Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[A Journey To Love]

[Episode 3]

Oh...

Call the physician! Come on!

Your Highness.

If you don't want Prince Ying to be the emperor's envoy,

do you intend to go yourself?

-I haven't... -Greetings to you, Brother Danyang,

from me, Yang Ying, the fourth son of the late emperor.

The fourth son?

The fourth son?

Looks like a woman.

Greetings to you, Brother Danyang,

from me, Yang Ying, the fourth son of the late emperor.

Ying?

Brother Danyang, you're in charge of state affairs,

and Brother Ying is not well.

So

why not let me be the emperor's envoy?

It's very kind of you,

Brother Ying.

Your Majesty.

You may not know this,

but Brother Ying has been suffering from ill health since childhood.

The late emperor was advised by an eminent monk

to postpone entering his name into the imperial family record until he's come of age.

Therefore, although he has not yet been given a royal title,

Brother Ying is indeed a son of the late emperor.

The late emperor

mentioned this to me and His Highness Prince Danyang

many times.

Your Highness Prince Danyang,

am I right?

Ying,

do you realize how dangerous this trip to the State of An

will be?

Do you really want to be the emperor's envoy?

Of course I know it will be dangerous.

But as long as you make me a prince

as powerful as you,

and reward me generously,

I won't be afraid.

Nonsense!

Brother,

I really want to go.

His Majesty is also my brother.

I too hope he can come back soon.

As long as we can break this deadlock,

it doesn't matter if this person is a princess or a prince.

The fourth son of the late emperor is loyal to the state.

I implore Your Highness

to confer the title of Prince on him.

I second it.

I second it too.

Ying,

have you really made up your mind?

No regrets?

Okay.

Send my order.

Yang Ying, the fourth son of Emperor Jin, is Prince Li of Wu.

He will go to the State of An as an envoy

and bring His Majesty back.

Your Highness is wise.

[Gathering auspiciousness]

[Yang Ying's Chamber, Wu Capital]

Your Highness.

Your Highness.

I'm fine.

Your Highness,

why are you so silly?

I'm not silly.

I'm a prince now.

With a fief of only 800 households, but what's the big deal?

As long as I bring my brother back,

I will be more respected than my elder sister.

I will be able to get Yuanzhou pardoned,

as well as be with you.

But once An people

find out you are a fake prince,

you will die.

I'm not a fake.

I'm also Father's child.

Now,

I was a princess for so long

and only had two maids beside me.

But as soon as I was conferred the title,

my sister-in-law allotted eight maids to me.

What of this gorgeous life is there to complain about?

Don't look at me like that, okay?

Otherwise,

the courage I've managed to pluck up

will be gone in no time.

I was actually really scared just now.

But I really don't want to be

this obscure,

restricted and powerless princess in the palace any more.

But Your Highness,

the State of An is at least a thousand miles away from here,

and you haven't even been out of the palace.

[Empress's Chamber, Wu Capital]

The emperor of An, Li Sun, also defeated his elder brother,

the crown prince,

before ascending the throne.

Your Highness.

Your Highness!

Wake up!

Sorry, Sister-in-Law.

I didn't mean to fall asleep.

I'm just a bit too sleepy.

Never mind.

You've been studying for four hours now.

It's time to take a break.

I'm not sleepy any more.

Please go on teaching me...

Well, go on teaching your humble brother.

Now that's more like it.

Remember,

you are Prince Li of Wu

at all times.

But Sister-in-Law,

that favor I asked you...

Don't worry.

Your brother Danyang

has pardoned Ning Yuanzhou

and asked the Ministry of War to summon him back to the capital as soon as possible.

Mr. Ning is still alive.

Mr. Ning is still alive.

Come out. It's us.

Is the meal ready?

Yes.

I'll get it now.

Wait.

Get me a basin of water. I want to clean my hands.

I'll help you.

Red bean buns with sweet osmanthus.

They smell delicious.

Do help yourself.

Aren't you a White Sparrow?

You can cook?

These bean buns are in the shape of rabbits,

not white sparrows.

You must be mistaken.

Stop pretending.

I can sniff out a White Sparrow

from 30 miles away.

From 30 miles away?

You have a very good sense of smell.

Are you a Dog?

Boss is 30 years old.

He actually is a Dog.

Take your pills.

Stop talking.

Do you not worry that there might be Scarlet Guards' poison in it?

Now I don't.

Do sit down and join us.

The dishes are getting cold.

Thank you.

Why does the bun

taste like it's made by Ms. Niu of the village?

Really?

What do you think?

Mr. Yuan.

Have these instead.

These are good.

