Original subtitles

(The Shadow Sovereign)

(Episode 13)

(Princess Zhao Yang's Residence)

Climb up.

How did you know there was a rope here?

Go up first.

Come up.

Le Sheng.

There must be guards at the entrance. We'll sneak in through the window.

Come on.

Wait.

How do you know this place so well?

You'd better have a good explanation for this.

Well, I come here a lot.

You come here a lot?

Saving your sister is what matters most right now.

Keep up.

Shen Xiao.

Shen Xiao.

Shen Xiao.

Who is it?

What are you doing here?

I'm here to get you out.

Are you feeling better?

You came too?

I came to rescue you.

But now it looks like,

I'm not really needed here after all.

Neither of you should've come.

What if someone catches you?

Let's get you out of here first. I'll carry you.

Censor Shen is still hurt.

Let me carry you instead, Sister.

Move aside. I can walk on my own.

Go on, drink.

I'll drink this one.

Let me see

who has put in the most effort today.

Forgive me, Your Highness. The road ahead is blocked.

- We need to take a detour. - Which fool dares to block my way?

Get lost.

Where has the detour taken us?

(Princess Zhao Yang's Residence)

How did we end up outside that wretch Zhao Yang's place?

Zhao Yang?

Are you trying to copy me and do two at once?

Aren't you worried that you'll throw your back out?

What's happening? Why does that person look just like Shen Xiao?

It can't be Shen Xiao.

Your Highness, you already have us.

- Why bother thinking about some random guy outside? - Shut up.

I'm busy thinking.

Censor Shen, you've worked hard.

I can take care of my sister myself.

Actually, Your Highness and I...

I had proof that the Crown Prince tried to kill his own sister,

but Cui Jin Zhi destroyed it.

Even though the evidence is gone,

this can't just be ignored.

I want to see His Majesty.

If you accuse the Crown Prince with no proof,

you'll end up taking the fall.

We won't report the Crown Prince just yet.

Are you trying to...

I want...

A divorce?

Cui Jin Zhi has kept a mistress for years.

He even let his mistress, Qing Luo, poison me.

Besides feeling terrified and scared,

I'm even furious because the Cui family ignored Father's dignity.

I don't want to hide the divorce anymore.

I hope you will grant my wish, Father.

My oversight

has let you suffer all these years.

However, are you really insisting on making the divorce public

because of his mistress

or

Are you doing it because you and the Crown Prince have a rift?

This marriage with the Cui family

is a dead end for you.

Father, please judge wisely.

What I ask for

is first, for my own sake.

Secondly,

I believe a royal marriage is also a matter of state.

The Cui family needs to be put in their place now.

Deliver my command.

Summon Duke Ning to the palace at once.

Yes.

I also hope

that Father may let another person enter the palace.

(Imperial Study)

I granted you the Princess's hand in marriage.

Is this how much you love and protect her?

I am fearful.

My loyalty to the Princess is clear.

I only ask Your Majesty

not to take the Princess's angry words to heart.

Your Majesty, please judge wisely.

Arguments are bound to happen for young couples.

Heaven and earth can attest to

how the Prince Consort has treated the Princess.

Your Highness, even if you feel wronged,

you shouldn't use divorce as a threat.

A threat?

Prince Consort Cui handed me a divorce letter on our wedding night.

Your Majesty never made this matter public back then.

I deeply regret it all these years.

But the sun and moon can bear witness to my feelings for the Princess.

The so-called mistress is completely made up.

Every mistake is mine.

I shouldn't have argued with the Princess.

Your Highness, please don't throw a tantrum anymore.

You've disturbed His Majesty.

In that case,

please summon the witness, Father.

Summon Qing Luo to the hall!

I, Qing Luo, a commoner, bow to Your Majesty.

Are you really the Prince Consort's mistress?

I wouldn't dare deceive Your Majesty.

The Prince Consort has kept me privately for years.

I can explain this, Your Majesty.

