Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[Under the Microscope]

[Episode 1]

[17.5 steps of rope]

This line is crooked.

Who can tell that we share it?

This is an application of the field division technique.

It divides the field into

Guitian, Xietian,

Jitian, and Hutian.

For Guitian,

multiply half of the base by the height.

For Jitian,

-take half of the two bases. -Stop it.

Stop talking nonsense.

You measured

3 mu and 6 fen, right?

It's clearly written as 4 mu.

[Title Deed, 4 mu]

on our title deed.

Where's the missing 4 fen?

Yes.

Why is it missing 4 fen?

Where's the missing 4 fen?

That's right.

It's missing 4 fen.

How did you measure it?

Sir,

did you call him here?

[3 mu and 6 fen]

You made him fudge the measurements, didn't you?

Arithmetic is truthful by nature, my calculations aren't wrong,

and I cannot lie.

Why is it missing 4 fen

for no reason?

-Right. -Why is it missing?

Alright.

Sir.

Stop acting.

Do you think I'm stupid?

You want to pocket the missing 4 fen, right?

Who?

Give me that 4 fen of land!

Give me that 4 fen of land!

Beat him up!

I'll kill you!

I'm telling you, I'll kill you!

Stop!

Stop!

Stop! Stop!

[Renhua]

Buns for sale!

Freshly steamed buns!

Jiamo.

Shuai.

Are you stupid? Don't you know how to hide?

Stop looking.

They are praying for rain.

Let's go pray for money.

Let's go.

[Accounting and Field-measuring Services]

They all said I made a mistake.

But I checked it multiple times.

There's no mistake.

You're too childish.

Why are you trying to reason

with those scoundrels?

In the end,

it's still a matter

of brute force.

There's no need to use techniques of calculating

area, circumference, and height.

The gambling house we’re going to today

was newly opened in Renhua by someone from Lanxi.

They don't know us yet.

They don't know what you're capable of either.

Let's play for a while today.

Place your bets.

Come on.

A piece of jade.

Thirty tokens.

Why so little?

Fine, I- I'll take it.

You're welcome.

Master Lu.

Wait. Wait.

Master Lu.

It’s none of your business.

Master Lu.

Let’s balance the accounts first.

Master Fan wants the accounts of the gambling house

by tonight.

Time is limited.

No one can do it.

What should we do?

You can't pay the money back,

but refuse to sell the land.

I'll give you another choice.

Sell your daughter to me

and I'll let you off the hook.

Zhi.

As a daughter, you should settle your father's debt.

If word gets out,

it will be a touching story

about filial piety.

Right?

-Bravo! -Bravo!

What is happening outside?

Give me some!

Next round!

Next round!

Open it!

Come on!

Who is this?

Master Lu.

You're from Lanxi, so you don’t know.

These two are very famous in Renhua.

That's Feng Baoyu.

He's the son

-of the boss of Feng's Ham Shop. -Shuai!

He's a playboy.

A rich fool?

I like it.

Look at that one over there,

that man is even more interesting.

His name is Shuai Jiamo.

He's an arithmetic nut.

He's usually quite dull,

except

he's a genius in arithmetic.

Whenever he goes to a gambling house,

he wins every bet.

Open it!

Master Lu,

if this arithmetic nut

can help us,

I'm sure we can get the accounts done

by tonight.

We'll be able to answer

to Master Fan then.

Open it!

Wait!

Open!

Let's play a round.

We're on.

Let's do it.

Not with you.

You.

I don't want this pair.

Suit yourself.

He's so formidable.

He's going all in.

He's going all in too.

Yes.

Open.

Supreme lord!

Supreme lord!

Why are there two supreme lords

in this pair?

Yes.

Why are there two supreme lords?

Why are there two supreme lords?

This set of cards has two supreme lords.

Is it for real?

You're cheating!

Don't move.

What I hate most

is cheating.

If you were in Lanxi,

both of you would have lost your hands.

Now, I'm giving you

a chance.

I heard you are good at arithmetic.

Settle

all of my accounts

by tonight.

You.

Ask your family to redeem your two hands

using 200 taels of silver.

