Original subtitles

♪ The falling snow ♪

♪ Is bitter cold ♪

♪ My sigh ♪

♪ Misted the path in front of me ♪

♪ The moonlight knows my intention ♪

♪ I just want to make a place for me in your heart ♪

♪ I laugh and I cry ♪

♪ Quietly building a pond in my heart ♪

♪ I accept all the gifts from sorrow ♪

♪ I can't let down my regrets ♪

♪ I won't admit defeat ♪

♪ I slowly chew on the bitterness of life ♪

♪ The fragrance remains the same after the bleak winter ♪

♪ Awaiting spring to color the way back home ♪

[The Double]

[Episode 32]

Just be happy no matter if it's your current life or the past.

Never compromise

to become another person for someone else's sake.

Including me.

[Return of the Clouds]

Lady Jiuyue.

Magistrate Xue is recovering well.

I left the prescription.

After a period,

Magistrate Xue will fully recover.

You've refused to see me during this period.

I finally get a chance to thank you today.

There's no need.

Xiao Heng has repaid this favour for you.

If you need my help in the future,

I will do my best.

If you want to help me,

you should

cherish the person you have now.

Where's the bell I gave you?

Wen Ji is keeping it.

That's something I gave you.

You need to keep it yourself.

Why would I keep a lady's accessory?

I was blind.

Why would I give it to you?

Jiuyue, tell me honestly.

Have you

fallen in love with Duke Su?

Brother, why do you ask that suddenly?

I heard you gave him the bell previously.

That was given to you by Mother.

She asked you to keep it for the person you love.

If you want,

I can propose a marriage to the emperor of Great Yan.

Brother,

some things can't be forced.

If he likes me,

he will never wait until you make a marriage proposal.

[Shen Residence]

Quick! Clean the place!

Yes, Madam.

Be careful with the vase. It's an antique.

Be careful!

Seriously. Work quickly.

Yes, Madam.

Hurry!

Madam, this is the guest list for tonight.

[Banquet Guest List]

[Mingyi Hall Student, Jiang Li, Liu Xu, Imperial Academy Student, Jiang Jingrui]

I don't agree for her to come here.

Eldest Princess's confinement will end soon.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Don't let Jiang Li come here. You can't make another mistake.

Sure. I won't let her come here.

I think your mouth is dry.

Let me pour you a cup of water.

You finally know how to treat your mother well.

[Painting Skills Producing Winds]

Mother.

Go and do your work.

Brother, where's Mother?

I've looked all over but I still can't find her.

Mother was busy the whole day

and caught a cold.

I gave her some medicine and let her sleep.

I'll go and visit her.

Don't disturb her. She is fast asleep.

Get changed and welcome the guests with me.

I'll go and do my make-up.

[Shen Residence]

Greetings, Mr. Shen.

Greetings, Mr. Shen.

[Shen Residence]

Mr. Shen.

Let's go inside.

[Shen Residence]

Sure. Cheers.

Cheers. After you.

Cheers.

Please.

Mr. Shen leading the alliance of the two kingdoms

has made the emperor very happy.

Mr. Shen, you have a bright future ahead of you.

You'll know when the time comes.

Mr. Shen is a popular man before His Majesty.

I hope Mr. Shen takes good care of me in the future.

Mr. Chen, a toast to you.

Here. Drink.

A toast to you.

Come on. Cheers.

A toast to you too.

Come.

That's too polite.

The loser will drink.

- You said it. - Fine. I'll drink.

Why did I lose again?

Drink.

Here.

The moon is pretty tonight.

It's excellent.

Indeed.

Come. Let me offer you another toast.

Li, from today onward,

There's no need to be afraid of anyone.

- Who are you? Go away! - Dear!

- Let me go! - Dear!

Dear!

Mr. Shen, when will you stop following me?

Second Lady Jiang, it's your first time at Shen's Residence

but you are familiar with this place.

If you want to enter, I can open the door for you.

Only a good place

makes people want to visit it again.

Do you think I want to enter this place?

Are you not going to pretend anymore?

I tried to convince myself to believe

that you are Shen Li.

