Episode 14

After Pei Zifang learned that Wei Zhao and Pei Yan had gone to the west granary and the ruined temple in the west of the city to investigate respectively, he became worried and feared that the matter would be exposed, so he sent Pei Ying to lead people to the ruined temple with the intention of killing the hungry people to silence them.Pei Ying, He Yonglin's thug Zhao Da and others went there wearing masks to avoid being recognized.

Zhao Da and others carried out a brutal massacre on the hungry people. Jiang Ci hid in fear, but unfortunately was captured.At a critical moment, Jiang Ci used Wei Zhao's name to try to scare He Yonglin and others, but Pei Ying remained unmoved.In desperation, Jiang Cili showed off the Bright Commander card given by Wei Zhao and took the opportunity to break free.

The Guangming Division, as a power organization independent of the major yamen of the imperial court, directly obeyed the orders of Emperor Xie Che.Pei Ying knew well that Wei Zhao was ruthless and feared that he would have many nightmares at night, so he ordered Zhao Da to kill Jiang Ci quickly.Jiang Ci reacted quickly and escaped quickly, but was intercepted by Pei Ying again.Fortunately, Wei Zhao and Pei Yan arrived in time, subdued the thugs, and rescued Jiang Ci.In the chaos, Wei Zhao and Jiang Ci accidentally fell into the well. Wei Zhao clung to the rope and called for help, but Yi Fei finally helped him escape.

Pei Ying took off her mask and asked Pei Yan for help, but received a cold reception.Pei Yan turned to ask about Jiang Ci's safety with concern, and Jiang Ci thanked Wei Zhao with the Guangming Commander's plaque, and took it as a victory in the bet, leaving behind the token.Pei Yan was curious about how Wei Zhao found Jiang Ci, but Wei Zhao made excuses.

Pei Yan found out that the Eighth Granary was related to the Pei family and vowed to punish them severely.Wei Zhao was worried that He Zhenwen would take the opportunity to make false accounts, so he decided to go to the Governor's Mansion immediately to verify the accounts of the Foundry Department.Pei Yan couldn't go with him, so he asked Jiang Ci and Wei Zhao to go together, and ordered Yifei to get the account books of the eight granaries.

Under Wei Zhao's strict supervision, the officials discovered that the granary had lent a huge amount of silver, while the Foundry Department, which had suffered heavy losses, suddenly made a surplus.Wei Zhao suspected that the foundry department had borrowed money from the granary to make up for the shortfall, but He Zhenwen tried every means to shirk the responsibility and shift the responsibility to others.

Wei Zhao ordered Jiang Ci to invite the drunk girl from the Red Chamber to testify and expose the crimes committed by He Zhenwen and his son in killing the hungry people.Faced with the accusation, He Zhenwen argued that the people who destroyed the temple were a mob.Jiang Ci cleverly exposed his lies and invited Pei Ying to testify, confirming that He Zhenwen was the instigator of the hungry people's deaths.He Zhenwen shifted the blame to Pei Zifang, claiming that the Pei family's monopoly on Nanling led to financial stress, and Pei Zifang misappropriated the granary funds.

Pei Yan stated on the spot that he would investigate the matter thoroughly and would never tolerate the Pei family.He promised to give Wei Zhao a clear answer within three days.Jiang Ci asked Cui Liang to diagnose and treat the seriously ill girl, and Pei Yan happily agreed.

That night, Pei Yan held a banquet to entertain the tribesmen, but it was actually a test.He pretended to be crazy under the influence of alcohol and hinted that the Pei family might be replaced by someone who would serve as an official in the court, causing panic among the clan members and exposing each other.Pei Yan's move was aimed at eliminating corruption within the family and at the same time maintaining the Pei family's loyalty to Emperor Da Ming.

Pei Zifang realized that he had been tricked and angrily went to Pei Yan to argue with him. However, Pei Yan kicked him out of his house and placed him under house arrest.Pei Yan's decisive action made Wei Zhao look at him with admiration.

Jiang Ci cares about the hungry people, but feels powerless.She recalled the difficult experiences Wei Zhao and her sister had gone through, which made her even more sympathetic.Pei Yan was grateful to Pei Zifang for helping him in the past, but in the face of family corruption, he chose to kill his relatives for justice, pretending to be crazy with wine, but in fact he was wise and courageous.The overt and secret struggles among the Pei family members, as well as Pei Yan's foresight, jointly weave a complex and wonderful picture of family struggle.