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♥ The Love Lasts Two Minds ♥

♔ Follow @skysoultan on Instagram ♔ Episode 31

Your majesty,

seems it’s Zhixia.

I’ll go and take a look.

Wait.

Is she complaining about

Princess Zesheng’s case?

Go.

I’ll go see it for myself.

Your majesty,

the murderer is still on the loose.

The princess won’t rest in peace.

Please hold the justice for her.

His majesty is here.

You shouldn’t act recklessly.

Your majesty,

please hold the justice for the princess.

Heng,

take her away.

Yes.

Your majesty,

Yuan Qingli is the murderer.

[Prosperity and Peace]

You mustn’t go easy on her.

Your majesty.

You can’t even manage a servant well?

Xue Cai.

Yes.

Zhixia is getting old.

Find a place for her to live

in the royal palace

and let her get some good rest.

Don’t let her

come out

and disturb Ci.

Yes.

I’ll get on with it immediately when we’re back.

Aunt Zhixia is so indignant because Zesheng

died miserably.

Now,

the priority is

to bring the murderer to justice.

Yuluo went to the royal palace yesterday.

But I didn’t meet her.

Ci,

now you should know

the true colors of Yuan.

With all due respect,

I have something to say.

What is it again?

If you want to plead for Yuan,

I suggest you save your efforts.

I’m not pleading for her,

I just want to say the truth.

If Yuan really were the murderer,

then I wouldn’t plead for her.

What truth?

Zhao Yan, Princess Changle and I

have carefully studied the case.

Although many parts are still unclear,

we’re quite sure that

Yuan is not the murderer.

She was deliberately framed by someone.

It hasn’t been long

since she came back to the capital.

But she’s been constantly in trouble.

Does it mean everyone wanted to frame her?

Based on what we’ve learnt

about the case,

Yuan didn’t take the medicine

Zesheng gave her.

So she didn’t have a motive for murder.

And that fisherman

was deliberately led to that fishing spot

before the crime happened,

so that he can

testify against Yuan.

We also found that,

besides Yuan,

Zesheng and Shu,

another woman also appeared.

We also found an earring

at the crime scene.

In addition to that,

the letter Zesheng sent to Yuan

imitated Princess Changle’s handwriting.

This is beyond

the capability of a girl

that was new to the Yong State.

So I suspect that

the case was orchestrated by someone.

And Zesheng

is the pawn in this conspiracy.

Are you sure?

I’ve found some clues,

but it’ll still take some time

before I can find solid evidence.

I heard Qiao Li interrogated Yuan and her maid

last night.

He was very cruel.

He punished them

and beaten Yuan’s maid to death alive.

If he keeps punishing Yuan,

Yuan might end up being hurt badly.

It’ll be hard to explain things to Mrs. Yuan

if Yuan is proved innocent later.

Father,

I agree with Duke Duan.

The Yuan family have always been loyal.

And Mrs. Yuan cares for you a lot.

But now she only has this daughter

to rely on.

If Yuan were killed unjustly,

I’m afraid Mrs. Yuan would want to end her life

out of desperation.

He tortured them?

Qiao Li is so audacious!

Pass on my order.

Keep looking for the murderer.

Detain Yuan Qingli for now.

No one can punish her.

Yes.

Alright. Stop kneeling down.

Get up.

This case

is indeed very tricky.

If we didn’t handle it properly,

Lord Zhao would probably

hold a grudge against me.

But you were raised by Lord Zhao.

You can write a letter to him

and tell him everything

about what happened.

Tell him Zesheng’s death

was an accident,

and I actually cared for her very much.

Also,

I’ll get to the bottom of this,

and give him an answer.

Yes, your majesty.

Xue Cai.

Yes.

Pass on my order.

There’s no need

to investigate the case.

Execute Yuan Qingli immediately

if they still can’t find the true murderer

in two days.

Yes, your majesty.

What’s wrong?

The emperor came to see you.

But seems you’re even more worried.

Yuan is in danger.

The emperor will sacrifice her.

How is that possible?

I just heard

the emperor said that

no one is allowed to punish Yuan.

For emperors,

they’ll only look at the bigger picture.

Compared with the stable relations

between the Yong State and Zhaozhou,

Yuan’s life means nothing.

Since the true murderer can’t be found,

the most important thing will be

to kill the suspect,

which is Yuan,

and appease Zhaozhou.

The emperor knows Qiao Li tortured them

and caused Lu to die,

but he didn’t punish Qiao Li.

He’s made up his mind.

If we don’t act timely,

Yuan will die for sure.

