Original subtitles

♪Who gazes at the starry sky♪

♪Heading towards the shore in a fragile boat♪

♪I'm the master of my own destiny♪

♪My happy family is a thing of the past♪

♪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 were pierced through♪

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

♪Through the heart grows everything♪

♪Even if the dream is wandering♪

♪Smoothing out the surging waves♪

♪Breaking through the heart's tumultuous echoes♪

♪Having the courage to resist♪

♪ Embracing the chant of destiny♪

♪Only love brings light♪

♪Only love embraces the thorns♪

♪Through the heart grows everything♪

♪Having the courage to resist♪

♪Embracing the chant of destiny♪

[Blossoms in Adversity] ♪Only love brings light♪

[Adapted from a novel with the same title in MIGU]

[Episode 7]

Father, enough beating?

Why?

I have made a promise,

and I will keep it.

Stop right there.

You disloyal and unfilial kid.

In my eyes,

Master Hua was showing loyalty

speaking bluntly in the Court.

You serve as an official at the Court, just like Minister Hua.

You are now calling me disloyal and unfilial?

So father, I also wonder

on what grounds do you serve as an official?

And on what grounds do you act as a man?

You...

I must beat you to death today.

Father.

Father.

Enough.

He is the only hope in our family

that can be the top of the imperial examination.

Stay out of this.

Father.

You can't beat him anymore.

That Shen Qi kid.

Will he come or not?

What are we going to do?

We won't make it there if we don't set off now.

Grandma.

We can't wait for him.

Otherwise, we won't make it.

But how are we supposed to go there

without Shen Qi?

Zhong's leg has just recovered a little.

He still can't walk.

Who's going to drive the carriage?

Yes, this...

I'll drive.

Zhi.

When did you learn to drive a carriage?

I didn't.

But it doesn't hurt if I try.

I used to travel around all over

with my Grandfather.

I was always in a carriage.

Every time Mr. Zhong drove,

I was always watching by his side.

I believe I can handle a carriage.

Try it and we will find out.

Just get the horse running.

Can you really?

It's just that the carriage now

is loaded with a lot of stuff.

It probably can't fit anyone else.

I'll have to go by myself.

Be careful on the way there.

If that's not enough time,

don't push yourself too hard.

I'll do my best.

Miss.

These coats are too light.

Someone needs to weigh down the carriage,

so they won't fall off.

Aren't you smart?

Let's go.

Stop staring.

No one will show up in the middle of nowhere.

Wait, someone's coming.

Thank god I made it.

Are you from the Hua Family?

Please accept it.

I would like to have a few word to my family.

Alright.

People showed up here?

That was the first time.

It's very brave of you

to come here.

Go on.

What are you doing here?

Where are the others?

What about Zhong, the coachman?

His leg is injured.

It's a bumpy ride.

So I came here alone.

Grandfather.

The Northern Land is not as warm as the south.

I brought some heavy clothes.

Zhi, heads up.

Look at me.

Grandfather.

I haven't shed a tear

since what happened.

I know.

My Zhi girl

is a very brave

and strong girl.

Don't worry about us.

We have any necessities we need now

and also a place to live.

Everyone is doing well.

Good.

I am relieved.

Father.

How's Bolin doing?

The things we brought you

are enough of each one of you.

Please take these clothes

to everyone.

I will take care of the family.

Who is that girl?

The granddaughter of Hua Yizheng.

The one who had a pre-agreed marriage engagement

with Shen Qi.

His granddaughter?

I'm sure she's more interesting than that old guy.

It fits perfectly.

Boyu.

Your mother brought you shoes.

Come on, I'll put them on for you.

I miss my mom so much.

I miss her.

Boyu.

Your mom misses you too.

But now you

are a little man.

If she knew you were crying,

she would be worried.

Zhi.

How do I look?

Aunt Wu sew it with her hands.

Cherish it.

No wonder.

Look at the crooked stitches.

Her unique stitching way.

Aunt Wu, she is...

What about her?

She wanted to come.

But the carriage only fits one person.

It's better she didn’t come.

I don't want her see me

like this.

