Original subtitles

(The Shadow Sovereign)

If killing me alone

can save those people,

then I humbly beg Your Majesty

to kill me right now.

Silver-tongued sophistry.

His arrogance knows no bounds.

Father, the witnesses and physical evidence are all before us.

Shen Xiao's crimes are clear.

But he's merely a lowly eighth-rank official.

Without someone backing him,

how could he possibly have dared act so brazenly?

Behind him,

is there someone else pulling the strings?

Father, please look into this carefully.

Father, I only ordered him to requisition grain.

Shen Xiao's crimes are inexcusable.

He should be stripped of his office and exiled,

as a warning to others.

(What a coward. He's so spineless.)

(My advice last night was wasted on you.)

The Second Prince has failed to govern his subordinate properly

and cannot escape responsibility.

I fear he is no longer fit to oversee the Ministry of Revenue.

Your Majesty, everything was done by me alone.

It has nothing to do with the Second Prince.

You think saying that makes it true?

Your Majesty, Shen Xiao has only been in office for three months,

and he's already acting out of control.

I'm worried this could shake the foundation of our nation.

I urge we suspend the appointments of this year's successful candidates

and review the entire selection system.

We concur.

(These old crooks don't just want Shen Xiao dead.)

(They want to use this to cut off the path of advancement for commoners.)

Shen Xiao has acted recklessly

and violated the law.

Strip him of his post as Censor in the Ministry of Revenue.

Send him to the imperial prison to await trial.

This guilty subject, Shen Xiao,

thanks Your Majesty for your grace.

(The winding Yellow River surges in reverse.)

(Washing away centuries of noble lineage.)

(From Kunlun is carved a brush that reaches Heaven.)

(Dipped in the Silver River)

to write for humble homes.

I never expected you, Censor Shen,

to become the voice of the humble-born throughout the realm.

It is simply my duty.

(Just as the Buddha's light)

(shines upon all living beings,)

(so too will it)

illuminate the path of the loyal and the righteous.

Heaven's justice is ever-present.

Truth can never be extinguished.

(To stand against the Crown Prince)

(is already to have one foot in the Netherworld.)

(So long as the requisitioned grain reaches the imperial treasury,)

I'm willing to

surrender my life.

Zhao Yang.

- I'm here, Father. - My grain requisition decree

has been in effect for many days.

Shen Xiao came with the decree to see you,

but you wouldn't even give him 30,000 piculs of grain.

Do you look down on Shen Xiao,

or do you look down on my decree?

I wouldn't dare, Father.

Shen Xiao impeached you that day,

and every word made sense.

He was helping the court shoulder its burdens.

But what about you?

You know nothing of the hardships endured by the people.

Instead, you drove an official devoted to serving the realm

into a desperate corner.

Zhao Yang, listen to my decree.

You disobeyed the grain requisition decree,

so you must be punished.

Within three days,

you shall deliver another 50,000 piculs of grain.

I will obey, Father.

(Eastern Palace)

Father is clearly punishing Shen Xiao

on the surface while secretly protecting him.

Once he's in the imperial prison,

his life is no longer in Heaven's hands.

He's a convicted official from a humble family.

If he dies suddenly from illness in prison

or commit suicide out of guilt,

that is entirely normal.

Even if His Majesty were enraged,

he would not pursue the matter over a dead man.

Father would never allow the Top Scholar he personally valued

to die so easily.

- You're a fool. - If you hadn't stopped me that night,

he never would've taken those 30,000 piculs of grain.

None of this would have happened.

So there was more to it than that?

He was acting under Father's grain requisition decree.

If I hadn't stopped you,

the one imprisoned today would have been you, Prince Consort Cui.

Shen Xiao is insignificant.

Even if he had stopped him, so what?

Are you trying to boost his confidence?

Your Highness, there's no need to worry.

I have a plan

to kill Shen Xiao.

Zhao Yang, you'll go in person.

You're the victim in this case.

It's perfectly reasonable for you to visit him in prison

under the pretext of reprimanding him.

You do it yourself.

After you finish off Shen Xiao,

make it look like he's too ashamed to face you

and he takes his own life out of guilt.

How does that sound?

Zhao Yang.

Are you willing to eliminate this threat

for the sake of the Eastern Palace?

Sister-in-law, you've thought this through most carefully.

Of course, I'm willing.

Make sure it's done cleanly.

