Original subtitles

♫Swords tell all the scars, and I sigh for fleeting life♫

♫Once we meet, how can I like to be apart?♫

♫Walking alone with cold in heart, I deep hide the past♫

♫I keep love and hatred deep in heart, naive no more♫

♫My memories roll when I see you again♫

♫I only dare to be gentle in my dream♫

♫This kiss is boiling with your complex♫

♫Intimacy has disturbed the stars♫

♫Take art of healing as a weapon to guard the homeland♫

♫I'm not swallowed by sorrow and hatred♫

♫I don't want to regret in troubled times Let me change sincerity for eternity♫

♫Let's embark this journey for a slim portion of prosperity♫

♫I'd like to rewrite life, but your looking back breaks my heart♫

♫With you for the rest of my life, I'll risk everything and wait for the morning♫

♫Early morning♫

Episode 1

Upon Emperor Zhizong of Tianyou's death,

his younger brother Chu Rang succeeded to the throne.

Soon after,

Princess Jiuling, the late emperor's second daughter, Second daughter of the late Emperor Zhizong Chu Jiuling

married Lu Yunqi, commander of the Arm Moral Department on imperial order.

Commander of the Arm Moral Department Lu Yunqi

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Long may you reign,

Your Majesty.

Emperor of Tianyou Chu Rang

Jiuling, do you have any grievances?

This is your red-letter day.

What's the matter with you?

Chu Rang,

why did you kill my father?

What makes you say so?

I've found out the truth.

My father

died distressingly in your hands.

You committed fratricide.

How vicious you are!

The imperial hospital has long since had a definitive conclusion.

My brother died of a relapse of an old affliction.

Did you hear any rumors?

Didn't you go to the imperial study

the day my father died?

After you left,

didn't my father die of the incurable relapse

of an old affliction?

But

why was there a red mark of strangulation

around his neck?

It is him!

Chu Rang!

It was him who killed my father!

Are you at someone's instigation?

You…

It was you who killed my father.

Yes.

So what are you going to do?

Have you found out the person

who tipped Jiuling off?

How is Jiuling doing?

Your Majesty,

she's been given a torture.

But she

just refused to confess.

I've checked scrupulously

and found a servant girl

named Bing'er had run away.

What do you think

I should do with Jiuling?

Well…

Your Majesty must have long since made your own judgement.

Deputy Commander of the Arm Moral Department Jin Shiba I'm just worried that

since Chu Jiuling has an older sister and a younger brother,

could it be the three of them

are involved in this together?

No.

Of the three siblings,

Jiuli is the most simple-minded one,

Jiurong is still underage,

and only Jiuling

is the highly intelligent

and thoughtful one

who is the apple of my brother's eye.

I venture to ask.

Since she is highly intelligent,

why did she…

Try to stab the emperor?

If she had managed to stab me,

she would certainly have had her wish fulfilled.

If not,

she was asking to die.

If she died,

my concern of public sentiments

would of course prevent me from doing anything to Jiuli and Jiurong.

You see,

is she a simple child?

She's anything but simple.

I asked Lu Yunqi to marry her

for just such an eventuality.

Since she keeps silent,

there's no need to go on asking.

I see.

This time

don't let anybody get away again.

I'll risk any danger to do my duty.

Chu Jiuling,

get up for the meal.

I'll take you on the way to hell after the meal.

Chu Jiuling's teacher Doctor Jun Yingwen

Father,

the prison guard outside has been knocked out.

We must hurry.

OK.

Jun Yingwen's daughter Jun Zhenzhen Jiuling.

Jiuling.

Jiuling…

How could they hurt you like this?

Her life is not in danger for the moment.

Let's get out of here quickly.

OK.

Go.

Get a move on!

Your Excellency,

I heard when I was on duty today

that His Majesty is going to kill Princess Jiuling.

Father,

hurry up.

Here.

This way.

Wait a moment, father.

People of the Arm Moral Department will search through the capital

once they find Jiuling is gone

and none of us can escape by then.

As an unfilial daughter,

I'll be your daughter again in my afterlife.

Jiuling,

for years we've been studying medicine under my father,

and we are a family.

