Original subtitles

♪First sight with suspicion♪

♪A test for two young hearts♪

♪The road is rocky♪

♪The world becomes silent when you are by my side♪

♪Have two pots of tea together♪

♪The game of go is hard to settle♪

♪Play the zither and hear the song♪

♪Who is as beautiful as a painting♪

♪Why look at the flowers outside the window alone♪

♪Have a peaceful life and another summer passed away♪

♪Hope we can stay together forever♪

♪Appreciate the elegance together♪

♪It was misty and rainy that day♪

♪Hold the jade cup to you♪

♪Let’s have a drink and play the game of go♪

♪But the wind blows outside the window♪

♪It disturbs my dream♪

♪It’s just a flash in the pan♪

♪The flowers smother the window♪

♪The leaves fly into the sky with the cloud♪

♪We will meet in the end in the cloister♪

♪We hold hands with tears in eyes♪

♪You whisper to me under the moonlight♪

♪We never have to part again♪

=Rebirth For You=

=Episode 5=

They’re gone.

How dare you!

I’m sorry.

Wait, you...

Take this.

Remember to use it.

I don’t need him to care about me.

(Hall of Heavenly Kings)

Sir,

here are their birthday horoscopes.

(Divination)

What have you got, sir?

This girl has the best fate

and everybody will be supporting her.

Her future husband

is awesome.

Sir,

when should she get married, then?

Let’s go.

Go.

Her fate of spouse is far-off.

It means she’ll get married late.

I’m afraid it still takes a while.

Greetings, my lady.

She isn’t in a hurry to get married.

A late marriage will bring prosperity to her and her husband.

Fine.

Now that you say so,

we’ll do this.

Mm.

Wendie.

Greetings, my lady.

Greetings, Marchioness.

What a coincidence!

We all came to pray for blessings.

Are you here to pray for marriage for your son?

Marriages are made in heaven.

We can’t force it.

I just came to pray for my family

and have some divination.

Su,

let’s go.

What do you want to divine for, fate or marriage?

- Don’t forget to think about it. - All right.

Do the rest as the fortune-teller said.

Sorry. Sorry.

- What bad luck! - Let’s go.

Let’s go.

(Hall of Heavenly Kings)

Yeah.

I’ve also heard about it.

Su,

what’s wrong?

Nothing.

Let’s go.

Mm.

(Hall of Heavenly Kings)

Baoning,

why are you still in the mood for painting?

In a couple of days,

the Empress Dowager will issue a decree for your marriage.

I know how to deal with that.

Empress Dowager Cao has made a move.

I’ll have to turn her trick into my own use.

She has made a move?

Mm.

District Princess Qingyi.

Han Tongxin hasn’t visited the Palace in the past ten years.

Some days ago, Empress Dowager Cao

asked Lord Jian to take her here and meet Zhao Yi.

These days,

she arranged her in the palace school.

Isn’t that obvious that she wants her to approach Zhao Yi?

Looks like the Empress Dowager thinks

if you become the Empress,

she must plant

some of her spies

around His Majesty.

Look at how Han Tongxin behaves in the palace school.

She’s arrogant and impulsive.

I should take a little advantage

of her jealousy.

I’ll cooperate with her

to screw my marriage within days.

(Shoukang Palace)

(Speak and Behave Wonderfully)

My palace hasn’t been so boisterous for a long time.

Try some of the chilled fruit from my kitchen.

Grandmother, if you enjoy the fun,

I will

hold more banquets in your palace.

Good idea.

When you care for me,

I’m happy enough.

After you marry Baoning,

and have a great-grandson for me in a couple of years,

I’ll be happier.

Grandmother, people are watching.

Your Highness,

Baoning is very sensitive.

You’re making her shy.

All right.

I’ll say no more.

Later,

you’ll move to Ciyuan Hall where the Empress lives.

I’ll feel lonely in my palace.

Even after I move there,

I’ll come and see you three times a day.

Good.

Grandmother,

I’ve prepared a gift for you.

What is it?

Du Sheng.

I hear you love flowers, Grandmother.

I’ve bought the azaleas from the Qi Family in Jinxi

and had them planted in Shoukang Palace

so that you can enjoy them.

These flowers look unique.

Awesome.

Thank you, Grandson.

I’m delighted.

