Original subtitles

Weiyoung.

You're up?

You look good.

Weiyoung.

You won't do anything stupid again, right?

I'm sorry.

I made you worry.

I have thought about it.

You're right.

I'll surely find Bai Zhi's killer.

I won't let her die without justice.

Okay. I'll surely help you find the killer.

Princess.

Last night, I think I heard someone playing the guzheng.

Did you hear it?

No.

It was late at night.

Who would play the guzheng in the palace?

You must be mistaken.

All right. I asked Su Xin to prepare breakfast for you.

Eat it while it's hot.

Any updates on what I told you to do?

Don't worry, Your Highness. I've already made arrangements.

-We will see the result soon. -I still have some paperwork to deal with.

Ask someone to send energy medicine over.

Your Highness.

You've already overexerted yourself for Lady Weiyoung's case.

You even played the guzheng for her all night.

You should rest.

In terms of strength, I'm not as strong as Tuoba Yu.

If I don't work hard in handling public affairs,

how can Grandfather recognize my abilities?

Don't worry. I'm fine.

Okay.

-I'll go ahead then, Your Highness. -Okay.

JINGGONG GATE

I pay respect to you, Father.

You bastard!

I wonder what I did that infuriated you, Father?

How dare you be so vicious as to harm your nephew?

And you even dare to ask why I'm furious?

Father, I was wronged.

Who dared to frame me and tell you that?

I never did something so ruthless and devoid of humanity.

You were framed?

Do you want me to bring the witness here to confront you?

The witness?

What witness?

Tuoba Han thought he already killed everyone

who participated in harming Tuoba Jun.

He didn't think I would save a few of them

just for today.

Your Highness.

It's not only harming Prince Gaoyang at the hunting grounds,

but even the fact

that Prince Dongping kept the silver mine for himself will be exposed too.

Father, I was wronged.

Please believe me.

They were surely sent on purpose to frame me.

Father, please don't believe them.

Let's not talk about keeping the silver mine for yourself first.

Jun is your nephew.

You dared to harm him.

What else were you willing to do?

Are you going to kill me next time?

Father, I was wronged.

I was wronged.

Father.

I get it now.

It's Tuoba Yu.

Tuoba Yu framed me.

These people were sent by Tuoba Yu.

Because...

Because I exposed the fact that he once tried to harm the Empress.

He has always harbored hatred for me.

He did this to shift your attention.

Father, don't fall for his trick.

He is the one who has evil intentions.

You bastard!

At this stage, you still want to lay the blame on others.

Why do I have a son like you?

Father, I was wronged.

I was wronged.

Prime Minister Li is here.

Your Majesty.

What's the matter?

Official Jing Zhaoyin reported a case.

I wouldn't dare make a decision, so I came to tell Your Majesty.

What is it?

It's a case about a court official who colluded with local officials

to seize lands.

They disregarded human lives.

A court official?

Who are they reporting?

It's...

This morning,

two farmers beat the drum outside Jing Zhao's manor to appeal for justice.

They said Prince Dongping colluded with local officials, seized lands,

and disregarded human lives.

Now

the Emperor should already know about it.

Your Highness, I didn't do it.

I haven't collected enough evidence.

How could I act on my own and hide it from you?

Such a big issue, it's definitely not a coincidence.

It seems

that Jun also can't hold back anymore.

He is going to act soon.

Regarding Prince Dongping's seizure of the lands,

officials,

who do you think should investigate this?

-Well... -Well...

-This should be discussed further. -Who should we send?

-It has officially started. -I wonder if Official Huang can do it.

I'm willing to investigate this case.

Gao Yun.

I'm here.

What do you suggest?

Prince Gaoyang is impartial and has great insight.

I nominate Prince Gaoyang to investigate this case.

I'm willing to investigate this.

I'll surely be impartial.

I won't let Your Majesty down.

The one who harmed you

at the hunting grounds

is your uncle, Prince Dongping.

You are not surprised.

So you already knew.

Mother and I suspected this, too.

We just weren't sure.

Your mother is not someone who can hide things.

If she didn't tell me,

that must be because of your dissuasion.

