Episode 9 recap: Confession for Aunt Zhou's Daughter's Sake.
Luo Xue Er visited the prison to see Shen Dan Qing. She didn't want to give Shen Dan Qing any chance, so she put a poisonous spider from the Western Regions into the cell, hoping to poison Shen Dan Qing to death. Shen Dan Qing was trapped alone in the cell and nearly died from the spider's venom.
Luo Xue Er brought Luo Shuang Shuang to the prison to visit Shen Dan Qing. She couldn't understand why Shen Dan Qing kept opposing the Luo family. Shen Dan Qing explained that she only knew the Luo family's secrets and wanted to use them to negotiate business with Luo Ji Zhou.
Luo Xue Er had malicious intentions and put the Western Regions' poisonous spider in the prison, intending to kill Shen Dan Qing. Shen Dan Qing didn't want to be poisoned to death in the cell, so she threatened the jailer to send a message to Xu Cheng Feng and to bring Miao Shen Yi from the Shen family to this place.
The jailer went to the general's mansion to invite Xu Cheng Feng, but Xu Cheng Feng couldn't avoid the entanglement of the Prince Yu for a while. Meanwhile, the Shen family was surrounded by people sent by Governor Bai, and Miao Shen Yi couldn't come here. Shen Dan Qing thought she would die today, but Xu Cheng Feng pretended to be looking for clues to a treasure map and left in front of the Prince Yu to come to the prison.
Xu Cheng Feng brought Miao Shen Yi to the prison. Miao Shen Yi asked Shen Dan Qing to take the antidote first, and he would follow with the remedy. Shen Dan Qing refused Xu Cheng Feng's offer to take her out of the prison and instead asked him to help find Luo Ji Zhou to clear her name.
When Aunt Zhou and her daughter learned that Shen Dan Qing had been rescued by Xu Cheng Feng, they immediately sent people to quickly find Luo Ji Zhou before Xu Cheng Feng could, at least to ensure their own safety.
Xu Cheng Feng found the hidden Luo Ji Zhou before Aunt Zhou did. Luo Ji Zhou bluntly stated that Aunt Zhou and her daughter had ambitious plans, not only deceiving him by claiming that Luo Shuang Shuang was their daughter but also intending to kill him to silence the truth.
While unconscious, Luo Ji Zhou heard the details of Aunt Zhou and her daughter's plot against Shen Dan Qing and their collaboration with Governor Bai to conceal the truth. To save his life, Luo Ji Zhou pretended to be dead and was carried to the mortuary, then seized an opportunity to escape. Luo Ji Zhou proved Shen Dan Qing's innocence and pleaded with Xu Cheng Feng to support him.
Xu Cheng Feng ordered Tian Hao to bring Aunt Zhou and her daughter to the yamen for interrogation. Aunt Zhou was worried that this trip would bring more harm than good and confessed that Luo Shuang Shuang bit Luo Ji Zhou but didn't kill him.
Aunt Zhou witnessed Luo Ji Zhou's apparent survival at the yamen. She admitted to attempted murder but also accused Luo Ji Zhou of committing the crime of defiling her. The two accused each other, with Aunt Zhou claiming that Luo Ji Zhou ruined her and even openly shoved him in the courtroom, causing his head to hit the wooden table and ultimately faint. Aunt Zhou insisted that she was the one behind the plot to frame Shen Dan Qing and Luo Ji Zhou, and she only wanted to die to protect her two daughters.
In the end, Governor Bai sentenced Aunt Zhou to be beheaded for the attempted murder of a relative. The final review and execution would take place after autumn. Shen Dan Qing was released on the spot due to her innocence, and Xu Cheng Feng listed Governor Bai's dereliction of duty, fining him one year's salary plus twenty beatings. To express gratitude for Xu Cheng Feng's help, Shen Dan Qing specially brought Shen Zi Shan to the Drunken Cloud Pavilion to treat Xu Cheng Feng. Shen Dan Qing wanted to test Xu Cheng Feng's previous suspicions that she was the female bandit of Mount Nüshan, even going so far as to throw herself into the water, nearly drowning.
Shen Dan Qing guessed that Xu Cheng Feng's actions might be related to his purpose in coming to Chaocheng, and she openly stated that Xu Cheng Feng's investigation was related to the missing imperial convoy that the Shen family lost. Shen Dan Qing called Shen Zi Shan today to facilitate cooperation between her brother and Xu Cheng Feng. Xu Cheng Feng wanted to investigate the disappearance of the imperial convoy, while Shen Zi Shan wanted to find the person who poisoned his sister.
The timing of these two matters was so coincidental that she believed their investigation targets were aligned. Shen Zi Shan was willing to trust Xu Cheng Feng this once, and they reached a cooperation agreement. After returning home, Xu Cheng Feng faced difficulties from Prince Yi Qin, who wanted to obtain the clues in Xu Cheng Feng's possession. However, Xu Cheng Feng had Tian Hao directly send the recorded clues obtained from Shen Zi Shan to the senior minister for examination.
To reward Xu Cheng Feng for obtaining the clues, Prince Yi Qin specially rewarded him with a maidservant. To prevent their dispute from harming the maidservant, Lv Zhu, Xu Cheng Feng reluctantly agreed to keep her. Tian Hao arranged for Lv Zhu to stay in a secluded area of the residence, fearing that she might harm Xu Cheng Feng. However, Xu Cheng Feng insisted that Lv Zhu should continue to serve as usual to satisfy Prince Yi Qin.
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