All language subtitles for The Autumn Ballad 31

=The Autumn Ballad=

♪Winter clouds fill up the sky as the
geese leave behind a trail of sorrow♪

♪I lean in front of the window,
gazing from afar♪

♪I heard your singing♪

♪By the west riverbank♪

♪As our eyes meet each other,
our longing is still there♪

♪Mountains and seas apart,
waiting for the full moon♪

♪All for our sweet encounter♪

♪Smiling with you
as I stare at the bead curtains♪

♪I will not disappoint
our mutual affection in this lifetime♪

♪We fly wing to wing
beside the sea of mountains♪

♪Even if all creations go silent♪

♪I will not disappoint
our mutual affection in this lifetime♪

♪We fly wing to wing
beside the sea of mountains♪

♪Even if all creations go silent♪

=The Autumn Ballad=

=Episode 31=

Qin Xuan is so useless.

He couldn't even watch over you
like he's supposed to.

It's not his fault.

I threatened him
into letting me come here.

Also, let me tell you this.

If you leave me out of it again,

I will never forgive you.

You asked Qingdai to leave yesterday.

Why can't I do the same?

You and Qingdai are different.

Qingdai,

Mother, Madam Liu,

and Min'er.

I want all of them to be safe.

I don't want to drag them with me.

But it's different with you.

I wish to live and die

together with you.

Liang Yi.

The moment you handcuffed me,

our fates intertwined.

The handcuff is the evidence.

It represents our shared fate.

You owe it to me

to reciprocate the same sentiment.

Qin Xuan.

You didn't go to the Ministry of War today.

No one in your residence
knows where you went either.

So where did you go?

Did you leave to see Qiu Yan again?

So what if I said yes?

Qin Xuan, don't forget

that Qiu Yan is Su Yiwan.

I am your future wife.

Qiu Min.

I'm tired.

Can you be sensible

and stop bothering me at this moment?

I'm not sensible?

In your eyes,

someone selfish and egocentric

like Qiu Yan

is sensible then?

Yes.

When she needed to be with you,

she seduced you.

When she didn't need you anymore,

she discarded you.

She never considers others' feelings.

So this is

the kind of woman

you refuse to forget?

She doesn't love me

but that doesn't mean
she can't love someone else.

She takes love
more seriously than anyone.

It's just...

It's just I'm not good enough

for her love.

You think Qiu Yan
came back to Lord Liang

out of love.

But I

think that she's just trying
to be the heroine

so that you and Lord Liang

fall deeper into her charm.

If you despise her this much,

why do you keep imitating her?

Weren't you trying to be like her

that day you analyzed the case for me?

Unfortunately, you're inferior to her.

You can never be like her.

Wait.

You did succeed once.

That night when you drugged me,

I mistook you for her

with my addled mind.

My memory did not fail me.

It has the same smell

as Mr. Ding.

Black green body

and this peculiar scent...

Your father died from Anling poison.

It seems like

Yuan Lang isn't the culprit behind.

It's the Northern Liangs.

Mr. Zhan is not from Northern Liang.

There are two possible ways to explain

why he knew about everything.

When he was diagnosing my father,

he discovered that my father
was poisoned.

Yet he couldn't tell anyone somehow.

Or,

he was the one who poisoned my father
on behalf of the Northern Liangs.

This poison from Northern Liang

is undetectable shortly after death.

Its peculiar odor only appears

the earliest a few days after death.

Mr. Zhan

couldn't possibly detect it when
your father just passed away.

That leaves one explanation then.

The Northern Liangs made
Mr. Zhan poison your father.

Mr. Zhan was an Imperial Physician.

Why

was he sent to diagnose your father?

Noble Consort Guo
has always been close to my family.

When my father got into the accident,

she was very worried

and sent Mr. Zhan to treat my father.

Do you know

that Her Highness
is a Northern Liang then?

Impossible.

She and my mother
were once inner palace maids.

Our law states

that the three previous generations
of inner palace maids

have to find their roots in Dashuo

and they can't be the daughters of
physicians, shamans, or merchants.

Dashuo and Northern Liang
fought for nearly a century.

Though peace is sometimes assured

and occasional business activities
are found by the border,

there is no way a Northern Liang

can enter the Imperial Palace.

Do you have anything to back up

your claim?

When I was by the frontier,

I saw many Northern Liang merchants
that traded in Dashuo.

