Episode Synopsis
Total episodes: 20
Episode 1
Conman Zheng and his friend,
Jing are layabouts. While
visiting a brothel, Zheng quarrels with Yu, whose father is the owner of a firm
of valuers (Top Appraisal). Meanwhile, Jing is attracted to Yu's fiancée, Er.
Episode 2
Banker Kong, Er's father, announces the casting of new
coins. As Kong's consultant, Yu devises a plan to exchange coupons for coins
form the people. However, Zheng tricks the public into thinking that there is
gold in their coins. As a result, they refuse to exchange their coins.
Episode 3
Zheng and Jing's scheme are exposed by Yu and sent to
prison. Zheng's father reveal his links to Yu's father and helps to secure the
release of the two prisoners. However, they are re-arrested by the government.
Episode 4
Kong is unhappy that Yu released Zheng and Jing and thus
framed them into prison again. in court, Yu demonstrates how Zheng and Jing had
hidden the gold in the coins. But Jing's teacher, Sheng, sabotages his
demonstration. Meanwhile, Jing and Zheng are released.
Episode 5
Yu thinks of another way to prove that Zheng and Jing's
trickery, but is again thwarted by Sheng. Since the deadline to cast the coins
is approaching fast, Kong arranges a meeting with Sheng and promises to give 500
teals and the jade guanyin hands in exchange for Sheng's technique.
Episode 6
Although Sheng gets payment...but he is still unable to
forget Kong's misdeeds towards him. It turns out that Kong cruelly cut off
Sheng's hands because he wanted to possess jade goddess hands. Thinking of
it, Sheng hits Jing and blames Kong and Yu for it. Zheng goes to confront Yu and
discovers that Yu is actually a woman. In court, Zheng exposes Yu, along with
the fact that Kong has bribed Sheng. The Emperor orders Yu, Kong and their
families to be jailed and executed on later notice. Unable to take the
punishment, Kong commits suicide causing Er to hate Yu to the core. Meanwhile,
Zheng begins to suspect Sheng.
Episode 7
Sheng feels guilty about hitting Jing and takes good
care of him. When confronted by Zheng, Sheng admits that he is using him and
Jing to take revenge on Kong. In trying to kill Zheng, Sheng starts a fire.
Zheng managed to rescue Jing, but Sheng perished in the fire.
Episode 8
On the day of execution, Jing and Jiu tries to raid the
execution ground but is not successful. On the last minute, Zheng appears
and demonstrates how to differentiate the coins, and the Emperor releases Er and
Yu's families. Zheng helps Yu's father to re-establish his business, earning his
respect.
Episode 9
Zheng's father and Yu's father pretend to be on their
deathbeds to trick Yu and Zheng into getting married. After the ceremony, Zheng
asks Jing to hide all the cash and gifts form well-wishers. However, Er manages
to cheat Jing out of the fortune. Zheng is furious but on later forgives
Jing on the sake of their friendship. After Zheng and Yu get married, they are
constantly at loggerheads with each other but had to act as loving couple in
front of their fathers, causing them to be tired out. Later, Zheng is asked to
assess a wine which is the niu er hong.
Episode 10
As Zheng knows nothing about wine, he drank the all the
niu er hong up and was drunk. Yu asks Kang, a wine merchant friend to
help and manages to refill the empty bottle of niu er hong. After this
incident, in order not to let Zheng take up appraisals, Yu sends Zheng away to
Hangzhou. Zheng then discovers Er working in a brothel in Hangzhou.
Episode 11
With Jing's help,
Er, escapes form the brothel. Yu and Kang work closely together making, making
Zheng jealous. Zheng and Jing conspire to upstage Kang at a wine test. When the
fire breaks out, however, Jing is trapped in the fire and is eventually rescued
by Kang.
Episode 12
On hearing that Kong and Yu had once spent the night talking, Zheng gets so
jealous that he insults them in front of everyone. Back home, Yu scolds Zheng
and revealed that when he got drunk drinking the niu er hong, it is Kang
who saved him out of the mess. Zheng finally understands and left the choosing
of ten people for the once in sixty years tian xia wu shang to Yu. Zheng and Jing then go to Szechuan to examine
goods for Ba. Er is there as well. When night time comes, Er went to Zheng's
room and slipped drugs into Zheng's wine...
