The Litchi Road Episode 19 Recap
> The Litchi Road Recap
After Zheng Jinniang passed away, Li Shande and his daughter Li Xiuer depended on each other. He sent Li Xiuer to the Ni Hong Embroidery Workshop to study. He usually saved money and was frugal, giving his daughter Li Xiuer the best life he could afford. Li Xiuer was also very filial, saving the pastries given by the workshop for Li Shande. Li Xiuer's embroidery skills improved day by day. Li Shande asked Li Xiuer to embroider him a flatbread.
Yun Qing found out that ten years ago, before the Jijing Lou fire, A Tu sold two thousand shares of Haifan Chou to Lan Ge's father (Lan Ye). She suspected that it was instigated by the killer because after Hai Hu was burned to death, Haifan Chou became a piece of waste paper. Yun Qing sent Zheng Pingan to ask Lan Ye's son, Lan Ge, about A Tu's whereabouts. Lan Ge suspected that Zheng Pingan was sent by He Youguang.
Zheng Pingan explained strenuously and used his persuasive skills to convince Lan Ge to help him find A Tu. Lan Ge quickly found out that Shopkeeper Feng introduced A Tu to sell the Haifan Chou to his father back then. So he went to Shopkeeper Feng to inquire about A Tu's whereabouts. Shopkeeper Feng insisted that A Tu was burned to death.
Lan Ge didn't believe him at all and used both soft and hard tactics, promising to give him money for medical treatment, only then did Shopkeeper Feng tell the truth. Back then, Shopkeeper Feng came to Lingnan to seek refuge with his distant cousin Zhen Haidong. He coincidentally met A Tu. A Tu claimed he had two thousand shares of Haifan Chou and asked him to help introduce him to Zhen Haidong.
A Tu wanted to sell the Haifan Chou shares to the wealthy Zhen Haidong. Shopkeeper Feng didn't think much of it and agreed. After Zhen Haidong bought the Haifan Chou shares, Hai Hu was burned to death in the Jijing Lou fire, and A Tu was also severely burned, covered in scars. He narrowly escaped death and came to Shopkeeper Feng for help.
After his injuries healed, he left, cautioning Shopkeeper Feng not to let anyone know he was still alive, otherwise his life would be in danger. Later, A Tu asked Shopkeeper Feng to deliver medicine to Dayu Mountain, and they met at the Dukangli small tavern. Li Shande learned from A Chai that A Tu knew about a hidden small path on Dayu Mountain and wanted A Tu to be his guide.
He learned from Zheng Pingan that A Tu was last seen at the Dukangli tavern. Without a second thought, he dragged Lan Ge to inquire about clues. Li Shande found the large burdock, unique to Dayu Mountain, near the tavern. The burdock in Lingnan was very small. Li Shande had seen this kind of large burdock at A Chai's place. Li Shande concluded that someone from Dayu Mountain had been to the small tavern.
He followed the mountain path and finally found a household deep in the dense forest. Lan Ge knocked on the door, and a blind little girl opened it. She lived here with her uncle, who would return after three days of fishing. Lan Ge pretended to be a peddler. The little girl wanted to buy embroidery needles and thread. Li Shande asked Lan Ge to prepare needles and thread.
He gave the little girl the handkerchief embroidered by Li Xiuer and chatted with her. The little girl was an orphan; she had wandered to Dayu Mountain and was fortunately taken in by her uncle. Li Shande asked the little girl about her uncle's appearance and learned that his face was covered in scars. Li Shande concluded that the uncle who saved the little girl was A Tu.
Li Shande was worried that A Tu might escape after returning and finding out someone was looking for him, so he made a pact with the little girl not to tell her uncle yet. He promised to find an embroidery workshop for the little girl to learn embroidery and gave her Li Xiuer's embroidered handkerchief as a token. Only then did Li Shande leave with peace of mind. He immediately went back to report the good news to Su Liang.
Today was the wedding of a pair of Dong people. Su Liang and Li Shande were invited to attend. Su Liang, emboldened by alcohol, spoke his mind to Li Shande. He initially wanted to make some money by using Li Shande's identity as the lychee envoy. Later, he realized that Li Shande was a person capable of great things, so he wanted to work together with him to do a good job transporting the lychees.
Su Liang and Li Shande clinked glasses and became more and more congenial as they talked. Finally, they sang and danced with the Dong people. Li Shande fantasized about the happy life after transporting the lychees to Chang'an, and he was as happy as a child. A Chai saw that A Tong had a special affection for Li Shande and advised her to give up as early as possible.
Li Shande would eventually return to Chang'an; they had no destiny together. Zheng Pingan learned A Tu's whereabouts from Li Shande. He immediately reported to Yun Qing. Yun Qing wanted to find out the mastermind from A Tu and reminded Zheng Pingan not to tell A Mita about this. Zhao Xinmin knew He Youguang was unreliable and began to plan his own retreat.
He had originally wanted to use a honey trap to secure Zheng Pingan and climb the ladder by attaching himself to the Right Chancellor, but he was seen through by Zheng Pingan. Zhao Xinmin, having no other options, had to seek cooperation with A Mita. He had tested He Youguang, and He Youguang surprisingly knew A Tu, this most ordinary broker.
He suspected that A Tu was instigated by He Youguang and that they knew beforehand that Hai Hu would die, which is why they sold the Haifan Chou shares to Lan Ye. A Mita also suspected that He Youguang had set the fire that killed her father, Hai Hu, but lacked concrete evidence. Zhao Xinmin wanted to sow discord between A Mita and He Youguang.
As long as they fell out, Zhao Xinmin could recommend Xiao Yunchuan as the head of the foreign merchants' guild and make a fortune using Xiao Yunchuan. Three days passed in the blink of an eye. A Tu, who went fishing, was about to return. Zhao Xinmin took people and ambushed near A Tu's thatched cottage. Li Shande arrived at the cottage early, but A Tu did not return until dark.
A Mita had already sent people to take A Tu away. She was eager to ask A Tu about the truth of her father Hai Hu being burned to death. A Tu did not want to recall the events of that year; it was an eternal pain in his heart. A Mita did not force him and let him think about it carefully. Lan Yu rode quickly to the Prefectural Office to report to He Youguang.
When He Youguang learned that A Mita had taken A Tu away, his heart sank. He Youguang knew that A Mita was starting to suspect him and immediately took people to find A Mita. Yun Qing learned that He Youguang had taken people to find A Mita and sent people to protect A Mita.
