Original subtitles

How can such a disgrace happen to the royal family of Tang?

Mother, as head of the Harem, you can hardly absolve yourself from the blame.

I hereby urge you to focus on the Harem and stay away from Taiji Hall.

Mother, am I deposed?

But I was only hoping

you'd stay away from the trouble of the Court.

All these years, I've attended the assembly

not because I want to control the Court, but because your Father is ill.

But now he's getting better and you're growing up.

It appears...

it's time for me to leave Taiji Hall.

I was so wrong about you, Mother!

Please forgive me.

Do you realise

I was worried you'd have the heart

but not the will power to rule the state?

But yesterday in the Court,

you risked being deposed

but still mustered enough courage to challenge me.

It pained me, but I'm also very pleased.

You must learn your lesson from this,

think carefully before making any major decisions.

Never let anyone see through you.

Right now in the Court,

many people think we're at odds.

Who knows how many of them are getting ideas again?

What can I do to make amends?

Let's start with a family banquet.

At Hebi Palace tonight, all the princes and princesses will be present.

Your Father and I will announce to all

you're still the Heir Apparent.

Thank you, Mother!

Should I tell her about Minyue?

Will she be angry?

Mother, there's one more thing...

It's about Minyue.

Look at you...

because Yiyang and Xuancheng will be getting married,

you're beginning to worry about Minyue.

When your Grandmother passed away,

Minyue was so lonely and helpless.

She begged me to bring her back to the Palace.

Now that she has earned your Father's grace,

she's like a daughter to him.

Don't worry! Your Father and I will find her a good match.

So she wanted to come here.

Minyue!

Why are you here?

When I asked you if Mother brought you here,

why did you lie to me?

Looking back on everything that happened since your return,

you deliberately created a misunderstanding between me and Mother.

What are you trying to do?

You have any ineffable reasons?

I don't.

I only wish to avenge my Mother.

I thought the Lady Han died of an illness.

Only someone simple minded like you would believe in such a lie.

I overheard your Mother and my Grandmother.

Despite her quibbling,

even she admitted she forced my Mother to kill herself out of jealousy.

You think I can let that slide?

If you want to tell your Mother, go ahead.

I won't tell her.

But before I find out the truth,

don't do anything reckless.

I'm particularly happy today,

the family can sit down for dinner.

Here...let's have a drink.

Here's a toast to you two,

for your sufferings.

Here's a toast to Father and Mother.

Congratulations to Father, for getting well.

This is really something to be happy about.

Hong'er, next month your Mother and I will go on an inspection tour down south.

I intend to put you in charge of running the state.

I hope you'll learn from the experience

so that I can unload this heavy burden soon

and spend more time with your Mother.

I will do my best

and won't let you down.

Good!

Your Majesty!

You have just recovered, go easy on the wine.

This cup...

let me drink with Hong'er.

It's alright, Hong'er...

Your Majesty!

Come...

Hong'er!

Mother, this is a token of my apology.

Luckily you have a big heart

and have forgiven me for my insubordination in Court. I'm sorry!

Hong'er, in my eyes, you have done nothing wrong.

There is nothing to forgive.

Am I right?

Thank you, Mother!

Now, Hong'er...

Come here and have a chat with us.

Why won't you let me drink with Hong'er?

Don't drink anymore,

or you'll get a headache again.

I'm much better now.

Hong'er!

Hong'er!

Hong'er!

Hong'er!

What is it, Hong'er?

You're bleeding!

You... Hong'er!

Mother!

What is it, Hong'er? Tell me!

What's wrong?

Milady! Your Highness!

Fetch the doctor! Doctor!

Careful! Doctor!

Hong'er...how are you feeling?

Tell me, Hong'er!

Hong'er! Your Majesty!

Your Highness!

Your Highness!

Your Highness! Hong'er!

Your Highness!

Hong'er...wake up!

Wake up, Hong'er!

Your Highness, it's too late!

Hong'er...

Your Majesty, please don't scare me!

Your Highness! His Majesty fainted!

Your Majesty!

Dugu, promise me!

You must catch the killer.

I won't let my son's Killer get away! Promise me!

Aye!

I have heard some rumours.

What kind of rumours?

About the Heavenly Empress' involvement.

Nonsense! She would never have murdered her son!

Because of his impeachment?

I don't believe in such nonsense.

Just get on with the investigation.

Tell me whatever you find out!

One more thing...

I think you should know

about the deposed Crown Prince Li Zhong.

Rumour has it, the Heavenly Empress forced him to step down.

I have tried to look into it.

The odd thing is that the attempt on the Empress' life

has such perfectly flawless evidence.

Based on my experience, unless the evidence is fabricated,

such a case seldom yield such unshakable evidence.

I have no intention to pick on the Empress,

I only wish that you'll take precautions.

Your Highness!

You have been standing here all night.

It's time to let the Crown Prince go.

The person I recommended is here.

Summon him!

Aye! Summon Di Renjie!

Secretary General Di Renjie of the Grand Court at your service.

