Original subtitles

♪The top of the mountains where the snow never melts♪

♪The plains where the wind blows♪

♪What find me in my sleep♪

♪Are the nightmares about you♪

♪In the endless abyss♪

♪Your face gradually emerges♪

♪A love that budded unknowingly to us♪

♪Continues to grow and blossom♪

♪Who risked his life♪

♪For mine?♪

♪I had braced myself for the end♪

♪But my heart frets for you♪

♪It turns out there is an end♪

♪To my waiting for you♪

♪At the hills where the grasslands end♪

♪Where it will always be spring♪

♪I find the boundless river of stars♪

♪In your eyes♪

♪Only with your hand in mine♪

♪Is this life worthwhile♪

[SHINING Just for You]

[Episode 6]

Great Chao shall not adopt the feudal system but be divided into nine states.

We'll establish a protectorate in each state

with a Protectorate General managing the military and political affairs of the state.

Regarding the borders of the states,

the candidates for the Protectorate General,

and which offices to set up,

Fan Ruhui, I want you to submit a proposal after you draw it up.

Yes, Your Majesty.

I object, Your Majesty!

Your Majesty.

If the Protectorate General takes charge of military and political affairs,

I'm afraid Your Majesty will live

with worries day and night

if they assume too much power.

The Protectorate Generals I'm appointing

are my most trustworthy ministers.

How can I doubt their loyalty?

Even a father and son doubt each other,

let alone a ruler and his ministers?

The Protectorate Generals are chosen by Your Majesty.

They may be appointed by the imperial court.

But in terms of authority,

it's practically the same as the King of the Winged Clan in the past.

If these city-states rise in rebellion,

the disaster of war will be in sight.

Official Jie, I asked you to manage the Ceremony of Stars.

Now, the preparations for the grand ceremony are not satisfactory.

You should focus on your own duty.

My duty is to aid Your Majesty

by correcting your mistakes.

Compared to Great Chao, the Ceremony of Stars

is insignificant.

Jie Haitian,

I've tolerated you again and again

that you've forgotten your place!

Your Majesty,

I'd like to impeach Jie Haitian for deceiving and humiliating the Emperor.

You distorted His Majesty's oral decree

and ordered the slaughter of tens of thousands of people in Yebei.

You've been harboring rebellious intentions and refused to hand over the military power.

You deliberately try to influence His Majesty's decision.

What exactly is your intention?

Jie Haitian!

Guards!

Take Jie Haitian away!

Execute him in front of the palace!

Supervisor Jie! Supervisor Jie!

Supervisor Jie!

Your Majesty!

Everyone, calm down! His Majesty is furious at the moment.

If all of you plead with His Majesty now, you'll only make things worse.

All of you, wait here. I'll go and plead with His Majesty.

Please wait here.

How could this happen?

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Do you still want to impeach Jie Zhuying?

Jie Haitian's action is condemned by heaven,

which is unforgivable. But I ask Your Majesty to show him mercy

and spare his family.

Director Bai, your counting rod fell on the floor.

It's a sign of great danger.

Bureau of Astrology, receive the imperial decree.

"Former Supervisor Jie Haitian of the Bureau of Astrology has been executed

for acting presumptuously

and deceiving His Majesty.

The Bureau of Astrology is the most important department of the dynasty.

It bears great responsibility and no matters shall be delayed.

I hereby, order Di Lanzhang to succeed as the Supervisor of the Bureau of Astrology

and assume all responsibility for the Ceremony of Stars.

He shall take office immediately and act without fail."

By command of His Majesty!

I humbly receive the imperial decree.

-Long live His Majesty! -Long live His Majesty!

-Your Highness! -Your Highness!

Step back!

Your Highness!

Qingheng, are you all right?

His Majesty's imperial decree has arrived!

Jie Zhuying, receive the imperial decree!

I, Jie Zhuying accept His Majesty's imperial decree.

"Jie Haitian deceived His Majesty

and showed great disrespect. He had been punished accordingly.

His wife of the Xiao Clan took her own life.

Jie Zhuying is hereby ordered to return to Tianqi immediately.

There shall be no delay."

Why would my father die?

Why would my mother take her own life?

You're lying.

Who are you?

How dare you disguise yourself as a bearer and deliver a fake imperial decree!

This is the imperial decree. How can it be fake?

Impossible. It's impossible.

It's not possible!