You can keep acting and pretending.

I will also keep believing you.

There's no need for that now.

You are so honest.

Aren't you afraid that I might expose your identity?

You already know my identity.

If you wanted,

you could expose me at any time.

But you didn't. Why?

My affair

was set up by your mother, right?

You wanted to kill me

because your mother forced you by committing suicide.

I had no choice.

You always like pushing all the blame

to other people.

Li.

Shen Yurong.

You are used to

being the perfect scholar.

Everything you did was forced. You did nothing wrong.

You are pitiful. Even you believe that.

So, when you told me you loved me

when you protected me from the slash

made me feel disgusted.

Since you could mention your love,

why couldn't you express your guilt?

You protected my identity in the hall.

You risked your life to save me before a sharp weapon.

You have yet to be doomed forever.

Li, I've let you down.

Both of us should take another path.

What path?

Go to the hall and tell His Majesty everything.

You will face His Majesty yourself

and tell him everything

you and Wanning did to the Xue family.

This is the only way for you to atone for your sins.

I know you still have a clear conscience.

This is the last chance I'm giving you.

You meet me while being honest

only because you want me to confess my crimes.

This is what you are supposed to do.

Shen Yurong, you've studied a lot.

You should know that it's never too late to turn back.

Li, I killed you.

It has made me regret it forever.

If Mother and my sister die because of me,

I will never atone for my sins.

You can do anything you want

with my life

but I must

protect the Shen family.

So, in your opinion,

the crimes of your mother and your sister do not need to be atoned

while my innocence and grievance do not need to be compensated.

Right?

Sorry.

Fine.

Shen Yurong, you won't choose this path.

You've let me down once again.

You can keep being obsessed.

Just wait until the day

when I serve you and Wanning's karma right in your faces.

You will never win against Wanning.

She has Lord Cheng to support her.

I'm not like you.

You're a coward!

I'm reminding you.

That's not necessary.

Li, listen to me.

Let go, Shen Yurong!

Let go!

Let go of me!

Let go of me, Shen Yurong!

Are you all right?

I'm fine.

I noticed you've left for a long time

so I came to find you because I was worried.

I didn't expect him to...

He's still breathing. It should be fine.

I'll go and find a physician.

Shijie,

leave this matter alone.

I'll deal with it.

Why?

I saw him trying to hurt you just now.

He was trying to hurt me indeed.

That was why I knocked him out.

I did it.

Shen Yurong has Eldest Princess Wanning to support him.

If you bear Wanning's grudge because of this,

you and the Ye family will face huge trouble.

Listen to me. Wanning and I have a grudge against each other.

This won't make a difference.

How can I push the blame

onto you?

To be honest, I was planning to hit him.

You just did what I wanted.

Moreover, if you are not involved in this,

you'll be able to help me from the shadows better.

I can also help you in public.

This is my personal grudge.

I know.

You don't know.

Have you been falsely accused?

Has your reputation been sullied?

Have you been locked up in the firewood storage?

Have you been buried alive?

Do you know

how many people died because of this?

Xue Fangfei.

I'm sincere in helping you.

Since you are clear about this,

listen to me and leave.

Otherwise, you'll be causing me trouble.

I beg you, Ye Shijie.

Mother.

Go and do your work.

This is terrible.

Yurong!

[Conceal the talent and draw no attention] Cheers.

Yurong, where are you?

Yurong! Where are you?

Don't scare me!

What happened?

I don't know.

Yurong! Where are you?

Mother.

[Conceal the talent and draw no attention] Let's take a look.

- Let's go. - Let's take a look.

- Let's go. - Mother!

Yurong!

Yurong!

Mother.

What's wrong?

Mr. Shen was going to defile me.

- What? - That's...

Yurong! Let go of my son!

Return my son to me!

[Shen Residence] Yurong, come back! Yurong!

Return my son to me! Let him go!

Don't go!

Catch her!

She injured my son!

Mother.

What are you doing?

Shen Yurong attempted to hurt Jiang Li first.

He has been sent to the Court of Judicial Review.

If you cause any more trouble,

he will never return.

