Original subtitles

[Spring of The Blade]

[Episode 2]

The ceremony is complete.

Congratulations, Fourth Lady,

on returning to the clan.

I know that, given my lowly status,

I am not worthy of making my father

set aside his official duties and return home.

But I really wish

I could serve him a cup of tea as his daughter

to show my affection and concern.

There's nothing wrong with your filial piety.

But with honored guests here,

it's inappropriate for you

to kneel all the time.

Indeed.

As beautiful as she is,

it would be a pity to ruin her knees.

Who is this?

- It must be Lord Yan from the capital. -Lord Yan.

-Greetings, Your Lordship. -Greetings, Your Lordship.

-Lord Yan. -Lord Yan.

This must be the Fourth Lady of the Xie family.

I heard you were missing for years,

but a fire brought news of you.

You truly are blessed by God.

You really took advantage of the fire

to return home safely.

Qingyuan,

we have a distinguished guest.

Stand up and greet him.

Be careful, lady.

I am Xie Qingyuan.

Greetings, Lord Yan.

You know my name?

What?

Have we met before?

I saw you have an imposing appearance

which far outshone that of ordinary people,

so I ventured a guess.

If I am wrong,

please forgive me, Your Lordship.

You are not wrong.

You have a sharp eye, Fourth Lady.

Could you read my face

and tell

how many days I can survive in Hengtang?

Qingyuan,

put away your little tricks

and speak properly.

Can't you see what occasion it is today?

Since you are one of the Xie family now,

you must learn our rules.

[Xie Residence of Hengtang]

The Xie Residence is quite lively today.

I heard they brought their Fourth Lady back

just in order to ward off evil.

The patriarch of the Xie family,

Lord Xie Shu,

is stationed at the Northern Frontier all year round

and rarely returns home.

It's such a big event

as his own daughter's return

to the clan,

yet he didn't even come back.

It's normal he didn't.

You madams probably don't know.

About this Fourth Lady, who returned today,

her birth mother

once killed someone.

Killed someone?

Everyone knows the Third Lady, Qingrong,

is listed under the name of the Head Madam, Madam Hu.

But her birth mother, Concubine Xia,

was killed

by the birth mother of this Fourth Lady,

who just returned.

This incident caused

quite a stir back then.

From now on,

there will be no peaceful days for sure.

If I were Lord Xie,

I would also prefer to stay at the frontier for some peace and quiet.

Nonsense.

Alright, alright.

We are guests.

Stop gossiping about the hosts.

Madam Hu has arrived!

[Mei Yinghua, Lord Xie's Second Concubine]

Second Madam,

the ceremony is over now.

[Liuhua Courtyard]

The Old Madam is

receiving guests in the front hall.

Are you really not going to take a look?

What is there to look at?

The harmonious grandmother and granddaughter

are enjoying family happiness.

They've never cared about my thoughts anyway.

Wouldn't I just be making myself miserable by going?

I won't go.

Our Eldest Lady

has the same personality as her mother.

She likes peace and quiet and doesn't talk much.

No one knows where she's hiding right now.

Mother.

This is my daughter, Qingru,

the second child.

Greetings, madams.

These are March Red lychees just sent from Danzhou

for you to have a taste.

What a wonderful girl.

You raised her very well.

Qingru, you may leave.

Yes.

Madam Hu, you've nurtured her well

into a proper heiress.

Indeed.

When I visited the Xie Residence last time,

the place was a mess, burned down by a fire.

Now it has been restored so fast and elegantly.

Seems like the repairs went well.

Yes, of course!

It cost over ten thousand taels of silver

to restore it to its original state.

Even the crabapple tree in the courtyard

was replaced with an identical one from outside.

This wine is

refreshing and delicious.

Good wine.

Speaking of this wine,

it's certainly not a treasure.

Despite the ordinary wine,

the cups I chose for it are not bad.

It's genuine Yaozhou celadon,

the first batch from the old kiln.

Second Young Master, you're quite generous.

