Original subtitles

From this day forward

the law of the nine familial exterminations will be annulled

Long may Your Majesty reign!

- You may all dismiss. - Thanks, Your Majesty

Wait!

Your Majesty!

Do you have anything else to share?

One person should not be left out

She is one of the closest families of Liu Hao

Lord Zhang, who is this person you speak of?

Liu Nan. She is Liu Hao's sister and the Princess of Jingchu

Shuo, what's wrong?

Shuo!

Dongfang Shuo, what's wrong?

Call the imperial physician

Shuo

Shuo, what's wrong?

Do something to wake him up

Your Majesty

Allow me

I didn't want to smack you

Your Majesty

Dongfang Shuo, why are you crying?

Tell me whatever is on your mind

I'll serve you justice

Stop crying? His Majesty asked you a question

How disgraceful for a minister to cry like a woman

I'm crying about myself. I'm about to die

If I don't cry now, I'll never be able to again

You're well alive. Why do you think you'll die?

What are you trying to achieve?

Listen to me, Brother Gan

Princess Liu Nan and I… I really… She and I…

She and I did that.

- Did what? - Oh right. Your Majesty

Dongfang Shuo and the insurgent Liu Nan had already got married

- and had consummated. - That's right

- Is this the truth? - Of course

Weren't they

only engaged?

I really already did that with Princess Liu Nan

I was forced to do that

If I didn't go along

Liu Hao would be suspicious of me

Then I would have failed my task

I didn't have any other way

Your Majesty, Dongfang Shuo is right

If he didn't do that

- he wouldn't have gained Liu Hao's absolute trust - I'm doomed

Your Majesty, don't leave

What shall I do? What shall I do?

My regards to Your Highness

Brother, you're here

Leave us

Your Highness, I have a major business to report to you

What major business? Is it Dongfang Shuo again?

- Exactly. - Enough

I've had enough of that

You say kill him now, and release him later

You say you'll avenge Jin Wuzi at once

then you say look at the bigger picture

Now what? You never pieced together the bigger picture

and he has made a great contribution

Be careful that your conspiracies will one day bite you back

Your Highness, it's not like that

Dongfang Shuo has already exposed himself to a weakness

What weakness?

He's already consummated with Liu Nan in Jingchu

You're speaking the truth?

Brother Gan, you're well aware of

the type of person Wang Xiu is. Of course, it's true

He wanted to commit treason by opening the city gates

why didn't you report such a vital matter to His Majesty?

I don't have concrete proof

And you'll just let him go like that?

Wang Xiu was always a shameless weasel

it's understandable that he went to extremes under duress

However, Qiankunzi spared no effort

to recommend him to His Majesty to reward the troops at the Jingchu base

This really

bothers me a lot

Your Majesty, how will you deal with Dongfang Shuo?

I need to verify

- if the allegations are facts. - Is that so?

I need to remind Your Majesty

to never go easy on someone like Dongfang Shuo

But Dongfang Shuo just made a meritorious contribution

But being involved with an insurgent's sister

is treason

It can't be that serious

What Dongfang Shuo did with Liu Nan

is a resort under duress

If I convict him

I'm afraid people will denounce me for abandoning meritorious ministers

It's said that Liu Nan acted upon Dongfang Shuo's instructions

She made contact with Jing Kui at the Jingjia Tableland

and disappeared

Is she hiding at Jing Kui's residence?

I'll ask Zhang Tang to verify that

Your Majesty shouldn't worry about that

Zhang Tang has already received reports

He's leading a squad to Jing Kui's residence now

Mrs. Jing

I received a report

and came to your residence to sieze the insurgent Liu Nan

Please respect the interest of the imperial court

and turn over the insurgent

Lord Zhang. I'll say this once more

There's no insurgent here

I shall ask you to return

If you refuse to listen to my advice

I'll lead my men inside to search her by force

Lord Zhang, do you know what this place stands for?

There's no room for your misconduct

I'm head of the national judicial system. I act upon the imperial decree.

Good, since you have a decree

where is it? Show it to me

You're intentionally giving me a hard time

- Come! - Yes, My Lord!

- Search the place! - No one moves!

Are you starting a rebellion?

How dare you, Zhang Tang!

How dare you make such presumptuous comments and smear me for insurgence

I am a court official. Opposing me is insurgence

How shameless of you. I won't let you get your way

- Insurgence! - My Lord! - Wicked woman!

