Original subtitles

The Scholar and the Emperor

Leyan

Teacher, I've finished the painting.

The brushwork is exquisite.

But…

it lacks a soul.

"Spring Comes Late."

Last night brought word of spring.

My heart rejoices in secret.

My springtime longing is quietly sent.

Only spring knows the affairs of spring.

Is this "Spring Comes Late"?

Since Lingyi passed away,

every day has felt like walking on thin ice.

The winter has been long,

and spring seems forever out of reach.

But that day,

when I laid down the dagger before you,

I finally came to understand.

The dead are gone.

The living must live for themselves.

Leyan.

You gave me a new life.

From now on,

I want to live for myself once more.

Teacher, if you can think this way,

then nothing could be better.

Some time ago,

when I saw you so grief-stricken,

yet still helping Director Meng fight corruption,

I admired you deeply,

but worried about you day and night.

So I painted this spring scene

as a gift for you.

Leyan.

All of this is because of you.

Only when I'm beside you

can I truly be myself.

I know teacher and student have their bounds.

The road ahead will be difficult,

but if I persist…

Leyan.

Would you be willing,

to be brave for me once?

I never understood what love was.

But I saw my parents stand by each other,

supporting one another.

I saw my brother

risk everything to find medicine for Miss Yan.

And I saw you,

Teacher, broken by grief.

Only then did I understand

that love

can make one face death without regret,

and suffer pain that pierces the heart.

I do not want to be trapped by convention

or bound by old proprieties.

Before, you had a family,

so I dared not cross the line.

But today,

I want to say this boldly.

Teacher,

I also have feelings for you.

This gift…

I prepared it long ago.

Today I can finally give it to you.

It is a Heart-Lock.

The cloud patterns on it

were each drawn by my own hand.

Let this heart be the lock,

and the clear wind be the key.

From now on, seeing this lock will recall our first resolve.

May we live this life without regret.

I want to protect you for a lifetime.

Would you be willing,

to be brave for me once?

Who are you, barging into my residence?

You have some nerve.

Not as much as you, Right Chancellor.

You raised the Tiger's Roar Gang as your claws,

and once you'd used them up,

even your own flesh-and-blood brother

was someone you could murder.

A skulking coward like you

dares threaten me with such nonsense?

Every dirty deal you made with Ling Yunfei

is enough to condemn your entire clan.

Who are you?

How do you know so much?

Who I am is unimportant.

What matters is that within three days,

you hand over Qingzhou's garrison map.

Otherwise, you wouldn't want copies of this ledger

on Meng Tinghui's desk, would you?

The garrison map is a state secret.

If I steal it for you,

I will still die when the truth comes out.

Do you think doing nothing will save you?

Meng Tinghui will soon trace it all to you.

If you sit and wait, you will still die.

If you cooperate,

I can offer you a way out.

What way?

Help your prized student, Shen Zhili,

become Empress.

When a new reign begins,

you will remain chief of the officials.

And should disaster strike,

she will be your best safeguard.

If we're to cooperate,

we should be honest with each other.

I need to know who you are as well.

You're back.

You went to the Gu residence again.

That is my business. It has nothing to do with you.

Between us,

can we not even speak anymore?

Ever since you learned what the peachwood meant,

you've been avoiding me.

How long will you keep running from me?

It isn't that we cannot speak.

There are simply things you should not say.

Anian, you're still young.

My feelings have nothing to do with age.

When my whole family was gone but me,

you used your handkerchief

to bandage my injured palm.

You told me mastering martial arts

was the best way to honor them.

It was also you

who brought me close to your parents and brother,

and had me spar with His Majesty and Huang Bo.

You stayed beside me through my darkest days.

From then on, I swore

I would grow up quickly and protect you.

Anian.

You've misunderstood.

In my heart, you're a younger brother.

I have misunderstood nothing.

I know exactly what I feel.

Besides,

we share no blood relation.

You call my parents Father and Mother,

and Zhishu your brother.

Is that not family affection?

Wouldn't that make things easier?

If we end up together someday,

we won't even need to change how we address them.

Stop twisting my words.

I'm older than you, so I am your sister.

You're still young.

Perhaps you cannot yet tell what you truly feel.

When you meet a better woman someday,

you'll understand the difference.

There is no woman better than you.

Zhili.

I have long known my own heart.

But what about you?

Can you truly tell what you feel for him?

I know my own heart.

I need no one else's judgment.

So in your heart,

compared with the Right Chancellor,

I have become an outsider.

