Original subtitles

Greetings, Your Highness.

Please get up, Madam Liu.

I'd hoped you'd spend the rest of your lives in peace.

But in the end,

I still dragged you into this deadly game.

We're at your command, Your Highness.

How many people can we call on in Jiankang right now?

Twenty-seven are still alive.

How many are under 60?

Eleven.

But those who can still fight

are 27.

We're old,

but we can still hold a sword.

Aside from us,

these are all the people we can mobilize

within Jiankang.

We can also make use of the tunnels

and waterways.

Tomorrow, we'll surely help Your Highness

rescue Prince Jing'an and your family.

[Key to the Phoenix Heart]

[Episode 25]

Wuyi, don't dwell on it.

You've done your utmost for Li Mao,

yet he's the one who insists on wiping us all out.

So we don't need to suffer in silence anymore.

Once we rescue Father and Mother tomorrow

and make it out of Jiankang

to the Northern Border,

he won't be able to do anything to you.

Once again, I'm dragging you into danger.

I'm afraid things won't end well this time.

If anything happens tomorrow,

Yaoyao,

you must stay alive.

Remember—

no matter what happens,

you have to stay alive.

Don't worry.

Even including all of us,

we're only a little over 30 in total.

But they all look

utterly loyal and capable.

Look,

even though you gave them free rein for over 20 years,

they still managed to build

such an extensive network here.

With their help tomorrow,

even if we can't win in a head-on fight,

we should be able to

create enough chaos to rescue everyone.

Yaoyao.

I'm sorry.

Why are you apologizing?

This time, Yuanji even got punished because of us.

But she was the top scholar of the Spring Examination—

the very model Li Mao uses to win over scholars throughout the realm.

Even if Li Mao is displeased that she spoke out,

I don't think he'll truly harm her.

Go to sleep.

You...

I...

How could I possibly sleep?

Tomorrow is a battle of life and death.

This is the last peaceful night we'll ever have.

Go to sleep now.

Mother,

why were you spanked?

Did you do something wrong?

When you grow up,

you don't only get spanked for doing something wrong.

Sometimes, you get spanked

for doing the right thing too.

That's so unfair.

I'd better not grow up then.

Mother,

how is the plague outside?

Are Mama Ruisheng and Father

doing well?

I've finished all the lessons

Mama left for me.

But she still hasn't come to pick me up.

I miss her.

There's a plague outside?

Chan told me

Grandfather and Grandmother had both caught it

and that we had to hide in the palace to be safe.

Have they recovered yet?

A plague doesn't end that quickly.

Young Master Xiao, please rest easy in the palace.

Tomorrow, your father

will come into the palace to be with you.

What about my mama, Ruisheng?

Your mama is a physician.

There are so many sick people outside.

She has to treat them, right?

Young Master Xiao, take good care of your mother.

I'm sure your family will be reunited soon.

These are the sugar cakes His Highness made especially for you.

So this is how you've been fooling him.

His Highness said

grown-up matters

aren't something a child needs to know.

You just said

Young Lord Xiao would enter the palace tomorrow.

What does that mean?

We heard Young Lord Xiao has already entered the city.

His Highness fears he may have caught the plague outside

and plans to invite him and the others to the palace tomorrow

to visit Prince Jing'an and the Princess.

Is Xiao Yao sick too?

Is he dying as well?

Lady He,

it hasn't been easy for you to get where you are today.

His Highness has given you a place to prove yourself.

Don't throw away his goodwill for the sake of people

who have nothing to do with you.

Attend to them carefully.

Don't let Lady He and Young Master Xiao

come into contact with anyone from outside and catch the plague.

Yes.

The execution ground is ready?

Good.

Tomorrow, I'll let the whole world see

just what kind of loyal subject Xiao Wuyi really is.

Three,

two,

one.

Go save them!

That's the execution drum.

We've been tricked by Li Mao!

Xiao Wuyi!

There's no time. Go save them quickly.

Leave this to us.

Qing Long, protect Jiayu.

Yes.

Be careful.

Madam Liu, let's go.

Stand aside.

If Your Highness repents,

you may yet have a chance to survive.

Kill him!

You're all citizens of Ye.

I don't want to see your blood spilled.

