Original subtitles

The fish soup just came off the stove.

Young Master, give it a try.

The Crown Princess knows it's your favorite,

so she specially had this dish prepared for you.

Thank you, Xihe.

Why is it so fishy?

It isn't fishy.

I tasted it just now.

It was fresh and delicious.

You may all leave.

Go bring Mo Yu.

There's no need to examine me.

It's probably just the rainy weather upsetting my stomach.

It's nothing serious.

Tell the truth.

It's a pregnancy pulse.

How could that be...

Absolutely not.

You may all leave.

Since when?

Not long ago, at the restaurant.

We both got drunk.

Do you have feelings for Cui Jinbai?

No.

It was just an accident.

You were right.

I don't know when I fell in love with him.

Then do you plan to tell Cui Jinbai?

We were never meant to be together.

So, Xihe,

not only must I keep this from him,

but you must also pretend you never learned about this.

I don't want to drag you into this.

A child takes

ten full months to carry.

From now on, every single day,

you'll live in constant fear.

No one can guarantee

that both you and the baby will be safe.

I know.

I'll return to Shunan and secretly give birth there.

That works.

Then let Shen Shijiu

stay in the imperial capital in your place.

If anything happens,

I'll handle it.

=Blossoms of Power=

(Adapted from the novel, After My Bloom, All Flowers Wither by Jin Huang)

=Episode 26=

Mo Yuan.

Escort Young Master Bu back.

Yes, Your Highness.

What's wrong with Young Master Bu?

He looks so down.

It's nothing.

At court today,

Cui Jinbai seemed distracted as well.

His mind kept wandering.

He's usually diligent

and decisive.

He rarely loses his composure like this.

So I suspect

something significant must have happened

between him and Young Master Bu.

Then what does Your Highness think

could have happened?

Could it be

that Young Master Bu

is with child

and has nowhere else to turn?

Don't worry, my lady.

Your friend

is my friend, too.

I never expected

you'd ask me to come.

You still wanted to see me?

What did you want to tell me?

I've decided to marry.

The Empress Dowager intends to arrange a marriage for me.

I'll find a lady who won't expose my identity and marry her.

Stone Cui,

I truly have feelings for you.

But in this lifetime,

I can only be the Young Master to the Marquis of Shunan.

I'm telling you how I feel

because I want you to know my decision.

From now on,

don't waste any more time on me.

Let's end this once and for all.

It will be the best outcome for both of us.

Now that I know how you feel,

if I can't spend my life with you,

I'd rather grow old alone

than be with someone else.

Very well.

As you wish.

This cup of tea

is to sever all ties between us.

♪Time is like a river flowing backward♪

♪The story is sketched anew♪

♪The moonlight is sewn together by the dusk♪

♪The tide engulfs the lines on my palm♪

♪Pushing me to converge with you♪

♪Sifting for joy in a sea of sorrow♪

♪I step onto this winding path♪

♪What was swept away?♪

♪Joy and sorrow show no emotion♪

♪The clouds twist into a vortex♪

♪Reaching out to touch you♪

♪Only to find it's just a bubble♪

♪I can only stay there forever♪

♪In the coming years, I'll always remember that year, my graceful lover♪

♪Love hangs on the crest of the waves♪

♪Waiting for regret to swallow me up♪

You need to get more rest now.

You're with child.

Sit down.

I'm fine.

I told you there was no need to see me off,

yet you insisted on coming out of the city.

I blended all these incenses for you.

Some repel snakes and insects, others keep wild beasts away.

And these

are medicinal powders for emergencies,

just in case.

Xihe,

there's something

I've kept to myself all this time.

Today,

I want a straight answer.

Go ahead and ask.

Hesitating doesn't suit you.

Back then,

you had Shen Shijiu imitate me

because one day

you intended for him to take my place, didn't you?

I did consider it.

As long as I died,

Shen Shijiu could take my token and pass himself off as me,

becoming the Young Master to the Marquis of Shunan.

Then you would have control of the Shunan army.

Becoming a mother

really has made you wiser.

Court politics

are all about fighting over military power.

That's how it should seem.

Then why didn't you do it?

Because you're my closest friend.

I want the Duke of Wei's Manor to stand as firm as a fortress,

but not

at the cost of my closest friend's life.

Since I was nine,

when I came to the imperial capital as a hostage,

I've been surrounded by enemies,

alone and constantly on guard.

I never dared hope or expect

to have a true friend.

Xihe,

for the friendship you've given me,

all I can offer is my deepest gratitude.

I'll never forget it.

By the way...

Open it.