Having this Yaozhou celadon at the ancestry reclaiming banquet

just shows how wealthy the Xie family is.

Yes, of course!

Our Xie family is famous in Hengtang.

There are hundreds, if not thousands,

of rare treasures in our home!

Zhengjun!

Grandmother.

Zhengjun,

you're drunk.

Lord Yan,

don't listen to his nonsense.

Second Madam,

Second Young Master caused trouble again

and annoyed the Old Madam.

Is Zhengjun

an idiot?

The wealthy families in Hengtang are all

keeping a low profile to survive the winter.

He's the only one showing off our wealth outside,

like he wants others to target our Xie family.

Anyway, since this pool of water is already muddy,

let's stir it up even worse.

Qingrong is not

a generous girl, is she?

Go point her in a direction.

How can

our Zhengjun bear the blame

alone?

Yes.

Third Sister.

Don't call me sister.

As the daughter of a murderer,

born bad,

do you deserve to step into the Xie Residence?

Third Sister,

whether you want it or not,

whether you're willing or not,

as long as I'm still surnamed Xie,

we have to live under the same roof.

I don't want to make an enemy of you.

Please be magnanimous, Third Sister.

Grandmother is still waiting for me.

I'll take my leave.

Do you think I'm afraid of you just because you brought up the Old Madam?

Be magnanimous?

When your mother used euphorbia

to kill my mother,

did she ever anticipate

that one day her daughter would have to pay with her life?

Today is your return and ancestor worship ceremony.

Guess

who the sacrifice is.

Just before the ceremony,

Grandmother gave you this longevity lock.

This longevity lock

was specially purified with incense ash from the altar

just in order to ward off evil.

Do you know why you were left outside

for so many years without anyone looking for you,

but they chose to put you in the genealogy now?

Because a concubine's daughter born on the Ghost Festival

makes the best scapegoat.

You want a long life?

I want you to pay with your life right now!

I want you to pay with your life right now!

Qingrong!

What nonsense are you talking about?

Old Madam,

what brings you here?

If I didn't come looking for you,

how would I know someone

could be this audacious?

Yuejian,

take the Fourth Lady

to receive the distinguished guests.

Then go to Wuzhu Courtyard

and get the First Madam here.

Yes.

You,

come with me.

Penalty drink! Drink!

Penalty drink!

Lord Yan, you are so amazing.

It's yours.

Thank you, Lord Yan.

Qingyuan!

Fourth Lady,

you are the star of today's event.

Your second brother has drunk too much.

Why don't you

drink for him?

Okay!

Let Lord Yan check out

how extraordinarily smart Qingyuan is.

Pay with her life?

Scapegoat?

Have you ever

thought about the consequences

if the guests today hear what you said?

Grandmother,

the fact that I didn't kill her on the spot just now

was already me protecting the Xie family's reputation.

Everything started because of her mother.

Just let Jin

harm her own daughter!

How dare you quibble?

I have repeatedly ordered

not to mention the past grievances.

Do my words fall on deaf ears?

Then did my mother deserve to die unjustly?

I heard Qingrong caused trouble.

Qingrong,

I'm not trying to scold you.

But you've been with the Head Madam for so long,

and how can you still be so reckless?

Old Madam.

Concubine Mei, you're right.

I failed to discipline her well.

I will be stricter with her from now on.

You are so passionate about criticizing others,

but you are no better, either.

Yan Rui was ordered by His Majesty to root out corruption for disaster relief.

Our Xie family is in a sensitive position.

And your silly son

kept talking nonsense,

letting others catch us out.

How did you educate him?

In short,

from now on in this residence,

everyone must watch their words and deeds.

You must not make mistakes like today's.

-Yes. -Yes.

The object Lord Yan hid

should be round in shape

and contain liquid—

lamp oil.

Let me open it!

Look.

It really is.

Qingyuan, you are amazing!

I will take my leave first.

-Stop there. -Qingyuan.

Ladies just all play hard to get like this.

Your Lordship,

please mind your behavior.