At ease!

Thank you, Your Highness!

Chongyan tells me

since you came to the Grand Court,

you have closed several thousand cases within a year

and no one has contested the results.

I summoned you here for one reason.

I need you and Chongyan to help me.

To do what, Your Highness?

Whether you do it privately or publicly,

take as long as you need,

you must find the Crown Prince's killer.

To kill the Crown Prince in Hebi Palace,

the killer must have clout in the Court.

The investigation may have grave repercussions.

In 639, the deposed Crown Prince Li Chenggian

fell off a horse and was crippled for life.

There were unanswered questions surrounding the case,

but the late Emperor dismissed it with 4 words...

...and so be it.

He used to say based on right or wrong alone,

one can only be a good minister,

but not a good Emperor.

The truth may bring an end to peace.

You mean you want to give up?

For the sake of peace, I have repeatedly wanted to,

but never had the heart to kill anyone.

But my enemies have not let up because I have a soft heart.

I wouldn't mind if they came after me,

but Hong'er was innocent.

As a Mother, I must avenge my son.

This time, I will not settle!

I hope the truth can give you peace of mind.

I'll do my best to find the killer.

Thank you, you may go!

Aye!

Chongyan, how is His Majesty?

Provoked by the Crown Prince's murder,

His Majesty suffered a relapse and ended up in a coma.

He woke up just now,

but the previous treatment is wasted.

His condition will only get worse and there's nothing I can do.

There's really no other way?

I'm so sorry!

I can't believe Heaven would play such a cruel joke on me.

Just when I thought my sufferings would be made up for,

my hopes got utterly shattered instead.

Hong'er!

Anything to report?

I have something to say.

What is it, Minister Guo?

Allow me to say, someone in this Court

tried to usurp power and meddle with state affairs,

showing no regard for propriety.

This person is ruthless and malicious,

and will not stop at murdering the innocent, including her own son.

She is sitting behind the screen...

Remove Guo Yu from the Court!

Aye!

My life is nothing!

What I said is the truth.

As long as Wu Meiniang is alive,

she'll continue to wreak havoc and Kill innocent people.

Tang will be in great danger, Your Majesty...

Guo Yu is guilty of abetting the Crown Prince's insubordination

and blatantly slandering me in Court.

By law, he should be executed at once!

Your Majesty, I have gone through these memorials.

I heard you executed Guo Yu at the morning assembly.

Yes, I should have done that sooner.

Or Hong'er wouldn't have got the wrong idea about me.

I should not have assigned him to Hong'er.

But Hong'er is dead.

What's the use of killing Guo Yu?

To set the people's mind at ease, I've issued an edict

to name Xian'er as the Crown Prince.

Hong'er, I swear

no matter who the killer is, even if he's dead, I'll dig him up,

grind his bones to ashes and cast them to the wind.

Attendants!

Attendants!

Your Highness...

Attendants!

Your Highness, what is it?

Nothing! I had a dream.

What did I say?

I only heard your screaming.

What did you dream about that made you so terrified?

Meiniang?

Your Majesty!

It's you, Minyue.

I knew Hong's death broke your heart,

so I came to see you.

How did you find me?

I didn't, I only know of the places you'd be when you're upset.

I looked for you one place after another and here you are.

You're very kind.

Now that I'm here, you can talk to me.

I was fond of Hong too.

I want to know what you think of him.

Hong'er was my first prince with Meiniang.

Among all the princes,

he might not be the most outstanding and he didn't take after Meiniang,

but he took after me.

I'm listening, Your Majesty.

I still remember when your Aunt was pregnant with him,

we had a huge fight.

Your Aunt and I love each other very much,

we hardly ever fight, but that time...

it was the worst fight we'd ever had.

Then suddenly she fainted.

I was terrified.

I shouted for the doctor and he came barging in.

I held Meiniang in my arms and watched the doctor take her pulse.

Then he turned around and said to me,

"Your Majesty, Zhaoyi Wu is pregnant!"

I was so excited I didn't know what to do.

It was this child

who patched things up for me and Meiniang,

until today.

You must love Auntie very much.

When the baby was born,

I named him Hong,

hoping that he would have great virtues.

Hong'er was a kind and forgiving child.

He was studious

and almost never brought me and Meiniang any trouble.

If he succeeded me,

he would have been a sympathetic and benevolent Emperor.

He was a noble gentleman.

Hong'er was a gentleman.

He's also Meiniang's favourite child.

I don't know how to console you.

I only want you to know

I missed Hong as well.

I've cried for him day and night.

I have you to talk to me,

I'm feeling much better.

I'll always be there for you.

There you are!

Have a drink with me!

Certainly...

Careful! Come again!

Don't forget me!

Who sent you after me?

What do you mean? Seeing that you're nicely dressed,

I only meant to borrow some money.

My uncle is a state officer, don't mess with me.

Your Highness, this came from the Heavenly Empress,

to wish the Literary Hall success in compiling texts and records.

Biographies of Filial Sons?

