Episode 4 recap: Lu Zhi discovered the reason for Wang Fuzi's weird habits.
Twenty years ago, the Lu residence was the coldest and emptiest courtyard, with no female relatives or children. Now only Pu Ren and Lu Yuanbao lived in the courtyard. One time, Chen Wang climbed up the ladder to go gambling outside. Luckily, Lu Zhi met him and avoided getting beaten. Because Chen Wang loved gambling, he often went out at night.
Lu Zhi went shopping on behalf of Chen Wang while he took a nap in the firewood room. Knowing Chen Wang's mother was ill and he paid for her medicine from his own pocket, Lu Zhi gained favor with the Lu family, and the most fond of him was Lu Yuanbao, who even sent him to private school. Lu Zhi was also regarded as an adopted son of the Lu family.
At that time he wrote four pieces of calligraphy for Wang Fuzi's evaluation. Wang felt they were all good, but the last one was even better. Surprisingly, the last one was written by Lu Fuzi. They all congratulated him. Lin Siniang advised the four officials to drink alcohol in celebration. After they left, Lu Zhi noticed the pastries on the table and secretly took some to share with his friends.
The Four Lady was Lu Fuzi's lover, and could not receive outsiders. The backyard courtyard was specifically for accommodations. He would never stay in Cuihua Tower under any circumstances. The reason Lu Fuzi liked comparing calligraphy in Cuihua Tower was because hanging scrolls had better effects there, but regular script was not suitable for that place and lacked power compared to Zhao's candidate. Lu Fuzi said if Lu Zhi made achievements in his studies, he could use connections to help him participate in the imperial examinations.
Zhong Ye used sign language to notify Lu Fuzi to go to Cao Manor to deal with the land affairs of fifty mu. This time the sign language was different, arousing Lu Yuanbao's suspicion. Lu Zhi said previously it was common hand signals, but this time it was a secret signal, after all he had followed Zhong Ye for three years when he entered the Lu residence. At that time, Lu Fuzi eyed this land, but Cao Laoye refused to sell. After Cao Laoye died, his three sons did not have a unified mind, and one son sold one piece of land. But after Lu Fuzi idled for two years, the other two pieces of land became barren. Eventually he successfully bought the other two pieces of Cao family land. This "leaf bug" tactic was devised by Zhong Ye.
One day, Wang Fuzi's weird habit inadvertently led Lu Zhi to discover something. He forgot to bring his inkstone back to the academy and saw a student whipping Wang Fuzi with a rod. Then he saw him kowtow to a statue, hoping it would spare him, wishing the water from different wells would not mix. Afterward, Lu Zhi secretly took a look at the statue with a hoe and threw out what was underneath - it was a human head!
He told this matter to Zhong Ye, who advised him not to mention it to others, otherwise it would cause trouble. The reason he told Zhong Ye was because Zhong Ye would not harm him, and also because Zhong Ye was a mute.
The reason Zhong Ye became mute was because he was abused and force-fed salted bean curd brine by his stepmother. Zhong Ye warned Lu Zhi that this secret was dangerous.
When Lin Siniang came to the Lu family, Lu Zhi took the opportunity to follow her servant Xiao Baozi secretly. He discovered Xiao Baozi handed a letter to Leng Butou. Afterward, the two played in the river. The Four Lady treated Xiao Baozi very well. He inadvertently mentioned the Four Lady's interest in Leng Butou.
Chen Wang knew Lu Zhi would have a bloody disaster on the 16th of this month and was willing to change shifts with Lu Zhi. On the 16th, Lu Zhi secretly tailed Lin Siniang and discovered her private meeting with Leng Butou. He learned Lu Yuanbao had violent tendencies and the whereabouts of the Four Lady's previous few maidservants were unknown. While eavesdropping, Lu Zhi made a noise by accident and was discovered by Leng Butou, who caught him on the spot. Seeing the secret was exposed, Leng Butou wanted to kill Lu Zhi halfway. During their fight, Qu Tianming happened to be on patrol and offered to help Leng Butou arrest the thief together.
Qu Tianming sent the thief back to the yamen. At this time, he did not recognize the thief was Lu Zhi. Afterwards, Leng Butou took Lu Zhi to an abandoned house. To save his life, Lu Zhi said he had evidence to prove he was kidnapped from home, and the lost lantern was evidence. Leng Butou had a change of thought and could not silence him. Lu Zhi cleverly said Leng Butou could not explain the reason for capturing Lu Zhi while stealing in the courtyard, since he disappeared outside Lin Siniang's home. The first one to be implicated would be Lin Siniang.
Leng Butou did not believe Lu Zhi would help him and Lin Siniang. Lu Zhi said he once received favor from Leng Butou. In the past when Lu Zhi was begging, he accidentally provoked the steward’s horse of Official Zhao and almost got trampled to death. It was Leng Butou who pulled the reins and persuaded with good words to defuse the situation.
Now Leng Butou did not remember. Lu Zhi said he still admired the Four Lady in his heart and came to sneak a peek at her today. But Leng Butou still did not believe whether he should let Lu Zhi go. So he tossed coins to decide - heaven made him release Lu Zhi. At dawn, Lu Zhi, Xiao Baozi and Leng Butou waited for the Four Lady outside and left together.
Is it possible that Mr. Lu has offended too many people and knows too much, so they conspired to kill him and divide his money? Since Geng Fu witnessed it, they killed Geng Fu as well. However, considering the pitiful state of Geng Fu's son, they took care of him.
Meanwhile, Lu Zhi unexpectedly managed to escape and will return later for revenge.
The culprit should be Song Dian Shi. Firstly, the culprit should be one of the main cast members. Secondly, they should also be one of the escaped criminals from 20 years ago. Is it possible that Cold Head's apprentice is also one of the escaped criminals from 20 years ago?
Cold Head has been secretly taking care of them. Alternatively, it's possible that Cold Head's suicide was part of the plan, and Song Dian Shi was the executor.
Firstly, he is intelligent, well-liked, and grateful. Secondly, Lu hinted that "he always manages to uncover other people's secrets," indicating that he knows the secrets of the constable and the teacher.
Thirdly, it's evident that the killer's motive goes beyond mere revenge; they want the constable's apprentice to investigate the arson case from twenty years ago. If the murders were solely for revenge, there would be no need to lead all the clues back to the arson case from twenty years ago.