Original subtitles

[Strange Chronicles of Tang]

[Episode 18]

[Zuo's Mansion]

[Entertainment Building]

Did you bring the coins?

Where are the goods?

Thirty gold coins.

I need to see them first.

I need to check the goods first.

Fine.

Look, inside it are

the souls of 3 people.

They're all

from the elders over 70.

You can calculate it.

If you swallow all the souls

in the bottle in one go,

how many years of life would that extend?

How am I supposed to trust you?

What if

you actually took

3 young men's souls?

That's impossible.

I

put strychnine in their food

and drink myself.

And I

extracted their souls myself.

I see.

You must admit this treasure is

worth 30 gold coins.

It's fine if you don't want it.

The Ghost Market is crawling with people after it.

In that case,

your price

seems fair enough.

Right?

Tutor Zuo.

You know who I am?

I...

It hurts!

Ouch!

Zuo Lu.

As a sorcery tutor of the Imperial Academy of Medicine,

you specifically targeted elderly people

to extract the so-called souls

and sell them at high prices

to wealthy people on their deathbeds to extend their lives.

You're guilty of a major crime!

It hurts!

It really hurts...

And you!

You're the buyer, aren't you?

You also need to come to the county office for questioning.

This is Chang'an County territory.

I am the county sheriff here.

It's not your place to make arrests.

Look carefully.

I caught Zuo Lu first.

Guards!

Take Zuo Lu

back to custody!

Officer, spare me! Please spare me, Officer!

Officer!

Please spare me, Officer!

Official Lu, Sheriff Su,

this...

I've been watching for 2 days and nights.

Perhaps they have been watching even longer.

Tell me

why you only used strychnine to poison them!

Because after taking strychnine poison,

[Chang'an County Office]

a person's body

will repeatedly curl up

in excruciating agony.

Only this way

can the soul be squeezed out.

That's unbelievably evil.

For this so-called "squeezing out souls,"

do you have any evidence?

I've tried it.

Really!

After a person dies,

the body will become lighter.

It's lighter by a solid half tael!

Tell me, if this half tael is

not his soul,

what else could it be?

Shut up!

This is blatant nonsense to fool people!

You also killed Grand General Zhu Ling of the Left Imperial Guard,

didn't you?

Grand General Zhu?

Well...

I didn't kill Grand General Zhu!

No, no, no!

I really didn't kill him!

His manner of death is

identical to that of the old men

you murdered before.

Who else could it be other than you?

Well... It really wasn't me!

I...

How would I dare

to harm Grand General Zhu Ling?

I'm not that stupid.

One look at you, and I can tell you're a cunning man.

You won't confess without severe punishment, will you?

Guards!

Take him away

and give him 100 lashes first.

Officer!

I'm a tutor from the Imperial Academy of Medicine!

Officer!

Official Lu,

I heard that Zuo Lu confessed. Is that true?

Yes.

He's just a sorcery tutor

who can't fight.

And he was under the strict surveillance

of the Yongzhou Prefecture.

How could he possibly kill

the Grand General of the Imperial Guard?

Of course I know this.

Zuo Lu's confession was

likely forced by Wei Yan's torture.

As for Wei Yan's motive,

it remains unknown for now.

I've seen

Zhu Ling's body.

There was a hit to the temple.

We can't determine the weapon,

but one thing is for sure.

The killer is the same one

who murdered the beggar before.

Therefore,

Wannian County requested to merge the cases.

Without other evidence for now,

I'm afraid Wei Yan won't agree.

Before it's reported

to the Yongzhou Prefecture,

I cannot intervene either.

I have a feeling

that if the real murderer remains at large,

more people will die.

How much

do you want for these items?

Whatever you think is fair, sir.

We're not greedy.

Then how about

5,000 coins?

5,000 coins?

Okay! Nice!

Good!

That's the price then.

Wait.

I think these items are

worth at least 50,000 coins.

Why don't you

sell them to me instead?

Hey, you!

How can you mess with my business in my shop?

They don't even know

whether their items are

worth 5,000

or 50,000 coins themselves.

They're apparently thieves,

aren't they?

If you take these items,

you're helping them sell stolen goods.

Take these stolen goods

to the Wannian County Office with me!

[Wannian County Office]

Gulou Pastry?

Yes.

The old man said

that's the name of the food in the box.

How much did he eat?

Half a piece.

Then he eagerly

pulled me into the room.

That old lecher.

When we saw he was dying,

my wife and I were terrified.

We only wanted money,

never anyone's life.

So we ran away in a rush.

But as the saying goes,

"A thief never leaves empty-handed."

So we grabbed those few items.

And you said that Gulou Pastry was

given to him by someone else?

Yes.

The day before that, I saw that old man

spending lavishly in Pingkang District,

so I deliberately wandered back and forth in front of him.

Then

we made an appointment to meet

at his residence the next day.

Did you get a good look at that person?

It was a bit far away.

I only saw a blurry outline.

Yingtao.

Go fetch Xijun.

Yes.

First seduction, then blackmail.

That's a serious crime.

Now, you need

to carefully recall the appearance

of the person who offered the gift

and help the county office draw a sketch.

