Pledge of Allegiance – Zhang Yunlong, Chen Ruoxuan

In the 25th year of Hongwu, the Crown Prince died and the situation was turbulent. In the prison of the Zhenfu Division, it was raining heavily outside. Three children ran out of the door and Song Heming followed closely behind and quickly locked the door. Young Song Zhen asked Shu Tang to leave quickly and then turned back to find someone. He saw his father being killed by Li Wu with a bloody dagger. Song Zhen wanted to catch Li Wu for revenge but was injured in the back by him. Li Wu escaped and Song Zhen became the son of a criminal and changed his name to Lu Zheng.

Ten years later, in Ji’e Alley, Li Wu covered a little boy who was stealing and hiding from being caught. He planned to take away the money he stole as a reward. The boy couldn’t get it back and cried loudly. Li Wu saw this and bought him a bunch of buns. Uncle Wang, who was standing next to the restaurant, handed Li Wu a map of Wang Kegong’s mansion. Li Wu was satisfied with the map and wanted to invite Uncle Wang to drink and eat meat in the restaurant but found that he only had one copper coin. He saw that Sister Meng, the owner of the restaurant, was unwilling to give him food so he had to leave.

On the other side, the little boy left only one bun and gave it to other beggars. While walking around on the road, he was caught by a catcher because he bumped into him. The little boy begged for mercy but the catcher still refused to let him go. Li Wu wanted to quietly pass by, but the thought of his childhood experience appeared because of the little boy’s appearance. Li Wu couldn’t help turning around and pretending to be Jin Yi Wei, calling the boy as a grandson lost by an official and making up a story that he was looking for him. The catcher apologized immediately. Li Wu fooled him successfully and changed his clothes with himself and the little boy at Zhangji Silk Shop. After leaving Zhangji Silk Shop, Li Wu asked the little boy to find Sister Meng at the restaurant to do odd jobs for her tomorrow and help him find someone with a knife wound on his back because he hoped to meet that person someday.

On April 25th of the third year of Jianwen, Lu Zheng, the Jin Yi Zong Qi, burned incense and got drunk after reminding by his subordinate Xie Kengran to work night shift. They left together. Inside the Jiaofang Division, Lu Zheng and Xie Kengran came to find Lei Zhen, the Jin Yi Zong Qi. The subordinate lied that he was handling a case and advised Lu Zheng not to bother him. Lu Zheng refused to leave. The two of them worked together to knock down the guards at the door and entered the room. Lei Zhen had already jumped out of the window and escaped, leaving only three tortured women in the room. Lu Zheng walked out of the room and recorded Lei Zhen’s bad behavior in his book.

In the Zhenfu Division, Lu Zheng handed over his book to his adoptive father Commander Daren, and reported Lei Zhen’s behavior. At this moment, Lei Zhen and his father came over. Lu Zheng’s adoptive father brought them into the room for a drink and asked Lu Zheng to tear up his book. After drinking, Lu Zheng’s adoptive father and Lei Zhen’s father stood aside discussing while Lei Zhen mocked Lu Zheng and said that he had taken over the position of Baihu that he had been thinking about.

After they left, Lu Zheng secretly abducted Lei Zhen and locked him in a box on a boat before leaving quickly. Back at the Zhenfu Division, Lu Zheng burned incense in front of his father Song Heming’s tablet. His adoptive father remembered saving an injured Lu Zheng ten years ago and Lu Zheng said that he killed his own father ten years ago for letting go of a child so he didn’t want to let go of any evil person ten years later. He burned one page of his book recording Lei Zhen’s crimes while saying this.

At night, the soldiers at the city gate were about to close the gate when a man on horseback arrived. It turned out that this person was Li Dongfang. Xie Kengran came to the temple to remind Lu Zheng to work night shift. The two of them went to a restaurant in Jiege Lane for dinner. Lu Zheng told Xie Kengran that there were suspected deserters from the north who had come to Jiege Lane recently. While they were eating, a porter sat down next to them. They heard that the porter had a northern accent and deliberately let him take away the book on the table. The porter handed the book to Shu Tang and followed Shu Tang’s orders to pass a message to Li Dongfang. Lu Zheng and Xie Kengran secretly followed the porter onto a small boat by the river.

On the other side, Li Wu came to Zuixian Building and learned from the waiter that all the guests of Wang Kegong’s mansion were staying in this restaurant. Li Wu had just sat down in the lobby when he saw Li Dongfang sitting at another table. Halfway through, Li Dongfang accidentally dropped Wang’s invitation card. The waiter reminded Li Dongfang to put away the invitation card. Li Wu learned that he could not enter Wang Kegong’s mansion without an invitation card.

Lu Zheng and Xie Kengran followed the porter to the outside of Zuixian Building and saw him asking the waiter to deliver something to Li Dongfang, a hundred households who was transferred to Beijing for duty. At this time, Li Wu walked out of the restaurant and bumped into Li Dongfang. Unexpectedly, he was caught by Li Dongfang and had to return the invitation card to him. Li Wu left Zuixian Building, but Li Dongfang followed him. Lu Zheng wanted Li Dongfang to return home and took his place as a hundred households, so he followed Li Dongfang.

Li Wu realized that Li Dongfang was following him, so he hid in the bamboo forest and knocked him out with a brick. He found that Lu Zheng had followed him here too. Just as Li Wu was about to take action, Lu Zheng suddenly turned around and left. Li Wu dragged the unconscious Li Dongfang into the house and tied him up. He fooled an illiterate fortune teller into reading his invitation card and successfully learned about Li Dongfang’s identity. He planned to use his identity to enter Wang Kegong’s mansion.

