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 45

But for what I saw and heard in person,

I can't believe all this.

I remained unexposed just to see

how many skeletons Ashile Tribe got in their cupboard.

Unexpectedly, they even spread fake news of launching an attack.

I can't stand it, so I came as a witness.

Once Zhixi was dead, Chihe popped up to stop the alliance.

Cast your minds back.

Who was the first to spread news

of Ashile Tribe's attack on desert at Sifang Pavilion?

Who?

It was the Tiele Tribe.

That's it.

It was exactly the Tiele Tribe.

Hurry to eat.

Even if you fast, father won't allow you to be by your mother's side.

If it's known by your mother, she'll be broken-hearted.

I can't see mother anymore.

Only you're by my side.

No one can separate us.

You're so quiet today.

I thought you'd complain with me as you did in your childhood.

Don't flatter yourself.

Did you quarrel with Yicheng?

She's my mother!

Don't call her by her name.

You finally got reunited with your mother,

but quarreled with her again.

There you go.

Don't be hypocritical.

You asked Mimi to winkle out information,

but now pretending to be hypocritical.

I really look down on you.

I can do anything for Changge.

What kind of girl is Li Changge

who can make you and Mimi risk your lives for her?

You don't need to understand.

I'm just curious about,

and even a bit...

envious of her.

Ashile Sun,

can you really cast aside Ashile Tribe for Li Changge?

Today you were voluntarily put into jail.

Didn't you cast aside Ashile Tribe as well?

I don't know whether mother'll hate me.

After so long, this day has finally arrived.

At the moment, I'll never give up.

Sher,

you'll be back by my side one day.

So exciting!

What a splendid tactic Zhixi's playing death is!

Changge, how did you come up with it?

I intended to find who's behind it in its own game.

But this way we can not threaten Yicheng,

but likely harm Chihe's family.

What do you mean?

It's customary for Yicheng

to threaten others with their families in other tribes.

Yicheng's so evil.

So we can't let down our guard.

Maybe she has some other plans.

Chini may still be hidden in Chang'an.

Hao Du, I need your help.

Don't move.

Thank you very much today.

It's our duty to guard our country.

Wait, there's one missing.

- You mean the one by Yicheng's side. - Yes.

He's Yang Cheng.

But today we dispatched men personally,

so we can't ask him from Yicheng.

What shall we do?

Though Chihe admitted where Chini was,

it's not a success if the head of Chini got away.

Take them back first.

We must let Leyan report it

to the royal court before the morning attendance.

Okay.

[Kong's Mansion]

Go.

Go.

Behave yourself.

Leyan.

[Teahouse outside Pavilion]

Go.

Leyan!

Leyan!

Don't move.

Give me the Fish Token.

Hao Du, he just wanna save Chini's men.

He won't hurt Leyan.

Princess, you're so clever.

Okay, deal.

Hao Du, you can't.

I'll count to three.

It's up to your decision.

Li Changge, give me the Fish Token.

Exchange it with him.

Hao Du!

One.

Two.

Li Changge!

Okay, I'll let them go.

Changge!

I'll take you there.

Then they'll obey my order and let go of them.

But she's the beloved daughter of the Emperor.

If you dare hurt her, you'll never escape alive.

Bullshit!

Throw me the Fish Token.

Your so-called reviving Sui Dynasty is doomed.

Cut the crap.

Now that I'm in your hand, kill or cut me as you like.

I'll finish soon.

What's up?

Have Chini's men all confessed their crimes?

At tomorrow's morning attendance, I'll report it to his Majesty.

Just as planned.

Then I'll reveal Yicheng's plot in front of envoys from all tribes

to help form an alliance.

Come on.

I'll be on it.

Does it hurt?

If it does, just cry.

Don't hold it in.

I'm still here.

Can't you restrain yourselves a bit?

Well, this time Hao Du did a marvelous job.

His Majesty'll grant you a marriage.

I'll...

By the way,

she's not seriously injured.

You won't be hampered by it.

I'll go now.

Sun,

are you okay in the jail?

Mister, you're finally back.

Master kept awaiting you all night.

Foster Father.

Did you dispatch a troop without permission?

Foster father, it's too urgent for me to report it to you.

You acted as you saw fit.

That's what my son should be like.

