Original subtitles

May I ask, Your Grace,

who exactly are you?

And who are you?

This is the price you pay for hurting Xiangjiu.

I deserve this, Your Grace.

In a momentary lapse,

I was led astray.

Therefore,

when Prince Fuying

ordered me to accuse Your Grace of being a demon,

I felt too ashamed

to show up.

If Your Grace

is still angered by me,

I'm willing to accept punishment.

Was it Prince Fuying who instructed you?

Who had Mao Jin transferred away?

It was someone sent by Prince Fuying.

Who exactly was that?

That I don't know.

For such a secret matter,

Prince Fuying would surely entrust it

to someone he trusts.

It was Gao Wei.

All the schemes Prince Fuying has plotted

were carried out by Gao Wei.

From now on,

if you ever think of hurting Xiangjiu again,

even if Xiangjiu pricks her finger picking flowers,

I

will consider it your fault

and will destroy you completely.

Your Grace.

Can you

truly help Lian escape her suffering?

Xiangjiu's promise

is my promise.

For Your Grace's boundless kindness,

I have no way to repay you.

Please accept my bow.

There's no need for thanks.

Xiangjiu is doing this to help Princess Consort.

It has nothing to do with you.

Demon!

Mao Jin!

Le Ning!

Demon!

I saw a demon!

Your master is a demon!

Let's run away when we still can!

Le Ning!

Oh right,

let's take Xiangjiu with us!

Le Ning!

Are you really that afraid of demons—

even ones that have never hurt you?

But they're demons.

Whether they hurt me or not,

they're still demons.

What are you waiting for?

Let's go!

I'm a demon myself too.

So we really are family.

You're not afraid of me at all.

Why did you faint again?

Princess Consort has been suffering from stomach pain since this morning.

Come quickly and check on her!

Hurry!

What's happening? Tell me!

Congratulations, Your Highness!

Congratulations, Your Highness.

Her Highness Princess Consort

is with child.

I have an heir.

I have an heir!

Congratulations, Your Highness!

Our congratulations!

May Your Highness be blessed with a son at the first try,

and may our Muxi State flourish and prosper!

Go away.

That wretched woman is really something.

His Highness beats her all the time,

yet she still managed to get pregnant.

This is bad.

Now that Princess Consort's pregnant,

there's no way she can be driven out.

Doesn't that mean

I won't be able to go to Fucang Palace after all?

How could that be?

Attendant Mao,

what brings you here?

News came that Princess Consort is with child.

Master was worried about you

and specially sent me to check on you.

Why would His Grace worry about me

just because Princess Consort's pregnant?

You really don't know?

How have you been treating Princess Consort?

If Princess Consort gives birth to a boy,

do you think you'll be able to survive?

That's true.

So what should I do?

You work for Master.

Surely Master

has planned a way out for you.

This...

Your Highness,

please have some ginseng soup.

It helps stabilize the pregnancy.

Just leave it here.

I'd like to speak with

His Highness alone for a bit.

Your Highness, I'll take my leave.

Okay.

From now on,

focus on nourishing the pregnancy

and give me a fair, chubby son.

Father will surely be overjoyed,

and you'll

have good days ahead as well.

So I'll only have good days

if I bear you a son?

Isn't your life now

good enough?

If it weren't for me,

you'd probably still be living out in the countryside

as some backwater village woman.

I often think about it too.

If it weren't for you,

I would probably be living a peaceful, happy life

with the one I love,

raising children together.

The one you love?

Other than me,

you dare have someone else you love?

Says you.

Even your own father doesn’t love you.

What makes you think you're worthy of having someone you love?

Prince Fuying,

I want to divorce you.

Dream on!

Even if it means death,

we will never divorce.

Since you love hitting me so much,

this time,

I'll let you have your way.

Are you insane?

Yes, I am insane.

Ever since I married you,

I've gone mad.

Only a madwoman would marry someone who raped her.

What you care about most

is your image in your father's eyes.

From this moment on,

all your efforts

will be completely wasted.

You think

you can destroy me?

You unfilial wretch!

Lian!

You unfilial wretch.

Are you all right?

Father.

Father.

Father.

Father.

Listen to me.

It's not what it looks like.

Please hear me out.

Father,

His Highness forced me to drink the ginseng soup.

When I refused,

he flew into a rage.

You unfilial wretch.

She's carrying a child,

and you dare to hit her?

Your Majesty,

there's something off with this ginseng soup.

You actually tried to poison our child?

No,

I didn't.

Father,

I didn't do it.

This ginseng soup...

I wasn't the one who brought it in.

It was Yuan Xiang.

Yuan Xiang!

No, no, no.

Stop making those fart-like noises

and speak!

It wasn't me.

You unfilial wretch!

What else do you have to say?

It wasn't me.

