Original subtitles

The Scholar and the Emperor

Jinxia Pass is a vital strategic point.

If we lose it,

Beijian's iron cavalry can sweep straight in.

As long as we stand, the pass stands.

We cannot lose it.

Report!

Urgent report!

Beijian's army has attacked Jinxia Pass.

Beijian truly has wolfish ambitions.

They changed their main attack at the last second.

General Di,

we have only a handful of troops left at Jinxia Pass.

His Majesty is camped a hundred li away.

Light the beacon.

Within two hours at the latest,

reinforcements will arrive.

We are badly outnumbered by Beijian.

I fear we cannot hold for two hours.

They outnumber us.

Our only defense is to attack.

Pass my order.

Light the beacon fires.

Follow me into battle.

Yes.

The beacon is lit. Something's wrong at Jinxia Pass.

-Saddle the horses. -Yes.

Today,

we will break through Jinxia Pass.

Not a chance.

-Kill! -Kill!

Huo An!

Zhili.

Happy birthday.

You're another year older.

And now I'm taller than you.

From now on, I can always protect you.

And one more thing.

Stop calling me little brother.

All right?

Zhili.

Happy birthday.

You asked me what I wished for.

I wanted to say...

Ever since I entered the Shen household,

my wish has never changed.

I want to tell you

that I like you.

I truly do.

Anian.

Wait for me.

I have so much I want to tell you.

I found this while searching a valley outside the capital.

They say carrying it

brings good luck.

You need the luck more than I do.

Zhili.

Will you marry me?

About my past...

you truly don't care?

I don't.

But do you know the knot in my heart

cannot be undone by saying you don't care?

Zhili,

do you like me even a little now?

You said

this peachwood brings good luck.

It can keep people safe.

I want you to come back safely.

Anian.

Soldiers of Daning!

Not one step back!

Anian!

-Anian! -Anian!

Anian!

Your Majesty.

I...

have fulfilled my mission.

All soldiers, hear my command!

Slaughter every Beijian dog!

Send them to the grave with our fallen men!

Report! A great victory!

Di Nian and Beijian's First Prince

both died at Jinxia Pass.

At last, the day has come.

He's dead.

Good.

Anian.

Anian.

Princess.

I kept my promise to you.

Zhongwan lost not a single soldier,

yet took the realm with ease.

Yin Qing.

You worked beside Anian for three years.

How can you still smile?

Have you even thought about

what Zhili must be feeling right now?

I've told you.

I am Shangguan Zhao,

not Yin Qing.

Fine.

Then let all of this

end as soon as possible.

Madam, a letter from Qingzhou.

Anian.

Anian.

Anian.

Beijian's First Prince's head.

I've brought it to you.

Thank you, Daning, for ridding me of Beijian royalty.

Today, by order of Zhongwan's Empress Murong Yao,

I've come for your head.

Shangguan Zhao.

If I could once give you a way to live,

I can also send you to your death.

Shangguan Zhao.

Anian's blood debt

must be repaid in blood.

All soldiers, hear my command!

Stop!

I, Murong Yao,

as the last blood of Zhongwan's royal house,

command every soldier of Zhongwan

to lay down your weapons.

Princess, you cannot!

Yin Qing.

Your obsession is restoring the kingdom.

Mine

is giving Zhongwan's people peaceful lives

so they never have to wander homeless again.

Soldiers of Zhongwan,

if war begins today,

Zhongwan will bear the first blow.

Every neighboring state will seize the chance to fight.

Do you truly want to restore Zhongwan,

or destroy the entire realm?

Ying Gua.

Your father killed my father and mother

and destroyed my homeland.

I should hate you to the bone.

And yet, in the end,

I cannot even bring myself to resent you.

Because I know

you also cannot bear to see the people suffer.

In your own way,

you are trying to end the hatred between our nations.

Can there ever be a clean slate between us?

You cannot even bring yourself to stab me.

How am I supposed to believe you?

