Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[A Journey To Love]

[Episode 26]

Let me play a song for you.

Yuan Lu,

do you have someone you like?

Yes.

Kind of.

But she will never like me.

So I don't plan to let her know.

Who would like me in the future?

What kind of husband will I have?

Of course you should marry someone who is nice to you.

But considering what we've been through,

can I still go back to Wu

to be an ordinary princess,

who will be satisfied

as long as my husband treats me well?

Of course you can.

If those boys from noble families know

I disguised myself as a man to be an envoy to An,

would they still dare to marry me?

-Besides, -Well...

the emperor of An has always been ambitious.

If Wu is in danger again in the future,

can I still be a noble lady

who lives a safe life and grows old in the harem?

Well...

You can be an imperial sister who can wield power to protect Wu,

like the princess of the previous dynasty.

Why don't you take charge of Liudao Hall?

Stop dreaming.

What's wrong?

What's wrong with sitting here dreaming?

What's wrong? What's wrong?

Anyway,

there is a precedent for a prince to be in charge of Liudao Hall.

Anyway,

Boss Ning will retire after accomplishing this mission.

Anyway, you know well about Liudao Hall.

If you can be in charge of Liudao Hall with the identity of an imperial sister,

that would be great.

Interesting.

Well... By that time, if you are still alive

and no one dares to be my husband,

let's be together.

-We're familiar with each other anyway. -I don't think it's proper.

And you can have a successor and have someone to mourn you after you die.

Don't learn from Ruyi

to force a man to be with you

and make a baby. This is not good.

Don't think too much.

What... What baby?

I can just choose one from the imperial family to be my adopted son.

Can't I?

That's not good either.

Just now, I said I want to be your husband,

but you didn't agree.

Who didn't agree?

It was you who didn't agree.

Calm down.

It's just cats fighting.

Cats?

Cats are gentle and cute.

They don't fight.

He's a liar.

Right?

You get what you pay for. Come on.

Look at this outfit.

Compared to the outfit

Beauty gave to Ning, what do you think?

What do you think?

If I go to Yong'an Temple in this outfit,

do you think I look like a handsome scholar who lives in the temple temporarily

to study hard and pray that he can pass the imperial examination next year?

Yes.

But do you know what you look more like?

What?

Someone who's there to pray to have a child.

Pray to have a child?

That's too troublesome.

Think about it. I'm so handsome.

Of course I can have as many children as I want.

I can have a lot of children if I want.

Yes.

And the children's family name will be Jin, right?

Of course it'll be Yu. Why will it...

Jin. The family name of everyone in your family is Jin.

You are...

I won't force you. Who said I'll force you?

Stop. Fine. No problem.

I'll be your...

backup husband.

Backup.

No need. I don't care.

I was just joking. Don't take it seriously. Okay?

Your Highness.

If no one in Wu dares to marry you,

you should look beyond it.

With your current vision and courage,

you are good enough to be an empress.

In this vast world,

there is definitely someone who is perfect for you.

In this vast world,

there is definitely someone who is perfect for you.

Yuan Lu,

we'll be fine.

When everything is settled here,

let's go play pranks

in Yuanzhou and Ruyi's wedding chamber.

It's a deal.

Deal.

Here.

Thank you.

This is delicious.

[Mansion of Prince Luoxi, An Capital]

These beads are good.

Deliver them and those fruits from Nanhai

to Noble Consort.

Isn't this too conspicuous?

I told Father

I lost my mother when I was little.

Noble Consort is my mother.

Since I've made it public,

of course I should be filial to her.

All these years,

my life would have been even harder

if it weren't for her.

Since these fruits are rare,

should we put some

at Empress Zhaojie's graveside?

How many times have I told you?

Father doesn't like me to frequently mourn my mother.

She's already gone. What's the use of offering her fruits?

Get lost!

Mother.

Actually,

you don't want my mourning, right?

Forgive me, okay?

Your Highness,

Huan has been waiting for you in the west wing.

