Original subtitles

Beloved official Yang.

Official is present.

Is there any news on Gu Qinghong?

Replying to Your Majesty,

according to the mounted scout’s report,

Gu Qinghong was seen

in a tea shop in the suburbs of Yiyang.

He went north in disguise.

He is

probably already far away from Great Li.

I have ordered to sent his drawn picture

to all the counties

to apprehend him and bring him to justice.

Gu Qinghong is a talented man

but he is too stubborn.

I can’t be blamed for being cruel to him.

Say, do you think he will go back to the north?

Official thinks

Miao Minghu is currently

Xiao Fengming’s favourite.

Gu Qinghong leaving Li State

and going to Lan State

is bringing about his own destruction.

He would presumably not do such a thing.

Beloved official Yang,

quickly draw up an imperial edict for me.

Tell the world

that I have made a through investigation

and found out that the Miao Family’s matter was an unjust case.

Gu Qinghong was the one who instigated everyone.

I was going to catch the culprit

but I never thought Gu Qinghong

would abscond with his guilt.

Official shall obey.

Moreover, go out and tell the world

that since I learned

that the Miao Family was wrongly accused

I am plagued by heartache and headache.

I hope that Miao Minghu will turn to his old master as soon as possible

to make amends to the Miao Family.

Will Miao Minghu really come back?

He will not come back.

I have already sounded him out.

Uhm… then...

Official understands.

Your Majesty wants to shake

King of Lan’s trust in him.

Your Majesty is brilliant.

Withdraw.

Yes.

Grand Tutor.

Your Majesty,

Is there any news about Yan’er?

Princess Yan is not of the same mind as Your Majesty.

A while ago, under the pretext of praying,

she went to Donglin Temple to bid adieu to Prime Minister Gu.

So

she wanted to run away with Gu Qinghong.

But Princess Yan’s request

was rejected by Prime Minister Gu.

How can I have

such a useless sister.

Is love really that difficult to let go of?

Yan'er...

I went to great lengths

to arrange you

to be at Xiao Fengming’s side.

You mustn’t become

Xiao Fengming’s pawn

against me and my army.

Your Majesty, rest assured.

This official's younger sister, Jiao Tong,

had a plan in case Princess

wanted to leave Lan State.

She probably has taken care of

Xiao Fengming’s suspicions.

Princess Yan will not do anything

out of the line again.

Imperial Concubine,

you have been plagued by nausea these two days.

Take this miscarriage preventive medicine

and rest early.

Let the maidservant make the baby clothes for you.

Put it down for now.

When I was a child,

I heard that mothers

can protect their unborn child

by sewing some clothes for him.

It is such a happy moment,

but why do I feel that my heart

is growing heavier and heavier with every stitch.

Imperial Concubine, do not think too much of it.

You should look on the bright side of everything.

Did you not see how His Majesty cared for you

when you were threatened by JIao Tong?

He even

ordered the imperial physician to keep the baby afterwards.

Before the supreme treasure is found,

this baby of mine

has still some kind of a value.

Cai Ying,

this time Jiao Tong has come to play along.

Although her move allowed me

to keep my position in the Lan Palace,

but her true colours

are truly terrible.

Yes.

These iron arms scared the maidservant.

I almost fainted on the spot.

In fact, Jiao Tong’s true colours

are not as scary as the ones of the other people.

Gu Qinghong,

your true face shown in the peach blossom forest

made me chilled to the bones.

If you don’t reveal the secret of the treasure map

to His Majesty...

His Majesty will also show me

his treacherous and ruthless face.

Even if I

manage to come back to Li State alive then,

my Imperial Brother

will see that his chess piece is useless

and his true face

will reflect my turning into a stranger for him.

Imperial Concubine...

Rest assured.

I, Gao Yan, would rather take responsibility for the world

than held the world responsible for me.

Fortunately, that Nie Wushuang

has stopped me from

drinking that medicine at Donglin Temple.

I, Gao Yan, have to prevail.

I have to prevail and see

how they will all say

that they regret it.

Imperial Concubine still cannot let go of Prime Minister Gu.

Why is Imperial Concubine persisting?

Unless

I, Gu Qinghong

or Nie Wushuang

dies...

Imperial Concubine is pregnant.

You should not say such inauspicious words.

Gu Qinghong will definitely come back

As long as I hurt Nie Wushuang,

he will definitely come out to protect her.

Unfortunately, I have no other way.

It is him who forces my hand.

Wait.

General.

You are new here.

We have just arrived.

Where are you from?

Yizhou.

