Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[Palace of Devotion]

[This drama is based on historical data and legends.]

[The story and characters portrayed are fictitious.]

[Episode 4]

Yuan Kan has no experience in flood control.

Duke Xiang has served in the Ministry of Works for several months.

He is familiar with the general services,

which makes him a suitable candidate to handle

such a critical and intricate flooding issue.

You're still defending him?

Even until now,

he still has a strong affection for Liu E.

I'm quite disappointed in him.

Being affectionate is not necessarily a bad thing.

Would you rather him be cold-hearted, Your Majesty?

Know that a cold-hearted man must be ungrateful.

You always speak up for Yuan Kan.

You're very wise, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, you're only being harsh on him out of love.

Not to mention that flood control involves disaster relief.

Corruption must be prevented in disaster relief.

Duke Xiang as Your Majesty's ideal candidate

to be the Crown Prince,

only he

can control the situation

better than any official.

You've got a good point.

I'll give Yuan Kan a chance.

Have an edict drafted.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, Duke Xiang is here to seek an audience.

Let him in.

He seems to be here for Liu E.

He claimed that Liu E is innocent.

Your Majesty,

please mind your health.

You're here.

Your Highness,

His Majesty has appointed three princes to work on flood control.

[Yuan Zuo, Yuan Xi and Yuan Kan]

[shall go to the Yellow River together.]

[They will share equal authority and help each other in controlling the flood.]

[Your Majesty, you...]

[Didn't he want to protect Liu E?]

[Fine.]

[Now that the royal grandson has died at the hands of Liu E.]

[Yuan Kan]

[will no longer be entitled to be the Crown Prince.]

[The position of Crown Prince]

[will belong only to the worthy one.]

When a flower is in full bloom,

it is also the day it's about to decay.

Might as well save the nutrients

for buds that are ready to bloom.

I see.

Ying'er.

Ying'er.

Ying'er!

Ying...

Where is she?

Your Highness,

she left this for you.

She asked me to go to the kitchen and make osmanthus soup.

When I returned,

[Your Highness, I hope you're well. If I knew I would bring you misfortune...]

she was gone.

[Your Highness, I hope this letter finds you well.]

[Had I known that I would bring you misfortune,]

[I would have never met you in the first place.]

[The love you've given me]

[will console me for the rest of my life.]

[I miss you all the time.]

[I frown a lot during the days when I didn't think about you.]

[There is a long journey ahead of me.]

[I wish you well.]

[Yours forever, Ying'er.]

Duke Xiang's residence is no longer home to me

since Ying'er left.

She has been through too much

since she came to the capital.

Everything that happened was because of me.

Yet

she has to bear the blame for all of this alone.

I've failed to take good care of her.

She is afraid that if the conflict between

Your Highness and His Majesty goes on,

Your Highness might lose the chance to be the Crown Prince.

Your future would be ruined.

No matter where Ying'er is,

I will find her.

But Your Highness,

how can you leave the capital without permission?

Father has assigned me to Hua Prefecture for flood control.

While I am there,

I can take the opportunity to look for Ying'er.

Ying'er has talked about you more than once.

She said that you are

a loyal man that is hard to come by.

May I ask

if you are willing to come with me to Hua Prefecture?

I am.

I, Yi Jian, pledge my allegiance to you.

I'll put in full commitment to serve you.

Thank you.

[Dear Duke Xiang,]

[To Duke Xiang]

[I haven't heard any news of you for a long time since I left you.]

[I miss you all the time.]

[I have been longing to see you again.]

[My mother-in-law once told me]

[I would never be pregnant again.]

[However, I have not had my period for several months.]

[I thought that it was because of]

[the exhaustion from my journey lately.]

[To Duke Xiang]

[I stopped by a clinic today.]

[After the doctor checked on my pulse,]

[I learned that]

[I had been pregnant for several months.]

[I could not help but feel bittersweet.]

[I only wish to let you know about this as soon as I can.]

[Yours truly, Ying'er.]

Postman.

Do you have a letter to send, my lady?

No.

Come on.

I never thought the damages from the disaster would be so severe.

This is the flood of the century.

If Your Highness doesn't get it under control,

the capital might be affected as well.

