Original subtitles

His Majesty's lips were dry, and there were burns.

His fists were also clenched.

I have absolute reason to believe that His Majesty died of arsenic poisoning.

From the moment you kicked open the bedroom door and dashed in

to the moment we left together,

I'm sure you never dropped anything.

You didn't drop your jade pendant.

You misled me in my direction of investigation

because you wanted to cover up the fact

that you're the one who killed His Majesty.

You want to check His Majesty's body? It could be serious if someone finds out.

I can't worry about that.

To find His Majesty's cause of death, I must take a look at his body again.

What are you doing?

We need to confirm whether His Majesty ingested arsenic before he died.

I've examined His Majesty's body meticulously.

I'm absolutely sure that he died from arsenic poisoning.

At the same time, I found festering and

inflammation on one of his left-hand fingers

It's like what Princess Wojia saw on Miss Youlan's finger.

In other words, His Majesty's finger was in contact with arsenic before he died.

I believe both Princess Wojia and Brother Yam noticed that

there were some ink marks on His Majesty's right fingers.

It seems His Majesty wrote something before he died.

But things happened too quickly.

So he didn't have time to wash his hands of the ink stains.

How are the ink marks on his palm related to his death?

I need to start from what I saw

when I arrived at Yingtai after His Majesty had died.

At the time, I smelled a strange odor of garlic and metal from His Majesty's mouth.

So I turned around to see if anyone looked odd.

I saw a brush and an ink slab on the desk in front of the window.

I remember that the ink on both the brush and the ink slab

wasn't completely dried yet.

Like Brother Yam said,

His Majesty had prepared ink and written something before he died.

That's why there were ink marks on the edge of his palm.

What do you think His Majesty had written before he died?

Dr To, are you suggesting that he wrote a suicide note?

Also his finger had touched the arsenic.

The only explanation is that he wrote the suicide note first.

Then he ingested arsenic to kill himself.

But it's really strange that I didn't find the suicide note in his bedroom.

That means someone took the suicide note after His Majesty died.

Why would that person do that?

Perhaps he thought covering up the fact that

His Majesty killed himself could be to his advantage.

Since we don't have His Majesty's suicide note now,

that means it's just our conjecture.

It'll be hard to convince Empress Dowager of this.

Here comes Prince Chun.

To Chung, have you found His Majesty's cause of death yet?

Your Highness, I've got most of the evidence already.

Empress Dowager just wants the result.

Simply put, do you have a result?

Not yet.

Oh, no. I'm anxious for you.

Don't forget you promised Empress Dowager

that you'd find His Majesty's cause of death within one day.

If you can't give Empress Dowager a satisfactory answer by then,

I'm afraid you'll be beheaded.

Thank you for your concern.

There's still time before the one-day deadline is due.

I will do my best in the investigation.

It's good that you're so confident.

OK. You still have tonight to finish the job.

Before sunrise tomorrow,

I will send someone to take you to the palace.

Let's see how you're going to report the results to Empress Dowager.

Dr To, this is really serious. Why didn't you tell us?

Would it be of any help even if I told you guys?

But there's not much time left before the deadline.

How are we going to find the suicide note?

Have there been any problems I couldn't solve before?

I'm sure there's a way out.

I need some quiet time somewhere.

Consort Zhen...

Consort Zhen...

Did you come to take me to heaven with you?

I'm so useless.

I failed to protect you.

I hope we can be together again in heaven.

I'm so useless.

I couldn't help Your Majesty leave Yingtai all these years.

Your Highness, you want to tell me something?

Actually you've already helped His Majesty a lot.

Why have you come here?

I came to tell you that Empress Dowager Cixi just instructed Prince Chun

to announce Guangxu's death from illness.

I knew it.

No matter what my investigation reveals,

Empress Dowager would still tell the public that His Majesty died from illness.

Then why do you still care so much about how Guangxu died?

Have you ever heard the saying that

there are things that a decent man should and shouldn't do?

But you don't have any evidence.

Are you supposed to tell Empress Dowager Cixi that His Majesty poisoned himself?

How is that different from committing suicide?

I'm begging you. There's still time. You should flee.

What then? Where should I go?

I'm an imperial doctor.

I'm disloyal because I failed to heal His Majesty.

His Majesty treated me like his friend. Now he has died in grief.

If I don't address his grievances because

I'm afraid to die, that makes me unfaithful.

Do you want me to become a disloyal and unfaithful person?

This is my principle in life.

If I violate this principle, I won't be able to face myself.

I know I will antagonize Empress Dowager if I tell her the truth.

Even so, my conscience is clean. I can die without regret.

When I got to Hanyuan Hall,

the poison had already kicked in and he was dead.

I found a suicide note on his desk. I thought it might be useful.

So I took it.

