The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty Episode 9 Recap
> The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty Recap
Tang Fan found himself solely responsible for rescuing Sui Zhou, as Xue Ling had been apprehended for stealing an official ship. He sought out Duo Er La in the Iron Market, requesting to borrow a horse and for her and her people to accompany him on his journey to Liaodong. Tang Fan meticulously laid out a repayment plan.
Duo Er La, however, expressed little interest in his plan, and her steward, Aha, questioned his plea, asking why they should help him. Tang Fan then offered his cherished chopsticks as collateral, explaining the urgency of Sui Zhou's dire situation and his desperate need to reach him. Aha conveyed Duo Er La's willingness to lend the horse, but stipulated that Tang Fan would owe her a favor and must agree to help her find a person later.
Tang Fan readily accepted, provided the task was neither illegal, outrageous, nor harmful. Aha assured him it was merely to investigate a case. With Duo Er La's agreement, Tang Fan and Dong'er, who insisted on accompanying him due to concern for his safety after a previous dangerous outing with Xue Ling, prepared for their immediate departure. Meanwhile, Huang Jinglong personally interrogated Sui Zhou, expressing admiration for Sui Zhou's compassion and leadership among the prisoners.
He attempted to persuade Sui Zhou to join him in his ruthless approach to governance, arguing that true salvation required an iron will, not "petty kindness." Sui Zhou firmly rejected this, asserting his unwavering commitment to the Law of the Ming Dynasty. Losing patience with Sui Zhou's defiance, Huang Jinglong revealed Sui Zhou's identity as an Imperial Guard to the other prisoners.
This revelation ignited the prisoners' animosity towards officials, shifting their collective hatred onto Sui Zhou and placing him in immediate danger within the prison. Sui Zhou, however, reminded the prisoners that he had helped them when they were starving. In Liaodong, Wang Zhi, speculating that the theft of so many horses would require large amounts of fodder, instructed his men to investigate. Chen Yue indeed confirmed that Jurchen tribes were buying substantial amounts of grass.
Wang Zhi arrived at the Jurchen tribal area just as other tribal leaders, believing the Jurchens responsible for the recent horse thefts, were on the brink of conflict. As tensions mounted, Tang Fan appeared. After Tang Fan explained his urgent need to reach Ji'an to save Sui Zhou, Wang Zhi, knowing the horse market had to reopen for him to leave Liaodong, insisted that Tang Fan first solve the horse theft case. Tang Fan reluctantly agreed.
Privately, Wang Zhi expressed considerable interest in Yang Fu, the impostor mimicking him in Ji'an. He dispatched Jia Kui ahead to investigate Yang Fu and, more importantly, instructed Jia Kui to find a way to get himself imprisoned to ensure Sui Zhou's safety. Later that night, Tang Fan, consumed by worry for Sui Zhou, could not sleep. He went to Wang Zhi's tent, eager to expedite the case and rush to Sui Zhou's aid.
Wang Zhi advised him to rest and resume the investigation the next day. As Tang Fan left Wang Zhi's tent, he became disoriented in the darkness and mistakenly entered Duo Er La's tent. He noticed her cloak had a large hole and offered to mend it, observing its large size and wondering if it belonged to a male suitor.
As he stitched, he saw how much she cherished it, prompting him to share the personal story of his own cherished chopsticks—the only mementos left by his deceased parents. The following morning, Tang Fan obtained the interrogation records of the horse herders: Yirentai, Meng'en, and Batu. He then gathered 81 cavalrymen and instructed them to divide into three teams, each following a specific, recursively branching path, with the objective of finding large concentrations of horse dung.
Soon, a report came in: a significant amount of horse dung had been found about ten kilometers away. Following this crucial lead, the stolen horses were successfully located. Tang Fan then explained his ingenious deduction: the horses never "disappeared" from the reported crime scene because they had never actually been there. He theorized that there were two assembly points, one real and one fake.
On the night of the incident, the three exhausted herders, disoriented by the darkness, unknowingly arrived at the fake assembly point. Their food was likely drugged, and once they were unconscious, the numerous culprits simply moved the herders and their tents to the real assembly point. They then dismantled the fake setup and rode off with the horses, creating the illusion that the animals had vanished into thin air.
Tang Fan wished to interrogate Batu further, but Wang Zhi intervened, declaring the case solved and promising to depart for Ji'an with Tang Fan the very next day. After Tang Fan left, Wang Zhi summoned the Doyan Guard commander. Wang Zhi revealed that Tang Fan's deductions implicated the commander's own brother and Batu as the culprits.
The brother, unable to repay his massive gambling debts, had promised the horses intended for the market as collateral, instigating their theft, with Batu acting as an inside man. In a stark display of justice, Wang Zhi's subordinate executed the guilty brother in front of the stunned commander. Wang Zhi then assured the commander that the matter would remain strictly confidential, citing the Han proverb about keeping family disgraces private.
With the horse market case resolved and the market successfully reopened, Wang Zhi and Tang Fan prepared for their journey to Ji'an. They opted for a quicker water route, anticipating their arrival in just two days.
