Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[Go East]

[Episode 1]

Yong,

the strongest state in the world.

This is Changle, the capital of Yong.

People of different cultures and races

gather here.

They do business,

live here,

[Liquor House]

or wander by.

All in all, merchants and people of other states

all have one wish,

to travel to the east.

[Sifang Pavilion]

Thus, there was the Sifang Pavilion,

a special institution that oversees

visitors from all around the world.

[Signing Office]

Due to the heavy workload,

the owner of Sifang Pavilion, Yu Deshui,

has been working hard for decades

and devoted himself to work.

Black flush!

[Director of Sifang Pavilion, Yu Deshui]

I won again

[East Court]

Mr. Yu has two courts working for him.

[West Court]

[East Court]

The East Court is in charge of external matters.

The West Court is in charge of internal matters.

[West Court]

The division of work is clear and they are close like family.

What's wrong with you?

Are you crazy?

How dare you!

What are you doing?

The person walking toward us right now is

[An Xiuyi, Retainer of East Court]

the leader of the East Court, An Xiuyi.

Look at him.

He's so handsome.

He's from a rich family, but he never

[Jinjie Hall]

puts on an arrogant display.

If you can’t present it in two hours,

pack your things and go to the West Court.

Mr. An’s vice leader openly supports her relatives.

[Lin Susu, Chief Assistant of East Court]

She always speaks the truth.

She never mixes her personal emotions with work.

That would be a great merit for you.

You deserve the credit.

No one can compare to you.

Here at the West Court,

things are even more interesting.

Internal tasks are complicated

but well-organized.

I heard they have a new leader

[Wang Kunwu, Retainer of West Court]

called Wang Kunwu.

He's mature and mysterious.

He came from a military camp.

He will definitely lead the West Court to another level.

Get up!

Squat march!

Now look at her.

She is our invincible Iron Lady,

[Yuchi Hua, Military Advisor of Ministry of Justice of Jingzhao Prefecture]

Yuchi Hua.

She has never given up on

her pursuit of justice because of her

identity as Duke Er's daughter.

Take them all away!

I'll whip you.

I'll whip you!

If you don't stop, I'll whip you!

After talking so much,

I forgot to introduce myself.

My name is Yuan Mo.

[Yuan Mo, Advisor of Sifang Pavilion]

I'm the only special advisor at Sifang Pavilion.

Money.

See?

Even if Sifang Pavilion is closed,

I'm not idle.

Thank you.

No external affair is too small.

This is the perfect time for me to shine.

Once you enter Changle City,

you can get a stamp after you get off the horse.

It's effective for half a month.

This is the new service Sifang Pavilion asked me to provide

for the convenience of foreign traders,

[Sifang Pavilion Customs Pass]

the customs pass.

Why am I so familiar with Sifang Pavilion?

That's because Mr. Yu and I

have been close friends for several years.

Get out!

Get out!

-No. -Get out!

You can lend me some.

I believe

as long as I keep working hard,

Changle City will have a place for me in the future.

So, about me

and the story of Sifang Pavilion,

please listen to me from the beginning.

[Sifang Pavilion - Meeting Hall]

From today on,

he will be West Court's leader,

Wang Kunwu, Retainer Wang.

Bow.

[Ji Mingli, Clerk of West Court]

[Shen Bailian, Clerk of West Court]

-Retainer Wang. -Retainer Wang.

Retainer Wang,

I have something important to do.

I shall take my leave.

You guys talk.

You guys talk.

We... We'll get back to work.

We're leaving. Let's go.

Come back!

Official seal.

The official seal for documents.

It's not that we don't want to give you,

but we really can't do it.

Why not?

Because it's not with us.

What’s your name?

Jiang Jun.

Okay. Go ahead.

Thank you.

Show me your travel pass.

[Ah Shu]

-My travel pass. -Excuse me.

I'm in a hurry for business. Thank you.

I'm in a hurry.

Your name is Kudel?

