Original subtitles

♪Having survived the winter I'm expecting the flower season♪

♪Smiling in a spring breeze I'm immersed in it♪

♪Whose breath warmed my cold heart♪

♪And stirred up ripples♪

♪A figure may be reflected in my eyes♪

♪Bring back numerous memories♪

♪Through my life I've endured hardships for love♪

♪With you My mind is still and peaceful♪

♪Don't blame fate and providence♪

♪And the merciless fortune♪

♪Wandering in the world of mortals like it's a game♪

♪Risking my heart♪

♪Isn't to be regretted♪

♪I'll exchange it for the love of my life delightedly♪

=A Dream of Splendor=

=Episode 40=

Neither I nor Pan'er will drop the lawsuit.

Why?

We're determined to bring Ouyang Xu to justice,

and to clear Pan'er's name

through the case.

Ridiculous.

Well then.

Don't blame me for not helping you.

That's how you show your loyalty?

To save my wife,

I didn't hesitate to give Your Majesty my life.

But I won't bargain with you

for the deal.

Your Majesty, you're well-read.

You should know,

the Emperor can kill millions in anger,

while an ordinary man

can kill the one in front of him.

I'm not asking Your Majesty to

meddle in the affairs of the Public Petitioners Drum Office.

I just wish

you would place yourself in another woman's position

and guarantee her a fair trial.

After that, whether we win or lose,

Pan'er and I won't complain.

Deal.

Your Majesty, you may not know,

The Night Revels is authentic.

Zhao Pan'er managed to convince His Majesty

that it was a counterfeit

and saved you from a devastating disaster.

What?

Zhao Pan'er?

I once asked her,

"you don't even know Her Majesty,

why do you take the great risk to help her?"

She gave me an answer.

She said,

she was once reduced to pariah, too.

She knew how helpless it felt.

She also knew,

it wasn't Your Majesty's fault.

The reason why you insist that

the Court of Judicial Review must trial Qi Mu with severity

is because you want to warn the other ministers

not to look down upon you

and slander you again.

The reason why Pan'er insists on suing Ouyang Xu

is the same.

Do you still think she's ridiculous?

The acupuncture didn't wake her up.

What shall we do?

Don't worry.

She's going to be fine.

Sanniang,

the Gao Family sent us medicine.

This is the healing remedy

given by Emperor Taizong to the ancestors of the Gao Family.

It's very effective for invigorating the circulation of blood.

Thanks.

Was it your master

or Miss Gao who sent you?

It was my master.

He said he had no other intentions.

He just admired Ms. Zhao's courage.

She was courageous before,

and she still is now.

Thank Inspector Gao for me.

Yes.

Pan'er,

you must wake up.

Don't let me down.

Don't let everyone down.

Pan'er.

Pan'er.

Pan'er is awake.

(I treat you with sincerity)

(while you respond to me with lies.)

(She was once reduced to pariah, too.)

(She knew how helpless it felt.)

(She also knew,)

(it wasn't Your Majesty's fault.)

Go to report.

I want to see His Majesty now.

Hurry.

Aye.

The trial starts.

Silence!

Move.

Step aside.

Please move.

I heard the case got really big last time.

To ensure justice,

the imperial court changed the judge,

and made the trial open to the public.

Really?

Yes.

That's more like it.

Zhao Pan'er, do you still decide to sue Ouyang Xu?

Yes, I do.

Could she stand the floggings?

(Will she be flogged again?)

(She looks so pale.)

(Yes.)

(She's just a weak woman.)

(She'll be dead before the second trial starts.)

(Could she survive it?)

(The floggings will kill her.)

(She is thin and weak.)

(Why didn't they pull their punches?)

(Yeah.)

(Seriously.)

(She can barely stand.)

Let the floggings commence..

First one.

Imperial edict!

What's going on?

Someone came.

Who is it?

I have no idea.

Verbal instructions of His Majesty.

To celebrate the Empress's birthday,

from now on,

women can be exempted from floggings by paying a fine.

By the Emperor.

Edict received.

Long live His Majesty!

Long live Her Majesty!

Long live His Majesty!

Long live Her Majesty!

I don't get it.

Does it mean Pan'er won't be flogged?

No, she won't.

Thank you, Your Majesties.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Silence!

Zhao Pan'er, do you have 30 strings of coins?

- Yes, we do. - Yes.

We have money.

Zhaodi!

Zhaodi!

Get the money.

30 strings.

Chen Lian, 30 strings.

Yes.

Money...

I didn't take money. What shall we do?

I have some.

Who has money? Give me.

We didn't take money.