You are the same as Jing Kui, never swaying from your rebellious nature!

Nonsense!

Stop!

Sheathe your weapons!

My Lady, what is this about?

Chamberlain Yang, you came at the perfect timing

I was about to take this treacherous and presumptuous scoundrel

to His Majesty for trial

Chamberlain Yang!

Chamberlain Yang, don't listen to her nonsense

I was going to capture the insurgent Liu Nan

Chamberlain Yang, be the judge here

He claims to act upon the imperial decree

but he doesn't have a decree

That should count as a treacherous offense

Lord Zhang, you are head of the Office for Law Enforcement

you understand the severity of faking an imperial decree

You should show Mrs. Jing the decree at once

I led a squad here right after I received the report

I didn't have time to ask for a decree

I knew you were faking a decree

Chamberlain Yang, you should have him under arrest

Liu Nan is a statewide wanted convict by the decree of the Empress Dowager

That does make some kind of sense

Alright, then he can't escape the second offense

What is that?

Everyone in the state knows that

it's only insurgence if you oppose His Majesty

But what does Zhang Tang think of himself?

How dare he claim someone insurgent for opposing him?

Lord Zhang, did you say that?

I… I got caught in the moment, and…

See, that's your fault

No, I am a court official, any opposition against me

should also count as insurgence

Lord Jing Kui is also a court official

and also works for His Majesty

You came to cause trouble at Lord Jing Kui's residence

should that also be considered insurgence?

I…

Count that as I've lost control

My Lady, Lord Zhang has acknowledged his misconduct

you should spare him for it

Never

I must take this presumptuous

and treacherous man

to His Majesty for trial

My Lady, let me take Lord Zhang

I shall report this to His Majesty and let him deal with it

Alright. For the sake of Chamberlain Yang

I'll spare you today

If you ever

put yourself above His Majesty again

I'll make sure you're done for

Thank you, My Lady, for allowing me the decency

Lord Zhang, His Majesty has urgent business with you

Get back at once

Come back with me now

Alright

Liu Nan wasn't engaged with the insurgence

On the contrary, she's meritorious for helping Dongfang Shuo

I reckon that Your Majesty should pardon her

I know Liu Nan was wronged

But Mother came to me in person

Recently

I've already mistreated her

If I don't grant her the decency

I'm worried if it would seem I've stepped over the line

The rights and wrongs can't be averted

You are the emperor of the entire state

You're not just the son of our mother

Your Majesty, Lord Zhang has returned

Summon him at once

Your Majesty, Lord Zhang is temporarily unavailable

Do you want to murder me?

My Lord, I'm already being gentle

How dare you speak back!

My Lord, I'm an enforcer of the law

not a doctor who cures diseases

I asked you to go see a doctor

- but you're just too proud to go. - Enough

Come, help me up

I'm going to the palace to see His Majesty

- My Lord. - Don't move

Who would have thought that Zhang Tang

has encountered a woman even more fierce than Qiu Gu

How interesting

Your Majesty, this must have drawn enough attention

for Liu Nan to attempt an escape

She won't run away

She won't? Wouldn't that mean she'll wait for death?

I'm familiar with Liu Nan's temperament

Rather than live the life of a fugitive

and suffer extreme conditions

she'd prefer to stick her neck out

and take the imperial court's execution

Your Majesty, Dongfang Shuo and Liu Nan aren't officially married

- She's not Dongfang Shuo's wife. - Right

But I've heard

that you, Lord Wang

is making it known to the public that they've consummated

and rallying the ministers to punish Dongfang Shuo

How come now

you're saying Liu Nan isn't Dongfang Shuo's wife?

I agree with Lord Wang

Even if anything really happened between Dongfang Shuo and Liu Nan

it's only an outlaw conduct. They aren't a married couple

Besides, whatever really happened

it's all Dongfang Shuo's personal claim

I'm from the same town as Dongfang Shuo

I know that

Dongfang Shuo likes to go wild with his words

but he most dreads his wife

His wife is alive and well

he'll never find the guts to be involved with Liu Nan

I'm saying that Liu Nan is on Liu Hao's side

she shall not be exonerated

Your Majesty, I really already did that thing with Liu Nan

- That's only his saying. - What proof do you have?

