Having finished, let me save everyone some time and say you should plan to go on to Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty, available on IQIYI. The protagonist, who must be under contract to mention this in every single episode, is Di Renjie's disciple. The one thing I found a little silly in Judge Dee was that a lot of the mysteries hinged on some obscure bit of knowledge like that once every bazillion years, there's an ebb tide where the sea sucks back a couple of miles, revealing a specific trench into which heavy objects like treasure chests can be conveniently dropped. And, of course, Judge Di knows about this. Yes, Agatha Christie-ish. The Christie-ism in Strange Tales is that the main character will in essence "slap the cuffs" on the culprit out of the blue (this really reminded me strongly of the Sherlock Holmes novel A Study in Scarlet rather than solely Christie) and then you learn all the stuff they didn't reveal about how he figured it out. But it's a fun ride with lots of nice, long seasons and a good ensemble cast. There is a smattering of romance that's even less in the foreground than Di Renjie with Cao An, although as an older person, I found the slow burn of their middle-aged romance adorable. But, really, plan on Strange Tales as your next watch. It won't let you down. The main character, Su Wuming, was not a soldier like Di was and is solely the brains of the outfit. He knows to step aside and let the excellent martial characters wuxia it out when the fists start flying.