The Imperial Coroner Season 2: Highlights Episodes 15 to 28

Introduction

In The Imperial Coroner Season 2: Drama Info and Highlights Episodes 1 to 14, many victims fell for the poisonous pills. In this second and final part, it’s time for the quartet to venture further into the enemy’s lair, toward the border of the Great Tang and Nanzhou. Will Chu Chu and the others be able to put an end to the enemy’s biological weapons, or will the two countries have to start an open war? Let’s continue!

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Highlight Episodes 15 to 28

Episode 15

Zhao Senyao’s condition (Jing Yi’s cousin) deteriorated because of the infection and the poison withdrawal, so Consort Hui (who was a Zhao) requested the Emperor to let him go home for treatment. However, Zhao Senyao defied orders not to leave his residence and slipped out to meet a “Ghost Guard” for medicine. Jing Yi and his men followed him to a secret meeting and apprehended the Ghost Guard, who looked like Zhou Han. However, during interrogation, he didn’t want to say anything. Leng Yue found the real Zhou Han, who was secretly pardoned for his past services, now lived under a different name, and worked in the quarry. This original Zhou Han never left his workplace. Xiao Jinyu offered Zhou Han a sentence reduction if he helped them by impersonating “Zhou Han” the Ghost Guard.

Why were there two Zhou Hans?

The original Zhou Han told the group that he had a younger twin brother. When they were little, their poor mother, unable to support two sons during a famine, had left his brother at the doorstep of a wealthy family in the borderlands. He hadn’t seen his twin since then.

With the help of the real Zhou Han, Leng Yue and Jing Yi were able to capture the other Ghost Guard. This Guard was tricked into believing that “Zhou Han” had betrayed him, so he fought with the fake Zhou Han in prison. The fake Zhou Han confessed. His code name was “Sparrow” and the other Guard was “Swan Goose”. “Sparrow” admitted to poisoning General Xie Huaiding, and their leader was a mysterious figure known as “Peacock.” However, because “Peacock” always wore a mask. Upon investigation of “Swan Goose”, he turned out to be the assistant from Chu He’s pharmacy! His name was Chang Shou, and he disappeared from the pharmacy last time. Chu He was Chu Chu’s brother. Since it was unclear if Chu He was involved or not, Xiao Jinyu kept this discovery from his wife. Jing Yi was sent to question Chu He and searched Chang Shou’s room.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jinyu’s brother, Xiao Jinli, was sent to Jiaozhou to stabilize the Southwest and take command of the Annan Army. He replaced General Xie Huaiding. Xiao Jinyu saw off his brother, strongly warning him to be careful. Let’s hope the drama would not kill Xiao Jinli!

Episode 16

The killer of Wan Qianshan, Zhao Fengming, and Qinxiang was revealed.

Chang Shou confessed that his role was to distribute drugged incense to musicians to control or assassinate the Tang officials, including Wan Qianshan and Zhao Fengming. He also killed Qinxiang after she discovered his plan to poison General Xie Huaiding. Same as the fake “Zhou Han”, Chang Shou claimed he had never seen the leader of the operation, known as “the Peacock,” as the man always wore a unique, intricate mask. The scariest thing was Chang Shou’s final order: to assassinate a young person within the Three Judicial Offices. That might be Xiao Jinyu or You Chen An. If the prince died in the Great Tang, that meant war between the two countries!

Chu He was involved.

Chu He, Chu Chu’s brother, apparently was used by You Chen An, who claimed to be his friend, to wear the so-called “Peacock” mask.

Xiao Jinyu was suspicious that You Chen An’s involvement in the Three Judicial Offices interfered with investigations, all in an effort to destabilize the capital.

Episode 17

My worry for Xiao Jinli was challenged when in the border region of Jiaozhou, Xiao Jinli and his army encountered a group of suspicious men, who turned out to be highly trained Nanzhao soldiers. Xiao Jinli was struck by a poisonous weapon. Luckily, a female bandit leader from the Zhenyuan Stronghold, Luo Yan, rescued the general with her people. Hmm, the drama might want to set up a partner for Xiao Jinli?

You Chen An died!

His brother was even in far more danger in the Capital. He and Jing Yi walked into a trap! You Chen An invited Jinyu to a secret chamber within a temple at night, supposedly to reveal the truth. However, they found him dead from an arrow wound inside! A monk discovered them with the body and raised the alarm, Jinyu and Jing Yi were taken into custody. Vice Envoy Gao took the chance to confront the Emperor, accusing the Tang officials of murder.

