YMMV / The Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty

• Awesome Moments:
  • Early on, a carriage carrying Wang Zhi and Tang Fan is attacked by would-be assassins. They've got Wang Zhi at knife point when Tang Fan manages to throw something and distract them. Wang Zhi then seizes the opportunity and shoots them.
  • While in Guangning, Wang Zhi meets with a Jurchen leader. The leader insults him consistently through the meeting, with an aide providing a Tactful Translation...only for Wang Zhi to respond in the Jurchen language at the end of the conversation to point out he's being very rude to the emperor.
  • Sui Zhou breaking the power of the boss who's been monopolizing food in the Jing'An prison, making sure all the people can eat equally from then on.
  • Tang Fan's plan, with Xue Ling, to infiltrate the prison Sui Zhou is being kept: pretending to be a thief, and then yanking Official Huang's chain in court enough for him to lose his cool and have him arrested. Not only does he manage to don a very different persona than usual, but he's clearly terrified the entire time, making his courage while plotting to save Sui Zhou all the more remarkable.
  • After Duo'erla is captured by a serial killer, she cements her status as an Action Girl by immediately setting about trying to rescue herself, managing to escape from the cage she's been locked up in on her own.
  • When a Duke angrily refuses to let the Brocade Guard into his mansion to search, Xue Ling immediately claims he just saw a suspect climb into the mansion. The duke says he's clearly made it up and is using a fake name...only for Xue Ling to produce a 'wanted' poster for the suspect.
• Funny Moments:
  • Tang Fan attempts to teach Dong'er to read by giving her the Hundred Family surnames and telling her it'll take her a few days to memorize it, and not to feel bad if it's hard at first. It takes her one afternoon. He's taken aback.
  • Tang Fan attempting to "get revenge" for his chopsticks, which Duo'erla has broken. First, he tries to confront her...and gets whipped for his troubles. Then he tries sneaking up on her...and gets beaten again. Finally, he just shows up with his slingshot and she lets him attempt to hit her three times. Each time he fails, she lets him stand closer, until he's very close and deliberately misses by shooting into the sky...and that shot hits her.
    • Tang Fan then goes home and feels bad about hitting her. Dong'er calls him out on how weird he's being about it.
  • The simple fact that Tang Fan's government salary is so low that he supplements his income by moonlighting as a romance novelist is a recurring one of these.
  • Wang Zhi and Dong'er play Weiqi on the boat ride to Jing'An. She ends up beating him despite having never played before the voyage, leading Wang Zhi to accuse Tang Fan of teaching her beforehand. He's just as flummoxed as he is.
  • Also from the voyage, Tang Fan is affected by seasickness. Wuyun and Duo'erla watch him, unimpressed, as he staggers back to his cabin...and then both of them promptly start throwing up overboard as well as soon as he's gone.
  • When Duo'erla is trying to wake Tang Fan up after he's knocked unconscious and they're both in the grip of a serial killer, he mumbles something about paying his rent later.
  • Later in that episode, when Xue Ling and Sui Zhou are investigating a mansion, Sui Zhou notices something about an altar in the house. He tells Xue Ling to get on his knees to investigate it...and Xue Ling starts praying.
  • Tang Fan thinks he's about to be rescued...but instead gets drugged a third time over the course of a few hours. He even says "Here we go again'' as his Parting-from-Consciousness Words.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • A very bittersweet one, but when Feng Qingzi is crying in the rain over the body of her beloved, Tang Fan wordlessly holds an umbrella over her head so that she won't get wet.
  • When Tang Fan rescues Dong'er from the brothel and brings her home, she cries into his chest for a while as he gently holds and shushes her. From the way Sui Zhou watches, it's implied that it's one of the things that makes him reevaluate Tang Fan.
  • Tang Fan's determination to save Sui Zhou as soon as he realizes his friend is in trouble at the hands of Official Huang. Despite clearly being terrified, he hatches a plan to infiltrate the prison and find him.
• Ho Yay: Even though on its face the show didn't adapt the romance between Tang Fan and Sui Zhou, there's still some hints. Notably, they move in together very soon after meeting.
  • While explaining to Tang Fan how dangerous the Iron Market is, Sui Zhou pushes him against the wall and stands in very close proximity to him. He does this again more than once in later episodes.
  • Despite it only being early in their acquaintance, Tang Fan can tell immediately when Sui Zhou is in danger after he's been arrested and sent out a coded message.