It's beautiful.

Xihe,

would you give it to me?

No.

If I gave it to you,

you'd be tempted to sneak it on.

One careless mistake

would be a capital offense for deceiving the Emperor.

I was thinking

that on your journey,

you might run into someone who recognizes you in your male disguise.

You'll be safer traveling in ladies' clothing.

You've always thought of everything for me.

When we first formed our alliance,

you promised me 3,000 elite soldiers.

And now those 3,000 elite soldiers

have been exchanged for a dress.

Looking at it that way,

I'd say I came out ahead.

After your child is born,

don't think you can simply settle for a life in the household.

What do you mean?

I know what you aspire to.

One day,

I'll see you clad in armor and raise

the crimson banner as a lady,

becoming the first female military marquis

to ride into battle in the past 300 years of this dynasty.

I'll have the court historians

rewrite the pages of history for you

and engrave your name upon the general's seal.

Take care of yourself.

Your Highness summoned me to the palace so late at night.

Has something urgent happened?

Jinbai,

there's something I must tell you.

Young Master Bu is on her way to Shunan

via Minzhou.

Shen Shijiu has remained at the Marquis of Shunan's Residence in her place.

This is a pass to leave the city.

The imperial capital or Shunan,

I'll let you choose.

My lord, something important has come up.

Although I saw it with my own eyes last time,

that Bu Shulin was a man,

I still felt something was off.

So I had people keep watch on the servants

going in and out of the Marquis of Shunan's Residence.

Did you discover something, my lady?

Atractylodes,

peony,

and scutellaria.

What they were buying

was a prescription to protect a pregnancy.

Bu Shulin really is a lady.

At the birthday banquet,

she used a stand-in.

Your Highness,

we've learned that Bu Shulin suddenly left the city

and headed toward Minzhou.

Now everything makes sense.

The answer lies in this prescription.

She's carrying a child,

which is why she couldn't remain in the imperial capital any longer.

Dispatch our most elite men

at once to capture Bu Shulin.

Yes, Your Highness.

(Yanbo Pier)

Miss,

our boat will arrive in two hours.

(Yanbo Pier)

I'm sorry I'm late.

Does it hurt?

Not really.

They're only superficial wounds.

I know I'm quite beautiful,

but surely I'm not worth staring at for this long.

That's enough.

All the countless times I imagined

this moment couldn't compare to even a fraction

of seeing you today.

Now that the bandits have been eliminated,

I'll set off as soon as the boat arrives.

Once I enter Shunan,

someone will be there to meet me.

Vice Minister Cui,

you should go back.

I can't.

I'm going with you.

As one of the Emperor's closest officials, your promising future

will be gone

from this day on.

Do you have no regrets?

I know in my heart

that you're more important than any of that.

I'll always remember

your feelings for me.

But the price you're paying is simply too great.

You should go back.

Just pretend you never saw me.

The road to Shunan

is one I want to walk alone.

Even if you refuse to marry me,

I'll stay by the side of the person who means the most to me

and never leave.

My heart

will never waver.

I spend money recklessly,

drink, gamble, and fool around all day.

I've long been used to living without restraint.

I've never been the settling-down type.

Do whatever you want.

- If you're happy... - I don't even know

how to be a proper young lady,

let alone a virtuous wife and mother.

I can take care of the household and raise our children.

I command thousands of soldiers.

Once I'm away on campaign,

I may not return home for months at a time.

You'll be left home alone.

I'll go with you...

Cui Jinbai,

have you ever thought

that even if we become husband and wife,

before the world, I can only be a man?

With me,

you can always be yourself.

Bu Shulin,

I'm in love with you.

Let me go with you.

Will you?

You're lying on our baby.

Since you're such a learned scholar,

why don't you

give our child a name?

(East Palace)

I've completely rooted out Changmin's forces.

There'll be no one left

to threaten their lives.

Cui Jinbai went to Minzhou under the pretext of investigating a case.

He'll probably

be gone for about six months.

He'll stay with Bu Shulin until the baby is born.

Cui Jinbai has been the officer you've groomed for years.

Given enough time,

he was destined to rise to the highest office.

Can you really bear to let him retire to the countryside?

The old me

certainly couldn't.

But for some reason,

this time,

I'd rather help them find their happiness.

I've gone to such great lengths for you.

Won't you reward me?

I remember my promise.

Everything I've done

has been of my own free will.

Even if my feelings are never returned,

I won't resent you.

I'll just be quietly

sad for a little while.

There you go again.

You've worked hard.

Thank you for protecting Lin

and bringing these two lovers together.

