Original subtitles

Nirvana in Fire

Episode 5

You three are already well-versed in your sword skills.Fei Liu-gege has been singing praises about you to me.

You don't have to be afraid when you see that fat guy later.

Lu Yuan, you're the oldest.You need to take good care of the others later on.

Sir Su, don't worry. I will definitely take care of them.

Your Highness, Prince Jing.

How were you able to free up your time to watch the match today?

This battle is anticipated by the entire city. How can I not watch it?

Sir Su really came early.

Princess.Young Prince.

-Your Highness.-Princess.

What are you smiling about, Sir Su?

Laziness seems to be the trend in the Capital these days.

All the royalties are lax in their posture.

But seeing the three of you together, brimming with energy and vitality,

certainly a sight to behold.

Prince Jing and I are warriors on the battlefield,

Qing-er may be young, but he is adept on the battlefield too. T/N - er = diminutive endearment

If soldiers like us are lazy as well,

then wouldn't it be a misfortune for our country and family?

You guaranteed us a win.

If you harm my sister's chances, I won't let you off.

Qing-er.

Meng-qing, you saw the children this morning. What is your conclusion?T/N: -qing, ruling class referring to subjects

Your Majesty, the sword formation they are practising is formidable,

they even managed to trap me for a moment.

Though I cannot guarantee they will be able to win,

at least they should be worthy opponents.

According to your words then,

this battle today will be worth watching.

Father, I think this is a good thing.

If this Baili Qi really loses to these children,

then he would not dare to challenge the Princess any more.

If we can achieve that conclusion then everybody will be satisfied. But...

But what?

But none of the others who've entered the written exam is a match for the Princess.

And the Princess does not seem to be willing to go easy on them either.

I'm afraid Father's love for the Princess may go to waste again.

Nihuang, this child, is really too wilful.

I think that the Princess is already a highly-skilled warrior.

Why would the Princess's husband need to be well-versed in martial arts as well?

So what if he is not able to win against the Princess?

Character, family background, rank and morals -

these are what Father should be putting more of your thoughts on.

Then according to Prince Yu, that Liao Tingjie,

who was not able to last even ten moves against with General Meng, is actually not bad?

- At least he is better than that unscrupulous Sima Lei. - No matter what he is-

Shut up all of you.

We first need to see the results of today,

then we can discuss the Princess's marriage.

Why? Do you want to tell me

the secret to this sword formation?

Grand Princess Liyang asked me to tell you.

Seeing that the chances of you getting married are slim.

There is someone in the Palace who is plotting to force you to submit.

Force me to submit?

How are they going to do it?

You have to be careful of the schemes within the Inner Palace.

If someone wants to invite you, try and get out of it. If you can't,

be careful of what you eat or drink.

You never liked to bring a maid, that's a bad habit.

How do you know that I never bring a maid?

Brother Su.

Brother Su.

Nihuang-jiejie.

Why didn't you tell us when you left?

Can you not tell that my sister is speaking with Sir Su? Why are you interrupting? Leave quickly.

You are talking about secrets right?

His Majesty has arrived!

Su-qing, how has the training gone?

There has been some success.

I hope that Your Majesty will watch the battle carefully.

Okay. Let it begin then.

The battle will begin shortly, and the children will definitely not be able to win.

If Brother Su has anything else up your sleeve, please use it now.

You only have to watch the match in peace, Princess.

Your Majesty, looking at this..

Look at this!

Great. They won!

Baili Qi, how are you?

Sir, you do not have to worry.

We would not injure our guest.

You three, hurry and thank His Majesty.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

I have not awarded anything and you are already thanking me.

Your Majesty, they are all prison slaves.

They would not be able to enjoy any gold you may award them.

Why don't you lift their prisoner status,

and allow me to take care of them?

Princess, these three children are considered my disciples now.

If His Majesty decides to lift the ban, I should be the one who brings them back.

If Sir Su wishes to get disciples, who wouldn't rush to become one?

Unless you are afraid of the sword formation being made known to me?

These three children are definitely mine.

Princess, aren't you making things difficult for me now?

Your Majesty, I requested for these children first.

Your Majesty.

I have not spoken yet. Why have the two of you already started fighting?

I will not be fooled and will not decide for the two of you.

As for the prisoner status of these three children,

it can be lifted. As for who should take them home,

talk it out among yourselves.

Father, how can you only reward these three children?