The late emperor

bestowed great kindness on our Jun family.

Now our Jun family is lucky

to have a chance to repay his kindness.

Please be alive and well for me.

There's a fire!

Jiuling!

Be quick!

Be quick!

Be quick!

Be quick.

Get some water

to put out the fire.

Aye, Your Excellency.

Be quick!

Be quick! Be quick! Be quick!

Hurry up!

Be quick to put out the fire!

Be quick!

Hurry up!

Be quick, be quick.

Here's the water.

What?

Jiuling died in a fire?

I was already a step behind

when I got there.

How could there be a fire in a place for detention?

It was caused by my negligence of duty.

In a moment's negligence,

Princess Jiuling

started a fire to burn herself.

Burn herself?

Jiuling

is my favorite niece.

She was docile and sensible when she was a child.

Later, she was raised outside the palace for many years

and became arrogant and willful.

She even…

She even tried to stab me.

Since she's no longer in this world,

I

will not inculpate others

and pursue the case further.

Thank you for your divine grace, Your Majesty.

Jiuling.

Master.

My face…

Jiuling,

I

have changed your disfigured face and voice

with a secret prescription.

It's just a pity that

your original face and voice…

Master.

Where's Zhenzhen?

Zhenzhen…

is no longer in this world.

Only by letting Zhenzhen stay in prison in your place

and start a fire to cover all this up

could we make Chu Rang believe you were dead.

The years when you were secretly studying medicine under me

are also the happiest time for me and Zhenzhen.

The late emperor bestowed heavenly grace on me.

When you were in distress,

how could Zhenzhen and I

look on indifferently?

Jiuling,

our Jun family repaid the kindness of our own volition.

Try it.

Let me have a look.

How nice!

Jiuling!

I'm going to see Zhenzhen.

Jiuling!

Let me go and see Zhenzhen!

Jiuling!

You must live well.

Don't let Zhenzhen's kindness go to waste.

Ever since my father's death,

my siblings and I

have become a thorn in Chu Rang's flesh.

I promised to marry Lu Yunqi

also to make him let down his guard.

Even if I failed in my assassination in the palace,

he wouldn't lay a hand on my siblings.

Princess Jiuli

and His Highness Prince Huai

indeed need not worry about the safety of their lives for the time being.

With things as such,

turning your face into Zhenzhen's

is something I did under the force of circumstances,

but it's also a blessing in disguise.

From now on,

nobody

will be able to associate you

with Princess Jiuling of Tianyou.

There's something you don't know, master.

My father's maid-in-waiting once told me

he died distressingly in Chu Rang's hands.

Your Highness.

Bing'er.

Where have you been?

Everybody is looking for you.

The late emperor's maid-in-waiting Bing'er Your Highness,

I have

something important to report to you.

Before the late emperor's sudden death,

His Majesty

came into the palace secretly with Commander Lu.

And…

And he had an argument with the late emperor.

It developed into a fierce altercation.

An altercation?

About what?

I don't know why they started the altercation.

But I saw with my own eyes

a mark of strangulation

around the late emperor's neck.

It was by no means what the imperial doctor said as

relapse of an old affliction.

Master,

I'm not going to take it lying down.

Child,

the Lord of Heaven will show justice.

But you must stay alive to seek justice.

Your life

is something you must cherish.

Stay alive?

Yes.

Stay alive.

Master,

you lost your daughter because of me.

From now on, I will be Jun Zhenzhen.

I'll stay alive and strong for Zhenzhen.

OK.

Only by staying alive

can I seek justice.

Good child.

Master…

Master…

Master.

Master!

Master!

Master.

Master.

Master.

Master.

Master…

Master.

Master,

you've come around.

Master.

Master,

I am Jiuling.

Master. When I

saw the purple immortal herb,

I was overjoyed.

I didn't watch my step

and fell off the cliff.

OK, stop talking for now.

Save your strength first.

Let me take you back.

Let me take you back.

Put up with the pain.

Jiuling!

-Master. -You are…

You are doing it in vain.

You are doing it in vain.

Help!

-Jiuling… -Help!

Jiuling,

this is our Jun family's heirloom,

a jade pendant.

