Original subtitles

How do you expect me to decide for you?

Your Honor, I have the land deed as proof

I, too, have the land deed as proof. Please verify it

I can't see clearly. You read it, go on

My lord, these two families' lands are right by each other

It's written clearly on this deed, the tree's shadow marks the boundary

There shouldn't be any disputes

Why're you asking me? Ask them

Yes, Your Honor

- Is the tree between both your lands still there? - It is

Since it's there, then refer to the tree's shadow as the boundary

What's there to dispute?

Yeah, what's there to dispute?

Your Excellency

this title deed was made by the elders of our two families

The title deed was made in the first lunar month

It was winter. Of course, we should divide it by the tree shadow in winter

But these years

Yu Zheng has been taking the tree shadow in summer as the dividing line

occupying a large swathe of my family's land

Sir, please urge him to use the tree shadow in winter

and return what he occupies to me

Sir, though this title deed was drafted in the winter

the two parties signed it

in summer, actually

And since then, we've been dividing the land by the tree shadow in summer

Zhou Wen's father didn't raise any objections when he was alive

This proves that

the line should be drawn by the tree shadow in summer

Your Excellency, now we know the reason

What reason?

Why don't I get it?

The summer tree shadows

and winter tree shadows

are both shadows

What's the difference?

Sir, the summer sun is a little more northerly

while the winter sun is more southerly

The tree shadows also differ

according to their positions

Differ… It shifts!

How much does it shift?

About several inches

You audacious civilians!

Just several inches of land! Such a trivial matter!

How dare you bother me with this?

- Your Excellency, that's not the case! - Then what is it?

Sir, though the tree shadows are just a few inches apart

following the direction of the shadow

there is a huge piece of land!

Just tell me how to close this case

No, Your Excellency, you are the magistrate

Only you can close cases. I dare not interfere

Oh, right. You go to my house right away

and ask my brother-in-law, Dongfang Shuo

how to try this case

And hurry back to tell me

Come on, help His Excellency down

- The magistrate is here! - The magistrate!

- The magistrate is here! - The magistrate!

Make way, everybody! Make way!

The magistrate wants to survey the scene

It's a cloudy day today

There's no tree shadow

How am I supposed to try the case?

Sir, the sun shines this way in summer

What about winter?

The sunlight goes this way in winter!

They gestured with their hands, and I got it

Well…

Why not continue to make the tree shadow the dividing line?

Your Excellency

the sun moves

It's different in winter and summer

Where the sun casts the shadow

there will be the dividing line that day

Sir, how about my spring sowing?

You sow all the way

to the tree shadow in spring

Then, Your Excellency, what about my autumn harvest?

You harvest from the tree shadow in autumn

How the hell do you try the case?

You're a fucking dumb official!

- Hit him! - Hit! - Hit him!

Help! Help me, Adviser!

What's wrong? You look so restless

Is it so hard to learn chess?

My lord, Madam, the little lord has such a good appetite

I don't even have enough milk for him

Go tell the butler

to hire one more nanny

Dongfang Shuo

has returned the son to us

but why is there still no good news about pregnancy from them?

Maybe Qiu Gu is infertile

No way

If Qiu Gu is infertile, then is Princess Liu Nan also infertile?

I think the problem lies in Dongfang Shuo

How could that be?

I guess it's because he's too smart

and all the energy has gone to his brain

So he can't get his women pregnant

Excuse me? Who did you just say?

Welcome, Dongfang! Why didn't they report your arrival?

Who were you talking about? Who can't get his women pregnant?