Coming.

[15 minutes later]

Water.

Water.

Bastards!

I'll teach you a lesson!

Your Highness.

Come here.

Ren doesn't want to wear a flower.

Let's help her wear it.

Mother.

Chi.

Why didn't you listen to me?

Why did you make me angry?

Kneel.

Tell me.

I treated you so well.

Why did you hurt me?

Father, please don't depose my mother.

[Five years ago]

Don't worry.

I don't want to do this either.

But you have to find a way

to make her let it go

and stop forcing me.

And stop her from kneeling in the Imperial Ancestral Temple as an atonement.

If you can do that, I'll make you the crown prince.

Mother,

since you and Father are husband and wife,

you should obey him.

Don't always force him and make things difficult for him.

So,

in order to be the crown prince,

you support him in colluding with enemies.

It's no big deal. Why do you still care?

He just bought some horses from Beipan.

Mother,

Beipan people invaded us many years ago.

What does it have to do with now?

If you still won't let it go,

how can I become the crown prince?

No.

I can't forget my grandfather was killed by Beipan people.

In order to be the crown prince,

I can't believe you've decided to ignore the civilians in Central Plain.

Your Highness, is this really appropriate?

I just submitted a memorial

that says my mother is sick and delirious.

As long as the officials believe

she's going to cry in the Imperial Ancestral Temple because she's crazy,

the title of crown prince will be within reach.

You've become despicable,

shameless, treacherous, and evil.

You told them your mother is crazy.

Why do I have a son like you?

Do you think I want to be your son?

You won't help me become the crown prince

and you are always against Father.

You've disgraced the imperial family.

You don't deserve the title.

Bad news! Yaoyue Pavilion is on fire.

Yaoyue Pavilion is on fire.

Help!

Hurry! Empress Zhaojie is still upstairs!

Go put out the fire!

Mother.

The Lotus Hand.

Master, it's really you.

When I saw the wounds on the bodies of Chen Gui

and those Scarlet Guards on the beach,

I vaguely guessed it.

Please stop denying it.

No one but you

would go to Empress Zhaojie's tomb to mourn her.

No one but you would avenge me.

In this world,

you're the only one

who knows how to use the Lotus Hand.

I knew you would come to Second Prince.

Master, I finally found you.

Master, say something.

Please.

Please admit your identity.

Jiu.

[Mansion of Marquis Changqing]

Master.

You've been hiding your identity.

I know

there must be a reason for it.

But

no matter what identity you want to use in the future,

I'm okay with it.

As long as you don't leave me

and always stay by my side.

I came with you

because I just wanted to find a safe place

to ask you a few questions.

Go ahead, Master.

Why did Empress Zhaojie

let herself die in Yaoyue Pavilion?

You've been with His Majesty all these years.

You must have heard of it.

Master.

Don't make me say it clearly.

Even if you didn't know back then,

Noble Consort Chu must know.

Well...

Empress Zhaojie fell out with His Majesty.

That's why she took it too hard.

Because His Majesty colluded with Beipan, right?

Yes.

Back then, His Majesty wanted to capture the salt mine of Su.

So he bought horses from Beipan.

Empress Zhaojie tried her best to stop him but failed.

She was angry and wanted to kneel in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

But...

His Majesty knew if others knew about this,

he would probably lose the throne.

So,

he found a way to confine Empress Zhaojie and block the news.

He managed to hide it from the officials

and wanted to depose the empress.

Wasn't he worried that Shadong Tribe would be dissatisfied?

His Majesty promised to give Duke Cui 3,000 calvary slaves.

If Shadong Tribe still wanted to cause trouble,

he would sentence Empress Zhaojie's two brothers to death

for competing for Shazhong Tribe's grassland.

Competing for the grassland? Death penalty?

Who framed them?

I haven't figured it out.

Anyway, His Majesty was furious.

And after First Prince drove a wedge between them,

he even wanted to kill Empress Zhaojie to cover up his collusion with Beipan.