This may earn you leniency.

Understand?

Yes.

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

Honey,

it all counts on you now.

The female culprit doesn't remember

the gift-giver's face clearly.

She did say it was quite far away.

Strangely enough,

though it was far away,

she can remember the person's eyes.

She just has no impression of the facial expression.

Why does he look so much like someone?

The one we met in Hanzhou Prefecture.

He's called Ma...

Ma Meng, Official Ma.

When I was drawing,

I had the same illusion.

Maybe it's because I recently ate

the Gulou Pastries he treated me to.

I'm afraid it's not an illusion.

[Holy Mt. Yao with Radiant Jade]

Secretariat Ma,

you have visitors.

[Holy Mt. Yao with Radiant Jade]

It must be

my old classmate, Liu Zigui.

Let him in.

It's not Mr. Liu,

but Lu Lingfeng, the Yongzhou Judicial Officer,

[Holy Mt. Yao with Radiant Jade]

and Su Wuming, the Wannian County Assistant Magistrate.

It's them?

Hurry. Invite them in.

Yes.

Welcome, gentlemen.

I apologize for not greeting you properly.

Sheriff Su.

Official Lu.

Since we parted in Hanzhou Prefecture,

we finally met again in Chang'an.

Secretariat Ma,

I was occupied with official duties before

and had to break our appointment.

Please forgive me.

It's okay.

That day,

Mr. Su and I had a wonderful chat.

Indeed.

Especially after tasting the Scholar Tree Leaf Cold Noodles,

that unique flavor

kept me feeling refreshed for days!

If you put it that way,

then we should thank you

for specifically sending us

those Gulou Pastries.

Since that day,

I've been frequenting Yiwei Eatery

just for those Gulou Pastries.

Come on, gentlemen.

Come on in, please.

[Orderly Administration]

Please.

[Quick Guide to Zuo's Commentary [Quick Guide to Zuo's Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals, by Du Yuankai]

Mr. Ma, you're reading the "Spring and Autumn Annals"?

This version of "Spring and Autumn Annals" is

quite rare to find

in bookstores.

[Quick Guide to Zuo's Commentary on Spring and Autumn Annals, by Du Yuankai]

It's the "Spring and Autumn Annals" annotated by Du Yuankai,

truly a rare find.

I wonder

where you obtained it, Mr. Ma.

It's all thanks

to my classmate, Liu Zigui.

He has a deep understanding of the "Spring and Autumn Annals."

Though he hasn't passed the imperial exams,

he often gives lessons at Ximing Temple

and Zhao Jinggong Temple,

teaching the "Spring and Autumn Annals"

to the students who lodge in the temples, preparing

for the Exam of Classical Studies.

He's quite popular there.

Then he must come from a scholarly family.

I wonder which Confucian Master

his ancestor was?

Honestly, I don't know about that.

He's also never mentioned it.

He's not only knowledgeable about the classics

but also well-versed in painting.

Every time he visits,

he stares at that screen

for half an hour.

[The Lament of the Imperial Scandal]

Who painted this?

Strangely enough,

this screen

bears no artist's signature,

yet the Palace Secretariat treasures it so much.

It's said

that when His Majesty visited the Palace Secretariat,

he also stood before this screen for quite a while.

"The Lament of the Imperial Scandal"?

This isn't a real polo field.

It's way too small, anyway.

Mr. Lu, you're a polo master

of our Tang Empire.

You noticed it right away.

They say

this depicts the back garden of the Eastern Palace.

[The Lament of the Imperial Scandal]

The one in the center,

tall and heroic,

with the aura of an emperor,

must be Crown Prince Hong, right?

You're so sharp-eyed, Mr. Su.

That is indeed Emperor Xiaojing.

Actually,

I have seen

Emperor Xiaojing's portrait before.

But

this is my first time seeing such a vivid painting

[The Lament of the Imperial Scandal]

of him playing polo.

Visiting your place today

[The Lament of the Imperial Scandal]

has really been an eye-opener for me.

[The Lament of the Imperial Scandal]

What's wrong?

You've appeared gloomy for a while.

I've been thinking about Crown Prince Hong.

If he hadn't died so young,

the Tang Empire today

would be completely different.

You know what?

Before His Majesty decided to compete

in the international polo tournament in person,

he took me to pay respects to Emperor Xiaojing.

Why did His Majesty do that?

First of all,

Emperor Xiaojing was the best polo player

in the imperial family.

It was also his idea back then

to hold a polo tournament every 4 years

to pacify foreign territories

and reinforce diplomatic ties.

That's how

the international polo tournament came into being.

And then...

I know what happened afterward.

Crown Prince Hong died without a son.

Years later,

Empress Wu Zetian had the Prince of Chu at that time

be his heir.

The Prince of Chu back then

became today's Emperor.

Where's Yingtao?

She must be busy with something.

You don't suspect Ma Meng, do you?

Back in Hanzhou Prefecture,

he fought alongside us

to eliminate the Taiyin Sect.

Yes,

Official Ma

risked his life fighting that battle.

I really respect him for that.

Today,

Ma Meng was talking in a completely honest way.

Does he look like a murderer?