Original subtitles

♫ By the riverside ♫

♫ I sow a seed of karma ♫

♫ Forlorn fates intertwine ♫

♫ Written in the stars ♫

♫ Should your passion smolder out ♫

♫ Will you give up on your ideal world? ♫

♫ Our past can only be entrusted to memories ♫

♫ I'm mooning over you ♫

♫ Amidst loneliness ♫

♫ Berthed in sleepless nights ♫

♫ You're my desire ♫

♫ That teems underneath ♫

♫ I'm drowned in your beautiful eyes ♫

♫ I'm mooning over you ♫

♫ Next to the Three-life Stone ♫

♫ I cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness ♫

♫ Gazing at moonlit nights ♫

♫ The moon appears brighter because of you ♫

♫ Leaning against the tower, it returns my gaze ♫

♫ Gazing at moonlit nights ♫

♫ The moon appears brighter because of you ♫

♫ Leaning against the tower, it returns my gaze ♫

[The Legend of Anle] [Adapted from a novel by Xing Ling]

[Episode 25]

I, Gu Yunnian, the convict, am here, Your Majesty.

Long live Your Majesty.

Greetings, Empress Dowager.

I wish you longevity.

Gu Yunnian,

Zhang Jian testified against you and said that you received a secret order

to eradicate the Di Troops.

Did you know that?

Don't worry. I will save you.

I remember what you did for me back then.

Out with the truth.

I trusted you before.

How could you attempt such a rebellious act?

Yes.

I did receive a letter

to kill the Di Troops.

But even now, I had no idea who wrote the letter.

And I burned it as instructed in the letter.

You didn't know who wrote it?

You followed the order even when you didn't know who wrote the letter?

Gu Yunnian,

back then, you were already an esteemed commander.

How could you commit such a mistake?

Ren Anle,

when I say I don't know, that means I don't know.

I was responsible for everything.

On the surface, you were trying to ambush Northern Qin.

But in reality, you were massacring the Di Troops.

You committed such a heinous deed without knowing who ordered you to do so?

And you even burned the evidence.

I assume you never thought

that people would try to redress the case after so many years, huh?

Enough!

His Majesty and the Crown Prince didn't even utter a single word.

Who do you think you are, interrogating him yourself?

I am sharing their burden right now.

Your Majesty,

Official Ren has a point.

Gu Yunnian, you've committed such a heinous crime.

Don't think that you can get away with this just by saying that you have no idea.

That's right.

Back then, there were only a few people who could order him to do so

since he was already a high-ranking official.

Don't think of leaving this hall

until you've explained everything.

Your Majesty,

the letter is long gone.

Just treat this as my fault.

However, Your Majesty,

I've never let you down.

You never let His Majesty down, huh?

The cheating case during the examination, the flood in Jiangnan,

the annihilation of the Zhong family, and the assassination in the palace,

how could you say that you didn't let His Majesty down

after committing all these atrocious deeds?

Your Majesty, I'm not a cultured individual.

However, I have no idea why you think this person is a patriot.

I was just trying to protect my son.

That's why I concealed his mistakes by doing the wrong things.

Although I've committed slight blunders,

I've never committed major crimes.

Gu Yunnian, you massacred the Di Troops by mistake.

And now, you still try to sound grand and imposing?

Don't tell me you want to put the blame on His Majesty.

Ren Anle, stop your nonsense!

Gu Yunnian, since it has come to this,

the crimes you've committed until now were enough for you to be sentenced to death.

You better tell us the truth!

Do you want your family and clan to be executed as well?

Out with the truth!

Your Majesty,

it was an old case from ten years ago.

I cannot remember now.

Since Zhang Jian said there was a letter, that means the letter did exist.

If Empress Dowager said there was no letter, that means the letter didn't exist.

Your Majesty, I've served you all my life.

I'm sure you know my personality well.

I admit that I'm prideful due to my achievements.

That's why I was arrogant enough to ignore the law.

However, I wasn't the one who arranged for the assassination.

However, Your Majesty, since you're already doubting me,

no matter what I say, it's useless.

Now,

no one will believe in my words.

The Marquis Zhongyi today

is just like the Marquis Jing'an back then!

This must be karma.

That's fine.

Nurture the wicked to control the virtuous.

