Original subtitles

Everyone outside is on the move.

The city will soon be in chaos.

Those with somewhere to go

are all thinking of fleeing.

TRAVEL PASS

The realm is in peril,

yet I still have a place to go.

Thank you, sir.

I know what's on your mind.

But at your age,

it's too soon to speak of life and death.

But, sir,

I've harmed people.

Innocent people.

Heaven and earth are vast,

and life is long.

Go farther,

see more of the world,

and learn to forgive yourself.

I believe

those you wronged have forgiven you.

Come on.

The men escorting you are all old friends of mine.

They'll keep you safe on the road.

Move.

RICE AND GRAIN STORE

What?

Why is the gate closed?

Right. Why's it shut?

SILK AND SATIN

- Sir. - What's going on?

Why have you stopped?

There's no way ahead.

‪-What happened? ‪-What's going on?

Look.

- What's all this? - Why are there so many people down?

- What's happening here? - How are we meant to get out?

- Exactly. - This is absurd.

- We're completely stuck. - What’s wrong with them?

‪This is strange.

‪What is this?

The gate is shut.

Starting today,

entry and exit are only permitted

through Yanping Gate.

- That'll be a long detour! - Exactly.

Look, we're already…

‪-Let us out! ‪-Why are they doing this?

ZHAO'S TAVERN

‪-I'll help you. ‪-Come here.

FLATBREAD

‪Open the door. Open it!

‪Open the door!

How can I help you?

I'll take 700 flatbreads and 350 bowls of noodle soup.

Well…

- I… - You refuse?

My… My shop is too small.

I'll give you time and money.

So the Tiemo people entered the city just like that.

WONTONS

- It feels like a dream. - Exactly.

- What do we do? - Flee?

Flee?

The city gates are all in their hands.

Who knows how many Tiemo soldiers lie outside?

Exactly. We're just common folk.

Where can we run? How would we run?

Then what do we do?

I'm staying.

If our army fights its way back,

I can kill a few Tiemo scoundrels myself.

That's what I was thinking.

But first, eat.

Sir.

- Three bowls of wontons. - All right.

Once the Tiemo army arrives,

we commoners will be the ones who suffer the most.

Truly.

Tell me about it.

Who knows how many more meals we'll get from this stall?

Eat while we still can.

WONTON

Your wontons are ready.

- Come on. - Careful. They're hot.

All right.

- Thanks, sir. - We've got it.

Thank you, sir.

Sir.

Sir?

You haven't eaten, have you?

Come have a bowl of wontons.

I don't want wontons.

I have no appetite, and no money.

What money?

Come.

It's only a bowl of food. Sit.

With the Tiemo army approaching,

money means nothing.

Consider this a small favor.

If you knew what I've done,

you wouldn't help me.

Xie Huai'an said you'd understand everything

when you saw this rice.

You must stay strong.

I said I'd cook it,

but he insisted on doing it himself

and burned one of my pots.

Burned it clean through, you hear?

What a waste!

Go on, eat.

I will stay strong.

I can stay strong.

It's just a lad who can't truss a chicken,

yet they sent a whole crowd to tail him.

They truly have nothing better to do.

The Tiemo people are already in the city.

People are terrified.

The shadow guards

they've planted in the city

aren't enough to hold Chang'an.

They're waiting for their troops.

Until they arrive,

they won't touch the common folk.

You seem

confident.

I planned for years

to return to Chang'an and kill Yan Fengshan.

But the Tiemo invasion

and my kin's betrayal

were beyond my calculations.

Life is

truly unpredictable.

Tomorrow, at the Shen Hour,

a wind will rise.

I don't know why,

but looking at you now

gives me

a strange feeling.

‪Oh?

What feeling?

As if you were an old man.

I am.

I truly am.

My parents are gone.

I have no family left in this world.

Living in this world,

I can only cling to memories.

Such days

must come to an end.

End? What end?

Huai'an, don't say that.

Silly girl.

Don't worry.

Heaven above,

please show Huai'an

some kindness.

Xiaoqing,

I need a walk.

It's dangerous outside.

Where's Zheng?

Zheng…

I already sent him off.

I want to look around outside.

All right.

This pot is ruined.

I need it mended.

As for Heaven's kindness,

we'll see.

Don't tell your senior brother.

Let's go.

EARTHENWARE

Huai'an,

they sell new pots here.

Let's take a look inside.

Sir, why is there so much smoke?

Do you mend pots, or do you cook?

Three chi down the alley is an eatery's kitchen.

When they start cooking, the smoke drifts over.

Huai'an, I don't think they mend pots here.

Let's ask.

Sir,

my pot is broken.

Take a look.

Can you mend it?

I can.

When do you want it done? Today?

Not today.

I'm too tired to walk.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow? At night?

Not at night.

Tomorrow, at the Shen hour.