After you go back,

you need to

tell her I'm doing great.

You can say

I

look good,

think positively,

and also have a good appetite.

I have prepared for anything that might happen

on the long long journey heading north.

I'm crying

because of this sour fruit.

Uncle Pingyang, have a seat.

Zhi.

Remember this.

Up behind the hill of the Qingya Academy,

there are two large Chinese scholar trees,

I planted them at the year you were born,

when I was still a student

studying there.

When you go back,

don't forget to water them often,

and loosen the soil.

I got this.

Uncle Pingyang,

which department is hanling the case?

The Security Bureau?

Prince Xian, Gu Yangong, the supervisor of the Ministry of Justice.

After the Security Bureau confiscated our property,

we fell into the hands of Prince Xian.

That arsehole.

Drink?

I have never drunk any alcohol in my life,

but I must drink this bowl of wine.

Gentlemen.

Cheers to our last best day.

Finished?

Time to go.

It's a journey of thousands of miles.

How long are you gonna sit here?

Don't worry.

I will take care of everything at home.

I will take care of

every single one of them.

Grandfather, do you have anything

that you want me to do for you?

I will certainly do it.

Grandfather

just hope

that you can be happy and content

in your future.

Come on.

Let's go.

What are those Security Bureau Guards

here for?

This case has been transferred to

my Ministry of Justice long ago.

The one who is walking faster

is the commander of the Security Bureau.

What do you want?

Drag her away.

Yes, sir.

Don’t you dare touch her!

You are here for me, aren't you?

That's right.

I’d like a word with you, Minister Hua.

Zhi, go, I'll be fine.

A new commander.

He must be here to nitpick.

Ever since the first day of Daqing Nation established,

only crown princes could lead the Ministry of Justice,

and I am the only prince.

So I don't know what His Majesty want from me

by giving me this position.

Let's leave.

Let's go and see

how he's gonna nitpick about my work.

Sir, what brings you here?

Minister Hua, do you still remember

that fire at Prince Ling's Mansion

on the Lantern Festival Day?

What if I do remember?

When you came to offer condolences,

a kid around seven years old

was with you back then.

Is that your descendant or servant?.

Why ask now?

It concerns an old case.

It's a long time ago and I was a busy man.

I have been running around everywhere these years

and child servants came and went.

They're scattered all over the world.

I truly can't recall.

Which one are you talking about?

Could you please think it over again?

If you're hiding something on purpose,

that would be interesting.

Sir.

Send regards to Prince Xian.

Since I'm in charge of this case now,

so I thought I could come take a look.

I did not expect to find you here as well.

It's truly a coincidence.

I've heard you are dedicated to your job.

And they are not wrong.

Since I've received His Majesty's grace,

I must be responsible for my job no matter when.

I dare not let down the Emperor.

Have these criminal

ever offended you?

How come you come here in person?

Criminals are leaving the city,

it's just a routine search.

Chen Qing.

Search them.

Yes.

You might not be aware of this.

Before they are leaving the city,

His Highness had already

ordered a thorough search.

Look at that attitude.

I must embarrass you today.

I have matters to attend to.

Please proceed as you wish, sir.

They're pitching against each other.

But don't drag my family into this.

Sir.

I found something.

Silver.

Here, too.

Please forgive us, Your Highness.

We didn't do a good job. Please punish us.

This is your definition

of a thorough search.

What's going on?

Control them!

Yes.

Miss.

I was the one who brought these heavy clothes.

They didn't know any of that.

I am guilty indeed.

I won't lie.

You heard that, sir?

I am impressed.

If this case,

the misunderstanding today

is kind of a good story that people would like to know.

Do whatever you have to, Your Highness.

Your Highness.

What do we do with her?

She's just a little woman.

Don't you know how to handle a woman?

I see.

Take this rebellious back to the government office.

Beat her 10 times with the stick.

And release her.

Will do.

No.

You can't do this.

This silver is mine.

Don't take her away.

Let her go.

Let her go.

-Miss. -Zhi.

-Miss. -Zhi.

-Let her go. -Miss.

