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 31]

None learns

of my special talent.

My talent is unrefined.

You don't know what I'm capable of.

A deep sigh is the only response to the endless sorrow.

No one in this world understands me.

There's nothing I can say.

Dying is inevitable.

I have no care for this body of mine.

Forefathers of righteousness,

I shall join all of you.

Wang Qin Ruo liaised with Liao

and replaced the tribute with counterfeit,

breaking the Chanyuan Treaty.

He will be demoted from Grand Secretariat of the Administration Bureau

to a secretariat.

From today onwards,

stop attending court meetings.

I do not want to see you anymore.

I

accept the verdict, Your Majesty.

I'm already old.

I shall leave the protection of Song and service to the Emperor

to you, the young ones.

After my departure,

I might no longer have an opportunity

to enter the palace again.

[Qian Yuan Gate]

Master!

Father!

Master!

Father!

Master!

Father, why are you doing this?

Master!

Father!

Master!

Master, don't do this!

-Father! -Master!

Come here.

Father!

Ying'er.

As...

As a minister of Song,

I'm not allowed to face the Emperor.

The Emperor despises me.

I have become the greatest joke of the imperial court

and the future generations.

I've brought dishonour and shame to the Wang family.

I...

I do not wish to live a life of disgrace.

Father, you're foolish!

Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself

because Emperor Qingxiang believed in rumours and banished him.

The Emperor demoted you

in order to pacify Liao.

If you commit suicide because of this,

you're accusing the Emperor of ludicrosity,

for being foolish enough to believe the crooks.

By doing so, you may have cleared your name and pride,

but have you considered the entire Wang family?

Fine.

Since we're all going to die anyway,

Mother and I shall join you in death.

Yu Ying!

Sister and Brother-in-law shall join us.

Yu Ying!

I...

I must die

in order to preserve my integrity.

If I live...

If I live,

I do not want to be content with a shameful life.

Father!

The Emperor is mad at the moment.

Right now, Father and Brother-in-law

have made it up to Liao with the silk.

Father, once the Emperor calms down,

you will be summoned back to the imperial court.

Yu Ying!

Things are not that simple.

The Emperor's words are absolute.

The verdict cannot be taken back.

Listen to me.

Recently, Mother, Sister and I

have been helping the Virtuous Consort make the Phoenix Robe.

Although we're not closely acquainted,

we're on speaking terms.

Besides, the Consort likes my sister.

If the three of us plead to her,

perhaps the Consort

might be able to convince the Emperor.

Well,

will this work?

Let's give it a try.

Over here. He's smiling.

Your Highness, look.

Where are you going this time?

Your Highness.

The Prince really likes the pellet drum.

He is smiling again.

Yes.

Pass it to him.

All right.

Little Prince.

Look at how impatient he is.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

You may rise.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Drop the formalities, love.

Is this the seventh son of Yuan Fen, Chan'er?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Why are you taking care of him instead?

Sister would not allow me to head to the royal tailor.

She left Chan'er in my care.

Let me hold him.

Lin Lang.

He's smiling. I am making him smile.

Yes, you're making him smile, Your Majesty.

Chan'er must really like the Emperor.

Of course.

This is my nephew.

Wan'er,

you should give birth

to a beautiful and smart child for me in the future.

I'll do my best, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty,

Duke Ji presents a painting.

Bring it forward.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Chan'er.

It's Snowy Stream.

Keep it.

Pass a message to Duke Ji.

Tell him I understand what he means.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Here.

Come on.

Be careful.

Wan'er, do you know why

my brother

sent this painting, Snowy Stream?

Pardon my ignorance.

All I know is

this is a masterpiece by Wang Wei.

Have you heard of his poem

that goes well with this painting?

Please enlighten me, Your Majesty.

Here.

Mount Taiyi is close to the capital, stretching all the way to the sea.

The cloud gathers and the mountain disappears within the fog.

The peak separates the boundaries. The weather is unpredictable.

I need a place to rest. So I ask the woodcutter across the river.

Duke Ji's desire lies in nature, outside the capital?

You're able to grasp it.

Sister taught me

the poem of the Zhongnan Mountains.

