Original subtitles

[Fated Hearts]

[Episode 22]

Greetings, Your Majesty.

The two princes have been

accompanying His Majesty this whole time.

I advised them to go back and rest.

Tonight,

I will stay here to watch over His Majesty.

Leave us.

I already know about His Majesty's illness.

Please take care of yourself, Your Majesty.

Let me have a moment alone with him.

Your Majesty...

Get out!

Fifteen years.

You've been terminally ill for 15 years,

and you never

said a word to me about it.

Your Majesty,

you've really been keeping me in the dark.

Never mind.

You must have your reasons

for not telling me.

You're always the one

who makes the most sense.

We've been married for so many years.

When have you ever considered me

in any of your decisions?

Your Majesty,

guess

what I've brought you.

Zongzi.

You didn't expect that, did you?

Those people must think

I've lost my mind.

The Dragon Boat Festival was a month ago,

but today I suddenly feel like having zongzi.

Your Majesty, you know

I've always loved zongzi.

But...

I haven't had one

in 15 years.

Your Majesty,

zongzi is so delicious.

Smell it.

Doesn't it smell good?

Do you know

why I haven't eaten zongzi

in 15 years?

Of course you do.

On the 5th day of the 5th month 15 years ago,

that woman died right in front of you.

Since then,

you've never celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival again,

and you've never eaten zongzi.

Your Majesty.

You actually have the leisure today

to tend to plants?

These plants

must have accumulated great fortune

over several lifetimes to receive your...

What brings you here today?

I came to celebrate the festival with you.

Today is the Dragon Boat Festival.

Your Majesty, you haven't had any zongzi yet, have you?

I made these myself today.

They're just freshly steamed.

Please try some, Your Majesty.

I have no appetite.

Just one bite, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

How dare you!

Your Majesty.

Get up.

I don't want them.

Take them away

and share them with the kids.

You said you hated her

and forbade anyone from ever mentioning her.

You erased

every trace of her,

as if

she had never existed.

But she's here.

She's been here all along.

I've spent 15 years

and still haven't been able to reach your heart.

Is it because

you don't care about me

that you've hidden

your terminal illness from me?

Fine.

From today on,

I don't care whether you like me or not.

I only want what I like.

I've already given you

the first half of my life.

Now I want you to spend the rest of it with me!

Feng Pingcheng!

Wake up!

Feng Pingcheng!

Wake up!

Feng Pingcheng!

Wake up!

Feng Pingcheng!

Pull the Empress away!

Open your eyes and look at me!

Hurry!

Feng Pingcheng!

Let go of me!

Feng Pingcheng!

Wake up!

Feng Pingcheng, wake up right now!

Feng Pingcheng!

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty...

What should I do?

What should I do now?

Your Majesty...

Feng Pingcheng!

Let go of me!

Let go of me!

I can walk by myself!

[Yifeng Palace]

Get lost! All of you!

-Yes. -Yes.

All of you, get out!

Mother.

Mother.

Don't be too sad.

I'm here with you.

Brother said

that Father will surely wake up.

Mother,

please take care of yourself.

Don't cry until your eyes are swollen.

If Father wakes up and sees that,

he'll be upset.

He wouldn't be upset at all.

In his heart and eyes,

there's no place for me,

or for you.

The only one he cares about is that woman.

That woman?

You mean Brother's birth mother?

You see him as your brother,

but has he ever acknowledged you as his brother?

Remember,

Feng Suige

is your greatest enemy in this lifetime.

You'd better stay away from him.

Do you know

what will happen

if your father doesn't wake up?

Feng Suige will ascend the throne.

By then, he'll kill you

and me.

If he succeeds,

we'll both die.

He's always hated me

for causing his birth mother's death.

That's why he refuses

to acknowledge me as his mother,

or you as his brother.

He's been waiting for this day.

He's waiting for your father to be gone

so he can take his revenge.

And your father, even though

he knows exactly what will happen,

still refuses to name a crown prince.

I know he hates me deep down.

Mother,

please stop.

Don't speak of them that way.

Even you're taking their side now?

Once your father passes away

and Feng Suige takes the throne,

he'll kill you

and all of us.

Our lives are in your hands.

Only you can protect us.

I want you to take the throne

and kill Feng Suige.