One of Jing Kui's disciples

- We dare not gossip about you. - Exactly

- Take your seat. - Thank you

You two are in such an elegant mood

I didn't expect you to play chess at home

Jing Kui has been restless for a while

He just talked about his intention to resign

But if he does it again

His Majesty will really sentence him to death

A tiger will never be a cat even in a cage

Just like me

I've been through countless trials and tribulations

But in the end, I'm still me, Dongfang Shuo

You're right

As the saying goes, a leopard cannot change its spots

Just see how the officials who bought the titles

do to the cities and towns

One official who bought his title in Shanxi

sexually assaulted a woman on his first day in office

He dragged a girl to the wedding room

without her consent

And one similar magistrate in Nanyang used his power for a personal grudge

He put his enemy's family

of seven to eight people all in jail

and occupied his estate and women

As for increased taxes, compulsory taxation for wealth

they happen everywhere ceaselessly

They paid for their positions

of course they wanna make their money back as soon as possible

and rake in huge benefits

My disciples all over the state send me letters every day

asking me to subdue them, but I…

I can stay at the imperial court

and be this useless officer

Sir, Madam, I came here uninvited today

just to invite you to do something

There must be a lot of treasured rewards

from the imperial palace in your mother's room, right?

We're not sure what has been lost yet

My family is counting now

Mr. Wang

You'd better write down all the rewards

given by the Empress Dowager and the Emperor on the list of the lost

Why?

Only in this way can you make them take this case more seriously

So what if they take it more seriously?

Only an experienced and sophisticated thief

would have the guts to rob the Defender-in-chief's mansion

It's hard to get it back

So!

You must let His Majesty issue the imperial decree

and order Chang'an Magistrate to solve the case within a time limit

Chang'an Magistrate?

Just Dongfang Shuo's brother-in-law!

Yes!

Who was so bold

- to steal things rewarded by the Empress Dowager and me? - Yeah

Your Majesty

please urge Chang'an officials to solve the case within a time limit

Otherwise, it'll be hard to trace as time goes by

Pass on my order. Chang'an officials must solve the case within three days

Or they will be held accountable

Three days

Solve the case in three days!

How am I supposed to start

solving this clueless case?

Dongfang Shuo, you have to help Qiu Hu this time

No matter what, he's your brother

I can't help it. I can't

He can only solve this case by himself

to save his life

Solve it with my brother's stupid brain? Just help him

How?

I'm no more than a sentry now

with no bushel or rank

Dongfang Shuo, will help you or not? Will you?

Dear, it's not that I don't want to help

If I really help him

that Wang Huai'e will definitely sue me

before His Majesty

claiming that I, Dongfang Shuo, still have ambitions for office

and even secretly manipulate a county magistrate

If His Majesty hears about it

he will chop off my head!

So you can see His Majesty

- beheading me without doing anything, right? - What else can I do?

I quit! I don't wanna be this official anymore!

- Qiuhu! - Stop! Do you think it's like an inn

where you can come and leave as you please?

Brother, let me tell you one more thing

Officials are never free; free men can never be officials

Now that you are in office now

you can't work or quit as you wish

Like what you just did

This is an official hat. You threw it like this

If His Majesty knows it

he must chop your head off because of it

Oh… Oh, my God. What can I do?

What can I do now?

Dongfang Shuo, Qiu Hu worked hard to bring you guys up

You can't just stand by and see him die!

Sis, it's not the case

It's not that don't wanna help

There's really nothing I can do!

Good grief! It's such a terrible disaster!

Shut the fuck up!

He doesn't investigate it for you. Can't you do it yourself?

You loser!

I just don't know how to investigate it!

If I could do it, I wouldn't be afraid of being an official!

Then ask your yamen runners to investigate it!

I've sent them all out

Then what are you doing at home?

You should stay in the yamen!

What if they can't find you

when they get some clues?

Dude, if they find me

what should I do?

When you have a clue, you should start to analyze it

Analyze… Dude, I dunno how to analyze!

It's okay, brother

So long as there is a clue

I can help you analyze it behind the scenes

That's it

Dude, just go to the yamen now! Hurry!

Well, brother, after I go back there

once there are clues

I will take them all to you

And, dude, you must help me analyze them carefully

Brother, just rest assured. Go

Hold on

Your official hat

Why am I so unlucky?