Are you angry?

Are you thinking of

splashing that lamp oil on me

and setting me on fire?

I wouldn't dare.

You wouldn't dare to commit arson,

or you wouldn't dare to bet with me?

Your Lordship,

I just guessed blindly just now.

I would never dare to compete with you.

Your Lordship, please

don't make things difficult for others.

I just like to beat tough guys.

What are you afraid of?

Qingyuan,

bet with him.

Then, Fourth Lady, please

guess what's in my sachet

and how much it's worth.

Let's see if it matches your answer.

Lord Yan is back.

-Lord Yan. -Cheers.

-Come on. -Cheers.

-Cheers. -Let's drink.

Cheers.

The thing in the sachet is

the most valuable treasure in the world.

It's priceless.

You are wrong, lady.

This is just a pile

of moldy millet.

How is it priceless?

Grain is the common people's foundation.

His Majesty has warned the officials

to value grain over gold and jade.

After millet is cooked,

it can not only fill the stomach,

but long-term storage can also be

a preparation for emergencies.

Even moldy millet

is still a priceless treasure

for starving people.

Therefore, I think this answer is correct.

Fourth Lady, you're really eloquent.

You can even talk up

this pile of rotten grain as an invaluable treasure.

Then why don't you

come with me

to see how many of these treasures

your Xie family's farm has?

Be careful.

-Why did Lord Yan bring up the farm? -I'm okay.

Is it related

to the recent corruption case?

Keep it down.

Lord Yan,

you are really well-informed.

The Xie family's farm

does indeed

have some old grain stored.

But

Zhengjun traded good grain

for them.

As long as we can,

we won't let people eat moldy grain.

Qingyuan is right.

Grain may be cheap,

but it concerns the people's livelihood,

making it more precious than gold.

Given the disaster Hengtang is suffering from right now,

on behalf of the Xie family,

I'd like to donate

100 dan of grain.

100 dan?

That's a lot.

It's enough to feed 200 households for 3 months.

You are so righteous, Old Madam.

I'm deeply impressed.

Then I thank you in advance, Old Madam.

Fourth Lady, it seems that you are

indeed the Xie family's mascot.

I'm flattered.

It's all thanks to the Xie family's profound ancestral blessings

and the Old Madam's grace.

♪ Lest he prove untrue and leave us heartbroken ♪

The southern opera is performed tonight

♪ Today Zhang Xie rides through the streets in triumph ♪

to welcome you into the family.

♪ But he's short of helping hands ♪

♪ Let's go lend him ours ♪

Back then, this song was

♪ The ghosts will bear the sedan chair ♪

your mother's favorite, too.

♪ The gods will blow the trumpets ♪

Yan Rui visited us today.

If the Xie family

had gotten involved in the corruption case,

it would've definitely caused us grave damage

and disastrous consequences.

Fortunately, you

stayed composed in the face of danger

and acted appropriately.

You handled it very well.

I just used some small tricks.

I don't deserve your praise, Grandmother.

I am already deeply grateful

that you don't blame me

for embarrassing the Xie family.

When I was little, I lived a lonely, difficult life away from the Xie Residence,

growing up among the common folk.

My birth mother once made a grave mistake

and harmed the family.

Logically speaking, my background

is not worthy of the Xie family.

You didn't abandon me, Grandmother,

which allowed me to enjoy today's blessings.

I cannot repay you enough

for this kindness.

From now on, I promise I will place the Xie family above everything else.

I will give it my all

until the very end of my life.

Silly girl.

You call me Grandmother,

so we are family.

Since we are family,

we should let go of past grudges

and help each other.

As the saying goes,

a child is innocent of their parents' crimes.

As long as I am in the Xie family,

I will never

let anyone make things difficult for you.

Thank you, Grandmother.

-Bravo! -Bravo!

-Bravo! -Bravo!

-Bravo! -Bravo!

Come on, Your Lordship,

let me pour you a drink.

Your Lordship,

I left the banquet quite early today.

