Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[Under the microscope]

[Episode 5]

You know what, Shuai,

you look good in my clothes.

They fit you well.

Let me test you.

I asked my sister for 100 taels

for the lawsuit,

but my sister gave me

120 taels.

How much money

do we have for gambling?

20 taels.

100 taels.

It's 20 taels.

No, it's 100 taels.

If you do well,

we could even get

300 taels.

Out of the way!

Hurry!

Out of the way!

Out of the way!

Fast courier on official business! Out of the way!

Out of the way!

Who is that?

That's a fast courier.

What does he do?

He delivers documents for the government.

Look.

Along this government road,

there is a postal relay station

every 10 li.

Fast couriers live there all year long.

Whenever a government document

is sent there,

the fast courier has to begin sprinting.

He has to run 10 li

within three marks on the water clock

to send the document

to the next station.

Then, the fast courier at the next station

receives the document

and continues sprinting.

They work in relays,

day and night.

The distance between the provincial capital and Renhua

is around 330 li.

It will probably take 26 hours

for the relay to be completed.

I- I think so.

You're quicker.

I have an interesting question.

Imagine if we departed from Renhua County

for the provincial capital,

maintaining our current pace

for two and a half days.

At the same time,

Renhua County issues a document

to be sent to the provincial capital via postal relay.

How many miles away from the provincial capital

will we be

when this document catches up with us?

Just kill me.

♫ Away from the bustle ♫

♫ The tender green pond ♫

The world's joys are inexhaustible.

Laying out all the books I've never seen.

Playing pitch-pot as an offering to Zhai Zun.

Speak not of Ma Xiangru.

Mr. Cheng,

this poem is too profound.

We don't understand it.

Yeah.

That's fine,

I'll explain it to you.

What is that?

A pitch-pot.

People have openings,

just like a pot.

You just need to figure out

where it is,

then use an arrow

to stab them there,

and you'll get them good.

You'll win.

Can Mr. Cheng

hit the mark with us?

Bring the arrows.

I'm first.

Alright.

Me too.

Come on.

Me too.

There's no need to fight.

I'll get you two together.

I just have to throw it gently

to hit your hearts.

Sir,

Master Fan wants to see you.

[Grand Master's Office]

Master Fan.

You wanted to see me?

Tell him.

Where have you been?

It's about the silk tax case.

There's news from Renhua County today

that complications have arisen!

That Shuai Jiamo

is back at it again!

I've blocked all the channels for filing a plaint

within Jin'an Prefecture.

Even if he's indignant,

what could he do?

He went to the provincial capital?

You are familiar with the Great Ming Code.

How could you make such a mistake?

Please rest assured, Master Fan.

It's useless for him to go there.

The government offices in the provincial capital are complicated

and have many moving parts.

He's just an arithmetic nut.

I'm afraid he won't even know where to go

to submit his memorandum.

I’ll set off right away

for the provincial capital,

and make up for my mistake!

A tiger gives its all even while fighting a rabbit.

I don't look down on anyone,

nor ignore any possibilities.

I hope you will do so too.

Master Fan, I will leave tonight.

I will make sure Shuai Jiamo

has nowhere to file his plaint and returns empty-handed.

You

just have to focus on

the provincial capital.

Don't worry about his return!

[Peaceful and Prosperous Times]

[Provincial City]

-Bravo! -Bravo!

Bravo!

Bravo!

-Bravo! -Bravo!

Go!

One more!

Thank you.

Bravo!

This is

the most popular trick right now.

It's called an iron flower.

Whenever someone passes the imperial examinations, gets promoted,

or gets married and settles down,

they will invite them to perform.

Bravo!

My son just passed the imperial examinations,

so we have specially put up this performance

to celebrate with everyone!

If I pass the imperial examinations,

I must organize something like this too

so that my sister can have a good time.

Where are your parents?

Are they still inside?

Your parents are burning to death,

why are you still spacing out?

The fire is raging,

why aren't you turning to look?

All you do is squat here playing!

Two of them were burned to death,

leaving only a dim-witted son!

If only this silly kid had turned around,

the fire wouldn't have gotten this big.

If you had called for help earlier,

your parents wouldn't have died.

Good grief!

Shuai!

Shuai!

How old were you then?

What could you have done?

It was an accident.

Don’t blame yourself.