The next day, Li Wu successfully entered Wang Kegong’s mansion using Li Dongfang’s invitation card. Lu Zheng mistook Li Wu for Li Dongfang and invited him into the room for a long talk. Through Lu Zheng’s words, Li Wu learned that Li Dongfang was also a Jin Yiwei and had a higher position than Lu Zheng, which made him very proud. Knowing that Lu Zheng was the adopted son of a commanding officer, Li Wu wanted to bribe Lu Zheng with money but he not only refused but also repeatedly asked about his purpose in Ying Tianfu and Wang Kegong’s mansion. Li Wu was frightened and expressed his willingness to leave immediately.

Within the Zhenfu Division, Qian Shi official lit incense in front of Song Heming’s memorial tablet. He couldn’t help but recall the scene ten years ago when Song Heming locked the secret of the crown prince in the Yu Ming Suo and then handed it over to him. Ten years later, Qian Shi official planned to hand over the Yu Ming Suo to the emperor. Turning around and seeing Commander Lu Yulin, he asked about Song Heming’s son Song Zhen’s whereabouts. Lu Yulin pretended not to be able to find the child and asked him to hand over the Yu Ming Suo to himself. Qian Shi official was surprised that Lu Yulin knew about Yu Ming Suo. It turned out that he had eavesdropped on their conversation ten years ago.

In Wang Chongxi’s mansion, Li Wu was attracted by Chen Gongzi holding a pile of gold and silver jewelry and stood aside. Lu Zheng asked Li Wu why he hadn’t returned to the north yet. Li Wu hoped that Lu Zheng would give him some money to make up for his losses. Lu Zheng said he would play two games with him. The two came to the table, and Li Wu explained his intentions. Wang Chongxi’s son Wang Chongxi happily let the two bet. After Lu Zheng placed his bet, Li Wu began to shake the dice and made Lu Zheng win alone. In several subsequent rounds, Lu Zheng won every time. At this time, Wang Chongxi suspected that they were cheating, so Li Wu asked for someone else to shake the dice and secretly took away a die in advance. While everyone was looking for the lost die, Li Wu happily took away part of the treasure on the table.

Li Wu quietly unlocked a door and walked into a room but accidentally discovered the Yu Ming Suo hidden in Song Heming’s memorial tablet while searching for jewelry. He put Yu Ming Suo in his arms and saw someone passing by outside the door, so he quickly hid in a box. A maid brought Shu Tang into the room, and the maid cried and begged Shu Tang not to kill her. Unexpectedly, Shu Tang only let her drink a pot of wine.

It started raining outside, and Lu Zheng accidentally walked to Qian Shi official’s room. Qian Shi official was pleasantly surprised to see Lu Zheng and asked him his name. He said that Lu Zheng looked a lot like his old friend, but when he heard that Lu Zheng’s father was Lu Yulin, he asked Lu Zheng to leave quickly.

In the room, Shu Tang locked the box and said that the maid would wake up in three days. She then left the room. Li Wu unlocked the box and planned to leave through a gap in the west courtyard wall with a lot of gold and silver jewelry. Unexpectedly, he ran into Lu Zheng and had to pretend that there were assassins. The two walked back to the mansion together and happened to see Shu Tang wearing night clothes. Lu Zheng fought with her and injured Shu Tang’s shoulder. Shu Tang fled when she realized she couldn’t win.

Li Wu wanted to leave quietly while the two were fighting but ran into Wang Chongxi halfway. Wang Chongxi asked the maid to take him back to his room and left with his servants. Just as Li Wu breathed a sigh of relief, he saw blood in the maid’s hand and realized that she was the black-clothed person who had fought with Lu Zheng earlier.

Ten years ago in the Chaoyang prison, Li Wu failed to open the lock at the door. He wanted to borrow Shu Tang’s hairpin, but Shu Tang said that it was given to her by her father and refused to give it to Li Wu.

At Wang Kegong’s mansion, Shu Tang and Li Wu went to the granary. Shu Tang took the beautiful jade that Li Wu had stolen and asked him to guard the door for her. After a short rest, she returned the jade to him. Lu Zheng followed the bloodstains and found Shu Tang’s night clothes. He remembered that the maid’s clothes were a bit strange. Inside the granary, Li Wu saw that Shu Tang seemed to be asleep and quietly approached her to take back the jade. Unexpectedly, Shu Tang was not asleep and wanted to kill Li Wu. Li Wu quickly told Shu Tang that he was a thief and was willing to give all the stolen treasures to her and help her escape from Wang Kegong’s mansion. During their struggle, Shu Tang saw a scar on Li Wu’s neck and knew that he had also been in Chaoyang prison. Li Wu looked at the hairpin on Shu Tang’s head and remembered a girl who was in the same cell as him.

On the other side, Lu Zheng checked the shoulders of all the maids in the courtyard but found nothing unusual. Lu Zheng returned to the town government office and summoned other guards to go with him to Wang Kegong’s mansion. They refused because they had no orders. Lu Zheng thought that this matter was urgent. Just as both sides were deadlocked, Lu Yulin came over and said that Wang Kegong’s family affairs were not under the jurisdiction of the Zhengfu Division.

Lu Zheng told Lu Yulin that he had found out that Li Dongfang was secretly colluding with Ye Bushou and was not qualified to be a Bai Hu. Lu Yulin said that the position of Bai Hu was not Lu Zheng’s turn and that Lu Zheng only wanted to use the identity of Bai Hu to get the key to the case library to check the case files of Hongwu years. Lu Zheng was determined to find out as long as he lived. Lu Yulin told him that Song Heming’s case could not be reopened and asked him not to interfere in Wang Kegong’s mansion. Lu Zheng couldn’t listen anymore and left.

Early in the morning, Li Wu left Wang Kegong’s mansion through a gap in the west courtyard wall. When he returned home, he saw Li Dongfang wake up, so he knocked him out and put him in a boat box heading to Yangzhou. Li Wu packed his treasures and wanted to leave, but he couldn’t help but take the medicine back to Wang Kegong’s mansion. Lu Zheng saw Li Wu enter Wang Kegong’s mansion through the gap and followed him secretly. Li Wu went to the granary to look for Shu Tang, and Lu Zheng followed closely behind him and asked him to hand over the assassin. Li Wu denied it loudly and wanted to leave the granary. Lu Zheng stopped him quickly, and they fought in the granary. Just as Li Wu was subdued by Lu Zheng, Xie Kongran locked the door of the granary.

