The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty Episode 6 Recap
> The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty Recap
The Emperor arrived to mediate the tension between the ""Empress Dowager"" and the Noble Consort, skillfully redirecting the conversation by reminiscing with Tang Fan about "Scholar's Candies." Wang Zhi, visibly nervous, later escorted Tang Fan and Sui Zhou out of the Forbidden City. He sternly warned them against taking such risks, emphasizing the dangers of their actions within the imperial palace, particularly questioning the Crown Prince.
Tang Fan lightheartedly dismissed the severity, but Sui Zhou conceded Wang Zhi's point about the perilous nature of the Forbidden City. Tang Fan later obtained some Tancha Powder from Wang Zhi for analysis. Wang Zhi cautioned him that the poison was extremely potent and lacked an antidote. To understand its properties and effects, the eccentric physician Pei Huai bravely experimented on himself.
He meticulously described his physiological changes after ingestion, from abdominal pain and blurred vision to a doubled heart rate, chills, and cold sweats, while Tang Fan diligently recorded everything. As his symptoms worsened, Pei Huai hurriedly induced vomiting with muskmelon pedicel powder and took an antidote, narrowly saving his own life. Following this harrowing experience, Pei Huai concluded that the poison must have been administered around the time the mung bean soup was consumed.
He further determined that the dosage was precisely calculated based on the victim's height and weight, indicating a deliberate act rather than an accident. Meanwhile, Wang Zhi's investigation revealed that the eunuch, Fulin, who brought the Tancha Powder into the palace, had moved his family to the capital two years prior, purchased property, and opened a bean pudding shop. With this information, Wang Zhi approached the Noble Consort.
Initially, she accused him of distrusting her, but to clear her name, she reluctantly handed over her personal eunuch, who had been the last person to interact with Han Zao. After an intense interrogation, Wang Zhi corroborated the eunuch's testimony with Tang Fan's findings, leading him to suspect Chief Eunuch Liu Xiang as the poisoner. Concurrently, Tang Fan and Sui Zhou’s external investigation gained clarity.
They visited the bean pudding shop, pretending to be Fulin's friends, and offered his family ten taels of silver as a gesture of sympathy. During their conversation, they learned that a "Godfather Liu" had been taking care of Fulin's affairs after his death. Based on this, Sui Zhou deduced that "Godfather Liu" was likely a senior eunuch who had sponsored Fulin upon his initial entry into the palace.
Sui Zhou expressed his distrust in Wang Zhi due to the Noble Consort's involvement. Their continued investigation pinpointed Liu Xiang as the only eunuch surnamed Liu who had early contact with Fulin in the palace. Upon confronting Liu Xiang, he confessed his motive. Fifteen years prior, while working in the Imperial Library, he befriended a court lady named Ji. Her intelligence and grace captivated the Emperor, who made her ""Consort Shu Ji"".
She soon became pregnant, which enraged the Noble Consort, who subsequently ordered her execution. Liu Xiang believed that as long as the Noble Consort lived, the Crown Prince (""Consort Shu Ji's"" son) would be in constant peril. He stated that all his actions were solely for the Crown Prince's safety and to avenge ""Consort Shu Ji"", seeing himself as a loyal and righteous individual.
Before Tang Fan and Sui Zhou could apprehend him, Wang Zhi arrived and executed Liu Xiang on the spot. With his dying breath, Liu Xiang implored Wang Zhi to protect the Crown Prince, a promise Wang Zhi readily gave. Wang Zhi then invoked the authority of the Imperial Palace, ordering Tang Fan and Sui Zhou to immediately close the case and strictly forbidding any further discussion of it.
Wang Zhi's recent success in solving two high-profile cases involving imperial family affairs led to considerable criticism from court officials. To avoid further scrutiny, the Emperor dispatched him to Liaodong to investigate Chen Yue's proposal to reopen the horse markets there. Meanwhile, Sui Zhou remained troubled by the injustices in the Han Zao case, where the innocent died without proper redress, and the Lin Chaodong case, where the helper was murdered while the true culprits remained at large.
Tang Fan, however, argued that the primary culprit in the Han Zao case was dead, and therefore justice had been served, suggesting the matter be dropped. Sui Zhou received a new assignment: investigating a report from Ji'an Government of Jiangxi, where 387 prisoners had supposedly died of illness since the 11th year of Chenghua. It was suspected that prisoners were being tortured and their deaths falsely reported as illness.
Sui Zhou was tasked with a joint investigation alongside Tu Xun, an official from the Ministry of Punishments, and "a censorial inspector and Du Bu". Before his departure, Jia Kui sought out Sui Zhou, asking him to deliver "gold" to his wife and children and instruct them to relocate and start a new life elsewhere.
Sui Zhou agreed but pressed Jia Kui for the identity of the person who had released him from the Imperial Edict Prison with an imperial pardon, suspecting only the Emperor could issue such a document. Jia Kui indicated he would reveal the truth, but warned that doing so would necessitate killing Sui Zhou. Now with time on his hands after the case closure, Tang Fan decided to teach Dong to read, having been impressed by her exceptional memory in court.
He gave her a copy of "Hundred Family Surnames." Tang Fan remarked that he had taken three days to learn it, but Dong surprised him by memorizing the entire book in just one hour, leaving him astonished. Tang Fan then recalled his earlier promise to Duo Er La. He took her "clothes" to the Iron Market, only to discover a hole she herself had torn in it.
Furious at the perceived damage to her beloved garment, Duo Er La snapped Tang Fan's chopsticks in retaliation. With Sui Zhou leaving for his mission, expected to be gone for over a month, Tang Fan, feeling indignant, decided to personally seek revenge at the Iron Market. He began selecting a weapon, finding one that looked imposing but was too heavy, leading Dong to question his fighting ability and suggest he wait for Sui Zhou's return.