People of the Chi Family, pool your money.

Pool your money, Sun Li.

That's not enough. We need 30 strings.

Hold on.

My friends and I pooled our money.

We want to help Ms. Zhao, too.

Like her,

we want the unfaithful man to be punished.

Who else has money? Hurry up.

Me too. This is my pocket money.

Here you are.

We got the money!

I want to help, too.

I appreciate that

Ms. Zhao treated us for tea before.

Thanks.

Apologize to Ms. Zhao for me.

I shouldn't have slandered her in public.

She isn't lowly at all.

On the contrary, she is a heroine.

Yeah, we shouldn't have spoken evil of her.

Do apologize to her for us.

Hurry.

Mine too.

Thanks.

- This is mine. Take it. - Thanks.

And mine.

Thanks, everyone.

Here you are.

Thanks.

Hurry!

Hurry!

Thanks, everyone.

Thanks, everyone.

Thanks, everyone.

Let me in.

All right.

Send the money to the court for me.

Thanks.

The money is ready.

Here it is.

The money is ready.

Here it is.

In that case,

I permit you to pay 30 strings to get exemption from 14 floggings.

Bring forth the Controller-general of Xinzhou, Ouyang Xu.

Go.

Pan'er.

Pan'er, you won't be beaten.

You won't be beaten.

Silence!

Her Majesty has made arrangements.

She wouldn't let Zhao Pan'er have her way, right?

Ouyang Xu,

have you read Zhao Pan'er's plaint?

Your Honor,

the words on her plaint are all lies.

Zhao Pan'er was an official performer.

Though she has dropped pariah status,

she is close to another official performer,

which makes her no different from the performers in the theaters.

You...

As a scholar,

I just met her by chance.

I couldn't have been engaged to her.

Zhao Pan'er,

you said you were engaged to Ouyang Xu.

Do you have evidence?

My neighbors, Ms. Sun and Ms. Song can testify for me.

Both of them are Zhao Pan'er's business partners.

They have a common interest.

How could they tell the truth?

As the Presented Scholar, I can testify for her.

Ouyang Xu once asked me to persuade Ms. Zhao

to break their engagement and be his concubine.

You're now Sun Sanniang's lover.

Of course you'll speak for her.

Your Honor,

it requires a matchmaker, a contract and betrothal gifts to get engaged.

Zhao Pan'er has none of those.

By colluding with several men and women,

she tries to frame me up.

She is extremely vicious!

Zhao Pan'er, do you have the marriage contract and betrothal gifts?

The contract was destroyed by Ouyang Xu.

But I have another piece of evidence.

Present it.

It lists the native places of Ouyang Xu, his parents and grandparents

(Native Places of Ouyang Family) and his birth date.

Your Honor,

if he wasn't engaged to me,

how would I know

his native place and birth date?

The secret information

can be easily checked out

in his personal files.

Ouyang Xu,

you said repeatedly that you didn't know me well.

Are you such a frivolous man

that you would tell your mother's maiden name

to a random woman?

Ouyang Xu,

how do you defend yourself?

I might...

I might have been drunk

and joked about marrying her.

It was my fault. I deserve to be punished.

But according to the law,

a man who repents himself isn't guilty.

Ms. Zhao, please forgive me.

I won't accept

your perfunctory apology.

Please see my plaint clearly.

I sue you not only for breaking our engagement,

but also for slander and fraud.

She's right.

To congratulate Ms. Zhao on her engagement,

I gave her an inkstone that was handed down from my ancestors.

There are characters saying "Kept by Princes and Nobles".

My family name, Sun, is inscribed on its back.

After Ouyang Xu broke their engagement,

he took it away and refused to return it.

When we went to him to get it back,

he hired some thugs,

trying to drive us out of the Eastern Capital.

I'm the head of the hired thugs.

Lies. They're all lies.

Before Ouyang Xu left the city,

he asked his servants to pawn his family properties.

The inkstone was one of them.

Here's the pawn ticket and the inkstone.

Present them.

(Sun)

An inkstone of the Tang Dynasty is received.

The inscription reads "Kept by Princes and Nobles".

The inscription on the back is "Sun".

Pawn for six strings of coins.

Owner, Ouyang Xu.

Your Honor,

Ouyang Xu was first engaged to me, then gained my property by cheating.

I asked for it several times.

But he refused to return it.

According to the law,

fraud is equal to theft.

One who steals things worth of over five strings should be decapitated.

Decapitate him.

Decapitate!

Silence!

Kill him.

Your Majesty, I made a huge mistake that day.

We're an old married couple.

You needn't apologize.

