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[The Promise of Chang'an]

[Episode 43]

Greetings, Empress Dowager.

Forego the formalities.

I have already heard of the matters in the court.

Empress Dowager, you asked me to come.

Perhaps it was because you also wanted to remove my title?

You clearly know that this was not my intention.

What is the point of saying such words to anger me?

Mingyu. In the past, with just one glance,

I would be able to understand your intentions.

Now, the two of us have to many things and people putting a distance between us.

I also do not know what I am to believe.

I know that this time's event was unfair to you.

On behalf of His Majesty, I apologize to you.

I know what kind of person you are.

Everything you have done was for His Majesty,

for Great Sheng.

All these years, I worked so hard to educate him.

With my whole heart, all I wanted was for him to be a worthy ruler.

In the future, he would be able to control Great Sheng steadily.

In the past, I also thought that if back then,

we were not separated, Qiyuan

would be our child.

I know.

I know that you saw Qiyuan

as your own biological son.

I have always been thankful for this sentiment.

In the past, I also thought

that your child would be mine,

yet I had forgotten

that the blood that drips from him is Third Brother's.

You know that he left to go to the emperor's mausoleum

just to lure me there.

There, he ambushed me with around ten guards,

waiting for me to run straight into his net.

If he wasn't so young,

then I would have died.

I was thinking that if he were a little bit older,

what would he have done to me then?

- Chengxu! - Mother Queen.

Qiyuan, you came right on time.

Apologize to your Ninth Royal Uncle immediately.

I am the emperor. Besides the heavens and earth,

I don't need to apologize to anyone at all.

Qiyuan, if it were not for your Ninth Royal Uncle,

do you really think that you could have sat in this throne so steadily?

This time, you completely misunderstood your Ninth Royal Uncle.

Today, you must admit your wrongs to him.

I wasn't wrong! Mother Queen, it was you who is in the wrong. It is you who has always had a blindfold over your eyes.

He is a person full of ambition and schemes. I— - You!

Quit speaking!

You hit me?

From my childhood till now, this is the first time you have ever hit me,

and it was because of him!

Why? Why are you always standing on his side?

Why did you not even ask me what happened?

Do you even know how much I suffered

because of him?

Do you know how much humiliation he caused me?

You are my Mother Queen.

You are the only person I could follow trust, but what about now?

Qiyuan.

I do not know whether or not I can still trust you.

I know that everything you are saying right now is out of anger. I understand you.

This time, you really did wrongly blame your Ninth Royal Uncle.

I did not wrongly blame him.

Regent, let me tell you,

I am the emperor. You are a minister. From now on,

I will never let you manipulate me again.

I will respect Your Majesty's wishes.

In the later, Your Majesty can do as you please.

I

will not dare to interfere.

- Chengxu! - Mother Queen, why are you still calling for him?

This time, you completely broke his heart.

Qiyuan, when your Royal Father died,

he was originally the one who could have taken the throne.

However, he handed it to you without complaint.

All these years, he was completely loyal to you.

For the country, he gave his heart and soul.

If it were not for him, then the Great Sheng of today would not exist.

Moreover, you and I, mother and son, would surely not exist either.

Even to this point, you still speak for him!

Fine. There will be a day when I reveal his true colors to you.

Brother.

I already investigated the matter at hand. It was exactly as you expected.

It was Xiao Qihan's trap.

It was him who brought the kidnapper of His Majesty into the He Yuan Palace.

It was also him who caused this rift between you and His Majesty.

The matter about Liu Mingtai committing suicide...

I fear that it was also his doing.

Back then, His Majesty suddenly brought up

that he wanted to give Liu Mingtai an opportunity to clear his name.

I thought it was strange.

Not long after, Liu Mingtai committed suicide for his crimes.

Then, I understood

that this was clearly a situation created to frame me.

I just never would have thought that in the trap Xiao Qihan set, His Majesty

was the most important chess piece.

In these past months, the ministers of the court have worked hard on settling governmental matters.

All of you have worked hard.

Now, Xi Shu is continuously provoking us.

Crossing our borders, slaughtering our commoners.

