Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

As long as I can live in Ning'an Palace,

I'm willing to pay any price.

[Ning'an Palace]

Cleanse the court of traitors and sycophants!

The cinnabar jade brush can decide the life and death of a person.

Everything

seems to be a dream.

I hurt a lot of people once.

Zhang Zhe, help me.

I promise to be a good person after this.

I spoiled her, so I'll marry her.

There are things

you can't give me,

but he can.

I want to live.

Only you can help me.

Everyone else in the world can escape,

but I can't.

I want to do my best

to salvage the past regrets and mistakes.

Do you believe in past life destiny?

I prefer to believe what's in front of me.

Welcome back, Your Highness.

Welcome back, Your Highness.

Welcome home.

Ning, what are you afraid of?

But somehow,

there is always an invisible hand

that turns everything back to the original point.

You've had your revenge and paid your debt.

In the end, who are you?

This bustling world is a battlefield.

My life is absurd and my love is misplaced.

[Story of Kunning Palace]

[Episode 3]

[Qinlan Pavilion]

I told you to draw and you draw.

Are you trying to defy me?

Your Highness,

I don't know how to draw.

I was thinking about what you said just now.

Your Highness has sublime elegance and beauty.

You're the brightest star in the State of Qian.

I'm nothing compared to you.

You

shouldn't envy me.

I thought the girl Yan Lin likes

was different.

But it turns out

that you're a flatterer too.

No.

I need to do something,

or Shen Zhiyi will end up hating me again.

Your Highness.

Pardon me.

[Qinlan Pavilion]

This trick always works.

Fortunately, I'm not dressed as a man today.

The misunderstanding can be avoided.

If you care too much

about your scar in public,

everyone will know

how to hit you

where it hurts the most.

But if you show others

that you don't care

or pretend not to care,

no one can know what your weakness is

and no one can hurt you.

You got that scar

twenty years ago

during the rebellion of Lord Pingnan.

The rebellion was quelled

and the remnants of the rebels are no longer a threat.

It was a great victory

and your scar

is the glory of the country.

You shouldn't be ashamed of it.

I know that look…

Has she…

You're good with words.

No wonder Yan Lin likes you.

Even I can't help but like you.

It's rude of me to make such remarks.

They're total nonsense.

Please forgive me, Your Highness.

Alright, Your Highness.

Don't scare her.

We agreed that we wouldn't stay here for long.

Aunt is waiting for you.

You're right.

There are too many people today.

I'll visit you alone another day.

Good day, Your Highness.

Do you have to visit me again?

Kiss ass.

Miss.

You're so eloquent.

I was so scared just now.

I hope

I could be less eloquent.

[Cengxiao Restaurant]

You've been playing the qin for quite a while.

It's time to tell me what I should do.

You're very clever, Mr. Chen.

You don't need me to tell you what to do.

Interrogating those rebels

is a thorny task.

The Ministry of Justice has taken it over from Xingwu Guards.

Duke of Xue must feel humiliated.

You're exaggerating, Mr. Chen.

It's just interrogating a few rebels.

It's not hard for the Ministry of Justice.

Mr. Xie, stop playing dumb.

Everyone knows

Duke of Xue arrested that officer of Yan's troops

to charge the Yan family

with colluding with the rebels.

That officer is in the Ministry of Justice now.

How should I interrogate him?

Just do

whatever you need to do.

If I get something out of him,

I'll offend the Yan family.

If I get nothing,

I'll offend the Xue family,

and His Majesty will think

that I'm not worth my salt.

It's really a thankless task.

His Majesty is angry now.

He may take it out on anyone.

You're the one he trusts the most.

Please enlighten me.

Mr. Chen,

the Justice Minister retired last year.

You're just a deputy minister.

There's no need to be so worried.

You mean…

The rebels in detention

must be interrogated.

But rebels are cunning.

It's normal

that you can't get anything from them.

Moreover,

even if you get nothing,

someone else in the court will take over this hot potato.

