Original subtitles

[Under the Moonlight]

[Adapted from the novel "Jin Nang" by Shui He]

[Episode 1]

Why don't we

just go back?

There's no one around

to guide us.

Look,

I think we should take off our shoes

and offer them.

Isn't this

a bit too bold?

What will we wear then?

It's too much

for my delicate feet.

We've come this far.

Let's just do whatever we need to do.

If I had known, I wouldn't have worn these today.

Can I

take this pearl off

before offering them?

Later,

I'll buy you a better pair.

You said that.

I'll remember it.

Please bless my sister-in-law and me,

so we can bear children soon.

This way, please.

I'm your humble devotee.

My husband and I

have been married for seven years with no children.

I hope you will show mercy

and grant us offspring.

Stop.

Kneel down.

Don't kneel to me.

Kneel to my master.

Where do you come from?

I'm Ding Bai from Linfen.

This is my sister-in-law, Li Ding.

Ding?

You're from the renowned Ding family?

You know my family?

You may offer as you wish.

But I don't have

much money on me.

There are more offerings than just money.

My master compassionately grants children.

He doesn't care for these worldly possessions.

It's just to test if you are sincere.

Those without sincerity have little connection with him

and even less with offspring.

You may leave.

Please don't be angry.

Right now,

we only have him to rely on.

If we can have a son,

we will offer everything we have

to him.

Please come in.

Nice to meet you.

What troubles do you have?

Well,

my husband and I have been married for three years.

We are deeply in love

but still have no children.

My sister-in-law

has been married for five years.

She has seen countless doctors in Linfen

and taken

many expensive medicines.

Yet her belly

shows no sign of life.

We are at our wits' end.

Please show mercy

and grant us children.

Ladies,

the black one is Qirong Pill,

and the golden one is Zhongzi Pill.

Take the Qirong Pill before bed

and the Zhongzi Pill

tomorrow morning.

My master will bless you both.

Thank you for your guidance.

Please return to your room and pray sincerely.

Make sure to sleep before Hai hour.

Otherwise, the magic will fail,

and you won't have a child.

Why don't you pray in your room?

What are you doing here?

Greetings.

I came to worship the kylin.

I passed by earlier

and saw this majestic kylin.

Since this place is sacred,

the kylin here must be blessed.

So I wanted to pay my respects.

Sorry to disturb you.

I'll go back now.

Bad news, Brother!

Brother!

Calm down.

Aren't you going to serve the meal?

Why are you just standing there?

Yes.

I'll walk you back to your room.

Thank you.

This is your room?

Master?

You haven't taken your medicine?

I took it,

but felt nauseous and vomited.

It doesn't matter.

Who the hell are you?

I'm Ding...

Nonsense.

You came to offer incense.

Why are you wearing shrouded clothing?

Do you know something?

No, I don't.

You've been acting suspiciously during the day.

Tell me.

What is your intention?

I am indeed a woman of the Ding family,

just not Mrs. Ding.

Then why are you dressed in shrouded clothing?

It's not me who sewed it.

Mrs. Ding had it sewn.

Mrs. Ding?

Why did she

have you wear shrouded clothing?

Tell me.

She sent me to scout,

afraid I wouldn't report truthfully,

so she had my clothes

sewn together.

If I return

with my clothes intact,

it proves everything here is fine.

In that case,

you can stay here

and be my partner.

It hurts.

You...

It's Mrs. Ding.

She beats me every day.

Living in the Ding family,

every day feels like a year.

It's truly tormenting.

You look like an extraordinary man.

Please, help me.

Why should I help you?

Please, just let me go.

Don't you want a child?

I am here to give you one.

No!

Don't come near me!

What does this mean?

If you can help me,

this is a down payment.

How can I help you?

Mr. Ding can no longer have children.

He knows this himself.

But Mrs. Ding still holds onto hope.

I manage her prescriptions.

Only I know this secret.

Tomorrow, I'll lure her here,

and you can deal with her then.

Once she is pregnant,

I can overthrow her

and take her place.

The Ding family has no heirs.

When that old man

passes away in a year or so,

his fortune

will belong to me.

Then, you can come down.

We can be together forever.

Why should I trust you?

I'll give you an IOU.

Once it's done,

if you don't want to stay there,

just come to me with the IOU.

I will give you 500 liang of gold.

That's a pretty good idea.

Better than following that old man,

playing tricks.

Isn't your master all-powerful?

When I came here,

I heard many people say

he is the real deity of childbearing.

All-powerful?

It's us,

his robust disciples.