Kill the wicked to establish authority.

Since I'm a wicked official,

Your Majesty, I'll serve you one last time.

I shall

make my exit.

Gu Yunnian!

Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, Gu Yunnian is dead.

Gu Yunnian is dead.

Now, we have no way to verify the secret letter's existence.

The old case of the Di family

has now turned into an unsolvable case.

Since that's the case,

I shall leave this case to the Three Monitoring Offices.

Someone, take them away.

Today's my birthday banquet.

It's also the Crown Princess's conferring ceremony.

Everyone, I hope you guys are not affected by that incident just now.

Di Cheng'en,

come here.

Your Majesty,

Empress Dowager,

I don't know who Zhong Hai is

and what he was talking about.

I only know that the Di family has let Jing State down.

And, Empress Dowager, your birthday banquet

was affected by the crimes of the Di family again.

Please pardon me.

Di Cheng'en of the Di family is filial and loyal to her ruler.

Her actions are to be commended. I understand your feelings.

From now on,

Di Cheng'en is no longer the daughter of a rebel.

She's the Crown Princess of Jing.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Wait.

Di Cheng'en has no right to acknowledge the Di family's crime on their behalf.

I don't think Di Cheng'en is suitable as the Crown Princess.

Your Majesty, please rescind your edict.

Ren Anle, what are you saying?

I'm the orphaned daughter of the Di family.

Why would I have no right to acknowledge the Di family's crimes on their behalf?

Your Majesty, Empress Dowager,

I've already acknowledged their crimes.

The Di family will not deny the heinous crimes they'd committed.

The Di family is innocent.

I've already confessed to it. What nonsense are you saying?

The Di family is innocent.

Ren Anle, what are you doing?

Do you know what you're saying?

I said,

Di Cheng'en has no right to acknowledge the Di family's crimes on their behalf.

The only person who can speak on the Di family's behalf

is me, Di Ziyuan.

You...

Di Ziyuan?

Did you say you were Di Ziyuan?

Ren Anle, are you out of your mind? I'm the true Di Ziyuan!

You're just a female pirate from Jingnan. What are you up to?

You said you're Di Ziyuan.

What evidence do you have?

I think

you're still bent on being the Crown Princess.

That's why you intend to stir up trouble here.

Fine. You said you were Di Ziyuan, right?

Di Ziyuan received a scar on her left shoulder

when she was playing in the palace at a young age.

Since you said you were Di Ziyuan, do you dare to show us the scar?

Why not?

Sun Momo.

Anning.

Check her shoulder. Check it thoroughly.

Yes.

Ziyuan. Just tell them what you see.

I trust you.

Your Majesty, Empress Dowager,

there's a scar on Official Ren's left shoulder.

Ridiculous.

Do you think you can prove that you're Di Ziyuan with that scar alone?

I have a witness too.

Who is your witness?

His Highness,

do you think I'm Di Ziyuan?

If no one believed that you were Di Ziyuan,

you would have no way to redress the case.

I have a witness.

I'm afraid

that he might not do what you wish for.

I just need to let him know

that my family was framed back then.

Han Ye will definitely side with me.

Between justice and world peace, which do you think is more important to Han Ye?

Why do you trust Han Ye so much?

If achieving world peace is his dream,

justice should be what he preaches.

If world peace is established upon the foundation of injustice,

Han Ye will never agree to it.

Your Highness,

injustice fills the streets.

How could I remain peaceful and happy?

Your Majesty,

Ren Anle is Di Ziyuan indeed.

I believe in the Crown Prince.

I will take you as Di Ziyuan for now.

- Your Majesty! - However, if you're Di Ziyuan,

who is she?

Your Majesty, you issued an edict and sent me to Yongning Temple ten years ago.

I swapped my identity with hers.

She went to Dai Mountain on my behalf.

After that, I became an outlaw.

I became Ren Anle, the pirate of Anle Abode in Jingnan.

So, you didn't mean it when you proposed to the Crown Prince

with 30,000 navy forces as your dowry.

It was

a meticulous plot devised by you from the start.

Ren Anle, the pirate of Jingnan,

did come here to propose to His Highness.

However, I'm standing here as Di Ziyuan.

I'm here to redress the Di family's grievances.

