Original subtitles

=The Road to Splendor=

(Adapted from China Literature author Zhizhi's novel of the same name)

=Episode 30=

What is this?

My sworn brother, whom I have raised for over a decade,

and your daughter

grew up together.

Today, I take the liberty

of asking you, Commander Wang,

to agree to this match.

Why so sudden?

Why did you not mention it earlier?

I...

This lad?

Yes.

He looks fine to me.

When it comes to children's marriage,

their mother has the final say.

Quickly,

go and ask Madam to come here.

Commander,

there is one more matter

I wish to discuss with you.

Marriage and funerals are matters of the inner household.

He deliberately avoided both of us.

What is he up to?

Lately,

he has grown more impatient.

Locked in a struggle with Grand Secretary Yu,

he wishes Commander Wang

to lend him support.

Zhao Ling.

As long as he is resolute,

the Northwest will stand with him.

What troubles me

is that he used the children's marriage

as leverage to show his resolve.

What are you doing?

Rise.

the Northwest

is Mr. Zhao's foundation.

I cannot bear

to see him helpless and alone.

Please give your consent to this match.

Rise first.

I know,

since coming to the capital,

he has grown more stubborn.

You cannot talk him out of it either.

But for now, he and the Northwest are joined at the hip.

Touch one part,

and the whole system is affected.

You

and I,

let's take it one step at a time.

When grain passes through Longxi,

(Respectfully submitted by Li Mao) two dou are lost from every dan.

The soldiers escorting the grain

(When grain passes through Longxi...)

used their blood as ink.

At every relay station,

each grain sack lost two dou.

While Li Mao oversaw grain supplies,

he recorded these losses

as storage wastage.

He couldn't have pulled this off

so seamlessly on his own.

I have been investigating for years.

Only then did I discover

his close ties with the Yu faction.

I brought all the evidence to the capital

in search of an opportunity

to deliver a decisive blow.

(Two dou are lost from every dan.) On paper, the grain supply

to the Northwest garrison

appears to be 30,000 dan more than the Ministry of War's records.

Yet the border troops

still go hungry.

(When grain passes through Longxi, two dou are lost from every dan.)

With this evidence,

I can prove

that the Yu faction used northwest storage wastage as a cover

to commit embezzlement.

I only hope this bloodied garment

will see the light of day.

Then the suffering of the Northwest soldiers

over all these years will not have been in vain.

You ask for the Northwest's stance.

Here it is.

(When grain passes through Longxi, two dou are lost from every dan.)

This is the bloodied garment of border soldiers.

And these are Li Mao's

(To Lord Zhang, in Jiangqian Hutong) letters exchanged with the Yu faction.

They're solid evidence.

(Grain)

You plan to start

with the Northwest grain storage losses.

But if we lose,

it will be utter ruin.

But if we win,

every one of you will rise.

Grand Secretary.

Last night, Zhao Ling

took the case files of the Li Mao case.

However,

there is no solid confession.

But the documents

still bear Li Mao's handwriting.

Years ago,

we exchanged letters with him.

Even

Young Lord Yu was...

Because it was years ago,

I was careless.

Zhao Ling reopening this old case now

likely means

he has already prepared his case.

Tomorrow,

Zhao Ling will certainly make his move.

Grand Secretary,

do you have a plan?

The treasury is empty.

His Majesty values silver over men.

If we bring down a corrupt official

what would that mean to His Majesty?

Ministers, do any of you

have a memorial to submit?

I

have a memorial to submit.

What is it?

I beg Your Majesty to allow me

to resign and return home.

Your Majesty,

Grand Secretary Yu is in his prime

and a pillar of the state.

He is also a key minister overseeing the salt reform.

To bring up retirement now

seems rather unusual.

Minister Yu,

what do you mean by this?

I am ashamed,

for I have failed to teach my son.

My son, Jingxiu,

back then,

when he was studying in Huaying County,

had a secret exchange with the daughter

of his tutor, Miss Fan.

To stop my wife

from negotiating a match with the Fu family,

he did something reckless.

He conspired with a scholar

to ruin the reputation

of the Ninth Young Lady Fu,

who is now Commander Zhao's wife.

