Original subtitles

This moonlight grass...

I have heard about it before.

However, this grass is a plant

that grows in Liaodong

that distributes it in small amount in the north

but rarely in the south.

Where can we find

the moonlight grass

at this critical moment?

Everything about setting up a shed to serve a porridge

started with this humble monk.

This humble monk is willing to go to the mountains

and look for the moonlight grass

to save all living beings from the epidemic disease.

I will go with the Young Master then.

Young Master.

Is this

really moonlight grass?

Yes.

But these ones

are dead moonlight grass.

Xiao Wai! Xiao Dai!

Why are you two here?

Hurry up and take a look!

Qingyuan, what are you doing?

Come and pick it up!

How is it?

How are they after taking the medicine?

There is no improvement at all.

How could that be?

Your Highness King of Rui! Your Highness King of Rui!

Empress Dowager's illness took a sudden turn for the worse.

His Majesty is urgently calling King of Rui to meet him.

I always thought this day

is still far away from me.

I did not expect it to come so soon.

Mother is worrying too much.

It is but a minor illness,

how could it take Mother away?

You do not have to coax me.

Everyday...

you are calling me Empress Dowager...

I really thought

that my days will still be long...

Mother,

you are going to be fine.

And after you get better,

you have to promise your son

to not take care of the imperial issues anymore.

Son can manage them on his own.

Please rest assured, Mother.

I understand.

Your Majesty has always been bitter

about my participation in government matters.

If I have made anything

that have wronged Your Majesty,

I hope Your Majesty will not bear grudge.

How dare I bear grudges against Mother?

When I am really gone this time,

I hope that Your Majesty

will still be kind

to the Wang, Xu and Xue Family

since these three families have been

loyal to the imperial family for decades.

Mother, since I began my reign,

I have always used a clear way to reward and punish my subjects.

As long as these three families

are are dilligent and deliberate,

I will never impose

any groundless charges

on my loyal subjects.

Princess, you are awake.

Empress Dowager ordered me

to take care of the Princess here.

Did you stay here for the whole night?

Elder Brother Miao,

I know my illness cannot be cured.

Can you be gentle

towards me

at this last moment?

I want to take some good memories

with me when I finally leave.

Princess, don't make such silly remarks.

Princess, you have to be brave.

This official will accompany you

all the time.

What is it?

It's really nice.

Who gave it to you?

I bought it at the market

when I was on the leave last time.

I wanted to go home

and give it to my wife.

I never thought

I will find the whole Miao Family slaughtered.

Can you give me this jade pendant?

I want to take it with me.

Princess, do not speak such silly things.

You will definitely get better.

Everything will be fine.

Are you loathe to part with me?

I...

I will exchange this jade bracelet with you,

all right?

I have worn this jade bracelet for many years.

In the future,

give it to your wife.

Think of it as of a gift for her from me,

so I can share her happiness.

I finally have

something of yours.

Tell them

that I want to hold this jade pendant in my hand.

I want to hold it all the time.

No one is allowed to take it.

I want to hold it

tightly in my hand...

Hold it warmly in my hand...

Why are you here?

Are you here to take my life again?

Are you not looking

for a cure for the plague?

Here.

Gu Qinghong,

you just want to kill me.

Why use such despicable means

to implicate so many innocent people?

It was really not me

who poisoned them with a plague.

This is the medicine guide and prescription.

Take it.

Why should I believe

the hypocritically ethical and incorruptible Prime Minister Gu?

Believe it or not.

This is a genuine prescription.

I, Gu Qinghing, am really mean and have no sense of shame

but I would not

ignore the lives of so many people.

Wushuang greets Your Majesty.

Just say what you want to say.

Wushuang has called to mind

a way to heal people.

Wushuang once read a book

at home

when she was a child.

This medical book was handed down by our ancestors

and had a prescription for treating wart gangrene plague.

I forgot about it with time

and only remembered it again yesterday.

And thus,

I wrote down everything

I could remember.

Since everyone

is getting worse now,

how about we give it a try?

Do you have a better way?

If not,

follow Meiren Nie's

idea.

Here. Slowly.

Here.

All right.

Wushuang greets Your Majesty.

You have worked hard these days.

You do not have to

do these things yourself.

Do not bother with them.

Wushuang just wants to do her best.

Seeing that you are so dedicated,

I will promise you

whatever you want.

Wushuang does have two requests.

Firstly,

I hope Qingyuan can be forgiven.

Secondly, I hope Your Majesty will issue an order

to treat the refugees from Li State.

Your Majesty,

Wushuang does not want to let Li State off,

but people living in Li State or Lan State

are in fact innocent.