Keep it safe with you.

Remember

from now on,

you are no longer Chu Jiuling.

You are

Jun Zhenzhen.

No.

I'm nobody.

I only want you to be alive.

Do you hear me?

Master.

Now…

there is one thing…

I must…

tell you about.

Jiuling,

in the pages of my personal letters

there is a strip of note given to me by the late emperor when he was alive.

It is about the killing of the late emperor's father

by the Beiqi people in the third year of his reign.

The late emperor suspected

it had something to do with Chu Rang,

so he ordered me to look into the case covertly.

Soon afterwards,

he was killed by Chu Rang.

I think this is why Chu Rang started the attack on you

and also his Achilles heel.

Now being alone and weak,

you must not return to the capital hastily

and fall into a trap set for you.

You might as well go to Zezhou first

to get to the bottom of the case.

Zhenzhen's maternal grandfather's Fang family

is a big family with big business in Zezhou.

It's the best place for you to stay.

Chu Rang,

I'll definitely get all this back for my father

and bring the truth to light.

In the Biyunpo Inn 5 kilometers to the south,

a servant girl named Liu'er from my old house in Runan

will be waiting for you there.

Biyunpo Inn Let go of me!

Go!

What are you guys doing

in broad daylight?

What are we doing?

Selling you to offset your room rent.

Do you still have a sense of law?

I'm gonna bring you guys to court.

After lying and freeloading for a month,

you even want to bring me to court?

Who lied to you?

My lord and Miss Jun are sure to come.

Had my money pouch not been stolen,

why would I owe you room rent?

Yes, yes, yes.

Make up stories.

Keep making up stories.

Which I've heard for the umpteenth time.

Your lord and Miss Jun,

the Jun family in Runan,

reincarnation of the great doctor Hua Tuo,

they asked you to wait for them here…

I shouldn't have believed you in the first place.

You bumpkin!

My lord is indeed the reincarnation of a miracle-working doctor.

They indeed asked me to wait here.

They are sure to come.

How much does she owe?

I'll pay.

My lady,

I've finally seen you after a long wait.

We haven't met for years,

and you look even prettier.

People who followed me from the old house

didn't want to wait.

They snatched my money pouch and ran away.

It's alright now.

I'm with you,

so nobody can bully us.

Don't cry, Liu'er.

You've had a hard time these days.

I'm going to

my maternal grandfather's Fang family for shelter.

You can come with me

if you like.

Yes, I do. Yes, I do.

Where you are going

is where I am going.

Just that

the Fang family is a household of merchants.

I'm afraid you'll feel it's below your status

once you are in Zezhou.

I don't care whether it is an official's

or a merchant's family.

Because status doesn't matter.

Help yourself to it.

I'm not hungry.

Eat more.

We'll set out for Zezhou when you finish.

Second daughter of the Fang family Fang Yuxiu You are ticking off the beads so hard

like the abacus owes you silver coins.

I have no sense of hand strength since I was a child. First daughter of the Fang family Fang Jinxiu

You know this, my younger sister.

I've broken so many abacuses

here at Deshengchang.

This one will not be the last.

Ladies.

We have a visitor at home.

When have we ever stopped having visitors at home?

Why are you so flustered?

She says she's the old lady's…

daughter's daughter.

When did grandma have a granddaughter born to a daughter?

Why don't I remember?

I seem to have heard it from mother.

But

they've been out of touch for years.

Someone who's been out of touch for years suddenly comes to visit.

She must want something.

Let's go

and have a look.

Old lady of the Fang family nee Cao Are you Yuxian's daughter

Jun Zhenzhen?

Yes, grandma.

Come closer.

You don't look like Yuxian.

Maybe you look like your father.

Yuxian had never been back

since she married in Runan.

Over so many years after Yuxian's death,

the news I've heard is a mixture of truth and half-truth

which is hard to make out.

How did your mother pass away?

I was only three years old when she died.

She unfortunately caught a cold

and didn't get cured for well over half a year.

She didn't survive the winter that year.

Grandma,

we know nothing

about what happened to Aunt Yuxian.

Mere words are no proof.

How can we be sure

she's the child of the Jun family?

