Original subtitles

[Legend of Zang Hai]

[Episode 31]

[Hostage's Mansion]

Antu.

Don't be scared.

I'm here with you.

It's all over now.

Mother...

Mother...

What about Zang Hai?

Don't worry.

He's still alive.

And I'm not his enemy.

He's not dead?

And I'm not his enemy?

My dear...

These days

must've been so hard on you.

I don't think so anymore.

These days...

These days were hard, yes.

But now,

I feel like it was all just a bad dream.

It's over.

I really like him.

I want to be with him.

Will you say yes?

I can tell he really likes you too.

But...

he still has a deep grudge to avenge.

I'm afraid, in his heart,

you'll never come first.

Turns out

the Queen of Dongxia isn't the third enemy.

But the Marquis of Pingjin

told it to Zhuang Zhixing himself.

So did the Marquis lie?

Zhuang Zhixing is his heir,

his only hope.

Why would the Marquis deceive him?

True.

Zhuang Zhixing

is a monster I created.

My own hatred twisted him

into what he is.

He hates his father,

but he hates me even more.

I just never thought

he'd go this far.

Easy. It'll just sting a little.

Stay still.

Be gentle.

Almost done.

All right, done.

This ointment of mine

heals fast,

and it won't leave a scar.

Haven't seen you in a while,

you've lost weight.

I guess he didn't feed you anything decent.

Not really.

He didn't treat me that badly.

Then why the long face?

What's bothering you?

The misunderstanding has been cleared up,

and there's nothing standing between us anymore,

but my mother still doesn't want me with him.

She's afraid I'll suffer,

afraid I won't be happy.

In the past,

you never cared what others thought.

You never minded the gossip.

You never took it to heart.

I know very well

he has his revenge to seek,

and I have my own duties to bear.

The carefree Miss Xiang

isn't the real me.

You two are equally bad.

That makes you a good match.

If you ever have kids,

goodness,

they will turn the whole Capital upside down!

So, forget it.

You'd better not be together after all.

No wonder the Queen played you like that.

She's blaming the son

for the father's debts.

I didn't expect

that my father had that kind of past with her.

If the Queen isn't your enemy now,

then the trail to the third enemy is truly cold.

At least it didn't end in disaster.

So did that lift a weight off your chest?

Master...

I told you,

you're still too green when it comes to women.

When did you ever say that?

Fine,

Your Master Liuchu said it.

Mr. Zang,

Miss Xiang sent someone... with a message.

She asks you to visit Zhen Tower.

Doomed.

You're doomed...

I'll go see what's going on.

Hold up.

Wash your face first.

Don't mess it up again.

Your Master Liuchu isn't here.

And there's a lot I can't teach you.

Come on,

wash up...

Where is he?

He...

He's gone?

By the time you finish talking,

he'll be back already.

Mr. Zang, this way please.

Zhen Tower is closed today. Please follow me.

Our lady is waiting inside.

Please go on in.

Your Highness?

Your Highness?

Stop right there!

Tonight's shadow play

begins with a little carp.

One day,

the little carp got separated from his family

and never found his way back home.

Alone, he was wandering...

and wandering...

A little swan saw how pitiful he looked,

and stayed by his side.

They became the best of friends.

The little swan treated him so well,

always helping and caring for him.

Over time,

the little swan fell for him.

But little did she know,

the carp wasn't just foolish,

he had a mean heart too!

He thought he was clever,

and assumed the swan's mother

had eaten his own parents.

No matter how kind the swan was to him,

he was still set on killing her mother for revenge.

Of course the little swan tried to stop him,

because she knew,

for all his hardness,

the carp was no match for her mother.

The little swan was torn.

She couldn't bear to lose the carp,

nor her own mother.

So she offered up her own life

to dissolve the hatred in the carp's heart.

But it turned out

that the one who ate his parents

wasn't the swan's mother at all.

When the carp learned the truth,

he never cared about the swan again.

He just left her there,

cold and alone.

Tell me,

didn't the little carp deserve punishment?

He did.

♪Memories brew like snow in the pot♪

♪Blending into a cup of tangled emotions...♪

Good thing the little swan survived.

Otherwise,

the carp wouldn't have made it either.

Her heart was already broken.

♪Distant...♪

She never really came back to life.

♪Love is a destined melting of snow♪

♪A ring♪

♪Where wind meets moon♪

♪Better than schemes...♪

The little carp owes the swan an apology.

He doesn't even dare ask for forgiveness.

♪Ahead lie shattered jade and silent graves...♪

But would the little swan

still want to see him again?

