Original subtitles

♪ The white sail came too late ♪

♪ Where did he go? ♪

♪ Snow veils the mountains ♪

♪ Love endures beyond life and death ♪

♪ A black chess piece ♪

♪ Whose game did he stumble into? ♪

♪ All his life, there's no escape ♪

♪ In ten thousand years, what will still remain? ♪

♪ Will anyone still love with an unchanging heart? ♪

♪ I will remember ♪

♪ Those days long past ♪

♪ As the wind drifts with the white sail ♪

♪ Ten thousand years ago ♪

♪ Did you once walk this shore? ♪

♪ Why can't our bond be severed in this life? ♪

♪ I am lost yet willing ♪

♪ Still I love you with a steadfast heart ♪

♪ Until all things fade away ♪

♪ The stars will remember us ♪

[Love & Crown]

[Adapted from the novel "My Queen" by Xie Lounan]

[Episode 23]

Madam.

You cannot hold your drink.

Do not drink any more.

Yet he said

she was the finest blessing he ever gained.

So this is it.

I was never anything at all.

Madam,

you are truly drunk.

Let me take you back to rest.

Madam.

When I was a child,

there were days so bitter I could hardly breathe,

moments when I thought I could not go on.

So I found a place

and hid myself away.

I hid for a long time,

until

he appeared.

He took my hand

and told me not to fear.

You have been the light of my life.

I have lived my whole life for you.

Once, I wished to ask you:

back then, did you truly mean to save me,

or was I merely a piece on your board?

Did you want me to believe

that I owed you my life?

But tell me,

do I truly owe you anything?

Do I truly owe you anything?

Xiao Huan, do I truly owe you anything?

Madam.

Madam,

you are truly drunk.

Madam.

I no longer care.

Because

the man who defiled my mother

held an identity so exalted

she could never speak it aloud.

They all said my mother was wanton,

that she betrayed the late Emperor's trust.

They tied her to a stake

and burned her alive.

But whom did she truly betray?

[Let me bear the heir of His Majesty]

My mother wrote a letter in her own blood.

By then, the late Emperor was gone.

Everyone wanted her dead.

So she wrote this blood letter

to prove who I was,

hoping I might live to grow up safely.

But she never knew

that my identity would be concealed.

It was you all

who ruined my mother,

ruined me,

and left us unable to speak a word.

What a fine imperial family.

Such overwhelming majesty you wield.

Madam,

you must not say another word.

Then tell me,

what right do you have to pretend to be the righteous one?

Why did you deceive me for more than ten years,

and make me give everything,

pouring my whole life into repaying you?

I am a princess as well.

What you are entitled to,

I am entitled to as well.

Speak.

Xiao Huan,

say something.

Can you not rise and say at least one word?

Madam,

what is it you want me to say?

You are right.

No matter what you say,

there is no path back for us.

Aside from hating you,

I have no other road left to walk.

Xiao Huan,

for my mother's death,

I will have your Xiao clan repay it.

[Yaoqing Hall]

Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress,

Vice Commander Lu

has safely escorted the Imperial Father-in-law to Fayun Temple

and settled him at Deer Courtyard.

Good.

See to his daily needs with utmost care,

and let no one else disturb him.

Yes.

My thanks, Your Majesty.

I only hope my father,

while living in seclusion,

may come to understand things clearly.

In due time,

when all has settled,

you may still visit him.

Deer Courtyard is not far.

What do you mean?

Yesterday I overheard something I should not have heard.

But rest assured, Madam.

I have already checked the area.

There were no other palace servants present.

You are to keep my secret forever,

and yet why

did you not kill yourself?

Wait!

Though there may be some measure of performance to it,

I am quite fond of this way

of showing loyalty.

Death will not be needed.

I called you here,

and drank myself senseless before you,

because I had already decided.

You are someone I can trust.

I have studied the art of reading hearts with His Majesty for years.

A person's eyes

never lie.

Your eyes tell me

you would live for me,

and die for me.