What are you here for?

Business.

What's your name?

Show me your travel pass.

Next.

Show me your travel pass.

Young man,

do you want a 50-coin customs pass?

No need.

You can stay for half a month with only 50 coins.

No need.

Do you think it's expensive?

I love good wine the most.

If you have good wine from the Western Region,

you can pay with that instead.

Do I look like I have wine with me?

What business are you doing here?

None of your business.

It must be a business without cost.

Don't blame me for being rude if you don't let go soon.

Your wallet came from Mobei.

The scarf came from Yueying.

The skirt

is made from Dongyuan State's rosy cloth.

The hat came from Yuluo State.

I've never seen such a mix before.

Seems like you're doing a world-wide business.

I called you young man

because I don't want to expose your gender.

Should I call the guard over

for a closer look?

What do you want?

I want to see who you are.

Give it back.

Give it back!

Fine, take a look.

Kudel.

Ms. Ku.

Yuan Mo.

Stay here.

Are you Yuan Mo?

And you are...

Retainer of Sifang Pavilion, Wang Kunwu.

We're on the same side.

Who's on your side?

Buddy, buddy.

Is there a misunderstanding?

I found someone suspicious.

There was a little...

Where is he?

-No... -Quit spouting nonsense.

-He was there just now. -Let’s go.

No.

Since you're so strong,

you must be a heroic person.

Do you like drinking?

I have an impressive private collection.

Why don't we have a drink

and be friends?

Shut up!

The foreign merchant called Kudel

has been frequenting Changle City for the last three months.

He changes his residence

in the city every half a month.

The goods on the declaration form

are only fresh fruits that yield small profits.

It's so unusual.

There must be a big secret deal behind it.

Retainer An.

A letter for you.

No wonder no one was allowed to leave the city today.

What's wrong, Young Master?

The Ministry of Rites sent a letter.

Hundreds of crossbows are missing from the armory.

Something bad may be happening in Changle City.

We can't wait.

Come here.

Inform all members of the East Court

to check

the origins and goods of the foreign merchants.

Go.

Yes.

Let's go.

We must find Kudel today.

Yes.

It hurts. Let go of me.

It hurts!

Pretty face! Ji! Save me!

It hurts!

Yu!

Help!

Help!

Help...

Retainer Wang.

I...

This is not the military after all.

Let's not resort to violence, okay?

Let go of him.

Why is the official seal of the West Court

in the hands of this scammer?

I think this guy

should be interrogated by the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Don't. Be gentle.

You'll break his arm at this rate.

Are you okay?

Let me introduce you two.

This is Yuan Mo.

He's the special consultant of our Sifang Pavilion.

As for this official seal...

I gave it to him.

The Sifang Pavilion is closed today.

But we still have to issue passes.

So we sent Yuan Mo to the city gate

for the convenience of the people.

But he took payment without permission.

That's ridiculous!

How much did you receive?

All confiscated!

Yu.

What about your share?

Nonsense!

How about this?

Treat Retainer Wang to a drink at the Ruyi Pavilion

and clear up the misunderstanding.

Mr. Yu.

Stop calling me.

Working hours are over.

I have no obligation to stay here.

And you were a soldier.

What's your duty as a soldier?

It's to obey your superior.

I am your superior now.

I order you!

You must drink this wine.

Other business can wait till tomorrow.

We agreed to meet at 5.45 p.m today.

You're late.

I lost my travel pass

[Kudel, Yanle businessman]

and took the water route.

My master has a note for you

to receive in person.

The goods must be shipped out of the city as soon as possible.

I need to check the goods first.

It's so delicate.

The latest model of crossbows.

They can be hidden in the sleeve

and triggered for consecutive shots.

I wonder

how powerful it is.

Well...

Be alert and hide the goods well.

Get them out of the city as soon as possible.

Brother.

Changle City only allows entry today.

I’m afraid it won't be an easy task.

I have my own way.

