1
00:00:16,320 --> 00:00:17,850
Greetings, Your Highness.

2
00:00:18,350 --> 00:00:19,750
Please get up, Madam Liu.

3
00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:26,350
I'd hoped you'd spend
the rest of your lives in peace.

4
00:00:26,350 --> 00:00:27,150
But in the end,

5
00:00:27,550 --> 00:00:29,880
I still dragged you into this deadly game.

6
00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:32,729
We're at your command, Your Highness.

7
00:00:33,350 --> 00:00:36,210
How many people can we call on
in Jiankang right now?

8
00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:38,070
Twenty-seven are still alive.

9
00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:40,080
How many are under 60?

10
00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:41,030
Eleven.

11
00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:43,350
But those who can still fight

12
00:00:43,350 --> 00:00:44,520
are 27.

13
00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:47,000
We're old,

14
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:49,200
but we can still hold a sword.

15
00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:55,600
Aside from us,

16
00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:57,470
these are all the people we can mobilize

17
00:00:57,470 --> 00:00:58,670
within Jiankang.

18
00:00:59,430 --> 00:01:01,070
We can also make use of the tunnels

19
00:01:01,070 --> 00:01:02,030
and waterways.

20
00:01:03,030 --> 00:01:05,069
Tomorrow, we'll surely help Your Highness

21
00:01:05,069 --> 00:01:07,270
rescue Prince Jing'an and your family.

22
00:02:37,100 --> 00:02:40,920
[Key to the Phoenix Heart]

23
00:02:41,310 --> 00:02:43,900
[Episode 25]

24
00:03:22,410 --> 00:03:24,150
Wuyi, don't dwell on it.

25
00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:27,310
You've done your utmost for Li Mao,

26
00:03:27,310 --> 00:03:29,710
yet he's the one
who insists on wiping us all out.

27
00:03:29,710 --> 00:03:32,240
So we don't need to
suffer in silence anymore.

28
00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:34,150
Once we rescue Father and Mother tomorrow

29
00:03:34,150 --> 00:03:35,590
and make it out of Jiankang

30
00:03:35,590 --> 00:03:36,920
to the Northern Border,

31
00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,300
he won't be able to do anything to you.

32
00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,329
Once again, I'm dragging you into danger.

33
00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,800
I'm afraid things won't
end well this time.

34
00:03:50,310 --> 00:03:52,040
If anything happens tomorrow,

35
00:03:52,470 --> 00:03:53,030
Yaoyao,

36
00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:54,810
you must stay alive.

37
00:03:56,870 --> 00:03:57,470
Remember—

38
00:03:58,520 --> 00:03:59,590
no matter what happens,

39
00:03:59,590 --> 00:04:00,850
you have to stay alive.

40
00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:04,810
Don't worry.

41
00:04:05,710 --> 00:04:07,190
Even including all of us,

42
00:04:07,190 --> 00:04:09,190
we're only a little over 30 in total.

43
00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:10,030
But they all look

44
00:04:10,030 --> 00:04:11,560
utterly loyal and capable.

45
00:04:11,910 --> 00:04:12,540
Look,

46
00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:14,750
even though you gave them free rein
for over 20 years,

47
00:04:14,750 --> 00:04:16,000
they still managed to build

48
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,800
such an extensive network here.

49
00:04:18,630 --> 00:04:20,089
With their help tomorrow,

50
00:04:20,390 --> 00:04:21,950
even if we can't win in a head-on fight,

51
00:04:21,950 --> 00:04:23,040
we should be able to

52
00:04:23,390 --> 00:04:25,650
create enough chaos to rescue everyone.

53
00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:28,800
Yaoyao.

54
00:04:32,430 --> 00:04:33,070
I'm sorry.

55
00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:37,000
Why are you apologizing?

56
00:04:39,270 --> 00:04:41,750
This time, Yuanji even got punished
because of us.

57
00:04:41,750 --> 00:04:43,600
But she was the top scholar
of the Spring Examination—

58
00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,360
the very model Li Mao uses
to win over scholars throughout the realm.

59
00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,630
Even if Li Mao is displeased
that she spoke out,

60
00:04:48,630 --> 00:04:50,560
I don't think he'll truly harm her.

61
00:05:08,630 --> 00:05:09,290
Go to sleep.

62
00:05:12,580 --> 00:05:13,140
You...

63
00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:14,290
I...

64
00:05:20,190 --> 00:05:21,720
How could I possibly sleep?

65
00:05:21,950 --> 00:05:23,950
Tomorrow is a battle of life and death.

66
00:05:23,950 --> 00:05:26,270
This is the last peaceful night
we'll ever have.

67
00:05:26,270 --> 00:05:27,130
Go to sleep now.

68
00:05:41,390 --> 00:05:42,240
Mother,

69
00:05:42,630 --> 00:05:44,310
why were you spanked?

70
00:05:45,630 --> 00:05:47,240
Did you do something wrong?

71
00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:48,870
When you grow up,

72
00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,600
you don't only get spanked
for doing something wrong.

73
00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:54,530
Sometimes, you get spanked

74
00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:56,700
for doing the right thing too.

75
00:05:58,560 --> 00:05:59,950
That's so unfair.

76
00:06:00,630 --> 00:06:03,310
I'd better not grow up then.

77
00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:11,510
Mother,

78
00:06:11,750 --> 00:06:13,950
how is the plague outside?

79
00:06:14,070 --> 00:06:15,800
Are Mama Ruisheng and Father

80
00:06:15,870 --> 00:06:17,310
doing well?

81
00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:19,140
I've finished all the lessons

82
00:06:19,270 --> 00:06:20,600
Mama left for me.

83
00:06:21,310 --> 00:06:23,270
But she still hasn't come to pick me up.

84
00:06:23,270 --> 00:06:24,820
I miss her.

85
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:28,620
There's a plague outside?

86
00:06:28,630 --> 00:06:30,390
Chan told me

87
00:06:30,390 --> 00:06:33,050
Grandfather and Grandmother
had both caught it

88
00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:36,120
and that we had to hide in the palace
to be safe.

89
00:06:36,310 --> 00:06:38,230
Have they recovered yet?

90
00:06:39,159 --> 00:06:41,090
A plague doesn't end that quickly.

