Original subtitles

=Glory Back=

=Episode 3=

You must be with the Imperial Wardrobe, given your attire.

A mere palace maid dares to kill at night and dump a body in the well?

Do you know it warrants death?

Your attire suggests you're not from the palace.

An outsider man appearing in the inner palace during curfew hours.

Do you know it warrants death too?

(This palace maid shows no fear)

(and even dares to retort.)

(Should I reveal myself to Xuan?)

Since you've discovered me,

maybe I should follow your example and silence you.

You left evidence dumping the body.

Not very careful, are you?

Palace rules are strict.

Private sacrifices are punishable by death.

If you let me off,

I'll pretend I never saw this evidence.

Tonight, we stay out of each other's business

and leave each other be. How about it?

(This maid remains calm in the face of life and death.)

(and dares to threaten me. She has quite the nerve.)

(Forget it. He'll soon return to the army anyway.)

(Best not involve him in this mess.)

You think a scrap of paper can threaten me?

Do you know who I am?

The guards outside will soon find their way here.

If I shout loudly and draw them here,

sir,

that basin of sacrificial fire

is not completely out yet, is it?

Do you think your petty tricks could outwit me?

You've misunderstood.

Since we distrust each other,

let's hold leverage over each other

and consider us in the same boat.

Please don't harm me without gaining anything yourself.

How should I call you, boatmate?

Feng Qing.

In this palace, killing someone is both simple and complicated.

Especially when it's an Imperial Ritual eunuch.

Survive this hurdle first,

then you'll have the right to be in my boat.

(Were the spirit offerings burned for me?)

(When did the boy who always followed me around)

(become so formidable?)

Head Chen.

Why have you come so late?

I came to ask you

when to deliver the robe tomorrow.

Looks like you served him well.

That face of yours is quite alluring.

No wonder Eunuch Sun took a liking to you.

Those other sanctimonious wretches I sent before

were all useless.

You're the sensible one.

Chastity isn't as important as life.

Tomorrow at Mao hour, accompany me to deliver the robe.

Once Noble Concubine Meng is satisfied,

and Eunuch Sun puts in a good word for me,

my bright future won't be far off.

(So you're the one who brought Eunuch Sun here.)

(Then on his journey to the afterlife, )

(how could he lack a villain like you as company?)

(Yongfu Palace)

It was made quite quickly.

The Imperial Wardrobe Office hasn't disappointed me.

Reward them.

Yes.

Thank you.

Nine-Phoenix Pheasant Pattern? This is reserved for the Empress.

How dare you!

No.

I didn't know.

Impossible.

(It's been ages since I sewed.)

(My skills aren't as steady anymore.)

(The one who taught them the Nine-Phoenix Pheasant Pattern)

(was exactly me.)

(Impossible.)

My lady,

I've been in the palace for 20 years.

How could I not know that overdressing is a capital crime?

I've been wronged.

Wronged?

Did the pattern grow onto the robe by itself?

It was you! Last night at Hai hour, I inspected the robe.

After that, I only saw you.

I've been wronged. This is my first time seeing this robe.

You!

Last night in the Weaving Room, you embroidered the pattern to frame me.

You wretch!

I...

Enough!

You're the one who delivered the robe to Lanzhi Palace that day?

Yes, it's me.

Please be discerning.

The late Empress personally designed the Nine-Phoenix Pheasant Pattern.

Traditionally, only the office head knows the embroidery.

How could a lowly maid like me possibly do it?

It was you!

My lady, this wretched maid did it.

My lady,

(Caiping, Palace Maid) Head Chen holds an official position.

We should execute that palace maid first

to please Noble Concubine Meng.

Head Chen, I could die unjustly in your place.

But this crime warrants execution.

No one would believe if a mere maid were blamed.

You!

Sacrificing one palace maid?

Do you think Noble Concubine Meng is a fool?

Moreover, that day,

it was she who persuaded Noble Concubine Meng

to agree on the robe to be remade and calmed her anger.

My lady, you see all clearly.

If not for you discerning the truth,

even with a hundred mouths, I could never explain myself.

You!

As Imperial Wardrobe Office's head,

the robe was made and kept by you.

Now that something went wrong, you cannot escape responsibility.

Trying to implicate someone else now only proves your treacherous intent.

Spare me, my lady!

My lady!

Please have mercy!

It wasn't me, my lady!

My lady! My lady!

Please spare me! It wasn't me!

♪ Let go of love and hate ♪

My lady, I'm innocent!

Someone framed me!

My lady, spare my life!

Spare me!

It was you!

You set me up!

(Do you realize now)

(which matters more: chastity or life?)

My lady, I was framed!

All this noise

disturbs our lady's peace.

Hold her down firmly.

My lady!

♪ Let go of love and hate ♪

(Head Chen, your misdeeds are many.)

(I'll send you on your final journey.)

♪ Leap without fear through fire and waste ♪

♪ Broken blades reforged into jade ♪

♪ Cycles entwined, rebirth breaks the karma ♪

(The palace is fraught with peril.)

(My status is lowly now.)

(I must preserve my life first)

(to have a chance to keep investigating the fire.)

(That fire was no accident.)

(I wonder if this place)

(holds any clues.)

Your Majesty, what's wrong?

Yinsheng,

fetch me a cup of water.

Yes.

(That incense only weakened me.)

(If the mastermind set a fatal trap, )

(there must be a follow-up to finish me off.)

