Original subtitles

The Scholar and the Emperor

Once you become a poisoned man,

you'll join them in terrorizing the people of the capital.

Hold on to me.

Meng Tinghui, stay awake.

Stay awake.

Your Majesty.

Hold on.

Huang Bo.

Your Majesty.

I...

can no longer protect you.

Huang Bo.

Huang Bo.

Meng Tinghui.

Hold on.

Meng Tinghui.

Sir.

The Divine Guard has surrounded us. We must withdraw at once.

Chief.

Chief.

Search every inch carefully.

I want them found, dead or alive.

-Yes. -Yes.

Captain Di.

Search carefully.

-Yes. -Yes.

There's blood here.

Who are you?

Why are you trying to kill me?

There's movement over there.

Quick!

He's still breathing.

Take him away.

It's been three days.

Why hasn't she woken up?

Reporting to Your Majesty.

Lord Meng's arrow wound was extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, it missed her heart by half an inch.

It is already Heaven's blessing that she survived.

For her to improve, she still needs...

some more time.

In her current condition,

could this be related to taking too much Wuqiong Pill?

Your Majesty.

I have treated Lord Meng for several days,

yet I have never found

any trace of the Wuqiong Pill's medicinal effects in her body.

Lord Meng's symptoms

were completely different from Miss Yan's that day.

They were caused by the severity of her blade wound.

No matter what rare medicines are required,

or what treatment is needed,

you must heal Lord Meng as quickly as possible.

I want her...

safe and sound.

I will do everything in my power.

Huang Bo.

Someone!

Your Majesty.

Is there any news of Imperial Guard Huang?

Reporting to Your Majesty.

Captain Di is leading a full search.

Zhishu.

I prepared all of Mengmeng's usual things and favorite foods,

but she still hasn't woken up.

When I was poisoned before,

was she in this much pain too?

She stayed by my side all night back then.

Now it's my turn.

I'm so scared.

I'm really scared.

Lord Meng has survived so many hardships.

She will surely make it through this one safely.

Only after enduring so many trials

do we realize how precious the person before us is.

Take care of yourself.

Don't wear yourself out.

He's already dead.

Husband.

Don't you know how to knock?

I saw that you've been corresponding with Beijian.

You want to recommend Beijian's Divine Maiden for a marriage alliance.

You went through my study again?

Is that important?

I came today to remind you.

The Divine Maiden of Beijian is a foreign woman.

Even if she truly becomes Empress,

why would she sincerely obey you?

If you want control over the position of Empress,

Shen Zhili is the most suitable choice.

You are merely a woman.

Do not meddle in affairs of state.

Haven't you always dreamed of rising to the highest rank?

Why pretend to be above it all now?

The credit for controlling the floods back then

originally belonged to my father.

If he had not drowned,

how would you have become Great Ning's youngest Chancellor?

All these years,

I never exposed you.

And now I'm even planning for your sake.

You could use my Yuan family,

so why can't you use Shen Zhili?

No one is better than you at digging up the past.

Choosing the Empress concerns the foundation of the state.

It is not your place to interfere.

Then answer me one thing today.

You've deliberately refused to recommend Shen Zhili.

Is it really because of your own selfish motives?

Absurd.

I have court affairs to attend to. I have no time for this nonsense.

What is this?

Gu Qin... Gu Qin.

Before I came today, I was still deceiving myself.

If you were willing to recommend Shen Zhili as Empress,

then all these filthy things you've done

I would pretend I never saw.

But you simply cannot bear to let her go.

You want her for yourself,

don't you?

These are merely portraits used to teach students.

Hide them?

Go on, hide them. Keep hiding them!

When you painted these portraits,

what filthy thoughts were in your mind?

Don't you know that yourself?

Have you forgotten

the paintings you gave me back then?

Lingyi.

Recommending Beijian's Divine Maiden

is for the sake of relations between our two nations.

His Majesty certainly will not refuse.