The remnants of Sui Dynasty must be rooted out.

Yes.

Follow me.

Kneel down.

[Ancestral Tablets]

Kneel down here.

Over here.

Kowtow.

Sprinkle liquor.

Foster father, it's inappropriate.

From now on, you're one of our Du Family.

Your name will be included in our family tree.

You're my son now.

Foster father.

I know you're self-esteemed,

eager to climb up the social ladder yourself,

but if you wanna be the Consort Prince,

I, as your father, have to pave the way for you.

Foster father.

You shouldn't call me that.

Now you're my son, understand?

Dad!

Great.

Boy, accompany me to the court, and report to His Majesty.

Okay.

Your Majesty,

Yang Cheng's a collateral offspring of Emperor Yang of Sui.

Since the end of Sui Dynasty, he has assembled all remnants of Sui...

You seem unwell.

Let Hao Du speak.

Your Majesty, the group of people all canceled their ID,

existing in the world like ghosts.

They're called Chini, loyal to Princess Yicheng.

Though they confessed the crime of spreading rumors,

it's a pity that only Yang Cheng contacted Yicheng.

But Yang Cheng refused to betray Yicheng,

and even tried to commit suicide,

so I'm afraid we can't arrest Yicheng this time.

Not in a rush.

How can a poorly-fledged person fly far away?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Everybody.

This is Yang Cheng working for Yicheng.

He's the mastermind of Chihe and one of the remnants of Sui.

Chihe thought by Yang Cheng's reviving Sui Dynasty

allied with the desert, Tiele Tribe will naturally thrive,

and then replace the Ashile Tribe.

Don't panic.

Since marriage, Yicheng has schemed on the grasslands for years.

Yang Cheng heads Chini's remnants, so no one except a few people

who're loyal to and can identify Yicheng has seen her.

Yang Cheng's one of them.

It's all Yicheng's plan.

How glib-tongued Princess of Mobei is!

You let them suspect me within several words, aiming at me.

How can I, a weak woman married far away, to be the boss behind?

It's said by you, not us.

Khatun, rest assured.

Yang Cheng said nothing in the interrogation, but only wanted to die.

We had no sooner saved his life than interrogated him.

Besides, Yang Cheng's so loyal.

How can he betray you?

Your glance silenced all people here.

How dare I slander you?

If you know it's a slander, the meeting can be over.

Why bother gathering here?

Here comes the Envoy of Ministry of Rites.

Everyone.

This is the promise made by His Majesty of our country to all of you.

All in all, if any tribe is attacked,

our Tang Dynasty'll fight side by side

and share a common future with you for sure.

In aspects of public education, food and clothing,

reclamation and plantation, and business trade,

we'll favor you whenever you're in need.

If we attempt to enslave other tribes, our alliance will be dissolved.

Okay.

On behalf of my father, I decide to sign the treaty first.

- So we... - We may sign as well.

Shall we sign or not?

Let's get allied.

We can sign it.

- Sounds reasonable. - Yeah.

It's quite fair.

It benefits all.

Wait!

Hao Du, though you did a good job of rooting out Chini's remnants,

you dispatched a troop without permission by mistake.

I'm sorry.

Father, it's my idea.

It has nothing to do with Hao Du.

So I'll make you Consort Prince as a punishment.

I didn't mean to hide it from you.

I just don't wanna alert them.

It's a matter...

Princess.

Consort Prince.

Father.

You've really grown up.

Hao Du, no, Young Mister Du.

I'll entrust Yan to you.

You've to take good care of her.

If you think my daughter's a drag on your future promotion,

or your affection loses with her beauty withering away,

I won't blame you, but you must return her intact to me.

Thank Your Majesty.

Please be assured.

I'm bound to take good care of Princess, not because she's a princess,

but because she's Leyan.

Great.

After Young Mister Wei brings the Treaty of Alliance back,

select a date to get married.

Thank Your Majesty.

You can't sign the treaty.

I can't see you being trapped by a fake princess.

Mimi.

Fake?

She's not Princess of Mobei at all.

She's the daughter

of the former Crown Prince whose family was killed.

She's Li Changge.

It's her!

Is she a fake princess?

What the heck?

Unexpectedly.

- She's the daughter of the former Crown Prince. - Yeah...

How is it possible?

