Original subtitles

[Episode 34]

Grandfather.

Grandfather.

Grandfather...

Grand--

Don't leave me.

[Qing Shuang's Tablet]

[Ye Li's Tablet]

Silly child. Why are you lying here?

Grandfather.

The ground is cold.

You'll catch a chill.

Come. Get up.

Wild monkeys often roam the back of the mountain.

They're quite aggressive.

Don't come here again.

I'll stay at the academy with Grandfather.

I won't go anywhere else.

Keep going. Don't be afraid.

My Lady.

My Lady.

You scared me to death.

Why did you come here? Everyone has been looking for you.

The red beans we grew have ripened. I've harvested them all.

I'll cook them today, so everyone can taste red bean rice.

That's truly rare.

Master was generous for once. Then I'm having two bowls today.

- I want five bowls! - All right.

- Me too! - Let's eat red bean rice together.

- Let's go. - Okay.

- Together. - Okay.

[Headmaster Xu's Tablet]

Li.

The sun is out.

Your Highness.

Painter Feng, thank you for your hard work.

We're barely into winter and it's already snowing?

[Suixue Pass]

It's cold in the north. Put this on.

Brother.

Let's go.

I know what you're going to say.

I once had nowhere to go.

Until I met Ye Li.

I owe her two lives, and I have to repay her.

At first, I didn't know where I belonged.

It was nice to just stay with her.

But then I realized

this kind of life was wonderful.

Get up when the sun rises, clean the shop,

welcome customers, bargain with them,

eat and sleep with my brothers,

fight for the meat in the dishes, and share half a piece of nang.

Brother.

Can we really live like that?

I don't want anything else.

I'm not afraid of hardship or hard work.

I can carry goods all day and just be fine.

Besides, I don't eat much. I don't need a mansion.

Sorry that I got you into this.

You should leave.

Leave?

So Mo Jing Li can kill you?

I don't care.

Even if we have to die, why not give it a try?

Is it because of Su Zui Dier?

She killed so many innocent people just to get her revenge

and to take back what she lost.

I've heard those words a hundred times.

But, Brother that's what she wants!

If a life of luxury comes at such a price,

I'd rather not have it.

I'd rather die right now!

Brother...

I will take you away.

[Map of General's Mansion]

Your Highness, news has come from the Capital.

Marquis Muyang died in prison.

As expected.

I'm more surprised he lasted this long.

Qin Cang was exiled. Zhou Tian Yang escorted his father's coffin home.

What about Li? Is there any news?

Lady Ye has left Prince Ding's Mansion and returned to Li Mountain.

Returned to Li Mountain?

Why?

I do not know, Your Highness.

What about Prince Ding?

How did he react?

There were no reports of his unusual reaction.

The General's Mansion at Suixue Pass is indeed heavily guarded.

Without a detailed map, it'd be nearly impossible to infiltrate.

Painter Feng, you have worked hard all these years.

[General's Mansion]

[Pursue Knowledge with Diligence]

[Shape the World]

[Headmaster Xu's Tablet]

[Reverence Within, Reason Without]

[Langhan Hall]

[Shape the World]

[Li Mountain Academy]

You may leave.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, a report from Li Mountain.

Of the 47 teachers and students at Li Mountain Academy,

they were struck by a plague.

Neither medicine nor prayers prevailed. They are all dead.

Only Princess Ding survived the tragedy.

I was deeply shocked, so I reported it to Your Majesty at once.

Is the news confirmed?

Last night, Gongshu Yang's report was presented to the Empress Dowager.

At noon today, reports from the local governor and garrison also arrived.

After multiple verifications, 47 people at Li Mountain Academy are all dead,

except for Princess Ding.

Over 40 people are dead with only one survivor?

It is said in the third year after Li Mountain was sealed off,

a scholar in the mountain fell ill.

The disease was aggressive.

Dozens of scholars lived together, and soon they were all infected.

Wasn't the famous physician, Master Helai, also there?

Even the best physician needs medicine.

At that time, Li Mountain was out of supplies.

