All language subtitles for dDsU0o_The.Legend.of_.Rosy_.Clouds.E14_eng

[The Legend of Rosy Clouds]

[Episode 14]

This reform plan

reflects the importance

of the national selection exam
in a comprehensive way.

It not only offers

commoners a chance
to change their fate,

but also injects fresh talent

into many official posts
across the Nine Cities.

Both in public and private interests,

it is an excellent way

to rejuvenate the Nine Cities.

In time,

men and women of ambition
from all over the Nine Cities

will gather in Ling'an,

vying to serve the Nine Cities.

The happiness and well-being
of the people within the cities,

and the long-lasting prosperity
of the Nine Cities,

will be ensured from this day forward.

How about that—

what do you all think,
my esteemed ministers?

Is there anything further to add?

This draft is comprehensive
and covers all aspects.

It even provides a detailed analysis

of the educational conditions
in each city,

and carefully compiles
and investigates the identities

of students of examination age.

I can hardly find a single flaw in it.

Your Excellency, it seems you have
truly gone to great lengths

and have been well prepared in advance.

Oh,

in addition to this,

there is

also a review of the service records

of officials from various departments
across the Nine Cities.

It is clearly shown here
that the officials

of the Granary Affairs Division
of the Commerce Bureau—

though charged with grain storage

and granary management—

were born into noble families

and had never experienced
the hardships of agricultural labor.

Their handling of policies

such as the Green Sprouts law,
labor-commutation,

and farmland irrigation regulations

contains many improprieties,

which has led
to the current growing disorder

in the management
of official farmland estates.

It seems that

over the years,

candidates selected
through the selection exam

have largely come
from the Nine Noble Families.

As a result,

the composition of officials
has become overly homogeneous.

Right.

I had originally assumed Your Excellency

was only skilled
in feasting and leisure,

but I did not expect

your mind to be so meticulous

and your vision so broad—

you are in fact deeply concerned
with the affairs of the Nine Cities.

As the saying goes, one cannot
measure the sea with a bucket;

nor can one

underestimate the governor.

Indeed.

With this draft,

and the full support
of all ministers,

we should be able to stand
against Lord Zheng.

However,

we, the Three Elders,

may end up breaking apart.

In truth, reform

has always been
my long-cherished aspiration.

For the sake of the people
of the Nine Cities,

this reform is imperative.

Therefore,
at tomorrow's morning assembly,

I will promulgate this draft
to the public.

If there are any objections at that time,

I hope all of you ministers

will argue our case

with reason.

We shall do our utmost.

[Juyun Gate]

Today, although some of you
have already expressed your positions,

I understand

your concerns and confusion.

Please go back
and give it further thought.

The meeting is adjourned.

I really didn't expect things

to turn out like this today.

Lord Zheng does make quite a lot of sense.

Lord Lyu also...

Lord Zheng.

Lord Zheng.

Lord...

Lord Zhao.

This is going to be serious trouble.

Zhao,

I always thought

the bond between us, the Three Elders,

was unbreakable.

Indeed, it is.

So how did things come to this—
how did we end up breaking our word?

Who?

I'm talking about someone

who supported the governor's

selection exam reform draft—

trifling with me like this,

thinking nothing of me!

Zheng,

how could I possibly
be trifling with you, Lord Zheng Yuan?

That's too harsh.

Stop putting on an act.

Let it be that I, Zheng,

misjudged you—

and my sincerity was wasted.

If the foundation

of the Nine Cities

is ruined in my hands,

how am I supposed to face
the trust of the late governor?

Zheng, calm down first

and listen to me.

The governor's temperament

is very much like the late governor—

once he sets his mind on something,
he will not rest until he achieves it.

As ministers,

how could we possibly oppose the governor?

Exactly.

Zheng,

the selection exam has been in place
for so many years.

A reform wouldn't

necessarily be a bad thing.

Zheng,

on this matter,

I actually stand on your side.

But what the governor is doing

hasn't crossed a point

of no return yet,

so there's no need
to make things difficult for him.

Just agree to it.

Didn't the governor say it?

The draft will be implemented for 1 year

without relying
on the support of noble families.

If external assistance is needed,

that would prove

the commoner path to office

is not viable.

After 1 year,

wouldn't we simply abolish
the national selection exam?

You two...

Fine. Fine. Fine.

I've worked with you both for many years—

I treated you as friends.

And yet, you...

If even

women are to be included

in the selection exam,

the nature of the system
will change.

The civil and military officials
would not agree to it.

A-A-And furthermore...

Forget it.

From this point on,

you two

take your path,

and I'll take mine.

With that,

I take my leave.

W-Wait, Zheng! Zheng!

Zheng.

Zheng,

please, let's talk this through.

You...

You...

Didn't we agree the three of us

would protect the foundation
of the Nine Cities together?

Now see what happens...

