Original subtitles

You've come to? I brought you here.

Why? Why did you knock me unconscious?

I did it to ensure your safety.

Someone wants to kill me?

Are you keeping something from me? Let me go now. Let me go.

Stop it. You'll easily get yourself hurt.

Tell me what's going on or set me free.

Fine. The organization is sending someone

to the palace to assassinate Guangxu today.

They will kill you too if you're with him.

I didn't want you to get hurt. Sol kidnapped you and brought you here.

Why do you guys want to kill His Majesty?

The organization believes that once Guangxu is dead,

there will be chaos in the Qing government.

That will very beneficial to us for starting a revolution.

Empress Dowager has put His Majesty under house arrest in Yingtai.

Whether he lives or dies has no effect on the administration.

Why can't you guys spare him?

This is the decision of the senior officers.

I can't stop it. I'm not involved in it either.

Just pretend you didn't tell me anything.

Let me go now. I have to go to the palace to save His Majesty.

You're just an imperial doctor. You can't fight.

You think you can save him?

I don't care. I can't sit back and do nothing.

If I don't manage to save His Majesty, I will never forgive you.

You're really not afraid of dying?

One can die for nothing or for something important.

Either you set me free or kill me.

Fine. Perhaps you're right.

Guangxu's death has no effect at all on the entire political situation.

I will go with you to rescue him.

Lower the bridge down now.

How come no one's here? Your Majesty.

I'm sorry. To Chung. I'm the assassin.

Fuk Ling.

Where's His Majesty?

So you really used me.

Four days before Guangxu's assassination

Miss Ling.

Sorry. I didn't know your lover was here.

You don't recognize me?

Xu Bian? So you're into this kind of thing?

I don't have a pigtail.

If I go out like this, it will cause suspicion.

Why did you summon me to Beijing so urgently?

Is there an important mission?

Cui Yugui told us that Cixi is seriously sick.

You guys want to kill her?

She's going to die soon. We want to kill the lousy emperor.

Of course you shouldn't. You should kill Prince Chun.

He's power hungry. And a womanizer too.

What do you mean?

Kot Kan talks nonsense all the time.

But why do we have to kill Guangxu? It's more effective to kill Cixi.

The Qing dogs are doomed. It makes no difference which one we kill.

But the lousy emperor is a symbol of Qing's feudal monarchy.

If we kill him, it'll mean that even God is no longer protecting the Qing dogs.

Then people will support our revolution.

Also, that lousy emperor has no son.

Once he's dead, the Qing dogs will compete fiercely for the throne.

It'll be more beneficial to us to start a revolution then.

But Guangxu has been put under house arrest in Yingtai by Cixi.

The only access to Yingtai is a bridge. It's guarded around the clock.

It's not that easy to kill him.

It's not easy, but not impossible.

Some people have free access to Yingtai all the time.

No one would suspect them or stop them from going there.

The imperial doctors of the Imperial Hospital.

You want Miss Ling to recruit To Chung to assassinate His Majesty?

Three days before Guangxu's assassination

Dr To.

Kot Kan, what's the matter?

It's been windy lately. My grandma keeps coughing, but she won't see a doctor.

I wonder if you could make a house call and see her.

I'll go to Chuen Yan Clinic when I get off later.

Thank you. Bye.

Dr To, how's mom?

She's fine. It's just a minor ailment for a senior.

I'll prescribe some medicine for her. She'll get better after she takes it.

Cured sausages, cured duck and sweetheart cakes?

They're all Guangdong's specialties?

Kot Kan, I haven't heard from your Miss Ling in a long time.

How is she doing? Doesn't she write home?

She does. But she doesn't write to me. So I don't know much.

Two days before Guangxu's assassination

Miss Ling, as you expected, To Chung is watching us across the street.

You're such a lousy actor. Of course he knew you were lying.

Fuk Ling.

You've come back?