Azalea is said to be the most beautiful flower.

These buds look quite charming.

Come on.

District Princess, Su,

shall we paint the flowers

and give the paintings to Grandmother?

Now that we’ll paint,

how about having a competition?

She’s hooked.

She really doesn’t let me down.

Sounds interesting.

Fangling,

go get everything prepared.

Yes.

That’s great.

I just need to pull the trigger.

But,

a competition is quite boring.

How about...?

Your Majesty,

how about giving

one of your belongings as a reward?

I’ll give the winner

a turquoise as the reward.

Hey.

Paint it poorly.

Baoning’s painting looks so vivid.

I indeed have no gift for painting.

I might win if we competed in embroidery.

Everybody has her talent.

I love them all.

Praise her.

I had thought Baoning’s painting

could be vivid enough.

But the flowers District Princess Qingyi painted

not only look real,

I feel I can even smell them.

I lose.

All right.

Looks like the turquoise

will be awarded to District Princess Qingyi.

Du Sheng.

Come, Grandmother.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

I didn’t get such a good turquoise.

Baoning,

it’s just a turquoise.

In my treasury,

there are many gems like that.

Shall I give you a water-clear bead?

Du Sheng, go.

Go get it to Baoning.

Jiang Baoning sounded so backhanded.

Shame on her!

She lost her parents

so that she became a Commandery Princess

and lived in the Palace with Cousin Yi for a longer time.

Baihe,

tell me.

What talent makes her as good as me?

Yeah, my lady.

She isn’t as good as you at all.

Think about your painting.

Everybody likes it.

You won the competition today

and showed more splendor than her.

Something’s wrong.

I won the competition.

But why did she get something

much better?

My lady,

this is a reward from His Majesty, after all.

If I can’t make him love me,

such a gem

is just like a useless rock!

Baihe,

keep a close eye on the Three Abodes of the East.

Yes.

Your Highness,

in the temple that day,

I picked up your jade pendant.

This is my favorite jade pendant.

I thought I couldn’t get it back.

Thank you, my lady.

Well,

I’m going back to the Three Abodes of the West.

By the way,

in the temple,

why did you bribe the fortune-teller?

You taught him what to say, didn’t you?

Mm.

I didn’t expect

you could deceive others like that.

I just don’t want to get married early.

If I get married early,

Baoning will feel bored in the Palace.

But all girls want to get married.

As the lineal daughter in a noble family,

my marriage will only be

a strong link

between two families.

This is the fate of big families.

Every member has to share the family honor and disgrace.

If only I didn’t need to live for my family

and I could marry the man I adored,

regardless of his family background.

Yeah.

If I can get a soul mate,

I’ll feel contented.

Your Highness,

this is a place where people like to gossip.

I’ll leave you alone.

Mm.

Thank you for the jade pendant.

Mm.

She braided a new string

for the jade pendant.

Eunuch,

please sell this for me.

But...

If you stole a hairpin

or a bracelet,

it would be easier to sell it.

But it’s the water-clear bead from His Majesty.

Even if I sell it out of the Palace,

no one dares to buy it.

Not even at a low price?

Please don’t embarrass me.

I...

Greetings, my lady.

Lord Min has assigned a job to me.

I’ll leave you alone.

My lady.

How daring!

You stole the water-clear bead from His Majesty.

I...

My lady,

my mother is badly sick.

I didn’t have a choice,

but to steal the water-clear bead from Commandery Princess Jia’nan.

Jiang Baoning has lost the bead.

If Cousin Yi knows about it, he’ll certainly blame her.

The bead...

I’ll take it.

You take the money

for your mother

and have her treated.

But remember.

From this day on, no matter what Jiang Baoning does,

you should tell me honestly.

I can’t, my lady.

If Commandery Princess Jia’nan knows it, I’ll be...

Do you think she’ll let you go

when she knows you stole the bead?

From now on,

I’ll report to you

whatever Her Grace does.

All right. Qingke.

Off you go.

Thank you, my lady.

My lady,

everyone in the Palace is cunning.

Be on guard against her.

I’ve got a handle

against her stealing.

Do I need to worry about her tricks?

Tomorrow in the Imperial Garden,

His Majesty will entertain the imperial relatives.

It will be a grand banquet.

Go get me the Lyuqi Zither

my grandfather gave me on my last birthday.

