Original subtitles

♫ Nowhere to escape. ♫

♫ No bough to alight. ♫

♫ Retrograde with smile. ♫

♫ Never give in. ♫

♫ Forget about the youth. ♫

♫ I’ve never been afraid of loneliness. ♫

♫ I also shed the tears of regret. ♫

♫ But my heart is still fiery-hot. ♫

♫ To the distance. ♫

♫ The miserable past is like a dagger. ♫

♫ Though my wings are broken, ♫

♫ I will keep flying. ♫

♫ Following the light, ♫

♫ I’ll forget you. ♫

♫ The memory shaped my stubbornness. ♫

♫ By virtue of the light in the dark night, ♫

♫ I’ll return it with a long ballad. ♫

♫ The river of life is under my feet. ♫

♫ I don’t regret my craziness. ♫

The Long Ballad

Episode 04

Hurry.

Hurry.

Go and get her.

Have you found her?

Not yet.

There.

Hurry.

Master,

you really escaped alive.

Why are you here?

If you wanna revenge,

you'll come to Hongyi Palace.

The Palace's heavily-guarded.

In case you'll be in trouble,

I've been here round the clock for two days.

See,

I'm still of some use.

What's more,

no one knows the corners of Chang'an better than me.

Master,

keep me by your side.

Master, await me.

Master,

what's this?

Not a good thing.

Save questions.

As you said,

I won't ask again.

I'm so obedient.

Master, can you keep me by your side?

You'll die for this.

Go back.

All men will die,

but I think it's worth following my heart to be with you.

Aren't you afraid of death?

Yes, I am.

So why must you follow me?

But...

to live in infamy is more terrible than to die.

Master,

you can even smile.

Your smile is so charming.

Since you ask for death,

don't blame me.

So you agree to take me your apprentice?

Hurry up.

What?

He ran away.

Yeah.

Unexpectedly, he ran away so fast.

I'm more interested in him.

Tegin, it's not that easy to deal with him.

Su Yishe,

Does Li Jiancheng have any son or general in exile?

Not that I know of.

None of his five sons survives.

All his men have surrendered.

That guy may be a nobody in Eastern Palace.

It seems it's not just us

worrying about how to leave Chang'an.

It's my fault.

I'm to blame.

Your Highness, please allow me to deploy our men

to search the city for three days.

I'm sure I'll catch Princess...

... the escaped criminal

to get the treasure back.

Fang Yi,

you've served your Highness for years.

Why're you still talking nonsense?

Commander Fang's arresting the criminal.

Why do you think he's talking nonsense?

Isn't it nonsense?

Though your Highness has granted a general amnesty,

except Feng Li and Xie Shufang, etc.,

all those involved with Li Jiancheng,

including military generals and dignitaries in royal court,

take a seesaw policy

for fear the amnesty

is a lure for them to be exposed.

If you deploy men to search the city,

without knowing whom to arrest,

they'll all squeeze their way to run away.

Keming,

fury isn't good for your health.

It's said nothing forcibly done is gonna be agreeable.

Have a taste.

Taste it.

Princess Yongan's born to be timid and fragile.

How can she be capricious?

With no one backing her up,

how dare she?

Why're you looking at me?

The two princesses are childhood chums.

It's reasonable for her to call on one another.

Is it reasonable for her to steal the Seal of Crown Prince?

There you go.

Princess Yongning is braver than I thought.

Are you praising her for it?

Don't wrong me!

It has nothing to do with me.

I won't support her to steal the Seal of Crown Prince.

Shut up!

Leyan's in the wrong.

I've shut her up for pondering over her misdeeds.

As for Changge,

as I ordered,

deploy a crack troop of our men in plain clothes

to make inquiries secretly.

Don't arouse a sensation in the city.

Remember,

bring her back alive.

Your Highness,

Princess Yongning's highly skilled in martial arts.

If she resists being arrested,

I want her alive.

Don't let me repeat it.

It's a big deal.

Don't leak it out.

Yes, your Highness.

Mr. Fang,

you said dignitaries

in royal court took a seesaw policy.

Do you have any suggestion?

Do you know the allusion

that to carry out the reform,

Shang Yang set up a log outside the south gate,

and promised anyone who can

move the log to the north gate 200 taels of gold?

Someone gave it a shot and did get the gold,

so that people believed

the royal court would keep its words.

It sounds easy.

But where to get the log?

There's one avail in Yongxing Fang.

Wei Zheng.

Father.

