Original subtitles

[Judge Dee's Mystery]

[Based on the novel of the same name by the Dutch author Robert van Gulik]

[Episode 4]

[This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance is purely coincidental.]

Mr. Di.

Mr. Di.

Mr. Di.

Let me go.

Let me go.

That was a close one.

Someone must've tampered with it.

It's got to be Zhangsun Qing.

Di Renjie,

where's your sword?

How can you live without us?

Good boy.

I'll give you beans when we get back tonight.

It's so big.

This yard is so grand.

It's nice.

[Di's Residence]

[Day seven] It's so big.

How do you like it?

If you tell Mr. Hong to give me more money,

I can make this yard

even better.

You did all this?

I did it.

You don't have to thank me.

Just promise me one thing.

After this case is solved...

After this case is solved,

let's talk about it then.

You don't know him well.

Are people in Chang'an all so ungrateful?

Come on.

Here you go.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I'd like some water.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ma Rong,

when it gets dark,

don't light any lamps,

don't make any noise,

and don't let outsiders know

there's someone in the house.

Qiao Tai.

Eat slowly.

This is...

Rain Dragon Sword.

The Rain Dragon Sword made by Sword Maker Sanzhi?

If I, Qiao Tai, am destined

to die by the sword,

I'd rather spill my blood on this sword.

Tomorrow night

at Mr. Wei's residence,

it's up to us to guard it together.

Just the two of us?

Even though I'm old,

I can still fight.

[Wei's Residence]

Mr. Hong,

will this work?

Even the most cunning fox

might be trapped.

How did Mr. Di know

there would be a thunderstorm tonight?

I don't know.

[Day eight] All I know is

to trust him.

Come on.

[Wei's Residence]

Mr. Di,

how's it going?

Almost done.

Hong is still busy there.

The door...

Leave the door.

I got it.

Qiao Tai,

that day,

Kang Zhiyi's profile,

how did you find it?

We didn't look for it.

Ma Rong took it without knowing what it was.

It was a coincidence.

A coincidence?

Truly a coincidence.

How could such a coincidence happen?

Some things

are right in front of you, but you can't see them.

You can see

some things

simply because

someone wants you to see them.

So did I see it or not?

[Wei's Residence]

[He Dajing's Spirit Tablet]

[Nonsense. Not distinguish yin and yang. Violate the rules of order and propriety.]

[Nonsense. Not distinguish yin and yang. Violate the rules of order and propriety.]

Have a drink with me.

[He Dajing's Spirit Tablet]

Tanshi.

Someone else set fire

to Jushui Entertainment House?

Why is it so light?

It leaked?

I've never had anything to do with politics.

I'm too old and just want to avoid trouble.

But I tell you,

in Chang'an,

there are too many people

who oppose the Empress.

I have found out the truth.

Who is it?

Huaiying,

what's the matter?

About the case,

there is one thing

I just can't wrap my head around it.

What is it?

Kang Zhiyi

set fire to Jushui Entertainment House and killed people,

creating the illusion of Heaven's wrath.

He's already locked the door

and didn't want to leave anyone alive.

But I survived.

Why?

Why?

Because the person

who set the fire wasn't Kang Zhiyi at all.

Right?

Then who was it?

The root cause of the fire

was the spontaneous combustion of Tanshi in the wineskin

that He Dajing had with him.

And you put that stone

in He Dajing's wineskin.

Am I right?

In fact, you know him very well.

You know

he always carried the wineskin with him.

On the examination day,

you put Tanshi

in his wineskin.

Because Tanshi was soaked in the wine,

it won't burn immediately.

You've calculated it carefully

and drilled a small hole in the bottom of the wineskin.

After

about four to six hours,

the wine would run dry.

Tanshi

would set He Dajing on fire in the examination room

due to the spontaneous combustion.

Then, you would achieve your goal

of sabotaging the exam.

What you neglected is

that this year's exams

have added a new supervision system.

Wineskins

are no longer allowed to be brought into the exam room.

To prevent He Dajing

from finishing the wine in advance,

you put Huanglian

on the spout of the wineskin.

That's why your Heavenly Fire didn't start

until we arrived

at Jushui Entertainment House.

