2019: Walkthrough by: Louis Koot

If you have found this walkthrough via google search or via another site then you have  probably not visited my site. 

A lot more very detailed game walkthroughs can be found on my site at:  www.pcgameswalkthroughs.nl

Wu Zetian, the first and only female empress of China, is in power. But within a few months of Wu Zetian's reign there is dissatisfaction amongst the people and there are rumors about a political conspiracy to get her of her thrown. It is against this background that the newly appointed investigating magistrate of the District Penglai, Di Renjie,  must solve a horrific series of murders. This investigation will bring Di Renjie in a hard confrontation with the imperial court and with the empress herself. Shall our young detective overcome his own inner demons and be loyal to the previous emperor? And what is the connection between the murder victims and the many political secrets of the capital? You  must help Di Renjie discover the truth ...

Front gate

Di is at the front gate of the Imperial Palace and in inventory he has the imperial edict. Move your cursor to the top of the screen to open the inventory

Left click on the Imperial edict to open up the action menu and....

..... then click the eye icon to read this edict 

Close the screen via the cross. Now go talk to Minister Wang's private security guard, Sergeant Feng Chenglong, who's guarding the gate. 

In conversations you can left click to speed up the conversation, but I do not recommend this because you'll miss certain important clues when you do this. 

Feng Chenglong wants to see proof that Di is indeed the investigating Magistrate of Penglai 

So dive into the inventory and click on the Imperial Edict again and now click the hand icon and.......

...... drag the edict out of inventory  and show it to the Feng Chenglong.....

Feng Chenglong is convinced and he steps aside. Now go through the main gate and enter the courtyard.

Entrance Courtyard

Minister Wang Wah stands waiting.......Talk to Minister Wang Wah.

Talk with the minister about the mission and about all other things

Minister Wang tells about the secret negotiation he's conducting with the Korean Ambassador Choi. 

When this conversation is done minister Wang Wah will take Di into the

Grotto

 Minister Wang shows Di the body of the murdered Korean ambassador Choi, that floats in the pond of the grotto

A used Candle and a Cap are laying at the dead Ambassadors corpse

Look at the used candle and then take the Candle. Look at the Cap and then the Cap.

Di says that he can feel a secret pocket in the Cap, so examine the Cap in inventory and .........

Di finds an Anonymous Letter in the cap and he throws away the cap.

 Read the  Anonymous Letter in inventory by using the eye icon on it

By finding and reading this Letter  you have found the first of 6 Evidence you have to find and you see this in the Evidence screen

You can also read back the evidence by clicking on the 'DI' icon in the lower right of the screen. Close this screen to be back at the body of ambassador Choi.  

Now click on the dead body  with the hand icon and then examine all body parts to determine his cause of death.

Di finds a silk handkerchief. You can examine the handkerchief in inventory.

When Di has examine the body and has found the handkerchief you click "Summarize"  and....Di summarizes his findings.

Talk to Minister Wang Wah about everything.

When you're done talking with Wang he goes away to the sitting room

Go left to the waterfall and go talk with Captain Bae, the personal guard of the murdered Korean ambassador Choi

Bae only wants to talk with Di if Di can proof that he is capable of solving this murder. 

There's a hollow tree stump floating in the water. Examine, with your eye, the hollow tree. 

Di sees that there's something in the hollow tree. 

Try to take that object out of the hollow tree, via the hand icon, but Di needs something to get that object out of the hollow tree

Go left to the Main Courtyard

Main Courtyard

Steward Song is busy sweeping the courtyard. A Rag is lying on the ground. 

Take the Rag.... the rag is coated with some kind of herbal oil. Talk to Steward Song and ask him everything

When you ask Song about the candles he refers Di to maidservant Sun Ying because she's responsible for the candles

When you're done with steward Song walk left and go through the doors into the sitting room.

Sitting Room

Talk to Minister Wang Wah sits here at the table. From this Sitting room you can go to the kitchen, but first go talk with Minister Wang again and use all conversation options you get

When you're done talking with Minister Wang walk to the left until you see  the maid Sun Ying. Talk with Su Ying about everything

Especially ask Sun Ying about the candles

Su Ying tells that the candles are in a closed lockbox that's in the store room en she gives Di the Key to Lockbox. Go to the kitchen.

Kitchen

On the counter, left, is a charcoal tongs. Talk to chef Chu and use every topic. 

When you have ask Chef Chu everything you now that Chu has a very good noose for smelling flavors.

Take the Coated Rag, that you've found in the main courtyard, out inventory and you show the rag to Chef Chu

Chef Chu smells the rag and then tells that the rag smells of peppermint oil and this clue is the second piece of evidence and you see this in the evidence screen

Close the evidence screen and then take the charcoal tongs that's on the counter. 

