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The Scholar and the Emperor
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Father.
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I have loved Zhili for a long time.
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In my heart, Zhili
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is more precious than any treasure.
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I cannot bear anyone speaking ill of her.
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I am establishing my own household
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because I want to give her the very best.
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I know
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this is still not enough
to prove my sincerity.
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So
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I am willing to accept any test
Father and Mother set for me.
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Anian.
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I have watched you grow up.
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You have always been
brave and disciplined.
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Though you are young,
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you have always been
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steady in word and deed.
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However,
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as for Zhili's marriage,
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we will never force her.
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Zhili herself
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will make the decision.
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Zhili.
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Will you marry me?
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The Shen family has fallen on hard times.
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How can I think of marrying now?
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Don't worry.
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As long as I, Di Nian, am here,
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I will never let anyone
slight the Shen family again.
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I can ask His Majesty to
grant us a marriage decree
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so you can marry with full honor
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and enter the Di household
proudly and openly.
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You truly
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don't care about what happened to me?
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I don't.
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Then do you understand
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that what weighs on my heart
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the knot in my heart won't come undone
just because you say you don't care.
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Even if I marry you,
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I will not love you.
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I will never force your feelings.
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I know this proposal is sudden,
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but I also wish to preserve
the Shen family's honor.
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I have no intention of taking
advantage of your vulnerability.
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If one day
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your heart belongs to someone else,
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I will not stand in your way.
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Trust me.
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I won't let anyone mistreat you
or make you suffer.
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Not for the rest of your life.
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Zhili.
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I understand your concerns.
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You deserve every good
thing in this world.
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Whatever you choose,
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the Shen family's spirit will not break.
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Anian.
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I trust you.
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I am willing to marry you.
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Don't worry.
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Whatever lies ahead,
we are all here for you.
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Grand Tutor, Madam.
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Everything outside is ready.
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It's all ready.
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Ready.
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Xiaolin, light them.
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Beautiful.
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So beautiful.
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This one is lovely.
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Don't worry.
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Di Nian would pluck the stars and moon
for Zhili,
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yet he can also give her
all the freedom in the world.
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Perhaps that, too, is a gift.
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By the time they marry,
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Fuzhi and Young Lord Shen
should be back as well.
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Now both the Tiger's Roar Gang
and those who shielded it
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have been eliminated.
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Congratulations are also
due to Director Meng
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for getting what you wished for.
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What I wished for
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is also what Your Majesty wanted.
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If congratulations are in order,
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then I should be
congratulating Your Majesty.
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I remember you once said
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the first snow is a time to make a wish.
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Director Meng has earned
another great merit.
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Tell me what you want.
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Your Majesty already knows.
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What I wish for
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has always been to serve at court.
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Not a single wish concerning me?
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I believe
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walking side by side,
lighting each other's way,
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would make this life worthwhile.
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I do not want to make things
difficult for Your Majesty,
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nor do I wish to ask for more.
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Then let me be greedy on your behalf.
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I want you to have real authority
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and true love.
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These dragon-and-phoenix pendants
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were with my father and mother
for over thirty years.
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The dragon is for the Emperor;
the phoenix, the Empress.
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Today,
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with the snow of Western Hills as witness,
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I give the phoenix pendant to you.
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I know
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you do not seek the position of Empress,
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nor do you wish to be
confined to the inner palace.
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But this is my promise to you.
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I trust Your Majesty completely.
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But ancestral law will not allow it.
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I would rather be your blade or sword,
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a minister who speaks truth to you,
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so Your Majesty's good name endures.
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Ancestral laws are fixed.
People are not.
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I am reforming the administration
and restoring order at court
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because I refuse to bow to outdated rules.
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A position of real authority—
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I will give you that.
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A life without regret—I
will share it with you.
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These have never been mutually exclusive.
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The weight of this realm
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I am willing to bear with you.
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I am willing to stand with Your Majesty
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to secure the realm,
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care for the people,
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and bring lasting peace.
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First, bow to Heaven and Earth.
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Second, bow to your parents.
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Husband and wife, bow to each other.
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Perform the joined-cup rite.
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Drink the joined-cup wine together.
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May husband and wife grow old together.
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-Congratulations!
-Congratulations!
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Wonderful.
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Madam.
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The Marquis has dismissed the guests.
