The Imperial Coroner Episode 32 Recap
> The Imperial Coroner Recap
Through various clues, Elder Ge Jing has already deduced the identity of his eldest son, Xiao Jinli. As for the specific details, Princess Xiping still needs to truthfully inform him. Now that Qin Luan is secretly seeking out old acquaintances to use the child for his schemes, Princess Xiping is in a state of disarray. Her only option is to tell Elder Ge Jing the truth and ask for his help.
It turns out that long before Xiao Heng went to the Southwest, Madam Chen Ying anticipated this calamity. She simply drank a labor-inducing medicine, gave birth to her son, and then passed away. A servant from the Chen household brought the child to her doorstep. Princess Xiping, out of pity for the innocent infant and her deep affection for Madam Chen Ying, secretly adopted the child and falsely claimed to have given birth to twins.
After many days of arduous travel, the group finally arrived outside Chang'an City. Jing Yi blended in with a group of courtesans, successfully deceiving Zhou Han and entering the city. As for Chu Chu and Xiao Jinyu, they hid at the bottom of a food crate in Guangtai Tower. Although there were slight troubles during this time, they fortunately avoided suspicion.
At this time, Bogu Zhai had made proper arrangements within Chang'an City, just waiting for coordination from both inside and outside to welcome the rebel army into the city. Even though Xiao Jinyu had strictly instructed General Leng to seal off information, and no military reports were sent back, a tragedy ultimately could not be avoided. Especially when he personally witnessed the Xue residence catch fire and his mentor perish in the flames, he was immediately overwhelmed with grief.
While Chu Chu was examining the cause of Xue Rucheng's death, Xiao Jinyu, Jing Yi, and others investigated the surroundings of the Xue residence. They surprisingly found an issue on a pillar. Just as they were about to deduce the source of the fire, Xiao Jinyu suddenly thought of something, and his words came to an abrupt halt. Coincidentally, at this moment, Chu Chu hurriedly ran over and stated that the deceased was not Xue Rucheng.
It was clearly the corpse of a man around twenty years old, and the cause of death was strangulation before being thrown into the fire to create a false impression. The Xue residence's butler reacted intensely upon hearing this, accidentally dropping a Ministry of War Minister's token. Chu Chu then discovered several plants of "She Miemen" (snake-destroying) in the courtyard, a plant typically cultivated only by households in the Southwest. Because of Chu Chu's words, Xiao Jinyu suddenly understood.
To confirm Xue Rucheng's true intentions, he rushed to the Three Judicial Offices overnight to search through archives. He found a memorial from the Ministry of War, thus learning that Xue Rucheng had already obtained intelligence about the Southwest military, confirming his identity as the late emperor's son. The reason Xue Rucheng wrote the document in advance and left it at the Ministry of War was merely to prepare for two possibilities.
Since the uprising and capture of the camp were of great importance, Zhao Jie must have made an agreement with him. Counting ten days from the day of the camp's capture would be the latest day for urgent military reports to reach the capital, which happened to be today. If Zhao Jie succeeded, he could rebel in the name of Prince Chang. If Zhao Jie failed, he could instigate chaos within the court, buying himself time to maneuver and escape.
Just as Xiao Jinyu had expected, Xue Rucheng had planted his useful people and plotted until now. First, he used a dancer to kill Yan Ming, and then used the cause of Yan Ming's death to stir up public opinion about Prince Chang being alive, after which he raised an army under the banner of Prince Chang. However, despite Xue Rucheng having killed so many people, he never expected Xiao Jinyu to uncover the private minting of copper coins case.
After all, Xue Rucheng had planned to widely distribute the counterfeit money among the populace, causing the current court to lose all credibility, thereby winning back the people's hearts for his own use. Even the wisest person makes mistakes. Because of the intervention of Xiao Jinyu and Chu Chu, Xue Rucheng's plan was obstructed.
He had intended to seize military power in the Southwest in the name of Prince Chang, but unfortunately, Xiao Jinyu had already preempted him and seized control of the Southwest. Now, Xue Rucheng's feigned death and escape were also to implement his next plan. He used a self-inflicted injury ploy to abduct Xu Rugui, and also obtained the secret of Xiao Heng's last will, using these to coerce Qin Luan into colluding with him.
At the same time, when Qin Luan learned that Xiao Jinyu and others had entered the city, he immediately instructed Sun Deming to arrange the subsequent actions. Afterwards, Imperial Physician Zhang was discovered to have hanged himself in his room in the palace, making the situation even more complicated.
Although the mastermind had been traced, Xiao Jinyu was still at a loss, even blaming himself that as an official of the Three Judicial Offices in charge of criminal cases, he not only failed to maintain stability for the Great Tang but repeatedly missed opportunities. Seeing this, Chu Chu's heart ached. She took the initiative to go and hug Xiao Jinyu, proclaiming that he had shielded the people of the Southwest from disaster, and such bravery deserved praise.
This made Chu Chu admire and feel relieved. She vowed to stay by Xiao Jinyu's side forever, sharing hardships together. Under Chu Chu's encouragement, Xiao Jinyu finally felt much better and resolved to bring Xue Rucheng to justice without fail.