Tell me! Is someone holding His Majesty hostage

and delivering a fake imperial decree? Tell me the truth!

Commander-in-Chief, it's true.

If you don't believe it, you'll know once you return to Tianqi.

How dare you lie to me again!

General, no!

Out of my way!

General!

Get out of my way! Let go!

Commander-in-Chief, it was His Majesty who issued the decree.

Your father has already been executed in front of the palace.

Take care.

General Zhuying,

your sword.

I thought the trust

between them

would never change

even if the world turned upside down.

It had been 17 years.

My father had served him for 17 years.

He almost died during those days.

He should know

that my father would never betray him.

He would never betray Great Chao.

He has always been so ruthless.

It's just that you've never stood against him.

It was not like that.

He was not like that.

Back in the day,

no matter what I did,

my father always protected me.

Now that he's gone,

I don't even know

how to seek justice for him.

Perhaps you'll know what to do

after you return.

You're right.

I should return.

I need to get some answers.

I...

I want...

Before I return to Tianqi,

I'll take care of Yebei's affairs.

Qingheng,

you're the only one I care about

in this world now.

His Majesty has decreed!

"The state affairs concern me the most.

I have no interest in trivial matters.

I now appoint the Grand Chancellor,

Fan Ruhui, as Great Steward,

which is equivalent to the position of Counselor-in-Chief of the past.

[Cai Can, Great General Who Guards the North]

He is to take care of the general affairs.

Starting today,

except for urgent military affairs,

submit all memorials of daily affairs

to the Great Steward first.

Only when Great Steward is unable to decide

can you submit the memorials to me."

By command of His Majesty.

-We shall obey as ordered! -We shall obey as ordered!

Official Fan.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

I shall devote myself to the tasks

and not let His Majesty down.

Congratulations, Great Steward Fan.

You're the first Grand Councilor of Great Chao.

Great Steward is a founding hero.

And Madam brought His Majesty up.

During the Ceremony of Stars' investiture,

I'm sure you'll be deemed the most meritorious person.

That's right.

With you sharing His Majesty's burden,

I'm sure Great Chao

will prosper in the future.

Also,

it'll prosper for ages to come.

All the achievement I have today

is granted by His Majesty.

If it weren't for His Majesty who established Great Chao,

I wouldn't have accomplished what I have today.

You're right.

Congratulations, Chancellor Fan.

I mean,

I should address you as Great Steward Fan now.

Cai, thank you.

But without your support,

I wouldn't be where I am today.

Great Steward, you're too kind.

Great Steward, this way, please.

Cai, you go first.

-Great Steward, this way. -Great Steward, this way.

Come, let's go together.

[Manual of the Emperor Star]

Your Majesty, I've delivered the imperial decree.

How did the ministers react?

Official Fan was naturally delighted.

As for the other ministers,

they surrounded Official Fan to congratulate him.

One after another,

they said that it was Great Chao's blessing

to have Official Fan share Your Majesty's worries.

My ministers don't seem

to lack the skills of flattery.

It looks like

they really don't want me to attend the court assembly.

They think it will be easier to handle that Great Steward.

[Fan's Residence]

Lately, good things come one after the other.

There's another good thing?

Father, you're truly exceptional.

The second piece of good news

is that I've spoken with Left Commissioner-in-Chief, Zuo Jintian

about betrothing his daughter, Shengnan,

to be my eldest daughter-in-law.

Ping'er,

His Majesty thinks highly of Mr. Zuo.

If you marry Shengnan,

it'll be a great help to the Fan Family.

Mr. Zuo and I will decide on the date of your wedding.

Father, this...

[Fan Ping, Eldest Son of Fan Family] This is too sudden.

I don't want to marry yet.

Ridiculous.

I've agreed to this betrothal.

There is no reason for you to refuse.

Father.

Father.

If Ping is not willing,

I'm willing to take Miss Zuo as my wife

to share your worries.

Shut up!

Your brother is the Fan Family's eldest son,

the successor of the Fan Family.

He hasn't married yet.

How can you beat him to it?

He was only born two years earlier than me.

We still drink liquor

and play qin the same.

With what happened to Jie Zhuying,

he was muddleheaded

and acted so recklessly.

How is he better than me?

I'm different.

I've been doing all I can to rope in powerful people for you.

So that we can strengthen our influence.

Also...

You've got a lot of nerve, huh?

Who told you to associate with those people?

Father!

