Original subtitles

(Episode 8)

You have such a delicate side.

It seems I have not known you well enough.

Then I hope we may be together to the end of time.

Maybe one day,

I will know you fully.

Come with me.

This is...

I have made up my mind.

If we are together,

this imperial status will surely be an obstacle.

If you are willing,

I wish to wear these commoner's clothes with you.

Just like what we promised.

We will live in seclusion in the woods...

and roam the mountains and rivers together.

Of course I am willing.

When the time comes, the two of us...

will find a courtyard in the woods...

and hold a simple wedding ceremony.

May we be like a pair of swan geese in flight,

never parted for a hundred years.

But...

before that,

there is something I must tell you.

If I do not say it out, my heart will remain knotted.

What is it?

Your Highness,

the carriage is bumpy.

Why not return to the residence and read it later?

A locust plague has already started in the western realm.

If we do not make preparations,

a famine will come.

Who will suffer then?

Time is pressing. I have no choice but to read it now.

- What happened? - I will go down and take a look.

Who are you?

Do you know the consequences...

of your actions?

If we both take the throne,

a war is inevitable in the future.

Why not decide the winner here and now?

What is it?

I...

Your Highness,

I have terrible news.

The Crown Prince of Ji North was ambushed...

and died within the borders of South Hui Kingdom.

It is said to be Crown Prince Shu Qian's doing.

Is there any movement in the Gu Manor?

Your Highness,

the messenger has reported back.

Prime Minister Gu claims to be ill,

shutting himself in his room.

That old fox...

shows some sense, at least.

Your Highness, a letter from Prime Minister Gu.

The crown prince has rebelled.

The realm stands on the verge of ruin.

I am willing to turn back from the wrong path,

rein in before the cliff,

and give my all...

to protect Your Highness.

You wait at the door.

Your Majesty!

I deserve to die for disturbing Your Majesty.

The rebel forces have reached the palace gate.

The palace guards hold the line without retreat.

However, the enemy presses fiercely.

I fear we cannot hold out for long.

Prime Minister Gu locked himself in.

The deputy commander of the Imperial Guards...

seems to be up to something.

The commander of the Imperial Guards...

is the crown prince's man?

Insolence!

Your Majesty, please move to the secret passage.

If I flee in haste,

how can I face...

my ancestors in the afterlife?

To the main hall.

Your Highness,

you and I know the crown prince all too well.

No one knows Huai Yi's identity now.

And in a monk's guise,

he should be safe.

But you...

Your Highness.

This is dangerous.

I will gather the household troops to guard the manor.

At the western corner gate, a secret channel leads to the moat.

I have already ordered 20 warriors sworn to give their lives,

disguised as a merchant convoy, to wait in the reed marshes.

Now is the perfect chance for Shen Song...

to break out with Huai Yi.

Let us not waste time.

Shen Song,

you are the one I trust the most.

Take Huai Yi and go.

Huo Ying,

have the household troops set up defenses.

Huai Yi, be careful.

Go.

Huo Ying.

Huo Ying.

Why did you not tell Xiao Shu He to leave?

The rebel cavalry is almost at your gates,

and the Imperial Guards are all elite.

Do you think you can hold them off?

Concern makes chaos.

You know Prince Shu He better than I do.

If His Highness leaves,

the rebels will announce to the world...

that he fled in fear of punishment.

Even if His Highness manages to escape,

the court of the South Hui Kingdom lies wounded,

and war has broken out in the north.

Can His Highness truly live as a carefree recluse?

Today,

the court of South Hui is corrupt,

villains hold power, and the state is falling apart.

I, as the Crown Prince, cannot stand idly by.

Soldiers, hear my command!

We shall cleanse the court...

and save the kingdom from peril!

Cleanse the court!

Save the kingdom from peril!

Tonight's act...

is for the salvation of the realm.

If I do not raise my troops,

the southern dynasty will be destroyed overnight.

First battalion, come with me to the palace.

Second battalion, surround the Sixth Prince's manor.

Do not let anyone out.

Yes, Your Highness!

Are you here to urge me to leave too?

Father's whereabouts are unknown.

The crown prince has gone to such lengths.

I may not be talented, but as a prince of South Hui,

I cannot simply walk away.

The life and death of an imperial family...

is but a single line under the historian's brush.

It is but a single line.

But the judgment of history,

you may not care,

but I cannot.

If you go,

will you be able to come back alive?

You and I have different fates.

Even if this day marks my end,

I should die in South Hui.

Then, I shall think of these days as a dream.

Shu He.

Is that what you mean?

Do not force me anymore.

All right?

When I was young,

Father invited Crown Prince Shu Qian and me to visit the Imperial Garden.

Crown Prince Shu Qian praised my zither skills.

Father was pleased...

and said he wanted to hear me play.

There were many people at the pavilion.

But I knew...

the only one...

who listened attentively was Crown Prince Shu Qian.

That is why I played that piece with such ease.