You made a perfect plan,

but

Heaven's plans supersede our own.

He Dajing was my student.

He was also my assistant.

Why would I want to kill him?

Confucius said,

"Only women and small-minded men

are hard to deal with."

This statement is wrong.

[Nonsense.] "When it comes to women,

[Not distinguish yin and yang.] even though...

[Violate the rules of order and propriety.]

they are arrogant and willful,

treat her the way we treat men,

accept things as they are,

rectify her faults,

embrace her nature,

and through this,

earn the title of "Junzi". [*an ideal person in Confucianism]

His Majesty's

acceptance of women

has become

cowardice in your eyes.

If I hadn't stumbled upon

your comments on the Crown Prince's article,

I wouldn't have been able to figure out your motives.

Your hatred for Empress Wu

is as great as that of Zhangsun Qing's, right?

No.

He's still tied to his position

and has a fear of death.

Just because she's a woman,

you hate her

more than Zhangsun Qing does.

What proof do you have?

After the examination,

you followed us

to Jushui Entertainment House.

This is what I found at the scene.

The leather cord you used to tie the scrolls shut.

Mr. Wei.

I didn't expect it

to be you.

We may plan, but Haven has the final say.

Tanshi is unstable.

I really didn't know

when it would ignite.

But I've thought about it.

If it ignites inside the exam room,

it'll fulfill one-tenth of its potential.

If it ignites outside the exam room,

it'll fulfill 50 or 60 percent of its potential.

But I never thought

that it would ignite in the lair of the demon empress.

It fully fulfilled its potential.

Even Heaven is helping me...

So why do you have to go against it?

When you did all this,

[He Dajing's Spirit Tablet] have you ever considered him?

Your Heavenly Fire

was created.

And then what?

You poisoned the horse

and tampered with the stirrups.

You recommended the Yuntie cuffs

to the magistrate of Wannian County.

This way, you can silence me

and frame Zhangsun Qing for it.

Huaiying,

you're smart,

but you really don't know

what you're doing.

This witch

is planning a big conspiracy.

If Tang falls into her hands in the future,

I can't imagine what it will become.

You're young and reckless.

You think as long as it's new, it's good and right.

But the word "new"

means changes,

chaos,

severed heads, bloodshed,

and tense situations.

Huaiying,

don't you feel scared?

Fairness

and prosperity.

That's the result of the reforms I see.

Even if it might be scary,

it's worth a try.

Mr. Wei,

please stop now.

I've told you.

People can't escape their own fate.

Mr. Wei.

Even if you found out about me, what can you do?

As long as people who oppose the demon empress stand,

the Heavenly Fire won't be extinguished.

Sooner or later,

it'll burn her to death.

Wait.

Keep him alive.

[Wei's Residence]

Mr. Di.

This is the sword for the Longnan Army.

Longnan

is the domain of the Zhangsun family.

Take this sword

as evidence

and notify the magistrate of Wannian County

to arrest Kang Zhiyi.

Early Hai hour now.

[Inside Chang'an]

[Leyou Land, Chang'an]

Your Majesty,

Di Renjie is here.

Di Renjie.

Your father, Di Zhixun,

is a talent from Bingzhou.

Di Renjie,

did you find out the truth?

Huaiying.

Father.

Huaiying,

come closer.

Yes.

Father.

What took you so long?

I missed you so much.

Have you

finished your job?

Father.

I...

If you haven't,

why are you slacking off?

I am not.

Huaiying,

go.

Go and do your job.

Go and find it for me.

Find the truth.

- Okay. - Okay.

You're awake.

Tai,

he's awake.

You're finally awake.

How long have I been asleep?

[Day ten] Three years.

Don't listen to her.

You've been asleep for three days.

Where on earth did you get hurt?

Are you hungry?

Let's have some goat soup.

Hong.

You're awake.

Could you all excuse us for a moment?

Yesterday,

the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review,

and the Censorate

held a state trial to interrogate him.

Kang Zhiyi confessed

that Zhangsun Qing ordered him to steal the Phoenix Seal.

Before he could kill Yaxin,

someone else killed Yaxin first.