91
00:06:42,630 --> 00:06:44,800
Young Master Xiao,
please rest easy in the palace.

92
00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:46,360
Tomorrow, your father

93
00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:47,870
will come into the palace to be with you.

94
00:06:47,870 --> 00:06:49,430
What about my mama, Ruisheng?

95
00:06:49,430 --> 00:06:51,510
Your mama is a physician.

96
00:06:51,830 --> 00:06:53,190
There are so many sick people outside.

97
00:06:53,190 --> 00:06:54,950
She has to treat them, right?

98
00:06:56,270 --> 00:06:59,000
Young Master Xiao,
take good care of your mother.

99
00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,360
I'm sure
your family will be reunited soon.

100
00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,890
These are the sugar cakes
His Highness made especially for you.

101
00:07:10,830 --> 00:07:12,480
So this is how you've been fooling him.

102
00:07:12,480 --> 00:07:13,510
His Highness said

103
00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:14,960
grown-up matters

104
00:07:15,310 --> 00:07:17,510
aren't something a child needs to know.

105
00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:19,040
You just said

106
00:07:19,830 --> 00:07:22,240
Young Lord Xiao would enter
the palace tomorrow.

107
00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:23,370
What does that mean?

108
00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:25,630
We heard Young Lord Xiao
has already entered the city.

109
00:07:25,630 --> 00:07:28,120
His Highness fears
he may have caught the plague outside

110
00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:30,000
and plans to invite him and the others
to the palace tomorrow

111
00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:32,330
to visit Prince Jing'an and the Princess.

112
00:07:34,210 --> 00:07:36,620
Is Xiao Yao sick too?

113
00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:39,360
Is he dying as well?

114
00:07:39,630 --> 00:07:40,310
Lady He,

115
00:07:41,159 --> 00:07:42,870
it hasn't been easy for you
to get where you are today.

116
00:07:42,870 --> 00:07:44,920
His Highness has given you a place
to prove yourself.

117
00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:47,270
Don't throw away his goodwill
for the sake of people

118
00:07:47,270 --> 00:07:49,000
who have nothing to do with you.

119
00:07:51,870 --> 00:07:53,310
Attend to them carefully.

120
00:07:53,310 --> 00:07:54,680
Don't let Lady He and Young Master Xiao

121
00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,000
come into contact with anyone from outside
and catch the plague.

122
00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:57,680
Yes.

123
00:08:16,230 --> 00:08:17,960
The execution ground is ready?

124
00:08:19,190 --> 00:08:19,830
Good.

125
00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,730
Tomorrow, I'll let the whole world see

126
00:08:25,870 --> 00:08:28,730
just what kind of loyal subject
Xiao Wuyi really is.

127
00:09:25,550 --> 00:09:26,360
Three,

128
00:09:27,420 --> 00:09:28,230
two,

129
00:09:29,390 --> 00:09:29,960
one.

130
00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:38,330
Go save them!

131
00:10:18,910 --> 00:10:20,360
That's the execution drum.

132
00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:21,960
We've been tricked by Li Mao!

133
00:10:22,670 --> 00:10:23,270
Xiao Wuyi!

134
00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:26,000
There's no time. Go save them quickly.

135
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:26,930
Leave this to us.

136
00:10:27,390 --> 00:10:28,850
Qing Long, protect Jiayu.

137
00:10:28,910 --> 00:10:29,360
Yes.

138
00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:31,860
Be careful.

139
00:10:34,670 --> 00:10:35,840
Madam Liu, let's go.

140
00:10:42,670 --> 00:10:43,400
Stand aside.

141
00:10:46,550 --> 00:10:48,480
If Your Highness repents,

142
00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:51,480
you may yet have a chance to survive.

143
00:10:57,030 --> 00:11:02,720
Kill him!

144
00:11:26,390 --> 00:11:27,850
You're all citizens of Ye.

145
00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:31,370
I don't want to see your blood spilled.

146
00:11:51,220 --> 00:11:56,490
♪ Fight to the bitter end ♪

147
00:11:56,510 --> 00:12:00,100
♪ My promises endure like a river ♪

148
00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:03,040
♪ I dare you to challenge me ♪

149
00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,190
♪ Listen, the winds begin to roar ♪

150
00:12:06,210 --> 00:12:08,890
♪ The clash of arms rages on ♪

151
00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:10,740
♪ Let flames
sweep the plains in darkness ♪

152
00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:14,390
♪ Still hot-blooded ♪

153
00:12:14,420 --> 00:12:18,460
♪ Fight and let flames
sweep the plains in darkness ♪

154
00:12:19,050 --> 00:12:21,980
♪ Still hot-blooded ♪

155
00:12:22,650 --> 00:12:25,410
♪ My heart stays true ♪

156
00:12:25,430 --> 00:12:30,340
♪ Fight to the bitter end ♪

157
00:12:30,560 --> 00:12:35,930
♪ My promises endure like a river ♪

158
00:12:36,410 --> 00:12:40,220
♪ I dare you ♪

159
00:13:07,390 --> 00:13:08,200
Xiao Wuyi,

160
00:13:09,390 --> 00:13:11,390
is this what you call

161
00:13:12,030 --> 00:13:14,230
serving the nation with all your heart?

162
00:13:16,030 --> 00:13:18,630
Prince Jing'an Xiao Ju
framed loyal officials

163
00:13:18,790 --> 00:13:20,360
and fabricated a miscarriage of justice,

164
00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:23,320
endangering the fate of the nation
and leading to the fall of the Capital.

165
00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:24,600
His intent violates the law,

166
00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:26,530
and his crimes warrant execution.

167
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:28,490
Yet today, in broad daylight,

168
00:13:29,390 --> 00:13:30,750
you slaughter the Imperial Guards

169
00:13:30,750 --> 00:13:32,550
and storm the execution ground.

170
00:13:32,590 --> 00:13:34,550
Where does that leave the law of the land?

171
00:13:34,550 --> 00:13:37,010
Where does that
leave justice for the realm?

172
00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:38,120
Heaven's principles are clear,

173
00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:39,390
and the law of the land
cannot tolerate this.

174
00:13:39,390 --> 00:13:43,080
If the entire Jing'an household
is not brought to justice today,

175
00:13:44,270 --> 00:13:45,870
how can I answer to the realm?