[Feng’s Ham Shop]

Madam!

Madam!

We have a problem.

Young Master Baoyu went gambling again.

They detained him

and asked us to redeem him

with 200 taels of silver.

If we don’t pay,

they'll chop off his hands.

Sister.

-Sit down. -Sit down.

Master Lu.

Why is she here alone?

Sister,

I won 300 taels in the beginning.

Including Shuai's last game,

we won over 500 taels in total.

They cheated.

My friend.

Are you new here?

Why don't you

ask around in Renhua County?

Given their intellects,

they might play tricks,

but cheating is out of the question.

I won't let them enter a gambling house

ever again.

Especially your gambling house.

This is a welcome gift for you.

Since you've come to Renhua,

you must try

the ham from Feng's.

Where's the arithmetic nut?

Shuai in the accounts room doing accounting.

Sister, my jade is inside.

Hey, you.

No, Master Lu.

Harmony brings wealth. Harmony brings wealth.

Dummy.

Sister.

Let's go.

I haven't finished calculating.

What?

Let's go back. Let's go.

Stop there.

200 taels of silver.

You can't leave until you pay up.

Sister.

Looks like we will have to do this the hard way.

I'm done playing nice.

Master Lu.

Harmony brings wealth. Harmony brings wealth.

What do you mean, harmony?

Fight!

Sister!

Sister!

[Accounts book]

[314]

[1. Under the account of Li Guan]

Shuai!

Stop calculating! Let's go!

Let's go now!

Save me, Sister!

Sister!

[Tax Collection Receipt]

Let's go!

Boss! Boss!

Move! Move!

Move!

Out of the way!

Out of the way!

Tripitaka

set off to the west to retrieve the scriptures.

Father.

Where is the title deed?

Master Lu.

Give it to me.

Let go of my father!

Let go of my father!

Let go of my father!

Get off!

Baoyu!

I'm done calculating.

I have the Prefect's token!

There is to be no delay!

[Renhua]

Move aside!

[Renhua County Office]

[County Magistrate of Renhua, Fang Maozhen]

Old Master.

Old Master!

I heard you.

Old Master.

Prefect Huang's token has arrived.

I've asked around.

He'll arrive in Renhua tomorrow.

Thank you.

He left his position in the capital

to be a Prefect in Fengxing.

He was demoted from the capital.

The Investigating Censor is a seventh-rank official position.

The Governor of Jin'an is a fourth-rank position.

He has been promoted six ranks at one go,

isn't that a good thing?

What do you know?

In the capital,

no matter how low his rank is,

he'll be closer to His Majesty and the Supervising Secretaries.

He'll have more opportunities then.

In the provinces,

no matter how influential you are,

you can't reach the center of power.

Shut up!

You're not letting me sleep?

Madam, of course you can.

I played madiao all night last night.

Go on.

There are 8 counties in Jin'an.

That means there are 8 country magistrates.

As long as the 8 country magistrates work together,

he will not be able to act wilfully.

It's not that easy.

You're thinking too simplistically.

Look at those 7 counties.

All their country magistrates

stay hidden in their own territories

like shivering cowards.

Only Renhua County,

which is under my command,

is a county under supplementary jurisdiction.

The Jin'an Prefectural Office

is right next door to ours.

It's impossible

for us to avoid each other.

If anything happens,

he'll come to me first.

If you did bad deeds in your previous life,

you'll be a country magistrate in this life.

If you did many evil deeds in your past life,

you'll be a magistrate in a county under supplementary jurisdiction.

By the way, today is the day for receiving plaints.

Get ready.

It's time to go to court.

Tell the people in the office

to bring all of the files

for today

here.

I want to clear

all those old cases

before

Prefect Huang gets here,

so he can't make a fuss over them.

[The Righteous Mirror Hangs High]

Why are you, Lu Feilong, involved

in all three of these cases?

Yes.

As a native of Lanxi,

you opened a gambling house in Renhua.

Instead of operating it properly,

you caused so many lawsuits!

What crimes are you guilty of?

Magistrate Fang,

I don't think it's appropriate to say that.

[Honourable and Just]

Who is he?

