Original subtitles

This is my uncle's belongings.

It's also a token between Your Majesty and him.

He held it

in his hand until he died.

If there's a truth behind this,

Your Majesty, please investigate this!

Mei Sun,

I still remember that during our school days,

(Young Emperor, Young Duke of Ding) the imperial teacher was so strict with me

while you had all the freedom.

There was once

when I told you to secretly take me out of the palace.

My father was furious and you were imprisoned for several days.

You were always very protective of me back then.

Back then, you gave the ideas

while I took care of the punishments.

Time passed in the blink of an eye.

Your Majesty, you're the leader of the country now.

It is my duty to serve the country and the emperor.

Mei Sun.

I am lucky to have you.

Look over there!

Once we get the northern land,

you and I will go there to watch the sunrise.

Well, we've not appeased the pirates in the southeast yet.

I don't have time for the northern.

But if I am taking over the northern,

even if you're not afraid of me overshadowing you with achievements,

I'm afraid you will say that I deceive you.

Stop doing this.

When we were in the Eastern Palace,

the imperial teacher used this ruler to teach me the way to be an emperor.

Now that the imperial teacher has passed away,

if I do something foolish in the future,

I have to rely on you to beat me.

Jiang Mei Sun!

Yes, Your Majesty.

You're exempted from the death sentence.

You're allowed to bring a sword when you see me

and you do not have to bow to me when you see me.

We're not masters and servants,

so you're not going to deceive the emperor.

So, Your Majesty, if you make mistakes,

I will not be merciful then.

My uncle said

his biggest wish in life

is to defeat the pirates as soon as possible

and return to the capital

to have a nice chat with Your Majesty.

He has been saying this for 15 years.

It has never changed.

But Your Majesty,

when did your mind start to change?

Or should I say that the emperor

doesn't trust anyone?

How dare you!

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Investigate this.

Find out who punished him.

Find out who harmed Mei Sun.

Your Majesty.

Don't let anyone go!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Hurry up! Your Majesty!

Tell Mr. Lu to come now!

Your Majesty!

Arrest this treacherous and unscrupulous man!

Yes!

(Blossom)

(Episode 8)

Mother!

Bring it here.

How's she?

You may go.

Go now.

Go.

I went to see those higher officials.

Fortunately, His Majesty is awake.

Otherwise, our family

wouldn't be here now.

What about the imperial court?

What did the Grand Secretariat say?

I can bear with it.

All right.

Don't be angry.

Some pled for mercy for the Duke of Ding and Yan Tang.

But some mentioned that

although the Duke of Ding is dead,

his army is still around.

Yan Tang has become the heart of the Duke of Ding's Army.

He even dared to break into the palace to rebuke His Majesty.

What if he hates the imperial court and starts an army to cause chaos?

They said if they don't get rid of the roots,

they'll be in big trouble.

Fortunately, even though His Majesty is awake,

he never mentioned Yan Tang's conviction.

We can only bet on His Majesty's thought then.

Candied fruit.

Candied fruit.

Here.

Why isn't the new prescription working?

Servants!

Prepare Mrs. Song's medicine again!

Those at Futing know the news of Grand General's death now.

If something happens to Mr. Song, the army will be in turmoil.

Dou Shi Shu and his men have impeached Mr. Song for several days.

If anything happens to Mr. Song,

I'm going to bury all the Dous!

General Yan, we shouldn't be staying here now.

Come with me to the capital.

Let's bring our brothers from the Duke of Ding's Army.

Even if we have to break the prison,

we can save Mr. Song.

Mr. Song has not been convicted.

If you do so,

you're rebelling.

If you manage to save him,

hundreds of lives from the Jiang and Song families

will be lost.

Mr. Song is imprisoned

because of your words!

How dare you stop us!

He broke into the palace, scolded the emperor and broke the imperial bow.

According to the law, he should be sentenced to death.

However, the emperor hasn't convicted him.

The Grand Secretariat has been deliberating for days with no results.

General Yan, what do you think?

His Majesty knows that the Grand General died unjustly.

He wanted to use this opportunity, which is accusing Mr. Song,

to find out the officials' stand on this.

This is one of them.

As long as the emperor feels guilty

and with the continuous exchange from the officials,

the chief of the Grand Secretariat and Wang Xing Yi will deal with it.

What about the second reason?

No matter how much the emperor thinks of the Duke of Ding,

the duke is dead and can't be resurrected.

But Song Mo who is alive, is the variable.

If you save him from the prison,

then you're turning the loyal

and handsome young general in His Majesty's heart

into a rebellious official full with hatred.