We're all just deceiving women like you.

He just sits on his pedestal,

collecting donations.

Otherwise,

with that old body of his,

how could he do it?

He'd be delivering death.

So you're saying

the ones taking risks

are you disciples,

while all the money goes into his pockets?

He's just an old miser,

guarding wealth like a dragon.

Never parting with it, even in sleep.

Bring everyone in this place

to me,

including your master.

And

the records too.

Who are you?

My master is...!

You...!

Will you do it

or not?

Yes, I will.

I will.

Wait there!

It's them.

Why didn't you greet the official?

Outsiders do not observe worldly etiquette.

I commanded you to gather all disciples.

Why are there only so few of you?

All the disciples are in quiet meditation,

and cannot be disturbed.

Sir,

if you need something,

just tell me.

As the deputy magistrate,

I cannot see your men?

Outsiders do not care for worldly status.

I hope you won't blame me.

What a good excuse for everything!

Your Honor.

Your Honor.

Greetings, Your Honor.

You have half a quarter of an hour

to gather everyone

in this place.

Sir,

my disciples and I

have no idea what we did wrong

that you would come here at midnight

with weapons drawn.

I am truly wronged.

Whether you are wronged or not,

I will find out the truth.

Now, call everyone over.

Do you want the constables

to do it themselves?

No.

Please, Your Honor.

Just ten days into your term,

and you come to stir up trouble.

I have 20 disciples under me,

and they are all here.

Strip off your upper garments.

Do you hear him?

Take them off! Not a single piece can stay.

Are you alright?

Yes, I am.

How dare take advantage of me?

Shameless!

You!

And you!

Stand up!

About the rouge marks on both of you,

what do you have to say?

Sir,

we were just playing around and drew on each other.

He's lying!

Please help me, Your Honor.

What exactly happened?

Tell me everything.

Your Honor,

I was staying in my room.

In the middle of the night,

he came in from the secret passage,

trying to commit an assault.

As a weak woman,

I had no power to resist.

I could only quietly leave rouge marks

on his shoulders

and back as evidence.

He was so pleased with himself

that he revealed

all the dirty dealings

in this place.

You are lying!

When did I have an affair with you?

Sir, if you don't believe me,

you can check her.

She has sewn her inner garment tightly.

If you never touched me,

how would you know

my inner garment is sewn tightly?

What a misfortune!

Bai Yue!

How could you do

such a disgraceful thing?

I'm so disappointed.

Do you realize your mistake?

Yes, it was a moment of folly.

You're stupid!

So stupid!

Sir,

it has nothing to do with the others.

This is all the doing of this one man,

then...

Sir, just take him back

and deal with him as you wish.

Is he the only one?

What about him?

Right! This man, too!

He sneaked into my room

to commit improper acts.

Is he unrelated to the others as well?

Your Honor,

if it were just one man,

it could be considered an isolated case.

But now, two of them are like this.

It shows that this place

is likely a den of iniquity.

Assaulting virtuous women is no small matter.

Your Honor,

we should take all the offenders

back to the yamen.

They are not

virtuous women.

They are courtesans from Mingke House.

Her name is Jin Nang.

She's a well-known courtesan.

And she is

one of the Six Beauties of Mingke.

I really didn't expect that.

You self-proclaimed pure ones,

outsiders,

also enjoy visiting Mingke House?

Indeed!

Perhaps you are regulars there?

Sir,

my disciples

are usually well-behaved.

It's just that today

two rascals appeared,

damaging the reputation of my place.

Fortunately,

with your keen insight,

you swiftly exposed them.

But the other disciples and I

are truly innocent.

These two ladies

are courtesans from Mingke House,

so it wouldn't harm their reputation.

I earnestly request you, Sir,

to show mercy

and help me

cover this disgrace.

This disgrace cannot be hidden.

Your Honor,

just now,

this pretentious sorcerer said

there are only these two rascals.

But if you like,

you can thoroughly search this place

and see how many secret passages

are hidden inside.

No, there are no more.

Search!

Yes.

My goodness!

Your Honor,

behind all wardrobes in the rooms,

there are secret passages

leading to the side yard.

What else do you have to say?

Sir,

actually,

this place

was rented by me

to be used as an incense hall.

As for those secret passages,

they might have been left by previous owners.

We knew nothing about them.

These two must have

discovered this secret

by chance

and acted improperly.

The other disciples and I

really had no idea about this at all.

If he insists

that the passages have nothing to do with him,

it cannot be definitively concluded.