♪ Fight to the bitter end ♪

♪ My promises endure like a river ♪

♪ I dare you to challenge me ♪

♪ Listen, the winds begin to roar ♪

♪ The clash of arms rages on ♪

♪ Let flames sweep the plains in darkness ♪

♪ Still hot-blooded ♪

♪ Fight and let flames sweep the plains in darkness ♪

♪ Still hot-blooded ♪

♪ My heart stays true ♪

♪ Fight to the bitter end ♪

♪ My promises endure like a river ♪

♪ I dare you ♪

Xiao Wuyi,

is this what you call

serving the nation with all your heart?

Prince Jing'an Xiao Ju framed loyal officials

and fabricated a miscarriage of justice,

endangering the fate of the nation and leading to the fall of the Capital.

His intent violates the law,

and his crimes warrant execution.

Yet today, in broad daylight,

you slaughter the Imperial Guards

and storm the execution ground.

Where does that leave the law of the land?

Where does that leave justice for the realm?

Heaven's principles are clear,

and the law of the land cannot tolerate this.

If the entire Jing'an household is not brought to justice today,

how can I answer to the realm?

And how can I uphold the order of the state?

Li Mao!

I've already given you

everything you wanted.

Except for one thing.

What exactly do you want?

A just cause.

I'm giving you one last chance.

Let my family go.

I am the Regent of the realm.

Are you trying to rebel?

His Majesty's imperial edict!

I rule all under heaven and uphold

the virtue of wise governance.

The truth of the An-Lu wrongful case has been revealed.

Prince Jing'an Xiao Ju

harbored malicious intentions and framed loyal subjects.

Today, the Xiao family has been brought to justice.

I hereby order Xiao Wuyi to surrender and confess immediately.

Do not disappoint me,

and do not let the people of the realm suffer further from the war.

Beifu Black Cavalry,

seize the criminal Xiao Wuyi at once.

Do you really think my Beifu soldiers

will take orders from you?

Then let's find out.

Seize the criminal!

Isn't this moment ironic?

You once poured your heart and soul

into pushing through the Beifu Reform,

even going so far as to turn the private army loyal to you and your clan

into an army for the nation.

What courage.

What vision.

But I doubt you ever imagined

that the very army you built with such devotion

would one day

turn on you

and take your life.

Mao, you...

Execute!

Brother!

Let my family go.

Let go of me!

You... Let go...

Xiao Wuyi!

Give Yaoyao back to me...

Xiao Wuyi!

Let go!

Li Mao, you lunatic!

Tell them to let go of me!

Xiao Wuyi!

Li Mao!

Li Mao, you're crazy!

Let go of me!

Xiao Wuyi,

with this arrow,

we're even!

Li Mao, you're crazy!

Kill them!

Don't kill my father.

Execute!

No!

Father...

Mother...

Li Mao.

I will make you pay for this.

Xiao Wuyi!

Yaoyao...

Capture the traitor

and kill the rebels!

Qing Long, Yan Yue, protect the Heir!

Kill them!

Bring Xie Jiayu back to the palace.

Your Highness!

Xiao Wuyi!

Your Highness, we're safe now.

Where should we go?

Let's go back to the Northern Border.

There's mist. Be careful.

Yan Yue!

You haven't eaten in days.

Whatever you want to say,

say it after you've eaten.

Yaoyao,

you once told me that

even if Xiao Wuyi died before you,

as long as he had never betrayed you

or let you down,

you would still carry on living for him.

Come on, eat.

Are you going to keep me here forever?

You should know what I'm capable of.

No lock in this world

can hold me.

Locks can't hold you,

but poison can.

Muscle-Weakening Powder.

At least it'll make sure you can't go anywhere,

so we can get married in peace.

You might as well kill me now!

Otherwise, as long as I'm alive,

I'll avenge Xiao Wuyi!

You already stabbed me with a hairpin once.

Xiao Wuyi isn't dead.

He escaped the city.

When he fled,

he was heavily injured.

I'd already laid an ambush outside the city.

Yet the moment he got out,

someone rescued him.

Tell me,

who saved him?

Does he still have hidden private troops?

Looks like you don't know either.

Xie Jiayu,

it seems he never truly trusted you.

Bad news, Your Highness!

Insolent!

How dare you barge in without announcing yourself?

Forgive me, Your Highness.

I have an urgent matter to report.

Speak.

Xiao... Xiao Ziqi is missing.

After knocking out Miss Chan with acupuncture,

he ran away.

He is nowhere to be found now.