He was worried you would come to save her.

So he took action after sending you away

and made it look like a fire accident.

And at this time,

Empress Zhaojie suddenly found out that Second Prince

and Shadong Tribe both agreed to depose the empress.

That's why she was in despair.

So...

So,

in order to cover up the scandal,

gain the title of crown prince,

and get 3,000 cavalry slaves,

Empress Zhaojie's husband, son, and father

joined hands to betray her.

What Empress Zhaojie cared about the most

was not the title of empress,

but the betrayal of her loved ones.

No wonder she didn't want to leave

no matter how hard I tried to save her.

She was not sad.

She was not ashamed or resentful.

She was in despair.

Yes.

I know everything.

I'm leaving.

Master.

Master, don't go.

Don't abandon me again.

I'm not the one who abandoned you.

It's you.

Master, don't!

Master. Master. Let me explain.

I...

What Meiniang said is right.

You really built a room used for secret purposes.

Kneel.

Look at me.

I'm standing in front of you now.

I'm giving you a chance to explain.

What kind of feelings

do you have for me now?

I... I...

Master.

Don't go.

Ren Xin.

I like you.

No. I love you.

My feelings for you

are a man's feelings for a woman.

As long as you are with me,

I'm willing to do anything you ask me to do.

No matter what it takes.

Okay.

Then submit a letter of resignation immediately.

Hand over the Yulin Army you're in charge of.

Give up the imperial family name that you feel proudest of now.

And get me some handsome men in the mansion.

What? You can't do it?

I...

But as long as you agree,

I won't leave you.

Marquis Changqing,

you are no longer a child.

Don't make a promise you can't fulfill.

When you were little,

maybe you had a trace of affection for me.

But that was just a substitute

for your mother's love that you've never experienced.

Now you've grown up.

Your goal

is not just having a family name

that no one will laugh at.

You want to be successful.

You want to be the most powerful official in the world.

If you want to be someone like that,

you can't have any weakness or fatal point.

Ren Xin is dead.

Princess Huyang is also a fake identity.

No.

Forget everything.

No.

Master! Master!

Do you want me to make it clearer?

No one in this world knows better than you

what Empress Zhaojie means to me.

But all these years,

you have never wanted to avenge her.

And you have never gone to mourn her.

Have you forgotten who took you to the palace

when your mother abandoned you

and who made me your master?

Li Tongguang.

No.

Do you know why I said

it's you who abandoned Jiu?

Because no matter how arrogant and unreasonable

Jiu was back then,

he wouldn't be so cold-hearted.

Master.

My name is Ruyi now.

I will avenge Empress Zhaojie myself.

After that,

I will leave An Capital.

After all, we are master and disciple.

From now on, we should go our separate ways.

♫The east wind is the cruelest♫

Master.

♫It brings rain that reminds me of the day you left♫

I'm sorry.

But are you really going to abandon me?

♫The day you left everything we had shattered on the ground♫

I am your only disciple.

♫I end up alone again♫

Forget what's in the past.

♫I don't know how many miles I have to go to find you♫

You're not my disciple now.

♫I search for your eyes but can only see your back♫

It's him.

It's Prince Li, right?

It's none of your business.

Stay here.

♫I can't tell if this is just a dream♫

Don't follow me.

Do you understand?

Master.

♫I don't want to wake up; I can't stop missing you♫

Master.

♫You're the one person I can never get over♫

♫I want to hold on to you but it's too late♫

♫It's too late, so I have to cling to these memories♫

♫Forgetting you is a fool's errand♫

Master.

♫Forgetting you is a fool's errand♫

You're still up at this hour?

I've been waiting for you to come back.

I prepared midnight snacks for you.

This

is chicken soup wonton.

I cooked it

when I heard you entering the yard.

Now is the perfect time to eat it.

And this.

I just tasted this

for you.

Although it's not from Zhang's Pastry,

it tastes good.

Come on.

Aren't you gonna ask me

why I came back so late?