I found out that the daughters
of Northern Liang merchants

carry a big ring on their
right index finger since young.

It will only be removed
when they are married.

Due to the size of the ring,

their right index finger

will always stick out
compared to other fingers.

And because they have worn the ring
for many years,

even when they remove it,

they will continue to lift their right
index finger out of habit.

There will also be a ring mark

on the second joint of their
right index finger.

(And in the inn back then,)

(Her Highness's right index finger)

(bore the same mark.)

However, I don't understand

why Her Highness
wanted to kill your father.

Old Madam told me many times

that she was very close to Her Highness.

You also told me

that Her Highness is like your
extended family.

She was kind towards you
and your father.

Considering
her Northern Liang identity...

Only when her life was at stake

that she would be forced
to kill someone.

Besides,

if Her Highness is a Northern Liang,

the Crown Prince is then
half a Northern Liang.

Maybe your father discovered

her true identity,

or perhaps
he was real close to the truth.

However, the ring mark
on her index finger

is insufficient to incriminate her.

We need to retrace

my father's steps before he died.

Everyone he met

and anywhere he went.

Are you Hei Laosan?

I have a question for you.

It seems like you have mastered
the technique

I taught you in private.

I practiced it every day

to protect myself.

Spare me, gentlemen.

I have already quit

being a human trafficker.

I have stopped using

Hei Laosan as my moniker too.

We're here for something from years ago.

Answer us

and we will let you go.

Okay. Okay.

I'll speak!

- I'll speak!
- Qiu Yan.

Did the late Marquis Weiyuan

ask you to investigate
a Northern Liang woman?

Yes,

he did.

She was smuggled to the Capital
from Mozhou.

He also took away
her indenture contract.

How old was the woman?

She was around 12 or 13
when she arrived.

I suppose

she's in her 40s now.

I'll have a look.

Stand guard here.

Careful, sir.

Noble Consort Guo celebrated

her 40th birthday last time.

The indenture contract will contain
the year, the physical appearance,

and the thumbprint signature.

It can prove that Noble Consort Guo
is a Northern Liang.

My father had the proof

so Her Highness wanted to kill him.

So

Noble Consort Guo killed Mr. Zhan
preemptively

but you found a point of interest
and continued investigating.

That's why you were framed
and persecuted.

Lord Liang, this is...

Why did you bring her here?

She shouldn't be involved.

Lord Liang, Mr. Yao is not at fault.

I need to see you urgently.

I suppose

since he's not that related
to the Firewood Office,

you will turn to him.

What's the matter?

It's about Madam Jin.

I'm worried about Madam Jin, who is
all alone in the Marquis Weiyuan Residence.

So I tried to get some news in secret.

I found out

that although
the Main Administrative Office

delivered food at every mealtime,

they are often rotten food.

Normal folks can hardly swallow them,

let alone Madam Jin who is used

to a lavish lifestyle.

She might not be able to last for long.

Yuan Lang put Madam Jin on house arrest

but he never threatens Liang Yi

with her safety.

And now, he's mistreating her.

Why is he shooting himself in the foot?

I find it suspicious too.

I think Yuan Lang
did not want this to happen.

The Main Administrative Office

and the Firewood Office have been rivals
for many years.

I think some of the people there

are venting their frustration
on your family.

I wonder how

you can clear your name, Lord Liang.

If this carries on,

Madam Jin will be in danger.

I got my hands on the number of

Main Administrative Office
forces stationed there

as well as their shift schedule
from the guards.

You might need to plan

your action, Lord Liang.

This will serve me well.

Let's not dally

and act tonight.

Sir,

the ambush is in place per your order.

We're waiting for Miss Xiaoxiao
to arrive with her target.

But

Miss Xiaoxiao

has always been reluctant
to work with you, sir.

Are we

being set up here?

She is in love with Liang Yi

so she'll understand why it's beneficial
to work with me.

Just ask others to wait for my order.

Noted.

I just want to say

thank you.

It's my duty.

If I'm still unmarried,

I'm your informant.

Once you return to the city,
go back to the Royal Academy.

Why can't I come with you?

It's too dangerous.

Yuan Lang has already set his eyes
on you from last time.

You can't attract more attention now.

I told you last time

that you should return
to your stable life.

I purchased a land

with your name.

Look for the owner of Heming Building.