Sir Su has been working hard for these five days. If he does not receive any reward,

I shall have to speak up against such unfairness.

Prince Yu, you are too eager.

Father has not said he would not reward Sir Su.

Father, I believe that Sir Su is the most meritorious behind this success.

He should be awarded an honor title in addition to being an honored guest of the Court.

Okay, okay, okay.

Ambassador.

Your Majesty.

How is Warrior Baili Qi's injury?

It seems to me that he's unwell.

Should you take him back and let him recuperate?

Your Majesty, Warrior Baili may have failed and was defeated,

but he is still part of the ten contenders. So according to the rules, he -

He can't even win against three children and he wishes to win against the Princess?

Even if we go according to the rules, and the Princess refuses to go into battle on her own and sends the three children in her stead,

this would not be considered bullying Warrior Baili, would it?

Ambassador, the health of Warrior Baili is more important.

You should take him home and let him recuperate.

It's been hard on you, Sir Su.

I shall reward you when the written examination is completed.

His Majesty takes his leave.

We respectfully see you off, Your Majesty.

Qing-er,

take the children out of the Palace and wait for me.

Brother Su, then Jingrui and I will wait for you outside.

Let's go. Go, go.

I may not know a lot of things,

but I can still tell

that this sword formation on its own cannot beat Baili Qi.

He lost so unexpectedly. Shouldn't you explain it?

It is actually a simple explanation.

I only need one sentence.

Baili Qi is a member of the Jiangzuo Alliance.

He is part of the Jiangzuo Alliance?

Since I came to the Capital to seek employ, naturally I had to make some preparations.

I arranged for Baili Qi to enter the competition,

because I was afraid that there might be someone unexpected with better skills.

If the Princess dislikes that person,

then I could send him out to get rid of that person.

I guess it can be considered as gaining a favor from you.

A favor? You worked so hard,

what do you wish to achieve?

A favor from the Mu Mansion of Yunnan is not something easy to receive.

Even though the sword formation is interesting,

if even I am able to see through it,

then General Meng should be able to as well.

Are you not afraid of him raising the question?

General Meng is a steadfast man and this concerns the Princess as well.

I predicted that he would not mention it.

Princess, I have been ordered by the Empress

to send an invitation to you.

The Empress says that she has not seen you for many days,

and misses you dearly. She has prepared tea and refreshments

and invites you to meet at Zhenyang Palace.

The Empress invited me to the Zhenyang Palace?

Since the Empress has invited me, how could I dare refuse?

Please.

Lu Yuan and the other children still ended up at the Mu Mansion.

Brother Su should have stopped them.

I am staying as a guest in the Xie Mansion bringing three children with me would be inconvenient.

Since the Princess likes them, just let her keep them.

Brother Su, you have something on your mind?

Why do you ask that?

You been distracted since we've left the Palace.

How is Brother Su distracted?

How come I don't see it?

It is nothing much. I am just tired.

Yes, it must not be easy to teach the children to fight.

But the battle today was really amazing.

I must tell Tingjie all about it when we play polo together later.

If he knows Baili Qi was defeated, he would definitely be overjoyed.

Who?

Liao Tingjie. The son of the Marquis of Zhongsu. Brother Su you've met him before.

You will be playing polo with him later?

Yes, we agreed upon it yesterday.

- Brother Su, what's wrong? - Brother Su.

Brother Su, you-

Since the Princess does not like the pomelo,

why don't you try the pear cakes?

It's a new dish from the Royal kitchen. It is really very tasty.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

I am not used to this as well.

The Princess does not like desserts. Doesn't the Empress know that?

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The Princess has been in the Capital for a while, but we have not hosted you yet.

Why don't you have dinner at Zhenyang Palace today?

Thank you for the invitation, Your Majesty.

An invitation from the Empress should not be rejected,

but...

But the Princess has already agreed to go to Zhaoren Palace

and chat about the happenings in Yunnan with me.

Your Majesty,

it's rare that I get to meet someone from my hometown in this Palace.

I hope you will not fight with me.

The Princess is unwilling to drink even a sip of water in my Palace.

I see. It's because she is eager to go to Zhaoren Palace.

It is not the Princess who is eager, it is me.

The Empress is magnanimous.

Please allow us to bid farewell first.

-Brother Su, are you feeling better? - Brother Su, you-

- You- - Do you feel better?

- Sir Su! - General Meng. General Meng.

What happened to Sir Su?