I am protecting the foundation
of the Nine Cities—

just in a slightly different way

from Zheng,

that's all.

You call that "slightly different"?

That's going in completely
opposite directions.

They're practically

as incompatible as fire and water.

Look—

no,

Lyu,

tell me,

what

should we do next?

What else can we do?

We'll just wait until Zheng

cools down,

and deal with it later.

Fan Yun,

Fan Yun, I appoint you
as the head of all officials.

From this day forward,

you shall be second only to me—

and above all others.

Whether commoners or officials,

all shall obey your command.

Congratulations, Fan Yun. Congratulations!

Zheng Yuan!

Late governor.

The national selection exam
is throwing the Nine Cities into chaos—

what face do you still have

to remain in office?

Master,

are you all right?

Prepare the sedan immediately.

I need to enter the manor.

Your condition isn't suitable

for entering the manor right now.

If there's anything,

just let me go on your behalf.

Very well.

Make sure this letter

is delivered personally to the governor.

Go.

Yes, Master.

Hold on.

If you

run into Lord Lyu,

keep your distance.

Zheng Yi!

Zheng Yi.

The more I think about it,
the angrier I get.

I never expected that,

compared to commoners,

they would be even more afraid
of women entering officialdom.

Your Excellency,

please have some tea

to calm your anger.

If it weren't for Your Excellency's
strategic maneuvering

and timely proposal for reconsideration,

this reform of the selection exam

might have come to nothing
at the last moment.

If you ask me,

Lord Zheng is indeed
somewhat overbearing,

but he has also been doing
his utmost for the Nine Cities.

Lord Lyu,

you really should try
to persuade Lord Zheng.

After all, whether this succeeds or fails

will still depend

on whether we can
gain Lord Zheng's support.

I will

certainly do my utmost, Your Excellency.

Come on, try some.

These are

sesame balls I made with my own hands.

I just wanted

to properly thank you all

for taking care

of me during this time.

I didn't expect

Fan Xiu to have such cooking skills.

Delicious, delicious.

Nice. Nice. Nice.

But...

you're leaving, aren't you?

Honestly,

you've been here so many days—

we're quite reluctant to see you go.

Yes, yes.

There's still some time
before the selection exam.

Why are you in such a hurry to leave?

I want to spend the remaining days

studying hard

and preparing for the selection exam.

Fan Xiu, once you
pass the selection exam,

you must come to our Commerce Bureau.

We'll all be thinking of you.

Yes, yes,

we'll all be thinking of you.

After Fan Xiu leaves,

Lord Jiang

will definitely increase our workload—

our good days

are over.

Where is Lord Jiang?

Fan Xiu came to take her leave,

but why haven't we seen Lord Jiang?

Could he be hiding somewhere?

Lord Jiang

must be reluctant to part with Fan Xiu.

He's probably hiding somewhere,

secretly taking off his mask

and wiping away tears.

Come, have some more.

Lord Jiang is here—
quick, quick,

back to work!

Hurry, hurry!

Lord Jiang.

Take these books back with you

and read them.

[The Customs and Geography of Daduan]

Thank you, Lord Jiang.

Remember,

do not underestimate it.

The selection exam is not
as simple as you think.

If you fail to become an official,

then we shall not meet again.

Rest assured, Lord Jiang.

I, Fan Xiu,

will not let you down.

Your Excellency,

this is the roster you requested.

All the names on it

were personally promoted by Lord Zheng.

Just leave it there for me.

Anything else?

Your Excellency,

today is the day Miss Fan Yun

leaves the Commerce Bureau.

How can you sit here

and not go see her off?

I won't go.

There's a box on this table—

it's a gift prepared for Fan Yun.

You two, help me deliver it.

Your Excellency,
you're not going in person?

Just do as His Excellency says.

What's going on here?

Are you stupid or what?

Judging from what happened
at the morning assembly today,

there will surely
be tougher battles ahead.

What exactly went wrong?

Are you two seriously talking
about me right in front of my face?

If you don't hurry and go see her off,

Fan Yun will already be home.

And one more thing—

what happened at the morning assembly,

not a single word of it is
to be mentioned to Fan Yun.

Yes, Your Excellency.

Young master,
feel free to have a look around.

These are all top-grade items—
truly the best of the best.

In my younger sister's heart,

Your Excellency is like
the blazing sun high in the sky.

She feels unworthy
and ashamed,

believing she does not deserve

to stand before Your Excellency,

and so she

quietly left halfway.

Miss Wei's younger brother.

Are you trying to pick a fight or what?

Little birds

also need freedom.

Great minds think alike.

Wei Rong.

It really is you!

It smells so good.

These are sesame balls.

They're delicious—

try one.

So, how is it?

Does it taste good?

The texture
of the individual sesame seeds,

the soft glutinous cake,

and the red bean filling—

it's truly a perfect combination.

