Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[The Ingenious One]

[Episode 34: A Critical Moment]

It was you who brought Kang Qiao into the sect.

And you've worked together for many years.

I know how close you two were.

But the dead can't come back to life.

Don't let grief get the better of you.

With his reckless nature,

this was going to happen sooner or later.

Kang Qiao is not exactly qualified,

but he may be buried in Beishan Cemetery.

It's OK, Master.

The dead are dead.

Funerals are just for the living.

I don't care about those things.

Let's keep it simple.

Mo Bufan,

if you have a grievance,

why can't you be frank about it?

I have no grievance.

Kang Qiao had it coming to him.

You don't need to console me.

Your Highness.

It's just the death of a nobody.

Why bother consoling him personally?

What was the order that I gave you?

To get rid of Zhong Beidou

as a warning to others.

But why did you draw so much attention to it?

You see, Your Highness,

if it's meant as a warning to others,

why shouldn't we draw attention to it?

Besides, I also deliberately

lured Kou Yuanjie in.

The Kou family will make a decision soon.

Nangong Fang,

you and Yun Xiang are equally talented.

But you're too confident.

You'll get yourself into trouble if you go on like this.

You're here to talk me out of it too?

Do you really have to do this?

It's indeed very cowardly

to die in such a way.

But I can see no way out.

Or maybe you could help me find one?

It's my determination to right past wrongs

that's got me through these years.

I'm not like you.

You can live on your determination.

But the hatred inside me has burned all my internal organs.

I'd rather die.

If we work together, we can save people from disasters.

Isn't that a reason for living on?

That day in the mountains,

you told me you knew who Master was

and wanted me to join you in foiling his plot.

I agreed then

for the sake of Yuntai.

But now I am utterly disappointed in Yuntai

and have no desire to fight.

Fine. You don't have to do anything.

We don't need to work together.

Just live on.

OK?

Do you really think Master trusts you?

You think he knows nothing about

your dealings with Liu Gongquan?

If he has the slightest suspicion about you,

you can't expect him

to spare your life at a critical moment.

You think I don't know that?

It's precisely because I know there's no turning back

that I keep on going forward.

Drink it up,

and let our friendship in Nandu

end here.

Out of all the fellow disciples at Yuntai,

you are the only one that I can trust now.

I won't let you die.

You must live.

For you,

I'll live for a few more days.

You're such a fool.

Why did you meddle in Yuntai's affairs?

I rendered a great service.

Why are you scolding me again?

Nangong Fang knew you were eager to render a great service,

so he used you as a weapon

to warn others.

Zhong Beidou absconded.

Prince Fu wasn't going to keep him anyway.

Since we were going to join forces,

I did that to show our sincerity to Prince Fu.

What's wrong with that?

Who said I'd decided to join forces with them?

Do we have any other option?

Lingyuan has become the way it is now

all because of your indecisiveness!

Shut up!

Don't let me see you again.

It's my fault he's the way he is now,

and I'm paying the penalty.

Mother,

Prince Fu will probably call us to account

and force you to agree to join forces.

Actually,

joining forces isn't our only option.

I know what you mean.

But how can you be sure

that Yun Xiang isn't here to spy on us

on Prince Fu's order?

Mother,

I know our situation

and am not being swayed by emotions.

I trust him

because I have considered the pros and cons

as a member of Lingyuan and the Kou family.

Father,

I heard that those elders of the sect

will be executed soon.

Didn't you say

you would handle this without bloodshed?

Mingzhu,

great undertakings entail sacrifices.

We kill

so that we won't have to kill in the future.

So how many more people will die

for the sake of your great undertaking?

If this is how you do it,

how are you different from those in the imperial government

who purge dissidents for their selfish desires?

How dare you!

Mingzhu,

I have explained to you

what is at stake in all this.

If I don't kill them now,

won't we be giving them the opportunity to kill us?

I'm afraid

you're only going to see more killings

in the days to come.

Are we going to kill everyone

who disagrees with us?

Mingzhu,

we are all flesh and blood.

The more lives you take,

the deeper you are in karmic debt.

I'm only doing it because I have no choice.

Do you think

I am really a heartless person?

Take Yun Xiang, for example.

I know he has objections,

but I'm not entirely willing

to get rid of him.

But Yun Xiang said that

he would do his best to help.