It is time for the Twelve Great Xiao Battalions to win against Xi Shu, once and for all.

Prince of Su, Xiao Qihan.

- I am here. - I name you as the Senior General of Jingyuan.

You will bring troops to Xi Shu and destroy Zhang Kaiyuan.

Prince of Yu, Xiao Chengxuan!

- I am here. - I name you as the Senior General of Dingguo.

Bring troops to the northern parts of Xi Shu

and cut the defenses of the Jiao and Shun territories.

Wait!

Jiao and Shun have always been on the side of Zhang Kaiyuan.

If I take my troops to Xi Shu,

then Zhang Kaiyuan will be too busy with us to care about those two territories.

When the Prince of Yu's troops get over there, they will surely win easily.

It would be easier than blowing dust. If I go to fight Xi Shu,

which is full of marshland

and the viciously conniving Zhang Kaiyuan,

our troops will surely suffer a huge loss.

Regent, you gave the easy work

to your own brother and gave the impossible feat to me. Is that appropriate?

What? You are afraid?

What would I be afraid of? I just think that the level of difficulty is not equal. It's not fair.

Prince of Su, when your uncle and father's generation

went to conquest on the orders of the founding emperor,

was there a single battle that wasn't difficult?

Everyone understood that the brave always pushed ahead.

The hardest battles had the most people seeking to take them.

They feared not having military contributions. How come with you,

each generation is getting weaker and weaker than the last?

Prince of Yu, there's no need to provoke me.

How about the two of us switch?

Prince of Su! The decree is irrefutable.

Those who disobey will be beheaded!

Fine.

Fine!

I, Xiao Qihan, will bring my troops to conquer Xi Shu!

You'll see!

Ministers, listen to the decree. The troops will split into two groups

and conquer Xi Shu!

Yes.

Kill them!

Kill them!

Kill them! [Sheng]

Xiao Chengxuan easily took over the Jiao and Shun territories.

He did not spill nearly as much blood

as we did, fighting Zhang Kaiyuan in these past months. Who knows how much we suffered?

The Prince of Yu was lucky.

It is Your Highness who is a true military strategist.

Xiao Chengxu wants to kill me by the blade of another,

but I am determined to not let his wishes come true.

Today, I have attacked Xi Shu and made a huge military contribution.

When I get back, he'll have to wait and see how I plan to get even with him.

When the military report gets back to the capital, then Your Highness will be glorified.

Lately, I would often think of your words.

When I return to the capital, I must properly

fight him for the position of regent.

I am the eldest son of the former emperor. Since I was not given the position of emperor,

then the position of regent naturally should have fell on me.

If we do not take status into account and only base things off of military merits, we're here fighting Xi Shu.

We do not have any advantage of time and place.

However, we have fought hard these days. In the end,

we happened to win.

This scaled dragon jade token was not created by me.

You see, is this not a sign from the Heavens?

- What is it? - Legend has it that this is

the Xi Shu double scaled dragon jade token.

We heard that the reason Zhang Kaiyuan was able to conquer Xi Shu was this token.

Due to the chaos of the battlefield, he lost this token.

I never would have expected that the moment Your Highness arrived in Xi Shu, you would be able to obtain it by chance.

If it were not for you who reminded me of this,

I would not have even noticed

that the dragon pattern on this double scaled dragon token,

are designed in a way that if we connect them together, it is the character "Su".

My title is Su.

Is this not a sign for me?

The aquatic scaled dragon

is a true dragon, but it holds power above all others.

The scaled dragons spell out your title, which means

that Your Highness will have the power to rule over all others under the Dragon King.

Great.

Great.

Even the Heavens are anticipating that the regent position

belongs to me.

Your Highness has the Heavens on his side. I will promise to do anything you say and die a thousand deaths if I disobey.

Great.

Rest assured. As long as I can become the regent,

in the future, you will be guaranteed the position of a duke.

Thank you for your grace, Your Highness.

Xiao Chengxu, Xiao Chengxu. Just you wait.

The day I find you to settle the score

has almost arrived.

Brother.

I never would have expected Zhang Kaiyuan to actually be defeated by Xiao Qihan.

Good news from Xi Shu.