Food was already scarce. How could there be enough herbs?

What a noble Li Mountain Academy.

Even in a desperate situation, they maintained their integrity

and never opened the gates.

The scholars of Li Mountain Academy were loyal and righteous.

But they ended up like this.

What a tragedy.

Your Majesty.

Li Mountain Academy is the root of Great Chu's culture.

It has shaped scholars for generations.

Though sealed off for eight years, it remains the foundation of our culture.

Once the news spreads, the world will be shaken.

Think about it.

Those great scholars were trapped in Li Mountain

and died for their principles.

Scholars from all over will mourn them.

The common people will also pay their respects.

By then, grief will surge and public indignation will boil over.

A gentle push or a quiet nudge from behind the scenes,

and it will become an unstoppable force,

striking those who forced Li Mountain to close.

Public fury is like a river.

Rousing it is like unleashing a flood.

It's easy to stir, but hard to stop.

Besides, Li Mountain was closed for writing books.

Everyone knows why Li Mountain was sealed off.

Writing books was merely a pretext.

Now that Li Mountain has met this tragedy, the buried truth has finally come to light.

The people will remember why it was sealed off in the first place.

Headmaster Xu Qing Yun always upheld the Mo family's rightful rule.

His heart was with Your Majesty.

Therefore, no matter how turbulent the public sentiment is,

Your Majesty will never lose.

In the past six months,

Mother has been gradually handing state affairs back to me.

She even advises me on how to govern.

After Marquis Muyang's death, she's even missed morning court for days.

I suppose she no longer has ulterior motives.

Your Majesty, next year you'll come of age.

If the Empress Dowager still refuses to return power, it won't be too late to act.

That is true.

Your Majesty.

The people await your rule.

Yet you have waited year after year.

From boyhood to adulthood.

If the Empress Dowager is still unwilling next year,

will you wait until you are thirty?

By then, will such a chance remain?

But...

But I have only begun governing.

My foundation is weak.

If not for Mother's support...

Your Majesty, Great Chu is full of loyal and courageous men.

Civil officials fill the court.

Valiant generals stand ready.

The entire court stands with you. So do the people.

Who does not revere your great virtue?

Now that Your Majesty has inherited the throne.

Heaven has chosen you. The people support you.

Why fear others' influence?

And why rely on anyone else?

"This is not a natural disaster, but a man-made one.

It is not about plague, but a conspiracy.

The...

The Empress Dowager Guo abused the late Emperor's trust

to steal state power and make arbitrary decisions,

blocking the light of Heaven..."

Your Majesty, please calm your anger.

Who wrote this?

Your Majesty, this is an anonymous verse circulating among the people.

I do not know who wrote it.

These people are utterly lawless.

Forming private societies is a serious crime.

How dare they write verses slandering my mother?

Their intentions are malicious.

In my opinion, such rebellious individuals

should be jailed immediately and punished without mercy as a warning to others.

Please calm down, Your Majesties.

Li Mountain Academy is the foundation of our culture.

Its demise has shaken scholars and grieved the people.

Some scholars, in a moment of outrage, may have spoken or acted improperly.

Once this wave of grief passes, the people will calm down.

Li Mountain has suffered such a tragedy.

The court shares in this sorrow.

If they wish to pay their respects, let them go.

The court should not interfere, but should show empathy.

Order the Ministry of Rites to immediately dispatch capable envoys

with honors and condolences to Li Mountain.

Mourn the dead and comfort the living on behalf of the court.

Your Majesties, from the verses in circulation,

the core message is not about mourning.

They want the Empress Dowager to follow the will of Heaven and the people

and return power to the Emperor.

I make bold to suggest,

with the public sentiment surging,

why not ride the tide and return power to His Majesty?

How dare you!

I am still young and inexperienced and need Mother's guidance.

Your Majesty.

The physicians have warned several times that Her Majesty has lost her appetite...

That's enough.

Mother.

There is a villa in Fuchang County on the outskirts

with soothing hot springs and tranquil scenery.

It is ideal for recuperation.