General Meng, your neigong skills are good,T/N: neigong - inner qi strength

please help me soothe my breath.

Jingrui, summon the Royal physician quickly.

Yujin, go. Bring some warm water over.

- Hurry, hurry. - Okay.

Hurry!

Please sit, Princess.

I guess Your Highness didn't invite me over just because you wish to chat about our hometown.

If you have something to say, please let me know.

Okay, then I shall not go in circles.

Brother Meng, it seems that I was wrong.

What did you do wrong?

The Empress invited the Princess to a meal just now.

I reminded her to be extra careful of the Empress.

You've already reminded her.

But Yujin just mentioned to me,

that Liao Tingjie who was recommended by Prince Yu,

asked to meet him outside the Palace to play polo.

That means the ones behind the plot is not the Empress and Prince Yu.

You mean it's the Crown Prince?

In the competition this time,

there is a contender named Sima Lei.

He is someone the Crown Prince personally picked

after meeting all the eligible men in the city.

This person is skilled in martial arts and literature, is both competent and principled.

He is definitely the best match for you, Princess.

You and I are both from the same hometown,

and the Crown Prince holds you in high regard.

In this trying time, I hope Princess you

would support the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince is the first in line for succession. How the Mu House of Yunnan

serves the Emperor today

will be how we serve the Crown Prince when he ascends the throne in the future.

Your Highness does not have to worry about this.

Actually I already predicted this reply,

but I could not help asking.

The stubbornness of us Yunnan people cannot be changed easily.

Here, let us have this toast as my apology.

We shall only talk about our hometown the next time we meet,

and not about matters of the Court.

You have to be wary of all those backhanded means that the people in the Palace use.

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We should still have some time.

Prince Jing should still be in the Palace.

Please inform him to head to Zhaoren Palace,

and find the Princess no matter what.

Hang on. Send someone to let the Empress know as well,

she will not miss any opportunity to go against Noble Consort Yue.

Also, send some troops to Zhaoren Palace and station them outside.

If Sima Lei appears, arrest him as an unauthorised person entering the Inner Palace.

- Have you remembered all of it? - Yes.

Here.

What about you?

I still have things to settle. Hurry!

Reporting to Noble Consort Yue.

The Crown Prince and Master Sima requests for an audience.

What a bad memory I have. I forgot I invited them.

Since you are here, Princess,let's meet them together.

I've already met Sima Lei.

I won't disturb your meeting.

Princess, Princess.

Greetings, Mother.

Greetings, Noble Consort, Princess.

Princess, are you okay?

Sima Lei, hurry.

-Princess.-How dare you!

Sima Lei, quickly help the Princess.

Princess.

Princess!

Princess.

Princess.

Quick, stop her.

Princess.

Princess.

Princess.

Princess.

Princess.

Princess.

Grandmother, let's us go quickly.

Empress, where are you taking me?

Grandmother, Nihuang misses you.

I'm taking you to see her.

Okay.

Hurry, quicker.

Prince Jing, this is Noble Consort Yue's Zhaoren Palace.You can't just go in.

-Prince Jing.-Princess.

Princess.

Your Highness.

Let's go.

Stop him.

Xiao Jingyan. I know you never follow rules,

but I didn't think you'd dare to act like this in my Zhaoren Palace.

Are you rebelling?

Xiao Jingyan, how dare you kidnap the Princess.Such reckless impudence.

You all know what you've done.

Move.

Prince Jing is a warrior, we won't be able to intimidate him with this.

Then what should we do?

The dead can't speak, so we'll have a chance to speak.Release the arrows.

But he is a Prince, this isn't appropriate.

Good thing the Emperor doesn't consider him to be one.

Since he came and ruined our plans, then we must not be soft-hearted.

Prince Jing broke into the Palace and attempted to kill my mother and the Princess.

Come, shoot and kill him now.

Everyone stop.

Xiao Jingyan, how dare you?

Killing the commander amidst his soldiersis something I do quite often.

The Crown Prince was standing too close to me.

Jingyan, what do you want to do?

Let the Princess and me go.

What if I don't agree, will you kill the Crown Prince?

Are you betting the Crown Prince's life with me?

Mother, save me, Mother.

The Grand Empress Dowager is here.

Hurry, leave through the back. Remember, you were never here.

Xiao Jingyan, breaking into Zhaoren Palaceand threatening the Crown Prince is a serious crime.