I'll have someone follow you.

Don't try anything funny.

Can you really kill Shen Xiao?

The Eastern Palace has given its order.

I shall obey.

Li Shu.

There is no one else here.

I just want to ask you one thing.

Can you actually go through with it?

He hurt me first.

If I kill him, it will be both revenge

and loyalty.

Why wouldn't I go through with it?

You can't fool me.

The way you look at him

is different.

What?

Instead of discussing affairs of state

or the interests of the Eastern Palace,

you're fussing over the way I look at another man?

That doesn't sound like you.

He has nothing to do with me.

I simply don't want blood on my hands.

But if you insist on forcing me,

then I'll kill him.

That'll make me even dirtier.

I'll be more like you all.

Isn't that right?

Zhao Yang, you...

Your Highness.

You took my grain,

caused me to get punished by His Majesty,

and made the Crown Prince suspect me.

I'm here to kill you.

Your Highness, if you want to kill me,

you shouldn't hesitate.

If my death can clear Your Highness of suspicion,

then at least my life

will have been put to good use.

What value can there be in the life

of a man who's about to die?

If I die,

will you mourn for me, even a little?

(Donghua Gate)

The drought in Guanzhong has lasted over a month.

The nobles are all in league with one another.

No one cares if we live or die.

Only Censor Shen

tried to save Guanzhong from the drought,

even if it meant offending the powerful over and over.

- Release Censor Shen! - Yes!

Release Censor Shen!

Release Censor Shen!

Release Censor Shen!

Release Censor Shen!

Is this your way out?

You think

a few commoners can sway public opinion enough

to stand against the Crown Prince?

Release Censor Shen!

How dare you! Arrest all the ringleaders!

Release Censor Shen!

Release Censor Shen!

Release Censor Shen!

(So, I'll give this flower)

to Your Highness

as my apology.

Of course I'm worried about you.

Blades don't care who they cut.

I beg Your Highness, from now on,

never to employ such tactics again.

(Your Highness, don't be mad.)

I was too rash today.

That's why I fell into the trap.

I should've been more careful.

His Majesty has issued a decree.

Although Censor Shen Xiao from the Ministry of Revenue

acted recklessly,

his heart has been devoted to the welfare of the people.

He moved thousands to gather at the palace gates in tears

and submitted a joint petition.

I rule by Heaven's mandate and govern all under Heaven.

Considering the people's earnest plea,

I hereby extend imperial clemency

and order his immediate pardon.

By imperial command.

This...

Your Highness, this...

No need to panic.

Just report what you saw

to His Majesty truthfully.

Yes, Your Highness.

You've suffered.

Thank you, Your Highness, for saving me.

(I almost killed him with my own hands just now.)

(Yet he still trusts me so completely.)

(He even dared to trust me with his life.)

(If he knew his father's death was connected to me,)

(would he hate me?)

You're hurt.

When I entered the palace,

there was unrest outside the palace gate.

(Prince Consort Cui sent troops to suppress it.)

(I was inadvertently stained in the commotion.)

What caused the unrest?

I don't know.

Li Si.

Li Si.

Your Majesty.

Humble-born scholars and commoners

gathered outside the palace to petition for Shen Xiao.

The Crown Prince ordered Prince Consort Cui

to send troops to suppress them.

Why did no one report this to me?

Please calm your anger, Your Majesty. This matter had yet to be verified

before being reported to Your Majesty.

We didn't dare report it carelessly.

This is outrageous!

Shen Xiao has been released so easily.

Even the charge of attempting to assassinate a royal

can be forgiven so easily.

Tell me, is there any rule

that a humble-born scholar cannot break?

Forgive me for my failure.

If I'd acted faster,

it would've been settled before the decree arrived.

Your Highness, please calm down.

Shen Xiao may have escaped this time,

but after all this,

his reputation has been tarnished and his spirit broken.

Second Prince pushed him out to take the blame.

His Majesty is already displeased with him.

Shen Xiao now stands alone, barely holding on.

He can no longer pose a serious threat.

We had clearly suppressed the matter

of the people gathering to petition.

How did it reach His Majesty overnight

and spread throughout the entire capital?

Seventh Prince happened to enter the palace yesterday to pay his respects.

As a Map Commissioner, I'm afraid he has not been idle.

He's making moves behind the scenes.

He's after something big, Your Highness.