It isn't that bad, though.

It isn't late.

But still, I don't want Qi Mu to get away with it.

In the first place,

I fell for you

and chose you to be the Empress in spite of the ministers' opposition,

not because you were obedient,

but because you were capable

and ambitious.

You know,

I'm not an emperor with great talent or bold vision.

I admire

the qualities of you

that I don't possess.

As long as you can

stand up to people's scrutiny,

you can take whatever means necessary.

You should know,

Great Song is not only my family,

but also your family.

Gaining the gift by cheating and refusing to return it

are definitely fraud.

Ouyang Xu,

how do you defend yourself?

No.

I didn't refuse to return it.

They were lying!

It's worthy of only six strings.

I'm the Third Graduate.

Why would I be greedy for such worthless stuff?

I just forgot it.

It was Zhao Pan'er.

She set all the traps.

She wants to retaliate against me.

She wants me to die!

How could you be so cruel?

How did you come up with such a vicious scheme?

I should thank you for mocking me that day.

Ouyang,

are you such a coward

that you dare not answer my charges?

Zhao Pan'er, you think you know the law well.

But you don't know...

To practice law is different from the law.

You reminded me.

To sue you for breaking the engagement

may not bring you to justice.

But to sue you for cheating me out of money

will make a solid case.

Ouyang Xu, I want you to die,

like you grabbed me by the neck,

trying to kill me

in your house that day.

I didn't!

I didn't try to kill you.

I didn't!

Someone!

Help me!

Zhao Pan'er,

you accuse Ouyang Xu of trying to murder you.

Do you have any evidence?

No!

She ran away that day.

How could she have evidence?

Who told you so?

Here is the evidence.

Yinzhang, where have you been?

I found the evidence.

Your Honor, I heard that

two of Ouyang Xu's servants were killed by bandits.

I went to the public morgue where their bodies were kept.

I found a music score

from the boy servant's body.

Present it.

Buxu Tune?

The tune is played

while Taoist priests practice rituals.

The boy servant

was a Taoist in the Western Capital.

I work in the Music Division and know well of music and tunes.

I thought something wasn't right when I read it.

The lyrics

don't match with

the musical notation at all.

Then I read the faulty

music score carefully.

I found that connecting the first characters,

(Ouyang Xu killed me) you'll read, Ouyang Xu killed me.

The music score has "Ziyang Temple" on its back.

I found

there is only one Ziyang Temple in the city,

which happens to be around Ouyang Xu's house.

I went to the temple

and found the Taoist boy's note under a cattail hassock.

I didn't.

The boy saw Ouyang Xu accidentally killed Uncle De.

He also knew he tried to buy killers

to retaliate against Ms. Zhao.

He was afraid

he would also be killed someday.

So he wrote the codes

on the music score

in hope of it being found by some careful person one day.

Though Ouyang Xu is well-read,

he doesn't know about music and tunes.

So he didn't find the secret.

I didn't. I didn't.

Your Honor.

Well done!

If Ms. Song told the truth,

the Taoist boy

was probably killed by Ouyang Xu.

Please carry postmortem on the boy

and the other servant.

I didn't kill anyone.

I didn't.

They try to entrap me.

They all want me to die.

I wasn't wrong.

I didn't kill anyone!

Chi Pan, Gu Qianfan and I

were almost killed that day.

Ouyang Xu must have plotted it.

Your Honor, any Taoist priest

can check out my words easily.

Your Honor, I can testify, too.

He almost killed me.

Lies!

All lies!

Your Honor, please look into it.

- Your Honor, you can't! - He must have killed them.

I didn't!

Ouyang Xu, how dare you!

Guards, take him down!

Take him down!

Take him!

Take him!

Take him!

Take him quickly!

Guards!

I can't be excused to disturb Your Majesties.

Long live Your Majesties.

Rise.

All rise.

I've never killed a gentry before.

But you rat!

You don't deserve to be gentry.

Give my orders.

Remove Ouyang Xu from his position.

Send him to the palace jail.

No.

To the Capital Security Office.

Gu Qianfan.

Make a thorough investigation.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesties.

Your Majesty.

Good!

She won.

Pan'er won.

Pan'er won.

Great!

Great!

Really!

What a fraud.

Shame on you!

Get lost!

Immoral man!

Villain!

Go to die! Hit him!

Hit him.

Unfaithful man!

Ms. Zhao, Ms. Sun and Ms. Song,

you solved a murder today.

You've made great contributions.

I'll grant each of you a wish.

Feel free to tell me.

Who shall tell first?

Ms. Sun, you first.

Me?

