Original subtitles

The Scholar and the Emperor

You little wretch.

In such a hurry to see me?

I never expected

you'd still be alive.

What?

Come for revenge?

Revenge is only the beginning.

Do you remember what you did to A-Xiang and me?

A-Xiang?

I'll repay you a thousandfold.

What I did to A-Xiang...

You know that better than anyone.

That insignificant little bastard back then

has grown even prettier than A-Xiang.

-Come here. -How dare you!

You used to kneel and beg for mercy.

Now you've learned to throw your authority around.

Didn't you come for revenge?

The knife is right there.

What?

Too afraid to take it?

Of course.

That night, ten years ago,

you also tried to kill me with a knife.

Too bad I've lived another ten years.

Your little friend wasn't so lucky.

By now,

she's a lonely ghost in an unmarked grave.

What a pity when I think about it.

The more she begged,

the more excited I became.

Let go of me! Let go!

Let go of me!

-Let go of me! -Do it!

I'm a law-abiding citizen now, Lao Zhai.

And you're an imperial official.

You can't kill me.

Ten years have passed.

I'm no longer the beggar you could abuse at will.

What you owe those children

must now be repaid.

These are white plum blossoms from Mount Zhongnan.

Placed in a music house,

they symbolize pure notes and refined charm.

Careful. You'll cut your hand.

I'm truly sorry.

I'll compensate the proprietor at three times the market price.

It was only an ordinary ornament.

No need to be so courteous, Young Master He.

But you, Young Master He,

have been visiting Huiyin House quite often lately.

I wonder whether you're interested in music and dance,

or in me.

Interested in me?

Naturally, I'm interested in you.

I've always found you rather mysterious, Miss Situ.

You don't seem to be merely

the proprietor of a music house.

The feeling is mutual.

I've entertained many sons of noble families

and consider myself a good judge of character.

Yet your bearing is exceptionally distinguished,

and your knowledge extraordinary.

You hardly seem, as Young Master Shen claimed,

to be an ordinary merchant.

Wait.

I clearly knew Proprietor Situ first,

yet now I can't get a word in.

You two are getting along so well

that you seem more like kindred spirits.

Then I hope Miss Situ and I

will not suddenly go

from kindred spirits to strangers.

I might become a stranger to anyone,

but with you, Young Master He...

I'd be reluctant to.

Has His Majesty dismissed his suspicions

and started calling her a kindred spirit?

She's the most renowned music-house proprietor in the capital,

smooth and flawless in every situation.

You actually believe what she says?

Then why did Your Majesty...?

I was merely playing along.

She has no sword wound on her body.

Yet Your Majesty still suspects her?

After testing her today,

I am even more certain

that her identity is anything but ordinary.

Zhishu,

follow the musicians' convoy to the frontier.

Whatever they purchase,

investigate every detail thoroughly.

I obey.

Help!

Meng Tinghui of the Bureau of Intelligence has killed someone!

Someone report this to the authorities!

Help!

Murder!

Lord Meng Tinghui of the Bureau of Intelligence

is taking a life in broad daylight!

She treats human life as worthless!

Please, everyone,

save this old man!

Lord Meng!

Spare me, Lord Meng! Please!

I'm only a commoner.

I've never done anything wicked in my life!

Lord Meng,

I only know that back in Shazhou,

you were a swindler and thief,

a petty thug with blood on your hands.

But don't worry, Lord Meng.

Spare my life,

and I would never dare mention

your dark past to anyone.

That woman is Lord Meng of the Bureau of Intelligence.

That's right.

She's actually abusing

-a crippled old man while wearing official robes. -Please spare me!

-Spare me! Please spare me! -How did this old man offend her?

Stop pretending.

Do you think this will help you escape?

You little wretch.

If you've got the nerve, kill me

in front of everyone.

I'm a law-abiding citizen now.

Come on, then...

Do it!

This... Lord Meng, she...

Back then,

that persecuted little beggar

truly could do nothing to you.

I swore that if I ever held a blade in my hand,

I would cut you into a thousand pieces.

You?

A mere beggar making empty threats?

But today,

I wear the robes of an imperial official

and stand beneath the law of the realm.

With this office and this life,

I will personally bring you to justice.

You dare?

I'll kill you!

Today is the day you die!

Let go of me!

I'm going to kill you!

Save me!

Save...

Meng Tinghui!

Number eighty-eight!