I won't go down with you. Let us each take a step back and pretend this didn't happen today.

You are a smart person, you know this is a good deal.

Greetings, Grand Empress Dowager and your Majesty the Empress.

I did not know you were coming, I hope you could forgive me for not receiving you earlier.

Why is Princess Nihuang on the ground? What's wrong with her?

I invited the Princess to dine with me.

I did not expect the wine to be so strong. Nihuang is just drunk.

Nihuang is a strong woman, and doesn't have a low tolerance for alcohol.

How did she get drunk so easily?

Yes, I think it's strange too.

Maybe, she was stressed about today's matters.

Then what are all these Palace Guards for?

These Palace Guards...

The Crown Prince said,

he wanted to show me some sword and arrow techniques.

he said it could become a dance if done well.

You left Princess Nihuang,an esteemed guest, on the ground,

while having a show of swords and arrows with the Crown Prince?

You can reply to me this way,

but are you going to report to the Emperor like this?

How I report to the Emperor is my business,

it doesn't concern you.

Whose child is this?

Why is she on the ground?

Come, get up, come to Great-grandmother.

Empress Dowager, don't worry, Nihuang is just drunk.

But she will wake up soon.

When she wakes up, I'll definitely tell her

never to drink such alcohol again.

You bastard, how dare you hurt my sister?Beat him up!

Beat him.

What happened?

What happened for this to come all the way to Yangju Palace?

Nihuang, who made you upset?

Please find justice for me.

This child,

why are you being so respectful?

Hurry and get up, tell me slowly.

Noble Consort Yue used discussing our hometown as a reason

to invite me to Zhaoren Palaceand put something into my drink.

The Crown Prince and Sima Lei used this chance to force me to marry.

Please investigate this and bring me justice.

Noble Consort,

Crown Prince,

is this true?

Please investigate, Your Highness,I am innocent.

Today, I invited the Princess to dine,

then the Princess got drunk.

When the Crown Prince and I were looking after her,

the Empress and the Empress Dowager came,and took the Princess without a word.

After that, I got a summons

to come here with the Crown Prince.

Although I was suspicious,

I couldn't refuse the summons.

I didn't think the Empress and the Princess would blame such a thing on me.

I don't know where this came from.

Maybe the Princess thought I didn't care for her well,

and thought I took it too lightly.

What powerful wine you have.

I was unconscious after one cup.

Is there really such a strong wine?

Furthermore I had just drunk the wine

when the Crown Prince appeared with Sima Lei.Was that really a coincidence?

Today the wine I served to the Princess was the Qilixiang that Your Highness gave me.

You can go investigate. There was no other wine.

Furthermore, the Princess was probably drunk.

The only one who came in was the Crown Prince.There was no Sima Lei.

You can ask everyone in Zhaoren Palace.

See if anyone else saw Sima Lei.

Everyone in Zhaoren Palace is loyal to you. If you deny this who would dare report on you?

Please investigate, Your Majesty. Although in Zhaoren Palace they are all my people,

everyone is still the Emperor's servant. Before your eminence who would dare lie to you?

You really like to make up things. Can't you admit what you did?

Is the Princess using her identity as a daughterto frame you?

I really don't understand whythe Princess would make up a story like this.

Just as I don't understand howthe Empress, without evidence,

can trust the Princess and not me.

I'd like the Empress to be a witness.

Your Highness, in Zhaoren Palace's garden,

did you see anyone doing something bad to the Princess?

Did you see something that shouldn't have occurred?

That's because they got there in timeto ruin your evil plans.

If the Princess continues to thinkI had ill intentions, I'm unwilling to argue.

The Princess is close to the Empress and Prince Yu, not to the Crown Prince and me.

This is for a reason.

But can I ask you, Princess,

you say you fell into my trap,but are you hurt anywhere?

If I really had an evil plan,

how could the Empress come and save you in time?

I have seen thousands of enemies on the battlefield,

but in terms of evilness, none are as evil as you!

Do you think I will stand here and let you accuse me?

Reporting to Your Majesty, Prince Jing wants to see you.

What is he doing here?I don't want to see him.

Prince Jing said he knows you are investigatingthe Princess's issue. He can be a witness.

What? Jingyan was there too?

Brother Su, have things been settled yet?

Then come and watch me play horse polo!

You must be the most easy-going person I know.

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Greetings to Your Majesty.

You said you can be a witness.

What witness?