By then,

the one being punished in the Ministry of Justice will be Zhang Zhe.

So you have nothing to worry about, Mr. Chen.

Thank you for the pointers.

I'll take my leave.

Sir, you can save them this time,

but it's only temporary.

The Yan family will be found guilty sooner or later.

Do you think

Marquis of Yan colluded with the rebels?

No!

His Lordship is loyal to the State of Qian.

He wouldn't do that.

If not Chen Ying,

there will be someone else.

If His Majesty wants the Yan family guilty,

the Yan family will be proved guilty eventually.

Sir,

here is the food you ordered.

We didn't order anything.

The gentleman just now ordered it.

Watch out!

Go wait for Yan Lin in the front hall.

Bring him to the back door when he arrives.

There are many eyes in the restaurant.

Try to stay out of trouble.

Okay.

Don't move.

Or I'll kill her.

Miss Xuening.

You know Xie Wei?

This guy must be an outlaw coming at Xie Wei.

I can't get involved.

Mr. Xie is famous.

Everyone in the capital knows him.

I'm just passing by.

Please don't kill me.

I can give you as much as you want.

Shut up!

Miss Xuening

saved my life.

Her father and I are close friends.

I'm the one you have a grievance against,

so let the innocent lady go.

Easy for you to say.

You helped that tyrant

kill so many of my brothers.

Weren't they innocent as well?

Sure enough, you answer to Lord Pingnan.

Poor me.

Why did I run into him again and again?

Xie Wei is cold-blooded and cruel.

He only wants to test this guy.

I can't count on him to save my life.

Lord Pingnan's forces are not in the capital.

But recently,

his lackeys have been sowing chaos in the capital.

Has someone in the court defected?

You even tried to frame the Yan family.

What on earth do you want?

Xie Wei, my life is hanging by a thread!

Can't you put politics aside for one second?

You don't need to doubt

that I'll put your safety before politics.

I bet you don't want to die here, Sir.

If you are willing to let her go,

I can ask my men to give you a pass

and open the gate for you.

You'll be able to leave unscathed.

I don't believe you're so kind.

I've always

been a man of my word.

If you want to save her,

let me take you hostage instead.

You're a much better pass.

Otherwise,

I'll kill her now.

Sir! Sir!

You… I, I...

Can you ask for something else?

He's a high-ranking official.

-Why would he... -Shut up.

I'll count to ten.

If you still can't decide…

No need to count.

Bring her over.

Take me instead.

He's willing to save me?

Impossible.

Xie Wei is anything but compassionate.

He'll in no way let this rebel escape.

He must have a backup plan.

I knew it!

Xie Wei

doesn't care about my life at all.

Does he want to take this chance

to shut me up forever?

Whatever.

Being bold is better than getting killed.

[Dao Qin, Xie Wei's guard]

Send his body to Chen Ying.

Besides,

don't tell anyone

about her being here today.

Yes.

[Four years ago]

You can't sleep.

Wan Niang said if you sleep now, you'll never wake up.

You can't sleep.

Wake up.

Qin.

Carrying you alone is hard enough.

I can't carry that qin too.

Let go!

You're dying.

This useless qin is the last thing you should care about.

Someone like you doesn't deserve to live.

I admire your bravery,

but you used it at the wrong time.

Follow me.

It's a pity that such a good qin was ruined.

You must have been frightened.

Not at all.

I'm lucky to have met you.

I knew you could save me.

So I was not frightened.

Really?

But why did you sound like

you didn't want the rebel

to think we know each other?

Am I mistaken?

He asked me. I had to answer.

I didn't want to cause you trouble by replying honestly.

So I lied.

Why?

Should I have been honest?

Is this how you

wrap Yan Lin around your little finger?

I don't know what you're talking about.

You were quite smart out there.

You understood everything I said.

I was scared out of my crap just now.

I didn't hear anything.

You mentioned Lord Pingnan and rebels,

which doesn't make any sense to me.

