Under the Microscope Episode 7 Recap
> Under the Microscope Recap
Flames engulfed the Archives, and servants desperately hurled water to extinguish the blaze. Inside, Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu lay unconscious. Lu Feilong, believing this would solve all his troubles, intended to burn them alive. As he prepared to kill them, Cheng Renqing swiftly intervened, explaining that killing them now, with news of the Archives fire already spread, would raise suspicions, especially from Liu Jing, if their bodies were found outside.
Lu Feilong considered killing them and then placing their bodies back inside, but realized the many firefighters outside would make it impossible. Cheng Renqing then proposed a plan that required an accomplice to act out a fabricated story. Soon after, an official reported to Liu Jing that the ruins contained only paper ash and charred wooden structures, with no sign of bodies. Magistrate Mao expressed frustration at Lu Feilong, and Cheng Renqing assured Magistrate Mao that everything was handled.
When questioned, two scribes confirmed that Shuai Jiamo had voluntarily stayed behind the previous day, having been seen dazed with blank papers on his desk. They indicated that Old Zhang, the old official in charge of the library, was the last person to see Shuai Jiamo. When brought before Liu Jing, the flustered Old Zhang recounted his attempt to lock the Archives at sunset. He saw two scribes who mentioned Mr. Shuai was still inside.
He then discovered another young master, Feng Baoyu, there as well. The two scholars began to quarrel over matters like the fish-scale map and how to explain it without implicating others. When Zhang reminded them it was time to lock up, Feng Baoyu grew angry, chastising him for potentially delaying matters important to Liu Jing, and chased him out. Zhang confessed that he was worried and later returned to witness the raging fire, admitting it was his fault.
When Liu Jing asked if he had seen Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu after the fire, Zhang claimed to have no clue. Cheng Renqing, seizing the opportunity, stepped forward to offer his "deductions." He explained that Shuai Jiamo, desperate to uncover the truth about the silk poll tax but making no progress, and Feng Baoyu, who had bet everything on Shuai Jiamo's success, grew anxious and came to the Archives to press him.
This led to an argument, and during their quarrel, they accidentally knocked over a candle, causing the catastrophic fire. Cheng Renqing asserted that the two must have fled due to the severe penalty of burning down the Archives in Lanxi County. Liu Jing, initially skeptical and deeming it mere speculation, was swayed by Cheng Renqing's argument that if they were innocent, they would not have fled but would have sought out Liu Jing.
Cheng Renqing later met with Master Fan, who praised his composure and quick thinking. Cheng Renqing explained their plan: Lu Feilong had already smuggled Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu out of Lanxi County to be secretly detained on the way to Tongyang. Once an arrest warrant was issued across Jin'an, Lu Feilong would formally turn them over to the Tongyang County office.
Magistrate Mao questioned why they needed to be sent to Magistrate Deng's jurisdiction instead of being dealt with in Lanxi. Cheng Renqing justified this by saying a longer escape route would make the story more believable and asked Magistrate Mao to issue a constable's status to Lu Feilong for easier cross-border arrests. Magistrate Mao expressed frustration, suggesting it would be simpler to kill them outright.
Master Fan reprimanded him, emphasizing that the Archives fire was a serious matter requiring a formal explanation to the imperial court. He stated it was better for Shuai and Feng to shoulder the blame through proper legal procedures, no matter how cumbersome, to prevent future complications. Master Fan concluded by stating he would handle all the necessary paperwork.
Meanwhile, Lu Feilong's subordinate questioned the purpose of transporting the two men so far without either killing or releasing them, to which his superior simply told him to follow orders. Shortly after, Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu regained consciousness. They quickly cut their ropes and fled into the forest. Along the way, Feng Baoyu accidentally injured his leg in a trap.
Shuai Jiamo stopped to help him, but by the time Lu Feilong and his men arrived at their last known location, the fugitives had vanished. Lu Feilong, furious at their escape, had initially intended to kill them and claim they resisted arrest. He then led his men to search a nearby hut inhabited by a woman and a girl named Xiao Zhi.
The women claimed to have seen two scholars pass by and head down the mountain, but Lu Feilong's suspicions were aroused by the fact they were cultivating barren land in the mountains of Tongyang. Despite their protests, Lu Feilong ordered his men to search the hut, discovering a cellar. Ignoring the woman’s warning about poor ventilation, Lu Feilong entered. He emerged visibly shaken and terrified, prompting his subordinates to quickly escort him away.