Zhi.

Let her go.

Hold on.

Three thousand li to the north

is governed by His Majesty.

But you found her guilty because of me.

Today,

I entrust these men

with you.

If anything happened to any of them on the way,

you won't live another day.

Yes.

Go.

Hurry up.

Move. hurry up.

Hurry up.

Move.

Sir.

Go back to the Bureau now?

I have to go somewhere else.

Miss.

Father.

If Zhi didn't

stepped up

and said it was her doing.

I'm afraid

my brothers wouldn't have survived after the torture.

But I assume

they won't go too harsh on her.

Prince Xian must want to downplay the incident

and won't let anyone talk about it again.

I'm not worried

about what she might suffer today.

I worry about her future.

You...

Xie.

Zhi is a smart girl.

Don't worry.

Our family will be fine

under her watch.

I know she's smart.

She is not only smart

and courageous.

She burns the bridge behind her

when she does things.

She's already a smart and decisive young woman.

I only wish that life won't go too harsh on her

in the future.

May she always be lucky,

joyful and content.

Let's go.

We have a long long way ahead pf us.

Zhi is brave.

And we're grown big man, what's to fear?

There are still ten thousand li full of barriers ahead.

What a challenge!

Kuafu is chasing the sun,

he see the place where the sunset is,

so he leaps over the North Sea and climbs over Kunlun Mountains.

He breaks through the clouds, darts towards the sky,

with leaving the stars behind him.

Why are you the only one coming back?

Where’s Zhi?

Those inspectors went here to do a body search.

And somehow,

I saw they found silver

smuggled in the lords' clothes

that the lords were wearing.

Jesus.

Did they frame us on purpose?

We are next to penniless

nowadays,

how come there is extra money?

Madam Xia.

I am not lying.

The inspectors did found silver

on them.

You...

You...

What happened later?

Later

a high-ranking official came,

followed by an old eunuch.

He said he wanted to take the lords

back into custody.

Miss Zhi stepped up

and said they had nothing to do with the silver,

and it was her putting that in the clothes.

Now they have

already left the city.

But...

But Miss...

She was taken away.

My Zhi!

[Qi Jing Office]

It's you.

How bad is she injured?

Is she your wife?

Yes.

Treat her at your best.

I know what to do.

Look at these wounds.

Aren't you husband and wife?

We're engaged but not married yet.

Young people.

After you get married,

there's nothing to be shy about.

Please address the injury, sir.

The wounds look pretty serious,

and that makes her suffer,

but it won't take long to recover.

It's just that

I need to clean up the wounds and apply the medince.

Thank you, sir.

Miss, bear with it a bit.

If the wound isn't cleaned properly,

it will be infected later on.

Don't move.

Sir, please wait.

Thank you.

After you're back home,

take care of your lady.

I was lying

because I was afraid he wouldn't treat you

seeing us walking in like that.

Please forgive me.

I totally understand.

Has the Security Bureau bothered you

after that day?

No.

I thought you had gone back to the North.

I found a job here.

I'm staying.

You've spent a long time in the Northern Land.

Is it boring staying here,

a place with so many rules?

Don't laugh.

The fact is, I felt so suffocating

after the days I came back.

I was restricted about everything.

Just like a caged animal.

And now?

Now, I'm used to it,

I saw you

coming out of the goverment office.

Did you encounter any trouble?

Life is full of hardships,

it seems neither of us is lucky.

If you want to go back,

I can take you part of the way,

consider it a repayment

for your help that day.

No need.

I just want to take a walk in the city.

Then it's perfect, I've been unoccupied lately,

I can walk with you.

You are injured, it's not safe.

Get on the horse,

Cover up your wounds.

[Qingya Academy]

You must have encountered some troubles,

but it was not about the goverment office.

How can you tell?

You’re injured and not going home

but coming to the mountains.

Do you want to end your life?

Nothing big.

I'm just tired,

I can't take it anymore.

If you were on a boat,

which travels on the sea.

The captain

and the boatmen have left,

leaving a bunch of

crying and whining

passengers behind.

It doesn't sound too good.