♪Looking back, so much feeling♪

♪So little time♪

♪Memories brew like snow in the pot...♪

The truth is, she's been waiting all along.

♪Drink it down, may tonight bring gentle dreams...♪

Why aren't you saying anything?

♪Though old thoughts still rise with the wind♪

♪Time shapes us like pine...♪

Your Highness...

♪And too afraid to reach♪

♪Love is a destined melting of snow♪

♪A ring♪

♪Where wind meets moon♪

♪Better than schemes♪

♪Is an embrace in this mortal world♪

♪Ahead lie shattered jade and silent graves...♪

How is...

your wound?

♪Looking back, so much feeling♪

♪So little time♪

♪Love is a fated breeze of spring♪

♪A park♪

♪When snow meets blossoms♪

♪Cutting through peaks♪

♪It's praised by the world below♪

♪Willows fade and winter has passed♪

♪As peach blooms...♪

At last,

we can truly be together.

♪Yet with grace♪

Your Highness,

you're too strong.

If you keep hugging me this tight,

I will lose an arm.

You still call me "Your Highness"?

Antu...

When you treated me

so coldly back then,

you should've seen this coming!

I...

I don't deserve this moment.

I won't let you say that.

From now on,

whenever I want you,

you must show up.

All right.

I promise.

Antu,

I hope that from this day forward,

you'll always be happier and freer with me around.

Of course I'm happy and free.

I'm the Princess of Dongxia,

and the owner of Zhen Tower.

I've got my family, my friends, and the one I love.

I have everything now.

What are you laughing at?

I'm laughing at someone for being too greedy.

Can't I be greedy?

Look at you,

crying till your eyes are swollen.

The little swan's turned into a little frog.

And all because of you!

Yes,

it was all my fault.

So please, Miss Xiang, don't hold it against me.

Invite me more often to your Zhen Tower.

I don't hold grudges.

I always get even

on the spot.

Zang Hai...

My mother's here now,

and so are you.

The misunderstanding is cleared.

I feel at peace.

Then tonight, you can finally sleep well.

I'm not sleepy.

Zhen Tower isn't open to guests today.

But if I want,

I can keep everyone out for days.

Tonight, I want you to tell me everything.

Tonight?

There's always time.

I'll tell you everything one day.

You're injured. You need rest.

Fine, I'll talk.

What do you want to hear?

Anything.

You start.

Then let's begin with the two lashings

I took ten years ago.

Hey, Zang Hai!

Well,

forget it.

You dummy,

just tell me

what did my mother say to you?

Honestly, even I didn't expect it.

My father and your mother

actually met ten years ago.

What?

Ten years ago,

my father was building the Fengshan Altar in Dongxia.

By sheer coincidence,

he ended up saving your mother...

So you see,

fate really works in strange ways.

I saw you ten years ago.

Then on the day I arrived in the Capital,

I saw you again.

And so much has happened since.

There's always been so much I wanted to tell you,

but I couldn't reveal who I was.

[Hostage's Mansion]

Antu.

This drawing here shows the Gui Seal.

Legend says

our ancestors were descendants

of the Lady of Kunlun.

The Gui Seal was one of her sacred relics.

Later, something happened,

and our ancestors left Kunlun.

They migrated eastward,

vowing to build a new kingdom there

and carve out a legacy.

Not long after, across the vast northern plains,

a female general rose up.

She was undefeated, unstoppable.

It's said

she carried the Gui Seal with her.

That seal could summon ghost soldiers,

attach them to the living, and command them in battle.

Eventually, she crowned herself king.

She became the first ruler of Dongxia,

Queen of Fuxian.

After she took the throne,

she conquered cities and lands with ease,

but her body began to change too.

In her final days,

no one ever saw her true face again.

The Queen of Fuxian knew

it was the backlash from using the Gui Seal.

So she ordered it sealed away forever,

buried beside her own body,

and warned her descendants never to open the tomb.

But three hundred years later,

her descendant, the Queen of Minglv Huda,

my mother,

defied the Queen of Fuxian's dying wish.

She had the Gui Seal taken from the tomb,

along with the key that opens it,

namely the three bronze fish.

As for everything after that,

you already know.

In the 35th year of Wude,

in the battle against Great Yong,

Dongxia used the Gui Seal to defeat them

but paid a terrible price for it.

Just before her death,

The Queen of Minglv Huda sealed the Gui Seal again,

hiding it somewhere no one could find.

In the 9th year of Zhenshun,

your father, Kuai Duo, discovered it anyway.