Please let me go home.

I promise I won't mention this again.

OK?

Yan Lin is my student.

You can't ruin his bright future.

You're a smart girl

and must know that scheming is not right.

Since it's not right,

it'll get you nowhere in the end.

If you really like him,

you shouldn't have lied to him.

If you don't have feelings for him,

you should leave him alone.

What's going on between me and Yan Lin

is nothing more than a love affair

between two young people.

I didn't do anything wrong.

Why are you sure that I'm deceiving him and will hurt him?

Are you

biased against me for some reason

so you think I have ulterior motives

and whatever I do is wrong?

What's so funny?

If you had talked with me like this sooner,

I wouldn't have beaten around the bush with you.

Then tell me.

If I hadn't pushed that guy away,

would you have shot me too

to get rid of me for good?

What do you think?

Since you know I want to kill you

and I can kill you,

you should know

what you should and shouldn't do.

You tell him.

Sir.

Viscount Yan keeps trying to break in.

[Cengxiao Restaurant]

We can't stop him for long.

It's fine.

Walk Miss Xuening out.

Yes.

I've made inquiries.

Viscount Yan was indeed supposed to meet Miss Jiang here today.

That assassin

was a rebel hidden in the capital.

It was just a coincidence.

Well...

Go ahead.

It's Jian Shu's question.

Sir,

why didn't you tell to Miss Jiang that you had no intention

to kill her?

It's good that she's afraid of me.

Fear

makes her behave.

Ning.

Ning, I was worried sick.

They told me everything.

I'm so shocked

that you ran into a rebel in broad daylight.

Are you okay?

Don't worry. I survived just fine.

Don't be afraid.

I'm here now.

I won't let anyone hurt you.

It's all my fault.

If I hadn't wasted my time

in the You Mansion

and let you wait for me at Cengxiao Restaurant alone,

you wouldn't have met that assassin.

It's not the assassin who I'm afraid of.

Yan Lin,

I didn't know you and Mr. Xie are close.

Mr. Xie is the Junior Preceptor.

He's our teacher,

so we meet a lot,

but I wouldn't say we're close.

Why?

Was he hard on you?

They're definitely

not just teacher and student.

Xie Wei seems to be Yan Lin's friend

instead of enemy.

That's good news.

Let's leave these unhappy things behind.

You said you'll take me to see the lanterns.

Let's go.

But you just had quite a fright.

-We can see them next year. -No.

I want to go.

Fine, if that's what you wish.

How about Tang'er?

I've sent her and the coachman back.

Tonight,

no one can disturb you.

Let's go.

See? I didn't lie to you.

There are so many people this year.

They're the delicious sugar figurines I mentioned.

See if you like anything.

They're all freshly made

and very delicious.

We'll take this one.

Thank you, Sir.

Congratulations. You're right.

They're posing lantern riddles over there.

Congratulations.

You're so smart.

Thank you.

Bravo!

Why don't we give it a shot too?

Next riddle.

What has lots of bark,

but no bite?

Who will take a guess?

Tree.

The winner gets a reward.

I know.

Sir.

It's tree.

Correct.

Come on.

Let's have more fun.

Next riddle.

Are they fox nuts?

Yes, Miss.

They're first-class fox nuts

shipped from Suzhou a few days ago.

The Cao River has been turbulent recently.

They can't be from Suzhou.

Even royal tributes

can't arrive so quickly.

They must be from some lake nearby.

You're an expert.

But their taste

is comparable to those from Suzhou.

Try one.

Is it good?

Then I'll buy all of them

together with the basket.

Thank you, Sir.

Keep the change.

Thank you, Sir.

Let's go.

The evening chanting has long ended.

Why did you take me to the temple?

This is the place I carefully selected.

Come on.

Look.

What a view!

Here.

You're the same as you always were.

You eat like a little chick.

Isn't it good to stay the way I was?

Yes.

It is.

But Ning,

I'll come of age soon.

