☔ In the Name of Justice 以法之名 ☂ (2025) Discussion: Episodes 16 - 19
Welcome
Welcome to the the episode discussion series for In the Name of Justice 以法之名. This series will be co-hosted with u/rabatjoie2 ☂, and we will be following platform's VIP release schedule.
🎬Premiered: June 24, 2025 on Youku 👖 (MDL)
🎬# of Episodes: 36
🎬Genre: Internal Affairs | Legal | Crime | (Light) Suspense
🔗Links: Announcement Post | Character Wiki Post
🔗Episode Discussions: All | Ep 1 - 3 | 4 - 7 | 8 - 11 | 12 - 15
❗ Please use Spoiler tags in comments if you are revealing info from future episodes ❗
🤝The “Staircase Alliance”
What can I say? The most touching and impactful use of OST and flashbacks.
Director, I have a complaint: you’re way too good at pulling on our heartstrings, I’m crying here 😭 and I demand emotional damage compensation.
Actress Jiang Xin: I’m filing a complaint against you too. Your acting is too emotionally powerful, and I’m crying again just seeing your tearful smile and you didn't even shed a tear!! 😭When are you getting an award? Oh, you just won one? Very well then.
🚦Onto Different Paths
Who's here with me fully despising Li Ren Jun when he turned up to say good bye to Hong Liang? Why did it feel like he was showing off? It totally came off like he was flaunting his success, that the Wan Hai case ended in a conviction and he was right all along. And that whole “bro, bro” act... is Li Ren Jun really that naïve, or just pretending to be righteous?
And, who do you think Hong Liang voted for?
🔌Time to Recharge
We see Hong Liang returning home to the "Hong Village" and his parents were overjoyed to see him, as especially him in his prosecutor uniform, and Hong spends some quality "selfie-time" (which evolved into a full blown photo-session with the entire village).
We learn a little more about where Hong's coming from, his parents and his roots, and Hong spends some time taking in the fresh rural air and ponders about his decision to resign from public service.
➕Mutually Beneficial Relationships
What I’m starting to notice is that the Mafia or organized crime group might not have been all that organized, and the so-called Umbrella Corp might not have been that well-coordinated either. Yes, certain events were clearly driven by key players, but now it looks like the lower members (or could be members) of the two groups are just recently converging because their interests are overlapping in ways that are mutually beneficial.
1. The Boss at Tianyu Manor — Yu Tian Cheng
Li Ren Jun’s wife, Liu Yun, is the Director of the Dongping City Development Zone Management Committee. It’s an influential position with the authority to influence or even decide who wins bids for development projects, including land, industrial, and commercial programs. If you're an entrepreneur, you’d naturally want a good relationship with someone on that committee.
We already know she likely helped the Wang Hai Group secure a large bank loan. Now that Wang Hai is in jail, the loan, and more importantly, the mine used as collateral, needs a new owner or operator. What surprised me is that when the Wang family’s mine was first mentioned in earlier episodes, I assumed this was what the real mafia group was targeting. But it turns out Chen Sheng Long (CEO of Tianlong Corp) hadn’t even thought that far ahead. When the opportunity came up, he rushed to report this new business opportunity, expanding into the new energy sector, to his boss and mentor, Yu Tian Cheng, who seems to be half-retired and living a relaxed life at Tianyu Manor with his beloved dog and horse.
Chen Sheng Long does not look happy that his mentor hasn't shared his masterplan with him (Chen)
Apparently, Yu Tian Cheng had a personal or business grudge against Wang Hai from long ago. Chen Sheng Long, his loyal “disciple,” promised to take revenge on his behalf, which explains why he went after Wang Hai in the first place. But what Chen didn’t realize is that Yu had also been eyeing the Wang family’s mine all along, playing the long game. Whether or not Chen knew it, Wang Hai was going to be branded as a mafia member and jailed no matter what, and the mine would fall into Yu’s hands. This made Chen feel like a fool who had been running errands without knowing the real plan—and also someone wasn't trusted by his mentor.
2. A Birthday Banquet for Li Ren Jun
On the law enforcement side, several key members gathered for a banquet to celebrate both Li Ren Jun’s birthday and his promotion to Chief Procurator of Dongping City. At the dinner, Secretary Lan appeared genuinely upset when Chen Sheng Long showed up with his congratulations. In front of everyone, she scolded Liu Yun, Li’s wife.
Just when I was thinking Liu’s political awareness was shockingly low for someone married to a (now Chief) prosecutor, it was revealed that she hadn’t known Chen Sheng Long would show up like that either. So my current interpretation is this: Regional Police Chief Sun Fei, Prosecutor Xie, Lawyer Cheng Zi Jian, and CEO Chen Sheng Long are definitely in cahoots. And now, they’re trying to pull the rest of the law enforcement circle into the Umbrella network along with them.
3. Another Birthday "Banquet" -- and meet Jiang Yuan
Does Hong Liang's daughter, Doudou share the same birth date as Li Ren Jun?
Anyways, if you thought only Li Ren Jun (especially his wife) was getting entangled in mafia-related dealings, it seems Hong Liang’s family might not be far behind. His brother-in-law, Jiang Yuan, has just returned from abroad and is already talking about joining the New Energy Initiative in Dongping.
What’s interesting is that his father, Jiang Xu Dong, appears to be unaware of his son’s intentions. This indirectly suggests that when Jiang Xu Dong previously pressured the Provincial Procuratorate to withdraw from the Wang Hai case, he wasn’t doing it for personal or family gain.
💢Mr. Director, Our Patience is Running Low
Tip #1
Apparently, people only take you seriously when you make noise and yell at them.
On a more serious note: thanks to Zhou Mei for stepping up and telling the Justice Group that we’re tired of waiting, and it’s time for action.
TIP #2
When you get yelled at, you can relieve that frustration by passing that pressure onto others by yelling at them: Just make sure you only pick your superior if you’re ready to resign anyway!
💬Discussion Questions
- What was the significance of Hong Liang's return to his home village?
- What are your thoughts on Li Ren Jun's seemingly 180 degrees turn on the Wan Hai Case?
- What about Hong Liang? What do you think kicked him into taking a much more proactive role in the case, just as his resignation was approved?
- Any thoughts on the new clues that Hong Liang is following up on?
- These 4 episodes were packed with info, anything I haven't included here that caught your attention that you would like to share?
That's it for this post. Please send in your comments, Prosecutor Qiao is watching you!! 👀
Posted Jul 3, 2025, 3:10 AM UTC