There was actually such a case?

This is

my first time hearing about this.

To extricate himself,

he would even sacrifice his own son.

Grand Secretary Yu is discarding Young Lord Yu now,

I suspect, to avoid

the charge of embezzling

military provisions under the guise of storage losses.

And what do you mean by that, Minister Zhao?

Li Mao embezzled

northwest military grain under the same guise.

We have solid evidence in hand.

Grand Secretary Yu cannot escape his involvement in this.

By acting first today,

he is trying to muddy

the waters and confuse the issue.

I beg

Your Majesty to see the truth.

Northwest military provisions

have always been tied to the salt trade.

During the period in question,

Grand Secretary Yu was in charge.

I

have the bloodied garment of border soldiers,

as well as Li Mao's

letters

to the implicated officials.

Present them.

Your Majesty,

a bloodied garment,

(To Lord Zhang, in Jiangqian Hutong) a few letters,

all are of dubious origin.

This is clearly a frame-up.

In my view,

Commander Zhao

is simply trying

to settle a personal score.

Grand Secretary Yu

is as clean as can be.

How dare you

put personal grudges above the state?

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

Your Majesty,

the bloodied garment

belongs to northwest soldiers.

Then would Commander Wang know of this?

I beg Your Majesty to investigate.

I beg Your Majesty to investigate.

Years of war on the border,

and yet our soldiers

cannot even fill their stomachs.

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

Commander Zhao, everyone knows you came

from the Northwest army.

You are simply

protecting your own people.

In my view,

you just want to bring down Grand Secretary Yu

and obstruct the salt reform.

Huchen.

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

Grand Secretary Yu is innocent.

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

Minister Yu.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Not you.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Minister Yu,

do you have anything to say?

You'd better

think carefully

before you speak.

Every word Grand Secretary Yu said...

is true!

Though I once slandered Madam Zhao,

during my inspection in Ganlin,

I came to admire her.

So I earned Commander Zhao's enmity.

Ever since he arrived in the capital,

Commander Zhao has treated me as his enemy.

Grand Secretary Yu

has been dragged into this because of me.

I am

unworthy of being a minister,

and unworthy of being a son.

I

wish to resign my post

and await Your Majesty's judgment.

I beg Your Majesty

not to investigate Li Mao's letters.

Because of my personal feelings,

every single one

mentions Madam Zhao.

She is already married.

I should not ruin her reputation again.

I am

willing

to die

to beg Your Majesty for mercy!

Young Lord Yu!

You must not!

You must not, Young Lord Yu!

Young Lord Yu!

Jingxiu!

You must not!

Jingxiu!

Enough.

You all must

have nothing better to do.

Here

is the imperial court!

Court dismissed.

Court dismissed.

We bid Your Majesty farewell.

I, Yu Guodong,

have failed to teach my son.

I caused harm

to the reputation of Madam Zhao,

the manager of Xie's shop.

I came to offer my apologies.

Unbelievable.

A Grand Secretary apologizes to a common woman.

What an honor for her.

Do you know who Madam Zhao

really is?

She made a top scholar

pine for her for years.

Let's go take a look.

(Xie Jewelry Shop)

With such sincerity,

if she still refuses,

she would be too unreasonable.

Isn't that why they say

she is a jinx to her parents?

They just got married.

I bet

their marriage is unhappy.

She's coming out.

There she is.

Back in Huaying,

my son was out of line.

I am here to offer my apologies

and I hope

you will accept this small gift.

Your presence here

honors this humble shop.

I welcome you with open arms.

(Xie Jewelry Shop)

(Yu)

Ninth Young Lady Fu,

if you had married my son,

today

you would be addressing me as Father.

My wife often mentions

how sharp you are.

She also regrets that she couldn't prevail over our son

and bring you into the family.

I dare not aim so high.

Now,

I am already married to Zhao Ling.

Indeed.

We should have been close as family.

But Zhao Ling

is hot-headed,

not as steady as you.

After all his struggle to gain

his current position,

he insists

on fighting to the death

over a woman.

