Original subtitles

You have worries? Is His Majesty unwell?

Sometimes feeling depressed is more worrying than physical illness.

I understand that His Majesty is already attending to the administration.

That should be a good start.

It's just a formality.

His Majesty can't express his views on the administration.

Take the declaration of war against the foreigners for example.

His Majesty objected strongly. Unfortunately

Empress Dowager insisted on going ahead.

So His Majesty has been really upset ever since he got back to Yingtai.

Everything's difficult in the beginning.

I hope His Majesty won't give up so easily.

Unfortunately Empress Dowager is still biased against him.

It's almost impossible for His Majesty to get Empress Dowager's approval.

I've had a question I've been wanting to ask

But I'm worried you'll think I'm nosy if I speak my mind.

Please go ahead.

I wonder why His Majesty doesn't seem to like the Queen much.

He had wanted to make me the queen. But the Queen is Empress Dowager's niece.

In the end Empress Dowager nominated her the Queen.

No wonder His Majesty loathes the Queen.

Has it occurred to you that His Majesty is biased against the Queen too?

I want to help improve their relationship too

so The Queen will say good thing about His Majesty in front of Empress Dowager.

Unfortunately, it's not that easy.

I have an idea.

I can't believe the Queen can dance so well.

I know she practiced all day so she could perform for you.

She's really so good to you.

Consort Zhen, you're good to me too.

Consort Jin, are you OK?

Your Highness, are you OK?

It really hurts.

You're really good at playing tricks.

Now the Queen has made a fool of herself in front of His Majesty.

She even hates me now. She thinks I'm her enemy.

You've got it wrong.

I just wanted to improve the relationship between the three of you.

I didn't expect an accident to happen.

You knew I'm not a good dancer. You still asked me to dance with the Queen.

Isn't that an ulterior motive?

You look so pitiful. No wonder His Majesty's mesmerized by you.

You want to help improve my relationship with His Majesty?

I don't need alms from you.

His Majesty wanted to be with me first.

But you stole my chance. Otherwise how would he be with you?

Do you expect me to thank you for that?

So you're still upset by what happened back then.

Of course I am.

His Majesty had summoned me to sleep with him. But I suddenly got sick.

So he slept with you instead.

Looking back, maybe you played some tricks back then

so I lost the chance to sleep with His Majesty.

You've got me wrong. I'm innocent.

We're biological sisters. Why would I do that?

We're biological sisters and we share the last name Tatara.

That's why every time you cross Empress Dowager, she gets mad at me too.

I got demoted to the status of noble lady time and again with you. Why?

I play my role properly.

But I have to get punished with you every time you do something wrong.

Yet when you get His Majesty's favor, I'm neglected.

If I had known, I wouldn't have saved you

when you fell into the well when you were a kid.

I should have let you die in the well.

Granny Wong, Granny Luk, it's good to see you two.

I've made some poria cakes.

They have better beautifying effects than the ones last time.

Why don't you try some?

Sure...

Yummy?

Very.

Too bad Granny Chan's dead.

She loved my poria cakes when she was alive.

She paid so much attention to nourishment and health.

I can't believe her life was so short.

No wonder she looked so young.

She was always secretly taking White Phoenix pills.

Otherwise how would she have such nice complexion?

White Phoenix pills are very expensive. Was her pay very high?

She was well-connected in the palace.

She had her ways to get the medicine she wanted.

Dr Kwan treated Granny Chan every time she got sick.

He even did the autopsy for her. This is too much of a coincidence.

My examination shows no apparent wounds on her body.

There's no trace of toxins either.

It's very likely that she died of an accident or a stroke.

Brother To.

Brother Yam, I have a question.

When the grannies and maids get sick in the palace

and need to see an imperial doctor,

are they treated by a designated doctor like the Queen and the other consorts?

Of course not. It depends on who's on duty.

They'll be treated by the duty doctor.

Did Kwan Pak-chuen come in today?

What a coincidence! I ran into him just now.

He said something had happened at home. So he had to leave early.

When did he leave?

Just now. He left with Dr Fuk.