One day before Guangxu's assassination

This jade pendant helped me hang in there until now.

I've been fooling myself all along. I actually believed you weren't dead,

that someday you'd stand in front of me.

I believed I could return this jade pendant to you myself.

Miss Ling, you're really here.

How did you know I was here?

You come here whenever you're unhappy. Well? You still miss To Chung?

No.

You've been through so much with him.

Now you have to double cross him.

I would find it really hard too if I were you.

There's an expression in Guangzhou:

If you eat the salty fish, then you must put up with the thirst.

I chose this path. So I must carry on. There's no turning back.

I know To Chung won't forgive me after tomorrow.

But for the sake of the revolution, I don't have a choice.

Miss Ling, let me assassinate His Majesty for you.

No, Kot Kan. Thanks for the offer. I will take full responsibility for this.

Besides, it's time I ended my relationship with To Chung.

Day of Guangxu's assassination

Why do you guys want to kill His Majesty?

The organization believes that once Guangxu's dead,

there will be chaos in the Qing government.

That will very beneficial to us for starting a revolution.

Just pretend you didn't tell me anything.

Let me go now. I have go to the palace to save His Majesty.

You're really not afraid of dying?

Either you let me go or kill me.

Fine. Perhaps you're right.

Guangxu's death has no effect on the entire political situation.

I'll go with you to rescue him.

How come no one's here? Your Majesty.

I'm sorry. To Chung. I'm the assassin.

Fuk Ling.

From the moment you got back to the capital,

everything you did was just to get me

to take you to Yingtai so you could kill His Majesty, right?

If you insist on thinking that, I've got nothing to say.

I've told myself all along that

you wouldn't do something like that to use me. I was so stupid.

When did you start thinking that I was using you?

From the moment you suddenly caught me and told me that your organization wanted to

go to the palace to assassinate His Majesty.

You really didn't think I was truly worried about you?

You were dressed like you were prepared to go to the palace.

Besides, if you were really worried about my safety if I were with His Majesty,

you could have tied me up so that I couldn't go see His Majesty.

Why do something unnecessary and tell me everything when I came to?

I started doubting you at that moment.

I suspected you were using me to take you to Yingtai

so that you could assassinate His Majesty.

Back then I was thinking that since His Majesty was resting in Yangxin Palace

these past couple of days

because he had meetings about implementing a constitutional monarchy,

even if I took you to Yingtai, nothing would happen.

So I played along to see if you were really lying to me.

You should understand that I didn't have a choice.

And what about His Majesty?

Why doesn't he have a choice? Why must he die?

To make the revolution a success, we must overthrow Qing.

Some people have to be sacrificed.

But it shouldn't be His Majesty. He's a good emperor.

For the sake of the nation and the people,

he's ready and willing to give up his power

and implement a constitutional monarchy.

Why can't you guys give him a chance?

Even the best emperor is still an overlord.

This kind of conservative feudal thinking is already outdated.

We must overthrow this autocratic structure.

Only then will there be hope for our country.

No matter how grand or selfless your ideals are,

in the end it will cause bloodshed.

The commoners will be the victims once there's a war.

In the past dozens of years, we've watched as we kept

ceding territories and paying indemnities to the foreigners.

The government is corrupt.

If we don't stand up now,

the powers will only keep scrambling for concessions and taking our land.

For the sake of the country's future,

it's worth sacrificing our lives at this moment.

In other words you will try to assassinate His Majesty no matter what?

Even though I've failed today, the organization still won't give up

until Guangxu is killed and the monarchy abolished.

The only thing I can promise you is that I will give him a quick death.

I won't make him suffer.

His Majesty has already suffered too much. Listen carefully.

As long as I can still breathe, I will never let you hurt him.

If you want to kill His Majesty, you'll have to kill me first.

I've never expected you to side with me.

I don't want us to become enemies. I won't kill you.

But I can't guarantee that other people will think like this too. Take care.

