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[Destined]

[Episode 39]

I...

My last family

is gone.

All gone.

His Majesty is drunk.

Guards!

Yes.

Send His Majesty

back for some rest.

Yes.

No!

I'm not drunk.

I've never been more sober.

Grand Tutor Luo.

You calculated your every move

to set me up.

Your next step

must be to replace me

and seize my throne.

It seems that His Majesty is very sick.

He is beginning to talk nonsense.

He is not suitable to take charge of state affairs anymore.

No.

Close the palace doors.

Without my order,

no one is allowed to see him.

Yes.

Let's go.

Let go of me!

No!

Let go of me!

My dear.

Let go of me!

Dear!

Xifeng.

Dear, save me!

Feng'er!

Feng'er!

Feng'er!

Let go of me!

I am the Emperor!

Do you want to die?

Dear!

Congratulations, Master.

Your plan is almost complete.

Pass my order.

Yes.

Dispatch all the Imperial Guards

to arrest the rebel Gu Jiusi.

Any associates of his

must be arrested as well.

If they resist,

kill them without mercy.

Yes.

Luo Zishang rebelled.

You followed him.

You're a traitor too.

Your entire family will be killed.

He even used a palace coup to threaten me.

But he doesn't have

any external troops to help him.

He wants to topple the throne

with just 3000 Imperial Guards?

Luo Zishang must be crazy.

You are following a crazy man.

Ridiculous.

Does he...

Does he really have external troops supporting him?

What do you think?

Who is it?

The rebel Liu Xingzhi of Yuzhou is dead.

Yongzhou's finances are poor.

Jingzhou

and Bingzhou are too far away.

The other states...

The other states

have been reducing military activities,

and their military expenses have been decreasing.

There's no problem to be found

on account.

Right?

Your Majesty, do you know

why Gu Jiusi

was able to peacefully

and safely manage

the Yellow River in Yongzhou for three years?

This great kingdom

has changed its owner several times.

Now,

it's finally going to be mine.

It's worth your meticulous planning

for all these years.

Soon,

I will have to call you

Your Majesty instead.

But I have not received word

of Gu Jiusi's whereabouts yet.

Gu Jiusi knows that

the Eastern Capital is under your control.

I don't think he will come back.

No.

He will come back for sure.

I know Gu Jiusi.

He will definitely come to save Ye Shi'an.

He will definitely come to play against me

to the last moment.

Most of the officials

are his supporters.

Someone must be secretly helping him

and hid him.

Even if he comes back,

the bulk of your plan is already complete.

What else can he do to rival you?

If I don't get rid of him,

I won't feel at ease.

Keep watching.

If anything happens,

let me know immediately.

Yes.

Lady Xifeng.

Are you really willing

to trade your whole life

for the success of another?

You led a humble past,

but now you don the phoenix coronet and robes of rank.

From Yangzhou,

to Youzhou,

and now to the Eastern Capital.

You staged all sorts of

relationships with different men

and went through so many ups and downs.

All that, to satisfy

Luo Zishang’s personal plan

and his selfish desires.

Lady Xifeng.

We are both women.

Don't you want to

live for yourself?

You bunch of insolent

rats!

Let me out!

I am the Emperor!

I'm going to kill all of you!

Guards!

Let me out.

I'll reward you.

Please.

Please!

Let me out.

Let me out.

Your Majesty.

Feng'er.

It's you.

Are you here to see me

or laugh at me?

Your Majesty,

I brought your old friends to see you.

Your Majesty.

We're here to save you.

Save me?

Save me?

None of you can save me!

Get out!

Get out now!

I saved you from that

dice rolling game back then.

Now, I can save you again.

You...

Can save me again?

Why?

This is the real will of the late Emperor.

How dare you!

I am the Emperor.

This is fake!

Your Majesty.

[My brother is a great and virtuous warrior. I trust him to be a just ruler of Da Xia, to protect the ancestral temple, and to bring peace to the people. Respect your positions and fulfill your roles to the end. This is the heavenly will. ]

This was written by the late Emperor.

The next Emperor should have been

Zhou Gaolang.

No.

Impossible.

Father didn't write this.

On the day Father passed away,

I was the only one present.

Who gave you this will?

It must be fake!

It's me.

The late Emperor

had long drafted this will.

He kept it in a hidden place.

Your Highness.

How could you offend His Majesty?

How could you be so reckless?

His Majesty has been ill for a long time.

[Peace and Tranquil]

He cannot withstand any more trouble.