[Pingkang District, Ruyi Pavilion]

Take care. See you next time.

Young Master Yuan!

What took you so long?

I miss you so much.

Thank you

for last time.

All right.

Let me introduce him.

This is our newcomer, Retainer Wang.

There's no new or old.

Men become all the same here.

Enough, stop clinging.

Serve your best fish dishes

and two jars of good wine

for Retainer Wang.

Are you really here for dinner?

Fine.

Go up by yourself. Same place.

You...

How can there be a consultant like you in Sifang Pavilion?

You don't understand.

The Sifang Pavilion is in charge of everything.

We deal with envoys, merchants, and even officials

from all over the world.

No matter the kind of people,

we have to attend to them and make the arrangements.

How can we make the guests from far away feel at home?

The answer is

sharing our joy with them.

We're here. This is the room.

Oh, wrong room.

Yuan, right?

I'm Kudel, a businessman from Yanle.

I've been waiting for you.

Please forgive me for coming uninvited.

Kudel?

What's the matter?

Here is the thing.

I need to transport some fresh fruits out of Changle City

before they spoil and become worthless.

Please do me a favor.

You want to leave the city?

What a pity.

It's useless to ask me.

You have to ask our new Retainer Wang.

He's in charge of city exit matters now.

Retainer Wang.

Apologies for not recognizing you.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

Retainer Wang.

Can we talk in private?

Here's the thing.

I don't earn much, so I can't afford to delay my business.

Let's be friends

and do me a favor.

What do you take Sifang Pavilion for?

Pardon me.

Retainer Wang.

You don’t know.

I came all the way to Changle from Yanle.

It’s my first time meeting an official

like you who doesn't demand bribes.

Who doesn't want to be good

and earn an honest living?

But it's too hard.

Please forgive me, Retainer Wang.

Everyone has their own difficulties.

Retainer Wang

is a reasonable person.

Come on.

Get up.

Retainer Wang, if you don't mind,

I've prepared three jars of fine Lingxi wine.

I would like to share them with you

and be friends, what do you think?

Nice! That's great.

Becoming friends is a separate matter.

Don’t let such fine

Lingxi wine go to waste.

Don't drag me.

Young Master.

Come with me.

Wait, wait, wait.

What are you waiting for?

Is it really okay if I don't have a travel pass?

If you're elsewhere without a travel pass,

not only can't you stay,

but you'll also be investigated

and get kicked out of Changle City.

But in Ruyi Pavilion,

you just need to drink and have fun.

As long as you have money,

we won't ask about anything else.

So much food!

Can I eat all of these?

Of course, you need food to go with blossom wine.

Young master, don't just eat.

Have a drink.

What kind of flower wine is this?

Flower?

It's not made from flowers?

Then why is it called blossom wine?

Young master, you're so funny.

What are you doing?

Since you're here to drink blossom wine,

why are you so reserved?

What does this have to do with drinking blossom wine?

Is this your first time here?

Drinking blossom wine means

listening to music, admiring dance,

and having fun.

Have fun?

How?

However you wish.

Young master, you look so decorated.

You must have earned a lot of money.

Your wallet came from Mobei.

The scarf came from Yueying.

The skirt

is made from Dongyuan State's rosy cloth.

I've never seen such a mix before.

Really?

Really.

Take off your clothes.

Isn't that a little too fast?

Why don't we drink more first?

You said I can do whatever I want.

Strip.

Young master, what are you doing?

Young master...

Young master!

I'm going to the toilet.

You guys drink.

Yuan.

We heard you love wine.

My master specially prepared two jars of

good wine from Yanle for you.

Please accept them.

You're too polite.

You're good pals.

The sealing mud smells familiar.

What's wrong?

Nothing.

This is obviously fine wine from Yanle.

I can smell the wine even without opening the jar.

Thanks.

That place seems to be in the west of the city.

Stop!

Miss Ku.

You've changed back into women's clothes.