I knew confessing to you today

would create distance between us.

But I do not regret it.

I will wait as long as it takes.

Even if it takes a lifetime,

I will still wait.

Calm down first.

Don't let impulse ruin what we have.

I left the peachwood in your room.

I have made myself very clear.

Don't…

You like reading old laws and statutes.

Whenever you go out,

you always bring so many bamboo slips.

I thought they were cumbersome to search,

so I took the cases and statutes you consult most often

and recopied them all here.

I made the writing larger,

so when you read at night,

you won't strain your eyes.

You needn't feel burdened.

I don't ask that you return my feelings.

I only hope

you can be with the one you truly love…

side by side.

Provisions are the lifeblood of an army.

Pang Mu's negligence cost us the grain.

Execute him at once.

General Huo, Lord Shen,

have mercy!

Lord Shen.

Although it was under Pang Mu's watch

that the court's thirty thousand shi of grain was lost,

but the raiders were trained and fierce.

His crime does not warrant death.

Does not warrant death?

Beijian cavalry is barely a hundred li away.

If they exploit this opening now,

and our forces lack provisions,

Qingzhou's defenses could fall.

We need not wait for His Majesty's punishment.

You may all kill yourselves in apology.

Take him away.

General Huo.

General Huo!

Lord Shen!

Lord Shen!

Our priority is finding grain.

I've sent an urgent report to court,

but the allocation process is cumbersome.

Distant aid may come too late.

The granaries around Qingzhou

can sustain us for only seven days.

Have the troops hold out for seven days.

As for the thirty thousand shi,

I will find a way.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty!

My brother sent a letter.

Your Majesty, I have infiltrated the Blood Moon Society.

My investigation shows

its leader uses the alias Mr. Shangguan

and is likely hiding in the capital.

Zhongwan remnants are entrenched in Qingzhou

and are conspiring with Beijian,

using the stolen grain to provoke a border war.

I have planted agents among them.

But the military situation is urgent.

Please prepare defenses at once.

Beijian has long coveted Qingzhou's iron mines.

If the Zhongwan remnants tempt them with that,

Beijian may betray us

and tear up the treaty.

If Zhongwan and Beijian join forces,

war may erupt along the border.

Issue orders at once.

Have the Ministry of War send grain to Qingzhou,

and secretly deploy Shazhou Camp elites.

Have Zhishu find a chance to disrupt

the Zhongwan-Beijian conspiracy.

But remind him

his own safety comes first.

I'll see to it at once.

Chairman Chen, rest assured.

The contract will reach Qingzhou within three days.

As for Bofeng Tavern's branch,

we'll split the profits thirty-seventy as agreed.

Manager Yan is certainly decisive.

We will await the contract.

Father.

The wind and sand are heavy outside.

Why did you come out?

When you insisted on following Meng Tinghui to the capital,

I was so angry I smashed three tea sets.

But now,

following her has let you see

a wider world.

Watching you negotiate

with trade guilds from every prefecture,

even an old merchant like me is impressed.

My daughter,

you've grown up.

Father.

Before…

you always opposed me appearing in public

and opposed me doing business.

This is the first time you've praised Mengmeng and me.

Since Ding Chong fell,

I've watched Shazhou's merchant caravans

increase by seventy percent.

Not only is business easier for merchants,

even poor households

can now afford meat.

This stubborn old stone of a heart

has slowly been warmed by you two.

Silly girl.

All right, all right.

You are now

the head of the Yan family's business.

You can't burst into tears so easily.

Fuzhi.

Zhishu.

Master Yan, I came to see…

Father-in-law.

Do you really think I'm senile?

This fake courtship act of yours—

how long will you keep it up?

Father.

I had no choice.

You deceived me first.

I didn't mean to deceive you.

Uncle Yan.

This wasn't Fuzhi's fault.

I was the one who said it on my own.

If you must blame someone, blame me.

Enough.

I've thought it through now.

I won't force you to marry.

So stop putting on an act for me.

Fuzhi.

You are still a woman, after all.

You cannot gamble with your reputation.

You may be capable on your own,

and you may earn mountains of gold,

but I still hope someone will be there

to care for you and cherish you.

Uncle Yan.

The act may have been false, but my feelings are real.

Fuzhi and I love each other.

I will never fail her.

Hearing that from you, Lord Shen,

puts my heart at ease.

You've come a long way as our guest.

I'll have food and wine prepared for you.

The military situation is urgent.

I came to Fuzhi today

to ask an important favor.

