When the teacher of Linfen County, Zhou Xian, learns that Qi Menglin is the son of Governor Qi, he becomes so frightened that he repeatedly apologizes. Qi Menglin has never been treated so unjustly before. He comes to find Luo Shu, knocking for a long time without any response, so he climbs over the wall. He is mistaken for a thief and arrested. Zhou Xian even suspects him of having an affair with his wife, Xue Wenyin. Furious, Qi Menglin grits his teeth and shouts at Zhou Xian, who becomes scared and begs for mercy.
Xiaoyue firmly accuses Xue Wenyin of having an affair and even presents a pair of men’s underwear found in her room. Zhou Xian is unable to protect himself and has no time to handle these troubles. He plans to hold a banquet to apologize to Qi Menglin. Liu Wan uses the excuse of having matters between Qi Menglin and Luo Shu to take them away. Zhou Xian relentlessly pressures Xue Wenyin. Xue Wenyin knows that Xiaoyue is deliberately framing her but lacks concrete evidence. She cries desperately, and Xiaoyue persuades Zhou Xian to take Zhou Xian away first.
Liu Wan realizes that her cousin Xue Wenyin is being framed and asks Luo Shu to stay at the residence for a few days to seek justice for Xue Wenyin. Luo Shu also feels that Xue Wenyin is being wronged and readily agrees. Qi Menglin worries that Liu Wan might bully Luo Shu and wants to stay as well. Luo Shu asks him to go back and request leave from Han Muzhi, and Qi Menglin has to give up.
Luo Shu asks Xue Wenyin about the situation, and Xue Wenyin recounts her experiences in detail. She has been married to Zhou Xian for two years without having children. Zhou Xian then took his childhood sweetheart, Xiaoyue, into the home. Xiaoyue gave birth to a son for Zhou Xian and, being spoiled and arrogant, makes life difficult for Xue Wenyin, hoping that Zhou Xian will divorce Xue Wenyin. When Xue Wenyin was taking a nap in the bedroom at noon, the maid Zi Yan saw someone break into the bedroom but only caught a glimpse of the person’s back. Luo Shu deduces that the intruder is very familiar with the inner house.
Luo Shu and Liu Wan go to find the servants in the residence to understand the situation but find no valuable clues. Luo Shu hears that Xiaoyue introduced a relative, Niu Dali, to come to the residence to feed the horses. The man is tall and robust. Luo Shu and Liu Wan go to the stable. Niu Dali returns drunk, and Luo Shu persistently questions his whereabouts. He knows nothing and is very arrogant.
Zhou Xian hears that the new magistrate, Han Muzhi, has extensive connections. He wants to leverage Han Muzhi’s influence to advance rapidly and thus has someone find a fine inkstone to gift to Han Muzhi. Xue Wenyin is about to reveal the relationship between Liu Wan and Han Muzhi when Zhou Xian impatiently interrupts her, urging her to expel Luo Shu as soon as possible.
Xue Wenyin suspects that Xiaoyue used Niu Dali to frame her and sends Zi Yan to the tavern where Niu Dali frequents to gather information. She learns that Niu Dali has been spending lavishly. Han Muzhi, waiting until nightfall and not seeing Luo Shu return to the county office, becomes anxious and wants to send Captain Cai with a group to search for him. Qi Menglin returns just in time to report that Luo Shu is safe, saying Luo Shu went to find friends without mentioning Liu Wan. Han Muzhi is still uneasy.
Qi Menglin is also worried about Luo Shu, so he sneaks out to Zhou Xian’s house at night to keep watch outside the door. Luo Shu hasn’t gotten up early, and Liu Wan comes to find her. Niu Dali has committed suicide in the stable. Xiaoyue suspects that Xue Wenyin forced Niu Dali to death. Zhou Xian orders people to block the news and sends someone to Niu Dali’s family to deliver a letter. Luo Shu finds Niu Dali’s death suspicious and suspects it wasn’t suicide. She wants to go back to the county office to find Xu Wu to conduct an autopsy, but Zhou Xian doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so Luo Shu has to think of another way.
Qi Menglin and Lian Shu watch the Zhou household all night. Luo Shu leaves early in the morning and sees him. She asks him to help stage a scene, then invites Xu Wenzheng to perform the autopsy. Qi Menglin pretends to be Niu Dali’s vengeful ghost in the stable to demand death, even smearing blood fingerprints on doors and windows. The stableman is scared stiff on the spot. Luo Shu suggests bringing someone to perform a ritual in the residence. Zhou Xian can’t think of a better solution at the moment and agrees with Luo Shu’s idea.
Xu Wu pretends to be a sorcerer and comes to the Zhou household. He solemnly performs rituals in the courtyard and then secretly enters the house to conduct the autopsy on Niu Dali. Liu Wan suspects that someone in the residence had an affair with Niu Dali and had Xue Wenyin’s underwear placed on her bed. Xiaoyue desperately defends Niu Dali, while Liu Wan, angry, threatens to report to the authorities. Zhou Xian doesn’t want to escalate the situation, so he publicly declares that Niu Dali died by suicide and urges Xiaoyue to quickly notify Niu Dali’s family to retrieve the body. Xiaoyue stands stunned and only snaps out of it when Zhou Xian calls her. Luo Shu watches all of this.
Xue Wenyin remembers that a month ago, Niu Dali and Xiaoyue had an argument and feels their relationship is suspicious. Luo Shu decides to check Niu Dali’s belongings. Han Muzhi inadvertently sees Qi Menglin have Xu Wu leave and starts to suspect. He had been waiting for Xu Wu to return, only to find out he helped the Zhou family conduct the autopsy.
Han Muzhi directly goes to find Zhou Xian. Zhou Xian then realizes that he is Liu Wan’s fiancé, Xue Wenyin’s cousin, and bows and scrambles to the ground, drastically changing his attitude towards Xue Wenyin. Han Muzhi blames Liu Wan for not letting Luo Shu stay to investigate the case. Luo Shu claims she stayed voluntarily, and Han Muzhi, unable to press further, has to return to the county office first. Zhou Xian escorts him out far away. Xiaoyue learns that Han Muzhi is Liu Wan’s fiancé and feels her heart drop. She assumes that Han Muzhi, considering Liu Wan’s influence, will not break up with Xue Wenyin.
Liu Wan and Luo Shu check Niu Dali’s belongings and find that he has a lot of money and a pill called Qirong Wan, a drug made by Xiangtang (Fragrant Hall). Xue Wenyin clearly remembers that Xiaoyue went to Xiangtang and shortly after became pregnant. Furthermore, Niu Dali came to the Zhou family to be a stable hand after Xiangtang was wiped out. Luo Shu deduces that Niu Dali was a disciple of Xiangtang who molested Xiaoyue at Xiangtang, and later, when he had no way out, he came to Xiaoyue.
