Original subtitles

Halt!

Identify yourself.

I am the wife of the Heir to the Marquis of Shunan.

Open the city gates!

What is the purpose of you leading your troops here

in the dead of night?

Forgive me, but I am in armor and bound by duty.

I cannot let you pass.

(Rong)

I am under secret orders from Noble Consort Rong

to mobilize the elite troops of the Marquis of Shunan into the palace.

If we miss the designated time,

can you bear the consequences?

Open the gates immediately!

I will consider this your first offense and deal with you leniently.

Deal with leniently?

Who do you think you are?

You...

You...

I am the Heir to the Marquis of Shunan,

Bu Shulin's twin sister.

Nonsense!

Since when did he have a twin sister?

Xiao Wenxi,

you are indeed somewhat clever.

You've been pretending to be educated, reasonable, and understanding.

I only found out after receiving a secret letter from the Crown Princess

that you had so many schemes and disguises.

I don't understand what you're talking about.

You lured the tiger from the mountain,

and used the token to deceive the Bu family's troops into serving you.

You intend to lead troops into the imperial city

to assist Noble Consort Rong in her coup.

If you dare to plot like this,

you should have asked if I would allow it first.

What are you waiting for?

Hurry and arrest this imposter!

Do it!

Seize her!

Take her away!

Move!

=Blossoms of Power=

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

=Episode 35=

Thank you to the Shunan Army for your full support.

You flatter us, Young Master Shen.

It is our duty.

I am under secret orders from Princess Yaoxi

to lead the Lanhai soldiers here.

The Princess has ordered

that we are entirely at your disposal, Young Master Shen.

The Crown Princess's safety hangs by a thread.

Thank you both for your full support.

I am deeply grateful.

Soldiers, hear my command!

- Yes! - Yes!

Follow me into the palace to protect His Majesty!

Anyone who stands in my way will be killed without mercy!

- Anyone who stands in my way - Anyone who stands in my way

- will be killed without mercy! - will be killed without mercy!

Charge!

- Charge! - Charge!

(Xuanming Gate)

- Charge! - Charge!

Changqing,

stop this.

You can't keep making mistakes.

Whatever I do

has nothing to do with you.

Get out of my way.

I won't.

Today,

I will absolutely not let you pass.

Xiao Changying,

get out of my way!

I won't!

I'm warning you for the last time.

Do not interfere in anything.

Changqing,

do you know?

In my heart,

you are more important than anything else in this world.

Others envy me for being born into the royal family

and being able to grow up so carefree.

But I know

it's because I have a strong older brother

who holds up the sky for me.

I once made two promises.

One was for Xihe.

Today,

I would rather die

than fail to keep her safe.

The second was for you.

In this life,

you and I are bound by blood.

I will never abandon you.

But now,

if you take one wrong step,

you will be doomed beyond redemption.

I don't want to see you end up like that.

Changqing,

let us bring this to an end

right here!

Changying!

Guards,

throw him in the dungeon.

- Yes! - Yes!

Changqing.

Changqing,

you can't go!

Changqing,

you can't go!

Xiao Changqing!

You can't!

Xiao Changqing!

Xiao Changqing!

Mother.

Qing,

are you all right?

What is the meaning of this, Prince Xin?

Do you really think

you still have a chance of winning?

Until the very last moment,

how can the winner be decided?

Hand over the edict.

In your dreams.

Do you really think

I would yield the throne to a child?

In today's battle,

I will not back down.

Fine.

Today, except for you,

everyone else will die here.

Guards!

Attack!

- Attack! - Attack!

Report!

Your Highness, the Shunan Army has entered the palace!

The Northwest Army and the Lanhai Army

have also broken in!

No.

Impossible.

You...

How did you send the message out?

(The Great Buddha Hall)

(Order)

(Prince Xin harbors treasonous intentions.)

(Quickly summon Shen Yun'an, Heir of the Duke of Wei, to the capital)

(to prepare for any contingencies.)

Besides His Majesty, who else is in the bedchamber?

To answer Your Highness,

the Directorate of Astronomy, the Chief Minister,

and several officials from the Ministry of Rites are present.

They all entered by imperial decree.

The Assistant Directorate of Astronomy and Vice Minister of Rites are waiting.

I happen to have some questions for the Vice Minister of Rites.

Before seeing His Majesty,

may I have a word with him?

Yes, Your Highness.

I, Wu Shan, Vice Minister of Rites,

greet Your Highness.

(Wu Shan, Vice Minister of Rites) May I ask why you

summoned me today?

I have a matter that requires you to brave danger alone.

This matter is of utmost importance.

Are you willing to lend me a hand?

You may not know,

but the Crown Prince previously instructed

that seeing the Crown Princess is like seeing the Crown Prince himself.