At a moment like this,

you could actually say thank you.

This beautiful melody—

could it be

a return gift for the sesame balls?

You're free to interpret it
however you wish.

Wei Rong.

Lord Wei.

Isn't this my foolish fourth brother?

I haven't even asked you yet—

what are you doing here?

Wandering has no destination anyway.

I just came along to take part
in the selection exam.

You're here to take the selection exam?

Taking the exam isn't important.

What matters is eating sesame balls.

You...

Lord Wei,

is your younger brother

always like this?

He's always been like this.

Don't mind him.

By the way,

His Excellency

knows you're leaving the Commerce Bureau,

but he couldn't get away himself,

so he specially asked me and Yan Jiang

to bring over the gift
he prepared for you.

Yan Jiang?

Where is Lord Yan Jiang?

That guy probably got lost again.

W-What on earth is His Excellency
up to this time?

What an exquisite
and unusual figurine.

Maybe his craftsmanship
just isn't very good.

Either way,

please thank His Excellency
for his kindness.

Where did Wei Rong go?

Yeah,

he was just here a moment ago.

Anyway,

it seems like whenever he wants,

he can slip into anywhere—

and disappear just as easily,
anytime, anywhere.

No,

I have to go find him.

How can there be such a strange person?

Lord Wei,

I'll go with you.

Your younger brother is something else.

Isn't that exactly
why he's called Wei Rong?

The character "Rong" in Wei Rong

comes from our Wei family's
ancestral teaching:

"One who is Rong
is virtuous and accomplished."

It is said

that only those chosen by fate are worthy
of being given those two characters.

I am the fourth son,

with three elder brothers above me,

yet unexpectedly,

the one who was granted the name Wei Rong

is the youngest in our family.

So outstanding

that he can even make four older brothers
seem irrelevant.

Though he is
a rather peculiar younger brother,

for our Wei family,

he is nonetheless our hope.

It's just that he loves
wandering too much—

only ever seen in glimpses, never in full.

Even if you catch him, you can barely
get a few words out of him.

So in other words,

he neither obeys others blindly

nor is easily used by others,

is that correct?

-Lord Yan Jiang.
-Yan Jiang.

When did you get here?

I...

I've been here the whole time.

You're the one who got lost, okay?

Is that so?

Wei Rong,

w-what are you doing now?

I'm sleepy.

I'm just going to sleep here tonight.

Where did you stay last night?

Last night?

I slept while watching the stars.

Sleeping while watching the stars?

That's basically sleeping on the streets.

The sky as my quilt,
the earth as my bed—

what's so strange about that?

No matter what,

you definitely can't sleep here.

Or else,

Wei Rong,

why don't you go back with Lord Wei?

I refuse to stay the night
with such a mundane person.

You...

Then come to my place.

How about that?

Lord Fan, how could you
possibly handle him?

Then how about this—

Yan Jiang,

let him

stay at your residence.

Mine?

Sure.

Sure...

I'd rather have him go to your place.

What?

He chose your place on his own.

It's all just clichés—

this room really has
no charm at all.

I've been here for so long;

where are your family members?

Aren't you going to offer

your guest any good food?

It should be like this.

Lord Yan Jiang,

Wei Rong,

you're here at the market
to buy vegetables too?

Don't even bring it up.

I didn't sleep at all last night—

all because of this guy.

I have no idea
what's going on in his head.

Him?

What did he do?

He...

Pulling...

pulling...

pulling weeds early in the morning.

Right.

That's not bad, actually.

It cleans the courtyard

and trains the body.

You should worry more about him—

he can even get lost inside his own house.

Mind your own business.

All right, all right,

both of you stop arguing.

Well, Wei Rong,

you should consider

other people's feelings
when you do things.

If you cause trouble

or upset others,

that's not good.

Why don't you

apologize

to Lord Yan Jiang?

To apologize,

you should say,

"I'm sorry."

I am sorry.

Then...

never mind.

I'll just go back and take a nap.

But Lord Yan Jiang,

isn't your home

actually that way?

Is it?

Right.

This way.

That being the case,

why don't you

stay at my place today?

That way we can review
for the selection exam together.

Alright.

Wei Rong,

eat more.

Don't stand on ceremony—

just treat it like your own home.

Wei Rong,

here.

Alright.

This is the first time

I've seen you smile.

That's nothing to be surprised about.

True.

A full stomach makes
for a good night's sleep.

I walked way too much during the day.

Then eat more.

Weren't we supposed to study together?

Right,

can we have more buns too?

-Sure, sure.
-Of course, of course.

Wei Rong,

actually...

you look really good
when you smile.

You should smile more often.

What?

Why didn't you say earlier?

Master,

I, Zheng Yi, failed in my task.

Your letter

was intercepted by Lord Lyu.

Well, well, Lyu Wenzhong!