176
00:13:46,150 --> 00:13:47,720
And how can I uphold
the order of the state?

177
00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:48,270
Li Mao!

178
00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:51,380
I've already given you

179
00:13:51,510 --> 00:13:52,840
everything you wanted.

180
00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:56,400
Except for one thing.

181
00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:58,270
What exactly do you want?

182
00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,360
A just cause.

183
00:14:16,220 --> 00:14:17,980
I'm giving you one last chance.

184
00:14:19,180 --> 00:14:20,110
Let my family go.

185
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:22,600
I am the Regent of the realm.

186
00:14:23,270 --> 00:14:24,720
Are you trying to rebel?

187
00:14:27,390 --> 00:14:29,540
His Majesty's imperial edict!

188
00:14:33,140 --> 00:14:34,750
I rule all under heaven and uphold

189
00:14:34,750 --> 00:14:36,140
the virtue of wise governance.

190
00:14:36,140 --> 00:14:38,720
The truth of the An-Lu wrongful case
has been revealed.

191
00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:39,790
Prince Jing'an Xiao Ju

192
00:14:39,790 --> 00:14:42,270
harbored malicious intentions
and framed loyal subjects.

193
00:14:42,270 --> 00:14:44,720
Today, the Xiao family
has been brought to justice.

194
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,480
I hereby order Xiao Wuyi to surrender
and confess immediately.

195
00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:48,680
Do not disappoint me,

196
00:14:48,870 --> 00:14:52,470
and do not let the people of the realm
suffer further from the war.

197
00:14:54,790 --> 00:14:55,990
Beifu Black Cavalry,

198
00:14:56,940 --> 00:14:59,200
seize the criminal Xiao Wuyi at once.

199
00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:07,030
Do you really think my Beifu soldiers

200
00:15:07,030 --> 00:15:08,490
will take orders from you?

201
00:15:10,390 --> 00:15:11,520
Then let's find out.

202
00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:13,050
Seize the criminal!

203
00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:16,660
Isn't this moment ironic?

204
00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:18,510
You once poured your heart and soul

205
00:15:18,510 --> 00:15:20,390
into pushing through the Beifu Reform,

206
00:15:20,390 --> 00:15:22,750
even going so far as to turn
the private army loyal to you and your clan

207
00:15:22,750 --> 00:15:24,440
into an army for the nation.

208
00:15:24,790 --> 00:15:26,320
What courage.

209
00:15:26,510 --> 00:15:27,630
What vision.

210
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:29,600
But I doubt you ever imagined

211
00:15:29,750 --> 00:15:31,910
that the very army you built
with such devotion

212
00:15:31,910 --> 00:15:32,960
would one day

213
00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:35,000
turn on you

214
00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:36,750
and take your life.

215
00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:38,200
Mao, you...

216
00:15:41,790 --> 00:15:42,600
Execute!

217
00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:53,160
Brother!

218
00:16:39,670 --> 00:16:40,870
Let my family go.

219
00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:12,030
Let go of me!

220
00:17:12,310 --> 00:17:13,400
You... Let go...

221
00:17:15,619 --> 00:17:16,220
Xiao Wuyi!

222
00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:20,109
Give Yaoyao back to me...

223
00:17:20,230 --> 00:17:20,990
Xiao Wuyi!

224
00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:22,550
Let go!

225
00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:24,240
Li Mao, you lunatic!

226
00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:25,569
Tell them to let go of me!

227
00:17:26,510 --> 00:17:27,349
Xiao Wuyi!

228
00:17:38,070 --> 00:17:38,680
Li Mao!

229
00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:40,880
Li Mao, you're crazy!

230
00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:41,760
Let go of me!

231
00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:42,550
Xiao Wuyi,

232
00:17:43,230 --> 00:17:44,160
with this arrow,

233
00:17:44,450 --> 00:17:45,450
we're even!

234
00:17:46,310 --> 00:17:47,230
Li Mao, you're crazy!

235
00:17:47,230 --> 00:17:47,860
Kill them!

236
00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:49,310
Don't kill my father.

237
00:17:49,310 --> 00:17:49,840
Execute!

238
00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:53,510
No!

239
00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:25,350
Father...

240
00:18:26,550 --> 00:18:27,270
Mother...

241
00:18:32,070 --> 00:18:32,720
Li Mao.

242
00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:36,710
I will make you pay for this.

243
00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:40,550
Xiao Wuyi!

244
00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:49,350
Yaoyao...

245
00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:36,810
Capture the traitor

246
00:19:37,590 --> 00:19:38,790
and kill the rebels!

247
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:44,790
Qing Long, Yan Yue, protect the Heir!

248
00:19:44,790 --> 00:19:47,680
Kill them!

249
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:50,930
Bring Xie Jiayu back to the palace.

250
00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:58,060
Your Highness!

251
00:19:58,400 --> 00:19:59,070
Xiao Wuyi!

252
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:20,750
Your Highness, we're safe now.

253
00:20:21,270 --> 00:20:22,330
Where should we go?

254
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:24,940
Let's go back to the Northern Border.

255
00:20:25,270 --> 00:20:26,730
There's mist. Be careful.

256
00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:30,790
Yan Yue!

257
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:57,380
You haven't eaten in days.

258
00:21:57,750 --> 00:21:58,920
Whatever you want to say,

259
00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:00,380
say it after you've eaten.

260
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:07,830
Yaoyao,

261
00:22:08,830 --> 00:22:09,960
you once told me that

262
00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:12,680
even if Xiao Wuyi died before you,

263
00:22:13,310 --> 00:22:14,830
as long as he had never betrayed you

264
00:22:14,830 --> 00:22:15,790
or let you down,

265
00:22:16,790 --> 00:22:18,990
you would still carry on living for him.

266
00:22:20,030 --> 00:22:20,760
Come on, eat.

267
00:22:24,790 --> 00:22:26,850
Are you going to keep me here forever?

268
00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:29,350
You should know what I'm capable of.

269
00:22:29,350 --> 00:22:30,680
No lock in this world

270
00:22:31,350 --> 00:22:32,270
can hold me.

271
00:22:40,550 --> 00:22:41,720
Locks can't hold you,

272
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:42,680
but poison can.

