The Litchi Road Episode 5 Recap
> The Litchi Road Recap
The Right Chancellor held immense power in court, formed cliques for personal gain, used his authority for corruption and bribery, and killed innocent people. Officials, both civil and military, were afraid to speak out despite their anger. The Left Chancellor sent Song Wuji to Lingnan to collect evidence of the Right Chancellor's collusion with He Youguang. After Song Wuji completed his task and returned to Chang'an, he was arrested by men sent by the Right Chancellor.
Song Wuji publicly exposed the Right Chancellor's numerous crimes. In a fit of rage, the Right Chancellor had Song Wuji beheaded in the street. Li Shande asked He Youguang to borrow money to purchase lychees. He Youguang flatly refused and even complained about his poverty in front of him. Zheng Pingan gathered the foreign merchants who came to Lingnan for business. He took Li Shande to raise funds, openly auctioning entry qualifications.
Using his glib tongue, he persuaded the foreign merchants to participate in the task of purchasing lychees for the Emperor, promising them both fame and fortune after the task was completed. The foreign merchants responded unanimously and even offered valuable gifts to bribe Zheng Pingan. Li Shande had been tricked by Director Liu and his colleagues into coming to Lingnan to be the Lychee Inspector.
He couldn't bear to see the foreign merchants being deceived and advised Zheng Pingan to stop early. Zheng Pingan firmly refused and continued to lobby the foreign merchants. Li Shande stood aside and poured cold water on the foreign merchants, clearly stating that the Emperor had ordered him to transport fresh lychees back to Chang'an and advised them to think twice. The foreign merchants knew this was an impossible task, and they ran away in fright.
Zheng Pingan was furious and yelled at Li Shande. Li Shande did not want to deceive people. Zheng Pingan reminded him not to forget Xiuer far away in Chang'an, saying that if he could not complete the task on time, not only would he lose his life, but Xiuer would also be sold into slavery. Li Shande remained firm. Li Shande racked his brain, coming up with many methods for preserving lychees, but they all ended in failure.
Just when Li Shande was at a loss, the foreign merchant Su Liang suddenly came to visit him, offering him two large pearls as a meeting gift. Su Liang offered to lend money to Li Shande, and he wanted the blank five-prefecture travel tally in Li Shande's hand. As long as he had that tally, he could freely buy and sell in Lingnan. Li Shande asked for over 700 "guan", and Su Liang gave him 990 "guan".
Zheng Pingan complained that Li Shande's asking price was too low and advised him to quickly take the money back to Chang'an to reunite with Xiuer. Li Shande wanted to try and transport the lychees back to Chang'an. Zheng Pingan advised him to give up early, saying that even risking his life wouldn't complete the task, and he had also illegally resold the travel tally.
Li Shande was unwilling to admit defeat just like that; he hadn't even seen a lychee tree before heading back. Zheng Pingan asked Gouer to help Li Shande pack his luggage and told him to return to Chang'an immediately. The Right Chancellor wanted to know what information Song Wuji had gathered in Gaozhou, so he sent Lu Huan to find Song Wuji's family servants and attendants. They knew nothing about it.
Lu Huan speculated that Song Wuji's personal attendant knew the inside story, but he had been imprisoned by the Right Chancellor. The Right Chancellor sent men to brutally torture Song Wuji's attendant and threatened his family. The attendant confessed that Song Wuji had not found any valuable clues, only that he was investigating the burned Qi Jing Tower.
The Right Chancellor knew that He Youguang wanted to use the soldier fish tally to mobilize the Lingnan Gaozhou navy to recover from pirates and turn Lingnan into his own private garden. The Right Chancellor sent men to Lingnan to inform Ma Guiyun and tell Ma Guiyun to stay there. Lu Huan found out that the Right Chancellor had sent people to Gaozhou overnight. He concluded that the Right Chancellor had obtained the clues Song Wuji found.
The Right Chancellor was worried that Zheng Pingan's identity might be exposed and put him in danger. Lu Huan was confident that Zheng Pingan could handle it. Li Shande packed his luggage, preparing to return to Chang'an. Zheng Pingan improvised a poem as a farewell for him and had someone inform He Youguang. Li Shande also presented a poem to Zheng Pingan. The two reluctantly parted ways. Li Shande arrived at the city gate with his convoy.
There was a long queue waiting for routine inspection. Li Shande had no choice but to patiently wait while carrying the "Lychee Inspector" sign. He wanted to buy some lychees to take back to Xiuer. Li Shande suddenly remembered A Tong, the girl who sold lychees, so he paid someone to lead the way to A Tong's family's lychee orchard. This was Li Shande's first time seeing a lychee orchard, and he was dazzled by the sight.
As a result, he was tied up by the fruit farmers working in the orchard who thought he was a bad person. Li Shande repeatedly explained that he was the Lychee Inspector. The fruit farmers, who hated officials the most, scoffed at him and then dispersed to catch insects in the orchard. Those insects were very smelly and difficult to wash off once they got on the skin. Li Shande was an expert in plants, flowers, and fruits.
He offered advice to the fruit farmers, telling them to use mint leaves and soap beans to kill insects. The fruit farmers untied Li Shande. Li Shande directed the fruit farmers to mix the mint leaves and soap beans together. The fruit farmers sprayed this mixture on the lychee trees, and the insects on the trees were completely eliminated. They cheered happily. The leader, A Tong, returned to the lychee orchard. She recognized Li Shande as the benefactor who had saved her. Li Shande explained his purpose, wanting to buy some lychees from her to take back to Chang'an.