Yan Lin,

you're so nice to me.

What do you see in me?

The moment I laid my eyes on you,

I knew you were different from those girls in the capital.

Your eyes

are starry.

You never hide your emotions.

I still remember the first time I saw you.

You were truthful at that time.

You took what you wanted

and didn't fake smiles when you were moody.

When you were happy,

you could be so sweet and adorable.

When you were sad,

you hid up and cried alone.

At that time, I thought

you were a girl who should be doted on.

I never thought

that you'd turn out to be the best liar I've ever known.

I know you're awake.

Jiang Xuening.

You're a liar.

But no one likes me.

Wan Niang didn't like me.

Mother doesn't like me.

The servants in the mansion don't like me.

Everyone else in the capital doesn't like me either.

So,

have you ever thought

that you've fallen in love with the wrong person?

Nonsense.

Think about it.

Wan Niang

didn't have to let your father know

that you and your sister were swapped.

If she had kept quiet,

your sister would still

be the only legitimate daughter of the Jiang family.

When Wan Niang died,

she'd bring the secret

with her to the grave.

She could've done that,

but before she died,

she revealed the truth

and sent you back to the capital

despite the risk

of making her own daughter suffer.

If you see things this way,

you can't say that she didn't love you.

My Ning

deserves the best love in the world.

But I won't always be the girl

who settles for

just being the apple of your eye.

I'll grow up.

I'll become a bad woman.

You won't.

You'll always be the best.

♫How many people can one love in a lifetime?♫

I'm not the best.

You are.

Jiang Xuening

♫Can you understand the love and hate♫

doesn't deserve your love.

♫In the eyes looking at you?♫

It's up to me

to decide that.

♫How much true love exists in this vast world♫

In my eyes,

you are the best.

♫To be worthy of so many poems?♫

♫There are too many stories to be written♫

Don't cry.

It breaks my heart.

♫We were too young to know about pain♫

♫We drank under the moon amidst flowers♫

♫We saw flowers blooming yesterday♫

♫And thought they'd still be blooming tomorrow♫

♫When we were young♫

Something happened to my family.

I have to go.

♫We believed that as long as we could♫

Ning.

Wait for me.

One day,

I'll clear the name of my family

♫Hold those warm hands♫

and come back to marry you.

♫We could be with our beloved one forever♫

Yan Lin,

I'll marry Shen Jie.

♫Time flies and everything's like a dream♫

I want to be the empress.

♫I traveled so far but still couldn't forget you♫

There are things

you can't give me,

but he can.

♫I spent half my life loving you but ended up being a joke♫

If you need to blame someone,

blame yourself.

♫My heart is broken♫

♫But I never regret loving you♫

Sorry.

I forgot my manners.

Thank you for being so nice to me,

but I only take you as my best friend.

Sorry. I...

Forget it.

It's too late.

I should go back.

Ning.

After my coming-of-age ceremony,

marry me.

Miss.

Miss.

You're finally back.

I was so worried.

Are you hurt?

I'm fine.

Still in one piece.

Miss, His Lordship and Her Ladyship asked for you.

Have they known that I was held hostage?

No.

Mr. Xie's men said

what happened today must be a secret,

so I didn't tell His Lordship and Her Ladyship.

It's about something else.

Hui.

My Lady.

Stay quiet when you watch us play.

Don't give her any clues.

Hui has improved.

You can't give her advice.

She has to rely on herself.

What will you do next?

Mother, look.

I told you

you should play it this way.

-Father. -You…

Ning, you're back.

Did you have fun tonight?

You asked for me.

Here's the thing.

I heard

that Princess Leyang went to the You Mansion

and talked to you.

So I guess

you must have known about that matter.

Do you mean

entering the palace as a study partner?

Yes.

Father and Mother

didn't mean to keep it from you.

You know

that one can't be too careful

in the palace.

You'd be uncomfortable there.

So it's better to let your sister go.

I know

it's unfair for you.

I can understand

if you're angry with us.