I know how hard this has been for you.

But rest assured.

Whatever choice you make,

I will stand by you.

Beijian raids Xigu Pass in three days.

Their arrows will be poisoned.

One scratch

will be fatal.

I never doubted you.

In Daning's household registers,

there will no longer be Daning and Zhongwan.

This realm

belongs to all its people.

Here is the new Zhongwan policy.

Hereditary slave status is abolished.

From this day forward,

they will be freed from slavery,

given farmland,

and allowed to serve in office or the army.

This is Zhongwan's people's true way forward.

Sir.

The survivors have been pardoned.

From now on, there is no Zhongwan slave camp.

Princess.

Daning is deceitful. It cannot be trusted.

When Daning's iron cavalry

stormed Zhongwan's royal capital,

did they show us even a shred of mercy?

From this day forward...

Your Majesty.

I swear upon my imperial blood:

in the household registers,

there shall be only people of Daning,

never Zhongwan or Daning apart.

If I break this oath,

may the mountains and rivers forsake me.

Meng Tinghui.

I promise you here and now:

all Zhongwan lands of old

shall be yours.

Zhongwan

shall stand as a realm within the realm.

Princess.

Ying Gua only wants a rightful claim to you and Zhongwan.

What I offer you is the entire realm.

I will make you

the first woman Emperor in history.

Ying Gua.

The lands Zhongwan lost,

I will reclaim by the sword.

I do not need your charity.

Soldiers of Zhongwan, hear my command!

Kill every Daning dog!

Reclaim our homeland!

Sir.

Stop clinging to this madness.

Yin Qing.

Give it up.

I have waited all these years

and plotted my entire life.

Even if I am the last Zhongwan man alive today,

I will never give up.

Meng Tinghui.

Princess.

Since you want to return to Daning so badly,

I'll grant your wish.

-Shangguan Zhao! -Princess!

Sir!

My lord.

You've already killed Daning's greatest criminal.

Go back to Daning.

-Loose! -No!

Sir!

Forget Shangguan Zhao.

Remember Yin Qing.

My lord.

I can see...

a rainbow.

Lord Meng.

Are you the one...?

I'm Yin Qing.

From all my years roaming the jianghu,

traveling across mountains and rivers,

and reading countless books,

I can tell it's because you two

were born beautiful.

What office was I just promoted to again?

-Deputy Director Yin. -Deputy Director Yin.

No matter how fierce the storms of this world,

one day they will pass.

Yin Qing.

Thank you.

My lord.

As long as Yin Qing lives,

I will keep you safe.

Brother Shangguan!

Brother Shangguan!

Brother Shangguan!

Brother Shangguan!

Don't go!

Don't!

Sir.

I've come to join you.

Situ Xue.

Mengmeng.

Mengmeng, you're awake.

Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?

Some water?

Here.

You're finally back.

I thought I'd never see you again.

The war is over.

Now we can finally be together in peace.

I still want to see you

open Bofeng House all across the realm.

Daning's soldiers respect and honor you now.

No one will ever question who you are again.

Zhishu and I have made up too.

I think

this is the best ending we could hope for.

Young Lord Shen is utterly devoted to you.

Knowing you have such a good man beside you,

puts my heart at ease.

And what about you?

You and His Majesty...

Fuzhi.

I don't know why,

but lately I keep thinking about

that old tree at Shazhou Women's Academy.

And I keep craving apricot-skin cakes.

Then I'll make some for you right now.

What's wrong?

This is a military camp.

Where will you find ingredients?

If you want something,

Even if I must pluck down stars,

I'll get it for you.

Wait for me.

I will.

Look at this batch...

Mengmeng?

To His Majesty.

The realm was your betrothal gift,

as you promised.

To offer the rest of my life to this realm

is my duty as your subject

and the heart of the one who loves you.

This game is over.

To withdraw when the work is done

is how neither of us fails the other.

I worry only for Zhili and Fuzhi.