The Divine Maiden has no one to rely on in Great Ning.

If I can help her become Empress,

she will naturally depend on me.

Lingyi.

We are husband and wife, one body.

We should put the greater good first.

So you still remember I'm your wife.

You used my entire Yuan family

as stepping-stones for your official career.

Now that my father is gone,

the deep affection you once showed me...

you cannot even be bothered to pretend anymore.

Lingyi.

I have been overwhelmed with government affairs.

Some neglect is unavoidable.

We have been husband and wife for ten years.

Are you still the same person you were back then?

We are both at this age now.

Can we stop pressing each other so relentlessly

and arguing without end?

Yes.

I've changed.

I've become this shrewish woman

because you forced me into it.

Gu Qin.

You treat me coldly and deceive me.

You trapped me inside this Chancellor's residence

and made my life worse than death.

And now you've suddenly grown so warm toward Shen Zhili?

All those things you once gave me,

the poems, paintings, and harmony between us,

now you want to repeat them exactly

with Shen Zhili.

Do you believe I'll go tell the entire court right now

how the dignified and virtuous Right Chancellor

-personally teaches his favorite disciple? -Shut up!

Shut your mouth!

Ten years.

For ten years you've watched me every day with suspicion.

Every tiny matter

you drag out and settle accounts over.

No matter what I do, you are never satisfied.

Since you regret marrying me,

then let us divorce.

You've finally said what you truly feel, haven't you?

It's because my Yuan family

is no longer useful to you.

And now I'm old and faded,

unable to compare with Shen Zhili, right?

The Shen family is powerful and influential now,

enjoying great prestige.

You want to cast me aside

and attach yourself to the Shen family, don't you?

You're completely unreasonable.

It is clearly you

who carries yourself every day like a priceless noble lady,

arrogant beyond measure.

At the slightest displeasure, you fly into a age.

I never expected you to be a perfect, virtuous wife.

But you have never borne a child,

leaving me unable to continue the family line.

And all day you indulge in those strange superstitions,

making me the laughingstock of the entire court

and costing me all dignity.

Is that my fault?

It is clearly you

who never comes to my room at night.

always finding every excuse to avoid me.

And now you turn around and blame me.

Gu Qin... Gu Qin.

You truly are the most selfish man imaginable.

Even your feelings for Shen Zhili

are nothing but false affection.

The only person you have ever loved is yourself.

A hypocrite who has accomplished nothing,

who can only rise by relying on women.

You hit me?

You actually laid a hand on me?

Gu Qin, listen to me.

As long as I, Yuan Lingyi, draw breath,

I will never step aside for Shen Zhili.

Your Majesty.

The court cannot go a day without its sovereign.

You have not attended court for several days.

State affairs are piling up,

and besides...

Your Majesty...

has remained at Lord Meng's side for several days now.

This...

this truly violates proper etiquette.

Lord Meng thoroughly investigated the Tiger Roar Gang

and even took an arrow for me.

Am I now to be criticized

even for visiting a meritorious official?

This old servant deserves death.

Lord Meng's achievements

are witnessed by Heaven and Earth.

But Your Majesty has already stayed here several nights.

This old servant truly fears for your imperial health.

I beg Your Majesty to return to the palace and rest for now.

Once Lord Meng has recovered,

it will not be too late to visit her again.

Your Majesty, Chief Steward You.

You should return to the palace first. I am here.

I will watch over Mengmeng.

Your Majesty.

I will not allow Lord Meng

to suffer the slightest mishap.

If anything happens to Lord Meng...

report to me immediately.

-Yes. -Yes.

Shopkeeper Yan.

I suddenly remembered.

When we were developing the antidote before,

I stored a box of storax incense at Bofeng House.

It can revive the senses and clear the mind.

Perhaps it can help my lord.

Really?

Then I'll go at once.

You're finally awake.

I had a...

terrifying

and very strange dream.

Come in.

Fuzhi?

Take off your outer robe.

This...

in broad daylight...