The pattern on your purse

seems to come from the north.

Uhm...

It is from a relative in the north.

You have relatives in Li State.

Withdraw for now.

Yes.

General Miao,

why are you embarrassing the new recruits?

Even if Your Majesty suspending you

makes you unhappy,

there is no need to be angry

and venting it out on us.

Zhao Heng,

I suspect these people

come from an unknown place.

I am afraid they may be spies sent by Li State.

General Miao,

you should not crack jokes like this.

Some of these recruits

were scouted by

this humble general alone.

Talking about Li State’s spies,

this humble general has heard something interesting.

Li’s emperor, Gao Yang proclaimed to the world

that he opens the doors for General Miao

to redress the Miao Family’s injustice.

That’s the scumbag King of Li

trying to sow discord among our troops.

Regardless whether it is a scheme of dissension or not,

now that General Miao has been suspended,

you should just rest well

and do not ask for trouble.

Reporting to Your Majesty, this humble official has found out

that the chief of the Ministry of War

is indeed the Li State’s spy.

The evidence is certain.

It depends on Your Majesty how to deal with it.

It is not necessarily a bad thing

to have such a person in the Ministry of War.

Great Lan and Li State

will meet on the battlefield sooner or later.

How about this? Do not disturb him yet.

Continue to pass the news to him

and let him pass them back.

Your Majesty,

Li State has put more spies in Great Lan

than only this one.

A few days ago, this official went to the military camp for the inspection

and found several suspicious people in it.

Judging from their clothes,

they seem to be Li State’s people.

It looks like this King of Li

is more anxious than we thought.

Reporting to Your Majesty,

according to the report of younger brother’s intelligence,

after the battle with Jiuliao

Li State has actively deployed its troops to prepare for the war.

I heard that craftsmen from all over the world

were quietly gathered as well.

They are trying to build a secret weapon.

King of Li is truly a wolf cub with a savage heart. (has a wolfish nature)

My military power is currently unstable

and I cannot rush to deploy the troops.

I should have

eredicated Xue Mingyi

when we have uprooted him.

It is this humble official’s fault for acting recklessly.

I gave them an excuse to act.

Regardless whether the fault is yours or not this time,

this matter has always been

a thorn between Imperial Mother and I.

In the face of Li State’s provocation,

we can only take our time to make careful deliberations.

No matter what Your Majesty needs this official to do,

official will walk through fire and water,

sharing weal and woe.

I heard His Majesty

is often consulting the ministers about the state affairs recently.

He must be really tired.

Elder Sister,

why don’t you go and see His Majesty?

His Majesty is concerned about his country and his people.

He is busy with government affairs.

It is inconvenient to bother him.

It’s raining.

There is a gazebo over there.

Elder Sister, let’s take the shelter from the rain.

Careful.

Greetings, Concubine Du.

The rain

won’t stop for a while.

Cai Ying,

go back to the palace and bring me an umbrella.

If I stay here

for another half an hour,

I will get sick all over.

Yes.

Xia Lan, let’s go.

Zhaoyi,

it is still raining outside.

If you get sick because of being drenched by the rain,

His Majesty will definitely be hurt.

Take shelter from the rain here first.

Maidservant will go back and fetch an umbrella.

Do you not want to

see me even for a moment

because you are afraid of thinking about your past,

thinking of Gu Qinghong?

I don’t seem to be the one who cannot let go

of this name.

Tell me,

where did Gu Qinghong

escape to.

You cannot lie to me.

I know that you are behind

this scheme.

Talking about schemes,

who can compare to the King of Li

and the Li State Princess in front of me?

Although I do not know

what Gu Qinghong meant when he mentioned

the chess pieces that night,

I know that he will never be used

by you and your brother again.

Are you testing me?

Do you want to tell you

the truth of the matter?

No matter what the truth is,

people on the stage

cannot go back to what they used to be.

In the north,

I was competing with you for Gu Qinghong.

In the south,

I am competing with you for Xiao Fengming.

Maybe it is my destiny

that I have to share

the same man with you.

Since it is painful,

it should be mutually shared.

The whole Li State was shocked by

Xie Family’s slaughter that year.

The same fate

was repeated by your Miao Family later.

All this

was designed

by my Imperial Brother.

The year the Xie Family was found guilty,

Xie Gu they got a piece of treasure map

that did not

belong to him.

So my Imperial Brother

sent Miao Weicheng to bury Xie Gu

and Xia Family

in the sea of flames.

The only one who escaped

was Xie Chengxuan, the son of Xie Gu.

