Original subtitles

Episode 26

Big brother.

The locks on the chests have been tampered with.

Big brother.

The silver is gone.

How dare they steal donations?

How dare they steal my silver?

How did they steal the silver from the Imperial College?

I went out of my way to lend you a room to deposit your silver

and I gave you the key to the warehouse.

Now the silver is gone,

so the most likely suspect shouldn't be the Imperial College.

That's bullshit.

Of course you're the most likely suspect.

You did give me the key,

but perhaps you'd had it duplicated beforehand.

If I had been the culprit,

why would I have pried it open

rather than unlock it with a key?

Because by doing so,

you could easily impute the crime to the Imperial College.

What? I…

Come on.

Calm down.

You Imperial Guards are such swaggerers.

You stole the silver

and wanted to frame us, the Imperial College,

and now you're trying to bully us.

It occurs to me now

that you Imperial Guards are widely known

for distorting facts

and talking black into white.

I'm going to kill you.

-I'm going to… -Qiao, Qiao.

Come here. Come here.

Qiao,

it's no use making a scene here.

Maybe we should notify the local government?

Notify the local government?

What nonsense!

I am the local government.

What a lousy idea!

As an Imperial Guard, I got hoodwinked,

and I should turn to the constables for help?

Haven't I brought enough disgrace on myself?

You mean you'll ask

the Imperial Guards to investigate this case?

Let go of me.

We're not criminal investigators,

but we're more competent than the Six Fans Gate.

I will certainly

get to the bottom of the case.

Listen, if we find out that the culprit

is from the Imperial College,

I won't let you off.

Clear your own name first

before you investigate the Imperial College.

Why would I need to clear my name?

The walls of the Imperial College

are taller than prison walls.

How could I possibly have stolen such a great deal of silver from here?

Right.

The chests are still here

but the silver is gone,

which means that the silver thieves

could neither move the chests out

nor smuggle them

out of the Imperial College.

Perhaps they divided the silver into smaller portions

and smuggled them out bit by bit.

Even so,

they couldn't have climbed over the walls.

That's right.

At night, the Imperial College has guards on patrol

and there are constables and night watchmen on the other side of the walls.

So the silver couldn't have been smuggled out over the walls.

In that case,

the silver must have been smuggled out through the gate.

Venerable Education Officer,

the Imperial College keeps

an access register, I believe?

Yes, it does.

Excellent.

The silver was transported here yesterday evening,

and no one is allowed to get in

or out of the Imperial College at night.

Therefore,

I bet the gatekeeper remembers

if anyone carted out a big load

or passed in and out many times

during that period of time.

Send for the gatekeeper

who stood guard last night immediately.

You're still bent on investigating the Imperial College?

Yes, of course.

The silver got stolen when deposited in the Imperial College.

Who else should I be suspicious of?

-Besides…-You…

You've repeatedly obstructed my investigations,

do you have a guilty conscience?

Listen.

Your door lock is intact,

but my chests have been pried open.

Calm down.

Brother Qiao,

I beg to differ.

The intactness of the lock

doesn't prove anything.

I could pick this lock

if you gave me

the right tools.

Besides,

how can we distrust the Imperial College

when it has selflessly

helped us deposit the silver?

Venerable Education Officer,

as a senior educator,

you surely are much wiser

than we juniors.

The silver

was meant for disaster relief,

so shouldn't we join hands

to find the silver?

He's right,

sir.

Those flood victims

will have a harder time without the silver.

Venerable Education Officer, we understand

that you're standing up for the Imperial College,

but shouldn't you be cooperating with us

to track down the silver thief

if you want to clear the name

of the Imperial College?

Making this matter public

wouldn't benefit anyone,

but I won't let you off

if your investigation proves futile.

Thank you, venerable Education Officer.

Gentlemen,

sorry to interrupt you.

Since your silver

has gone missing,

we have to call off the deal.

So long.

Wait a minute, Mr. Tong.

This is a serious matter

that involves the Ministry of War,

the Imperial College and the Imperial Guards.

So, Mr. Tong,

you must know

what you should do.

I have your shops at my fingertips.

Please rest assured, gentlemen.

I'll keep my mouth shut.

I'll keep my lips sealed.

You can go now.

Let's go.

Tell me,

from 5 p.m. yesterday to this morning,

did any large groups of people

get in or out through the front gate?

Did anyone carry any heavy objects

or did anyone deliver a load in a wagon?

My lord,

the answer is no.

Last night over 40 people passed through this gate,

and they traveled in twos and threes at most.