-Over here! -Welcome, honored guests. Please come inside.

Please don't be impatient, everyone.

We'll get to you very soon.

Everyone, Bofeng House is full today.

It will take another incense stick before a table opens up.

Guests whose numbers haven't been called

may have a cup of ginger tea first.

The wind is cold. Take care not to catch a chill.

What a ridiculous show.

You're only acting smug because you have court backing.

Let's see how much longer

you can keep hopping around like a grasshopper in autumn.

You couldn't hop even if you tried.

May Bofeng House run into trouble soon.

Shopkeeper!

Shopkeeper!

Shopkeeper, I saw Lord Meng...

-What happened to Mengmeng? -Lord Meng killed someone!

-Watch the shop. -So she finally killed someone.

I told you she wouldn't last much longer.

Miss Yan.

Young Lord Shen.

Where are you going, Miss Yan?

I'm going to the Bureau of Intelligence.

They said Mengmeng killed someone.

His Majesty witnessed it himself.

Lord Meng has already been taken into the palace.

Mengmeng would never kill an innocent person.

She must have had a reason.

Then I'll go to the palace to find her.

Without His Majesty's summons,

no one can enter.

Then I won't go in.

I'll wait for her at the palace gate.

-I'll take you. -Young Lord Shen,

we still have important business. We cannot delay.

You go ahead. My horse is fast. I'll catch up later.

Young Lord Shen, the snow is falling hard and fast.

It is far too dangerous

for you to ride alone.

Forget it. I'll find another way.

Do as I say.

Yes.

Mount up.

Your Majesty.

The Ministry of Revenue has confirmed

that the man's name is Lao Zhai.

He is nearly fifty and has a lame leg.

Though his family is poor,

he has never broken the law.

Meng Tinghui killed an innocent man.

Her crime merits death.

Everyone I killed deserved to die.

Lao Zhai was no law-abiding citizen.

He was a human trafficker with countless crimes.

Master Wen.

Utter nonsense, Your Majesty.

Lao Zhai's household registration and his neighbors' testimony

are enough to prove his innocence.

If he was innocent,

then no one in this world is innocent.

-Summon Lao Zhai. -Bring Lao Zhai in.

This commoner, Lao Zhai,

greets Your Majesty.

Raise your head.

What grievance exists

between you and Meng Tinghui?

Tell the truth.

Your Majesty,

this humble man is originally from Shazhou.

Because Lord Meng and I are from the same place,

I know she once lived on the streets of Shazhou

as a thieving, deceitful beggar who committed every evil.

She once poisoned someone

just to steal half a string of coins.

She often gathered other young beggars

to prey on passing merchants.

Lord Meng,

it has been ten years.

Had you not rushed out to kill me,

I never would have recognized you as

the little beggar who once stole my silver.

Do you think changing your name

can erase your sins?

Ten years ago,

you made your living trafficking children.

You forced them to steal and beg for your profit.

If they resisted, you broke their hands and feet.

You raped young girls.

Then sold them into slavery.

My elder sister, A-Xiang,

died at your hands.

Changing your name means nothing.

Even if you were reduced to ashes,

I...

would still recognize you.

Lord Meng,

do you have evidence?

Does wearing those official robes

give you the right to accuse someone

with nothing but your own words?

I know

I'm only a humble commoner.

My words carry little weight.

I am certainly not some Master Wen.

I beg Your Majesty to investigate clearly.

I am the evidence.

I was one of the children you trafficked back then.

That leg of yours

was crippled by me.

How dare you, Meng Tinghui!

You oppress a commoner in the imperial court.

What regard have you for His Majesty and the assembled officials?

Murder!

Lord Meng!

Your Majesty,

her claims grow more absurd by the moment.

This humble man's leg

was injured in an accident

while unloading goods in Shazhou.

That is why I came to the capital to make a living, Your Majesty.

Lord Meng,

how can you frame me so casually?

You human trafficker!

You distort the truth and accuse me instead.

I regret not stabbing you to death back then.

Meng Tinghui,

do you have any witness or physical evidence

proving he is the trafficker you call Master Wen?

I...

do not.

Your Majesty,

I stake my life on this.

Every word I said is true.

He deliberately appeared to lure me into a trap.

I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly.

Your Majesty,

why would an old cripple like me

put on such an elaborate act

just to frame her?

People often say

officials protect one another.

If you intend to shield her,

what can a mere commoner like me

possibly do against you?

