Original subtitles

Yuanji.

You're here too.

I have something to report to His Highness.

Wuyi is injured from the caning.

Lady Xie is taking care of him.

Is it about Cui Jun kidnapping Lady Xie?

Yes. I need to ask His Highness for forgiveness.

I let Cui Jun go.

Even though the Empress Dowager threatened me with my family,

I was wrong.

Jiayu was also taken away by Cui Jun because of me

and almost got into trouble.

Wuyi already knew

that you took Qing Long's key.

What?

The incident at Lingfeng Fort

can no longer be kept a secret.

The Phoenix Heart Tokens and the mine have caught the noble families' attention.

They will definitely make a move.

The noble families have always wanted to sabotage the reform.

As soon as they find an opportunity,

they won't easily let go.

Wuyi had a premonition.

Since the Empress Dowager has entered the game,

she won't be able to escape so easily.

His Highness

is going to make a move against the Empress Dowager?

In that case, I should go find him.

[Key to the Phoenix Heart]

[Episode 20]

[Prince Jing'an's Mansion]

What are you zoning out for?

Back then, to protect your child,

you broke ties with your family.

How did it feel?

I was relieved.

They wanted me to be buried alive with the dead.

What else could I do?

I wish I could be as decisive as you.

My father, brother, and mother don't care about me,

willing to sacrifice my marriage

to surrender to the Empress Dowager.

But I can't just abandon them.

For so many years,

I've hidden in Prince Jing'an's Mansion,

reading and studying,

pretending to be sober,

but actually just escaping.

His Highness gave me the divorce paper long ago,

but I

dare not leave.

I followed my grandfather to practice medicine from childhood

and found an interesting thing.

In practicing medicine,

it's often the poor

who are more willing to try harsh medicine with a massive dosage.

One dose down

often leads to miraculous effects.

However, when people from noble families get sick,

they are always careful with their medicine,

afraid of making mistakes,

which turns minor illnesses into major ones.

Guess why?

Maybe because those who have less

are more willing to take risks.

However, those who grew up in luxury

are indebted to their families

and controlled by them,

having their wings broken from the bottom of their hearts

and having too many scruples.

So it's normal that you can't let go of your family.

Everyone is born different;

there's no need to live the same way.

[Palace of Eternal Peace]

Your Highness.

Your Highness.

Move. I'm going to get the imperial physician.

Her Majesty said

Prince Qi was injured

and needed rest.

The physician will arrive later.

Her Majesty...

Ruisheng, is his wound really okay?

Don't worry. The wounds he suffered before

were 10 or 100 times worse than this,

and he survived.

But you can't just think

that because his previous wounds were worse,

the current one doesn't matter.

Ruisheng,

please think of another way.

Rest assured, I'll watch him drink his medicine,

without missing every single drop.

As for His Highness's medicine,

coptis is indeed missing.

I'll add it later.

Your Highness,

Chan, a maid in the Eastern Palace,

who is Lady Xie's

dancer friend she saved before,

asked someone to send out a bag of medicine residue.

Something is wrong with Prince Qi.

I'm afraid it's bad.

This is the only news from the Eastern Palace recently.

How could that be?

Didn't they say the arrow wound wasn't deep?

Was the arrow poisoned?

I had a wound on my palm

and touched the arrow that day.

If it were poisoned, I would not be unharmed.

Check the medicine residue.

Something's wrong?

I remember now.

When I used to practice medicine with my grandfather,

while gathering herbs in the mountains,

I came across an herb with a lily scent.

Its sprouts are poisonous.

When the poison acts up, it looks like a normal high fever.

The fever continues until the person dies.

If a physician doesn't know about this poison,

they won't be able to find the cause.

Usually, the patient dies without a cure.

Was Mao poisoned too?

Will he...

Don't worry.

This poison's symptoms are just hidden.

Its toxin can be neutralized with ease.

Don't worry.

I remember your grandfather

used to work at the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Yes, but he retired early

and took me to practice medicine among the people.

He passed away a few years later.

When did he retire?

About 13 years ago,

not long after His Majesty ascended the throne.

High fever. Poisoning.

Immediately scout the guards of the Eastern Palace

and the deployment of the Imperial Guard again.