Mingzhu,

don't ever believe what people say.

He's claiming to be on my side

in order to protect himself.

You know that.

He's close with Gongquan.

How can I be sure

that they're not hatching a conspiracy?

Yun Xiang's life

is as much in his hands as it's in mine.

I'm sending him to Nandu this time

to let him make his own choice.

Your Highness, you wanted to see me?

Yun Xiang,

if my father sends you to Nandu,

you must not refuse.

Why is His Highness sending me to Nandu?

I can't really give you any details.

Anyway, remember what I said.

It can save your life.

If His Highness doesn't trust me,

he can kill me.

As a member of Yuntai,

I have no place in this world.

Please tell His Highness

that I'm absolutely loyal to him.

My father asked me to test you.

Those who achieve great things in the world

must sever their personal relationships

and only keep the most trustworthy people by their side.

That's normal.

Those who aspire to achieve great things...

Including you?

Including me.

I don't believe it.

They all said

you're unpredictable

and evil.

But as soon as I met you,

I knew they were wrong about you.

You're too kind, Your Highness.

I was taught by Master himself.

You mean the roayl supplier selection

is rigged?

I'm now in charge of the affairs of Nandu Government Office.

Why would I lie to you?

But Advisor Xu...

Lord Xu.

I remember in the past the selection results

were presented to His Majesty first,

so that His Majesty could confer the title himself.

Of course,

I mean no disrespect.

But how is Nandu Government Office

able to rig the result?

Well... Here's how it works.

Mr. Su, are you close with Yun Xiang?

If someone tries to make things difficult for you,

be sure to tell him

what I've just said.

Yun Xiang is a business parter of ours.

That's all?

To be exact,

Yun Xiang is our enemy and friend.

He tends to use both tempting promises

and threats

to make me throw in my lot with him.

Of course,

although he's always taking advantage of us,

we do manage to make a modest profit from it.

I see.

As befits a family of merchants,

you know how to make the most of any situation.

Lord Xu,

maybe you could just tell Mr. Su?

Appointing your family as the royal silk supplier

is a generous gift from Prince Fu.

But while it's a gift,

you are expected to reciprocate.

Right.

Right.

Be sure to do the thing

that I've just asked you as soon as possible.

Remember,

keep it a secret.

People are orderly

as long as merchants are.

Your family is the leader of Nandu Chamber of Commerce.

From now on, no matter what you hear

or see,

you should always speak or act

with caution.

I will.

Who are you?

How dare you trespass on my property!

Mr. Su, how have you been?

What did Xu Qingwen tell you?

I'm just a merchant

running a normal business.

Why am I getting visits

from Nandu Government Office and Imperial Security Office

within one day?

Just answer the question.

Yun Xiang told me a lot about you.

Did he tell you to distance yourself from him

before he left Nandu?

Do you know Shao Yiheng is dead?

So that's why it was Advisor Xu who came.

How did Magistrate Shao die?

The announcement says it's a sudden death caused by

excessive drinking.

It's probably not true.

Prince Fu ordered to kill him.

Not only Shao Yiheng,

but all the officials in Nandu

have been replaced by Prince Fu's men.

You're right.

It's indeed Prince Fu's rebellion.

But I've joined forces with Yun Xiang

in the hope of ending this turmoil.

Otherwise, there'll be endless misery inflicted by war.

Where is Yun now?

He's with Prince Fu,

trying to find out his plans for the rebellion

and biding his time before we can work more closely together.

In that case, isn't Yun...

In great danger.

My lord,

we can't stay in the city for long.

Mr. Su,

as this is urgent, I'll be frank.

If you accept Xu Qingwen's offer and participate in the rebellion,

you'll most certainly die. So now...

I'm giving you a chance to survive.

I'm the young master of Lingyuan.

How can you order me around?

Are you really not going?

I didn't kill Zhong Beidou alone.

Young Master Kou,

we're just passing the message.

Why make things difficult for us?

You saw it.

Although I wounded Zhong Beidou,

it wan't fatal.

Besides,

Xu Lang joined in as well.

His Highness checked it himself.

The stab you delivered was the fatal one.

Yuntai's martial arts master died for nothing.

If we ignore this,

I'm afraid it'll disappoint our sect members.

Yun, what do you think?

I'll abide by Master's decision.