So he followed the same method,

killed four Yulin Guards who delivered

the forged imperial decree

to frame the Empress

for the Heavenly Fire murder

and achieve the purpose of deposing the Empress.

Everything

was as you expected.

Zhangsun Qing denied it.

He said Kang Zhiyi framed him.

His Majesty had Zhangsun's Residence searched,

but the Phoenix Seal was not found.

A criminal should never be caught without evidence.

And Zhangsun Qing is a relative of the Emperor.

That's why His Majesty

has not made a decision

on Zhangsun Qing's case yet.

Where is he now?

He's been in Qinglong Temple.

Even when he knew

Zhangsun's Residence was searched,

he didn't come out.

So today,

His Majesty and the Empress

are going to Qinglong Temple

to confront him and see if he will confess.

Your Majesty,

we guarantee Grand Commandant Zhangsun is innocent.

Your Majesty,

please uphold justice for Mr. Zhangsun.

Your Majesty,

please don't wrong the Grand Commandant

just because of the words of a petty man.

You...

I hope you will make a fair judgment

and clear the Grand Commandant's name.

His Majesty and the Empress are one and the same.

There should be no such thing as a power struggle.

Grand Commandant Zhangsun is loyal to the country.

He'd never do something dirty like this.

Everyone,

rise, please.

Your Majesty, don't worry.

I'll go talk to Uncle.

Thank you, Zitong.

What a devout look.

It's said that Zhangsun Qing

has ordered candles that are worth 20,000

to pray for the people.

20,000 guan.

It's enough to cover the food for soldiers

who are battling against the Turks for months.

The candles keep burning day and night.

How much longer will they last?

Ever since I became the Empress,

there has been a conflict of interest

between me and influential figures like Zhangsun Qing.

He's been trying to rope Kang Zhiyi in

and make me beleaguered.

At the beginning of this month, he even burned down the Wutong tree

and created a public outcry against me.

If I don't do something,

I'll die.

This new path

will also come to an end.

Fortunately,

Heaven helped

and sent you to me.

Come on.

Take a bet with me.

Five blacks are called "Lu".

Two whites and three blacks are called "Xiao".

It's a vulgar trick.

These dice have lead dust

in them.

Some things

seem like fate,

but someone else is actually

pulling the strings.

If you're smart enough

to see through it,

you can join them

and have control over the fate of others.

To pray

and study Buddhism,

you need to be sincere.

If it's only for your own selfish desires,

don't defile

this pure sanctuary.

You're right, Uncle.

For this prayer for blessings,

I'm honored to study Buddhism

with you.

Uncle,

there is something

I don't know if I should say it or not.

Now that you've said it,

just be straightforward.

I don't understand.

This is our family matter.

Why do you have to make it public?

The order of seniority is above everything else.

If we don't let the world judge,

it's not fair.

Let the world judge.

You're right, Uncle.

I won't forget it.

Your Majesty,

it's the Zi hour now.

Uncle,

is there really no room for maneuver?

If you knew it would come to this,

why didn't you do it in the first place?

Wouldn't it be better

to be the motherly model of the world

as the Empress?

The Phoenix Seal.

We found the Phoenix Seal.

General Kang.

I'm here.

Have my candles

been sent to Qinglong Temple?

Your Majesty, rest assured.

I've delivered them there myself.

Good.

Now, it's down to the last

and most convincing hit.

We can't let him have any chance to put up a struggle.

The Phoenix Seal is really in the hands of Grand Commandant Zhangsun.

The Grand Commandant...

What should we do now?

Why is the Phoenix Seal here?

The Phoenix Seal is here.

What a trick.

You female savage.

Heaven will punish you.

The seal

was never lost.

The seal is just like a title.

It's all just vanity.

But the power behind that illusion

is real.

Even if Yaxin didn't die that night,

the next day,

she would have shown up

and been caught by the Jinwu Guards

and told the truth about the stolen seal,

thus

exposing the collusion

between General Kang

and Grand Commandant Zhangsun.

I see.

After Yaxin's death,

you ordered Kang Zhiyi

to have the four Yulin Guards who delivered the forged imperial decree

and killed Chen Zhuliang

committed suicide in the silkworm house.