Of course, I have proof

Liu Nan is already pregnant with my child

Dongfang Shuo

Is Liu Nan really

pregnant with your child?

Your Majesty, I'll never

make jokes about a vital business like this with my own head at stake

How long have you been pregnant?

Nonsense, I'm not pregnant at all

I mean how long has Liu Nan been pregnant?

Speak

I'm counting

About two months

Alright. Your Majesty

suppose Dongfang Shuo is telling the truth

However, after eight months

if Liu Nan doesn't deliver Dongfang Shuo's child

I plead to your Majesty

to behead the treacherous Dongfang Shuo

Not only Dongfang Shuo

the insurgent Liu Nan shall also be beheaded

Your Majesty can go wherever you want now

why bother traveling in plain clothes

To observe the fun at Dongfang Shuo's home

I must go in secret

Your Majesty ordered Jing Kui

to escort Liu Nan to Dongfang Shuo's residence

I think

it's a little…

A little what…

a little inappropriate

The Empress Dowager has arrived

Sister, don't believe his trickery

He admitted everything

in front of His Majesty

But he claims it all to be a lie when he's back home

He thinks we're all fools

Brother, everything I told you is the truth

If you don't believe me

you can ask Princess Liu Nan in person

Brother, we won't bother with that

Everyone knows

you've colluded to tell the same story

Her story will never be inconsistent with yours

Brother, Sister, you can't wrong a good man like this

How dare you claim to be wronged?

My dear, let your wisdom guide you

There are so many ways to save Liu Nan

why did you have to tell this lie?

I yielded to the circumstance

It was an emergency and I didn't have the time to think

Nonsense, you had no intention to think of other ideas

You have to be reasonable

Listen to him, sister

He's calling us unreasonable. Listen to that!

I heard that you've pardoned Liu Nan

Yes, Mother

Liu Nan is my cousin

Besides, there's a time limit for the exoneration

Everything will be revealed in eight months

Your Majesty

I really don't know what to say about you

Mother, feel free to say anything

Since ancient times, insurgence always led to wipeouts of entire families

However, for the sake of our common forefathers

Your Majesty only executed one family line of Liu Hao

You've already shown enough mercy

But you've even spared the insurgent's own sister

When you do that

who will ever be fearful of the royal family?

Mother

Many court officials have pleaded for Liu Nan

I can't afford to not give my consent

Alright

I haven't issued a decree for a while now

I'll return to my palace and issue a decree

and order the Office for Law Enforcement to execute Liu Nan

Mother, hold on

Mother

There's no profound grudge held between you and Liu Nan

Besides, you used to like her so much

Why though

do you have to take her life with such perseverance?

Because she's subjected herself to Dongfang Shuo

As long as she's involved with him, there's no reason to spare her life

No, this is all your personal grudge

You are old, but not respectable

Che

are you speaking to me?

Yes, I've always wanted to say that to you

But I've been saving your dignity

Good

You've grown wings now and don't have to listen to me anymore

Alright, I'll go to the morning court meeting with you tomorrow

and listen to what the ministers have to say

Mother

Mother, quell your anger

I don't mean to upset you

but I still need to remind you

If you go to the court meeting tomorrow

and all ministers submit a joint memorial to ask me to abolish

the outdated rule of Consort Kin interfering with court affairs

I will be isolated

and won't be able to stop them

You…

Your Majesty, I'm still worried about the Empress Dowager

- Her health… - She's fine

So many imperial physicians are keeping an eye on her

What if Her Highness insists on attending tomorrow's court meeting?

Do you think Her Highness will attend tomorrow?

I don't think Her Highness will

Yi is right

Her Highness is too clever for that

I think

she'll never attend another court meeting for the rest of her life

Your Majesty

Do you wonder what's going on at Dongfang Shuo's residence?

What about it?

I know Qiu Gu has a bad temper, she's pugnacious

If she learns about what happened between

Lord Dongfang and the princess

she'll twist his head off of his shoulders

Do you think Liu Nan is easy to deal with?

I believe that Liu Nan

will fight Qiu Gu head on for the sake of Dongfang Shuo

Then Dongfang Shuo will be miserable as he is sandwiched

Actually, I sympathize with Dongfang Shuo

I understand

He saved your life, after all

He and your brother are sworn brothers

Your Majesty, are you going to

- Dongfang Shuo's residence to save him? - Save him?