I have been inside Zhaoren Palace today.

I personally saw that the Princess was intoxicated

and Sima Lei was standing beside the Princess then.

His actions seemed unclean.

- Prince Jing, you-- The situation was not good then,

I could only be rude and bring the Princess out by force.

In order to stop me, the Crown Prince and the Noble Consort

ordered the army to fire their arrows at me.

Forced by the circumstances, I had no choice but to take the Crown Prince as hostage,

in order to protect ourselves and delay until the Grand Empress arrived.

What did you say?

You took the Crown Prince as hostage?

The Noble Consort told me

I cannot bear the crime of holding the Crown Prince as hostage,

but I do not wish to hide the truth from Father because of this,

and agreed to this deal with the Noble Consort.

Please think through it, Father. If the Noble Consort is of clear conscience,

then why would the Crown Prince want to kill me?

You even wanted to kill a Prince?

I did not even know that something like that happened today.

Never in my life.

Noble Consort.

Is this true?

Since the Empress, the Princess and Prince Jing

all claim that I am guilty,

I do not dare to say anything otherwise or provide any more evidence.

All of them say the same thing. How can I fight them?

I can only plead that the Emperor investigate this properly.

If Your Majesty

thinks that I am guilty as well,

then we...

the Crown Prince and I can only obey the law

and will not complain.

Mother, you-

Emperor, General Meng wishes to see you.

One more? Send him in.

Your Majesty, I have patrolled the Palace

and outside Zhaoren Palace,

I caught an unauthorized person, Sima Lei.

He is above me in rank, hence it is not appropriate for me to give any orders.

Please advise me, Your Majesty.

Noble Consort,

what else do you have to add?

I'm innocent!

At this stage, you are still pleading innocence?

I may not be innocent, but please do not wrong the Crown Prince.

What are you talking about?

This whole thing was planned by me.

It was my plot. The Crown Prince does not know a thing.

He only followed the orders of his mother.

I was the one who wanted him to bring Sima Lei in.

He was only following my orders.

Your Majesty, you know

that the Crown Prince has always been filial,

not only to me, but even more so to you.

If the Crown Prince is completely innocent,

then why from the moment all of you stepped in,

has he not fended for himself?- Your Majesty,

how do you expect him to fend for himself?

Do you expect him, in front of everybody,

to push all the blame onto his own mother?

The Crown Prince has always been filial. He would never have been able to do something like that,

because he really does not know how to protect himself,

I did so much for him.

I am afraid that he will be cheated by someone who is more cunning.

That is why I am always worried for him,

that is why I wish that the people around him would support him more,

in case he falls into the someone's trap.

Nonsense.

The Crown Prince is the successor to the throne,

why would anyone plot against him?

As his mother, you should have taught him

to be honest in his ways and responsible for his actions.

He should share my worries and help the people with their's.

That is the correct way to love him.

But look at what you have done.

You could actually plot such a devious and despicable act.

If Nihuang had been harmed today,

you would not be able to atone for it, even if you die a hundred times.

You could have ruined the Crown Prince's name as well.

What a stupid act. A stupid act.

Meng Zhi,

where is Sima Lei?

He is held in the prison, Your Majesty.

Get him here.

I think we have to move him on a stretcher.

What happened?

Young Prince Mu heard about the news and

went over to see him.

After that visit, Sima Lei's leg is broken.

Let it be.

He asked for it.

I hereby order that

since Sima Lei trespassed into the Inner Palace,

he will be stripped of his title and banished to Shanzhou.

Sima Xu has failed to discipline his son and will be demoted by one rank

with a fine of three years' salary.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Father.

Father, Father, Father.

Please be merciful, Father.

Please be merciful, Father.

Father, I will offer my apologies to the Princess on behalf of my mother.

Father, do consider the fact that my mother has been serving you for so many years.

- Please spare her.- You unfilial son!

When your mother was doing sinful things,

why didn't you stop her?

Where is your filial duty?

Father.

I only have one mother,

if she

is in trouble,

how can I live? Father.

Please have mercy, Father.

Yue has no morality

and behaved badly.

That cannot be tolerated by Palace rules.

From today onward, she will be stripped of her Noble Consort title.

She will be reduced to status of Concubine, and her stipend will also be reduced.

She will be moved to Qingli Garden for solitary reflection.

She cannot leave that place without my Imperial edict.

Jingyan.

Yes.

Do you know your fault?

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