At night, Li Wu went to unlock the door of the granary. When Lu Zheng saw this, he tied Li Wu up in the granary and planned to take him back to the town government office after catching the assassin. After leaving the granary, Lu Zheng went to Wang Kegong’s study at his subordinate’s reminder and saved Wang Kegong who was almost suffocated. Lu Zheng asked Xie Kongran to return to the Zhenfu Division to find some manpower while he stayed at Wang Kegong’s mansion to protect him.

In the granary, Shu Tang thought that Li Wu had brought the Jin Yi Wei to capture her, so she opened the granary and released the grain. Li Wu was submerged in the grain and could only hold the two bottles of medicine he had brought with his hands. Shu Tang quickly cut the rope that bound Li Wu and rescued him from the granary. Through Shu Tang’s words, Li Wu learned that Shu Tang grew up under Li Qianzong’s hand in Ye Bu Shou. He accidentally saw a scar on Shu Tang’s neck and seemed to be thinking about something.

On the other side, Wang Kegong couldn’t help but talk to Lu Zheng about his old friend again. Lu Zheng then learned that Ye Bu Shou was looking for Yu Ming Suo. Just as they were talking, Li Wu entered the room through a window and overheard their conversation. He learned that what he got was Yu Ming Suo.

In the granary, Shu Tang took Yu Ming Suo from Li Wu’s hand and handed the jade to him. Suddenly, Li Wu proposed to help Shu Tang find out where the cipher was hidden, while Ye Bu Shou wanted him to steal something from Jin Yi Wei’s case library. Shu Tang agreed to Li Wu’s request. Lu Zheng used the key given by Wang Kegong to open the bottom of the tablet but found nothing. He turned over the tablet and found that Song Heming’s name was written on it.

Ten years ago in the Mu Mansion, the family members of Mu Jinggao were taken back to the Zhenfu Division, but the Mu sisters were left behind. Eventually, the elder sister was sent to the Jiaofang Division and the younger sister was sent to the Zhao Prison. The sisters were thus separated.

In Wang Kegong’s mansion, Lu Zheng was puzzled as to how Li Wu could escape. Li Wu proposed a bet that if Lu Zheng arrived at the roof first, he would know everything. When they reached the roof, Li Wu lied that he had a secret mission and only kept it from Lu Zheng. He handed Yu Ming Suo to Lu Zheng and asked him to keep it safe. It turned out that Li Wu planned to give Yu Ming Suo to Lu Zheng for safekeeping and steal it back when he needed it.

After the Orchid Banquet held in Wang Kegong’s mansion’s backyard ended, Wang Kegong escorted his guests out of the mansion. Li Wu took this opportunity to inquire about where the cipher was hidden. Just then, Lu Zheng was called to the garden by a servant. Li Wu took advantage of this and stole Yu Ming Suo back while helping Lu Zheng tidy his clothes.

In the garden, Lu Zheng told Wang Kegong about his background. Wang Kegong was moved and when he looked closely at Lu Zheng, Lu Zheng took the opportunity to ask Wang Kegong about his father’s past. Wang Kegong told Lu Zheng that the method to open Yu Ming Suo was in Song Heming’s Wuchang Book. At this moment, Ye Bu Shou rushed down from the roof and killed Wang Kegong with Lu Zheng’s sword. Li Wu arrived and Ye Bu Shou asked him to hand over Yu Ming Suo or he would kill Lu Zheng. Li Wu had no choice but to take out Yu Ming Suo. Suddenly, Shu Tang arrived and fought with the assassin. Li Wu took advantage of the chaos to put Yu Ming Suo back into his arms and left through a gap in the west courtyard wall.

Wang Kegong died and the servants opened the door to escape but found many Jin Yi Wei standing in front of them. It turned out that Si Xiangnan had brought his subordinates here. The Jin Yi Wei came to the garden and found that Wang Kegong had died. Si Xiangnan learned that the blood on Lu Zheng’s sword was Wang Kegong’s and ordered his subordinates to record that Lu Zheng killed Wang Kegong in the Wuchang Book, indicating that the sword was a murder weapon.

In the Wen Hua Hall, Yuan Zhongdao handed a secret letter to Emperor Zhu Yunwen during his lecture. Yuan Zhongdao angrily rebuked Lu Zheng’s behavior. Zhu Yunwen allowed Si Xiangnan to thoroughly investigate whether there were any rebels within the Zhenfu Division.

Li Wu successfully left Ying Tianfu by bribing the city gate guards and ran to the mountains. He buried Yu Ming Suo under a big tree and tied a cloth strip on the tree as a mark. In the backyard of Wang Kegong’s mansion, Jin Yi Wei searched and found Song Heming’s tablet in the box. Si Xiangnan planned to use this opportunity to crush Lu Yulin in one fell swoop and take over the position of commander.

At Zhangji Silk Shop, Zhang Junqing changed out of his night clothes and dressed up before entering the secret room of the bell tower. Yuan Zhongdao also entered the secret room to meet her. Zhang Junqing told Yuan Zhongdao about the whereabouts of Yu Ming Suo and Li Wu’s origin. It turned out that five years ago, Yuan Zhongdao rescued Mu’s sister Zhang Junqing from the Jiaofang Division. Zhang Junqing was determined to find out the truth about Mu’s family’s destruction and was willing to be dispatched by Yuan Zhongdao. Yuan Zhongdao saw that Zhang Junqing killed Wang Kegong and wanted to exchange Yu Ming Suo for Mu’s family secrets. Zhang Junqing was actually a fake Ye Bu Shou, and Ye Bu Shou’s leader was also Yuan Zhongdao’s person. Yuan Zhongdao asked Zhang Junqing to kill Li Dongfang, and Zhang Junqing had no choice but to promise to show loyalty.

