Original subtitles

=To Love or To Defy=

=Episode 1=

(I was once a prisoner of despair,)

(struggling to survive, fighting to please others.)

(I was abandoned by the world)

(and trampled by fate.)

(I slayed countless enemies)

(just to beg for food.)

(Until that day...)

Someone's here to free you.

Sprout, you're free.

(His arrival chased away the darkness)

(and gave me a ray of hope.)

Long live the Empress.

(If god is unjust,)

(I'll seek justice myself.)

(I'll drag you tormentors)

(down to hell.)

(Before Accession) (Half a year)

(ago, farces of moral turpitude)

(unfolded here every day.)

Your Majesty,

for the peace-making marriage with Wei,

I found a lowly woman on the death row

of the Women's Prison.

This is Princess Yujing.

If we send her to Wei,

(Emperor of Qi) she'll disgrace the King of Wei

and boost Qi's prestige.

Lord Gou,

why are you calling this beautiful lady a lowly woman?

During an ancestral rite,

Princess Yujing's got her period

and tainted the ancestral hall.

It was a grave insult to the ancestors.

However, she refused punishment

and took the initiative to propose a divorce,

which is unforgivable.

I've arranged for Princess Yujing

to train at Lianqing Pavilion

(Xin, Courtesan) for a month.

A defiled body

is the best dowry.

You've done a good job.

Father, forgive me.

The glory of a nation

can be earned through war

or diplomacy.

How can we sacrifice a woman to make peace?

Father, please think it through.

Shao,

watch your attitude.

She is

just a lowly woman no one wants to marry.

She should've been imprisoned to death.

I'm giving her a chance.

- Father! - Your Highness.

We are strangers.

Please don't overstep.

Your Majesty,

I promise to turn over a new leaf.

Okay, unlock her chains.

I'll grant her Fertility Soup.

The Fertility Soup

is carefully simmered with

the remains of dozens of

rare animals,

which can benefit pregnancy.

Hope you can bear a fat kid

for King of Wei.

Your Majesty, thank you for your kindness.

I learned a phrase to praise Wei.

I'd like to share it with you.

You're a good girl.

Your Majesty,

go to hell!

- Father... - Your Majesty!

You want me to drink manure?

- Your Majesty! - Are you okay?

You all drink it too!

- Guard the emperor! - Go to hell!

Guards, help!

Protect the emperor!

My Lord!

Calm down!

Calm down!

The Three Obediences and Four Virtues and male superiority

- are nonsense! - Guard the emperor!

Even if I die,

I'll die with pride!

Today, I swear on my life

that countless women

who were trampled like me

shall start a new life

and get revenge!

This...

Your Majesty!

Pretentious...

Loser.

Guards,

find someone obedient

to be the King of Wei's consort.

Shao, go to Wei and escort

Princess Abi Ya back to be my consort.

(How many tragedies do we have to witness)

(before this can change?)

(Even if some women stand up)

(to challenge the absurd dogma,)

(they're just ants trying to topple a giant tree,)

(who will only end up dead.)

Your Highness,

the princess and her guards

disappeared after entering Qi.

Many of her dowries are missing too.

I'm afraid they've escaped.

There are many bandits at the border.

Send more people.

We must find her before nightfall.

Aye.

Little Vixen,

I lost several men.

(Abiya, Princess of Wei) When you inhale

the aphrodisiac, you'll beg me in bed!

No!

Get off me!

Get off me!

Are you here to save me?

I want to go home!

Don't forget your mission.

Replace the princess to be the emperor's consort.

No, no!

Your Highness,

there are many corpses from the marriage escort team.

Let's go inside.

Princess Abi Ya?

I'm Ouyang Shao, the envoy of Qi.

Don't be afraid.

I won't hurt you.

Someone escaped!

Leave one alive.

Yes, Your Highness.

I don't want to escape anymore.

Take me away.

If you don't want to marry His Majesty,

I can let you go.

(What does he mean?)

(Has he found out I'm a fake princess?)

Why are you helping me?

You'll be my father's consort.

The ruler is heartless,

and women have no dignity.

I don't want such tragedies

to happen again.

Pretentious.

Aren't you one of them?

Pretentious...

Even if you let me go,

Qi will stop me,

Wei will stop me,

and so will those

women traffickers.

I can't go home anymore.

(Oh no, it's aphrodisiac!)

Just go!

What are you doing?

Go...

Your Highness, you're finally awake.

If it weren't for Consort Wei,

you would've...

Who's Consort Wei?

Where is Princess Abi Ya?

Starting tonight, she'll be

Consort Wei.

She should be preparing to serve His Majesty.

Tonight?

Serve His Majesty?

♪Dreaming of a meeting♪

♪A gust of wind, a thought♪

♪See you in the dust♪

♪Hiding pain and sorrow♪

♪A promise to keep♪

♪Words that I can't say♪

♪Longing for you♪

♪But can't♪

♪Reveal the truth♪

♪May stars grant you light♪

♪Yet fate shows twists and turns♪

♪No fear of recklessness♪

♪Or obstacles♪

♪But fear the endless night♪

♪Wish to go on an adventure with you♪

♪Yet trapped in a cage♪

♪One day, we'll meet again♪

♪And be together till death do us part♪