Episode 13
Zheng wakes up
the next day to find Er sleeping beside him. She then blackmails him into
helping her steal Ba's fortune. She escapes with the money and leaves evidence
that points to Zheng. Ba discovers the evidence and forces Zheng to take poison
in order to leave Szechuan. Jing takes the poison for Zheng, and the poison
attacks his heart. Jiu takes care of Jing during this time and Jing soon
recovers. Meanwhile, Zheng helps Yu with the wine list and they grow
closer.
Episode 14
Zheng announces the selected ten
people's names to drink the tian xia wu shang wine, but the tenth person
was dead...and thus Yu stays up all night to select another person to take the
wine for Kang. Zheng sees this and feels hurt that Yu is working so hard. Kang
then decides to select Yu for one of the person to drink the tian xia wu
shang wine. A jealous Zheng drinks the tian xia wu shang wine and
finds out that it is actually water. Zheng then send Jing out to send
invitations for a wine test. Yu goes to Kang's house. When night approaches, Yu
wished that Zheng could come and bring her home. When Zheng finally appears, he
punched Kang. Zheng and Yu quarrel home and Yu suddenly cried. She spoke of all
the hardships she had during the last few years and Zheng comforts her. They
then spend the night together...
Episode 15
Confronted with the evidence, Kang reveals the truth behind the fine wine. When Zheng knows that Kang is all along helping Yu to get closer to Zheng, he tries
to stop the wine test to save Kang form embarrassment. Zheng the keeps the wine
but was seen by a mysterious man.
Episode
16
The mysterious man works for the Qing Emperor, who wants Zheng to sell the
palace treasures without revealing their source. Meanwhile, Yu is held captive
by Eunuch Kun's guards and forces Yu to reveal the seller's identity.
Episode 17
Kun
blackmails Qing into giving him an important position. Zheng, upset at Qing's
cowardice, tries to save Yu on his own. However, he is almost captured and is
saved by Er. Er is now Kun's wife. Zheng and Qing then go to Kun's house and
saved Yu. Meanwhile, Qing and Kun learn of the statues
of the four deities (feng diao yu shun), which hold clues to the fate of
the Qing Dynasty.
Episode 18
Zheng
manages to recover one statue, while Kun finds the other three. From a scroll
hidden in his statue, Zheng find out that the previous emperor is a Han Chinese
and there is someone out to ruin the Qing Dynasty.
Episode 19
When
Zheng knows that Jing met Er during their search for the statues, he is worried
that Er will tell Jing about their night together. Er then threatens Zheng to
hand over the statue. Zheng hands over the fake one...but Kun and Er manages to
get the real one, causing people to misunderstand Zheng. Some more, Er reveals
that she and Zheng had slept together. Kun manipulates Zheng
by poisoning a pregnant Yu and withholding the antidote from her. Zheng has no choice but
to listen to Kun. Jiu is being chased by Kun's guard and by coincidence enters
Er's room. Jiu then explains to Er what is real love and on hearing that, Er
went to Kun's room.
Episode 20 Finale!
When
the sun comes out, all four statues were in the palace's main hall. Zheng
appears with another statue and claims that his is the real one. He said that
the real statue will not burn in the fire. Thus, both the one in the palace
together with the one Zheng brought is burned and Zheng's statue is proved to be
the real one. Kun then realises Zheng betrayed him and the person out to destroy
the Dynasty was revealed. Kun is then ordered to be executed. It turns out that
when Er went to Kun's room that day, it is to take the antidote for Yu. Er also
reveals that she had not slept with Zheng. After this, Er turned over a new leaf
and Jing finds himself in love with Jiu. Days pass...and Yu give birth to twins.
Jiu finally accepts Jing and marries him. The Emperor gives Zheng the title of
tian xia di yi ya for keeping the identity of the late Emperor a secret.