In the Zhenfu Division’s training ground, Xie Kengran bribed the guards with food and wine while Lu Zheng quietly arranged his affairs. Soon after, the guard suddenly felt pain in his abdomen and left. Xie Kengran took advantage of this opportunity to untie Lu Zheng’s rope and let him go to Yangzhou to hide. Lu Zheng did not want to leave and said that Li Wu could prove his innocence. Xie Kengran tied Lu Zheng back to the wooden stake and set off to find Li Wu.

Xie Kengran came to Ji'e Lane under the guidance of the shopkeeper. At this time, Wang Shu and Li Wu walked into the city gate. Wang Shu saw that Jin Yi Wei was checking people, so he fell down to attract Jin Yi Wei’s attention. Li Wu took the opportunity to return to his residence, packed his things, and wanted to escape, but was stopped by Si Xiangnan’s subordinates. He took out the cloth strip that Li Wu dropped in the garden and wanted to use Li Wu’s secret of entering the prison to restrain him for life. Xie Kengran followed Jin Yi Wei to Li Wu’s residence and happened to see Li Wu leaving in disguise. Xie Kengran followed Li Wu closely, but Li Wu realized that something was wrong and wanted to escape.

In the 30th year of Hongwu, Lu Wang City on the northern border was in ruins. Li Dongfang waved his sword with fire and killed many guards. He saw the scar on Zhang Junqing’s neck and thought she had been in prison, so he let her take his sword for revenge.

At night, Li Dongfang removed the cloth from Li Wu’s head and Li Wu recognized him as the person he had knocked out. Li Dongfang saw the scar on Li Wu’s neck and knew he wanted him to destroy the files in the document bank. Li Wu realized that Li Dongfang wanted Yu Ming Suo and wanted to take him to Guan Yin Mountain to get it, but Li Dongfang said he wanted to invite him to dinner. The two went to a restaurant in Ji'e Lane where Li Wu was tied up and could only eat food from a bowl while bowing down. Just then, Uncle Wang and other neighbors from Ji'e Lane rushed out. Uncle Wang offered money to spare Li Wu’s life. Li Dongfang said he brought him here to reward him. Uncle Wang offered his own wine to Li Dongfang who then hinted quietly that if Li Wu didn’t bring Yu Ming Suo, someone would come looking for the neighbors of Ji'e Lane.

Zhang Ji Silk Shop, Song Tianyi told Zhang Junqing about Li Wu and Li Dongfang’s whereabouts. Zhang Junqing said that Li Dongfang was a rebel of Ye Bu Shou and left without asking more questions.

A little boy came looking for Li Wu and found out that he was going to run away. He asked him to take him with him or he would tell on him. Li Wu thought the boy was just going back to pack his bags, but the boy wanted to take the neighbors of Jige Lane with him. Li Wu pretended to arrange it but met Ye Bu Shou in the middle of the road. Ye Bu Shou said that whether Li Wu handed over Yu Ming Suo or not, Li Dongfang would kill the people of Jige Lane. If he gave him Yu Ming Suo, he would kill Li Dongfang for him.

Inside the post station in Jige Lane, Xie Kengran asked the manager if he had seen Li Wu and Li Wu appeared at that moment. Xie Kengran asked Li Wu if he had seen the murderer who killed Wang Kegong. Li Wu told Xie Kengran that if he wanted to catch the real murderer, he could only do it tonight. Xie Kengran sent his subordinates back to Zhenfu Division with an emergency document and followed Li Wu.

Inside Zhenfu Division, Lu Zheng shouted and attracted Si Xiangnan who told Lu Zheng about the contents of the document. Lu Zheng asked Si Xiangnan to go to Guan Yin Mountain for reinforcements, but Si Xiangnan untied Lu Zheng’s rope and gave him three hours. After Lu Zheng left, Si Xiangnan reported that Lu Zheng had escaped from prison and ordered the whole city to arrest him regardless of whether he was dead or alive.

At Guan Yin Mountain, Li Wu told Xie Kengran that the assassin who killed Wang Kegong was Ye Bu Shou and told him the secret of Yu Ming Suo, advising him not to get involved. Xie Kengran said he was willing to pay with his life if he could save Lu Zheng.

In the secret room of the Bell Tower, Zhang Junqing told Yuan Zhongdao the contents of the secret letter. Yuan Zhongdao asked her to go to Guan Yin Mountain to kill Li Dongfang and get Yu Ming Suo back. He would then tell her the secret of Mu’s family.

The next morning, Li Wu and Xie Kengran had just found Yu Ming Suo at Guan Yin Mountain when they saw Li Dongfang walking out from behind a tree and Shu Tang walking out silently from the side. Xie Kengran wanted to take Li Wu and Yu Ming Suo back to Zhenfu Division as evidence. Shu Tang and Xie Kengran started fighting. Li Wu pretended to throw away Yu Ming Suo. Li Dongfang picked it up and found out it was fake. He turned around and fought with Zhang Junqing who had arrived. The two were fighting fiercely when Song Tianyi came to help and successfully killed Li Dongfang. Shu Tang left Xie Kengran behind and rushed over to find that Li Dongfang had already died. Zhang Junqing and Song Tianyi surrounded Li Wu from front and back. Xie Kengran arrived in time to save Li Wu but was injured by a sword. Soon after, Shu Tang also arrived to join the fight. While they were fighting, Xie Kengran wanted to take Li Wu back to Zhenfu Division but soon collapsed on the road. Li Wu wanted to carry Xie Kengran back to the clinic but he died on Li Wu’s back due to his serious injuries. After putting him down, Li Wu heard Lu Zheng’s cry for help and had to hide in the nearby bushes to observe the situation. Lu Zheng saw Xie Kengran’s dead body and was heartbroken. He carried him on his back and followed the Jinyiwei who came to pursue them. Li Wu returned to the dense forest and found a group of Jinyiwei searching the mountain. He quickly ran to the riverbank to wash off the blood on his hands and saw Li Dongfang lying dead beside him.

