Original subtitles

=The Road to Splendor=

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

=Episode 20=

Come and see.

I didn't want to disturb you,

so I came without announcing.

I'm Zhao Ling.

Greetings, ladies.

So you're Commander Zhao.

Truly a man of striking presence

and extraordinary bearing.

Have you been waiting all night?

You must be exhausted.

Indeed.

These two young lovebirds,

have they had a falling out?

♪The past brushes by like a falling leaf♪

♪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♪

I see.

So it's not that Commander Zhao doesn't understand Miss Xie.

It's Miss Xie who's been giving him the cold shoulder.

No wonder.

It seems their feelings

are as strong as those between

Young Madam and Young Lord Yu.

Indeed.

If a young lady makes a good match,

she'll be welcomed everywhere she goes

and treated with respect.

But without her three entries in the county records,

how could she have found such a fine match?

Today,

we truly witnessed quite a spectacle.

Thank you for your hospitality.

I'll take my leave now.

Please wait.

We shouldn't have to

hold back with each other.

Please don't fault me for being forward.

Just now, the Old Madam

came to me specifically

to inquire about Miss Wu.

Between the lines,

it sounded like she planned to bring her into Lord Wei's household.

Given our friendship,

I rushed over to give you the news.

You'd better prepare yourself as soon as possible.

I had thought that you, so noble and honored,

with such a solid family foundation,

would surely

have a smooth and contented life in the Wei family.

I see now that I was too naive.

Every family has its troubles.

Yake,

all these years,

our family came from Yongning Prefecture to the capital.

Step by step.

In the end, whether it was the woman relying on the man

or the man relying on the woman,

others may not know,

but someone as perceptive as you

surely understands.

You're right.

Please get some rest

when you get home.

Miss Xie?

She can't take her on.

Her mother-in-law? She wouldn't dare cross.

Bottling up all that anger,

she took it out on me.

She even tried to hit me where it hurts.

She thinks she can push me around.

Right?

Let's go home.

(Virtue Blesses the Hometown)

Still upset?

Mr. Zhao.

Do you look down on me?

I don't look down on you.

It's just that...

Returning to the capital to investigate,

going into danger alone,

and getting hurt.

You told me none of it.

Do you think I am

completely useless?

The capital's court

is a deadly game,

where one wrong move could cost you your life.

My duty is not yet done.

I feared dragging you into it.

But I also know

I can't hide this from you.

You would still worry about me.

I just wanted to protect you a little more.

But I'm not a little girl anymore.

I am strong enough now.

Strong enough to share your burdens.

Whatever you do,

whatever you plan,

you should tell me first.

Understood.

I was wrong this time.

The court is a battlefield.

You must grip the sword

and hold onto power.

Only by standing higher

can I keep you safe

and ensure that no one in this world

dares to wrong you.

But all I want

is to stay by your side

and never be apart from you again.

Where is Sen?

How is he?

Sen.

Sen.

You can't keep going on like this

with Mr. Zhao.

Forget it.

In this world, loyalty and duty rarely find their balance.

If one day

he could understand

every choice I made at every turn,

I would not be pleased,

because that would mean

he had walked the same road as I have

and faced the same hardships.

Let him be.

Like a tree putting out shoots

or grass bearing flowers,

each has its own way of living.

(Yu Residence)

Young Madam.

The Young Master

still has you on his mind.

But he remembered wrong.

These sesame flatbreads are covered in spices.

I have never been able to eat them.

Ever since he went to Ganlin Town,

he seems to have become a different person.

Yet somehow, we've grown apart.

Why is that?

Tell me,

do all married couples

end up like this with time?

As the days go by,

they grow cold.

Young Madam.

Madam has sent word.

The celebration gifts for Young Master Ji's first birthday

need to be inventoried.

Along with the gift list,

they are all to be entered into the household accounts.

Ms. Shu.

Wasn't it agreed before

that this banquet

would be mine to arrange?

And the celebration gifts

would belong to the first branch of the family?

Madam only changed her mind

after the banquet was over.

If

you have any questions,

I suggest you ask her directly.

It doesn't matter whose account they're on.

It's all for Ji's honor.

I'll have Mozhan

count them and send them over.

Yes.

Young Madam.

I take my leave.

Master.

What kind of man is this Zhao Ling?