Mimi Guli, I won't allow you to sabotage Princess's plan.

It's...

She's the mastermind of Chini instead.

The alliance is an excuse for her to get all tribes involved in a war.

She only wants the Emperor of Tang to fight a war himself

so that the troop can be exhausted in the expedition.

This way, she can avenge her father on the Emperor.

If Li Changge has other plans,

reveal her real identity in front of all tribes,

or your brother Buzhen and Mu Jin...

Mu Jin!

You think I don't know Mu Jin has sneaked into Dingxiang?

Maybe at the moment, he's tortured in Lei Meng's hand.

I'll do whatever you want.

Khatun.

Please.

Please spare Buzhen and Mu Jin's lives.

I'll do whatever you want.

I'll listen to you.

It depends on your performance.

To avenge her father,

as a person from Tang,

she can even collide with Chini, a group of Sui remnants.

She cares nothing about the battles

among three forces or people's sufferings.

The alliance is no other than a plot of hers.

It's her plot.

She's so hard to read.

That's it.

We can't be reckless.

Let's think over it.

That's it.

Take Li Changge down.

I'll report and wait for His Majesty's decision.

Yes.

Changge!

I never thought it'd be like this.

Father.

Changge...

Since when did Yicheng know Changge's identity?

I don't know.

Now envoys of all tribes can't wait to see me kill Changge

to show my sincerity.

Father.

Your Majesty, they're afraid of our country instead of Li Changge.

So you mean they don't trust me.

I don't mean it.

I think it's no use killing Li Changge.

So what do you think shall we do?

Sorry, I dare not say.

Father, you said you'd pardon

relatives of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji's.

Now Changge's identity as Jiancheng's daughter has been exposed.

She ought to be well-placed.

If Your Majesty goes back on your words,

I'll keep persuading you at the risk of my death.

Father.

Young Mister Wei, go visit Yicheng tomorrow.

She did so just to let me release Young Khan.

Whatever she wants tomorrow,

tell her I only want prisoners from all tribes

in the hands of Ashile Tribe.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Father, no one will harm Changge, right?

Yan, you may rise.

Yan, remember, fighting fire with fire is never a proper way.

Facing either strong forces or schemes and intrigues,

just respond squarely.

Our Tang Dynasty will never give in.

Time to eat.

Yours.

You, nothing.

Your mother did pay a lot.

I'm not hungry.

Eat mine as a present for you.

No, thanks.

You may eat, or you'll starve to death.

I believe we can get out.

Are you confident in Emperor Tang, or your mother?

I'm confident in your Li Changge.

If she's reliable, she won't let you die here.

I hope she won't get involved in this again.

Sher,

if we can leave alive this time,

I'll go on fighting against your mother till my death.

Ashile Tribe, Tang Dynasty, and former Sui Dynasty.

Do these really matter?

Why must you be involved?

Can't you live happily with Li Changge in some tranquil place?

Isn't it great?

Of course, it's great.

Only when the world is in peace can people live happily indeed.

[Sifang Pavilion]

Khatun.

Your Emperor only sent you to see me.

The Tegin of Eagle Division schemed against Eastern Palace,

and said you and Young Khan were the masterminds.

For such a major case,

His Majesty'll solve the case himself, so he can't see you in person.

You come straight to the point, so I won't beat around the bush.

Let go of my son.

I promise not to cross swords with your country within five years.

We intended to sign the treaty,

but tribes quit signing it for the leader is Li Jiancheng's daughter.

An alliance can be quit so easily, let alone your so-called promise.

So what does your Emperor want?

I heard there're lots of prisoners

from all tribes in Ashile Tribe's hands.

He wants too many.

Khatun, now people are in a panic.

To let envoys of all tribes remain calm,

the best way of showing our prestige is to punish Young Khan.

You want to see me, which means you possibly know it.

I'm sorry, I can't help you this time.

Did we fail to sign the treaty?

90% of them are unwilling to sign.

It means we can fight for the rest 10%.

The rest 10% of them are packing up to set out for the desert tomorrow.

What about Sun?

Ashile Sun and Ashile Sher are of special identities.

They're in respective cells.

No one is allowed to visit them.

They won't fight with each other in respective cells.

Changge, to reveal Yicheng's crimes,

Ashile Sun didn't hesitate to expose his identity.