Between us, why call it a favor?

Fuzhi, this is a grave matter.

Qingzhou Camp urgently needs thirty thousand shi of grain.

It must arrive within seven days.

If we wait for court approval,

the aid will come too late.

I may run taverns,

But within seven days,

gathering thirty thousand shi of grain may be…

Father, I'm still new to business in Shazhou.

Could you help by acting as guarantor

and buying private grain from friendly merchants?

-Even at a premium… -Husband.

Absolutely not.

Thirty thousand shi of grain

would empty our family coffers.

The Shen family may be prestigious,

but their annual stipend is barely a hundred taels.

The betrothal gifts haven't even arrived,

and now our Yan family must pay instead?

If Master Yan is willing to help,

I can sign an IOU right now.

I will repay every bit someday.

Husband.

Officials have two mouths: one to borrow, one to deny.

We've seen that before.

Do you really want Fuzhi,

or are you after our family's money?

Just because you live and breathe money

doesn't mean everyone else does.

Husband.

I'm only thinking of our family.

The Yan family's money

doesn't fall from the sky.

How can we throw it around like this?

If Lord Shen is urgently gathering grain,

could it be those Beijian wolves…?

Master Yan, to tell you the truth,

the situation is still unclear.

War has not broken out,

but we cannot let our guard down.

If Lord Shen came in person,

it must be extremely urgent

and shows his trust in our Yan family.

We may be merchants,

but we understand duty to our country.

Fuzhi.

This is my seal.

Every Yan family granary

is at your disposal.

If that is not enough,

from today onward, every Yan shop

will buy grain and sell no other goods.

We'll also purchase private grain

from the other major merchants.

Thank you, Master Yan.

I'll write the IOU at once.

Lord Shen,

do you take me

for a merchant who cares only for profit?

Husband.

Even if you won't think of yourself,

think of Song'er.

If war truly breaks out,

even thirty thousand shi may not be enough.

Then

what good is a mere IOU?

Merchants can only prosper

in times of peace.

Only because soldiers defend the realm

can people like us live in wealth and safety.

You shortsighted woman,

stop making trouble.

Husband.

Take Madam back inside.

Madam, this way.

Madam.

Father, thank you.

On behalf of the soldiers, thank you, Fuzhi.

Thank you, Master Yan.

Silly daughter, worthy son-in-law,

why be so formal with me?

Come, get up.

Fuzhi.

I'll arrange the grain wagons at once.

I still have urgent duties,

so I cannot stay with you.

Go take care of your work.

As for the grain,

I'll see it done.

Shen Zhishu.

Go on.

Shen Zhishu, listen carefully.

I'm famous in Shazhou for loving handsome men.

If you come back with even one new scar,

I'll dump you.

Then I'll find ten men

even more handsome than you.

That won't do.

I already have three scars.

My father left them when he beat me as a child.

You'd better inspect them first.

Otherwise, when I return,

I might get dumped for nothing.

Here. Look.

Shen Zhishu.

All right.

I was teasing you.

What I mean is,

come back safe and sound.

Not even a hair may be missing.

Do you hear me?

Wait for me.

I will.

Your Majesty.

Beijian's envoy has submitted three state letters

pressing us for an answer on the marriage.

I…

took the liberty of consulting the ministers.

We believe Shen Zhili, daughter of Grand Tutor Shen,

is both virtuous and talented,

gracious and dignified,

and worthy to serve as a model for all women.

I respectfully ask Your Majesty

to appoint Shen Zhili as Empress.

I second the motion.

Your Majesty, I previously believed

recommending Beijian's Divine Maiden could secure the border.

But after seeing the Left Chancellor

so passionately favor resistance,

I reconsidered the matter

and found his reasoning sound.

The Shen family is highly distinguished,

a household steeped in scholarship and propriety,

renowned for its spotless reputation.

She is indeed the finest choice for Empress.

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

The two Chancellors

are remarkably united today.

Your Majesty, please judge wisely.

The Right Chancellor and I did disagree before.

But our agreement today

proves precisely

that Miss Shen

is the choice the court supports.

The Left Chancellor is correct.

I urge Your Majesty to appoint an Empress soon

to secure the state

and continue the imperial line.

You have all certainly…

thought of everything for me.

But I have always respected the Shen family.

Since you jointly recommend Shen Zhili as Empress,

shouldn't you first ask

Grand Tutor Shen what he thinks?

I

feared Your Majesty might have reservations,

so I already asked Grand Tutor Shen to co-sign the memorial.

