Original subtitles

[Huiyin Hall]

Your Highness, please take a rest.

You've been writing all day.

Hasn't Xiao Wuyi confessed yet?

Forgive me, Your Highness.

No matter how he's tortured,

Xiao Wuyi remains silent.

He only asked the jailers for a brush and ink

to finish his military book.

Without Your Highness's permission,

the jailers didn't dare to give him those.

So Xiao Wuyi dips his finger in blood and continues to write.

What about the divorce paper?

He didn't write it.

Then force him to write!

Once it's written, send it to Prince Jing'an's Mansion!

Tell the Commandant of Justice that

the evidence of Prince Jing'an's Household's treason and corruption is conclusive.

If he can't get Xiao Wuyi's confession,

Xiao Ju's will do,

or Xiao Yao's!

Grand Tutor was right.

Prince Jing'an's Household is too stubborn.

We might as well take this opportunity and completely bring them down.

Yes.

[Key to the Phoenix Heart]

[Episode 23]

Xiao and his 2 sons embezzled canal funds,

illegally sold military supplies,

and committed treason.

Their mansion is now sealed off.

By the Regent's grace,

those who are not members of the Xiao family may leave.

Anyone who refuses will be sealed inside the mansion immediately.

Except for the Dowager Princess,

everyone else has left.

Master He is just a teacher hired by our family.

And Ruisheng is our physician.

Aren't they a goddaughter and a concubine?

And what about the child?

Master He belongs to the He family

and has nothing to do with the Xiaos.

As for Yu Ruisheng,

she has never been part of Prince Jing'an's Mansion.

She is an official of the Beifu Army Medical Office

and receives her salary from Beifu.

As for Duan Ziqi,

he is certainly not Xiao Wuyi's son.

And the Dowager Princess—

if I remember correctly,

according to the laws of Ye, women over fifty awaiting trial

can be confined at home.

Is that right?

As for me...

What is that in your hand?

This is Young Lord Xiao's divorce paper.

Your Highness, the Regent wants you

to think carefully for yourself.

Please convey my word

to Prince Qi.

Tomorrow is the deadline.

Report!

Your Highness,

Liu Zhaolin, an editor from Zhengtong Bookstore,

has come to turn himself in.

Wasn't Liu Zhaolin already...

Report!

Congratulations, Your Highness.

For what?

Your Highness,

the blood stasis in Xiao Wuyi's brain has been there for nearly 3 years

and has become a chronic illness.

Rest assured, Your Highness.

Once his meridians are completely blocked,

he won't survive.

In my humble opinion,

Xiao Wuyi will not live past this year.

How dare you!

When did I ever say I wanted Xiao Wuyi dead?

I'm telling you.

If Xiao Wuyi doesn't recover,

I will bury the entire Imperial Medical Bureau with him!

Get out!

Yes.

If we don't eliminate Northern Qin

and reclaim our land,

there won't be true peace!

Yizhi.

This is what you told me yourself

while fleeing to Jiankang.

Have you forgotten?

Don't be trapped in the past

and let it become your inner demon.

You are not this kind of person.

Report!

Your Highness,

the jailers said that

before Young Lord Xiao fainted, he said

he had no crimes to confess,

and that if he must confess,

this military book written in blood is his confession.

Summon Xie Jiayu.

Yes.

No.

Forget it.

Have Xie Jiayu go directly to the prison

and take Xiao Wuyi out.

Yes.

[Court of Judicial Review]

You dictate,

♪ What's the cost of going against the wind? ♪

and I'll write it down.

♪ Knowing you, knowing me, we live up to our promises ♪

♪ Aligning the traces of our conviction ♪

♪ As long as I'm with you ♪

Anyone who uses formations...

♪ The journey can stretch on forever ♪

♪ Even if it puts my life on the line ♪

♪ I shall never forget ♪

♪ Let me dash toward where you are ♪

♪ To seek out my own sanctuary ♪

♪ Life hurries by, yet you alone ♪

♪ Illuminate me with your blazing radiance ♪

♪ Let me burn with courage as I forge ahead ♪

♪ Your hand in my hand ♪

♪ Our love knows no bounds of time or space ♪

♪ Two hearts together until the end of time ♪

Done.

Can you go home with me now?