It is about time.

I, He Shaoyong, greet the Prince of Wei.

He Shaoyong, what are you here to do?

To reply to Your Highness, my prince has already conquered Xi Shu.

Oh, really? Then Zhang Kaiyuan is dead?

To reply, yes. Zhang Kaiyuan indeed is dead.

My prince asked me to deliver these words to you.

The time in which we can and should fight

has already arrived.

The Prince of Su means to say that he wants to fight Xiao Chengxu?

Yes. Great Sheng's tradition is that whoever has higher military merits

can have power.

My prince risked his life to deal with the impossibly hard task of taking Xi Shu.

He deserves to have the power over the government.

No. Xiao Chengxu holds the regency securely right now.

Besides,

last time, when fighting for the position of emperor, the Eighth Prince has already lost faith in Qihan.

Trying to persuade him would be a hard task. Now, Qihan wants to fight Xiao Chengxu.

- I fear... - Your Highness, if we do not snatch this opportunity, I fear

that we will never be able to gain power.

He Shaoyou. In the past, I never saw your capabilities.

As Xiao Qihan's subordinate, you really wasted your potential.

I do not understand Your Highness's words.

The scaled dragons leave the dirt to form the character "Su".

Your plan was very beautiful.

You understand your master.

You know the extent of his capabilities.

The mission to conquering Xi Shu was too hard for him,

so you created a jade token to give him confidence.

It's a shame that your master was so trusting of you.

However, you prescribed the right medicine

and revived his low spirits. [T/N: He is literally saying that he revived a dead horse]

I am not wrong, am I?

How did you know about this?

When you and that Jiang Tu left Xi Shu,

where you met and where you left each other,

what cities you went to,

we know all of that clearly.

As for what you did after entering the city,

you can figure out where I picked you up.

He Shaoyong, you underestimated my abilities.

Since we already have the upper hand,

why would we allow you to win?

Regent, I admit that this was my doing.

Kill me.

Killing you would not be hard.

It is just that I feel pity for you.

You have great ambition and motivations.

Your motive is just to gain recognition and fame, yes?

Sadly, your only wrongdoing

was that you picked the wrong master to follow.

Then in your opinion, Your Highness,

who would have been my correct master?

Who do you think?

I never would have thought that though Xiao Chengtai hasn't had the right to lead a battalion in so long,

he still cannot quit scheming.

If this time, Qihan

really wants to draw Xiao Chengtai in, then his scheme will surely be big.

Your Highness, I have already made arrangements.

Tell me.

Good plan.

Brother, how could we trust him?

Because what he wants,

only I can give it, and I am the only one who can afford to give it, so I trust him.

Your Highness is correct.

I just want to gain recognition and fame.

I will follow you with a sincere heart and soul.

I can only gain true success from following Your Highness.

He Shaoyong, I

truly did not judge your capability incorrectly.

I also did not waste all of the time I spent on you.

Thank you for your praise, Your Highness.

For now, lay low in this area.

When the right opportunity comes, I will find you.

I obey.

Now, everyone should know

that the current situation is complicated.

No matter if it is military fees or disaster relief,

we still need to spend a grand amount of money.

Right now, princes and ministers

are not joined together enough. How could we

fix this urgent situation?

Especially the Prince of Wei, Xiao Chengtai.

He chose to spend bouts of money on furnishing his manor.

I would like to ask if that is appropriate.

- The Prince of Wei— - Absolutely not!

Take, for example, the regent, who lives in the old Liang manor.

He did not move a single thing.

Such a minimalist lifestyle

should be adopted by all ministers.

If everyone has the time, you could visit the Prince of Wei's manor and take a look.

Let's not even talk about how luxurious and clean it is. Even the furnishings

are made of golden lions, golden eagles, and golden turtles.

Even the doorknobs

are created to shape jade lions.

Prince of Wei, how will you explain this?

The discovery of Prince of Wei's manor's furnishings

makes me feel shocked. This is a huge matter.

I would like to ask Your Majesty

how we should deal with this situation.

Regent, you clearly know what to do. Why ask me? Just deal with it yourself.

I obey.