No, I... I...

don't have special wishes.

I just hope Your Majesty

to come to Yong'an Restaurant often

and try my new recipes.

Nevertheless,

if Your Majesty

would grant me with a chaplet and an official robe,

and let me marry in style,

there's nothing I'd like better.

Granted.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Rise.

Ms. Song, what about you?

Your Majesty,

I wish the Drum Office will keep open.

I wish there are fewer floggings and more opportunities for airing views.

Breaking the ranks to file suits

shouldn't be the reason that innocent people must risk their lives

to right their injustices just like Pan'er.

Good.

You're really worthy of Minister Ke's praise.

Granted.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Rise.

Your Majesty,

what about the lady of our Zhao clan?

Don't worry.

I won't forget her.

Ms. Zhao,

what's your wish?

Well...

My wish is about state affairs.

May Your Majesty forgive my boldness.

Because of my father's guilt,

I was implicated and reduced to an official performer.

But my father died of saving the people.

Ms. Song came from a family of music performers,

but she's never fallen into bad habits.

She is only engrossed in music skills.

Me and Ouyang Xu,

who is the lowly one and who is the noble one?

The reason why I must sue Ouyang Xu

is because I want to prove

pariahs aren't necessarily lowly.

People say don't judge a man by his background.

But no matter men or women,

once they're reduced to pariahs,

they can hardly rise again.

They can't decide on their marriages.

They always feel inferior.

Your Majesty, I'm begging you

to exempt all music performers, craftsmen,

private and official servants

from the sufferings of being pariahs.

Your Majesty, show mercy.

Your Majesty, please show mercy.

I also beg Your Majesty to show mercy.

Darling, get up.

Your Majesty, please show mercy.

Enough, all rise.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

The status system has originated from the Qin and Han Dynasties.

Though I've long intended to change it,

I'm afraid

I can't succeed at one stroke.

It takes several emperors' efforts.

You know what,

I'll grant you one thing.

From now on, the best of the music performers and craftsmen

can enter the Palace Domestic Service and the National Academy

and be granted as Palace Servitor.

Once become officials,

they won't be pariahs again.

Official and private servants

who have made contributions and done good deeds for a long term

can apply to the civil authorities.

The court will decide on the merits of each case.

Palace Servitor Song,

what do you think?

Thank you, Your Majesty.

All right. Get up.

According to the Palace Women,

though Commissioner Gu is the Living Devil,

he's still a good husband.

If Gu Qianfan bullies you in the future,

I'll support you.

I won't

give Your Majesty the chance.

Forget it.

Let's mind our own business.

Great!

(Administrative Hall)

(Administrative Hall)

(Strength of Character)

(Happiness)

♪On pink apricot branches Spring is running wild♪

♪It's a beautiful scene on a fine day♪

♪Thousands of miles of journey♪

♪Good days are transient♪

♪Pipa tells of endless love♪

♪I'm lucky to have you, who spends sweet days with me♪

♪Share good wine in floating life♪

♪The road is covered with snow♪

♪Awake from a drunken sleep♪

♪I feel empty and lost♪

♪Horses' hooves crumble green spring grass♪

♪I'm lucky to have you while in wind and rain♪

♪How many times has the frosty night ended♪

♪How many times have candles gone out♪

♪I'm used to the setting sun♪

♪But can't forget the sorrow of parting♪

♪Share good wine in floating life♪

♪The road is covered with snow♪

♪Awake from a drunken sleep♪

♪I feel empty and lost♪

♪Horses' hooves crumble green spring grass♪

♪I'm lucky to have you while in wind and rain♪

♪How many times has the frosty night ended♪

♪How many times have candles gone out♪

♪I'm used to the setting sun♪

♪But can't forget the sorrow of parting♪

♪I'm lucky to have you, who makes my heart♪

♪Race again♪

♪I'm lucky to have you, who makes my heart♪

♪Race again♪

(The End)

♪A feeling of depression♪

♪Falls on those will part just like moonlight♪

♪How can we forget each other♪

♪Wind blows and time flies♪

♪When the splendor fades away only the smell lingers♪

♪In the corner of memories there are sad moments♪

♪Emotions go on and on♪

♪Because time is short but love is hot♪

♪Stars wink for you♪

♪Romance is crazy about you♪

♪Who even waits for you♪

♪Until the end of her life♪

♪When I look back one day♪

♪I'll let go of everything♪

♪I'll hold your hand and never let you down♪

♪Ah Ah Ah♪

♪When our eyes get wet with tears for each other♪

♪Ah Ah Ah♪

♪I'll enjoy a simple life with you♪