Grandma,

this is the Jun family's heirloom, a jade pendant.

Master Fang's first wife nee Liu

Zhenzhen,

it's not that I'm being harsh.

As you said, this is the Jun family's jade pendant.

Do you have anything else?

Such as something that belonged to your mother

or paperwork in Runan?

Turns out

she's another slacker who wants to bum money off our Fang family.

Older sister,

why don't you save your breath?

Mother,

how about doing it this way? Master Fang's concubine nee Su

We'll let Zhenzhen stay for now

and send people to Runan to inquire about her.

What is false cannot be true,

and what is true cannot be false.

If such a stalemate goes on,

I'm afraid it'll chill the child's heart.

Let her stay for now.

Jinxiu,

send people to clean the courtyard of the West Pavilion.

All of you withdraw.

I'll talk to her more.

Aye.

When Yuxian left home,

she brought nothing with her

but a bracelet.

I passed it on to her

and she liked it very much.

Before she got married,

she often joked that

she'd leave the bracelet to her child.

Did she

leave the bracelet to you?

When my mother died,

my father was deeply grieved

and buried that bracelet with my mother.

Do you still remember

what kind of bracelet it was?

Most of the old lady's jewelry is made of jade.

I reckon

she must have a preference for jade.

I can vaguely remember

it was an emerald green

jade bracelet

in a quite translucent color.

The courtyard of the West Pavilion has been cleaned up.

Shaoyao,

take her there.

Thanks, grandma.

Aye.

What happened just now

is only the first hurdle for me to settle down in the Fang family.

But it's not easy

to really keep a foothold here.

Now I must find an opportunity

to win the trust of the Fang family.

Zhenzhen,

please bless me with your spirit in heaven

to find out the secret in Zezhou as quickly as possible.

Make do with the lodging.

Nobody knows how long you are gonna stay anyway.

Zhenzhen,

such is my older sister's character.

Make sure you don't take it to heart.

What Zhenzhen?

Wait until her identity is confirmed.

Don't claim a family connection randomly.

Go, go, go.

Shame on you!

Liu'er.

What did you say?

Say that again!

You…

Enough, Liu'er.

Say no more.

You called her older sister

and she might as well take it with delight.

Who wants to claim a family connection with you?

How unruly!

A servant girl

is the same as what her master is like.

Who's the unruly one?

Someone deserves to be cursed

since she won't listen if you talk nicely.

-What did you say? -What do you want?

Enough.

Say that again.

Liu'er, say no more.

Older sister, let's go back first.

Don't be angry, older sister.

I didn't teach her properly.

We…we are going for now.

Let's go.

My lady,

I won't do it again.

Look.

We've just come to the Fang family.

We'd better be cautious with what we say and do.

Some people

say awful things

not necessarily out of bad intentions.

While some people say nice things

not necessarily out of good intentions.

What awful,

good intentions,

good intentions and not necessarily…

You are confusing me.

Are you thirsty?

Let me get you a cup of water.

Once you've been through a lot,

you'll come to understand it naturally.

Have some tea.

Come of think of it.

In his letter, His Lordship asked me

to bring something

from the old house in Runan.

He said

I must give it to you myself.

Here it is.

What's this?

I don't know.

What does it say?

It's so important.

This is a marriage contract with Mr. Ning.

Mr. Ning?

I know.

He's the man countless girls

dream of marrying.

If Zhenzhen was still alive,

this could be a good marriage.

But I must not acknowledge it.

My lady,

don't be shy.

Who in our mansion doesn't know

this is a good marriage?

Grandma,

this is a good dish the kitchen cooked today.

Please help yourself to some more.

OK.

Grandma, if you are coughing today,

you'd better eat less oily food

and eat something bland instead.

Jun Zhenzhen,

you are embarrassing me on purpose, aren't you?

You've got me wrong, older sister.

I just saw it

and blurted out.

The Jun family had been running a hospital since the days of their ancestors.

She said so because she knows something about medicine.

Did your father let you inherit the family's profession

and pass on the medical skills to you?

Yes.

It's good to have a skill.

But don't learn it

afterwards.

Learn how to do business from your older sisters.