Other people wear their official hats safely all their lives

and rake in abundant wealth

But when I wore it, I just got into such a big mess

Why are you still whining here at this point?

Go!

Hurry up

Do you understand what he told you just now?

My lord

My lord?

My lord!

You… You found something?

No, my lord

Then why did you come back with nothing?

I've been searching for two days

But I failed to find any clues

There's one last day left. One last day!

God, help me. Help me!

My lord

Did you find anything?

No

You found nothing

Nothing…

Then what the fuck are you doing back here? Get lost!

If you still find nothing, I'll kill you guys first! Do you hear me?

Qiu Hu!

We didn't find anything! This is true!

Even if you kill me today, it still can't change this fact

Calm down, Mr. Qiu

The three-day deadline is tomorrow morning

Take your time to look for them

Listen, everybody!

All the employees in this house are out on errands

Mr. Qiu is left here alone

You must protect him

- in case of any accidents. - Yes, sir!

No

I can't let them get me killed just like this!

I gotta run

But where can I escape to?

Right! I can flee to my hometown in Shandong!

Even if they come after me

I can run to the woods

and they won't find any trace of me

Mr. Qiu, where are you going?

- Arrest him! - Yes, sir! - Yes, sir!

Let me go!

Zhang Tang, let me go!

You son of a bitch! Let me go!

Stop howling like you're at a funeral! Stop it! Do you hear me?

No! I can howl for the last time, anyway!

You will behead me soon! I just want to howl!

Ming Fei

You've been confined to your home to reflect on yourself for a month

What have you gained from your reflection?

Your Majesty

my biggest gain this month

is to gain three pounds because of idleness

Did you only sleep and eat at home

without reflecting on yourself at all?

I reflected on myself three times a day

Then what did you learn from it?

I've been thinking about

how I can make

good advice not sound harsh and make effective medicine not taste bitter

That's a good point

Who is crying there?

Who is so audacious

to make a racket in the imperial palace?

It's like a man wailing

Qiu Hu! If you don't stop crying

I will have your tongue cut off!

Mr. Zhang, what's going on?

His Majesty is here? His Majesty is here!

- Greetings, Your Majesty. - Rise

Zhang Tang, isn't it Dongfang Shuo's brother-in-law?

Your Majesty

Qiu Hu attempted to escape to avoid punishment. And I got him back

Please punish him, Your Majesty

How dare you?

Qiu Hu!

He can't even read!

I can't believe that even he became Chang'an Magistrate!

It's such a big joke!

Nowadays, anyone with money

can buy an official position

But they've promised me that

money is not the only criterion. They have to be screened and scrutinized

As far as I know, these officials have all been scrutinized in advance

Have they?

Then how did a fool like Qiu Hu

also get in?

Your Majesty

they are not scrutinizing the people, but the money!

The more money they offer, the more talented they will be said to be

Zhang Tang, is it true?

Your Majesty, I've heard that

there are many more officials worse than Qiu Hu

Ridiculous!

Your Majesty, what should we do with Qiu Hu?

What do you mean?

You asked him to solve the case within three days. The deadline has passed

For a fool like him

he can't solve the case even in three years, not to mention three days

Your Majesty, Qiu Hu failed to solve the case, and he should be punished

That goes without saying!

Shall we execute or imprison him?

What's the point of putting him in jail? What's the point of killing him?

Send him back for Qiu Gu to hit him!

Your Majesty

among more than 150 memorials I have read these days

except for a few pieces

most of them are accusing the officials who bought their titles

Your Majesty! Mr. Ming, aren't you exaggerating?