How did You Chen An die?

Luckily, the Emperor secretly let Chu Chu and Leng Yue visit their husbands. Jinyu gave Chu Chu incense ash collected from the crime scene. She identified the scent of “Hunmi” (Knockout Herb), a substance she recognizes from medical texts. Jinyu suspected that You Chen An faked his own death, and he was actually “The Peacock.”

However, without Jinyu, the Three Judicial Offices could not re-examine the corpse. Jinyu voluntarily resigned, so that the investigation could proceed without political obstacles.

Episode 18

While Nanzhao was preparing for war, and the Great Tang was ready to sacrifice their finest: Xiao Jinyu and Jing Yi, Chu Chu and Leng Yue investigated the meditation hall at Weiguo Temple and discovered a secret tunnel underground. Chu Chu notices two sets of prints that both match You Chen An’s. She guessed that one belonged to You Chen An, and the other one belonged to a man who had been killed to replace You Chen An’s body. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to examine You Chen An’s body, as the Vice Envoy Gao Luoqian hired an independent coroner to examine the body.

The suspicious death.

The coroner reveals that the body had been altered. Realizing that You Chen An has successfully faked his death, Gao Luoqian immediately killed the coroner to prevent leaks.

Chu Chu sneaked into the Nanzhao delegation lodging, pretending to pay her final respects. When she examined the body, she noticed the body scars did not match You Chen An’s stories about his childhood hunting injuries. She concludes that the deceased was an impostor.

However, to reach the Emperor with the truth statement was not easy, as Gao Luoqian hired assassins to kill her! After the sacrifice of fellow Third Judicial Office guards, Chu Chu arrived just in time at the palace right before the execution!

Episode 19

With forensic evidence, Chu Chu explained that You Chen An faked his death and escaped using the underground tunnel below the temple. During his training at the Three Judicial Offices, she observed You Chen An’s physical traits not presented on the dead body, vice versa. However, Gao Luoqian announced that the body had already been cremated according to Nanzhao rites!

During the arguments between the Nanzhao’s delegation and the Tang officials, Chu Chu suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed! She was sent back home, and the execution was postponed.

What happened to Chu Chu?

Physician Qi found that Chu Chu was struck by a lethal “yellow wasp tail stinger” poison during the assassination attempt. She fell into a coma.

Although the execution was postponed and the victim was doubted as You Chen An, Xiao Jinyu and Jing Yi were still imprisoned. Grand Secretary Jing, Jing Yi’s father, offered to bail them out with the Jing family’s wealth. So, Xiao Jinyu and Jing Yi made a pact. Jing Yi claimed sole responsibility while protecting the prince at the temple. Xiao Jinyu was released, and the Emperor ordered him to find You Chen An. Jing Yi was placed under house arrest, guarded jointly by the soldiers from the Great Tang and the Nanzhao delegation. Jing Yi gave a letter of divorce to Leng Yue through Jinyu, to protect her should he be executed. Leng Yue was furious!

Xiao Jinyu came home to find his house in a big mess after being ransacked by the Nanzhao assassins; his guards were dead, including the loyal Wu Jiang, and his wife was severely sick from being poisoned!

From Chu Chu’s brother, Chu He, who was close to You Chen An, he learns that You Chen An frequently visited Chu He’s local pharmacy to drink. You Chen An was particularly fond of playing with the pigeons at the pharmacy. Jinyu was suspicious that the pigeons were used for sending secret messages. Chu He explained that those pigeons were already there when he bought the place. Jinyu investigated the previous owner of the place.

Episode 20

Physician Qi found a lead on an antidote in an ancient textbook, but it was not available in Chang’an. Jinyu eventually identified the herb under a different name and immediately dispatched men to Qianzhou to acquire it. After Physician Qi concocted the treatment and administered it to Chu Chu, she finally woke up.

Where was You Chen An?

Well, he was bck to Nanzhao, hailed as a hero for his contributions in the Great Tang!

Episode 21

A devastating death

Chu He, Chu Chu’s brother, didn’t know that his sister recuperated, so he begged You Chen An to save his sister. When You Chen An refused to help, Chu He tried to take You Chen An’s sword and fought him. You Chen An’s hand was bleeding and Chu He ripped You Chen An’s sash and press the piece You Chen An’s finger onto the clothing. Later, he sent it away with a carrier pigeon to Chu Chu. Seeing that, You Chen An’s guard killed Chu He.

