Are You the One Episode 38 Recap, Plot

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Cui Xingzhou intended to investigate the true identity of the Duke, so he instructed his subordinates to impersonate Prince Sui’s men and kidnap the Duke. True to form, as his teacher, the Duke remained composed even with a knife to his neck. Cui Xingzhou signaled his men from a distance, and they demanded 5,000 gold to release the Duke’s son instead.

Hearing the amount, the Duke sighed and lamented that despite his lifelong integrity as an official, he didn’t possess such wealth. It seemed that the Duke was not affiliated with Prince Sui, so Cui Xingzhou signaled his men to release him at the right moment. At the Duke's residence, Liu Miantang attended a banquet for the first time. Cui Xingzhou’s eldest sister was the Duke’s daughter-in-law and, in theory, should have enjoyed exclusive favor.

However, Liu Miantang noticed that the Duke’s son, Guo Yi, privately favored a concubine, Gai Yurao, who wore extremely luxurious clothing. Even the palace’s nobles rarely wore such fine materials. Liu Miantang observed that Gai Yurao’s jade bracelet was of exceptional quality, likely worth a fortune. Gai Yurao was arrogant and dismissive of the main wife, boldly sitting in Cui Xingzhou’s eldest sister’s place. Liu Miantang reported her observations to Cui Xingzhou.

They focused their investigation on Guo Yi and indeed discovered irregularities. Guo Yi, who previously used Cui Xingzhou’s eldest sister’s dowry, had recently stopped using it and bought many expensive items with cash. This suggested he had received an unexpected fortune. Cui Xingzhou and Liu Miantang set a trap to expose Guo Yi.

Liu Miantang invited both the eldest sister and Guo Yi to a public event, giving the eldest sister a luminous pearl hairpin, while Gai Yurao received a pair of gold hairpins. Gai Yurao, feeling slighted, asked Liu Miantang to buy a matching pair of hairpins for him at a price half again as high as the market rate. The hefty price of 500 gold was accepted by GuoYi.

Cui Xingzhou had previously withdrawn part of the eldest sister’s dowry to the Huaiyang Prince’s residence. Unable to produce the dowry, Guo Yi was beaten by debt collectors. In desperation, he pawned a land deed. Cui Xingzhou’s shadow guards promptly went to register the details of the land deed and discovered that Guo Yi had pawned many land deeds, which were not part of the eldest sister’s dowry.

Cui Xingzhou and his sister discussed the need to find Guo Yi’s account books. Despite numerous searches, they could not find them until Cui Xingzhou, using his exceptional wits, retrieved them from a scroll. With both witness and material evidence confirming that Guo Yi was indeed the "Great Master" involved in accepting bribes for a long time, including dealings with the Ministry of Personnel, they confirmed his role.

Cui Xingzhou reported his findings to the Emperor, who was dismayed to learn that even officials from the Ministry of Personnel were corrupt. This made it clear that any case involving Prince Sui would be handled corruptly by them. If the Ministry of Personnel were involved, it would undoubtedly cause turmoil in the court. Cui Xingzhou suggested waiting and observing.

With the Prince Sui case not yet resolved, he had initially planned to swiftly eliminate Prince Sui and return to Qingzhou with Liu Miantang. Now, with no clear timeline for returning, Liu Miantang tried to encourage him by suggesting they go out and enjoy a walk together.

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