Original subtitles

[Under the Microscope]

[Episode 13]

[Jin'an Prefectural Office]

Have a seat.

Grand Coordinator Li

Have a seat.

Have a seat.

Please.

Commander Ma.

Yes.

I've received

your letter of criticism.

It's well-written.

Well...

Tax season is coming.

There has been civil unrest

in Jin'an.

The county magistrate and regional inspector

couldn't handle it.

I will be

reporting back to the capital

in 10 days.

I had no choice

but to come in person.

Our incompetence has caused you trouble.

No.

We are incompetent.

I'm not here to hold you accountable.

I'm here to solve the problem.

Why aren't the people

of Renhua county leaving?

Why are they still here?

Grand Coordinator Li.

We have arrested

the culprits who caused the unrest,

Shuai Jiamo and Feng Baoyu

from Renhua County.

These two people

deceived the people with rumors about taxation.

They threw the counties into chaos,

thereby causing civil unrest.

Now, we are going to punish them in accordance with the legal code,

as a warning towards others.

Executions are supposed to be

reported to the Ministry of Justice.

You can't

make the call by yourself!

-But... -We were...

We were in a hurry to quash the unrest.

It was urgent.

But the document for their execution

is in order.

Here is the document.

I have temporarily taken charge of the prefecture's affairs,

and have received the prefectural seal.

[Commander Ma Wencai of the Military Defense Circuit, Assistant Prefect Song Ren of Jin'an]

Commander Ma has reviewed and given his approval.

[8th day of the 7th month, 7th year of the Wanli reign]

We must be prudent

in sentencing criminals.

The imperial court emphasizes that

we should guide the people towards improving themselves.

Well...

Grand Coordinator Li...

You really have no idea.

The two of them

threw the whole of Jin'an Prefecture

into utter chaos.

If they are not killed,

the people's anger cannot be appeased.

That is true.

Once the unruly commoners make a scene,

you kill people to appease them.

What if they make trouble again?

How many people are you going to kill?

Cheng Renqing, you scared me!

In dramas,

don't the heroes

only show up to the excecution grounds

at the last minute?

Shuai told me that

unless you could fly

or burrow through the ground,

there was no way you would

make it in time.

I wouldn't have made it.

But unexpectedly,

I ran into the Grand Coordinator's Bearer

on my way to the provincial capital.

He was on his way to Renhua?

In order to bring down Prefect Huang

and Inspector Liu,

Ma Wencai had sent the document of criticism

a long time ago

to the provincial capital.

He wanted to silence Shuai Jiamo,

but was afraid Prefect Huang and Inspector Liu would stop him,

so he sent troops to send them back

to the provincial capital.

He thought his plan was flawless.

However,

because of this,

Inspector Liu ran into Grand Coordinator Li.

It's heaven's will.

That means that Inspector Liu

explained the situation,

so Grand Coordinator Li

decided to step in

to uphold justice for us?

Shuai Jiamo,

although you are an arithmetic nut,

you're really lucky.

Li Shida was one of the officials

who handled your father's case

that year.

Which one of you is Shuai Duncheng?

I am.

Fan Zhaomo of the Fengxing Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office

and Secretary Li of the Ministry of Personnel

have summoned you for questioning.

Actually,

I did some research

about the situation in Renhua

on my way here.

It all began

with the Silk Poll Tax.

Speaking of this tax,

I am quite familiar with it.

I remember when I was

the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel,

I worked with Master Fan

on a case in Renhua.

Do you know

what we do?

I don't know.

I'm in charge of surveying and auditing

the expenditures and taxation

[Record Keeper of the Fengxing Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's Office, Fan Yuan]

for all the prefectures of Fengxing.

This is the Secretary who oversees officials' integrity

[Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, Li Shida]

at the Ministry of Personnel.

Greetings, Secretary Li.

Greetings, Record Keeper Fan.

In Renhua County,

there's a tax called the Silk Poll Tax.

Have you heard of it?

Yes.

The value of the tax

is 3,530 taels.

It is supposed to be

collected by Renhua County,

sent to Jin'an Prefecture,

and then sent by Jin'an Prefecture

to the Ministry of Revenue's storehouse in the provincial capital.