My lady will learn whatever she likes.

Why must she learn how to do business?

What's more, it's not that the Fang family doesn't have a male heir.

Don't you have a young master?

Why must a woman learn how to do business?

Liu'er, it's not up to an outsider like you

to tell us what to do with our household matter.

Grandma,

the Jun family is a family of scholars.

A scholar can't possibly have raised

such a daughter who doesn't know the rules.

As I see it,

there's no need to wait for the news from Runan.

While it's not completely dark,

let's just kick them out early.

It's OK if you don't wait for the news from Runan.

Look carefully.

My lady,

show them the marriage contract.

To make their jaws drop.

Show it.

Enough!

What marriage contract?

Just show it.

Why?

You are an impostor

and your marriage contract is also fake?

It doesn't look fake.

Are you engaged to the Ning family?

Yes.

You should have taken out the marriage contract earlier

so as to avoid misunderstandings on the part of the family members.

My family is not what it used to be after the unforeseen misfortunes.

The marriage contract

was signed before.

I don't know whether it's still valid now or not.

I don't think it counts as a proof.

You underestimate the Ning family a lot.

Mr. Ning

has a noble reputation

as a man of integrity.

Since it is a marriage contract signed by the elder members of both families,

the engagement is still there

while the people are not.

I'll take you

to visit his family some other day

and get to know him.

Grandma,

we don't have to do it so soon.

That's settled then.

Have dinner.

Zhenzhen,

try this fried whitefish in rice wine,

a signature dish of Zezhou.

You can't get to taste it elsewhere.

Thank you, grandma.

Jun Zhenzhen!

Pack up your stuff

and go back to Runan!

You are not welcome in our Fang family.

What happened, Jinxiu?

Grandma is taken ill with anger

because of your marriage.

What?

Stop being a hypocrite.

Didn't you go to grandma's room last night

and urge her to go to the Ning family today?

I…

I indeed went to grand…

No need to explain.

Nobody wants to listen.

For the sake of your damn marriage,

grandma was taunted by the mother and daughter of the Ning family

to the point of having a heart pain

and almost passed out when she came back.

If you still have a sense of shame,

pack up your stuff now

and piss off at once!

Be quick to change the water.

Don't go in.

How much more anger do you want to make grandma feel?

Are you done gawking?

Get out of here when you are.

Don't be an eyesore here.

Doctor,

how is she doing?

Judging from her pulse condition,

the old lady is stricken by pent-up anxiety.

Grandma has an anxiety-induced illness

which has to be cured with a mental treatment.

Mrs. Ning.

Take a seat.

The old lady of your family has been here this morning.

Are you here for the same thing?

Exactly.

Liu'er.

It's not that

I don't acknowledge this marriage contract.

It's just that my father-in-law

had never mentioned this matter.

Besides,

since the old gentleman has already passed away,

your one-sided story

can hardly convince me.

That you didn't know it

doesn't mean there's no such thing.

This marriage contract bears

the old gentleman's signature in black and white.

This can't be wrong, right?

It is a marriage bond,

not a feud.

Sometimes you can't get things done only with tricks.

Even if you get what you want for a while,

you'll have a hard time for the rest of your life.

Such being the case,

how are you going to

take back the marriage contract

and make me call off the engagement?

Miss Jun,

as I said,

my father-in-law had never mentioned this.

Not even the life-saving grace?

That shouldn't be the way the old gentleman usually behaved.

You…

I heard your family

has been medical practitioners in this place for generations.

Your family must have saved countless lives.

I wonder how many marriage pledges you've got

in return for your life-saving grace.

When people of our Jun family treat illnesses and save lives,

we take money if the patients have some,

and dispense with it if they don't.

This is the obligation of a doctor.

But for people who get the treatment,

it is their obligation to pay money if they have some

and pay respects if they don't.

This is also their obligation.

Yes.

The payers should pay money

and the collectors should collect money.

But the marriage of other people's child

must not be your bargaining chip.

That concerns a person's fate of a lifetime.

But the old gentleman didn't pay money.

Nonsense!

My grandpa was not such kind of man!

Back then, the old gentleman said he'd go home to get money,

but my grandpa refused repeatedly.