Father,

what happened?

Your Highness is too merciful.

I worry he'll fall victim of his own deeds.

You mean Princess Yongning?

Princess Yongning used to be close to your Highness.

It's not a secret

their relationship's closer than that of their fathers.

It's natural for him not to kill her.

Idiot!

Li Changge has been educated with civil and military skills

as a prince since childhood,

and has been domineering.

She was just out of danger.

Ordinary people must be in shock,

but she committed a crime

of assassinating the Crown Prince.

These days I've been thinking

maybe it's she who spread rumors in the army.

If we can't root her out,

it'll be too late to make up for the fault.

But your Highness didn't allow us to harm her.

Just keep your Highness's good reputation.

I don't care about mine.

To ensure the stability of our Tang Dynasty,

I dare remove more obstacles,

let alone Li Changge.

You mean...

I can only entrust you with this task.

Will you let me down?

I won't let you down for sure.

By the way,

go ask Chang He

how the rumor-spreading case is going.

If there's no progress,

let him make room for others.

Yes.

Commander Hao,

Father asked me to inquire about the case.

Under investigation.

Please tell Mr. Du

I'll report to him in person once there's any progress.

If you go on like this,

you won't solve the case next year.

You!

Show me the note.

[Crown Prince and Prince Qi are killed. Their remnants are annihilated.]

Why's there a fishy smell?

Officer,

I'm just an ordinary fishmonger

running a small business.

Did I...

Did I do something wrong?

Cut the crap. Tell me

who told you to put the note in the fish stomach.

I don't understand.

Tell me the truth,

or you won't go back.

Spare my life.

I was given some money

to put the note into the fish stomach.

I don't know who it is.

I can't even read.

You must know whether it's a male or female, fat or thin.

I know.

It's a male.

Male?

Is it a handsome youngster

with a mole near his eye?

No, it's a tall guy of few words.

That's all. There's no other feature.

All I said is true.

Spare my life, Officer.

Master,

let's go south after the meal.

The inspection there

isn't as strict as it is here.

They know it better than you do.

Stop eating.

- Let's go. - Okay.

Don't look around.

They're Prince Qin's men.

Let's run separately,

and meet at the tavern in Yining Fang.

Yong...

Run!

Follow her!

Stop!

Step aside!

Stop!

Yeah.

Don't know what's up.

He's quite honest.

What's for?

He runs a small business.

Yeah.

He dares not kill people.

What's up?

A fishmonger is publicly exposed.

Go have a look.

Fishmonger?

Tegin.

Tegin,

bad news.

The fishmonger was caught,

and is yoked at the intersection

of Zhuque Street.

That fishmonger met Su Yishe.

Will he give us up?

Ask all our men to leave at once.

Now?

Why?

You're exposed.

How come?

It's impossible.

If they've got the clue,

why bother getting him yoked publicly?

They're doing so

for they haven't got any useful clue.

That's why they're observing spectators' reaction.

You should have been followed

when back from the street.

Tegin,

I'm sorry.

It's too late.

They're already here.

What shall we do?

Follow him!

Step aside!

Step aside!

Step aside!

Step aside!

How can I always meet you

in such a big Chang'an City?

You followed me, too?

You're just in time.

Thanks.

Go.

You!

Go.

Chang He,

why is he chasing me instead?

Follow her!

Come on,

Go up and have a look.

Yes.

Commander Fang.

General Chang,

are you also chasing Princess Yongning?

Princess Yongning?

Nobody's here.

I just saw her running into this road.

General Chang,

did you see her or not?

We've been chasing her for long in vain.

Princess Yongning? I didn't see her.

Go over there.

Tegin,

thanks to you this time.

I'll be more cautious next time.

It's great you're fine.

Thank Sirius.

Are you silly?

Alright.

Su Yishe,

have you found a way to get out of the city?

Tegin, don't worry.

I've found one.

What a fool you are!

How can you mess up a sure thing?

That guy's good at martial arts

and horsemanship.

He shook off us.

But I find this.

Fang Yi is chasing Princess Yongning.

If I get it right,

The Fish Token

is what fell off her.

Unexpectedly, lose on one side

while gain on the other.

[Xiuwen Hall]

It's you.

Do you know what it is?

Don't beat about the bush.

I know you're Li Changge's childhood chum.

You must know her well.

Know the enemy and know oneself.

Do you want me to arrest Li Changge?

Please tell Mr. Du,

there's a room for discussion on everything

except this one.