Shopkeeper Yan, you're being so eager

that I'm getting a little embarrassed.

Shen Zhishu, stop acting.

Let me see.

Fuzhi.

I'm sorry.

I made you worry again.

I was wrong.

I was too careless.

I didn't even know you were hurt this badly.

A man

needs a few scars

before he can call himself a true man.

Shen Zhishu.

Listen carefully.

Your body is not yours alone.

Ever since you returned from Shazhou,

half of it belongs to me too.

Next time,

if you dare neglect it again,

put it in danger,

or let it bleed,

I will never forgive you.

I was wrong.

If you ever get hurt like this again,

I'll find eight or ten handsome young men

just to anger you to death.

I won't dare.

My wife's command

weighs heavier than Mount Tai.

Who is your wife?

We're not even married yet.

We will be soon.

Why did you kill the Chief?

Lü Da.

You're still alive.

Surprised?

You're injured?

I have excellent wound medicine in my study.

-Come with me, quickly... -Spare me your hypocrisy.

I followed the assassin all the way here.

I never expected his own elder brother

to be so heartless.

Today I'll kill you

so you can keep the Chief company

on the road to the underworld.

Lü Da.

I had no choice but to kill him.

You saw it yourself.

He had gone completely mad.

All the silver he gave me over the years,

I kept it.

It is enough for you to rebuild the Tiger Roar Gang.

You can become the new Chief.

I will be your backer.

From now on, the capital's entire underworld

will belong to you, Lü Da.

You just want me

to become an obedient dog for you, don't you?

No matter how mad he became,

he was still your own blood brother.

Go to hell!

He brought it upon himself.

I warned him long ago

not to touch the Wuqiong Pill.

If he had known when to stop,

how would things have come to this today?

Everything that happened to him

was also because of you.

You forced him down this path.

He regarded you as his only family.

Lü Da...

You were neither kin nor family to him.

Why go this far for him?

Wouldn't it be better to become the new Chief?

Twelve years ago,

I was hunted down by my enemies.

He pulled me out from a pile of corpses.

My life has belonged to him ever since.

That younger brother...

you may refuse to acknowledge him,

but I do.

He cared too deeply for those close to him.

That is why you were able to use him again and again.

Madam, slow down.

Madam.

You're reacting so strongly.

Looking at the sky, it will rain soon.

Why don't we return to your room first?

I'm fine.

I want to tell my husband this good news myself.

Doukou.

Go to the kitchen and bring me some sour plums.

I'll go right away.

You used my elder brother

to abduct Madam Gu,

then pretended to be the hero who rescued her.

After you married, to seize the Chancellor's position,

you used my elder brother again to murder your father-in-law.

Husband.

Lingyi.

What he just said...

say it again.

Madam Yuan.

You came at just the right time.

You still don't know, do you?

Your husband

has a half-brother who shares his father.

He ordered his own younger brother

to kill your father,

then stayed by your side

playing the dutiful son and virtuous son-in-law all these years.

Lingyi.

Everything he said is a lie.

Ten years.

A full ten years.

I have lived inside the lies you carefully wove.

What lifesaving grace?

What catering to my tastes?

It was all calculation.

Even my father...

The night my father died,

you held me and said you would care for me for life.

Was all of that a lie too?

Lingyi.

How can you believe the words of that madman?

We are husband and wife.

Using me was one thing,

but why did you have to kill my father?

Why?

He treated you like his own son,

yet he died at the hands of the man he trusted most.

Why?

Gu Qin.

For ten years, your acting before me was flawless.

You could shed tears whenever you wished.

I never truly knew you at all.

What else have you done to me?

How many other filthy things have you done?

Yes.

Are you planning to kill me now too?

Yes.

Once I'm dead,

you can openly go to Shen Zhili.

Lingyi...

My feelings for you are genuine.

Everything he said was fabricated.

You must believe your husband.

Forget everything that happened today.

We can live our lives well together.

Stay away! Don't come closer!