Isn't that so?

You know, if you also leave,

this boat will surely be swept into the whirlpool.

You want to take charge of the boat,

this bunch of foolish passengers

got you into the goverment office

and suffered from so much pain.

Even if you tell them,

'I have a way, listen to me',

They won't believe you.

If you grow wings,

you might as well fly away.

There's a big world out there,

don't let those trivial things

stop you.

That's actually a good idea.

Are the people on this boat close to you?

We have been on the boat together

for many years,

but everybody only minds their own business.

Aside from my own blood siblings,

we barely talk to the others.

The captain who was closest to me

has already left.

It was him who has been there

managing this ship so hard.

If I abandon the boat,

I couldn't live with that.

But if you take a bold move

and hijack this boat?

That's quite a big boat

with many people on it.

If I were to steer it alone,

I'd probably work myself to death.

But I'm also afraid

that none of them

would understand me.

I shouldn't have asked you.

You were the upset one just now.

And see what happened.

We're both upset because of you.

If you don't know the answer,

toss a coin.

Most problems can just go away easily

if you are rich enough

in this world.

Do you have a knife?

Let me do it.

Wine.

It is Uncle Pingyang's handwriting.

[Hua Mansion]

In the winter of the second year of Chengming.

my eldest brother Pingyu had a daughter.

Her eyes were bright as autumn water.

Her complexion was like jade and snow.

And she started to babble.

She cried when she saw other people except me.

As she grew up,

she often went wherever I went,

like a little puppy following its owner.

I've heard that in the South, when someone has a newborn daughter,

they brew a large batch of wine,

and once it is filtered,

they bury it in a pond,

and never to unearth it again

until the daughter is to be married,

They dig up the earth of the pond,

and take it out to entertain the wedding guests.

The people of the South call it 'daughter wine'.

Zhi is still young,

I have nothing to gift her,

so I saved money

and bought eighteen jars of spring wine brewed in iced stones,

and buried at the northern downhill of Qingya Academy.

I only wish that Zhi grows up

and is always happy

till she marries a good man.

These wines

have been buried for fifteen years now..

It suddenly occured to me that

my family buried some wines here.

So I dug it up and see if they're still here.

That simple?

I want to take these wines with me.

Could you help me?

♪When all the lights were taken from the world♪

♪You are my only shimmering star♪

♪You save me with everything♪

♪Protecting me by my side♪

♪Refusing to give up♪

♪Never give up♪

♪Just to seize♪

♪The light of hope♪

Miss,

these wines

can all pawn for one hundred and seventy strings of cash coins.

Here are seventeen banknotes.

Please keep them well.

Please exchange for another separate two strings of cash coins for me.

Alright.

Why is there still one jar left?

This jar is for you.

A thank-you gift for spending time with me.

Thank you.

And what is this?

You've been a big help

carrying those wines all the way here.

[Yongchang Pawnshop] You just came back here,

it's not easy to make a living.

Just take it.

That's very generous of you.

Stop it.

You also need to

return the carriage back.

What about you?

I’ll head back first.

It's getting late, I can take you home.

Don't bother.

The Hua Mansion has been sealed for days,

now you lose your home,

and let alone you're an injured lady walking on the street with money.

How can you go back alone?

How did you know?

The entire city knows of Minister Hua's conviction.

I knew who you were

when we first met.

Get on the carriage.

There's not a soul here.

The road is bumpy.

If you can't hold on...

Even if there's somebody here,

I don't care.

I'm afraid I'll fall off the carriage going like this.

There's no tree to lean against here,

so I’ll have to lean on your shoulder.

No offense.

These are your dowry wines, aren't they?

You pawned them all.

How will you marry then?

I gave you a whole jar for free,

can you just keep your mouth shut?

Didn't you worry that

I wouldn't have stolen all your wines?

I had no choice.

Only women and kids are left now.

Not one of them is suited for hard labor.

Let alone move a jar of wine,

they can barely dig.a hole.

I wouldn't have let them know anyway

no matter what.

What would happen if they knew?

They love gossips,

so they can't keep a secret.