You know the Fish Token

she used to sneak into Hongyi Palace is yours?

What punishment does an accessory

deserve for stealing the Seal of

and assassinating Crown Prince?

Nine generations of your family will be killed for it.

Well,

I know where Li Changge's going.

Come to me at any time

after you come round.

A'Dou,

I find the only way

to get out of city without being checked

is that I'm not me.

What do you mean by you're not you?

A'Dou,

can you forge ID cards?

Forge ID cards?

Master,

I don't know how to forge ID cards,

but I know how to be dressed up as Hu merchants.

In Chang'an City,

there're so many unknown Hu merchants.

It's easy to blend into them among piles of goods.

This is on me.

Tighten it up.

Here it is.

[Yunjin Clothing Store]

Guests,

what do you want?

We stock various kinds of satin,

ranked No.1 in Chang'an City.

East to the seashore;

West to Yumenguan Pass.

Though with vast wealth,

it only costs several pennies.

What nonsense are you talking?

Master, it's a password.

Guest, sorry.

The quota of getting out of the city was filled just now.

Just filled?

Yeah.

No one left?

There's still a caravan.

Go and give it a shot.

Hurry.

Excuse me,

could you please take us out?

No, I can't.

I've something urgent.

It's you!

Caravans tend to smuggle some goods.

It's also true of yours.

Let's make a deal,

or I'll denounce you.

I heard Prince Qin's arresting the remnants of Eastern Palace

who'll be beheaded when caught.

Do you think I'm the one who're afraid of being denounced?

How do you know?

I get it right.

Why're you here?

Keep it down.

You wanna alert them?

You idiot.

You're unable to stay in Chang'an any longer?

As we've a shared future,

please do me a favor.

Have you thought about it or not.

If you're recognized,

all men in my caravan will be involved.

You're not my friend as well.

Why must I help you?

There're so many carriages and goods.

They won't check them closely.

Just give me a place to hide myself.

If they find me,

I'll say I mingle with your men myself.

You're innocent.

If you were polite when borrowing my horse yesterday,

I might have agreed.

I had something urgent at that time.

I beg your pardon.

It's no use for an oral apology.

If you really wanna apologize,

just give me something.

I've nothing to trade with you.

I think your dagger is good.

It's an exception.

Then no way.

Go.

Master.

Get out first.

After getting out,

we can find chances to get it back.

Okay.

I agree,

but you've to wait till I get out of the city.

Deal.

A'Dou,

don't risk your life with me.

You won't be checked.

Await me at Shili Pavilion outside.

If I don't arrive in three days,

it must be our fate.

But Master,

you're alone...

I'm your Master.

- Why don't you listen to me? - I...

Alright.

Master,

you must take care.

Hurry to go.

Don't you think

Tegin becomes talkative when meeting that guy?

Tegin said

the enemy of our enemy is our friend.

Now that he's our friend,

it's natural for him to talk more.

Sounds right.

Officers.

It's...

Has this guy come to find a way out of the city?

You must be kidding.

- We're decent businessmen. - Look closely.

Yes, he has.

When a caravan passed by,

she followed that caravan.

Go find her.

Wait.

Officer,

we've the passport.

Checked.

It's identical with the goods registered.

Go.

Thanks, Officer.

Go.

Wait.

Show me the passport.

Commander,

I checked the goods just now.

There's no problem.

Yes, they've been checked.

No problem.

These are common medicine, cloth and so on.

To some extent, smuggling is

a tacit understanding for businessmen.

Why must you hamper us?

Can we go now?

Okay, let's go.

Go.

Commander,

I've searched all over but still can't find her.

Maybe she has been out.

What shall we do?

No matter how she gets out,

if she wanna travel long,

she's bound to pass the Shili Pavilion.

Deploy men to block her with me.

Call Wei Shuyu to see me.

Yes.

I'm guilty.

What for?

Your Highness,

I'm sorry to let you down, your Highness.

I'm guilty of

conniving at Changge's treason.

No one is more cunning than you.

No wonder Keming's unable to do with you.

It was me who asked you to

shoulder the responsibility.

Now that Changge ran away,

I'm also to blame.

Are you satirizing me for being victim of my deeds?

I dare not.

It's all my fault.

Come on,

you may rise.

Stop pretending.

I don't blame you.

I didn't expect a girl to be so stubborn.

Your Highness,

the Seal of Crown Prince matters.

This time Changge really made a big trouble.

So much for that.

Show me the way.