Shuai.

Shuai.

Do you feel better?

Do you remember the book

my father wrote?

He seemed to have

recorded something very important

in it.

[Art of Gathering Projected Steps]

It was called the Art of Gathering Projected Steps.

But I can't remember its content and title

no matter how hard I try.

You've been thinking about it all night,

and you still can't remember.

Don't think about it anymore.

Goodbye.

Mr. Zhuang Santi, right?

Nice to meet you.

Have a seat.

Have a seat.

[Government Relay Station]

Feed it some black beans and chicken testicles.

I'm leaving in an hour.

Alright.

Sir,

this is a government relay station.

We only serve travelers from government offices.

I am acting on the orders of the

Right Censor-in-chief,

Master Fan.

Our relay station can barely serve

all the officials who are currently on duty.

You're working for a retired official,

it's really...

You should be able to read.

It's written in this document that

His Majesty has granted him

access to relay stations on his way back to his hometown.

This privilege

is only for officials

returning home from the capital.

It's only valid once,

and applies only to the officials themselves.

Does the document specify a validity period?

No.

Does it specify any geographical limits

for the access to relay stations?

No.

Then why do I have to

take your word for it?

Do you need me to take you to the government office

to check the Great Ming Code?

You people.

You're always abusing your authority,

using government relay stations even while on private business.

You're all taking advantage of us here.

We only get allocated a small budget.

Are you trying to force us to desperation?

If you think it's unfair,

go and complain to your superior.

Why are you getting mad at me?

If you want to sue me,

I can tell you

in which direction the government office's gates open,

and how to write your plaint.

Fine. Wait here.

Just my luck.

Did I make myself clear?

Are you crazy?

The silk tax

doesn't even affect the two of you.

What are you worried about?

What kind of plaintiff are you?

Go on.

Which government office should we go to to file our plaint?

Fine.

If you want to seek your own doom,

I won't stop you.

By the way,

before you came,

did you write a memorandum?

Shuai.

M- Memorandum.

This- This-

What is this?

There are so many numbers,

and so much calculation.

Look, the emendations at the beginning

are a mess.

Who wrote it?

It's Prefect Huang—

I'm sorry, Mr. Zhuang.

How should we write it then?

It's beyond repair.

How about this?

I'll take it upon myself

to write another one for you.

And then

I'll just charge you a scribal fee.

Alright.

I brought paper and ink.

Write it now.

Shuai!

Let me take care of it.

Let me take care of it.

Mr. Zhuang.

You can...

write it at home.

But...

you have to tell us

what we should do next.

It seems filing a lawsuit

is not the way to go.

I've never heard of a commoner suing the government.

You can request a retrial on the basis of correcting an error.

What do you mean?

You should know this, you're a government student.

Retrial on the basis of correcting an error

is when you sue an official

for mishandling a particular case,

and request a re-investigation at a higher level.

You can report it to the Provincial Surveillance Commission.

Yes, the Provincial Surveillance Commission!

Marvelous!

Mr. Zhuang, here!

Oh dear.

I suddenly thought of

two more problems.

The first

is that-

Jin'an Prefecture

has already conferred and passed judgement.

I don't think the Provincial Surveillance Commission

will give you

a judgement directly.

Otherwise, they would be rebuffing

the Prefect and the eight County Magistrates.

Am I right?

I'm guessing

when your request for a retrial is submitted,

the Provincial Surveillance Commission will send it back to Jin'an Prefecture

and ask your Prefect to start a new investigation.

Wait, he would be trying his own case.

What difference

could it make?

Maybe this is the reason

he wanted us to come here.

I've figured it out!

As long as his superiors agree to a retrial,

Prefect Huang-

Wait-

He just wants an excuse

to re-investigate!

So we can submit a request for a retrial,

right?

-Right? -Yes.

Wait!

You came up with...

such a brilliant idea?

That doesn't matter, Young Master.

The most troublesome thing now is filing an overstepping lawsuit!

What is an overstepping lawsuit?

As a government student,

shouldn't you know what an overstepping lawsuit is?

The Great Ming Code

clearly states that

when commoners

engage in a lawsuit

or file a report,

they must go level by level.

First, they must get a township elder to mediate.

If that fails, they must get the village head

to uphold justice.