You...

You...

Mother. Mother!

Mother!

Mother, wake up! Mother!

Mother!

[Shen's Residence]

Mother, wake up!

Mother.

[Shen's Residence] Mother, wake up!

What's wrong, Madam?

Are you all right?

Mother, are you all right?

Madam.

[Jiang's Residence]

Jiang Li, you must be shocked.

Grandmother,

are ugly rumors being spread out there?

Will it affect the Jiang family?

A child of the Jiang family met a scoundrel after all.

When your father knew about this, he rushed back to the capital overnight.

Just rest and don't think about anything.

Leave it to your family.

We must never let you suffer this grievance for nothing.

Lie down and rest.

How do you plan to deal with this?

Li is the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family.

Forget about how the Jiang family

is going to seek justice for her.

The Shen family

dared bully the Jiang family.

This incident

has spread everywhere in public.

You've wanted a reputation your whole life

but your reputation

has been tarnished by the Shen family now.

Can you really let this go?

Li has been abandoned at Zhennyu Hall since young.

You haven't fulfilled your responsibility as a father for all these years.

When she came back last year, there was a lot of trouble.

You had little sympathy for her.

This time, you must think carefully.

Mother, you are right.

I was too suspicious back then.

I didn't know how much it hurt my relationship with Jiang Li.

This time, I must fulfill my responsibility as a father

and seek justice for my daughter.

Start a case! I want to write a complaint for Li.

It has been a while. You are looking pale.

It's all thanks to you, Your Majesty.

I have

learned a lot.

It's great that you understand my intentions.

You will be released from your confinement today.

Remember not to be so willful in the future.

Speaking of which, something happened recently.

I was so busy

that I neglected you.

What troubles you, Your Majesty?

The emperor of Great Zhao came to Great Yan

to pick up his sister.

Coincidentally,

his sister met an assassin.

That's too much.

Was the assassin captured?

He escaped.

They are so rampant.

Allowing assassins to enter and leave the capital as they wish.

Don't you think I'm angry?

It's bad when the emperor gets angry.

So, I abolished the Capital Security Office

for hiding the assassin.

The Capital Security Office?

Yes. I'm curious as well.

Why would the Great Yan's Capital Security Office

changed its leader in secret?

Wanning, help me think about this.

Is there someone

who doesn't want a friendly relationship between Great Zhao and Great Yan?

Brother contributed in battles up north

and Your Majesty has formed a pact with Great Zhao.

Stability in the North and South is a blessing for Great Yan.

Why would someone destroy the peace?

You are right.

It is extremely foolish

for someone to cause trouble.

The alliance meeting is over. Everything is set in stone.

Unfortunately, you weren't present at the banquet

and missed Jiang and Shen's speech.

You said

Second Lady Jiang was Shen Yurong's late wife.

Now that I think about it, it's sad.

Since Your Majesty said that,

it became a regret of mine.

It's quite regretful indeed.

Shen Yurong is awaiting his sentence at the Court of Judicial Review.

His crime is an attempt to rape Second Lady Jiang.

The performance at the banquet was their last one.

Mr. Shen did something so filthy?

Yes. I'm quite surprised as well.

It's late.

You should go back to rest.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Go to the Court of Judicial Review.

Yes.

[Court of Judicial Review]

Shen Yurong,

is this what you mean by having a clear conscience?

To the point of wanting to be intimate with her?

Are you not afraid to die?

Raise your head.

Why are you laughing?

Kill me.

What do you mean?

You always like

to look down at me from above.

You knew I was hiding my crime

yet you still want to control me.

I'm sick of it. Aren't you tired as well, Your Highness?

I killed my wife for my mother's and my sister's sake.

For power,

I tainted the reputation I obtained from studying hard.

I deserve this.

Are you blaming me again?

I'm not blaming Your Highness. I'm not blaming anyone.

I hope Your Highness can live on

and spare my mother and my sister.

As for myself, if Your Highness doesn't kill me,

you may wait until I'm sentenced

to banishment,

execution,

or lifelong imprisonment.

I'll accept it.

What kind of crazy talk is this?