He explicitly claimed to be involved with Liu Nan

How can I save him?

This time

I'm going to make him understand

that no one can manipulate me

Lord Jing

Report to your master and lady

- that Jing Kui has escorted Liu Nan here. - Understood

So what if they're here?

Shall we set off firecrackers to welcome them?

There's no room for them here

Brother, brother

Sister

There are outsiders here. Can I…

Stay on your knees!

Didn't we have an agreement?

- When outsiders are present… - Shut up!

You didn't care about my decency

Why should I care about yours?

Let's keep our family business between ourselves

If you open the front door

outsiders will come in, shouldn't I…

You should stay on your knees

I'll break your legs if you move a bit, want to try?

Qiu Gu, what… What are you doing?

I'm teaching a lesson to this punk

without any loyalty, filial piety, and benevolence

Qiu Gu, you've misunderstood him

Dongfang Shuo isn't that type of weasel

Besides

Aren't your house rules a little too strict?

A hoodlum like him

deserves strict punishments

My Lady, quell your anger

Dongfang Shuo only lied to save me

If he didn't covet you,

would he have followed you around?

If someone was coveting, it was me

Ever since I met Dongfang Shuo

I admired his scholarship and outlook

and wanted to give myself to him at once

But when I learned that you two are married for life

I held my thought back

I didn't mean to offend you

Later, there was news announcing

the death of you and your family

It was after that when Dongfang Shuo and I…

What?

Got engaged

Only engaged?

Nothing else

- I thought about it, but didn't take action. - Alright

She said it herself!

Then is it true that you're pregnant?

My Lady, I'm still a virgin

My Lord

Quiet. His Majesty and the Noble Lady are here

Rise

Stop

Since you don't believe me

I'll turn myself in to His Majesty

I told you to stop!

I don't know about your temper at the Jingchu Palace

and I don't intend to know

This is our house

Leave your princess tempers out of this place

You think I'd like to be here?

I'll leave

Your Highness, hold on

The lives of Dongfang Shuo's family

are all held in your hands

If you stay, then they'll live

If you turn yourself in with the truth

Dong Fangshuo will have committed the offense of lying to His Majesty

Then their entire family will die

You must not take actions out of anger, Your Highness

It has come to a time when

there's no place for me anywhere in the world

Dongfang Shuo

I will not stop admiring you

until the day I die

I can't be with you this life

but we'll be together in the next life

Your Highness, this isn't a time

for jokes

This isn't a joke

It's the truth

I'd also like to hear something true from you

Do you also have feelings for me?

I see

Your Highness

So you really do despise me

You've caused me all of my decency

Mr. Jing!

Let go!

Your Majesty

What's going on?

Sounds like someone's crying

Is it Qiu Gu or Liu Nan?

I didn't get it

Let's go to the front

I can give up my life, but I won't take this humiliation

Since you've denied me of my suicide

then you can end my life yourself

I have no interest in your life

Then what do you want?

I want Dongfang Shuo's devotion

Dongfang Shuo, listen up

This woman is asking for death, will you allow it?

No, I won't

Then you have feelings for her?

Speak!

I only want to say that

Princess Liu Nan

is a fine girl

That means

you've reserved room for her in your heart?

Don't push me any further

I see

Sister, what are you seeing?

Dongfang Shuo and Liu Nan have feelings for each other

Sister

His Majesty and the Noble Lady are here

My regards to Your Majesty and Your Highness

Jing Kui, you're also here

Lord Jing, did you come to escort my cousin?

Exactly

- Rise, we shall speak in the parlor. - Thank you, Your Majesty

Qiu Gu

Yes, Your Majesty

What are your plans now that Dongfang Shuo

has taken Princess Liu Nan to your house?

Your Majesty

Liu Nan isn't a princess anymore

She's a common folk

- Common folk? - Yes

As she is a common folk now, she should act like one

Without rules, a state will suffer chaos and a family will endure losses

Liu Nan, make some tea for His Majesty and Her Highness

It seems like you're indeed adequate for a princess

but if you're tasked with dealing with daily necessities

and holding a family together

you're not as capable as me, coming from an ordinary family

I don't know what you mean

What I'm saying is

since you're already a mud fish

don't try to steer clear of the muck

Since you're already Dongfang Shuo's second wife

then you should act like one

Hold on

Qiu Gu, how is my cousin a second wife?