Right?

Yes.

However,

Renhua County is under supplementary governance.

It shares a storehouse with the prefecture.

There is paperwork done for transportation

from Renhua County to Jin'an Prefecture,

but that is only a formality.

The money never leaves the storehouse.

So,

there's no need to check the inventory.

If someone

wants to embezzle the money,

this is where he can

use an official document

to transfer the money out.

What do you want to ask?

[Repair expenditure, Jin'an Prefecture]

Is this your signature?

[Clerk, Shuai Duncheng]

and stole

3,530 taels from the storehouse.

Such a bold move.

How dare you!

I did sign on this.

But this

is really just for repair expenditure!

What is repair expenditure?

Repair expenditure is used to

repair field rulers.

But in fact,

it's the money

that comes from the large landowners

who want to under-report the acreage of their holdings

during land measurement.

You still want to make excuses?

Master Fan,

calm down.

You said that

you only took bribes,

but did not embezzle tax money.

Do you have evidence?

Yes.

I do!

Please give me a few days.

The man who is about to executed is also surnamed Shuai, right?

What's his relationship with Shuai Duncheng?

Nevermind.

He is

the son of Shuai Duncheng.

Like father, like son. Both of them turned out to be crooks.

Is that so?

You are...

You are..

that Clerk at the Revenue Office, right?

Yes!

I was the one who reported the case

back then.

You have a good memory, Grand Coordinator Li.

So many things don't add up about this case!

Shuai Duncheng said

the case wasn't that simple.

So I let him go

to prepare the evidence.

Unexpectedly, a few days later,

he committed suicide to escape punishment.

We had to close the case without solving it.

Grand Coordinator Li,

you still remember this criminal

after 20 years.

He should be very flattered

where he is in the netherworld.

Let's not talk about this.

I have solved

many cases in my life.

This case

was the only one I couldn't solve.

That's why it's been weighing on my mind.

Yes.

That's why

we should postpone today's execution

for now.

-Grand Coordinator Li. -Grand Coordinator Li.

I want a joint trial with the other officials.

Well...

I think

if we let the unruly commoners

surround the county,

there might be trouble.

Yes.

That's easy.

Tell them

to nominate a few representatives

from each county

to sit in on the trial.

Grand Coordinator Li, this...

This won't work.

When we deal with unruly commoners,

we cannot always yield to them,

and nor can we always quash them.

As long as they know

the government is dealing with the problem

with sincerity,

they will calm down by themselves.

Grand Coordinator Li.

This...

Our government officials...

You two are

local magistrates, right?

You should know how to deal with this problem.

Do you know why Li Shida

came to Renhua?

Isn't he here to

uphold justice?

No.

For an official of his rank,

right or wrong is

not important at all.

What matters is

who can

benefit him more.

In order to win,

we cannot simply

reason with him,

we must prove to him that

we are more valuable.

If we can, we will win.

If we fail,

he will abandon us

without hesitation.

Is it so hard?

You should have let them

cut my head off.

Tomorrow, the two of you,

Shuai Jiamo especially,

must not obsess over

the details of the Silk Poll Tax.

What should we say then?

I managed to get

this opportunity

because I handed Grand Coordinator Li

the Complete Works of the Silk Event,

and showed him how serious

the problem with undisclosed land is in Jin'an.

Tomorrow, we must

latch onto

the point of land remeasurement

and make an issue out of it.

This is what

the Grand Coordinator cares about the most.

Both are mistakes.

What's the difference?

They're different.

The Silk Poll Tax

is merely about

which county's people get taxed.

This doesn't matter

for the a grand coordinator.

But shortening rope and under-reporting land ownership

is a matter of stealing money

from the court.

Grand Secretary Zhang is about to implement his reform.

This is

a very sensitive issue.

Now that you put it this way,

I understand.

You're standing up for the people

and solving a problem for the court.

It is an irrefutably just endeavour.

When you reach the courtroom tomorrow,

don't get your priorities wrong.

You two think about it.

Don't forget.

Mr. Cheng.

He's insightful.

Cheng Renqing is really something.

He's right.

Baoyu.

You have a brother-in-law now.