What should we do then?

It’s not hard to deal with...

deal with Jiang Tan.

But Lord Ye is a prince after all.

People think he’s unambitious.

He actually has a lot of friends.

So,

we’re not only going to

solve Zesheng’s case,

and our battlefield

will be not in the Supreme Court,

but the royal palace.

[Supreme Court]

Miss Yuan,

maybe,

I can take the body of this maid away

from here.

No need.

Lu was very brave.

She protected me all the time.

And she didn’t want to leave alone.

I’ll let her stay with me.

But...

But she’s already dead.

It’s hard to find out

the mastermind and the true murderer.

But it’s not hard to find out that

I’m innocent.

If the order to release me

is still not given

in the next one or two days,

then...

probably my life will end here.

It’s a long way to go to the next world.

Lu, if you wait for me,

I’ll be able to catch up with you.

Don’t think this way.

Mrs. Yuan doesn’t want to hear this.

Please tell this to my mom.

The greatest pleasure

in my life

is being her daughter.

In the next life,

I still want to be her daughter.

[Palace of Duke Duan]

Are you sure that

Xiaohan can find the thing you want?

I heard Lord Ye thinks highly of her,

and she can move freely in the Spring Palace.

What’s more,

she’s a sharp-minded guard.

It should be easy for her.

Mr. Jing.

Mr. Zuo.

You found it?

I heard that after Sese and Yin died,

Lord Ye searched their rooms

carefully,

but he didn’t expect that

Sese had hid this thing

in her friend Ping’s room,

and she hid it

above one of the beams.

Could it be that Sese and Yin

were killed because of the secret

inside this box?

It’s very possible.

Mr. Jing,

it seems the patterns on the pouch

were embroidered by Concubine Qiao.

I remember Yuan said this before.

Yin also once mentioned

Lord Ye is very close with a concubine

from the harem.

So she’s really Concubine Qiao?

[Qiao]

This is Concubine Qiao’s handwriting.

She wrote a love poem on the fan

she gave to Lord Ye.

[The flowers bloom and fall, we remain separated]

Sese must’ve found that

they’re having an affair,

so she stole these love of tokens

to protect herself.

That’s also why

[Qiao]

Lord Ye interrogated Sese

and tortured her to death.

I heard that

Yin thought Sese was still alive,

or maybe he just

wanted to keep her body,

so he went to his aunt carrying Sese’s body.

But he failed to get rid of the guards

until Sese’s body became stiff,

and he was knocked into Lanyue Lake.

They loved each other.

It’s a shame that they were killed

over the affair of these two barefaced people.

When did Concubine Qiao enter the palace?

Three years ago.

But she wrote this love poem

four years ago.

[Clean and Righteous]

Yuan said

the greatest pleasure in her life

is being my daughter,

and that in the next life,

she still wants to be my daughter.

I owe her too much.

Now she’s

in a hopeless situation,

but I can’t do anything to help her.

I really don’t understand this.

The emperor treats you well normally.

Why would he always become so ruthless

when the critical moment comes?

Even though he knows Miss Yuan was wronged,

he still wants to

sacrifice her to appease Zhaozhou?

Mrs. Yuan, there’s a special guest.

Who?

Please come inside.

You’re really a special guest.

I didn’t expect to see you.

What brings you here?

I came for Yuan.

Yuan is the person you want to protect

with your life.

She’s also the one I cherish the most.

I want to save Yuan.

But I need your help.

You?

Save her?

Now you know she’s not the daughter of your enemy,

so you want to compensate her?

Even if she’s the daughter of my enemy,

I’ll not give up saving her.

She’s always the one

I value and cherish the most

in my heart.

But you’ve given up on her.

I never gave up on her.

How shameless you are!

No.

I did all those things

for a reason.

[Palace of Uprightness]

Even I could tell

you were set up

by someone.

But you were totally

kept in the dark.

I wish

you were as smart

as you were in the battlefield.

I was incompetent.

No.

But you were too confident.

You had your nose in the air.

You thought you’re better than everyone.

I’ll keep in mind

everything you said.

I’ll definitely live up to your expectations,

and devote myself to the Yong State.

Good.

Now your confinement has just been lifted.

If I resume your position

at this time,

it may arouse controversy among the ministers,

and cause unnecessary trouble.

I have a task for you,

so you can gain more experience.

Yes.

Some supporters of the Xiangzhou Mutiny

still haven’t been removed.

They’re still making waves

and causing trouble to the people.

I’m really worried about that.

I order you

to leave for Xiangzhou

immediately,

to suppress the rebels there.