Search the palace and find him now!

Yes.

When you see Grand Tutor Xie later,

don't cry.

Death wipes the slate clean.

Don't hold a grudge against him anymore.

Execute!

Brother!

Xiao Ziqi is missing.

Search the palace and find him now!

In my first year in the palace,

I, too, often stood here alone, deep in thought.

I'd wonder

what you and Wuyi were doing

outside the palace.

At first, I imagined

you were probably blowing up

the alchemy furnace again at home,

while Wuyi might be off at the Northern Border,

where swords clash and battles rage.

But the longer I thought about it,

the fewer images of you I could conjure.

Until one day,

I couldn't picture you at all anymore.

Years later,

I came back here again to think.

I wondered

what we would have done together

if you had stayed in the palace back then.

I thought about it for a long,

long time.

But I couldn't come up with a single scenario

where you'd be happy, and I'd be happy too.

Yet just now, I understood.

Just having you stand quietly by my side...

is enough.

Now my wish has been fulfilled.

There are

no more regrets left between us.

You seem very worried about Ziqi.

Why would you, Prince Qi,

who drove Xiao Wuyi into a corner,

care so much

about an insignificant child?

Are you hiding something from me?

We've found him!

Your Highness,

Eunuch Feng has found Young Master Xiao.

Give me your hands.

Aren't you afraid I'll run away too?

If you were to run,

you'd surely find Xiao Ziqi first.

Let's go.

Little master.

Little master, please stop.

Come on, let's go.

Stop playing.

Let go of me!

I want to find my mama!

You're all liars!

Alright, alright.

There is no plague outside at all!

Auntie, help!

They're all bad people!

They beat Mother!

-Mama is missing. -Young Master Xiao.

They're all bad people!

Bad people! You big villain!

You killed my grandfather and grandmother!

-Alright. -You even want to kill my father too!

Feng An,

take him back to the Eastern Palace.

If he escapes again,

you'll answer for it yourself.

Yes, Your Highness.

Let's go. Come on.

Let's go. Come on.

Hurry.

Stay put.

Da,

next time you want me to stay put,

just use this hand signal.

Right.

Xiao Wuyi isn't dead.

He escaped the city.

Mao,

that letter you didn't get a chance to give me

is from Wuyi, right?

Give it to me.

How did you know?

From the way you treated Ziqi.

How could someone who slaughtered innocent people

at the execution ground be so concerned about a child?

Unless

it's all an act.

So I went back over everything that's happened

these past few days,

along with the hand signal Da just gave me.

And these medicinal herbs.

I was already 90% certain.

These precious herbs

are all used to treat blood stasis.

If you truly meant to kill Wuyi,

why would you have someone brew medicine for him here?

What about the other 10%?

I was bluffing.

How do you recognize these herbs?

I taught her.

Prince Qi sought out the miraculous doctor

to treat the Heir.

You knew all along too?

Then how is Xiao Wuyi now...

As long as that arrow struck exactly where it was meant to,

his life is not in danger.

As for the blood stasis,

the miraculous doctor has prepared pills.

They can at least keep the Heir stable

for 2 months.

Da's men are all trustworthy.

Give it to me.

"My dear wife Jiayu,

I hope this letter finds you well.

I told Yizhi that once he confirmed

I'd been captured by Northern Qin spies,

he should tell you the whole truth

to spare you prolonged fear and grief.

But you must have already cried by now.

The thought of this

unsettles my heart.

Yaoyao,

I, Xiao Wuyi, have never failed anyone in my life,

except you.

Perhaps this will be my final letter in this lifetime.

Even so, I still want to start from where it all began: Crown Prince Wenxi.

Before I turned 13,

I believed my fate would be the same as Father's

and all my uncles'—

to become a commander of the Imperial Guards,

protecting the palace and the imperial throne.

But then Northern Qin invaded Qizhou.

That was the first time I saw a real battlefield.

It was also the first time I learned of my true identity.

One hundred and forty-seven

Shadow Envoys sacrificed their lives to save me.

[Xiao Sheng]

From now on, your name is Xiao Sheng.

From today on, he is your master.

Greetings, Your Highness.

[Young Qing Long; Young Yan Yue]

He's Qing Long.

She's Yan Yue.

From now on, they will remain by your side.

"I held the Phoenix Heart Token,

and the expectation that 'when the Phoenix Heart Token appears,

peace shall be restored in the world.'