So arrogant.

Who are you?

I'm Cheng Renqing.

I am a student from Lanxi County in Jin'an Prefecture.

Why aren't you kneeling in court?

According to the Matters of the Constitution of the Hongwu Emperor's reign,

instructors and students are not allowed to kneel

when greeting their superiors.

I am simply

following the rules.

He's not even wearing his uniform.

Who is he?

He is

a famous lawyer here.

He has a nickname,

the "Honorable and Just Iron-mouth Cheng."

Iron-mouth Cheng, is it?

The victim, Lu Feilong, is illiterate.

I wrote the plaint that's on your table right now

on his behalf.

I hate pettifoggers

more than anything.

You're glib and eloquent,

and can stir up trouble out of nothing.

In my life, I only follow the principles

of common sense, humanity, justice, and public-mindedness.

I am law-abiding by nature.

I will not stir up trouble unreasonably.

Fine.

Let's start the trial

for the first case,

concerning debt and battery.

This case is clear-cut.

Six months ago,

Chen Dashan borrowed 10 taels of silver

from Lu Feilong.

According to the loan receipt,

it's 9 out and 13 in

over cycles of three months each.

By now, he owes

18 taels, 7 mace, and 2 fen.

16 taels and 9 mace.

What did you say?

The principal balance was 10 taels of gold.

If we take 9 out and 13 in, after 2 cycles,

the debtor should pay 16 taels and 9 mace.

That's how we usually do the calculations.

Who knows

what this rascal is up to.

You are the accused

in another case.

Don't make noise here.

I'm not.

He made a mistake.

If we take 9 out and 13 in for a principal balance of 10 taels,

the debtor should pay 13 taels after the first cycle.

It's a 30% profit.

He should pay back the 13 taels,

plus another 30%, in the second cycle.

That's 16 taels and 9 mace.

Do you know what “9 out” means?

“9 out” means

Chen Dashan borrows 10 taels of silver,

receives 9 taels,

and returns 13 taels per cycle.

That's a 44% profit.

After 2 cycles,

he should pay 18 taels, 7 mace, and 2 fen.

What's wrong with that?

You calculated it

using 9 taels as the principal balance.

According to the contract,

the principal balance should be 10 taels.

Magistrate Fang.

According to the Great Ming Code,

irrelevant persons are not allowed

to interfere during trials.

This person

might be talking nonsense here

to take revenge for a private dispute.

Please uphold justice.

That makes sense.

Stop talking.

It's not your turn yet.

Go away.

But the numbers are wrong.

-It'll be the same no matter who calculates it. -Go away.

Stop talking.

Go on.

Chen Dashan.

You love your wife so much,

you spared no effort, and even took out a loan,

to pay her medical bills.

Right?

Yes.

Now that Lu Feilong is forcing you to pay off your debt,

and you can't do it,

he's asking you to sell your land, right?

Yes.

Then, I'm curious.

You clearly have land.

Why didn't you sell the land

to treat her?

Why did you

borrow money from Lu Feilong instead?

This...

Chen Dashan,

do you think that having borrowed money,

you only have to make a fuss

and the debt will be cancelled?

No.

How could you say that about my father?

Chen Xiaozhi, right?

I heard

Lu Feilong forced your father to sell you

to repay the debt, right?

Yes.

Lu Feilong

gave you two choices.

One was selling land to repay the debt,

and the other was selling his daughter to repay the debt.

Am I right?

Yes.

You hesitated.

You've been in a dilemma for a long time, right?

No.

If it were me,

watching my beloved daughter

about to get sold,

I would sell the land

without hesitation

to protect my family.

How could I hesitate?

You are in a dilemma

because deep down,

it's not that you cannot accept selling your daughter,

but that the price

is not reasonable.

It's not like that.

The Great Ming Code

prohibits

human trafficking.

I'm not forcing him to sell his daughter.

I just want everyone

to see clearly

how a rich landowner

like him

is hesitating between selling his land

and selling his daughter.

Where is his conscience?

His lover was sick, so he borrowed money.

He borrowed money, but wanted to default on the loan.