It's obvious why she did it.

It's an order as well as a warning.

It's a book for unfilial sons to read.

Your Highness,

the late Crown Prince died under dubious circumstances.

You have just been named

and she had you tagged as an unfilial son.

This is simply outrageous!

Exactly! Simply outrageous!

Gentlemen, we're assisting His Highness,

we cannot allow him to be humiliated.

I propose

since we're working on the Book of Later Han,

let's do the section of the Empress Dowager and her relatives usurping power

that resulted in toppling the state.

Then present it to His Majesty!

Good ideal

Your Highness, if the Empress wanted to pick a fight,

we'll do our best to fight back.

Even if we do not sleep,

we'll finish the compilation for His Majesty as soon as possible.

He'll know who's in the right.

We'll help Your Highness the best we can...

I picked the Biographies of Filial Sons

and Good Examples for the Crown Prince.

Have you sent them to the Crown Prince?

The Empress has sent them to the Eastern Palace already.

It's getting late, Your Majesty!

You should get some rest.

It's alright.

Before the 100th day anniversary of Hong'er's death,

I want to finish this.

This is a memorial from the Secretariat.

They wanted me to present it

so that you can read it personally

and it won't fall into the hands of the Heavenly Empress.

Milady, there was an anonymous report

placed inside a memorial for His Majesty.

It says you poisoned the Crown Prince.

Even Princess Anding...was murdered by you.

His Majesty has read the report.

Where is he now?

Hebi Palace, I think.

Very well!

Minyue!

Your Majesty!

I don't want it.

Can we have a chat?

I'm right here.

If you ever need to talk to someone, I'll always listen.

Your Aunt used to talk to me every night,

no matter how busy we were during the day,

we would always have time to talk.

From state affairs to our children...

But that was so long ago.

Today, you can pretend I'm Auntie.

You can tell me anything.

I received a report

that accused Meiniang of being power hungry.

That's slander.

To me, Meiniang has become unapproachable.

All along, I have been trying to keep up with her.

Now, I'm tired. I can't keep up anymore.

Since Hong'er's death,

I've had the feeling we're drifting further apart.

She's hidden in a fog, I can no longer see her.

Dugu Ji requests an audience, Your Majesty!

I'll take my leave.

At ease!

Greetings, Your Majesty!

What have you found out?

The poisoner was a maid from the Bureau of Food called Xin'er.

She ran from the Palace the night of the murder.

I found her body

in a small hut outside the Western Market in Chang'an.

She was silenced? Did you find out who's behind it?

I don't have proof yet, but...

Go ahead!

According to my investigation,

this girl did not socialise with anyone, except Rui'an.

If I keep digging,

we may have to bring in Rui'an for questioning.

Then everything will come out in the open.

That's why I came for your instructions.

No need to bring in Rui'an. Just drop it.

Aye!

Your Majesty...

Why?

Your Majesty! Why?

Your Majesty! Meiniang!

Your Majesty, are you having a relapse?

Meiniang, is it you? Is it really you?

Your Majesty, contain your grief...

I'm right here!

Is the maid from the Bureau of Food taken care of?

No one can testify, Your Highness!

What about Ming Chongyan?

He got away.

You suppose Ming Chongyan really found any evidence?

Ming Chongyan or Dugu Ji's investigations will only lead them to Mother

or someone else.

Rui'an would never know the maid he looked out for

was someone who worked for me.

This was a brilliant move, Your Highness!

There's one more piece of good news.

Wait...let me guess! Mingyue succeeded?

Father spent the night in Hebi Palace?

You're most brilliant!

Your Highness, a while ago,

I let out word that I had found

crucial evidence regarding the Crown Prince's murder.

Sure enough, I was attacked by assassins yesterday.

That's why I came to give you a report.

In order to catch the killer,

you really wouldn't stop at anything.

Secretary General Di reminded me to wear a soft armour.

Though I was shot, I'm unharmed.

But it happened so quickly,

the killer got away before I could get a look at his face.

This tiny arrow is exquisitely made.

I wish to take the liberty

to ask Your Highness to remember someone tonight.

Sun Wusheng.

Sun Wusheng? What does that mean?

You don't need to know.

Please remember

you and I are the only ones who know about Sun Wusheng.

Greetings, Heavenly Empress!

Your Majesty, you designated me to look after state affairs,

there's no need for you to bother yourself.

Whereas Minyue... now that she has earned your favour,

you should spend more time with her.

Meiniang, she was just like you when we first met.

Enthusiastic, simple minded and unpretentious.

She asks for nothing but love!

But Meiniang, deep down...

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

There's no need to explain.

I have always wanted you to take on more Imperial wives.

Now that you bestowed your grace upon her,

only proves that you're finally heeding my advice.

I should be most pleased.

Fine! I'm going to Hebi Palace,

and I'll trouble you with these memorials.

Your Majesty!

I have yet another suggestion.

Since you're so fond of Minyue,

perhaps you should give her a title.

Then she can officially spend every night with you.

Fine! As you wish!