Original subtitles

Subtitles and timing brought to you by the 💫💖Daydreaming in Chang'an💖💫 Team @viki.com

♫ The silky moonlight and the chilly breeze ♫

♫ Are just like a mirage, slowly swallowing the canoe into the horizon ♫

♫ Listen to the petals drop, with no deliberation comes no vision ♫

♫ Is where I'm going the place I want to be ♫

♫ Is where I'm going the place I want to be ♫

♫ The universe has no emotion and is unwilling to change for us ♫

♫ Staring at the sky together and feeling the time get slow ♫

♫ With one glimpse, the city of Chang'an can be wiped out ♫

♫ The mindless world, the thriving society, and me ♫

[STAND BY ME]

[EPISODE 48]

Your Majesty, I am unworthy.

I couldn't find Master Han.

It doesn't matter.

Your Majesty, how about you take a day off today

and skip the morning court session?

I have to attend

the session today.

Has Yu'er left the palace?

As Your Majesty requested,

I told the girl earlier this morning

to give her sister a proper burial.

I believe she is on her way now.

It's good that she left.

There will be a serious fight today.

I really…

don't have the strength to protect her.

And in that place,

there are many people and many secret passages.

The more complicated things are,

the more chances they will have.

But since she's very sharp-witted

and also has Yan Xiu with her,

I believe

she will survive this ordeal.

Huaizhi…

Once I leave to attend the session,

you may take the retirement papers

and leave this place.

Your Majesty!

You prepared a way out for all of us.

But what about Your Majesty?

I don't have a way out.

I never had.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty…

Yanzhi…

Ruoling and I have come to send you off on your last journey.

You could have gone anywhere, but you came back here.

Hand in the imperial edict!

That'll be good for us both.

Where did he get this from?

Go and search at once!

Yes, Sir!

- Did my sister see this coming? - Follow me.

- But what about my sister? - It's safe here.

When this is over, we'll come back and bury her.

Let's go.

- Why hasn't Minister Li come yet? - I do not know.

When we left yesterday, he clearly said he would come today.

Could it be that he's sick?

You…

How dare you make me sick…

You know one wrong leads to another.

You're right.

I made a mistake before.

This time, I won't make a mistake again.

What's wrong?

It was here.

Back then, Grandfather brought my sister and me here.

The exit… The exit is over there.

Your memory has finally come back.

What Grandfather didn't manage to finish,

I'll finish it for him.

Your Majesty.

Qiu Ziliang concealed the truth from everyone

and was responsible for various heinous acts.

He possessed illegal weapons, trained his own troops,

and murdered two princes, one concubine, and four chancellors.

Even though he is gone,

that fact alone is not enough to assuage the indignation of the people.

The crimes he has committed are countless, Your Majesty!

Your Majesty, please investigate

Qiu Ziliang's followers.

Punish them accordingly to remind them of his actions.

How should I conduct the investigation?

This is a list of the eunuch's followers.

Please have a look, Your Majesty.

[LIST OF QIU ZILIANG'S SUBORDINATES]

Qiu Ziliang was executed just yesterday,

[LIST OF QIU ZILIANG'S SUBORDINATES]

and you've already prepared a list?

Your efficiency is truly impressive.

Your Majesty, show them no mercy

and clean up the imperial court!

Your Majesty, show them no mercy

and clean up the imperial court!

Will you keep running?

Did His Highness Guang send you?

I still can't believe that

His Highness is not a good man.

Not good?

His Highness is not a bad person.

Qi Yan is the real troublemaker.

Watch what you say about His Majesty!

If you don't believe me, open the scroll on your back and see

to whom the late emperor bequeathed the throne.

If you want the imperial edict,

come here and take it.

I really wouldn't like to fight.

Especially not against Lady Yanzhi's sister.

Just hand over the imperial edict, and I'll let you go.

I won't hurt you.

Moreover, it belongs to His Highness by right.

Back then, the late emperor asked Han Yue to deliver it to your grandfather

so that he could give it to His Highness.

Why are you trying to get involved in this matter?

Unfortunately, I'm a very stubborn person.

You may try to persuade me,

but since you threaten me with force,

I can only respond in kind.

Your Majesty, Qiu Ziliang has been executed, and the Divine Army is leaderless.

It is currently disorganized.

It requires a new general as soon as possible.

We have compiled a list of candidates.

Please take a look, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty. The list.

Please take a look.

[HAN DING…]

[LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR THE DIVINE ARMY]

Ask Han Ding to come in.

Bring in Han Ding!

Greetings from your courtier, Han Ding, Your Majesty.

Would you like to be…

Grand General of the Divine Army?

You force my hand.

Sister…

The secret room was designed by me.

You made some changes there, so how could I not notice?

I just feel pity for Lady Yanzhi.

She's already dead, but she still can't find peace.

What exactly do you want?

Still the same thing. The imperial edict.

If you give me this, you can bury her.

Don't push me.

Ruoling…

All right.

Nothing is more important than my sister.

Very good. We're clear.

Let's go.

I'm sorry.

I wasn't thinking properly.

You don't have to blame yourself.