For centuries,

legends of the Gui Seal

have stirred the hearts of the ambitious.

Once they learned its power,

they would pay any price to obtain it.

All these years,

I've been collecting magnetic stones linked to the Gui Seal.

I finally forged this compass.

Once a bronze fish is fixed to the magnetic needle,

the fish's head will point to where the Gui Seal is.

I once worked with Cao Jingxian

just to get the bronze fish.

But now,

I don't need him anymore.

How can I help, Your Highness?

To this day,

your third enemy still lurks

in the shadows like a ghost.

Help me find the Gui Seal,

and I'll help you find your third enemy,

so you can avenge your family.

I'm ready to ally with Your Highness.

Don't rush.

Before we join forces,

there's something I must make clear.

Please speak, Your Highness.

The compass or my daughter, you can only choose one.

If you choose the compass, you choose revenge.

I don't want my daughter

to be with a man consumed by hatred.

But if you choose my daughter,

I want you to give up revenge

and give up chasing the Gui Seal.

Mother...

Don't you want to hear his answer?

Between the choices,

I can't choose.

But before my father died,

he left me with a word.

I could never figure it out.

But after hearing your story with my father,

I finally understand.

That word he left me

was for Your Highness.

So let me offer you a choice too.

Do you want to hear the word?

Or do you want me to make a choice?

You're threatening me?

If your feelings for my father

were genuine,

then why can't my feelings

for Antu be real too?

Mother,

I'm your daughter.

Finding the Gui Seal is also my duty and my wish.

Since I came to Great Yong,

danger has always followed me.

But I've never been afraid,

and I won't start now.

I see it now.

This "horse" of yours

might just outrun

your father.

Let's see what you're really made of.

Thanks for the honor.

From this day forward,

we are bound as life-and-death allies.

Turn right here.

Then left.

Turn right again.

Keep going.

Turn right.

My lord,

we can't go right.

Halt!

[Zuoshun Gate]

[Vice Minister of Works]

Sir, please.

Keep at it, everyone.

I'll check other areas

to see what else needs fixing.

Yes, sir.

[Tiyuan Gate]

Identify yourself!

I'm Zang Hai, Vice Minister of Works.

A strong wind is expected in a few days.

Hanzhang Hall's been standing a long time,

so I came to check

if it needs reinforcement.

Thanks for your concern, Mr. Zang.

But His Majesty has ordered

no unauthorized repairs are allowed in Hanzhang Hall.

No one may enter without permission.

You'll have to turn back.

You're back.

What's wrong?

Why are you sweating so much?

What happened?

Say something. What really happened?

I know where the Gui Seal is.

Where?

In the palace.

Inside the Emperor's Hanzhang Hall.

Hanzhang Hall?

Then that means

back then, your father...

On my way back, I figured out

there's no place in the world

more hidden than the palace.

Especially beside the Emperor's own bed.

So do you think

the Emperor knew all along?

If it had been hidden elsewhere in the palace,

I could've believed your father did it secretly.

But it's Hanzhang Hall!

The Emperor stays there every day!

So,

my father discovering the Gui Seal

wasn't a coincidence at all.

What if your father built the Fengshan Altar

under secret orders from the Emperor

to find the Gui Seal?

But then why didn't he hand over the bronze fish too?

According to the Queen,

the fish is the key to unlocking the Gui Seal.

I don't understand either.

Could it be the Emperor is...

No, he's not.

The Emperor isn't the third enemy.

Otherwise, he'd never allow

the Marquis of Pingjin and Cao Jingxian to hold the fish.

Besides,

if the Emperor wanted my father dead,

he could've done it

the moment he delivered the Gui Seal.

No need to wait until he returned home.

The Gui Seal is in the Emperor's hands,

but the bronze fish are with your enemy...

What really happened that day?

Aside from the Emperor and your father,

no one else may ever know.

♪Where does sorrow begin?♪

♪With autumn on a parted heart♪

♪Even without rain, the wind through plantains chills...♪

Father.

Spit it out.

Zang Hai used a palace inspection as an excuse

to roam the whole palace.

Did he do anything suspicious?

His actions were strange, yes.

Like he was searching for something.

He lingered outside Hanzhang Hall for quite a while.

Hanzhang Hall?

That's right.

Then he left right after.

So that's it.

So that's how it is...

Ridiculous!

After all these years,

how many times have I visited Hanzhang Hall?

[Imperial Astronomical Bureau]

We've located an auspicious site

in Mount Dongling.

We'll select a lucky day

to deliver the jade fetus there for worship.

I'll oversee everything personally.