Pack these manuscripts up

and give them to Prince Qi and the Department of State Affairs.

This is your life's work.

If you teach them,

aren't you afraid of being replaced?

Isn't that exactly what I want?

Don't you want

there to be more Xiao Wuyis in Ye?

Are you really making your final arrange—

Even if you want to die,

you have to hold on for a few more years.

Right now,

the world needs an invincible Xiao Wuyi.

Let's go. Let's go home.

Let's go home.

Let's go.

Wuyi!

Mother?

Father?

Brother?

You...

Let's go home.

That's my son!

Be gentle!

How can he stand you patting him like that now?

Let's go.

Okay.

Let's go home.

[Shezhang Hall]

Why did you let Xiao Wuyi go?

You...

This was...

This was the only chance to bring Prince Jing'an's Household down

and take back the command of Beifu Army!

Don't you want to avenge

your mother?

If Xiao Ju hadn't concealed the truth,

how could the An and Lu families have been wrongfully destroyed?

Xie Jiayu brought

the letters between you and the wet nurse of Prince Qi's Mansion,

threatening to reveal my identity

to make me let Xiao Wuyi go.

Should I have let him go or not?

So she came to me specifically that day

for this?

Oh, right, Liu Zhaolin turned himself in.

Him?

He wouldn't dare say much.

Yes, he has committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

The Commandant of Justice also went to Lane 3

of Shanghe Ward to search and seal it,

trying to catch those scholars who had helped Liu Zhaolin

forge the embezzlement ledgers.

Unfortunately, he was a step too late.

Also...

Father,

I only have one mother,

and that is Prince Qi's Consort.

Back then, Prince Qi's Consort gave her life

in exchange for my sister's life and mine.

I have never had a 2nd mother.

Avenging her

is your obsession,

not mine.

Hurry!

Did Liu Zhaolin mention

who gave him the orders before he died?

No.

He didn't?

Liu Zhaolin's original surname was Pei.

He and He Yuanji, the former Heir's Consort of Prince Jing'an's Mansion,

were childhood sweethearts.

After He married into Prince Jing'an's Mansion,

he couldn't accept losing her,

so out of resentment,

he deliberately framed them.

He even bribed the scholars in Lane 3 of Shanghe Ward

to forge the evidence of corruption with him.

When the matter was exposed,

he committed suicide to atone for his crimes

and clear the Xiao family's name.

He was quite noble.

[Court of Judicial Review]

It's you?

The moment I was imprisoned,

I was reminded of

an old story that circulated

in the inner palace of the Capital.

When you used the collapse of the grain canal

to try to wipe out the entire Prince Jing'an's Household,

it further confirmed my guess.

The rumors about you and Noble Concubine An back then

were true.

Back then, you knew it was an unjust case,

yet you still sent the two noble families—

hundreds of lives—to the execution ground.

What I am doing now

is merely returning an eye for an eye.

Back then, the noble families held absolute power.

They defied the imperial authority

and oppressed the people,

making life impossible for them

and leading rebel armies to rise up everywhere.

So you could disregard right and wrong

and kill innocent people?

The An and Lu families never committed treason!

Princess Pingning has been

secretly operating in the Capital and has obtained solid evidence.

In the An-Lu case back then,

you knew the truth

but did not report it.

Oh, you, Xiao Ju.

You earned your title as Prince Jing'an

on the blood of our noble families.

I admit

I am not innocent.

But for the poor scholars,

for Emperor and Empress Wenxi,

and even more, for Ye,

I had to burn my boats.

As for you, Grand Tutor,

as the head of the noble families,

our stances are different.

But speaking of wrongful deaths,

to whom should those poor scholars

wrongfully killed by the An and Lu families

cry out for justice?

If the An and Lu families deserved to be punished

for overseeing the waterway construction back then,

then dare you say Xiao Yao was entirely blameless

for the collapse of the grain canal?

Is he really innocent?

Corruption and smuggling may have been false accusations,

but the grain canal collapse—

I don't think so.

Xiao Wuyi, you lied to me.

You can see.

This is called locating things by sound.

I have been practicing it for the past 2 years.

Sooner or later, I will lose my sight.

I can't be completely unprepared.

Let go of me. Let me get up.

Let go!

Xiao Wuyi.