He has a copy of the deed

and he will take care
of everything for you.

Your thoughtfulness

is touching, Lord Liang.

But

why

did you let Miss Qiu Yan take the risk
with you then?

Qiu Yan said she came back

to go through this with me.

I know her

so I won't turn her down.

Lord Liang,

if Qiu Yan is willing to die for you,

so am I.

I know you are

but I don't need you to.

I don't want to owe you anything either.

Qiu Yan and I are different.

We promise each other

that we'll share our fate.

There's no owing whatsoever.

Share a fate?

If Qiu Yan dies for me,

she won't leave alone.

So I can't

even die for you now, Lord Liang?

This is not what I meant, Miss Shi.

Have you thought

that maybe you love me

because you need someone
to give your love to?

You're not me.

You can't dismiss
my feelings just like that.

I never asked for anything.

Is dying for someone I love

a luxury now?

What I mean is

you deserve to live your own life.

I see.

Run now, Lord Liang.

Run with Miss Qiu Yan.

Your mother is just fine.

I lied to you.

Yuan Lang and I had a deal.

I just have to lure both of you out of
the hay storage under Ministry of war.

As soon as you appear,

they will capture you.

Miss Shi.

Why did you do this?

He said he could keep you alive

and make you marry me.

Go now, Lord Liang.

If you stay in this storage,

they will

set everything on fire at night

and force you out.

You still have the time

to run now.

Come with me.

Someone's there.

Over here.

Wait.

Yuan Lang's men should be lying
in ambush on the other side.

If it's not Yuan Lang's men,

then they must be those people
who were hunting me.

What should we do?

We can't involve them.

Hold on.

Someone is on the move within the woods.

Sir.

That area falls under
the Ministry of War's jurisdiction.

If we barge in,

they will hold us accountable.

I don't care.

The situation has changed.

I'll excuse myself
in front of His Majesty later.

Go.

We can't involve them.

What did you do?

Don't worry.

He fainted. That's all.

The needle is laced with narcotics.

They will search this area soon.

Mr. Yao and I will lure them away.

When they are gone,

find a way to escape.

Miss Qiu Yan.

I can finally repay the kindness

you and Mr. Qin gave me.

No, we leave together.

There's no time.

If we leave as four,

it'll be too obvious.

No, there must be a better way.

Miss Shi, you can't go.

If you die,

I can't face Liang Yi.

There's no better way, Qiu Yan.

Remember.

I did this

for myself,

not for you.

To be frank,

if you die for him today,

perhaps

I might be able to stay by his side.

But

even if I do,

he'll miss you forever.

He'll think about you forever.

I can't stand that.

I'll be mad with jealousy.

I'll let you

suffer that instead.

Qiu Yan.

Live well.

Tell Liang Yi

that I might not be able to live
and die with him

but he will never be able to forget me.

And now,

I'll live in his mind forever.

It's them. How can this be?

Where's Liang Yi?

Bury the two of them.

Yes, sir.

Liang Yi?

Liang Yi, are you awake?

Liang Yi.

Liang Yi.

Are you all right?

What happened?

Where did they go?

They dressed

like us

and lured those assassins

away.

I think they are

dead now.

Liang Yi. Liang Yi.

Are you okay?

(I got this for you.)

(This needle is unnoticeable)

(so you can carry it all the time.)

Even if someone sees it,

it won't raise any suspicion.

Its head is laced with narcotics

and when inserted into someone's body,

the target will lose consciousness

and be paralyzed for two hours.

It can protect you

without harming anyone's life.

You won't be a killer.

How thoughtful of you, Lord Liang.

Miss Shi.

Let me ask you again.

Do you seriously want

to be the Firewood Office's informant?

You can still quit now.

Lord Liang,

do you believe in what you're doing now?

The evil yet rules

so I have to use unconventional means.

I believe the path I took

is the right one.

I don't know politics.

You believe in what you're doing

and I

believe in you.

Every time I went to the Royal Academy,

she would sing and play songs to me.

Her music masked

my instructions to her

during each visit.

She played songs for me for three years

but I can't even recall
a single song she played.

All I had in my mind

was the instructions.

Before she left,

she asked me to tell you this.

She said

she might not be able to live
and die with you

but you would never
be able to forget her.

And now,

she'll live in your mind forever.

We can't stay here for long.

Let's go.

Okay.