What? Kwan Pak-chuen and Fuk Ling? This is bad.

Dr Kwan, your home is so far away.

It must be tough to travel to work at the Imperial Hospital.

Honestly, this is my first time coming here

What do you mean?

What do you mean?

You've been asking around about Granny Chan. What are you up to?

Are you the guy she talked about?

She didn't keep her promise. She told you everything.

You didn't have to kill her.

You could have paid her and asked her to shut up. Why kill her?

She was so greedy. I didn't have a choice. She had herself to blame.

You don't need to be so fierce. We're friends.

What do you mean friends?

Wind blowing in garden. So cold that butterflies won't come.

You understand, right?

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

Wind blowing in garden. So cold that butterflies won't come.

You still don't get it?

Enough. We work for money.

How much do you want to keep your mouth shut? Name me a price.

How much?

It's not that I'm afraid of you.

I just don't want to stop reselling medicinal herbs from the Imperial Hospital

Don't be greedy like that dead woman.

Reselling the Imperial Hospital's medicinal herbs?

You killed Granny Chan because she knew you did that?

It seems like you won't let it go.

Hey, we can talk about this. Put away your knife.

Kwan Pak-chuen.

I'm going to kill you.

Why are you yelling so loudly? I'm being so gentle.

Pak-hop will find out when you go home.

And to think you said you didn't want her to worry.

You're rubbing so hard. Are you doing that on purpose?

If you can't endure the pain, you shouldn't have played hero to save me.

So he played hero to save her.

I shouldn't have helped you. You fight so well.

I should have let Kwan Pak-chuen stab you with his knife.

You don't think I deserve my reputation?

We exposed that crook's crime and nailed him

You get credit for this too.

Why are you so quiet?

Could you not get so close to me?

What? Are you shy? Just pretend I'm a man.

But you're a woman. How can I pretend you're a man?

I won't think of you as a man then.

I'm a man. How can you...? I need to pee. Where's the bathroom?

At the back... He's shy.

Ling, why did you need Dr To to risk his life to save you?

Mom, focus on the main point.

You should ask why Dr To was willing to risk his life to save Ling.

I saved him. He didn't save me.

You can fight so well.

It's not surprising for you to save someone.

But Dr To is such a gentle person. He can't fight at all.

But he was willing to risk his life for you. He's really selfless.

Is he still fond of you, his so-called concubine?

Aunt Chu, what do you mean so-called concubine? Don't talk nonsense.

There's nothing between To Chung and me.

Not today, not tomorrow, not in the future.

Don't talk nonsense or people will gossip.

You shouldn't be so sure.

You don't need to keep me company while I wait for a rickshaw.

It's OK. You're a guest. Your neck's hurt. You can't look around.

Actually Aunt Chu was joking just now. You don't mind, do you?

Why would I mind? I know she's kidding.

Right. They know we're just ordinary friends.

Ordinary friends?

Aren't we?

How are we ordinary friends?

At most we're just colleagues at the Imperial Hospital.

Colleagues?

Here comes a rickshaw.

Thank you for the massage just now.

Of course. We're colleagues, right? Next time you'll have to pay.

Sure.

See you.

See you. North Main Gate please.

Wai-Shan, have some sesame cakes.

Wai-Shan, you cracked a case for the government. You should be happy.

Why do you look so down?

I'm fine.

I think you're really amazing.

You exposed the murder committed by that imperial doctor.

I don't need to work at the Imperial Hospital today.

I'll go sunbathing with you later.

Great.

Dr To, Mrs. To, Miss Ling has come.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Miss Ling, you came so early today?

I have to go to the palace earlier today.

So I'm here earlier to steam your legs for you.

Now?

Yes.

Oh, I forgot that I had promised Dr Yam

I'd study some old cases with him at the Imperial Hospital today.

I can't keep you company, Pak-hop.

You have to leave now?

Yes. I need to go now.

I'll go inside and pack my stuff. You two carry on chatting.

Why was he in such a hurry?