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He said you were tired today
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and should rest peacefully
in the inner room.
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He will sleep on the couch outside tonight
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so as not to disturb you.
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Zhili.
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Why are you still awake so late?
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Is something wrong?
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Now that we are married,
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if we sleep in separate rooms
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and word reaches the court,
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what will people say?
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I'd like to see who dares
call our marriage false.
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Don't worry.
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With me here,
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no one will dare bully you.
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From now on,
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we can live just as we
did at the Shen residence.
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Go get some sleep.
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You preserved the Shen family's honor.
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I also do not want
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my troubles to tarnish your reputation.
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Your standing in the army
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must not suffer in the slightest.
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Especially now that you've
inherited the marquisate.
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Since I have married you,
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I understand what this marriage entails.
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Whatever happens,
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I do not want you to suffer any wrong.
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From this day forward,
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you, Di Nian,
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are my husband.
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And the Di residence is now my home.
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You treat me well,
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and I will treat you well in return.
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Zhili.
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Though we are married,
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I will respect you.
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I will wait until
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you truly come to love me.
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You look lovely when you smile.
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Zhili.
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You sleep here. I will take the couch.
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Call me anytime if you
need anything tonight.
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Director Meng.
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The wind is strong today.
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Put this on.
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Don't catch a chill.
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I can do it myself.
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Let me.
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You still have much to do.
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Go attend to your work.
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Don't worry.
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Everything you entrusted to me,
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I have seen to without missing a thing.
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There.
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I'm off.
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In Daning's third year of Jingyuan,
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at the Grand Imperial Sacrifice,
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may Heaven grant its protection
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and bless all the people.
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By the Sacred Ancestor's teachings,
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our great foundation was established.
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Today, His Majesty reverently
presents the ritual vessels
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and bows before the ancestral temple.
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Leading all civil and military officials,
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he respectfully performs the grand rite.
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May our ancestors graciously
accept these offerings.
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Kneel and bow.
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Bow again.
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Bow a third time.
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Today is the grand ancestral ceremony.
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Before our revered ancestors,
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I personally proclaim an edict of reform.
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At the founding of the dynasty,
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the late Emperor established
twelve ancestral laws.
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They have endured through three reigns.
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But times have changed.
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Among them,
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the ban on sovereign-subject romance,
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permanent slave status,
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and the ministers'
nomination of the Empress—
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these three laws
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are no longer suited to our time.
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00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:31,720
As for the ministers'
nomination of the Empress,
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it was meant to balance
sovereign and ministers,
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yet treacherous men nearly exploited it
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and brought disaster upon the state.
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I have considered this repeatedly.
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Any entrenched old law
that harms the realm
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must be uprooted completely.
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Your Majesty.
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00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:50,280
Since the late Emperor
established these ancestral laws,
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no one has altered them
for three generations.
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00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:54,480
If Your Majesty abolishes them rashly,
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what place does that
leave for our ancestors
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or the rules and rites of the palace?
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00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:00,680
Without breaking the old,
the new cannot stand.
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To follow old precedent in everything
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would truly betray our ancestors' intent.
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00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:09,200
Your Majesty, please consider.
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00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:10,760
Zhongwan's remnants are still lying low.
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00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:11,720
If we reform now,
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00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:13,480
the court will surely fall into turmoil.
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00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:14,840
If foreign enemies exploit our weakness,
I fear...
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00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:17,600
Without turmoil within,
why fear threats without?
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00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:20,400
If the entire court stands united,
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even surrounded by powerful enemies,
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00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:23,960
what has Daning to fear?
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There is no need to debate this further.
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My decision is final.
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00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:50,680
This...
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This is the phoenix pendant
the late Emperor gave the late Empress.
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00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:54,120
It was the imperial couple's token.
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00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:56,640
Your Majesty is not yet married.
Such an important token—
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how can a mere court official possess it?
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00:19:58,160 --> 00:19:59,760
How dare you, Meng Tinghui!
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00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,320
You covet the Empress's seat!
255
00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:05,000
During the top metropolitan scholar
impostor case,
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I already suspected your
motives were impure.
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00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:10,400
You pretend your ambition
lies in government,
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00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,600
but in truth you seek His Majesty's favor
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00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:13,840
to seize the Empress's throne.