Lingyuan has been slow

to decide on joining forces.

What does Madam Kou intend to do?

I...

I tried to persuade her many times.

Young Master Kou,

what else can we do to help you

besides waiting?

In that case,

we'll do everything we can

and use more bargaining chips.

You only need Madam Kou's seal

to have the branches at your disposal.

I'll just steal it.

W-Why are you laughing?

Your Highness,

I'm truly willing to join forces.

I'm not the one who's trying to stall it.

Why take it out on me?

It's easy for you to steal the seal.

But won't Yuntai be accused of instigating you?

Even that won't work?

Are you expecting me to usurp the position of Sect Master?

Young Sect Master Kou...

is indeed decisive.

I...

Let me see who's there!

Go away!

Kang Qiao and Mr. Zhong have just died,

and you're having a good time here?

Mr. Mo, you are drunk.

Go away!

You've really grasped the essence of Yuntai.

No love or hatred.

What a walking corpse!

Mo Bufan,

why are you doing this anyway?

Who do you think you are?

This is Yuntai's headquarters!

What right do you have to sit here?

Master ordered you to take charge of Yuezhou.

You turned your nose up at that barren place

and insisted on coming to Nandu.

And what a mess you've made of Nandu.

If I had known it would come to this,

I would have reported it truthfully!

Mo Bufan,

you're drunk.

Right.

You're right.

What difference would it have made?

Because you lot

were already colluding

in playing this shady big game.

But you kept the two of us in the dark!

-Mr. Mo, let me take you back to rest. -Get lost!

Stay away from me.

Don't dirty me.

What sacred place is this?

You are all crooks!

Prince Fu,

you seriously want to usurp the throne?

It's such a shame that despite all your schemes,

you fail to see the fact

that these people around you

all have their own intentions.

Him?

How can he be willing to play second fiddle?

Him?

You think he's a good one?

Do you know how close he is

with the imperial guards?

He can take your life in a flash.

Let go of me!

You're seemingly in agreement, but actually at odds.

And you want to do big things?

Young Master Kou.

Stop making me wait.

[To perch on bamboo]

Joining forces concerns the lives

of tens of thousands of members of Lingyuan.

I have to be very cautious.

I'll trust you this time.

Mother, you've finally...

Why are you giving the seal to her?

What has she done for the sect in all these years?

She's done better than you

to have not made things worse.

Have you really made up your mind?

How many chances have I given you?

You're just not cut out for it.

Get out.

I have things to discuss with your sister.

Get out!

Yuanjie is becoming increasingly irritable.

It might be better not to provoke him.

I deserve it.

Lianyi,

go to Yun Xiang

and tell him what we have just discussed.

OK.

How is Mo Bufan?

Mr. Mo?

Get lost!

Get lost!

Mr. Mo, it's Yun Xiang.

I'll kill you if you come in!

My mother has agreed to dispatch Lingyuan's branches

according to your plan.

I think we're halfway there.

I heard that the Yuntai members who were trying to escape

are now locked up in the dungeon.

Will Prince Fu let Mr. Mo off?

It's impossible.

Mr. Mo is now hell-bent on killing himself.

But I'm going to save him, come what may.

I have an idea.

Very good.

This way

I'll be able to get Mr. Mo out of the headquarters

under the pretext of taking him back to his hometown.

It will also help me solve a big problem.

What problem?

I've actually always wondered

how they deployed the pirates.

As things stand,

I'll have to use Nangong Fang,

for only he can get in touch with Master Guan.

You want to do the same with Nangong Fang

and get him out as well?

That's right.

But to use Nangong Fang,

I'll need your help.

As usual,

just trust me.

Why does this feel so familiar?

From start to finish, you give the orders,

and I carry them out.

I miss this feeling so much.

Does this feel familiar?

Get lost!

Don't be rude.

Let him through.

Judging from the look on your face,

you didn't reach an agreement with Madam Kou, did you?

Why don't you sit down and go into detail?

Is Prince Fu going to keep his word?

Which word are you talking about?

I'll command Lingyuan.

Congratulations, Master Kou.

You've finally made up your mind.

Advisor Xu must have come on Prince Fu's order,

asking you to stock up on army provisions, cloth and minerals.

But what did Lord Liu ask you to do?