Why have you summoned me?

Quick, quick, quick...

Lord Lyu,

my master has caught a cold again

and is not fit

to receive guests today.

Perhaps you should come another day.

Look at him—

he's right there,
all flushed and healthy.

How does he look ill?

No, Lord Lyu.

Please, you should come another day.

Get on with your work.

Go on,

-out you go.
-Lord Lyu...

This is utterly improper!

Zheng,

still angry?

Fine—

here, I'm returning it to you.

[Letter of Resignation]

Lord Lyu,

do you think that by intercepting
my resignation letter,

no one

will oppose the selection exam
reform anymore?

This only represents me personally.

The Nine Noble Families
are not just for show.

Zheng,

everyone here knows exactly

how powerful your resignation letter is.

Once it's made public,

it will inevitably

cause a split—

both the selection exam faction

and the noble faction
will suffer heavy losses.

Now that Qi Zheng
has used his position as the governor

to guarantee the pilot implementation
of the selection exam reform,

if he sees this resignation letter,

tell me—

how is he supposed to live with that?

That's his choice,

going against the proper duty of a ruler.

This

only represents me.

Can't I just hide away?

Can't I just turn a blind eye to it?

Someone! Come here!

My three-color glazed vase!

Zheng, don't get worked up—
don't get worked up.

Let me take a look...

Isn't this

the one I gave you

for your 50th birthday?

Fine then—

consider it taken back.

Zheng!

Zheng...

My...

This jade pendant—

I gave it to you back then.

Might as well say
you don't want this either.

You...

How can you be so childish?

This is my residence.

What can you do to me?

This old authentic painting—

I had people search all Nine Cities

just to find it for you, didn't I?

That's right.

Fine—you might as well

not keep it.

How dare you?

Just see if I dare!

Please, hold back—

don't do anything rash.

Don't do anything rash.

Zheng,

you know very well
you can't act on impulse.

Once this letter is sent,

it's truly irreversible.

This...

I...

You...

You...

Get out!

Go, go, go.

Zheng,

the Nine Cities are like this painting—

once it's ruined, it's ruined.

There's no going back.

Zheng, if you truly force

Qi Zheng

to abdicate his position as governor,

by then

the Nine Cities will be left leaderless.

Before the Nine Noble Families
even grow disheartened,

the realm will already
have fallen into chaos.

Zheng,

do you really want to see

the succession struggle

from

thirteen years ago

repeated,

with rivers of blood,

before you'll stop?

Zheng,

and after that?

Who will inherit the governor's seat

and reclaim control of the realm?

Fan Yun,

I woke up hungry.

Do you have any late-night snacks?

Yes.

Wei Rong,

all you ever do is eat and sleep.

And when you're finally awake,

you only ever play the flute.

If someone like you can actually
pass the selection exam,

then I might as well give up hope.

If you fail the selection exam

and end up unmarried,

I'll hire you as my personal chef.

Alright,

I'll go get you something to eat.

Wei Rong,

are you really not going
to stay a few more days?

I've already troubled you enough.

Alright then.

Take good care of yourself.

Alright.

Lord Fan Qi,

I, Wei Rong, have caused you trouble.

Not at all.

Just remember this—

you are my soulmate.

A soulmate?

A future soulmate.

Alright.

A future soulmate.

Then

we shall meet again.

He's someone

who loves a free and unrestrained life.

Why does he

insist on taking the selection exam?

Not only is he taking the selection exam—

he's even promised

to make it into the top three.

Top three?

Why?

Because that was

the condition the Wei family set
for granting him his freedom.

I see...

He really is

suited to that kind of free lifestyle.

By the way,

I should also thank you, Fan Yun.

Thank me?

You're the only one

who didn't avoid my younger brother.

Avoid him?

Why would I avoid him?

Wei Rong has always

been very lonely

because of his personality.

That's because he's a genius.

He can see things

others cannot.

But conversely,

what ordinary people can see,

he cannot.

That must be

such a lonely,

isolating feeling.

Fortunately,

he has a friend now.

A soulmate...

Past mistakes—
what should be punished?

Future concerns—
what should be guarded against?

What should be guarded against...

Young Master Qiyan,

what brings you here?

Are you free?

I...

Young Master Qiyan,

is there something urgent?

Not really.

I just came to see you.

Then...

Then maybe come
another day instead.

I still need to review my lessons.

I really do need to study.

So...

I should leave?

What,

am I the one who should leave instead?

War

is a matter of vital
importance to the state—

a place of life and death,

a path to survival or ruin.

It must not be neglected.

To subdue the enemy
without fighting

is the highest excellence.

If that is not possible,

one must resort to a secondary approach:

evaluate it through five factors

and verify it through calculation
to determine its true condition.

First, the Way;

second, Heaven;

third, Earth;

fourth, the Commander;

fifth, Law.