Chu Chu received Chu He’s message and matched the bloody fingerprint with You Chen An’s fingerprint when he was admitted into the Three Judicial Offices. She understood that Chu He had died; he had also left a farewell note in his room before leaving.

With the testimony of the killer of Wan Qianshan, Zhao Fengming, and Qinxiang, and the bloody fingerprint, it was clear that You Chen An was still alive, and Nanzhao was responsible for the death of the Tang officials. The Emperor ordered Gao Luoqian to be placed under house arrest.

Nanzhao was not slow in reaction; in fact, it had begun attacking the Tang watchtowers, signaling the start of the war!

Episode 22

In an attempt to help the soldiers at the Tang watchtowers, Xiao Jinli received resistance from the officials at Jiaozhou under the Emperor’s edict, so he had to send a message to the Emperor for clarification. Luckily, Luo Yan helped him with her bandit group.

Xiao Jinli

The Emperor felt something was wrong with Jiaozhou, so he sent Xiao Jinyu to Jiaozhou and gave him the title of censor to act on His Majesty’s behalf. Xiao Jinyu and Chu Chu went to Jiaozhou, while Jing Yi and Leng Yue kept an eye on Gao Luoqian at the Capital. Xiao Jinyu wanted to see the governor of Jiaozhou, Liu Jishi, but he went missing!

Episode 23

Where was the governor of Jiaozhou?

He’s dead. They found his body in the bamboo forest, with some bamboo shoots stuck to the body. There were also many insects beside it, which spelled out the words “Jiaozhou is a bad place, all spirits are destroyed, the new king is not established, and there is no vitality”.

How did the victim die?

Poisoned by insects inside the Governor’s body. The insects grew inside a human’s body, and when they grew up, they killed the body and crawled outside.

A gruesome and barbaric finding in Jiazhou

Luo Yan and her people found many Nanzhao soldiers’ bodies, bitten to death by insects. She circled the area with fire to kill the insects. Chu Chu and the others examined the area and found spices here. There should be bugs in a soldier’s body. After biting this person to death, they came out and killed other soldiers.

Luo Yan told Jinli that some villagers had been missing, mostly hunters and woodcutters. Although it seemed normal for them to disappear into the mountains, Xiao Jinyu suspected they had been kidnapped and forced to serveas test subjects to breed the killing insects.

Episode 24

The girl from the village who went missing was found. Although she was fed the poisonous insects, she could be saved. The girl mentioned the road where the kidnappers took her, and Luo Yan was familiar with the road. There was a secluded mountain god temple there. You Chen An was definitely there.

Chu Chu confronted You Chen An

Chu Chu wanted to confront You Chen An, because of her brother, Chu He, so Xiao Jinyu let her go, accompanied by Luo Yan. Chu Chu found You Chen An and stabbed him. She said that her brother treated You Chen An as a friend, so why did You Chen An kill him? You Chen An said that he had finally achieved what he had planned; he could not let anyone destroy it. Was it not she who advised him that no matter what situation he was in, he had to try to survive, so was he wrong?

Episode 25

Xiao Jinli came later as a support to Chu Chu and Luo Yan, but You Chen An managed to escape. Chu Chu also came not only to confront You Chen An, but she also developed the medicinal powder thru the eggs of poisonous insects. Although she could not kill the poisonous insects, she could chase them off. Xiao Jinli’s soldier then sprinkle the medicinal powder.

The spy/traitor was killed

Yu Lan, late Governor Li’s wife, apparently was a spy for Nanzhao. She pretended to be pregnant, but Chu Chu found her fake pregnancy. Yu Lan was very nervous when Chu Chu mentioned You Chen An, and went to find him immediately. Because of her, Chu Chu and the rest could track down You Chen An. He was very angry at Yu Lan and killed her after he was able to escape with her and the other female spy. When You Chen An later came back to Nanzhao, he told the King of Nanzhao that rocks had fallen upon Yu Lan and caused her death. What an irony, because his father told You Chen An that Yu Lan was his biological mother!

In the bright side, it seemed Xiao Jinli and Luo Yan’s romance had blossomed. Jinli had to return to the military camp and said farewell to Luo Yan. She asked for his token, and he gave her his belt. Luo Yan hugged Jinli. When Xiao Jinyu and Chu Chu learned that Xiao Jinli’s belt was gone when he returned, they tried to hide their smiles!

