Original subtitles

=The Road to Splendor=

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

=Episode 32=

Hurry up.

I'm lighting it.

Lately,

Mr. Zhao and Madam,

one stays in the side room,

the other in the study.

They don't even look at each other.

If this goes on,

even the closest couple

will drift apart.

Right.

We should find a way

to get them talking

over the New Year's Eve dinner.

In my hometown,

there is a tradition.

Whoever gets the dumpling with the coin

will have everyone

say a few words of blessing to them.

If Madam gets that dumpling...

Good idea.

You're full of good ideas.

Sen.

Get a coin.

Alright.

This is our first New Year in the capital.

Even though we're in mourning,

and the filling is vegetarian,

let's still make it special

and lively.

The Fifth Madam will be happy watching from above.

Yes.

But Sanniang,

how do we tell

that dumpling

from the rest?

I will pinch eighteen pleats

on this one dumpling.

Eighteen pleats is good.

The more pleats,

the more blessings.

Lately, Madam

has been upset.

If she gets this dumpling,

her luck will turn next year,

and all will be well.

The dumplings are here.

Today's dumplings are special.

I've hidden a little fortune inside.

Whoever finds it

will have everyone

say a few words of blessing.

Let's see who's the lucky one. All right?

Yes, that's great.

You have this bowl.

This bowl was prepared by Mr. Zhao himself.

They're all at the bottom.

It's definitely in this bowl.

Let's eat.

Eat up.

Come on, eat.

Try some.

So good.

Mine is great.

Eat the dumplings first.

Eat up.

Here.

Did you get it?

Not yet.

Me neither.

Not me.

I don't really have much of an appetite.

I'll just go through the motions.

You've lost weight lately.

Have a few more.

The next one

is bound to have it.

Yes, Madam Zhao.

Exactly.

That's right.

Have some more.

Have some more.

It'll come.

Come on.

Eat a few.

Let's eat too.

Eat up.

Come on, eat.

The filling is so good today.

Delicious.

Good.

Whose bowl is it in?

Eat up.

I can't eat anymore.

Come on, have some more.

That works too.

If Mr. Zhao gets it, it's the same.

Right.

We'll all,

including Madam,

especially you,

say a few words of blessing

to Mr. Zhao.

Right.

Yes.

Mr. Zhao.

Eat up.

We'll eat too.

Let's see who gets the lucky one.

Mr. Zhao.

Mr. Zhao.

Mr. Zhao.

Do you regret it?

Regret marrying me?

I regret pushing you to join the army.

Back then,

all I saw was wealth and status.

I was desperate to climb higher.

Then I came to my senses.

I let it go.

But you picked it up again

and couldn't let it go.

If I could go back seven years,

I would want us to share life and death together.

Maybe

that would be better than being strangers now.

You want me to climb higher,

but you're afraid that once I become a powerful minister,

I'll come to no good end.

Quanhui,

nothing is ever perfect in this world.

I don't ask you to trust me or help me.

I only ask that you not grow cold or leave me.

I've already lost too much along this road.

I don't want to lose you.

It is cold at the top.

Now I finally understand.

This power

has turned Zhao Ling

into General Zhao,

and Fu Tingyun

into Madam Zhao.

Mr. Zhao,

what can I do

to make you

feel more alive?

If being with me

makes you feel stifled

and in pain,

then perhaps

we should end our marriage.

♪The past brushes by like a falling leaf♪

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

If you don't want to see me,

tonight

I'll stay at the yamen.

You...

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

Don't let your mind wander.

♪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♪

♪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♪

If Lord Liu

of the Ministry of Personnel

had not intercepted that petition today,

I would still be in the dark.

You had the nerve to go behind the family's back

and secretly

secure a post in Ganlin on your own!

Now, I am

under a lot of criticism.

Even this lowly seventh-rank clerk position

came through the help of my peers

with great effort.

Only because no one noticed

could it be done.

Father,

I can no longer

achieve anything in the capital.

Let me go to Ganlin.

At least...

At least I can see the desert's view.

Nonsense!

What are you talking about?

Master.

You're my son.

A top scholar personally appointed by His Majesty.

You want to go to the border

and serve as a lowly clerk.

Where does that leave my dignity?

Master.

Do you want the entire court

to laugh at the Yu family?

That's enough, Master.

I know you're upset.

But for now,

with so many household matters,

you just need to wait a little longer.

He will surely lead you to a life of prosperity and honor.

I have been unfilial.

But about Ganlin...

No buts!