You haven't seen her in a long time, right?

Yes.

Every time I go to the royal tailor,

people keep stopping me.

Consort Liu is working hard.

I shouldn't bother her either.

I hope that

she will complete the Phoenix Robe as soon as possible.

I'm sure she will not let you down.

I asked for a fire jade.

Sister, what about these?

Jade is all about the consistency in shade.

There are white spots within these.

Sister, what about these?

This jade's shade is satisfactory.

Unfortunately, there's a crack inside.

Is there no other fire jade in the palace?

Your Highness,

I selected these.

The others are either too small or flawed.

They are not up to your standards.

Sister, is the fire jade necessary?

It's red in colour.

Its sheen reaches ten paces.

It resembles the sun.

The Liao people have worshipped the sun for generations.

On the first and fifteenth of each month,

they face east to worship the sun.

I understand.

You would like to use the jade to represent the sun

and place it in the middle of the robe.

Yes.

Then I will be able to express

my sincere feelings for Empress Dowager Xiao.

Where can we

find such a fine fire jade at the moment?

Your Highness.

I know where we can get the fire jade.

Please enlighten me.

During the third year of Yongxi reign,

Emperor Taizong led the army north to attack Liao.

From a general of Liao,

the Emperor obtained a piece of fire jade.

Back then, the Emperor

gave it to a general as a reward.

Who was the general?

The Duke of Han, Pan Bo Zheng.

What are you looking for?

It's none of your business, Brother.

Is this the one you're looking for?

Why do you have it?

This was clearly...

Give it to me.

What are you going to do with it?

Are you planning to offer it to Liu E?

Of course not.

I want to offer it to the Emperor.

What is the difference?

Do you think the Emperor

will be grateful to you?

Once the Phoenix Robe is completed,

Liu E will be a major contributor.

Whatever.

All I know is

the Emperor needs the fire jade.

I may not be able to have a prince now,

but Shou An is a princess.

As her mother,

I must take our future into consideration.

Am I right?

What if I don't give it to you?

You will give it to me, Brother.

Eventually, the Emperor will find out

that the fire jade is in our possession.

An edict will be issued for us to present the fire jade.

You might as well give it to me now

to do the Emperor a favour.

You've grown smarter.

I learned it all from you, Brother.

Thank you for granting my wish, Brother.

Noble Consort!

Noble Consort!

Anything else, Brother?

Your Highness, you should keep in mind that

without the Pan family, you're nothing.

I think the same as you, Brother.

Regarding what you told me earlier on,

you should forget about it.

I do not want to be implicated by the family.

You should figure out a backup plan for yourself as soon as possible.

If you insist on doing it,

I have no choice but to plan for myself.

What about my makeup and hairstyle?

Everything looks great.

The Emperor will like it.

I haven't served the Emperor for a long time.

I've forgotten how to interact with the Emperor.

Yue'er, find out

the Emperor's location.

Yes, Your Highness.

Yu Shu.

Your Majesty, there's a raccoon over there.

There's a raccoon!

A raccoon?

Your Highness.

Your Highness, there is no raccoon.

There is no raccoon.

Your Majesty, I am not lying.

There was a raccoon.

I saw it clearly with my eyes.

It's true.

I saw it.

Was this

the fire jade you wanted to present to me?

No, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

No, Your Majesty!

Your Highness.

Yue'er, why would there be a raccoon?

There wasn't.

Why would a raccoon appear in the palace?

No, Your Highness.

Could it be...

Could it be...

It couldn't be. It's impossible.

That's impossible.

That's impossible.

Your Majesty.

Pass my order.

No matter what it takes,

hunt and kill every raccoon in the palace.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I selected the thread back then.

It's indeed fine,

but it's not dyed yet.

If it's dyed well, it'll be like the one over there.

Let's take a look.

Your Highness, look at the phoenix.

[Left sleeve]

We're going to use red on the phoenix.

I want gold thread to be embroidered.

It will be just like the sun.

Yes, Your Highness.

Look, the colour is dyed well.

This one

looks a little light in shade.

Yes, Your Highness.