And you can have this.

This suits you.

Thank you.

I almost forgot.

I don't know your name yet.

My surname is Ren, and my name is Ruyi,

as in "Ji Xiang Ru Yi [good luck]."

That's a good name.

Yuan Lu,

do you remember

there was a puppy called Ruyi

in the village we lived in?

It bit me.

Really?

I'm done.

I'll go wash the clothes in the backyard.

Boss,

can't you just be nice, like Shisan is?

She left because you irritated her.

What do you know?

I was testing her.

Testing?

She's a dancer.

If she can't stand this,

it means she was a very proud person.

Or

she hasn't been a White Sparrow for very long.

It seems to me that

you only started treating her like this

after she bit you the other day.

You are nice to other girls.

Now, I know what I'm doing.

Just eat.

Yuanzhou.

You are really still alive.

When did you come back?

The Ministry of War is looking for you on the order of His Highness.

I just came back.

I've only just heard that you're still alive,

so I came to have a look.

How are you? Are you hurt?

I'm fine.

How have you been?

Still haven't married into the Yang family yet?

Yuanzhou,

when are you going to go shopping for clothes with me?

Who is she?

Well...

She is an old neighbor of mine.

Let me introduce.

This is my cousin from my hometown.

I should go now.

This old friend of yours

is very nicely dressed.

She must be a noble lady.

She's seen me now.

Maybe she will

tell others

that I'm here.

Cousin,

if people start to suspect that you have a cousin who is a spy,

it won't be very nice, right?

Seriously.

You can't do anything well,

and you're terrible at cooking.

But you're full of evil ideas.

What do you want?

Take me out of the city.

As soon as we're out of the city gate,

I'll leave immediately

-and won't bother you again. -Okay.

Really?

Yes.

Thank you, Cousin.

This is what that person left in the tavern.

You asked someone to give it to me.

Yes.

What's wrong?

This is the Scarlet Guards' special wax shell for their All-Purpose Antidote.

Only high-ranking Scarlet Guards

are qualified to use it.

This is no ordinary person.

If we let her return to the headquarters alive,

we probably won't be able to keep our cooperation a secret

for much longer.

Then you will be in danger, Mr. Yue,

won't you?

Are you going to stand by and watch?

People are speculating that Liudao Hall

leaked your state's military information.

I only need to add a little fuel

to make this known to the world.

That's absolute nonsense!

Liudao Hall has always been loyal.

His Majesty lost the battle because he underestimated his enemy.

Even if you didn't do it,

if there are enough people who say you did,

it will become a fact.

What do you want?

Within a certain amount of time after taking All-Purpose Antidote,

this person will lose all her internal force.

If she wants to get the message back to the headquarters,

she'll probably go to different branches to dispatch pigeons.

The closest branches to the capital are Kaiyang and Tianji.

I need to set up an ambush in these two places.

The Scarlet Guards in the capital of Wu are all dead now.

I need some men.

Mr. Zhao is away.

I can only give you six men.

Not enough.

At least ten.

Remember,

we are in the same boat now.

If we let this person leave the State of Wu alive,

both of us will die.

Boss.

Boss.

What's wrong?

I went to buy the herbs we'll need on the way

and overheard something.

The Scarlet Guards' Wu Capital branch

was wiped out by Zhao Ji's men the night before last.

Wiped out?

The Scarlet Guards' Wu Capital branch

has been doing pretty well these years.

And they kept themselves well hidden

when I was in office.

They actually got wiped out by Zhao Ji.

There must have been some internal conflict,

or...

there was a mole among them.

Very impressive, Boss. You guessed it right.

I heard Lou Qingqiang call the masked man

Mr. Yue.

I think he's at least a Purple Emissary.

That makes sense.

There are intrigues and plots everywhere.

Zhao Ji has done enough to me.

That's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about Ruyi.

If she really is a White Sparrow who managed to escape,

wouldn't she have been too lucky?

It never occurred to you before?

Wasn't it you who wanted to keep her?

I felt sorry for her.

Why don't you test her again?

How?

And what if we really find her out?

You ate her bean buns.

What should we do then?

Just kidding.

Whether she works for Scarlet Guards or not,

no matter what she did,

we're not part of Liudao Hall anymore.

It has nothing to do with us.

Saving her life

was just a kind deed on our part.

But...

the longer Zhao Ji's death is kept secret,

the more our men will be in danger.

So we'll set off early tomorrow morning.

Okay.

Have you taken your pills today?

Not yet.

Go back and rest now.

We'll set off early tomorrow.

Okay.

You heard all that?

Remember what you said.