Since they fled to Lan State,

then

maybe one day

they will become Lan State' inhabitants.

Your Majesty is kind-hearted towards the world.

I believe

Your Majesty must also be a broad-minded man.

Wushuang, you have let me see

the clean and unpolluted heart of yours today.

I was deeply affected by it.

Let go of my hand!

You should not mess around in the peaceful and quiet place of worship.

How would I dare

to fool around with Meiren Nie?

If I don't hold you like this

will you still

listen to me patiently?

What do you want?

After returning to the palace,

the old witch

will thank you for saving her life

and reward you for your merits.

I am here to congratulate you in advance.

There is no love in your heart, is there?

In your opinion,

I do all these things

just to gain credit and rewards.

Yes, there is no love in me.

Who knows

true love in the palace?

Do you think the emperor has it?

I am telling you,

the imperial family

has always been the most ruthless

place in the world.

Someone like him

would not treat you

the way I do.

Exactly.

At least he wouldn't

give me away to someone else.

I am not trying to please empress dowager,

nor am I striving for some kind of credit.

I just do not want so many people

to become destitute and homeles

and their family members dead or scattered away.

No matter what your purpose is,

I have decided

that the old hag must die.

No!

I won't allow you to do this.

Woman,

don't think that since this king cares about you

so he cannot kill you!

I am the emperor's woman now.

A woman who hasn't served him yet...

By Empress Dowager's decree

Meiren Nie is warm, kind and virtuous.

She was calm in the hour of peril and paid attention to the interests of the whole.

By bringing common people out of danger, she has rendered meritorious service.

She is being granted a brilliant jade as a reward.

Thank Empress Dowager for bestowed grace.

Stand up.

Thank you, Empress Dowager.

Do you know why

I gave you the brilliant jade?

It is so-called "watch your step and mind what you are saying".

Empress Dowager is hereby teaching Wushuang

how to conduct herself in the palace.

No wonder the emperor took fancy to you.

As expected, you are extremely intelligent.

I do not want

your credit to become a sharp edge

and get you into trouble.

Following the Empress Dowager's teachings,

Wushuang will watch her every step and mind what she is saying.

She shall never be arrogant

or fail to live to Empress Dowager's expectations.

It is good that you understand what pains I took.

Xia Lan,

do not mention anything

about saving empress dowager

and the princess in the future.

Don’t forget the common truth

that if you talk too much

your life in the palace will be short-lived.

In fact, everyone can see

that His Majesty likes Elder Sister.

But why is he not letting

Ellder Sister to serve him?

Just because of this step,

everyone is bullying Elder Sister in their hearts.

You do not understand.

For the emperor,

I am just

a pawn to control the military strength.

Xia Lan does not understand.

What about King of Rui?

The way this maidservant sees it,

King of Rui cares about Elder Sister very much.

He would not use you as a pawn.

Then

I will treat them both

as chess pieces.

No one understands His Majesty's mind

but Xia Lan thinks

that King of Rui likes Elder Sister.

Don't talk nonsense.

I won't love anyone anymore.

I did not enter the palace

for the sake of

wind, flowers, snow and the moon. (effete and sentimental reasons)

Besides,

there is someone in King of Rui's heart

that he cannot let go of.

His Majesty has arrived!

This humble minister greets Your Majesty!

Imperial Physician Du, there is no need for the ceremony.

Please rise.

All imperial physicians, do rise as well.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Recently, the plague

has added a lot of hard work

to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

This minister has good news to share with Your Majesty.

These days, this minister was experimenting day and night

to adjust the prescription offered by Meiren Nie

which in the end

produced the desired result.

Wonderful.

Immediately post the imperial notice

and make it public.

Imperial Medical Bureau shall prepare all the medicinal materials

and place them outside the city gates.

No matter, whether there are people from Lan State

or the refugees from Li State,

we shall treat them equally.

Everyone that is infected with the disease will be treated.

Yoru Majesty is kind and benevolent

This humble minister

is thanking Your Majesty in the name of the commoners

who are suffering from the plague.

No.

It is I who thank you all.

Imperial Physician Du has also reminded me

that if it weren't for Meiren Nie's prescription

Empress Dowager and Yunle

would not be saved.

All the other victims would also not have

access to the prescription so quickly.

Lin Mian.

The humble one is present.

Pass my oral decree.

Giving the prescription

in this crucial time have rendered great service.

From now on,

Meiren Nie is bestowed the title of Zhaoyi Nie. (the highest title before the rank of a concubine)

Yes.

Mother, when you have called Wushuang,

did you only want her

to give me this stone back?

