Episode 6 recap: Four Lacquer Screens Curse Triggers Wife Murder Case.
As soon as Di Renjie returned home, Teng Kan knelt down and begged for death. He had always believed that during last night's rain, while he was writing in the study, he suddenly had a violent fit and killed Yin Lian. He was filled with immense pain and couldn't help but cover his face and cry, wishing for death to atone for his sins. However, Di Renjie knew well that there were many suspicious points in this case. He advised Teng Kan to be patient and wait, promising to uncover the truth.
Through the autopsy, Di Renjie discovered white powder on Yin Lian's hair, ears, and hands. Combined with the fact that the body had been moved, he was reluctant to easily close the case and was determined to find the real culprit. Ma Rong won against Ba Zong in a gamble and obtained three tokens from him. It was agreed that Ba Zong would fulfill three tasks for her, but Ba Zong also had a condition: Di Renjie must solve the unidentified male corpse case before he would comply with Di Renjie's requests. If he failed to solve it, they would have no further dealings.
Ma Rong had great confidence in Di Renjie and immediately accepted the challenge. Afterwards, she used the money she won to buy a pair of boots for Di Renjie. This time, Di Renjie accepted it with a smile and quickly went back to his room to change the boots. He knew well that Ma Rong had a habit of stealing things and hinted for her to change, but Ma Rong didn't understand.
Teng Kan was immersed in the death of his beloved wife and couldn't free himself from it. He blamed himself and wished for Di Renjie to execute him immediately. In doing so, he brought up his past friendship with Di Zhi Xun, hoping that Di Renjie would grant his request. However, Di Renjie insisted on following the legal procedures and felt a sense of sadness upon learning about Teng Kan's deep affection for Yin Lian.
Teng Kan recalled that night when he was writing in the study. A maid brought him medicine to drink, but he felt fine and refused. The maid insisted, claiming it was the order of his wife, and this made him agitated. He knocked over many things in the study, which caught the attention of Yin Lian, who came over cautiously and tried to calm Teng Kan, who had just settled down. However, the maid with keen eyes noticed that the image of the couple embracing on the four lacquer screens had transformed into an image of the wife being killed. Everyone was momentarily frightened.
Teng Kan realized that his madness had worsened and feared that he would indeed kill his wife, as predicted on the lacquer screens. He ordered the screens to be locked in the storage room, but the tragic incident still occurred. On the day when the screens were discovered to have changed, the maidservants screamed that he was possessed by a ghost.
Di Renjie remembered that Teng Kan had once said that before Yin Lian got married, there were four sisters in her family. So he went to the Lai residence to visit. At that time, there was only one unmarried lady, the second mistress of the Lai family. She was dressed in white and knew the purpose of Di Renjie's visit. She spoke disdainfully of Yin Lian, saying that she was a promiscuous woman who had an affair with Li Han before marriage. Later, when she got tired of Li Han, she had him sent to the yamen.
The second mistress of the Lai family had many paintings hanging in her place, all painted by Xu Kai. He was the love interest of the second mistress of the Lai family. She gazed at her reflection in the bronze mirror, indicating that Xu Kai was once extremely handsome but contracted leprosy, which completely destroyed his appearance, and she loved him so much that she refused to marry anyone else. Di Renjie decided to start with the old case files and investigate Li Han. At that moment, someone reported that a calligraphy and painting shop had been robbed. Di Renjie immediately took Qiao Tai to inspect it and found that no valuables were missing from the shop. Di Renjie took back the extra paintings that were stuck on the wall and carefully examined them. He discovered white powder on the scrolls, similar to the powder found on Yin Lian's body, leading him to conclude that the unidentified male corpse was Xu Kai, and that someone had gone to great lengths to inform him that all of this was related to Xu Kai.
Combining the tattered and dirty clothes on the body, resembling a beggar, along with the presence of the powder, Di Renjie speculated that the person could be found at the quarry. At this point, Hong Liang found the case file of Li Han based on the words of the second mistress of the Lai family, confirming that Li Han was serving as a laborer at the quarry on the outskirts of the city due to his criminal activities. Di Renjie immediately rushed to the quarry with Qiao Tai. Ma Rong wanted to go along but was refused by Di Renjie. When Di Renjie learned that Ma Rong's token was given by Ba Zong, he decided to bring it along and test its effectiveness.
Chen Shouwei was the person in charge of the quarry. Seeing Di Renjie squatting on the ground studying the powder, he ordered Di Renjie to leave unless he had an official document. Di Renjie used words to deceive Chen Shouwei, forcing him to cooperate in finding Li Han, and unexpectedly, Li Han had already died from leprosy.
Di Renjie requested to see the grave, and Chen Shouwei reluctantly took him there. Although Li Han had died from the disease, Chen Shouwei couldn't specify the exact date. Di Renjie noticed that the grave mound was freshly covered with soil, so he deliberately revealed the token and then left the quarry. When Qiao Tai learned that Di Renjie wanted to dig up the grave for an autopsy, he became worried and raised objections, fearing that the quarry was heavily guarded and they wouldn't be able to enter. At that moment, a soldier who had been following Chen Shouwei came to their aid, guided by Ba Zong's influence, and led the two of them to the grave. They discovered a bundle of grass wrapped in a mat inside the grave. Di Renjie and Qiao Tai immediately went to arrest Chen Shouwei, threatening him to cooperate with the investigation.
Ah, this drama really lacks attention to detail. How could Di Ren Jie refer to himself as "Huaiying"? It is extremely disrespectful in ancient times. Di Ren Jie's courtesy name is "Huaiying." He should refer to himself by his given name, which is a humble form of address.
Referring to oneself by the courtesy name implies contempt for others! Additionally, Ma Rong is his subordinate, so it's unlikely that he would directly address Di Ren Jie by his name. In contemporary times, it's unimaginable for subordinates to address their superiors by their names.
It would be extremely impolite. At the very least, Ma Rong should address him as "Diren" to show respect. Furthermore, Di Ren Jie's father would not refer to his own son as "Huaiying." In ancient times, elders would address younger generations by their given names rather than their courtesy names.
This distinction in addressing reflects the difference in status. How could his father lower his own status and disregard proper etiquette? The use of courtesy names is reserved for peers and colleagues as a form of respect and honorific address.
First of all, there are way too many rainy scenes. Secondly, the camera movements are dizzying and make my eyes feel strained. Thirdly, the night scenes are meant to create ambiance, but the combination of night scenes and the camera movements only results in blurriness.
Fourthly, the overall color tones are too dark. I can only see clearly when watching on a phone with the lights off at night. Fifthly, in the first chapter, the main characters' image and personalities were not well-established.
Lastly, I don't understand why they added the female thief character to the team. Even if you introduce a highly skilled female martial artist, it would be more appealing than this in terms of sensory experience.