He couldn't default on the loan,

so he assaulted the creditor.

Is this kind of person

worth our sympathy?

He's desperate because of the loanshark!

Lu Feilong is not a good man!

I-

I-

I'll sell the land.

Magistrate Fang,

the case can be closed.

Then...

the case is closed.

Chen Dashan.

Effective today,

you will mortgage your 5 mu of paddy fields

to Lu Feilong.

The Revenue Office

[Letter of Acceptance]

will verify the exact amount

to be paid back in full.

Both parties have signed the letter of acceptance.

Okay.

I think

he won't be able to live with himself

if he sold his daughter despite having land.

Cheng Renqing,

if I didn't have work to do today,

-I— -Magistrate Fang.

I've heard that you're a scholar of Huang-Lao philosophy.

You believe in inactive governance,

and don't like to meddle.

I'm doing this

to help you.

Let's move on to the next case.

It's Lu Feilong!

We won,

but he didn't let us cash in,

saying that we cheated.

Why shouldn't we cash in

on the money we won

through lawful means?

Lawful means?

What are they?

Tell me.

Shuai.

Go ahead.

There are 32 cards in Paigow,

plus two dices.

The points are different on each.

As long as we calculate

the appearance of each point,

we can be confident of winning.

That means

you are skilled at card-counting.

[Jin'an Prefecture]

You win 9 out of 10 times in Paigow, right?

Yes.

Arithmetic is simple and honest by nature,

it is accurate no matter where one is.

As long as one grasps

the principles within,

it is the same everywhere.

Feng Baoyu.

A student from Renhua County School?

Yes.

How can you gamble

when you have so much schoolwork?

None of your business.

Magistrate Fang,

the court allocates

so much money and food

to subsidize

prefecture and county schools

in order to right the mores and dignify people's hearts,

and so that scholars can study in peace

and repay the court's imperial grace in the future.

But this playboy

doesn't want to study.

Instead, he wanders around gambling houses

and indulges in arithmetic.

Baoyu doesn't like arithmetic.

He only likes gambling.

He's really lost his way.

You-

Even if he has

lost his way,

he has his parents to discipline him.

That's right.

Let's continue.

Magistrate Fang.

Didn't you hear it just now?

Shuai said

this method is very simple.

Anyone can learn it.

If you judge in their favor,

what would happen next?

All the students of Renhua County School,

and even Jin'an Prefecture School,

would know of it.

As long as one masters this method,

even a playboy like him

can win so much money

in the gambling house.

Of course

everyone would want to learn it.

Who would still want to study then?

That's right.

Yes.

If restrictions are not placed on gambling houses,

and these students

are allowed to gamble as they wish,

no one in Jin'an

would study hard ever again.

What if in future years,

no one passes the imperial examinations?

What if it affects

the performance evaluation of local magistrates?

What happens if

in the long term,

the mores of Jin'an degenerate,

and people only chase profit?

That's right.

I'm going to gamble too.

Silence! Silence!

So,

Brother Lu only refused them

for the sake of

the culture of learning in Jin'an.

He refused to create this opening.

Brother Lu

was truly considerate

and trying to nip the problem in the bud.

-Bravo! -Bravo!

Magistrate Fang, look.

In addition to common sense and humanity,

there is justice and public-mindedness.

Jiamo,

Didn't they ask you

to do accounting for the gambling house?

Sister.

Accounting.

Yes.

Right.

You helped the gambling house with accounting?

Lu forced us to do it.

Why didn't you tell me

they helped the gambling house with accounting?

I forget about it.

Why did you...

They said if I did well,

they would let us off.

How did you do?

In 30 days,

the gambling house

earned 1,130 taels.

So the gambling house is so profitable.

Our money in Renhua

has all been earned by this person from Lanxi.

Magistrate Fang,

Brother Lu just said he's willing to

donate 100 taels of silver to the county charity hall

so as to give back to the community.

You're a Lanxi native who opened a gambling house in Renhua

to earn money from the people of Renhua.

I suggest

you two not be too arrogant.

Otherwise,

I

can't go against the people's will either.

Of course.

We are willing to give in.

What is this lawyer

saying to the Magistrate?

