Original subtitles

♪Who gazes at the stars in the sky?♪

♪Heading towards the shore in a broken boat♪

♪This time, I'll hold onto fate and never give in♪

♪Family bonds are hard to maintain♪

♪Who will take me to the fearless dream?♪

♪As the wind and rain come and fade♪

♪A lone sail sways♪

♪A flower blooms alone amidst the thorns♪

♪Its petals are pierced by thorns♪

♪Yet it turned into a pair of wings flying against the wind♪

♪Everything grows through the heart♪

♪Even if dreams are lost♪

♪Smoothing out the surging waves♪

♪Breaking through the tumultuous sounds of the heart♪

♪Having the courage to resist♪

♪Embracing the chant of destiny♪

♪Only love brings light♪

♪Only love embraces the thorns♪

♪Everything grows through the heart♪

♪Having the courage to resist♪

♪Embracing the chant of destiny♪

[Blossoms in Adversity] ♪Only love brings light♪

[Adapted from the novel of the same name on cmread.com]

[Episode 37]

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Are you not afraid?

Since I dared to divulge the will of heaven,

I knew

I would die for that one day.

What's there to fear?

No one wishes to die.

What is it that you desire?

What I want

doesn't matter.

Your Majesty, what you want

is the most important thing

in this world.

I am willing to lay down my life

and be at Your Majesty's service.

Those skills of yours,

whether real or not,

can now be put to use.

Young Lord, please return.

I was the one who escorted Haoyue into the Palace.

When His Majesty finished questioning her,

I'll have to take her back myself.

Just now, His Majesty has decreed

to appoint Miss Haoyue as Dubhe Envoy

and keep her in the Astronomy Institute in the Forbidden Palace.

How could this be?

Commander,

do you regret

bringing me back to the Imperial Capital alive?

What have you done to His Majesty?

His Majesty is the revered sovereign,

the Son of Heaven.

What could I possibly do to him?

I just

made a favorable deal

with him.

Sir, may I ask

where the Astronomy Institute is?

I will take you there immediately.

You're no longer a boy.

Why are you still so impatient?

Your Majesty,

Haoyue has caused the death

of more than just one or two people.

If she obtains

the title of Dubhe Envoy,

people will believe in her even more deeply.

Yanxi,

were you trying to

counsel the Emperor of Daqing

or just your uncle?

Uncle,

both publicly and privately,

you should let me investigate her thoroughly

before taking any action.

On your way back to the Capital,

you must have seen the situation

of the farmlands along the way.

The land has been suffering from a long drought, with no harvest.

If this continues,

it will lead to widespread panic

and then to an uprising.

So in your opinion, how should it be resolved?

I don't know.

[Astronomy Institute]

Yanxi,

I'm old,

but not muddled.

Such swindlers who talk

bewitching nonsense to deceive the public,

I've seen too many.

Then why did you...?

Why did I reward her instead of killing her?

Because killing her doesn't sound

like a profitable deal.

Starting from today,

Dubhe Envoy will go out of the city

to pray for rain for Daqing every day.

If she's lucky enough

to truly bring rain,

people will believe

she is an envoy from the immortal world with great powers.

And this envoy

is sent by the Imperial Court.

If after some time,

[Astronomy Institute] she fails to bring rain,

it will surely incite public outrage.

Then I will kill her.

At that time, her blood will be like a timely rain,

extinguishing the anger

and resentment in people's hearts.

I heard

Sun indulges in pleasure all day

and has been buying concubines

one after another.

Qin isn't trying to stop him at all.

Ergui is worried sick

and distraught all day long.

As the young second wife of that man,

what could she do anyway?

But if this continues,

things will only get worse.

Even the strongest man

could be worn down eventually.

It seems that recently

Sun has fallen ill several times.

Qin really shouldn't have married him.

Let alone you and I,

even Jin'e and Zhi

couldn't dissuade her.

Speaking of whom,

Zhi has been gone for quite a while.

Why hasn't there been any news from her?

Madam Zhu.

In Jinyang, there're Rong

and Mr. Jiang looking after her.

You can be at ease.

Yes.

Madam, Lady Zhi has returned!

She's almost at the door.

Really?

That girl!

How come she didn't inform us in advance?

Let's go!

Go tell Jin'e and the others.

Sure.

[Hua Mansion]

Why hasn't she arrived yet?

I wonder

if my Rong has written me a letter or not.

Look how happy you are.

Since your daughter is married off,

things are just not the same now.