I heard that you

gained a lot from the Xie family.

What?

Lord Wei, you want to raise the stakes?

That's perfect.

I was just worrying about not having enough.

I wouldn't dare.

I was a bit reckless.

I thought

you wanted to use the Xie family to investigate the corruption case.

I am here this time for disaster relief.

If it's not handled well,

it might irritate His Majesty.

So, for the food collection,

Lord Wei, please

pay more attention to it for me.

As for corruption,

I will just catch several people,

take them to the capital,

and consider it done.

My Lady, what are your plans now?

Firstly, gain the trust of the Old Madam.

And then investigate my mother's unjust case.

No rush.

They will eventually know

I am the vengeful demon, back to claim their lives.

You may go back first.

Yes.

Third Sister.

You are quite composed.

You already know

why the Xie family got you back,

and you're still not leaving?

Leave?

Where to?

Since I have been listed in the Xie family's genealogy,

I am one of the Xies.

Of course, I should stay in the Xie Residence

and take care of the Old Madam.

Do you think you can turn the tables by clinging to the Old Madam?

Your Lordship, what are you looking at?

Lord Wei, please help me check

if the one standing on the bridge is

the Fourth Lady of the Xie family.

It is indeed the Fourth Lady.

No wonder she looks familiar.

She really tickles my fancy.

Since I've run into such a beauty,

please excuse me for ending our chitchat here, Lord Wei.

Your Lordship, I'll leave you to it.

Listen,

even if you've been placed in the genealogy,

it can't change the fact

that your mother is a murderer.

But I am a lady of the Xie family,

and that is also a fact.

So what else can you do?

Beat me,

scold me,

or make things difficult for me?

But this filial piety

won't bring any honor

to the late Fifth Madam.

Third Sister, your reluctance to let go

will only make

the Fifth Madam suffer

in the netherworld day after day,

unable to reincarnate.

Then go to hell right now!

Die and pay for my mother's death!

So it's the two ladies of the Xie family.

How did you two end up fighting?

Someone fell into the water!

Someone fell into the water!

Someone fell into the water!

Tell me

your purpose for entering the Xie family.

If I hand over the evidence of your arson

to the Xie family,

do you think

they will believe you, a fake lady,

or me, an official?

My Lord.

My Lord!

My Lord!

Wake up, My Lord!

My Lord!

My Lord,

are you alright?

Who saved me?

It's...

It's the Fourth Lady who saved you.

Where is the estate manager?

The estate manager...

is dead.

Come on.

-Hurry! -Move!

-Move! Make way! -Someone died.

My Lord,

we've searched him.

The ledger is gone.

Who is this dead man?

I don't know.

The estate manager brought

the item to me as agreed.

It seemed like I was the target,

but actually,

someone tried to stop him from approaching me,

even resorting to murder to silence him.

Someone fell into the water!

The ledger.

Who on earth was it?

Mother.

Please don't worry too much.

Didn't the official who came back with Qingrong

already say

that the Fourth Lady and Lord Yan are not injured?

Lord Yan is a high official from the capital.

There must be many people keeping an eye on him.

It's fortunate that they aren't hurt.

But an unmarried girl

fell into the water with an unrelated man.

If this gets out,

people will inevitably suspect a secret rendezvous.

I'm afraid that's much worse than an injury.

Qingyuan just arrived at the Xie Residence,

and she's already caused such a stir.

We must keep a close eye on her from now on

to prevent her from tarnishing our Xie family's reputation.

After such a big incident,

where are you going, lady?

Your Lordship,

although I saved your life,

you don't need to appreciate it too much.

If it were anyone else,

I would have saved them all the same.

But, Your Lordship, you really have

poor swimming skills.

You should practice more when you are free.

A wet-haired beauty fleeing under the moon,

how interesting.

You're far more adept at hooking up with women

than investigating cases.

Is that a compliment?

If so, I will accept it.

Fourth Lady, did you know

that the person who just died

is your Xie family's estate manager?