Yes.

My lady.

What brings you here?

Is Jiang Baoning

having a new plan?

My lady,

Her Grace hurt her wrist.

I’m afraid...

At all banquets,

there’s always nothing to enjoy,

but music and dances.

How boring!

Your Majesty,

as early as I was home,

I heard that Commandery Princess Jia’nan played the zither very well.

When I’m in the Palace these days,

I haven’t got a chance to enjoy it.

I wonder

if you can play a song, Your Grace.

It’s been a long while since I last listened to her song, too.

Baoning,

how about

playing a song for us?

But today,

I haven’t brought my Jiaowei Zither.

I’ve brought one.

Baihe.

This is the dowry of my grandmother.

It’s also a famous zither.

It’s as good as yours, Your Grace.

I always keep it carefully.

Today, I’d like to lend it to you.

She even wants to lend me her grandmother’s dowry.

She’s so eager to embarrass me.

Your Grace, why is it you?

How is your wrist wounded?

I sprained it just now, I guess.

It’s fine.

Your Majesty,

I’ve learned to play the zither since I was little.

I’ve heard about how well Her Grace plays, too.

No offense,

but may I play with her today?

What?

You’d better not.

We can enjoy a song by Marquis Jinghai’s son and Her Grace.

That’s great.

Great.

That’s awesome.

Fine.

Get another zither for him.

Don’t bother.

I’ll use the zither with Her Grace.

I’m screwed.

Mm.

Forget it.

I’ll just do it.

Sounds wonderful.

How dares he

exchange glances with Baoning!

See how I’ll deal with you.

They played so well.

I didn’t expect you

to play so well with Commandery Princess Jia’nan

though it was the first time.

How lucky Jiang Baoning is!

Why is she helped every time?

My lady.

Cousin Yi.

Cousin Yi,

what do you want from me?

Baoning used your zither at the banquet.

I found it good.

May I have a look?

Baihe.

Mm.

Cousin Yi,

I’ve also learned to play the zither since little.

If there’s a chance,

I’d like to play a song for you.

I lost hold of it.

I’m sorry.

No, no, no, Cousin Yi.

It’s my fault.

I didn’t hold it tightly.

Did it startle you?

Ah.

You didn’t?

It’s so careless of you.

Darn it, Jiang Baoning.

I won’t let you go!

Your Grace!

Mm?

Your Grace,

you hurt your wrist when falling off the horse.

It’s not recovered yet?

Not really.

I just haven’t practiced it for a long time.

Thank you for helping me out just now.

Let’s go.

Go.

(Memorial to the throne)

Your Highness,

this is from the censors for the empress coronation.

Please view it.

Without the Grand Empress Dowager and the Archduke,

Jiang Baoning

is never qualified

(March 9, the 15th year of Yuanding Reign) to be the Empress!

What a pity!

The decree for the Empress will be issued tomorrow.

What’s the good of Jiang Baoning?

Cousin Yi is partial to her,

but is quite cold to me.

I must let him know

that she has lost the water-clear bead

so that she’ll be severely punished.

Where’s Qingke?

Why are you back alone?

Bad news, my lady.

Commandery Princess Jia’nan found the bead was missing

and Qingke stole it.

Under torture,

Qingke confessed that you had it.

What did you say?

Is that true?

I heard them clearly.

Eunuch Liu asked other eunuchs

to come here with Commandery Princess Jia’nan.

They will catch you having the bead

so that you have no time to hide it.

Baihe.

Mm.

Give this back to the Three Abodes of the East.

Now that they’re coming to me.

Few people will be there in the Three Abodes of the East.

Then get the Empress Dowager to us.

Yes.

Xiaoman, search it.

Yes.

Jiang Baoning? What are you doing?

The bead His Majesty gave me is lost.

You stole it, didn’t you?

Don’t sling mud at me!

Have your room searched and we’ll know.

You!

Here comes the Empress Dowager.

Look what you’re doing.

Please defend me, Your Highness.

Without evidence,

Commandery Princess Jia’nan has her eunuchs search my bedroom,

accusing me of stealing her water-clear bead.

Yes. The bead is precious.

But I’m a District Princess and Lord Jian’s granddaughter.

I never lack precious things.

Now that she does me wrong,

I’ll have no choice, but to kill myself

to prove my innocence.