Good job. Now that we have Guangxu's suicide note,

when the Qing dogs announce he died of illness,

we can produce the suicide note

to prove to everyone that the Qing dogs are liars.

Where's the suicide note now?

I put it in a safe spot just in case.

When the situation in the palace dies down, I will get it back.

Right. The suicide note is really important to our cause.

You must keep it safe.

I'm sorry. I really can't help you this time.

Brother Yam, thank you for your trust and help all along.

Princess Wojia, you're actually really smart. But...

Don't say anymore. You sound like you're saying your last words.

I can't teach you medicine anymore.

If you want to learn, you can ask Brother Yam to teach you.

He's a very good doctor too.

Kot Kan, I need a favor from you. I...

Don't worry. I will take good care of your wife for you.

YOU can count on me.

See you guys later then.

Take care.

To Chung, the one-day deadline is past due.

Have you found His Majesty's cause of death yet?

Yes, I have.

Then tell me how he died.

His Majesty ingested arsenic to kill himself.

He poisoned himself? Nonsense!

He's the emperor. Why would he give up his life so readily?

He was driven to death by people around him.

How dare you, To Chung!

First you insisted that His Majesty's cause of death was dubious.

Now that you've failed to find his real cause of death,

you're lying to his Her Royal Highness.

His Majesty grew up under Your Royal Highness's protection.

You should understand his character very well.

He was a good emperor with vision and willingness to take responsibility.

Unfortunately, he had no say in his life, be it the administration or his marriage.

He was restrained in every respect.

I always looked to Your Royal Highness as my role model.

It was my objective to become a good emperor.

I took it as my duty to revive Qing.

I witnessed Qing being bullied by the powers.

I wished I could grow faster so that I could share your burden.

But then you did something that broke my heart.

You disregarded my wish and crowned Longyu as the queen.

Do you know I never loved the queen?

Why couldn't I make my own decision about my own marriage?

But as long as I had Consort Zhen by my side

and was allowed to implement the new administration,

I could still suck it up.

Unfortunately, my tolerance

led to your banning of the new administration time and again.

Consort Zhen was forced to part with me.

She was even killed by scum.

Even though I was willing to give up my power

to implement constitutional monarchy,

someone still tried to stop me from doing that.

He double crossed me time and again.

Actually after Consort Zhen had died, I didn't want to live either.

I forced myself to carry on

because I wanted to do my best to save the country.

Unfortunately, Qing is beyond saving.

I don't want to live a miserable life in Yingtai anymore.

I'd rather kill myself.

At least I'll be able to see Consort Zhen in heaven then.

Your Royal Highness, His Majesty killed himself with poison.

But he was basically pushed to death by those close to him.

The person who pressured him the most

was the one he loved and respected most...

Nonsense. His Majesty was never content.

When something didn't happen the way he wanted it to happen,

he'd whine and complain.

The problem lied with him. No one is responsible for this.

How dare you, To Chung!.

How could you give Her Royal Highness such nonsense?

You said His Majesty committed suicide by taking poison.

Do you have any evidence for that?

I didn't make up what I said just now.

Those were the words from the bottom of His Majesty's heart right before he died.

Here's the evidence you need.

His Majesty's suicide note?

What will happen to you if you give it to me?

I can deal with that. You're right.

You should tell Empress Dowager His Majesty's last words.

I hope she will spare your life after she hears it. Take care.

To Chung, come with me.

Where to?

You have to get out of here.

Even though Empress Dowager has spared you,

Zaifeng will still kill you because you know too many of their secrets. Come on.

What about Pak-hop?

Kot Kan has already picked them up.

Kan.

Mrs. To and Lin-chi have already boarded the boat.

I've made other arrangements for you too.

Kan will go to Tianjin with you.

I've asked someone to pick you up there. Then they'll escort you to the south.

I'll go take care of some other things. You two take your time to chat.

Thank you. Don't mention it.

Take care along the way.

What about you. Where will you go?

Once people find out about Guangxu's dead, they will panic.

That will be the best time to start a revolution.

I must stay in my post. A new era will dawn very soon.

There will be casualties in war. You must take care.

Take care of both yourself and Pak-hop.

Remember to go as far away as possible. Stay away from battles and gossip.

I don't know what to say. Anyway I'm really grateful to you.

When did you become so sentimental?

There's not much time left. Prince Chun's soldiers will be here anytime.

Board the boat now. Go.

Take care.

Take care.

You can really put aside the revolution for To Chung's sake?

I'm not just doing it for To Chung but also for Guangxu.

The Qing government is corrupt and incompetent.

We don't need to use a dead person to start a revolution.

I cut you slack this time

because you managed to alienate Yuan Shikai and Zaifeng.

I heard that Zaifeng has already relieved Yuan Shikai of all his duties.