I have no objections.

After all, it's related to…

What did you say?

I'm not interested in entering the palace.

Really?

Ning, you...

If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave.

Good night, Ning.

Ning has grown up.

She's so thoughtful now.

You heard her?

She didn't make things hard for us

and made sacrifices for her sister.

This feels so unreal to me.

You're paranoid.

It's weird.

Mr. Chen has looked into it.

The assassin today

had the tattoo of the rebels.

The knife he used had the stamp of Lord Pingnan's troops.

He was indeed a rebel.

Lately,

many high-ranking officials in the capital

have been assassinated by rebels.

No wonder Xue Yuan

wanted to take the chance to slander the Yan family.

But…

The rebels in the capital

are all at your disposal.

How come that assassin

didn't know who you are?

This is so strange.

It seems

that Lord Pingnan is getting suspicious of me.

Dao Qin.

Send a letter to Jinling.

Find out

who sent that assassin.

Yes.

Sir.

Isn't it too risky?

You came here to carry out

Lord Pingnan's order of weakening the forces in the capital.

The Xue family and the Yan family are at each other's throats now.

It's exactly what Lord Pingnan wants to see.

You helped the Yan family

again and again.

If Lord Pingnan finds out

and exposes your identity,

the court won't let you off.

That came out wrong.

I'll go to work now.

[Mansion of Duke of Xue]

Yesterday,

another assassination happened.

Xie Wei was the target this time.

The Ministry of Justice is conducting interrogations.

The military officer from Yan's troops

was interrogated too.

In your opinion,

what should we do?

Duke,

we did our best

during the interrogation.

Those rebels are tough,

especially that military officer.

No matter how we grilled him,

he wouldn't tell us

who is the mastermind in the capital.

Listen.

You're a moron!

I've made it very clear.

Arresting and grilling the rebels

is not the goal!

What I want

is to get the evidence of the Yan family's treason

from those rebels.

You didn't get anything out of them!

If Chen Ying finds out about my plan,

do you know

what the consequence will be?

Sorry. I failed you.

I'm incompetent.

Enough!

I don't need someone useless like you.

Guards!

Duke.

Duke.

Please spare my life!

Duke.

Please spare my life!

Duke.

-I've worked hard for so long, -Please spare my life.

but still can't bring down the Yan family.

Power struggles are never easy.

I'm at the end of my wits now.

Duke,

I think

the current situation

can be a blessing in disguise.

Everyone knows

that the Xue family and Yan family are at odds.

Now,

the Ministry of Justice is in charge of the investigation.

No matter what the result is,

at least we're spared

from gossip and speculations.

The Yan family's days are numbered.

It'll topple sooner or later.

His Majesty is paranoid.

To achieve your great plan,

you need a drastic measure.

Over the past years,

that old coot Yan Mu

has always had it in for me.

Since we can't find any evidence,

we'll create some.

Go find someone capable

in Xingwu Guards.

Tell him to penetrate the Yan family.

I want to get

Yan Mu's handwriting

and seal.

Yes, Duke.

Xingwu Guards. We're ordered

to search for rebels here.

Get out of the way!

His Majesty has made

the Ministry of Justice in charge of the purge of rebels.

May I ask

who gave you that order?

Don't tell me it's Duke of Xue.

Viscount Yan.

Be careful with what you say.

Duke of Xue

sent us here to search for rebels

for the peace of the State of Qian.

Are you stopping us from searching

because you're afraid that we may find something?

Have you really

hidden someone in Tongzhou Camps?

Nonsense!

Wait, My Lord!

Kill them!

Kill!

Hey, guy!

Stop!

Guys!

Stop fighting!

Stop fighting!

Sir.

Zhou Yinzhi, what're you doing?

[Zhou Yinzhi, Sergeant of Xingwu Guards]

Duke of Xue asked us to investigate

instead of searching.

The soldiers in the camps are all protesters of the people.

Why do we have to fight them?