Tomorrow morning,

after we part at the city gate,

we'll have nothing to do with each other.

[Pingyun Gate]

Your bag.

Go.

Next.

Zhang.

These are our own people.

They're good.

Let them go.

Are you really not going to ride the horse?

You'll go faster on it.

Thank you,

but I don't know how to ride a horse.

Okay.

Do take care of yourself.

Thank you for saving my life, Mr. Yuan.

Don't thank me.

It was Boss Ning who saved your life.

If he hadn't killed Zhao Ji,

both of us would have...

I owe you my life.

You're welcome.

I ate your bean bun.

We're even now.

Let's go, Yuan Lu.

If you want to get caught,

go to the Kaiyang and Tianji branches in Luzhou.

Zhao Ji's men are going that way.

I'm not sure I understand you.

I'm going back to my hometown in Shengzhou.

Let's go.

Ning Yuanzhou!

Yuan Lu!

Ruyi?

Haven't you lost your internal force? How is this possible?

Flying petals and falling leaves can kill as well.

-You two go ahead. -We'll go ahead.

Archers, shoot!

But... that's Mr. Ning.

One more word and I'll break all your bones!

I broke all her bones with my own hands.

Shoot!

Keep shooting!

Go!

Chief Ning.

How have you been?

Prime Minister.

It's been a while.

Since Zhao Ji failed to invite you over,

I had to come myself.

I'd like to treat you to tea.

Please.

Sir.

Stop!

The first.

You're easier on the eye when you're not pretending.

Listen up, everyone.

Don't be rude to Chief Ning's friends.

Please.

Prime Minister,

I know what you're here for.

But I'm not competent enough

to undertake this task.

If you are not competent enough,

then I am no more than a living corpse.

Please.

Tell me.

In the mind of

all you Liudao Hall officers,

what is a spy?

Someone who keeps watch, assassinates,

[Ding Hui, cavalryman of Heaven Path, Liudao Hall]

and lures people into betraying their state.

The military governor can easily

get these trivial things done by keeping a few swordsmen.

But why does the court spend

one sixth of the annual military budget

on supporting Liudao Hall nevertheless?

Ning Yuanzhou might be only

slightly better than you in martial arts,

but in terms of wisdom and strategy,

he is far superior to you.

Among the thousand members of Liudao Hall,

he is the only one who knows that

the real function of a spy

is not assassinating or stealing,

but collecting information

that is truly useful to the state.

However,

after Chief Ning left,

Zhao Ji let Hell Path lie idle

and abolished the Palace of Hell.

Almost all of the intelligence His Majesty got

before he set out was false.

Why?

It's because the Scarlet Guards of the State of An

are not a bunch of weaklings.

They give out disinformation too.

Intelligence that hasn't been verified in multiple ways

is nonsense.

Zhao Ji's henchman died just now,

and it didn't bother me at all.

Because in my eyes,

he is simply not a patch

on Chief Ning.

You're too kind, Prime Minister.

You know, I'm not trying to flatter you.

Part of the responsibility for His Majesty's defeat and capture

lies with Liudao Hall.

To be honest,

I've always admired your talent.

But you never agreed to work for me.

So I could only stand by

and let Zhao Ji frame you over and over again.

Prime Minister, I know

you're trying to be kind and forceful at the same time.

But I've long been tired of the infighting within the court.

And I've suffered various injuries

from being imprisoned.

I really can't undertake this task.

But...

you saw my cousin's ability just now.

I'm sure you can

threaten me with Yuan Lu's life and hers.

But I can assure you that

before their heads fall,

I will get you, Prime Minister, to the paradise.

Really?

I believe you, of course.

And I believe you're not someone who will be threatened.

But Mr. Ning,

what if Princess Ying's life is at stake?

An people have agreed to let us ransom His Majesty with a large sum,

but on the condition that we send a prince as the envoy.

As you know,

Prince Danyang governs the state, and Prince Ying is seriously ill,

so Princess Ying volunteered to go to An as a prince.

Right now,

she is bidding farewell at the Meridian Gate.

In a little while,

her carriage will be passing here.

To be honest,

I don't really care

if you can bring His Majesty back.

I just need you to escort the princess there, and let her meet him

and ask him for a decree

that orders the Empress's unborn child

to let me govern the state in the future.

Mr. Ning,

if you're still going to refuse,

I'll have the princess die now!

Actually,

I don't care who sits on the throne.

But I will never allow anyone

to jeopardize my control over Wu.

The princess's carriage

is now passing through the col in the western suburb.

As soon as our whistling arrow goes out,

our men in ambush will ignite the gunpowder.

