Original subtitles

=Glory Back=

=Episode 31=

(Plague Records)

This matter concerns the palace. All unrelated persons, leave.

Yes.

I remember that night.

Physician Gu?

(Plague) Your Majesty.

Who did you take out of the palace?

I only remember it was a palace maid from the Laundry Bureau.

Out of caution, I specifically inquired with the Laundry Bureau.

No palace maid caught the plague that day.

Only one palace maid was released from the palace

due to diabetes.

Who was the person you took

out of the palace?

I can't recall the name.

Qing said

you have an excellent memory.

Medical books you read as a child, you never forgot.

Feng Qing,

do you know who he took out of the palace that night?

I remember now.

Not telling the truth is deceiving the sovereign.

Your Majesty, Lord Gu took me out of the palace that day.

But there were reasons.

I drugged her and forcibly took her out of the palace.

I didn't want her to end up like Qing,

dying tragically in a fire within the palace.

That fire was an accident.

No, it was not an accident.

Someone tampered with the mourning hall.

What?

We have been investigating the truth behind the mourning hall fire.

The late empress's death was no accident.

Investigating the fire all this time?

The two of you together?

You certainly have many secrets.

Why didn't you tell me?

It has nothing to do with her. I did it all alone.

When is it your turn to play the hero?

Who do you think you are?

You think I can't protect her?

You took her from the palace against her will.

Would that keep her safe?

Lord Gu had understandable reasons. Please pardon him.

He had his reasons, but he can't be pardoned.

No law, no nation.

Gu Xuan abducted a consort out of the palace.

Imprison him in the dungeon to await punishment.

Guards!

Everyone, leave!

Ziyuan, listen to me.

I am Qing.

Xuan only acted to protect me.

I beg you to pardon him this once.

I gave you so many chances, yet you refused to be honest.

Now, to save Gu Xuan, you're willing to admit it?

Anyone who pleads for Gu Xuan shares his guilt.

Will you continue?

I will always be his sister

and always protect him.

Fine.

Since you share such deep bond,

then I will grant your wish.

Effective immediately,

Noble Concubine Feng is under palace arrest.

Everything is proceeding as you planned.

His Majesty was furious. Gu Xuan was imprisoned.

But I still feel something isn't quite right.

What about Feng Qing?

Before I left, I heard her call His Majesty by his courtesy name.

She held His Majesty's hand and pleaded,

saying she is Qing.

Calling His Majesty by his courtesy name?

Qing?

Could she really be Gu Qing?

What did you say?

Feng Qing is truly the late empress?

How is that possible?

No wonder a lowly maid like her could have such fortune.

Gu Qing has possessed Feng Qing's body to return?

She haunts like a vengeful spirit

and has come back to life!

She can come back alive,

and I can make her die again.

We've already killed her once.

Another murder would deepen our sins.

Even if not for ourselves,

we must think of our...

Wenyuan,

come and sit down.

I am willing to bear

all future punishments alone.

But Feng Qing must be eliminated as a scourge.

Otherwise, leaving a way out for her

is to dig our own graves.

There are years between us.

Had I not entered the palace,

we would have long been a couple.

In this harem, hearts are demonic.

Only you

are someone I can entrust my life to.

Now, we just need to eliminate Feng Qing.

Then our plan will be accomplished.

The risk is too great.

Feng Qing seems to be special to His Majesty.

That's precisely why she must be eliminated.

If she reveals the truth about the fire,

we'll be dead.

At worst, I alone

will shoulder all the blame.

But what about our child?

If Feng Qing becomes Empress,

my position will be precarious.

By then, our child may not be safe.

We have no choice now.

We must strike first.

But...

No need to say more.

Gu Xuan has been thrown into prison.

Arrange Feng Qing's routine medical check-up.

Seize the chance to find a secure way

to poison her.

Without anyone knowing,

cause her death.

Alright.

(Feng Qing)

Gu Qing,

even if reborn through Feng Qing, you must die.

I am the destined Empress.

Her Ladyship's pent‑up sorrow

and nightly terrors have caused the fever.

My medicine eases worries and reduces fever.

She needs it a few more days.

Hold on.

The medicine is still too hot to drink.

Why not fetch Her Ladyship another quilt to induce sweat and reduce fever?

Yes.

(Yongfu Palace)

His Majesty arrives!

What's going on?

Your Majesty,

Qing has been out for a long time.

Physicians have examined her,

but it won't help.

Summon all the physicians, now!

Yes.

Her breathing is getting weaker.

Feng Qing,

are you blaming me

for imprisoning Gu Xuan that day?

I wasn't targeting you.

That day, I was too angry.

You...

Your Majesty,

I hadn't realized Qing was so gravely ill.

I will return to burn incense, pray, and seek heaven's blessing.

Congratulations on getting your wish.

No one will vie for the empress title with you anymore.

But these past few days,

I've been truly anxious.

Rest assured.

Everything is under my control.

I could orchestrate Gu Qing's death in the fire,

and I can make Feng Qing perish without a trace.

I meticulously planned for the empress title

so our child could become the Crown Prince.

I'm so happy today.

Wenyuan, have another drink with me.

(Too bad you won't see the future glory.)

(Someone must take the blame for Feng Qing's death.)

(You put arsenic in this wine, didn't you?)

(Perhaps you forgot how sensitive I am to smells.)

♪Rouge-stained tears♪

♪Falling into a sleepless night♪

♪The moon sets ablaze the palace walls♪

♪How could I accept this final farewell♪

Your Majesty, what brings you here?

Leng Yue, you have committed such a heinous crime.

Do you have any sense of justice or law?

Your Majesty,

here is an old craftsman's suicide note.

Noble Consort Leng instructed him

to coat the floor near the altar with wax and mix in lamp oil.

Afterwards, Noble Consort Leng ordered people

to silence all dozens of craftsmen from the mourning hall.

(Wasn't it destroyed? How can it still exist?)

Look at what you've done, utterly devoid of conscience!

The testimony is forged.

Besides, it's only his word.

How can I be convicted for this?

You thought you could manipulate everything at will,

unaware that you were the prey being played.

This chess game is our high-stakes gamble with you,

a battle of life and death.

You thought we lacked

solid evidence to bring you down,

so we set a trap for you to walk into.

For the first move,

I intentionally gave you an opening

to lure you into striking first.

(The testimony was to draw the "snake" out.)

(For a viper like you skilled at lying dormant)

(who can hide in the Cold Palace for months,)

(we fear your stillness most.)

(But once you move,)

(you'll enter the intricate trap we've laid.)

♪How could I accept this final farewell♪

♪Freezing everything♪

The second step involved me drawing you in deeper.

Qing and I performed a double act for you.

Noble Consort Leng, could you get me the pouch from the box?

It helps regulate my qi.

(You thought securing the handkerchief)

(meant you had the winning blade.)

(Little did you know)

(that I deliberately placed that blade in your hand)

(just to watch you raise it)

(and turn it against yourself.)

If the handkerchief was a trick,

then my setup with the strange stones and omens...

We knew all along it was your ploy.

Doesn't that mean your plan backfired?

♪Back to the abyss, shedding the brightest blood♪

♪Settling love and hate♪

♪A breath of joy, a blink of woe♪

♪A bond across two lives♪

♪Leaping forward, fear not fiery seas or desolate wilds♪

♪The broken blade reforged into a jade ring♪

♪Cycles entwined, rebirth breaks the karma♪

♪Holding the faint dawn, moonlight bathes the palace♪