If they cannot agree on a just outcome,

they will go to the prefect and the county magistrate.

Look at you.

You're skipping the prefectural and county levels.

Listen up,

kid.

Whether you're in the right or not,

you'll be flogged 20 times once you get to the hall.

Are you ready for that?

Yes.

No. W- W- Wait.

No.

Mr. Zhuang.

Isn't 20 times

too much?

That's the rule here.

But you can't just

flog someone

without getting the situation clear first.

What I told you

are the rules on paper.

In private,

I can find you a middleman

who specializes in dealing with government offices.

Thank you, Mr. Zhuang.

One tael of silver.

One tael and five mace.

I might as well

go get flogged.

Even if you do that,

you will have to

pay the workers in charge of the flogging

for them to go easy on you.

If not,

getting flogged 20 times

could cost you your life.

You can't

save this money either way.

So, getting flogged one time

is worth one mace?

One stroke is seven fen and five hao.

One mace is wrong.

This is just the cost of the overstepping lawsuit.

You two will still need to

present your plaint to the Provincial Surveillance Commission.

You will have to prepare money for paper and ink as well.

We brought the paper and ink ourselves.

It's all written.

The paper and ink you brought do not comply with the regulations.

Also, the Provincial Surveillance Commission

do not accept plaints everyday.

Only the functionaries in the office

will know

when they are open to accept plaints,

and who the Assistant Surveillance Commissioner-in-charge is.

The more you pay, the faster your investigation goes.

Isn't this

daylight robbery?

Too expensive?

Why don't you

settle everything yourself then?

Wait.

Why is there

an Assistant Surveillance Commissioner?

Fengxing is huge.

The Surveillance Commissioner can't handle everything alone,

so he delegates to

a Surveillance Vice Commissioner,

an Assistant Surveillance Commissioner,

a Troop Purifying Commissioner, an Education-intendant,

the State Farms Bureau, the Military Defense Circuit,

and so on.

It's important to go to the right person.

My new memorandum is good,

right?

As for the scribal fee,

I'll give you a discount!

Didn't you say

it will be delivered today?

You have no idea.

The functionaries in the Communications Office

line things up according to the money they get.

So what?

I paid up!

You did.

But others

paid more.

The format of the plaint was wrong.

We need to get a Legal Secretary to vet it.

There is still the stamping fee, transportation fee,

and the wages of the runners.

When traveling 100 li, the halfway mark is at 90 li.

You've already spent so much money.

If you stop now,

it would all have been in vain.

After all this time, we haven't even seen

the government office.

All we do is give you money.

Wait a while more.

Calm down.

Soon,

it will be the day to accept plaints.

You will only have to submit this memorandum then,

and all will be well.

[Peaceful and Prosperous Times]

Freshly made cakes.

No, no.

No matter what,

I must follow you to the government office today.

Young Master,

I've been in this business for more than 10 years

by my trustworthiness alone.

Today,

I will definitely get it done.

Cut the crap.

I always say that to my sister.

Fine.

Please come with me then.

Shuai.

I'm going to the government office.

Wait for me at the gambling house.

Gambling house?

Come on.

Let's go.

Out of the way!

Out of the way!

Out of the way!

Out of the way!

Move!

Out of the way!

Move!

Move!

Move!

Out of the way!

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

I can swim!

I can swim!

Aren't you curious

why I suddenly came to the provincial capital?

Are you here to argue with me?

You are really an arithmetic nut.

No matter what,

even though I can swim,

I must still thank you

for saving me.

If anyone dies in front of me again,

I will be scared

and sad.

You're a dummy,

and a good person.

In this day and age,

it seems only dummies

can be good people.

Are you a good person or a bad person?

I am a knife.

I'll help whoever pays me.

A knife only needs to be sharp.

What they think,

whether they are good or bad,

and whether they are virtuous or despicable,

aren't important at all.

Knives have thoughts?

That's right.

No one cares about whether

the knife has thoughts.

No one.

I don't really understand

what you just said.

What's wrong with me?

I chatted for so long with a dummy.

I'm leaving.

Goodbye.

Arithmetic nut.

Let me tell you.

Since I'm in the provincial capital,

all your plans

are doomed to fail.

Baoyu has sent someone

to submit our memorandum.

We shall see.

Goodbye.

Go in.

[Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office]

Follow me.