Yet in my heart, I felt utterly lost.

If the infamous An-Lu treason case

that shook the entire realm

were truly a miscarriage of justice,

and my parents were the root cause

of the Capital's fall and 20 years of war,

could I really, with just a single token,

command all under heaven

and bring peace to the realm?

Are the elite troops of Ye meant only to fight for the powerful and noble...

It was only after I met Yizhi...

Not for the common people?

That I found my direction.

It wasn't wrong for Emperor Wenxi and the Empress

to support commoner officials in order to check the noble clans.

They simply chose the wrong time

and failed to keep the right balance.

That gave Northern Qin the opening it needed.

Then what, in your view, is the right time,

and how should that balance be kept?

The past is the past,

and now is now.

We are now in a chaotic age,

and a chaotic age calls for harsh laws.

Thank you. Your words

have enlightened me.

Ye needs an army

that truly fights for the people and the nation.

Compared to Jiankang Palace,

I belonged more on the Northern Border.

Eight years of war

gave Ye the Beifu Army,

and Xiao Sheng became Xiao Wuyi.

Yizhi was right.

If I hadn't been gravely wounded at Jiuzhang Plain,

perhaps I might eventually have

become Crown Prince Wenxi.

But my blood stasis disease dooms me to a short life.

Grand Tutor Xie's selfish desires

also showed me another, better path.

Yizhi is more suited for that throne.

The mistakes my father made in the past

have always been a hidden danger to the army's morale.

I had prepared for that long ago.

But I didn't expect the Eagle King to use the Grand Tutor's life as bait.

Since he made his move,

we might as well uproot the old grievances once and for all.

So we turned his scheme against him

and staged a fallout between the ruler and his subject—

paving the way with flesh and blood.

Take this secret report

and read it carefully.

Beware of spies.

I planned everything

and arranged it all.

To achieve the final goal,

I can sacrifice anything.

But the only exception

is you.

I was afraid that if I told you,

I'd lose the courage to walk this path alone.

But with the fate of the realm on my shoulders,

I couldn't afford to cling to my own life."

Xiao Wuyi, you're a liar!

Bastard!

Jerk!

Why didn't you tell me?

When did you two bastards

conspire to send him

to his death?

And that arrow—

whose idea was that really?

That night in the imperial prison,

when you left,

the stab he gave me

was for Feng An to see.

The next time we meet,

there's no need to hold back.

No!

-Xiao Wuyi! -Kill them!

So,

you told Da to stay put

because, aside from the Northern Qin spies

who had already been exposed outside Jiankang Palace,

the one you were really guarding against was Eunuch Feng?

Not just guarding against him—

you were using him.

You wanted to use his words

to make the Eagle King believe

that even if you knew something was wrong with the case,

you would still suspect Xiao Wuyi

and force him into a corner?

At least we had him.

What did the miraculous doctor mean by 2 months?

He's suffered from blood stasis

and taken an arrow.

After that long, rough journey back to the Northern Border,

things won't go well for him.

But the miraculous doctor's medicine

can only keep him alive for 2 months.

Did it ever occur to you

that he might not return within 2 months?

What if the Eagle King doesn't

fall for your plan and refuses to take the bait?

Yaoyao.

Don't be mad anymore.

I'm not mad.

I'm just thinking about

how I'm going to bury this bastard.

I have something for you.

This was made

by melting down the Phoenix Heart Token

that Xiao Wuyi cut in half.

He wanted me to give it to you.

This was originally my mother's Phoenix Imperial Seal.

How about I melt it

and make it into a hairpin for you?

♪ A dying memory glimmers low ♪

♪ You appear, but I can't hold you so ♪

♪ Time itself comes to a sudden halt ♪

♪ So desolate ♪

♪ I traded obsession for this loss ♪

Both Her Highness and I

♪ If I could lay my heart bare and cross ♪

wish for you to live freely and happily.

♪ Would you once more have pity on me ♪

"The road ahead is long,

and I may never return.

♪ If the heavens should change and fate tear me apart ♪

This is my farewell to you.

I have failed you.

♪ Yet still cannot undo one beat of my heart's art ♪

I dare not ask for another life together.

♪ I've traveled so far— the day I find you again ♪

I only wish that in this life, Yaoyao, you may meet a good man again

♪ I fear you might have forgotten me ♪

and live in peace and joy."