Deputy, I heard this morning that Kwan Pak-chuen was arrested

for reselling medicinal herbs from the Imperial Hospital.

He's remanded in the Judiciary's cell now. Is that true?

He was so stupid to kill that granny in order to shut her up.

In the end To Chung got suspicious. He asked for this.

Oh, no. Will he get us into trouble?

Don't worry. We just need to be careful.

Don't be reckless like that Kwan Pak-chuen.

Then there won't be any problem.

But that To Chung's so nosy.

If we don't get rid of him now, he'll ruin our plan sooner or later.

To Chung, do you know

you've put everyone in the Imperial Hospital to shame by doing this?

Kwan Pak-chuen killed Granny Chan because of their personal conflicts.

He resold medicine from the Imperial Hospital.

That's our internal affair.

You should report this to the Imperial Hospital first

so that we could figure out a solution internally.

You shouldn't expose this and make us look bad.

Don't you understand?

Now the government knows about this.

The Imperial Hospital's reputation is tainted.

You handled this matter recklessly.

Forgive me for being dumb.

Kwan Pak-chuen resold the Imperial Hospital's medicine.

He killed Granny Chan to shut her up.

He's the one who put the Imperial Hospital to shame.

I just discharged my duty and nailed the culprit.

Commissioner, what have I done wrong?

To Chung, you're not remorseful at all.

You're even talking back to the Commissioner? You're so arrogant.

Why is everyone here?

Princess Wojia.

At ease. What was going just now?

Did Dr To do something wrong so he was being lectured by the Commissioner?

No, I was just trying to clarify some minor problems with Dr To.

Why are you here, Princess Wojia?

I came here to read you guys Empress Dowager's verbal decree.

We're listening respectfully.

Empress Dowager says Princess Wojia is kind and clever.

She will join the Imperial Hospital and learn medicine from Imperial Doctor To.

Hope she will excel academically and heal all patients.

I will comply with the order dutifully.

Dr To, from today, I am your student.

You want to study medicine.

You must first read different books. Then you can learn clinical diagnosis.

Are you serious? There are so many books. It'll take a long time to read them all.

You have plenty of time to read them.

I have something else to do. You can take your time to read.

Dr To, you heard Empress Dowager's verbal decree just now.

She said I'm clever. Let's skip this step of reading books.

I'll just go treat patients with you.

More haste, less speed.

Medicine is about saving lives. You need to do that step by step.

You must read all the books here.

If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask Dr Yam. Goodbye.

There are so many words in all the medial books.

Even reading one page is so boring.

All these books were written painstakingly by our predecessors.

They're really invaluable. I enjoy reading them so much.

I don't believe you've read all the books here, Yam Sik-kang.

I have. I can even recite them.

Let me test you then.

What's Huangdi's Canon of Internal Medicine about?

The book records

Emperor Xuanyuan's discussion with his

officials about the way to practice medicine

It includes yin-yang, conditions of internal organs,

channels and ways of treatment.

What's the Synopsis of Prescriptions about then?

That's written by Zhang Zhongjing from the Eastern Han Dynasty.

There are 25 chapters.

It lists almost 60 kinds of illnesses.

That's so simple. I could have told you that too.

You have to talk about the specifics so I can determine whether you're exaggerating.

OK. Please have a seat. Let me tell you everything then.

OK.

Synopsis of Prescription mainly talks about the techniques in internal medicine.

Its contents include Behcet disease, yin and yang intoxication,

pulmonary disorder, gas rushing, hernia, diabetes, jaundice...

This snuffbox is the work of Ma Shaoxuan, the Beijing school master. It's unique.

It looks nice. Name me a price, Dr Fuk. I'll buy it.

If you like it, Cui Gong-gong, just take it.

Our friendship can't be measured with money.

I've done nothing to earn this.

I'll be honest with you.

Ever since I started doing foot massage for the consorts,

my skills have been highly recommended.

Chuen Yan Clinic's business has improved a lot.

No wonder you're so generous to give me this snuffbox.

So I was thinking that if I could teach

the other eunuchs in the palace how to do foot massage,

Chuen Yan Clinic's business will be even better.