Do you want me to pity you?

Feel sorry for you?

Save you?

Your Highness, you don't need to save me.

You've fooled me for so long. I'm sure you are bored of it.

I'm not bored.

Have you accepted your fate?

Shen Yurong, in this world,

I'm the only one who can decide how you die.

The imperial court is nothing.

Your life is in my hands.

What do you want to do?

Naturally,

I'm going to save you.

You're still not resting so late at night?

Did you fly back from Great Zhao?

You came to find me at this time.

Aren't you afraid that someone might see you?

Tea.

What is your next step?

Do you remember when I asked you

which brick in the capital

that Shen Yurong and Eldest Princess are standing on?

I thought Shen Yurong could repent

but I never expected him to be stubborn.

Right now,

I want to use Shen Yurong as my pawn to find that brick.

I want to expose

their filthy relationship to the public.

Do you think Wanning will save Shen Yurong?

If she doesn't save him, she will lose.

An arrogant person like Princess Wanning

will fall into this trap.

Do you think you are amazing?

What's with you?

Is sacrificing both your reputation

and his future

a win for you?

Xiao Heng,

I'm not as shallow as you imagined.

I want to give Shen Yurong another way out.

I wanted to see

if his conscience still existed and confessed to his crimes

when I was being harmed.

I never expected him to still reject me in the end.

I figured I was wasting my energy

and wanted to give up

but he wouldn't let me go.

It made Ye Shijie misunderstand

and knocked him out.

The Ye family is Jiang Li's family.

It is also my family.

I can't get them involved

because of me.

So, I must admit to the crime of beating him.

So, he did attempt to harm you.

Otherwise, you'd be the one in prison today!

Yes.

You promised me twice not to use yourself as bait.

This is the second time you have broken your promise.

It was not my intention this time.

I was forced to do it in that situation.

Li,

what should I do with you?

No matter what,

I need to apologize to you.

You told me

we would face the same end.

On one hand, I know you are responsible for your kingdom

and on the other, you care about my safety.

Right now, I'm willing to enter this set-up of yours.

I'm not a liability. I want to help you.

Lady Jiang, Wen Jifei asked me to tell you

that the lord knows what happened

and rushed here from the border

after abandoning the Great Zhao's envoy group.

I know.

He was still wearing the same outfit he wore when he left.

Your Highness, Lord Cheng asked me to send a message.

Shen Yurong's reputation is ruined.

If you save him now,

you might dirty your hands.

You should kill him soon

and make it look like a suicide.

He's panicking after a small issue.

Brother is still so impatient.

Tell him to train his troops well.

I'll manage things in the imperial court.

Yes.

Xue Fangfei, it's time for me to meet you.

[Govern the people, serve Heaven]

How do you plan to deal with Shen Yurong?

That depends on what the Jiang family wants.

The Jiang family won't forgive him.

That suits me.

I want to see how Wanning will react.

Second Lady Jiang is a capable person.

Unfortunately, she is not a man.

Otherwise, she can be utilized by the imperial court.

Your Majesty, have you considered

that her life might be in danger if she keeps going down this path?

It was fine if you only

urged her to approach Shen Yurong

but you even got Eldest Princess to add fuel to the fire later.

Have you considered

that she might not be able

to handle Eldest Princess's counterattack?

She's just a pawn. Why are you getting nervous?

She's no longer a pawn.

Xiao Heng.

[Govern the people, serve Heaven]

You fell for her.

Yes.

I warned you not to get too attached.

Have you forgotten

the path that we are walking?

What if I say

I must sacrifice her

to achieve our ambitions?

Your Majesty, do you still remember when you first attended the audience?

[Prosperous Era]

Why isn't His Majesty here yet?

He doesn't attend his first audience.

Can he become a good emperor?

Your Majesty!

Where are you, Your Majesty?

- Your Majesty! - He's not here.

Let's go and look for him over there.

Let's go.

They are looking for you.

If I leave,

[Young Emperor Hongxiao]

The bird can't live anymore.

It's your first audience.

If you are not around, they'll be confused.

Come. Let me help you put it back on the tree.