Zhi!

She's here!

Zhi!

What is that?

What... what?

Rong.

My Rong.

Rong.

Rong.

My Rong.

Didn't you tell me

that if things didn't go well,

you would just get a mutual divorce

and come home?

How could you lie to me?

How could you?

You are gone.

How am I supposed to live?

Don't talk of death in front of Rong.

How can she rest in peace

with you acting this way?

Rong!

Those animals from the Jiang Family.

Rong was

such a good child.

How could they

be heartless enough to harm her?

The father and son from the Jiang Family

will be suffering

even after death!

Poor Rong

and her unborn baby.

I hope

that the baby

will reincarnate into our family

so that she can be with us

for a lifetime.

Rong.

[Hua Mansion]

Hurry up.

Let's go.

Hurry!

That's right.

His Majesty is going to pray for rain!

Hurry, hurry!

What are they off to do?

My Lady, you might not know

that these past few days,

His Majesty personally appointed a Dubhe Envoy.

It's said that she can control the weather.

Every few days,

she'll go out of the city to pray for rain.

It's also said

that she is graceful and beautiful.

Every time she goes out,

people follow in flocks

to watch her praying for rain.

Ascend the altar to pray for rain?

God of the Rain?

Wait for me. I'll go and have a look.

Sure.

Wait for me!

She's here!

Hurry, hurry!

- Hurry! - Hurry!

Hurry, what are you dawdling for?

Yeah!

There'll be no seats left!

I wonder if it'll work or not.

It's getting dark, isn't it?

Indeed.

It's getting dark!

Looks like it's going to rain!

May heaven bless us!

Why don't you bow?

I'm waiting to see your downfall.

Miss Hua,

you really don't know what's good for you.

This person is disrupting the ritual.

Take her away!

Yes.

The sky was already clouded today.

Sadly, there was an unruly citizen who spoke rudely

and disrupted the ritual.

Thus, the effort was in vain.

Who was this bold person?

She's nothing

but a merchant girl.

She's not Hua Zhi, is she?

Your Majesty, you are so wise.

You even know this girl's name

so clearly.

Where is she now?

She's tied up outside the Palace.

I was going to report to Your Majesty

before taking action.

You don't have to do anything.

Changqing,

bring her in.

Yes.

Commander,

Miss Hua has been taken by His Majesty

and brought to the Palace.

Long time no see.

You've become even more reckless than before.

Why did you disrupt the rain-praying ritual?

Not speaking?

Fine.

Then go to the Dubhe Envoy

and wait for your punishment.

Stop right there.

Even the granddaughter of Hua Yizheng

is too scared to speak now.

I really want to know

what made you change your ways.

Was it your grandfather's example,

or those women and children in your family?

Or, was it my nephew?

It's not that I am bold.

Your Majesty, it's because you're too cowardly.

Very good.

Now that you've spoken up,

let's make things clear.

Young Lord,

please stop.

Changqing,

is Hua Zhi in there?

His Majesty is in there

talking to her.

If you break in rashly,

I'm afraid things will be even worse.

Your Majesty, as the ruler of the empire,

you dare not to face the suffering of people

but dare to resort to sorcery.

You can't see the lands of barren

but can accept someone deluding the masses.

Hua Zhi,

do you think

that you are more capable than everyone else?

Do you think

that what you understand,

others do not,

and what you know,

others don't?

Do you consider yourself

the only smart person in the world?

I wouldn't dare to think that way.

It's just that someone

turned a blind eye and is deaf to the cries.

I wouldn't dare to lie to you.

Since you have asked,

I will withhold nothing.

That sounds so familiar.

Your grandfather once

said the same to me.

You're far too self-righteous.

Do you think that all these years,

your actions and thoughts

have gone unnoticed?

You started a business, gathering wealth.

The hidden money chambers in your home

is for

that redemption law, isn't it?

You want to redeem your grandfather

and the other men of your family

from the north,

don't you?

Don't bother trying.

I will issue a decree right now.

The males of the Hua Family shall never be pardoned.

[Chenglu Palace]

Hua Zhi.

They said

that Lady Zhi was

disrespectful to Dubhe Envoy.

That's why she was taken away.

Many people witnessed it.

But now we do not know

where she is.

How are we going to save her?

We need to prepare a big sum of money.

There will be places to spend it for sure.

And,

Mr. Yan.

We need to go to Mr. Yan!

Why go to Mr. Yan?

He's just a master

of martial arts with no one to rely on.