All the trouble that you've caused in the past,

I had to plead with His Majesty

regardless of losing my face.

Do you think those city lords of the Winged Clan

sent you gifts because they wanted to flatter you?

All they want was for me to make them

the Protectorate Generals!

Listen here.

I forbid you to get close to them!

If these Winged People ruin His Majesty's great cause,

you'll also end up crying

at the coffin, just like Jie Zhuying!

I know what they want.

But one of them will be chosen by His Majesty

to be the Protectorate General of Ningzhou.

It'll be a waste not to take the money.

Am I right?

Besides, I've already thought about it.

After the imperial decree has been issued,

I'll return the gifts to them.

All you care about is money!

Father!

Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?

Are you here just to upset me?

Get out! Get out!

Get out!

Gu Wangran!

Gu Wangran, what's the meaning of this?

I've been in charge of the Ceremony of Stars.

Letting you review the design plans

was only a formality.

Why are you causing trouble here?

[Gu Wangran] I may not have experience in supervising.

[Director of Bureau of Public Works] I don't know as much as you

who's at the construction site all year round.

But the accounts are in a mess.

How can I sign it?

But...

Gu Wangran,

you're still...

Do you need me to judge this?

Who are you?

You're...

I'm Bai Lu, Director of the Bureau of Astrology.

His Majesty is particularly concerned

about the progress of the Ceremony of Stars.

So he ordered me to check the progress.

So you're Official Bai, the Director of the Bureau of Astrology.

What do you want to check?

Which works are still not completed yet?

There are so many unfinished works.

These as well. None of these tally.

You...

Official Bai, ignore him.

I'm in charge of the works of the Ceremony of Stars.

I will accompany you to see the unfinished works.

Sure.

Let me give some instructions to the workers first.

You better be quick about it.

Official Bai,

this way, please.

Please come with me.

Ye, there's someone there!

Grab the stones!

[Bureau of Astrology]

Director Guan.

Bai Lu from the Bureau of Astrology is here to supervise the Ceremony of Stars.

Second Young Master Fan, Zhou Er said

that His Majesty sent Bai Lu

to supervise the construction site of the Ceremony of Stars.

Well...

Why is she everywhere?

Bai Lu is evil, you see.

It's not that I'm scared of her.

I'm just afraid

she might say something slanderous to His Majesty.

It would be bad

if it implicates Great Steward.

My father is such a coward.

Otherwise, this land would have belonged to our Fan Family a long time ago.

Mister, you can't say that.

It's...

Listen. I'm determined to make money from this.

If you can't give me this amount,

you'll face the consequences.

Get lost!

Director Bai,

all the documents related to the Ceremony of Stars are here.

I had a hard time getting them.

We're just checking the documents.

Why did they make things difficult for you?

They kept making excuses and trying to stop me from taking them.

It took me a lot of effort.

Also, the official documents of the Ceremony of Stars

are always under Director Guan's control.

If these documents aren't complete,

do you want to ask Director Guan about them?

No need.

By the way,

can you ask Official Gu from the Bureau of Public Works to come here?

All right.

Director Bai.

Official Gu,

you're here.

So it was you who wanted to see me.

I kept wondering

because I didn't know anyone from the Bureau of Astrology.

Have a seat.

Do you still remember me, Official Gu?

It's me, Ye Lingshuang.

I knew it was you.

But you changed your name and you're an official at the Bureau of Astrology.

I didn't dare to confirm if it was you.

I didn't expect

to see you in Tianqi

after saying goodbye in Yebei.

I went to Yebei to study

and was almost eaten by a wolf.

Luckily, you and Princess Zhuyan saved me.

Gu,

I asked to see you because I want

to ask you about the construction works of the Ceremony of Stars.

As expected.

Director Bai, please take a look.

This is obsidian from Mount Beimang.

The stone is hard and shiny,

and it's the best material to build the sacrificial altar.

Then take a look at this one.

This is inkstone.

It doesn't look so much different

from obsidian.

But it's easy to break because it's not tough enough.

It should never be used in any construction.

The corrupt officials

are trying to swindle money from His Majesty now.

His Majesty wants the construction done for the Ceremony of Stars.

There must be no mistake.

I really don't know what Zhou Er and those people are thinking about.

I know.

The cost of obsidian

is over ten times higher than inkstone.

They would naturally pocket

the difference in the price.

Are you saying they did this for money?