Shen hour?

Very well. I'll have it done then.

My thanks.

Think nothing of it.

‪Let's go.

Huai'an,

there was something odd about that man.

How so?

He almost seemed

afraid of you.

You're overthinking things.

Come with me to a clinic.

TEA AND HORSE POST

If we could return to the Imperial Physician's Hall,

we wouldn't need to go to another clinic.

Can a clinic in a place like this really be trusted?

Yes.

Your senior brother's life was saved there.

Really?

Yi Zhihu.

Yi Zhihu is real?

How did you meet this physician?

I've been hunted for years.

One winter, Yi crossed paths with me and saved me.

Yi said she'd never seen obsession as deep as mine,

and wished to see how it would end.

Yi Zhihu,

you're a woman?

I thought Yi would be some ugly old man.

Rumor says that a northern healer, hideous of face,

can bring the dying back to life

and wed a young bride at 50.

But in truth, Yi Zhihu is a woman.

The ugly one

is her helper.

Those who come to me

have all been to the verge of death.

Without a few tricks,

I couldn't have survived.

Treating your senior brother last time, for example,

drew the Huben guards upon me.

Step out, will you?

Why should I?

I need to examine his wounds.

There is no need to keep things from Xiaoqing.

There's nothing she can't know.

Is that so?

Seems to me you're still hiding something from her.

Where is he?

The King of Tiemo is in Chang'an.

Is your blade ready?

With the enemy at the gates,

killing him alone won't be enough.

I've devised a plan

to kill every Tiemo invader.

Do you have enough forces?

Of course.

- General. - General.

- General. - General.

Where are the others?

Have my orders lost all weight in this camp?

General,

- the other officers are gone. - What did you say?

The other officers and their men

have vanished.

Have they deserted?

Then track them down!

General, it's been nearly five days.

We have no trail to follow.

Xiang Xuehuai!

‪Please.

How are you still drinking tea?

Look,

he caught us.

This is Mr. Xie Huai'an's friend,

Ye Zheng.

He's brought Mr. Xie's command.

Whatever the order is,

we have a greater internal crisis.

Do you realize what is happening?

Six entire units have disappeared!

I know that.

That was due to Mr. Xie's first order.

Then why not tell me?

Calm yourself.

I know your temper, so I held back.

The messenger that day was from the Huben Army.

This letter is from Xie Huai'an.

If we follow his strategy,

we may

have a chance to defeat the Tiemo.

Farewell.

Wait.

Why are you helping us?

You are soldiers. So are we.

That's why Xie Huai'an trusts me.

Where will you go next?

The four regional commanders hold massive forces.

I will carry Xie Huai'an's order

to each of them.

Five days ago, Mr. Xie Huai'an secretly ordered me

to send out our finest troops.

Where were they sent?

They're all in Chang'an.

When do we strike, and what is the signal?

Tomorrow

at the Shen hour.

The wind will rise.

Where have you been?

Zheng, how thoughtful you are.

You look grumpy,

but the congee you made smells wonderful.

Thank you.

You and that mouth of yours.

Come in. The food's ready.

Tiemo shadow guards won't risk alerting us.

If they're walking openly with axes,

they're likely just neighbors.

Come on.

Cen Pickles!

Is Cen Pickles not home?

Why are you here?

For a meal!

You've run out of grain already?

We're saving it.

Once the war begins, supplies may be cut off at any moment.

We'll eat his grain first, then ours. Come on.

Shameless.

You flatter us.

- Your Majesty. - Have you found Xie Huai'an?

Not yet.

We're sending more men to search.

He's Liu Ziwen's son.

Everything

the Huben Army learned, he learned.

Finding him won't be easy.

There is another matter

- Your Majesty may want to hear. - Speak.

Sha from the wonton stall

treated Xiao Wenjing to a bowl of rice.

Rice?

Yes.

He used the chance

to see how many of us were tailing Xiao Wenjing.

They may act soon.

Then we've likely

found Xie Huai'an.

And Cen Weizong.

Thank you.

All right, that's enough.

Full?

- Yes. - Good. We're leaving!

- We'll take the clay pot tomorrow. - We're leaving.

- Keep this for me. - We're leaving.

I'll come back tomorrow.

- We're leaving, sir. - Be careful.

Come on.

Your neighbors in Ronghua Alley

are treating your home like it's a granary.

Those you saw,

and those who didn't come today,

come here to eat whenever they like.

I gave them nicknames:

Gulouzi,

Gourd Chicken,

Noodle Soup, and Boiled Lamb.

Food is the primary need of the people.

When grain runs out,

their world collapses.

Sha told me

that in the old days,

the founding emperor, you, my father,

and Wu Zhongheng

often gathered in that little shop

for a bowl of wontons.

Sha worked all night

and barely earned a few coins.

So he complained?

But he's right.