Yingzhen,

you should listen to her this time.

Saving Zhi is the most important thing.

Zhi is back.

- She's back. - She's back!

Zhi!

You...

What happened to you?

Zhi?

Zhi!

What's wrong?

Zhi!

Be careful!

Hua Zhi!

Leave me alone!

Let me go!

It's all your fault!

It's all your fault!

Why did I have to meet you?

Let me go!

Calm down a bit!

They're not coming back!

Do you know that?

They're not coming back!

Hua Zhi!

Zhi!

- Zhi! - Zhi!

- Zhi! - Zhi!

Zhi, what happened?

Wake up, Zhi!

The imperial decree has arrived!

Hurry out to receive the decree with gratitude.

Hua Zhi, the eldest granddaughter of the Hua Family,

where is she?

Kneel and listen to the decree.

My daughter isn't feeling well.

I, her birth mother, will listen to the decree on her behalf.

This is against the rule.

I beseech you to show mercy.

We do not intend to offend,

but Zhi truly cannot get up now.

If she cannot get up,

then I'll have to trouble you

to carry her out

and put her on the ground.

The imperial decree is more important than everything else.

What is all this noise about?

Young Lord,

how come you're here?

Please forgive me!

I only knew that he was not an ordinary man.

Who would have known he was the young lord?

Does this mean Zhi is going to be fine?

Since you recognize me,

why haven't you announced the decree yet?

Yes, yes.

Let's kneel.

Since the beginning of our dynasty, the canal has been silted up.

It's been difficult to irrigate fields, causing the people to be homeless.

I am always in pain over this.

The commoner girl, Hua Zhi,

has volunteered to sacrifice her family's wealth to help.

She is to carry out the work of dredging

to redeem her family's sin

and to repay the kindness of the Emperor.

Today, by special grace, Hua Zhi is permitted

to gather enough funds within ten days

for recruiting labor.

That is all.

This...this... His Majesty...

What does His Majesty mean by this?

It seems you don't know about this yet.

Miss Hua

spoke eloquently before His Majesty

and described the drought situation.

His Majesty was quite appreciative

and thus gave Miss Hua

this opportunity.

She can sacrifice her own family for the greater good

by donating the Hua Family's accumulated wealth

in its entirety.

This money will be used to dredge the canals

in the three provinces near the Imperial Capital,

to relieve the drought.

Madam,

accept the decree.

Accept it.

Alright.

But His Majesty has also said

that since Miss Hua

volunteered to do this,

if she changed her mind,

she can withdraw the donation.

If she refuses to donate,

what will happen to her?

Then, Miss Hua

will be considered deceiving and disrespecting His Majesty.

She might not face the death penalty,

but a punishment will be hard to avoid.

What exactly is going on here?

They're asking

for the lifesaving money

of our entire family!

Madams,

His Majesty has issued a decree

that the men of the Hua Family

will never be pardoned.

Redeeming them with money

is no longer possible for your family.

So,

they...

They can't come home anymore?

His Majesty, he...

He won't let us redeem our people?

My Boyu.

My Boyu!

Why is this happening?

What exactly

have we done to offend His Majesty?

Please, tell us!

No wonder.

No wonder Zhi couldn't stand it.

Tell me,

why did His Majesty go back on his own words?

Tell me!

Why did he?

Madam,

doesn't the Empress Dowager

have some friendship with our family?

Why don't we think of a way

to beg her?

Mr. Yan...

No.

Lord Yan.

Aren't you the young lord?

You are certainly able to see His Majesty,

Right?

You can see him,

right?

Can you see him?

Lord Yan!

Stop.

That old man did it on purpose.

Now I'm afraid

that no one can make him change his mind.

Not too early, not too late.

He waited until we almost

made enough money through hard work

and then issued this decree to ruin it for us completely.

He must be laughing in the Palace now.

He just wants to laugh

at seeing our whole family cry together.

If you want to cry, just cry it out.

That His Majesty or whatever

is really hateful.

Zhi's life has been so difficult.

It's all because of him.

The whole family is so upset.

It's also because of him.

Why doesn't he come to me for medicine?

I would make him

the bitterest medicine.

I would have him drink it

and never wake up again!

You can't say such things!

Why not?

Don't his actions invite comment?

I would just make that kind...

Let me help you!

[Imperial Decree]

You're awake.

Shaoyao is brewing medicine for you.

But before you drink it,

you should eat something.

Otherwise, it may hurt your stomach.

