The much-anticipated thriller C-drama Judge Dee’s Mystery premiered on February 6, 2024. It features popular actor Zhou Yiwei in the lead role. The original broadcasting networks of the drama are CCTV and Youku. It is an adaptation of the popular novel series “Judge Dee” by Dutch novelist Robert Van Gulik. The drama tells the story of Di Renjie (Judge Dee), a businessman and country magistrate who is famous for his sharp wit and ability to solve mysteries. After Empress Wu Zetian (Zhong Chu Xi) dispatches him to a remote town, he finds himself in the middle of a conundrum.
Episode 1 of Judge Dee’s Mystery tells the story of the mysterious phoenix seal. A heinous crime takes place in the imperial harem. A mysterious female figure approaches the safe and takes out the royal seal. In the next scene, royal executors arrive at Chen Zhuliang, the Governor of Yangzhou’s palace. The emperor has ordered him to commit suicide by drinking poison.
The next scene takes viewers to the city of Chang’an. Di Renjie is sitting in the middle of the market and grooming himself. Hong Liang arrives there and asks him if he is going to sit for the examination of the classicists. He hands Renjie the admission ticket, but he refuses to go.
Judge Dee’s Mystery Ep 1: Zhou Yiwei proves to be a capable combatant
A scuffle breaks out in the market. The royal police are searching every corner for a stolen pearl. Renjie notices a strange man trying to flee from the scene. He turns out to be a champion swordsman, and he takes down the police. Renjie intervenes. He fights the man and defeats him. Renjie again proves to have sharp eyes when he tells the whereabouts of the man just from his complexion.
Renjie vouches for the honest merchants and promises that they won’t steal. The strange man was only hiding in that inn, and they had never seen him before. Just by examining the register, he is able to weed out the actual thief. He is also able to point out that the thief was hiding the pearl in an abacus.
While strolling around the city, he spots some goons chasing his childhood friend, He Dajing. He fights the goons to save his friend. Meanwhile, the police arrive at the spot and arrest them. In the prison cell, He Dajing tells him that he got angry when the goons made poor remarks about the empress. Grand Secretariat Wei Wuji comes to bail them out. When the police find out that the Grand Secretariat has come as their guarantor, they immediately release them.
Rumors start to spread about Di Renjie’s family background. His neighbors start to question if he belongs to a wealthy family.
Renjie arrives at the examination center on the next day. Afterward, he goes out to drink with his friend. There, Renjie spots a horse that seems familiar to him. But a lady singing a melodious song catches his attention. He starts to search for her. He reaches an entertainment house. The two friends get drunk and lay there unconscious. They wake up to find that someone has set the house ablaze.
Judge Dee’s Mystery is available for streaming on Youku.