Since Wushuang entered the palace, she was promoted from cainu to zhaoyi.

Imperial Brother is paying more and more attention to Wushuang.

If by any chance Third Elder Brother truly bestows favour on her...

Women are truly annoying.

That's highly improbable...

Have you heard?

The epidemic in Donglin Temple

was cured by Meiren Nie

who used her ancestral secret medicine

to cure the Empress Dowager

and Princess Yunle.

- Is that so? - Amazing!

I heard that Meiren Nie

is as beautiful as a daughter of a fairy.

So beautiful?

I also heard

that Meiren Nie

was saved by His Highness King of Rui.

King of Rui saved her

and gave her to His Majesty.

King of Rui

was always giving his favourite things to His Majesty

since he was little.

Eunuch...

Meiren Nie...

Is Meiren Nie a person

that you can gossip about behind her back?

Eunuch, this humble one heard

that Meiren Nie

was rescued by you

and His Highness King of Rui

from King Yama's hands. (from the King of Hell, aka from death)

Is it true?

Is it true, Eunuch?

You truly are well-informed.

That's right.

Speaking of which,

Dashun truly has played a significant role in it.

It was I who discovered her in the river.

Let's hear it. Let's hear it.

I will...

tell you something about it then.

The river was bitterly cold that day.

You all know me, don't you?

I love winter swimming.

So I swam and swam and swam...

I was looking around intently.

Guess what I found?

What did you find?

A female corpse!

A female corpse?!

I took a look.

This little girl

was handsome in look and graceful in movement.

Handsome in look and graceful in movement...

And so

I asked His Royal Highness King of Rui

to pull her

out of the river.

Otherwise,

she would have been washed away by the river.

Where would the current

supreme and arrogant Meiren Nie

be now?

Yes, yes, yes.

Of course, of course, Eunuch.

Speak. How do you want to die?

I am done for.

This humble one spoke out of turn.

Deshun'ah...

You truly have played a decisive role in everything...

This humble one dares not... the humble one dares now.

This humble one was just

gossiping in front of them.

This humble one is fully loyal

to Your Royal Highness.

You are like a moon and sun; striking enough to make fishes sink and birds alight.

You know so many secrets of this king.

Can you truly be unloyal to me?

The humble one spoke out of turn.

This humble one will slap his face.

Continue with the slaps!

Yes.

Let me give you a warning.

In the future,

it is best if this king does not hear

any gossips about Meiren Nie in King of Rui's mansion.

In order to let you remember this,

you all will slap yourselves a hundred times.

Yes.

Humble person Yang Zhi pays a formal call to Zhaoyi Nie.

Eunuch Yang, do not stand on ceremony.

Congratulations, Zhaoyi Nie.

His Majesty has ordered

this humbly servant to fetch

the daily necessities from

Shaofu Temple and send them

to Zhaoyi Nie for inspection.

May I trouble Eunuch

to go back to His Majesty and tell him

that Wushuang thanks him for the bestowed grace.

Moreover, His Majesty was worried

that only Xia Lan is serving Imperial Concubine,

thus he has sent this humble one

to wait upon her as

and listen to Imperial Concubine's instructions.

His Majesty is so considerate

when he is busy with the state affairs.

Wushuang is truly flattered.

May I dare to ask Eunuch Yang

what position did he hold before?

This humble one

was His Majesty's court eunuch,

directly chosen

by the Eunuch Lin of the 4th rank.

Imperial Concubine is the one in His Majesty's heart.

being able to serve Imperial Concubine

is this humble one's true blessing.

I ask Eunuch Yang to tell me more about it

in the next days.

Zhaoyi Nie,

I heard Eunuch Li say

that Minfu Palace has sent someone over to the imperial study

saying that Imperial Concubine Yun

has been vomitting badly this morning

so they expected her to be pregnant.

After hearing this,

His Majesty hurried over.

If Imperial Concubine Yun is pregnant with an imperial heir,

His Majesty will be very happy.

When His Majesty is happy,

Wushuang is also happy.

Xia Lan has not finished yet.

It turned out that

Imperial Concubine Yun's morning sickness

was caused by her recent greasy diet.

It was definitely not a happy pulse. (pulse indicating pregnancy)

His Majesty went back to the imperial study

without saying anything.

Xia Lan!

You and Yang Zhi, both listen.

From now on,

if the affairs of other concubines

are not related to us,

do not pry at will into them

to avoid unnecessary quarrels.

We shall follow Zhaoyi Nie's instruction.

Eunuch Li has arrived!

This humble one greets Zhaoyi Nie.