Shaoyao also said

that the medicine is very bitter.

So I sent Shen Huan

to buy you some sweets.

In the ultimate heaven,

there're five stars.

Yanxi,

I've finally climbed up

to pick that star,

which is the hardest to reach.

But suddenly, the star disappeared.

What should I do?

One single sentence from him

made everyone's efforts

turn into nothing.

If I donate the money,

how will my family survive?

But if you don't,

you will be punished.

So what?

As we've said before,

if you have wings,

you might as well fly away.

Now I can be your wings.

Let's leave the Imperial Capital together.

Do you know

that you've just betrayed the one you have been loyal to?

We both should

make the choice once more.

When you asked me before,

I said we could decide by flipping a coin.

Do you need a coin this time?

This time,

I know how to choose.

Zhi!

- Zhi. - You're awake!

Why did you get up?

Your face is so pale.

Quickly, sit down.

Come on.

The deadline given by His Majesty

is ten days away.

We don't have much time left.

Miss Zhi,

is there a solution?

Actually, we still have a place to go to.

The northern land.

They're not coming back,

but we can go there.

Right now, we have more than twenty million qian.

That's enough for our whole family to live out our days in peace.

This New Year's Eve,

our entire family will reunite in the northern land.

Then...

Are we going to ignore that decree?

If you run away,

you'll be considered deceiving the Emperor!

Mother, rest assured.

I have been to the northern land.

The land is sealed in ice

with countless mountain ranges.

He won't be able to find me.

Besides,

Yanxi will stay by my side

and protect me.

This is why we say Zhi is clever.

How come

we never thought of that?

I'm going to the northern land to see Boyu!

But life is hard in there.

Once we go there, we may not be able to return.

So be it.

As long as the family can be together.

What does it matter if we don't come back?

Last time when Zhi came back,

she talked about the apricots

and mutton in the northern land.

I've been wanting to try them since then.

The apricots are delicious!

Mother,

let's go there as soon as possible!

Mother,

I'm willing to go too.

Let's all go, all of us.

So this time, should we

prepare some more winter clothes?

There's no time to make them.

Hurry and pack up. We'll set off immediately.

Aunt Wu,

do you remember

the letter Uncle Pingyang wrote you last time?

He said the view in the northern land is so magnificent.

And while working,

he often sings songs of the northern land.

Perhaps when you go there,

he could even teach you those songs.

That's enough.

Do you think

that you're the only

smart person

and we are all fools?

If you truly defy the order and refuse to donate,

by the time we arrive in the northern land

there will be prison carts

waiting for you.

Yeah!

You said the land is sealed in ice

with countless mountain ranges.

But if one could truly hide there,

all those men in the prisoner camp

would have run away already, wouldn't they?

Zhi,

is it true?

Zhi,

from the beginning,

you never planned

to go with us,

right?

The holder of this seal

has the right to lead this family.

Most of you are my elders.

But you still need to follow my words.

There are forty-three chests of copper coins in the house.

Madam Xia will convert those into gold bars

and distribute them among the family.

And you will leave immediately.

Defying my words, defying family rules.

The forty-three chests of money,

who earned it?

Who earned it? Tell me!

Zhi,

that money

was not earned by this family seal

or by you alone.

She's right, my lady.

I'm not taking your side this time.

Although we are only maids,

we have truly put in effort too.

About how to spend this money,

you should be asking

about our thoughts too, shouldn't you?

Yingchun is right.

About whether we should spend the money

on maintaining the wealthy life of the family

or on ensuring your safety,

it's up to everyone.

If we follow the decree,

we'll lose all our hard-earned money

and all our efforts will be in vain!

We might even lose

this old house too.

Say no more.

Yingchun, go fetch some paper and brushes.

Yes.

Let's all just

state our opinions.

If you're willing to donate,

draw a circle on the paper.

If not,

then draw nothing.

Nianqiu,

go get Mr. Yan

and let him be the witness.

Yes.

If we do not donate the money,

we'll be able to live a good life

in the northern land.

And if we donate the money,

it'll be like the time when our properties were confiscated.

We'll have nothing left.

Are you afraid?

I've heard

repairing the canal requires hiring laborers

to build embankments.

That will cost a huge sum of money.

Indeed.

Those forty-three chests

may not be enough.

Even the mansion might have to be sold.

Stop doing the math.

The blockage in the canal

cannot be cleared in a day.

For embankment construction and dredging,

even if my family were to spend all its wealth,

it wouldn't be enough still.

