Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[Miss Chun is a Litigator]

[Episode 5]

Sir.

Why are you here?

I was just passing by.

Well,

can you help me get inside?

Come up.

Come down.

Let me help you.

Thank you.

My surname is Ye.

I'll inform Lord Han.

Keep an eye on him.

Yes.

Be careful, it's hot.

Look at the wooden shelf.

Judging from the way it is, someone broke it again

before it was fixed.

Is this fabric?

What is the stain

on it?

It's blood.

Human blood.

How can you smell that?

Ye,

you know a lot.

Can you help me check

if there're other bloodstains

in the kitchen?

Okay.

No, there isn't.

That means

someone came in through the window.

He didn't notice this,

bumped into the shelf,

and got hooked by the wooden stick.

And he was injured.

So there was blood on the fabric.

But

we don't know

when he came in.

Without a timeline,

Scholar Sun won't admit it.

Within the last three days.

This wooden stick

has a fresh smell of blood.

It means it got stained within the last three days.

The day of the incident was the 24th.

Today is the 26th.

That's right.

Ye,

can you help me to take it off?

This is an important exhibit.

Your house is right in the front.

I've gotta go.

Ye.

What?

There's something I didn't understand.

How come you were around

since it was so late?

Jinyi and I just came back.

I came out

to grab some food.

After that, I went home.

I happened to pass by the back alley of Linshui Pavilion on my way home,

and saw you.

Actually,

we're not even close.

But you helped me several times.

It seems that you are also into punishing those who do wrong and commending those who do right,

just like me.

Actually, I...

Actually, you look like you're a cold person, but you're warm-hearted.

Do you trust strangers

so easily?

It's nothing.

From now on,

I'll be like you,

helping others

and sticking to my principles.

Ye, see you around.

I've gotta go too.

Take care.

Who is it?

Little girl.

You escaped quite fast.

Let go of me!

Who helped you to get away?

I got away by myself.

Now, try again.

What on earth do you want?

Zhao Laoqi and his wife were the only people lived there.

Zhao Laoqi is dead.

His woman is the victim's family

and should be grounded in the government now.

How could there be someone in their house?

What woman?

She has a name.

Show her some respect.

What's her name?

It's...

I found that

you set a high bar for me.

Someone came out.

Why is there a woman?

Didn't you just say

Zhao Laoqi's wife was grounded by the government?

Who is this woman?

How could I know?

I can't see clearly. It's too far away.

But this man

should be from the military.

What do you mean?

He is familiar with riding horses

and climbing over the wall.

The most senior military officer in Bianzhou

is you.

So

he's one of your subordinates.

Let's go.

I'll send someone to escort you.

I'll keep an eye on it here.

You

escort her back.

Yes.

Yes.

Thank you, Lord Han.

Lord Han.

I don't think

you'd take seriously what I said.

But you have to

tell Lord Kang

exactly what happened today.

I won't have any objections no matter how he decides to sentence or punish me.

It was my business to help you.

Why would Zheng punish you?

You're the Commander of Zhechong Prefecture.

You should try to stay out of anything

involving the court,

and you shouldn't have helped me.

You should take a detour when you see me.

Where did you learn all these

useless things

at such a young age?

Nothing can be done without rules.

Are you lecturing me?

You have no fear

and care about nothing,

But I dare not.

If I can't even

stick to the basic principle of the law,

my life would turn into a joke after all these years.

I...

Lord Han,

as a commander,

don't you

hold the law in awe?

My lady,

why did you come back so late?

I was so worried.

I'm thirsty.

Let me drink some water.

You scared me.

I was worried something might have happened to you.

Have you investigated

what I asked you to?

Yes.

So Zhao Laoqi

was really a horrible person.

His last name was not Zhao.

After he got married,

he took his wife's last name.

He was matrilocal, wasn't he?

Yes.

He was not born here.

One year, he was frozen on the street

and almost died.

Zhao Wanruo found him

and helped him.

Zhao Wanruo

is the only child in her family.

Her parents found that he was not a local

and had no other family,

so they took him in as their son-in-law.