I know.

They are not really convinced by me.

I can't face the deceptions.

It's better to get someone capable to do it.

How do you know you are not capable if you don't try?

Tell me. What did Father see in me?

Perhaps the late emperor

saw your loyalty

and your love for every life in the world.

If you can remember this kindness

and become a good emperor,

I believe Heaven will bless a good emperor.

As for me,

I'll accompany you forever.

I don't want to remember a time like that.

I know Your Majesty has been facing huge pressure recently.

Lord Cheng is waiting to strike and Wanning is ready to pounce.

Your Majesty shouldn't panic

and forget your initial intention.

No matter what, I'll always be by your side.

If you are still a good emperor,

the Xiao clan and I will swear our loyalty to you.

Protect your own pawn well.

After two days,

the Court of Judicial Review will try Shen Yurong.

Are you sure you don't want me to admit

that I was the one who knocked him out?

If the testimony changes, it'll only cause doubts.

The important thing in this case

is not who knocked Shen Yurong out

but Shen Yurong's act of rudeness towards me.

No matter how I think about it,

it was because I was too reckless.

You did it for me.

You were helping me.

I wanted to thank you at first.

Yesterday, I also asked the Secretary of Judicial Review.

He said there are evidence and witnesses for this case.

Even if Shen Yurong is capable,

he won't be able to silence everyone.

If he doesn't want to become a good official,

you can let his reputation go down the drain.

Don't you think it's scary?

I'm not Jiang Li

and not your cousin.

I'm a woman with a tarnished reputation.

I am Shen Yurong's dead wife.

I lived on by replacing Jiang Li.

Right now, I even returned to the Jiang family to stir up trouble.

I don't think it's scary.

No matter who you are,

you helped me and the Ye family.

The relationship between us during this period

cannot be fake.

When I finally understand what you went through,

I realised

my understanding of you was so shallow in the past.

So, just do anything you want from now on.

Won't you ask me what I'm going to do?

I just want to tell you that no matter how far you go,

I'll always stand on your side.

Lady Jiang, Eldest Princess's Residence sends an invitation.

[Jiang Li]

Is she planning something with this invitation?

During the trial of Xue Huaiyuan's case,

Eldest Princess was against Li all the time.

Why would she invite Li to her residence

at a time like this?

How did Li react?

She said she must go.

She said Eldest Princess would not give up easily.

If she doesn't go this time,

Eldest Princess will find a way to make her go another day.

She also said if Eldest Princess wanted to harm her,

Eldest Princess would not invite her

in front of us.

Since she has decided,

I will go with her.

I don't believe

Eldest Princess is so unscrupulous

to the point of harming Li before me.

[Princess Wanning's Residence]

Li,

don't be afraid. I'm here.

I'm sorry to trouble you for coming here with me.

Second Lady Jiang, welcome.

Second Lady Jiang,

Eldest Princess only invites you alone.

You asked her to come here

but you didn't ask her to come alone.

Grand Chancellor, please don't trouble me.

It's all right, Father.

Just wait for me at the entrance.

She can't do anything to me with you here.

I've wanted to ask Second Lady Jiang about your Guqin skills.

Unfortunately, I was confined.

Using this opportunity today,

why don't you teach me a little?

Your Highness, I'm sure you didn't invite me

and leave my father outside

to learn guqin skills from me.

Finding a confidant in life is difficult.

I want to see

if I can play a beautiful tune

with you, Second Lady Jiang.

Your Highness, that's too much praise.

I'm not worthy of becoming a confidant of yours.

For Your Highness's music, I can only hear dominance,

cruelty, and heartlessness.

I can feel endless hatred from it.

I don't think so.

Isn't this the point

of the tune, Spring Fading into White Pear Blossoms?

Didn't you also play your tune with hatred

so you could shock everyone during the Entry Exam?

Your Highness, I wonder what your hatred is?

As Great Yan's eldest princess, you are loved by the people.

You have silk as your clothes

and rice as your food.

Your Highness, isn't it pretentious for you to be talking about hatred?

Having good clothes and food. Having the people love me.