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00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:15,360
Thinking back now,
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00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,080
when she attacked the Right Chancellor
and schemed against the Shen family,
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00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:19,920
ruining Miss Shen's reputation,
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00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,280
was that also to clear her
own path to becoming Empress?
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00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:23,800
That accusation is utterly unfair.
265
00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:25,240
If not for Director Meng,
266
00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,600
how could Ling Yunfei and
the Tiger's Roar Gang,
267
00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,120
even the traitor Gu Qin
hidden within the court,
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00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:32,000
have been brought to justice so quickly?
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00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:33,440
Stop changing the subject.
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Why is the phoenix pendant in her hands?
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I gave it to her.
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As for this phoenix pendant,
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I personally gave it to Meng Tinghui.
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Romance between sovereign and subject
275
00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:50,040
is a crime the moment it begins.
276
00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:52,000
Your Majesty's words mean that...
277
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:52,920
Correct.
278
00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:55,760
I love Meng Tinghui.
279
00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:00,000
I have decided to
abolish that prohibition.
280
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:01,280
Your Majesty says
281
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:04,200
three obsolete ancestral
laws will be abolished,
282
00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,080
but perhaps you only
mean to abolish this one
283
00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:11,160
so you can place Meng Tinghui
284
00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:13,320
on the Empress's throne.
285
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,360
That witch has bewitched Your Majesty!
286
00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:20,040
Under ancestral law,
287
00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,040
she should be executed by a thousand cuts.
288
00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:23,440
Daning's legal code contains 360 statutes,
289
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:24,920
and no such crime exists among them.
290
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:25,840
Your Majesty...
291
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:27,560
So-called ancestral law,
292
00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,400
when it no longer suits the age,
293
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:31,520
must be reformed.
294
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,600
Today Your Majesty breaks one law for her.
295
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,840
Tomorrow you may abolish a hundred more.
296
00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:41,240
If this continues,
297
00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:42,800
the court
298
00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,800
will answer only
to you and Meng Tinghui.
299
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,280
Then what use are ministers like us?
300
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:50,280
What is wrong with reform?
301
00:21:50,360 --> 00:21:51,800
Everything I have done
302
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:54,120
is not for Meng Tinghui alone.
303
00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:56,360
But her presence
304
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,480
has strengthened my resolve to reform
305
00:21:58,560 --> 00:21:59,720
and made me act more swiftly.
306
00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:02,120
Your Majesty may have a thousand reasons,
307
00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:05,120
but in the eyes of the people,
308
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:08,880
you have merely been
bewitched by this demoness.
309
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,560
Do you not fear losing
the people's support
310
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:13,440
and being condemned as a foolish ruler?
311
00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:14,720
This realm is mine.
312
00:22:16,360 --> 00:22:18,160
I will bear its burden myself.
313
00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:30,120
I have already issued
an Edict of Self-Reproach.
314
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:31,640
I will proclaim to the world
315
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:33,800
that my reforms—
316
00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:35,280
their rights and wrongs,
merits and faults—
317
00:22:35,840 --> 00:22:37,760
may be judged by future generations.
318
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,200
An Edict of Self-Reproach?
319
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:45,160
Your Majesty.
320
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:48,600
Meng Tinghui, though a woman,
321
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:51,080
holds the power of state oversight.
322
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:53,120
That alone violates ancestral law.
323
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:56,840
And now, with Your Majesty...
324
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,640
This is an omen of disaster for the state.
325
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,760
The late Emperor granted me
this Dragon-Headed Staff,
326
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:07,640
to strike a foolish ruler above
327
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:09,880
and corrupt ministers below.
328
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,520
Before our ancestors today,
329
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:16,600
on behalf of the late Emperor,
330
00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,400
I will discipline Your Majesty.
331
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:24,920
A baleful star has descended,
332
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,000
throwing the court into chaos.
333
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:28,480
Today I will restore order
334
00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:30,040
and purge the evil beside the throne.
335
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:35,280
-This...
-Left Chancellor...
336
00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,040
Left Chancellor.
337
00:23:42,600 --> 00:23:44,200
I tolerate this one blow
338
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,000
because you have served three reigns.
339
00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:20,840
Late Emperor...
340
00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:25,920
The duty you entrusted
to this old minister
341
00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:29,560
I have failed to fulfill.