Fan.

Fan.

I've been waiting for you for a long time.

I heard that Shuai Duncheng is here.

Yes.

Did he bring the document?

No.

He said he needed to add

something.

He will send it to us when it's ready.

That's great.

This is a big discovery.

We can bring his document with us

and return to Nanjing tomorrow.

It's been 20 years.

Nothing has changed

in Jin'an Prefecture.

When I heard that you had arrived in Renhua,

I rushed over right away.

Fan,

I still remember

20 years ago,

we worked together

on a case here in Jin'an.

Unexpectedly,

I have returned

and met you again.

To think that the Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel

has now become the esteemed

Grand Coordinator of Fengxing.

You have a great career. I envy you.

I truly envy you.

I'm flattered.

Fan,

let's

get down to business.

After that,

we can catch up.

What do you think?

This way, please.

Secretary Li is from Jingyang,

and I am from Jin'an Prefecture.

Seeing as we're from the same hometown,

I asked you to come here in advance

to see if there's

anything I can do

to help.

Record Keeper Fan, you're truly honorable.

Don't stand on ceremony.

Have a seat.

Where is the

account book now?

The account book is at home.

Are you sure all the cases of hidden land

are recorded in the account book?

I'm sure.

I checked every sun.

This is very important.

You must safekeep it well.

Don't worry.

Even if the account book is gone,

I know all the details

by heart.

I can write another copy.

Since you did it,

you should plead guilty.

I like arithmetic.

My son likes it too.

There is no room for error

in arithmetic.

If you are wrong,

you have to admit it first,

before you can correct it.

[Office of Justice]

I hope I can

teach him this.

Good.

It's good to admit to your mistakes and make amends.

I just came back from a work trip.

I brought this pot of aged wine

as a souvenir for you.

I'm flattered.

I don't deserve this.

Have a seat.

I admire you.

There aren't many people

like you anymore.

[Renhua]

[Jin'an Prefectural Office]

the representatives of the people

and the local gentlemen

are all here.

Strictly speaking,

imperial power shouldn't reign over the counties.

However,

this is a serious matter.

Moreover, Master Fan and I

are old friends.

So I invited you all here

to sit in on the trial and offer your opinions.

By the way,

I have also summoned

Cheng Renqing

to explain the details of the case for all of us.

Please sit.

Thank you, Your Excellency.

Have a seat.

Please have a look.

I chanced upon

a copy of

[Complete Works of the Silk Event]

Shuai.

This was written by Shuai Duncheng,

who died 20 years ago.

Its contents

are truely perturbing.

Silk?

The Complete Works of the Silk Event? What is it?

Master Fan,

how about you

flip through it first?

Here, Grand Coordinator Li.

Alright.

Shuai.

Grand Coordinator Li.

This book...

This book details

a transaction in land

from 20 years ago.

The actual acreage

[Complete Works of the Silk Event]

[3,530]

and the registered acreage

are widely different.

It's definitely guilty of

shortening rope and under-reporting land ownership.

Twenty years?

That's the 38th year of the Jiajing reign.

This happened

two emperors' reigns ago.

Why bring it up again today?

Magistrate Mao.

You're a local magistrate, aren't you?

Don't you understand?

You—

Under-reporting of land ownership

is different from other cases.

Murder and arson are fine.

The losses end there.

But under-reporting land ownership

is akin to stealing money from the court

every year.

And it's been going on for 20 years.

How much is that?

That is scaremongering talk!

If we don't stop it in time,

the longer it goes on,

the more tax money we lose.

In that case,

don't you think past incidents are worth bringing up?

Exactly.

Grand Coordinator Li,

I think

we should figure out

the authenticity of the book first.

Otherwise, the discussion

is meaningless.

Of course.

Excuse me,

where did you get the book?

This book...

We got this book from

the recently deceased Assistant Magistrate Ren.

Back then,

he was close friends with Shuai Duncheng,

who entrusted him with this book.

Before he died,

he decided to make it public.

Assistant Magistrate Ren is already dead,

you can make up whatever you want.

He can't refute you

anymore.

We don't need him around

to authenticate the account book.

Can't we tell from the handwriting?