It's been nearly 20 years.

Among the few of us, I'm the one who achieved the least.

But I enjoyed being with my friends.

Wu Zhongheng

is now the King of Tiemo.

Are you still friends?

Most likely not.

After your father

hung the red silk on the hemlock tree,

I never showed up again.

Wu Zhongheng must have known then that I belonged

to the Liu faction.

If we were still friends,

I could have walked into his courtyard to kill him,

regardless of the outcome.

The Grand Preceptor cannot die.

As for killing him,

I already have a plan.

Are you hungry?

Want some congee?

- Here. - No, thanks. You go on and eat.

I'm not hungry.

Then why the long face?

I feel uneasy.

It's freezing out there,

yet he sits alone like that.

He'll catch a cold.

- I'll call him back. - Don't.

We'd better

let him be.

YOU HOUR

- Open the door. - Yes.

My men have been negligent.

You are, after all, about to be an emperor.

How could they serve you a meal like this?

The empire is collapsing.

What emperor?

It's only a show,

with me playing the monkey

for the Tiemo people.

This is the peace treaty I drafted.

Accept it,

and you can save your nation,

Your Majesty.

FIRST, THE TWO NATIONS SHALL BE AS BROTHERS.

SECOND, THE THREE PREFECTURES NORTH OF THE NORTH OFFICE ARE CEDED TO TIEMO.

"All land north of the North Office

belongs to Tiemo…"

"Annual tribute: 250,000 liang of gold,

250,000 liang of silver,

100,000 horses,

300,000 bolts of silk,

900,000 DAN OF GRAIN

and 900,000 dan of grain…"

Even the fertile fields of Ganzhou

yield only 200,000 dan a year.

Huzhou, Huai'an, and the others

yield less than 100,000 dan a year.

Yet you demand 900,000 in tribute?

You call this a peace treaty?

Isn't this

just turning my people into your slaves and livestock?

Past Xigu Mountain City,

Chang'an has no natural defenses left.

My main forces are just 300 li away.

When they arrive,

the well-off people of Chang'an

won't just be slaves or livestock.

Even the chance to stay alive

won't belong to everyone.

Tomorrow,

tear off that mask of yours,

show yourself as the Emperor of Chang'an,

and sit on your throne.

We will seal this treaty by exchanging

letters of credence.

In return,

your people will live.

I was once a useless emperor,

blind to the sufferings of the people.

But now I understand.

A bowl of rice

or a single flatbread

can be the line between life and death.

If you can't even give them that,

then attack.

When you do, the people of Chang'an

will die fighting with you.

You can try.

If you lose,

Chang'an will be a wasteland.

Monster.

And so am I.

Huai'an, why are you sharpening my blade?

Here. It's done.

Huai'an,

you're acting strangely today.

Are you hiding something from me?

No.

You're the one hiding something.

The pageboy is locked in the Imperial Guard Station.

You scouted out the place, right?

So?

Did you find a way to rescue him?

You knew?

We're friends.

How could I not know what you're thinking?

I'm not confident.

There are too many guards. It's hard to break in.

Once the Shen-hour plan begins,

the Tiemo people will kill him the moment they feel threatened.

He won't die.

Give me one battalion.

I will take the station within two hours.

If you storm it, he may truly die.

Ye Zheng,

the Shen-hour plan

cannot afford

a single misstep.

Therefore,

you must appear at the exact place I designated for you

and wait for me there.

I will

rescue the pageboy.

How?

Yesterday,

I had Sha serve him a bowl of rice.

I let the Tiemo see it on purpose

so they'd believe

I intended to rescue him.

That means today,

the pageboy will be forced

to exchange letters of credence with Tiemo

as the Emperor of Chang'an,

and the best moment to act is when he is

on his way to the palace.

But why expose such a flaw?

It's the only

and the most convincing way.

Only by doing so

can the Shen-hour plan remain concealed.

No. Absolutely not.

You will expose yourself.

You will be risking your life!

It is a life for a life.

Ye Zheng,

if you were the one in danger,

I would do the same.

- But… - Enough.

No more arguing.

If we do manage to drive out the Tiemo people,

don't forget to reunite with Zhaolu.

I will.

When all this ends, I will find her.

But until then, I must keep you safe.

If anything happens to you,

what do I live for?

I know

that once you decide something,

no one can sway you.

Since I began following you,

I've never questioned your decisions

or faltered in carrying out your orders.

But this is different.

You're walking straight into death.

Huai'an,

sometimes you should put yourself first.

Huai'an,

your hair…

I was born white-haired,

and I'll die white-haired.

What is there to fear?

All right,

time for me to go.

At the Shen hour,

we'll meet again.

Zheng. Zheng…

Master once said

that he was born white-haired.

The Grand Preceptor divined

that he would live

until his hair turned white again.

Looks like his mind is set.