♪ I fear no doom of endless karmic pain ♪

♪ Only that you drift far from my side ♪

[Eagle King's Camp; Northern Qin]

Is His Highness the Eagle King still not coming out to receive the imperial edict?

[Imperial Envoy of Northern Qin]

Your Excellency,

His Highness is ill

and cannot come out to receive the edict for the time being.

Preposterous!

Since when does receiving an edict depend on one's convenience?

The Eagle King should not presume that being the Emperor's uncle

exempts him from observing the proper hierarchy.

We wouldn't dare.

His Highness has always

held His Majesty in the highest respect.

Isn't that right, everyone?

Yes!

His Majesty has heard

that the Eagle King brought back an honored guest from Southern Ye.

His Majesty wishes to invite this honored guest to visit the Capital.

Here is the imperial edict.

If His Highness the Eagle King

still refuses to come out to receive the edict,

then I

will have to proclaim it here.

Wait, wait.

My stomach...

Take me to the latrine.

Escort the Imperial Envoy to the guest residence.

Young Lord Xiao,

what do you suppose my dear nephew, the Emperor,

wants with you in the Capital?

You're really no fun, you know?

You and I have fought for a decade.

How many decades does a man get in one lifetime?

That makes us friends of a sort, doesn't it?

Now that you're on my turf,

you don't even let me

play the gracious host

and treat you to a good meal.

You're refusing even water on your hunger strike.

It makes me look like a terribly ill-mannered host.

Fine.

If you won't talk,

I'll go have a chat with that guard of yours instead.

Her injuries look even worse than yours.

Maybe her temper isn't quite as foul.

Don't waste your breath on me.

Returning to Jiankang was a gamble

I chose to take.

And now that I've lost,

unlike you,

I accept whatever comes—life or death.

Unlike me?

At the Battle of Jiuzhang Plain,

your Black Eagle Army suffered heavy losses,

and your Empress Dowager passed away shortly after.

Your biggest support is gone.

The new Emperor has ascended the throne.

You refuse to resign yourself to that and urgently need a great victory.

But your young Emperor doesn't want you to win.

That's why he demands you hand me over,

afraid that you and I might join forces.

But have you ever thought about this?

The fact that he moved so quickly

means your own ranks

aren't exactly airtight.

Sure enough,

the one who knows you best is not your friend,

but your enemy.

Yet aren't you even more foolish than I am?

Li Mao used you

to secure his throne,

then the moment he had the chance, he turned on you—

killed your family and took your wife.

How much longer

are you going to tolerate a ruler like that?

Why not

join forces with me?

Tell me the Beifu Army's defense strategies.

From Luozhou to Huaixi,

it'll all be

within our grasp in an instant.

We'll divide the realm between us.

My loyalty is to the nation—

not to any one ruler.

Then what if I promise to help you fight your way back into Jiankang

and snatch Xie Jiayu back?

Then you can personally cut off Li Mao's head

and offer it in tribute to your family. How about that?

My days are already numbered.

Wealth and glory,

love and desire,

mean nothing to me.

Who would've thought

that the illustrious Crown Prince Wenxi

would turn out to be such a waste— handing the realm over to someone else.

H-How did you know that?

If I didn't even know that,

how could I dare play a game of divide and conquer?

You planted Li Lejun

by my side.

Did you really think I had no one planted in your Eastern Palace?

Let me tell you.

Li Mao is narrow-minded, indecisive, and vicious by nature.

Precisely because you're Crown Prince Wenxi,

he will never truly trust you,

let alone let you command the Beifu Army.

Even if you help him retake the Capital,

you will end up being discarded when you outlive your usefulness.

Look closely.

This is the armor Emperor Wenxi wore when he fell in battle.

Back then, he personally led the campaign,

holding off overwhelming enemy forces.

But to his dying breath, he never saw the reinforcements

from your Southern Ye noble clans.

Is such a realm

still worth protecting?

Oh,

and the day after you left Jiankang,

Li Mao issued a decree:

the Xiao family committed treason,

you were reduced to a commoner,

and every member of the Xiao family aged 14 and above was beheaded.

On the third day,

another decree came from the palace

that Xie Jiayu was to be taken as his secondary consort.

Xie resisted to the point of threatening her own life,

so he had her shackled inside the Eastern Palace.

The wedding will be held tomorrow.