Back in the hut, as Feng Baoyu nursed his injured leg, Shuai Jiamo recalled the fire at his own home and realized that the silk poll tax case was inextricably linked to his father's death. He remembered a book called "Complete Works of the Silk Event" by his father, which repeatedly featured the number 3530, a number his father had once told him represented his life's work.
Feng Baoyu advised Shuai Jiamo not to mention their true purpose for being in Lanxi or the Archives fire to anyone, especially not their kind hosts, to avoid implicating them. Feng Baoyu then instructed Shuai Jiamo to travel to Tongyang County with his letter to retrieve money from his family's shop and find a doctor, and to send a message to his sister. Shuai Jiamo pondered how they ended up in Tongyang after fainting in Lanxi.
Shuai Jiamo arrived in Tongyang County and sought out Shopkeeper Zhao, who, upon receiving Feng Baoyu’s letter, promised to fetch a doctor. However, Shuai Jiamo was soon apprehended by patrolmen and brought before Magistrate Deng Siqi. Magistrate Deng, who was in the midst of a complex civil engineering calculation, was surprised when Shuai Jiamo, after observing his work, pointed out an error and correctly identified the problem as calculating the storage capacity of a cylindrical granary with a canopy.
Magistrate Deng admitted his admiration for Shuai Jiamo's "white wall drawing" calculation technique he had witnessed earlier but confessed his own limited ability to apply it accurately. He questioned why Shuai Jiamo, knowing he was wanted by the county, would appear openly. Shuai Jiamo explained that Feng Baoyu was injured and he came alone. Shuai Jiamo, facing detention, declared he had conceived a brilliant method to prove the silk poll tax case without needing the burned Archives.
Magistrate Deng acknowledged the brilliance of Shuai Jiamo's approach of working backward from conscripted labor to calculate tax revenue. He confessed his personal wish to discuss the silk poll tax from an arithmetic perspective, but his official position prevented him from doing so as it was disadvantageous to Tongyang County. He likened himself to a lone boat in turbulent waters, having to navigate according to the current interests of his county, rather than risk being "drowned" by going against them.
Shuai Jiamo, with his characteristic innocence, simply asked if the Magistrate couldn't swim. Deng Siqi, lamenting Shuai Jiamo's naiveté, ordered his guards to take Shuai Jiamo away, but Shuai Jiamo's revelation about his new calculation method gave Deng Siqi pause. Deng Siqi challenged Shuai Jiamo to a field measurement competition using Tongyang’s most famously irregular field, a irregular field.
Shuai Jiamo explained his father had mentioned an ancient solution called "Art of Gathering Projected Steps" which could instantly calculate the area of such fields, a technique he had been trying to rediscover for years. When both men completed their calculations using conventional methods, Shuai Jiamo had arrived at the correct answer much faster, impressing Magistrate Deng.
Shuai Jiamo noted that the "Art of Gathering Projected Steps" could halve the calculation time, a method that would greatly benefit counties like Renhua, which had many such irregular fields. He believed the full method was likely recorded in his father's "Complete Works of the Silk Event."
Shuai Jiamo confided in Magistrate Deng about an unresolved question from his childhood: why he was not home on the day his house burned down, and if, as Cheng Renqing suggested, his parents committed suicide out of guilt, why they had left him behind. Magistrate Deng empathized but advised Shuai Jiamo not to dwell too much on the past. While acknowledging their opposing positions on the silk poll tax, he expressed admiration for Shuai Jiamo's pure heart.
As he had only been in office for two years and lacked knowledge of past events, he suggested Shuai Jiamo seek out Chief Bookkeeper Ren of Wancheng, a local who might have answers. Magistrate Deng offered to write a letter of introduction, as Wancheng was on Shuai Jiamo's route back to Lanxi. Meanwhile, in Lanxi, Master Fan received news from Magistrate Deng that one of Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu had been captured, and the other would soon be apprehended.
Master Fan sternly reprimanded Lu Feilong for his past failures and lack of diligence. Cheng Renqing was eager to immediately bring the two back to Lanxi and solidify their charges, but Master Fan interrupted him, expressing regret that they hadn't been killed earlier to avoid all the complications. In the hut, a doctor confirmed that Feng Baoyu's leg injury was serious but would heal with the applied herbs and regular care.
The doctor also relayed Magistrate Deng's orders that Feng Baoyu was to be held under close watch, prevented from communicating with anyone, and would be transferred in a few days. The woman of the house confronted Feng Baoyu about being a fugitive, expressing her worry for Shuai Jiamo.
Feng Baoyu, anxious about Shuai Jiamo, attempted to leave to help him, but the woman stopped him, warning that his leg would be permanently crippled if he moved, urging him to prioritize his recovery.