But what of it?

In the end, you will never obtain

my heart.

To die for the Imperial Preceptor

would be my greatest honor.

I do not want you dead.

I want you

to live well for my sake.

Your Majesty,

Your Majesty the Empress,

the Imperial Preceptor seeks audience.

See to your duties first.

I shall take my leave.

[Wuying Hall] Your Majesty, blessings upon you.

Are you bringing medicine for His Majesty?

Indeed.

His Majesty's foundation was gravely injured before,

and requires careful nurturing.

It has been some time.

You have grown much thinner.

Your Highness is radiant,

your elegance outshining pearls and jade.

I can only feel ashamed in your presence.

His Majesty awaits inside the hall.

Please proceed.

I respectfully see Your Highness off.

[Pure and Spotless]

Imperial Preceptor Du,

it has been quite some time.

Indeed.

I have not stepped into Wuying Hall

for one hundred and seventeen days.

Why do you come personally today to deliver the medicine?

I have come first to deliver the medicine,

and second to report to Your Majesty

that I have thought things through.

Thought through what?

I acknowledge my faults.

What fault do you speak of?

My fault

lies in overstepping,

in lacking restraint,

and knowing no limits.

Matters between Your Majesty and Her Majesty

are, in the end, your household affairs.

Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven.

Though Your Majesty bears the world in your heart,

you are still flesh and blood.

As for the Jiangzhou matter,

it was my narrow-mindedness.

You overstate it.

I should not have failed Your Majesty's earnest expectations,

nor betrayed Your Majesty's trust.

Henceforth,

I shall abide strictly by my station,

and never again presume to judge Your Majesty's family affairs.

In my eyes,

your sincerity matters more than your remorse.

If it is sincerity His Majesty desires,

I have brought it.

Attend me.

Present it.

[Great Qi Waterworks Map]

A waterworks map.

You are indeed talented.

Late summer and early autumn in our dynasty

often bring heavy floods.

Even this year's locust plague is tied to the flooding.

I specially drafted this waterworks map

for the Ministry of Works to examine.

You even recorded the tides of each passing year.

You have been most diligent.

Such matters should be addressed sooner rather than later.

Tell me, what do this year's celestial signs reveal?

Can we begin the works?

I thank Your Majesty for granting me another chance.

I shall not disappoint Your Majesty.

In my heart,

Du Tingxin will always be Du Tingxin,

meticulous in all you do.

Your Majesty speaks truly.

Whatever I set my mind to

is always done with utmost precision.

[Great Qi Waterworks Map]

[Shutong Hall]

Ying, look.

I have prepared something for you.

Your favorite dish.

Come.

Do not just stand there.

Eat while it is warm.

Qianqing,

tell me, are women with child

often without appetite,

unable to stomach food or tea,

and sleepless night after night?

It is possible.

Ying,

why do you ask such a thing?

Qianqing,

I am with child.

What... What did you say?

Whose is it?

Your Highness, you must not enter.

Your Highness!

Your Highness.

You beast!

I will kill you!

Stop!

You storm Wuying Hall without cause.

Xiao Qianqing.

You had best give me one reason not to punish you.

Feng Wufu,

step out first.

Close the doors.

Go on.

Yes.

Ying is innocent of the world.

This scoundrel dares bully her,

making her...

Making her with child.

Impossible!

I have remained pure with the Princess.

How could she be with child?

You dare deny it?

She told me herself.

If not you, then who else?

- You must have taken advantage while... - Enough.

Li Hongqing is not such a man.

Ying spoke it herself.

She is simple and honest by nature.

She would not lie.

If such a thing is true,

I am willing to offer my head.

[Shutong Hall]

Ying.

Ying.

How is it?

The Imperial Physician said

I am not with child.

But Her Majesty said

that I have love-sickness.

Love-sickness?

Ying,

go on.

Li Hongqing,

I have not seen you for seven days and ten hours.

You have been on my mind ever since.

I cannot eat or drink at all.