Since Kot Kan is my sworn younger brother,

I will help you.

Thank you, Cui Gong-gong.

Cure the patient by dealing with the cause of illness.

Yang is heaven and yin is earth... Brother To

Brother Yam, this morning I asked you to supervise the princess while she reads.

Why are you giving her a lecture instead?

She didn't believe I could recite the medical textbooks.

So I'm proving it to her.

How can you be sure she's really listening to you?

She's so focused on listening to my lecture. She hasn't talked at all.

Her not talking may be because of other reasons.

The princess has fallen asleep? Am I really such a bore?

Yam Sik-kang...

Dr To, when did you come back? I'll read the books.

I remember the last two phrases in Empress Dowager's verbal decree.

She wanted you to excel academically and heal all the patients.

She didn't ask you to sleep during a lecture

I was paying attention at first.

But Yam Sik-kang was so boring. So I fell asleep.

Since you're so clever,

I believe there are other things you could learn.

Why learn something so boring?

But I want to study...

What's so boring? So Princess Wojia's here? Your Highness.

At ease.

Why have you come here again?

I'm running a class later

to teach the eunuchs in the palace how to do foot massage.

But I can't teach so many people on my own. So I need your help.

This morning Empress Dowager gave her verbal order.

Princess Wojia will study medicine under me in the imperial Hospital.

I don't think I can squeeze any time for you.

You mean you'll teach me?

You're so eager to learn. Of course I'll teach you.

Come on. Read this book.

OK. I will work hard.

See? I really can't help you.

If you don't mind, you can ask Brother Yam to help.

I'm sure he can give you a hand.

But I don't know how to do foot massage.

Dr Yam, you're so clever. You'll pick it up easily. Come with me.

Dr To, we were just informed that

Officer Rong Lu's daughter Miss Youlan is sick.

The Commissioner wants you to go treat her now.

What's her illness?

I don't know.

If you want to know what happened, you can come with me.

Wow.

Miss Youlan, please allow me to check your pulse.

How is she, Dr To? Are you done?

What's the matter with Youlan? What happened to her face?

The red dots on your face, do they sting or itch?

Neither.

Have you eaten anything special lately?

Just the usual food. There's nothing extraordinary.

Dr To, my daughter seldom falls sick. What's wrong with her? Is it serious?

According to her pulse, her condition isn't serious. But...

But what?

Princess Wojia, you stay here to keep Miss Youlan company.

Officer Rong, let's talk outside.

Dr To, how's my daughter? You can be candid with me.

Just now I realized that the rash on her face is spreading.

If she doesn't get treated now, it will get worse.

I'm afraid it'll fester.

Oh, no. What if the rash on your face ulcerates?

How can you marry anyone then?

Now what? I don't want that to happen.

Think hard then. Have you eaten anything different recently?

Otherwise I'm afraid even Dr To won't be able to cure you.

I heard Prince Chun say at Deling's birthday that

Consort Xiang's body was fragrant because she ate petals every day.

So I tried that too.

But I got rashes all over my face after eating the petals.

You heard Prince Chun say

one would smell nice after eating flower petals.

So you ate them immediately. You're naughty.

But I make tea with rose petals too. I'm fine when I drink the tea.

Common flower petals are innocuous to human health.

Some people use them to cook. Some even use them for medicine.

But some people are allergic to pollen.

There are different symptoms like coughing,

shortness of breath or breaking out in rashes on the face.

I get it. There's pollen on the petals. Youlan inadvertently ate it.

So she got rashes on her face. Oh, no.

If Miss Youlan has told us everything, then that's the cause.

I'm not withholding anything. I only ate the petals.

Don't worry. Dr To will cure you.

Very soon your face will be really beautiful again.

Sir, we know the cause now. I'll prescribe the appropriate medicine.

The rash will subside in a couple of days.

These past couple of nights, I dreamt of the spirit of my baby

wandering alone in the Northern Three Places.

Every time I tried to touch it, our gap grew bigger and bigger.

I couldn't even touch my baby's hand.