Why didn't you tell me 2 years ago

that the blood stasis would keep getting worse?

You are cruel, planning to leave me behind.

Aren't you afraid I'll back out?

What can you do? Divorce me?

After all, you've already burned the divorce paper.

You...

Why are you crying?

This blood stasis cannot be cured.

Even if I had told you,

it would have only added to your worries.

But if you had told me earlier,

I wouldn't have left you in the past 2 years.

And I wouldn't have been so oblivious,

thinking we still had plenty of time.

Alright.

These past 2 years you've been following the map to find mines,

traveling thousands of miles

and seeing the world and all living beings.

You opened branches of Miraculous Craft across Ye

to help the people.

Are you happy?

Your happiness is the most important thing.

Xiao Wuyi, I'm telling you.

I haven't finished burning

the divorce paper.

There's still half left.

If you ever

hide anything

from me again,

anyone who wants to be the Heir's Consort can have the title.

I'm not doing it anymore.

Trying to trick me? You want to back out?

My blueprints!

Xiao Wuyi, you can see.

I can't see.

Ziqi, listen to me.

If you ever meet

someone like your father,

stay away from him,

or he'll ruin your good name.

What kind of person is he?

To coax a lady,

he calls a terminal illness a cold.

He doesn't take care of himself

and refuses to take his condition seriously.

But Mother,

I don't want to study medicine in the future.

Then what do you want to study?

I want to study poison.

Say that again.

I also want to learn Auntie Jiayu's mechanical skills.

If I can combine the two of them,

it will be very powerful.

That day, I even saw...

Mother, have mercy!

Duan Ziqi, come back here!

Hang out less with your Auntie Jiayu!

If you dare to touch her alchemy furnace,

I'll chop off your hands!

See?

What have you taught Ziqi?

It's clearly you who refuses to let go.

What is this?

This is a cane I made for you.

It has a mechanism inside.

It can be retracted into your sleeve when not in use.

But you've learned to locate things by sound.

I don't think you need it.

Who says I don't?

Xie Jiayu.

Actually, the divorce paper I wrote in prison was fake.

I never wanted to divorce you.

I know.

Two years ago,

Ruisheng told me

there was a way to clear my blood stasis,

but it was very risky.

If it failed,

I could lose my life at any time.

But for the sake of reform,

I chose not to take that chance.

I'm sorry.

Call me selfish

or shameless.

Even knowing that I am destined to fail you,

I will never let you go.

If Ruisheng knows you're not resting properly

and that you're shedding tears,

she'll scold me again.

She wouldn't dare.

You are my Heir's Consort.

I lost my parents when I was young.

Mother,

Grand Tutor,

Lejun, and Mao

have also left me one by one.

My whole life,

it seems I've been learning how to say goodbye.

So don't worry.

I am very good at saying goodbye.

Even if that day really comes

and you leave me,

I will cry for you for a month at most.

No, 3 months.

As long as you promise me one thing,

you won't be breaking your promise.

Alright?

Tell me.

Whether it is 3 years

or 5 years,

from today on,

forget the deadline Ruisheng gave you.

No matter when,

as long as you remember that I am waiting for you,

can you hold on for me

for as long as you can?

Let's go as far

as we can together.

I only need you to do your best,

and I will do my best too.

Then I won't see it as you letting me down.

But 3 months is just too short.

It really is too short.

How about 3 years?

Forget me

3 years after I die, okay?

Can't you just say you will try harder

to stay alive?

Okay.

Rest assured. Although His Highness doesn't care about his life,

as a physician,

I still care about my reputation.

I will do everything I can to keep him alive.

Thank you, Ruisheng.

Fortunately, with you here now,

my chances of success are actually higher.

But he has put off treatment for so long.

Life is truly magical.

Sometimes, the will to live matters more than anything else.

In my eyes, Xiao Wuyi, the commander of Beifu,

was once more like

a cold lifeless weapon.

He gave almost everything for this world.

He clearly took the world as his responsibility,

but it seemed

he had never been attached to anything in this world.

Until he met you.

People with aspirations cling to life,

and martyrs seek death.

Jiayu.

You must hold onto him.

You know your days are numbered.

Five or ten years

won't be enough to complete your grand plan.

That's why you're in such a rush to complete the Beifu Reform.

