Episode 13 recap: Shao Yuxiao met his fate, while the mastermind behind him remained at large.
Lord Wang handed over the interrogation documents of Wen Bin to Ding Bao Zhen. Ding Bao Zhen asked when they would depart and learned that they were scheduled to leave the next day. However, considering Wen Bin's poor health and the possibility of accidents on the road, Ding Bao Zhen applied for reconsideration and refused to take Wen Bin away, even if Wang Tingyi interceded for him.
Li Pei Rong arrived at Wang Quanyou's residence and discovered that he had been murdered. However, there was still time to investigate Fan Yi. Ding Bao Zhen sent Chen Yun Fei to Fan's village to examine his accounts. That evening, Ding Bao Zhen personally reviewed the accounts with Chen Yun Fei and found that Fan Yi's accounts matched Shao Yuxiao's.
Ding Bao Zhen suspected that the person who wanted to harm Wen Bin was in the capital. Currently, the Empress Dowager was angry, so they had to delay. At this point, Ding Bao Zhen took the initiative to write a memorial to the Emperor, reporting Wang Tingyi's actions. Qi Songru returned home and discovered discrepancies between the payment for the purchase of stone materials and the actual goods received. The stone materials had been replaced with something else.
Qi Songru went to find Li Afu and found him sitting sorrowfully in the courtyard. Qi Songru hoped that Li Afu could provide some clues, and Li Afu said that after dealing with some matters today, he would meet with Ding Bao Zhen tomorrow. Meanwhile, Liu Xing threatened Fan Yi with a bag of soil and a note. Fan Yi complied with the demand and prepared five thousand taels of silver as instructed, meeting in the woods.
On the other side, Li Afu discovered that the evidence had been stolen by Liu Xing. He rushed to inform Ding Bao Zhen, saying that lives were at stake. Fan Yi arrived at the designated meeting spot in the woods, and Liu Xing handed over the stolen evidence, the bag of soil, and the account book to Fan Yi. As Liu Xing was leaving with the silver, Fan Yi killed him on the spot. Fan Yi scattered the evidence on the road and burned the bag and account book.
In the carriage, Li Afu explained Fan Yi's criminal methods and revealed that the evidence he had collected had been stolen by Liu Xing, who was likely extorting him to pay off his gambling debts. Ding Bao Zhen and the others arrived at the woods and found Liu Xing dead. Li Afu held Liu Xing's body and wept, saying that he had already moved his wife and children and had no worries, determined to catch Fan Yi with Ding Bao Zhen.
Shao Yuxiao learned that Li Afu had evidence, even though it had been destroyed, and that they needed to promptly dispose of Wen Bin and solidify the case. Shao Yuxiao wanted Fan Yi to confirm the destruction of other evidence. Ding Bao Zhen personally delivered food to Wen Bin, who commented on the quality of the meal. Ding Bao Zhen jokingly said that he must be dreaming. Wen Bin felt guilty, having lived his life honestly and obediently, but now being framed. He regretted his past actions of outwardly complying while secretly opposing Ding Bao Zhen.
Wen Bin expressed his determination to go out with Ding Bao Zhen and serve the country and the people. At this moment, Wang Tingyi burst in and was harshly rebuked by Ding Bao Zhen. Wang Tingyi intended to take Wen Bin away, but Ding Bao Zhen stated that he had already reported to the Emperor and would not leave until the Emperor's decree arrived.
Wen Bin worried that Wang Tingyi would retaliate against Ding Bao Zhen, but Ding Bao Zhen said he had never been afraid.
En Cheng learned that Wang Tingyi had been arrested. He cursed Wang Tingyi as useless and instructed his trusted subordinate to take care of the matter.
A group of masked men surrounded Fan Yi's house. He knew that things had gone wrong and immediately ordered his servants to leave with a box. Pei Rong hurriedly reported to Ding Bao Zhen that Fan's residence was set on fire and raided by the bandits, but Fan Yi's whereabouts were unknown. At this moment, Fan Yi was fleeing with his servants in the woods. He witnessed his servants being killed by the thieves. Just then, Ding Bao Zhen and his men arrived to save Fan Yi. Fan Yi realized that Ding Bao Zhen didn't want him to die at the hands of the thieves, so he decided to bring the evidence and seek refuge with Ding Bao Zhen.
Fan Yi confessed to Ding Bao Zhen that he had killed Liu Xing and Luo Zi Cong, both under the coercion of Shao Yuxiao. The Deputy Magistrate of Jinan Prefecture had been arrested, but Shao Yuxiao's whereabouts were unknown. Seeing that Fan Yi was still alive, Shao Yuxiao panicked and confessed to everything. Shao Yuxiao arranged a secret meeting with Ding Bao Zhen, feeling like it might be their last encounter. Ding Bao Zhen arrived as agreed, and Shao Yuxiao pulled out a knife to kill him, but he failed. Shao Yuxiao cried and confessed that he had studied hard for many years and finally achieved success, but was forced to participate in corrupt practices in order to attain a high-ranking official position. He regretted his actions, but Ding Bao Zhen told him that it was not too late and urged him to reveal the mastermind behind it all. Shao Yuxiao knew that if he revealed the truth, his entire family, including himself, would be exiled to the borderlands. Although he had killed Liu Yubai, it had nothing to do with this matter.
Knowing the consequences, Shao Yuxiao had already consumed poisoned wine and succumbed to the poison in front of Ding Bao Zhen. Fan Yi faced punishment, but Ding Bao Zhen, considering his voluntary confession and the fact that his family was not implicated, felt grateful to him. Fan expressed self-blame for not securing his servants and came to Jinan to apologize to Ding Bao Zhen. However, Ding Bao Zhen did not blame him and instead instructed him to train the navy. The warships were ready, but the imported guns were mostly wooden replicas and some were damaged without anyone knowing how to repair them.
Ding Bao Zhen stated that the firearms needed to be resolved and sent Pei Rong to handle it. When Pei Rong returned, he reported that the price of German guns and cannons had increased by 50%. They were as expensive as bandits. The other party knew that their relations with the British were not good, so they raised the price. Ding Bao Zhen informed Zhang, hoping that he could find out Prince Schneider's schedule.
Zhang met Schneider in time, and Schneider mentioned that the weapons had arrived but at a high price. Zhang directly stated that the Qing Empire was their biggest client and expressed admiration for their weapons and conduct. Therefore, they should give up other countries and actively cooperate with their country. If they raised the price unreasonably, it would be reported to the Empress Dowager, and they would lose many preferential treatments from the Qing Empire.
Comments(Episode 13)