Unexpectedly,

after he got married,

he changed his attitude immediately.

He bummed around all day long

and often abused

Zhao Wanruo.

What did her parents

do about this?

I heard that they

had fought against him.

But somehow,

they were threatened by him

and withdrew the lawsuit.

After that,

the parents passed away one after another.

They all passed away

in less than a month.

After that,

Zhao Laoqi became worse.

If he was not matrilocal，

he would have

divorced his wife long ago.

So

this couple

was not in the same boat.

Although he was thin and poor,

he was a martial artist.

He pretended to be vulnerable

so he could

take his wife's property

with little effort.

Some neighbors

couldn't stand what he did

and spoke out,

but ended up being hurt badly.

My lady,

have you figured out what to do?

He was

such a villain and evil person.

When he was alive, he hurt people.

Now that he's dead, he got Madam Fang in trouble.

The law of our country is based on the presumption of guilt.

If both sides can't provide

conclusive evidence,

the defendant will be found guilty and sentenced.

Then...

What should we do?

You're being ridiculous.

Why are you all

blaming me?

How many times have I told you?

Do not

behave in court

in the way how you maneuvered the army.

You should hold the law in awe.

Chun Tumi was right.

She's a litigator,

while you're the commander of Zhechong Prefecture,

your break-ins mean different.

You can pick your side as an official,

but you can't

get involved in the case.

This is the rule.

I'll punish her.

Zheng,

don't punish her.

Just punish me.

I don't understand your rules.

Then explain them to me until I do.

My lady,

I didn't know you have

a photographic memory.

Of course, I don't.

You know

how difficult it was for me

to recite those poems, don't you?

Yes.

But how did you manage to

remember these?

At first,

I was confused too.

Later,

I started from the first line,

followed the logic,

and deduced one sentence after another.

In that way, everything just popped out.

I didn't have to try to memorize everything.

As long as I sort out

the connections and the logic,

I'll know it

if anything unreasonable happens in court.

Father.

Let me do it, Master Chun.

Father, you want to see me?

You've been working hard lately, my daughter.

I brought you some soup.

Do you have any new clues

about this case?

Yes.

But I need to think about it

so I can leave Scholar Sun

no place to refute.

Master Chun, my lady.

Lord Han is here.

My lord.

Save the courtesies, my lord.

We are not outsiders.

You mean,

both you and my father are from Zhechong Prefecture,

so you are not outsiders,

don't you?

Of course not.

Vice-captain Chun knew

about what happened between us last night.

Father.

Last night,

I went to Zhao Laoqi's house to investigate the case.

I didn't expect to meet Lord Han.

Lord Han helped me.

I didn't tell you this

because I didn't want you to worry.

Don't do it again,

you kid.

You want to tell on me.

No way.

So, Lord Han,

who was the man

in Zhao Laoqi's house?

Telling from your expression,

Vice-captain Chun, you didn't know.

No, I didn't.

About the man in Zhao Laoqi's house last night,

you'd know him better than I do.

Zhang Wuniang.

Fu Gui.

It's easy for me to find someone in the military.

But what I don't understand

is why he did it.

No wonder.

That was why Scholar Sun knew

about what happened between

Madam Fang and Zhao Laoqi.

I see.

If that's the case,

it would be easier to explain.

But why were they doing

in the house?

I'll leave you to deal with

the court.

Since I've told you everything,

it's your turn

to answer my questions.

What do I have to answer?

Who was the man

that was with you last night?

Ye.

When did you meet?

A few days ago.

What does he do?

He's a carter.

Do you know

any carter who's so good with martial arts?

No, I don't.

Well,

it's normal

for people to know some to survive in Jianghu, in this pugilistic society.

Do you know what Jianghu is?

I...

I read in books that

those who are in Jianghu

are just like Ye.

Besides, I didn't bring any money

when I was dealing with my father's case.

It was him who lent me the money.

He always helped us without no hesitation.

This young man

is willing to help people.

I think he should be a good person.

I found that

people in Bianzhou

are really simple.

Lord Han,

if there's nothing else,

I'll see you next time.