You even tried to poison your own flesh and blood.

You've always called me lowborn.

I thought you were just dissatisfied with me.

I never imagined

you could be so cruel.

Don't listen to her nonsense.

You venomous woman!

You unfilial wretch!

You've disappointed me beyond measure.

Father.

Guards!

Father,

it's not what you think.

They're framing me!

Lock this unfilial wretch up

and place him in confinement to reflect on his actions.

Without my order,

he is not to take a single step outside!

How could I possibly do such a thing?

Please hear me out.

Father!

Hear me out!

Let go of me!

They're framing me!

Father!

They're setting me up!

Father!

Chief Steward Sun.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Quickly summon the imperial physician to check on Lian.

Yes.

Father,

there's something

I need to speak with you privately.

You still want a divorce?

Years ago,

I fell from a cliff,

and you saved me.

Without knowing who I was,

you took care of me attentively.

I saw you were virtuous and kind,

and I thought you'd make an excellent wife and mother.

So I deserved to marry your son?

What kind of talk is that?

Virtuous and kind,

excellent wife and mother—

if these fine qualities

are the source of my misfortune,

then I'd rather not have them.

Misfortune?

Have you really been

living in such pain all these years?

You keep saying you care about me

and treat me as your own daughter.

But if you truly care so much,

how could you not know how I've been living?

You knew that Prince Fuying raped me back then, didn't you?

I'm sure you did.

And yet you never once brought it up.

That was all in the past...

You may have moved on,

but I haven't.

But you're carrying our family's child.

Since when did the child in my womb

become yours?

Lian.

Lian,

when did you enter our household?

Father,

there's no one else here.

There's no need to pretend anymore.

You're smarter than I thought.

Father, you only lose your memory at critical moments.

How about this?

Since you're pregnant,

I

won't argue with you.

As for divorce,

do not bring it up again.

And as for Prince Fuying,

I'll discipline him.

If you fear he may hurt you again,

I'll have him

confined to the Cold Palace

and bar him from returning to the Eastern Palace.

Father,

I want to ask you one more question.

If you can answer it,

I'll agree to your terms.

But if you cannot,

you must allow me to leave.

Why did you castrate my brother Song Yicheng?

He dared to harass Ningshuang.

Was I wrong to do so?

And if he had raped Ningshuang,

how would you have dealt with him, Father?

I'd definitely have had him torn to pieces!

When your daughter is raped,

you tear the man to pieces;

but when your son rapes someone,

you make her marry him.

Don't you think

your shamelessness and hypocrisy are no less than Prince Fuying's?

Tomorrow, I will leave the palace openly and with dignity.

If you insist that you're in the right,

then have the guards come and stop me.

But if you still consider me your daughter,

then grant me my freedom.

Your Grace.

You really must save me this time.

I can never

return to the Eastern Palace again!

Your Grace?

I have two questions for you.

Answer them truthfully,

and I'll let you stay.

Please ask away, Your Grace.

I work for Your Grace now.

I will tell you everything I know

without reservation.

Where did Prince Fuying

hide

Huo Xiangjiu's father?

I really don't know about this.

It probably wasn't Prince Fuying who did it.

I heard Prince Fuying talking with Lord Gongsun.

Prince Fuying seemed to think it was Lord Gongsun who did it.

Is that truly so?

If I speak even a single word of falsehood,

may I die a horrible death.

I've already offended Prince Fuying.

If it was really him who did it,

why would I cover for him?

The second matter.

Why did you steal datura from Ningshuang Palace

to poison Princess Consort?

Princess Consort once had a miscarriage,

and datura can cause miscarriage.

Princess Ningshuang is the only one in the palace who grows datura.

The time when datura went missing from Ningshuang Palace

was close to when Princess Consort had the miscarriage.

You're wronging me, Your Grace!

I only know

Princess Consort had a miscarriage.

How would I know about da...

That da-whatever?

My father's disappearance has something to do with you?

Why are you bringing up your father's disappearance again?

I really don't know anything!

She probably doesn't know anything.

Then what you just said...

Just testing her.

You almost scared me to death.

Your Grace,

that was really mean of you.

How could you scare me with something like that?

My poor heart

was pounding so hard that

it almost jumped out of my chest.

Your Grace.

How about

letting me

serve you tonight?

Mao Jin.

Take her to bathe Xiaofu.

Your Grace,

who is Xiaofu?

Your... Grace...

Jin,

don't drag me.

I can walk by myself.

Your Grace!

So

you've suspected all along

that datura was related to Lian's miscarriage?

I'm not sure.

I only know that

the missing datura,

Princess Consort's miscarriage,

those two torn pages from the Ganquan Register,

and your father's disappearance—

all these things

seem to be connected somehow.

There really isn't any scent of datura in the Eastern Palace?