And your father, who harboured evil intentions,

took the half of the treasure map

and hid it well.

More than ten years have passed

Miao Family’s meritorious service overshadowed its master.

My Imperial Brother has long wanted

to get rid of you.

And Gu Qinghong

was a chess piece I have personally saved.

Did you also orchestrated our meeting

at Donglin temple’s peach blossom

forest that year?

Of course.

My Imperial Brother carefully planned

your meeting with Gu Qinghong

in the peach blossom forest.

And then, for your Father’s,

Miao Weicheng’s sake,

he has promoted Gu Qinghong as prime minister.

Later,

when Gu Qinghong defamed your father

as a state traitor,

he has pretended

to not believe in it first,

only to finally kill your family.

Gao Yan, you both leave no means untried.

Are you not afraid of reaping what you sow?

That half piece of the treasure map

has always been

in my Imperial Brother’s hands.

The ones in

Xie Family and your father’s hands

are all fake.

They were used by my Imperial Brother

as a clever way to attract

the attention of the world.

Gu Qinghong

has come all the way to where he is

thanks to you.

And I was the one

who saved his life.

Originally, he should marry me

after dealing with the Miao Family.

But he fell in love with you.

He felt apologetic towards you.

It was he who dared

to steal my prescription and send it to you

He helplessly

watched me marry into Lan State

and did nothing about it.

And now he has left everything behind and disappeared.

You have hurt

so many people

for this supreme treasure.

Yes.

Because whoever finds the treasure first

will unify the world.

I just don’t believe it.

When I leave to Great Li

will Gu Qinghong not kneel

in front of me

and say that he really

regret it?

There won’t be such a day.

Because the world

will be unified by

benevolent King of Lan and not King of Li.

Do you think Xiao Fengming

is really so virtuous?

I am telling you,

his methods

are not inferior to those of my Imperial Brother.

I will be honest with you.

After I married into the Lan Palace,

he already knew

that I was not pregnant with an imperial heir,

but he did not expose me

because he also regards me

as a pawn.

He wants to get the other half of the treasure map.

You are also one of his pawns,

used to control

his beloved Fifth Younger Brother,

Xiao Fengqing.

Because Xiao Fengqing

is also his pawn.

His Majesty

will never love anyone at all.

He will also not love his subjects

because he only loves himself.

You are talking nonsense.

It is a true pleasure

to see you in pain.

Gu Qinghong,

where the hell are you.

Zitong,

I have already

brought Ziyan here.

Why are you still frowning?

Empress Dowager will

will definitely take the child back

to Shangyuan Palace before sunset.

After a while,

I will definitely

bring Ziyan back to you.

This female servant is incapable.

She cannot share Your Majesty’s worries.

Instead, I am adding more

troubles for Your Majesty.

Rest assured, Zitong.

No matter what,

Ziyan is my son.

Imperial Mother will never use him

against me.

That’s true.

Your Majesty seized Xue Mingyi

and destroyed Imperial Mother’s prestige.

In the future, Imperial Mother

will be residing in Ci’an Garden.

How can Imperial Mother swallow this bitter pill

knowing her temperament?

This female servant thinks

that Imperial Mother took Ziyan away

in a moment of anger.

Hurry and get up.

- Quick, quick, quick. - Ziyan.

Come.

Your Majesties, calm your anger.

Ziyan,

men bleed without tears.

Ziyan, do you hear me?

You have to keep

Imperial Father’s words in your heart.

Ziyan knows.

It is just that Ziyan fell and got hurt.

Imperial Grandmother said

that if Ziyan wants to become an emperor,

he has to be courageous.

Don’t talk nonsense.

Paying respects to Your Majesties.

Maidservant came with Empress Dowager’s decree

to bring the Eldest Prince back to Shangyuan Palace?

Bring him back to Shangyuan palace?

Imperial Mother, I do not want to go.

But Ziyan was not at Yi Palace

even for a shichen. (two hours)

Empress Dowager has ordered

the masters to come

and teach the Eldest Prince in the afternoon.

Since Your Majesty

failed to live up to the expectations,

Empress Dowager is working hard

to cultivate the Eldest Prince.

Silly child, why are you crying?

Wipe away your tears.

Men bleed without tears.

You should remember it in the future.

You haven’t forgotten what imperial father

has showed you

before, have you?

Son didn’t forget.

Very good.

How have you been treated by your imperial mother recently?

Imperial Mother seems to hate

son more since

Younger Sister Yunle was born.

Maybe son did not do well enough.

You have to fulfill your filial piety then.