Little girl.

You want me to leave

now that you've used me, don't you?

Lord Han,

what on earth do you want

being here?

I want to tell you

to be careful.

Do you worry that man will harm me?

The court will open tomorrow.

He will be convicted.

So he won't be able to

continue to commit any evil.

I'll arrange some people

to protect you around your house.

I wanted to do it secretly,

but I always do things

fair and square.

Chun Tumi,

don't let me down.

Alright.

Nothing else.

I'm leaving.

By the way,

about last night,

Lord Kang

said the same thing as you did.

Lord Kang never let me down.

I realized that

you could always see

the good sides of other men.

You must be joking.

We have to investigate to appeal.

Lord Kang must

think likewise.

If you need anything,

you can send those who protect you

to run errands for you.

I don't want to rely on you.

It's not that I don't appreciate it.

If you are capable to

let everyone in the country rely on you,

I'll do so without any hesitation.

Otherwise,

instead of relying on you,

I'd rather rely on myself

and do something realistic

to let more people rely on me.

One day,

what if I become capable to

let all the people rely on me?

Of course, I'll rely on you.

Keep in mind what you said today.

Why are you sighing?

Well, I'm just curious.

Why Bianzhou people

trust others so easily?

Did you go to Chun Tumi again?

Last night, my men

found that

the carter is quite skilled in martial arts.

You met a love rival.

I was not kidding.

I suspect I made a mistake.

The person who visited Chu You's study room

and fought with me that night

is still in Bianzhou.

Are you suspecting this carter was that man?

If he is

who I think he is,

our stories will

trace far back.

Did you go to the Chun family

to remind Chun Tumi of this?

I dare not.

She believes that the carter

is a good older brother who explores Jianghu.

Do you think

if someone may arrange Chun Tumi

by our side

as bait?

I think you are paranoid

again.

I've investigated

the background of Chun Tumi.

She grew up in Bianzhou.

Her life is simple.

There's nothing wrong with it.

It's indeed complicated

if the person who stole the inkstone found her

in order to come to me.

Not to mention that

you have no proof

about your speculation about him,

even if you do have the proof that

he is the one

you are after,

you can't prove

Chun Tumi was involved in this.

Besides,

she is an ordinary girl

grew up in Bianzhou.

The fact that she knows you, Han Wuwei,

sounds more bizarre

than the fact that she knows

a martial artist, doesn't it?

Are you defending her?

You know nothing about

people's relationships,

it's surprising that you were defending her.

Are you still the Zheng that I know?

I'm talking about things, not people.

You have anything else?

Leave if you don't.

Leave quickly.

Yes.

Yes, I do.

Last night I found a military personnel

in Zhao Laoqi's house.

He's related to the case of Linshui Pavilion.

Who is it?

You'll know

in court tomorrow.

This way, please.

Wanruo.

I brought you some snacks.

The fillings were made from persimmon. They are soft and sweet.

Don't be nervous.

I just want to talk to you.

Thank you for your kindness.

You seemed so surprised

because you didn't expect me to come.

Actually, you are the victim's family.

I'm the litigator.

It's my responsibility to ask you some questions.

You have the right to refuse.

It will be the same later in court.

It's been a long time

since I was called by my own name.

I almost forgot about it.

Right.

People usually call you sister-in-law

or Mrs. Zhao.

But

Zhao Laoqi

did so many evil things when he was alive.

Now that he's dead,

I don't think

you want to

be called

after his name anymore.

Actually, you are an important witness.

That's why you are grounded here.

Otherwise,

I'd want to invite you to the dessert shop.

We can have some tea

and snacks there.

We don't need to buy the snacks in kilos.

We can choose any flavor we want.

You'll feel more comfortable there.

I'm fine

and comfortable here.

Thank you, Miss Chun.

Magistrate Yuan

is nice to you.

When I interrogated Zhang Wuniang,

I had to visit her at the prison.

Magistrate Yuan is nicer

than Magistrate Zhang.

He'd let us go out for a walk

in the daytime.

Wanruo, you are so skillful.

The embroidery design is beautiful.