[Peace and Tranquil]

This is about my brother, Gaolang.

In the past, Emperor Yao abdicated to Yu Shun.

Shun also abdicated to Yu.

Life is unpredictable.

But it all comes down to virtue.

I only have one heir.

He is weak and incapable.

Yet, we are in a dark time.

I'm afraid that when I pass away,

evil will become rampant, and order will be lost.

My brother is a great and virtuous warrior.

I trust him to be a just ruler of Da Xia,

to protect the ancestral temple,

and to bring peace to the people.

[October, the fourth year of Da Xia]

Respect your positions

and fulfill your roles to the end.

This is the heavenly will.

So what?

Now,

I am the Emperor.

Father...

He never cared about me.

If I don't become the Emperor,

no one will

care about me anymore.

Father

had never spared a thought for me

as his son.

Why should I

listen to him?

Your Majesty, you are wrong.

The person the late Emperor

cared about and

thought about the most

was you,

his only son.

Nonsense!

[Personal Notes]

You will understand

if you look at this.

[Personal Notes]

[Personal Notes]

This is...

Father's personal notes.

Yes.

[Personal Notes]

Yes it is.

My father had been writing

to record his views

and thoughts over the years.

He filled many books with his notes.

But he

never let me look at his personal notes.

Why do you have it?

The late Emperor entrusted them

with me before he passed away.

I've been hiding them

in the Shiyu Store

and kept them away from the court.

The late Emperor told me,

if his son was safe and happy,

I need not give them to him.

If his son

felt lost

and helpless,

then I must

give them to him.

My son was born today.

When I held him,

he kept crying.

I'm afraid there's no other way.

I need to ask the nanny

to teach me how to hold the child.

I've been thinking about

a name for my son for months.

If I don't name him soon,

I may end up calling him Child.

In the end, I decided to draw lots.

The result was Yu, which means Jade.

Heaven has named him Yu.

My son will certainly become a gentleman.

My son is learning to walk.

He can walk for six to eight meters

without anyone's help now.

I'm very glad.

This booklet

recorded my father's thoughts

from the day I was born

to the day he died.

Father.

Father!

I was wrong.

I was wrong about everything.

Brother Gu.

Save me.

Looks like everyone is here.

Xifeng.

You betrayed me

at the right time.

I was just agonizing over

how to let Grand Councilor Gu and Boss Liu

come to me on their own.

You did me another big favor.

Good.

I'll let you die with your limbs intact.

Back then,

you saved me from the brothel.

To repay your kindness,

I was loyal to you.

Now,

I've paid you back.

I don't regret it.

Boss Liu,

I'll give you one last chance.

When I become the Emperor,

you can be my Empress.

Luo Zishang.

We have never met before.

Why are you so obsessed with me?

If you really want to know

the reason behind it,

I will tell you all about it

when you become the Empress.

In that case,

in the future,

I will tell it to

your grave.

Gu Jiusi,

I've waited so long for this day.

I'm afraid you don't know.

We are actually brothers.

My father never had

a son like you.

He did.

And it's his blessing

to have a

son of my stature.

Unfortunately,

he already died at my hands

back in Yangzhou.

He won't see

the day I ascend to the throne.

Luo Zishang.

We've known each other for so long,

but we never had a good chat.

I heard you're good at chess.

How about a game?

What are you planning?

Since victory is already in your hands,

what are you afraid of?

Okay.

Gu Jiusi.

Life is like a game of chess.

Every step is calculated.

A slight move in one part may affect the whole situation.

There's another important thing.

Make the first move.

The chaos in Yangzhou

was your first move.

You gained Wang Shanquan's trust

by pretending to be a strategist.

After his death,

you killed his children.

You controlled Jiangnan and replaced him.

Then, you took control of Yangzhou as well.

But your goal

didn't stop at Yangzhou.

The Eastern Capital had a new master.

So you gave up Yangzhou in exchange for

a high position, and volunteered to be the Grand Tutor.

But you did it to get close to the Crown Prince

so you may exert control over the future emperor.

Back in Lanxiao House,

when I instructed Xifeng to rope Fan Yu in

with the dice rolling game,

I didn't expect

him to be the future Crown Prince.

But since then,

I was sure that

Fan Yu is easy to control.

He was easily captured.

You provoked Empress Dowager to force me

to divorce my wife and marry the princess.

You wanted the Youzhou Sect and I

to differ in morals and drift apart,

so that I would lose His Majesty's trust.