If I knew Uncle Han would do so many wrong things,

I should have told you my doubts before.

My concession indulged him.

I can go and do whatever I please.

My hands are tainted with so much blood.

Yet I never thought...

that one day, I would have to see my descendants trying to kill each other.

My father once said

that you can't control some things when you're born into the royal family.

I didn't understand it before.

Now I don't have a choice but to understand it.

What do you understand?

Blood relations

cannot overpower the temptation of power.

Blood relations are nothing in the face of power.

Don't worry, Grandfather.

I'm not willing to be a ruthless person.

This time, while investigating Uncle Han's case,

I won't forget our blood relations.

I won't be ruthless.

There are so many things happening lately.

Weiyoung is alone in the palace.

No one is taking care of her.

I'm really worried.

Weiyoung is smart and cautious.

She knows how to resolve her troubles.

She will be fine.

Grandmother, Seventh Concubine.

Changru.

You came just in time.

You always go to the palace.

Do you know how is Weiyoung doing?

Weiyoung was just promoted to Laundry Bureau Head a few days ago.

She is doing great.

Don't lie to me.

I already know what happened to Bai Zhi.

Why?

I apologize.

I didn't mention it because you would worry.

I wanted to tell you only the good news,

but since you already know,

I don't dare to hide it anymore.

Weiyoung

is doing very badly.

Weiyoung and Bai Zhi were like sisters.

Since Bai Zhi was killed for no reason,

how can Weiyoung be doing well?

Furthermore,

Bai Zhi pointed someone as her killer before she died.

It's...

Who is it?

Tell me.

It's Changle.

It's...

It's Changle?

Yes.

Young Lady.

Do you know that you almost exposed us in front of Old Madam?

I just got scared.

Old Madam suddenly mentioned Bai Zhi.

So what?

Even if Bai Zhi were standing right in front of you now,

you can't show any emotion.

I understand.

The things we did are enough to get us killed.

We can't make any mistakes.

Otherwise, we would come to a bad end.

That slap is a reminder for you.

Yes.

Li Weiyoung became the Bureau Head in just a short span of time.

Now

His Majesty and Prince Nan'an like her even more.

If this goes on,

His Highness will marry Li Weiyoung sooner or later.

Then all of my efforts would be in vain.

You put in so much effort to win over His Highness.

You must not accept defeat and give Li Weiyoung the advantage.

But what can I do

to hold on to His Highness?

So you must think carefully.

Has this key ever left your side?

No.

This is very precious. I even take it with me when I bathe.

Even now,

I still have it.

What do you want to say?

Bai Zhi.

Did you want to tell me

that Li Changle stole the key?

That's even more proof that Li Changle killed the Crown Princess.

Li Changle.

You killed the Crown Princess and Bai Zhi.

Regardless of what your status is,

I definitely won't let you get away with it.

Lady Li.

A eunuch sent these just now.

They got these from the place where Bai Zhi was killed.

Thank you, Cai Ping.

Lady Li.

Take care of yourself.

Don't be too sad.

If you need anything, just let us know.

Okay.

PRINCE NAN'AN'S MANOR

The case of Prince Dongping's seizure of lands

already involves many officials who are working for him,

but Prince Dongping keeps saying he was wronged.

He blamed everything on his subordinates.

Even Prince Gaoyang doesn't know what to do with him.

Find someone suitable

to present the evidence we prepared.

At the same time, incite officials to suggest an impeachment to His Majesty.

This time,

we must grab the opportunity

and not give Prince Dongping any chance to recover.

That bastard.

Bastard!

He did so many bad things behind my back.

So he was also the mastermind behind what happened to the Empress.

I want to kill him.

I want to kill him.

I want to kill all the officials who participated

and their relatives up to the third-degree!

Your Majesty, don't be mad.

Grandfather.

Don't do anything you'll regret just because of a moment of anger.

You may all go first.

Jun.

Take a walk with me around the garden.

Yes.

Jun.

Do you know how your father died?

Father made a mistake.

You killed his subordinates

and imprisoned him.

Father was scared.

He was also embarrassed,

and he died with an acute illness.