Whatever Youyou wishes for

is all I could ever ask.

You're smiling more and more these days.

What could be more precious than that?

For as long as I live,

I'm always at your service.

Bu Shulin's affair

was supposed to be foolproof.

Prince Ning has proven utterly useless.

Please don't blame me.

Prince Ning has completely alienated the East Palace.

He's a spent force now.

But I'm willing to give everything for you.

I'll do whatever you ask.

This is the poison from the foreign merchant?

I know what to do.

What are you doing here?

Someone from the palace came to inquire

why Second Prince hasn't attended court for days

or gone to the Censorate.

Has something happened?

You aren't receiving visitors.

So I took the liberty of deciding for you.

I told them you were ill

and needed a few days' rest.

Very well.

I understand.

It's only noon.

Yet you are already drinking and making merry.

This is beneath your dignity.

Please dismiss the foreign dancer.

Once you've sobered up,

we can discuss this at length.

Discuss this at length?

What future do I have left?

No wonder you're no match for them.

What did you say?

I said,

victory and defeat are the fortunes of war.

After a single defeat,

you've become nothing but a beaten cur,

drifting through your days in a drunken haze.

Had I known Prince Ning was so weak and incompetent,

so unfit for great things,

I never should have married you.

Your ability doesn't match your ambition.

It will only bring disaster upon you.

Have you lost your mind?

How dare you insult His Highness with such insolence!

If you want to become a lowly courtesan passed from man to man,

then go ahead and say one more word.

I'll kill you!

Have you had enough?

Consumed by jealousy and spite.

Your words are utterly disgraceful.

Have you no regard for royal dignity?

Lin returned safely to Shunan.

Prince Ning's elite force has been lost.

Every plan he laid

ended in complete defeat.

At any rate,

we can't count on him anymore.

That's why Gu Qingshu

decided to get out while she still could.

Even a vicious tiger won't kill its own cubs.

Few men could bring themselves

to harm the child in their womb.

You're here.

Your Highness.

Too much liquor is bad for you.

This is the hangover soup

I prepared for you myself.

That day, I was blinded by anger.

I never imagined

it would kill our child.

You abandoned this child long ago.

And me.

Why would you say such a thing?

As husband and wife, we are of one heart.

You mean more to me than anyone else.

I believe you.

No one has ever truly cared about me.

Everyone says

I was never meant to be Emperor.

I've worked harder than anyone else.

So why has everything

turned against me?

I couldn't even

protect our child.

Qingshu.

Qingshu.

You're ruthless.

That encounter at Ningchun Garden,

and Hu Yingrao's death,

were both your doing, weren't they?

Your Highness.

All my life,

what I've hated most is being looked down on

and abandoned.

I thought

I'd hate you to the core.

But your ruthlessness,

your determination to stop at nothing,

has left me with no choice but to admire you.

What right do I have to hate you?

I even hope

you'll carry on in my place.

Once I'm dead,

you'll be able to give the one behind you

an answer.

I've cared about my dignity all my life.

Since I can't fulfill my own ambitions,

I'd rather

help my wife fulfill hers.

The law

is upheld alike by the Son of Heaven and all his people.

(Imperial Code Commentary) From the Three Excellencies

and Nine Ministers above

to the common people below,

all must

stand in awe of the law.

Only by governing with both virtue and punishment

can order prevail.

Only when rites and law are in harmony

can lasting peace endure.

Your Highness, what are you doing here?

You wouldn't let me come with you,

yet you had Changqing protect you all the way.

I just...

Prince Xin!

Some people are always so stubborn,

so distracted.

I have plenty of time.

But you, Crown Prince,

your days are numbered.

♪I've hidden so many words♪

♪Too reluctant to tell you♪

♪So never uncover♪

♪The sand that slips away with one grasp♪

♪The flower that withers after one bloom♪

♪Silently buried deep inside my heart♪

♪Every answer I gave♪

♪Was both bittersweet and absurd♪

♪Hiding my tear-filled eyes when I hurt you♪

♪How hard it truly was?♪

♪The wounds that healed with just a little comfort♪

♪The lies made whole with a single embrace♪

♪Pretending to be brave as if I'd never been hurt♪

♪It's a shame I never could♪

♪Give you a moon in return♪

♪With the same open heart you loved me♪

♪I've crossed the wasteland of memories♪

♪Never knowing I was lost♪

♪Why don't you take me away?♪

♪Lead me out of this endless game of hide-and-seek♪

♪You'll never♪

♪Know how much I long to, long to♪

(No animals were harmed in the making of this film)