Lu Zheng carried Xie Kengran back to the government office. Si Xiangnan told Lu Zheng that he was a deeply hidden traitor in the Zhenfu Division and threatened him to confess by using Xie Kengran’s funeral. Seeing that Lu Zheng still refused, Si Xiangnan ordered his subordinates to cane him fifty times. Lu Zheng was beaten to vomit blood and still wanted to pick up Xie Kengran’s waist badge that had been thrown on the ground. He eventually passed out and was forcibly detained.

At the riverbank, Li Wu changed into Li Dongfang’s clothes and found Shu Tang lying under the eaves while rushing on the road. He quickly went up and carried Shu Tang into the cave, found a doctor for her diagnosis and treatment, and boiled medicine for her in the cave. After feeding her medicine, Li Wu walked into the city gate wearing Li Dongfang’s clothes and saw a notice that said Lu Zheng was a traitor. After disguising himself, Li Wu came to the door of Zhenfu Division with a cart and heard Jinyiwei talking about Lu Zheng and Xie Kengran without any concern, which made him very angry.

At night, Shu Tang woke up in the cave and realized that Li Wu had saved her. She turned over and wanted to collect Li Dongfang’s body. Li Wu quickly stopped her. He saw that Shu Tang wanted to go out again, so he lied to her that Li Dongfang was not dead because Ye Bu Shou had betrayed them and Li Dongfang only contacted him directly. Shu Tang had no choice but to believe Li Wu’s words.

Li Wu asked Shu Tang to follow him into the city to recuperate. He planned to go to the Zhenfu Division Yamen for his appointment. Facing Shu Tang’s question, Li Wu looked at the burning fire in front of him and took out the cloth stained with Xie Kengran’s blood from his arms. He sighed that he should have died that day. He never understood why Xie Kengran was so desperate to block the knife for him. He wanted to figure out the reason and save Lu Zheng for him by going to the Zhenfu Division Yamen.

The next day, Li Wu settled Shu Tang in the city and went to the Zhenfu Division Yamen for his appointment. When Lu Yulin saw the blood stains on Li Wu’s clothes, he asked if he was injured. Li Wu said that the blood stains were from Xie Kengran. He met Ye Bu Shou on the way and was saved by Xie Kengran, but Xie Kengran was killed by Ye Bu Shou. Si Xiangnan objected that Lu Zheng had already signed and detained himself, and it was he who killed Wang Kegong and Xie Kengran. Li Wu told Si Xiangnan that he had seen Ye Bu Shou kill Wang Kegong with his own eyes and said that he wanted to testify for Lu Zheng and request a holy judgment to investigate whether someone had been tortured into confession and make a big deal out of it.

Lu Yulin said that the emperor had already made a ruling and ordered Lu Zheng to receive death at Zhenfu Division Yamen at three-quarters of an hour after midnight tonight. Si Xiangnan left satisfied when he saw this. Lu Yulin stopped Li Wu who wanted to leave and asked what Li Wu wanted to do for Lu Zheng. Li Wu said that he was entrusted by Xie Kengran to save his close friend Lu Zheng. Lu Yulin said that only Mr. Yuan from Wenhua Hall could save Lu Zheng, and he immediately went into the palace to find Mr. Yuan for Lu Zheng’s plea but feared that there was not enough time. Li Wu heard that it would take at least two hours and quickly turned around and left.

At the Zhenfu Division school field at night, Si Xiangnan asked Li Wu what he came for. Li Wu said that he had found out that Lu Zheng was indeed colluding with the rebels. He asked Si Xiangnan to forgive him and wanted to execute Lu Zheng himself to show his loyalty. Si Xiangnan was very satisfied.

The Jinyiwei took Lu Zheng down from the wooden frame, and Li Wu begged Si Xiangnan for the last bowl of rice for Lu Zheng. Li Wu woke up Lu Zheng with water, hinted that he should listen to him, and handed him the bowl of rice. Lu Zheng heard his words and quickly took the bowl of rice and started eating.

At three-quarters of an hour after midnight, Lu Yulin had already knelt in front of the palace trembling all over and still refused to leave. Seeing that Wang Taijian had reported to the emperor many times but still refused to summon him, Lu Yulin said that he had something important to report to the emperor about the old case in Hongwu years. As a result, Lu Yulin was supported to the emperor and Yuan Zhongdao saw that Lu Yulin wanted to use the secret of the old case in Hongwu years to plead with the emperor for Lu Zheng. Lu Yulin told the emperor about the secret of Yu Ming’s lock and that Lu Zheng was the son of Song Heming, a criminal. Since Wang Kegong and Song Heming have died, Lu Zheng is the only one who knows about the secret code and begged the emperor to allow Lu Zheng to serve him while he himself is willing to be executed by the emperor.

At the Zhenfu Division school field, Li Wu asked the Jinyiwei to press down Lu Zheng while he himself pulled the bowstring against Lu Zheng’s throat and pulled hard.

In the Chao Prison ten years ago, Song Heming and Wang Kegong were interrogating Li Yan. They also caught Li Yan’s son Li Feng and threatened him. Seeing this, Li Yan asked them to send Li Feng to Jining. Li Yan told them that the Crown Prince asked him to bring the words “the first day of the Rendeng Tower, the fifteenth day of the Bi Luo Chun, the sunrise soup boiled eggs, the moon sets and the stars are full of buildings, five, fourteen, twenty-two, thirty-one, forty-seven” to Mu Jinggao.

At Yimen School Field, Li Wu was executing Lu Zheng. Si Xiangnan saw that Lu Zheng had not yet been executed and took action himself. Li Wu could only remove his hand from the bowstring. At this critical moment, a eunuch came to deliver an edict and announced that Lu Zheng was to be escorted to the palace for protection. Si Xiangnan had no choice but to let Li Wu take Lu Zheng to see the emperor.