Quickly.

Help Young Master back to his room.

Hurry.

Young Master,

let's go back and rest.

Let's go back and rest.

Useless wretch.

Rest assured, Master.

Leave this to me.

I will set things right.

I never thought

you would seek a post on your own.

And even more so,

that you would want to go so far away.

If you truly get posted to Ganlin,

take me with you.

Is that okay?

Maybe a change of place

would make us happier than we are in the capital.

Perhaps,

in time,

we could mend the rift between us.

We could live like ordinary couples

and lead an ordinary life.

Would that be good?

Ganlin is a place of endless sand and dust.

Even a sip of clean water is hard to come by.

You have lived in comfort for so many years.

Can you bear it?

Back then, you sought wealth and status through me.

Now, you seek freedom through me.

Young Madam,

once you have dreamed of such splendor and wealth,

do not wake up from it.

And do not think of leaving the capital this way.

In your eyes,

is that who I truly am?

You went to great lengths

to marry into a family like ours.

Now you have Ji as well.

Even if I die in Ganlin tomorrow,

your food, clothing, and daily comforts

will not decrease one bit.

For the rest of your life,

wherever I am,

your wealth and glory will not be affected.

How can anyone be so heartless to the one sleeping beside them?

After over a decade of hard study,

you finally passed the imperial exam with top honors,

and entered the Hanlin Academy.

You are only going through a rough patch,

and have encountered some difficulties.

And now you want to throw away your bright future

and go suffer in that desolate place.

Why?

Mother, please say no more.

My mind is made up.

All right.

I know

why you insist on going to Ganlin.

You may leave.

But after you go,

are you not afraid that I will move against Fu Tingyun?

She is now an imperially titled lady

of the second rank.

"Imperial titled"?

A bowl of wonton can be poisoned.

She can be attacked on the street.

Even if she never leaves her house,

I can bribe a servant to drug her.

I have a thousand ways to end her,

and ten thousand ways to escape blame.

If you dare to leave,

for the rest of my life,

I will fight her to the death.

A son knows his mother best.

You know well

what I am capable of.

Mother, are you willing to cast aside

even the last bond between us?

The bond is still there.

But now that my own child

is about to abandon me,

I can no longer hold on to it.

What a perfectly matched couple you two are.

One uses me.

The other threatens me.

If Young Master insists on leaving

and takes you with him,

how will we ever get away?

Don't worry.

We won't be going there.

Young Master, you're here.

Light day at the office?

This hairpin is a bit old.

If you want one,

I'll have Cairong get you a new one.

I want this one.

Madam.

Why would Concubine Wu

suddenly ask to see you?

After what happened with Madam Wu's records,

I still owe her a favor.

I'm afraid

I have to go.

(Three days later, at the Wei Hour, the teahouse in the south of the city.)

(Mingxiang Teahouse)

Madam.

Ninth Young Lady.

I know

you are not happy now.

If you need to,

you can come with me.

I will take you back to Ganlin.

In Huaying,

you framed me for adultery.

In Ganlin,

you accused Mr. Zhao and me of eloping.

And now,

you are doing

what you once condemned most.

Lord Yu,

why can't you leave me alone?

I only want to help set you free.

I meant no offense.

Lord Yu, show some restraint.

I am already married.

And you are a man of official standing.

For someone of your status to behave so shamelessly

and cling to me like this,

how are you any different from a common ruffian?

It was precisely because I cared too much about status back then

that I hesitated to fight for you.

And that is why I lost you.

But now,

I have let go of all those vain titles.

Status, rank,

fame and fortune,

compared to you,

they mean nothing.

If you are willing,

I will give up everything.

All these pleas you keep making to me,

they are really for yourself.

Your pain,

your struggles.

Your feelings for me are an obsession,

not love.

You are trapped in your own cage.

What does that have to do with me?

If you want to escape,

do not use me as your excuse.

No.

No.

You have misunderstood me.

This time, I am truly determined.

Ninth Young Lady.

What are you doing?

Let go!

Let go!

Let go!

Let go!

Sanniang.

I will never leave you alone in the capital.

You cannot win against them.

Young Madam.

If it were not for Young Master's reputation and future,

this small matter

would never have come before you

to trouble you.

Yesterday, I overheard

that Young Master has taken a new concubine.

He has bought a fine house to settle her in.

If you do not believe me,

just follow Chengxin.

You will see for yourself.

Now that I can accept you,

then I can accept another concubine.

Why tell me all this?