Your Majesty, what are you unhappy about this time?

Mother Queen, the emperor should be in charge of the government's important affairs, should he not?

But now, in the court, I cannot even get a word in.

Also, the regent asked for my grace on behalf of the Prince of Yu.

He said that he had an old injury on his leg, and it prevents him from kneeling.

From now on, he no longer needs to kneel in front of me.

In his eyes, what kind of emperor am I?

Has there ever been a person who did not have to kneel upon seeing their emperor?

He... really said that?

Of course. I am just the emperor for show.

Mother Queen, when will I be able to rule alone?

If Your Majesty wants to do that,

that means that you have grown up. It is good news.

However, Your Majesty knows

that ruling along is not a small feat.

I know that. The regent does not want to give the power up so easily,

but if he never gives up his power, will I never get to rule alone?

I am just a puppet emperor. What is the fun in that?

How about I just give His Majesty the throne? It would save a lot of trouble.

Your Majesty. You are speaking rashly out of anger again.

I know that in these years, you have been immensely dissatisfied with your Ninth Royal Uncle.

However, Qiyuan, you must let go of this dissatisfaction and think logically.

The years in which the regent took over the governmental affairs,

he fought enemy troops to secure the lands.

Within the nation, he eased internal conflict and steadied the hearts of the commoners.

In all of this, he never made the slightest mistake.

The ministers respect him for it.

That is why Great Sheng is prosperous and safe.

Your Majesty, if you truly want to rule alone, do you have the confidence

that you will do better than him?

Mother Queen, are you worried that my capabilities are not as good as Ninth Royal Uncle's?

That is not what I meant.

I know that you were born gifted.

That is why your Royal Father bestowed the throne to you.

Great Sheng's lands are a responsibility you cannot run from,

and not a single other person could replace you.

Then, Mother Queen, you mean to say...?

I mean to say that you must not be impatient.

When you have studied enough, no matter if it is I or the court

or the thousands of commoners all over Great Sheng, we will all look forward to seeing you rule alone.

However, right now, you must learn and listen more.

If you truly want to replace your Ninth Royal Unclel then you must

work better than him in order to make others feel satisfied.

Mother Queen, you are correct. I was too impatient.

Right now, I must quickly learn how to be a great emperor.

This way, the court and commoners will support me.

This thought process of yours is correct.

Ever since Chengxu and Qiyuan got into conflict last time,

Chengxu's intentions

are getting harder and harder for me to comprehend.

What exactly is he thinking?

I also know that asking a person with so much power

to give it up will be incredibly hard.

Your Highness, if you still care for Her Highness,

and still wish for her happiness,

then you only need to do one thing.

Teach His Majesty well and cultivate him into a good emperor.

Teach him?

Cultivate him into a good emperor?

All these years, I have always been teaching him,

but His Majesty does not see how much I lost for him.

You can see the result as well.

Not only does His Majesty not feel grateful,

but he also hates me.

Mingyu and I were supposed to be together,

but we cannot.

How could I not understand it?

Your Highness, you keep protecting someone

who could never possibly give you what you want. Why don't you try to let go?

If you cherish the present, then perhaps we can all live more happily.

Who could possibly understand my pain?

Thousands see that I control the lands.

I have unlimited fame.

However, every time the night goes silent,

I am all alone, lonely and depressed.

How could anyone understand

the agony in my heart?

The truth is that I have nothing.

Zhen'er. Thank you.

All these years,

you always protected Mingyu.

Also, thank you for caring for me all this time.

Senior General Prince of Su comes back victoriously!

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Eldest Brother, get up.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Eldest Brother, you suffered a lot this time.

Not only did conquering Xi Shu not only brought blessing to the lands, but it also eliminated a risk for the commoners.

Everyone will surely respect and admire you.

Prince of Su! Prince of Su! Prince of Su!

Oh no. Ninth Royal Uncle did not ask me to say these things.

- Your Majesty. - Shh...

- Your Majesty. - Shh...

What are you doing?

They are discussing something. I want to know what it is.

Your Majesty, after you become the sole ruler, you can listen however you want

and listen to whatever you want. What are you doing now?