273
00:22:43,550 --> 00:22:44,880
Muscle-Weakening Powder.

274
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:46,550
At least it'll make sure
you can't go anywhere,

275
00:22:46,550 --> 00:22:48,210
so we can get married in peace.

276
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:50,480
You might as well kill me now!

277
00:22:52,950 --> 00:22:54,720
Otherwise, as long as I'm alive,

278
00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:55,880
I'll avenge Xiao Wuyi!

279
00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,280
You already stabbed me
with a hairpin once.

280
00:22:59,770 --> 00:23:00,970
Xiao Wuyi isn't dead.

281
00:23:02,550 --> 00:23:03,680
He escaped the city.

282
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:07,400
When he fled,

283
00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:09,530
he was heavily injured.

284
00:23:09,830 --> 00:23:12,160
I'd already laid an ambush
outside the city.

285
00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:13,790
Yet the moment he got out,

286
00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:16,400
someone rescued him.

287
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:18,070
Tell me,

288
00:23:19,110 --> 00:23:20,160
who saved him?

289
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,330
Does he still have hidden private troops?

290
00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:26,580
Looks like you don't know either.

291
00:23:26,750 --> 00:23:27,510
Xie Jiayu,

292
00:23:28,490 --> 00:23:30,490
it seems he never truly trusted you.

293
00:23:33,350 --> 00:23:34,750
Bad news, Your Highness!

294
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:36,520
Insolent!

295
00:23:37,110 --> 00:23:39,030
How dare you barge in
without announcing yourself?

296
00:23:39,030 --> 00:23:40,240
Forgive me, Your Highness.

297
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:42,100
I have an urgent matter to report.

298
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:42,750
Speak.

299
00:23:44,270 --> 00:23:45,930
Xiao... Xiao Ziqi is missing.

300
00:23:46,750 --> 00:23:48,830
After knocking out
Miss Chan with acupuncture,

301
00:23:48,830 --> 00:23:49,590
he ran away.

302
00:23:50,340 --> 00:23:51,940
He is nowhere to be found now.

303
00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:53,210
Search the palace and find him now!

304
00:23:53,210 --> 00:23:53,650
Yes.

305
00:24:09,590 --> 00:24:11,200
When you see Grand Tutor Xie later,

306
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:11,800
don't cry.

307
00:24:12,510 --> 00:24:13,740
Death wipes the slate clean.

308
00:24:13,740 --> 00:24:16,000
Don't hold a grudge against him anymore.

309
00:24:18,550 --> 00:24:19,240
Execute!

310
00:24:20,680 --> 00:24:21,510
Brother!

311
00:24:22,590 --> 00:24:23,790
Xiao Ziqi is missing.

312
00:24:26,590 --> 00:24:28,520
Search the palace and find him now!

313
00:24:34,070 --> 00:24:35,730
In my first year in the palace,

314
00:24:35,750 --> 00:24:38,410
I, too, often stood here alone,
deep in thought.

315
00:24:39,070 --> 00:24:39,830
I'd wonder

316
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,960
what you and Wuyi were doing

317
00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:46,090
outside the palace.

318
00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:48,370
At first, I imagined

319
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:50,640
you were probably blowing up

320
00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:52,570
the alchemy furnace again at home,

321
00:24:54,030 --> 00:24:56,630
while Wuyi might be off
at the Northern Border,

322
00:24:57,270 --> 00:24:58,830
where swords clash and battles rage.

323
00:24:58,830 --> 00:25:00,690
But the longer I thought about it,

324
00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:03,720
the fewer images of you I could conjure.

325
00:25:06,270 --> 00:25:07,240
Until one day,

326
00:25:09,770 --> 00:25:11,900
I couldn't picture you at all anymore.

327
00:25:14,030 --> 00:25:14,920
Years later,

328
00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:17,410
I came back here again to think.

329
00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:19,480
I wondered

330
00:25:21,310 --> 00:25:23,200
what we would have done together

331
00:25:26,110 --> 00:25:28,370
if you had stayed in the palace back then.

332
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,080
I thought about it for a long,

333
00:25:32,590 --> 00:25:33,350
long time.

334
00:25:34,590 --> 00:25:37,050
But I couldn't come up with
a single scenario

335
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,330
where you'd be happy,
and I'd be happy too.

336
00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:42,210
Yet just now, I understood.

337
00:25:46,270 --> 00:25:48,670
Just having you stand quietly
by my side...

338
00:25:51,110 --> 00:25:52,000
is enough.

339
00:25:58,240 --> 00:25:59,970
Now my wish has been fulfilled.

340
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:01,720
There are

341
00:26:03,110 --> 00:26:04,910
no more regrets left between us.

342
00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:10,340
You seem very worried about Ziqi.

343
00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:11,480
Why would you, Prince Qi,

344
00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:13,340
who drove Xiao Wuyi into a corner,

345
00:26:13,350 --> 00:26:14,200
care so much

346
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:15,930
about an insignificant child?

347
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:18,740
Are you hiding something from me?

348
00:26:19,750 --> 00:26:20,680
We've found him!

349
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:24,210
Your Highness,

350
00:26:24,210 --> 00:26:26,350
Eunuch Feng has found Young Master Xiao.

351
00:26:26,350 --> 00:26:27,410
Give me your hands.

352
00:26:30,620 --> 00:26:31,720
Aren't you afraid I'll run away too?

353
00:26:31,720 --> 00:26:32,690
If you were to run,

354
00:26:32,690 --> 00:26:34,620
you'd surely find Xiao Ziqi first.

355
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:35,530
Let's go.

356
00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:40,300
Little master.

357
00:26:40,790 --> 00:26:42,390
Little master, please stop.

358
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:43,480
Come on, let's go.

359
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:43,920
Stop playing.

360
00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:44,960
Let go of me!

361
00:26:45,030 --> 00:26:46,250
I want to find my mama!

362
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:47,110
You're all liars!

363
00:26:47,110 --> 00:26:47,550
Alright, alright.

364
00:26:47,550 --> 00:26:49,410
There is no plague outside at all!

365
00:26:49,590 --> 00:26:51,400
Auntie, help!

366
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:53,070
They're all bad people!

367
00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:55,200
They beat Mother!