Nobody carried any heavy objects,

and no one delivered a load in a wagon.

Did anyone get in and out several times?

Well,

I can't recall exactly.

If anyone did that,

it must have been recorded

in the access register.

According to it,

only one person passed through the gate twice,

and it was because he had lost something in the tavern.

Only twice?

Then he can't be the culprit.

It was such a large quantity of silver.

During that period of time, only 23 people

passed through the back gate.

Nothing unusual happened.

Big brother,

Yunfei and I examined the left gate and the right gate,

and we found the lock on the left gate rusty,

and there were no obvious scratches on the keyhole.

It seemed

unused for a long time.

I also checked out the right gate,

and like the left gate,

it's been closed for quite some time.

The silver must still be in the Imperial College

if it hasn't been smuggled out.

What?

You want to search the Imperial College?

Venerable Education Officer,

if we don't get to the bottom of it,

not only the Imperial College

but also yourself

will suffer a damaged reputation.

All right. All right.

You can search if you like.

Thank you, venerable Education Officer.

Have you got anything?

Have you got anything?

No.

Look carefully.

Take it easy.

Over there.

Daheng, what are you doing?

Yunfei, are you all right?

It…it wasn't me.

It was Daheng's fault.

You've got wet anyway,

so why don't you check out the other side?

I still can't find anything.

How clumsy! Let me go down.

Brother Nian,

aren't these people here to exterminate rats and cockroaches

at the behest of venerable Education Officer?

Um, can roaches and rats be found in the well?

My dear friend,

you've always been living in the city

and naturally have no idea about it.

I used to live in the countryside when I was young,

and I know a little more about the matter.

Rats can go under water.

That's why

they examine the well so carefully.

Brother Nian, you're so learned and capable.

I'm flattered.

So there're roaches and rats in this well?

Then the tea we drink all the time…

How disgusting!

So? Have you got anything?

No.

Did you do a thorough job?

Oh, shucks.

I'll hunt out the silver

if it's still hidden in the Imperial College.

Brother Hongxuan,

what are you doing?

Did you drop something in the latrine?

It's none of your business.

Go take a piss.

OK.

Take your time.

Xiaotian,

did you get anything?

The windows show no sign

of forced entry.

Niu,

let's take a break.

OK.

my hands feel numb.

Why is it so heavy?

Come on.

Come on.

Big brother,

what are you thinking about?

Their hands felt numb.

They took a break.

Big brother,

they took a break, but what does it matter to you?

Yunfei,

I remember you telling me

that the men didn't stop for a rest

as they carried the silver chests here

all the way from Best Restaurant.

That's right.

You mean

they didn't stop for a break once

and were carrying the chests the whole time, right?

Yeah.

They never set down the chests

or stopped for a break.

Um, big brother,

is there a problem with that?

I get it.

What's he looking for?

What did he mean when he said he got it?

I don't know.

I'd be Brother Ye if I got it.

I get it.

You get it?

What does he get?

I don't know,

my lord.

What does he get?

I've not the faintest idea.

Daheng, Yunfei,

help me remove the bricks.

I get it.

Now I know what was going on.

What on earth was going on?

What on earth did you find out?

Tell me about it.

You're driving me crazy.

Brother Hongxuan,

call venerable Education Officer

and the superintendent of this place over here.

OK.

Come on, Xiaotian,

what exactly did you find out?

You'll see in a minute.

Venerable Education Officer,

may I ask who heaped these bricks

beneath the window behind me and when it happened?

Can you enlighten us?

My lord,

I really don't remember

when and how these bricks got here.

They must have been put here

only recently.

Do these bricks have anything

to do with this case?

Yes, of course.

We've proved that the thief

couldn't have smuggled the silver

out of the Imperial College without being caught.

But if the load in the chests was bricks,

the thief only needed

to take out these bricks

and set them aside.

So the load you carried here was

bricks?

How could it be?

The load was silver, I'm sure.

But you didn't open the chests for my inspection.

Are you saying we're bluffing?

Calm down, Brother Qiao.

Venerable Education Officer is right.

Our load the other day indeed was bricks,

because the silver

had been switched at Best Restaurant.

Xiaotian,

why are you so sure

that the silver got switched at Best Restaurant?

We took into account many factors,

but we overlooked one factor,

that is, the men who carried the chests.

Think about it.

Each of the silver chests

weighed 150 kilograms,

while a chest of bricks weighs only 50 kilograms.

The Imperial College is three crossroads

away from Best Restaurant.