His Majesty has sent someone from the Directorate of Ceremonial

to Futing to investigate the death of the Duke of Ding.

Not even Mr. Gu knows of this.

How did you know about this?

You've been here for several days.

You should know that my business isn't just in Futing.

There are also regular customers who are senior officials in the capital.

I have ways to find out the news.

Of course, I hope that you will help us.

How about this?

Let's make a deal.

Come with us to the capital to rescue Mr. Song.

If Mr. Song is released safely,

we will return Chen Qu Shui to you.

Otherwise, Mr. Chen will leave this world with me.

I won't be alone then.

No! This is too dangerous.

Yes, it is dangerous.

Young Lady Zhao values friendship and justice.

She won't let Chen Qu Shui to die with us.

We're allies.

It is my honor to save Mr. Song.

But General Yan, you actually threatened me.

That's a different story then.

I am a brute warrior.

My words and actions are harsh.

Young Lady Zhao, since we're allies,

please save Mr. Song.

Young Lady Zhao, please save Mr. Song!

Mr. Yan, your request

is granted.

(Zhaowen Bookstore)

My lady, he threatened you with Mr. Chen.

He's not being a gentleman.

Besides, this is so risky.

Well, I don't want Mr. Song to die either.

(Store owner of Zhaowen Bookstore) -My lady. -Mr. Zhao.

I came without giving you a notice.

I've prepared everything that needs to be prepared.

But there are some which we have to wait.

-We'll get them in a day or two. -It's just a few bookstores.

But they make it look like they can get all the news.

General Yan, this is about Mr. Song's life.

General Yan, please.

These will be delivered to the Directorate of Ceremonial.

The profit is small, but the quantity is a lot.

The most profitable one is the waste papers.

My lady, that was a good idea.

We went to the residences in the capital to collect waste paper.

After rolling and pounding them,

we turn them into toilet paper and sell them.

Those with better quality,

we'll add lime and essential oil

and send it to the Paper-Making Bureau in the palace.

In this way,

the news from the palace, harem, the ministries and bureaus,

be it huge or small stores,

the news is connected to a network.

Turns out you have been producing paper

for the entire town.

These are not the keys to the matter.

General Yan, please come with me.

The green vine paper?

It's just an ordinary paper.

Today,

only the emperor and the Grand Secretariat use the green vine paper.

It's to write the scriptures for praying sessions.

Your business actually includes the imperial court.

Well, I'm doing a business.

The most important thing is to treat each other with sincerity.

Only when we know our ability can we talk about trust.

Several imperial physicians who treated His Majesty

all went home last night. His Majesty is fine.

The officials and the Grand Secretariat have been discussing for days.

But His Majesty has yet to issue an order to convict.

If I could find out a hint of His Majesty's action at this moment,

that'll be good.

So you want us to wait

and ignore Mr. Song.

You've been following Mr. Song for more than ten years.

He is not one to sit still and wait for death,

and to have no strategies.

Before he broke into the palace,

he must have figured out a way to break the situation.

In my opinion,

His Majesty who fell ill and is recovering

hasn't convicted Song Mo.

It shows that His Majesty is reluctant to kill him.

There will be news from the palace within three days.

So please wait for another three days.

That's the imperial prison.

Those who killed the Grand General

will definitely find ways to make Mr. Song die in prison.

I've thought of a way and told Su Lan to do it.

Just wait patiently.

Alright.

You're committing a capital crime.

From the officials' point of view,

uncle and nephew are of the same mind.

It's hard to escape the suspicion of treason.

General Song, just write a confession.

Go soft with His Majesty and admit your mistake.

At least, you can beg for mercy.

Am I right?

Human has 720 acupoints

and 78 joints.

He doesn't even know where it hurts the most.

Eunuch Wang,

do you want me to teach your man?

All right.

It seems that it is useless for me to talk more.

I guess we need something serious.

This is not a big deal.

Why should I be imprisoned?

Eunuch Wang,

you're punishing him.

Sorry to bother you.

Please continue.

I'll just watch it. Don't bother me.

Mr. Gu, you're...

Look at this.

The Court of Judicial Review just approved this.

They want to imprison me.

There's nothing I can do.

Song Mo rebelled. No doubt he'll be sentenced to death.

Do you want

to die with him too?

I'm happy to do it.

You won't let me come to jail?

You don't even follow the rules now.

Alright, let's talk about it in front of my aunt.

As long as you're happy with it.

Open the door!

How dare those servants beat you hard?

Fortunately, I brought medicine with me.

Where's the medicine? Bring it in!

His Majesty...

How's he?

He was conscious the day before yesterday.