Your Grace,

have you found

the water-clear bead you’re after?

I haven’t yet.

But I’m sure Han Tongxin stole it.

Your Grace,

you’re always naughty

and don’t obey rules.

I don’t care

and let you go.

But now you accuse Tongxin

of having stolen your bead.

Aren’t you going too far?

Your Highness,

Her Grace claims that

her ladyship has stolen her bead.

But she doesn’t have any evidence.

I can also say that

she’s jealous of her ladyship’s talent

and frames her up.

All right. Stop arguing.

I will

find out the truth

and solve the case with justice.

What happened?

Why didn’t you tell me when you lost something?

For your information,

Your Highnesses,

we found this in Commandery Princess Jia’nan’s room.

Commandery Princess Jia’nan,

this is irrefutable evidence.

What else would you like to explain?

Since I came to the Palace,

I’ve never thought about stealing the thunder from Her Grace.

But she hates me so much.

Your Highnesses,

please defend me.

Commandery Princess Jia’nan made a big mistake

and she must be severely punished!

Severely punished?

It’s just a little conflict between girls.

Don’t make a fuss over it.

Mother,

I know you always spoil Baoning.

As a noble Commandery Princess,

shouldn’t she behave herself more carefully?

But without a reason

or any evidence,

she slandered District Princess Qingyi.

If I just let her go,

then

I can hardly convince people.

Lord Jian will be displeased.

Other officials will be disappointed, too.

Considering she did it for the first time,

I’ll punish her to kneel in the Introspection Chamber for a night.

That’s all?

Just a little punishment. What do you think?

But the decree of the Empress will be issued tomorrow.

Let’s reconsider

the Empress thing

after my birthday.

That’s more like it.

Empress Dowager Cao has got a handle on her.

Even the Grand Empress Dowager failed to defend her.

Tomorrow is the birthday of Commandery Princess Jia’nan.

Looks like she’ll spend it in the Introspection Chamber.

It’s said to be a very cold chamber.

Her Grace is a weak girl.

How can she go through the night?

Yeah.

Wait.

You mentioned that Commandery Princess Jia’nan was punished.

What happened?

Everyone in the Palace knew about it,

but you didn’t?

Yeah.

Her Grace slandered District Princess Qingyi

for stealing her water-clear bead.

She also made a scene in the Three Abodes of the South.

Even the Grand Empress Dowager was startled.

But in the end, the bead

was found in her own bedroom.

The Empress Dowager was going to issue the decree

to make her the Empress tomorrow.

Looks like the decree can’t be issued.

Say no more.

Her Graces are waiting for us.

Mm.

(Introspection Chamber)

Isn’t that Guard Li who assisted Baoning?

He must be coming for a reason.

My lady.

Your Highness,

I lost the bracelet the Grand Empress Dowager awarded me.

Could you look for it with me?

Do you remember

where you lost it?

On my way here, I guess.

Let’s go, then.

- Go. - Mm.

I don’t think it’s here.

What, Your Highness?

You got your hand dirty when looking for the bracelet.

Now,

you’ve got your face dirty.

Actually, you don’t need to do this.

What do you mean?

You’re close to Commandery Princess Jia’nan.

I guess

you just want to send me away

so that she can sneak out

for some fresh air.

You knew what I wanted.

I won’t

tell anyone else.

Thank you for the new string

you’ve made for my jade pendant.

You know it’s new?

You’ve made a very nice string.

It’s getting late.

Let me walk you back.

By the way,

I’ll be guarding this place.

I won’t let Her Grace suffer.

Thank you, Your Highness.

Mm.

Oh,

let’s go.

Mm.

Why did you come?

Your Grace.

I didn’t expect you

to be so leisure

even when you’re punished in the Introspection Chamber.

Luckily, my grandmother cares for me.

Looks like the quilts,

book, and candles

are from the Grand Empress Dowager.

Mm.

Actually, you never

want to marry His Majesty.

You said you and His Majesty loved each other.

You lied about that, didn’t you?

Han Tongxin was in the limelight in front of His Majesty.

I was so enraged!

Others may not be aware.

But I witnessed

how brave and talented you were.

If you really got jealous

because His Majesty awarded District Princess Qingyi

and tried to frame her up,

you wouldn’t have yourself caught

and nullified the decree for tomorrow.