It seemed strenuous for those men

to lift up the silver chests,

so how could they have

suddenly become so full of power

that they could deliver the silver

to the Imperial College without taking a break?

This tells us

that the silver had been switched

at the restaurant.

Since it had been switched,

why would they take the trouble

to pry open the locks

and remove the bricks?

In fact, the thief's scheme

consisted of two stages.

In the first stage,

they'd replace the silver

with the bricks they'd prepared.

In the second stage,

they needed to remove

the bricks from the chests

so as to destroy the evidence.

That's right.

So they had to remove the bricks

to distract our attention

and thus to trick us into thinking

that the silver was stolen from the Imperial College.

The Imperial College would be made a scapegoat.

Now the name of the Imperial College

has been cleared, right?

Brother Qiao was right.

And I tried

applying the original keys to the silver chests

to the locks here, but it was in vain.

This shows

the chests, together with the locks,

are not the original ones.

They'd been switched.

Big brother,

I'm not sure if I fully get it,

but I think we should hurry to Best Restaurant

to get back the money

from that bunch of bastards.

Let's go.

Let's go.

That way.

I still can't figure out

how they switched our chests

at Best Restaurant.

We'd been keeping an eye

on the silver chests the whole time.

Now that we know Best Restaurant has to answer for the theft,

we shall ask them to confess their crime.

Are you sure they'll admit it themselves

that they switched the silver?

They won't do that readily, to be sure.

But what if

we hunt out the silver in the restaurant?

Shouldn't they have relocated

the stolen silver by now?

I bet they haven't

relocated it yet.

How dare they relocate the stolen silver

with the numerous flood victims

rushing into the city,

the many patrols and constables in the streets

and the night curfew?

Besides,

they'd erased the marks

of the Imperial College warehouse,

thus leaving things to chance.

The silver should still be in Best Restaurant

if we discovered the truth in time.

That makes sense.

Xiaotian.

Xiaotian.

I've brought my men here.

Tell us what we should do.

Just go inside

and search the place.

Wait a second.

Big brother, you've always been prudent.

Why are you being rash today?

What's the matter with you?

We're in too critical a situation

to be prudent.

Qiao, let's go.

Search the place.

Hunt out the silver,

and I'll buy you a drink.

Let's get started.

Let's go.

Let's go.

We Imperial Guards are on a case.

Stay where you are, everyone.

Search the place.

Come on.

This way.

Search the place.

Come on.

What's going on here?

Sir,

which law did Best Restaurant break, if I may ask?

Why did the Imperial Guards

come to investigate the place?

A lowly subject like you has no right to question me.

Get lost.

Sir,

how could we do business

if you search the place with such a fanfare?

To tell you the truth,

our Best Restaurant

is the Minister of Rites' property.

It's advisable to spare His Excellency's sensibilities.

What?

Best Restaurant is Lord Guan's property?

Yes.

Lord Guan is Guan Xiaokun's father.

Hunt out the silver

at any cost.

What…what are you guys doing?

Qiao Busi,

so you're the one raising hell in my restaurant.

Guan Xiaokun,

so you are here.

This Best Restaurant is your family's property?

Why did you never tell me about it?

Why would I tell you about it?

Were we on friendly terms?

Listen up, Qiao Busi.

Get out of here with your men immediately,

or you'll be in serious trouble.

You want me to get out of here?

OK.

Give back the charity silver,

and I'll show myself out.

What charity silver?

I see.

Qiao Busi,

the silver you raised

in the name of charity auction is gone.

Qiao,

you stole the silver in your trust

and now you're framing me.

You're making a false charge against me.

Mark my words.

I won't let you off

if you don't straighten things out.

Guan,

I won't let you off

even if you decide to let me off.

Tell my father

that Qiao Busi, a centurion of the Imperial Guards,

is making trouble in our restaurant.

Yes, my lord.

You need your father's help so badly?

Someone's got a guilty conscience.

Bah.

Let me tell you, Qiao Busi,

I'm a righteous man

of impeccable conduct.

Why would I have a guilty conscience?

Come and check this out, guys.

Big brother,

there're secret doors in the passage.

Big brother, so there is something shady about Best Restaurant.

I get it.

Now I know how the silver got switched.

It was you.

It was you who stopped Yunfei

when he was making for the lobby.

Big brother. Wait a second, brother.

Do come and drink with us

when you accomplish your mission.

I don't drink.

At that time, the constables were outside the restaurant.