But he needs more rest.

I wanted to see His Majesty.

But I was kicked out by my aunt.

Mr. Wu and the others went too, but they didn't get to see His Majesty.

Even the Crown Prince who went to take care of him was scolded.

How did you get in?

It was easy.

I got someone who doesn't look good

and beat him up.

Which scoundrel beat me?

Me.

You're out of your mind.

You're not as clear-minded as that female teacher of yours.

A female teacher?

Are you referring to Young Lady Zhao?

Did she tell you to come?

That's right. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here.

I wander around the Qianqing Palace like a headless fly.

My aunt avoided me and refused to see me.

Aunt Min, Song Mo didn't intend to be disrespectful.

He was just being filial.

Please spare him, Aunt Min.

-Take him away. -Aunt Min!

I promise he won't do it again! Aunt Min!

Fortunately, an eunuch from the Paper-Making Bureau

passed me a pouch.

He said it was given to me by a girl from a bookstore.

When I saw it,

I knew who came up with this idea.

It's your female teacher.

She told you to go to the Court of Judicial Review to get the document

so that you'll be imprisoned.

That's right.

If I'm here,

no one has the guts to hurt you.

Look.

She is such a top embroiderer.

How dare she send the pouch out?

That's a very nice embroidery.

Tell me.

What is this?

She's mocking me.

Most of the officials from the imperial court want you dead.

But she told the eunuch from the Paper-Making Bureau to deliver this.

She was risking her life.

She helped you to this extent.

She must be chivalrous.

(Zhaowen Bookstore)

Eunuch.

This...

Keep it.

Never do this again.

His Majesty has only met

Mr. Wu and a few officials from the Grand Secretariat

in the past two days.

At other times, besides immersing himself in writing the scriptures,

he looks absent-minded while looking at the ruler.

As for the rest, it's hard for me to tell.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

My lady.

The enemy is in the dark. We can't wait any longer.

I've got my men in ambush around the Criminal Investigation Service.

Fireworks as the signal, at 11pm.

General Yan,

please wait one more day.

We've been waiting for three days.

Do we still have to wait?

Could it be that your idea is to delay us?

The tide has turned.

It's a desperate situation now.

We can't wait any longer.

We must save Mr. Song.

You're sending Mr. Song to hell.

-You fool! -What did you say?

I'm saying you're foolish!

-You... -Enough.

Since you want to save Mr. Song,

I'll show you something then.

Don't move!

Dou Zhao!

What are you doing?

I'm tired. I don't want to speak to you again.

Lock them up in the coal house.

-You... -Dou Zhao!

I'm sorry, guys.

Move!

-Hurry up! -Go!

You're in charge of the Ministry of Rites.

You should be in the Grand Secretariat.

But Mr. Wu thinks that

you're still inexperienced.

After all, the Grand Secretariat is headed by him.

Be considerate, all right?

I have not done any merits, so it's hard to convince people.

Mr. Wu is wise.

What he said is true.

Princess Shude said

you're a brilliant man with a lot of talent.

I will definitely use your service.

For example, at this juncture,

Song Mo is imprisoned and awaiting conviction.

All the ministries,

including your disciples,

send the memorials every day to ask that Song be punished.

What do you think?

Song Mo is a good general.

He made military exploits.

Among the younger generation, no one can match him.

If this pillar of the imperial court is killed,

it will disappoint the army.

But the Duke of Ding's Army

has been stationed in Futing for a long time.

They're not bound by the imperial court

and used to having it their way.

They also left the military camp without the edict

and even came to the capital.

I'm trying to say that

even though Song Mo was being disrespectful,

he might have been instigated by his subordinates.

To get rid of him is dangerous.

Let's punish him lightly for now.

You'll handle this.

Yes, Your Majesty.

"Below is the edict from the emperor."

"On this beautiful day,

the reign title will be changed to Fengming."

"A special amnesty is granted

to Song Mo, the eldest son of the Duke of Ying,

and the Count of Yunyang, Gu Yu."

"Song Mo's all positions in the army will be removed."

"I hope you have reflected on your mistakes."

"That is all."

Eunuch Wang, why is it a special amnesty?

Mr. Gu, you don't know about it yet, right?

Today, there was a praying session.

His Majesty has changed the reign title to Fengming

and granted amnesty to everyone,

hence the special amnesty.

What about the grievances of the Duke of Ding

and the lives of the Jiang clan?

The Jiang clan is exempted from the death penalty

and demoted to common people.

Men will be exiled to Tieling Militia Unit

while women and children will be sent to the homeland.

His Majesty is being benevolent.