He will not let me listen, so I must know.

Conquering Xi Shu is the biggest achievement that happened since I entered the court.

Prince of Su, you really are a mighty and blessed general.

Congratulations, Prince of Su. Congratulations.

Congratulations, Prince of Su for returning victoriously. Congratulations.

You flatter me.

Fifth Royal Uncle.

Prince of Su. This time, you made a huge contribution.

That is a very noble achievement.

The secret letter I asked He Shaoyong to give you,

did you see it?

I did see it,

- but... - The Regent has arrived!

Prince of Su, you have been troubled greatly.

Seeing you is not a trouble.

He Shaoyong?

Prince of Su.

Why are you here? I looked for you for a long time.

He Shaoyong gave me a very important piece of information.

What is this?

This was the double scaled dragon jade token I found in Xi Shu. What about it?

The character spelled out in the jade token

is "Su", which is created by the pattern of the dragons.

It looks like the Prince of Su

was chosen by the Heavens.

What does this mean?

Xiao Qihan, you are too bold!

You dare to spread a rumor that you are more special than the emperor

and that you were chosen by the Heavens? What do you intend?

Everyone has seen it.

The jade from the Heavens is a sign from the Gods.

How could I have the power to do this?

Besides, I am not like some people.

I am not interested in taking all of the power and ruling all of the land.

I have no interest in being more important than His Majesty.

Bring him up!

Greetings, Your Highness. Greetings, officials.

Tell everyone who you are.

My name is Ding Er. I am a jade artisan in Xi Shu.

What is this artifact?

I recognize it, I recognize it.

This jade token was crafted by my hand.

Commoner! Quit speaking nonsense!

Did you see it clearly? This is Xi Shu's heavenly jade.

I cannot be wrong. Xi Shu does not have any such thing as heavenly jade.

This jade token took me a very long time to create.

I broke many pieces of jade because of this design, so my impression on this piece is deep.

This is complete nonsense! Complete nonsense!

Xiao Chengxu, where did you find such a person?

You want to slander me, do you not?

I am telling the complete truth. I do not dare to hide a single detail.

Your Highness, please take a look. These were the drafts I made of the "Su" character before starting the jade design.

These are the jade pieces I broke before.

Your Highness can compare the "Su" character

and realize that everything I said was the truth.

It is not possible!

This is what you call the will of the Gods? You bribed an artisan to create a fake artifact of the Heavens

and then you spread rumors that you were the chosen one. Why?

For what reason did you gain military merits?

I didn't know that this dragon token was a fake!

He Shaoyong, you were tricking me all along, were you not?

It was you, wasn't it?

Ever since the beginning, you used these matters to trick me, am I correct?

Xiao Qihan, originally I had thought

that because you made such a huge military contribution for Great Sheng, you would be ready to take a position of power.

However, I never would have thought that you

planned to scheme against His Majesty!

Eldest Royal Uncle, Fifth Royal Uncle,

I really did not know that this was fake! I was also tricked!

Besides, even if I was that bold,

I still would not dare to create this kind of rumor!

What? You mean to say

that if the writing on this jade were real,

then you really would see yourself as the true chosen one

and try to steal the throne?

I, Xiao Qihan, am a minister of Great Sheng.

For Great Sheng, I achieved so much in the military.

In the end, you set me up like this.

Set you up?

He Shaoyong.

Take a close look at it yourself.

On this, it lists all of the crimes you committed while fighting in Xi Shu.

You asked your own subordinates to forcibly steal rations from the commoners.

You forcibly converted commoners into soldiers and squandered away your resources.

Also, I had been wondering why the money Xi Shu paid in taxes

was so low.

All along, it was because it entered your pockets.

Xiao Qihan, you dare to embezzle military funds?

Prince of Su, you really know no bounds.

Now, the evidence is here in the forms of both people and documents.

Do you still need me to get more people to investigate this?

He Shaoyong.

You betrayed me!

Prince of Su. At this point, you should admit that you lost.

Perhaps you can still plead the regent for mercy.

Admit loss?

Xiao Chengxu, you dared to do this

because you knew that the Empress Dowager would support you.