You will soon become the emperor of Great Lan.

You have to protect Fengqing

and Great Lan’s officials and subjects.

Do you understand?

Son understands.

Imperial father is on the verge of dying.

In the future,

your imperial mother will be in charge

but remember

when you grow up,

you must bring the regime back

so that your imperial mother does not treat you

and Fengqing bad.

Imperial father has another secret.

Imperial father

has sent the prince that was born

by your imperial mother

away from the palace.

I have another younger brother?

Your younger brother has a letter

that I have especially written on him,

but I wrote it with a special potion.

It will only appear when sprinkled with water.

Then… where is he now?

Who took him out of the palace?

Your imperial father

made him an orphan.

Remember to be kind to him

when you find him

to compensate him.

One more thing.

I am worried that Meiren Ji

harbours resentment against me

and will come back for revenge.

Meiren Ji?

There is an album of paintings hidden in...

Imperial Concubine Jing has arrived!

Imperial Father! Imperial Father! Imperial Father!

Your Majesty, the tea is getting cold.

This humble one will give you another one, all right?

No need.

Has King of Rui entered the palace recently?

Replying to Your Majesty,

King of Rui has stayed

on his pleasure boat these recent days,

watching over monk Qingyuan

that was rescued from the Court of Judicial Review,

using him as a bait for his oppressors to appear.

Lin Mian.

How old do you think

this monk Qingyuan is?

About sixteen or seventeen years old.

Seventeen years old...

Isn’t he not as old as my brother?

Why did you come to Shangyuan palace today

to see me?

Yunle has come

to accompany Imperial Mother in her praying

today.

It is the seventh day

after Qingyuan’s death.

After all, it was related to Yunle.

If it wasn’t for Yunle’s recklessness,

he would not have been involved at all.

I want to

set up a cenotaph for him

at Donglin Temple.

I know that Yunle cannot bear it.

I will let the abbot Donglin Temple

set it up.

I thank Imperial Mother for her grace.

Yunle,

although your wound has healed,

I will want to ask you something.

Did you find an excuse

to go to Donglin Temple because you wanted

to help Miao Minghu meet with Gu Qinghong?

Yunle has no recollection of this.

If people could forget things so easily,

there would be

no sadness in this world.

Miao Minghu cannot forget

his hatred towards Gu Qinghong.

You cannot forget your love for Miao Minghu.

Imperial Mother,

do not talk about it anymore.

You are my daughter.

I can clearly understand your mind.

Are you never

going to accept Xue Bi?

Who dares

to attack my boat at night?

Give me your name.

I am an immortal nameless ghost.

You dare to come here

with your measle gongfu?

Dreaming about harming me?

How about this.

I will make a bet with you.

The winner will get this young monk.

I guess you are...

Xue Bi.

Xue Bi, Xue Bi.

It really is you.

Xue Bi,

no one is

really interested

in this young monk except you.

You have mistaken me for someone else.

Why do you always want to take me away?

Since I was exposed,

I will tell you.

Qingyuan is my younger brother.

You will either give him to me right away

or I will call my men down

and we take him away by force.

Your men?

Your men are army guards, am I right?

You should know well enough

who they are protecting.

You dare to rob me? You are courting death!

Qingyuan?

Qingyuan, don’t run.

I am your brother.

I came to save you.

Qingyuan!

Careful!

I am fine.

Who dared to hurry in here with me present?!

Deshun, have you seen Qingyuan?

Qingyuan?

Was he not here just now?

Gosh!

This humble seemed to have accidentally

hit something.

He did not fall into the river, did he?

Not good.

It was us tho forced him

to jump into the river.

Take things as they come

Qingyuan, why don’t you come in?

Qingyuan pays respects...

pays respects to the Master.

Qingyuan, why did you

rush here for?

Master,

they are all inquiring

about your disciple’s origin.

Who is the disciple?

What is his origin?

I do not know if Master knows it.

In the early morning of that day,

I heard a baby crying

outside the temple gate.

When I came to investigate it,

you have been already put by the roadside

There was only a wordless book by you.

Te swaddling clothes you were wrapped in

were exquisite in workmanship and luxurious in material.

Your teacher assumed

that you were born in a rich family

but he was unable to deduct anything else from it.

Master,

are you talking about these ones?

Yes, these are the ones.

Master,

the apprentice wants to stay in Donglin Temple.

He would like to stay

and be filial to Master.

But the disciple is afraid

that he will implicate Master.

No matter

where you are in the future,

you only need to have Buddha in your heart.

You can practice everywhere in the world.