Number 6.

Did you send it in?

Yes.

I saw them put it with the cases

-to be tried tomorrow. -Number 6.

We even have a number token.

There's no doubt about it.

[10, Fengxing Surveillance Commissioner]

Number 10.

It's quite a good queue number.

What about the flogging for the overstepping lawsuit?

There won't be any problems, right?

Don't worry.

I have

made all the arrangements.

Besides,

your 100 taels

couldn't have been spent in vain, right?

I've spent so much money?

What was the name of the rascal

who sat beside you?

Ma Wencai!

Ma Wencai!

The teacher hated him the most.

He used the bamboo cane on him everyday

because he kept disturbing Yunniang.

Junior Yunniang...

Everyone liked her.

But she only had you

in her heart.

Do you know how envious

we were?

What a pity.

Time spares no one.

Now,

only her horse

is left by my side.

Let's stop talking.

Let's drink!

Who would have thought

the Ma Wencai

we hated the most

would pass the imperial examinations?

Ever since then, he's been living the life,

getting ever more successful.

But you, Cheng,

foolishly

brought notes into the exam.

The Examiner punished you

by banning you from the exams for life.

I didn't bring notes in!

They framed me!

It's all in the past.

It's all in the past.

Let bygones be bygones.

-Here. -Let bygones be bygones.

I heard that

the Ma family colluded

with the Examiner.

Otherwise,

Cheng,

you'd be better off

than any of us!

I don't think

I'm doing worse than you lot.

I only have to fight some lawsuits

to earn money.

All I do everyday is eat, drink, and have fun.

I can indulge in music

without the toil of official business.

Am I not living better than all of you?

That's not what you used to say.

You used to always tell us you wanted to be

a gentleman who was of service to the world.

You believed in justice.

Childish.

I was too childish back then.

I didn't know that in this world,

only money is real.

Of course.

Look at me.

Later, I have to

settle the documents for tomorrow.

I think

I'll have to stay up late again tonight.

[Provincial Capital]

Number 7.

Go in.

Number 8.

Okay, go in.

Number 9.

Number 9.

It's our turn soon.

Number 11.

What's going on?

Maybe he missed one.

Wait a minute.

Number 12.

What does this mean?

I'll go and ask.

I'll go and ask.

Number 13.

Okay, go in.

Hurry up.

This-

This is strange.

[Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office]

Your memorandum

was rejected.

It was even marked as "unreasonable."

This plaint is unspeakably absurd,

its claims are intractable and nothing short of laughable.

Besides, a judgement has already been made in Jin'an Prefecture.

There is no need for a retrial.

Unreasonable.

No.

Why was it rejected?

As you can see,

there's nothing wrong with our procedure.

The problem is with the plaint.

It can't possibly be my fault.

I'm afraid someone has it out for you.

Impossible.

Who would have it out for us?

I remember now.

Cheng Renqing is in the provincial capital too.

Since he's here,

we're in trouble.

Mr. Zhuang, help us.

What should we do?

Nothing! There's nothing you can do!

Didn't you say

there were many government offices?

Your memorandum was explicitly rejected

by the Provincial Surveillance Commission.

Which office would want

to take your case?

Besides,

the person who has it out for you

is too vicious.

He felled you with one blow.

I don't think it'll be possible

for you to file your plaint at the local level.

What about the Grand Coordinator's Office?

When we first met,

you said

the Provincial Administration Commission, Provincial Surveillance Commission,

and the Regional Military Commission

are all local government offices.

Beside them,

there is a Grand Coordinator

and a Regional Inspector.

Your friend's memory

is pretty good.

Let's go to the

the Grand Coordinator of Fengxing.

The current Grand Coordinator

is His Excellency Li Shida.

He is indeed

the highest-ranking official in Fengxing.

But

you two can't even enter

the Grand Coordinator's Office.

And he only accepts appeals

from the local level.

What about the Regional Inspector's Office?

Sure.

We can indeed

go to the Regional Inspector.

Look.

The Regional Inspector was

sent by the court to monitor local officials.

His title

is attached to the Censorate.

He has no connections

to local government.

He has fewer considerations this way.

But there is a problem.

Do- Do we need money?

Do you still have money?

No.

Isn't that it?

The most important thing

about the Regional Inspector

is in the word "inspector."