These past few days,

I've been reading the military strategies and essays

you wrote in prison.

You knew my background

but said nothing,

because you were certain

that I would eventually agree with you.

You were also certain I would march north,

weren't you?

Over 20 years have passed.

How many survivors of Ye

are being treated like cattle and slaves by Northern Qin

on the lands that once belonged to Ye?

To this day,

they are still waiting for Crown Prince Wenxi.

But what about 30 or 40 years from now?

Yizhi, you are different from the Grand Tutor.

The noble families don't care about reclaiming our land

and are content to indulge in pleasure.

But Prince Qi

will never forget the fall of Qizhou.

But I am not a pawn!

My life and honor

must never depend on

your passing whims!

Prince Jing'an's Household

and the Beifu Army

must both be contained!

Are you counting on the noble families?

You know better than I do

that they are the true blight of Ye.

Yizhi,

if you rule your people through manipulation,

they will manipulate you in return.

Why not

try another way?

Bravo! Bravo!

Bravo!

Where is the money?

Where is my money?

Listen, brat.

You are not leaving today without paying.

Give us the money!

Give us the money!

-Give us the money! -Behave yourself!

You should've done that earlier. Let's go.

Mao, I am hungry.

Thank you.

Move!

Out of the way!

Xiao Wuyi,

so many refugees are begging outside Jiankang.

Why is the Beifu Army doing nothing?

Have you ever thought about

what Ye will be like in the future?

I hope for a Ye of peace and prosperity,

with capable generals defending the borders,

a righteous and well-governed court,

and scholars of both noble and humble origins making full use of their talents.

They are the scholars of humble origins hiding in Xiyuan.

Why were Liu Zhaolin and those

poor scholars hiding in Xiyuan

willing to help Xie Huaigui?

It's simply because

relying on the powerful is their only path to an official career.

If not forced by circumstances,

what scholar would willingly soil their brush and clothes?

Tell me.

Should I give them another chance?

Your Highness saved my life.

To me,

Your Highness

is a god who guided my soul through the darkness.

If today,

Your Highness is willing to give them another chance,

they will surely dedicate their entire lives

to you.

Forgive me, Your Highness. I misspoke.

Get them some new clothes.

Yes.

We can establish the Nine-Rank System,

with family background, literary talent, and moral conduct

as the criteria for ranking.

Only nobles can attain the upper ranks.

You still see the Lantai gathering as a private tool for the nobles.

I have been Regent for 3 years.

I established provincial schools

and expanded libraries.

Talents from humble origins are no longer what they once were.

Therefore,

I will change the Lantai gathering into spring examinations,

letting the commoners and nobles compete on equal footing.

Your Highness, the hierarchy of rites is like a guiding star.

If old systems are recklessly changed,

I fear the order of the realm will fall into chaos.

Master, you have helped me reach this position.

What's the point of talking about the order of the realm now?

Your Highness, holding a spring exam requires massive effort.

Moreover, the children of noble families

have studied the classics since childhood.

The great scholars are all at our schools.

And the academies

are all operated by the major noble families.

They spend fortunes to gather the wise

and have already recruited all the elite of the realm.

Could it be

that you are afraid the nobles can't beat the humble scholars?

If Your Highness insists on doing this,

I have one condition.

Pose a challenging question for all students and have them discuss

the difficulties and solutions in waterway construction.

This is a universal challenge.

Let's see which of the two groups, the nobles and the humble scholars,

truly understands Ye's state affairs.

If, as Your Highness claims,

the nobles can't beat the humble scholars,

I am willing to retire,

reopen my academy,

devote myself to scholarship,

and no longer get involved in political affairs.

You must be joking.

I approve of this.

[Imperial Academy]

The time for this year's Lantai gathering has been set.

What? When?

When? Let me see.

Wait.

By order of the Eastern Palace,

this year's Lantai gathering is canceled

and replaced by a spring examination.

Talents will be selected

regardless of family background.

Regardless of family background?

-Canceled? A spring examination? -Regardless of family background?

It's an order from the Eastern Palace?

Xie Huaigui!

Xie Huaigui, come out!

Why is the Lantai gathering canceled?

Why is it canceled? Why set a spring examination?

-Xie Huaigui! -Xie Huaigui!

Come out!