Your Majesty,

since Meng Tinghui cannot produce evidence,

I respectfully request that Your Majesty

abolish the Bureau of Intelligence,

immediately imprison Meng Tinghui,

strip her of office, and investigate her to uphold court discipline.

Your Majesty,

I know Your Majesty values and cherishes talent.

However, Meng Tinghui's actions this time

have violated the law and caused grave consequences.

If this matter is mishandled

and word spreads that the court shields officials

who kill innocent commoners,

the court's authority may be damaged

and the foundations of the realm shaken.

I also respectfully request that Your Majesty

act according to the law,

abolish the Bureau of Intelligence,

severely punish Meng Tinghui,

and reassure the realm.

I second the motion.

-I second the motion. -I second the motion.

-I second the motion. -I second the motion.

Raise your head and look.

Do you recognize this dagger?

This humble man does not.

Then I shall help you remember.

Left Chancellor, do you recall

where I was ten years ago?

Your Majesty,

ten years ago, Your Majesty was fourteen

and first toured the realm on behalf of the late emperor.

You personally went to the frontier prefecture of Shazhou

and destroyed a local human-trafficking ring.

The young man who saved me back then

was actually you?

Could Your Majesty be...?

That's right.

It was I.

Meng Tinghui used this very dagger

to wound your leg.

I witnessed everything you did with my own eyes.

Are you saying...

that I am falsely accusing you?

You wanted evidence, did you not?

Meng Tinghui has none, but I do.

I am the witness.

And this dagger

is the physical evidence.

Its triangular blade

is unique.

It matches the wound on your body.

Must I personally examine your injury to prove it?

If Your Majesty closes the case so hastily

and shows favoritism toward Meng Tinghui,

the people will say

that any official who wins Your Majesty's favor

may kill at will.

Such a decision

will chill the hearts of all commoners.

Di Nian.

Bring in the witness.

The condemned slave, Heiying,

pays his respects to Your Majesty.

Ten years ago,

I helped Master Wen escape from Shazhou.

At the time, he trafficked children,

forcing them to steal.

Those who refused were tortured, killed, and buried.

This condemned slave was once Master Wen's trusted subordinate.

I abducted thirty-nine children for him.

Lord Meng and her sworn sister

attempted to escape many times.

I was always ordered to bring them back.

I personally saw Master Wen in Shazhou

forge the identity of a law-abiding citizen.

Now he has changed his name again

and hidden in the capital.

We have had no contact for ten years.

Master Wen still bears an arrow wound on his chest,

inflicted when Your Majesty toured Shazhou.

This man is unquestionably Master Wen.

You hid under a false identity in the capital for years,

then suddenly appeared to provoke her into violence.

None of this can be a coincidence.

Speak.

Who ordered you

to frame Meng Tinghui?

Spare me, Your Majesty!

Please spare me!

I hated Meng Tinghui

for crippling me back then.

That is why I agreed to help the leader of the Tiger Roar Gang

get rid of her.

The Tiger Roar Gang.

My ministers,

the Tiger Roar Gang plotted to frame an imperial official.

The truth has now been revealed.

Do you still demand that I abolish the Bureau of Intelligence

and severely punish Meng Tinghui?

Study.

Pass the imperial examination.

Enter the court as an official.

How can I become as powerful as you?

Study, pass the imperial examination,

and enter the court as an official.

Once authority is in your hands,

everything will be different.

You truly accomplished it all.

Step by step,

you truly made your way before me.

As an imperial official, Meng Tinghui

should be severely punished for privately assaulting someone.

However, considering the cruel abuse you suffered at his hands

and the misery of your circumstances, your actions are understandable.

You are therefore fined three months' salary.

Take this as a lesson in the future.

Do not let hatred blind you.

Thank you for Your Majesty's mercy.

I will remember your instruction

and never betray Your Majesty's grace.

You trafficked children, murdered innocents,

and framed an imperial official.

Under the Great Ning Code, your crimes shall be punished together.

You are sentenced to death by beheading.

Spare me, Your Majesty!

Lord Meng!

Please spare me!

Your Majesty,

even if these men's crimes are unforgivable

and the Tiger Roar Gang deserves execution,

Your Majesty has still

placed the Bureau of Intelligence in the hands

of a deceitful beggar with a disgraceful past.

How can the people accept her authority?

This will never command respect.

Left Chancellor,

can a beggar not study and enter official service?