368
00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:57,240
-Mama is missing.
-Young Master Xiao.

369
00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:58,830
They're all bad people!

370
00:26:59,030 --> 00:27:01,000
Bad people! You big villain!

371
00:27:01,060 --> 00:27:02,430
You killed my grandfather and grandmother!

372
00:27:02,430 --> 00:27:04,680
-Alright.
-You even want to kill my father too!

373
00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:05,440
Feng An,

374
00:27:05,890 --> 00:27:07,440
take him back to the Eastern Palace.

375
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:08,570
If he escapes again,

376
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:10,510
you'll answer for it yourself.

377
00:27:10,510 --> 00:27:11,640
Yes, Your Highness.

378
00:27:11,970 --> 00:27:12,830
Let's go. Come on.

379
00:27:12,830 --> 00:27:14,400
Let's go. Come on.

380
00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:18,240
Hurry.

381
00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:28,400
Stay put.

382
00:27:29,590 --> 00:27:30,160
Da,

383
00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:31,480
next time you want me to stay put,

384
00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:32,940
just use this hand signal.

385
00:27:35,910 --> 00:27:36,390
Right.

386
00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:58,120
Xiao Wuyi isn't dead.

387
00:27:58,680 --> 00:27:59,810
He escaped the city.

388
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:05,240
Mao,

389
00:28:06,070 --> 00:28:08,530
that letter you didn't get a chance
to give me

390
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:10,330
is from Wuyi, right?

391
00:28:13,030 --> 00:28:13,790
Give it to me.

392
00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:15,650
How did you know?

393
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:18,140
From the way you treated Ziqi.

394
00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:20,920
How could someone
who slaughtered innocent people

395
00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:23,920
at the execution ground
be so concerned about a child?

396
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:24,830
Unless

397
00:28:25,750 --> 00:28:26,790
it's all an act.

398
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:31,000
So I went back over everything
that's happened

399
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:32,130
these past few days,

400
00:28:33,350 --> 00:28:35,680
along with the hand signal
Da just gave me.

401
00:28:37,350 --> 00:28:38,880
And these medicinal herbs.

402
00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:40,900
I was already 90% certain.

403
00:28:42,270 --> 00:28:43,310
These precious herbs

404
00:28:43,310 --> 00:28:44,880
are all used to treat blood stasis.

405
00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:46,610
If you truly meant to kill Wuyi,

406
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,720
why would you have someone
brew medicine for him here?

407
00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:55,080
What about the other 10%?

408
00:28:57,030 --> 00:28:57,890
I was bluffing.

409
00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:02,060
How do you recognize these herbs?

410
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:04,790
I taught her.

411
00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:09,350
Prince Qi sought out the miraculous doctor

412
00:29:09,350 --> 00:29:10,350
to treat the Heir.

413
00:29:17,030 --> 00:29:18,290
You knew all along too?

414
00:29:18,750 --> 00:29:19,830
Then how is Xiao Wuyi now...

415
00:29:19,830 --> 00:29:21,960
As long as that arrow struck
exactly where it was meant to,

416
00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:23,360
his life is not in danger.

417
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:28,240
As for the blood stasis,

418
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:29,510
the miraculous doctor has prepared pills.

419
00:29:29,510 --> 00:29:30,880
They can at least keep the Heir stable

420
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:31,750
for 2 months.

421
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,060
Da's men are all trustworthy.

422
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:44,130
Give it to me.

423
00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:04,330
"My dear wife Jiayu,

424
00:30:04,830 --> 00:30:06,690
I hope this letter finds you well.

425
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:08,590
I told Yizhi that once he confirmed

426
00:30:08,590 --> 00:30:10,750
I'd been captured by Northern Qin spies,

427
00:30:10,750 --> 00:30:12,610
he should tell you the whole truth

428
00:30:13,270 --> 00:30:15,400
to spare you prolonged fear and grief.

429
00:30:16,790 --> 00:30:18,920
But you must have already cried by now.

430
00:30:19,630 --> 00:30:20,740
The thought of this

431
00:30:21,270 --> 00:30:22,640
unsettles my heart.

432
00:30:24,270 --> 00:30:24,960
Yaoyao,

433
00:30:26,270 --> 00:30:29,000
I, Xiao Wuyi, have never failed anyone
in my life,

434
00:30:29,550 --> 00:30:30,550
except you.

435
00:30:32,310 --> 00:30:35,270
Perhaps this will be
my final letter in this lifetime.

436
00:30:35,270 --> 00:30:39,330
Even so, I still want to start from
where it all began: Crown Prince Wenxi.

437
00:30:42,270 --> 00:30:43,510
Before I turned 13,

438
00:30:44,440 --> 00:30:46,400
I believed my fate
would be the same as Father's

439
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,250
and all my uncles'—

440
00:30:48,790 --> 00:30:50,640
to become a commander
of the Imperial Guards,

441
00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,300
protecting the palace
and the imperial throne.

442
00:30:54,270 --> 00:30:56,400
But then Northern Qin invaded Qizhou.

443
00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:59,420
That was the first time
I saw a real battlefield.

444
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,060
It was also the first time
I learned of my true identity.

445
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:04,840
One hundred and forty-seven

446
00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:07,690
Shadow Envoys
sacrificed their lives to save me.

447
00:31:13,390 --> 00:31:16,220
[Xiao Sheng]

448
00:31:14,780 --> 00:31:16,780
From now on, your name is Xiao Sheng.

449
00:31:18,070 --> 00:31:19,870
From today on, he is your master.

450
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:22,240
Greetings, Your Highness.

451
00:31:21,260 --> 00:31:24,700
[Young Qing Long; Young Yan Yue]

452
00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:23,580
He's Qing Long.

453
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:24,790
She's Yan Yue.

454
00:31:25,030 --> 00:31:27,360
From now on,
they will remain by your side.

455
00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:31,000
"I held the Phoenix Heart Token,

456
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:31,890
and the expectation that
'when the Phoenix Heart Token appears,

457
00:31:31,890 --> 00:31:33,790
peace shall be restored in the world.'

458
00:31:33,790 --> 00:31:35,790
Yet in my heart, I felt utterly lost.