No.

No matter what you do,

you have your own reasons.

If you don't want to tell me,

I won't ask.

Eat.

Didn't you say in the future,

I cook at home and you travel freely in the martial arts world?

You should get used to this kind of life as soon as possible.

How does it taste? Is it good?

You eat too.

I'm really good at cooking.

Eat more.

Have a good sleep after eating enough.

I'll take you to a place tomorrow.

The secret archive of the An Capital branch?

In the 8th year of Chengtian,

that is, 5 years ago,

Empress Zhaojie died.

I've sorted out all the files for you.

They are all here.

I want to see the memorial that impeaches the two young masters of Shadong Tribe

over taking Shazhong Tribe's grassland.

Okay.

This memorial was submitted

[Memorial Records]

by Tao Wei, Deputy Minister of Personnel.

Tao Wei?

Yes.

The empress is crazy and disobeyed the emperor.

She has bad moral character and doesn't deserve the title of empress.

Here.

I also drew a relationship map for you.

Tao Wei

is close to Duke Wang, First Prince's father-in-law.

5 years ago,

First Prince was just engaged to the only daughter of the Wang family.

If the empress was deposed,

Second Prince would no longer be the legitimate son.

As the eldest son, he would have a chance to sit on the throne.

So he collaborated with his father-in-law

to order Tao Wei to submit a memorial to impeach Empress Zhaojie.

Let's go.

Okay.

Are you alright?

From Second Prince...

Actually, I've already known most of the truth.

I also went to Mansion of Marquis Changqing last night

and got some information.

Right.

Li Tongguang knows who I am now.

What you said is right.

In fact, these years, I have thought

His Majesty

is the real cause of Empress Zhaojie's death.

But every time I thought about it,

I didn't dare to think further.

All these years,

he has never made anyone his new empress.

And he would often write poems in memory of Empress Zhaojie.

I really can't believe

that unbearable truth.

I understand.

In your heart,

Empress Zhaojie is perfect.

She deserves everything good in this world.

You just don't believe

she married a wrong person.

And you didn't expect the emperor of An had the guts to betray his country and kill his wife.

Right.

Does Empress Zhaojie's death

have anything to do with Noble Consort Chu?

I don't think so.

Noble Consort Chu entered the palace 3 years ago.

After that, he wanted to marry the princesses of other states and make one his new empress.

But over the years, he's been frequently robbing other states.

No one is willing to marry him.

He also said he would never betray Empress Zhaojie

and would never depose the empress.

Empress Zhaojie and he got married when they were young. They were in deep love.

If it weren't for Empress Zhaojie's full support,

he wouldn't have been appointed the crown prince by the late emperor

since he's the late emperor's fifth son.

Now I finally understand

why Empress Zhaojie wouldn't leave with me.

Because she was in despair and she didn't want to drag me down.

After all, her husband gave the order.

Her own son betrayed her.

She could only ask me to run away.

But I was so stupid that I didn't listen to her.

No wonder

the Grand Court was sure

I was the one who murdered Empress Zhaojie so soon.

No wonder he put me in prison

and always refused to listen to my statements.

It turns out

he felt guilty.

Let's go.

[Siyi Pavilion]

Boss Ning.

Ruyi, you're back.

Thank you for your hard work.

Let's go.

Why didn't you do anything to Second Prince?

After all, he is the last child of Empress Zhaojie.

I didn't have the heart to do it.

Empress Zhaojie's father, Duke Cui,

also died 2 years ago.

In the 8th year of Chengtian,

Second Prince was only 14 or 15 years old.

Indeed, a young boy

can be easily misled by his father.

But at that time, First Prince was already 19 years old.

And his father-in-law, Duke Wang.

I won't let any of them go.

[Prince Hedong]

[Duke Wang]

What about the chief culprit?

You know

who I'm talking about.

Yes.

I need to think carefully

about what I should do.

This is the third person we visit today:

Yin Zi, Minister of Works.

Don't say anything wrong later.

