Jeweler Su Yuzhu comes to Heyang in search of her daughter, Lanjun. County constable Lai Ren covets her jewelry, steals her bracelet, murders her, and frames the shopkeeper Liu Song. Inspector Yan Tianmin visits Heyang, and magistrate Jia Shuijing takes advantage of being cousins with Yan’s wife, Madam Cheng, to insert a false confession into Liu Song’s case file, causing Yan to sentence Liu Song to death. After the truth comes to light, Yan executes the criminals Jia and Lai, sentences his wife to exile, then draws his sword and kills himself, sacrificing his life to uphold the law.