Mr. Song,

go home and recuperate.

You're granted amnesty.

I guess your parents will come and pick you up.

Mr. Song.

(Duke of Ying's old butler, Lu Zheng)

It is inconvenient for the Duke of Ying to come.

Mr. Song, please return home quickly.

Tell my parents that I'll go back on my own.

Yes.

I've become a disgrace to the Duke of Ying.

I should keep a low profile.

This is General Yan's secret code.

This secret code almost sent you to the underworld.

But consider this as the fireworks for celebration

to celebrate your release.

Where's she?

Mr. Song, this way, please.

How did you know I would be pardoned and released?

News from the Paper-Making Bureau.

His Majesty wrote the scriptures day and night

and prayed all the time.

He also put the half of the ruler in front of his desk.

It showed that His Majesty's repentance overrode his suspicion

about the death of the Duke of Ding.

So he won't kill you.

But why today?

That's because today is the seventh day after my uncle's death.

Dou Shi Shu and his disciples

impeached every day.

But you used this pouch and told Gu Yu to protect me.

Why is that?

This is my deal with Mr. Yan.

Since you're safe,

please close the deal soonest possible.

I've ordered someone to release Mr. Yan and the others.

I hope you will keep your promise

and return Mr. Chen to me.

Just because of this,

you went against your uncle?

The same fireworks have various colors.

He and I are different.

Thank you.

What did you say?

I didn't hear clearly.

I said...

Thank you.

The fireworks are too loud.

I still can't hear clearly.

Please tell me one more time.

I heard clearly.

He said he likes you.

Shut up!

He heard it wrong.

Yes, I heard it wrong.

He said he wanted to marry you!

Shut up! Don't talk nonsense!

I'll go home and wait for your good news.

I can't thank you enough for your kindness.

I will host a banquet at Guanghe Restaurant the night after.

I hope you will be there.

I'll return Mr. Chen to you on that day.

Mr. Song!

Mr. Song!

-Mr. Song! -Mr. Song!

You...

What's wrong with you?

Well, we were worried about you.

We wanted to break the prison and save you.

But Young Lady Zhao persuaded us not to do that.

Did she persuade us?

Shut up!

That was my strategy.

I was betting that His Majesty felt guilty towards the Duke of Ding

and punished the Jiang clan lightly.

Even she could see this through.

Can't you see it?

Yes.

We were reckless.

I'm going back to the camp to get beaten 20 times.

-Me too. -Me too.

You were reckless as you were concerned about me. Forget it.

No, I should be punished.

Wash your face before going!

It's getting late. Young Master Han, please go inside.

Mo, look at the wild deer I got for you.

Deer antler is just right for you.

How's Mother's illness?

Father is taking care of her.

You didn't want to be implicated.

But don't forget that I'm also one of the Jiangs.

I didn't flatter or insult anyone.

It's very lucky that Yan Tang could survive to this day.

Do you know that many people are watching this now?

How could you ignore the safety of the Songs for the Jiangs?

Mo.

Do you want me to sever ties with the Jiangs?

Give it to me.

I didn't mean that.

It's just that the situation is not clear now.

We should be careful with our words and actions.

Come in!

Father, Mother.

I was reckless.

I made you worry about me.

Your must change your insolent and arrogant behavior!

You made your mother anxious.

She hasn't had a peaceful sleep.

Mother.

Mo.

You look haggard.

You...

This...

Let me take a look.

The Jingyi Guards

are cruel.

It's just a show.

Who dares to really hurt me?

I shouldn't have made you worry about me.

But when I looked at Uncle,

that was the only thing I could do.

Mother.

You just came home,

so I shouldn't have told you this.

But I think

it's time for you to find someone caring for you.

Could it be that

you've got someone you like?

Great!

Mother, here.

Tell me what's on your mind.

Is that special someone

Young Lady Zhao?

My lady, you treat Mr. Chen well.

You took such a huge risk just to get him back.

Not just for Mr. Chen.

Be it Song Mo or the Duke of Ding,

they were treated unfairly.

I wouldn't have meddled in this had I not known about it.

But since I knew about it, I couldn't have ignored it.

Mother, what were you thinking?

It must be Lu Zheng and Lu Ming

who told you the nonsense.

They were right though.

Young Lady Zhao was willing to find ways to help you.

She must be a good girl who understands justice.

It's a pity that she was born in the Dou family.

She may be taken advantage by her fifth uncle.

Did you say Uncle Shi Shu didn't get into the Grand Secretariat

and the chief is still Mr. Wu?

But based on the Record of Truths,

in this year,

Mr. Wu fell ill and resigned.