Prince of Su, be more careful with your words.

- If the two Empress Dowagers find out– - So what if they do?

The Empress Dowagers would kill me, a minister?

Me, a prince?

They would kill me, the eldest son of the former emperor?

I would like to ask the Empress Dowagers

why they would allow Xiao Chengxu to dirty my name like this.

Perhaps Empress Dowager Xianzhen

would rather you became the emperor?

I had forgotten

that she was always doing as you wanted.

Xiao Qihan! You are being extremely disrespectful!

What ancestral rule did I break?

Xiao Chengxu, you have angered me.

I will expose everything

about you and Empress Dowager Xianzhen!

We'll see which one of us is the disrespectful one!

Someone, come!

- Present! - The Prince of Su, Xiao Qihan

schemed against His Majesty! He planned to rebel!

From today on, remove all of his military rights

and his title. He will be locked in the Su Manor

where he will await his sentence!

Xiao Chengxu, you are cruel.

Don't pretend that I don't know. You just to steal power

and take it all for yourself!

You lock me up. Is that not because you are afraid of me?

You think that by doing this, I will accept you?

Take him away!

Xiao Chengxu. Just you wait!

I, Xiao Qihan, am the eldest son of the former emperor!

I am Great Sheng's general!

Xiao Chengxu! Just you wait!

I will not admit defeat so easily!

Your Majesty.

[Su Manor]

Prince of Su.

Who are you?

I do not recognize you.

Get out.

Master, you must not blame me.

I did this for your good.

For my good?

Take a look at this first.

Our actions

were clear to the regent.

How could we beat the regent?

That day, I had just left the Prince of Wei's manor.

They immediately attacked me and entrapped me.

I asked for the regent to kill me, but he would not.

He asked me to think it through.

Then, he left me there to think by myself.

I thought and thought.

In the end,

you could not bear to die?

Yes.

I could not bear to die

because I am just like you.

We both cannot bear to die. We are both people who cannot let victory slip from our grasps.

Master, to tell you the truth,

the two of us together

are still not the regent's worthy opponent.

Tell me.

What does your new master want me to do?

Empress Dowager Yuanzhen has continuously been asking the regent for mercy on your behalf.

She wants him to consider that you were the former emperor's eldest son

and use that as reason to not harm you.

That is why your only punishment was to stay in your own home.

The regent promised Empress Dowager Yuanzhen that he would give you luxuries

and preserve all of your dignity.

However, he wants you

to sign a letter of surrender.

- Letter of surrender? - Yes.

He wants me to, from today forward, live in his shadow?

From today forward?

Master, the truth is that ever since the beginning, you have always lived in his shadow!

The regent has already gained the advantage of power!

How could he possibly give you the chance to gain victory? Do you still not understand?

According to military and status, you are not worse than him in any way!

It's just that your destiny is not as good as his!

His life is too miserable

while your life

is too good.

[The Promise of Chang'an]

Timing and subtitles brought to you by Impossible Promises @ Viki.com

"Falling Fate" - Singer: Li Yugang

♫ Who is swaying at dusk on the riverbank by the gently fluttering willows? ♫

♫ That beauty dances between the clouds and the rippling moonglade ♫

♫ Dancing lightly like the startled birds and your graceful face is like delicate blooms ♫

♫ Longing in the wind, with glistening eyes looking toward the ripples ♫

♫ I could not take my eyes off such a sight to behold ♫

♫ It seems brief, my adoration for you has been for years ♫

♫ You come or go as you please, my soul is being led by dreams of you ♫

♫ These are foolish and infuriating times, I still wish we could be together forever ♫

♫ Destiny leads you into my life to make me whole ♫

♫ My love for you is like an ink-mark that never dries ♫

♫ As the snow scatters in the wind, as the clouds shield the moon ♫

♫ As I have to be drunk to sleep through the night ♫

♫ Like you, the paper I write on is full of melancholy ♫

♫ Destiny leads you into my life, times of great changes separate us ♫

♫ My tears fall and fill the curtained carriage along the way ♫

♫ This homeward journey, this boundless life ♫

♫ It is fleeting, and filled with joys and sorrows ♫