Everything I did in the past

was forced upon me by Master Wen.

I studied diligently and earned distinction in the examinations,

advancing step by step to where I stand today.

If I am unqualified,

is Ding Chong, who treated human life as worthless, qualified?

Is Wan Kai, who sheltered the Tiger Roar Gang, qualified?

Or in the gambling-house case,

were Vice Minister Zheng and the others who were arrested

qualified?

I nearly forgot.

They were all your prized disciples, Left Chancellor.

-How dare you! -As imperial officials,

you failed to judge men properly

and nearly became the Tiger Roar Gang's claws and fangs.

After this matter,

all of you should return home and reflect carefully

on what it truly means to serve as a minister.

What are we going to do?

They've been questioning her all night,

and she still hasn't been released.

None of you know what Master Wen did to her.

That beast deserved to be cut into a thousand pieces long ago.

This is all my fault.

Mengmeng worked so hard to become an official.

I should have noticed sooner that something was troubling her

and killed Master Wen for her.

I...

Don't panic. Let's wait a little longer.

Where is she?

Could His Majesty have thrown Mengmeng into the imperial prison?

Wait here and try not to worry.

I'll find out what's happening.

Mengmeng!

Mengmeng!

Thank heavens, you're finally out.

What happened?

Are you hurt?

How did His Majesty rule

on Master Wen's case?

And did His Majesty punish you?

Fu Zhi,

I finally avenged Sister A-Xiang.

Back then,

I failed to kill him with my own hands.

Now His Majesty has permitted me to supervise his execution.

I finally...

finally...

It's all over.

Your nightmare is over too.

From now on, I'll be by your side.

Lord Meng,

avenging such a deep wrong is a good thing.

But did His Majesty become angry with you over this?

That's right.

Do you remember the young man

I told you saved me ten years ago?

Of course.

You even drew many portraits of him.

He turned out to be His Majesty.

His Majesty?

All of this

feels like a dream.

I never imagined

that over these ten years,

His Majesty would become even more handsome.

You still have time to swoon over him?

Then you must be fine.

Young Lord Shen,

why are you here?

She insisted on rushing over to find you yesterday.

I feared her recklessness would cause trouble,

so I came with her.

But now that I've seen you safe and sound,

I can set out with peace of mind.

Thank you, Young Lord Shen. But rest assured,

I will never fall for you

-just because you eagerly helped me. -You'd better not.

Yan Fuzhi,

go home.

It is three quarters past noon.

Carry out the execution.

Behead him.

Sister Tinghui.

Sister A-Xiang.

My dear Sister Tinghui,

I saw everything you did for me.

You've suffered so much.

Sister A-Xiang,

in the end, I still couldn't save you.

I'm sorry.

I never regretted

saving you that day.

Now,

seeing the person you've become

brings me even greater comfort.

Let go

of the knot in your heart.

From now on,

you must see all the beautiful sights in this world

on my behalf.

Sister A-Xiang.

Sister A-Xiang!

I heard

one was a young emperor traveling incognito,

while the other was a lonely orphan surviving in the streets.

Heaven tied a red thread between them

and brought together two people

as different as clouds and mud.

Tell me,

isn't that more exciting than a storybook?

It certainly is.

Fate truly is

impossible to explain.

I would love to see her beauty for myself.

Unfortunately, Bofeng House

-won't open its doors. -Here.

-I came early this morning. -Make way, please.

-Here, Shopkeeper. -There are many things in this world

that are impossible to explain.

Far too many.

Some people

have no respect for the law.

She actually dared kill someone in the street.

Tell me, how is that any different

from a common butcher?

She's merely relying on imperial favor.

What genuine ability does she have?

Shopkeeper, when those noble ladies

came to Spring House for tea the other day,

didn't you have a delightful conversation with them?

You must know the inside story, don't you?

-Inside story? -There's more to it?

Shopkeeper Yu, tell us.

Those noble young ladies are all saying

that Meng Tinghui is Daji reincarnated.

-Daji? -Daji reincarnated?

She has bewitched the emperor.

-Shopkeeper, are you all right? -Yan Fuzhi!

How dare you splash water on me?

Listen carefully. Say one more bad word about Mengmeng,

and I'll smash your Spring House to pieces.

And if you keep spreading gossip behind her back,

aren't you afraid His Majesty will cut off your head?

-I... -Come on, then!