342
00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:33,240
Please rest assured,
343
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:36,960
even if it costs me my life,
344
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:41,240
I will not let His
Majesty persist in error
345
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,160
and bear the infamy of a foolish ruler.
346
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:51,280
-Chancellor!
-Chancellor!
347
00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:54,840
-Chancellor!
-Chancellor!
348
00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:56,040
Chancellor!
349
00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:57,560
-Chancellor!
-Chancellor!
350
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:02,600
Attendants! Summon an imperial physician!
351
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:03,600
Wait.
352
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:05,760
Your Majesty.
353
00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:09,600
Unless you withdraw
the Edict of Self-Reproach
354
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:12,080
and execute that witch,
355
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:13,880
I would rather
356
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,880
die here in this hall.
357
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:19,240
Left Chancellor,
358
00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:21,120
you cannot die!
359
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:22,880
If anyone must die,
let this old servant die!
360
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,400
I am the one who has failed our ancestors!
361
00:25:28,240 --> 00:25:29,400
Your Majesty.
362
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:31,640
Daning's foundation was hard won.
363
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,160
Please heed the Left Chancellor
364
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,960
and withdraw the Edict of Self-Reproach.
365
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,520
Please withdraw the
Edict of Self-Reproach!
366
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:45,320
Please withdraw the
Edict of Self-Reproach!
367
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,800
Please withdraw the
Edict of Self-Reproach!
368
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,200
Execute Meng Tinghui by a thousand cuts!
369
00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:55,840
Please withdraw the
Edict of Self-Reproach!
370
00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,480
Execute Meng Tinghui by a thousand cuts!
371
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:04,240
Your Majesty.
372
00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:06,360
I admit my guilt.
373
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:14,760
I ask to be imprisoned.
374
00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:17,920
I submit to any punishment.
375
00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:31,120
Meng Tinghui.
376
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:36,040
I have no regrets.
377
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,560
But if because of me, Your Majesty
378
00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:43,160
drives a veteran of three
reigns to his death,
379
00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:47,080
even ten thousand deaths
could not atone for my guilt.
380
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:52,920
I beg Your Majesty to put the realm first.
381
00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:41,200
Director Meng, this drug
will make you appear dead.
382
00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:43,520
For twenty-four hours after you take it,
383
00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:45,400
you will have neither breath nor pulse.
384
00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:46,560
Even an imperial physician
will not be able to tell.
385
00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:50,640
What are you doing?
386
00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:51,560
Getting you out of here.
387
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:53,280
I will not leave.
388
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:55,000
In the great hall,
389
00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:56,960
the ministers were enraged.
390
00:27:57,040 --> 00:27:58,320
That is why I asked to be imprisoned.
391
00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:00,760
Besides,
392
00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:02,600
this gold chain broke suspiciously.
393
00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:08,320
You were only bewitched for a moment
394
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:09,880
and lost your judgment.
395
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:13,040
So I used this gold-softening agent
to give you a push.
396
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:14,720
Two hours from now,
397
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:15,920
when incense is burned for the ancestors,
398
00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:19,360
the gold will give way
and the chain will snap.
399
00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:23,120
Do you regret it?
400
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,080
Do you truly believe he will
401
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:29,200
make an enemy of the whole realm for you?
402
00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:35,280
His Majesty is not
doing this for me alone.
403
00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:38,040
He means to abolish the ban on our love,
404
00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,480
but also to cut away
Daning's rotten old laws.
405
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:43,280
This road may be hard.
406
00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:45,680
But just because it is hard,
407
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:48,320
should we simply give up?
408
00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:50,800
Your Majesty.
409
00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,320
These three ancestral laws
were decreed by our forebears.
410
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:54,560
They cannot be defied.
411
00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:56,280
His Majesty sees farther than we do
412
00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:57,720
and is willing to set a new precedent.
413
00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:59,080
As his ministers,
414
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:01,160
we should respectfully follow his lead.
415
00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:07,080
Look at the fine disciples
Grand Tutor Shen has taught.
416
00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:08,040
Every one of them
417
00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,360
relies on your backing
418
00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,520
and treats ancestral law like a game,
419
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,800
joining His Majesty in this madness.
420
00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:17,720
Elder Xu.
421
00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:19,280
Rites change with the times,
422
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:20,640
and laws must change with the age.