I'm sorry. I didn't know Guangxu wasn't in Yingtai.

Forget it. That lousy emperor is lucky.

He can stay emperor a little while.

Did you To Chung get suspicious?

No. When he learned that Guangxu had gone to Yangxin Palace,

he was relieved.

If To Chung knew we wanted to kill Guangxu this time,

our future operation would be compromised.

You in particular. Your cover could be blown. Be careful.

Don't worry. To Chung would never double cross Miss Ling.

If he wanted to, he would have done it a long time ago.

Right, Miss Ling?

What's our next move?

That lousy emperor is still in the Forbidden City.

It's much more difficult to assassinate him there.

We shouldn't make any moves right now or else we may alert him.

Let's decide what to do after he's gone back to Yingtai.

OK.

Miss Ling, you're back? Someone came to see you just now.

Who?

Dr To's maid.

Lin-chi?

Yes. She left you a letter. Here you go.

Sit down.

Why did you ask to meet me?

Why did you come back?

I came back to visit Grandma and the others.

That's the only reason.

I really don't understand.

It's good that you had left. Why did you come back?

Do you know when you were away,

Wai-Shan and I could live a normal life again, like the way things were before?

It may have been simple and plain, but at least there were no storms.

Why did you insist on coming back to upset our life?

Pak-hop, I think you've got it wrong.

It was never my intention to upset your life together.

You're still lying to me? How do you explain this lover's knot then?

Wai-Shan said he saw it when he passed by the market.

So he bought it for me. He's such a lousy liar.

He's never bought me such things the whole time we've been married.

I'm sure you have an identical lover's knot.

There are things I don't know how to explain to you.

But I swear to God that I would never wreck your home.

I would never steal To Chung from you. You don't need to worry.

Stop pretending to be kind. Wai-shan's heart went to you a long time ago.

I just want to keep him by my side now. Why can't you give me a break?

To Chung promised to look after you for the rest of his life.

He won't break his promise. Why don't you believe him?

Yes, he promised my dad that he would look after me for the rest of his life.

But he only promised to look after me. He didn't promise to love me.

Don't worry.

I will leave this place very soon. I won't come back ever again.

You think I still believe you? You lied to me the first time I met you.

I was even so naive to treat you as my bosom friend.

I'm sorry. I was wrong. What can I do to earn your forgiveness?

I will never forgive you. Actually I don't want to see you ever again.

Drink the wine and our friendship will end.

We'll go our respective ways. I think that's the best ending.

Pak-hop, what's the point of doing this?

You want to deny me such a humble wish?

OK. Since you insist, fine.

Remember, after we drink the wine,

our friendship will end and we will go our respective ways. This is...

This is the best ending, right?

Don't drink it. There's poison in the wine. Don't drink it.

To Chung.

You think I want to kill Fuk Ling with poison?

Am I such a wicked woman to you?

I don't want to think that way.

But Lin-chi told me that you secretly bought rat poison.

Then you told her to deliver a letter to Fuk Ling asking her to come here.

Isn't this what you wanted to do?

It seems you only have Fuk Ling in your heart.

I lost my place in your heart long ago.

I did ask Miss Fuk to come here

because I wanted to tell her that only one of us can live.

I did put rat poison in the wine.

But not in her cup. It's in the one I'm holding.

Please keep her safe... Father, how is she?

Thanks to Dr To for inducing her to vomit in time.

She vomited most of the poisonous wine she had drunk.

Just now we did gastric lavage for her several times. She'll make it.

May I see her?

She's not in critical condition now.

But she's comatose. We haven't figured out the cause yet.

Pak-hop, I was wrong. You could have hit me or yelled at me.

Why were you so silly to commit suicide?

Mrs. To, you must wake up. Please wake up.

What's wrong with Her Royal Highness?

She suffers from diabetes. She's been exhausted for a prolonged period.