Father has assigned me and my brothers here to work on flood control.

I only hope that

my two brothers can pull together

to help the flood victims.

Yes, Your Highness.

The Water Chiefs of Hua Prefecture are working at the levee.

They want to repair the levee.

Yuan Xi is there now.

Let's pick up the pace to get to the levee.

Yes, Your Highness.

My lord, please give me some food!

Please give me some food.

Please give me some food.

Please give me some food.

Lord Li, what's going on?

Your Highness...

Sir, please give us some food.

Your children must be hungry.

Bring me my flat cakes.

Child, you must be hungry.

Thank you, Sir!

Easy, easy.

You'll all get yours.

Your Highness!

You can't give them food.

Your Highness, please come with me.

Yi Jian.

Your Highness.

Yi Jian.

Give me some food!

Don't leave!

Yi Jian, Yi Jian.

Your Highness.

Why?

Your Highness,

you can't give them food.

Why can't I?

You will get them killed

by giving them food.

It's just a piece of flat cake.

Folks,

as long as I, Duke Chu, am here,

you will have cakes to eat every day.

This will cause a lot of trouble.

Come on, we have a cake for everyone.

Come here, we have cakes for you here.

Duke Chu is giving out cakes.

Here.

Here.

Thank you, thank you.

No fighting, no fighting.

Duke Chu,

you can't give them food like this!

-Everyone will get your cake. -Your Highness!

Don't fight, don't fight.

Don't fight.

Here you go.

Here you go.

Folks, stop pushing!

Don't fight, don't fight.

One by one.

Give me one.

Your Highness,

what happened to this child?

Whose child is this?

Whose child is this?

Folks!

Folks, stop pushing.

Your Highness...

Folks...

What's wrong with this child?

Stop pushing.

Stop it, folks.

Let's go, Your Highness.

Make way.

Whose child is this?

Child.

Your Highness,

don't touch him.

Why?

He looks ill.

You must be careful.

Yuan Zuo,

do you know that

this kid

was just begging me for food?

Yet he has now become a corpse.

I didn't mean for this to happen.

Yuan Zuo...

Report!

Your Highness, we got a problem.

Duke Xu is going to execute the River Chiefs at the riverbank.

Come on.

Get on your knees.

Flood control is a major affair for the imperial court.

The court has allocated countless amounts of money every year.

Yet the levee still cracked in the end.

Where did the money go?

How much did you steal?

I...

Now I shall use your heads

to pay tribute to those victims who died because of the flood.

Duke Xu,

the flood this year happened only once every century.

The river course hasn't been maintained for years.

We are short of manpower and supplies to fix it.

They...

It has not been easy for them

to keep the city safe until now.

In order to control the flood,

Water Chiefs like us have been eating and sleeping along the riverbank.

The money for disaster relief did not go through us at all.

There is...

There is no way we can embezzle those money.

Still trying to justify yourself even before your execution?

Behead them!

I, Wang He, have spent my whole life solving flood problems.

I never expected that

I would be convicted because of it in the end,

that I would die by the hands of royalties

and corrupt officials.

You...

Heaven is the judge!

You will not escape unpunished.

I, Wang He,

will sacrifice my life to the River God today.

I'll save you the trouble of killing me.

Lord Wang! Lord Wang! Lord Wang!

Lord Wang! Lord Wang!

Lord Wang! Lord Wang!

Stop it, Yuan Xi!

Stop! Are you out of your mind?

The death of those flood victims

was caused by their incompetence in flood control.

The Yellow River flood has happened so many times since ancient times,

and it has never been solved.

Why are they the only ones guilty?

Yuan Xi, why did you kill these innocent men

without an investigation?

Get out of my way!

What are you trying to do?

Yi Jian!

You!

Don't be disrespectful!

Stand down!

Please calm down, Your Highness.

This is not the right time to fight Duke Xiang.

Yuan Kan,

I get to call the shots in our flood control task in Hua Prefecture.

I'm not going to let you steal credit for my work.

Remember, if you do this again,

I will not show you mercy.

Yuan Xi...

Out of my way!

Duke Xiang,

Lord Wang has died unjustly.

At the age of 14, Lord Wang had gone to the levee with his father

to learn the way of flood management.