Sir.

We have searched everywhere.

Liang Yi and Qiu Yan
are nowhere to be seen.

(Liang Residence)

How can we help, Eunuch?

Her Highness asked me

to invite Madam Jin
to the Imperial Palace.

(Liang Residence)
Eunuch,

(Liang Residence)
this goes against the rules, I'm afraid.

His Majesty is handling

Lord Liang's case.

If you mess up, your entire family
will go down with you.

You need not use His Majesty's title
to scare me.

We're here today to take Madam Jin away

on lawful grounds.

We're not harboring criminals.

If Lord Liang is found guilty,

Her Highness will send Madam Jin

to the Main Administrative Office
immediately.

Move aside.

(Liang Residence)

(Mude Hall)

Qin Xuan.

Yuan Lang just left.

Don't make any noise.

Yuan Lang was here?

What happened?

Miss Xiaoxiao and Yao Gai

lured our pursuers away.

The most dangerous place now

is the safest spot.

So after the Main Administrative Office
searched this place,

we returned.

I'm glad both of you survived this.

But Miss Xiaoxiao and Yao Gai

might be...

Yuan Lang killed them?

No.

Noble Consort Guo did.

What?

Noble Consort Guo is a Northern Liang?

Another Northern Liang.

Recently, Beixue and I discovered

that there's this odd band of
Northern Liangs in the Capital.

I was once tasked to investigate

a Northern Liang merchants robbery case.

Although the case has been concluded,

what was peculiar was that

when I returned the goods

to the Northern Liang merchants,

they weren't willing
to check their goods in public.

It was almost as if they didn't want
anyone to see what was in the box.

Therefore,
I followed them to their storage.

I found out that the goods
they were hiding

were just a box
full of petals like this.

The person claimed
in the Ministry of War

that his goods were intended to be sold
to a Dashuo merchant.

But Mr. Qin here

saw that he gave
this box of flower petals

to another Northern Liang.

What's the matter, Qiu Yan?

This is an Anling Blossom petal.

Liang Yi's father and Mr. Ding

were killed by the poison
extracted from this plant.

What did the Northern Liang
who took the box of petals look like?

Scary-looking.

There's a mole between his eyebrows.

What are you doing?

He is one of the assassins sent

by Noble Consort Guo to kill Liang Yi.

It seems like Noble Consort Guo

didn't just raise a group of assassins.

She even has

a band of Northern Liang spies
disguised as merchants

lurking in the Capital.

Lord Liang.

What are you doing?

Eunuch Wang.

Why are you here?

Lord Liang,

Her Highness
wishes to give you something.

Hold on.

I'll show it to you.

Lord Liang.

This belongs to my mother.

What do you plan to do to my mother?

Wait, Lord Liang.

Her Highness and Madam Jin
are practically like sisters.

She won't do anything to Madam Jin.

Her Highness asked me

to bring Madam Jin to her

for her safety.

Her Highness is worried
about your safety too

and has arranged so that

you can leave.

Lord Liang.

You won't believe me?

Your Highness.

They are here.

You're dismissed.

Noted.

Liang Yi.

You won't

greet a Noble Consort anymore?

Where is my mother?

If you play nice,

she will be safe.

You killed my father.

I can't possibly let you off the hook.

Your father was a loyal man.

But

he shouldn't have
investigated my origin.

You killed the late Marquis

and for these six years,
you maintain a close tie with Madam Jin

and call her your sister

as if nothing happened.

Oh, this bluntness.

Also, the audacity
to collude with Liang Yi.

You two are a perfect match.

Therefore, live for one another

and leave

the Capital tonight,

never to return.

As long as you don't return
to the Capital,

Madam Jin will be safe.

You won't kill me?

Liang Yi.

You grew up under my watch.

If you can keep my secret,

I can keep you alive.

Spare me the crocodile tears.

Do you think we're kids?

You set up ambushes

and framed Liang Yi for sedition.

You even sent out Northern Liang
assassins to hunt us down.

What assassins?

I found out that Mr. Ding

was killed by a group of Northern Liangs.

And that group has been

hunting me down

after I was put on the wanted list.

Aren't they

your stashed weapons made

to keep your secret under wrap?

Not at all.

When I was told

that you and Qiu Yan
exhumed your father's body

to investigate,

I thought

that you might be reopening
your father's old case.

