Zhao Heng was granted amnesty and returned to Beijing, only to find that the General's Mansion had been sealed up and sold off, and his former relatives and friends were avoiding him. In order to survive, he hangs out in the area of Washe in the south of Bianjing City, making money by helping people tell stories (adapted from family ancestral battles, hiding his true identity), identifying authentic and fake antiques (family ancestral vision), and occasionally helping neighbors solve small problems (using military thinking to help vegetable farmers avoid bullying by gangsters, and using arithmetic to help shopkeepers check accounts and catch moles).
Zhao Heng took advantage of Wase's complex flow of people and well-informed information. While continuing to disguise himself, Zhao Heng contacted people from different walks of life through storytellers, weapon identification and other methods to collect clues about the unjust case that year. During this period, he accidentally got involved in a power struggle in the Bianjing market - the owner of Washe and the water transportation gang competed for territory, and the water transportation gang was actually related to the munitions case that year.
- Laying the groundwork: When I was helping someone identify weapons, I found a jade pendant engraved with the family emblem of the General's Mansion. The owner was a mysterious businessman, and the key witness in the "collaboration case" was mentioned - a quartermaster who had "died of illness" long ago.
- Small crisis: Recognized by the Yushitai official who framed his father, Zhao Heng escaped by pretending to be crazy and being a fool and being covered by his neighbors. He realized that Bianjing was not a safe place and decided to take the initiative to explore the truth.