Li Hongqing,

I like you.

I want to know,

do you like me?

What a pity.

My straightforward and adorable sister

ended up falling for that blockhead Li Hongqing.

I am terrified.

I am unworthy of the Princess's regard.

Terrified,

and you still dare say you are terrified?

Qianqing,

he is the one I like.

I forbid you to bully him.

It came too suddenly.

Hongqing,

go back and think it over first.

There is no need to answer in haste.

Yes.

It is all right if you do not like me now.

After all,

you will like me sooner or later.

If there is nothing else, Princess,

please allow me to withdraw.

Today,

Ying did very well.

You were very brave.

Ying,

come.

Let us go in and eat something.

He actually dared refuse my sister.

Your Majesty, will you not intervene?

So the Prince of Yuzhang means

you wish me to grant a marriage on the spot?

Why not?

Is my sister unworthy of that fool?

A marriage must be of mutual affection.

You and I cannot force others simply by status.

A forced match yields no joy.

Take care of yourself.

Yet what was once a forced match between you and the Empress

now seems quite sweet.

Zhong Lin?

Zhong Lin.

Zhong Lin.

Zhong Lin,

it really is you.

I could not find you for days.

So you were hiding here.

Why did you come?

You still dare ask?

You shared my bed, and now you start avoiding me.

If I hadn't come looking for you,

would you really never have come to me, even till death?

What nonsense is that?

Who shared a bed with you?

I was drunk.

I remember nothing.

Fine.

So now you pretend ignorance, do you?

Stand still.

This is abandoning me after leading me astray.

There was never a beginning. How could I abandon anything?

Never a beginning?

Then all that happened between us...

none

of it counts?

Zhong Lin.

Zhong Lin,

help me.

It hurts.

Stop acting.

I will not fall for it.

It truly hurts.

What is it?

What is it?

It bit me.

This is bad. You have been bitten by a venomous scorpion.

It is the Nanyi venom-scorpion.

Fortunately, its venom is not fatal.

But its venom will cause hallucinations.

- Hallucinations? - Enough.

I will take you to sit up ahead.

Come.

Zhong Lin...

Zhong Lin.

Zhong Lin,

I like you.

I...

I want to marry you.

So fast.

This venom truly works well.

Tell me,

do you like me too?

Do you?

- Do you? - Yes.

- Do you? - Yes.

Yes.

I knew you liked me too.

You would never abandon me.

Right.

I will not abandon you.

And then?

That is all.

You are unharmed.

I...

I was never bitten at all.

You...

But everything I said just now was true.

Are you mad?

Zhong Lin,

I am not mad.

I like you. I wish to marry you.

You admitted it just now.

You like me too.

You cannot deny it.

Do you know what kind of person I am?

Of course I know.

You saw it.

I have survived

only by these crooked tricks.

Because I am of the Lingbi Sect.

So, Your Highness,

please do not make such senseless jokes again.

I do not like it.

I was not jesting.

I was sincere.

You have already feigned death

and escaped the Lingbi Sect.

You are now under my protection.

It is useless.

From the day I joined the Lingbi Sect,

I was afflicted with Heartbane.

This poison has fused with my blood.

As long as the Heartbane Bell rings,

the poison will erupt.

I have tried hundreds

of antidotes.

But this poison has no cure at all.

So, Xiao Qianqing,

I will live my entire life in fear.

Startled at the slightest sound,

haunted by shadows,

even the sound of a copper bell terrifies me,

for fear the Heartbane may erupt.

This is the kind of person I am.

Someone like me,

would you still marry?

Do you truly feel nothing

for Princess Ying?

I am terrified.

I would never be presumptuous.

Set aside your terror.

Set aside her rank as Princess.

You,

Li Hongqing,

toward Xiao Ying,

do you truly feel not even the slightest affection?

It seems even you are not entirely certain.

My sister

has a willful temper.

She loves and hates with extremity.

If you are uncertain,

you must not provoke her.

But if you are certain,

I have no objection.

I understand.

