Zhan Zhao Adventures Episode 21 Recap
> Zhan Zhao Adventures Recaps
Over a warm fire, Zhan Zhao, Bai Yutang, and their companions roasted fish. Watching Bai Yutang handle the task with effortless skill, the others playfully teased him, noting that since his family lived on Xiankong Island, he should be an expert swimmer rather than someone terrified of water. Bai Yutang’s expression darkened as he recalled a painful memory.
He explained that after his brother’s case was closed, Xiang Cai had insisted on a retrial and took him on a boat to the prefectural court to file a petition. Mid-journey, their vessel began to sink. With his final ounce of strength, Xiang Cai pushed a floating wooden plank to Bai Yutang, saving his life before drowning. Bai Yutang drifted on the river for two days before his rescue, and the water had remained his deepest nightmare ever since.
Touched by his tragic past, the group offered warm comfort, and Zhan Zhao assured him that anyone in his childhood shoes would not have fared any better. Meanwhile, Jin Zhenping grew anxious waiting for Bai Yutang to return. Realizing the antidote prescription was now in his rivals' hands, he rushed back to the mansion to confront Zhang Shi.
In a fit of rage, he accused Bai Yutang of returning solely to exact vengeance on the Jin family, but Zhang Shi remained silently kneeling before the altar in the Buddhist hall. At the same time, Shao Jizu informed Si Ming of the Jin family surrendering the recipe. Si Ming instructed Shao Jizu to pay a visit to his old friend, Tang Tianhao, at Jujing Hall to hold him accountable.
Shao Jizu confronted Tang Tianhao, who was tending to poisonous insect eggs, accusing him of crossing the line by meeting people he shouldn't have and saying things he shouldn't have. The next day, Shao Jizu orchestrated a trap under the guise of an invitation from Tang Tianhao. Having received the word, Huo Linglong went to meet them, accompanied by Zhan Zhao.
During the tense encounter, Zhan Zhao publicly revealed that the victim of the old Huaihua Lane murder was none other than Huo Linglong's aunt, exposing a deep blood feud between the Jin and Huo families. Stunned by the revelation, Huo Linglong sought out Mrs. Jiao, her late aunt's close friend, to verify the claim. Mrs. Jiao sorrowfully confirmed that Jin Xuewen was indeed the killer.
She recalled seeing him sneak into her friend's courtyard on the night of the crime, lamenting that she had previously warned Huo Linglong's aunt about his poor character, but the two had been too close to heed her warnings. Back at the mansion, Zhang Shi privately met with Bai Yutang to reveal the painful truth behind the Jin family's inaction years ago.
Long before Bai Yutang had knelt in the rain begging for the Lament Pill, the local authorities had already delivered Jin Xuewen’s signed confession to the Jin Mansion. Since he had fully confessed and was sentenced to death, Zhang Shi had begged the clan chief to conceal the truth, wanting to spare Bai Yutang the agony of knowing his brother was a murderer. She never expected this well-meaning silence to breed such a bitter hatred within him.
Unable to accept the truth, Bai Yutang went to the magistrate's office to retrieve the confession himself. Heartbroken and carrying the murder weapon, he sought out Huo Linglong, offering his own life to pay his brother's debt. Though consumed by grief, Huo Linglong refused his sacrifice, stating that Jin Xuewen had already paid with his life. Before they could speak further, her brother, Huo Feng, suddenly burst in and attacked Bai Yutang with his sword.
Zhan Zhao quickly intervened, shielding Bai Yutang and leading him away. Huo Feng then comforted his sister with some pastries, urging her to return home with him and reminding her that she could no longer remain friends with the brother of her aunt's killer. Though Bai Yutang now believed his brother was guilty, Zhan Zhao sensed a hidden hand manipulating the entire sequence of events.
The following day, Zhan Zhao went to the county court with Ming Zhu'er and Zhao Zhi'er to examine the original case files. The Magistrate desperately tried to delay and block their request, using a lack of specific authorization as an excuse. When the Registrar helped the Magistrate slip away, Zhan Zhao detained the Registrar to inquire about any bailiffs who had served in the court for over fifteen years.
As the Registrar played dumb, Si Ming passed by disguised as a prefectural officer and pointed out two familiar bailiffs. Seizing the opportunity, the Registrar identified the men as Yao Yushan and Wang Xing, but claimed both had abruptly taken leave and left town the previous day. Zhan Zhao hurried to Wang Xing's home, where his wife revealed her husband had suddenly left for Jingzhou to visit his uncle.
She described him as a strongly built man with a prominent black mole on his left ear. Unfortunately, Zhan Zhao arrived too late; Wang Xing had already been murdered, his neck snapped and his body thrown from a cliff, though the Registrar and local authorities hastily tried to rule his death as an accidental fall. Zhan Zhao then visited Yao Yushan’s home.
Yao's wife was clueless about her husband's whereabouts, but she mentioned that shortly after the Huaihua Lane case was settled, Yao had brought home a massive sum of twenty taels of silver to rebuild their house, claiming it was an inheritance.
Sensing a conspiracy, Zhan Zhao decided to send an urgent letter to the capital, requesting Lord Bao to use the Kaifeng Prefecture's authority to check historical local official appointments and track down the county magistrate who had overseen the case fifteen years ago. Just then, Zhao Zhi'er rushed in with news that Bai Yutang was dead drunk. Zhan Zhao brought him back to the Jin Mansion, where Zhang Shi tenderly prepared a hangover soup to care for him.
Zhan Zhao went to check on a drunken Bai Yutang in his room, telling him that of the two old bailiffs, one was missing and the other had been murdered, proving there was definitely something wrong with the fifteen-year-old case.