459
00:31:36,270 --> 00:31:37,000
If the infamous An-Lu treason case

460
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,550
that shook the entire realm

461
00:31:38,550 --> 00:31:39,940
were truly a miscarriage of justice,

462
00:31:39,940 --> 00:31:42,130
and my parents were the root cause

463
00:31:42,270 --> 00:31:44,440
of the Capital's fall and 20 years of war,

464
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:45,680
could I really, with just a single token,

465
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:46,750
command all under heaven

466
00:31:46,750 --> 00:31:48,350
and bring peace to the realm?

467
00:31:49,750 --> 00:31:51,720
Are the elite troops of Ye meant only to
fight for the powerful and noble...

468
00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:52,920
It was only after I met Yizhi...

469
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:54,030
Not for the common people?

470
00:31:54,030 --> 00:31:55,030
That I found my direction.

471
00:31:55,030 --> 00:31:56,880
It wasn't wrong
for Emperor Wenxi and the Empress

472
00:31:56,880 --> 00:31:59,070
to support commoner officials
in order to check the noble clans.

473
00:31:59,070 --> 00:32:01,030
They simply chose the wrong time

474
00:32:01,270 --> 00:32:02,550
and failed to keep the right balance.

475
00:32:02,550 --> 00:32:05,000
That gave Northern Qin
the opening it needed.

476
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:06,830
Then what, in your view,
is the right time,

477
00:32:06,830 --> 00:32:08,830
and how should that balance be kept?

478
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:10,570
The past is the past,

479
00:32:10,750 --> 00:32:11,830
and now is now.

480
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:13,700
We are now in a chaotic age,

481
00:32:13,750 --> 00:32:15,790
and a chaotic age calls for harsh laws.

482
00:32:15,790 --> 00:32:16,990
Thank you. Your words

483
00:32:17,160 --> 00:32:18,510
have enlightened me.

484
00:32:25,830 --> 00:32:26,750
Ye needs an army

485
00:32:26,750 --> 00:32:29,410
that truly fights for
the people and the nation.

486
00:32:30,200 --> 00:32:31,860
Compared to Jiankang Palace,

487
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,120
I belonged more on the Northern Border.

488
00:32:37,030 --> 00:32:38,030
Eight years of war

489
00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:40,140
gave Ye the Beifu Army,

490
00:32:40,790 --> 00:32:42,590
and Xiao Sheng became Xiao Wuyi.

491
00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:45,640
Yizhi was right.

492
00:32:46,350 --> 00:32:48,750
If I hadn't been gravely wounded
at Jiuzhang Plain,

493
00:32:48,750 --> 00:32:50,550
perhaps I might eventually have

494
00:32:50,550 --> 00:32:52,080
become Crown Prince Wenxi.

495
00:32:54,350 --> 00:32:57,210
But my blood stasis disease
dooms me to a short life.

496
00:32:58,390 --> 00:32:59,790
Grand Tutor Xie's selfish desires

497
00:32:59,790 --> 00:33:01,850
also showed me another, better path.

498
00:33:03,350 --> 00:33:05,410
Yizhi is more suited for that throne.

499
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:09,920
The mistakes my father made in the past

500
00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,240
have always been a hidden danger
to the army's morale.

501
00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,040
I had prepared for that long ago.

502
00:33:14,590 --> 00:33:18,310
But I didn't expect the Eagle King
to use the Grand Tutor's life as bait.

503
00:33:18,310 --> 00:33:19,570
Since he made his move,

504
00:33:20,110 --> 00:33:22,880
we might as well uproot the old grievances
once and for all.

505
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:24,590
So we turned his scheme against him

506
00:33:24,590 --> 00:33:27,160
and staged a fallout
between the ruler and his subject—

507
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:28,960
paving the way with flesh and blood.

508
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:30,290
Take this secret report

509
00:33:30,790 --> 00:33:32,050
and read it carefully.

510
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:41,750
Beware of spies.

511
00:33:55,110 --> 00:33:56,310
I planned everything

512
00:33:56,590 --> 00:33:57,720
and arranged it all.

513
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:00,180
To achieve the final goal,

514
00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:01,660
I can sacrifice anything.

515
00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:02,980
But the only exception

516
00:34:03,310 --> 00:34:03,880
is you.

517
00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:06,240
I was afraid that if I told you,

518
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,699
I'd lose the courage
to walk this path alone.

519
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:10,960
But with the fate of the realm
on my shoulders,

520
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:13,290
I couldn't afford to
cling to my own life."

521
00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,510
Xiao Wuyi, you're a liar!

522
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:23,800
Bastard!

523
00:34:24,190 --> 00:34:24,840
Jerk!

524
00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:26,480
Why didn't you tell me?

525
00:34:34,030 --> 00:34:35,429
When did you two bastards

526
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:37,280
conspire to send him

527
00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:38,400
to his death?

528
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:41,400
And that arrow—

529
00:34:41,710 --> 00:34:43,239
whose idea was that really?

530
00:34:43,630 --> 00:34:45,440
That night in the imperial prison,

531
00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:46,400
when you left,

532
00:34:47,150 --> 00:34:48,280
the stab he gave me

533
00:34:50,030 --> 00:34:51,230
was for Feng An to see.

534
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:52,960
The next time we meet,

535
00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:55,480
there's no need to hold back.

536
00:34:58,630 --> 00:34:59,400
No!

537
00:34:59,460 --> 00:35:00,790
-Xiao Wuyi!
-Kill them!

538
00:35:06,510 --> 00:35:07,280
So,

539
00:35:09,670 --> 00:35:11,150
you told Da to stay put

540
00:35:11,150 --> 00:35:12,670
because, aside from
the Northern Qin spies

541
00:35:12,670 --> 00:35:14,550
who had already been exposed
outside Jiankang Palace,

542
00:35:14,550 --> 00:35:17,750
the one you were really guarding against
was Eunuch Feng?

543
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,400
Not just guarding against him—

544
00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:20,460
you were using him.

545
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:22,340
You wanted to use his words

546
00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:24,100
to make the Eagle King believe

547
00:35:24,190 --> 00:35:26,070
that even if you knew something was wrong
with the case,

548
00:35:26,070 --> 00:35:27,760
you would still suspect Xiao Wuyi

549
00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:29,290
and force him into a corner?

550
00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:33,020
At least we had him.