He has to go on inspection tours,

so you can't find him

in the provincial capital.

But...

Let me see.

The Regional Inspector

should have reached...

Yanzhou Prefecture.

Yes, Yanzhou Prefecture.

We will pass by Yanzhou

on our way back to Renhua.

Cheng Renqing!

Are you here to mock us?

I'm here to give you a piece of advice.

Could you be so kind?

If I were you,

I won't go back to Renhua for now.

Thank you.

We're not going back to Renhua.

My sister said

we can only believe half of what you say.

That's all I have to say.

Good luck.

[Inn]

Second Brother!

Second Brother!

Brother.

They should have succeeded by now, right?

No way.

It's been so long.

Hurry up.

Hurry. The relay station is ahead.

Hurry!

Keep up!

-Yes. -Yes.

Hurry up!

Hurry up!

Keep up!

Hurry up!

It's right ahead!

Hurry!

Useless!

Keep up!

Hurry!

Sir!

Officer.

What brings you here

at this hour?

We received a report

that there are robbers inside.

Go!

Get everyone inside

to gather here!

Hurry!

Hurry up!

Sir!

Get up!

Get up!

Come on, gather at the door. Hurry!

Everyone,

get up!

The officers are here to investigate!

Get up!

Hurry up. Get up!

Hurry!

Bring your clothes and assemble at the door!

And you, at the gate!

What are you looking at? I'm talking to you!

Get up!

-Gather at the door! -Gather at the door!

-Hurry. -Hurry.

Hurry up!

Hurry up!

Go!

Go!

Officer.

They are all here.

They are all here.

I received a report

that there are robbers here,

trying to rob travelers.

Is that true?

Didn't you see any thieves?

-No. -No.

No.

I think the robbers

must be hidden among you.

You two

look rather unfamilar.

You don't look like locals.

What are your names, where are your hometowns,

and why are you here?

Officer.

I am Feng Baoyu.

I'm a Government Student of Renhua County, Jin'an Prefecture.

We just finished settling some business in the provincial capital,

and are rushing back to Renhua.

These are our traveler's papers.

[Signed, Feng’s Ham Shop]

You look delicate.

You don't look like a robber.

What about you?

Shuai Jiamo.

I'm from Renhua County of Jin'an Prefecture.

I came to the provincial capital

to file a plaint with the Fengxing Provincial Surveillance Commission

regarding the silk tax case in Renhua County.

Cut the crap.

It's not crap.

I have numbers to prove it.

I can show you.

Shuai.

Officer.

This is my friend.

We're traveling together.

He is such a nut for accounting,

it's made him a dummy. Please don't mind him.

Even fools can do accounting nowadays?

You.

Officer.

I'm a local.

A local?

Yes.

Put it away.

Okay.

You.

Come here.

I'm talking to you.

Yes, you. Beardy.

Come here!

Officer.

Name, hometown?

Lu Feilong.

I'm from Jin'an Prefecture,

Tongyang County.

I'm here to collect debt.

Collect debt?

My traveler's papers are here.

It's strange today.

I've met three people from Jin'an.

Lu Feilong.

Why did you come all the way from Jin'an

to Yanzhou to collect debt?

It's just a few shops.

Officer, he's lying.

He's not from Tongyang,

he's from Lanxi County.

I am from Tongyang.

You're from Lanxi County?

-You own a gambling house. -Officer, listen to me.

Don't listen to nonsense.

Alright. Stop yelling.

Let me ask you.

Did you see

anyone suspicious

in this relay station?

I usually fall asleep immediately after lying down.

I didn’t notice anything.

No, Officer.

He really runs a gambling house.

He opened a gambling house

in Renhua.

You...

Who's here to open a gambling house?

Isn't it you, Lu Feilong?

You are from Lanxi.

All right.

Lu Feilong.

Come here.

Come here.

Master Lu,

if you want to open a gambling house in Yanzhou,

you have to report to me,

and you must open it with me.

These are the rules.

I understand.

Do you understand?

Yes.

Alright.

No robbers

were found today.

Go back to sleep.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Let's go.

Remember.

Stop.

Hurry up!

Hurry!

Brother.

Is the mission still on?

What do you think?

That officer

is already suspicious of me.

If they are killed,

I would be the prime suspect.

What should we do then?

Sleep.