Five years ago,

he wasn't even a commoner.

A mere nobody.

He caught some luck.

And with help from the Ninth Young Lady,

his fate was changed.

You have read many books.

But you still haven't learned to read people.

Zhao Ling,

five years ago,

relied on raw courage.

A reckless brute.

He won the Emperor's favor

by daring to fight and risk everything.

Five years on,

he relies on ambition.

Judging by how he operates in the capital,

he's grown

harder

and more ruthless.

But I wonder

why he keeps attacking our family so relentlessly?

I have been unfilial.

There is something

I have hidden from you and Mother.

Back in Huaying,

I was the one who instructed Zuo

and her brother

(Framing Fu for lost virtue)

to slander the Ninth Young Lady.

What about the written confession?

It was burned in Ganlin.

At the first-year banquet,

I crossed words with her.

Even then, I felt

there was something off in her gaze.

I have been shrewd all my life,

but because of you,

I showed my unease in front of her.

Since it's come to this,

from now on, our two families

will fight until one of us falls.

Since it's already a fight to the death,

then there is room to maneuver.

A wildfire, if smothered,

is but a spark.

But if you let it spread,

it will burn the sky.

Your Majesty, please hear this.

The treasury has been depleted

for some time now.

The corruption in the salt administration

is deeply troubling.

Arresting corrupt officials

and clearing the salt routes

is only boiling water to stop it from steaming.

It treats the symptoms, not the root.

In my view,

to truly uproot

the long-standing ills of the salt administration,

the urgent task

is to reform the salt laws.

I propose

that the salt laws

be changed from exchange to silver payment.

The old system of salt merchants delivering grain to the border

in exchange for salt permits

should be replaced with direct silver payments.

This will simplify procedures,

lower costs,

and reduce opportunities for corruption.

(Qianqing Palace)

Grand Secretary Tian.

The salt laws left by our forebears

are the very foundation of the state.

Military pay across the realm,

the lifeline of the salt merchants,

all depend on this system.

How could we tamper with it so casually?

Reasonable.

Salt administration

affects the nation's foundation.

It must be considered carefully.

Grand Secretary.

In the time of the founding emperor,

the salt tax could support a million troops.

Now,

it cannot even feed three hundred thousand border soldiers.

Clearly, reforming the salt laws

is imperative.

With the border under pressure,

though the salt administration

has established rules,

we must adapt when change is needed.

Grand Secretary Tian.

This thunderbolt out of the blue...

Surely you knew nothing of it?

Whoever shoulders this matter

will become the enemy of every official at court.

I

didn't hear

a thing about it.

Gentlemen,

go ask him

yourselves.

Grand Secretary Tian.

Grand Secretary.

He's

like a weather vane.

How did someone like him

ever get into the Grand Secretariat?

How he got in doesn't matter.

The fact that he survived in there

is a skill in itself.

He clearly

doesn't want to get involved in this matter.

This is no simple affair.

Greetings,

Your Majesty.

Rise.

You saw all that?

A whole room full of people,

each with their own calculations.

I will ask you just one thing.

Can this salt reform

go through?

In the military,

I often deal with provisions and pay.

I also have some knowledge of the salt laws.

In my view,

the salt administration

is rotten to the bone.

Cutting out the rot and scraping the bone

will be painful.

But if we let it fester,

we risk losing the hearts

of the soldiers on the border garrisons.

Well spoken.

Some in the court call Grand Secretary Yu reckless.

Others weep that the ancestral laws must not change.

But have any of them ever been to the border?

I

trust you.

Then I

volunteer to take charge

of overseeing the salt administration.

Good.

I appoint you as an Assistant Censor-in-Chief.

Audit the accounts.

Arrest the offenders.

Execute first, and report later.

I do not care about the process.

I only want the result.

A year from now,

the granaries along the nine border garrisons

will surely be filled

with salt and grain.

I accept the decree.

I am willing to be Your Majesty's blade to cut out the rot.

The day the salt administration is cleansed

will be the day I return to report.

You took it?

I did.

The Anzhou merchants,

the Yan merchants,

one south, one north,

are all fighting for their livelihoods.

They'll fight to the bitter end.

And Yuanbao

is caught up in it too.

But that is only the first concern.

Since ancient times,

officials and merchants have colluded.

Every merchant guild has powerful backers.