She feels hot. And she doesn't sleep well.

That causes dizziness and headaches.

Given her current condition,

she should drink a dose of tranquilizing tea first

to help her sleep well.

Then we'll help her strengthen her health.

Few people live to their 70s. Empress Dowager is 72.

She's suffered from diabetes for years. Both her yin and yang are weak.

Her meridians aren't well maintained.

Her blood and qi are irregular. I'm afraid...

My greatest worry is that if Empress Dowager dies,

none of us in the Imperial Hospital will be spared.

Too bad Dr To has taken a long leave because something happened in his family.

If he were here, he'd figure out a way to heal Empress Dowager.

I don't believe To Chung alone can beat all of us in the Imperial Hospital.

I was just stating the fact.

Your Royal Highness, how are you doing?

I'm afraid I can't hang in there for long.

You mustn't say that. You're blessed. You will live a long life.

Right. Take the medicine and you will get better.

Prince Chun, why don't we ask To Chung

to cancel his leave and come back to heal Her Royal Highness?

You think he's a fairy?

Her Royal Highness is blessed. She will get better.

She just needs some rest. Then she will get well.

Puyi still needs Your Royal Highness to teach and train him.

Your Royal Highness must take care.

I'm afraid things might not work out as we wish.

Your Royal Highness, Puyi is such a good boy.

He knew you were sick. He said he wanted to give you his blessing.

Puyi, what do you want to tell Her Royal Highness?

I wish Your Royal Highness many blessings and longevity.

Your Royal Highness will live a very long life.

Puyi is such a good boy. If I get better,

I will personally teach Puyi how to become a good emperor.

Since Empress Dowager said that.

I think she will soon nominate your son as the Big Brother. Congrats.

Yuan Shikai, you're really well-informed.

You even know what Empress Dowager said in her bed.

No wonder you came to see me so soon.

You're doing the right thing. Very soon I'll be under only one person.

So you've come to fawn on me now. It's to your advantage.

Your Highness can really read my mind. But I still have some worries.

Haven't you overlooked something, Your Highness?

What have I overlooked?

His Majesty.

He may be physically weak, but he's still young.

If Empress Dowager dies before he does, then he will regain substantive power.

I'm afraid you'll need to wait a while before your wish will come true.

You don't need to worry for me. I have my way to ensure that

Empress Dowager won't die before His Majesty does.

You're really a person who does big things.

I really admire you.

I think you've overlooked something too, Yuan Shikai.

When His Majesty wanted to carry out reforms,

who tipped off Empress Dowager and double crossed him at the eleventh hour

causing him to be put under house arrest in Yingtai?

His Majesty is very clear on that.

If His Majesty regains power, he is sure to take revenge.

Thank you for your advice.

I can only wish Empress Dowager a very long life

so that His Majesty will never regain power.

How's His Majesty? Is he OK?

Forgive me for being frank.

His Majesty's kidneys suffer from congenital deficiency.

They can't support his liver.

Lately, he's been working so hard for national affairs.

He often burns the midnight oil.

So his liver heat is hurting his stomach. He suffers from indigestion too.

At this juncture, he's even caught a cold. That has made his condition worse.

Yam Sik-kang is just exaggerating. Your Majesty just needs rest.

Don't work so hard or worry so much. Take the right medicine.

Then you'll get well very soon.

You mean I have to postpone the discussion on constitutional monarchy?

How can I do that?

Your Majesty, your health is more important.

If you manage to successfully implement constitutional monarchy

at the expense of your health, it won't be worth it.

It was so hard to get Empress Dowager's consent for constitutional monarchy.

I have to draft the relevant policies as soon as possible

or there may be obstructions again and all my efforts will be wasted.

I've discussed it with Father Taylor many times.

He can't figure out the cause of your coma.

I've also read a lot of medical journals. But I can't find similar cases.

Father Taylor reminded me that

I can talk to you about some happy things we went through together.