Don't worry. I remember it.

In the next few days,

I'll visit all of An's important officials

who have real power.

I'll ask them to advise the emperor of An to release my brother.

If it works,

you won't need to risk your lives to get him out of the pagoda.

Thank you for welcoming me personally, Minister.

My apologies.

Please.

41, 42, 43.

44, 45.

52, 53, 54.

55, 56, 57.

58, 59, 60.

61, 62, 63.

64, 65, 66.

67, 68, 69.

70, 71.

Ning,

I'll make a wish to the Buddha later.

I wish even when you are 71 years old,

you can still have a child.

I already have you.

Why do I need a son when I'm old?

We've checked the distance.

The guards outside Yong'an Pagoda

should have excellent martial arts skills.

So we need at least 4 people.

Okay.

Have you noticed

the number of the Scarlet Guards' secret sentinels around Siyi Pavilion

has increased again these days?

After all, both the Left Emissary and the Right Emissary died.

It's not easy for Deng Hui

to explain this to the emperor of An.

So now,

he will never let anything

happen to himself.

We can't persuade the emperor of An to release His Majesty.

So we will save him by force.

He will certainly think of this.

We can't let them be idle.

Let me go find something

for them to do. What do you think?

No need.

The members of the An Capital branch

are working on this.

I believe in a few days,

some officials will submit memorials

to ask Deng Hui to explain the death of the Left Emissary and the Right Emissary,

as well as the details of the collusion with Beipan.

By that time,

we'll disclose more things he did.

Even though he's a trusted aide of the emperor of An,

he can't get away with it easily.

I knew it.

Ning, I love you the most.

You're evil enough.

But I love Beauty more.

She's cruel enough.

Within just 2 days,

she killed the Left Emissary and the Right Emissary.

You are lucky

that you didn't meet her a few years earlier.

Otherwise, you would've...

Let's get down to business.

We also need to prepare evacuation routes in advance

to make sure nothing will go wrong.

I've prepared 3 routes.

First,

the mountain road.

Empress Zhaojie.

Empress Zhaojie.

Where are you?

Empress Zhaojie.

Empress Zhaojie,

I told you many times

I like to be an assassin

to get rid of those bad people who harm civilians

for you and His Majesty.

But His Majesty

betrayed you and the civilians in Central Plain.

So,

I want to kill him.

But I'm afraid killing him is not enough.

I also want to reveal the truth to the world

and put an end to it.

What do you think?

Ruyi.

Ruyi.

Ruyi.

Ruyi.

This is the first time you call me Ruyi.

I see.

Within 1.5 km of this place,

the number of the Scarlet Guards' secret sentinels has indeed increased a lot.

Where is Her Highness?

Is she back?

We've been standing at the gateway.

Boss Ning and Yu

haven't come back either.

I'm not worried about Boss Ning.

I'm just worried about Her Highness.

After all, this is the first time they act separately.

And Marquis Changqing.

I heard that he was up to no good towards Her Highness

when he was in the palace.

Yes.

We need to strengthen our defense.

It's Prince Li, right?

-Your Highness. -Your Highness.

Come out!

Or I'll kill you.

No.

You almost ruined my beautiful face.

I can only kill you.

Boss.

The move you used just now is called "Perishing Together".

It's your master's swordsmanship, right?

It can kill both you and your opponent

if you can't escape while killing him.

Li Tongguang,

tell me your reason for doing this.

If I kidnap Yang Ying,

my master will come to me.

I don't care if she'll be sad

or angry,

or even kill me.

I just don't want her to ignore me.

I just don't want her

to torture me slowly like this.

Listen.

Whether you die or not has nothing to do with me.

But you wanted to kill my brother.

You came to hurt other people

just because your master ignores you.

I thought

you're an ambitious man worth cultivating. I was wrong.

Have you ever thought about this?

If you hurt His Highness

by doing this,

what kind of trouble will An and Wu be in?

But I don't care.

I only want my master.

I only want my master!