Yes.

I need you to do something for me.

Ruisheng, why don't we go over the wall?

I know a little lightness skill,

so I can carry you both inside.

[Qin]

Imperial Physician Qin.

The old lady said,

Madam Ruisheng severed ties with the Yu family long ago.

Madam Ruisheng hasn't visited the Yu residence tonight.

Brother.

I need to return to the He Mansion.

I'll go with you.

Is it bitter?

I have pear blossom candy.

I like sour food.

Finish this today,

and I'll make you hawthorn cakes another day.

Really?

No need. Just buy some hawthorns.

Making hawthorn cakes is too much trouble,

and peeling them hurts your hands.

Your Highness.

We've tried. The Eastern Palace is indeed sealed off.

We can't get in.

The Imperial Guard's movements are abnormal.

The sentry rotation at His Majesty's bedchambers

has ceased since last night.

The Empress Dowager is trying to pull the same trick on Mao.

The Empress Dowager has set this stage for so long.

It's time to put an end to it.

Go get my court attire.

Should you wear armor under it?

To deal with the Empress Dowager,

I don't need armor.

Your Highness, Prince Qi has been having a fever for 2 days.

No one from the Imperial Medical Bureau has come at all.

Ruisheng.

Tie up all the guards who have sealed off

the Eastern Palace in the past few days!

-Yes. -Yes.

Eunuch.

What happened? Why are you in such a panic?

Y-Your Majesty,

Xiao Wuyi broke into the Eastern Palace at night

to save His Highness Prince Qi.

And Imperial Physician Qin was caught.

Will Imperial Physician Qin reveal what happened—

Slap your own mouth.

I deserve to die.

I deserve to die.

I deserve to die.

I deserve to die.

Stop.

More than 20 people in Imperial Physician Qin's family

are in my hands.

Even if he dies,

he won't dare to leak any information.

I guessed right.

We really can't let them

have the day to turn the world upside down.

Since His Majesty won't listen to me,

I'll make the decision for him.

Pass on my decree.

Muster every man

of the Imperial Guard

who is from the He family.

Make them stop Xiao Wuyi for me.

Yes.

You know what to do.

Yes.

Today is a great day.

Arrange the Sun-Moon Phoenix coiffure

for me for this dynastic transition.

Yes.

Why hasn't His Majesty drunk it yet?

Please take your medicine, Your Majesty.

In this Jiankang Palace,

the only one who truly treats you well

is me.

Do you know how much effort I put in

in exchange for your current status?

I

always remember your kindness, Mother.

In that case,

promise me 3 things tonight.

First,

stop the Beifu Reform.

Second,

abolish Prince Qi's position as Regent.

Third, as for the position of Crown Prince,

I've found a suitable candidate for you.

The third son of Prince You.

What do you think, Your Majesty?

Mother,

what I think tonight

is no longer important.

I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty.

What is the meaning of this?

Qin Sheng murdered Prince Qi and His Majesty.

He was caught red-handed.

There must be a mastermind behind it.

Qin Sheng, who told you to do this?

It was done by me alone.

[Qin Sheng, Imperial Physician]

-Nuo. -Father.

Father, why are you bleeding?

Does it hurt, Father?

Don't be afraid, Lord Qin.

All your kin are present.

Just tell us what you know.

Just speak.

I'll tell you. I'll tell you.

That was the winter 13 years ago.

Since coming south to Jiankang,

after Wenxi and her son passed away one after another,

the late Emperor became ill from grief.

When it came time to appoint the Crown Prince,

Prince Su and Prince Ning

were the hope of the court.

That night, it snowed heavily.

Take this prescription.

Mix it into the bird's nest soup for a late-night snack

and send the soup to every prince.

Even your own flesh and blood,

Prince Yan, too?

To achieve our goal,

we must be willing to sacrifice.

I have my own way to protect my son.

Three months later,

Prince Su and Prince Ning died one after another,

with only Prince Yan left alive.

But Prince Yan was also poisoned

and became bedridden.

Nonsense!

His Majesty is my biological son.

How could I be so cruel as to harm him?

Qin Sheng, who put these words into your mouth?