So,

you don’t want to marry His Majesty.

He’s the emperor.

Mm.

All girls throughout the nation want to marry him.

But you’re different from all the other girls.

When you were sure

that Fang Yiru had a baby of His Majesty,

you didn’t argue with His Majesty

about this.

Instead, you calmly planned

how to make use of the baby

to balance Empress Dowager Cao and His Majesty.

Judging from this,

you don’t want to marry him at all.

What happened today

was also your plan.

You’re sharp-eyed.

I indeed don’t want to marry Zhao Yi.

That’s why I helped Han Tongxin when she framed me up.

She first got the water-clear bead

because I tricked her.

Then, I let her know

that I would catch her in the act.

She would certainly put the blame on me

for framing her up.

So, everything

is under your control?

Mm.

Now, she must be very pleased

with her wisdom.

Tongxin,

you didn’t let Empress Dowager down

for getting you to study in the Palace.

Her Highness praised you greatly.

When Jiang Baoning is punished and has no way out,

I’m pleased, too.

However,

the Grand Empress Dowager defends her.

How can I totally get rid of her?

Commandery Princess Jia’nan

has done such an immoral thing.

It’s quite embarrassing.

She can’t be the Empress

simply as she wishes.

Even if the Grand Empress Dowager brings it up again,

the Empress Dowager will be too busy for her birthday to care about that.

Grandfather.

Mm.

The Empress Dowager said

she wanted me to be a Noble Consort.

Can I still be it?

After what I did today,

will His Majesty hate me?

What you did today

has helped the Empress Dowager.

She said

she would make you the Empress

at her birthday party.

Grandfather,

is that true?

Tongxin,

you’ve got a bright future for yourself.

I feel happy for you,

but I also worry about you.

So, you hate to marry His Majesty?

I don’t want to spend my whole life in the Palace.

In life,

happiness matters most.

Come on.

Mm?

My grandmother visited me with some useful things.

But you came without anything.

Why did you come, then?

I climbed over the wall to get in.

I couldn’t take many things with me.

But I’ve got two eggs for you.

How can I have it?

Are you crazy?

Come on.

It’s already midnight.

As an apology,

let me take you somewhere.

Come on.

Enjoy the noodles before they get cold.

What do you mean?

The bell has struck. It’s already a new day.

I know today is your birthday.

I’ve made you some birthday noodles.

Mother, you made the noodles, right?

How do you know?

Because

I taste no salt in the noodles.

It can’t be the cook who made them.

Um...

I’ll ask the cook to make some for you.

You only cook once a year

to make noodles for my birthday.

I’ll eat them up.

Your Grace!

What happened?

During the hunting,

the bear that was tranquilized

suddenly went crazy for no reason.

To save His Majesty,

Zhenying died on the Hunting Ground.

Take me there immediately!

What exactly happened?

What exactly happened?

Tell us, Duke Jiang!

Your Highness,

when Princess Yong’an knew her husband died,

she rushed to the Hunting Ground.

Unexpectedly, roads are slippery on the rainy day

and her carriage fell off the cliff.

Your Highness.

Poor Baoning.

Your Highness,

we will take good care

of Baoning.

Baoning, good girl, don’t cry.

Mm.

You’ve lost your mother.

Go live with me in the Palace.

What do you think?

- I’ll always protect you. - Mm.

What?

The noodles taste bad?

Thank you.

Since my mother died,

no one has made birthday noodles for me.

In Jinxi,

we eat noodles with garlic.

Here.

Don’t push it.

Oh.

How dirty!

Sorry.

♪Like the bright remote place♪

♪Like the white frost♪

♪Sway in the morning mist♪

♪Yearn for the warm place in my dream♪

♪The joyful time♪

♪Becomes yellow now♪

♪Lost on the road♪

♪Forgot my direction♪

♪Forgive me for being young and frivolous♪

♪I didn’t know what lovesickness is♪

♪It took me years to appreciate it♪

♪The time we spent together♪

♪Even the fate closes every window♪

♪You are still a beam of light♪

♪I’m facing the light and hope is ahead♪

♪Like it never bloomed♪

♪Even the fate tries to stop us♪

♪I’ll still be here♪

♪Missing you until my hair turns white♪

♪I’ll still comb your hair♪