Zhili has lost Anian

and is broken with grief.

Fuzhi burns as fiercely as fire

and can easily burn herself.

I ask you and Zhishu

to keep them safe and peaceful all their lives.

This is

my final selfish request.

I take my weariness with me

and leave behind endless clear skies.

This is my way of setting us both free.

May you rule all beneath Heaven with care,

guard these mountains and rivers,

and be remembered as a wise Emperor.

And may I always remain

the Meng Tinghui of the Office of Public Inquiry,

who debated statecraft with you by lamplight.

May every night you read memorials,

the candle beside your desk burn warm.

(Three years later)

Di An!

Di An!

Mother!

Di An.

No fooling around before His Majesty.

Mother.

I'm better than Father.

Then you must first train hard.

Mother,

why did you like Father?

Zhili.

It wasn't just liking him.

I loved him.

I only realized it too late.

Di An!

Uncle!

Good boy. I'll take you to the training grounds

where your father used to practice.

Uncle, I'm going to be a great general.

I'll protect Mother

and protect His Majesty.

-Good. -Good.

Good.

Manager Yan.

With His Majesty's "Imperial Merchant" plaque,

we lead the capital

among its seventy-two merchant houses.

This is only the beginning.

I want Bofeng House branches

all across Daning.

I'm heading to Xuzhou and Bianzhou

to look at new locations.

I'll leave the capital's twelve branches

in all your hands.

-Yes. -Yes.

Manager Yan!

Manager Yan!

Wonderful news!

Young Lord Shen has won another great victory.

He's about to be promoted and ennobled.

With such good fortune,

why are you still fussing over new branches?

Precisely because they're all high above,

I need to lay the road on the ground

even farther ahead.

Let's go.

-Safe travels, Proprietor! -Safe travels, Proprietor!

Have a safe journey, Proprietor!

-Congratulations! -Congratulations!

Safe travels!

With a wise ruler's grace above,

-With a wise ruler's grace above, -With a wise ruler's grace above,

and worthy ministers serve below,

-and worthy ministers serve below, -and worthy ministers serve below,

only then can we govern the realm,

-only then can we govern the realm, -only then can we govern the realm,

nurture the people,

-nurture the people, -nurture the people,

and secure lasting peace.

-and secure lasting peace. -and secure lasting peace.

If my life can serve the people,

I shall not spare myself.

You impersonated Situ Xue and deceived the people.

You hid military weapons and plotted rebellion.

By law, you should be exiled.

What makes you think I'm an impostor?

You're selfish and self-serving,

and every word from you is a lie.

Once exposed, you twist your words,

and play innocent and pitiful at will.

You're cunning, deceitful, and two-faced.

How do I know you're not lying to me?

You certainly remember me well.

We meet again,

Miss Meng.

With all your power,

why not wipe out Black Tiger Hall and Ding Chong?

Why keep making life hard for a helpless woman?

What skill is there in that?

You dared deceive me?

Then you're courting death.

Since I brought you in,

I won't let anything happen to you.

A master like Young Master He

is afraid of a little snake?

At least buy me a meal first.

Miss Meng.

Until next time.

If fate allows,

we will meet again.

I think He Du of Shazhou

was more interesting

than the Emperor you are now.

Young Master He.

Warm broth in your stomach...

Does the lamb broth taste good?

It's good.

Very good.

These lamb noodles taste just like Shazhou's.

Still spicy. Still fierce.

You truly

made your way to stand before me, step by step.

Young man.

He Du.

Your Majesty.

For ten years, under different identities,

you have witnessed my life.

Why wait for snow to make a wish?

I grant wishes better than Heaven.

I wish Daning peace and prosperity.

And I hope next season,

old friends are still beside me.

When spring comes,

shall we release river lanterns together?

It's a promise.

Your Majesty.

Meng Tinghui.

Let's get married.

It's been three years.

Daning has missed you.

The storms at court are not over yet.

Will you walk this road with me again?