Who asked you to frame me? Speak!

Mother.

I still remember that in the bird's nest soup,

there was a trace of lily scent.

The poison

was Dark Night Herb, right?

Take them away first.

When did you know?

From the first day.

Then why did you still drink it?

Because since I was young,

I had always wanted to please you

and get your praise.

In that case,

do as I say tonight.

I cling to life

merely to get through each day.

I am an incompetent emperor

and an unfilial son.

No.

If you seek to contend and seize power,

I can't control it,

nor do I want to.

But if the Ye Empire

is really destroyed in my hands,

I will be too shameless to face my ancestors.

Young Lord Xiao,

how is Prince Qi?

Your Majesty, the poison has been neutralized.

He is resting now.

Xiao Wuyi,

do you think digging up old cases

can put me to death?

I am the current Empress Dowager,

His Majesty's biological mother.

So what if I did something wrong?

Besides, I have been waiting for this moment tonight

for a long time.

He Tian!

Xiao Wuyi conspired to rebel in the palace.

Take him down!

Kneel.

-Greetings, Your Majesty. -Greetings, Your Majesty.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Step back.

It's you.

You betrayed me.

Young Lord Xiao entered the palace tonight

to bring down the Empress Dowager.

The He family kidnapped Cui Jun for the Phoenix Heart Token

and instructed Cui Jun

to sow discord between Young Lord Xiao and Prince Qi.

After Cui Jun shot Prince Qi,

the Empress Dowager secretly poisoned Prince Qi

to set up another Crown Prince.

The evidence is conclusive.

Then what are you doing here?

Why don't you hurry and report to the Empress Dowager?

Are you going to betray us?

We'll bring down the Empress Dowager tonight,

and I also stand as a witness.

Young Lord Xiao has found out

the truth behind His Majesty's ascension.

Prince Su and Prince Ning

were both poisoned by the Empress Dowager.

Tonight, trouble arises from within.

The He family has 2 choices.

First, cut off a finger to save the hand.

Second, die together with the Empress Dowager.

Everyone,

do you want to live or die?

What should we do?

If you want to live,

only I can protect the He family now.

What are you going to do?

Plead guilty

and support the Beifu Reform.

Absurd! The He family is the top noble family in Jiangnan.

How could we support the reform?

Besides, the Empress Dowager is His Majesty's mother.

Even if His Majesty knows

that the Empress Dowager harmed Prince Su and Prince Ning,

he might not do anything.

What if the Empress Dowager

also poisoned His Majesty back then?

What if His Majesty is weak now

because the poison wasn't completely cleared,

which leaves lingering effects?

I have married into Prince Jing'an's Mansion.

I could have stayed out of this.

However, the He family is my maternal clan after all.

So I still came tonight.

Will you continue to follow the Empress Dowager's sinking ship

and drown together,

or listen to me from now on

and change course?

At least, we can keep the He family safe.

Choose for yourselves.

The family seal is here.

Very well.

This is the list I've collected over the years

of the He family's forming factions

and taking bribes.

Please review it, Your Majesty.

He Yuanji, are you crazy?

Are you trying to destroy the He family?

Aunt, I'm saving the He family.

The He family can't keep making mistakes.

Saving the He family?

The He family moved south from Capital

to help establish the capital in Jiankang.

They have all made great contributions.

I beg for mercy; do not implicate the entire He family.

Reform is the trend of the times,

not the slaughter of noble families.

If there are those who work together,

they should be granted grace

and set as examples.

What about the Empress Dowager?

The Empress Dowager is old and confused.

Her seal should be confiscated,

and she should be moved to another palace

to spend her remaining years in peace.

Granted.

Granted?

Granted?

Guards.

My son.

Let go!

My son, I did it all for you.

When I got the family seal,

my grandfather told me

that for the future of the entire He family,

anyone can be sacrificed,

including his daughter.

Aunt.

Your father and son

have already given up on you.

Do you think you can stay out of it?

Your Majesty,

I, He Yuanji,

was granted a marriage to Young Lord Xiao by the Empress Dowager.

We have been married for 5 years.

My virtue and conduct are flawed.