When you strike with this blade,

who knows who you'll hit.

That is the second.

Third,

the border towns rely on the grain-for-salt system

to supply their troops.

If we switch to silver payments,

the...

the army

may struggle to adapt.

Commander Wang

will also be in a difficult position.

You listed three concerns.

Which one worries you most?

I worry most about you.

I know what you're worried about.

But the more chaotic the situation,

the more opportunities arise.

His Majesty granted me the courtesy name Huchen.

He expects me

to stir

things up.

Must it be you

to take on the salt reform?

I have already accepted the order.

Then

what if...

what if you

fell ill?

Or if you were attacked?

I took this task on myself.

No one forced it on me.

From the camps of the northwest,

all the way to the imperial study in the capital.

From a banner commander

to a fourth-rank Assistant Censor-in-Chief,

it took me only five years.

Everyone says

my official career has been smooth,

almost unstoppable.

But the hardships along the way...

I understand.

That is exactly why

I fear

that you might be consumed by the flames.

♪A lone rider heads for the distant frontier♪

But now is not the time to be afraid.

The struggle for power at court

is like rowing against the current.

If you don't move forward, you fall behind.

Tingyun.

Our opponent is too powerful.

(There's a staircase before me.)

(I have no choice but to keep climbing,)

(all the way to the top.)

(Only by standing high enough)

(can I truly protect us)

(from the storm of arrows aimed our way.)

♪I lift a cup of humble wine to the passing breeze♪

♪Looking back, I see this life as a ballad♪

(Tingyun.)

(Give me a little more time.)

(I want to be the one you can rely on.)

What is ambition?

Ambition is desire.

One can have ambition,

and one can have desire.

But it must be kept in check.

Sometimes,

I do admire

those who climbed up from the bottom.

They have

a certain edge

and a stubborn streak.

But people like that

often share a common flaw.

They never know when to stop.

When a man has been crushed at the bottom for too long,

he tends

to only know how to advance

and never retreat.

I've set the stage for you.

From here on out, you'll have

plenty of people willing to do the dirty work.

Greetings, Aunt.

Congratulations, Aunt.

What is the occasion?

In the past,

the Yan merchants,

with their proximity to the northwest,

always got the jump on every deal.

But we Anzhou merchants

are far in the southeast.

But now,

with the salt reform above,

it looks

like the advantage is shifting our way.

You are truly clever.

It's a pity that your mind

isn't focused on the right things.

I've just had several outfits made

and some jewelry crafted.

All you need to study

is how to be more beautiful

and more endearing.

The more radiant you are,

the more I will adore you.

Yes.

Miss Xie, it seems your days

are about to get better.

She never acts without gain.

She has been keeping me

only to find new buyers.

But from what I can see now,

she must have some scheme in mind.

Why not sell?

Move.

The Yan merchants have shut shops.

(Yan) No salt will be sold in the near future.

Go on, move along.

No salt.

(Sihai Salt Shop) No salt.

Don't stand here.

Move along.

If this keeps up,

(Yan Merchant Guild) we'll be stuck with it all.

Mr. Jin.

Mr. Jin.

Mr. Jin is here.

Mr. Jin is here.

Mr. Jin.

Quite impressive, all of you.

Who told you to shut down?

Mr. Jin.

We had no other choice.

Our dynasty's salt law uses the grain-for-salt system.

We transport grain to the border garrisons

to exchange for salt permits.

With the permits, we get salt.

We've held our own

against the Anzhou merchants thanks to our location.

But now that the salt law has been changed so abruptly,

the grain routes to the border towns that we've maintained for decades

have all been rendered useless.

Right, all that hard work is wasted.

And closing shop will help?

How many heads do you have?

You dare defy the court?

If you get arrested,

you'll quiet down soon enough.

Then please give us some advice.

I heard

that the salt reform is being personally overseen

by Mr. Zhao.

Perhaps

we could find a way to reach him?

Yes.

We should find Mr. Zhao.

Please help us.

Please help us.

Mr. Jin.

Everyone on the northwestern routes knows that you and Mr. Zhao

have been through life and death together.

Because of that,

we've paid tribute to you all these years.

Now your connection with Mr. Zhao

is the connection

between all Yan merchants and Mr. Zhao.

Yes.

Mr. Jin.