For now,

I will not see Princess Ying.

Not until I am certain of myself.

Good.

Mother,

I wish to marry Zhong Lin.

I hope Mother will grant her blessing.

On ordinary days you may fool around all you like,

but you must never marry Zhong Lin.

What if I insist?

Release me.

The Empress Dowager has heard that Miss Zhong excels in calligraphy.

She has summoned you into the palace

to witness your skill.

Summoning me into the palace?

It is clearly a scheme.

My thanks for Her Majesty's favor.

However,

I was brought here too hastily.

I did not bring my beloved Sanhua Purple-Haired Brush.

I shall return to retrieve it.

Sanhua Purple-Haired?

There is one here as well.

I have another quirk.

Before I put brush to paper,

I must drink two cups of the Sangluo Wine I brew myself.

Unless Miss Zhong finishes copying these scriptures,

this servant cannot allow you to leave.

Good aunt,

if the Prince of Yuzhang learns that I have gone missing,

he will certainly come seeking me.

Can you bear the consequence?

The Prince of Yuzhang

is taking supper with the Empress Dowager.

He may remain in the palace tonight.

I fear

he will not be thinking of you.

Please proceed.

[Writing]

Such petty tricks,

and you think you can deal with me?

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty,

please spare me.

It was this woman.

She seduced me!

She is mine.

You dare touch her?

Qing,

this vile woman

conducted indecent acts

in my own chambers,

yet you defend her?

Mother,

these palace ploys...

Are you certain you wish to use them

on your own son?

[Wuying Hall]

I seek to marry Zhong Lin

and beg Your Majesty to grant the marriage.

[Pure and Spotless]

Xiao Qianqing,

have you gone mad?

A woman of unknown origin,

with her virtue

in doubt.

You would make her your princess?

Mother speaks ill of Zhong Lin,

yet do you know

that in the many times I was trapped,

my life hanging by a thread,

it was she who risked everything

again and again to save me.

There are countless fine women in this world,

but in my heart,

none compare to Zhong Lin's courage and loyalty.

Her devotion runs true.

In this lifetime,

I will marry no one but her.

I will never allow you to wed

a lowborn girl of the martial world.

Especially one

versed in crooked and unorthodox ways.

She is not a maiden of proper lineage.

Put this thought out of your mind.

The Empress Dowager speaks truly.

According to the rites of Great Qi,

Zhong Lin's status

indeed forbids her from becoming Princess of Yuzhang.

But Zhong Lin's heart is upright,

and she journeyed a thousand li to resolve Xuzhou's plight.

She also retrieved Frost Blossom with the Prince of Yuzhang,

which counts as service in protecting the throne.

She deserves a reward.

Therefore,

today I decree

that Zhong Lin be granted the title Princess of Ding'an,

and this shall be proclaimed to all.

Zhong Lin,

from this day on,

His Majesty and I are your family.

If anyone dares wrong you again,

causing you grievance,

we shall uphold justice for you.

I, Zhong Lin,

thank Your Majesty

and Her Majesty the Empress.

Rise.

Zhong Lin,

as for you and the Prince of Yuzhang,

you need only follow your true heart.

I ask you,

are you willing to marry the Prince of Yuzhang?

Your Majesty,

I am willing.

♪ Her hairpin sways... ♪

Thank

Your Majesty for this marriage decree.

♪ The warmth of your touch ♪

♪ Turns time into a gentle circle ♪

♪ Pear blossoms dream beneath the snow ♪

♪ Years turn and fade ♪

♪ Wax and wane ♪

♪ Fate etched deep in every line of my hand ♪

♪ Your eyes hold our garden of bloom ♪

♪ Then sudden rain pours down ♪

♪ Washing the sweetness from the pear petals ♪

♪ Softly, slowly, round and clear, faint yet near ♪

♪ A hairpin carved with a pure white vow ♪

♪ Drifting, falling, endless and tender ♪

♪ Through every season, every year, every day ♪

♪ The scent of pear blossoms fills the garden again... ♪

What is it?