Go on.

The Prince Consort looked down on my humble birth.

After learning I was pregnant,

he accused me of tainting the noble bloodline.

He abandoned me

and even wanted to kill me.

If Her Highness hadn't saved me,

both my unborn child and I would've died long ago.

Enough!

Who let this crazy woman in?

How dare you stand before His Majesty and slander the Prince Consort

just to ruin the noble family's reputation?

Your Majesty.

This woman's background is unclear.

She acts and speaks like a lunatic.

She must not be trusted.

She must be acting under someone's orders

to frame the Prince Consort.

Three inches below the Prince Consort's chest,

there's a scar from martial arts training.

I've served the Prince Consort for years.

I know everything about him.

I'm not making anything up.

If Your Majesty doesn't believe me,

I can explain everything in detail.

- Your Majesty... - That's enough. Step back.

Cui Jin Zhi.

Do you have anything else to say?

Your Majesty, calm down.

I think

Her Highness and Jin Zhi aren't truly husband and wife.

It's reasonable for Jin Zhi to take a concubine.

Besides,

the Princess can't continue the Cui family bloodline.

Jin Zhi sought to continue the family line,

so he looked elsewhere.

Though his methods weren't proper,

his intentions may be understandable.

This lowly maid has poor conduct.

It's not unreasonable for the Prince Consort to deal with her himself.

Family matters shouldn't be discussed here.

What a convenient excuse.

Are you saying

that I, as the Princess,

can also keep male companions to bear children

and continue my lineage?

Ridiculous!

A man taking concubines is a tradition passed down from our ancestors.

How could Your Highness

ask such a rebellious and immoral question?

The Prince Consort keeping a mistress

is seen as perfectly normal,

but if the Princess keeps male companions,

she deserves a thousand deaths?

You...

Father, I have something to report.

I want to accuse Zhao Yang and Shen Xiao of having an affair.

An Le, stop talking nonsense.

I saw it with my own eyes last night.

Zhao Yang and Shen Xiao were hugging in the street.

Their behavior was intimate.

Father, you can find out whether I'm lying or not by investigating this.

So, Your Highness insisted on getting a divorce

because you were already having an affair.

Zhao Yang and Shen Xiao are innocent.

- Shen Xiao and I are not innocent. - They couldn't have had an affair.

You don't need to cover for me.

Shen Xiao and I had an affair.

That's the truth.

Your mistress used drugs to ruin my reputation,

so Shen Xiao and I ended up alone together.

Prince Consort Cui, you knew all about it.

Zhao Yang had an affair with someone of humble birth.

If this gets out,

not only will it shame the Cui family,

but also disgrace the royal family.

(For generations, noble families)

(care most about their reputation.)

(Now that things have come to this, )

(the Cui family won't insist on this marriage anymore.)

Fine.

Even if it was a setup,

it's because you didn't behave yourself.

That's why you gave others leverage.

Your Majesty.

The Cui family has always been upright.

We won't allow a woman with such disgraceful conduct.

- Zhao Yang just made a foolish mistake. - Enough!

Your Majesty...

Your Majesty.

I request Your Majesty to issue your decree.

Permit Princess Zhao Yang and Cui Jin Zhi

to divorce immediately.

In that case,

this marriage is called off.

However,

though I allow you two to divorce,

there must still be punishment as a warning.

Zhao Yang's conduct is lacking.

Reduce her fief by 3,000 households.

Prince Consort Cui kept a mistress.

He'll be fined half a year's salary.

This matter ends here.

You're cutting ties with me for this humble-born man?

Li Shu!

I can let go of what happened with Shen Xiao.

I'll treat it as you just having a tantrum with me.

Five days, ten days, or even a hundred days.

I can wait for you.

I'll wait until you've calmed down. All right?

Cui Jin Zhi, wake up.

The show is over.

Lord Cui, please behave yourself.

Since you've divorced,

please don't bother the Princess anymore.