Are you trying to use me

to win back Young Master's heart?

I only want what is best for his career.

I've known it.

You may go.

My Lady.

If you ask Young Madam to step in and save her,

and this blows up,

it will not go well for you.

I must save her.

But I must also stop him

from leaving for Ganlin on his own.

Otherwise, I am afraid

I will be sent away by Madam Yu.

I have found out.

She is

in a small courtyard on Zhenjiang Hutong.

But if you go there to confront her directly,

you will only make things worse with Young Master.

Do not act on impulse

and anger him further.

Who said I was going to catch him in the act?

I will bring her into the household

and make her a concubine as well.

The more chaos in this house,

the happier I will be.

Open the door.

Open the door.

This is the house

where Young Master has settled his concubine.

Open up!

I am an imperially titled lady of the second rank.

The wife of General Zhao Huchen.

You are neither bailiffs

nor do you have any official warrant.

How dare you detain me!

I don't care what title you hold.

We only answer to Lord Yu.

Open the door.

The concubine

is her.

Yake.

You must be feeling quite pleased now.

All these years,

his heart has always been with you.

You refused to marry him at first.

Then Madam Yu tried to take you as a concubine.

Now, after all these twists and turns,

you end up as his mistress.

You're overthinking this.

Ever since the engagement with the Yu family ended,

our ties were severed.

Whoever Yu Jingxiu holds in his heart

has nothing to do with me.

I don't care either.

What happened today

was as much a surprise to me as it was to you.

Have you truly never been drawn to him?

To you, Yu Jingxiu is a prize worth fighting for.

Then hold on to him

and keep him from disturbing my life.

In this life,

if all you do is stare at other people's paths,

you will never be able to walk your own well.

All I see and think about

is my own life.

Ever since I was young,

you never even spared a glance

at the things I fought so hard for.

The jewels and finery, the same.

The engagement with the Yu family, the same.

Yu Jingxiu,

the same.

What I treasured like precious gems,

you threw away like worthless scraps.

Tingyun.

Do you know why your mother

died?

Didn't Mother...

pass away from an illness?

Grand Secretary Yu wanted to scheme against Zhao Ling.

He started with your father.

The plan was to force Zhao Ling into three months of mourning.

Madam Yu instigated your father.

He wanted to cling to power,

so he poisoned

the Fifth Madam to death.

Before,

you were trapped in Biyun Nunnery because of me,

with only a bowl of poison.

Today, I tell you the truth

as my repayment to you.

Make sure

you know who your true enemy is.

Don't worry.

Yu Jingxiu will not take you away.

I no longer care about being

the Young Madam of the Yu family.

But for now,

that title still has its use.

Young Madam.

Calm down.

You must not.

You must not, Young Madam!

Young Madam.

I know

you only listen to him,

not to me.

But if you do not let her go today,

I will kill myself right here!

Do you think you can escape the blame

for driving the Young Madam to her death?

We will not move.

Young Madam,

please put it down.

Please put it down.

When I woke up,

Madam was already gone.

I rushed home,

sent Sen over here,

then came to find you

- to tell you. - Chuan.

Mr. Zhao.

Go to the Yu Residence

and gather all the brothers.

Anyone who can provide information on Madam's whereabouts

will be rewarded.

Mr. Zhao,

I just found out.

A few days ago, Yu Jingxiu

rented a courtyard on Zhenjiang Hutong.

He has been acting suspiciously lately.

Should we go take a look?

♪The faint incense fades from boughs♪

♪Lone wild geese know not late autumn's woes♪

♪If heaven's will, none can implore♪

♪Mortal world's all absurd lore♪

Tingyun!

♪Cold night asks not of those who leave or stay♪

♪Trapped in the rain♪

♪Are first to be chilled by the wind♪

♪Fate writes its lines, yet asks no one♪

Mr. Zhao.

Don't be afraid.

♪All is ash upon the altar, bearing guilt's shame♪

♪Atone for my sin♪

♪Shattered into dust thin♪

♪When the wind blows, I feel no regret♪

♪Right and wrong, I face without fear♪

♪The long road stretches on, but dawn will come at last♪

This is not the way home.

Where are you taking me?

Our marriage was decreed by His Majesty.

Only death can part us.

But today, there is a chance.

I can report

that

you were taken by kidnappers.

I can use that to send you away

from this place that brings you no joy.

Jiangnan,

Yongning Prefecture,

Ganlin Town.

If you wish to leave,

you can depart tonight.

The house,

silver notes,

horses and carriage,

everything is ready.