You can't deny all the others

- just because of Qiu Hu. - Exactly…

Mr. Ming, I think it's the so-called

being unable to see the bigger picture with eyes blocked by a single leave

Your Majesty, I also have more than a dozen memorials

about officials who bought their titles

and forced the starving civilians to revolt by their atrocities

Among them

three county magistrates and one provincial official have been killed

Twelve other county officials were driven away by the people

This kind of mass rebellion is already a great offense

- To avoid future evil, do not spare them. - You are so wise, Your Majesty

Your Majesty, as far as I know

some feudal lords have opened a large number of warehouses to relieve food

Starving civilians are turning to them

If we still don't pacify them at this time

I'm afraid in less than a few months, the forces of these feudal lords

will surpass that of the former Prince of Jingchu

Please think twice, Your Majesty

My men, if you have any good ideas

put them forward now

Are you deaf or dumb?

When I need you to share my worries

none of you can come forward to offer me a plan

Dongfang Shuo

Dongfang Shuo!

Dongfang Shuo!

I am asking you!

Your Majesty, didn't you say that

if I said a single word

you would give me a hundred lashes. I can't take it

You have to say something when I ask you to

If you continue to play the fool, I'll give you a hundred whips right away!

Your Majesty, what do you want me to say?

I want you to figure out a way

Your Majesty, you shouldn't ask me about this matter

I just want to ask you!

Get up and continue

Thank you, Your Majesty

Then please allow me to report something to you

The idea of buying official posts

came from Qiankunzi and Wang Huai'e

And it's also been pushed forward by the two of them

They must have figured out how to save the day

So, Your Majesty

you'd better ask them about this case

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty

I did come up with this idea

I was trying to raise military funds for the imperial court

I didn't expect my good intentions to lead to something bad

Now with all due respect, Your Majesty, I hope you can issue a decree

to abolish the law on buying official posts

and dismiss all the officials who bought their titles

And then

send excellent officials of both virtue and talent to appease the people

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty, I agree with Mr. Qiankun

on abolishing the law on buying official posts

Can you abolish a law so easily like this?

It's easier said than done!

They've donated abundant gold and silver

What can we do? Still abolish it so easily?

We won't return any, of course. Why are you yelling?

Then… What about my brother-in-law?

My brother-in-law has paid a hundred taels of gold!

Do not talk about your brother-in-law!

It infuriates me when I hear his name!

Your Majesty, if we don't return so much money

we will break faith with the people!

How many people have bought the official posts?

If all these people join forces to cause trouble

it might lead to unrest again at any time

That's why I want you to come up with a solution

Your Majesty

I have no idea

Your Majesty

Dongfang Shuo is bargaining with you

Your Majesty, please don't trust him anymore!

Your Majesty, please order him

to get out and stand in the sun outside the hall

not to move, eat, drink, or answer the call of nature

I can assure you that it won't take a few hours

And he can surely come up with a good idea

Qiankunzi, you are such a bad guy!

- OK! That's it! - Thank you, Your Majesty

Zhang Tang!

Yes, Your Majesty

Do as Qiankunzi said

Take Dongfang Shuo outside in the sun

Let the executioners keep an eye on him until he comes up with an idea

Yes, Your Majesty

Dismiss

Dismiss!

- Long live Your Majesty. - Long live Your Majesty

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty, I've got an idea!

What a man

Why do you like doing things the harder way?

You just don't behave yourself

until I get mad

Please calm down, Your Majesty

If cornered, even a dog will make a desperate attempt

Let alone it's you, Your Majesty, forcing me

And surprisingly

you've really pushed me

to come up with an idea

I'm not buying it. Just get to the point

Your Majesty, I think

if you order a refund at this time

the imperial court will surely suffer losses

Because there is a considerable part of the money

hasn't gone into the national treasury yet

We can't give away the money from the national treasury

Or the Emperor is foolish

How dare you call His Majesty foolish?

Your Majesty, he called you foolish

I didn't! You said it!

You just finished speaking

- Did you hear that, Your Majesty? - I didn't mean that

Shut up, you two

If you mess around here again

I will give you a hundred whips each!

You, go on

Your Majesty

I do have an idea

Is it possible to keep their official positions

but not give them any real power?