Your Lordship,

I have just arrived at the Xie Residence,

so I am not quite familiar with these relations.

It's fine if you don't know.

Then please take a look, lady.

Is this sachet

something from the Xie family?

It should be

my Second Brother's sachet.

Oh, dear.

We found on the corpse the belonging

of your Xie family's Second Young Master.

This makes things tricky.

I've got no choice but to investigate

according to the law.

Your Lordship,

the deceased

died on the shore.

He didn't fall into the water before he died.

This sachet is so wet.

Perhaps it fell into the water with someone else?

You are so smart, Fourth Lady.

Why didn't I think

of drying it before taking it out?

Your Lordship,

are you openly telling me

that you are framing him?

Aren't you afraid I'll report it to the authorities?

No.

Because you taught me, Fourth Lady,

that if I am guilty,

you will be my accomplice.

Don't worry,

I will definitely confess and bring you down with me.

Your Lordship,

I wonder

when I offended you.

During the game at the ancestry reclaiming banquet,

you deliberately made things difficult for me with stale millet.

Didn't I

do you a favor in return?

Isn't the Xie family's 100 dan of grain

enough to please you?

Or

do you want more?

You knew exactly why I came,

yet you still played along with my act.

Wasn't it just to establish your prestige in the Xie family

and prove your worth as the Fourth Lady?

Can we even settle the score between us?

Are there any good people in the Xie family in your eyes?

And now you're playing the role of a devoted family member?

Was that big fire

really just to make the Xie family lose some money?

Fourth Lady,

some lies are just lies.

Don't fool yourself.

Then what do you want, Your Lordship?

I want you to watch a good show of the Xie family with me.

Then you have got the wrong person, Your Lordship.

I don't understand shows.

Right, you understand chess.

You are meticulous

and advance step by step.

But don't forget,

if a chess player

cannot even see her own moves clearly,

she can only be a chess piece—a pawn.

But I don't need

another player on my chessboard.

Is it that you don't need one,

or you don't want one?

We walk different paths, so we're not meant to work together.

Please don't force me, Your Lordship.

I just want to force you.

I don't care if you're willing or not.

I will definitely

take control of your game.

Qingrong and Qingyuan

are both listed under my name.

Such an incident happened

due to my failure in discipline.

When Qingyuan comes back,

I promise I will strictly discipline her.

Right now,

no matter what happened,

the Fourth Lady falling into the water with an unrelated man

will surely cause a scandal if word gets out.

Zhengjun.

Hurry and bring the Fourth Lady back.

If she stays out overnight,

things will escalate.

Clouds are gathering on the horizon right now.

Our family can't afford any more incidents.

Go now.

Okay, okay.

I'll go. I'm going.

Lord Yan has arrived!

Isn't she back now?

Lord Yan.

Qingyuan

really doesn't know her place.

How could she let you, Lord Yan, escort her back personally?

It's a matter of great importance.

Of course I must escort her.

Escorting her is one thing.

But Lord Yan, why did you barge in

with a troop of soldiers at midnight?

If this gets out,

other people

might think the Xie family has committed a serious crime.

Indeed.

I don't know either.

Whether your Xie family is guilty or not

depends on how I investigate.

Why do you say that, Your Lordship?

Lord Yan,

did Xie Qingyuan cause any trouble

and get escorted back by you as a culprit?

Qingru.

The Fourth Lady did encounter some trouble.

She was almost

pushed into the water by the Third Lady of your Xie family.

I am the witness.

The Fourth Lady saved my life underwater.

It is only right

for me to seek justice for her.

That's not true, Grandmother.

I...

I just missed my mother too much,

thinking of the past grievances.

I didn't mean to do it.

I just lost my mind for a moment.

Grandmother.

You fool.

How many times have I told you?

Don't make a fuss

over baseless rumors.

But you never listen!

Nanny Rong.

Yes, Old Madam.

Take the Third Lady away

and lock her in the ancestral hall.

Have her copy Buddhist scriptures

to reflect on her actions as a penalty.