It's been 20 years!

How can you tell whether

it's Shuai Duncheng's handwriting?

Who said we are authenticating

Shuai Duncheng's handwriting?

Assistant Prefect Song,

you probably still don't know.

The Complete Works of the Silk Event

does not only contain Shuai Duncheng's records,

but also 20 years of

[Authenticated]

Assistant Magistrate Ren's annotations.

Assistant Magistrate Ren

has been an official

in Jin'an for many years.

His handwriting is

everywhere in the Archives.

Let's pick up a few books

and compare them.

Isn't it easy to tell?

I've talked to

Shuai Duncheng before.

He's not normal in the head.

So what he wrote

is not trustworthy.

Master Fan,

you are wrong.

If you say the Shuais

don't know the ways of the world,

you would be right.

But if you say their accounts

aren't trustworthy,

that would be

a barefaced lie.

Everyone knows

their arithmetic skills

are among the best in the world.

I'm afraid no one in Fengxing

can compare to them.

Good arithmetic skills

and trustworthiness

are two different things.

Well said, Commander Ma.

It's like writing an article.

Some people write beautifully,

but they are full of

bad thoughts.

Even if as you said,

it was written by Shuai Duncheng,

it may not be the truth.

Maybe it's a false accusation.

False accusation?

Fine.

Actually,

this is easy to verify.

How do you want to verify it?

Master Fan,

can I borrow the Complete Works of the Silk Event?

There is a record here.

During the 7th month of the 38th year of the Jiajing reign,

the Fei family in Tongyang

made a property transaction

with the Zhao family.

Look carefully.

Look carefully.

The man in charge of measuring the land

was Shuai Duncheng.

His results were

120 mu of land.

But because he received repair money,

he tampered with

the rope ruler.

In the end,

the fish-scale map register

only recorded 110 mu of land.

The transaction was made for 600 taels.

So what?

All land transactions in Jin'an Prefecture

are taxable.

The government office has to stamp

on the title deed.

It's called a red contract.

Magistrate Fang,

the Archives are so near.

Can you send someone to get

the deed tax records

and the fish-scale map register for that year?

Let's check it.

Grand Coordinator Li.

I've prepared everything.

Can I present it to you?

Bring it here.

Bring it here.

Sister,

Baoyu asked me

to hold on to this for him.

I'll return it to you today.

Since he left it with you,

[Fortune]

110 mu, 600 taels.

The 7th month.

[Fish-Scale Map Register for the 31th year of the Jiajing Reign]

We still need to check it.

600 taels.

The Fei family and the Zhao family.

All the numbers match.

What does that mean?

Shuai Duncheng could have

read the fish-scale map register first

and exaggerated the number on purpose.

Magistrate Mao.

I'm afraid you don't know

about their background.

Commander Ma.

The seller, the Fei family,

is your mother's family, right?

Yes.

So what?

The buyer, the Zhao family,

is even more interesting.

The head of the family is Zhao Bingxin.

This man is nobody.

But when it comes to his uncle,

I believe everyone here

knows about him.

He is a famous scholar of the classics in Fengxing,

Zhao Haogu.

What are you

trying to say?

Calm down.

Do you remember that?

This transaction was made

during the 7th month of the 38th year of the Jiajing reign.

Then, what happened

during the 8th month of the 38th year of the Jiajing reign?

In other words,

the following month?

It was the autumn provincial examinations!

Precisely that!

It was the year of the examinations!

The Chief Examiner for Fengxing

just happened to be Zhao Haogu.

Although he was from Jiangxi,

his nephew lived in Renhua.

Commander Ma and I

were classmates back then.

We happened to

sit for the exam that year.

Unfortunately,

for various reasons, I failed.

Commander Ma, on the other hand,

passed.

You failed

because you cheated.

Who would believe the words

of such a liar?

You don't have to believe me.

Just believe the evidence.

The deed tax account book

proves it.

110 mu, 600 taels.

In other words, less than five taels and five mace per mu.

But the price of land should have been

about ten taels per mu.

I'm very curious.

Commander Ma,

right before the examinations,

your mother's family sold

120 mu of land

at half of the market price

to the nephew of the examiner.