Return to the mansion.

Why is it canceled?

Xie Huaigui!

The spring exam will start in 3 days.

Your brother spends all day reading storybooks.

His heart lies not here,

but among the mountains and rivers.

He frequents music houses all day.

The gazette says

this examination

only has 2 subjects: Confucian classics and policy essays.

Students take the exam anonymously,

and papers are graded anonymously.

Five matches are ranked as superior,

three or four as middle,

and two as inferior.

I don't know if it's true or not.

Yuanji.

You are now

the head of our He family.

If your father and brother

fail to secure a good future,

who in the entire He family

will truly submit to you?

Yuanji! Did you hear me?

You need to talk to your father and brother.

Throughout history, talent selection

has always been based on family background.

As the saying goes, those of humble origins cannot reach high ranks,

and those from noble families do not fall to low ranks.

Prince Qi has now set a spring examination.

Regardless of noble or humble status,

or connections,

as long as one has real talent,

they can take the exam.

If they truly appoint officials based on ability,

it would be a great achievement.

But they are unwilling to take the exam.

What's the point?

Auntie He.

Don't worry.

I have come up with a good idea.

Isn't the path forward for the He family

right in front of you?

Your Highness,

are you making fun of us?

Yuanji,

think about it.

I'm serious about this.

Yuanji, don't listen to her nonsense.

It could cost us our lives.

Your Highness,

please go back.

Please go back.

Yuanji,

I am serious.

Think about it.

[Prince Jing'an's Mansion]

You are making me dizzy.

I wonder what rank Yuanji received in the exam.

The results are out!

The results are out?

Yes.

What rank?

First rank.

Really?

Now Yuanji

can finally hold her head high.

She is a female Academician now

and will become a court official.

I need to design

a ceremonial hairpiece for her.

Where is she now?

She has entered the Eastern Palace

and is about to be granted the title.

He Yuan, the second child of the fifth branch

of the He family in Yingchuan,

topped the list in this imperial examination.

He can enter the Imperial Academy

with the title of Academician,

ranked Upper First Grade.

He Yuan, the second child of the fifth branch of the He family in Yingchuan,

pays her respects.

Rise.

Thank you, Your Highness.

Wait.

May I ask, Your Highness,

why you specifically chose He Yuan

as the top Academician in the spring examination?

Is it because of the question about

the difficulties and solutions in waterway construction?

You're right, Grand Tutor.

For this question,

all examinees quoted the late Emperor's

"Wenxi Treatise" on waterway management,

using wooden stakes and wicker to reinforce the riverbanks.

But He Yuan proposed

the method of bamboo cage with pebbles.

He Yuan, explain it to everyone.

The method of bamboo cage with pebbles

means weaving bamboo into cages,

filling them with pebbles, and sinking them into the river.

The toughness of bamboo cages and the weight of the pebbles

can both stabilize the riverbank

and withstand the impact of the water flow.

This is a method of overcoming hardness with softness.

Let me ask you. How did you, a child of a noble family,

come to know the solution?

Your Highness,

I learned this from a criminal.

A criminal?

A criminal?

I brought him here today.

His name is...

Liu Zhaolin.

I'm Liu Zhaolin, a criminal.

Greetings, Prince Qi.

Liu Zhaolin?

Aren't you dead?

Grand Tutor wanted me

to die in the Court of Judicial Review,

but Young Lord Xiao saved me.

I met Grand Tutor in the bookstore.

He said that if I wanted to stand out,

I must first learn to bow my head.

As long as I forged the account books

of Prince Jing'an's Mansion for him,

framing their family for colluding with foreign enemies,

he would give me a chance to enter official service.

So I bowed my head.

I deceived the former Heir's Consort

of Prince Jing'an's Mansion

and tricked her into giving me the Xiaos' private letters.

In Lane 3 of Shanghe Ward, a place arranged by the Grand Tutor,

I spent 3 whole months practicing

until my forged handwriting

was convincing enough to pass as genuine.

But later, when the case of Prince Jing'an's Mansion broke out,

he wanted to silence me.

I saw the method of bamboo cage with pebbles

in the Grand Tutor's study.

He has been studying this method for over a decade.

Yes, I was the one who ordered

Liu Zhaolin and others to fabricate

the charges against Prince Jing'an's Mansion.