I didn't expect

you to be working for Ruyi Pavilion.

But you look much better in women's clothes.

Give it to me.

What?

Playing dumb, are you?

Okay.

What are you doing?

Isn't this a robbery?

Who's robbing you?

I want my travel pass.

Calm down.

The travel pass, yes.

I remember now.

The travel pass.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring it with me.

You...

Don't worry. Come with me to get it.

What are you waiting for?

Let's go.

This wine...

This is good wine.

Take them.

Let me think. Over there.

It's not far. It's over there.

Come with me.

No.

This way.

No.

Where was it?

This way. Here.

You're no good.

Drink, drink.

I'll drink.

Look, I'll show you.

Watch me.

Watch me.

See that? See that accuracy?

You're from the army?

You're not good.

I'm no good?

Watch me.

Try again.

I'm no good?

I'm no good?

I...

You shot it out of the door!

Don't hurt the...

Retainer.

Are you okay?

Retainer?

The new retainer of Sifang Pavilion?

About the goods I mentioned...

Look.

We are pals now.

Do you have to do this?

You’re a good pal.

Since we are pals,

I can't let my pals go without benefits.

If you don't accept it,

you're not treating me as your pal.

Fine, I'll take the money.

Taking bribery right after you take office?

I'll catch you red-handed.

Let's drink.

Drink.

Wang?

Wang?

Retainer.

Retainer Wang?

Retainer?

Surrender the money!

How dare a mere retainer like you

accept bribes?

Shameless!

I don't care who you are.

I have no time to argue with you.

Take the money!

Don't delay my important task.

Advisor Yuchi.

Shall we go after him?

He doesn't want the money,

and he has an important task to do?

Wang Kunwu?

Yes.

The new retainer of Sifang Pavilion.

Off you go.

Okay, thank you.

Let's go.

Faster!

Stop.

Sifang Pavilion's routine inspection.

Gentlemen,

we are just humble businessmen.

Besides,

we have special signed papers from Sifang Pavilion.

Take a look if you don't believe me.

Cut the crap.

We'll let you go if everything's fine.

Be careful!

Kudel.

Why are you fighting so early in the morning?

Kill him!

Who are you?

That's my horse!

[Mountain God Temple]

Slow down.

Why did you bring me here?

I haven't slept all night.

Miss Ku,

are you really called Kudel?

My wine!

Give it to me.

Where's my travel pass?

If you don't surrender it today,

I'll let you taste the power of my tickle powder.

Tickle powder?

If that's not enough for you,

I have something stronger.

This is colorless, scentless, and tasteless.

Just a nail-size portion of it...

Isn't this black?

Whatever!

It can make you bleed from your 7 orifices

and die mystery.

You mean die miserably.

What nonsense are you learning at such a young age?

Follow me.

What tricks are you playing? Stop talking.

What?

Did you see him?

What about him?

Something's wrong with him.

Indeed.

Seems like he's running away from someone.

What makes you think so?

He was in a hurry and his steps were unsteady.

He looked nervous too.

Good eyesight.

Wasn't that how you realized it too?

No, I know him.

He's a big bad guy.

Unfortunately, I'm weak and can't fight.

It seems I have to report to the government.

No!

Do you want to catch him?

I'll help if you give me the travel pass.

Okay.

Did he really die miserably?

It's just knockout powder.

He's only unconscious.

You're so cruel.

My travel pass.

Miss Ku,

this travel pass will only bring you trouble.

How dare you fool me?

Fine.

[Travel Pass]

What if he wakes up later?

I...

Retainer Wang! Here!

Yuan Mo?

The person you want is here.

He burnt most of the things.

Why didn't you stop him?

Why didn't you come earlier?

The two of us

already did our best.

Why are you here?

My maid and I came here to burn incense and pray.

Can't we do that?

See?

I just bought her. She doesn't know manners yet.

You came to this shabby temple to burn incense?

What a coincidence.

You knew something was wrong with him, right?