Madam Zhao,

could you

perhaps talk some sense into him?

You have already exhausted yourself

at court today.

At this moment,

there is no need to waste more breath

repeating the same old lines.

Everything Zhao Ling does

is to ease His Majesty's burden.

He is rooting out corruption.

How does that become

a fight over a woman in your telling?

Let me ask you.

Do you know what corruption truly is?

Madam Zhao,

when a man

uses certain means to obtain

wealth and power

that are already within his reach,

that is not corruption.

But when a man exhausts every means

to obtain

wealth and power,

which

he does not deserve,

that is corruption.

Think it over.

Between Zhao Ling and me,

who is the more corrupt one?

It is better to settle this amicably

than to face mutual destruction.

An egg

crashing against a stone

will only break itself.

Besides,

given what you have already gained,

you should not be making an issue of this.

Otherwise,

you too would be guilty of corruption.

A Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat

is quite a rhetorician.

But it is sophistry.

In today's affair,

since I am not your blood relative,

it does not matter to me.

But you and Yu Jingxiu

are bound by flesh and blood.

In front of the whole world,

you exposed his shortcomings.

What about his dignity?

You certainly have a sharp tongue.

Move aside.

Did he give you any trouble?

The whole capital knows

about the affair between Madam Zhao and Young Lord Yu.

Young Lord Yu is a top scholar.

Do you think

Madam Zhao might change her mind?

If you ask me,

with things this bad between them,

how will they ever get by?

Exactly.

Don't you all agree?

Since you are all so interested

in my family affairs,

allow me to make this clear.

I crawled my way out

of mountains of corpses.

I aimed to clear my wife's name.

And so, not a speck of mud

will ever touch my feet.

Nor will I tolerate any gossip in my ears.

If anyone dares to spread rumors again...

(Xie Jewelry Shop)

Move aside.

Move aside.

(Yu)

He is quite meticulous.

Knowing full well it is a performance,

he leaves no loose ends.

I told you long ago,

a power struggle

is not achieved overnight.

The one thing Madam Zhao has over you

is that she shows no emotion,

does not care about face,

and fears no shame.

She can stand firm

and hold her own in any exchange.

So Father, you think she is a fine woman, too?

Someone like that

either becomes your wife

or dies in Ganlin.

But you?

Back then,

how did you let her go?

If not her,

I would have been the one

to die in Ganlin.

Father,

for the sake of your own career,

you trampled a woman's reputation in public.

You even pretended to apologize

while spreading rumors about her and me!

You are a Grand Secretary.

How could you do something

so devoid of decency?

How dare you!

You did well at court today.

Though you were reluctant,

you still saw the performance through.

You showed good sense.

Stay home and rest for two years.

Once the storm passes,

I will

restore you to office

with ease.

With ease?

Father,

have you ever considered

that I am

already thinking of death?

Jingxiu,

when a man truly wishes to die,

no one can stop him.

But you

have long been soft to the core.

Do not put on a brave front before me.

The salt reform is imminent.

Using the Northwest grain shortage, Zhao Ling

is closing in.

I had no choice but to make

a small sacrifice to save the bigger one.

Do not join the chorus

in criticizing me.

A moment of humiliation is nothing.

But you,

losing composure and failing to see the bigger picture,

disrupted my plan.

That is what will make you a laughingstock!

Someone!

Escort Young Master back.

Tell Fan to keep an eye on him.

Young Master.

Father.

I used to think

I was a puppet controlled by Mother.

Now I see

the strings behind the scenes

have always been held by you.

Let me see

how Ji's handwriting

looks.

Like this.

Come on.

Ji,

come on, write.

Look,

though Ji is still so young,

he can already hold a brush.

That shows

he has a love for writing.

When Jingxiu was this age,

I was the one who first taught him.

After Ji

spends a couple more years by my side,

I will send him to Fan Kun.

He will be another top scholar.

Ji.

Ji.

Take the brush.

Quick.

Show Grandmother.

You handed Ji over to Mother?

You are not raising him yourself?

Is this how a mother behaves?

How strange.

You never asked about Ji before.

Why come and make a scene today?

