Chinese Drama 2023

Ripe Town (Chinese Drama Review & Summary)

Ripe Town poster

• Genre: Historical Costume Drama Fictioln, Wuxia, Mystery
• Release Date: 13 October 2023
• Origin: China
• Cdrama: 12 Episodes

Cast

• Bai Yu Fan as Qu San Geng
• Julia Xiang as Leng Gui Er
• Ning Lin as Song Chen
• Liu Yi Tong as Gao Shi Cong
• Zeng Li as Lin Si Niang
• Zhang Hao Wei as Feng Ke Zhui
• Yu Yao as Lu Zhi
• Wang Ce as Captain Leng
• Cao Zheng as Captain Yi

Episode 1

Beautiful cinematography.  The lighting is also good.  Intriguing premise.

Anyway, the setting was during the Ming Dynasty in Du County in Jiangnan.

Constables Qu San Geng and Gao Shi Cong were called to a scene of a crime.  It was in a field where they found a scarecrow.  They immediately noticed the smell of rotting flesh.  When they prodded the hat off the head of the scarecrow, Qu San Geng fell to the ground in shock.  Because the scarecrow was his master impaled in a mulberry stake to keep him upright.

During the initial forensic, Captain Leng was found to have been killed by hanging. It was also  concluded that the murderer was not some illiterate peasant because the mulberry stake had a confucian engraving on it.

Captain Yi, who immediately assumed the position after Captain Leng, would not give priority to the investigation on Captain Leng’s death.

In fact, when Sangeng insisted, he was sacked but Sangeng said he can’t be dismissed for no good reason.  The other constable sided with Sangeng and told Captain Yi that firing Sangeng right after the murder of Captain Leng will be extremely unusual.

Anyway, Sangeng later went to Captain Leng’s house where he found Leng Gui’er, the daughter of the house.

When he asked Gui Er what can he do to help, Gui Er told him to investigate and avenge her father.

Sangeng was helped with his investigation by Gao Shi Cong.  They went to the local school to talk to the master about the meaning of the Confucian inscription.  At the school, they met a scholar who was rather on the zany side. He was Scholar Feng and he gave a rather intriguing interpretation to the inscription.  He said that the killer was sarcastic.

Later, in the library, Sangeng met a senior constable who said that the killer might be someone who was maligned because his case was ignored or dismissed.

Sangeng was cleaning Captain Leng’s badge when Shicong mentioned that it seemed Captain Leng was off duty when he was killed as he did not bring his badge.

Sangeng immediately knew where Captain Leng might have gone.  It was to meet Miss Lin, the owner of a brothel.

Miss Lin was very shocked when she found out that Captain Leng had been murdered.  She said that she knew Captain Leng even before Sangeng was born.  She mentioned that he left before it got dark.

Sangeng and Shicong were talking about what might have happened but they did not notice the newly cemented hole on a wall just outside the brothel.

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