Episode 19 recap: Jiang Xue Ning obtained the other half of Yan Mu's letter.
Following Xie Wei's instructions, Lv Xian disposed of the Assistant Minister's corpse at the Baiguo Temple. Many admission tickets were scattered on the body to make it appear as if he was killed due to a dispute over distribution of spoils. After receiving the report, the Ministry of Justice, Zhang Zhe, examined the body and found a map on it. The map marked the hideouts of the rebel party. Although those hideouts roughly matched the ones controlled by the court, Zhang Zhe felt that there was something suspicious about the matter.
Zhang Zhe reported the situation to the Emperor. When the Emperor saw the map, he felt it was a blessing from heaven for Great Qian and couldn't help but burst into laughter. Xie Wei believed that Zhang Zhe's achievement in solving the case deserved a promotion and proposed to elevate his rank. The Emperor readily agreed. Gu Daren, who was present, couldn't help but lament that it was a pity. If the Assistant Minister hadn't died, they could have obtained more intelligence about the rebel party. Upon hearing Gu Daren's words, Xie Wei presented a plan to the Emperor, suggesting that they pretend the Assistant Minister was still alive. The rebels would surely send people to rescue him, and they could capture them all in one fell swoop.
Xie Wei also informed the Emperor about a strategist named Du Junshan from the Prince of Pingnan's faction. This person was elusive, rarely seen but highly influential within the rebel army. Xie Wei proposed finding someone to impersonate him and infiltrate the rebel forces to gather more information. The Emperor thought Xie Wei's idea was excellent. Xie Wei initially intended to take on the role himself but was interrupted by Gu Daren. Gu Daren believed that the person impersonating Du Junshan must be both intelligent and courageous. Although Xie Wei met the criteria, as the Minister of Education, he was known by too many people. Therefore, Gu Daren recommended Zhang Zhe to the Emperor on the spot, and the Emperor readily approved.
After leaving the palace, Gu Daren apologized to Zhang Zhe for recommending him, as he didn't know what Xie Wei had in mind and couldn't come up with a better response at the moment. Zhang Zhe thought Gu Daren did the right thing and wanted to see what Xie Wei was really up to.
Xie Wei devised this plan with the intention of achieving two goals: eliminating the people who would come to rescue the Prince of Pingnan and gaining credit from the Emperor. However, Zhang Zhe unexpectedly intervened. Lv Xian saw an opportunity to get rid of Zhang Zhe, but Xie Wei believed it was not advisable. Since it was his idea, if it proved ineffective and caused the loss of a court official, the Emperor would definitely blame him.
While on the street, Jian Shu saw Huang Qian, one of Prince of Pingnan's subordinates, and informed Xie Wei about it. Xie Wei thought it was a good opportunity to spread the news using Huang Qian. Upon Huang Qian's arrival, Xie Wei also speculated that the fake Xue Dingfei must have come as well, so he had Jian Shu summon him.
The fake Xue Dingfei told Xie Wei that Prince of Pingnan didn't trust Xie Wei or the Assistant Minister, which was why he sent him to investigate the situation. Prince of Pingnan originally intended to have him deliver the other half of the letter, but he was concerned about the letter's significance and entrusted it to someone else.
Zhou Yinzhi went to find Jiang Xue Ning, who was near the prison, and captured a member of the rebel party. According to the confession of the rebel, they had the other half of Yan Mu's letter. However, if Jiang Xue Ning wanted the letter, she had to pay 50,000 taels of silver. To gather that amount of money, Jiang Xue Ning went to Lv Xian to sell a qin (a musical instrument). When Xie Wei learned about this, he instructed Jian Shu to keep an eye on Jiang Xue Ning and Zhou Yinzhi. Once Jiang Xue Ning had collected the money, Zhou Yinzhi was to proceed with the transaction. However, right after the transaction, the other party was caught by Xie Wei. Upon seeing a turtle depicted on the silver notes, Xie Wei realized he was also caught in Jiang Xue Ning's scheme. Jiang Xue Ning was using him to eliminate future troubles.
After reading the second half of the letter, Jiang Xue Ning discovered that the purpose of the communication between Yan Mu and Prince of Pingnan was related to Xue Dingfei. Seeing the name Xue Dingfei reminded Jiang Xue Ning of her past life and the incompetent young master. She felt sorry for Yan Mu. Suddenly, she thought of a question: Why did Xue Dingfei suddenly appear in the capital in her past life? While pondering over this question, Xie Wei suddenly called her over and scolded her for being audacious. He warned her that if Prince of Pingnan had a backup plan, she wouldn't even know how she would die. However, Jiang Xue Ning smiled and replied that it was precisely because of that reason that she deliberately used selling the qin as a method to inform Xie Wei about the situation.
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