Once this turmoil subsides,

I will personally lead the court to welcome you back.

Your Majesty's filial piety speaks for itself.

Please rest without worry, Your Majesty.

Once your health is restored,

you can witness Great Chu thrive under His Majesty's rule.

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Do all of you think so too?

For the sake of your health, Your Majesty,

we beg you to move to the palace to rest

and entrust state affairs to His Majesty.

- I concur. - I concur.

- I concur. - I concur.

- I concur. - I concur.

You're awake.

The morning breeze is chilly.

Why didn't you put on more clothes?

If you catch a cold, you'll suffer again.

It's not cold inside.

But the window is still open.

I'll close it if I feel cold.

Don't worry.

News has come from the palace.

The Empress Dowager is in poor health

and will move to the Imperial Villa in Fuchang County for recovery.

The Emperor also decreed that Li Mountain Academy be cleared of all charges

and its families compensated.

Is that so?

You expected as much?

This is...

My secret.

Your secret? And here it is, in plain sight?

Some things belong to the past.

While others...

There were originally four straw figures.

Lu Chang Fu.

The Ye family.

Marquis Muyang.

And the fourth one...

Who is it?

You've guessed it.

The Empress Dowager.

From the fire in the Eastern Palace to the late Emperor's decree,

and then the blockade of Li Mountain.

Every single one of these events paved her way.

For eight years,

Marquis Muyang framed the loyal, used brutal torture,

and controlled the court.

If she hadn't condoned it from the shadows,

how could he have been so rampant?

Marquis Muyang has been brought to justice.

Yet she remains the high and mighty Empress Dowager,

untouched and free of all blame.

Li.

I know what you're going to say.

No matter how much this grieves me, I won't act rashly.

The blood on her hands won't dry up with the passage of time.

The wails of those wronged souls will one day penetrate the palace walls.

Only a phoenix crown like this is worthy of you.

Crowned and robed in glory, mother of all under heaven.

A-Jin, you've finally achieved your wish.

Wan Zhou.

Wan Zhou, General Mo won't return to the Capital without a decree.

Find a way. We have to save him.

You told me to get the decree. You promised to save him.

A-Jin, you lied to me.

You ordered Marquis Muyang to burn the Eastern Palace,

stole the decree to frame Prince Ding's household, sealed off Li Mountain,

and killed everyone in your way.

This path of yours is stained with schemes and blood.

But now, everyone has left you.

Even your son abandoned you.

I didn't...

Why did you...?

Why?

Your Majesty, we beg you to move to the palace to rest

and entrust state affairs to His Majesty.

- I concur. - I concur.

- I concur. - I concur.

I, Guo Jin, was the most outstanding disciple of Li Mountain Academy.

I dreamed of being equal to any man, shaping the realm.

But I was forced into the struggles of the inner court, worn down day by day.

I refused to accept it.

If this world has no place for a woman's ambition,

I will rewrite its rules.

Have the loose ends been tied up?

Even if blood must flow like a river.

The position of Chief Minister of Dali Court...

It will belong to you, Minister Zhou.

The Empress Dowager has ordered

Li Mountain Academy to be sealed for the compilation of books.

From this day forward, the elite Imperial Guards will guard it.

Seal off every pass to Li Mountain.

The disciples abducted the imperial grandson.

Arrest them all!

How dare those few fools defy the inevitable

and obstruct the Empress Dowager's ascension?

They truly deserve to die.

Mother.

Do you know where Xu Wan Zhou is buried?

I heard she's buried in Zhengyi Temple.

Does Your Majesty want to visit?

[On the Next Episode]

Had I known finding a replacement was so hard, I would never have let Wei Zhuang go.

He's an official now with a bright future.

As for Tang Zi Xiao...

I'm afraid his motives aren't pure.

He was once convicted of theft.

Last December, he was just released from jail.

You seem to like him.

You're welcome to visit me every day.

But not if you're here to befriend shady figures.

Your Changsheng Shop is full of such people.

I overheard that the general of Suixue Pass was killed.

Second Uncle will replace him.