Many people thought so.

Is there a hidden story behind it?

Back then,

I wanted to kill his subordinates.

He came and begged for their lives.

Not only did I not spare them,

I even said many harsh words and hurt him.

He kowtowed and even fainted from crying in front of me.

I wasn't moved at all

and I even asked someone to throw him out.

Two days later,

I went on a trip

and encountered an assassin.

Evidence shows

that the assassin came from the Crown Prince's manor.

Father definitely wouldn't do anything like that.

Back then, I was so mad.

I imprisoned him right away.

I was furious and resentful.

I wanted to strip him of his title and kill him.

But after three days,

I received news

that the Crown Prince died from an acute illness.

At that time,

my heart was in so much pain.

Huang was my favorite son.

There must be a misunderstanding.

Throughout his whole life, Father respected you the most.

He definitely wouldn't do anything to harm you.

After all these years,

I kept thinking about this.

Back then,

if I hadn't pushed Huang too hard,

if I was willing to hear his explanation,

maybe Huang wouldn't have...

I really regret it.

Grandfather.

This time, your uncle

committed so many mistakes.

I'm really furious.

He deserves to die.

But I remembered your father.

So I really can't bear

to kill my own descendants anymore.

Grandfather.

I understand.

Regardless of what decision you make,

I'll support you.

ROYAL DECREE

His Majesty has decreed,

"Royal Son Tuoba Han is to be demoted to an ordinary citizen.

From now on, he'll be under house arrest.

Without any summons, no one can enter or leave the place.

That is all."

PRINCE NAN'AN'S MANOR

Congratulations, Your Highness.

Prince Dongping is not a threat to you anymore.

You're already half successful with your plans.

I especially prepared some food and wine to celebrate with you.

You made these yourself?

Yes.

They are all your favorites.

That pot of wine is also your favorite.

You've worked hard all day. You must be hungry.

Eat them while they're still hot.

Your Highness. Let me make a toast to you.

Your Highness, let me toast to you again.

Your Highness.

Can you still drink?

Who says I can't drink anymore?

I'll toast to you again...

Your Highness, I didn't do it on purpose.

Your Highness.

You've become so haggard lately.

I know you and Bai Zhi were really close.

You must be really sad because of what happened to Bai Zhi.

But you must pull yourself together.

Otherwise,

Bai Zhi will not feel at peace in the afterlife.

These days,

I always dream of the time when I was still in Junlan Court.

Back then,

Jun Tao and Bai Zhi

were both with me.

We've encountered many difficulties together,

but when I think

about having them by my side,

I've...

never been afraid.

But now,

I'm all alone.

Regardless if I cry or laugh,

no one is with me.

I understand what you're saying,

but I feel really bad.

Seeing you so sad

makes me feel sad too.

By the way,

have they found the killer?

When Bai Zhi died,

she was pointing to Li Changle.

I know the killer is Li Changle.

No matter what happens,

I will surely let her pay for Bai Zhi's death.

Li Changle?

Let go of me.

Weiyoung.

Calm down.

I've already sent someone to investigate.

Li Changle really didn't kill Bai Zhi.

You believe her instead of me.

She must have bribed those people to testify for her.

Bai Zhi was pointing at her before she died.

You saw it.

Weiyoung, don't act this way.

It won't do you any good.

I forgot.

You're not the old Tuoba Jun anymore.

Stop right there!

Weiyoung.

Listen to me first.

If you still want to go and die, I won't stop you.

But let me ask you.

Why do you want to see His Majesty?

I want him to investigate this case.

Why?

Are you scared?

You're scared that His Majesty would punish your beloved wife?

I know.

Bai Zhi's death was a major blow to you,

but Bai Zhi is insignificant to His Majesty.

You want His Majesty to investigate a palace maid's death. A palace maid!

If she died, so be it. Do you think His Majesty would care?

If you infuriate His Majesty, you might even die.

Bai Zhi was a palace maid.

To you, she was a palace maid, but not to me.

I consider her as a sister.

I treat her as my family.

I know she was killed,

yet you want me to pretend that nothing happened?