At the age of 35,

he was appointed as River Conservancy Commissioner.

Over the past three months, Lord Wang and we

have been guarding the levee without rest.

I can't believe he would end up like that.

Duke Xu is guilty of wrongfully executing the officials

who contributed in the flood control.

Lord Wang has died unjustly.

I promise to clear the name of Lord Wang He.

You are all flood-fighting heroes.

At this time of crisis,

the flood shall be dealt with without further delay,

will you all work together with me

to tackle

the flood?

We, as the Water Chiefs,

[There is something wrong with those sandbags, it can't block the water.]

[Those sandbags are the same.]

[Who on earth]

[Hurry, over there.]

[cut corners on the sandbags used to reinforce the levee]

[and embezzled the disaster relief funds?]

Your Highness, you must investigate it.

I will.

Rest assured, everyone.

I will get some answers for this.

Your Highness, I got you some water.

There's something disrespectful I've been wanting to say.

His Majesty shouldn't have

sent Duke Chu and Duke Xu here for flood control.

They

only cause more harm than good.

We have to watch out for them.

They will cause us trouble sooner or later.

I know my brothers

well.

I know how to deal with them.

Speaking of which,

regarding the embezzlement of disaster relief funds mentioned today,

Yi Jian, you must get to the bottom of it.

Don't worry.

I will investigate secretly once we enter the city.

The Magistrate of Hua Prefecture is a man called Liu Yi.

He is in charge of the disaster relief fund

disbursed by the Ministry of Works.

He is our prime suspect.

Yuan Kan

defied me right after he arrived in Hua Prefecture.

Duke Xiang

clearly wants to compete with you for power this time.

So that he can claim credit in front of His Majesty

and be named Crown Prince.

Yuan Kan,

I won't let you stand in my way again this time.

You will enter the city early tomorrow morning.

Tell Magistrate Liu

to be wary of Yuan Kan.

Yes, Your Highness.

Even giving cakes out of kindness could get someone killed.

Your Highness, this is a disaster zone.

Things are different here compared to the capital.

The Empress knew that it would be rough here.

That's why Her Highness sent me to come with you.

Su Yi Jian said

once the flood water recedes,

we can take the opportunity to go back.

I just think that maybe...

Maybe it'd better for me to go back to the palace as soon as I can.

Look at this place.

It's humid and there are mosquitoes.

I'm afraid that I'll be dead

before the water recedes.

Your Highness,

we all know that His Majesty wants to test the talents

and virtues of you three princes through this flood control mission.

One of you will be named crown prince once we return to the capital.

Duke Xiang has repeatedly infuriated His Majesty.

While Duke Xu is a hothead.

The odds are in your favour, Your Highness.

If you back down this time,

you will put Her Highness' effort into vain.

I almost lost my life.

What's the point of being the Crown Prince?

Your Highness, take a look at this.

This is the topographical map of the water system

in Hua Prefecture they sent us.

How big is the crack?

557 steps wide.

557 steps wide.

It seems that

Hua Prefecture is not the only city in danger,

even Weicheng County, Tongli County,

Chan Prefecture, Pu Prefecture and Deqing County

are at stake.

Yes.

I didn't expect it would be so serious.

Lord Wang is innocent!

What's going on?

Lord Wang is innocent!

Lord Wang is innocent!

Your Highness, people are rioting.

They have surrounded Duke Xu's tent.

Lord Wang is innocent!

We stand together with Lord Wang.

Lord Wang is innocent!

Yi Jian, come with me.

Give us an explanation.

Lord Wang is innocent!

I just killed a few River Chiefs,

how did it trigger a civil unrest?

Your Highness, there are too many civilians out there.

There is no way to exit.

The situation is chaotic.

If they start to attack,

what should we do?

Your Highness, it's time to take action.

We must give those civilians an explanation,

or we will lose support of the civilians.

Lose support of the civilians?

Besides,

if Duke Xiang and Duke Chu instigate the people even further,

the situation would become very unfavourable for Your Majesty.

Very unfavourable?

Lord Wang is innocent!

Lord Li, Lord Li.

Lord Li.

Lord Li.

Lord Li, what's going on?