I beg you, Your Majesty,

to annul the marriage between the Xiao and He families

and allow me and Young Lord Xiao to divorce.

I am willing to lead the He family to support his reform.

Granted.

The noble familie are deeply rooted and intertwined.

Even my throne was given to me by them.

You shall do

what I can't for me.

Xiao Wuyi, I will issue a secret edict.

If I die one day,

let the Empress Dowager go with me,

lest she exploit filial piety as an excuse

to usurp power.

Today,

you covered up the past court scandal for me

and saved the royal family's dignity.

I will play the villain for you on another day.

I thank you for your grace, Your Majesty.

Prince Qi, Li Mao.

I am here.

I bestow upon you the Nine Imperial Seals.

In the future, when you act on my behalf,

you do not need to ask for instructions.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

You shall preside

as chief judge over the Cui Family Case.

I receive the decree.

I won.

Congratulations, Mao,

on successfully bringing down the Empress Dowager

and getting the Nine Imperial Seals.

You did what Xiao Wuyi

couldn't do.

Are you leaving?

Li Lejun no longer exists in this world.

Mao,

I will not become your stain.

You are not my stain.

You are my only family.

Your Highness, why do you think I will help you?

If I tell Young Lord Xiao that

Cui Jun is in the palace,

how do you think things will turn out?

If you really can't hide him,

in the end,

won't it still be your fault?

Even if I am sacrificed,

Her Majesty won't suffer any loss.

Why would I sacrifice you?

What do you want me to do?

Release Cui Jun,

take Xie Jiayu hostage,

and have him shoot me.

That's true.

The incident with Li Lejun

alienated you from Prince Jing'an's Mansion.

If Her Majesty

really wants to kill you,

she won't stop easily.

You also want

Her Majesty and Xiao Wuyi to fight each other.

I heard you have a nephew,

whom you treat as your own son.

Back then, you wanted to use the He family

to secure an official career for him.

Unexpectedly,

he was led by the worthless sons of the He family

to drink and make merry all day,

and almost became a useless person.

His Majesty's chronic illness is now hard to cure.

How many more years do you think

the Empress Dowager will remain in power?

Why not

form a good tie with me?

Wuyi.

Thank you for your help today.

If you hadn't brought Imperial Physician Qin,

the Empress Dowager might have succeeded.

Xie Jiayu has already gone after Li Lejun.

Lejun.

Hope you've been well.

I originally thought the Antai Gate

was the Empress Dowager's doing.

It turned out to be you,

constantly using her and me

to create chaos in Jiankang.

As long as the defense battalion's troops are mobilized

and the Court of Judicial Review's guard is down,

you could find an opportunity to swap out Li Lejun

and send her out of the city.

But at least, I helped you get rid of the Empress Dowager.

Is that not enough?

Right and wrong, and the bottom line of human life—

I understand them all.

But Li Lejun will always be my exception.

So I left the choice to Xie Jiayu.

Xiao Wuyi, you are too cruel,

to both me and Xie Jiayu.

Do you think she'll be able to let it go if she kills Lejun?

No.

It will only make it harder for her to face.

I secretly swapped Lejun out,

then she can survive,

and Xie Jiayu would think she has gotten her revenge.

Isn't that the best arrangement?

You underestimated Xie Jiayu.

She's not that easily defeated.

She can make a choice.

And this choice

can only be made by her.

Jiayu,

there was no personal grudge between Princess Yunzhao and me—

only political rivalry.

I had no other choice.

Give me a reason not to kill you.

Fine.

Then today,

I will avenge my mother myself.

If Mao finds out,

he won't let you go.

Then let him come to me himself.

I can go to Northern Qin.

The Eagle King wants to marry me.

I can use this

and go undercover in Northern Qin.

Cui Jun went undercover in Ye for Northern Qin for 20 years.

If he could do it,

I can too.

Mao is the Regent.

If I go undercover in Northern Qin,

you can trust my loyalty.

I'll be a spy

to help Mao realize his ambitions

and keep Xiao Wuyi informed of Northern Qin's movements.

Besides, being a spy is extremely dangerous.

Even if I'm killed by the Northern Qin people,

it won't be by your hands.

Jiayu.

We are friends.

