Currently Reviewing: Still Shining
Throwback To The Past: Warm on a Cold Night
The following recap, contains mild spoilers from episodes 1 until 20!
All the actors included in this production can be found on the main cast list.
So, without further ado, let's begin reviewing, shall we? In the city of Jiuxiao in the country of Qian, there are People of Qi living there. Qi comes from the north and can transform into animals, but they look the same as Qian people on normal days.
Recently, a horrifying "nursery rhyme murder case" occurred in Jiuxiao city. A mysterious Qiren with three scars transformed into an animal and committed the crime, leaving a scene of blood and four missing officials. Soon after, the bodies of two officials were thrown out, with injuries matching the "nursery rhyme" case. The people in Jiuxiao city were terrified. After a chase, a people of Qi with three scars was captured, and the dangerous task of interrogating him fell to Su Jiuer, a small patrol officer. Although Su Jiuer seems useless, she has great ambitions because she has suffered from a disease that causes her to lack five senses since she was young, and she can only pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger. The "fake prisoner" is named Han Zheng, who is actually a prince of Qi Chan. He came to Qian to find his true friend Mu Yan, the real "three scars" who was framed for being the "culprit" of stealing the holy fire of Qi Chan. Han Zheng must find him before Qi Chan finds Mu Yan's trail. Unexpectedly, Su Jiuer suddenly became dizzy during the chase and almost died in a fire, but Han Zheng saved her at a critical moment.
Su Jiu'er and Han Zheng finally escaped from the fire, and while the people were putting out the fire, the third body was secretly thrown into a well by the killer. The owner of "Hua Liu Tang" made a scene at the inspectorate to demand compensation and to find Su Jiu'er. Chief Yan was very angry and ordered Su Jiu'er and Hu Badao to leave immediately. To catch Han Zheng, Su Jiu'er took advantage of his weakness of not having a pass and lured him into getting a fake one. She and her team set a trap and finally captured him. Su Jiu'er had made thorough preparations to deal with the Qi people and used a smell that could stimulate and make them unconscious.
Inside the carriage, Su Jiu'er's next move shocked Han Zheng even more-- she hugged Han Zheng's arm. In an instant, Su Jiu'er's five senses were restored, and her body was full of vitality. She finally confirmed that, for some unknown reason, as long as she touched Han Zheng, her body could recover.
Han Zheng was not controlled by Su Jiu'er, instead, he used his own methods to discipline her severely! Su Jiu'er had to fight alone and followed her father Su Huan's investigation approach to find the next location where the victim would be dumped. Finally, Su Jiu'er used Han Zheng to track down the whereabouts of "Three Scars", but was unexpectedly attacked by him and almost lost her life. Thanks to Han Zheng's timely rescue, she missed the opportunity to catch "Three Scars" and let him escape without a trace. Just when everyone was empty-handed, another body appeared. While inspecting the corpse, Su Jiu'er found a crucial clue to the "Children's Song" case. She used it as bait and personally asked Han Zheng to cooperate with her in solving the case, but he thought she only wanted a free bodyguard.
They pretended to be lovers and went to investigate at a wine shop, where they learned that the four dead officials of the Qian clan were all supporters of the Qi clan in the court. When Su Jiu'er secretly went to examine the corpse, she was caught by Han Zheng. He questioned her motives and believed she had a greater conspiracy, always wanting to touch him. Su Jiu'er revealed her illness and the truth about Han Zheng's ability to cure her, but he didn't believe her. They argued until Su Jiu'er had another attack, and Yue Daren suddenly appeared. Su Jiu'er asked Han Zheng to hide, but he didn't listen. In desperation, Su Jiu'er kissed Han Zheng, and he saw her eyes gradually become lively again.
Yue Darenyue just wanted to quickly close the case, ignoring the crisis of the Qi clan. Han Zheng was about to attack Yue Daren in anger, but Su Jiu'er calmed him down, and she said she wanted to pursue a fair truth. Han Zheng was moved and became Su Jiu'er's partner.
Han Zheng found a clue about a decapitated body and invited Su Jiu'er to investigate the underground market of the Qi clan. They found the body of a man named Zha Mu Ke, who was a wanted criminal, but they couldn't get any useful information. While exploring the market, Su Jiu'er bought a keepsake that belonged to her mother and father. They went to the playwright's room and found everything neatly arranged, but when Su Jiu'er met the playwright outside, Han Zheng discovered some dolls of the four victims, a map of Jiuxiao City, and a children's song. Suddenly, Su Jiu'er screamed, and Han Zheng rushed to her aid.
At the De Yue Building, Su Jiu'er and Wen Jun chatted about drama and got along well. Han Zheng monitored Wen Jun's servant Liu Fu and found that he was skilled in martial arts, even matching Han Zheng's moves.
Su Jiu'er was deeply moved and praised Wen Jun's new play, which greatly excited him and increased his fondness for Su Jiu'er. Meanwhile, Han Zheng discovered Wen Jun's true identity as a prince of the Qian Dynasty who concealed his identity because of his love for drama. Liu Fu was actually his caretaker since childhood. After this misunderstanding was cleared up, Wen Jun learned of Su Jiu'er's investigation and told her that he heard the name "Zhamuke" from Zhang Yuchu. Su Jiu'er wanted to meet Zhang Yuchu, and Wen Jun agreed. However, Han Zheng decided to investigate Zhang Yuchu's home himself.
Realizing that Jiu'er might be in danger, Han Zheng rushed to the palace. He had to transform into his Qi form to fully release his sense of smell and search for Jiu'er's whereabouts in the vast palace. Despite being pursued and blocked by the palace guards, Han Zheng broke open the locked ice cellar door and rescued Su Jiu'er, who was delirious and mistook him for her long-deceased father, Su Huan. Jiu'er revealed her vulnerability, and Han Zheng finally understood her determination to solve the case at any cost. He couldn't help but hold her close to his chest until her face gradually turned rosy.