Ren Anle!

Your identity as Di Ziyuan doesn't make your words more convincing.

Empress Dowager, please show everyone the birthday gift I gave you.

Zhao Fu.

Your Highness, please open the scroll.

Vanguard of Di Troops Tiger Battalion,

Zhang Shaocheng.

Died on Qingnan Mountain at the age of 28.

Tribune of Di Troops Tiger Battalion, Zhao Honghai.

Died on Qingnan Mountain at the age of 32.

Centurion of Di Troops Tiger Battalion, Sun Zhaofang.

Died on Qingnan Mountain at the age of 35.

Soldier of Di Troops Tiger Battalion, Wang Hongyu.

Died on Qingnan Mountain at the age of 25.

Soldier of Di Troops Tiger Battalion, Liu Yufang.

Died on Qingnan Mountain at the age of 27.

Soldier of Di Troops Tiger Battalion, Sun Yucheng.

Died on Qingnan Mountain at the age of 23.

Ziyuan, I'm afraid the few of us

cannot shake up the case of the Di family.

It's not just us.

There are another 80,000 of us.

They are always

by our side.

Your Majesty,

loyal officials had been framed,

and the soldiers were angry about their deaths.

Your Majesty, please clear the Di family's name and uphold justice for the people!

Gu Yunnian is already dead.

No matter if he massacred the Di Troops on purpose or not,

there's no way for us to verify it now.

However,

one thing was clear.

The Di Troops acted without an order. There was ironclad evidence of their crime.

Even if you're Di Ziyuan,

you can't just redress grievances without any evidence.

Gu Yunnian is dead indeed.

And there's no way to tell if he killed my people on purpose

or if he received a secret letter.

However, Your Majesty did send a letter to my father back then.

I never wrote to Di Yongning that year.

This concerns my father's innocence. I will not lie.

Back then, Your Majesty, you sent a letter to Jingnan.

You ordered my father to deploy his troops to the Northwest.

Gu Yunnian confiscated all of the commanders' tallies when he executed my clan.

However, he didn't find the secret letter.

It's because my father handed the letter to me.

Now, the secret letter is in this very hall.

Where is it?

Your Highness,

please hand your fan to me.

Why did you give the fan to me?

It's because you're my safest bet, Your Highness.

The hardest object to forge in the entire world

is your imperial edict, Your Majesty.

I did not write that letter.

Grand Chancellor of the Right, you're the elder of two dynasties.

You were the Imperial Tutor too.

I'm sure you know His Majesty's handwriting the best.

Of course I can recognize His Majesty's handwriting.

If so, please see if this is His Majesty's handwriting.

This concerns the lives of 80,000 innocent people.

Grand Chancellor of the Right, please tell us the truth.

Speak.

Your Majesty,

according to the secret letter, you ordered the 80,000 Di Troops from Jingnan

to deploy their troops to the Northwest on the day they received the letter.

And your imperial seal is on the letter.

As for the handwriting,

Your Majesty, it is your handwriting.

I did not write this letter!

But the Grand Chancellor of the Right has already proven

that the handwriting was yours, Your Majesty.

What a joke.

I'm the Emperor.

Do you expect me to prove my innocence to you?

- Your Majesty. - Right Chancellor,

do you not trust me as well?

If that's the case,

Your Majesty, please uphold justice for the people.

Your Majesty, please uphold justice for the people.

Your Majesty, please uphold justice for the people.

Your Majesty, please uphold justice for the people.

Are you guys trying to rebel here?

Your Majesty, please clear the Di family's name

and uphold justice for the people.

Are you guys trying to rebel here?

Your Majesty, please give us an explanation.

Crown Prince,

do you not trust me as well?

Your Majesty, I only believe in evidence.

His Majesty didn't write the letter.

But I'm worried

that we lack the most important witness.

We still have no way to testify against the mastermind.

Han Zhongyuan represents the entire imperial family.

As long as I can influence the crowd and make him bow,

our issue will be resolved.

That's the reason why I dare confront them in the imperial court.

As for Anning,

although I don't want to drag her into this,

she should act out of her sense of responsibility

in front of the crowd.

His Majesty didn't write the letter.

It was the Empress Dowager.

Anning,

what are you saying?