You demon wearing human skin!

Ling Yunfei is at the Bureau right now.

I'm going to tell Meng Tinghui,

and Shen Zhili,

how you murdered your father-in-law and deceived the Emperor.

Today I will avenge my father myself.

From this day forward,

I vow to worship Buddha with a sincere heart.

May Heaven show mercy

and grant the Gu family a son

to continue our bloodline.

The Chancellor's fate does indeed show a son,

but...

his blessings and longevity are rather thin.

Husband, we will surely have a child.

I worked so hard...

so hard to reach the position I have today.

Why...

why can't any of you let me be?

Husband.

The thing I regret most

is that day beneath the peach blossom tree,

when I mistook your false affection

for true love.

Only when I am with you

can I truly be myself.

I want to protect you for the rest of my life.

Would you be willing, for my sake,

to be brave just once?

Guards!

There's an assassin!

Madam has been attacked!

There's an assassin!

Madam has been attacked!

Madam has been attacked!

Yin Qing, the case files.

Yin Qing.

Ling Yunfei has been imprisoned in the Bureau's jail.

The people of Wangxian Valley have also been properly settled.

Your arrow wound has not yet healed.

You should rest properly.

Although Ling Yunfei has been captured,

I still have many doubts.

Why was I not poisoned

after taking the Wuqiong Pill?

Apart from Ling Yunfei,

who else can control the poisoned men?

And why did they avoid me and focus their attacks on Your Majesty?

Those assassins...

what connection do they have to the Tiger Roar Gang?

Imperial Physician Li examined you.

There is no poison remaining in your body.

Perhaps your constitution is unusual

and you have a natural resistance to Fuqing Herb.

I previously told you about Zhongwan's past.

Now it is time to tell you the rest.

After Zhongwan fell,

a group of surviving loyalists

formed an organization called the Blood Moon Society.

They remained hidden for years,

harboring delusions of restoring their kingdom.

Those assassins...

could the Blood Moon Society have tried to kill Your Majesty

for the sake of restoring Zhongwan?

And also...

that arrow.

That arrow...

you should not have taken it for me.

These past few days, while you lay unconscious,

Huang Bo also vanished without a trace.

I was afraid.

Afraid that when I opened my eyes again,

-I wouldn't even see either of you one last time... -Your Majesty.

Old Huang's remains

have been found.

Your Majesty.

Old Huang's body was badly damaged.

I fear the sight may distress Your Majesty.

Old Huang's sword

was also found.

From now on,

inside or outside these palace walls,

no one will accompany me the way you did.

Old Huang.

Weren't you always the one who followed the rules most strictly?

Appearing before His Majesty wounded is a grave breach of etiquette.

Get up and apologize to His Majesty.

Old Huang.

Rest in peace.

From now on,

leave His Majesty's safety to us.

We will guard him as you once did.

Transmit my decree.

Posthumously confer upon Imperial Guard Huang Bo

the title General of Divine Might and Protector of the Realm.

Outside the Western Mausoleum of the imperial city,

choose an auspicious site and give him a grand burial

to honor his immortal service.

-Yes. -Yes.

If a wound is kept hidden,

it becomes even harder to heal.

Pain is the same.

The more it is suppressed,

the deeper it eats into the bones.

I understand Your Majesty's pain.

A-Xiang died protecting me,

and Fuzhi nearly lost her life because of me as well.

That kind of heart-piercing pain

makes life feel worse than death.

Even such a small wound

can bleed so much.

How much more so the human heart?

Your Majesty.

Perhaps you would feel better if you cried.

Since childhood, Father taught me

to forsake personal feelings

for the greater good.

For these twenty years,

I have been learning to be detached and unfeeling,

to have no weakness,

to restrain myself from becoming too close to others,

and never expect anyone to understand my loneliness.

I never tied my joys or sorrows to another person.

Yet no matter how much I restrain myself,

there is always someone who can make me grieve.

To open one's heart...