You didn't let me down either.

You pretended to be drunk

and let Kudel go.

Then you followed him in secret

to find out

what he was up to.

Am I right?

How did you find out he was suspicious?

I've been keeping an eye on them

since they arrived at the city gate.

They were proper merchants from Yanle,

but kept quiet about losing his travel pass

and even ran away.

Isn't that strange?

What are you doing?

Where's your manners?

So you used me to investigate him

and also test if I was a scumbag.

I didn't say that.

How did you know he would come here?

This is indeed a good wine.

But the sealing mud is made of incense ash.

In Changle City,

almost all the temples use sandalwood.

Only this shabby temple

is surrounded by elm trees.

So they use elm bark to make incense instead.

Aren't I amazing?

You know about these things too?

I'm more knowledgeable about wine.

How about a drink together?

What are you doing?

I'll pass on the wine.

I'm taking him with me.

Let's go.

Don't you want to know

what they were transporting out of the city?

I just run errands for Sifang Pavilion

and make some pocket money.

I don't plan to involve myself

in unnecessary trouble.

If you were really afraid of trouble,

you wouldn't have interfered from the beginning.

See you.

The Jingzhao Prefecture is on the case!

Keep quiet.

Or you'll die miserably.

Calm down.

I'm keeping watch for you.

I finally found you.

Guards! Arrest them all!

Wait!

I'm Wang Kunwu, the retainer of Sifang Pavilion.

I was going to hand the culprit to Jingzhao Prefecture.

Assistant Advisor of the Jingzhao Prefecture?

Arrest them!

He is the head of the bandits who smuggled weapons!

I followed him here.

Why are you arresting me?

Who knows if you had a falling out among yourselves?

No matter what secret deal

you have with this foreign merchant,

you can explain yourself after we arrest you.

Take them away!

Don't use a blade!

Take him away.

Let's go.

They're gone.

I saved you again.

Miss, how will you thank me?

What is this?

You confiscated my travel pass.

I have to show you my gratitude.

What are you talking about?

What is it?

So? Enjoying the tickle powder?

I can't take it anymore, give me the antidote.

I can't take it anymore.

If you want the antidote,

you'll have to listen to me.

Okay.

Listen carefully.

First,

stop calling me Miss Ku.

I won't.

My name is A Shu.

A Shu! A Shu!

Second,

go to Changle’s most expensive garment shop

and get me two sets of clothes.

I want the best.

Okay.

Third,

I want to stay in Changle forever.

Think about how to make me

a citizen of Yong State.

That's not possible.

I can’t help you with that.

Then just scratch your skin off.

You are so vicious!

I... Fine, I promise you.

I promise you everything.

Give me the antidote.

I can't stand it anymore!

Hurry up.

Miss A Shu.

What are you doing in Changle City?

Everyone wants to come to Changle.

I just want to live here permanently.

I don’t believe you.

That's not my problem.

Forget it.

I admit defeat, okay?

Come on.

What are you doing?

Pay me.

Without money, I can't help you

even if I die from the itch.

Hurry.

This is all I have. Do what you must.

That's all?

It's all I have, quit complaining!

I'll give you three days.

If you dare to play tricks again,

you'll bleed next time.

[One day later]

Hua.

Why are you here?

It's been a while since we last met.

What's the point of meeting?

I've already seen you wearing open pants.

There are other people here.

Can you save me some face?

You're always pulling a long face.

Come on, since you’re here,

let’s have some tea in the East Court.

What tea?

Can't you see I'm busy?

Out of my way. You're so annoying.

Hurry!

Advisor Yuchi.

Don't catch the wrong person again.

I have nothing to say this time.

It won't be so easy next time.

Stop!

You're the new retainer of West Court,

Wang Kunwu, right?

I'm talking to you, you hear me?

You don't have to thank me.

Thank you?

The East Court has been following clues for a month.

You intervened once

and he died.

You want me to thank you?