This imperial edict was meant for His Highness Guang anyway.

His Majesty told me something

I didn't have time to tell my sister.

His Highness Guang doesn't know either.

- Please take my sister with you and leave now. - What about you?

Me?

I'm going to do my duty.

All right.

I approve.

Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty.

Are there any other issues you wish to present to me?

Speak plainly.

Your Majesty, that's all for now.

Very well.

The session is over.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

We shall take our leave.

Please stay, Uncle.

[RETIREMENT PAPERS]

Uncle…

Yu'er!

Didn't you go home?

Why are you back?

Yu'er, the palace is too dangerous.

Come with me!

Uncle, if His Majesty is in danger, would you still leave?

Do you think I want to leave?

His Majesty asked me to go.

His Majesty said if I stayed,

I would only drag him down.

He has shown me kindness.

I shall show him righteousness.

Uncle, please stay.

Help me protect His Majesty.

Uncle, do you know…

why I asked you to stay?

[LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR THE DIVINE ARMY]

In the Divine Army,

everyone I asked Han Ding to appoint

[LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR THE DIVINE ARMY] are on this list.

But I never promised them this position.

Did you promise them this position, Uncle?

At Jiangqi Camp,

all of Qiu Ziliang's confidantes

were removed by Yanzhi.

And Yanzhi's only confidante was Yan Xiu.

The rest worked for you.

And at the Ziyi Bureau,

although Cheng Ruoyu won't come back,

Yu Niang also works for you.

[LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR THE DIVINE ARMY]

I thought...

when Qiu Ziliang was gone,

the world would be safe.

After a storm comes a calm.

But I didn't expect

there to be another Qiu Ziliang.

We've already come to the end.

Uncle,

why don't you show me your true intention?

How dare you stop me?

His Majesty and His Highness Guang are discussing matters in the court.

Allow me to inform them of your arrival.

Who do you think you are?

Empress Dowager is here.

Greetings, Your Highness.

Master Zhang. Master Chen. What are…

Just right. With Empress Dowager here,

we can make up for the formalities we ignored before.

Bring the items here.

Bring them here!

"To the Imperial Court. For nine years, I have ruled.

I'm ashamed of Qiu Ziliang's actions.

When I tried to remove the traitors from my court,

Qiu Ziliang stopped me from making the right policies.

My failure to prevent the Zhaolu Incident implicated good and loyal officials.

This was due to my incompetence.

I have decided to die with the traitor, Qiu Ziliang.

However, I worry for the future of the Xing Dynasty.

There must be an emperor to lead the country.

Fortunately, Uncle Guang has both insight and knowledge to rule.

He has been through many hardships and has great capabilities.

I have decided to pass the throne to Prince Guang.

He will take the great responsibility of the court and royal inheritance

and fulfill the expectations of the whole country.

Respect this edict and fulfill my will.

The Ninth Year of Tai'an, November 21." [IN THE NINTH YEAR OF TAI'AN, NOVEMBER 21]

This is the imperial edict left by the late emperor.

It still needs the verification and signatures of the court.

I don't believe this edict is real.

[IN THE NINTH YEAR OF TAI'AN, NOVEMBER 21]

Your Highness.

- Your Highness. - Grand Empress Dowager!

Grand Empress Dowager!

Please take a good look at it, Your Highness.

[IN THE NINTH YEAR OF TAI'AN, NOVEMBER 21]

Since Her Highness has verified the edict,

my masters, please undersign your names.

[IN THE NINTH YEAR OF TAI'AN, NOVEMBER 21]

It's no wonder…

You've been waiting all this time.

After the Zhaolu Incident, my brother wrote the imperial edict

to pass the throne to you, Uncle.

But there was not enough time

and it didn't have the officials' signatures.

I was wrong.

Truly, I was wrong.

How can I call you the second Qiu Ziliang?

I've praised that old bastard.

Qiu Ziliang seized all the power for himself

and he was reviled by the people.

How can he be compared to my Uncle Guang?

Uncle,

you have shown exemplary conduct and nobility of character.

And you have a good reputation that spreads far and wide.

Do you think...

I owe you...

because I took your throne?

I used to think so.

Used to?

It doesn't seem to matter now.

Right.

It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter at all.

Because, Uncle,

you can take the throne fairly without me challenging you.

I am just a usurper.

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty! Your Majesty!

Uncle Guang, why do you have to pretend like this?

[IMPERIAL EDICT OF THE LATE EMPEROR]

[SIGNATURES OF THE COURT OFFICIALS]

All of you understand the situation.

You've worked hard and achieved much.

You'll be rewarded after the new emperor ascends the throne.

I, Luo Mian, serve as Head of Secretariat.

We verified that the imperial edict of the late emperor was indeed real.

Therefore, I provided my signature.

However, I was promoted by you, Your Majesty.

I am in my position because of you, Your Majesty.

However, I have failed to remain righteous.

I have received the royal favor but failed to remain loyal.

I… feel uneasy.

We feel uneasy.

As it turns out, I'm not worthless after all.

There are some people who can't be bought off.