All right, if His Majesty refuses to investigate this case,

I'll kill Li Changle myself.

No matter what happens, I want her to pay for Bai Zhi's death.

-Li Weiyoung, calm down! -Let go of me.

Weiyoung.

Where's your sense of reason? Where's your wisdom?

Why do I only see a woman who has lost her mind?

Where did that cheerful and strong Li Weiyoung go?

Weiyoung.

If you really want to avenge Bai Zhi's death,

you have to be calm and rational.

If you die,

then Bai Zhi will have really died in vain.

Why are you suddenly telling me these things?

Haven't you always thought that I killed the Crown Princess?

If His Majesty sentences me to death now, wouldn't that be satisfactory to you?

We were friends.

I don't want you to die in vain.

That's all.

SIXIAN GATE

The Empress dragged Tuoba Han down this time.

And it really infuriated His Majesty.

If that old man Gao Yun hadn't stopped him,

she would have lost her crown.

In terms of His Majesty's favor, the Empress wouldn't compare to you.

What's the use of saying sweet words to me?

Many bureaus in the government have many vacant positions

because of the fall of Tuoba Han's party.

And I heard that there are very few officials from your party

who filled the positions.

I've checked,

and the new officials were discussed and chosen by Father, Gao Yun,

and a few other officials.

They don't have noteworthy backgrounds.

His Majesty keeps summoning Prince Gaoyang lately.

Many officials are also Crown Prince Jingmu's former subordinates.

You have to be careful.

Where one has just fallen,

another might rise.

I understand.

You are the only son I have.

I'll have your back, no matter what happens.

I'll always be thankful to you

for raising me since I was a child.

By the way,

there are many rumors in the palace about you and that Li Weiyoung lately.

Li Weiyoung is not an ordinary person.

Mother.

Don't do anything rash.

Don't be nervous.

I just think that it's time to choose a wife for you,

so that your name won't always get associated with lowly women

and make you a laughing stock.

These days,

Li Changru always visits me.

I wonder

if she is the legal wife you have in your mind?

I have my own plans

regarding my legal wife.

Li Changru

can be my concubine.

In such a short span of time,

Tuoba Jun found evidence to knock Tuoba Han down.

I can tell

that he is good.

Could it be that I underestimated Jun?

Your Highness, do your shoulders hurt?

Let me rub them for you.

I originally thought that I could take over Tuoba Han's position

in the court through this case.

But someone attacked in secret,

and this has made me fall into a passive position.

Isn't it all because of that Li Weiyoung?

No matter what,

you're the most impressive royal son in the court.

The most impressive?

Tuoba Jun has marriage ties with the Chiyun family.

The Chiyun family has fallen.

Li Weiyoung is coincidentally the Crown Princess' murderer.

Because of these two things, he already lost his edge.

How can he compete with you?

He has His Majesty's favor.

In the royal family,

you can lack everything,

except for His Majesty's trust and favor.

Because of that, I suffered a lot during my childhood.

I even

tried so hard to gain his favor.

But with his favorite Crown Prince by his side,

everything I did was in vain,

it was all a joke.

Stop thinking about those unhappy things.

If you become the emperor,

you can have everything you want, right?

The emperor?

You're right.

Prince Dongping committed so many mistakes in the past.

He deserved

to end up this way.

Next,

it's time for Tuoba Yu to pay for everything he did.

That's right.

Your Highness.

This is the list of new officials.

We did everything we can,

yet we only managed to reduce Prince Nan'an's men to 30 percent.

But those who were left have real talent.

Do you want me to arrange a private meeting with them?

There's no need.

What I need are not loyal subordinates,

but officials who will truly work for the government and the people.

They just need to do their duties.

Aren't you afraid that they'll be bought off by others?

Then just consider that a test for them.

This is the first pen Father gave me

when I just started learning how to write.

Your Highness.

You're thinking about the Crown Prince again?

I've always thought

that Father's death

was not that simple.

Jun.

Why aren't you playing anymore?

It's been a while since we played together.

Didn't you say

that you liked the melody that I played?

I'm tired today.

I won't spoil your mood.

Jun.

It's late.

