi, through a fake welfare website he created. He claimed a suitable abandoned girl was available and orchestrated the abduction of Tang Zhikui, who was then delivered to Fu Haochen.
After the transaction, Ding Fengbo deleted his account and vanished, seemingly clearing Ye Xiuming of direct complicity. Despite these findings, Deng Yan remained unconvinced, pointing out that Dingshun Group benefited significantly from the deal. She theorized that the perpetrator had a deep understanding of the company's finances, suggesting the motive might not be exclusive to Ye Xiuming. Concurrently, in the Zhou Hongcai murder investigation, a scrapped taxi, confirmed to be the getaway vehicle, was recovered from a reservoir.
The killer had meticulously cleaned the car and obscured tracks, indicating a professional with strong counter-surveillance skills. Deng Yan speculated that Cripple had killed Zhou Hongcai, a fellow trafficker, for self-preservation. Furthermore, the autopsy on Zhou Hongcai revealed two items in waterproof bags in his stomach, and the technical department was working to identify the damaged contents. Driven by her daughter's story, Yang Caiyun went to the Tu family's house, pretending to deliver vegetables to the matriarch, Madam Gu.
She was forcibly turned away by Madam Gu's son, whose hand she noticed was scratched. Undeterred, Yang Caiyun peered through a back window and saw a frail, unkempt girl huddled in a corner, crying. Later, before leaving the Tuanyuan Restaurant to continue his search, the hearing-impaired man photographed the missing person notices and recorded a video of Madam Zhang appealing to her own missing daughter, Lin Ranran, to come home.
Yang Caiyun revisited Madam Gu's house, and upon hearing sounds like a woman crying, was told by Madam Gu that it was her daughter-in-law, who had become mentally unstable after a miscarriage and was kept locked up. Yang Caiyun's offer to help was refused. She then returned to the back of the house, where the trapped girl saw her and desperately etched the Chinese character for "beg" on her hand. Yang Caiyun immediately reported the situation to the Anti-abduction Office.
Police arrived at the Tu house to find the son abusing the girl and successfully rescued her. A news report later confirmed the rescue, noting that the informant was a previously rescued trafficking victim herself. Finally, Chang Rui reported that Zhang Xiaochu's trafficker, a subordinate of a criminal named Skinner, had been apprehended. He also updated the team on the evidence from Zhou Hongcai’s stomach: though damaged, it appeared to be a newspaper photograph of several people.
Chang Rui theorized that the photo was so important that Zhou Hongcai swallowed it either for self-preservation or to leave it as a clue, strongly suspecting that Cripple was among the individuals in the picture.