Uncle, since ancient times, the winner would become a lord and the loser, an outlaw.

I lost.

I lost indeed.

But I...

ask you for one thing.

Let go of the pillars of the nation.

Let them live how they see fit.

I'm begging you.

Yuanzhi!

Come in.

Let Grand Empress Dowager come in as well.

Yu'er…

At such an important moment, as Sword-Bearer,

how could I not stay by your side?

Cheng Ruoyu… Cheng Ruoyu…

Are you denying your sister's hard efforts?

Quite the opposite.

I'm here because of my sister's efforts.

Your Highness Guang.

All this time, the person I've respected and admired most was you.

But today, everything you've done has disappointed me so.

I find you despicable.

You're wrong.

Today, I'll show you what it means to dispel chaos and set things right!

Here's the imperial edict from the late emperor.

It was read out loud moments ago.

Grand Empress Dowager has verified it to be real, and all the officials signed their names.

Please take the edict, Your Highness.

Why bother, Uncle?

Even without the imperial edict, I'll abdicate

and give the throne to you.

I won't take it.

You won't take it?

Of course, you won't.

This throne...

was yours to begin with.

I...

was merely a usurper.

What right do I have

to say "give"?

Am I wrong?

When I was young,

I often dreamed of riding a dragon and flying high up in the sky.

I told my mother of this dream,

but she warned me never to tell anyone else,

because… it would lead me to an early grave.

So you had dastardly intentions ever since you were a child.

When I was young, I was very sick one time.

While I was lying on my sick bed,

I felt a sudden light shine on me.

I jumped up from bed and folded my hands to make a bow,

just as an emperor would bow to his courtiers.

My mother was scared to death,

because the emperor saw the whole thing.

But the emperor was not angry.

Instead, he smiled and gently massaged my back.

"My brother is truly…"

"the hero of the family."

I've forgotten many childhood dreams,

but I've always kept these words of his in my heart.

And Emperor Father cared about you the most.

Everyone says there's no love in the royal family,

especially amongst the males.

For the throne, they would kill their father and drive away their mother.

It's common for a brother to kill a brother.

Lust for power is within our blood

and it gives us no rest.

Do I want to be the emperor?

I once did.

Did I have the chance to become one?

I did.

You finally admit it.

Thirteen, the Chief Chancellor of Jiangqi Camp, was my substitute.

I had countless opportunities to use Qiu Ziliang to kill you.

I knew Zheng Wu's identity a long time ago.

I had many opportunities to expose her.

Zhenwu's vassals escorted Ning He back to the capital,

and Han Yue wanted only to complete the late emperor's last will.

He wanted to help me ascend the throne.

Cheng Xi is my half-sister.

And Yanzhi

was the offspring of my old friend.

All the time, you had been using my sister and her anger

to get rid of Qiu Ziliang and control Jiangqi Camp.

You made her feel guilty because you owed the Wang family.

But it was all for revenge!

And Your Majesty…

You were critically wounded several times so you wanted to abdicate

as long as it was in the right place at the right time.

I had countless opportunities to fulfill my wish.

But... I refused it.

The dragon chair is right there.

If I sit there just because I can, I'm being opportunistic.

But if the dragon chair is there and I refuse to sit on it, I'm being righteous.

It's easy to seize an opportunity but hard to choose righteousness,

just as the late emperor treated me back then.

He could have killed me for my crime of coveting the throne.

He had an easy opportunity, but he didn't do it.

Instead, he smiled and praised me.

Your Majesty, do you also think emperors

are heartless, and his kin knows nothing about righteousness?

But I…

No. Even if I was a bad person,

I could never kill my family.

Furthermore, you're my brother's son.

My own nephew.

- Your Highness! - Quiet!

We've planned this for so long, and now…

- Quiet. - Your Highness!

Get out!

Your Majesty, there are some words I've said many times before.

Now, I'll repeat them one last time.

You will always be my emperor, Your Majesty.

Uncle.

Uncle.

Minister.

By order of His Majesty, I come to escort you to him.

Who let her in?

His Majesty has his plan.

- Greetings, Your Majesty. - Are you all right, Your Majesty?

I have an announcement to make.

Ask every official to come and see me in the court.

​Subtitles and timing brought to you by the 💫💖Daydreaming in Chang'an💖💫 Team @viki.com

♫ Life is like a dream, how long can you indulge in it ♫

♫ With the storm roaring outside, where can you rest your soul ♫

♫ I raise my sword, but I can't cut off our ties ♫

♫ The universe is filled with nothing but the void ♫

♫ Destiny is bleak. Fate shows no mercy ♫

♫ The sun rises, and the moon wanes, life is hard to forsake it ♫

♫ No iron heels can crush the fire in my heart ♫

♫ Think about the past and let time slip away ♫

♫ The past re-emerges in front of you ♫

♫ Forget as you remember ♫

♫ I cross my heart devoutly ♫

♫ Only for you to be saved ♫

♫ The past re-emerges in front of you ♫

♫ Forget as you remember ♫

♫ I cross my heart devoutly ♫

♫ Only for you to be saved ♫

♫ Only for you to be saved ♫