Rest early.

Your Highness, it's late and cold outside.

Let me take you back to your room.

Tell me.

Does he love me or not?

If he loves me,

why is he so cold to me?

If he doesn't love me,

why did he marry me?

His Highness is still very concerned about you.

I think

that when you consummate your marriage

and bear His Highness children,

he'll surely love you even more.

Will he?

He surely will.

In order to prevent the poisonous needle incident from happening again,

I set new rules for clothes sent by the consorts.

-New rules? -New rules?

What new rules?

I'll assign the consort's clothing to you.

That means from the time that the consort's clothing is sent here

until the time she gets it back,

there will be specific people responsible for it.

If there's any mistake, that person will be responsible for it

and no one else.

What if someone frames us, then?

You can opt not to give them a chance to frame you.

Do everything you can, even holding the clothes while you're sleeping.

As long as you can ensure your security,

then no one can get the opportunity to frame you.

You don't have to worry too much.

I'm doing this

so that the Laundry Bureau won't be used by people again.

If they know that the Laundry Bureau is prepared,

then they won't think about using us.

Otherwise, if that happens a few more times,

can still we escape death?

Even if we're all servants,

we only have one life.

-Yes, Lady Li. -Yes, Lady Li.

All right, back to work.

-Yes. -Yes.

Come on.

Lady Li.

Prince Gaoyang wants to talk to you.

Please follow me.

I never thought you would be fairly decent at being a bureau head.

You're being too kind.

Why do you want to talk to me, Your Highness?

There's something you must tell me.

What is your relationship with Prince Nan'an?

What does my relationship with Prince Nan'an have to do with you?

Answer me first.

The Laundry Bureau is very busy.

I'll go ahead.

But this is very important.

You're already married.

Aren't you afraid of rumors?

I have no relationship with Prince Nan'an.

But he takes care of me.

It's hard to know someone's intentions.

Don't trust him too much.

Who should I trust, then?

Should I trust you instead?

Even the lowest of palace maids

know that either you or Prince Nan'an will be the heir.

I remember you once told me

that you hate being part of this kind of competition.

Now it seems

that you've already forgotten your original objective.

I hope you know what you're doing.

I'm really worried about you.

So I came to see you.

Since I saw that you've pulled yourself together,

I can feel more at ease.

At this point, you're the only one

who really cares about me.

Changle shouldn't have done that.

You must be wary of her.

By the way,

didn't you mention about requesting His Majesty to investigate this case?

What happened?

How can I do that easily?

Young Lady, there's some dirt here.

Rong'er, that handkerchief is so pretty.

Can you let me see it?

The embroidery of the flower is so unique.

I've never seen it before.

Those flowers can only be found in my hometown.

I've embroidered them in every silk handkerchief I have.

The embroidery is so beautiful.

It's unforgettable.

Can you lend it to me for two days?

I also want to make an exact same embroidery.

You don't have to do that.

You can have it if you like it.

I have a lot of them.

Thank you.

The pattern

and even the threads are exactly the same.

They were clearly made by the same person.

Lady Li.

This is the eunuch who found Bai Zhi's belongings.

-You may go. -Yes.

Don't be scared.

It's not anything serious.

I just want to ask you a few questions.

Were you the one who found this handkerchief?

Lady Li.

Yes, I did.

Did you find it here?

No, it was over here.

By the way, I also found a hairpin at the same time.

I think it was also from the time Bai Zhi was killed.

Prior to this,

have you ever seen this handkerchief?

I've always cleaned this place.

I've never seen it.

I only saw it after Bai Zhi was killed.

I got it.

Don't ever mention this matter to anyone.

Yes, Lady Li.

You may go now.

The handkerchief was found where Bai Zhi was killed.

I've always thought it belonged to her.

But what if it wasn't?

Then it must belong to the killer.

This bloodstain.

Could it be...

I've already sent someone to investigate.

Li Changle really didn't kill Bai Zhi.

Bai Zhi.

I get it now.

You saw the killer.

She was standing here, right?

Changru.

Was it you?

How could that be possible?

How could it be you?

Subtitle translation by Coleen Chua