In front of Jinluan Hall, Yuan Zhongdao asked Lu Yulin about what happened in Hongwu 25 years when he was ordered to arrest people in Mu Mansion. He saw Mu Jinggao commit suicide and apologize with his own eyes. Yuan Zhongdao tried to test whether Mu Jinggao was really dead. Lu Yulin said that the documents in Zhenfu Division’s document bank clearly recorded that Li Yan conspired with Mu Jinggao to kill the Crown Prince. That night Song Heming secretly communicated with rebels and let Li Feng and Mu Jinggao’s second daughter go.

In front of the Throne Room, Lu Zheng met with the emperor and Yuan Zhongdao. Yuan Zhongdao asked Lu Zheng about what happened on the night of April 25th in Hongwu 25 years when he broke into the Chao Prison and stole the key to release a death row prisoner. Song Heming committed a heinous crime to make up for his mistake. Yuan Zhongdao read out an edict that the emperor wanted to find out the truth and exonerate Song Heming and his son. Lu Zheng thanked the emperor for his grace and was determined to find out the truth and clear his father’s name. Lu Zheng was promoted to a hundred households and was ordered by the emperor to handle the rebel case and execute Wang Kegong’s relatives.

Lu Zheng learned that Xie Kangran’s body was put on display in front of Yimen School Field by Si Xiangnan. He hurried back to Yimen School Field and Li Wu helped him bury Xie Kangran. Lu Zheng asked Li Wu how Xie Kangran died, and Li Wu told him the truth. Lu Zheng wanted to kill Li Wu but spared him when he saw that Li Wu did not react after drawing his sword. He then left.

At Zuixian Building, Li Wu suggested that they should live happily together with Xie Kangran’s memory. After they toasted Xie Kangran, Lu Zheng suggested that they should drink more. At Caoyun Wharf, Lu Zheng put Li Wu who had passed out into a box on board a ship. He saw that Li Wu had some fabric bought by Xie Kangran in his arms when he was about to leave. Li Wu woke up and found himself sitting by the roadside. Li Wu asked Lu Zheng if he was going to execute Wang Kegong’s relatives, but Lu Zheng believed that Wang Kegong was not a rebel. Li Wu advised Lu Zheng that only by staying alive could he change this world. Lu Zheng asked Li Wu to return the gift intended for Wang Kegong back to Duke Xu. Li Wu realized Lu Zheng’s purpose and returned Duck Xu’s gift in front of Xu Mansion with great fanfare.

At the entrance of the Zhenfu Yamen, at three-quarters past noon, Si Xiangnan asked Lu Zheng to order the execution. At that moment, Li Wu arrived. Si Xiangnan could not restrain himself and ordered his subordinates to execute the prisoners. Lu Zheng said that he was the emperor’s appointed executioner and that since the auspicious time had passed today, he would detain the prisoners on the spot.

In the Throne Room, Si Xiangnan told Yuan Zhongdao that Lu Zheng deliberately delayed and missed the auspicious time. Lu Zheng said that Duke Xu’s two families were related by marriage, Wang Kegong was a rebel, and Duke Xu was also implicated. The two argued in front of Yuan Zhongdao. Yuan Zhongdao said that he would allow Lu Zheng to do as he wished.

Outside Zhenfu Yamen, Shu Tang pretended to be Li Wu’s wife. Lu Zheng returned the letter and the invitation to Shu Tang and kept testing her identity and Li Dongfang’s background. Shu Tang answered calmly one by one. When Li Wu arrived, Lu Zheng led them to an official residence arranged by Zhenfu Yamen. Li Wu found out that it was Wang Kegong’s mansion. Li Wu said that they had not seen each other for a long time and wanted to talk about some family matters and asked Lu Zheng to leave.

Inside the mansion, Li Wu was surprised to see Shu Tang and asked why she was here. Shu Tang said that she was originally supposed to follow Li Dongfang to his new post and that she did not trust Li Wu. She also asked Li Wu if Li Dongfang had any instructions for her. Suddenly, Li Wu realized that Lu Zheng was eavesdropping outside the window and walked out of the room. Lu Zheng pretended to be repairing the doors and windows and couldn’t help but test Li Wu’s identity before leaving. Li Wu responded calmly.

At Zhenfu Division, Lu Yulin handed over the key to the case file library of Zhenfu Division to Li Wu and instructed that all cases from the Hongwu period must go through Li Wu. Li Wu cherished the key and held it in his hand. At night, the neighbors of Jiege Lane enjoyed food in a restaurant. After getting drunk, Li Wu handed a jade to a little boy named Mei Dou and then staggered and put a bag of silver in front of each household in Ji'e Lane to thank everyone for taking care of him for so many years. Lu Zheng followed him secretly and muttered Li Wu’s name while watching him smash everything in his previous residence.

It was night again. Li Wu asked Mei Dou to put a piece of white paper into a river lantern and let it flow downstream in advance. Li Wu ate the white paper in the river lantern and pretended that it was an order from Li Dongfang. Li Wu deceived Shu Tang that Li Dongfang had seen Shu Tang following him to his new post and said that he was willing to teach Shu Tang how to become a hundred-household wife. Seeing Shu Tang wiping her knife, Li Wu quickly denied that there was no need for Shu Tang to smile and serve him.

Inside the mansion, Shu Tang slowly recounted Li Dongfang’s previous case handling experience and asked Li Wu to remember it. Li Wu said that he had to summarize Li Dongfang’s character and truly become Li Dongfang from the inside out. Seeing Shu Tang’s heroic sitting posture, he put some silver coins in her shoes. Shu Tang put on her shoes and walked a few steps before refusing to practice anymore. Seeing this, Li Wu threatened Shu Tang with Li Dongfang’s authority. Shu Tang looked at Li Wu’s virtuous appearance sewing clothes and had no choice but to continue practicing walking.