Besides,

I don't know what they would do

with the money.

It's fine if they don't do anything stupid,

I can't afford to take the fall for them

and go through all this again.

It's so weird.

You're even more reliable

than those people who

have lived with me under one roof for all these years.

Aren't you afraid I might harm you for money?

These wines are worth quite a lot.

Even if I don't ask for your help,

I would hire a few laborers.

And they might not be as dependable as you.

When I came out of the government office,

covered in blood and all.

You were the only one to stop and ask me how I was doing?

It's the first time I've known

that I'm actually a good person.

But I'm also stupid.

You tricked me into doing hard labor.

Actually,

you don't have to rush into a decision,

give yourself and your family

some time.

Sometimes, the closer the people,

the deeper the misunderstandings.

It's like an invisible wall is standing between you.

You can only see how much you love each other

when the wall is torn down.

Why did you say so?

The thing I regret most in my life

is that when I was young,

I distanced myself from my loved ones.

Who was that?

My mother.

This is the second time we met.

I still don’t know your name.

My surname is Yan.

And my first name is Yanxi.

Yanxi.

Thank you for everything you did today.

I'm taking a nap.

We have looked around.

Was she

kidnapped

by some traffickers?

Don't jinx it.

It's still daytime now.

How can a person just disappear?

Maybe we should go to downtown tomorrow

and see if the traffickers knows her.

I'll go right now.

Don't.

Madam Zhu.

Where are you going?

It's getting dark.

Now you know the consequence.

We should not have bothered

to sew the silver into the clothes in the first place.

Jin'e,

What do you mean by that?

We did that

out of good intention.

Earlier, Madam Hua asked you to pool the money together.

I tried so hard.

But I still couldn't

get the money out of your pockets.

Now look what happened.

It all went to those constables.

If we gave that money,

it would have just benefited the petty inspectors,

I see no difference.

Watch your tone,

I'm managing a big family here.

And all you care about is your children.

Jin'e, it’s all my fault.

Miss has returned.

My girl.

Zhi.

Zhi.

Zhi.

Zhi.

Thank god.

You're back unscathed.

I was struck ten times with a stick by the constables,

so it's not even close to unscathed.

You knew why I got punished.

Could mother not know why?

I...

Come on.

Can you just

be honest with me?

No.

If I had told you,

you surely wouldn't have agreed.

She is not smart enough to come up with such a plan.

Aunt Qi.

It was your idea, wasn't it?

Miss Zhi.

You don't have to be that angry.

If you were married,

you would also care deeply for your boys.

You have no idea

what do it mean

to get exiled to the Northern Land.

Once you leave the city and pass the checkpoint,

there're all bandits once you arrive at Kun Mountains.

They would kill you

for a bit of money.

You all thought that money could bring them safety,

but you were putting them in danger.

They confiscated the money anyway.

Yes, you think we're lucky, huh?

I was beaten because of you.

If father and Uncle Pingyuan

fall into the hands of Prince Xian,

they won't survive it.

Don't ever give me

any money

from now on.

Either way, it was my fault.

It was my mistake.

I shouldn't have given you all the money.

Zhi.

If you want to argue about right and wrong,

go argue with the officials.

You can't talk to your mother like that.

Jin'e,

she didn't mean it.

This home is not a place

for reasoning.

I've known it for a long time.

I am tired.

You are injured so bad.

Where do you going?

You could have a good rest.

You...

Sir, you're back.

I smell the aroma of the wine from far away.

You were quite observant.

How could you find that tiny silvers

even though they were sewn into a jacket?

Well.

That means I am born

for this job.

If so,

make the most of your eyes.

An important task for you.

Well...

Thank you, sir.

Starting tomorrow,

you don't need to come here,

just keep an eye for me on the Hua Family.

The Hua Family?

Keep a closer watch.

If something bad happened to them

like what happened to Hua Zhi today,

you're a dead man.

Yes.

One more thing.

Go to the Yongchang Pawnshop.

Tell the shopkeeper that the seventeen jars of wine pawned today

are not for sale. We will buy them back one day.

Yes.