Official Gu,

not only Zhou Er,

maybe His Majesty

has very few things

that are more important than money.

Official Gu,

can you please help me delay

the as-built drawing for a while?

Don't ever sign it.

I'll find ways to stall them

and expose their fraudulent acts.

They switched quality stones

with inferior ones.

So what?

No one would admit this sort of thing.

In the end, they'll demolish and rebuild it

to brush it off.

When that happens, you'll be the scapegoat.

(I'm not going to be the scapegoat.)

[Tianqi City]

Get out of the way!

I can't stay here any longer.

I've already returned to Tianqi.

But they won't let me go home to mourn at my parents' funeral.

Why is this?

General, I didn't mean to stop you.

But according to the law of Chao,

tampering with the imperial decree is a serious crime,

and the proper burial of the body is prohibited.

You...

General, this Yebei woman

infiltrated our army

and followed us all the way.

You can leave first.

General!

Yebei people who leave the designated prison will be beheaded.

Do I need you to remind me? Get out!

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

Why?

Why are you also going against me?

You knew leaving without permission will result in the death penalty.

Why did you have to risk your life?

Because I want to plead for Yebei myself.

But I told you...

I told you I'd submit a memorial to His Majesty for you.

You can't even go home. How are you going to submit the memorial for me?

You're right.

I can't even go home.

If he doesn't allow it,

I can't do anything.

I can't even be my parents' son.

I'll plead with His Majesty for you.

For me and for you too.

How do you plan to plead with him?

I'll kneel in front of him.

If he refuses to see me, I'll keep kneeling.

I'll keep kneeling until he sees me.

General Jie,

I've submitted the Mirror of Youth to His Majesty.

His Majesty said, "All right."

Did His Majesty issue other decrees?

Can I go home?

His Majesty didn't say anything else.

Your Majesty, General Jie is still kneeling outside the palace.

Since he likes to kneel, he can keep kneeling.

Concubine Tian.

Your Majesty.

How do you know I'm here?

I went to Guangyang Palace,

but you weren't there.

I think you must be worried

about the progress of the Ceremony of Stars.

That's why you came to the South Palace.

If you want to plead for Jie Zhuying,

you can stop wasting your time.

I can't seem to hide anything from you.

I was just thinking

that you watched Zhuying grow up.

His request is quite understandable.

Why must you make him resentful?

I'm not that sentimental.

Be careful.

We traveled in fear

from Yebei to Tianqi.

Wasn't it all for this moment?

Your Highness,

why are you hesitating?

Her Highness

is worried about the people of Yebei.

It'll be great if we succeed.

But if we fail,

I'm afraid 50,000 people will die.

If you ask me,

we should just head back.

It's hard to kill the Emperor.

We can't even get anywhere near him.

Keep quiet, you coward!

Your Highness,

why aren't we making a move now that we're already here?

We won't have a chance to take revenge in the future.

I don't fear death. Let me kill that Emperor.

We can't act rashly when it comes to killing the Emperor.

We still don't have the chance to meet the Emperor.

We can only take one step at a time.

Tidy up the place and settle down first.

Without my permission, no one is allowed to leave.

Chu Ye.

Father.

Don't say a word.

You can't meet Jie Zhuying alone.

Both of Zhuying's parents are gone.

He can't go home because he's being held up at the courier hostel.

I should go and see him.

His Majesty wants to enlighten him.

It won't do him any good if you go and see him.

Father.

Mr. and Mrs. Jie have yet

to be buried until today.

As a son, Zhuying must be in great pain.

Please request His Majesty to issue a decree.

No matter how he wants to punish Zhuying,

let him go home and bury his parents first.

Ping,

why are you so concerned about Jie Zhuying?

Back then, because of his father,

he stole our limelight in front of His Majesty.

Isn't this perfect timing?

His father became a traitor.

It's a chance for us to ridicule him.

You...

Darn you!

Father!

Zhuying earned his own military merit!

He's now the Commander-in-Chief.

Do you call this mediocre?

You still have the cheek to ridicule him?

Look at yourself!

You idle around all day without doing anything decent.

I'd like to know what you're even good at!

What is Ping good at then?

At least, I'd go to the government office

every few days.

What about Ping?

He only holds an empty title.

He doesn't even know which side of the door is to the court conference.

Don't worry about Jie Zhuying.

I'm also his father's sworn friend.

I'll talk to His Majesty when the time is right.