Is there a big flood coming?

Don't be afraid, Your Highness. The victims are rioting.

Duke Xu killed several River Chiefs

and caused Lord Wang to kill himself by jumping into the river.

People are seeking justice for them.

They have his tent surrounded.

Your Highness, I think

you should step in now to calm the situation down.

Me?

What can I do?

Think about it, Your Highness.

Duke Xu is the cause of all this.

If Your Highness can appease the civilians

and settle the matter,

all credits will go to you.

When His Majesty hears about this,

His Majesty would be impressed.

There are a lot of people out there.

This is beyond my capability.

Your Highness...

Lord Wang is innocent!

We demand justice!

Lord Wang deserves justice!

Lord Wang is innocent!

Lord Wang is innocent!

Lord Wang is innocent!

Lord Wang is innocent!

People...

Lord Wang is innocent!

Lord Wang is innocent!

People!

Convicted official Wang He was guilty of corruption.

There is evidence to prove that.

He committed suicide to escape punishment.

Everything the imperial court does is regulated by law.

Don't be instigated by those with ulterior motives

and influence court officials from enforcing the law.

You claimed Lord Wang was a corrupt official. Where is your proof?

That's right. Where is your evidence?

The evidence is deemed improper for public disclosure.

That means you have no evidence.

Folks, he has murdered innocent men!

That's right. He killed innocent men! He killed innocent men!

How dare you!

Show us the evidence!

Lord Wang deserves justice!

He killed innocent men!

He killed innocent men!

Lord Wang is innocent!

Lord Wang is innocent!

People!

Yuan Kan.

People!

Give us an explanation!

I am Duke Xiang, Zhao Yuan Kan.

I have something to say.

We can't bring back the dead.

After what happened to Lord Wang,

I can understand your anger.

Since Lord Wang was an honest official,

why did you people force him to commit suicide?

Lord Wang was forced to jump into the river,

several River Chiefs were beheaded,

I am responsible as well.

Therefore,

I'm here to offer my humble apology

and ask for punishment.

Folks,

you can vent your anger on me.

Yi Jian.

Yuan Kan, what are you doing?

Whip me!

What is he doing?

Fine.

Since no one is willing to do it,

Yi Jian, you will do it!

Your Highness...

Whip me!

I...

Now!

Your Highness...

Do it!

Is he really going to whip him?

Can he take it?

What should we do?

Your Highness...

Do it now! Whip me!

He whipped him for real?

Yes.

Again!

Carry on!

Come on! Keep whipping!

Your Highness.

Your Highness.

Stop it, stop, stop.

Your Highness!

Keep whipping until people's anger is eased.

Stop it, stop, stop.

Duke Xiang, Your Highness...

Keep whipping!

Your Highness, you won't be able to take it anymore.

Keep whipping.

Your Highness, you won't be able to take it anymore.

Keep whipping until people are no longer mad.

They are all on their knees.

Are the people still mad?

No.

Good.

I'd like to say thank you to all the folks here.

Duke Xiang, Duke Xiang.

Let's go, Your Highness.

Forgive me, Your Highness. I whipped too hard, didn't I?

If you had gone soft on me,

it would've been unconvincing.

Compared to Wang He

and other Water Chiefs

who have lost their lives,

these wounds

are nothing.

Yi Jian, you look like

someone who has survived a great disaster too.

That's why you stopped me from giving the child food today.

Since my brother died,

my sister-in-law and I fled to Shu as refugees.

There was a food distribution as well.

Like what Duke Chu did today.

They casually tossed food to the victims.

And let them fight for it.

They had no idea what the food

meant to the victims.

When a group of people who were struggling for survival

suddenly saw the life-saving food,

they would definitely do everything they could to get it,

they would kill each other for it.

Fortunately, my sister-in-law stopped me in time

to save my life.

No wonder

you have such respect for Ying'er.

And because of that incident,

my sister-in-law and I got separated.

We travelled separately

and alone

until we finally reunited in Dongjing.

I never expected we would be separated again so soon.

Ying'er is not the kind of girl

who put her life into the hands of fate.

She will live a good life.

I have a feeling that

we will see her again.

We will definitely find her.

Without any doubt.