Aunt Wu,

are you willing to leave with me?

We can make a living together.

We should also take Baoxia and the maids with us.

Otherwise, Madam Xia might sell them for money one day.

Why bring this up all of a sudden?

I never make up my mind until now.

I had to concern about upholding the Hua Family's honor.

I had to be a good girl for my Grandfather and my mother.

I had no freedom like a bird losing it wings.

Now I have nothing left.

As long as they consider me

as a young and little girl,

they won't take me seriously.

I'm just a girl that don't talk too much,

even the words of Bolin and Boli

counts moe than me.

I'm almost come of age.

I need to take care of my family.

I see,

you felt wronged.

It's not like that, Aunt Wu.

A person was born alone,

so in the end

you have to find your own path

and live your own life.

If someone shares a journey with you, that would be great.

If not, then part ways.

Life is too short to waste your time.

You always think more

and thorough than I do.

What you say is absolutely right.

Madam Xia said

home is not a place for reasoning.

You just got back.

You had no idea

what was it like today in the house.

Because of you,

Madam Hua was so desparate that

she sent Ms. Su to downtown to pull some strings.

She said

we were already miserable,

but we were still hanging in there.

As adults,

if we can't even protect a kid,

what would that make us?

We can't sacrifice you

just because of

that whole bunch of men.

See?

Aftering hearing this,

you know how important you are

to all of us, right?

Let me tell you one more thing.

The money Ms. Su took to pave the way

was all given by Jin'e.

Most of them

only care about their own kids.

But Jin'e sold her jade beads

even though she didn't want to.

She even cried secretly at night.

She still wanted to save you

with that little money.

I can repay her

for what she have spent on this.

You just don't understand.

This is not a matter of money.

I'm not finished.

Baoxia was back in the early morning.

You know your mother.

She was always taken good care of.

She has no idea

what the outside world is like.

It really shocked me that

she could find her way to the government office.

She asked around about you

even though she was extremely scared.

She was home crying

with her feet all swollen.

She said nobody saw you

since you left the government office.

Mr. Zhong can barely stand still,

but he was looking for you leaning on his cane.

Everyone was worried sick.

They all went out to look for you.

Only I was left at home.

to take care of Madam Hua.

They all went out for me?

What else could it be?

You are one of our family.

We love family.

Madam Xia asked all the maids to go with her.

All these years,

the first thing in the morning for Huilan

to take Boli to his study.

But today,

she didn't care about her own son's studies.

She went to look for you instead.

Concubine Qin was the funny one.

She went to to the temple to do the divination.

She was so eager to find where you were.

She went to the wrong temple.

So Jin'e scolded her.

No one told me these things.

They are all elders.

They think taking care of the young is their responsibility.

If they bragged about it in front of you,

that would be so shameful.

Proud as Jin'e,

she has never apologized to anyone in her whole life.

Well,

I just want you to know,

what you just told me were not wrong.

But as a family,

you can always argue about right and wrong.

They are all women

with no skills to make a livelihood.

But when something bad happens,

you will realize

your family is always be there for you,

and always worry about you.

I understand, Aunt Wu.

I need to think it over.

Where did all these quilts come from?

Just lie down.

No questions.

I don't want them.

Take them away.

Stop.

Could you please listen to me for just one time?

You are injured now,

if you sleep on the straw

and catch a cold,

you won't get better forever.

Zhi.

Just listen to Aunt Xia.

You have to be

more careful

these days.

I can

sleep with Aunt Qi.

It's warmer that way anyway.

Then...

How about Boli?

Boli

can sleep with Bolin.

You're all grown up now,

it's not proper to share a room.

Right.

We can make do

and it's even warmer.

Zhi,

lie down.

You wounds

look so bad.

You need to sleep on something soft.

I'll sleep with the concubines.

It won't be cold.

That's right.

Miss Zhi, don't worry about us.

Just lie down.

When your injury heals,

you can wash the quilt

and give them back to us.

♪Not a patch of land is wasted♪

♪No tea plant is left withered♪

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

♪Use the 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♪

♪Use the 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♪