A humble-born man who climbed up the ranks with the help of a woman

has no right to lecture me.

Li Shu, remember this.

Only I can give you everything.

And only I can destroy everything you have.

You're really good at destroying people.

But from now on,

I won't play along anymore.

One day,

you'll come to me with nothing, begging for help.

When I earn military honors next year,

I'll ask His Majesty to grant us marriage.

When that time comes,

no one will be able to bully you.

Not even the Crown Prince.

The battlefield is dangerous.

You really need to be careful.

I'll definitely come back safe for you.

What bad luck.

She lost her fief and became Cui family's discarded wife,

yet she's still so smug.

(Princess An Le.)

(Thanks for your help.)

(I purposely set up a roadblock on Princess An Le's usual route.)

Where has the detour taken us?

(I led her past the Princess Residence, )

(so she'd find out)

(that I was involved with Princess Zhao Yang.)

Zhao Yang?

(If Her Highness wanted to break free from the Cui family, )

(she still needed Princess An Le's help.)

Why does that person look just like Shen Xiao?

You lost your reputation

and got scolded by His Majesty.

How can you still laugh?

We cut ties with the Eastern Palace. Of course, we're happy.

That's right.

But you said you're my sister's male companion.

That's deceiving His Majesty.

We didn't deceive His Majesty.

I really am the Princess's male companion.

Le Sheng,

about this, I...

Censor Shen,

let's have a chat outside.

Let's spar a bit.

I'm still not healed.

You're serious?

I see you as a friend,

but you wronged my sister.

I wronged your sister?

How far did it go?

It started with feelings.

Most of the time, it stayed proper.

Most of the time?

Stay away from her.

I'm sincere about her.

Really?

Really.

But your sister

has always treated me

like a male companion she could summon or dismiss at will.

She was the one who gave me the gold and jewelry last time.

That's good.

You're lucky to catch my sister's eye.

Your Highness, do you mean I'm just supposed to be played with?

Since going from the Cold Palace to where she's at today,

money is what my sister values most, besides her life.

She has never spent so much on personal matters.

These are your reward.

She goes to Xianke Bordello because she manages it for the Crown Prince.

Do you really think she's reckless with money?

Are you saying

that she actually likes me too?

From now on, you'll be my brother-in-law.

How do you feel about that?

If I see you coming out of my sister's room again,

I'll break your legs.

He knows everything now?

So, who won?

Of course, I let him win.

I still need him

to put in a good word for me with Your Highness.

What good word?

I need him to help me

get a proper status.

What's so important about status?

I just escaped from all that empty fame.

In this world, only real gold and silver matter.

Why don't I give you a mansion with eight courtyards tomorrow

with 200 servants?

How's that? Sound good?

(Since going from the Cold Palace to where she's at today, )

(money is what my sister values most, besides her life.)

Then, I thank Your Highness for this generous gift.

When I picked a Top Scholar

from a humble family,

I asked your opinion.

Back then,

you recommended Shen Xiao first.

So, you two already knew each other.

Zhao Yang,

were you acting out of personal interest?

I didn't.

I wouldn't dare deceive you, Father.

Shen Xiao is just one of my many retainers.

I've never paid him special attention.

When I first saw Shen Xiao's essay,

it criticized current issues and showed real insight.

I value talent for the Ye Dynasty and you, Father.

That was why I recommended him.

There was no personal motive.

I wouldn't dare use Shen Xiao to meddle in politics.

I hope you see my sincerity, Father.

The floor is cold.

Get up.

Thank you, Father.

As long as you and Shen Xiao have no ulterior motives.

I've heard

Jin Cheng from Prince Qi's family is still unmarried.

As her cousin,

you should keep an eye out for potential suitors.

Jin Cheng is indeed old enough to be looking for a husband.

I'm not very clever.

I wonder if you have someone in your mind for her marriage, Father.

I think

Shen Xiao would be a good choice.