That was the only moment

when the silver wasn't watched over.

Your men switched the silver

when you were talking to Yunfei.

Listen up, Qiao,

stop slinging mud at me.

You want to frame me

simply because the screens are movable?

Mark my words.

I won't be convicted

even if you bring the lawsuit to the Imperial Court.

Bah.

I'll teach you a lesson. I'll…

-You bastard.-Brother Qiao.

-Calm down. -Calm down, Brother Qiao.

Calm down.

Just you wait!

Guan Xiaokun,

your arguments sound reasonable.

But I can find another piece of evidence

that you can't deny.

What evidence do you mean?

That day,

the silver chests

were carried away by 12 employees

from your restaurant.

You must have been involved in the case

if I can prove that the 12 men

were suspicious, right?

How…how are you going to prove that?

That day, the 12 men

never set down the silver chests for a break

from the time they lifted them up from here

to the time

they reached the Imperial College.

If I can find three similar chests,

which I shall fill with the same amount of silver,

and ask them to repeat the route,

and if they can do that without taking a break,

then I will kowtow to you and plead guilty.

And now I see

why the three keyholes in the chests

had to be destroyed.

Because they'd switched the chests,

and the keys you had wouldn't work on the new chests.

That's why

they had to pry open the chests.

Fine.

I will hunt out the silver.

Let's go.

My lord,

we've searched the second floor thoroughly

but found nothing.

My lord,

we've searched the first floor thoroughly

but found nothing.

Xiaotian,

could they have

relocated the silver?

I don't think so.

If the silver had been relocated,

Guan Xiaokun would have flatly denied the charge.

But look at him.

The silver is still here.

Yes.

The silver must still be here.

Search the place again.

Check out the beams and look under the beds.

Don't overlook a single commode.

Search the place.

Yes, sir.

Let's go.

Did…didn't you just search the place?

Why are you doing this again?

Who…who are you guys?

Shut up.

Out of my way.

Search the place.

Remove the lid of the wok.

What's that smell?

Did you two smell it?

It's the swill over there.

Why are they carting away swill

at this hour?

The flood victims

are increasing in number.

To prevent accidents from happening,

the Capital City no longer allows

the influx of flood victims.

So the city gates now open at fixed times.

There's too much swill and trash

to be carted away in such a short time.

Sometimes it has to be put off until the afternoon.

Yunfei, Daheng,

follow me.

Come on.

Set down the swill.

Stand back.

What a surprise!

You Imperial Guards are so hungry

that you drool over the swill bins

of our Best Restaurant.

The silver must still be here.

Go on with your search, then.

My family is quite rich,

so I might as well shut down Best Restaurant

for a year or so for you to search.

It's no bother.

Weren't you so eloquent just now?

Where's the silver?

Don't think you can

put on airs in front of me

with Qiao Busi at your back.

Mark my words.

A mantis can't stop a chariot,

and you shouldn't overrate your abilities.

Life must have been hard for you since you came to the Capital City with your family.

The Capital City hasn't been peaceful lately.

You'd better hurry home with your family.

Who knows what accidents

might happen to you

one day?

Accidents.

Listen,

I've never been afraid of anyone or anything.

That's hard to say.

A storm may arise from a clear sky,

and men are subject to sudden changes of fortune.

Take care.

Is that so?

You'd better keep that in mind.

We'll see.

Let's go.

Big brother.

Let's go.

-What's the matter, Big brother? -Don't move.

Paint.

Where did you get the paint stain?

The Imperial Guards are back for more swill.

We're out of it today.

Big brother.

It's over there.

Smash it open.

Yes, sir.

What…what are you doing?

Silver!

We've found it.

The silver.

Catch him.

You…

Guan,

tell us.

Are you doomed

or dead meat?

You almost

had us fooled this time.

What did you just say?

A storm may arise from a clear sky,

and men are subject to sudden changes of fortune, huh?

Clear up the place.

Beat it. Get out.

Hurry. Get out.

What…what do you want?

You stole the silver.

You stole my silver.

How dare you?

How dare you?

Beat him.

Give him a good beating.

Yes, sir.

Stop.

How dare you beat him

in my presence?

You Highness,

Guan Xiaokun deserves a good beating, doesn't he?

I know what happened.

He did wrong.

But leniency is a virtue.

Do you really want to beat him to death?

Does Your Highness mean

we should forget about it?

What Guan Xiaokun did

was indeed extremely inappropriate.

But I hope…

I hope you could cut him some slack.

No.