Easy, people.

Get in line, you will get your food.

Mother, I'm hungry. I want cake.

Next.

Come on, next.

Give me more, more.

You will get yours, next.

Stay in line, stay in line.

I will get some cake for you, I will.

Stop crying.

I will get some cake for you at home.

Stop crying.

You want to eat cake?

Don't worry.

I got some fresh materials, let me make some cake for him.

Put in more vegetables.

Madam, I'm starving.

Are you done?

Patient, just a little longer.

It's almost done.

Once the pot is heated,

I'll put the dough inside.

Just stick the dough here.

Once they are heated,

our food is ready.

I want one too.

Here you go.

Madam.

Grab these.

Share it with others.

Madam! Madam!

Madam, an old woman has collapsed.

Wake up, Madam.

Here, make way.

She fainted, Madam.

Madam.

Get some water here.

Alright.

Come on.

Careful.

Madam? Madam?

Watch the fire.

Stop running. Come back for your nap.

This is for you.

Get some rest now.

Madam,

here, have some rice soup.

It's not too hot, right?

No.

I have read the memorandum from the Magistrate of Hua Prefecture.

All food relief has been distributed.

Arrangements have been made to help civilians.

Looks like Yuan Kan and his brothers' efforts

in flood control have started to pay off.

Indeed, Your Majesty.

Duke Chu is methodical.

Duke Xu is swift and decisive.

But Duke Xiang is the most outstanding one.

He has been working tirelessly to search for ways.

He led by example and saved the day.

Have Yuan Kan offered you something?

You kept putting in a good word for him.

I am just reporting the truth.

Regarding the naming of the Crown Prince,

will Your Majesty make a decision

after the flood?

Now does not seem to be the right time.

I have sent Kou Zhun and Wang Qin Ruo

to make an incognito visit to Hua Prefecture.

We shall wait for their memorandum.

Lord Kou,

you and I have His Majesty's Sword of State,

we are empowered to act without prior approval,

but we are inspecting three princes.

We can't afford to offend any one of them.

Lord Wang, don't worry.

We are inspecting them under imperial orders.

Just report the truth.

Yes, yes.

When we get to Hua Prefecture,

why don't we avoid the princes first

and have a secret inspection?

Let's check out the real situation of their flood control.

Good idea.

Let's play it by ear in Hua Prefecture.

Yes, yes.

Let's go.

Duke Xiang has been away from the capital for a long time.

It must have been difficult for you to stay in the Duke's residence all alone.

Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.

His Highness is lightening His Majesty's burdens and troubles.

Hence, it's my responsibility to take care of the Duke's residence

to lighten the worries of His Highness.

So that he can resolve the flood issues without worries.

His Majesty's arrow wound has relapsed and it's getting serious.

He has to deal with the court affairs

while worrying about the floods.

Without Duke Xiang to lighten His Majesty's worries,

His Majesty's conditions could have been worsened.

Under Your Highness' care,

His Majesty will be in good health and stay strong.

Has Duke Xiang ever come home?

No.

Has he sent any letter?

Did he say when will the flood control end?

When will he return to the capital?

Duke Xiang cares deeply about his country indeed.

He is even better than Yu the Great,

who conquered the flood.

That's very kind of you to say that, Your Highness.

Her Highness has been losing weight lately.

It must be because of His Majesty's condition.

Her Highness did not put on any makeup

or wear any decent jewellery.

It is obvious that they care about each other so deeply

she forgot about her appearance.

Not necessarily.

What makes you say that, Nanny?

Her Highness clearly knows that His Majesty is seriously ill.

Yet she wore a pair of bright red shoes

under her dress today.

Did you look carefully?

I did.

The shoes were embroidered

with a pair of cross-necked mandarin ducks.

She certainly won't wear it

in front of His Majesty and others.

She probably didn't have time

to take it off when she met us.

Hurry up, folks.

We are moving to Hua Prefecture.

Careful, Madam.

Don't bring unnecessary stuff.

Where are we going?

Madam,

the government has issued a notice.

It says the flood water is going to rise again.

The land is low here.

It might get flooded.

Everyone must move to Hua Prefecture.

Come on, let's go that way.

Hold the horse.