Episode 26

Chu Chu and Leng Yue worked tirelessly to care for those people afflicted with the poisonous insects while looking for the cure. The problem was, there were not enough medicinal herbs at the border. The First Prince heard about it and thought they should sell medicinal herbs to the Great Tang, to negotiate the peace talks. King of Nanzhao agreed. Xiao Jinyu sent the real Zhou Han to persuade the Nanzhao as his brother. While waiting for more medicinal herbs, Chu Chu performed laparatomy to get the insects out of the patients. Ugh!

Meanwhile Xiao Jinyu and Jingyi attended the political negotiation with the Nanzhao people, which was led by the First Prince of Nanzhao and You Chen An.

Episode 27

The First Prince was killed

After the negotiation, Xiao Jinyu and Jingyi invited First Prince and Second Prince to eat. Suddenly, there was a Tang soldier who took a knife and slit the First Prince throat, and then committed suicide. You Chen An accused the Tang of killing the First Prince and threatened to kill himself if Xiao Jinyu and Jingyi didn’t let him go, so they had to let You Chen An leave.

Xiao Jinyu worried that the death of the First Prince would cause war. Sure enough, the King of Nanzhao was furious with his son’s death and ready to lead the war himself. Luckily, Zhou Han who infiltrated the Nanzhao, found something strange with the dagger used to kill the First Prince.

What was wrong with the dagger?

The dagger was made of steel, which was a scarce source in Nanzhao. Zhou Han investigated the source and found that the shop that forged the knife belonged to You Chen An.

The King of Nanzhao fell ill

The King of Nanzhao knew that You Chen An killed the First Prince, and confronted his second son. You Chen An poisoned the king. He appointed himself to be in charge of Nanzhao.

Chu Chu was kidnapped

Chu Chu’s father, who came to Jiazhou to help his daughter, was taken by You Chen An, and used him as a leverage to kidnap Chu Chu.

Xiao Jinyu came to Nanzhou to negotiate with the Nanzhou officials, but You Chen An pushed his sick father in a wheelchair so the officials saw their leader’s condition and they refused for a peace talk.

Episode 28

Xiao Jinyu argued that the death of the First Prince was suspicious because of the dagger, so they had to investigate the death instead of blaming the murder on the Great Tang. However, Xiao Jinyu ended up being held at Nanzhao, because You Chen An told him to wait until the King of Nanzhao was better. If the King of Nanzhao dies and he becomes the new king, he would definitely sign the peace treaty.

Meanwhile, Chu Chu found out that her husband went to Nanzhao to save her, but she said that Xiao Jinyu would not give in because of her, so they should not think about making Xiao Jinyu change his mind. You Chen An told Xiao Jin Yu that he would only release Chu Chu when the Emperor of Tang issued an edict to acknowledge him as the new King of Nanzhao, since his father had died.

Did the King of Nanzhao really die?

No, thanks to Zhou Han. It turned out that Zhou Han reunited with his twin brother Li Zhang in Nanzhao, and Zhou Han managed to knock the sense of his brother, following someone who was cruel and even killed his own kin. To atone for his sins, Li Zhang advised You Chen An to lock the poisoned King of Nanzhao and Chu Chu together, and Chu Chu was able to cure the King of Nanzhao from the poison.

What happened to You Chen An?

The Emperor of Tang sent the edict, but when You Chen An opened it, it was empty. It turned out they all tricked You Chen An. The King of Nanzhao didn’t die and revealed to everyone that You Chen An had killed the First Prince and poisoned him. Refused to be sent back to the Great Tang to be judged and punished for all he had done, You Chen An killed himself.

How does the drama end?

Happy ending. The King of Nanzhao agreed to the peace treaty. The quartet and Xiao Jinli returned home and was rewarded by the Emperor of Tang. Jing Yi married Leng Yue again.

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Conclusion

Well, The Imperial Coroner Season 2 (御赐小仵作 第二季) is definitely heavy in patriotic themes and messages, including resisting foreign (Nanzhao) aggression, safeguarding the country’s peace and sovereignty, unmasking foreign spies, and protecting the safety of the Tang Dynasty people. Though the way the drama solves the political issues is underwhelming, in my opinion.

At least, in personal level, we could learn from Chu Chu and Xiao Jinyu. Unlike many romantic dramas, their relationship features deep trust, mutual respect, and zero misunderstandings. They showcase a partnership where both of them support each other’s professional ambitions. As a core group, Chu Chu, Xiao Jinyu, Jing Yi, Leng Yue, and the others operated as a cohesive, competent unit, combining their unique skills to solve high-stakes cases.

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