Someone is awaiting us.

Yes.

I'll go get everything ready.

What kind of medicine do you have?

Why's it put with abdomen wraps up?

Persian aphrodisiac.

What?

You!

I told you before you got in.

At your own risk.

Wanna hide in this box?

No.

They'll especially check the goods instead of the animals.

At that time,

just wrap me up in the fur and put me

in the middle of two humps.

I know a better place to hide yourself.

You'll never be found.

You may have a try,

but it's at your own risk.

Why're you as affected as a girl?

Wanna buy some?

I can give you a discount.

What?

You pervert!

Your symptoms are relieved now.

You're welcome.

According to our agreement,

you've got out with our caravan.

Your dagger is mine now.

Wait.

How to address you?

We just met by chance,

and will never meet again.

I entrust you with my dagger for the time being,

and will retrieve it back later.

Are you afraid so that

you won't tell me your name?

Su Yishe,

give him a horse.

Well,

we lose another horse.

It's a far sweeter deal for you.

Don't bother me.

Let's go.

Go.

Go.

Thanks for your horse,

but I'll retrieve my dagger back.

[Wei's Mansion]

Xuancheng,

I'm here again.

I'm sick,

and can't meet guests.

Get out.

Are you still angry with me?

I failed to taste your tea last time.

Today,

I'll finally make it.

Your tea is really bitter.

Well,

I'll show you someone

who'll cure you for sure.

Your Highness.

You've been sick for long.

I'm here specially to visit you.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Stop.

Li Changge,

what a coincidence.

It's you who're chasing me with him.

Changge...

Wei Shuyu,

you're Princess's friend indeed.

You know she'll pass by here.

Thanks for informing me in time.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Go.

Stop.

Li Changge,

you've no way out.

Go back with me

and take your punishment.

What's up?

Heartbroken?

Don't act like I'm utilizing you.

Now that you're here,

you've made your choice.

I've no time to stand here waiting for you.

Wanna find her body?

Hurry to get down.

Changge,

I'm sorry.

I'm here to invite you to be my adviser.

I'm steadfast.

Prince Qin,

please go back.

Do you wanna follow Zhuge Liang's example

to establish my reputation of visiting you three times?

Then I must thank you in advance.

Your deeds will be recorded in the history.

The Crown Prince didn't listen to me.

That's why he failed.

I heard you suggested Jiancheng send me out of Chang'an.

You alienated me from my brother.

- Why? - Don't call him your brother!

I regret not persuading

the Crown Prince to root you out.

Get out!

Get out!

You have slaughtered many lives.

Mine won't be an exception.

You!

Your Highness,

it's getting dark.

It's time to go back.

Your Highness,

Wei Zheng's always at will.

Please forgive him.

I'm here waiting for you, Prince Qin.

You...

Don't cover up my mouth.

Don't stop me!

Get out!

Loyal men tend to die worthy deaths.

I'm here waiting for you!

Tegin,

I got enough water.

Su Yishe and Nuer went ahead to explore the way,

and found substitutes for us

to head for the grassland through the pass.

But at our current speed,

it'll take us half a month to reach Youzhou.

Half a month?

It's too long.

- We've to speed up. - Yes.

♫ The heart gradually responds, ♫

♫ gradually revives, ♫

♫ gradually swims towards you. ♫

♫ Before bidding farewell, ♫

♫ we expect an encounter. ♫

♫ Entwist your figure, ♫

♫ and lock it into my tender dream. ♫

♫ Before the daybreak, ♫

♫ through the obsession of love, ♫

♫ the longing flows. ♫

♫ There’s always a moment ♫

♫ which burns down the wastelands in my heart. ♫

♫ There’s always solicitude ♫

♫ which freezes everything between you and me. ♫

♫ Meet each other in different time. ♫

♫ Encourage each other in different worlds. ♫

♫ My longings become a cocoon, ♫

♫ layer after layer. ♫

♫ it turns into eternity. ♫

♫ The cocoon in the dark night. ♫

♫ There’s always a moment ♫

♫ which burns down the wastelands in my heart. ♫

♫ There’s always solicitude ♫

♫ which freezes everything between you and me. ♫

♫ Meet each other in different time. ♫

♫ Encourage each other in different worlds. ♫

♫ My longings become a cocoon, ♫

♫ layer after layer. ♫

♫ it turns into eternity. ♫

♫ The cocoon in the dark night. ♫

♫ It is sleepless. ♫

The Long Ballad