Eunuch Li,

does Empress Dowager has any instructions?

Imperial Concubine Yun is sick.

Empress Dowager has remembered that

Zhaoyi Nie's writing was graceful

thus she wants to invite Zhaoyi Nie to the Shangyuan Palace

to copy Buddhist scriptures.

Xue Ke...

What happened in the palace this morning?

Replying to Your Majesty,

His Majesty arranged

an eunuch named Yang Zhi

to serve Zhaoyi Nie in Cuihua Pavilion (Cuihua - magnificent green jade)

He is Eunuch Li's man,

As far as I can remember, he is an errand boy.

Anything else?

Also... Imperial Concubine Yun got sick this morning.

Imperial Physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau

went to Mingfu Palace.

I heard they thought she was pregnant.

But she got happy in vain.

It turned out that she ate something bad and had stomach issues.

When His Majesty heard the news,

he left without saying anything.

I watched

the jealousy in the harem ignite

after Zhaoyi Nie entered the palace.

In addition to competing for love,

they have all started to rush

to conceive an imperial heir.

Even the usually

smug imperial concubine Yun

was unable to cope with it any longer.

Imperial Concubine Yun

is like a needle in a cotton thread,

acting as if she is morally better than other people.

But everyone can see

that she does not like Zhaoyi Nie.

She does not like Zhaoyi Nie?

It is not only because of Zhaoyi Nie

but because she has to share His Majesty's favour.

More importantly,

Nie Wushuang touched her dead spot...

Yu'an.

Actually, everyone says

that Zhaoyi Nie won His Majesty's heart

but this maidservant does not think so.

His Majesty did not order her to serve him yet.

It is precise because she has not served him yet

that she is holding His Majesty's heart.

Xue Ke,

do you know

what love between a man and a woman is?

Worry about one's gains and losses, being carried away into a realm of dreams,

happily loving each other...

Is there

really such emotion

in this world?

The plague has been going on for more than half a month.

I and Princess Yunle

have also escaped its clutches.

But this cannot come to an end unsettled.

Li State' refugees brought the plague

into my Great Lan.

Does Your Majesty

think it was an accident?

Son knows

that King of Li has used the plague

to destroy my Great Lan.

Your Majesty should know exactly

whose leaving has caused such hatred.

The greater the power of Miao Minghu,

the deeper the resentment of Li State against Great Lan

will be.

Your Majesty, what you lack

is exactly a bit of Gao Yang's cruelty.

It is true that a humane monarch

is the cornerstone of stabilizing the world,

but

only ambitious monarchs

can dominate the world.

Through the plague,

Your Majesty's benevolence and virtue

has spread throughout the two countries.

This credit cannot be taken

by son alone.

It hangs also on Wushuang.

and her family's ancestral prescription.

It is only the Buddha who knows

whether it is merit or fault.

I am perfectly clear

what is the relationship

between Miao Minghu and Nie Wushuang.

Your Majesty wants to use Nie Wushuang

to retain Miao Minghu as the commander of the troops.

And Nie Wushuang

wants to use the power of our Great Lan's imperial family

to avenge her family.

I am worried

that they will return kindness with ingratitude.

If one day...

It will not happen.

Son believes that both of them

will remain loyal to Great Lan.

Since Your Majesty took over the reins of government,

I have never diminished

Yoru Majesty's prestige in front of outsiders.

But Your Majesty

is humiliating me over and over again.

Son is unfilial.

Why was the chariot sent to

King of Jiuliao burned halfway?

Your Majesty should be clear about

who let Zhaoyi Nie stay in the palace...

Every concubine

in the imperial harem

has the value of her existence.

I am also doing it for Your Majesty's sake.

Miao Minghu was not the only one

who left

Zhaoyi Nie in the imperial harem.

It was also King of Rui's doing.

Your Majesty,

can you not see

that King of Rui likes Zhaoyi Nie?

Those who are in power

should understand the balance between killing and forgiveness.

You did not take advantage

of the dangerous situation in Donglin Temple to seize power.

I am very clear about it.

Yet you should always remember

who has supported you

to get the throne you sit on today.

Son thanks Mother.

Son will never forget the gratitude

for the love and care given him from childhood.

It is in line with the principles of heaven and earth

for Your Majesty

to cultivate talents he trusts.

But as a founding father

that have rendered meritorious services to Great Lan

one cannot forget to keep it in balance.

Do not act in haste,

let alone add to your own infighting

when the situation with Li State

is still unstable.

I shall

ask Xue Mingyi

to share a lot of things with you.

Son understands.

When the late emperor was still alive,

his biggest wish

was to unify the north and the south.