Your Highness, the heart controls the mind. Depression will make you fall sick.

For the sake of your health, you shouldn't worry so much.

I've had this dream since I moved back to Yingtai.

I can see His Majesty all the time now.

But I can't go back to the Northern Three Places

to pay respects to my baby.

He must be so lonely in the hereafter. That's why he appeared in my dreams.

You may not be able to leave Yingtai,

but you can tell me how to help you since I can go anywhere in the palace

Really?

Yes.

I don't know whether you're a boy or a girl.

But your mom told us to come pay respects to you.

She really misses you very much. But she can't come here.

So she told us to come. Don't be mad at her.

Actually you could have come alone to pay respects to the baby.

My presence is immaterial.

Consort Zhen was worried that the spirit of her baby might fall sick too.

So she asked you to come with me since you're an imperial doctor.

Maybe that makes her feel better. She told you to come. I can't help it.

I don't know if you're lying.

Hey, are you really afraid to see me?

I didn't say that.

Someone's been acting funny when he sees me lately.

He leaves in a hurry every time. You used to talk loudly to me.

I talked loudly because...

I didn't kill you. I played no part in that.

I'm not the culprit. Don't come after me.

That's Granny Yue.

What's going on?

I really don't understand why you checked her pulse.

Just leave her in her deranged state.

Didn't you find it odd that Granny Yue suddenly lost her mind?

How odd is it?

First, she said I played no part in it. I didn't kill you.

That means she knows someone was killed. She knows what happened.

Second, she said she wasn't the culprit. That means she knows who the killer was.

Third, she suddenly went to the grave of Consort Zhen's dead baby

and kowtowed to it.

She looked after Consort Zhen after the miscarriage.

Based on the above facts, there's only one conclusion.

You mean the crazy things Granny Yue said

could be related to Consort Zhen's miscarriage?

Yes.

Even so, we still need to prove that it did happen.

Of course.

I just made a bold assumption just now. Now we need to verify that meticulously.

You killed my son. Give me back my son.

I didn't.

Talk. Who killed my son?

Don't come after me. I didn't hurt you.

Who made you do it? Talk. Who killed my son?

Talk now.

I didn't want you to get a miscarriage. I didn't play a part in that.

Don't come after me. I wasn't involved.

Enough. If you keep scaring her, she'll really go insane.

Talk.

I can't. I was forced to do it...

Who killed my son? Who made you do it?

I can't tell you or I'll die. I can't talk.

Talk.

Your worry has come true?

I'm so mad. Granny Yue almost told us everything.

She's so chicken. She got so scared that she passed out.

She was already so frightened. Then you scared her further.

I'm afraid she may even die. Let's do this one step at a time.

What shall we do next?

I'm prescribing some tranquilizing decoction

to help her calm down and feel better.

You want her to get better? If she gets better, she won't talk.

More haste, less speed. It won't help to be so impatient.

I'm not impatient.

I just want to find the mastermind behind this to see if my conjecture is correct.

It seems you have an answer already.

I'm sure the mastermind is that bad guy Prince Duan.

If Consort Zhen had a son, her baby would become the Crown Prince.

Prince Duan's son wouldn't become the Big Brother.

Exactly. You think so too?

According to your theory,

it's unavoidable that if Consort Zhen had a son,

the Queen and Consort Jin would be given the cold shoulder immediately.

Both of them are suspicious too.

Anyway we need to ask Granny Yue for an answer when she wakes up.

Brother To, something bad has happened.

What's the matter?

Just now the grannies from the Northern Three Places informed us

that Granny Yue has hanged and killed herself.

What?

Why did Granny Yue suddenly hang herself?

I'm sure that bad guy Prince Duan killed her

in case she let out the secret in her deranged state.

I examined her body just now.

There's a ligature mark on her neck caused by a strip of cloth.

There's no trace of a struggle on her limbs.

There's no evidence to say she was murdered.

No one found out

that someone had caused Consort Zhen's miscarriage either.

That's just a conjecture.

We can't presume it's true without any concrete evidence.