Master,

disciple...

disciple loathes to part with you.

One is always happy while making new acquaintances

and sad when one is leaving them.

To find escape in Buddhism

you must let go of eight hardships of life.

Why haven’t you understood

that love equals suffering yet?

Master,

the disciple is taking his leave.

Master, take care of yourself.

May Lord Buddha preserve us.

King of Rui.

It seems that I am one step late.

Qingyuan has left already, right?

Yes.

Qingyuan has come to see this old monk.

Where did he go?

Old monk does not know.

Are you not afraid that

I will arrest you on charges of

sheltering imperial court’s offender?

I believe King Rui is not a person

that cannot distinguish between right and wrong.

I have come here only

to find out one thing.

Qingyuan’s origin.

Qingyuan came back to ask this old monk

about the same matter.

But this old monk

knows not more than King of Rui.

Seventeen years ago

Qingyuan

was abandoned at the gate of the temple.

Old monk carried him back to the temple

and kept him with you all the time.

Qingyuan is naturally gifted,

it was easy for him to learn Buddhism.

he has a pure disposition

so he never argues with his seniors.

Who abandoned him that year?

This old monk has searched everywhere

but found no clues.

Was there something extraordinary on him?

Something extraordinary?

It was just

an ordinary baby.

There was nothing extraordinary.

If old monk had any clues,

he would not hide them from Qingyuan

for so many years.

Has

General Xue Mingyi

ever visited him during these years?

General Xue has been to the temple

several times with the imperial family.

He also donated a lot of property to the temple,

but he never

visited Qingyuan alone.

I also hope King of Rui

can beg His Majesty for mercy.

Qingyuan’s crime is not worthy of death.

I am not here to arrest him.

If there are any news about Qingyuan,

I believe abbot

will inform me about them, right?

May Lord Buddha preserve us.

Father...

Father...

Bi'er,

Your Majesty.

Guilty minister Xue Mingyi pays respects to Your Majesty.

I came to visit you in private.

What’s with these elaborate formalities.

Rise.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Come, sit.

Your Majesty, please.

Xue Mingyi.

Guilty official is present.

The environment is not bad here.

It is all thanks to our Majesty’s great blessing.

By the way,

is Qingyuan really your son?

Had Empress Dowager not executed Qingyuan already?

Why would Xue Bi

plead for his safety

and set the fire in the prison otherwise?

Guilty official thought that he will

take that secret to the grave.

it seems that this secret

carries a lot of weight.

It made you put all the charges

on yourself.

Xue Mingyi,

you should be aware

what will happen if you lie to me.

deceiving the monarch is punishable with the

extermination of the nine degrees of kinship.

Guilty official will never dare to deceive Your Majesty.

Qingyuan was born

to this old man and a maidservant.

it was this old man

who personally sent him to Donglin Temple.

Since he is your biological child,

how could you be willing

to send him to the temple to suffer?

Guilty official has witnessed

the bloody killing on the battlefield with his own eyes.

He had also experienced

the cruelty of ups and down of being an official.

According to the guilty official,

sending own son

to a temple

is not suffering.

Besides, Donglin Temple

is a pure place of ideal happiness.

You are still not telling the truth.

Since you mentioned that Donglin Temple

is a pure place of ideal happiness,

I will be benevolent

and send your son there tomorrow

to become a monk.

Why don’t we send him there directly now.

What do you think?

Your Majesty,

you have exiled guilty official’s family

to Lingnan.

Only Xue Bi

was left at the guilty official’s side.

Your Majesty wants to cut off the only blood vessel

that connects me to the Xue Family now.

Guilty official has no right to claim any attachment

but pleads Your Majesty

to allow this guilty official die on behalf of his son.

I will ask you again

while I am still patient.

Who the hell is Qingyuan?

As for who Qingyan really is,

someone other than this guilty official

can tell Your Majesty as well.

But Your Majesty

can only inquire this guilty official

about his true identity.

It’s just..

So you are threatening me.

I will never dare to threaten Your Majesty.

I just want to use this secret

to keep this guilty official

and the whole family safe.

I don’t believe

that this secret

can be only revealed by you.

Your Majesty, if you could learn it

from other sources,

why would you come to my humble abode

in the middle of the night

instead of pushing the guilty official into the courtroom in yamen

for a public trial?

You wanted Xue Bi

to risk his life and take Qingyuan out.

I was curious

what do you want to use

this chess piece for.

Your Majesty, this guilty official

has finally come to understand

that all the wealth and splendor

are not as good as the happiness of a family union.