If it's light in shade,

it may be used for the inner embroidery.

As for the external embroidery...

Sister.

Bad news. I heard from the Emperor

that Noble Consort Pan broke the fire jade.

It's broken?

Yes.

Of all the times to get broken, it has to be now.

I bet she did it on purpose.

Sister, what should we do?

Yi Qin.

Your Highness.

Send for Clothier Xu and Attendant Li.

Yes, I'll head over immediately.

All that's left is the fire jade.

Sister, it is not noticeable unless you really look for it.

Your Highness, is it possible to replace the fire jade with something else?

Go on, please.

What about blood jade?

We cannot use blood jade.

Yes.

The blood jade is a white jade consisting of patterns of red veins.

Its formation is related to corpses.

It's inauspicious.

If the meaning matters,

could we use the phoenix blood jade?

It is believed that

the jade is formed from the body of a phoenix

that experienced the agony of the mortals.

It's made from its body?

Your Highness, perhaps you can consider Hetian jade.

It's as bright as a cockscomb. It's purple red hues are like blood.

Its crimson hues resemble the cinnabar. It's shiny and smooth.

Your Highness,

what about blood amber that symbolises health and fortune?

Its crimson hues are deeper and more transparent.

There's orange jadeite as well.

The ones you mentioned are fine

in terms of colour,

but the tones of colours can't compare to the fire jade,

not to mention its glowing properties. The fire jade is dazzling.

It can brighten up a room.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

You may rise.

Duke of Han,

you've raised a great daughter indeed.

Why would Your Majesty say so?

The Noble Consort broke the fire jade.

Please investigate it, Your Majesty.

It must have been an accident.

Only she knows the reason.

I

swear by my position,

no, by my head,

that she would never do this on purpose.

I'm not in the mood to pursue this matter.

All I know is

the fire jade is broken!

The Phoenix Robe cannot be completed!

Tomorrow morning,

Yelu Liushou is going to leave Dongjing.

Gentlemen,

do not tell me

that up to this point,

none of you has a solution yet!

Think.

Think hard.

Gentlemen, it's daybreak.

Your Majesty.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Although I dare not trigger a conflict between both states,

between both sides' interests, we should pick ours.

What do you mean, Ping Zhong?

Grand Tutor.

Do you concur?

Your Majesty,

I believe this matter should be resolved properly.

It's been an entire night.

Is this the only thing you can say to me?

[Qian Yuan Gate]

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty.

The Commander of Imperial Guards reported that

the General of Liao, Yelu Liushou,

is heading towards the gate of the palace.

It's believed that he's leaving the city.

Do you hear that?

He's leaving!

Please stop him, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

The Secretariat, Lord Wang,

and Chief of Astronomy, Lord Xing, want to see you.

Why do they want to see me now? I refuse!

Your Majesty, both officers state

that they have acquired fire jade.

Summon them at once.

Lord Wang and Lord Xing are summoned to the hall!

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Drop the formality. Where is the fire jade?

I observed the constellations at night.

A superstar appeared at the west of the root of the sky.

It's yellow in colour and shaped like a half moon with pointed tips.

The brightness it emits is a symbol.

It's the Zhoubo Star.

Lord Xing,

this isn't the time to discuss astronomy.

Your Majesty, the appearance of the Zhoubo Star

is a good omen.

Nations who have witnessed the star will be peaceful and prosperous.

What do you mean?

The heavens will bestow a fire jade to solve your problem, Your Majesty.

A fire jade bestowed by the heavens?

Gentlemen, are you sure?

We dare not lie.

Jing Zong.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Go to the royal tailor. Inform...

Hold on.

Go with me, gentlemen.

Let's see if your words

will come true, Lord Wang.

This way, please.

Here comes the Emperor!

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

All of you may rise.

Have you found a fire jade?

Pardon me.

You've worked hard, Virtuous Consort.

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty, I didn't do it on purpose.

It wasn't intentional, Your Majesty.

I didn't do it on purpose.

I didn't do it on purpose.

Wang Qin Ruo!

Xing Zhong He.

You two told nothing but lies.

How dare you fool me.

Are you guilty?