Therefore, I sent out the eunuch

to find your whereabouts.

My aim was to stop you

from sticking your nose into
old history.

That's all.

I am a Northern Liang.

But

I never did anything

to harm the Dashuo Dynasty.

I brought both of you here.

If I wanted you dead,

you wouldn't be here

spewing nonsense.

In that case,

there's another group
of Northern Liangs then.

Your Highness.

It seems like the whole thing

is more complicated than I imagined.

Other than you and Yuan Lang,

another group of Northern Liangs is in play

and they are trying to frame you.

What happened between you and my father,

Your Highness?

Please do not hide anything from me.

I suppose

it's useless to hide anymore.

Have a seat.

I am

the daughter of a traveling
Northern Liang merchant.

My father traded with the Dashuos
in Mozhou often.

One day,

I went to the outskirt to play

and I was kidnapped
by human traffickers.

One thing led to another.

I got into the Imperial Palace
as a palace maid.

After a few years,

I was lucky enough to gain
the favor of His Majesty.

And your mother helped me

to become who I am today.

I thought no one

would ever find out about this.

But six years ago,

I was made a Noble Consort

and my son

became the Crown Prince.

I finally had a good day

but to my surprise,

I discovered that your father

submitted a memorandum
to make my origin known.

I was serving His Majesty tea
at that time

(Your Majesty, Noble Consort Guo is a
Northern Liang. From, Liang Yuansu.)

and I saw

that memorandum by chance.

Fortunately,

His Majesty hasn't read it

(Memorandum)
so I hid it

and destroyed it.

(Memorandum)

Conveniently,

your father was injured by Duke Lu.

I seized this opportunity

and poisoned your father

to nip the scandal in the bud.

(Liang Residence)

Where's father?

Did you see your indenture contract

alongside the memorandum?

My indenture contract?

Not really.

I have been retracing my father's steps

before he passed away.

I found out that my father

had located your indenture contract.

He was a careful person.

When he submitted the memorandum,

he must have attached the indenture too.

If you didn't see
your indenture contract,

it means someone took it away.

In that case,

why did the person
take away my indenture contract

but keep the memorandum?

Keeping the memorandum

for you to chance upon it.

If you read the memorandum,

you will kill my father.

As such,

he didn't have
to do the dirty deed himself

and he can blackmail you
with your indenture contract.

But all these years,

no one has used it to blackmail me.

He's been laying low for many years

so he definitely
is planning something grand.

But at the moment, we do not know

what his aim is.

Liang Yi.

Back then, the person

kept this piece of evidence for himself.

And now, Northern Liangs are sent

to hunt you down so that
you'll stop investigating.

Perhaps both parties
are working together?

There is a snitch in the palace.

If those Northern Liangs

wanted to blackmail me with this,

they wouldn't have to wait until now.

Unless

it's the Crown Prince they are after?

Liang Yi.

I implore you.

Find the truth for the Crown Prince

and get rid of this snitch.

I know

you are framed for sedition.

You can hardly take care of yourself.

But this is an emergency.

The Crown Prince cannot act either.

If he did,

he would be eliminating dissidents

who knows his real identity.

And if he failed,

the truth of his bloodline

would be revealed.

We would be deceiving the Emperor.

Why should I help
the murderer of my father?

You've seen what the Crown Prince

did so far.

You grew up under my watch.

I know you're not someone
who prioritizes

selfish pursuits
over the bigger picture.

I am not doing this

for my son only.

It's also for Dashuo.

I know

the hatred you feel.

I will give you a satisfactory answer.

You cannot bring back life.

How can you give me

a satisfactory answer, Your Highness?

When you see
to the bottom of everything,

I will

kill myself.

♪A sliver of moonlight
passes through the roof♪

♪Your sweet smile had warmed my heart♪

♪If the hazy night is a garment♪

♪Your appearance will be the pigment♪

♪Looking at your direction♪

♪All the scenes appear in my mind♪

♪As I draw your eyebrows♪

♪I'm willing to wait for you
for an entire lifetime♪

♪A sliver of moonlight
passes through the roof♪

♪Your sweet smile had warmed my heart♪

♪If the hazy night is a garment♪

♪Your appearance will be the pigment♪

♪As people part from one another♪

♪I hope the story goes your way♪

♪I was reminded of your vow♪

♪I'm willing to wait for you
for an entire lifetime♪