Then you passed the examinations.

-Shut up! -Then...

Grand Coordinator Li,

this is a flagrant attack on the reputation of an official.

He has not only insulted me,

but also insulted my mother and my teacher.

I will not stand for this.

It seems like

this really happened.

Grand Coordinator Li.

May I present the evidence?

Bring it to me.

Grand Coordinator Li.

How can you doubt an official

because of a petty man's words?

These are official records.

You can either admit that

the government office fabricated its records

or that you cheated in the examinations.

Cheng Renqing.

Ma Wencai.

Think carefully before you answer.

These two documents

have to be put into safekeeping

as evidence.

Ma Wencai,

this concerns the reputation of the Fengxing intelligentsia.

I will report it to the court.

You need to be prepared.

Grand Secretary Zhang cared most about

people's virtue and honesty.

There are not to be any errors in this.

You're a metropolitan graduate of the second category.

If you had really

cheated in the exam,

it would be an egregious crime.

It will even implicate your clan.

[Complete Works of the Silk Event]

The sooner we find out the truth,

the sooner we can clear your name.

This is too hasty.

Guards!

Send Ma Wencai down to rest.

-Yes. -Yes.

Ma Wencai.

What I did today

is not because of

the grudge between us,

but because of justice.

Assistant Prefect Song,

do you have something to say?

Grand Coordinator Li,

that discussion

was really off-topic.

What do you mean?

I think

the authenticity of the Complete Works of the Silk Event

is not important.

What's important is whether the author was honest or not.

I was the plaintiff

for Shuai Duncheng's case.

I know the truth of this case.

Speak.

When I was a clerk in the Revenue Office,

Shuai Duncheng

scribed for me.

He was honest,

and really good at arithmetic.

But he had one weakness.

It's that his child...

he...

has always been slow.

So his parents

were intent on finding a famous physician

to treat him.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the money.

So Shuai Duncheng

took a risk, he colluded with the rich landowners

and took bribes.

His actions should be punished,

but they were pitiable.

I see.

Master Fan,

I seem to remember

this was recorded

in the case files.

Yes.

At that time,

for old time's sake,

I...

I turned a blind eye.

But Shuai Duncheng...

He got bolder.

I tried to stop him, but he did not listen.

I had to report it to the government office,

which led to your and Master Fan's investigation.

As the saying goes,

a desperate rat will attack a fox.

When an honest man becomes desperate,

resentment will grow in his heart.

With his skills in arithmetic,

it would be easy for him

to forge a transaction record.

That's why I believe

we cannot trust

this book.

Wait.

You mean to say the Complete Works of the Silk Event

was fabricated by Shuai Duncheng?

Yes.

Why did he kill himself then?

Isn't that contradictory?

Grand Coordinator Li.

Did Shuai Duncheng

promise you to turn himself in

after getting the evidence?

Then, he suddenly died.

There must be something at play.

That has been a mystery.

Moreover,

he loved his son so much.

How could he bear to commit suicide?

He would never bear to

leave his son alone.

When a criminal has a guilty conscience,

all his actions

will contradict one other.

Sometimes,

he will get agitated

and act without proper consideration.

Assistant Magistrate Ren left behind

not only left the Complete Works of the Silk Event,

but also

[Coroner's Record]

It says that

the bodies of the couple,

Shuai Duncheng and Liu Yue'er,

have no ash in their mouths.

It means they didn't die in the fire.

Their dead bodies

were left in the fire.

Were they killed

by a bad person?

This is too far-fetched.

They were drinking,

and burned to death after they got drunk.

That's not strange.

How do you know that

they drank?

I read it myself

in the coroner's report.

The report?

The coroner's report?

Master Fan, look.

The report.

Take a good look. This is the report.

Take a good look.

Grand Coordinator Li,

please have a look.

Alright.

Assistant Prefect Song.

Cheng Renqing, you tricked me!

So what?

Assistant Magistrate Ren wouldn't hold on to

something so useless.

I'm lying to you.

I made it up.

Let me ask you again.

How did you know

they were drinking?

Were you there?

How could I be there?

After the incident,

the coroner told me himself.

Was the coroner an immortal?