You're accusing your own grandmother!

The Empress Dowager of Jing!

Anning, oh, Anning.

I have no idea how I raised

an unfilial granddaughter like you.

How dare you accuse me and ruin my name in public!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty, since Princess Anning said

that this incident was related to the Empress Dowager,

why don't we hear what Princess Anning has to say?

Such nonsense!

Anning,

you must be confused.

Someone.

Princess Anning is unwell. Bring her to her chamber.

- But... - Shut up!

This is no place for you to speak.

On the night Your Majesty executed the Di family,

I went to Jingxin Hall.

That night,

I intended to seek Grandmother so that she could make a plea for the Di family.

However,

I found out about her secret instead.

How's Marquis Jing'an doing?

He already killed himself.

That's good.

At least he won't need to know about the fall of the Di family.

It'll be worse than death to him.

However...

What is it?

Although His Majesty executed the entire Di family,

he spared Di Ziyuan.

Forget it. She's just a girl.

He's keeping her alive

so that people won't spread gossip about his cruelty.

Just grant her an accidental death after two years.

Your Majesty, you're wise indeed.

If not, even if I stole His Majesty's imperial seal

and sent the fake edict to Jingnan,

Marquis Jing'an might not believe that His Majesty issued a secret edict

and ordered him to deploy his 80,000 troops to the Northwest.

By the way, tell Gu Yunnian to find

the secret edict and destroy it.

After that, Liangxi took his own life.

The head eunuch of Jingxin Hall went missing too.

Your Majesty, I'm guilty.

I knew the truth since ten years ago. However, I didn't tell you the truth.

That's why the Di family and their 80,000 soldiers suffered wrongful deaths.

I'm too ashamed to be the Princess of Jing.

Please punish me.

You were young back then.

Maybe you were mistaken.

Your Majesty, that is indeed Anning's statement alone.

It's insufficient to convict Her Majesty of such a crime.

However, the Grand Chancellor of the Right did say

that the letter was written by Your Majesty.

Even if it's just an imitation,

there are only a few people in the world who can achieve that.

Your Majesty, did you forget?

Before I became your tutor,

Her Majesty was your tutor.

Wei Jian!

I did write this letter.

I did do the wrong thing.

So what?

The Di family

had too much military power for their own good.

They threatened their ruler's position.

I was deeply troubled by it.

However, the Emperor wasn't willing to do the dirty deed

on account of his ties with Di Yongning.

I had to do it for the sake of the world!

If anyone has the guts,

you may take me to the Imperial Clan Court and put me on trial.

I will wait for him!

Your Majesty! Please uphold justice for the people

so that the laws of Jing State will not be trampled upon!

Your Majesty, please practice wise judgment

and interrogate the culprit to uphold the laws of the nation!

Your Majesty, please practice wise judgment

and interrogate the culprit to uphold the laws of the nation!

The Di Troops

risked their lives

to contribute to the nation just to create a peaceful nation for its people.

However, all of them had to die

just because the Empress Dowager thought they had too much military power.

Your Majesty,

I don't need any consolations or rewards.

I just hope that you can clear my family's name and uphold justice for the people!

Your Majesty, please clear the Di family's name!

Your Majesty, please uphold justice for the Di family!

Please uphold justice for the 80,000 soldiers

and the people of the world!

Your Majesty, please uphold justice for the Di family!

Please uphold justice for the 80,000 soldiers

and the people of the world!

Your Majesty, please uphold justice for the Di family!

Please uphold justice for the people of the world!

Your Majesty, please uphold justice for the Di family!

Please uphold justice for the people of the world!

I...

I'm the Emperor of Jing.

I will surely rectify the court and show no favors to the noble.

I will not defend the Empress Dowager.

However,

I'm both the ruler of the nation and her son.

How could I neglect the fact that she gave birth to me and raised me?

Your Majesty,

a sage once said that filial piety is the way to rule

to promote the attitude of love and respect

so that the people can be loved and respected as the people are the foundation of a nation.

Consolidating the hearts of the people is the only way to obtain peace.

Your Majesty, please think twice.

Your Majesty, please think twice!

Your Majesty, please think for the people,

the world, and the generations to come!

Your Majesty, please think for the people,

the world, and the generations to come!