You mustn’t fail.

Yes!

Father!

[Place of Duke Duan]

Princess Zesheng,

[Tablet of Princess Wang Zesheng]

we’ll do our best to find the murderer.

Thanks for your concern, Lord Qing.

Yuan is now

in a desperate situation.

I thought

you must be very eager

to collect evidence

and find ways to help her out.

I didn’t expect

you’re now actually staying at home.

Seems you want to stay out of it.

I don’t want to stay out of it,

but there’s no need to do anything.

The emperor has

approved my request.

I feel very much at ease now.

I’m sure

the result of Zesheng’s case

won’t let me down.

I’m waiting for the moment when the murderer

pays the price.

I heard the emperor summoned Lord Bo last night.

You just came from the royal palace,

have you heard anything?

I left the royal palace early today,

I didn’t hear any news.

However,

I heard Father has lifted

Lord Bo’s confinement.

He also restored some of his military power

and sent him to Xiangzhou.

If he can make some achievements there,

it’ll be good for his reputation.

Things are indeed unpredictable.

You never know what will happen.

Right.

I felt relived

when I learnt that Father

is not angry with Lord Bo anymore.

Lord Bo loves to show off his work,

and he’s a bit reckless.

But he’s very loyal

to the Yong State.

You’re making a very fair judgment.

I admire you a lot.

[Earthy Paradise]

It’s cold outside.

You haven’t fully recovered.

There’s no need to see me off.

You should go back and rest.

Don’t catch a cold.

Sure.

Have you prepared the clothes

for the Laba Festival?

My lady,

I went to the tailors earlier.

They’re working on it.

It’s exquisitely embroidered.

The collar and cuffs are studded with pearls.

It’s very beautiful.

I’m sure others will be stunned.

That’s good.

Any news about Concubine Lin?

She’s acting strange this year.

She ordered the tailors

to make new clothes for Lord Bo,

instead of for herself.

Concubine Lin is the foster mother of Lord Bo.

She’s not favored by the emperor.

So she’ll have to

count on Lord Bo for her future.

It’s nothing strange that

she’d make new clothes for him.

But Concubine Lin and Lord Bo have been

sending messages to each other frequently.

Just yesterday,

I saw her messenger go out many times.

The people

in Concubine Lin’s palace are all smiling happily.

Seems some happy event is going to happen.

Happy event?

Mr. Jing,

since Lord Qing came here,

that guy serving the desserts

has been observing you sneakily.

I know.

He’s a spy.

You know that?

We guarded the palace seamlessly recently.

Their men couldn’t spy on us

from outside the palace.

So they planted their men inside.

That guy is too smart for a servant.

And there are thick calluses

between his forefinger and thumb.

He obviously

practices martial arts.

So I just kept him here.

Why?

I have a use

for him.

If you say he’s useful,

then he must be useful.

Does it mean we’ll be able to

save Miss Yuan very soon?

This game has started.

We’ll know

the result very soon.

Lu

is with Miss Yuan.

She’s also in the prison.

It’s so cold.

I don’t know

if she can stand the cold.

Although she’s a maid,

she’s actually very weak.

Heng,

Lu...

What happened to her?

I went to the Supreme Court two times.

I heard that after they were

brought there,

they never came out again.

You mean

the emperor promised Duke Duan one thing,

so that Duke Duan stopped investigating it?

Do you know

what the emperor promised him?

Duke Duan and Lord Qing

didn’t mention it.

I don’t know.

You may leave.

Yes.

My lady,

they must be up to something.

I heard the emperor summoned Lord Bo

and lifted his confinement.

And then yesterday,

the emperor went to see Duke Duan.

My lady,

now everyone in the royal palace is saying

the thing the emperor promised Duke Duan

is not only about

Princess Zesheng’s case.

Could it be that the emperor

has made a commitment to him

so that Duke Duan is put at ease

and is willing to rest at home?

My lady,

that’s Concubine Lin’s eunuch,

Chang Yuan.

Jinxin.

Yes.

Eunuch Chang,

why are you

in such a hurry?

You’re lucky that you hit me.

It’d be a disaster

if you just hit

Concubine Qiao.

My respect to you, my lady!

My respect to you, my lady!

How dare you!

You’re stealing things from the palace!

Please let me explain.

I’m not stealing anything.

I’m an eunuch that works for Concubine Lin.

Now I’m going outside

on Concubine Lin’s order.

Don’t make excuses.

Look what time it is!

What could she possibly ask you to do now?

Please judge wisely.