But the old gentleman didn't want to lose face

and owe others a favor,

so he decided to arrange this engagement on the spot.

Mrs. Ning,

if you acknowledge this engagement,

it is a marriage contract;

if you don't,

then it is an IOU.

What do you mean?

If you pay the life-saving money,

I'll take the marriage contract back

and we'll get even with each other.

Mother,

give her the money,

send her away and let her piss off!

Enough.

Get out.

Mother!

Get out!

Do you feel much aggrieved, Miss Jun?

Don't you also feel much aggrieved, Mrs. Ning?

Yes.

I put in painstaking care

to raise my son like a treasure,

only to have him suddenly bitten by a vicious dog.

That beast

has no human sympathy,

and I can neither beat nor scold it.

If I do beat or scold it,

I'll be labeled as ungenerous.

How aggrieved and distressed I am!

But as a mother,

I can lump it

when such a thing happens to me.

But when it happens to my children,

I cannot.

Miss Jun,

for you, this marriage

will give you a higher social position and a life of wealth.

We are a family of good Samaritans,

but helping you improve your lot

both aggrieves and disgusts me.

Mrs. Ning,

being a good Samaritan is also a tradition that runs in my Jun family.

Whether it is roadside beggars

or disaster victims who come to our door,

we've always treated illnesses and saved lives

while asking for nothing in return.

Back then, the old gentleman

could have just said he had no money.

But signing a marriage contract

which makes us as wicked people now

also aggrieves

and disgust us.

Some things can change,

but some can't.

Like one's fate.

Some people were born a lowlife

and they can't have a life of wealth

by marrying up.

As far as I remember, the Ning family

bought its first official rank, didn't it?

How did you know?

You bought off people in high and low positions

and latched onto the prefecture's education officer.

Right?

No need to panic, Mrs. Ning.

I'm not going to spread the history of how your family got rich.

I just want to tell you

there are many things in the world

that can indeed be done with money.

Back then, your Ning family bought an official rank

to get rid of its low social class.

Now won't it be the same thing for you

to buy this marriage contract

to get rid of a bad reputation?

You…

What's more,

2,000 taels of silver will be enough.

You are a good bean counter, Miss Jun.

I'm flattered, madam.

This is a good deal.

Go.

Bring 2,000 taels.

Wait a moment.

2,000 taels was the price just now.

Now it's different.

5,000 taels.

♫Outline in my dream♫

♫can be carved on your face♫

♫Time interlaces in the eye waves♫

♫For unspeakable cause and effect♫

♫Let me weigh every word♫

♫Life is full of twists and turns♫

♫So hard to be free and easy♫

♫Tomorrow always comes♫

♫I'd like to entrust myself to you♫

♫to enjoy stars and the land together♫

♫In long silence♫

♫We are far separated by a sea of faces♫

♫What else can I do except for a sigh?♫

♫The rest of my life is bumpy♫

♫You are like vast nature, while I'm a gust of wind♫

♫I'm be eventually be passed by♫

♫The wind is in hot pursuit♫

♫to stay with nature♫

♫If memories can tell♫

♫It will make me shed tears♫

♫Rare to meet you again, tears well up in my eyes♫

♫Tomorrow always comes♫

♫I'd like to entrust myself to you♫

♫to enjoy stars and the land together♫

♫In long silence♫

♫We are far separated by a sea of faces♫

♫What else can I do except for a sigh?♫

♫The rest of my life is bumpy♫

♫You are like vast nature, while I'm a gust of wind♫

♫I'm be eventually be passed by♫

♫The wind is in hot pursuit♫

♫to stay with nature♫

♫If memories can tell♫

♫Every of its words will make me shed tears♫

♫Rare to meet you again, tears well up in my eyes♫

♫You are like vast nature, while I'm a gust of wind♫

♫It's me♫

♫You shuttle through the bottom of my heart♫

♫Has nature ever asked for any clues about the wind?♫

♫Any clues?♫

♫If my longing for you can be written down♫

♫Every word would be as strong as pouring rain falling down♫

♫You take me as a stranger when we finally meet again♫

♫Tears well up in my eyes♫