All right.

My verdict is as follows.

Feng Baoyu

and Shuai Jiamo

won money

through cheating and unlawful means.

The gambling house is not to let them cash in.

However, Shuai Jiamo

helped perform accounting for the gambling house.

His crimes have been made even.

The gambling house is not to pursue

the matter of Feng Baoyu and Shuai Jiamo's

cheating.

Both parties should accept the judgement.

The last case.

Old Master, I was wronged.

They threw the fish I was carrying early in the morning

back into the water.

You are our Magistrate,

you have to uphold justice for us.

You-

Fine.

Everyone.

We were in a hurry.

I'm sorry.

-Everyone! -I'm sorry.

Although today's fight

was caused by

the Feng siblings,

Brother Lu

is willing to compensate you for your loss.

Please calculate the total damages

and present it to the court.

-Good! -Good!

Stop!

-Good! -Good!

There's no need.

I just asked you all.

The damages

are 40 taels in total.

This matter was caused by

Lu Feilong detaining the two of them.

However,

I'll pay everyone double

for all your losses.

-Good! -Good!

-Good! -Good!

That's honorable!

-Good! -Good!

Good!

Alright!

All's well that ends well!

Court adjourned.

Lawyer Cheng is truly amazing.

He settled all three cases so easily.

He's truly an iron-mouthed lawyer.

You had a clear conscience,

I merely cleared your name.

By the way,

this is for you.

Just give it to me.

Master Fan asked me

to give you a discount.

It won’t be the same price next time.

Mr. Cheng's money

is really easy-earned.

The amount of money you pay me

is the amount of justice I can uphold for you.

That's all.

Bye.

[Renhua County Office]

Those who know me say that I have my worries.

Those who do not know me ask me what I pursue.

Arithmetic is honest by nature.

Isn't it very clear what is right and what is wrong?

My father opened a branch in Yangzhou,

and got married again.

Sister is the only one

working in this shop.

I have to

help her.

6 fen.

10 mu and 6 fen.

I have to make money.

If I can't earn money in Renhua,

I'll go to the provincial capital

and do something big.

Shuai,

you are my best friend.

You'll have to help me then.

What are you thinking about?

I'm talking to you.

I didn't miscalculate.

The title deed and the acreage of the field

don't tally.

Why are you still thinking about

the fields from this morning?

Something is wrong with the fields.

Maybe he made a mistake

back when he divided the fields.

Why do you care?

It's not just about the fields.

When I was helping Lu Feilong,

I found that

their title deeds

don't tally with the actual acreage found

when they hired people to measure the land.

If you want to find out the truth,

you have to go to the Archives.

The Archives?

Yes.

In Renhua,

the owner,

location,

four boundaries, and area

of every piece of land

must be registered by the government.

One copy is kept by the landowner as the title deed.

Tthe other is made into a fish-scale map register,

and kept

in the Jin'an Prefecture Archives.

If you want to buy or sell land,

it'll have to tally

with the fish-scale map register

for the government to stamp on the contract.

If you really want to figure out

the discrepancy between the field acreage and the title deed,

you will have to go to the Archives.

But not everyone

can enter

the Archives.

If you can bring me into the Archives...

You will go to the provincial capital with me.

[Archives]

[Laying Out the Scenes at Brothels]

This is a rare version of the book.

This picture collection

is printed in color.

The illustrations are animated and the compositions are ingenious.

In this long night,

it is fatigue-relieving, like cool ice.

It's not that I want to read this book.

My friend wants to read it.

What a coincidence.

I have a friend

who wants to read some books too.

If you let my friend read them,

I'll let your friend

read this too.

Jiamo.

Jiamo.

Come on.

Father.

Fire!

Fire!

Fire!

Help!

What a dummy.

Why aren't you turning to look

when there is such a commotion?

Your house is burning down!

Leave this dummy alone!

See if his parents

are still inside!

How tragic!

[Register for the Collection of Summer Tax, Renhua County, 16th Year of the Chenghua reign]

[3,530]

[16th year of the Chenghua reign]

[3,530 taels]

[3,530 taels of silk]