You've known this all along,

so you told me not to do the math,

right?

When it comes to math,

how could I match you?

It's just that

I understand His Majesty to some extent.

If the Hua Family doesn't go bankrupt completely,

he won't give up.

They all want to save me.

But in reality, whatever we do,

there's no way out.

But this time, when you sail the ship,

you'll have the captain, the boatmen,

the passengers who brave the storms with you,

and me.

Where are you going?

Wait for me.

Sorry to have kept you waiting.

- This way, please. - Sorry to have kept you waiting.

Alright.

Gentlemen,

have you heard

that Miss Hua from Zhiming Restaurant

is selling off her share?

The price is very low.

Seems like she's in urgent need of money.

Her business

has been running well recently.

Why the rush to sell it?

To be honest,

I did hear some news.

A few days ago, messengers from the Palace

went straight to the Hua Family.

I heard His Majesty commanded the Hua Family

to finance the canal repair!

Mr. Li is right.

Lady Zhi is in urgent need of money

because she has accepted

the imperial decree to repair the river channels.

This...

How could she possibly manage that?

This year's severe drought

has left the canal dry.

The farmland can't be irrigated,

nor can food be transported in.

Dredging the river channels will cost a fortune.

This money,

His Majesty decided to get it from the Hua Family.

So Miss Hua is selling her business

just to donate it away?

In three days,

if we can't raise enough money,

Lady Zhi will not survive.

I am willing to

sell the other half of Zhiming Restaurant

and give all the proceeds to Lady Zhi.

Please, my fellowmen, help us.

Everyone,

only in times of peace,

people can have some spare money to spend in restaurants

and support our businesses.

Now, half of Daqing

is suffering from natural disasters.

Who can remain unaffected?

Miss Hua is donating her fortune to repair the canal.

And I, Zhu, surely won't be the kind

standing by and watching.

I'll say no more.

Please

take me to Miss Hua.

I am willing to help.

Thank you, Mr. Zhu.

Earlier, thanks to her,

I invested in the cargo ship

and made some money out of it.

If Miss Hua doesn't mind,

I'll take out that part of the money

and donate it.

Alright, alright.

Let us

go to the Hua Mansion and talk to her!

- Thank you! - Thank you all!

Then let's go.

This way.

After you.

Miss Hua!

Miss Hua.

She's here.

Miss Hua.

We know you're busy,

so we'll make it short.

You are the first employer

who treats us as human beings.

Indeed!

We've pooled together some money.

Please consider it our appreciation to you.

I can't take this.

Miss Hua,

thanks to you,

all of us

had a prosperous year last year.

[Hua Mansion]

We farmers

don't have much to offer.

The peaches in the orchard aren't fully ripe yet.

We talked about it

and decided

to pre-sell them.

This is a small amount of money.

Miss Hua,

please accept it.

Take it, please.

Please!

Miss Hua,

I'm from the Shen Family.

Madam Shen sent me here.

Madam Shen? Is she good?

She really wants you to have this.

She said without your help,

the Shen Family would've fallen already.

Madam Lin!

Miss.

Miss.

The haws from these two trees

are the best, the reddest ones!

This is from me.

It'll be alright.

Things will get better.

Zhi,

this haw is delicious.

It's so sweet,

even sweeter than last year's.

This is too much.

It's from Lord Ling's Mansion.

Just take it.

And these

are from the Empress Dowager.

Thank you for being here for me.

But, Hua Zhi,

now I have nothing.

Me too.

Do you even care?

This is the only thing I have left.

You didn't want it before.

Are you willing to put it on now?

♪Not a patch of land is wasted♪

♪No tea plant is left withered♪

♪The sky drops rain, birds eat worms, and chickens leave manure♪

♪Using effort and sweat to water and nourish♪

♪The tea leaves may be rustic♪

♪But the taste is of spring♪

♪Ah, in the early spring, we pick the tea leaves♪

♪Ah, let's enjoy the abundant spring together♪

♪Not a patch of land is wasted♪

♪No tea plant is left withered♪

♪The sky drops rain, birds eat worms, and chickens leave manure♪

♪Using effort and sweat to water and nourish♪

♪The tea leaves may be rustic♪

♪But the taste is of spring♪

♪Ah, in the early spring, we pick the tea leaves♪

♪Ah, let's enjoy the abundant spring together♪

♪Ah, in the early spring, we pick the tea leaves♪

♪Ah, let's enjoy the abundant spring together♪