Get away!

Which side are you on?

Do you still want to work in Xingwu Guards?

Stop fighting!

Stop!

In Tongzhou Camps,

everyone should obey the rules set by the Yan family's ancestors.

This is a military base,

so unless with an imperial edict,

no one can enter it.

The Yan family's spears

killed countless enemies.

If anyone ignores our rules,

I don't mind teaching them a lesson.

Sir.

Let's wait and see.

You're a good man.

Xingwu Guards are corrupt.

You deserve a better position.

How about

coming to work for me?

Thank you for your kind offer.

My name is Zhou Yinzhi.

I'm used to staying in Xingwu Guards.

I'll just stay this way.

I won't force you.

You fought well just now.

Come here to spar with the soldiers when you're free.

I will.

Yan Lin.

Xie Wei.

The Yan family.

The Xue family.

I want to save the Yan family,

but I'm nobody now.

Who can I ask for help?

Zhou Yinzhi?

Back then, to strengthen my position as the empress,

I put him in an important position to do my dirty work.

He's a dangerous man.

[Zhou Yinzhi, Commander of Xingwu Guards]

But given the circumstances,

he seems to be the only person

I can take advantage of.

[Zhou Yinzhi]

Back then, Xingwu Guards revealed that the Yan family

played a part in Lord Pingnan's rebellion

and led the investigation.

Zhou Yinzhi should be a Sergeant in Xingwu Guards now.

Maybe he can help me get some information.

Wait.

Sergeant.

To keep an eye on Yan Lin,

I introduced Zhou Yinzhi to him.

Before the Yan family was charged with treason,

Zhou Yinzhi suddenly became Staff Sergeant

and then Sergeant First Class after the incident.

I thought he got promoted so fast because he was able,

but in retrospect,

he may have been involved in the Yan family's doom.

Coming.

Who are you?

Is Mr. Zhou home?

He went to work early in the morning.

I don't know when he'll be back.

If you want to see him,

you can come in and take a seat.

I'll send someone to inform him immediately.

Don't mention my coming.

Just tell Zhou Yinzhi

that his beloved horse is dying

and he should come back to see it one last time.

Yinzhi.

You came back quickly.

I haven't visited you in a long time.

How impertinent of me.

Sorry that you had to come here in person.

Please forgive me.

You came at a good time.

I was about to go to you.

Really?

You came to the capital four years ago.

At first, you were just a coachman in my house.

Now you work in Xingwu Guards.

I don't see why you should

bother to pay me a visit.

Please don't say that, Miss Jiang.

If it weren't for you,

I'd still be feeding horses in the countryside.

I came to the capital thanks to you.

I'll never forget

your kindness to me.

Save the pleasantries.

In the past few days,

Zhang Zhe, the Supervising Secretary for the Division of Criminal Justice,

impeached your superior.

And rebels kept making attempts

to assassinate court officials.

If His Majesty wants

to attribute them to Xingwu Guards' negligence,

I'm afraid your life

will be quite hard.

I know you.

You're a clever man

and have ambitions.

But you have neither money

nor connections.

That's why you thought of me, right?

I guessed right.

It seems that if I want to get to him,

I have to take my chances

and break him down mentally first.

Mr. Zhou.

I might as well take another guess.

I'm just a powerless woman.

What you want to make use of

is my relationship with Yan Lin.

Instead of cozying up to

your superiors in Xingwu Guards,

you tried to get close to the Yan family which is the implacable enemy of Xingwu Guards.

I'm afraid you're up to something else.

I guessed right again.

It seems that he really played a part

in the Yan family's destruction.

Are you afraid

because I guessed everything right?

Let me give you some advice.

Stay out of the fight between the Yan family and the Xue family.

No matter what mission the Xue family gave you,

if you succeed,

you may have a meteoric rise to fame and fortune,

but you'll be disposed of as a useless pawn eventually.

I'm afraid one day,

you'll come to a violent demise

with no one to lay you to rest.