Rest assured, Your Highness.

I trust you won't let anything go wrong.

Mr. Zang,

give me a tour of the Bureau, will you?

Of course.

It's my honor.

This way, Your Highness.

The Bureau includes the Divisions of Astronomy, Timekeeping,

Forestry, Geomancy, and Mortuary.

Each handles different responsibilities,

from star-gazing and timekeeping,

to construction and burial rites.

What about your father?

What was he best at?

As the Imperial Astronomer,

he had to master every skill in every office.

But he must've had a favorite.

If I had to say,

he loved woodworking the most.

This way, Your Highness.

Your Highness,

he used to handle official duties right here.

How many years was he stationed here?

Twenty years.

If he hadn't gone to Dongxia,

he'd probably still be here now.

If he had stayed in Dongxia,

maybe your whole family would still be alive.

All the regrets come from "ifs."

But sadly,

there are no "ifs."

Your Highness, please.

We're only here for a few short decades.

You gain some things, and you lose others.

The ones who leave

never come back.

So remember,

what matters most

is cherishing those in front of you.

He was willing to die

just to protect a secret.

And you're willing to die

to avenge them.

Is that it?

We're all so small,

at the mercy of fate.

My father had no choice back then.

Neither do I.

Come on.

Let's talk somewhere else.

Just now you said

your father had no choice.

Sounds like...

you already know where the Gui Seal is.

The Gui Seal...

is inside the palace, in Hanzhang Hall.

Kuai Duo...

so this is the "righteous cause" you spoke of?

Fair enough.

Who else but the Emperor of Great Yong

could earn such loyalty from your father?

As a ruler,

once he holds a relic like that,

he'll secure a legacy for generations.

So your father risked it all

to deliver the Gui Seal to the Emperor.

It was the loyalty between ruler and subject that got him killed.

No.

My father gave everything

to hand over the Gui Seal,

but he didn't surrender the bronze fish.

That was his true righteous cause.

What a perfect balance of loyalty and righteousness.

So in your Great Yong,

what exactly is the Emperor?

He's heaven,

he's lord,

and his father.

Then what's next?

I want to bring out the Gui Seal

and use it to lure out the third enemy.

Right under the Emperor's nose?

You've got some nerve.

Even if you sneak into the palace,

can you break into the heavily guarded Hanzhang Hall?

That's where I need your help, Your Highness.

[Zang Residence]

Hanzhang Hall...

The Emperor...

So what do you plan

to do next?

Shut it.

Let me say it.

Just one word:

He's lost his mind.

He wants to break into Hanzhang Hall

and steal the Gui Seal.

Right now, it's the only way

I can find the third enemy.

I have no other option.

You're all insane.

That Queen of Dongxia is just as ruthless.

Instead of stopping you,

she's pushing you to your death!

You'd dare lay hands on the Emperor's treasure?

You're all crazy.

Master,

I truly have no better plan left.

This...

This is no small matter...

No small matter...

It can drag in a lot of innocent people,

even cost lives.

Zang Hai,

are you sure you want to do this?

I'm one step away

from finding the third enemy.

Sir,

if you face this,

will you choose to stop?

But the Gui Seal is in the Emperor's hands.

If it goes missing,

the wrath of the throne will be swift.

Throwing the world into chaos or avenging your family,

what will you choose?

Once I use the Gui Seal to draw the third enemy out

and take my revenge,

I'll explain everything to the Emperor myself.

If he blames me,

I'll take full responsibility.

I won't let anyone else be dragged in.

Ever since that night ten years ago

when I made my choice,

I've never thought I could walk away unscathed.

Zang Hai...

it seems your mind is already made up.

In that case,

do your best.

♪Conceal the ambition in my eyes♪

♪In my palm, I hold a dangerous desire♪

♪Turbulent waves hidden in my sleeves♪

♪Silent thunder echoes around♪

♪However cunning you are♪

♪I can see♪

♪Right through you♪

♪Schemes are my armor♪

♪Overt plans are my weapons♪

♪With restrained fury♪

♪I purge the world's corruption♪

♪The night is not dark♪

♪Because♪

♪My heart burns bright♪

♪I control the shifting clouds♪

♪I command the falling rain♪

♪The compass of the human soul is unpredictable♪

♪There will always be ups and downs♪

♪I hold the power of life and death♪

♪I grant and I take away♪

♪When faith burns like the scorching sun♪

♪I will sing aloud with you♪

♪I am the sowing season♪

♪I am the autumn harvest♪

♪I am the world♪

♪I am the people♪

♪And you are also me♪