423
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,240
Breaking with the old and creating the new
is the tide of the times.
424
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:24,680
It takes a resolute sovereign
425
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,320
to dare lead the way.
426
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:28,520
Though you and I are old ministers,
427
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:31,240
we must not become
defenders of the obsolete.
428
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:32,880
The Grand Tutor speaks truly.
429
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:34,560
What His Majesty said that day
430
00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:36,680
was a wake-up call to us all.
431
00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,200
And hearing the Grand Tutor today
432
00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:40,840
has helped those of us younger officials
433
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:42,600
see the path clearly
434
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:43,840
and has greatly inspired us.
435
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:45,480
Exactly.
436
00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:47,120
We are willing to support His Majesty
437
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:48,440
in sweeping away outdated laws
438
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:49,600
and opening a new era.
439
00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:52,160
Have you not seen these three years
under His Majesty's rule?
440
00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:54,880
The court is full of new vitality,
441
00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:56,120
and Daning itself
442
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:58,560
has been transformed.
443
00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,080
His Majesty arrives!
444
00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:40,360
Bring forth the Founding
Emperor's Punishment Whip!
445
00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:02,080
Your Majesty.
446
00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:04,840
The Founding Emperor's
Punishment Whip is here.
447
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:09,280
But someone must carry out the punishment.
448
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:14,600
Left Chancellor.
449
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:21,240
Grand Tutor Shen.
450
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:23,120
Ancestral law carries great weight,
451
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,000
but His Majesty is the sovereign.
452
00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:28,200
His Majesty's health concerns
the fate of the realm.
453
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,160
How could he be harmed in the slightest?
454
00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:36,720
Chief Steward You.
455
00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:38,640
You do it.
456
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:43,040
This old servant would not dare.
457
00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,920
I am willing to take all seven lashes
in Your Majesty's place.
458
00:31:55,800 --> 00:31:57,000
Chief Steward You.
459
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:00,280
You know how hard it was
for me to come this far.
460
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:04,080
Help me this once.
461
00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:01,160
That lash does not count.
462
00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:02,680
Again.
463
00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:03,880
Your Majesty...
464
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:04,840
Chief Steward You.
465
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,240
You know how it must be done.
466
00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:09,400
The first lash must draw blood.
467
00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:11,360
The second must tear flesh.
468
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:13,600
The third must jar the bone.
469
00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:20,440
This old servant deserves death.
470
00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:27,840
The first lash
471
00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,000
punishes me for defying
our ancestors' will
472
00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:34,880
and abolishing the ban
on sovereign-subject romance,
473
00:33:34,960 --> 00:33:36,280
permanent slave status,
474
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,080
and the ministers'
nomination of the Empress—
475
00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:40,640
three ancestral laws.
476
00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:48,080
The second lash
477
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:51,480
punishes me for defying the ministers
478
00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:53,320
and proclaiming my resolve to reform.
479
00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:02,960
Your Majesty!
480
00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:04,640
Imperial Physician Li, quickly...
481
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:16,880
The third lash
482
00:34:18,240 --> 00:34:19,880
punishes me, the Son of Heaven,
483
00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:22,320
for issuing an Edict of Self-Reproach
484
00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,440
and subjecting this imperial
body to the pain of the whip
485
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:29,600
to beg forgiveness
from the people of Daning.
486
00:34:29,680 --> 00:34:31,240
Continue.
487
00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:19,480
Your Majesty.
488
00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:43,640
My resolve is fixed.
489
00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:46,040
I also proclaim this
to every official at court:
490
00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,560
no matter how deep their seniority
491
00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:50,320
or how illustrious their achievements,
492
00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:51,920
whether palace rules and ancestral laws
493
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:53,720
or old precedents of the dynasty,
494
00:35:53,800 --> 00:35:55,840
Daning's stability comes before all else.
495
00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:59,080
No one will ever again
use private interests
496
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:00,760
to sway my decisions.
497
00:36:57,840 --> 00:36:59,080
From this day forward,
498
00:37:00,680 --> 00:37:02,520
the ban on sovereign-subject love,
499
00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:04,400
permanent slave status,
500
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,360
and the ministers'
nomination of the Empress
501
00:37:07,440 --> 00:37:09,920
shall be removed forever
from Daning's ancestral laws.