So Uncle Shi Shu got into the Grand Secretariat

and gradually came to power.

The emperor changed the reign title to Fengming.

This is something that's not in Record of Truths.

Could it be that my suggestions

have changed the direction of this?

Does that mean whatever is going to happen

is unpredictable then?

There's another matter. It's about Young Master Wu.

What happened to the Wu family?

To cut off contact with the Dou family

and stabilize the Wu family,

Old Mr. Wu wants De Zhen to marry the sixth lady of the Liang family.

This time, De Zhen has fallen in love.

He only has Young Lady Zhao in his mind.

He doesn't want to marry Liang.

Even if I have no chance to be with Young Lady Zhao in this life,

I will only love her. I will not love anyone else.

I can't go against my will by marrying someone else.

If we don't prune or cut it,

the plant will eventually grow crooked.

If you didn't want to,

would the sky not fall?

If I didn't want to,

would Mei Sun resurrect?

Everything else can be discussed,

except this.

You don't have a choice.

De Zhen's father died early.

He has always been filial to his grandfather.

Why would he...

Looks like he's really fond of her.

The Dou family is greedy for power and profit.

Is the marriage about love?

De Zhen has a high fever after getting wet.

He refused to seek treatment.

If something happens to him,

Old Mr. Wu can't bear it.

Dou Shi Shu got what he wanted.

De Zhen and Old Mr. Wu are stubborn.

I will find a way to be the peacemaker.

Mother, take your medicine.

Godfather, I know I made mistakes.

Learn from Mr. Dou.

He observed His Majesty.

He sought benefits and avoided disadvantages.

-This is the real skill. -You're right.

Do you think you'll become great after forcing Song Mo to confess?

Have you ever thought about what is His Majesty thinking?

Or the Grand Secretariat's stand?

Whether he is guilty or not,

is it something we can decide?

I understand.

The Jiying Guards have started the investigation at Futing.

I should go there now.

Before we find any clues about the Duke of Ding's case,

never act rashly.

Yes.

Sir, may I know why are you here?

To issue the imperial edict.

For the past few days,

we have the incidents about

Mr. Wu refuted His Majesty's granting Mr. Dou to join the Grand Secretariat

and Young Master Wu refused to get married.

Everyone in the capital knows that

the Wu family and the Dou family have become enemies.

The lung abscess happens when the lung is attacked during cold weather.

De Zhen caught in the rain and refused medical treatment.

By the way, has Physician Li returned to the capital?

He's on his way.

Probably he will arrive at night.

Alright.

Have you prepared the gifts based on the list I gave you?

Yes.

But Chen Qu Shui has been staying in Yizhi Hall for a long time.

I guess he knows everything here.

I don't think it's inappropriate

to release him just like that.

Well, we're not just allies.

She saved my life too.

Since we made the promise, we can't break it.

Indeed a promise is important.

But I felt that Young Lady Zhao and Dou Shi Shu

were cooperating.

No sooner had something good happened

than trouble came.

I'm afraid that your ally

can't guard against villains.

Grandpa, stop persuading me.

Pine and cypress

will grow naturally.

But to beautify it,

you twist its branches

and don't hesitate to change its growing direction.

Grandpa,

do you treat me as a plant too?

You wanted to train with others, I allowed it.

You love woodcrafting,

I pretended I didn't know about this.

When the family was stable and you were willful,

I could still protect you.

But things are different now.

New officials are rising

and I'm surrounded by enemies.

If I'm...

If I'm no longer around,

who will protect you?

Who will protect the Wu family?

You're forcing me!

If you don't like Ms. Liang,

I have several candidates from other families.

You can choose any.

Except for the daughters of the Dou family.

Even if you seek death,

I will not agree to it.

This is Physician Li who is here to treat Young Master Wu.

Please come with me. This way, please.

I'm sorry. Please wait for a while.

She'll be back soon.

The floor is cold.

Grandpa.

Do you think

I refused treatment

because I wanted to force you to let me marry Young Lady Zhao?

She doesn't love me at all.

I just don't want to accept the fact that

I should get married to stabilize the family.

I don't want to lie to myself

and hurt others!

I just want to break free from this prison.

I just want to live my life without turning against my will.

Can't I do that?

Do you take me

as a prison?

Can't you see that I protect you from the wind and rain every day?

Do you think everything will go well

when you do woodcrafting?

Young Lady Zhao,

can I still see you for the fifth time?

Even if you don't change your mind,

I'm still happy about it.

You lied to me to gain my trust.

You informed your fifth uncle of the information.

Shouldn't I doubt you?