Li Wu analyzed that Li Dongfang’s characteristics were honesty and fear of the inside and hinted at Shu Tang. Shu Tang couldn’t help but ask Li Wu what he meant. Li Wu said that they should pretend to be husband and wife, but they had to really live together and proposed that they take turns being responsible for odd and even days. At night, Shu Tang was really wiping the floor in the room. Seeing Li Wu sleeping on the desk, Shu Tang angrily knocked over his shoes and found silver coins inside, coming up with a plan.

In the morning, Li Wu walked out of the room and found that Shu Tang was actually drying clothes on a rainy day. He quickly stopped Shu Tang. Looking at the dishes on the table, Li Wu learned that Shu Tang had given two cooking old ladies one liang of silver. He realized that Shu Tang had taken the silver coins from his shoes after she had said she had no money and was very angry.

The two came to the riverbank, and falling flowers kept drifting down from the trees. Seeing Lu Zheng coming by boat, Shu Tang leaned against Li Wu’s shoulder. Before they arrived, Shu Tang reminded Li Wu again to remember Li Dongfang’s experience, the power struggle of Zhenfu Yamen and the secret signal of not collecting at night. On the boat, Lu Zheng tentatively called out Li Wu’s name. Li Wu pretended not to know and had already clenched the key around his waist in secret.

As soon as Li Wu entered the Zhenfu Yamen, a Jin Yiwei couldn’t help but ask about the case Li Wu had handled before. Li Wu responded while staring at other Jin Yiwei. At the reminder of his subordinates, he learned that every month Jin Yiwei had to report to the Lord of the Ministry of War, Si Xiangnan. Si Xiangnan took Li Wu to the school field and watched as Ji Daren was beaten by Jin Yiwei. Li Wu remembered that Ji Daren was the one who asked about the nine-headed corpse case at the door. Si Xiangnan warned Li Wu to be careful in his words and deeds in the future, saying that the matter of anti-party was a rare opportunity and wanted Li Wu to join in advance and work with Lu Zheng.

Later, Li Wu went to Lu Yulin’s place. Lu Yulin asked Li Wu to work with Lu Zheng so that he could monitor Lu Zheng and tell him about Lu Zheng’s whereabouts. He said that as long as Li Wu agreed with him, then Li Wu would always be Li Dongfang here. Li Wu was shocked that Lu Yulin saw through his identity and had no choice but to agree.

In the prison, Li Wu looked at the open door and recalled his escape from prison. He remembered how Song Heming was killed by a hidden arrow after locking the prison door with an iron chain and how his arm was broken by the killer who stole the book of impermanence. Lu Zheng came and asked Li Wu to check for a person named Li Wu in the case file library. The two walked up to the case file library and watched as Jin Yiwei passed by with scrolls. Li Wu couldn’t help but recall how ten years ago young Lu Zheng let him and Shu Tang go free. The person guarding the case file library told Lu Zheng that there was no scroll for Hongwu’s year named Li Wu. Li Wu breathed a sigh of relief, but Lu Zheng didn’t believe it and could only leave. After leaving the case file library, Li Wu wanted to shake hands with Lu Zheng and agree not to suspect each other anymore, but Lu Zheng knocked him out instead.

Lu Zheng woke up and found himself tied up in front of Guanyin Mountain. Li Wu asked Lu Zheng why he wanted to arrest the people in Ji'e Lane. Lu Zheng said that he had no military order of his own and that they would be sent to the front line as coolies. Seeing this, Li Wu said that Wang Kegong had secretly investigated an old case before his death and that he had been investigating Li Wu’s whereabouts for the past few years. He came to the capital to inquire about whether Ji'e Lane had any relatives or friends of his under Li Wu’s name. Li Wu was very angry and believed that the people of Ji'e Lane were all honest and upright people, but Lu Zheng had arrested innocent people in order to make him confess. Lu Zheng was willing to keep him by his side because of what he had just said, and the two shook hands and agreed.

On the other side, Wang Chan and his group disguised themselves as Nightfall and asked Jin Yiwei to hand over the people in Ji'e Lane. At this time, Lu Zheng rode up on horseback and ordered his men to take them down. Wang Chan quickly explained his identity, and Lu Zheng took out the Book of Impermanence and recorded Wang Chan’s pretending to be Nightfall to collect money and oppress the people.

At this time, Shu Tang woke up from a drunken stupor and found herself in the Jiaofang Division. At this time, a group of Jin Yiwei came to arrest people because they received a report that Nightfall had come to the Jiaofang Division. Seeing that Jin Yiwei Tang Yu actually lifted a woman’s clothes, Shu Tang said that she was Nightfall. Tang Yu saw Shu Tang and recognized her as Baihu’s wife. He thought that Shu Tang was really working at the Jiaofang Division and asked her to go back to the official residence first.

In the morning, Lu Zheng walked into the courtyard with an umbrella, and Li Wu and Shu Tang came out of the room. Lu Zheng showed them the deed, and it turned out that he had bought this courtyard. Lu Zheng said that they could live here, but they had to give him two taels of silver a month or do housework instead.

In the Zhenfu Division, Li Wu watched as Si Xiangnan took the plates confiscated from Wang Kegong’s mansion and used them as evidence of Wang Kegong’s communication with Yan. He also designated their letters as Yan’s intelligence. At this time, Lu Zheng walked over with his subordinates pressing down on Ma Han and Wang Chan. Lu Zheng said that they had claimed to be Nightfall, so he suspected that Si Xiangnan was also a rebel. Lu Zheng ordered his subordinates to arrest Si Xiangnan, but they were indifferent. Si Xiangnan was not flustered at all and said that he was following the rules of the Zhenfu Division.

Seeing this, Li Wu quickly came out to ease the tension. When Si Xiangnan saw that Lu Zheng was suspicious of him, he asked his subordinates to take out his seal. When Lu Zheng still did nothing, Li Wu took out his Book of Impermanence and tore out the contents inside to give to Si Xiangnan. After Si Xiangnan left, Li Wu explained the reason to Lu Zheng. Seeing that Lu Zheng did not listen to his advice, Li Wu handed him the seal and left.