Back then,

if the Crown Prince hadn't overcome all objections

to appoint scholars from humble backgrounds,

I would never be where I am today.

Furthermore, we from humble families

all rely on His Highness's grace in promoting the underprivileged

and appointing only the virtuous.

Only then could our lifelong ambitions be realized.

A scholar dies for his confidant.

The task you entrust to me,

I will not decline even if it means my death.

Good.

My brother is waiting at Mount Ziyun in the suburbs of the capital.

Go there personally

and tell him to immediately contact Young Master Bu

and Consort Shu's personal guards

to enter the palace at once to protect the Emperor.

The city is heavily guarded inside and out right now.

The road ahead is extremely dangerous.

I'll leave this to you, Minister Wu.

I am familiar with the trails in the suburbs.

I will definitely not fail this mission.

Please rest assured, Your Highness.

You had already planned

to fight me to the death.

You could have

avoided coming to this.

Xihe!

Let's go.

Get down! Don't move!

The palace is under control!

None of the rebels will escape!

Good work, Yun'an!

- Greetings, Your Highness. - Greetings, Your Highness.

- We, the soldiers of the three armies, - We, the soldiers of the three armies,

- will follow Your Highness's orders! - will follow Your Highness's orders!

- We await your command! - We await your command!

- We will follow Your Highness's orders! - We will follow Your Highness's orders!

- We await your command! - We await your command!

Please rise, everyone.

- Yes, Your Highness! - Yes, Your Highness!

Rebels of the Rong family,

your cause is lost.

Putting up a stubborn resistance

will only lead to your deaths.

Considering that you

may have been coerced,

lay down your weapons immediately,

and your families' lives will be spared.

If you remain obstinate,

the Embroidered Envoy is here.

You will be killed without mercy.

We were all forced by Noble Consort Rong!

We surrender!

- We surrender! - We surrender!

Qing.

Qing, stop.

We have completely lost.

I beg you.

I beg you.

I beg you.

Mother.

I have failed you.

Qing!

Qing!

Qing!

Take him away.

(Qing)

I have something

to say to the Crown Princess alone.

What do you want to say?

I know your capabilities.

As long as you want to,

you can rule as the Empress Dowager.

But for a woman to rule the world,

this path

will be very difficult for you.

Now,

you have saved the officials from the sword.

From now on,

no matter what you want to do,

no one will dare to say a word against it.

Are you saying

that all of this,

from forcing me to marry you

to us crossing swords,

was done by you on purpose?

Between you and me,

we were destined to be incompatible.

Your biggest obstacle

was me, Xiao Changqing.

But now,

I am a treasonous rebel.

All your obstacles

will cease to exist.

I'll go get an imperial physician.

Don't.

In the last moments of my life,

I want to look at you.

I told you a long time ago

that I could face it myself.

Why did it have to come to this?

I know my own heart very well.

As long as I am alive,

I can't let you go.

I can't stop myself from getting close to you.

My existence,

and my obsession,

will eventually become your shackles.

Only if I die

can we both be free.

♪The stars are sinking like a sunken vow♪

♪You drifted away alone♪

♪Without a single word of goodbye♪

♪Leaving no room to turn back♪

I once promised

that I could give up everything for you,

and protect you with my life.

Last time,

I failed to do so.

But this time,

I finally didn't let you down.

♪Where water and sky whisper as one♪

♪Life and death are but a moment apart♪

♪Let fate scheme and pull the strings♪

♪Grudges will find their own end♪

♪The human heart is harder to read than any chessboard♪

♪I step onto this winding path♪

♪What was swept away?♪

Could you... Could you

grant a dying person

one last wish?

Please?

Answer me one question.

Tell me.

Are you Gu Qingzhi?

Are you?

♪You drifted away alone♪

♪Without a single word of goodbye♪

♪Leaving no room to turn back♪

♪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♪

The day I first met you,

it was raining like this, too.

♪All farewells are stranded in the middle of the night♪

That's nice.

That's nice.

♪Not enough to move heaven and earth♪

♪A lifetime feels too short♪

♪Watching the vast sea of flowers scattered like stars♪

♪While I stand on this shore, wrapped in memories♪

♪A hand I cannot touch♪

♪I hold it for a moment in the reflection♪

♪A hand I cannot touch♪

♪I hold it for a moment♪

♪In the reflection♪♪

(Chenning Hall)

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Just now,

the Crown Prince you single-handedly groomed

attempted to rebel.

Impossible.

Changqing

would never commit treason.

He has already been executed.

Anyone who dares to usurp the throne

will meet this end.

Your sons are leaving you one by one.

Does it break your heart?