I don't want

you to kill me with your own hands.

Let's leave it to fate.

Xiao Wuyi, let me tell you,

from now on,

there is no brotherhood between us.

Only a bond of sovereign and subject.

What happened?

Did Mao hit you?

I'm sorry.

Don't overthink it.

This is between him and me.

-It's all my fault. -Alright.

I'm fine.

Xiao Wuyi.

Although I said

I didn't want to be a demon's wife,

but a hero's wife,

actually, I'm not afraid of

being condemned and notorious.

Why don't you ask me

if I did anything to Lejun?

Are you okay?

She said she wanted to go to Northern Qin as a spy

and stay undercover by the Eagle King's side.

I shot an arrow.

Li Lejun.

We shall never meet again

in this life.

If we do meet again,

I will definitely take your life.

Take her to Northern Qin.

Yes.

Princess Yunzhao will understand.

Congratulations, Your Highness, on taking full control of Jiankang.

Has the Empress Dowager departed yet?

The Empress Dowager suffered an attack of intense anger,

was invaded by pathogenic wind,

and had a stroke.

She can hardly get up now.

The seal has been taken back.

Early or late,

she still has to leave.

Your Highness, the Empress Dowager has truly fallen ill.

Then let her rest and recuperate.

About the matter you promised me before...

Your nephew is smart.

I have promoted him to Commander of the Imperial Guard.

Thank you, Your Highness.

As for you,

stay in the temporary palace

and look after the Empress Dowager.

I... this...

The winner is decided.

Now that you are the head of the He family,

why come here to show off your power?

I remember when I was young and studying,

Father and Mother always told me

that I had a very beautiful aunt.

She was a noble lady in Jiankang Palace.

She was beautiful, gentle,

and extremely intelligent.

She excelled in the Four Arts.

She was especially good at playing the ruanxian.

A piece of "Partridge" would make people forget all worldly worries.

Father and Mother

pointed at her portrait and told me

that a noble daughter of an aristocratic family

with elegant bearing

should be like this.

So I imitated her appearance in the painting

to read,

practice calligraphy,

play the guqin,

and grow up,

wanting to become the second her.

Now,

can you still play?

Later, I met that aunt.

I even brought my ruanxian that day.

But the first thing she told me when she saw me

was that I needed to marry a man I had never met

for the sake of the family.

Which noble lady

doesn't marry a man

she has never met?

But I had already agreed,

and Pei Runheng was already dead!

Why did you have to frame them

and destroy the entire Pei family?

Why?

It became a habit.

The Pei family refused to believe their son died in an accident.

How could I let them keep digging

and causing more trouble?

When Runheng's mother committed suicide with her daughter,

his younger sister was not even 5 years old!

Aunt.

Because of your own lust for power,

how many lives have you ruined?

Lust for power?

Who is born with a lust for power?

The He family ruined my life as well.

Who will cry foul for me?

Without me,

the He family would be nothing

but an insignificant clan.

All the wealth and glory you enjoy now

were bought with my sacrifice.

What? Now that you're done using me,

you want to wash your hands of it?

But your luck is better than mine after all.

Prince Jing'an's Mansion

is not the man-eating Jiankang Palace.

It's all an illusion.

Old friends are not the same.

You probably don't know yet.

His Majesty

has already issued a secret edict.

The day he passes away

will be the day you die.

The future of the He family

has absolutely nothing to do with you anymore.

[Grand Tutor's Mansion]

Cui Jun died without entering the Court of Judicial Review.

Whether he was truly a Northern Qin spy

or he fabricated the unjust case involving the An and Lu families

can no longer be verified.

What about the Phoenix Heart Token?

It is with His Majesty.

Crown Prince Wenxi.

It has been returned to its rightful owner.

Are you sure Xiao Wuyi

is Crown Prince Wenxi?

He definitely is.

I...

I didn't know you knew...

Let it be.

It is a blessing not to know.

I don't have many days left to live.

And I no longer have the will

to save the people of this world.

I don't want to deal with this massive flood,

and I can't anyway.

Are you just going to leave it be?

Crown Prince Wenxi's Phoenix Heart Token

originally belonged to him.

I will use my own way

to beat him.