Leave the kitchen to the sitting room. Back at Sung Ying you leave the sitting room on the left site (Entrance Courtyard) . 

Walk through the corridor to the stairs of the Storage Room. Climb up the stairs to enter the:

Storage Room:

In the lower left corner stand an antique chest.  In the upper right corner stand a cupboard and in the cupboard stand the Lockbox. 

Use the Lockbox Key on the lockbox box.

As Sun Ying has said there are 4 candles in the lockbox. One of the candles is an "Unused Candle.. 

Take the Unused Candle...It's the second candle from the right.

Go out the close-up. Go to the antique chest and click on it with the hand icon to get in the close-up of the chest. 

The chest is locked with 3 strange locks.....Di needs the 3 keys to unlock the chest

Go out the close-up of the chest and go back to the kitchen.

Kitchen

Show the Unused Candle to Chef Chu

Chef Chu tells Di that the candle smells of opium and you get the third evidence clue in the evidence screen

Go back to the entrance courtyard and to the 

front gate.

Talk to Sergeant Feng and ask him everything

When you're done talking with Feng you go back in and then via the corridor, the sitting room and the main courtyard, back to the waterfall.

Waterfall

Use the charcoal tongs on the hole in the hollow tree trunk

Di pulls a candlestick with blood on it out of the hollow tree.

...this candlestick is the 4th evidence clue

Close the evidence screen and go talk with Captain Bae again. 

Di informs Captain Bae about the evidence he has  found so far. Now Bae will talk with Di so ask him everything. 

Captain Bae now tells that the cap that Di has found in the grotto isn't the original cap of the murdered Ambassador but it is a duplicate cap. 

Bae tells that he has seen the original cap on the stone bench in the main courtyard. 

So go back to the 

Main Courtyard

Left click on the stone bench and then click the hand icon and....

...there isn't a cap on the stone bench.....

.....either Bae was lying or someone has stolen the original Ambassador's cap. Go talk to steward Song again and ask him about the cap 

Song denies that he has seen the cap and he refers Di to the maid Sun Ying.  Song also tells about the Liang family. 

Di doesn't believe Song's tale about the Liang family and he want to ask Minister Wang about it. . 

Go to the sitting room. Talk with Minister Wang about Steward Song

.........After Wangs story about the Liang family Di knows that Song has lie about it.

Walk left to Sun Ying and ask her about the Ambassador's Cap. 

Sun Ying tells that she has left the Cap of the Ambassador on the stone bench in the main courtyard to dry.

Go back to the main courtyard and talk to Steward Song again and ask him about the Liangs. 

Then say "Let's do this the easy way" and...Di confronts Song with his lies about the Liang family. 

Now Song admits that he has stolen the Ambassador's Cap and that he has put it in the chest that is in the Store room. 

Song then gives Di one of the keys for the antique chest, but he has lost the other two keys.

You get the next Evidence clue in the Evidence Screen.

Go to the kitchen and talk to Chef Chu. Ask for the missing keys and he gives you the second key to the antique chest.

Go to the main gate, talk to Feng and get the third key from the antique chest.

Go back  to the storage room 

Storage Room

Oh, Sung Ying! ......Sung Ying has hung herself.

Click again with the hand icon on the antique chest to get in the close-up of the 3 locks

In close-up place the three antique keys on the locks....take one key out inventory and click with it on a lock to put all 3 keys in the locks

You have to turn the locks / keys to the right position. Above the middle lock you see the icon of how the 3 locks / keys must look like. You turn the locks by clicking the bent arrow on them but you may only use 6 clicks. After 6 clicks the locks reset and if you have done it wrong you must try again....here is the solution

Turn the left lock 3x. Turn the middle lock 2x. Turn the right-hand lock 1x.

The chest opens and Di takes out  the original cap from of the ambassador. Examine the original cap in inventory to take out  a signed letter.

Read the undersigned letter 

Ok.....humble maid Sun Ying and Ambassador Choi were lovers and this is the final bit of evidence

Di now has all the evidence to wrap up this case. Go to the living room. Talk to Minister Wang.

Case Reenactment. 

Di explains how Ambassador Choi got murdered and that Sun Ying has done it. You must give 3 times the right answer.

At Sun Ying  you click "The Cap Exchange" 

In the grotto you click "She struck him with a candlestick" 

And in the storage room you click  "Join the ambassador"

Well...that's it...case solved and Di receives the compliments of Minister Wang and we go on with:

Chapter 1: The Stranger and the Dream

2019: Walkthrough by: Louis Koot