This matter must be handled

without any flaws.

Your Honor,

it would be best to call in the women

who stayed here and ask them.

Mr. Chen,

may I approach to speak?

Is there anything that cannot be said openly?

Go ahead.

Please, show mercy

and spare those women.

What nonsense are you talking?

Do you still remember

how you first obtained

those clues

and why you asked us

to act as informants?

That woman was repeatedly

extorted for money by them

and didn't dare to tell her husband.

She was truly at her wit's end

and jumped into the river to end her life.

Someone jumped into the river.

She was rescued by a passing constable,

and that's how you learned

the secrets of this place.

Because past victims

were unwilling to admit

that there were problems with this place.

For women,

their virtue is their lifeline.

To lose that is to lose their lives.

If this disgrace is concealed,

they might still survive.

But if they're forced to speak out

or even testify in court...

Your Honor,

you wouldn't want to have more innocent souls

suffering under your rule, would you?

Your Honor,

if you're going to act,

you must ensure

complete victory.

This is a battle to establish authority,

which will impact

your future control over Linfen.

Mr. Chen,

solving this case doesn't necessarily require

the women's testimonies.

You got a plan?

Search it.

Yes.

He's just an old miser,

guarding wealth like a dragon.

Never parting with it, even in sleep.

Tear it down!

Yes.

You said the passages were left by previous owners,

and you knew nothing about them.

What about all this gold, silver and jewelry?

You knew nothing about it, either?

I...

Confiscate everything and take them away!

Yes.

Stop!

Is it your property?

Yes, it is.

However,

all offerings were willingly given by the patrons.

So you are not completely ignorant

of the secret passages.

Sir,

I have already said,

those passages

were likely left by previous owners.

We didn't know anything about them.

So your disciple was not mistaken.

You really are

a greedy miser,

keeping all the gold and silver

for yourself,

even watching over it while you sleep.

What a pity

that your disciples

can not get a single coin.

So much wealth,

for such a long time,

and we didn't get any of it.

So much money,

and we knew nothing.

Your Honor,

I saw what happened

during the day.

Those women's offerings

are merely the jewelry they carry.

To accumulate so much gold and silver,

it would take at least

ten or twenty years.

Furthermore, in these boxes,

there are numerous land deeds.

Who would bring deeds

to pray for children?

It must be that they

have violated those women,

causing them to conceive and give birth,

and then blackmailing them

for money.

It must be an easy job for them.

Your Honor, you might as well

bring them back to the yamen,

and in the prison,

have a good talk with them.

I'm sure

you'll uncover many stories.

What a wicked woman you are!

Tie them all up

and take them back to the yamen.

Yes.

What are you doing?

Be quiet!

Why are you binding me?

On what basis?

Get up!

Why are you binding me?

On what basis?

Get up quickly!

What are you doing?

Get up!

Lady!

You finally woke up!

How are you feeling? Still uncomfortable?

Do you have a headache? Is your chest tight?

What happened to you?

Why did you

suddenly faint?

What time is it now?

It's already Mao hour.

Because you fainted,

the magistrate didn't allow everyone

to leave the mountain immediately.

He insisted

that a patient shouldn't be moved or jostled,

so we had to wait for you to wake up.

He's got a crush on you, hasn't he?

Don't talk nonsense!

These prisoners must be accounted for.

They're...

While you were unconscious,

I ran back

and got our shoes.

But you promised me

that you would give me a better pair.

That promise must be kept.

Oh you, really!

You're awake.

Are you alright?

Thank you for your concern.

I am fine now.

That's good to hear.

Let's set out down the mountain.

You know what?

Coming out with you

really allows me to see the big world.

Before this,

I was cooped up in Mingke House,

not knowing that there were

so many exciting

and thrilling things in the world.

It's too early to be happy.

This matter may not be over yet.

Protect the magistrate!

Stop!

You have the guts to kill officials and revolt?

No.

I just hope

you can let us go.

As the saying goes,

cats have their way and mice have theirs.

If you can

let us leave

and stop messing with us,

we'll forget what happened today.

I won't cause you

any trouble in the future.

What if I refuse?

You refuse, right?

Then today,

you won't leave here alive.

Everyone, go!

You pretended to faint,

deliberately wasting time.

That's right. I was faking it.

But you didn't disappoint me either,

did you?

Tie them all up

and take them back to the yamen.

Be quiet!

Why are you binding me?

Be quiet!

Why are you binding me?

Be quiet!

Lady!

They have accomplices. Be careful of ambush.

You go down the mountain first.