-Come on! -Just you wait!

Let's go.

How could Teacher say such a thing?

Father,

you weren't at court.

The report must be mistaken.

Father,

if you don't believe me,

then listen to A-Nian.

Sister Zhili,

I witnessed it with my own eyes in the great hall.

The Right Chancellor indeed declared...

his support for abolishing the Bureau of Intelligence

and severely punishing Lord Meng.

Teacher has always supported women taking the imperial examination

and repeatedly spoke on Lord Meng's behalf.

Why would he suddenly change his position

-and contradict his own actions? -Sister,

the Right Chancellor appears upright and honorable,

but think carefully.

Why have his actions in recent years always pleased both sides?

A-Nian,

you only misunderstand Teacher

-because you don't truly know him. -A-Nian,

go change your clothes

and sit down to eat.

Father,

Teacher must have his reasons for acting this way.

I'll go ask him myself.

Stop.

I allowed you to study painting under him back then

because you loved the art and had a natural gift.

Now that you are grown,

you must remember even more clearly

that the bond between teacher and student requires proper boundaries.

Your conduct must remain measured.

Father,

I deeply respect Teacher.

That is why I do not want others to misunderstand him.

Zhili,

my child,

within the court,

the human heart is an unfathomable abyss.

Many matters are not simply black or white.

Whether you question him today and whether he answers

will make no difference.

What you have seen is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Only by stepping outside the game

can you glimpse the whole picture.

Come and eat.

Thank you, Father.

Lord Meng,

please

accept all of these.

Aren't these things

your usual favorites?

I never knew

you suffered so much as a child.

I thought the matter with Jiang Mei'er

had already caused you enough injustice.

I never imagined Master Wen was so vicious.

You wandered from place to place since childhood,

yet still ranked first in all three examinations.

I truly admire you beyond words.

I do not know how to express what I feel.

I only hope these gifts

can bring some warmth to your once-cold past.

Zhili,

why are your eyes turning red?

It is all in the past.

Everything ahead will be new.

Lord Meng,

you were so young,

with no one to rely on,

yet you had to face

the blades of human traffickers alone.

How did you endure it?

If your family knew,

their hearts would ache terribly.

For as long as I can remember,

I wandered the streets.

I became used to it.

Simply surviving was already great fortune.

This is all my fault.

Had I met you sooner,

I would have risked my life

rather than let you suffer in the slightest.

After surviving a great calamity...

-good fortune is sure to follow. -Good fortune is sure to follow.

Am I not perfectly well now?

My lord, from this day forward,

on every road you must walk,

I will go first.

Anyone you wish to kill,

-I will strike first... -Enough.

I know both of you mean well.

Master Wen acted under orders from the Tiger Roar Gang.

Ling Yunfei,

after targeting me again and again,

will never stop here.

We must act quickly.

Ling Yunfei,

this time, we will settle

both old and new scores together.

Master Wen was remarkably tight-lipped.

He admitted only that the Tiger Roar Gang ordered him,

but refused to reveal their stronghold no matter what.

Where exactly

is the Tiger Roar Gang's lair?

The Tiger Roar Gang is not what it once was.

It is no longer hidden so deeply.

I...

have something to attend to today

and must leave first.

-Where are you going? -Where are you headed?

To meet an old acquaintance.

Your Majesty recognized me long ago.

Why did you wait so long to say it?

I was wondering

whether you had already forgotten me.

You didn't draw this, did you?

I thought that if one day

I ever met that young man again,

I would give it to him myself

and thank him for saving me back then.

So in your heart,

I was this handsome in those days.

Young man.

He Du.

Your Majesty.

Over these ten years, under different identities,

you have witnessed the course of my life.

Sister A-Xiang, hurry and eat.

Thank you.

I was still young then and handled matters poorly.

I failed to arrange a proper home for you.

That was my fault.

Your Majesty has already helped me greatly.

I am doing very well now.

You are doing well.

But I believe you can do even better.

I also believe you can eradicate the Tiger Roar Gang

and restore integrity to the court.

I also believe Your Majesty

is Great Ning's enlightened ruler

and will surely usher in an age of prosperity.

Excellent wine.

As the ruler of a nation,

I am revered by all the people

and worshiped by every official.

They stand in awe of me,

fear me, and scheme against me.

Only you

dare challenge me

and also drink with me and speak from the heart.

You and I...

Are we truly speaking from the heart?

Are we not?