Then,

you burned the silkworm house,

creating a heavenly punishment on purpose

so that Grand Commandant Zhangsun could take advantage of it

and put on a series of acts

to stir up public outcry,

digging his own grave.

Your Majesty,

more than a dozen lives

have perished.

Was it worth it?

Whether it's worth it or not,

both you and I don't have a say in this.

We have to ask the people of the world.

Your Majesty is the motherly model of the world.

Zhangsun Qing

and the courtiers following him

are in cahoots

and rotten to the core.

They

are not my enemies.

They're the enemies of the Tang.

It's so beautiful.

Look, it's flying so high.

The nine parts of Xiaoshao are performed. [*traditional Chinese music]

The phoenix dances.

The phoenix alights on the Wutong tree.

All birds look up to the phoenix.

Come and take a closer look.

What's missing from this evidence?

Mr. Wei...

Put the evidence away.

Yes.

He's been thrown into a mass grave.

Everything in his home was confiscated and sold.

Luckily, he didn't have any relatives.

Otherwise,

they'll be implicated.

We studied under the same teacher.

I have a friendly reminder for you.

If you want to move up the government career ladder,

from now on,

don't mention Wei Wuji again.

Huaiying,

the Master ordered it

and had it tailored for himself.

You're about his size now.

I'm sure it fits you.

Why would I wear it?

Although you threw away the notice of the palace examination

sent by the Imperial Academy,

I can still find it.

I've checked with the Imperial Academy.

You didn't receive a Jinshi degree,

but

you're on the list for the palace examination.

Do you know

that in the past, ten years as an official

might not even get you to enter the palace?

But now, you can see the Empress.

I think

she arranged this on purpose.

Like you,

she loves to fight against fate.

You're young and reckless.

You think as long as it's new, it's good and right.

But the word "new"

means changes,

chaos,

severed heads, bloodshed,

and tense situations.

Huaiying,

don't you feel scared?

[Taiji Hall]

His Majesty and Her Majesty arrived.

Kneel.

Bow down.

Rise.

Candidates take their seats.

[New] Her Majesty proposed the question.

One word, "New".

The palace examination takes two hours.

Candidates must concentrate on their questions.

Don't talk to each other

or move around.

The palace examination starts now.

[A reform...]

A reform...

[means replacing the old with the new.]

We should examine its purpose

and means.

Now, new policies have been enacted.

The new laws benefited the people,

allowing them to live in peace.

You know

the benefits of reforms for the people.

Your understanding of "new"

[Di Renjie] is deeper than mine.

In the fourth year of the Xianqing Reign,

the palace examination for the first category.

Grade A,

first place,

Zhang Yue from Lanling.

Grade A, second place,

Song Jing from Chang'an.

[Di] Grade A, third place,

Wang Wei from Shandong.

I'm on it. I passed it.

That's weird.

I didn't find the character "Di".

It can't be.

Mr. Di can definitely get a position or something.

I passed it!

I passed it.

Congratulations.

I did it.

Do you know Di Renjie?

- Di Renjie? - Did he pass it?

This is the list for the Jinshi degree.

Di Renjie only took the examination for classicists.

You won't find his name here.

What do you mean?

It means even if he becomes an official, it'd be a minor one.

Let's go.

I'll buy you a drink. Let's go.

What does he mean?

Go. Let's have some goat soup.

He failed?

Di Renjie,

I'm sending you to the frontier

to uphold justice.

Remember.

What I want is an upright and selfless official.

But you

haven't found what you desire yet.

Put your mind to it

and accumulate more experience.

Maybe one day,

you can truly be of use to me.

Failing in the examination

is not a big deal.

Say something.

That's right.

If you don't want to take the exam, then don't take it.

Right.

Or maybe next year, we'll take the exam with you.

Hong Liang,

I appoint you

as my inspector.

Ma Rong and Qiao Tai,

from now on,

you two

will be my attendants.

Attendants?

Hong,

I'm going to be

the magistrate of Penglai County.

Huaiying,

go.

You haven't finished your job yet.

Di Renjie,

go and find it for me.

Find the truth.

Do you understand?

Please, don't.

Spare me, please.

[Judge Dee's Mystery] [The Folding Screen]