That's the only way we'll survive.

[Imperial Hospital]

From today on,

no one is allowed to leave

until we find a way to save His Majesty.

Eating, drinking, and dumping—

you'll do everything here.

Even Lord Ling from Zhengnian Villa

has no solution.

We're at a complete loss as well.

Physician Wei,

that must be very difficult for you.

No, not at all.

Being at a loss

just shows your medical skills are lacking.

It's better to die

and, in your next life,

study medicine properly from the start.

Don't you all

agree?

What do you say?

I'll take your silence

as agreement.

From now on,

if you find any method in medical books

that could wake His Majesty,

try it on him.

Don't worry about whether he might die.

If he does, I'll get you

another one.

[Murong Residence]

Elder Marquis eats well

and sleeps soundly.

Don't worry.

No need to thank me.

Yixiao.

My Lord,

we chased down 3 streets

but couldn't find the archer.

Pull back all the people

watching Feng Suige's residence!

But if we pull them back now...

My father is in someone else's hands!

What's the point of keeping watch?

Go!

Yes.

Yes.

Fu Yixiao,

just you wait.

[Wutong Mansion]

Lu Ke.

Miss Yixiao?

Where have you been?

His Highness has long known

that you haven't left Yujing.

I'll explain later.

Where is your master?

He entered the palace last night

and hasn't returned today.

Then please pass on a message for me.

I want to see him at 3 p.m. today.

Tell him to come alone.

Is there anything else

you want me to convey?

Give this to him.

He knows where we should meet.

How does he...

Make sure to tell him.

I have something very important

to tell him.

Don't worry.

I have one more thing to tell you.

Appointing a crown prince is a major matter.

His Majesty is wise and mighty.

He must have made arrangements already!

Do you really think,

while he's ill,

that you alone

can turn everything upside down?

Give up that idea!

Greetings, Prime Minister Zhuang.

May I ask why

you summoned me?

You don't know why?

It's just the two of us here.

Mr. Ma,

let's just

speak plainly.

You've been serving His Majesty for so long.

You must be his most trusted person.

His Majesty always plans ahead.

Since he knows

he has a terminal illness,

he must have made preparations.

Has he already drafted

an edict of succession?

I am merely

the head eunuch.

Many things are beyond my knowledge.

Please understand, Prime Minister Zhuang.

You are his most trusted person.

If there is an edict,

it should be in your custody, right?

I truly know nothing.

I'm only asking.

Since you don't know,

I'll trust you.

I will fulfill my duty as Prime Minister

and summon all the key ministers at court

to discuss the matter of appointing the crown prince.

Mr. Ma,

don't wait until we reach a decision

and then suddenly pull out

some imperial edict—

that would be

impossible to deal with.

Yao.

I heard about what happened to the Elder Marquis.

How is the situation now?

You've heard that?

Someone actually dared to lay hands

on the Elder Marquis in Yujing City.

They're courting death.

I'll order all the elite soldiers

from the Feng Battalion

to search the entire city.

We'll leave no stone unturned

to find...

No need to trouble the Feng Battalion.

I have the Imperial Guards.

Yao,

The Elder Marquis is like a father to me.

Anyone who dares to kidnap him

is making an enemy of me.

Tell me

what happened

before the Elder Marquis disappeared.

I want to figure out who might be behind this.

My father spent most of his life on the battlefield.

He made too many enemies.

Countless people want to harm him.

Forget it.

Don't worry

about it.

I came to see you

because the duty of guarding the palace

has to be temporarily handed over to you.

You must keep watch over the palace for me.

Alright.

What?

You don't trust me?

Of course I trust you.

You're my best friend.

You seem a bit off today.

What I'm going to do now

is catch the person

who harmed my father,

flay him, pull out his entrails,

grind him into mince

and feed it to the dogs.

I'm not like my father.

I'll collect any debts

owed to the Murong family.

Even if it's my closest friend,

I'll settle the score.

A dancing girl

got beaten to death for no reason.

I know

you wanted to teach the Prince of Zhennan a lesson,

but you shouldn't have killed her so recklessly.

If this gets out,

how will it look?

Also,

when I came in just now,

I saw another official's wife

leaving your place.

Tell me,

what's with her clothes?

Mother, you think it looks good too, right?