Zhong Lin.

The marriage bestowed by His Majesty and Her Majesty,

you agreed to it yourself.

You are not allowed to go back on it.

♪ The evening breeze drifts softly ♪

♪ Candle tears tremble lightly ♪

♪ Falling upon the rouge upon my dressing table… ♪

Xiao Qianqing.

Are you serious about me?

Of course.

You are not teasing you?

Then is it because you pity me?

Otherwise I truly cannot understand.

You are the Prince of Yuzhang,

noble in status,

lacking in nothing.

How could you possibly like someone like me?

What's wrong with liking you?

♪ The letter from that year ♪

♪ Hidden inside its creases ♪

♪ Is a spring not yet dried... ♪

Zhong Lin.

I know.

You and I have both wandered without rest.

But now that we have each other,

our hearts can finally find peace for the future.

♪ Through every season, every year, every day ♪

♪ The scent of pear blossoms fills the garden again... ♪

I do not care who you are.

I only want you to know

that to me, Xiao Qianqing,

you are the woman I love most.

I like you.

And I never once thought I would be able to marry you.

I am truly very happy.

♪ The scent of pear blossoms fills the garden again ♪

♪ Fills the garden again ♪

Zhong Lin.

There is something I have long wanted to ask you.

Why do you treat Ling Cangcang

differently from others?

Perhaps because

from childhood until now,

she was the only one who ever wished to protect me.

Where are you taking me?

Today is your birthday.

I prepared a surprise for you.

Is it beautiful?

They say a mountain spirit dwells within this wishing tree.

As long as you make a wish,

it will come true.

Zhong Lin,

hurry and make a wish.

I know I was wrong.

Do not hit me.

Do not hit me.

Zhong Lin.

I only wanted to give you a surprise.

Forgive me, Zhong Lin.

No, Cangcang.

I should be the one thanking you.

Cangcang.

I want to make a wish.

All right.

What is it?

I want to be your friend for life,

to treat each other sincerely,

never to part.

It is a promise.

Then today let us swear sisterhood.

Let this tree bear witness.

Very well.

Let the wishing tree bear witness.

Today,

- Ling Cangcang, - Zhong Lin,

form a bond of sisterhood.

From this day on,

we shall share blessings and hardships alike,

travel the ends of the earth together,

and never betray each other.

From then on,

we became sworn sisters,

inseparable ever since.

So she cut down all those bells for you,

without question.

Touched, aren't you?

I understand.

Commander Li.

Commander Li.

I saw the dark circles under your eyes lately

and worried you were not sleeping well.

So I made this calming sachet for you.

It is a small token of my regard.

Commander Li,

please accept it.

Do not accept it!

Your Highness.

Your Highness!

Is it because of her that you do not like me?

♪ Who walks lone through storm and snow ♪

♪ Reading every warmth and chill ♪

♪ Of the heart? ♪

♪ Who stands proud against a thousand weights ♪

♪ Grace only a mask he wears? ♪

♪ My blade sweeps the heavens ♪

♪ Blood once drenched ♪

♪ My armor and charging steed ♪

♪ I know what it means to let go ♪

♪ When to step in, when to hold back ♪

♪ A broken blade cuts through ♪

♪ Years of winter and summer ♪

♪ Enemy flags burn to ash like gauze ♪

♪ Yet my heart still bears the scars of rise and fall ♪

♪ I'm willing to wield my sword with you and burn the waning moon ♪

♪ I'm willing to brave all storms with you, boiling with passion ♪

♪ I'm willing to break my wings and become the blade in your hand ♪

♪ I'm willing to write with you this torn, enduring page of history ♪

♪ I'm willing to travel thousands of miles, seeking your ambition ♪

♪ I'm willing to give my life to keep you safe for a lifetime ♪

♪ I'm willing to sing through every farewell and wait for you another thousand years ♪

♪ I'm willing to live and die with you, my one and only wish in this lifetime ♪