At night, in the mansion, Li Wu asked his subordinates Tang Yu and Lu Yulin when they adopted Lu Zheng. They learned that Lu Zheng claimed to be a beggar from Ji'e Lane and were very puzzled. In a room in the mansion, Li Wu asked Shu Tang if she remembered the little boy in the prison. Shu Tang looked at him and said she had already guessed it.

On the boat, Lu Zheng said that Li Wu should thank him for not putting him in a box and shipping him north when he was drunk. Li Wu asked him what he wanted, and Lu Zheng wanted him to enter the archives and find Song Heming’s Book of Impermanence. In the archives, Li Wu inadvertently opened a Book of Impermanence, and Chen Jizhen suddenly appeared, saying that Li Wu could search for rebels with it and rise step by step. In a blink of an eye, Chen Jizhen disappeared from sight. Li Wu handed the Book of Impermanence to Lu Zheng, who recognized it as a thorn of Nightfall with a ghost face, and the owner of the Book of Impermanence was Chen Jizhen. Lu Zheng remembered that officer Cao, who was in charge of the Ministry of War in Hongwu years, is now also in charge of the Ministry of War. Both were suspicious.

After leaving the prison, Lu Zheng secretly arrived at the Education Office and found that Li Wu had already arrived near his room. Li Wu told him that the official in charge of the transport dock was also at the Education Office tonight, and that this batch of goods was written as transport grain. The two left for the transport dock. Nightfall with a ghost face was watching them nearby. Not long after, Yuan Zhongdao received a secret report from Lu Zheng about intercepting military equipment at the dock in the secret room of the Bell Tower.

In a room in the mansion, Li Wu taught Shu Tang how to use chopsticks correctly. Shu Tang was very irritable because she couldn’t pick up mung beans with chopsticks. Seeing this, Li Wu quickly comforted Shu Tang and taught her how to use chopsticks step by step. At this moment, Lu Zheng came to knock on their door and told Li Wu that he had learned that there were rebels active in Jige Lane and asked Li Wu to go with him. In Ji'e Lane, Lu Zheng heard a group of children singing an unknown ballad and realized that they were talking about cutting fiefs.

At night, Li Wu, Lu Zheng and Shu Tang were sitting in the courtyard of the mansion talking. Shu Tang asked the two about their tasks for the day. Li Wu then told Shu Tang about the songs that have been circulating recently. After listening to Li Wu, Shu Tang seemed to be lost in thought. When she came back to her senses, she made an excuse to leave and left the two behind. In the room, Shu Tang told Li Wu that the song was actually a secret code for Ye Bu Shou’s secret meeting. Realizing that Lu Zheng was secretly standing outside the room trying to eavesdrop, Shu Tang put on her clothes and opened the door. Lu Zheng quickly pretended to be taking a walk to digest his food while Li Wu walked out of the room to help Shu Tang put on her clothes. Lu Zheng still didn’t want to leave so Shu Tang turned around and kissed Li Wu. Seeing this, Lu Zheng quickly left.

At Zhang’s silk shop, Zhang Junqing said that Officer Cao had lost the military handover order on the boat. Lu Zheng would definitely investigate this matter along the canal wharf and ordered his subordinates to find Wang Chongxi as a scapegoat. At Zhenfu Division, Si Xiangnan asked Li Wu how he planned to use the found military handover order and wanted him to bring it over for them to use. Li Wu said that the military handover order was with Lu Zheng and he would find a way to get it. At Document bank, Li Wu told Chen Jizhen that Si Xiangnan might have a backup plan. Chen Jizhen said that what Si Xiangnan had in his hands was definitely not physical evidence. With his reminder, Li Wu remembered Wang Kegong’s son Wang Chongxi.

At Zhenfu Division, Lu Yulin told Lu Zheng that tomorrow’s banquet at Zhenfu Division’s yamen was to celebrate his success in cracking down on smuggled weapons by rebels and that he had invited officials from six ministries. Lu Zheng could use the military handover order to find out who the real rebels were. Therefore, whoever was in charge of this case would definitely die without a doubt. So Lu Yulin wanted Li Wu to take charge of this case instead. It turned out that Lu Yulin had helped Li Wu earlier in order for him to die in place of Lu Zheng. After hearing this, Lu Zheng was very angry and wanted to leave. Lu Yulin told Lu Zheng that Li Wu had found out about Wang Chongxi but hadn’t told him yet.

In the mansion, the three of them were having dinner in the courtyard. Lu Zheng invited Li Wu and Shu Tang to go to Zhenfu Division’s yamen tomorrow for a banquet and use the military handover order to capture all the rebels. Li Wu and Shu Tang’s faces changed. Lu Zheng tried to find out if Li Wu had any other information, but Li Wu only said that he didn’t want to go to the banquet either but there was no other way at present. Lu Zheng put down his wine glass angrily and left.

Just then, Jin Yi Wei came to the door and said that the wife of the assistant invited Shu Tang to go to Danfeng Street together. The ladies arrived at Zhang’s silk shop where Zhang Junqing asked the shopkeeper to take the other ladies to see the fabrics. In the room, Shu Tang told Zhang Junqing that she and Li Dongfang were ambushed when they first arrived in Nanjing and suspected that there was a traitor in Ye Bu Shou. Zhang Junqing said that all his men needed to be investigated and gave Shu Tang a task.

In the mansion room, Shu Tang asked Li Wu to catch Wang Chongxi before Jin Yi Wei did, kill him and then switch the military handover order with him. Li Wu thought it was too risky but Shu Tang said that if other Ye Bu Shou members found out that Li Wu was replacing Li Dongfang, he would be in danger. Li Wu asked what good it would do him if he gave Wang Chongxi to Shu Tang. Shu Tang handed him her hairpin and Li Wu reluctantly took it.