Seeing that this plan failed,

you colluded with Lu Yong

and murdered Liu Chun,

the key witness of the treasury incident,

to frame me.

This way, you could weaken the late Emperor's strength.

But, in terms of foresight,

you still lost to the late Emperor.

You advanced with a retreat

and volunteered to be demoted to Deputy Minister of Works.

Then, you pretended to manage the Yellow River.

When in reality, you embezzled the treasury funds

and raised a private army.

You quietly waited for His Majesty's death,

and pointed your sword at the Eastern Capital.

You knew about the private army?

Not bad.

What else do you know?

Bingzhou is too far from here.

The Cangzhou army is weak.

Only Zhou Gaolang's Youzhou army

is a threat to you.

So after His Majesty passed away,

you tried everything

to annihilate the Youzhou army.

So, you forged the will,

ordered the Youzhou army to battle with Nanzhao,

and cut off their provisions.

Unfortunately,

Boss Liu intercepted my plan.

She's the most impressive woman

I've ever seen.

When that didn't work,

you got your eyes on

the Hanging Lake above the Black River Valley.

When the victorious Youzhou Army returned,

you blew up the valley and caused a landslide.

Then, you can used the natural disaster as an excuse

to kill the 300,000 meritorious soldiers.

At the same time, you manipulated the new Emperor

to take control of the court

and colluded with the Imperial Guards in secret.

When the private army arrives,

no one will come to help the Emperor.

By then,

you just need to open the city gate

to become the new Emperor

and ascend the throne without any bloodshed.

Luo Zishang.

Am I right?

Gu Jiusi.

You are indeed my opponent of choice.

If you were not my enemy,

you might have been a confidant.

But it's too late

even if you knew all that.

You are just a small pawn

in this game of chess.

And I

am the player.

I am the final winner.

Do you really think

the late Emperor didn't notice it?

He granted you the Grand Tutor position

because he treated you with respect,

not because you blinded him.

He was buying time for Da Xia.

His Majesty knew people well and was tolerant.

He pushed everyone

to

the most suitable position.

He spent three years

cleaning up the royal court

and building the Yellow River dam.

He suppressed civil unrest and defended the borders.

He boosted trade and reduced tax burdens.

He gave Da Xia a new life.

Luo Zishang.

You think you are very smart.

But there are too many

smart people in this world.

Why didn't they

take your path?

Because every road of crime

and bloodshed

leads to a dead end.

The so-called world is made of

the kingdom and the people.

If you want the world,

you have to perceive everything it entails.

If you only care about playing with power

and manipulating people's hearts,

how can you see the big picture

and the true state of this game?

That's all just empty talk.

Do you really think

you can turn the table

by telling me

all these grand things?

Your Yongzhou private army

is on its way here

via the Biluo Pass,

right?

Jiusi!

Jiusi!

The Youzhou Army is still alive.

Zhou Gaolang is still alive!

They have passed Cangzhou

and left the valley.

They are rushing back here right now.

You're bluffing.

Trying to trick me again?

Take him down.

Wait.

Luo Zishang.

Do you recognize this?

[Tiger Tally]

Baiyujing

just passed it to me.

This is the commander's tally you used to deploy the Yongzhou private army.

[Tiger Tally]

[Tiger Tally]

General Zhou.

[Tiger Tally]

Ye.

Yes.

Immediately pass this Tiger Tally

to Gu Jiusi

through Baiyujing.

Yes.

The Youzhou army

had received my tip-off

to bypass Black River Valley and take Biluo Pass

to ambush your Yongzhou private army.

Your private army gathered for profit.

They are just a bunch of thugs.

Compared to the real elite soldiers of Da Xia,

they never stood a chance.

They have surrendered.

All you Imperial Guards

willingly colluded with the traitor

and slaughtered the entire Zhou family.

When Zhou Gaolang's army returns,

what will happen to you?

Zhou Gaolang is dead.

He can't be alive!

Kill them!

You still have a choice right now.

The killing of the Zhou family

was due to Luo Zishang's fake edict.

You were also deceived.

But if you insist on doing his bidding...

He's lying.

Don't believe him!

I order you to kill them!

All you Imperial Guards.

Step back!

This...

Grand Councilor Gu.

If Zhou Gaolang's army enters the city,

will you really step in

and keep us safe?

Following my order

is your only way out right now.

Step back!

Luo Zishang.

You lost.

I lost.

Gu Jiusi.

Do you really think

you have won?

Do you think you can use those

flowery words

about the support and objection of people

to criticize me now?