Your credit in this will be used to set off your mistake.

But this can never happen again.

Don't worry.

From now on, I only have the revolution in my heart.

There's nothing else.

The day after Guangxu's death was officially announced,

Cixi's physical condition deteriorated drastically.

On 22 October of the same year,

Cixi died of illness at the age of 72.

A female politician who had dictated the administration for over 20 years

through the reigns of four emperors finally left the current of history.

Dad.

I don't want to stay here. I want to go out and play.

Be a good boy. Then I'll take you wherever you want to go to play, OK?

OK.

Aisin Gioro Puyi ascended to the throne the same day.

Longyu became the Empress Dowager.

Zaifeng's dream came true too. He became Prince Regent.

Unfortunately Zaifeng's days in power were short-lived.

Two years later, the 1911 Revolution broke out.

War spread all over China very quickly. The Qing dynasty was really precarious.

Your Highness, what's your decision on the terms set by the revolutionary party?

If you'll pledge allegiance to me and help me eradicate the rebels, I'm willing to...

Your Highness, are you dreaming?

The die is cast already. How do you want me to help you?

I've already done my best to fight for you.

Look. As long as His Majesty agrees to abdicate,

the Aisin Gioros can stay in the Forbidden City

and enjoy the rest of your days.

I was told that when this is done, you will become the president.

You're really well-informed.

Have you forgotten what I once told you? The final victory belongs to me.

Yuan Shikai, don't be so proud yet.

Victory won't be yours forever. Someday you will reap what you sow.

Well said. Let's see when that will happen.

25 December, Xuantong Year 3.

Prince Chun signed the abdication edict on Puyi's behalf.

Qing, the last dynasty in the history of China

officially came to an end.

The monarchy which had been in place for over 2,000 years also ended.

From then on, there was a new era for China.

It was also an era of incessant warfare.

Winter, 1915.

Extra! Extra! Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor.

Extra! Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor.

Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor. Get one more copy...

Watch out. A car's coming.

Extra!

Sir, Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor. Really? Let me see.

Read it. OK.

We just changed the flag. Now there's another new one

Again?

Hey, let me see.

Dr Yam, you hear that? Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor.

The wheels of time keep rolling on.

If one dreams of reversing it, he will lose people's support in the end.

I'm afraid he'll have to abdicate before long.

Dr Yam, beware of eavesdroppers.

If the monarchy is really revived,

there'll be chaos for a long time.

Don't worry. That's transient heat like your illness.

Take some a few doses of herbal tea to get rid of it.

You're reducing your own income by saying that.

As a doctor, my primary duty is to cure the patients.

Whether my income is reduced or not doesn't matter.

You're really kind-hearted and well-versed in medicine.

Few doctors are as ethical as you nowadays.

I learned it from a good tutor and friend.

He taught me one thing.

To cure a patient, you need to cure his heart first.

I haven't seen them in a couple of years already.

I wonder how they're doing.

Winter, 1915. A city in the south.

Dr To... The patient over there wants to kill himself

because he's in unbearable pain from the wound in his knee.

My right leg. It really hurts.

Your tibia is broken. Don't worry. I'll fix it for you. How old are you?

23.

Dr To...

Just a second.

OK. Show the way.

The patient has been passed out for a long time. Please come take a look.

Doctor.

Wake up... How are you? Are you OK?

Dr To... Who's Dr To?

That's me. What's the matter?

Our Chief of Staff was hit by a stray bullet. Please go treat him right away.

Ask him to come over. Dr To, let's go.

Go to a shaded spot. Dr To.

Hey, your Chief of Staff is a human being.

These wounded soldiers and civilians here are human beings too.

They need my help too.

Ask your Chief of Staff to come here or you guys can carry him here.

Everyone is so busy.

You had better sit down and wait here. I'll get you some medicine.

OK. Thank you.

Kot Kan?

Princess...

Sit down. What era is it now? You're still calling me Princess?

Where's your wound?

Can't you see?

Right. Hang in there.

Nurse Lan, you're needed over there.

Let me dress his wound first. Then I'll come. Hurry.

Dr To, the wounded need your help. Go.

Miss, what are you doing here?

I need some painkillers. Let me help you.

Here you go. Use carefully.

Thank you.

Sorry...

You mean after the 1911 Revolution broke out,

your whole family moved to Guangzhou?

The situation in Guangzhou was relatively stable.

So Mom could look after Grandma and Sis Chu there.

Your mom is so capable. Why are you so dumb?

What? I've been worked under Miss Ling these past couple of years.

Do you know the achievements I've attained in the intelligence unit?

Oh, really? If you were really that capable, you wouldn't be limping now.

It was an accident.

Seriously, I owe it to Kot Kan for protecting me these past couple of years.

That's how I managed to stay safe.

So why are you guys here?