Given your relationship with Mr. Zhao,

you must have a way.

Please save us Yan merchants.

What are you panicking about?

Did I say I wouldn't help?

See? I told you Mr. Jin had the means.

It has to be Mr. Jin.

The Dragon Boat Festival is near.

I will host

a willow-shooting gathering.

I will set the stage for you.

Thank you, Mr. Jin.

(Invitation)

Willow-shooting?

(Willow-Shooting Gathering) Jin Yuanbao sent it.

In a few days,

would you like to come with me?

Just to socialize?

Yuanbao has gathered the Yan merchants.

Likely

to pressure you into taking a stand.

This willow-shooting gathering

feels like a trap.

Mr. Zhao.

I don't want to see you strike your own brother first.

This willow-shooting gathering...

Can I skip it?

But I really need you.

In official circles,

men are bound

to vie with one another.

But someone also needs to move among the ladies.

In the future,

if there's anything they can't say to me directly,

at least they'll know

who to send a message through.

Mr. Zhao.

What is it?

Back then,

when I brought you into the Yongning embezzlement case,

it was the same.

I told you then

that moving among officials' wives

required a proper identity,

a proper husband.

Don't worry.

Things are different now.

Now,

no one can casually decide our fate.

Interest and emotion,

like fire and ice,

cannot coexist without melting.

But who knows how much danger

and how much old affection

it will take to melt the ice?

(Invitation) Whatever happens with Jin Yuanbao,

what lies between you and me

will never change.

In that case,

we need to find a way to handle this.

But we are new to the capital.

We have no foothold yet.

It may be hard to stand alone.

Grand Secretary Tian.

Grand Secretary.

Commander Zhao, what brings you here?

You are a man of great virtue and influence.

The willow-shooting gathering is in a few days.

I have taken the liberty

(Invitation) to invite you to join the gathering.

I

appreciate

the gesture.

But these old bones

can't take much strain.

Please don't count me in.

I am new to the capital,

yet entrusted with great responsibility.

Without guidance,

I cannot help but feel uneasy.

I intend to petition His Majesty

to invite you to take charge

and oversee the salt reform.

Please, no.

I am due to retire in half a year.

Salt reform takes years.

I won't last that long.

Salt reform is a major undertaking.

Why rush your retirement?

Stay one more term.

If I dare

to petition His Majesty,

I am sure he will consent.

Well...

The willow-shooting gathering.

Let me see.

If that day permits,

I will come.

After court today,

His Majesty kept me

(Willow-Shooting Gathering. Jin Yuanbao)

in the imperial study for a talk.

I will come.

(Willow-Shooting Gathering)

Look.

There are ornamental carp in the pond.

Right.

Let's go closer to see them.

It's been a long time.

Indeed.

Today, was Miss Xie the only official's wife invited,

(Madam Ye, Yan Merchant) or were invitations sent to all?

All were sent.

But with the situation unsettled,

aside from Miss Xie,

which official's wife in the capital would be willing to grace us?

I saw willow-shooting when I was a child.

It's been years.

Thanks to you all,

I have the chance to see it again.

Consider it

an added pleasure.

So beautiful.

Everyone knows Commander Zhao is a seasoned warrior,

a marksman who can hit a target from a hundred paces.

My husband instructed

that to honor Commander Zhao today,

we should shoot live doves from gourds.

It symbolizes double fortune

and rising to great heights.

Good!

This...

Why won't the dove fly?

How did the dove die?

What happened?

We can plan everything perfectly,

but heaven may not cooperate.

Today, the doves

just won't fly.

What are you standing around for?

Get rid of this unlucky thing.

Take it away.

Mr. Jin.

Tell Commander Zhao.

Whether the doves fly today

all depends on

where the salt reform strikes first.

Isn't this chaos enough?

Yuanbao.

This willow-shooting gathering

was organized by you?

Yes.

Mr. Jin.

We've come so far,

and you bring me bad luck here.

Mr. Zhao.

This...

I truly didn't know.

"Didn't know" is all you have to say?

After all the flattery you've heard,

you actually thought you could handle this?

Remember this.

Once an arrow leaves the string,

there is no turning back.

If anyone is foolish enough

to put obstacles in the arrow's path,

the Ministry of Justice

knows its accounts better than you do.

I invited Grand Secretary Tian today.