I used to think

that no one in this house

ever took me seriously.

But now I see

they don't take you seriously either.

We are both pawns, used and discarded.

So don't make things harder for us.

You know what it is like to be a puppet.

How could you...

How could you

hand your own child over like that?

Yu Jingxiu!

Your own father

told the court that you and I plotted behind the scenes.

And it is not you who is humiliated.

I will be mocked by the entire world.

Did you spare even a single thought

for my pain?

You thought of Fu Tingyun first.

Then yourself.

And then,

Ji.

What about me?

Did you ever think of me?

Fine.

I will no longer care about dignity.

At least I will have you to regret it with me.

Have you lost your mind?

All these years,

I often looked inward.

I fought so hard for this marriage.

And yet I failed to nurture it.

We grew apart.

But only today

have I finally put my heart at rest.

Now, we are

truly husband and wife.

Since we cannot stand each other,

from now on,

let Concubine Wu keep you company.

I will have people

talk about what happened back then

more

and for longer.

Jingxiu is still young at heart.

He does not understand your concerns.

In time,

he will come around.

These romantic scandals,

these affairs of the past,

can only distract for so long.

We need a way

to extricate ourselves completely,

so we can settle the accounts involving the Northwest storage losses.

(Fengman Pavilion)

(Donation Ledger for Military Supplies) General Mo.

What do you mean by this?

After the salt reform,

frontier farming will suffer.

Silver alone cannot buy grain.

Naturally, that is a concern.

I,

on behalf of the An merchants,

wish to make a donation

to support the border troops,

as a small token of our regard.

If you would just help facilitate this,

in the future,

and keep the Northwestfrom obstructing the salt reform in the future,

An merchants

are willing to make such donations every year.

That sounds nice.

(Donation Ledger for Military Supplies)

But this is

bribery.

You can't put it that way.

Madam Wu

is donating voluntarily.

Her sincerity is commendable.

This grain

could ease the Northwest's urgent need.

And in your records of military merit,

you could get a mark of credit.

Give it a rest.

Where did you learn this stuff?

Wait a minute.

Mo.

Stop right there.

Don't be so ungrateful.

What are you doing?

The capital is not like the Northwest.

Opportunities for promotion

come and go in a flash.

How do you think Zhao Ling rose so fast?

Every step he took

was seizing every opening he could.

(Mo Yi)

(Mo Yi)

(Donation Ledger for Military Supplies)

(Mo Yi)

(Declarant: Wu Youde)

I never expected

you had such skill.

A smooth salt reform

helps me,

and also removes a problem for you, Madam.

I only ask that, in return

for my contributions,

you show us favor.

Let An merchants

settle here as humble traders in peace.

I ask for only one thing.

Half of the Anzhou salt permits.

Half of the share?

That would make you the sole power.

But this gift

does warm my heart.

We are all family here.

It is only right to help each other.

Grand Secretary Yu is helping His Majesty with a great undertaking.

Though I have no great ability,

the An merchants

can surely serve you well in the future.

Whenever you need

a tool at hand,

please remember me.

Ms. Shu.

Madam.

Later,

take Madam Wu

to see Concubine Wu before she leaves.

(Donation Ledger for Military Supplies)

Rest assured, Madam.

Thank you, Madam.

Sorry to trouble you

to see me off

at such a late hour.

You are too kind, Madam Wu.

You are not the same as before.

You used to be a guest here.

Now,

you are family.

Ms. Shu, you're too kind.

My niece

is still young.

From now on,

she will need your care

within the household.

No need for such formalities.

It is no trouble at all.

What a piece of work Madam Yu is.

If she held herself with dignity,

I would hold her in higher regard.

Perhaps I may let her stay longer.

But she said

she was a handy tool.

How could I not make full use of her?

Right now, Master is worried

about how to extricate himself from the Northwest storage losses.

And by chance,

she comes up with this donation scheme,

so cleverly named.

Why not shift the blame

onto the Northwest?

That way,

Master's predicament will be solved.

Have you heard of that?

Madam Wu from Anzhou

suddenly passed away

last night.

What?

Dead?

Really?