Your Majesty

I'd like to ask you how many empresses are there in the palace?

Of course, there's only one

Since a state only has one empress

then surely, a family can only have one wife

At Dongfang Shuo's family

that wife is me

But Liu Nan is my sister

If Your Majesty is unwilling to see Liu Nan become a second wife

and worried that she'll be mistreated

then I plead to Your Majesty to execute me

Then Liu Nan will naturally

- become the only wife. - Qiu Gu

Your Majesty, I don't know about the rules in the royal family

but in our common households

the first wife always comes before the second

Dongfang Shuo and I were appointed to each other and properly introduced

We held an official wedding and banquet

I am his one and only wife

As long as I'm still alive

no one shall ever take my place

Look at you

I only said a few words, and you've made a bunch of accusations

Everything I said was reasonable

Liu Nan, come here

Drop your arms and close your legs

That's right

- But… - Your Majesty, since they all have

a proper place in their family

Your Majesty should return

If I throw a rock in a pond

I can hear the drop and watch the ripples

But when I throw my cousin to Dongfang Shuo

everything is so calm and serene

It really bothers me

His Majesty was worried that

after Lord Dongfang takes Liu Nan back home

there would be trouble between you. So he came to check on you

But it turns out that

you have already settled everything in your household

- His Majesty shall be reassured now. - That's right

Now, I can

put my worries behind me

Zifu, return with me to the palace

Take care, Your Majesty, Your Highness

Oh right, Dongfang Shuo

When your child is born

you don't need to report me, but you must tell Zhang Tang

lest that stubborn donkey

causes you any more trouble

Did you both hear His Majesty

You must deliver

His Majesty's nephew on time

Yes, Your Majesty

That was anticlimactic

Your Majesty, you'll only be pleased

when you see everything is a mess with Dongfang Shuo's family

It would be better if everything's a mess

But I'm also satisfied when everything's settled

It's still far from settled

Why?

Actually…

Actually, Liu Nan isn't pregnant at all

She's still a virgin

I knew that already

You knew? Then…

Your Majesty, please spare Dongfang Shuo

for my sake

Qiankunzi was right

Dongfang Shuo wears a mask of insolence

but at his core, he's afraid of his wife

Nothing would happen between him and Liu Nan

He only did

what he did to save Liu Nan

Your Majesty, my mind is at ease that

you understand his intentions

However

since he has the guts to lie to me

I wonder what he'll do

to get himself through this

What are you doing?

Why did you come here

when you should be over there?

My dear

There's really nothing between us

What are you doing?

There wasn't before, and now you must hurry up

If you can't deliver a baby Dongfang

you'll both die

Is this something

you can achieve by exerting efficiency? Come on

What are you doing?

You had the guts to lie

and I believe you'll be capable to deliver

Why did I come up with that lame idea?

Now you regret when you're put in a tough spot

You deserve it

I only came up this lame idea

because I couldn't think of anything else

I was trying to solve an urgent problem

I'll think of something better later

Something better?

You've already drawn so much attention

what else can you do?

When this Jingchu business dies down

I'll beg His Majesty to exonerate Liu Nan

and appoint her to a different marriage

Right now, everyone knows that

you and her consummated before marriage

Who would ever want her?

What do you have to make it sound so indecent?

This is just other people speaking nonsense

As long as she's a virgin, she can restore her reputation

Dongfang Shuo

do you think a woman

can so easily restore her reputation?

Listen to me, if His Majesty finds out

what really happened between you

you'll have committed an offense of deceiving the emperor

Do you think he'll forgive you when fury consumes him?

You want to save your decency, and His Majesty doesn't?

His Majesty cares about decency more than I do

Before this thing between you, Luo Qi came to me

Luo Qi?

Why did she come to you?

She asked me to tell you

the powers of feudal lords will soon be diminished

and victory against the Xiongnu isn't far away

By then, you will be even more meritorious

but you'll be of little use to His Majesty

The best way to avoid the fate of a dead hound after he catches the rabbit

is to not let anyone hold any dirt against you

Alright

Anyway, I'd also like to

enjoy the power of commanding the concubine as your wife

Not to mention that she used to be a famous princess

Please stop joking around

I'm not joking with you

Go… Get your ass up to Liu Nan's room

I won't betray you

But you can't betray Liu Nan, either