After I left the palace,

I followed mentor and practiced medicine everywhere.

When we heard that Yuan Shikai had proclaimed himself emperor.

We figured that the war would carry on indefinitely.

So we decided to stay here

and keep helping the wounded and the sick.

I've learned a lot these past couple of years.

Thousands of people die or get wounded in battle.

Dressing wounds alone wears me out.

You're ignorant because you used to live in the palace.

How dare you talk to a princess like this!

Just now you said you're no longer a princess.

I want to be a princess again now, OK? Can't I be a princess now?

Hey, I'm a patient. Don't hit me.

I like hitting you.

Stop.

Hey, don't hit me again.

I'm a princess. I can hit you as I like, OK? OK?

I could even beat you to death. Stop.

Time flies.

Right. In the blink of an eye it's already been a couple of years.

Life hasn't been too tough for you these past couple of years, has it?

In the past, I had to massage the eunuch's legs in the palace every day.

Life is comparatively easy now.

You were an imperial doctor.

Now you have to lower yourself to such a job. Are you used to this?

I was an imperial doctor. So?

There are no more emperors now. What else can I do aside from this?

You told me to forget about the rules in an emergency.

You have to walk when your horse is dead.

So...

Dr To, a lot wounded have been taken to the hospital.

I'll go take a look right away. I have get back to work.

You wanted to ask me something?

Mr Xu is here. He wants to see you about something urgent.

Come over in a second.

Talk to you later.

Miss Ling, why are we leaving so soon? Why didn't you stay a little longer?

It's a hospital. Why stay and get in their way?

Besides, we still have work to do.

Mr Xu told us to stay and do liaison work here.

We've been running around for years.

We've been dealt with all the urgent matters already.

Shouldn't we find a place to stay then? You want to sleep on the street?

Since we're here, you can go see To Chung.

You haven't seen him in years. Don't you want to catch up with him?

Like you said, I haven't seen him in years. I don't want to bother him.

Besides, I don't know where he lives.

Look, I asked Wojia for his address.

It's up to you if you go see him or not. I'm go buy to myself some herbal tea.

The cabbage is fresh.

Excuse me. Yes?

How do I get to this address?

Turnips...

There. Look. Go down this alley. Go straight and then turn left.

Miss, you're going to see Dr To? Yes.

Good. Please give him these vegetables. He's really nice.

Please give this to him too.

He just cured me. But he didn't charge me anything.

He's really kind.

Excuse me, miss. Please give this to Dr To.

He's a really nice guy. Thank you very much. No problem. Thank you.

Excuse me, miss. Please give this to Dr To for me.

He's always so helpful.

Dr To is really kind. He treats me for free.

Please give this to him for me. Thank you. OK.

Please give this to Dr To for me. He's a really nice guy. Thank you.

Right. It's so beautiful like this. Does it itch? Let me help you.

No? You can do it yourself?

I want Dad to play with me.

What? Your leg was hurting. Now you want to play again? Doesn't it hurt?

It doesn't hurt when Dad plays with me.

Siu-po.

Look, Mom. Dad applied medicinal cream for me.

My leg doesn't hurt anymore.

Silly girl. Mom told you not to call everyone Dad.

If your father hears you, he'll be mad at you.

Be more careful. Don't hurt yourself again.

OK, Dad.

Dr To, we need to go now. Say goodbye to Dr To.

Good bye.

Bye.

Good bye.

Good bye.

So many neighbors gave you gifts. You're really popular.

They just give me face. Thank you for delivering them to me.

Of course. So you live quite a simple life here.

It's better to live a simple life. A simple life is a blessing.

True.

Just now the little girl called you Dad. I thought she was really your daughter.

How would I be so lucky to have a daughter?

So how's Pak-hop?

Sorry. I didn't mean to...

Actually she came out of her coma half a year ago.

But she...

Wai-Shan.

Wai-Shan, you have a guest?

Pak-hop, this is Miss Fuk, whom I've talked about before.

So you're Miss Fuk? Wai-Shan often talks about you.

He said you two were very good friends.

You survived many ordeals together. Is that true?

He did save my life many times before. He's also saved many people before.

Really? I thought he was just joking.

Wai-Shan, you're so amazing and cool.

Miss Fuk, since you're here, why don't you join us for dinner?

I want to hear more stories

about how the two of you got through ordeals together.

It's decided. Come on, Lin-chi. We're going to be really busy tonight.

You see? Pak-hop's forgotten most things since she came to.

But she still remembers you.

She just remembers the time when she married me.

It seems that becoming your wife was the happiest thing for her.

To be honest, it's a kind of happiness if she can forget all the unhappy things

and remember only the happy things.

Pak-hop has finally found her own happiness.

This is really great.

What about you?

After so many years, have you found your own happiness yet?