551
00:35:35,590 --> 00:35:37,820
What did the miraculous doctor mean
by 2 months?

552
00:35:37,820 --> 00:35:39,480
He's suffered from blood stasis

553
00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:40,540
and taken an arrow.

554
00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:42,360
After that long, rough journey
back to the Northern Border,

555
00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:43,960
things won't go well for him.

556
00:35:44,590 --> 00:35:46,670
But the miraculous doctor's medicine

557
00:35:46,670 --> 00:35:48,670
can only keep him alive for 2 months.

558
00:35:53,030 --> 00:35:54,290
Did it ever occur to you

559
00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:56,900
that he might not return within 2 months?

560
00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:58,590
What if the Eagle King doesn't

561
00:35:58,590 --> 00:36:01,190
fall for your plan
and refuses to take the bait?

562
00:36:08,150 --> 00:36:08,800
Yaoyao.

563
00:36:10,230 --> 00:36:11,430
Don't be mad anymore.

564
00:36:13,590 --> 00:36:14,630
I'm not mad.

565
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:17,170
I'm just thinking about

566
00:36:18,590 --> 00:36:20,520
how I'm going to bury this bastard.

567
00:36:28,700 --> 00:36:30,100
I have something for you.

568
00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:38,330
This was made

569
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:40,400
by melting down the Phoenix Heart Token

570
00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:41,860
that Xiao Wuyi cut in half.

571
00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:45,080
He wanted me to give it to you.

572
00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:54,630
This was originally
my mother's Phoenix Imperial Seal.

573
00:36:54,630 --> 00:36:55,780
How about I melt it

574
00:36:56,140 --> 00:36:58,000
and make it into a hairpin for you?

575
00:37:04,110 --> 00:37:07,530
♪ A dying memory glimmers low ♪

576
00:37:07,830 --> 00:37:11,510
♪ You appear, but I can't hold you so ♪

577
00:37:11,610 --> 00:37:15,980
♪ Time itself comes to a sudden halt ♪

578
00:37:16,340 --> 00:37:19,030
♪ So desolate ♪

579
00:37:19,610 --> 00:37:23,280
♪ I traded obsession for this loss ♪

580
00:37:22,190 --> 00:37:23,310
Both Her Highness and I

581
00:37:23,310 --> 00:37:26,850
♪ If I could lay my heart bare and cross ♪

582
00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:27,040
wish for you to live freely and happily.

583
00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:32,370
♪ Would you once more have pity on me ♪

584
00:37:30,150 --> 00:37:31,480
"The road ahead is long,

585
00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:33,010
and I may never return.

586
00:37:33,010 --> 00:37:36,450
♪ If the heavens should change
and fate tear me apart ♪

587
00:37:33,710 --> 00:37:35,170
This is my farewell to you.

588
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:36,440
I have failed you.

589
00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:40,470
♪ Yet still cannot undo one beat
of my heart's art ♪

590
00:37:39,150 --> 00:37:40,610
I dare not ask for another life together.

591
00:37:40,610 --> 00:37:44,320
♪ I've traveled so far—
the day I find you again ♪

592
00:37:41,400 --> 00:37:44,340
I only wish that in this life,
Yaoyao, you may meet a good man again

593
00:37:44,340 --> 00:37:48,040
♪ I fear you might have forgotten me ♪

594
00:37:44,590 --> 00:37:46,050
and live in peace and joy."

595
00:37:48,290 --> 00:37:51,120
♪ I fear no doom of endless karmic pain ♪

596
00:37:51,140 --> 00:37:52,010
♪ Only that you drift far from my side ♪

597
00:37:52,890 --> 00:37:55,800
[Eagle King's Camp; Northern Qin]

598
00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:03,150
Is His Highness the Eagle King still not
coming out to receive the imperial edict?

599
00:38:01,390 --> 00:38:03,060
[Imperial Envoy of Northern Qin]

600
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:08,400
Your Excellency,

601
00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:09,820
His Highness is ill

602
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:12,110
and cannot come out to
receive the edict for the time being.

603
00:38:12,110 --> 00:38:12,970
Preposterous!

604
00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:15,400
Since when does receiving an edict
depend on one's convenience?

605
00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:19,000
The Eagle King should not presume
that being the Emperor's uncle

606
00:38:19,030 --> 00:38:21,280
exempts him from
observing the proper hierarchy.

607
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:22,320
We wouldn't dare.

608
00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:24,030
His Highness has always

609
00:38:24,030 --> 00:38:26,290
held His Majesty in the highest respect.

610
00:38:27,070 --> 00:38:28,670
Isn't that right, everyone?

611
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:29,760
Yes!

612
00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:31,670
His Majesty has heard

613
00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:34,920
that the Eagle King brought back
an honored guest from Southern Ye.

614
00:38:34,920 --> 00:38:38,660
His Majesty wishes to invite
this honored guest to visit the Capital.

615
00:38:38,660 --> 00:38:40,190
Here is the imperial edict.

616
00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:41,720
If His Highness the Eagle King

617
00:38:41,720 --> 00:38:44,110
still refuses to come out
to receive the edict,

618
00:38:44,110 --> 00:38:45,110
then I

619
00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:47,500
will have to proclaim it here.

620
00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:49,620
Wait, wait.

621
00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:50,680
My stomach...

622
00:38:51,230 --> 00:38:52,360
Take me to the latrine.

623
00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:55,160
Escort the Imperial Envoy
to the guest residence.

624
00:39:01,800 --> 00:39:02,730
Young Lord Xiao,

625
00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,320
what do you suppose my dear nephew,
the Emperor,

626
00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:06,980
wants with you in the Capital?

627
00:39:11,030 --> 00:39:12,760
You're really no fun, you know?

628
00:39:13,030 --> 00:39:14,840
You and I have fought for a decade.

629
00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:17,030
How many decades
does a man get in one lifetime?

630
00:39:17,030 --> 00:39:18,590
That makes us friends of a sort,
doesn't it?

631
00:39:18,590 --> 00:39:19,590
Now that you're on my turf,

632
00:39:19,590 --> 00:39:20,720
you don't even let me

633
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:22,440
play the gracious host

634
00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:23,840
and treat you to a good meal.

635
00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:26,440
You're refusing even water
on your hunger strike.