Pak-hop, do you remember our wedding night?

Lots of guest came because your dad was well connected.

You kept smiling and smiling until your jaw got a cramp.

You even asked me to massage it for you.

One time, we went to fly a kite. It flew to the clouds.

Back then you were so happy. You were really envious of the kite.

You even said you wished you'd someday fly as high and faraway as a kite.

Pak-hop, please wake up soon so we can go fly a kite again.

I promise it will fly really high and faraway this time.

I'm so sorry. This is my fault. I broke your heart.

But don't be so cruel to leave me behind

and make me blame myself for the rest of my life.

Please grant me a chance to make up to you.

This is so sad. She suddenly went into a coma.

Dr To's aunt said Mrs. To relies on the so-called drip now to stay alive.

They don't know how long she will be in this state. It's so pathetic.

Dr To is even more pitiful. He has no idea when his wife will wake up again.

It's so torturous.

Hey. Kan, you're home so early?

I need to see Miss Ling about something urgent.

What's the matter?

Something bad is going to happen.

Fuk Ling, I'm here. Show yourself. Where are you?

You don't need to call anymore. Fuk Ling's not coming. I wrote that letter.

I don't know you. Who are you?

You don't need to know who I am. Because you won't live past today.

Why do you want to kill me? I've never hurt you before.

I don't want to kill you.

But you know too many things you shouldn't know about.

You're from Fuk Ling's organization?

Now you know why you must die.

Stop it. I told you he won't double cross us

Why do you still want to kill him?

For the sake of the revolution, we can't take any risks.

I've checked. To Chung is very close to that lousy emperor.

If he knows we want to assassinate that lousy emperor,

he won't just sit back.

To be safe, we must kill him.

You really won't spare him?

I told you that we cannot involve personal feelings when doing big things.

If you try to stop me, I will kill you too.

I'm sorry. There are things that aren't for me to decide.

But I have a request. Can I do this myself?

I want him to die easier.

I promise you'll stop breathing before you feel any pain.

You're finally awake.

You got a dozen stitches. You had better not move so much.

How long have I been out?

You were in a coma for a whole day

since Kot Kan carried you to the hospital yesterday.

Kot Kan carried me here?

Yes. I asked him what happened. He refused to tell me.

He just said that I had to save your life. Dr To, what happened?

I was stabbed.

I know that.

The position is exactly the same as where you stabbed yourself last time.

And the knife wasn't pulled out. The internal organs weren't injured.

You've survived once again.

Did Kot Kan really leave without saying anything?

He didn't say a word. He left after he helped you lie down.

Oh, yes. There's a letter in your pocket.

Thank you.

To Chung, I owe you and Pak-hop too much. That's why you mustn't die.

Only you can make Pak-hop wake up.

I really don't want anymore innocent

people to sacrifice themselves for me again.

That time, you stabbed yourself to save me.

This time I'm stabbing you to return your favor.

From now on, we should not see each other again. Just pretend we never met.

Wai-Shan.

Aunt Ping.

You look much better now after a couple of day's rest.

Right.

Princess Wojia is outside.

It seems she wants to see you about something urgent.

Wow... To Chung, it's good that you're here.

You came out of the blue. Did something bad happen to His Majesty?

He was fine several days ago.

But his condition got drastically worse last night.

Those quacks in the Imperial Hospital didn't know what to do.

But they refused to summon you to the palace. I was really worried.

So I decided to come see you myself.

His Majesty has been sick for so long.

Even Empress Dowager is prepared for his demise.

Prince Chun's son Puyi as the Big Brother in a hurry this morning?

Everyone around me wants me dead. I want to die too.

As long as you don't give up, I have great confidence that

those around you won't get what they wish for so easily.

How dare you, To Chung! You prescribed such strong medicine for him?

You got His Majesty killed. You're guilty.

His Majesty died before he had a chance to take the medicine I prescribed.