And I have indeed been studying

the method of bamboo cage with pebbles.

But do you know

the origin of this method?

Back then, the An and Lu families

used exactly this method for waterway management.

But at that time, this method was framed as evidence

that the An and Lu families had deliberately damaged the waterways

and colluded with Northern Qin.

They were charged with treason.

As a result, for over 20 years,

no one dared use this method.

If Your Highness acknowledges this method,

that would prove that Emperor Wenxi was mistaken

and that the An and Lu families were wrongfully convicted!

Brother.

The model of the bamboo cage with pebbles?

Xiao Wuyi,

you knew all along that Brother and I were studying this method?

Everything is ready.

Xiao Wuyi,

are you going to clear the An and Lu families' names today?

If so,

I'm afraid the posthumous reputations of Emperor and Empress Wenxi

cannot be preserved.

I don't care about

the Grand Tutor

or the past.

What I care about is how to construct the waterways,

how to save the people

from the suffering of floods,

and how to open the grain canal to the Northern Border as soon as possible.

If this method is right,

it shouldn't be buried.

Xie Jiayu,

are you willing to help me?

The case of the An and Lu families' treason has long been settled.

And this method of bamboo cages with pebbles

has not been used for over 20 years.

Then how can we prove

whether this method works or not?

Then please allow me the chance

to prove it today in the Eastern Palace.

I, Xiao Yao, pay my respects to Your Highness.

I, Xiao Yao, a disgraced subject,

pay my respects to Your Highness.

Ever since the waterway collapsed,

I have not slept a single night.

Fortunately, I received guidance from Mr. Liu,

and with the help of the Heir's Consort,

I crafted this bamboo cage with pebbles.

I humbly ask Your Highness to grant permission for a trial.

Permission granted.

Thank you, Your Highness.

Assemble it.

Add water.

The pebbles in this cage

must be 70% angular stones and 30% rounded stones,

with the stones arranged from the bottom up in a spiral shape.

The 3rd piece is the key.

If a fully round one is used,

the water will disperse like a defeated army.

It's done.

Look, the water flow has slowed down.

The house didn't collapse.

I wonder if what you have seen today

can untie the knot in your heart, Grand Tutor.

Your Highness.

If we don't correct Emperor Wenxi's mistake today,

I'm sure more people

will suffer from the floods.

Your Highness, please give your judgment.

Back then, to seize power from the noble families,

Emperor Wenxi used the waterway construction case as a pretext

to frame the An and Lu families for colluding with Northern Qin.

It plunged Ye into endless internal strife,

allowing Northern Qin to take the opportunity to march south and overrun the Capital.

This tragedy was single-handedly caused by Emperor Wenxi,

and it was a disaster born from the conflict between the noble families and the common people.

If we do not abandon the divide between nobles and commoners

and clear the names of the An and Lu families,

the tragedy of the Capital will surely repeat itself.

Emperor and Empress Wenxi were not gods,

and the world should not be defined

only by the divide between nobles and commoners.

Above all, the world cannot depend on a single person.

And that person in your hearts,

the god-like Crown Prince Wenxi,

actually

died long ago on his way south to Jiankang.

Pass on my decree.

Clear the names of the An and Lu families.

All false charges against them

shall be dismissed.

Take in their orphans,

allow them to return to their native places,

and send them to the Imperial Academy for education.

Also,

Xiao Yao shall be stripped of all official titles

and banished to Lingnan to address the flooding along the grain canal.

I will do my utmost

for Ye

until my dying day.

My wish is fulfilled.

I...

am willing to plead guilty.

Then there will be no further punishment.

I hope you will retire and return to your hometown,

reopen your academy,

devote yourself to scholarship,

and no longer get involved in political affairs.

I accept the decree.

Liu Zhaolin and the scholars from Lane 3 of Shanghe Ward

forged handwriting and account books

to frame Prince Jing'an's Mansion.

Considering that this arose from the divide between nobles and commoners,

and that they have acknowledged their wrongdoing,

I shall show leniency

and banish them 800 li away.

I accept the decree.

Your Highness, the divide between nobles and commoners

has long plagued Ye.

Please eradicate it at its root

and establish the spring examination as a permanent system

to ensure fairness.

Granted.