Why would we…

What Guan Xiaokun did was contemptible,

and it violated the law of the country.

But I think

teaching him a lesson would do.

You're not going to throw him into prison, are you?

I'm sure Guan Xiaokun

will learn from this lesson.

Besides,

his father, Lord Guan, will learn of this matter eventually,

and when he does,

he's sure to subject his son to strict discipline.

Brother Zhang,

we should be easy on people.

Hongxuan.

Master Yue.

Guan Xiaokun is an immoral man of sordid conduct.

He shall no longer stay at the Imperial College.

And I'm not going to let off those

who helped him frame the Imperial College

by replacing the silver with grey bricks.

But

I was wondering

if the Guan family could suggest

that Guan Xiaokun should leave

the Imperial College.

Both you and Guan Xiaokun are students at the Imperial College.

The Imperial College had nothing to do with this case,

but it would suffer a damaged reputation

if word got out.

So,

I hope

you can consider this carefully.

Well…

Venerable Education Officer is right.

Brother Zhang,

take a step back, and you shall embrace a brighter future.

Yes.

OK.

We shall adopt venerable Education Officer's advice.

Let's go.

Take along the silver

and let's go.

Yes, sir.

Take along the silver

and let's go.

Your great kindness

shall be engraved on my mind.

Big brother,

why did you let off

that bastard?

Just think about it.

Do you think Guan Xiaokun could endure it

if he were sentenced to death?

Even if he doesn't receive a sentence

for the horrible thing he did, do you think

his father will let him off the hook?

But why…

Be forbearing for now,

and you'll meet with fewer setbacks in the future.

Why should we harp on his fault

when we could benefit more from a comprise?

Why?

Second Brother,

Eldest Brother is right.

All right.

Brothers,

let's call it a day.

Let's go.

Come on.

Xiaotian,

we wouldn't have raised so much money

and couldn't have succeeded

in getting it back

but for your help.

That's right. Xiaotian,

your resourcefulness

has helped me

clear my name.

Otherwise,

I wouldn't have been able to clear my name on my own.

Dear brothers,

you flatter me.

When it comes to this matter,

we stand or fall together,

not to mention the congeniality between us.

Therefore, I'm supposed to do my best to help

whether professionally or personally.

OK.

Let's not stand on ceremony, then.

Drain the cup,

and we're brothers.

Come on.

Come on.

Xiaotian,

Brother Qiao told me about your case.

Don't worry.

We'll help you solve the problem..

Well said, Brother Zhang.

Xiaotian,

stay here with your mind at ease.

The strife between high officials

may take a long time.

It may take

a month or two,

or even a year or so.

You think Brother Ye

is as idle as you two?

I think you should

tell your venerable father about it.

He's not the man in charge of the case,

but a word from him

may get the matter settled sooner.

That can be arranged.

My father works at the Ministry of War,

but other yamen officials

will show respect to him.

In that case,

I shall thank you in advance, Brother Qiao.

Wow, what a big city.

The Capital City is so big,

so how can we find Yingying?

Nephew,

are you sure Yingying is in the Capital City?

Uncle,

I've inquired about it.

Ye Xiaotian had been sent to the Capital City under escort.

Sister must have come here to look for him.

I'm sure of it.

But the place is a sea of people.

Uncle,

don't worry.

Sister came here for Ye Xiaotian,

so we'll find Sister

when we find Ye Xiaotian.

That's right.

Go and ask

where the yamen of the Ministry of Punishments is.

OK.

I'm on it.

Hey.

Do you know where the yamen of the Ministry of Punishments is?

The Ministry of Punishments is inaccessible to underdogs.

I was just asking directions.

Look at that stupid face

of yours.

Do you look down upon us country folk?

How dare you put on airs?

Stop.

How dare you country folk

be so arrogant in the Capital City?

Keep your eyes wide open.

This is Royal Uncle Li.

Do you take me for a fool?

Stop bluffing.

Your Highness,

I'm sorry.

Please forgive my nephew for his rudeness,

Your Highness.

The city gate guards shouldn't have

let in country bumpkins like you.

You…

To be honest,

I came to the Capital City

because my daughter had been

abducted here by a young rascal

named Ye Xiaotian.

Ye Xiaotian?

May I know your daughter's name?

My surname is Xia,

and my daughter is called Yingying.

Xia Yingying?

So…you must be Uncle Xia.

I'm Li Xuancheng.

And I happen to know your daughter.

That's great.

Don't worry, Uncle Xia.

I'll see to it

that you shall find your daughter.