I picked it for her.

Absurd!

That's the Princess of Zhennan's outfit.

Don't tell me you have feelings for her.

I didn't think it that way.

But now that you mentioned it…

Don't you dare set your sights on her!

There are plenty of consorts in the palace,

but you never touch them.

Yet you always scheme after

officials' wives.

I'm tired of lecturing you

about your rotten behavior.

But remember,

you are not to touch the Princess of Zhennan.

Mother,

you don't actually treat him

as your own son, do you?

If I had a son like him,

would I still be getting angry every day

like this?

You sent him back to the capital

without consulting me.

This is clearly

asking for trouble.

You humiliated him again last night?

He can't stay in the capital anymore.

Send him away immediately.

Send him away?

That's like releasing a tiger back to the mountain.

Once he reaches Shengjing,

Pingling City will get the news.

Mother, are you really that afraid of him?

What I'm afraid of is political instability in Jinxiu

and internal strife.

As you said,

his greatest support

is the army in Pingling City.

Now that he's in Shengjing,

he's in danger.

Mother,

how do you think he can communicate

with them in Pingling City?

If he's obedient, it'll be fine.

But if he's not,

he'll definitely make moves in Shengjing.

I want him to reveal

all his cards

in Shengjing.

Just one thing—

you must not set your sights on the Princess of Susha.

Bai Shouzhuo!

Your Majesty.

The Empress Dowager forbids me

from setting my sights on the Princess of Susha.

I had no such intention anyway.

But now,

somehow,

I find this very intriguing.

Grandfather.

I heard your mother is ill.

Mother is sleeping.

Last night she went to see Father,

stayed up all night,

and ran a high fever.

The imperial physicians have already come

to check on her this morning.

How are you?

I spent the whole night copying the Heart Sutra

for Father and Mother,

hoping they'll recover soon.

Let me ask you again—

how are you?

I...

You're 20 now,

a grown man.

Are you ready?

Father was perfectly fine before.

I don't know why

he suddenly became like this.

I truly don't understand.

If Father truly doesn't make it,

then...

That's not what I'm asking.

I'm asking

if you're ready

to become the ruler of the realm.

Once your father passes away

and Feng Suige takes the throne,

he'll kill you

and all of us.

Our lives are in your hands.

Only you can protect us.

I've...

never thought about that.

Don't you even trust your grandfather?

I do.

I...

respect you the most.

Then why aren't you looking at me

when you speak?

Remember,

I always stand by your side.

You, your mother,

and I—

our fates

rise and fall together.

I'll do

whatever you say.

I want you

to become Emperor.

Yes.

To be Emperor, you must act like one.

Louder!

I want to be Emperor.

Your Highness,

Miss Yixiao asked me to give this to you.

What else did she say?

Nothing.

She said that once you see it,

you'll understand.

She was so cautious

about asking me to meet.

There must be a reason.

Did she look well?

She seemed fine.

No illness, no injuries,

nothing unusual—

just a bit mysterious.

Oh, right.

She repeatedly reminded me

to tell you that

you must go see her alone.

It's not safe to talk here.

Follow me.

♪ Lost in the wilderness ♪

♪ I've been looking for you ♪

♪ Even if devastation fills my eyes ♪

♪ The shadows continue to sway ♪

Don't move.

♪ The phoenix going against light ♪

Let me give you a hug first.

♪ Has been looking for a thousand miles ♪

♪ As years pass, dust stirs, stirring deep longing ♪

♪ All I ask is to be together forever ♪

I know

that the reason you cautiously

asked to see me

must be that something happened.

I've already caught Wu Ying.

I'll make her

feel the pain

you once suffered a thousandfold.

Aren't you happy

to hear that?

I am.

Really?

On your face,

I can't see

any sign of happiness.

Do you remember that day,

when I helped you save Yun Qing,

you promised me 5 favors?

Now there are 4 left.

Today,

I want to use another one.

No matter

what you hear,

you must promise me

to stay calm.

Alright.

I've discovered Meng Junran's true identity.

He is Murong Yao.

What are you saying?

How could he possibly be...

You're not joking?

I know it's hard for you to accept.

Before coming to see you,

I considered all possibilities.

I know

Murong Yao is your best friend

and the person you trust most.