Mother,

why did you do this?

Your Highness, you have been waiting for this moment,

haven't you?

Yes.

For this day,

I have waited for over twenty years.

And it's because of you

that I fell short at the last hurdle.

When did you

start suspecting me?

Gu Qingshu was just a helpless orphan.

Those risky schemes

must have had someone backing them.

The person of the highest status around her

was you.

More importantly,

the poisonous incense she hid in my golden lock

was made

by modifying a rare incense from the Western Regions.

The base of that incense formula

was the calming incense you frequently use.

It is unique in the palace.

Thinking about it carefully,

why would Gu Qingshu dare to instigate the Second Prince

to oppose the East Palace?

How did the Fourth Prince secretly enter the palace to assassinate?

How could he incite the Imperial Guard to rebel?

And the deaths of Consort Liang and the Second Prince.

Every single incident

is connected to you.

Mother,

why did you do this?

Because...

Because I am full of hate.

Did you know

that the Crown Prince always respected his grandmother?

In his heart,

besides His Majesty,

you were his closest family.

He never once suspected

that you would poison him.

The poison given to Huayong

was your doing?

Yes.

Who asked him to be

the Emperor's most favored son?

Back then,

you stood on the city wall

and refused to send reinforcements,

watching helplessly as Prince Qian,

my own biological son,

fought a lone battle

and died on the battlefield.

It's been twenty years.

Not a day goes by that I don't think of him.

I also know Huayong is innocent.

I couldn't bear it either.

But whenever I think of my son who died unjustly,

my heart breaks.

Mother...

Huayong is not my flesh and blood.

He is Juewei's own flesh and blood.

He is your own grandson.

Before Prince Qian died for his country,

he entrusted me with this.

Tomorrow, the enemy's main force will attack.

I will lead the troops out of the city.

You will defend the city.

Remember our agreement.

One signal means come to my aid.

Two signals

mean defend to the death.

This is a military order.

I will not fail you.

It's the signal.

It's my brother's signal.

Gather the troops and open the gates!

Ride to Prince Qian's aid!

- Wait! - Yes!

Hurry!

Hold on.

Two signals.

How could it be two signals?

Pass on my order.

All soldiers

defend the city to the death!

What are you saying?

- Duke Ying! - Duke Ying!

Don't be impulsive.

Prince Qian is surrounded right now!

Are we just going to leave him to die?

Archers, nock your arrows!

The city gates

must never be opened!

Are you going to watch Prince Qian

die on the battlefield with your own eyes?

He is your brother!

Your brother!

This is a life-and-death pact between my brother and me.

Anyone who opens the gates without authorization

will be executed without mercy!

Juewei.

Juewei.

Juewei.

Juechong.

Yunzhou City

is the strategic chokepoint of the northwest.

You must hold it.

You must never let the people fall into misery.

But you are the future Crown Prince.

You need to return to the imperial capital.

You cannot die here.

Trading my life

for a shred of the people's trust in the court

and a shred of hope for the future.

If I die here,

it will be a worthy death.

Juewei, you have the people in your heart.

But I

only have you in my heart.

When I was young,

in the palace,

I was an insignificant person.

Only you

noticed the emptiness in my heart,

and gave me dignity.

All that I could do for you

was just provide you with material things

and keep up your appearances

just like me.

But this one time,

I don't want you

to be like me.

No.

No, Juewei.

Live on well.

No.

Juewei, you have to hold on.

You have to hold on!

My wife

is about to give birth.

Take good care

of her and the child.

Juewei.

Juewei.

Juewei.

Juewei!

I...

I deserve to die a thousand deaths.

Sister-in-law...

What happened to her?

The Princess Consort

heard of Prince Qian's passing

and was overcome with grief.

It affected her pregnancy.

The bleeding wouldn't stop.

Just now,

she passed away.

Sister-in-law,

I am useless.

I couldn't bring my brother back.

Your Highness.

Your Highness.

The little imperial grandson has been born.

Should we send a message immediately

to inform the Empress?

Princess Consort Qian has passed away.

The unborn child could not be saved.

Both mother and child

have perished.

But Your Highness,

- the imperial grandson is clearly... - I said,

both mother and child have perished.

Your Highness.

Guards.

Here, Your Highness.

These people in the room

disrespected the Princess Consort's remains

and harbored malicious intent.

Dispose of them cleanly.

Leave no trace.

Understood.

- Your Highness! - Spare us, Your Highness!

From now on,

you are my child.

- Long live, Your Majesty. - Long live, Your Majesty.

Official Zhao brought a package from outside the palace.

He insisted it be handed to you in person.

I'm really curious.

What kind of person was my father?

Your father,

in my heart,

was a perfect man.

♪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)