Han Zheng and Su Jiu'er were brought to the imperial court after Han's intrusion into the palace caused alarm to the emperor. Su Jiu'er desperately tried to explain Han Zheng's reason for entering the palace and accused Zhang, the royal chef, of murder, but had no evidence to support her claims. Su Jiu'er was devastated to learn that Han Zheng was the only son of the Xue Qi King, who was in charge of the four Qi clans. Wen Jun and Su Jiu'er analyzed the history and conflicts between the Qi and Qian nations, realizing that Han Zheng's intrusion into the palace was a matter of political interest, and they feared they would be unable to help him.
Despite his son's situation, the Xue Qi King refused to sacrifice the interests of his clan to help Han Zheng. He planned to reject the Qian nation's demands, but unfortunately, the envoy sent by the Qian nation was killed on the northern frontier, which would inevitably lead to a conflict between the Qian and Qi nations. At a critical moment, Su Jiu'er produced the letter of appointment that hired Han Zheng as a chief inspector, proving that his actions were done on behalf of himself and the inspectorate, and had nothing to do with the Qi clan. The court was in the wrong but didn't dare to break ties with the Qi clan. They finally punished Han Zheng with a severe beating as a warning to others. However, Su Jiu'er stepped forward and offered to share the punishment with Han Zheng. Han Zheng was deeply moved, and Wen Jun also stepped forward to support Su Jiu'er. In the end, the three of them were punished with thirty lashes each and went home to recover from their injuries.
Han Zheng felt guilty for all that Su Jiu'er had done to save him, and despite his usual arrogance, he actively sought her out to restore her health and longevity. Han Zheng looked at Wen Jun differently, but he soon realized that Wen Jun was just pretending to be powerful. In fact, he also wanted to close the case as soon as possible because Su Jiu'er had been pushed off the tower by the culprit in the nursery rhyme case, and he was worried that the culprit would attack her again. Han Zheng promised to protect Su Jiu'er and had a disagreement with Wen Jun. Su Jiu'er had a clever idea that closing the case might relax the vigilance of the accomplice and make him reveal himself. Han Zheng was worried about Su Jiu'er and decided to investigate alone.
Su Jiu'er was surprised to find a record in her father's notes about investigating the "Three Scars". but only to fall ill and so getting accidentally injured. Wen Jun and Han Zheng came to visit Su Jiu'er, much to the delight of Qin Xiangyi. Jiu'er was convinced that the "Three Scars" was somehow related to her father, so she took the opportunity to ask Han Zheng why he wanted to investigate it. However, this angered Han Zheng, and Jiu'er realized that he was deliberately hiding something from her. She couldn't tell Han Zheng about her suspicion that the "Three Scars" was related to her father's death, and so a seed of distrust was planted between them.
Along the way, Wen Jun told Jiu'er about their childhood history together and gave her a horse lantern. The two reminisced about old times and were moved. Nearby, Han Zheng quietly watched Jiu'er and Wen Jun, feeling a pang of heartache. He pretended not to care and casually gave the rabbit lantern to Chi Lan before leaving on the pretext of being alone.
Wen Jun and Su Jiu'er discovered a strange painting of a humanoid wolf's head at an art exhibition. In the meantime, somewhere else, Yue Daren arrived and discovered that the victim was Wang Jirong, a painter at Nanfeng Studio. The inspector general investigated Wang's relationship with Xu Youdao. However, Han Zheng, jealous and angry with Su Jiu'er, left her and went to investigate the case separately. Su Jiu'er and Wen Jun questioned the painters and servants at the art society and discovered that Wang Jirong and Xu Youdao were like brothers. Moreover, Xu Youdao had an alibi, and the case was once again at a stalemate.
When they returned to the art society, they learned that Xu Youdao had died, and his death scene was exactly the same as the scene in Lin Zhixing's painting "Evil Flower". Yue Daren investigated and found out that the flowers on Xu's body came from Lin Zhixing's courtyard. The culprit had warned of the murder and they could catch him if they guarded Lin Zhixing. However, Su Jiu'er and Han Zheng did not agree with this approach and planned to investigate in their own way. Su Jiu'er and Han Zheng took the opportunity when Lin Zhixing was "cleaning impurities" in the fasting room to sneak into his room and search. They found the Qi Yuan Stone hidden in the room, and Han Zheng was immediately furious.
Wen Jun also rushed over in a hurry with a clue. He discovered that Wang Jirong, Xu Youdao, and Lin Zhixing had something in common. Their paintings were obviously divided into two different periods.
Later on, Su Jiu'er and Han Zheng became famous for solving the case of the painter's death. Although they were known as partners in the Qian and Qi, this also led to gossip and speculation that the two were lovers. Qin Xiangyi reminded Jiu'er not to engage in a romance with Han Zheng, as the customs between the Qian and Qi were different, and the drawbacks of being in love would soon become apparent. Jiu'er became increasingly frustrated and stressed. During the Ghost Festival, Su Jiu'er and Han Zheng disguised themselves as an uneasy pair and went to the theater to watch the premiere of "The Immortal in the Painting," intentionally separating from each other. Just as the performance reached its climax, Shi Luqing's singing suddenly came from the stage, startling everyone.
They made in time, an agreement that if Chi Lan produced conclusive evidence, Wen Ying would also do his best to promote the "Qian Qi Six Agreements." Everyone watched the river lanterns together. Jiu'er also wanted to pray for her deceased father when she saw the scene and was eager to try it out. To please Jiu'er, Han Zheng bought all the river lanterns for her.