So why did he die?

I dare not say since it might get me killed.

Go ahead. I promise no one will dare touch you.

Just now I noticed something odd when I checked His Majesty's body.

I suspect that His Majesty died of arsenic poisoning.

What?

That's nonsense. You say he was poisoned and killed.

That means the murderer must be someone close to him.

We can't withhold the news that His Majesty's dead for long.

I'll give you one day to find out His Majesty's cause of death.

To Chung should be held liable for showing disrespect to the ruler

if he fails to find any concrete evidence within a day.

I will make sure justice is served for His Majesty

even at the cost of my own life.

Dr To, it's been a long while. How are you?

Hello, Officer Yuan.

I've got something important to do. I can't stay long.

No matter how important your task is, it can wait.

I just want to tell you something.

It's a shame that His Majesty suddenly died.

But he won't come back to life.

There's no point dwelling on the past. You should look ahead.

You're really well-informed. His Majesty just died.

And you show up in the capital immediately.

Did you rush here to pledge allegiance to the new king?

A new king will ascend to the throne. Of course he needs people to assist him.

I think you're a talent.

If you'll agree to work with me, I'm sure you will have a very bright future.

I'm sorry. I'm not an ambitious person.

I'm an imperial doctor. I'm liable for failing to cure His Majesty

That's why I've decided to find out his cause of death at all cost

and make sure justice is served for him.

If there's nothing else, please excuse me.

What? Where's His Majesty's body?

Just now Prince Chun ordered someone to take

His Majesty's body to Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City

prepare for the funeral.

It's Prince Chun again. What are you doing here?

Prince Chun ordered me to clean up the place as soon as possible.

Empress Dowager ordered me to investigate His Majesty's cause of death.

No one is allowed to touch anything here. Get out.

Yes, sir.

He wants to remove everything. He wants to destroy the evidence.

Dr To.

Princess Wojia.

I heard that Empress Dowager ordered you to find out His Majesty's cause of death.

Is that true?

Didn't His Majesty die of illness? What's there to find out?

Was His Majesty murdered?

Empress Dowager ordered that

His Majesty's demise must be kept confidential.

I've got something important to do. Please excuse me.

I will give him a quick death. I won't make him suffer.

Mom told me time and again that the jade pendant would keep me safe.

She said I must carry it all the times.

Run.

I don't get it.

Why would someone want to kill me? Who are they?

I don't know who they are. I think they wanted to kill you

to stop you from investigating the cause of Guangxu's death.

His Majesty's demise must be kept confidential for the time being.

You know I'm investigating his cause of death?

I've been hanging out with the two consorts.

Of course I know.

How did you know someone wanted to kill me then?

I saw you leave Yingtai in a hurry. So I secretly followed you.

Were you on your way to Chuen Yan Clinic?

You think I killed Guangxu?

I found this jade pendant in front of His Majesty's bed.

Yes, I had wanted to use the two consorts as my cover to kill Guangxu.

But before I could do that, I heard from them that he was dead already.

Sol had nothing to do with Guangxu's death.

How do you explain the jade pendant then?

Actually I had lost it a long time ago.

Maybe I dropped it when I went to Yingtai with you last time.

You really haven't been to His Majesty's bedroom since that time?

Absolutely not.

Sorry.

This is an important piece of evidence. I need to keep it for the time being.

I know you won't believe me no matter how I try to explain.

To prove my innocence, I will investigate this with you.

What if you really did kill His Majesty?

If I let you follow me,

I'd be giving you a chance to destroy the evidence.

If you're really not the murderer,

given your character, you wouldn't need to prove your innocence.

Tell me. What's your objective in staying close to me?

I want to find out what happened.

First of all, I want to know who the murderer is.

Secondly, you've saved my life before. Now someone wants to kill you.

I won't sit back and do nothing.

If I'm close to you, I can protect you.

I really hope you're not His Majesty's murderer.