So is the that on your clothes.

It's popular

in Linlang Pavilion recently, isn't it?

Yes.

Zhao Laoqi bullied and abused you

when he was alive.

It's surprising that he would spend money

on such good cloth for you, isn't it?

Now that he's gone,

what's there to hide?

What are you afraid of?

Or did someone threaten you?

No, no one did.

He used to be nice to me.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken me

to Linlang Pavilion for dinner.

Actually, I found

some new evidence.

I've asked the coroner to investigate.

The result should be out soon.

What evidence?

Do you know

Zhao Laoqi's leg was injured?

My lady, what's wrong?

I have a stomachache.

Let's find a doctor.

I'll go get the doctor.

Miss Chun.

Did you

eat something?

I just had some snacks.

Anything else?

And some eggs.

Persimmon-and-egg combinations can make you sick.

Eating them together will cause diarrhea.

Zhao Wanruo.

It's time.

Let's go back.

Dangerous food combinations.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Captain.

Why isn't Chun Dashan here?

Captain,

Vice-captain Chun has a lawsuit.

He asked for leave today.

He's living an easy life.

He was arrested a few days ago.

And he took a few days off.

Now he's taking days off for

some tenant's lawsuit

which has nothing to do with him.

Tell him to come to me when he comes back.

Yes.

-Continue the training. -Capatain Fu.

Lord Han.

Lord Han.

You guys have been training very hard.

I'm here to reward you.

No need for these courtesies.

Thank you, Lord Han.

We will do our best.

Good.

I need you to help me with something.

Come with me.

Yes.

Keep going.

-Lord Han! -Lord Han!

You must have asked me here

for something important.

As long as you say it,

I, Fu Gui,

will do anything

at any cost.

Lord Han,

what's this for?

Cleaning my army.

Your stomachache

was caused by eating eggs and persimmons together.

Luckily, you didn't eat much.

Otherwise, it would be more dangerous.

Thank you, Dr. Wen.

I have another question.

Go ahead.

What food combination

with fish soup

would cause people sick?

I once read from a medical book that

someone was poisoned

by eating Chinese redbuds, rice, and fish soup together.

But

I have never seen anything like it myself.

The Chinese redbud?

[Bianzhou Prefecture]

The third hearing of the case of Linshui Pavilion opens now.

After one day,

have you two

found any new evidence?

My lord,

I reviewed

all the evidence again.

Madam Fang had the motive,

the conditions, and the time for committing the crime.

I only ask you, my lord, to punish the murderer

and give Zhao Laoqi justice.

I will give you justice.

The defendant's litigator, what do you have to say?

My lord,

I had been thinking about

how to clear Madam Fang's name yesterday.

All the evidence

can't prove her guilty,

nor can it prove

her innocence.

Later, I figured it out.

If I want to prove her innocence,

I just need to find the real murderer

to clear her name.

On that day in Linshui Pavilion,

many guests were food poisoned and vomited.

Zhao Laoqi even died from it.

Because the scomber japonicus

would cause food poison

if it was not cleaned properly.

So people would think

there was something wrong with the fish.

In this case,

the responsibility goes to

Madam Fang who sold the fish soup.

It's undoubtedly.

No.

The fish soup was poisonous, but it doesn't mean the fish was.

Maybe there was something else

in the soup.

Even Madam Fang

didn't know what it was.

My Lord,

I request to call the witness,

Dr. Wen.

Send him in.

My lord.

Dr. Wen,

did the customer

vomit

due to poisoning?

You've already asked this question.

Why repeat it?

Question allowed.

Go on.

My lord,

they vomited due to poisoning.

Were they poisoned

because of the fish?

Not necessarily.

Some herbs

can cause similar symptoms.

The symptoms could be diagnosed as poisoning.

Can you give us an example?

For example, the melon pedicel, the Veratrum nigrum L,

the Dichroa and the oleander.

Chinese herbs usually smell like medicine.

Everyone knows

the Lotus Fish Soup of Linshui Pavilion

is fragrant with flower smell.

It doesn't make sense

if there were herbs inside.