Your Majesty.

The joint recommendation has been submitted.

I will order the Ministry of Rites

to prepare the ancestral ceremony,

and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to choose an auspicious date.

Please issue the decree soon

and announce the Empress-designate to the realm.

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

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

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

Whatever happens at court,

Grand Tutor Shen has always stood behind me.

Why this time…?

I am doing this

to end Beijian's ambitions,

and also to end Your Majesty's

improper hopes regarding Meng Tinghui.

You may hide it from the whole realm,

but you cannot hide it from me.

When Your Majesty rewarded Meng Tinghui before,

I said nothing

because I trusted Your Majesty's judgment.

But Meng Tinghui's identity as Zhongwan's princess

means she can never be yours.

After careful thought, only this

can make Your Majesty distance yourself from her.

But Meng Tinghui

knows nothing of her own origins.

Even if the old Zhongwan faction has plans for her,

I will deal with them personally.

I will never let her be dragged into it.

Why must birth create such an insurmountable divide?

The Zhongwan remnants are undeniably plotting restoration.

If she learns the truth someday,

faced with national and family hatred,

who can predict what she will choose?

For Daning's stability,

I dare not rely on chance.

The late Emperor granted the Shen family the Royal Command Tally,

giving me authority over life and death

and bringing our family supreme honor.

Today,

With this tally, I implore Your Majesty

to accept the Chancellors' and ministers' recommendation

-and appoint Zhili as Empress. -Grand Tutor Shen.

Even you would force me?

The ministers all have motives for promoting Zhili,

but I promise this:

the Shen family puts Your Majesty and Daning first

and will never be swayed by any faction.

After weighing everything repeatedly,

Zhili…

is indeed the best choice for Empress.

To avoid suspicion,

once the imperial wedding is concluded,

I

will leave the capital with my wife and withdraw from public affairs,

retiring completely.

Your Majesty, Director Meng requests an audience.

I, Shen Wuchen,

implore Your Majesty to decide soon

and stabilize the realm.

Your Majesty.

Left Chancellor Xu Ting and Right Chancellor Gu Qin,

along with the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers,

a total of 236 officials,

have submitted a joint memorial

recommending Zhili as Empress.

Grand Tutor Shen even invoked the late Emperor's Royal Command Tally

asking Your Majesty, in seven days, to go to Shengzu Hall

and hold the ancestral ceremony.

draft the enthronement decree,

and proclaim it to the realm to secure the imperial foundation

and reassure the people.

Fuzhi.

When you returned from Shazhou last time,

you asked whether I had feelings for His Majesty.

I hadn't understood my heart then

and denied it in haste.

But after facing death together several times,

His Majesty and I have confessed our feelings.

Because palace rules and ancestral law forbid it,

our love must remain hidden,

yet it is fierce and overwhelming.

And now, of all times,

the entire court has nominated Zhili as Empress.

She is not merely my colleague,

but a friend who has risked her life beside me.

Faced with open and hidden attacks at court,

I have never been afraid.

But this situation

has left me troubled for the first time.

The feelings involved are so complicated

that aside from you,

I have no one I can tell.

I hope the Left Chancellor will join me

in recommending Shen Zhili as Empress.

Everyone knows

Shen Zhili is your prized student.

Why should I help you strengthen your power?

Meng Tinghui's influence at court is growing.

Her supporters increase by the day,

and she is close to the Shen family.

She…

is the greatest threat to both of us.

If Grand Tutor Shen rallies the officials

to recommend Meng Tinghui,

and His Majesty gives his approval,

then…

neither of us can stop it.

If we recommend Shen Zhili as Empress,

we can end Meng Tinghui's hopes of becoming Empress for good,

and drive a wedge between her and the Shen family.

The Office of Public Inquiry will inevitably be weakened.

For both of us,

there is everything to gain and nothing to lose.

Your only concern

is that Shen Zhili is my student.

But Grand Tutor Shen heads the Shen family.

Shen Zhishu and Di Nian

are both His Majesty's trusted men.

Which of them…

can I truly control?

The situation is clear now.

It will be either Meng Tinghui

or…

Shen Zhili.

Whom to support as Empress,

I trust the Left Chancellor

can weigh for himself.

Leyan.

Zhili.

My name is indeed on the Empress recommendation letter.

I have nothing to say.

Then…

all those days of harmony between us,

all those heart-to-heart talks

and tender words…

were they only an act

and false affection?

Not one bit of my feeling for you was false.