I’m really following Concubine Lin’s order

to go outside.

Concubine Qiao is very gracious.

As long as you tell the truth,

she will never

make things hard for you.

Yes.

Concubine Lin ordered me

to take these gold bars

to Lord Bo.

She said that

Lord Bo will hold a happy event recently.

She wanted Lord Bo to use these gold bars

to have his palace renovated.

But the emperor ordered the concubines

to reduce daily expenses.

Although it’s nothing significant

to give money to Lord Bo,

it may invite suspicion

if the emperor hears about it.

So Concubine Lin told me to be extremely careful.

Lord Bo is going to hold a happy event?

What is it?

I...

I don’t know.

Fine.

Go run your errands.

I won’t make things hard for you.

Thank you, my lady.

Thank you, my lady.

[To Father]

Send this letter to my father immediately.

Yes.

Wait.

The silks and paintings for the Laba Festival,

send them out together.

Don’t let anyone notice it.

Yes.

The fish has bitten the hook.

Just as you predicted,

Concubine Qiao was anxious

and wrote a letter to Qiao Li.

Qiao Li sent it to Lord Ye

immediately.

How did it go?

Rest assured.

I switched the letter.

It was smooth.

Lord Ye won’t notice it

very soon.

[Father]

That’s the handwriting.

Bait the snake out of the cave.

Your plan is very effective.

You worked hard.

Stay in Spring Palace these several days.

Don’t make another move,

so that others won’t suspect you.

Yes.

My respect to you,

your majesty.

Save the manners.

Beiyan,

you want to see me so urgently.

What emergency?

I came here for...

If it’s for Yuan’s case,

then you can save your breath.

All of you say

Yuan is not the murderer,

but at the same time,

you can’t find the true murderer.

It’s not that I don’t give you a chance.

But you’re making things hard for me.

I have to give an answer to Lord Zhao.

Your majesty,

I didn’t come

for Yuan’s case,

nor for my personal business.

I came for the state’s safety.

Mu Beiyan,

the state’s safety

is of grave importance.

If you’re exaggerating things,

I’ll behead you today.

I...

dare not speak rashly.

Bring it to me.

Here you are.

When I intercepted this secret letter just now,

I thought

it was just a normal letter

Concubine Qiao wrote to her father.

Then I covered the letter with incense ashes

and looked at it again under the sun,

I found the hidden content.

Your majesty.

Summon Concubine Qiao!

Yes.

Ci,

I heard there’s a commotion in the royal palace.

Concubine Qiao was taken to Palace of Rules.

And the guards looked unfriendly.

Ci,

you’re actually not investigating the case,

but trying to take down Lord Ye and Concubine Qiao

with the help of Mrs. Yuan and Beiyan?

To catch brigands,

first catch their king.

If I don’t take down Lord Ye,

even if I found 100 pieces of evidence

to prove Yuan’s innocence,

he’d find 101 reasons

to put her in prison.

But we didn’t have

solid evidence to testify against Lord Ye,

so you set your sights on Concubine Qiao.

It wouldn’t be hard

for Zesheng to arrange a ship,

and imitate Princess Changle’s handwriting

to invite Yuan.

But Aunt Zhixia

would have known it

if Zesheng had done that.

So it must’ve been done by someone else.

Zesheng just came to the Yong State,

she didn’t have many friends.

The person she was closest with

is Concubine Qiao,

who happens to

have something to do with Lord Ye.

So,

you suspect it was Concubine Qiao that instigated

Zesheng to set Yuan up,

and then killed Zesheng.

Zesheng must’ve seen Concubine Qiao

as her confidant,

so she told her she was marrying Lord Bo,

which later caused her death.

[Kind and Virtuous]

She thought she could teach Yuan a lesson,

but Concubine Qiao is vicious.

Zesheng became a pawn in her game

and was sent to her death without knowing it.

By killing her,

they can ruin Lord Bo’s plan to marry her,

and also frame Yuan,

and jeopardize

Mrs. Yuan and Lord Junior,

or even have them killed.

But all this is just conjecture.

Concubine Qiao is favored by the emperor.

Where can you get the evidence?

Because I didn’t have evidence,

so I made them

hand over the evidence themselves.

Concubine Qiao,

do you acknowledge your guilt?

Your majesty,

I’m not guilty.

You’re not guilty?

Alright.

Let me ask you.

You told your father

to inform Lord Ye

and advise him to make a plan asap,

to stop me from issuing the edict

at any cost.

Tell me,

what does that mean?

Please judge wisely.

I don’t know where that letter

came from.