Yes, my lord.

My lady.

Yu Shu.

How may I help you, Sister?

When you see Empress Li in future,

be careful at what you say.

In particular, don't reveal anything to Empress Li about

His Highness' management of Yellow River in Hua Prefecture.

Empress Li treats people with kindness.

And Her Highness has been taking good care of us.

Every time

she met me at the palace,

she would ask me how Duke Xiang was doing.

His Majesty sent three princes to control the flood of the Yellow River.

His Majesty clearly wants to test their ability.

This concerns the naming of the Crown Prince.

If Empress Li asks about His Majesty again,

just feign ignorance.

I will keep that in mind.

Your Highness!

Your Highness!

Yi Jian.

Your Highness.

What's wrong?

This is bad, water levels at the river nearby are rising.

There are more cracks in the levee.

It's too dangerous here, come to the city with me now.

We can't leave now.

Your Highness, the flood water comes ferociously.

If we don't leave now, it will be too late.

Stop hesitating. Hurry up!

Come on.

Careful, Madam.

The city gate is closing! Get to the higher ground!

The flood is coming! Close the city gate!

The city gate is closing! Get to the higher ground!

The flood is coming! Close the city gate!

Get to the higher ground!

What's the matter, girl?

His Highness.

What is His Highness doing here?

The city gate is closing!

Your Highness.

How is the situation with the flood?

Your Highness, the sandbags to cover the cracks on the levee

were cobbled together last minute.

It can't stop the water.

Look!

The crack in the levee is expanding.

Your Highness, the levee has burst!

Your Highness, the levee has burst!

The levee has burst!

How...

The levee has burst!

We can't let the water destroy the gate.

Yi Jian, come with me to the city gate to block the water.

Yes, Your Highness.

This way, this way.

Hurry.

The city is going to be flooded.

Get those sandbags to block the city gate!

Stack the sandbags up.

The water is flooding in.

Get those sandbags to block the city gate!

Hurry, keep up!

Hurry up, here.

Coming through!

Quick, more sandbag!

Quick, quick!

This spot.

More sandbags!

Coming!

Hold it. Come on.

Hold it, hold it!

More sandbags!

Come on.

Stack it up, stack it up. Hurry!

Stack it up, stack it up. Hurry!

Coming.

Stack it up, here.

More sandbags on top!

More!

Stack it up! I need more on top, come on!

Pass it to me!

Pass me the sandbag!

Come on!

Done!

The water is blocked.

Keep going.

Don't let up, everyone!

Don't let up, reinforce it!

Honey!

Father of my child!

[Hua Prefecture]

Honey!

How am I going to live without you?

Sir, give me some food. Sir...

Sir...

Honey!

Mother!

Honey! Honey!

Sir.

Sir, give me some food. Sir...

Your Highness, where are you going?

Hurry, carry it out.

Watch it, my vase is very expensive.

Yes, my lord.

Come here, come here.

Put it here. Make an inventory.

Careful.

What's going on here?

Your Highness, you're here.

Your Highness, the situation is critical.

Don't hesitate anymore, Your Highness.

The entire Hua Prefecture is surrounded by flood water now.

The place can be flooded any time soon.

Only the North Gate is located at the higher ground

which is still passable.

Your Highness, please leave here while you still can.

But the flood problem has not yet been solved.

I won't be able to

explain to father when I return to the capital.

Your Highness, no one has been able to solve the flood issue in Hua Prefecture.

I would like to escort Your Highness to Weizhou City to take shelter.

When the water recedes,

we still have time to come back.

Alright then.

Your Highness,

I have prepared some travel funds for you.

Please accept this.

You're very loyal to me,

Magistrate Liu.

When I return to the capital,

I will request father

to appoint you a position in the capital.

Thank you for your help, Your Highness.

Yi Jian.

Put down the boxes! Put them down!

Where are you going, Yuan Xi?

What are these servants carrying?

None of your business. No more questions.

Yi Jian.

Open the box!

So it's true.

Magistrate Liu is corrupt and has violated the law.

You didn't accept

the money he embezzled, did you, Yuan Xi?

Nonsense!

Yuan Xi,

the levee burst today. Cities were flooded.