If anyone ruins his enjoyment,

has Grand Secretary Tian taken a side?

Think carefully about the consequences.

What does Grand Secretary Tian have to do with this?

I didn't expect this.

Let's wait and see.

Grand Secretary Tian has arrived.

What is this?

What is this?

Where is he?

Why is there a box?

Grand Secretary Tian learned

that officials and merchants gathered here today.

He sent this gift

to represent himself.

He sends a cap?

What a peculiar gesture.

Sending a cap?

Does that mean he's here or not?

At best, you could say

he's here in spirit.

Who sent it?

It was Madam Wei.

You can't blame the Tian family for going back on our word.

You invited my father to be present

to use his official authority.

The cap has arrived.

So has the authority.

That is not a breach of faith.

As for how well things turn out,

that depends entirely on your own ability.

Grand Secretary Tian's authority

is naturally useful.

But everyone wields it differently.

Many at court often murmur

that Lord Wei's rise

was protected by the Grand Secretary.

But back in Yongning Prefecture,

how did Madam Yu

manage to take that set of Pai Gow

from you?

If Lord Wei ever finds out

that it was you who didn't want him to rise too quickly.

You...

Please, Madam Wei, do not be angry.

I meant no offense.

It is just that now,

I

need you

to play your part

and help us out of this mess.

Hit!

Hit!

It's a hit!

Madam Wei, if you would,

please be the judge.

How well

did this dove fly?

This...

That's clearly a sparrow.

Exactly.

It doesn't look like a dove at all.

If Commander Zhao says it's a dove,

then it's a dove.

Madam Wei's word

could well be Grand Secretary Tian's word.

Since Madam Wei said so,

it's a dove.

Yes.

Yes, it's a dove.

A dove.

That's right.

A dove.

(Diequ Pavilion)

Thanks to you, I got to enjoy

a taste

of what it's like to twist the truth.

It is I who should thank you, Madam Wei.

But next time,

think before you act.

My father is old.

He only wishes to retire.

From now on,

leave the Tian family out of these affairs.

Do you really think the Tian family is a weather vane,

turning

with the wind?

If there is a next time,

don't count on me again.

I wouldn't dare.

The Tian family stands tall.

I simply follow.

You certainly have a way with words.

Your good looks

are not wasted.

No wonder

the beautiful and talented Miss Xie

would be

so devoted to you.

Thank you, Madam Wei.

I'll take my leave.

Commander Zhao settled everything with one arrow.

Truly heroic and glorious.

Miss Xie, you're truly fortunate.

- Right. - Truly fortunate.

Sorry I'm a bit late.

Did I miss anything?

Young Madam Yu, you've graced us.

Please, have a seat.

Good heavens,

the Yu family actually came.

Indeed.

Regarding the salt reform,

the Yan merchants have no further objections.

Mr. Zhao.

Please.

To Mr. Zhao.

But as for the exact shares,

please clarify, Mr. Zhao.

His Majesty has approved it.

Old permits

can be exchanged for new ones at seventy percent.

Grain reserves can offset thirty percent of the silver tax.

Of the Salt Transport Office's allocation,

the Yan merchants get thirty percent priority.

- Thirty percent? - How do we share with that?

- That's too little. - Yes, exactly.

Mr. Zhao,

isn't thirty percent too little?

Our Yan merchants number over a hundred,

with thousands of workers.

We are driven by survival.

In my view,

it should at least be this much.

The northern and southern merchants

each have their difficulties.

Thirty percent

is already the court's concession.

Otherwise, how would the Anzhou merchants see it?

Should they shut down too?

Then there would be no order at all.

The Anzhou merchants can't do that.

This...

Alright.

We'll follow your instructions.

If we have not been gracious hosts today,

please forgive us, Mr. Zhao.

Mr. Zhao.

An Anzhou merchant insists on seeing you.

(Next Episode)

If in the future

we are to live under the same roof,

I will respect you

and defer to you in all things.

Since you know my past,

you should know

what I am capable of.

Do you truly wish

to contend with me?

The Fu family

places great importance on filial piety.

Shouldn't you show us

some real proof of that?

Mr. Zhao.

Do you truly not understand,

or are you pretending not to?

If you dare disturb my mother,

just try.

You don't have to come see me anymore.

There is no way the two of you will ever get married.

♪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♪