I only wish

to give you one more choice.

Quanhui.

I cannot bear to part with you.

But I do not want

you to live in fear for me anymore.

When I married you,

I wanted to give you happiness.

On our wedding day,

I made a promise to your mother.

I know what happened to my mother.

My mother

was killed by the Yu family, through my father's hands.

You knew all along.

But you would not tell me.

The situation grows more dangerous by the day.

It would be wiser for you to part ways with me.

I fear that one day,

I will have to forsake everyone,

including you.

Do you know what a true villain is?

They commit every evil deed,

yet let others take the blame.

You've fallen right into the trap, Zhao Ling.

If I leave you to face this alone

and just walk away,

I would be unworthy as your wife.

Do you mean

you are not leaving?

Power

turns a man into a blade,

a bow,

a crossbow.

♪Let this humble name carry me through a life adrift♪

But I do not want you to become that.

I want you to always remember

that you are a man.

To your brothers, you are Mr. Zhao,

and to me, you are my husband.

You are nobody's Huchen.

♪I seek nothing beyond the world♪

♪Let this fleeting world carry me through a life adrift♪

Let's go home.

♪Though each move is forced upon me♪

♪May it buy the world one moment's peace from the storm♪

♪I crave no clarity from outside my soul♪

♪I seek nothing beyond myself♪

I often have nightmares.

I will always be with you.

What do we do now?

Young Master.

What happened?

Well...

Where is she?

Coveting a fellow officer's wife

and abducting her.

I never thought

that you, Young Lord Yu, would ever want what you cannot have.

Indeed,

a bond forced into being

is always an ill-fated one.

Shut up!

What?

You had the guts to do it,

but you can't stand hearing the truth?

Your behavior now

is no different from a bitter wife's.

Young Master.

I do not know when it started,

but without hating you,

I feel I cannot go on living.

You call me dull and unremarkable.

Drop me in a crowd, and you'd lose me in a second.

But Young Master,

before I married you,

I was also one of a kind.

You say I am dull,

and that is because you are dull.

Yu Jingxiu.

Even if you had not married me,

but someone else instead,

you would have turned them

into someone just as dull as me.

Your obsession with her now

is no different from the obsession that made you marry me.

It is all self-deception.

You still want freedom?

You do not deserve it.

You are jealous and immoral.

Your words and actions are reckless.

You have lost your mind.

It seems you no longer want to go back to this family!

Yes.

You are right.

I have long grown tired

of this heartless family!

In this family,

you answer to Mother's moods.

And Mother answers to Father's.

And me?

I please all of you.

In the end,

I answer to all of your moods.

From this day on,

whether it is love,

power,

or freedom,

I will expect nothing from you.

Young Lord Yu,

watch yourself.

(Collected Commentaries on the Four Books)

I, Fan Yake,

wish to leave this house

and retreat to the villa for quiet cultivation.

You truly wish to leave?

Have you not always regretted

not having the daughter-in-law you wanted?

Now I wish to leave,

you suddenly want me to stay.

Ji is still so young.

Can you bear to let him grow up without a mother?

In the past,

I might have let that keep me here,

trapped for a lifetime.

But now,

I know what I want.

I do not want to be

a mother bound by her children.

What nonsense are you saying?

You are a mother.

How can you be so willful?

Go.

Bring Ji here.

Yes.

No need.

I have no strength left.

Ji lives in comfort at home, wanting for nothing.

I have no worries.

If he stays with me, he will only be burdened.

Think back on your own life, Madam.

Was even a single bit

of what you've done ever for your child?

Since you could not do it yourself,

why ask me to be a devoted mother?

Right now, I value freedom above all.

I only want to live for myself.

Even if you,

and the whole world, call me an unfit mother,

so what of it?

Madam.

(If a mother spends her life swallowing every grievance,)

(her children will never be happy.)

(I fear that one day,)

(I too will say those words,)

("I did it all for you.")

(I don't want to be that kind of mother.)

(Next Episode)

I, Jin Yuanbao, a humble commoner,

hereby accuse Zhao Ling, General Zhaoyong,

of colluding with merchants,

engaging in illegal salt trading!

In this life,

the more one craves,

(Xie Residence) the harder the fall when it's lost.

Take it off!

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

Why did you betray Mr. Zhao?

Withdraw the complaint!

They will turn this

into an airtight case.

And let him take the blame.

Zhao Ling

is to be suspended from office and imprisoned.

Conduct a full and thorough investigation.

♪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♪