The Litchi Road Episode 1 Recap
> The Litchi Road Recap
The story takes place in Tang Dynasty Chang'an. Last night there was a heavy rain. The awning damaged the Emperor's favorite old peony. Li Shande, the supervisor of the Office of Imperial Parks, was extremely anxious. He rushed there immediately to mound soil around the peony, strengthen the roots, and trim the branches. This year's flowering period would be delayed. The Emperor insisted on appreciating the flowers before Guyu (Grain Rain).
Li Shande had no choice but to hurry and water and fertilize it. The lychees in Lingnan are ripe. The Emperor issued a decree ordering the Right Chancellor to send someone to transport the lychees back to Chang'an. The Right Chancellor assigned this matter to the Court Of The National Granaries to handle. The head of the Court Of The National Granaries did not want to take on this hot potato.
Lychees change color in one day, scent in two days, and taste in three days. Lingnan and Chang'an are five thousand li apart, and the journey upstream is long. This is an impossible task. He immediately ordered it to be sent to the Office of Imperial Parks. Director Liu, after reading the imperial decree, was furious. He had no one else to pass the buck to, so he could only bite the bullet and accept this assignment.
The supervisors knew that transporting lychees was extraordinary. They looked at each other. Director Liu called out their names one by one. They all found various excuses to decline. They recommended Li Shande to transport the lychees. Early in the morning, Li Shande sent his daughter Li Xiuer to his brother-in-law Zheng Pingan's house. Zheng Pingan is a companion official for drinking. He casually asked about buying a house. Li Shande seized the opportunity to borrow money from Zheng Pingan.
Li Shande spent all his money treating his wife, and even sold their old house for three hundred guan. But his wife still died of illness. Li Shande had no choice but to rent a house with his daughter Li Xiuer. When he heard the old house was for sale, he negotiated with the landlord, finally settling on three hundred guan. Li Shande only had 130 guan. Zheng Pingan complained that Li Shande was too rigid.
He had been an official for over ten years, only knowing how to tend to flowers and plants, not understanding the ways of being an official, and hadn't even saved any money. Zheng Pingan couldn't bear to see Li Shande lose this opportunity and was willing to be his guarantor, telling him to go to Pingkang Fang to borrow money from Shiqiniang. According to market rules, he could only borrow 150 guan.
Li Shande begged Zheng Pingan to lend him another 20 guan. Li Shande gave the prepared IOU to Zheng Pingan and then left in a hurry with Li Xiuer. Zheng Pingan was so angry he gritted his teeth. Lu Huan, an Assistant Director of the Jing'an Department, suddenly visited. He arranged an assignment for Zheng Pingan. He Youguang, the Prefect of Gaozhou, appointed Envoy Pan Bao to bring a large amount of Lingnan jewelry to Chang'an.
The Jing'an Department found that He Youguang wanted to bribe the Right Chancellor with this batch of jewelry, solely to obtain the Lingnan soldier fish tally issued by the court. Lu Huan sent Zheng Pingan to collect evidence of the collusion between the Right Chancellor and He Youguang so that the Left Chancellor could seize the opportunity to bring down the Right Chancellor.
He also promised to help Zheng Pingan return to the Xingyang Zheng clan after the matter was completed. Li Shande took out all the money he had saved over the years and then went to Shiqiniang to borrow money. Shiqiniang even hired a monk to keep accounts, repeatedly claiming she was doing a good deed, and asked Li Shande for 150 guan in interest. Li Shande brought up the Tang Dynasty laws.
Shiqiniang had no choice but to modify the IOU according to the regulations. Li Shande paid the money and bought the old house. He imagined the grand scene of moving day. He drove a carriage to move, and the neighbors marveled at him, casting envious glances. Director Liu heard that Li Shande had just bought a house and immediately decided to let Li Shande go to Lingnan to transport lychees.
He specifically set up a banquet at the Office of Imperial Parks. Li Shande never participated in such dinners. As soon as his shift ended, he was anxious to go to school to pick up Li Xiuer. Director Liu desperately tried to keep him and asked him to introduce the origin of lychees to everyone. Li Shande spoke logically and eloquently. Director Liu seized the opportunity to propose that Li Shande be the Lychee Envoy to Lingnan.
Li Shande, fueled by alcohol, signed the document. His colleagues congratulated him. Zheng Pingan came to Pingkang Fang to conduct covert investigations. He found one of the rooms guarded by attendants. He suspected Pan Bao and the Right Chancellor's men were trading soldier fish tallies there, so he quietly climbed outside the window to eavesdrop. As expected, the Right Chancellor sent his trusted subordinate Ma Guiyun to meet Pan Bao.
Ma Guiyun opened the window and spat, startling Zheng Pingan into a cold sweat. Fortunately, Ma Guiyun did not see him. Ma Guiyun was going to Lingnan in person to hand the soldier fish tallies to He Youguang. Li Shande stumbled home holding the document. On the way, he accidentally fell to the ground. He suddenly discovered that the character "jian" from "lychee jian" on the document had dropped off, and it now read "lychee xian" (fresh).
Li Shande's drunkenness immediately vanished. He knew he could not transport fresh lychees back to Chang'an even if he risked his life. Li Shande immediately rushed back to the Office of Imperial Parks to seek help from Director Liu, asking him to sign and stamp over the modified character "jian". Director Liu insisted that the document originally said "fresh lychees" and suspected Li Shande had tampered with it. Li Shande knew this was an impossible task.
He was so anxious he beat his chest and stomped his feet. Director Liu did not listen at all and kicked Li Shande away. Ma Guiyun sent Pan Bao away and suddenly discovered Zheng Pingan eavesdropping outside the window. He immediately pulled Zheng Pingan in. Zheng Pingan used all his might to knock Ma Guiyun to the ground and stabbed him to death with a sword. Li Shande returned to the Office of Imperial Parks to check the old accounts and found that the document indeed said "fresh lychees". He was instantly dumbfounded.