He could tell from

burnt remains

whether they had drunk wine?

Other than Shuai Jiamo,

anyone else who knows they drank

must have been there that day!

Tell me.

Why did you go to Shuai Duncheng's house?

I didn't.

You didn't?

You were the Clerk of the Revenue Office.

Shuai Duncheng could not have bypassed you

when he falsified acreage figures

for all those people.

Plus, every transaction

in the book

has something to do with you.

Logically speaking,

you are the prime suspect for the murder.

You

are the person who killed

Shuai Duncheng and Liu Yue'e.

Murderer!

You're maligning me!

You're maligning me without no evidence!

Maligning?

Look at Shuai Jiamo.

The seven-year-old Shuai Jiamo

watched his parents

die in a fire.

For 20 years,

he has been reliving this nightmare.

For 20 years!

Look him in the eyes

and tell him

you had nothing to do with this.

Tell him!

Duncheng,

I'm bringing you another windfall.

[Archives]

You are good at arithmetic.

Since you can measure land accurately,

you can

falsify the figures in the fish-scale map registers

without anyone noticing.

Sir,

I...

The important thing

is on the second floor.

Come with me.

Sir, I...

Sir.

Jiamo,

do you remember the Art of Gathering Projected Steps

that I taught you?

Recite it to me.

Wrong.

Wrong.

What's wrong?

The number you wrote

in the Archives

was wrong.

I quit.

I am betraying

my conscience.

I've been looking through the account books.

I found

a huge problem

with the Silk Poll Tax.

Our county

pays 3,530 more taels

of the Silk Poll Tax

than the other counties.

So what?

Mr. Song,

do you know how many people

have had their families destroyed

just because they had to pay

a few more taels of tax money?

During years of natural disaster,

the gentry,

like the Ma family and the Fan family,

not only left the commoners in the lurch,

but also bought their land at depressed prices.

They're forcing the commoners to desperation.

Ridiculous.

What does the Silk Poll Tax

have to do with us?

It has everything to do with us.

You know about

the allotment.

Those people from rich families

do not take taxes seriously

because you

made me

shorten the rope

and under-report land ownership for them.

Enough.

Stop talking nonsense.

Shuai Duncheng,

what do you want?

We're in the same boat!

You've taken the money.

It's too late to get out.

Don't you want to treat

your stupid son?

Do you want to take care of him

forever?

What's so hard about taking care of him forever?

Jiamo is not stupid.

It's just that he doesn't know the ways of the world.

He's better off than his father,

who accepted these ill-gotten gains,

and is uneasy all the time.

Take the money

or leave your fingerprint

on this receipt.

[Shuai Duncheng]

It'll be counted as the prefecture's repair expenditure.

There won't be a problem.

[Repair expenditure, Jin'an Prefecture]

I've harmed so many people.

It's time for me

[Repair expenditure, Jin'an Prefecture]

to pay the price.

The cases in this book

are the evidence I've collected over the past year

from measuring large landowners' land.

It records the acreages hidden

and the actual acreages.

Initially,

I wanted to use it to prove

[Longitute and latitute, Step count]

This is the confession I just wrote.

Consider it the preface for this book.

[3,530]

No one has corrected this mistake

in 80 years.

Not only is it the cause of suffering for the county's commoners,

it is also a cover-up

for corrupt officials.

Today, I will use this book

to show the world

the kinds of evil spirits that exist

under the imperial robe of the Ming Dynasty.

[Complete Works of the Silk Event]

I remember everything.

[3,530]

[Complete Works of the Silk Event]

Dad, 3,530.

What does it mean?

Remember this number.

All the honor and disgrace of my lifetime

are contained in it.

I want some too.

You're still young.

When you grow up,

I'll drink with you.

Jiamo,

let's

have a good drink today.

[3,530]

Fire!

Fire!

Come and put out the fire!

Fire! Help!

Hurry up!

What a dummy.

There's such a huge commotion.

Why don't you look back?

Your house is going to be burnt down.

Why are you asking that fool?

Come and put out the fire.

Hurry!

Fire!

Help!

Shuai! Shuai!

Dummy!

Shuai!

Shuai!