Countless civilians have died.

It's all because of he was corrupt

and cut corners on the sandbags.

Do you know how many civilians

of Hua Prefecture have died in your hands?

It will be an intolerable injustice

if I don't kill you this time.

Duke Xiang, Duke Xiang, I'm innocent!

Not at all.

River Conservancy Commissioner Wang He

was an honest official who cared a lot about his people.

He was a hero in flood control.

Just because he had exposed your wrongdoing,

you framed him and caused him to suffer a bitter death.

If it wasn't for Wang He,

the water would have been flooded into the city today.

Yuan Kan, since we came to Hua Prefecture,

I've been the one to deal with Magistrate Liu.

I will judge his merits or demerits.

You have no rights to interfere.

Fine.

Since you won't kill him,

I'll do it myself.

Yi Jian.

Yes, Your Highness.

Get this corrupt official out of here!

Yes!

How dare you!

What are you trying to do?

Yuan Kan, are you really going to turn against me?

Special Envoy of the Emperor, Lord Kou and Lord Wang, are here.

Presence of the Sword of State represents His Majesty's power.

I have found that Liu Yi,

the Magistrate of Hua Prefecture, has embezzled the fund for flood control.

He received bribes and sabotaged the flood control work.

After his crimes were exposed by Wang He,

he framed Wang He for corruption.

There are a number of Waster Chiefs who can testify,

and account books for verification.

Liu Yi's sin is unforgivable and he should be executed immediately.

Guards.

Drag Liu Yi out and behead him!

Save me, Duke Xu!

Duke Xu!

Detain the stolen money and treasures.

Yes, my lord.

Greetings, Your Highness.

Yuan Kan,

you still chose to

stand in my way in the end, didn't you?

You have been deceived.

A government office

has now become a base to hide illegal money.

Your Highness,

Lord Wang and I have been in Hua Prefecture for quite a few days.

We have the proof.

Duke Xu and the Magistrate

were in cahoots to line their pockets.

They have accepted a lot of treasures.

We will report it to His Majesty

truthfully.

Duke Xu was supposed to control the flood in Hua Prefecture.

No one saw this coming,

His Majesty will be extremely disappointed.

Thank you for your hard work.

Your Majesty, I'm afraid that

Duke Xiang has conspired with Kou Zhun and Wang Qin Ruo

to make things difficult for you.

Yuan Kan dared to humiliate me

just because Father favoured him! I...

Your Highness, you should strike first.

Send a memorandum to the capital

as soon as possible.

Blame everything on Duke Xiang.

Otherwise, if you let Duke Xiang report it to His Majesty first,

it will be a great disadvantage to you.

The flood water hasn't receded.

The city wall won't be able to hold on any longer.

Once the city wall collapses,

Hua Prefecture will be in jeopardy.

According to the Water Chief's prediction,

there will be another heavy rain soon.

The water level of the Yellow River continues to rise,

the flood might strike again.

If Hua Prefecture is flooded,

the capital will be at risk too.

I've sent a confidential letter to the capital.

I've requested His Majesty to issue a decree

for all the prefecture governments

to send sandbags and food relief here.

We will do everything to protect Hua Prefecture.

Look.

Now that the crack is expanding,

even if we have gathered sufficient sandbags,

it's still not going to solve the issue.

In my opinion,

instead of fixing the levee,

why don't we divert the water?

It will be able to save Hua Prefecture.

Good point, Lord Kou.

But how are we going to divert it

and where should we divert the water to,

this requires careful planning,

in order to avoid hurting innocent people.

Hua Prefecture

is hit by floods every three or five years.

People always get sick after the flood.

Some still died from sickness

even after they survived the flood.

You two, guard the door.

You two, go and check over there.

Yes, my lord.

My lord, I've checked multiple times.

I didn't see Liu E's name.

Thank you.

Keep checking.

Yes, my lord.

Another man has passed out.

Another man has passed out.

Somebody help him!

He must be infected.

Carry him to an open and well-ventilated space.

No one is allowed to go near him.

Yes, sir.

We have a problem downstairs! Help!

Somebody help! A man has passed out! Help!

Help!

Help! Quick!

Somebody help him! Help!

[End of Episode 4]