Fine. I will lock myself up in the ancestral temple for three days as punishment.

After three days,

I will give the Di family,

my subjects,

and the people an explanation.

I will ask you one more thing.

From now on,

what identity will you assume?

Ren Anle never existed in the first place.

From now on, there will only be Di Ziyuan.

All right.

From today onward,

there will only be Di Ziyuan in the imperial court of Jing.

Ren Anle is no more!

You still

became Di Ziyuan in the end.

Your Highness, thank you for verifying my identity.

I didn't do it for your sake.

I did it to uphold justice for the world.

Since I knew you were Di Ziyuan,

I would never try to hide your identity.

So, you didn't mind giving yourself away in front of me

because you knew my personality well, huh?

Your Highness, you're a kind and just person.

I'm sure you won't lie when it comes to a serious matter like this.

Ziyuan,

let me ask you something.

Is this

truly everything you wanted?

Yes.

I planned for this since ten years ago

just to obtain this result.

So,

you approached me from the very beginning

just so you could achieve this today?

Back then, the Han family did wrong the Di family.

Now,

justice has been upheld for the Di family.

If so, who will uphold justice for me then?

Back then,

I was trapped in Dai Mountain

for ten years on your behalf.

I had no freedom at all

while you enjoyed yourself out there.

Ten years!

For the past ten years,

I lived as if I was treading on thin ice.

Do you have any idea about the kind of life I led before this?

I'm the true Di Ziyuan.

I'm

the true Crown Princess of Jing.

I suffered for ten years on your behalf.

Now, you came back and told everyone that you're the true Di Ziyuan.

Well, who am I? Who am I?

Do you think the entire world owes you?

Do you think the entire world owes you?

Di Cheng'en, you should head back.

Di Cheng'en?

Di Cheng'en...

No.

Di Cheng'en isn't my name.

That's a fake name.

My life is fake too.

Di Cheng'en isn't my name.

Who... Who am I?

I'm not Di Ziyuan.

I'm not Di Cheng'en either.

Who am I?

Who am I then?

Who am I then?

Who am I?

Di Ziyuan.

I can finally address you by your real name now.

I think Ren Anle sounds better.

However, I think I never lived up to my name.

I've let my name down.

But it's good that we pulled through.

And you forced Han Zhongyuan to redress the Di family's case

and clear their name.

And the Empress Dowager confessed to her crime.

We won.

Yes.

We won.

I can finally use the name Di Ziyuan again.

It's been tough on you.

I live and die for the Di family.

I have no regrets as long as your wish can be fulfilled.

However, I've let down too many people to achieve this goal.

Anning, Han Ye, and Di Cheng'en.

And

although Gu Yunnian is dead,

there are still many doubts surrounding the incident on Huayuan Mountain.

I think there is more to his last words than meets the eye.

The imperial court of Jing seems to be hiding a complex series

of connections and ties that I've never touched upon.

The nation will face another crisis.

- Just like... - Ziyuan.

You don't need to worry too much.

The Han family is in charge of the current imperial court after all.

You don't need to take responsibility for them all the time.

There's always a rainbow after the rain.

Everything will get better eventually.

♫ If I bet my all on it desperately ♫

♫ I know my heart will be uneasy ♫

♫ I give up on my light and hide it under a bushel ♫

♫ You're the moon in my heart ♫

♫ I can't dream to own you ♫

♫ But I'm willing to forsake my life for you ♫

♫ I'd go the distance for you ♫

♫ May the light stay with you ♫

♫ Romance aside ♫

♫ I fight for your destiny alongside you ♫

♫ You're my dream from the bygone youth ♫

♫ Arriving at the end of my life ♫

♫ I bear no regrets. But when we reunite in our next life ♫

♫ Will you still remember me? ♫

♫ I've concealed my yearning for you ♫

♫ And guarded your smile ♫

♫ Please don't leave me in oblivion when we part ways ♫

♫ I'd go the distance for you ♫

♫ May the light stay with you ♫

♫ Romance aside ♫

♫ I fight for your destiny alongside you ♫

♫ You're my dream from the bygone youth ♫

♫ Arriving at the end of my life ♫

♫ I bear no regrets. But when we reunite in our next life ♫

♫ Will you still remember me? ♫