I considered whether I should hide this from you.

I also thought about

who you'd choose to believe

between him and me.

I even thought

you might suspect

that I'm a spy from Jinxiu,

or that I've been sent

by Xia Jingshi

on some secret mission—

that I

came to you

only to help him drive a wedge

between you and your best friend.

Feng Suige,

I've thought through all of it.

Even if you doubt me,

even if my words hurt you,

even if

it means losing you,

I've still decided to tell you.

I don't want to

keep anything from you.

You have the right to know the truth.

Can you tell me again—

who is Meng Junran?

You said it's Yao?

Murong Yao?

I know this must be painful for you.

If your chest feels tight

and it's hard to breathe,

just take a few deep breaths

and let it out.

It's okay.

Everything will be fine.

It will all get better.

I'm fine.

I'll go ask him face to face.

You promised me.

You must stay calm.

Don't worry.

I invited you all here today

to discuss

several important matters.

Minister Hou of the Ministry of War was attacked and injured;

he has requested leave to recover in his hometown.

The position of Minister

cannot remain vacant.

Let's have Vice Minister Liu Qin of the Ministry of War

temporarily take over the duties of the minister.

I will serve with utmost dedication

until my dying breath.

Second,

His Majesty's condition is now critical,

and the position of Crown Prince remains vacant.

As

both a court official

and a member of the royal family,

I

shouldn't speak pessimistically,

but for the sake of the realm,

we can no longer delay

the matter of succession.

In my opinion,

the Second Prince, being the Empress's legitimate son

of noble birth

and virtuous character,

is the most suitable choice

for Crown Prince.

But after all, the First Prince

is the eldest legitimate son.

Throughout history, the tradition has always been

to appoint the eldest legitimate son as Crown Prince.

Shouldn't the First Prince be appointed the Crown Prince?

His Majesty is the founding emperor—

there's no fixed rule

for succession in Susha.

Although the First Prince is the eldest legitimate son,

he has repeatedly defied His Majesty

and acted without restraint.

With such conduct,

how can we entrust Susha's future

to him?

I agree.

Before, during the Ancestral Ceremony,

His Majesty personally appointed

the Second Prince as the secondary officiant.

Clearly, in His Majesty's eyes,

the Second Prince possesses both virtue and talent.

Thus, he is the best candidate

for Crown Prince.

I agree.

I understand

what you are suggesting.

Please rest assured.

Appointing an heir concerns the nation's fate,

and I

will handle it with the utmost care.

Prime Minister Zhuang, the wise carry heavier burdens.

Thank you for your efforts.

Thank you for your efforts, Prime Minister.

I heard from others

that you were badly wounded in the Battle of Pingling.

I came here to

end our brotherhood.

I no longer consider you my brother.

You've been saying that

since we were children.

Don't tell me

you'll miss me.

Get lost!

With you in Yujing City,

I'm annoyed nonstop all day.

Annoyed?

Aren't you happy with me here? Why are you annoyed?

But then again...

If I were the Commander of the Imperial Guards,

I could certainly be of help to you.

Don't you do that for me.

I know you.

You hate being tied down the most.

But you have no influence

in the court.

Now that His Majesty has even had the Second Prince

take your place at the Ancestral Ceremony,

how could I leave you behind

and enjoy freedom alone?

[Murong Residence]

[Murong Residence]

I've been waiting for you.

I knew it.

Fu Yixiao told you everything.

Looks like she really does

mean more to you than I do.

We've been brothers for so many years.

You believe everything she says?

I came here

to hear it from you directly—

are you Meng Junran?

Yes.

Did Zhuang Shen force you?

What leverage does he have on you?

If you weren't being coerced,

if you had no weakness,

you'd never do this.

Yao,

we've been brothers for so many years.

What can't you tell me?

Are you in trouble?

Tell me.

I did it willingly!

No one forced me!

Why?

I can't stand seeing you do so well.

I'm jealous of you.

You still won't tell me the truth?

See?

You don't believe me anyway.

Fine.

Then tell me—

what have I

ever done to wrong you?

Why must it be that

only if you wronged me

could I stand against you?

Am I not worthy to be your rival?

If I want to go against you,

it doesn't have to be for some hidden reason.

It can simply be my own choice.

Your own choice?