Director Bai Lu of the Bureau of Astrology.

I have something important to report to His Majesty.

You're the only female official in Great Chao.

So everyone knows you, Director Bai.

But you were not summoned

nor do you have the Bureau of Astrology's seal.

We can't let you in.

Then...

Let me see Concubine Tian. That's allowed, right?

He wants to meet His Majesty too.

But he still can't.

He has been kneeling here for three days.

Just go back.

Come again when you have the Bureau of Astrology's seal.

General Jie?

Miss Ye.

Did anything happen in Yebei?

Where's Princess Lian?

Princess Lian

is in Tianqi.

Where is she?

You can go and find her at this place.

Thank you, General Jie.

What's wrong?

It's because of General Jie.

What are you muttering about

over there?

It's nothing important.

Fengyin said

General Jie is still kneeling outside

without eating and drinking for three days.

Under the scorching sun, I think he's going to faint.

When he was 13,

he followed me to the desert.

He didn't even faint after traveling for nine days.

Now, he's becoming weaker and weaker.

Just let him kneel.

If he faints once,

punish him to kneel for three more days.

Wasn't he with Your Majesty back then?

He'd naturally be in high spirits.

Now, he can't meet Your Majesty despite the close distance.

It's expected if he faints out of anxiety.

So many people are coming

and going around me every day.

In my opinion,

only you two have a conscience.

So,

what did the ministers say these days?

Everyone stayed away from him and didn't dare to go anywhere near him.

Only Bai Lu from the Bureau of Astrology

went to talk to him for a bit.

Bring Bai Lu here to see me.

Do you know why I want to see you?

I don't know. Please enlighten me, Your Majesty.

I want to know what you told Jie Zhuying.

I didn't say anything.

Before this, Supervisor Jie took care of me.

So I only said a few words to comfort General Jie.

If that's not what Jie Zhuying says,

you'll die.

If he didn't say that,

it means he lied to you.

You should grant him the death punishment.

Is it up to you or me to grant anyone the death punishment?

Your Majesty.

It's up to you, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

I do know someone who deserves to be executed.

Is there anyone else who deserves death more than you?

Yes.

Your Majesty, I never mean to offend you.

But that person treats you like a fool.

Who's that?

[Corrupt Practice of Ceremony of Stars] Fan Zheng.

It looks like I do need to execute several people.

The old guy keeps saying how poor he is

while his son is pocketing my money.

Please come this way.

Official Fan.

-Official Fan. -Official Fan.

What do we do

about the altar for the Ceremony of Stars?

What do you mean?

The stones used to build the altar were all inkstone.

If His Majesty pursues this matter...

I don't understand what you're saying.

But I do have one piece of advice for you.

If you want to protect your future,

just do whatever His Majesty orders you to do.

But Official Fan,

obsidian is rare.

If we start over to harvest them...

Director Zhou, are you that useless?

Are you telling me to do your work?

Or did I tell you to use inkstone?

See them out.

Sirs, please.

-I shall take my leave. -I shall take my leave.

(It looks like I have to pay a visit to the palace.)

♪The earth as a plaque♪

♪The sun and the moon as poems♪

♪Turn the skies into the palace under the plaque♪

♪Time as a scroll♪

♪The stars as the inkstone♪

♪Writing with the light of the sea♪

♪Through several lives and reincarnations♪

♪I search the world for wisdom♪

♪To smooth the folds of the years♪

♪There is a hole in my heart♪

♪Void of someone♪

♪Now I know what forever tastes like♪

♪I'll trade my youth for yours♪

♪I'll trade my youth for your kiss♪

♪We enter the battlefield for the peace♪

♪Of the world♪

♪Draw the lines of fate♪

♪Carve destinies♪

♪And our roles in the world♪

♪With me♪

♪All worldly desires♪

♪Fall from your fingertips♪

♪The mountains and rivers between your brows♪

♪Orbit the seas like a song♪

♪I'll trade my youth for yours♪

♪I'll trade my youth for your kiss♪

♪We enter the battlefield for the peace♪

♪Of the world♪

♪Draw the lines of fate♪

♪Carve destinies♪

♪And our roles in the world♪

♪With me♪

♪All worldly desires♪

♪Fall from your fingertips♪

♪The mountains and rivers between your brows♪

♪Orbit the seas like a song♪

♪The stars shine brightly♪

♪For you and me♪