Wasn't she fine just yesterday?

How did she die so suddenly?

They say she was stabbed

several times.

Oh my.

You see,

she hadn't even been here

very long.

How did she make so many enemies?

How frightening.

He who plays with fire

gets burned.

She was bound to pay for all her shady dealings

behind the scenes.

Thank heavens justice prevails.

Indeed.

To think

the salt reform was right around the corner,

and she never lived to see it,

only to end up wrapped in a straw mat and carted away.

Madam Wu

was one of the wealthiest An merchants.

With her gone,

will things settle

in the south?

Such a tragedy.

Ladies,

I have some urgent business.

I must take my leave.

Your Majesty.

In examining the cause of Madam Wu's death,

(Mo Yi) I found this.

It is a detailed record

of her donations to the Northwest.

Donations to support the troops.

That is a good thing.

What is suspicious about it?

Your Majesty, please see the truth.

This was not a charitable donation.

It is hard evidence of a northwestern official

demanding bribes.

Back then,

they devoured grain under the guise of storage losses.

And now,

they fill the gap under the guise of donations.

Quite the masterstroke of deception.

Your Majesty,

Your Majesty,

I did not demand any bribe.

Your Majesty.

General Mo

would never do such things.

Grand Secretary Yu,

how can you frame a loyal official?

Commander Wang,

the paper is here.

And this list

bears General Mo's signature, doesn't it?

Your Majesty,

this...

Yes, I signed it.

But it is not what they claim it to be.

I beg Your Majesty to see the truth.

Your Majesty,

such a large sum of silver

cannot be the doing of General Mo alone.

I always wondered

why the storage losses had been abnormal for so many years,

yet Commander Wang had never reported it.

Now I see

there are signs of embezzlement.

You...

Your Majesty,

I request severe punishment for Mo Yi.

Your Majesty,

execution is the only way to calm the public!

Your Majesty, I second that!

I second that!

I second that!

(Donation Ledger for Military Supplies) Northwest deficits,

donation-linked murder.

I want solid evidence,

not bickering in court.

At worst, we can retire to the countryside.

My family still has plenty of land.

Then

we can live a quiet life,

free from all this trouble.

But what if we can't?

I'm worried Mo Yi's case won't be cleared.

He would never kill anyone.

The truth will come out eventually.

Would they

just frame him?

Grand Secretary Yu is pressing hard,

trying to drag the entire northwest army down.

My dear,

if it comes to the worst,

I will have to admit

that I once dealt in illicit salt in Ganlin Town.

Otherwise, His Majesty will never believe

why the storage losses had been abnormal for years

yet I never reported them.

Good grief,

it seems one misstep is never forgiven.

You only did it to steady the troops.

Why must a single stain follow you for life?

My Lord.

This is a wrongful case.

We must...

We must have both witnesses and evidence.

Do not extract a confession under torture.

Please talk to your sister-in-law.

Tell her not to worry about me.

Tingyun,

you've always been sharp.

Help me think of a way

to save Mo Yi.

You can speak to the Grand Empress Dowager.

And Commander Zhao

is a favored minister of His Majesty.

There must be a way.

I was a fool, blinded by my own greed.

I pushed him to seek merit too eagerly,

so he caved to the Wu merchant woman

and walked into this donation mess.

Mo Yi

may be a bit rash,

but he is not foolish,

nor is he stupid.

He would never take a life for nothing.

Tingyun, please help me.

Save Mo Yi.

Please rise.

Do not panic.

Do not lose your composure.

Wherever I can be of help,

I will not stand by.

For the donations,

we must prove

that Madam Wu proposed it herself,

not that General Mo forced her.

Right.

There may be someone who can help.

The capital is truly dangerous.

She was fine just a moment ago.

The next moment...

My aunt was so shrewd.

How could she die so suddenly?

Do not worry, My Lady.

Madam Wu's death

means one less thing to worry about.

For now, you have the Yu family

as your shelter.

Just put on a proper front.

I fear things are not that simple.

What exactly

is hidden beneath all this?

(In the future,)

(learn more.)

My aunt left this with me before.