However

if we don't let them take office in the yamen

how can it be counted as an effective return on the money they spent?

Here's the case, Your Majesty

Let those who bought their titles

do what they used to do

But also let them enjoy the social treatment

according to their official ranks

Then how

does this treatment work?

For example

someone has donated 800 bushels

Although he does not have the real power of these 800 bushels

he can enjoy the corresponding treatment

Like, ride in a sedan chair lifted by four men

Or note

his official rank in small print

next to the name

on his card of greetings

Even if these people pass away

they can also be allowed

to carve the official positions they once bought

on their tombstones

Not bad

They can at least get some fame instead of practical benefits

In this world

no one will say no to fame

You are so wise, Your Majesty

Also, a low-ranking man has to get down from his horse or sedan chair

to greet when he meets a high-ranking man

Even if one is the owner of a silk shop

But he's only donated two hundred bushels

And the other one is a pancake seller

who's, however, donated 500 bushels. So the owner

of a silk shop has no choice

but to get down his horse

and greet this pancake seller

Good…

I'm impressed, Dongfang Shuo

In a nutshell

we must make them feel

the difference between having an official title and not having one

- and also the difference between higher and lower ranks. - Yes…

In this way, people will be pacified

And we don't need to return the money from the national treasury

Good! Is there anything else?

What do you mean, Your Majesty?

The way to raise money for the imperial court

I'm at my wits' end

Are you telling the truth?

Your Majesty, even if you beat me to death, I still have no other ideas

What the heck

I can't believe he solved

such a knotty problem

This Dongfang Shuo is not a human, but a monster

I'm not surprised at all

Dongfang Shuo has got a lot of ideas

I am fully aware of it

In terms of tricks

Mr. Qiankun, you are no match for Dongfang Shuo at all

- Don't worry, Mr. Wang. - It's a blood feud

If I don't avenge my father's death

I'm even ashamed to be an official at the imperial court

Mr. Wang, we didn't get him this time

but we can try ten more times. If we still fail

let's just try 100 times!

Though Dongfang Shuo is cunning

he's in the light, and we're in the dark

Even if we fail 99 times

so long as we succeed once

we can just finish him

The point is that when we try to kill the snake

we must be careful not to be bitten by it

My lord

the Princess is here

Princess, did Qiu Gu agree?

If you have something to say, just say it

I still have a pile of clothes to wash

What's the rush?

Princess, please sit down

I'd like to ask you for a favor

Please take Jian'er and go to Henan for me

Why Henan?

I want you to help me find someone in Shang County there

Who is it?

A young man called Sang Hongyang

Sang Hongyang?

What does he do?

He's a young man with a good business mind

and a talent for math

I see

My lord, are you planning your resignation to run a business

and hire him as a bookkeeper?

No, it's not for me

I want to invite this young man

to be His Majesty's bookkeeper

the treasurer-general at the imperial court

Since it's recruiting a talent for His Majesty

why do you want me to do it instead of all the other ministers?

Princess, His Majesty doesn't know about it

Are you trying to surprise His Majesty?

You bet

Here are 110 taels of gold

You take ten taels out of them for the round trip

And you must give the remaining 100 taels of gold

to that young man, Sang Hongyang

for him to settle down

Ladies

no matter what, you must help me invite this young man

to Chang'an

Where did you get so much gold?

Don't ask so many questions

You stole it from Sister Qiu's room, didn't you?

How could you do that

You just got sacked with your salary plummeting

We don't know what will happen in the future

The whole family just lives on this gold

Exactly… His Majesty has removed you from your post

while you're still paying a lot to help him

All right…

Could you please say less

and set off

before Qiu Gu knows it

Sister will find that the gold is gone sooner or later

What will you do then?

Beat me, scold me

twist my ears. What else will she do?

A hundred taels of gold!

You took it so arbitrarily! How dare you?

What can we eat now? Huh?