He did so maybe because of your narrow squeak.

He saved me for times.

Without him, I'd have been dead when I fell off the cliff.

You've known each other since then.

It was he who saved you.

If Ashile Sun can survive this time,

as your brother,

I can entrust you to him.

Before I met him,

I never thought I'd go through thick and thin with one another.

After I met him,

I never thought I'd spend the rest of my life with anyone else.

- Your Majesty. - Did Yicheng agree?

Yes.

Ashile Tribe'll go back to Dingxiang tomorrow.

She wants Young Khan to leave with her in front of all tribes.

There she goes.

As she wishes.

Your Majesty, she even wants Ashile Sun.

The fourth day.

It's the first time I've been in jail for so long.

Things are getting hot.

So do you fear death?

Warriors on the grasslands never fear death.

If you died in a frame-up this time,

I'd feel sorry for you.

Did I hear it right?

You can even apologize.

Is it that men speak kindly in the presence of death?

If I can't make it clear now,

I'll have no chance later.

Sher, the problem is you're Young Khan of Ashile Tribe.

No chance?

I don't think so.

I won't die so easily.

I won't die in their country's jail.

You brat, if we can leave alive,

apologize to me and treat me to a drink.

Maybe I can forgive you.

Forgive?

As long as you're Yicheng's son, and I'm Khan's adopted son,

it's impossible for us to forgive each other.

Sher, forgive?

In the next life.

Do you really think you're gonna die?

You never said anything discouraging like that.

If you can live all over again, what do you want to do?

I don't know,

but I'll never leave the grasslands.

How wonderful the grassland is!

Vast and charming.

I don't need too many soldiers, or men under me.

I just wanna hunt on horse, herd cattle and sheep with my beloved.

That's also what I want.

Come on, please don't.

What're you doing?

Ashile Sun, you can't go with them.

Catch the ringleader first.

- Thanks for reminding them. - You're welcome.

Take him away.

I won't prevent you from killing him as long as I'm safe, but...

Crown Prince?

How dare you!

How dare you hit me?

I did so by mistake.

You don't have to kill me.

I intended not to kill you in jail for fear of leaving traces,

but I'm exposed by your hit.

Then double-or-quits.

I can finally avenge my friend!

You!

How dare you!

Your Highness, why must you kill Ashile Sun?

Because he killed Sheng Xin.

People on earth all despise Sheng Xin,

and think there's no need to get even for his death.

If I can't avenge him, he'll die in vain!

Sheng Xin is the one who lurked by your side maliciously.

Bullshit!

Hao Du has got Chini's remnants all in one draft.

They confessed as early as in Luoyang,

Sheng Xin was sent to lurk by Your Highness's side to confuse you,

and make trouble by taking advantage of you.

They signed the confession and now are in jail.

If you don't believe it, go interrogate them.

His Majesty wants to meet you.

Don't you wanna salute the Emperor of Tang?

Of course.

What's more, as Li Changge's man,

I won't yield to her Second Uncle.

Let me see what you can do for my niece.

[Household Registration]

There're two ways in front of you.

You've seen the box before where Changge's ID card is placed.

I made one for you as well.

From now on, change your name, stay with Changge in Chang'an,

and no longer get on with Ashile Tribe.

I will grant you a safe life.

Changge has rejected this way.

So I leave this to you.

You don't want her to live in danger, do you?

I just want her to do what she likes.

Besides, I can't cast our Ashile Tribe aside.

Then the second way is not that easy to go.

So do you get what I mean?

Yes.

Dare you risk your life for Changge?

That's what I want.

Before leaving Chang'an,

you need to meet someone.

I thought he was my friend.

Why did you all cheat me?

Because I'm a fool?

Certainly not.

You're just too kind and credulous.

Don't console me.

I know father also thinks I'm not promising.

This is the first time I wanna fight for, justify and avenge someone,

but in the end,

it turns out to be a joke.

You did that bravely for your friend,

but your friendship turns to be false.

Do you regret?

Yes, I do.

So in the future,

will you still utterly trust others?

I will,

but I won't trust them so blindly.

Isn't it a good thing?

You've grown up.

What about you?

Have you tried to make up for your regrets?

Your Highness.

It's water under the bridge.

We need to move on.

♫ 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