All my life,

I've seen you as my closest brother.

And now you're telling me

you're going against me

of your own choice?

So you colluded with Xia Jingshi

and Zhuang Shen

to take my life?

I could have spared your life.

I could have done everything

I wanted

without you ever knowing.

But you got in my way.

I have no choice.

There's nothing else I can do.

What are you trying to do?

Tell me!

Murong Yao,

what do you want?

When we were 10,

we went with our fathers to inspect the border.

Do you remember

that time we sneaked off

without permission to play

and ran into assassins?

Don't come any closer!

What are you doing?

Stay back!

If my father hadn't arrived in time,

we would have been doomed.

But there were too many assassins.

My father couldn't handle them all.

I only realized later

that my father at that moment

never thought

he would survive.

The only person

he cared about

was you,

the First Prince.

Kill!

In that life-and-death moment,

the first person he tried to save

was you, not me.

Father!

I was his own son!

Go!

At the time, I couldn't understand

why your life

was more precious than mine.

Later, I realized

it was because you were the First Prince.

If anything had happened to you,

the entire Murong family would have been executed.

That's why my father

risked everything to save you.

Father!

Father!

Yao!

Yao!

Yao!

That was the first time

I ever truly faced death.

I remember countless blades

slashing toward my father and me.

My mind went blank,

and all I could do was cry

and beg for someone to save me.

It hurt so much.

The pain was unbearable.

I passed out from the pain.

When I woke up,

they were all dead.

My father was severely wounded,

all from blades.

It was then that his leg was injured

and left with a chronic ailment.

Even now, it still pains him from time to time.

Father!

Son.

Father!

With me here,

you don't need to be afraid of anything.

Suige!

Suige, please come save us!

What happened next?

How did you get out of danger?

I kept waiting,

waiting for His Majesty to send people to rescue us.

But I waited for a long time,

and no one ever came.

Later I realized,

as long as you, the First Prince, was safe,

no one would care whether we lived or died.

The First Prince was ambushed, and His Majesty flew into a rage.

At that time,

who would have remembered

my father and me?

That road

was only a few miles from the border camp,

yet it was the longest, hardest road

I've ever walked in my life.

Here's His Majesty's verbal decree!

Murong Zhong, heed this command.

From this day on,

the Murong clan

is to guard the northern border of Susha.

You are forbidden to return to the capital

without royal summons.

I

will depart tomorrow.

Better if you leave today.

His Majesty also said

that the Murong family bears unshirkable responsibility

for what happened

to the First Prince.

But

in recognition of your service in protecting him,

you will not be punished.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Yao,

my father and I

gave you the chance to live,

yet in the end, we were sent to suffer

in the northern frontier.

Why is your life

worth more than ours?

Why must the Murong family

always be ready

to sacrifice for the Feng family?

Why didn't you send people to get us

after you returned?

Why didn't you send people to save us?

Why didn't you plead with His Majesty for us?

Aren't we brothers?

Where were you when I needed you?

Where were you?

After I woke up,

the first thing I did was ask

how you and your father were.

But they told me at the time

that you were already out of danger.

When I saw you again,

it was two years later.

So at that time I thought

you...

You thought?

You Fengs

always only care about what you think.

Have you ever considered how others feel?

Yao,

why didn't you

tell me all this sooner?

If I had told you earlier,

could you have given me back part of my foot?

Could you have made my father's legs

stop hurting so much every night?

Even if I had told you earlier,

what could I have gained—

besides your pity?

Feng Suige,

let me tell you—

the thing I despise most

in this life

is your pity.

I also come from a military family!

I want to be a great general

like you.

But I can't even ride a horse.

Back then, my father and yours

fought side by side to build Susha together.

Your father became emperor,

while mine is just a marquis

in name only.

Is that fair?

Yao,

stop this.

While you still can.

I've been thinking about this for over a decade.

How do you expect me to stop?

How can I?

For once, I want to live for myself.

I only want the Murong family

to get what it rightfully deserves.

Is that wrong?

While my father is in Fu Yixiao's hands,

I can't do anything to you.

You can kill me.

What?

Can't bring yourself to do it?

How about now?

Can you bring yourself to do it now?

I have only one condition:

release my father.

He knows nothing about this.

From today on,

we're even.

We're no longer brothers.