In my remaining years

I must fulfill

the last wish of the late emperor.

Only when the world is unified

can the people live in peace.

I think

it is the time

to find another lost piece of the treasure map.

Adding in the piece

of the treasure map

left by the late emperor,

we will have one more chip

to unify the world.

It is a pity that the Imperial Father has left so quickly.

He did not have the time to tell the son

where the treasure map is.

What did you say?

Did late emperor not give you the treasure map?

Son has also

just heard the rumours

and have never seen any treasure map.

Your Majesty is just like the late emperor.

You are both so guarded against me.

Since I seem to be

a stumbling block for Your Majesty,

this plague issue

is a good moment to reurn power to Your Majesty.

In this way,

Your Majesty's wish to monopolize the power will also be fulfilled.

Mother, please do not say things in anger.

Could it be

that Your Majesty's coming on that day to save me

was actually a lie?

Only a little bit.

Or did you want to save

more than just me?

Son made Mother have misgivings about him.

All right, you may go back.

I have a headache and need to rest.

Son will excuse himself first.

Zhaoyi Nie...

Do you know why

have I repeatedly asked you

to copy the scriptures at Shangyuan Palace?

I ask Empress Dowager for instructions.

I do not want to

look into your unfortunate's lot.

As long as one is alive, there is always a chance

to reappear again.

But I always feel

there is some kind of sin

attached to your body.

Maybe this sin

was not committed by you

but... it was the reason for you to be born.

There was

such a woman in the palace before.

In the end, she did not end well.

What is it?

This? It is a rose cake.

Zhaoyi Nie has made it herself.

Rose cake is delicious.

It is even better than osmanthus jelly

that Mother made.

It is

your birthday today.

Father will give you

whatever you want to eat.

Zhaoyi Nie has clever hands and good sense.

The rose cakes by your hands

are not inferior to the imperial kitchen' dishes.

Your Majesty is overpraising.

Since Crown Prince likes to eat them,

Wushuang will often cook them for him in the future.

All the servant women

are blessed with His Highness Crown Prince's fortune.

The palace

has not been so bustling for a long time.

Sit down.

I heard

Pin Yu's health has greatly improved.

Therefore, she was specially invited to come

to attend the family feast.

I also hoped that you can really participate in it.

It was this female servant neglect

towards the family gathering.

I have not shown concern for

Pin Yu's health recently.

I heard that

Jieyu Bao has been dancing since childhood (Jieyu - Handsome & Fair, concubine rank, lower than Zjaoyi)

and that she has not ceased training even after entering the palace.

I was wondering if you could offer us a dance

during the heir's birthday

to liven up

this wonderful music.

Since Your Majesty showed me a favour,

your servant woman will show her incompetence.

This servant woman heard

that Zhaoyi Nie was a female entertainer

before entering the palace.

Most probably, your dancing skills surpass the common run.

Why don't you dance

and liven up everyone's mood?

Let Jieyu Bao take the lead first.

Imperial Consort Fei is right.

Wushuang

shall obey rather then remain polite.

Wushuang,

your dancing skills were truly superb right now.

Wushuang is truly an adequate name.

You are unparalleled in the world.

Wushuang is unworthy of such compliments.

Third Elder Brother, Fifth Younger Brother does not agree with your judgement.

Zhaoyi Nie's dance was exceptional

but Jieyu Bao's fundation is more profound.

Both of them have their own merits

so they naturally have equal shares of honour.

The tea is cold, hurry up and change it quickly.

Yes.

No need.

How can I have the heart to drink tea?

You lost your face.

You have been in the palace for a year and have not even served once.

You do not even compere for the favour

but when you do,

you still lose to others.

What use you have for me?

You cannot even compete with a mere female entertainer.

If she hadn't played tricks,

concubine would make her

lose easily.

Did King of Rui not say it as well?

What is the use of King of Rui

saying a few kind words?

Did His Majesty look at you even once?

No matter is you do your best,

you will not be as good as the others.

You should give it a little thought.

Concubine shall practice very hard

and dance for His Majesty another day.

Nie Wushang

will be no match for me next time.

By the way,

didn't a foreign doctor

come to the Imperial medicine Bureau a while ago?

Have you looked for him?

I have.

Imperial physician said

that one needs to find the root cause of an illness to treat it.

If the reason is unknown,

there will be no remedy.

What strange disease do you have?

Who gets red rash all over the body

when getting close to a man?

Concubine was unable to serve twice.

It is worse than

being sent to the Cold Palace.

I hope His Majesty

will give you another chance.

Otherwise, you will only have one way out...