Yes, Old Madam.

Third Lady,

please come with me.

Lord Yan,

there has been a lot of misunderstanding.

There is no grudge

between my Third Sister and me.

We just lost control of the aim

when we were playing around.

I'm the one to blame.

I didn't stand steady.

Such a trivial matter

shouldn't bother you.

Lord Yan.

Qingrong and Qingyuan

offended you today.

It was indeed improper.

It's truly my failure as a mother to discipline them.

I'd like

to apologize to you here, Your Lordship.

Please forgive us.

It doesn't matter.

I have no interest in the domestic affairs

of your Xie family.

Let's talk about something serious.

The Xie family's estate manager

is dead.

Lord Yan,

this is a weighty matter.

Please

move to the reception hall to discuss it in detail.

About tonight's murder case,

the Fourth Lady saw it with her own eyes.

The dead estate manager

was clutching your Second Young Master's sachet.

If I didn't keep Fourth Lady as a witness,

wouldn't it be a baseless slander

against your Second Young Master's reputation?

Fourth Lady.

It was dark, and my eyesight is poor.

I was also very scared.

I

really didn't see clearly.

Perhaps

there was a mistake.

Our Xie family has been blessed by His Majesty's grace

and stuck to our duties for years.

We would never dare to overstep our bounds.

Lord Yan, you should not

accuse anyone

of the grave crime of murder easily.

Of course,

I'm well aware of it.

Without evidence,

I definitely wouldn't cause trouble for no reason.

Nor would I

frame an innocent person randomly.

Right,

Fourth Lady?

Your Lordship,

my Second Brother is a kind person.

Old Madam is also compassionate.

In the face of disaster,

the Xie family still thought of how to relieve the people.

With such kind hearts,

how could they kill anyone?

There must be

some misunderstanding here.

Then how on earth

did this sachet end up in the deceased's hand?

Zhengjun is

too playful.

Usually,

visiting brothels

is a common thing for him.

In places of pleasure,

it's just common

to drop a sachet, right?

Is this Yunya tea?

It tastes really good.

It's even better than the tribute tea

in the capital.

You must be joking, Your Lordship.

Yunya tea

is nothing rare.

Tomorrow, I will

have someone send 2 baskets to your residence.

You may not know this, Old Madam.

I am

worried about raising grain every day.

Now that there is another murder case,

how can I be in the mood to taste tea?

The Xie family's warehouse

still has a little surplus grain.

If it can solve your urgent problem, Your Lordship,

it can be considered a meritorious deed.

Your Lordship, are you satisfied with the result

of today's chess game?

Fourth Lady, you're quick-witted

and meticulous about every move.

You are actually more suitable

for playing chess than I am.

Your Lordship,

you just falsely claimed

to have a sachet as evidence,

forcing my grandmother to give away the grain.

I didn't want to make an enemy of you,

so I played along with this lie.

Since you have already gotten what you wanted,

why are you still pushing so hard?

How do you know that

grain is all I want?

No matter what you want, Your Lordship,

I

only implore you to show mercy

and stop getting me involved in this.

You want to escape?

No way.

There is a good saying in the opera troupe—

once the music starts, the show must not stop until it's finished.

With such a brilliant show,

how could I bear to let you

leave early?

I wonder if you've heard

about 2 sentences

in the "Kṣitigarbha Sutra," Your Lordship.

"All living beings

not liberated

have unfixed natures and minds.

Doing good or evil

depends on their circumstances."

Your show may be brilliant, Your Lordship,

but the risk is also high.

If good circumstances turn bad,

and good people turn evil,

wouldn't the losses outweigh the gains for you?

Therefore,

Your Lordship, you still need to choose carefully

and decide cautiously.

Don't let

an insignificant character like me

ruin your carefully choreographed grand show.

By the way, Fourth Lady.

My cloak is priceless.

You must keep it well.

After all,

we have plenty of time ahead.

What he wants is not grain.

He has a hidden motive.

Could his target also be the Xie family?