But if there was a small portion of herbs,

people wouldn't mell it.

If the portion was small,

it would only cause vomit,

not death.

Why did

Zhao Laoqi died on the spot?

Scholar Sun, slow down.

Let's find the reason for the poison first.

Then we'll find the reason for his death.

My lord,

I want to call another witness,

the coroner.

Allowed.

Send the coroner in.

My lord.

Coroner,

did you examine other exhibits

after the body?

Under Lord Yuan's order,

I also examined

the fish soup and the vomitus.

Do you still have them?

Yes, I do.

I can't guarantee

they are exactly the same as they were on that day.

But they didn't go bad.

My lord,

I called the coroner

to provide you with new evidence.

Can I have your permission to ask the coroner and Dr. Wen

to examine

Zhao Laoqi's vomitus again?

My lord,

there's no need for that.

They were examined

on the day of the first hearing.

She's just being unreasonable.

My lord,

it was inevitable to neglect some facts that day.

If we examine it again today,

we can bring the murderer to justice

and clear the name of the innocent.

Chun Tumi,

if they can't find anything,

you'll be sentenced to disturbing the court,

and delaying the case.

You will be punished.

I believe in my own judgment.

If nothing was found,

I'm at your disposal.

Coroner, Dr. Wen.

Do it now.

-Yes. -Yes.

My lord,

we have finished the second examination.

How was it?

My lord,

after the second examination,

we found that in the fish soup,

there was shredded melon pedicel

mixed in something like shredded ginger.

They were soaked

in the fish meat that was marinated for a whole night,

so it was hard to distinguish it from the color and shape.

We had to be careful

to be able to distinguish it.

Madam Fang used it

instead of ginger

which was why people were poisoned

and Zhao Laoqi died.

You and Dr. Wen discussed

about this, didn't you?

You can only smell it

if it was a big portion.

Only when its portion was small can its smell be covered.

Since it was a small portion,

how could it cause death?

That day, all the guests were gastronomes.

If the fish soup smelled weird,

how could they not know it?

No matter what portion it was,

it was attemped murder.

Although I can't be sure that

whoever tried to mix the herb was the culprit,

he was closely related to this case.

We must find him.

Anyone who wanted to do it

must have entered the kitchen.

He had to do it after Madam Fang cooked the fish

and chopped it into mince.

He had to do it that night.

Because it would take a whole night for the fish to be marinated

and taste good.

Only by being marinated would the melon pedicel's color change,

so that people would confuse it for ginger.

Also, he knows some kung fu.

If not,

the wall of Linshui Pavilion is very high,

it would be impossible to get in

without alerting the workers.

It was Madam Fang

who drugged people.

There would be no need for her to climb over the wall.

Scholar Sun,

I was trying to explain everything

to the lords.

Why did you keep interrupting me?

Do you have connections with the murderer?

You...

If you keep interrupting,

I'll sentence you to be slapped.

Go on.

My lord,

The investigation was very clear that day.

There was no sign of

forced entry in the kitchen.

That means the criminal has the skill to unlock.

Here comes the question.

Why did he do that?

Was he the competitor of Linshui Pavilion

that he wanted to ruin their reputation?

Did he frame Madam Fang

because he has a grudge against Madam Fang?

Scholar Sun,

Zhao Laoqi died the next day.

Don't you think

it was surprisingly coincidental?

I told you.

She knows what she's doing.

Yeah, it was strange.

Right.

My lord.

I'm guilty.

What did you do wrong?

I broke into Linshui Pavilion last night.

But please reconsider punishment to me

considering that I did it

to find the clues.

It doesn't matter.

You can rise.

Thank you, my lord.

My lord.

May I present another exhibit?

Bring it over.

What is this?

My lord,

this is the wooden shelf

from Linshui Pavilion.

To be exact,

it's the wooden stick from the shelf.

There are some rags on it.

The rags were broken

and stuck to the wooden stick.

I believe this is the trail

left by the criminal.

It can prove who he is.

-How? - Yeah, how?

Madam Fang,

was the wooden shelf damaged on that day?

Yes, it was.

