Episode 16 recap: Xue Fang Fei disguised herself as a man and entered the black market to look for clues.
Li Jin mocked Xue Fang Fei for exposing her identity, fearing she would be accused of harboring the Ye family. The rioters did not believe Xue Fang Fei's identity, thinking the Jiang and Ye families were colluding with officials. Xue Fang Fei stated that falsely implicating high-ranking officials was a serious crime, and questioned the county magistrate for arresting people without evidence, deliberately distorting the facts and turning the target towards the prefect, saying they were merely arresting and interrogating, and must be harboring the Ye family.
The rioters became suspicious of the prefect, and Xue Fang Fei said she had written to Jiang Yunbai about this matter, and was waiting for the Dyeing Bureau to come and investigate the issue of the ancient brocade. The county magistrate dared not offend her, and left hastily with his men. Xue Fang Fei proposed to buy back the problematic ancient brocade for a high price, and the rioters did not continue to cause trouble.
Xiao Heng watched gleefully, admiring Xue Fang Fei's bold and domineering tactics, and joked that Li Jin had invited him to see a good show. Li Jin did not expect Xue Fang Fei to be so capable, and hoped Jiang Yunbai would reproach her. Xiao Heng believed that if Jiang Yunbai learned this was the Li family's doing, he would certainly support Xue Fang Fei.
Li Jin left angrily, feeling wronged. Xiao Heng guessed that Xue Fang Fei wanted to intensify the conflict between the Jiang and Li families, and asked Wen Ji to invite Xue over for tea. Xue Fang Fei saw Xiao Heng staring at her again and asked about his true intentions.
Ye Jia'er praised Xue Fang Fei in front of Mrs. Ye, saying that thanks to her, the rioters were intimidated, and the prefect's men also suddenly changed their attitude and no longer pursued the matter. She thought Xue Fang Fei was truly in communication with Jiang Yunbai. Xue Fang Fei had only used Jiang Yunbai's reputation to scare the prefect, seeing that he was greedy and afraid, but she considered this only a temporary solution, and told them not to be complacent.
She had only written to Ye Shijie, and the Dyeing Bureau had given him face to investigate in Luoyang. Mrs. Ye was worried that Xue Fang Fei's use of Jiang Yunbai's reputation would result in his reproach, but Xue Fang Fei assured her that as long as the matter was handled well, it would only benefit Jiang Yunbai's reputation. Xue Fang Fei believed the matter could be resolved, and asked them to preserve the problematic ancient brocade well.
Mrs. Ye hoped the Dyeing Bureau could investigate thoroughly and restore the Ye family's innocence. Li Jin reminded Tong Zhiyang to be sure to do what Li Zhongnan had instructed, in order to swallow up the Ye family.
The textile commissioner Tang Fan and Li Yu came to Luyang to investigate, but Li Yu was unsure which side to lean towards. Tang Fan reminded him not to be used as a pawn, and since this was a matter concerning the Jiang family, they should first appease the Jiang family.
Xue Fang Fei personally met with the prefect of Tong Prefecture, who pretended to welcome them warmly. They were both waiting for the textile commissioner. Tang Fan asked the prefect, who shifted the blame to the Ye family for not cooperating, and criticized Xue Fang Fei for obstructing, not daring to release the detainees easily. Tang Fan deduced that the prefect was delaying the investigation, and said he would have to report to the court, with Xue Fang Fei accompanying him to investigate elsewhere.
The prefect was not worried, telling his subordinates not to get involved, and let Xue Fang Fei and the others investigate on their own. Tang Fan admired Xue Fang Fei's keen mind, and went with her to the weaving factory, where they discovered that the problematic antique brocade contained a sweet fragrance, which they recognized as the poisonous tola from the Western Regions. Ye Jia Er confirmed that tola was indeed highly toxic, as Ye Ming Xuan had mentioned before.
Tang Fan believed this matter was related to the Ye family, but Ye Jia Er claimed innocence, arguing that tola was too expensive for merchants to use. Xue Fang Fei suspected someone was trying to frame the Ye family, and wanted to trace the source of the tola. Tang Fan did not want to get involved, not wanting to offend any party. Xue Fang Fei asked Ye Ming Yu for help, seeing his escort business was not doing well, and promised to support his escort business if they succeeded.
The two went to the black market in Western attire to find Lai Biao, who realized they were not genuine buyers and wanted to drive them away. Xue Fang Fei remained calm and provoked Lai Biao, who made them follow the rules of the "Golden Water Formation" gambling game. Ye Ming Yu explained it was a drinking game with dice, and Xue Fang Fei insisted on playing. After dozens of rounds, the other players collapsed, and Lai Biao appeared, but even Ye Ming Yu could not hold out.
He gave Xue Fang Fei a small cannon and told her to drink two rounds first before waking him up. Xue Fang Fei had to drink against Lai Biao alone, but was no match for his drinking prowess or dice throwing skills, and soon passed out. Xiao Heng learned of Xue Fang Fei's whereabouts and went to the black market alone to continue the gambling match in her stead.
Xue Fang Fei was delighted, igniting the small cannon to disrupt Lai Biao's judgment, and Lai Biao could no longer bear to rule against her. Afterward, Xiao Heng asked Lai Biao for help, knowing that Lai Biao had once been framed and exiled by Li Zhong Nan, and was rescued by Xiao's father, General Xiao.
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