Seventh Brother has no backing whatsoever,

yet he dares harbor such ambitions.

Your Highness, Eunuch Li is outside conveying His Majesty's verbal decree.

Princess Zhao Yang is urgently summoned to the palace.

You deliberately sent Shen Xiao to the Ministry of Revenue,

allowing him to commit a grave offence,

nearly lose his life,

and make your Second Brother the target of everyone's attacks.

All so that

I would see clearly just how many officials in this court

have turned their hearts away from me.

That was your real intention.

Father.

To heal poisoned flesh, one must scrape away

the infected bone and cut out the rot.

My offence today

was merely to expose the festering wound

before Your Majesty's eyes.

Father, if you don't want to heal it

and will rather let it continue to fester

until the entire body is rotten to its core,

then I've indeed done wrong today.

I'll accept whatever punishment Father deems fit,

without a single complaint.

But if you want to scrape the bone

and cut out the infection,

I will be the best blade in your hand.

Good.

Well done, Zhao Yang.

If the Crown Prince

had half your insight,

I wouldn't have to work so hard.

Rise.

Thank you, Father.

Whatever you want to do,

I approve.

But remember,

the Crown Prince is the foundation of the nation.

His dignity

is my dignity as well.

You must know your limits.

(His Majesty still can't bring himself to act against the Crown Prince,)

(but he understands clearly that)

(the festering wound Crown Prince and noble families have planted in Ye)

(must be cut away, little by little, by someone.)

(Shen Xiao and I)

(will be the ones to do it.)

As for Shen Xiao,

go smooth things over with him.

He's a man of talent.

The Ye Dynasty should not lose him.

Zhao Yang.

Zhao Yang.

Go.

I will remember.

Censor Shen!

Put the things down. You may leave.

I failed to keep our appointment for several days,

yet Your Highness has come in person

and brought all these gifts.

I'm honestly flattered.

Now that you mention it,

I'm almost tempted to take them all back.

But I come under His Majesty's orders

to apologize to you, Censor Shen.

These are my gifts of apology.

An apology?

I'm afraid I haven't sensed the slightest trace

of remorse from Your Highness.

These treasures and jewels

can't buy one sentence of forgiveness from you

to let go of past grudges?

Censor Shen, before this,

didn't you thank me for saving you?

All I know is,

I asked Your Highness

if you would be sad

if I died,

and Your Highness still hasn't answered me.

Your Highness.

Look, I found some beautiful paintings.

Censor Shen, did you paint these?

They're pretty.

Your Highness, look.

This one is pretty.

This one is even prettier.

Censor Shen, your paintings are wonderful.

Can you paint one for the Princess too?

My little troublemaker, stop talking already.

These are portraits of women who are matched with Censor Shen.

Let's go.

Hurry up.

My residence is a mess.

I'll go tidy up.

Don't bother.

I thought you took leave because you were seriously ill.

Turns out you just wanted some peace and quiet,

so you could focus on studying these beauty portraits.

I haven't even had a chance to look through them.

The official matchmaker forced them on me.

Go ahead, look.

Why aren't you looking through them?

Since you're the male companion I spent a fortune keeping,

it's only natural that I help advise you

on something as important as choosing a wife.

Don't worry.

I've got a great eye for this.

Then I'll trouble Your Highness

to put in extra effort

and help me pick the best one.

Miss Sun here

has got lovely looks.

Her temperament is gentle.

She's also well-educated.

Unfortunately,

her heart already belongs to someone else.

Censor Shen, you probably shouldn't get involved.

Is that so?

As far as I'm concerned,

since Miss Sun isn't yet betrothed,

why should Your Highness assume

I can't win her heart?

Sounds like the kind of thing you'd do.

Miss Li is pretty great too.

She comes from a family of military officers.

She trained in martial arts since childhood.

She's direct and outspoken.

But she's always liked

rugged and well-built men.

I think Miss Li

must be tired of seeing

all those brutes swinging weapons around.

Besides, when it comes to martial skill,

I'm not lacking either.

This is Miss Zhang.

I know her well.

She's a regular at Xianke Bordello.

She loves dice games and playing cards.

Her liquor tolerance is unmatched.

10 grown men together can't outdrink her.

Someone as boring as you

probably wouldn't catch her eye.

Brilliant.

She's quite the character.

But that's alright.

As Your Highness knows best,

my greatest strength is that

I'm a quick learner.