I'm not criticizing you.

I just want you to know why you have failed.

Your last move

has been unraveled by me.

It's still too early for you to be happy.

My last move

was not the Yongzhou private army.

I've already surrounded the entire hall

with gunpowder.

As soon as I ignite the fuse,

the hall will

explode and collapse within seconds.

None of us

can escape.

Where is it?

What should we do?

We're fighting for the world after all.

It's inevitable that we put our lives on the line.

Till the last moment,

you will never know if you will rule the world,

or be executed.

It's common

for failure to result in death.

But in the end,

I can take at least one person with me.

And I

only want to take one person with me.

Be good, Boss Liu.

Otherwise Gu Jiusi

will die

with us.

The rest of you should leave now.

Leave!

Do you want to

die with us?

All of you, leave the hall!

Gu Jiusi.

What are you waiting for?

Run.

Run for your life.

Let Yuru go.

I lost.

I don't want

the world anymore.

Boss Liu,

you always think I'm not a good person.

But only for you,

I gave you many chances.

I let you off again and again.

But today,

I won't let you go anymore.

Just die with me.

The person you hate is me.

Kill me.

Let Yuru go!

Yes, I do hate you.

So, after she dies with me,

I want you to live well.

I want you to live a long life.

I want you to experience

the taste of failure forever!

Jiusi.

Leave! All of you!

Luo Zishang.

Why are you still getting the innocent involved

at this point?

Shut up.

Gu Jiusi.

The Gu family

owes me

and my mother

an apology.

Since he couldn't marry Luo Yishui,

why did he have to provoke her?

Since he had provoked her,

why didn't he marry her?

Since he brought me into this world,

why couldn't he

teach and raise me properly?

Why were you born

to live a luxurious life,

while I

had to witness all the evil

and suffer all the hardships in the world?

I was wrong.

I've let the people down.

But your Gu family.

should apologize to us.

Luo Zishang.

If the Gu family apologizes to you,

would you put your sword away?

You want me to stop my carnage

just for a mere apology?

Are you dreaming?

We have found out that Luo Zishang

plans to hold the Emperor hostage

and kill the three troops.

He is cruel beyond means.

Uncle, you must be careful in the Eastern Capital.

This child has made

a grave mistake.

It's unforgivable.

It's all my fault.

I brought this monster

into this world.

I must

end him myself.

Yes.

I lost.

But you, Gu Jiusi, and Jiang He.

You didn't win either.

None of us won.

Zhou Gaolang is storming his way here,

filled with hatred.

He will surely attack the Imperial City

and kill Fan Yu.

In the eyes of everyone,

he will just be a reckless man who usurped power and killed the Emperor.

No one will obey him.

By then, the 13 states

will split up again

and war between them will never rest.

Chaos

will plague this world again!

Mingyi, do it!

You should leave first.

I have something to tell him.

Go to the Imperial Prison

and rescue Ye Shi'an.

Soon,

General Zhou Gaolang will arrive at the city.

You need to get ready.

What else

do you have to say

to someone who has suffered utter defeat?

Do you remember?

When we first met,

I told you

you didn't look like Yishui.

But

you resembled me a lot.

I'm sorry.

But I didn't lie to you.

Your mother

was the only woman

I've ever wanted to marry.

We loved each other back then.

Her reputation

was ruined

by a damn crazed man.

These are all true.

I also told you

I hate your

father who abandoned you.

I hate

the person who ruined Yishui.

I wish he was caught in the fire.

I wish he was devoured by it

in a slow agonizing death.

It's all true.

I provoked her,

but I didn't marry her.

And you mistook Gu Langhua

as your biological father.

You're mistaken.

I'm the one

who started all of this.

It's you.

It's me.

In this life,

I plotted, schemed,

and calculated my every move.

But in the end,

I was wrong about everything.

Only when you created the chaos in Yangzhou

did I realize that

Yishui and I

had a son.

But it's too late.

I never taught you for a single day,

but you have committed a heinous sin

and turned yourself into

an irredeemable monster.

Today,

I'll kill you myself.

However,

I will compensate you

with my life.

Son!

Son.

It's not supposed to be like this.

Son!

Don't come closer!

But

you need to know one thing.

Your mother

really loved you.

When we were in love,

she imagined the appearance

of her future child several times.

She really loved you.

And I

loved your mother very much.

If

her father didn't kill

my brother back then,

I would have married her.

I would have witnessed your birth,

and accompanied you as you grew up.