Mao Jin has checked.

There's definitely none.

It's probably been too long,

and the scent has faded.

I'll go there again tomorrow.

Did His Majesty agree to Princess Consort's divorce?

I don't know.

His Majesty trusts you so much.

Why don't you talk to him again?

This doesn't concern me.

Feng Mochen!

What's wrong with you these days?

Why are you so cold to me?

I've always been like this.

Feng Mochen

has suddenly become very cold toward me.

All men are the same.

He's probably just grown tired of you

after being around you for so long.

Why are you sighing?

At worst, just find someone else.

Three-legged toads are hard to come by,

but two-legged foxes...

They aren't easy to find either.

Xiangjiu!

Le Ning?

Xiangjiu,

quick, run!

Your Highness,

let's run!

What happened?

We've fallen into a den of demons.

Lord Feng and Mao Jin are both demons.

They really are demons!

One is a fox,

and the other's a dog.

What, can they eat you?

That's quite possible.

Have you ever seen foxes and dogs

eating people?

I, on the other hand,

have seen plenty of people eat foxes and dogs.

Right.

There are also people who eat monkeys,

cats,

and even turtles.

Stop, stop.

We just want to tell you that

some humans are scarier than them.

Yeah.

That's different.

They've become spirits.

I've become a spirit too.

What kind of spirit are you?

A beautiful spirit.

Your Highness,

at a time like this,

you're still joking with me?

Le Ning.

Let me ask you,

have they ever harmed you?

Well, they haven't.

On the contrary,

they've helped

Princess Ningshuang and Princess Consort Song Lian.

That's true.

Why not try a different perspective?

Think about it.

If your friends include not just humans

but also demons,

wouldn't your life be more interesting?

Can I really think of it that way?

Of course you can.

As they say,

"a fixed mindset only leads to dead ends,

while a new perspective opens new paths."

That does make some sense.

Xiangjiu.

What's it like having a fox as a lover?

You should know, being with Mao Jin.

Don't talk nonsense.

Mao Jin and I are family.

The one I fancy

is Attendant Bai Yu.

That man is completely worthless.

No looks to speak of,

no wisdom whatsoever,

just a complete fool.

You little devil.

He's just an ordinary man.

Why do you fancy him?

I think he's quite nice.

That's all an illusion.

Compared to Mao Jin,

he's worlds apart.

Really?

I find him quite amusing.

Is that so?

I am a princess.

Princesses never lie.

Just set your heart on Mao Jin.

You won't regret it.

Even though you're a princess,

you can't dictate who others like.

I consider Le Ning my good friend,

so of course I want what's best for her.

Your Highness,

you're so kind.

Xiangjiu.

What about your situation with Lord Feng?

What do you plan to do?

I don't know.

Tomorrow,

I'll first

escort Song Lian out of the palace,

then we'll see.

Will it go that smoothly?

Life is never that smooth.

It's just

one hurdle after another,

but we get through them all.

The road ahead is long,

but also bright!

Take my sedan chair

to leave the palace today.

I'd like to see who dares to stop you.

Thank you for your help this time.

Don't mention it.

Back then,

you helped me the same way.

Ningshuang,

thanks a lot.

Stop the carriage.

Princess Ningshuang's sedan chair

is leaving the palace.

Today,

without His Majesty's token,

no one is allowed to leave the palace.

Get out of my way!

Please forgive us, Your Highness.

We're just following orders.

Mochen,

am I wrong?

It depends on your perspective.

From what perspective

am I not wrong?

A villain's.

You

always say such hurtful things.

How could Miss Xiangjiu tolerate this?

I don't talk to her like this.

However,

now I have to be.

Are you trying to

force me to break in?

If Your Highness insists on this,

we'll have no choice but to offend you!

What's the right thing to do?

Do you know

why I've stayed by your side for so long?

A long time ago,

you were once a good person.

Eat this, Miss.

Please.

Go ahead.

You know what to do.

Ningshuang,

forget it.

Let's go back.

No way.

We've come all this way.

We can't just go back like this.

Are you guys trying to

force me to get physical with you?

Here comes His Majesty's order!

Here comes His Majesty's order!

Here comes...

Here comes His Majesty's order!

Here comes His Majesty's order!

Let them pass!

Let them pass.

Your Highness.

His Majesty asked me to deliver a message to you.

His Majesty instructed

that you need not kneel.

Just one sentence:

may the rest of your life be well.

With so many people seeing you off,

I'll bid you farewell

here.

Ningshuang.

Thank you.

Mochen.

You've changed.

You never liked meddling in other people's business.

There's no such thing as "other people's business."

What we call "other people's business"

is just trouble that hasn't happened to us yet.

If you're so eager to find your father,

why meddle in other people's business?

That flower spirit

will soon

vanish into nothing.

Why bother doing something pointless?