Mr. Ning,

you know that

I don't have much patience.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

The princess is only 16 years old.

What did she do wrong?

You're very good at keeping calm.

Information that hasn't been verified in multiple ways

is nonsense.

You said that just now.

Wouldn't it be too imprudent

for me to believe you will kill Princess Ying

just because you said so?

However, I do believe you would

send people to ambush her.

But it's only to give the false impression

that Prince Danyang is trying to kill the princess,

for your future use.

Am I right?

Your Highness, please don't be alarmed.

It was just a rockfall on the path ahead.

Impressive.

Very insightful.

I'm increasingly tempted to think that

I shouldn't have chosen Zhao Ji to take charge of Liudao Hall.

Fine.

If I give up threatening you now,

and ask you only as a citizen of Wu,

to escort the princess and 100,000 taels of gold to An,

and bring His Majesty back,

would you be willing?

Although people think that

I am a domineering and treacherous official,

I still can't bear to see my compatriots suffer.

Mr. Ning,

on account of our shared Wu citizenship,

please accept my request.

The people are indeed important.

But I have injuries and am afraid I can't undertake this task.

Do you know that

the members of Heaven Path who were escorting His Majesty

and were captured and taken to the capital of An

have all died?

You mean Chai Ming and the others?

As soon as the southwestern pigeon route was resumed from the previous interruption by the war,

we received a message from the outpost in the capital of An.

The captured men of Heaven Path

have all died

due to severe injuries.

What a shame

that they are not heroes at the moment,

but are called traitors.

These are some anonymous leaflets found in Zhanzhou,

where our army retreated to.

Have a look.

It says

"Liudao Hall betrayed the state.

The stupid emperor is in trouble."

This

is a memorial delivered to the court by Huzhi Cavalry today.

It accuses the members of Heaven Path

of seizing power and colluding with the State of An during the war,

leading to His Majesty's capture.

You can tear that apart,

but you can't keep people from talking.

A defeated general

will naturally try their best to shift the blame.

And Heaven Path, of which only one member returned,

became the best scapegoat.

Ning Yuanzhou,

as the former Deputy Chief of Liudao Hall,

you might be fine

with your past reforms coming to nothing,

but can you really watch these men

who carried you back from gory battlefields

get an eternal bad name after their death?

If I don't want to,

there is only one way.

I'll go to the State of An myself

and bring His Majesty back,

and let him tell the world about the loyalty and bravery

of the men of Heaven Path who died in the line of duty.

It's always easy to communicate

with a wise person.

So are you going

or not?

I'll need more support

to get this done.

Okay.

I've already prepared the edict.

From now on,

you'll be Commander of Left Guards

and back in charge of Liudao Hall.

This is the jade amulet given to me by the late emperor.

With this, you can act as you see fit.

If you succeed,

I'll reward you handsomely.

If you fail,

there won't be any punishment.

I don't need any reward.

But please promise me,

once it's done,

you will let those men of Heaven Path enter the Martyrs' Shrine,

ensure the princess's lifelong safety and wealth,

and let me leave the court.

I promise.

A vow is like water thrown out.

It can't be taken back.

Prime Minister.

Chief Ning.

You may rise.

It seems that your reinstatement

is indeed what everyone was hoping for.

Where is Zhao Ji?

Prime Minister,

Mr. Zhao went to the capital to hunt down the remnants of the Scarlet Guards

and hasn't returned yet.

Chief Ning,

you are the one who calls the tune at Liudao Hall now.

You can decide what to do with Zhao Ji

without having to worry about my feelings.

Thank you, Prime Minister.

Besides the few guards of Heaven Path,

how many people are you going to take with you to the capital of An?

Quality over quantity.

Four will be enough.

Four?

Yes.

Yuan Lu, do you want to go to the State of An with me

and see the desert that you've never seen before?

Yes, yes, yes.

Wait.

Young man,

have you reached the age of 18 yet?

You think you can go if you want to?

Your martial arts skills seem to be pretty average.

Yuan Lu,

take out your wooden kite

and show it to Prime Minister.

[Hungry Ghost Path]

Yuan Lu is a descendant of the Mo family,

as well as the most outstanding talent of Hungry Ghost Path.

Who are the others?

[Sun Lang, commandant of Human Path, Liudao Hall]

Prime Minister,

please let your men feel free to do whatever they want.

"Whatever"?

How arrogant.

Go.

Four-Symbol Eight-Trigram Formation.

That's right.

Sun Lang is good at defense.

Good.

Who are the other two?

One of them

is in the prison.

[Prison, Wu Capital]

It's time.

I've never been this beautiful before.