It’s indeed

my handwriting in the secret letter.

But someone also

imitated Princess Changle’s handwriting

and frame Miss Yuan, right?

You also think

Miss Yuan was framed?

You!

Your majesty, I’m innocent.

I’m innocent.

You’re not innocent at all.

Did you have something to do

with Princess Zesheng’s death?

Your majesty,

I’m being wronged.

Your majesty,

previously,

someone imitated

Princess Changle’s handwriting

and wrote a letter

to lure Miss Yuan to the boat,

so I think

there must be someone

that tried to set me up

by imitating my handwriting.

As for

how Princess Zesheng

was killed,

how can I possibly

know the details?

Then how come

you know so many details

about the case?

What’s more,

you and Princess Zesheng were good friends.

Even you can easily tell

Yuan was wronged,

how come your father

was so eager to torture them?

Yuan was badly injured,

and her maid was beaten to death alive.

Did she offend you?

So that you want to send her to her death?

You!

Your Majesty...

Save the manners.

I heard Yuan and Beiyan

accidentally went into an old dye house.

If Lord Qing hadn’t arrived in time,

they’d have been killed as assassins.

Yuan told me later that

she accidentally found Lord Ye

was conspiring with Qiao Li.

I didn’t want to get in trouble.

So I told Yuan not to mention it again.

But this accidental discovery

would later

put Yuan’s life at stake.

Your majesty,

please hold the justice for me.

Don’t worry.

I’ll hold the justice for you.

Your majesty,

what Mrs. Yuan said is true.

Now it seems

those people

were trying to kill me on purpose.

Yuan

only heard in a distance that

Lord Ye hates you for favoring Duke Duan.

He also mentioned that General Yang

and my father didn’t get along well.

This reminded me of one thing.

When Princess Changle and Zhao Yan

escorted the suspects that killed my father

back to the capital,

they met Lord Ye on the way.

And then the two suspects

suddenly died for unknown reasons.

Back then, I thought

it was purely accidental.

After all, Lord Ye and my father

were on good terms,

why would he kill my father?

How come Lord Qing never mentioned this to me?

Your majesty,

Lord Qing didn’t know

why we were attacked back then.

We only suffered some minor injuries,

so he didn’t come to disturb you.

As for the death of my father,

the suspects are dead.

Even if

I suspect

it was Lord Ye,

I could afford no evidence.

Damn him!

Where is Lord Ye?

Didn’t I tell him to come see me?

What’s taking him so long?

I wonder how many evil things

that villain

has done behind my back!

How did you make them

hand over the evidence?

I haven’t been in the Yong State for very long.

But Mrs. Yuan has a lot of people to use

in and outside the royal palace.

She sent an old maid

to have a chat with Concubine Lin,

and tell her

we want to take down Lord Ye,

and we need some help from her.

For example, we asked her

to send some money and jewelries to Lord Bo.

This will make people think

Lord Bo is going to hold a happy event.

But that’s still not enough.

The eunuch that runs errands for her

should tell someone close to Concubine Qiao

that the emperor

will announce Lord Bo’s happy event soon.

Zesheng was killed,

so Lord Bo’s not going to have a wedding.

What else could it be then?

After the emperor visited me,

I stopped investigating the case.

Concubine Qiao’d wonder if it’s because

the emperor has promised me something,

so that I was put at ease.

Plus the news from Concubine Lin,

she’d naturally think

the happy event must be something else.

What a meticulous plan.

It’s just a mind game.

I want to make her believe that

the emperor will reappoint Lord Bo.

She wouldn’t believe it if my men

spread this news.

Unfortunately,

she sent a spy to my palace.

How could she not believe

the spy’s news?

Even if she had doubts,

she’d send a letter

to her father and Lord Ye immediately.

Once she sends a letter,

the letter can be then used as evidence.

You had everything planned beforehand,

so it’d be easy to get the letter.

Then

you let Beiyan bring the letter to the emperor.

So now, he must be in the Palace of Rules.

He not only wants to save Yuan,

avenge his father,

he also needs to protect himself.

So he’ll do it at any cost.

That means

Yuan’s name

will be cleared soon.

The true murderer is still on the loose.

It’d be hard to prove her innocence.

But now Lord Ye is overwhelmed,

it wouldn’t be hard for Mrs. Yuan

to get his daughter back.

Concubine Qiao

was not blamed for Zesheng’s death.

And they won’t get the true murderer

in a short while.

You should feel at ease.

She...

I think she’s already left Yong State

with her father.

Now without Lord Ye forcing her,

she won’t commit a crime again.