Your Majesty.

I really did see the Zhoubo Star.

Shut up!

Your so-called "good omen"

is nothing but nonsense.

Guards!

Drag them outside.

Give them 100 lashes each!

Please have mercy on me, Your Majesty.

I'm telling the truth.

I dare not lie, Your Majesty.

At this point, you're still spouting nonsense?

Your Majesty, it's a good omen.

Your Majesty, red-crowned cranes!

Divine creatures!

The descent of the cranes is a fortuitous omen!

Red-crowned cranes!

What an auspicious sign!

It's a good omen!

Red-crowned cranes.

It's a symbol of good fortune.

-Where are they? -Over here.

A good omen!

They are red-crowned cranes.

Jing Zong.

Hurry over.

All right.

Fetch the item.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

I think this is fire jade.

Fire jade?

Fire jade?

Its crimson hues are as bright as fire.

It is fire jade indeed.

Timely aid delivered by the red-crowned cranes.

With this, the Phoenix Robe will be completed, Your Majesty.

Jing Zong!

Yes, Your Majesty.

Hold Yelu Liushou back.

Yes, Your Majesty!

Guards.

Clothier Xu, here.

The fire jade is here.

We have the fire jade.

Hurry up.

Yes, Your Highness.

Hurry over.

Yes, Your Highness.

Please stop, General!

The Emperor sends for you. Please come with me.

Eunuch Zhang,

what are you carrying?

Your Majesty,

these are three scrolls of Dazhong Xiangfu.

Dazhong Xiangfu?

Your Majesty,

may I read them for you?

Jing Zong!

Your Majesty,

It's written that

you're filial and you revere the teachings of heaven, Your Majesty.

You inherited the nation. This is a memorandum from heaven.

You are described as frugal.

Led by you, the nation prospers and the people are taken care of.

Thus, the memorandum is sent from heaven.

Emperor of Song!

Your Majesty.

It's written that

heaven shall protect Song for generations to come.

There'll be everlasting peace.

A memorandum by heaven.

Your Majesty, you treat everything with reverence and honesty.

Your Majesty, you uphold the honour of our ancestors.

You treat all with respect.

Your Majesty, you work tirelessly

to cultivate diplomatic ties and promote commoners to serve as imperial officers.

The army is reinforced and provisions are abundant every year.

Your Majesty, you've worked hard.

This did not happen overnight!

Your Majesty, your merits

have reached the heavens.

As you do not stray from heaven's ways,

you will be rewarded!

The deities have commended the Emperor through the memorandum today.

It's a manifestation of the divine promise to bless the good!

It really is a memorandum sent by heaven.

Your Majesty.

There seems to be writing on the yellow banner.

Your Majesty, it's true.

Read it aloud.

Zhao received the destiny to rule Song.

Entrusted to Heng who accomplishes the task with justice and competence,

the reign shall last for generations to come as promised.

Your Majesty,

this is evident that heaven

acknowledges you as the emperor

to build the empire of Song.

You are the chosen one from beginning to the end

to reign over the state.

Your Majesty, your reign will last for 700 years.

It's a blessing for us as well as the people.

It's a blessing for Song.

Congratulations, Your Majesty!

Long live the Emperor!

Long live the Emperor!

This is impossible!

General!

The red-crowned crane is a divine creature.

Good news is often delivered by red-crowned cranes.

I'm sure the people of Liao have heard of this before.

As you could see with your own eyes,

the red-crowned cranes brought over three divine memorandums.

Heaven clearly acknowledges the Emperor of Song.

The Emperor is the chosen one.

People of Liao are devout.

I believe you will not disregard the divine will because of your arrogance

and end up violating the divine decree.

Emperor of Song,

may I take a look at the memorandum?

Jing Zong.

Yes, Your Majesty.

The red-crowned cranes delivered the divine memorandum.

If you insist that

Liao is the true ruler of the nation

and go on to worship the Yellow Emperor,

I will not stop you.

However, if you offend heaven in any way

and are punished for it,

Liao mustn't blame the people of Song

for not reminding you.

All of you may rise.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Your Highness, the Phoenix Robe has arrived.