There's no such thing as "other people's business."

What we call "other people's business"

is just trouble that hasn't happened to us yet.

How I wish

someone could help me too.

Gongsun Hao.

Lian!

Are you all right?

I'm fine.

What's this about?

You...

If you hadn't lent us a hand, Miss Xiangjiu,

Lian and I

would never have been reunited.

I even

hurt you before.

I'll never forget

your

great kindness.

Get up quickly.

Please rise.

I missed my chance

once before.

This time,

I won't miss it again.

Lord Gongsun?

So you've chosen this path after all.

Father,

please grant us your blessing.

Don't call me Father!

I have no son like you!

Since you were young,

I've taught you

each generation must be more ruthless than the last.

But what have you done?

For this woman,

you've abandoned your bright future!

Our ancestors

were farmers for generations.

Until your great-grandfather's generation,

when we moved to the city to weave mats and sell shoes

so your grandfather could study.

Our Gongsun family

climbed step by step to where we are now.

As long as you marry Princess Ningshuang

and become a royal consort,

our Gongsun descendants

will carry royal blood.

We'll no longer be called

lowly peddlers and servants!

Yet you,

for this woman,

have betrayed the hard-earned achievements

by generations upon generations

of our Gongsun family!

Lord Gongsun,

do you despise your own bloodline so much?

Does being descended from peddlers and servants

bring you such shame?

Silence!

Without your instigation,

he wouldn't have become like this.

And you, you wretched woman.

I warned you

not to seduce my son,

but you refused to listen.

Even after I had His Highness rape you,

you still wouldn't let go.

What are you saying?

So that incident

was your doing?

That's right.

His Highness's poisoning

was my doing.

However,

it was your brother

who brought him to your door.

She's the woman your son loves most in this life.

How could you have brought yourself to do this?

So what if she is?

She ruined our family.

I

must destroy you with my own hands.

Father.

You're not taking revenge on her.

You're taking revenge on me.

Since you want to destroy me so badly,

I'll grant your wish.

Gongsun Hao!

Hao!

Gongsun Hao!

Gongsun Hao!

Le Ning,

fetch a doctor!

I'm on my way!

Gongsun Hao!

Hao!

Gongsun Hao!

I'm sorry.

Hao!

I...

Gongsun Hao!

Hao...

Old Fox.

Old Fox!

Slow down.

Old Fox!

Old Fox!

You don't think he'll eat me, do you?

I will.

Stop scaring her.

Lian didn't want to implicate Gongsun Hao,

so she returned to the palace.

Don't you find it strange?

No matter how hard

Princess Consort tries,

she always ends up back here.

It seems someone doesn't want her to leave.

I don't understand.

Can you be more direct?

Master,

I found it!

I found it!

Master,

fortunately you sent me to search the Eastern Palace again.

I really found it.

There's no scent left at all.

It seems to have withered for quite some time.

Could this be the one Princess Ningshuang lost?

The stem is solid.

It seems to have grown naturally,

rather than being transplanted here when mature.

I thought only Ningshuang could grow these in the palace.

Then who planted this?

If someone planted it,

why is no one tending to it?

There's another possibility.

Someone might have planted it accidentally.

You mean

someone accidentally

dropped datura seeds here?

Yes.

Since it was planted accidentally,

even that person didn't know flowers would grow,

which explains why no one is tending to it.

Master,

there's a strange smell!

That's impressive.

My father's clothes!

These are my father's clothes!

These belong to my father!

Then whose is this one?

Gongsun Hao.

Who's there?

Hao?

Why are you still awake so late?

Especially with your injuries.

Lian has returned to the palace.

That's good.

From now on,

stay away from her completely.

Hao.

Obey my arrangements.

Once you control the palace guards

and marry Princess Ningshuang,

our Gongsun family

will rise to prominence.

Father, you really lack ambition.

Rising to prominence

is enough for you?

I want my son

to become the Emperor.

What did you just say?

The child Princess Consort is carrying

is mine.

You...

How dare you!

When did you become so timid, Father?

What you did before

suits my wish perfectly.

Father...

Father, how can you look at your son like that?

Isn't this what you've always wanted?

Haven't you taught me since childhood

that each generation must be more ruthless than the last?

Actually, I'd learned this as a child.

You just

never noticed it.

What's

your next move?

Next...

The story continues with

my failed suicide attempt,

still pining for Lian.

And you, Father,

to break my obsession,

will attempt suicide to wake me up.

From then on,

kind-hearted Lian will feel even more guilty toward me.

She will raise our child well,

who'll eventually

take the Emperor's throne.

And our Gongsun family

will reach its peak

in my generation.

I...

I'm your father!

You...

Father.

You are a successful father. You taught me since childhood

that each generation must be more ruthless than the last.

And I

did it.