(I never went near that candle stand.)

(How did it fall?)

(There must be something amiss.)

(With no other leads, )

(I'll trace the origin of the incense.)

(Perhaps I can find something.)

(Wende Hall)

Noble Concubine Leng, you've knelt for hours.

Your body can't endure this.

My lady!

Your Majesty,

Noble Concubine Leng has been kneeling in the sun half a day,

(Eunuch Xu) atoning for introducing the master.

If she likes kneeling, let her kneel.

I shall see

how sincere she is.

My lady.

(Wende Hall)

I summoned you to inquire

about recent shortcomings in the Palace Service Bureau.

Have you noticed?

The meals from the Imperial Kitchen are somewhat plain.

The Imperial Wardrobe Office also...

If Qing were still here, the palace would be in perfect order.

Sadly, I cannot ease Your Majesty's burdens.

Do you wish to become empress like your sister?

I harbor no such ambition.

Qing cared for the realm. I fall far short.

My heart beats for Your Majesty.

I just don't know what to do

to truly ease Your Majesty's worries.

With the Empress's position vacant and the harem needing management,

Noble Consort Wan, will you take the Empress's Seal

and rule the harem instead?

I'm awed by Your Majesty's grace.

I shall strive diligently to honor your favor.

As for the Silkworm Ceremony,

you must manage it well.

Your Majesty,

Lord Gu Xuan requests an audience.

Greetings, Your Majesty and Your Highness.

We studied together since childhood.

Why these formalities?

I returned to the capital without your decree.

Hearing of my aunt's and then Qing's deaths,

I had to return, even by defying orders or risking death.

Please forgive me.

Amid such sudden upheaval,

how could I punish you for unauthorized return?

Qing, esteemed as the Empress.

Was burned alive within the palace.

My grief truly knows no bounds.

Before, you followed the army north.

Before your departure,

I promised to look after the late Empress.

Is your current demeanor blaming me for failing to protect her?

Your Majesty must also grieve deeply for her passing.

But the fire was merciless.

How could we blame Your Majesty?

Regarding the fire that took her,

I will give you siblings an explanation.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Your Majesty,

my second sister, Wan, has been frail.

Now that Qing is gone,

I humbly beseech Your Majesty

to allow me to stay in the palace for now to care for Wan's health.

You mastered medical texts from youth and saved lives in the army.

Your skills haven't dulled over these years.

Remain at the Imperial Medical Office.

Take good care of Wan.

Thank you.

You now manage the Empress's Seal and have many duties.

Return early to rest.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

I take my leave.

Did you think kneeling for long

could spare you punishment?

I wouldn't dare.

The late Empress perished in the mourning hall fire.

All involved are unforgivably guilty.

The blessing master especially cannot escape blame,

deserving a thousand cuts.

No, Your Majesty.

The master was recommended by me.

I am willing to bear all guilt

and go to the Cold Palace.

I only beg to spare the master from death.

Consider it a prayer for Her Majesty.

Going to the Cold Palace?

Since the late Empress's passing,

I have chanted sutras for her daily.

(Spirit Tablet of Empress Gu of Ning)

Since it is to pray for the late Empress,

I'll grant it.

The master shall be spared

and guard the late Empress's spirit.

As for you,

go to the Cold Palace to chant sutras for her.

Never step beyond its gates unless summoned.

I receive the decree with thanks.

All things have two sides. Fortune and misfortune intertwine.

With me confined,

a hundred lives are saved.

It's fortunate.

Most fortunate.

The Empress is dead. The Gu family has only the frail Gu Wan left.

The court and harem both say I should succeed as the Empress.

But now

she's not only hosted the Silkworm Ceremony

but also wields the Empress's Seal.

The Empress's Seal!

Do you know what this means?

First, you botched the allergenic robe plan,

forcing me to personally seize the Silkworm Ceremony at Lanzhi Palace.

Then the robe rushed overnight by Imperial Wardrobe Office had flaws.

You thought handling one head would suffice?

Please be discerning.

Exceeding attire regulations warrants death.

I feared she might implicate you.

So I had her killed.

Only the dead won't talk, my lady.

Then why didn't you interrogate her rigorously

to make her expose that wretch Gu Wan?

That would truly eliminate a threat for me.

Head Chen must have been resolved to die for undertaking that.

Even if someone was behind her,

She likely wouldn't confess.

Is that truly so?

Concubine Cao,

did you kill her without any personal motive?

My lady, even if I had the greatest audacity,

I would never dare betray you.

Because of the robe,

all my prior preparations were completely ruined.

Watching that wretch bask in glory,

I truly cannot swallow this humiliation.

Please rest assured.

If I fail to uncover the truth within three days,

I will accept any punishment.

In my rule, incompetents don't deserve to live.

I give you one day to find out.

I want to know who is behind that.

Alive or dead, bring them to me!

Do you understand?

Yes.

♪ Once a lonely sail, without a guiding light ♪

♪ With the warmth you lent me, how could I fear loneliness? ♪

♪ Day and night together, sharing joys and sorrows ♪

♪ Searching all under heaven, my heart won't change ♪

♪ Fate in haste, looking back countless times, you swayed for me ♪

♪ Among a vast sea of people, faintly seeing the old self ♪

♪ Scenery along the way, looking back, love finds its echo ♪

♪ Watching the bustling world together, we write more verses ♪