636
00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:29,300
It makes me look like
a terribly ill-mannered host.

637
00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:31,510
Fine.

638
00:39:32,750 --> 00:39:33,800
If you won't talk,

639
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:36,550
I'll go have a chat
with that guard of yours instead.

640
00:39:36,550 --> 00:39:38,810
Her injuries look even worse than yours.

641
00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:41,020
Maybe her temper isn't quite as foul.

642
00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:43,060
Don't waste your breath on me.

643
00:39:43,360 --> 00:39:45,290
Returning to Jiankang was a gamble

644
00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:46,260
I chose to take.

645
00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:48,580
And now that I've lost,

646
00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:50,710
unlike you,

647
00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:54,030
I accept whatever comes—life or death.

648
00:39:54,030 --> 00:39:54,960
Unlike me?

649
00:39:55,710 --> 00:39:57,510
At the Battle of Jiuzhang Plain,

650
00:39:58,630 --> 00:40:01,160
your Black Eagle Army
suffered heavy losses,

651
00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:03,760
and your Empress Dowager
passed away shortly after.

652
00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:05,420
Your biggest support is gone.

653
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:07,000
The new Emperor has ascended the throne.

654
00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:09,070
You refuse to resign yourself to that
and urgently need a great victory.

655
00:40:09,070 --> 00:40:11,670
But your young Emperor
doesn't want you to win.

656
00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:13,070
That's why he demands you hand me over,

657
00:40:13,070 --> 00:40:14,540
afraid that you and I might join forces.

658
00:40:14,540 --> 00:40:16,190
But have you ever thought about this?

659
00:40:16,190 --> 00:40:18,190
The fact that he moved so quickly

660
00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:20,840
means your own ranks

661
00:40:22,070 --> 00:40:24,070
aren't exactly airtight.

662
00:40:27,920 --> 00:40:28,710
Sure enough,

663
00:40:28,890 --> 00:40:31,190
the one who knows you best
is not your friend,

664
00:40:31,190 --> 00:40:32,190
but your enemy.

665
00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:35,250
Yet aren't you even more foolish
than I am?

666
00:40:36,710 --> 00:40:38,440
Li Mao used you

667
00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:39,640
to secure his throne,

668
00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:42,400
then the moment he had the chance,
he turned on you—

669
00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:44,530
killed your family and took your wife.

670
00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:45,670
How much longer

671
00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:48,680
are you going to tolerate
a ruler like that?

672
00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:50,440
Why not

673
00:40:51,710 --> 00:40:52,840
join forces with me?

674
00:40:53,710 --> 00:40:56,240
Tell me the Beifu Army's
defense strategies.

675
00:40:56,400 --> 00:40:57,880
From Luozhou to Huaixi,

676
00:40:58,000 --> 00:40:59,000
it'll all be

677
00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:01,010
within our grasp in an instant.

678
00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:03,320
We'll divide the realm between us.

679
00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:07,850
My loyalty is to the nation—

680
00:41:08,550 --> 00:41:09,680
not to any one ruler.

681
00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:14,960
Then what if I promise to
help you fight your way back into Jiankang

682
00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:16,550
and snatch Xie Jiayu back?

683
00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:22,220
Then you can personally
cut off Li Mao's head

684
00:41:22,510 --> 00:41:25,510
and offer it in tribute to your family.
How about that?

685
00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:28,620
My days are already numbered.

686
00:41:28,960 --> 00:41:30,070
Wealth and glory,

687
00:41:30,960 --> 00:41:32,550
love and desire,

688
00:41:34,070 --> 00:41:35,130
mean nothing to me.

689
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:47,560
Who would've thought

690
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:50,660
that the illustrious Crown Prince Wenxi

691
00:41:51,710 --> 00:41:55,710
would turn out to be such a waste—
handing the realm over to someone else.

692
00:41:56,840 --> 00:41:58,880
H-How did you know that?

693
00:41:59,920 --> 00:42:01,380
If I didn't even know that,

694
00:42:01,630 --> 00:42:04,070
how could I dare play a game
of divide and conquer?

695
00:42:04,070 --> 00:42:05,030
You planted Li Lejun

696
00:42:05,030 --> 00:42:06,190
by my side.

697
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,850
Did you really think I had no one planted
in your Eastern Palace?

698
00:42:09,850 --> 00:42:10,710
Let me tell you.

699
00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:14,670
Li Mao is narrow-minded, indecisive,
and vicious by nature.

700
00:42:14,670 --> 00:42:16,920
Precisely because you're
Crown Prince Wenxi,

701
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:18,580
he will never truly trust you,

702
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:21,360
let alone let you command the Beifu Army.

703
00:42:22,510 --> 00:42:24,710
Even if you help him retake the Capital,

704
00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:28,580
you will end up being discarded
when you outlive your usefulness.

705
00:42:37,710 --> 00:42:38,550
Look closely.

706
00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:43,220
This is the armor Emperor Wenxi wore
when he fell in battle.

707
00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:45,800
Back then, he personally led the campaign,

708
00:42:45,800 --> 00:42:47,760
holding off overwhelming enemy forces.

709
00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:49,590
But to his dying breath,
he never saw the reinforcements

710
00:42:49,590 --> 00:42:51,520
from your Southern Ye noble clans.

711
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:53,920
Is such a realm

712
00:42:54,190 --> 00:42:55,590
still worth protecting?

713
00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:02,800
Oh,

714
00:43:03,960 --> 00:43:05,960
and the day after you left Jiankang,

715
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:07,220
Li Mao issued a decree:

716
00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:08,670
the Xiao family committed treason,

717
00:43:08,670 --> 00:43:10,190
you were reduced to a commoner,

718
00:43:10,190 --> 00:43:13,850
and every member of the Xiao family
aged 14 and above was beheaded.

719
00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:14,810
On the third day,

720
00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:17,190
another decree came from the palace

721
00:43:17,190 --> 00:43:20,190
that Xie Jiayu was to be taken
as his secondary consort.

722
00:43:20,190 --> 00:43:21,840
Xie resisted to the point of
threatening her own life,

723
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:24,570
so he had her shackled
inside the Eastern Palace.

724
00:43:25,440 --> 00:43:27,760
The wedding will be held tomorrow.