Find Pingyangwei for reinforcements.

Surrender!

You can't escape!

You want to keep us here?

Guys,

you are all men of blood!

Fight them to the death!

Kill one to break even.

Kill two and you won't lose out.

Go!

You are really clever.

You never share your wealth with your disciples,

but want them to die for you.

Do you think they'll be sentenced to death

like you?

They aren't the main culprits.

They were just following your orders,

deceived by you.

If they are taken to the yamen,

they'll just get a beating and be released.

I can see

you're just using them

and making them fight for you,

so you can take advantage of the chaos and run away.

You!

Bastard!

Step back!

Bastard, let her go!

Step back! All of you!

Don't come closer.

Or I'll kill her!

Fire.

Wait!

Let her go.

I'll be your hostage.

Compared to her life,

mine is worth more.

Alright then,

come over here.

Don't try any tricks.

Come here!

Come!

Fire!

Run!

Stop!

Captain Cai.

Yes?

Put them in prison.

Let's go.

This is the money

promised to you.

Not enough?

Thank you for your support.

Your Honor,

I don't want the money.

I merely ask that you fulfill your promise.

If we could solve this case,

you promised me one request.

I wonder if your words

still stand.

How dare you!

Since I have promised, I will keep my word.

Please, Your Honor,

help us

escape from this suffering,

and restore our freedom.

You want to leave this lifestyle?

Yes.

[A Day Ago]

You look amazing.

Madam, I'm not ready yet.

You don't need to do anything.

I've prepared everything for you.

For your deflowering night,

I've spent

all my savings.

Look at this wedding dress.

It's made

of the finest silk satin from Suzhou.

And this

goldwork embroidery,

it took a lot of effort.

Every girl's deflowering night here

is done

with such a wedding dress.

It's so nice of you, Madam.

Even if I'm not deflowered,

I can still earn much money for you.

Why are you so anxious

to have me deflowered?

Why am I so anxious?

Because you're already 18.

At this age, you're as beautiful as a flower,

but it can all be gone in a blink.

When you grow old and unattractive,

who will want to hear you play and sing?

At least let's wait a couple of days,

so I can be better prepared.

Are you preparing for your deflowering night

or something else?

My girl,

with me here,

you don't need to prepare anything.

I promise

you'll outshine everyone today,

and become famous in Linfen.

Other girls are begging me,

and I won't

give them such a grand event.

But...

No buts.

This matter is already settled.

I've sent out the invitations.

There's no negotiation.

Alright.

Don't be angry, Madam.

I'll do

as you say.

Come on, put on the wedding dress,

so that all of Linfen can see

how beautiful

my girl is.

Young Master, we should leave.

If Master finds out

you came here,

he might break your legs.

If you don't say anything, who will know?

But it's improper.

What do you know?

What do the stories say?

It's all about talented gentlemen and beautiful ladies.

Look!

This is true elegance.

No wonder

she's the star of Mingke House.

Such a grand occasion for her deflowering night.

Jin Nang is a charming girl.

Why does she wait

until 18 to have her deflowering night.

Interesting.

Not "Autumn Moon Over the Han Palace,"

nor "Flute and Drum at Sunset,"

but "Chu-Han" instead.

♪Who dances alone under the moon?♪

♪Stubbornly breaking free from chains♪

♪Who lives a life with clever plans?♪

♪Chasing in the sound of hooves♪

♪A restless soul♪

♪Breaking out of the cage and flying♪

♪Listening to the wind, so mysterious♪

♪The moon shines on my troubles♪

♪This journey matters because of you♪

♪The judge of fate♪

♪Can't change my resolve♪

♪Even if the ink dries♪

♪Heaven overlooks all♪

♪Earth tallies the hours♪

♪I long for you to be by my side♪

♪Clearly missing you♪

♪The past is all scattered♪

♪You are my bright moon♪

♪Who dances alone under the moon?♪

♪Stubbornly breaking free from chains♪

♪Who's drumming at the door?♪

♪Waking the dust from dreams♪

♪A restless soul♪

♪Breaking out of the cage and flying♪

♪Hearing the wind, secrets unfold♪

♪The moon shines into my dreams♪

♪This journey is enough with you here♪

♪It's unrelated to fate's details♪

♪Just because I never gave up♪

♪Even with many thorns♪

♪The heavens won't let me down♪

♪The earth helps me seek♪

♪Eventually, the clouds will clear♪

♪In this gentle and simple world♪

♪Laugh through partings and reunions♪

♪My heart only follows the moon♪