I've checked it

Our food at home can last ten days

And after that

the whole family will have nothing to eat and nothing to live on!

I didn't steal it! I borrowed it!

Within one month, I'll pay you back with interest

A hundred taels of gold

You think you can take and return as you please?

Who do you think you are?

You are no more than a bullshit Halberdier!

Your poor salary

is even not enough to support yourself!

Dear!

I'll find a way!

I'm Dongfang Shuo

You are Dongfang Shuo

But you are just a dog in front of the Emperor!

You are right, Qiu Gu

I'm a dog

And

I'm willing to be his dog

Qiu Gu

If you are really annoyed

just use this

to give me a good beating

Anyway, only you

and His Majesty can hit this dog, I mean me, at will

Dongfang Shuo!

Yes, hit me hard

- Do you know why I called you here? - No, Your Majesty

No? Then what on earth do you know? Say it!

I only know that I should help you arrest those sinful outlaws

put them in jail or hang them up

But I don't need you to arrest people or put them in jail!

Now I need you, my officials

to find a way to get money for me!

Why can't you

be a bit more intelligent?

Even if you are half as clever as Dongfang Shuo

I wouldn't be so anxious and helpless!

Your Majesty, Mr. Qiankun is here

Greetings, Your Majesty

- Rise. - Thank you, Your Majesty

I'll take my leave, Your Majesty

- Qiankunzi. - Yes, Your Majesty

This time, this law on buying official posts was abandoned halfway

The imperial court is still short of income

I called you here to ask you

if you have any ideas

to find another way for me to make money

Cheers!

Nice wine!

You said the rich salt merchants

own incomparable wealth

And you. You just said people who run iron business

can make a fortune, but how?

Mr. Zhang, this is the case

Let's have a good talk about it. Come on, get some more wine

Dongfang Shuo

You boasted to me more than once

and said it would be a piece of cake

for you to raise the money for the war

How can you make something out of nothing?

When did I ever say that?

Where did I say it?

Oh, your poor memory…

You Majesty, I have no ideas at all

You Majesty, Dongfang Shuo is holding a grudge

because you demoted him to Halberdier

If you reinstate him

I'm sure that he will come up with a good idea in no time

- Well, Dongfang Shuo. - Yes, You Majesty

So long as you come up with an idea

to get me money and food to destroy the Xiongnu

I will reinstate you right away

Come on, thank His Majesty

Your Majesty, that's so kind of you

But I…

I'm confident in helping you

with your worries and problems in other fields

But when it comes to murdering or harming people

I'm nowhere near as good as Mr. Qiankun

He's got numerous ideas

in this area

Dongfang Shuo, you are too ungrateful

I beg His Majesty to reinstate you

I can't believe you said that about me

But I won't care about your slander

Your Majesty

I have an idea

to make Dongfang Shuo speak

- Go ahead. - Understood

Your Majesty

you can reward Dongfang Shuo with half a bucket of cold water

Let him drink it and stand still

If he dares to pee a drop

just castrate him

I'm sure

he'll soon come up with a good idea

Good…

Qiankunzi, that's such a cruel idea of yours

But generally speaking

only best friends know

how to deal with each other in the most effective way

Good! Do it!

Thank you, Your Majesty

Your Majesty… You are killing me

Do you feel wronged? It makes sense

Since you and Qiankunzi are fellow villagers and also good friends

you should share weal and woe together

How about this?

I will also let Qiankunzi drink half a bucket of cold water

and stand with you

Before you come up with a good idea

anyone who dares to pee a drop

will be castrated to be a eunuch

Your Majesty! Only Dongfang Shuo has good ideas up his sleeve

Why did you ask me to drink cold water, too?

It's self-evident

You guarantee that he can come up with a good idea

If he fails

Of course, as the guarantor, you shall be punished together with him

- Your Majesty… - That's it

Zhang Tang

Yes, Your Majesty

You are the executive