What do you know?

Should I go to Dai Country alone

for the sake of Great Yan's peace

and live a difficult life in an extremely cold place?

So?

Did you make people suffer

because you lived a difficult life?

I died accidentally as well.

I survived with my hatred

but I never hurt innocent people

and killed other people's wives and family members

because of my selfishness.

It seems like you know many things,

Second Lady Jiang.

You know so much for a rabbit

yet you still fell into my hole.

Should I just kill you as well

and destroy all evidence?

You can't kill me.

Are you that confident?

If you kill me, how can you save Shen Yurong?

Do you know why I want to save Shen Yurong?

Shen Yurong played up to you for glory and wealth.

If he knows that you won't save him,

he'll surely drag you down with him.

I'm not afraid of him dragging me down.

The whole imperial court has owed me too much.

The person on the throne

can't kill me no matter what.

Your Highness, don't you think you are too arrogant?

This is called confidence.

It's the same for Shen Yurong too. He is confident and doesn't fear me.

I like him.

Eldest Princess, stop.

Where is His Majesty?

His Majesty summoned a few scholars.

I'm afraid he's busy.

Fine.

Who is that man?

He is this year's Principal Graduate, Shen Yurong.

His Majesty appointed him as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy.

He will soon be in charge of revising the records.

♪ It's slightly cold, I look up and my gaze is like the warm sun ♪

Mr. Shen,

why did you keep my handkerchief?

He was an interesting man back then.

Everyone avoided me or despised me in secret

but he treated me politely.

[Honor the Way]

Eldest Princess, please keep it well.

Since you picked up my handkerchief,

does it mean that there's fate

between us?

I have a wife and a family.

I dare not have any relationship with you, Eldest Princess.

♪ Wasted a life of wisdom ♪

♪ Yet not clearly seeing the beautiful scenery ♪

[Honoring the Wisdom of Sages]

Back then, he only wanted to become a good official.

He is pure and innocent.

He was very different from me.

He was too clean.

He was so pure to the point where I could imagine

the kind of pure woman

who is beside her.

I was wondering if I wasn't sent to Dai Country,

I might also marry a good man

and live a normal life like you.

I think there's no difference between you and me.

If someone like me

can't obtain such happiness,

[Taiji Hall] Why do all of you deserve it?

I hated how unfairly fate treated me.

I wanted to drag Shen Yurong down

so we can be together.

What's the purpose?

Is Shen Yurong who has killed

still the same

as the young man who cherished your handkerchief?

As long as he is with me

and you...

I no longer cared about him.

Both of you

did so many ruthless things.

Both of you deserved it.

Wanning, you can't save him.

You also can't live the life you want.

Who says I can't save him?

Are you planning to pay everyone to overturn their testimonies?

I don't believe

you have control over all of Great Yan.

I'm not that capable indeed.

Saving Shen Yurong doesn't require that many people.

I just need one person to overturn his testimony.

Can't it be done if you tell the Court of Judicial Review

that it is a misunderstanding and you falsely accused Shen Yurong?

All right. I'll say that.

As you wish. Farewell.

My father is still waiting for me at the entrance.

What's the rush? You are already here.

Let me bring you to see someone.

An old acquaintance.

♪ If there are no happy memories ♪

♪ How can we traverse the forbidden land of sorrow? ♪

♪ Two cold and unfeeling bodies ♪

♪ Holding hands, can we get through the snow season? ♪

♪ In the cold wind, in the long night ♪

♪ Embracing the remaining warmth ♪

♪ The depth of the sea, unfathomable ♪

♪ Can it bury yesterday's sighs? ♪

♪ Continue to love, cherishing it with my life ♪

♪ Continue to live, even with only a glimmer of hope ♪

♪ Whether in sorrow or joy, I believe in you ♪

♪ I'd rather be trapped in the world's extremes ♪

♪ Continue to live, exhausting all courage ♪

♪ Continue to love, until the breath runs out ♪

♪ Traversing half a lifetime of loneliness, just to meet you ♪

♪ After the hardships, never to part again ♪

♪ After the hardships, never to part again ♪