Could her sudden death

have something to do with this?

(Zheng, Court of Judicature)

(Shen, Ministry of Rites)

(Song, Court of Banquets)

I need someone to look at this.

Madam Zhao would surely know best.

But

there are maids watching the door.

And we have to get past Ms. Shu.

How can we reach Madam Zhao?

(Rosy in the Evening Glow)

Aunt...

I never had the chance to repay the kindness.

Why did she have to leave me so soon?

Please restrain your grief.

The dead cannot return.

Do not grieve yourself ill.

My aunt always treated me like her own daughter.

Now that she is gone,

I cannot even see her off properly.

Your aunt's funeral rites

will be handled by the Wu family.

But because it involves a murder case,

the funeral cannot proceed for now.

Madam,

would you allow me to leave the house?

I wish to hold a seven-day Dharma service for her

to guide her spirit.

Draw three hundred taels

from the accounts for Concubine Wu.

Yes.

When you go to Tanshui Temple,

take several maids with you.

Be careful not to be disturbed.

Yes, Madam.

Concubine Wu,

you are doing this to honor your aunt.

Thank you, Ms. Shu.

Madam, please wait.

The Buddha guides the destined.

Since you are so devoted to filial piety,

the abbot invites you for a chat,

to form a good connection.

This is a sacred place.

Everyone else, please wait here.

Ms. Shu,

please wait here a moment.

Let me

see my aunt off one last time.

Go on.

Madam.

Madam Zhao.

You and I

truly share a deep connection.

You have always been sharp.

Since you are here,

no matter what,

I had to meet you.

I was right.

You wanted to see me.

My aunt...

Please accept my condolences.

The dead have passed.

The living

must find their own way forward.

Madam Zhao, is there a way

for me to escape this cage?

Everything she was in charge of

now falls to you to handle.

For example,

the donations to the Northwest.

If you are willing to help

and tell the truth,

I can help you obtain a new household register.

Then

you'll be completely free.

But my indenture contract

is still in Madam Yu's hands.

Can this new register you speak of

really be obtained

just like that?

Back then,

I was just the "late" Ninth Young Lady of the Fu family, so to speak.

I was reborn

as Xie Tingyun

because I contributed to a case in Yongning

and was granted a new identity by His Majesty.

Who is to say that this turn of events

is not your opportunity?

So that you too may earn merit

before His Majesty

and find a way out.

You are a sharp woman, Concubine Wu.

You went to all this trouble

to come to Tanshui Temple today

precisely because you are hedging your bets.

If the Yu family should fall,

you would have a way out.

Did you truly regard

Madam Wu

as your own aunt?

There is indeed something

that may be

of use.

The Xie's shop will be waiting.

I hope you will act soon

and not miss this chance.

(Next Episode)

They silenced her!

I beg Your Majesty to investigate the Northwest!

The An merchants' move

must have been instigated by someone.

(the Northwest)

(can't afford to be dragged into this.)

(Those you wish to kill, you must kill.)

(Those you don't wish to kill, you must kill too.)

But I fear that one day,

I will become Madam Yu,

and you will become Grand Secretary Yu.

Are you

my man,

or the Northwest's?

♪The past brushes by like a falling leaf♪

♪So light, yet my steps still pause for you♪

♪Through every rise and fall, our memories remain without regret♪

♪Carved into the rings of time♪

♪How I wish I could stay a little longer, but I can't♪

♪I turn away, afraid goodbye will fill my eyes with tears♪

♪Etched deep within my heart, yet buried without a word♪

♪The warmth of your hand in mine♪

♪Still makes us want to believe♪

♪One promise for a lifetime, echoing long after we part♪

♪For one fleeting moment, I found you in the crowd♪

♪Without a word, you lit up half my life♪

♪In silence, a love too deep for words♪

♪Kept close within my heart♪

♪From now on, no one else is worth waiting for♪

♪I turn away, afraid no one will ever come home to me again♪

♪If we can build our future together, no storm can chill my heart♪

♪The warmth of your hand in mine♪

♪Still makes us want to believe♪

♪One promise for a lifetime, echoing long after we part♪