[Yu Shisan, former commandant of Asura Path, Liudao Hall]

Thank you.

I didn't know I could be so beautiful.

Don't be so modest, Ms. Zheng.

Making women look more beautiful

is my

lifelong pursuit.

Yu Shisan, someone is here to take you out of prison.

Shisan!

Don't go, Shisan.

Don't go.

How am I supposed to live

without you guys?

Shisan, don't go.

Don't go.

I don't want to leave you guys either.

Don't go.

I don't...

Don't go.

I don't want to leave you guys either.

Hurry up and get out of here!

I'm off.

I'm off again.

Goodbye.

Shisan, do a magic trick for me one more time, will you?

To serve the beauty,

even if the world is against me,

I'll keep going.

It's for me!

Give me that!

Give it to me!

It's for me!

Shisan made it for me!

He gave it to me!

Do you want to do something that's dangerous and without pay?

If you do,

I'll forget about your abduction of Minister Liu's daughter.

I'd say no if it were someone else asking.

But with you, Boss Ning,

I'll consider it.

Tell me, what is it?

To escort a young...

"Young"?

Delicate...

"Delicate"?

And beautiful princess to a faraway place.

A princess?

I'm in.

Wait.

Wait for me.

Commandant Qian, Her Majesty wants to see you.

[Qian Zhao, commandant of Yulin Army]

Your Majesty.

Perfect timing, Commandant Qian.

You may rise.

We have depleted half of the state treasury

preparing His Majesty's ransom.

I'm planning to sell the several famous paintings

that I have in my private collection.

But I got confused

and couldn't tell which of these two paintings

is the original work by Mr. Wu.

That should be the one.

The other one is solid and broken at the same time.

It's probably a copy by Mr. Wu's disciple Lu Daoke.

What does "solid and broken at the same time" mean?

Please excuse my discourtesy.

Qian Zhao

was a former member of the Heaven Path of Liudao Hall.

He was later transferred to Yulin Army by special order

because of his meritorious service.

Your Majesty,

this

is a broken turn.

As befits someone from an eminent family,

you are well versed in both culture and martial arts.

If it weren't for Prime Minister Zhang's direct request,

I would be reluctant to let you leave.

Your Majesty.

Commandant Qian,

you are the most trusted chief guard of His Majesty.

Before setting out on the expedition,

His Majesty ordered you to protect Her Majesty.

As His Majesty is now being held prisoner,

would you be willing to return to Liudao Hall

and go to An with Chief Ning

to bring His Majesty back?

That's what I was wishing to do.

I won't let you down.

Now that you have gathered everyone,

you should set out as soon as possible.

Okay.

We'll set out tomorrow morning.

But after we leave,

please keep an eye on Prince Danyang.

If he makes things difficult for us,

we will be in a very bad place.

Don't worry.

I will do my best.

But as this concerns the throne,

he will definitely take action.

You yourselves

should be careful.

Okay.

I won't be there

to see you off tomorrow.

May you return safely.

See you soon.

Thank you.

Don't worry, Prime Minister.

By the way,

will your beautiful cousin

be in the delegation?

No.

Okay.

I've known you for over 20 years.

How come I've never heard you have a cousin?

There are many things you don't know.

Prime Minister, aren't you worried

that Ning Yuanzhou might go back on his word?

If he kidnaps the princess,

with 100,000 taels of gold,

he can find himself some place,

raise an army

and become a powerful force.

I think

we should keep his cousin

in the capital as a hostage.

She is even more ruthless than Zhao Ji.

Would you dare to keep her?

Don't worry.

Just now in the pavilion,

Ning Yuanzhou finished that cup of tea.

Didn't you see?

Was the tea...

This poison was secretly passed down from previous dynasties.

It's called Ten-Day Qianji.

Any emissary out on a mission

is controlled using this poison.

One must take the antidote every ten days.

Otherwise...

I've sent people to get the antidote ready in various places

along their way.

If he wants to slack off...

But Ning Yuanzhou is a clever man.

He knows how to reassure me.

So

I gave him the jade amulet

to reassure him.

[Liudao Hall]

[Ning Yuanzhou]

Hell Path of Liudao Hall.

Ning Yuanzhou.

[Qian Zhao]

[Heaven]

Heaven Path of Liudao Hall.

Qian Zhao.

[Yu Shisan]

Asura Path of Liudao Hall.

Yu Shisan.

[Yuan Lu]

Hungry Ghost Path of Liudao Hall.

Yuan Lu.

[Sun Lang]

[Human]

Human Path of Liudao Hall.

Sun Lang.

[Liudao Hall]