The wooden shelf was smashed

by something really heavy.

The crossbeam at the bottom

was broken and stuck out.

I was too busy

to fix it right away.

That's right.

My lord.

The stick on the wooden shelf

is three inches long,

sharper than a knife.

I believe that the criminal was panicked.

After the criminal

drugged the soup,

he was in a hurry to run away.

It was dark at night and he was not familiar with the roads.

So he bumped into the wooden stick,

got his pants torn off, hurt his leg,

and left the rags and blood on the stick.

My lord,

ask the coroner to examine it and you'll know.

Coroner.

My lord,

there was a wound

on Zhao Laoqi's thigh.

And there were splinters of the wood

in his muscles.

The wound was not even.

Judging from its edge,

looks like the dead was stuck.

Judging from the situation it was healing,

the dead got injured one or two days before his death.

I just

examined the wood stick carefully.

I can conclude that

the wound on his leg

was caused by that wooden stick.

In this case,

it was Zhao Laoqi

who drugged people.

My lord.

Even if

that explained his wound,

it can only prove that he was in the kitchen.

Zhao Laoqi had always been sneaky like that.

How do you know he was there to poison people,

not to steal?

My lord,

please allow me to call the third and fourth witnesses,

Yan Hua and Bu Dalang.

On the night of the 23rd of this month,

Zhao Laoqi bought melon pedicel

and the Dichroa from our shop.

Because we have records

for all our sales.

So we can check the records.

Are you sure the buyer was Zhao Laoqi?

Yes, I am sure.

Because he

often harassed the neighbors.

Yan Hua Tang

is not far from his home.

He often bought medicine

without paying.

So I know him too well.

Did he pay you that time?

Yes, he did.

But

he looked very strange.

Sir, your medicine.

It seemed that

he was afraid

to be seen by others.

My lord,

Yan Hua testified that Zhao Laoqi

bought melon pedicel.

Bu Dalang can testify that

Zhao Laoqi was capable to climb over the wall.

Bu Dalang,

tell our lord what you know.

My lord,

I'm Zhao Laoqi's neighbor.

I was foolish that

I admired him because he knew some kung fu.

He was my best friend.

He also showed me

his skills.

Although he was not capable of flying over the walls,

climbing over the wall in Linshui Pavilion

was no problem for him.

Besides, he had the skills to unlock the doors.

To unlock an ordinary broze lock,

all he needed was a small broze stick.

He could unlock it in one second

without leaving any trace.

Now we have witnesses and exhibits

which proved that Zhao Laoqi

was the one who poisoned people.

It has nothing to do with Madam Fang.

No.

There's still something suspicious about this case.

Dr. Wen,

can melon pedicel poison people to death?

I don't think so.

No matter how big the portion is,

right?

I've never verified that.

But melon pedicel has a strong smell.

The smell could be covered

only if the portion is small.

So there were not much of it

in the fish soup.

Even if Zhao Laoqi did it out of personal revenge

to frame Madam Fang,

it could only

cause vomit and diarrhea.

Chun Tumi also questioned this.

Why the 70-year-old

only showed symptoms of vomiting after eating the fish soup,

while Zhao Laoqi, as strong as he was,

lost his life

after eating the fish soup?

This is indeed

an unsolved point.

Besides, Zhao Laoqi

is dead and there's no way for him to confront it.

Yes.

Unless Chun Tumi provides

conclusive evidence that Zhao Laoqi was poisoned

by himself,

or a new murderer shows himself,

confesses and tells us how he did it,

otherwise,

Madam Fang

is still a major suspect.

What if she knew

what Zhao Laoqi did,

and she conspired his conspiracy and killed him,

so that she could get away with it.

Scholar Sun was right.

This is indeed the biggest mystery

of this case.

So you want to give in?

My lord,

I would like to ask for a pot of fish soup,

a bucket of rice,

a sheep to be killed,

and a bucket of

Chinese redbuds.

What do you need these for?

This is related to Zhao Laoqi's death.

My lord, please ask someone to mix the fish soup

with the rice and the Chinese redbuds,

and feed it to the sheep.