Fine. You stay here and look for the concrete evidence then.

I'll tell Consort Zhen what Granny Yue said.

Let her decide if it's true.

Are you crazy? Consort Zhen is still mourning her baby.

Now you want to tell her that someone made her miscarry?

Do you think she can take such a severe blow?

Anyway we must keep this to ourselves until there's concrete evidence.

I hope you and I can keep this secret together.

What? You want me to keep this secret with you?

No, I mean...

I wouldn't have.

But now you've requested me to keep this secret together with you,

So I will keep it secret together with you.

No... I...

I can't believe you and I have another secret together again.

There are things that you simply can't avoid.

No... Hey...

Wai-Shan, I brought you some poria cakes.

Oh, really? When did she come?

Who?

Oh, nothing. Why are there so many poria cakes?

Miss Ling made them.

She left them here when she helped me steam my legs this morning.

You're reading so late. You must be hungry.

So I brought some for you.

It's late. Why don't you go to bed now?

You too. Go to bed soon. Mind your health.

Lin-chi, help her to the bedroom.

OK.

I'll go back to the bedroom then.

You want to drown me? Go ahead. I'm not scared at all.

It's much happier to die with the man I love

than marry you as your concubine.

Aunt Ping, I told you that

I don't want to marry a concubine for the sake of procreating.

If I want a concubine, I'll only marry someone I truly love.

Don't give it to me then. I won't beg you for it.

I didn't have you arrested because I don't want Pak-hop to find out.

You know what you've done.

Your lips are swollen.

My life in exchange for hers. Why are you so silly?

I didn't do it to save you. Don't get the wrong idea.

There's nothing between To Chung and me.

Not today, not tomorrow, not in the future.

Pak-hop, Miss Ling has massaged your legs so many times.

Has it been helpful?

It's more or less the same. You can't blame her for that.

I haven't been able to move my legs for years. They won't get well so easily.

That's true. You can't push it.

But Miss Ling's really busy working in the palace lately.

She mentioned that too.

She said the consorts in the palace

compliment her a lot on her massage skills.

The consorts really trust her.

Several of them often summon her to the palace to do foot massage for them.

Sometimes she's really busy.

She's really busy.

But she still squeezes time to massage my legs. It's tough for her.

Recently there have been conflicts between the Boxers and the foreigners.

It's getting more and more chaotic. It's dangerous for her to walk around alone.

I think we had better ask her not to come for the time being,

until the situation improves.

When my workload in the palace isn't as heavy,

we can ask her to come again to massage your legs, OK?

Sure. Why don't you tell her to stop coming for the time being then.

OK. I'll tell her when I see her.

Your Majesty, you want to negotiate peace with the foreigners?

We haven't recovered from our defeat in the Sino-Japanese War yet.

How can we defeat the strongly armed eight-nation alliance now?

The morale of our soldiers and people now is high. We're united.

The Boxers are invulnerable too.

I have absolute confidence that we'll defeat the foreigners.

The Boxer's invulnerability is just some tricks of charlatans to fool people.

How can they withstand the guns of the allied army?

Don't fool yourself and others anymore, Prince Duan.

Even The Empress has witnessed the Boxer's invulnerability.

They will support Qing and exterminate the foreigners in due course.

You don't need to worry so much.

If we negotiate peace with the allies, we can avoid much killing.

Do you want numerous soldiers and people to get killed for your personal desire?

This isn't my idea at all.

It's Empress Dowager's decision to declare war on the foreigners.

I'm just carrying out her order.

You just need to tell her the truth about our military strength.

When she realizes that this is critical, she'll withdraw her order.

Since you know this is a critical moment for the army,

then please excuse me since I don't have time to chat with you now.

Zaiyi, stop.

I'm not as stupid as you believe I am. You know what you've done to me.

I hope you will agree to negotiate peace with the allies

in consideration of Qing's interest.

Then I won't take issue with what you did to me.

I don't follow.

If you object to declaring war on the foreigners,

you can seek Empress Dowager's instructions.

Take my advice.

Face reality and mind your own business. Goodbye.