502
00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:43,360
It is time to let the morning sun
503
00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,960
shine upon the fresh
snow before this hall.
504
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:04,320
So the court can do without
this old minister after all.
505
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:35,000
Long live His Majesty!
Long, long may he reign!
506
00:38:36,240 --> 00:38:41,400
Long live His Majesty!
Long, long may he reign!
507
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:48,640
Long live His Majesty!
Long, long may he reign!
508
00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:27,640
For His Majesty,
509
00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:29,400
you knelt in the snow
for a full day and night.
510
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:31,040
You truly risked everything.
511
00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:33,120
What if the cold leaves
lasting damage in your legs?
512
00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:34,080
What will you do then?
513
00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:38,000
What His Majesty endured
514
00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:40,600
was a thousand times
heavier than what I bore.
515
00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:42,640
His name as a wise ruler
must never be tarnished.
516
00:39:43,720 --> 00:39:46,040
History should remember him
as an enlightened ruler.
517
00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:47,720
Your feelings for each other run so deep.
518
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:50,480
Now nothing can separate you.
519
00:39:53,200 --> 00:39:54,040
By the way,
520
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:56,840
Fuzhi still has not written back.
521
00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:00,280
I wonder whether her father and stepmother
522
00:40:00,360 --> 00:40:01,760
have been giving her a hard time.
523
00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:03,280
Don't worry.
524
00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:04,520
With my brother there,
525
00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:06,120
Miss Yan will not be mistreated.
526
00:40:06,200 --> 00:40:08,520
A carefree young lord like him
527
00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:10,880
would actually settle down for one person.
528
00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:12,640
His Majesty is the same.
529
00:40:13,560 --> 00:40:15,120
Even if he must stand
against the whole realm,
530
00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:16,480
he will remain by your side.
531
00:40:17,920 --> 00:40:19,400
It is enough to make one envious.
532
00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:21,880
How are things between you and Anian?
533
00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:26,640
We have been together since childhood.
534
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:28,920
Now, it is simply
535
00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:30,640
much the same as before.
536
00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:34,240
Do you feel even a little
affection for him now?
537
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:37,560
If you have a good man beside you,
538
00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:40,280
perhaps you should give
each other a chance.
539
00:40:42,720 --> 00:40:43,920
He is such a good man.
540
00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:47,160
I keep feeling
541
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:49,240
that I am holding him back.
542
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:50,480
Mengmeng.
543
00:40:51,320 --> 00:40:52,440
Tell me.
544
00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:53,480
Why do you think I
545
00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:54,760
agreed to this marriage
in the first place?
546
00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:56,400
When pain becomes unbearable,
547
00:40:56,960 --> 00:40:58,560
we all need someone to lean on.
548
00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:00,720
Anian was the lamp in the fog
549
00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:02,560
that guided you forward.
550
00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:04,120
Because you know each other so well,
551
00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:06,680
he can give you the peace you need.
552
00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:09,960
But I do care about him.
553
00:41:10,040 --> 00:41:11,600
I cannot bear to see him hurt,
554
00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:13,480
much less see him unhappy because of me.
555
00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:14,800
You needn't feel guilty.
556
00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:17,520
I only hope you can
slowly lower your guard.
557
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:19,720
Anian is worth it.
558
00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:27,120
Zhili. Director Meng.
559
00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:31,760
What brings you here?
560
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:33,320
My patrol is finished.
561
00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:34,680
You were gone so long,
562
00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:35,840
I was worried about you.
563
00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:37,600
Zhili.
564
00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:40,800
Go on home.
565
00:41:44,400 --> 00:41:45,640
I bought the last basket of crab-roe buns
566
00:41:45,720 --> 00:41:46,760
from the shop on West Street.
567
00:41:46,840 --> 00:41:48,400
If we don't go now, they'll be cold.
568
00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:51,800
And one more thing.
569
00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:54,720
For tomorrow's return gifts,
570
00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:56,400
I followed Father and Mother's tastes
571
00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:57,720
and added several bolts of cloud brocade.
572
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:00,480
See if that covers everything.
573
00:42:00,560 --> 00:42:01,760
It's so cold.
574
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:03,280
Why come all this way?
575
00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:04,840
Because it is cold,
576
00:42:04,920 --> 00:42:06,080
That's exactly why I had to come.
577
00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:10,160
I'll be going.
40814
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