He asked me to pretend to help Xu Qingwen

and stock up on military supplies,

but then destroy them all

and leave Prince Fu with an empty city.

We have no choice.

My family has been a royal supplier for over a century

by the grace of His Majesty.

We won't help Prince Fu stage a revolt.

Nor will I sit by and watch this place

become a living hell.

Why...

Why does all this feel so unreal?

Indeed.

Lord Liu also said

that Yun told him

not to get my family involved

for any reason.

But how can I stay out of it,

holding a candle to the devil

and watching the people of Nandu suffer from war?

If we follow Lord Liu's plan,

what are our chances of saving Mr. Yun?

We lost everything and were able to start all over again.

But now we're going against Prince Fu.

I'm afraid we'll end up losing our lives.

Xu Qingwen told you

that Dafeng Bank's 400,000 taels of silver is at your disposal?

If we're to cut off Prince Fu's retreat,

we'll have to buy all the goods in Nandu?

That's right.

We'll have to leave absolutely nothing

so as to defeat him completely.

Four hundred thousand taels won't be enough.

Maybe you'll even lose your…

We have never betted like this before.

Since it's a bet,

the result is uncertain.

Follow your heart.

I'm so lucky

to have you.

What are you

going to do with this wine?

It's poisoned.

There are 4 people in the dungeon,

but there are 5 cups.

What you've said to me since your return,

to what extent is it true, or false?

It's as true as it's false.

To what extent was what Mo Bufan said true, or false?

I think

you know it better than me, Master.

It's a good thing

you didn't give Liu Gongquan the location of our headquarters.

Otherwise he would have been ambushed and killed.

Yuntai gave me a second chance at life.

I will never betray the sect.

I'm going to Yangzhou tomorrow to reorganize the troops.

Are you going with me?

Yangzhou and Nandu are both important cities.

I wonder what we're going do about Nandu.

I'm leaving the headquarters soon.

I shall not leave any chance

for those who've betrayed me to exploit.

Come in.

You must have guessed

who this is for.

You two are close.

Bid him farewell.

[Prince Fu]

There you are.

This is "Flower of Death."

Flower of Death?

One will look pale and bleed after drinking it.

This here will make you look dead,

and it will last for 3 days.

I'll find a way to get you out then.

Will I look as if I've taken Flower of Death?

Just drink it.

I'll take care of the rest.

You always think you're smarter than anyone else.

Yun Xiang,

it's cold in here.

Warm it for me.

Would you like a green plum in it?

Sure.

Not a bad mood for someone whose life is at stake.

Mr. Mo!

Why do you have to do this?

You fool.

Master is testing you.

If you make any mistake,

you'll die.

I'll keep Kang Qiao company.

I've finally tricked you once.

Why do you have to do this?

It's the last thing I can do for you.

Hang in there.

You're not like them.

You, Luo Wenjia, will follow the way of Yuntai.

I'm off.

Don't cry.

Your Highness,

Mo Bufan is dead.

Looks like

Yun Xiang is someone we can trust.

What can I do for you?

I have something important to discuss with you.

And you must come alone.

Please.

You brought me here

to talk about joining forces, right?

Lingyuan and Yuntai have the same root,

but we've also been apart for over a century.

If we can help

bring the two sects together,

maybe we'll realize this old ambition of our ancestors'.

This wasn't necessary.

Madam Kou has already agreed to join forces.

I had a whole speech prepared.

But that's great to hear.

We'll drink to the alliance then.

Actually,

joining forces isn't the most important thing to me.

Of course not.

It's only a beginning.

How can someone as ambitious as you

be happy to keep playing second fiddle to Prince Fu?

Please don't make fun of me.

But it's true that there is something

that's been bothering me.

I wonder what it is about Yun Xiang,

my fellow disciple,

that makes Master favor him.

And it's not just Master,

but even you favor him, don't you?

What do you want?

Back when I was begging you to marry me,

you chose to leave Lingyuan

just to turn me down.

I haven't been able to get over it.

You're helping me take over the position of Sect Master.

I should return the favor.

Let me help you with what's between you

and my sister.

Heart Devouring Powder?

Why don't we get intimate today

to celebrate the alliance?

Don't you dare!

I'm actually not that interested in you.

What really interests me is,

when Yun Xiang learns that you've become my woman

and have been under me,

how is he going to feel about it?