Display it.

General, the deadline of five days is up.

I've fulfilled my promise

to create a Phoenix Robe.

The Phoenix Robe is a gift

to Empress Dowager Xiao for her birthday.

Your Highness, you're indeed a woman of your word.

General.

I will send my envoy

to Liao with you

and send our regards to Empress Dowager Xiao.

First,

it shows how much Song values the relationship between both states.

Second,

it also represents the deep respect I

and the Virtuous Consort have for Empress Dowager Xiao.

General,

are you still hesitating

to head to Xinzheng to pay homage to the Yellow Emperor?

The birthday gift

involves the diplomatic relationship between Song and Liao. It's significant.

I mustn't delay this.

Without the bestowment of the divine memorandum

and the delivery of the fire jade by the red-crowned cranes,

I wouldn't have been able to deliver the birthday gift

to you, General.

Between both states,

it began with the conflict of the tribute,

followed by the matter of worshipping the Yellow Emperor.

You...

Such insolence!

While both states' ties were in a precarious situation,

the red-crowned cranes delivered the essential fire jade

and helped me to complete the Phoenix Robe.

General, don't you think

it's heaven's arrangement?

I believe

your emperor and Empress Dowager Xiao won't simply annul the alliance

and start a war unreasonably.

I'm sure you do not want to do so either.

Besides,

the divine will cannot be violated.

Such eloquence, Your Highness.

It's the heaven's will

for both states to join hands for generations

for the sake of long-lasting peace.

Your Majesty.

Lord Su replied

that Yelu Liushou and his men had travelled ten li from the city.

He will escort them

safely to the next stop.

Noted.

No wonder Yi Jian isn't around.

-You're dismissed. -Yes, Your Majesty.

He went on a mission for you, Your Majesty.

Yi Jian received a secret order from me

to assassinate Yelu Liushou.

Fortunately, you were able to complete the Phoenix Robe in time

to stop the bloodshed.

There's something I would like to ask you.

Are you wondering

why I would

make a Phoenix Robe for Empress Dowager Xiao's birthday?

Yes.

Empress Dowager Xiao

returned Ji'er's clothes.

It's only natural that you return the favour.

However, I think

there's something else to it.

I can't keep anything from you, Your Majesty.

In Empress Dowager Xiao's letter to me,

she expressed her wish to see

both states living in harmony.

Ji'er's clothes

were a kind gesture of friendship.

It reminded me of the saying,

the Yellow Emperor and Yaoshun ruled by garments.

The Yellow Emperor was the first to produce garments.

Garments were segregated according to ranks.

The emperor stood with his hands down,

providing peace to the nation.

Coincidentally, Empress Dowager Xiao's birthday is coming up.

That's why you thought of such a brilliant idea.

You had a legitimate reason to keep Yelu Liushou and his men here.

He had no choice but to deliver the Phoenix Robe back to Liao.

Am I right?

It was coincidental.

Everything fell into place.

Perhaps

it's fated.

In terms of fate,

it's the divine memorandum sent from heaven

and the sudden appearance of red-crowned cranes.

About the divine memorandum,

what are your thoughts?

Your Majesty, you're the Emperor of Song.

You are entrusted with the will of heaven. All should submit to you.

Is that the Zhoubo Star?

Yes, Your Majesty.

The Zhoubo Star will bring prosperity and abundance.

Lord Xing,

could the Zhoubo Star's good omen

have been the divine memorandum

and the fire jade delivered by the red-crowned cranes?

Your Majesty,

I only observe and study astronomy.

As for when the good omen will appear,

I can't predict it.

You sure know how to protect yourself.

I, Wang Qin Ruo, came on your order, Your Majesty.

Why did you kneel so far away?

Your Majesty, you're unwilling to see me.

I dare not go forward.

Back when you barged into the Imperial Study,

you weren't like this.

The situation was urgent. I didn't have time to take things into consideration.

Please pardon me, Your Majesty.

Enough.

You may skip the formality.

Come forward.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Just now,

I was discussing the matter of the divine memorandum with Lord Xing.

You've read all the three scrolls.

What do you think?

[End of Episode 31]