If I hadn't interfered,

you would have died instead, Retainer An.

Stop!

How can you be justified when the culprit is dead?

At least I caught him.

What did you do?

You...

Both of you, stop it!

Why are you yelling so early in the morning?

About this matter,

both courts are no longer allowed to look into it.

It's normal for you

young folks to be

so passionate.

But smuggling arms is a big deal.

The Sifang Pavilion

can only help with foreign affairs.

Do you understand?

Now someone is dead.

I don't know how to answer to the Ministry of Rites,

and the two of you are arguing here?

Mr. Yu.

What's wrong, Susu?

Vice Minister An of the Ministry of Rites

is almost here.

See? He's here.

The magistrate of Jingzhao

came to the Ministry of Rites to hold me responsible.

Do you know why?

The Ministry of Rites is in charge of the Sifang Pavilion.

But the Sifang Pavilion is in charge of

the hundreds and thousands of foreigners in Changle City.

[An Yuandao, Vice Minister of Ministry of Rites]

If these people cause any trouble,

your Sifang Pavilion will be implicated.

Yes.

Please calm down, Vice Minister An.

But we did our best.

Especially your son, Xiuyi.

As the retainer of East Court,

he checked several places

and gathered a lot of evidence.

Enough of that.

I want results.

Currently, the culprit is dead

and the number of crossbows we retrieved didn't match.

Do you know what that means?

The numbers didn't match?

If the missing batch of crossbows

causes another bloodshed or mishap,

how do you expect me to answer the court?

With your head, Yu Deshui?

An, my friend,

I...

Don't you try to get close to me.

I'll only give you three days.

Do your best to cooperate with the magistrate's investigations.

Yes, sir.

Three days.

I'll only give you three days, East Court.

Do your best to cooperate with the magistrate's investigations.

If the missing batch of crossbows

causes another bloodshed or mishap,

how will I answer to your...

Vice Minister An?

Half an hour ago,

you told us to stay out of this.

Look...

The East Court will complete the task.

Go.

Wait!

The culprit died while I was in charge.

I have to be responsible for this.

Retainer Wang.

I advise you to focus on your West Court matters

and stamp those papers properly.

That's right.

The East and West Courts each have their duties.

External affairs for the East Court, internal affairs for the West Court.

Although tasks in the West Court are complicated,

responsibilities are all the same.

Then there shouldn't be a difference in power either.

[Rules of Sifang Pavilion]

This is the original charter of the Sifang Pavilion.

It says here that

both courts have similar duties.

There's nothing here about splitting the duties

into internal and external.

So what?

You want to be equal with the East Court

with your bunch of losers in the West Court?

Since I, Wang Kunwu, am here,

there will be no cowards among my men,

let alone losers!

Alright.

I know you want to make contributions

and return to the army soon, right?

Xiuyi,

the East and West Courts used to be one.

What Retainer Wang said earlier

does make sense.

How about this?

Let's investigate together this time.

We'll work together earnestly.

We're family.

But I need to emphasize that

our Sifang Pavilion is cooperating with the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Remember.

Cooperate!

It hurts!

Be gentle.

Comfortable.

Yes, right there. That's good.

That's the spot.

Nice.

Don't stop.

Use more force.

Do you know how to do...

A Shu.

How have you been?

How's the task going?

I...

Calm down.

The more you rush, the more you'll be pushed back.

I don't care about that!

I'm not a pushover.

It's a misunderstanding!

Look at you, your Yong language

hasn't improved at all.

Many things can't be rushed.

We need time to work things out, got it?

What?

You went to the theater, drank wine, and got a massage.

It's been three days. Isn't it slow enough?

You followed me?

If I hadn't followed you,

how would I have known where all the money

you scammed me out of went?

Let me explain. Let me explain.

Don't point your weapon at me.

This is dangerous...

I hit the bed this time.

Next time, it'll be your head.

I'll go now.

I won't waste any time.

I'll go now.