But the Left Chancellor and your father

have united in recommending you as Empress.

The tide has already turned this way.

I had no choice but to do it.

Every one of you says you had no choice.

Even my usually open-minded parents

have completely changed this time.

One avoids seeing me,

and the other refuses to speak.

You all say you love me,

but in your eyes,

am I nothing more than

a puppet you can move however you please?

Does my own will

really mean

so little to all of you?

Leyan.

I regret it deeply as well.

Why don't I go to the palace now

and confess our feelings to His Majesty?

Even if His Majesty is enraged,

I will bear every consequence myself.

Even if I am torn to pieces,

I will not let you suffer for it.

Teacher…

Teacher.

You've had too much to drink.

What exists between us

will not be accepted by the world.

If this becomes known,

not only you and I,

but my parents and the entire Shen clan

will face condemnation and blame.

Leyan, if you are willing,

I will take you away right now.

I don't care about office or reputation.

I can abandon all of it.

Even if I am reduced to a commoner,

even if we live on plain food for life,

as long as you are beside me,

the wilderness will be our paradise,

and a thatched cottage

will be our home.

Leyan.

Trust me.

Zhili.

You finally came.

I have something to tell you.

Yin Qing and I

have been investigating the man behind Ling Yunfei.

We did not mean to hide it from you.

-We only didn't want… -Director Meng.

It doesn't matter anymore.

I have already submitted

my resignation to the Ministry of Personnel.

This one is for Director Meng.

From today onward,

we can no longer work together at the Office of Public Inquiry.

You worked so hard to enter government

and earned so much merit at the Office.

Will you really abandon it all?

In the end, we are still women.

Mengmeng.

I'm not afraid of losing my office or seal.

I'm only afraid

of being unable to be with the one I love.

I don't understand.

Why can the world not accept us?

You mean…

the Right Chancellor?

We love each other.

This is the first time in my life I've loved someone.

Even if it uses up all the good fortune in my life,

I do not want to give him up.

What I came to tell you today

is precisely about the Right Chancellor.

Zhili.

Commander Di.

Tell Zhili what you know.

He has been lying to you all along.

Everyone says Madam Yuan died protecting the Right Chancellor

from a thief's attack.

In truth, she died by the Right Chancellor's hand.

Anian.

You're talking nonsense again.

I saw Teacher's grief when he lost his wife and child.

Zhili…

everything he has done was part of the Empress scheme.

If you truly become Empress,

he is the one who benefits most.

Impossible.

-Teacher would never do such a thing. -Zhili.

Gu Qin does not deserve your devotion.

Zhili.

We have been gathering evidence of his crimes.

We're telling you first

because we didn't want you to hear it from someone else,

and we didn't want you to be hurt.

I know this is hard to accept,

but it is the truth.

Someone can prove all of it.

The Qingzhou garrison map you wanted.

Mr. Shangguan.

The Right Chancellor is well informed indeed.

In only a few days,

you discovered who I am.

You killed Ling Yunfei with the Infinity Pill.

Do you think…

you can stay hidden behind him forever?

Between the two of us,

who truly killed him?

Enough idle talk.

Where is what I asked for?

It is time you showed your true face.

Everything happened exactly as His Majesty predicted.

They really are after Qingzhou's garrison map.

The position of Empress concerns the fate of the realm.

At present,

both Chancellors are pressing hard, while Beijian watches like a wolf.

Daning needs a stable inner palace.

You are the most suitable choice.

At the ancestral ceremony in seven days, you will receive the phoenix seal.

This is no longer a family matter, but a matter of state.

It is settled.

Father, His Majesty and I are only sovereign and subject.

I cannot accept this phoenix seal.

Besides, my heart already belongs to someone.

What did you say?

Teacher and I love each other.

Father, you would have me

with my heart full of love for Teacher

enter the inner palace as Empress.

I cannot do that.

It would mean deceiving His Majesty.

For me, it would tear my heart apart.

Say that again?

Father, even if I say it ten thousand times,

I still want to be with Teacher.

Our love is sincere and mutual.

The Shen family has been honorable for generations.

We have built our name on integrity.

I taught you the classics and proper conduct

not so you could defy human propriety.

That fine teacher of yours—

if he cared for you at all,

how could he personally, at court,

push you toward becoming Empress?

Teacher must have his reasons.

He said

even if condemned by all and beset by endless calamity,

he would still grow old with me, hand in hand.

Come to your senses.

Husband.

Sister Zhili.

In all my life,

this is the first time Father…

has ever hit me.