Crown Prince Shu Qian knows me.

He understands me.

That is why he hurts me.

This is my fate.

I cannot escape from it.

Take the dagger.

I will.

Can you feel it?

If, after today,

we can never see each other again,

remember this.

This place only belongs to you.

Every moment...

belongs only to you.

Report!

Your Highness,

the crown prince invites you to the palace immediately.

I see.

You may go.

Yes, Your Highness.

Let me put on...

the mountain river brocade.

Father.

It has only been a few days,

and you have aged.

I have not yet grown old enough...

to satisfy you.

In the past, you could not even help me into the sleeves,

and now, you are helping me into the mountain river brocade.

When did you learn that?

Why did I not know?

There are many things you do not know.

From now on,

I will tell you all of it, one by one.

Every single thing?

From morning to night,

through all the seasons,

until you refuse to hear another word.

Until you are sick of it.

Sick of you?

That is rather difficult.

This realm,

you have ruled for far too long.

So long that you forget...

you were once the crown prince...

who rose to the throne through bloodshed.

Must you be so impatient?

You always say that I am cruel and vicious.

But if you had not indulged Prime Minister Gu...

to form factions for private gain,

nor allowed Shu He to grow his power in court,

I would not have come to this.

Rest assured.

The chronicles will say you died of an illness.

I shall be a benevolent ruler.

Just like you were.

Your Highness. Wake up, Your Highness.

Your Highness.

- Your Highness. - I am sorry for being late.

The crown prince is obsessive and disregards all moral orders.

The South Hui Kingdom is in grave peril.

Prime Minister Gu, say no more.

- Prepare the horses. - Please.

Long live the Emperor!

Reserve that for the enthronement ceremony.

Where is Xiao Shu He?

Your Highness,

is this not too risky?

A man with a disabled right hand amounts to no threat.

All of you wait here.

I shall end...

my brother's life myself.

Guard the palace gates.

Do not let anyone in.

You wretched cur from Ji North.

How dare you wear my brother's skin to seek death?

Who dies tonight...

is yet to be decided.

Where is Xiao Shu He?

Tell me,

and I shall grant you an intact corpse.

Shu He.

No matter what happens in the future,

my heart will never change.

Duan Zi Ang.

Think carefully.

If you kill me,

how can you leave South Hui?

How dare you!

The crown prince has ordered me...

to bring Prince Shu He to the palace immediately.

I have the crown prince's token.

Without my order,

you shall not release the arrows.

Zi Ang! Xiao Shu Qian!

How is Father...

Shu He,

my dear brother,

how could you ask such a naive question?

Rest assured.

The chronicles will say you died of an illness.

I shall be a benevolent ruler.

Xiao Shu Qian.

That is your biological father!

What?

It was one thing to expect me to be a good brother,

but now you expect me to be a good son!

For the sake of the throne,

what kind of monster must you become before you will stop?

What a pity.

If you had told me this yourself...

when you gave me the broken string,

you and I might have been able to talk it out.

Let us out of the city.

I promise I will never set foot in the capital again.

You fell into the ice lake when you were four.

It was I who fished you out.

You were poisoned by an arrow when you were seven.

It was I who sucked out the pus and blood for you.

And now you speak of "us"...

with a savage of Ji North?

What is he saying?

Do you think this cur poured his heart out to you?

A Ji North spy sneaked into...

the southern frontier three months ago.

- Shut your mouth. - He made you willingly act...

like a fool for the past few months.

Shut your mouth.

When you shared a bed with him, did it ever cross your mind...

that the secret report clearly states,

"I am acquainted with Prince Shu He and he may be of use"?

Shut your mouth!

Do you think everyone is as despicable as you?

The South Hui Kingdom cannot satisfy your ambition,

so you would fill it with my heart and flesh.

I, Xiao Shu He,

deserve to be schemed by my family and loved ones.

For I am a fool.

Let him go.

Shu He.

Let him go.

If he does not die today, then you will.

He even dared to kill his own father.

You would plead for him?

Do you think you can still live?

I am not doing this for him.

I am doing it for the kingdom.

As a prince of South Hui,

it is my fate to die tonight.

You were born in Ji North,

raised in Ji North,

and your loyalty belongs to Ji North.

On top of the city walls tonight,

there is no Duan Zi Ang...

or Xiao Shu He.

There is only a prince of South Hui...

and an assassin of Ji North!

Such a loyal and filial Xiao Shu He.

If you truly kill Duan Zi Ang today,

I shall be impressed.

Sparing your life would not be impossible.

Shu He.

You should know that my blade is faster than yours.

I would rather you hate me,

yet still I will keep you safe.

Is that so?

Shu He.

How about this?

Why are you doing this?

Who is calling me, Shu He, now?

The son of a salt merchant,

the orphan of General Duan's household,

an assassin seething with hatred,

or a cunning and scheming...

spy from the Ji North Kingdom?

Each word was from the heart.

It pains me deeply to hear that.

Why not let me set you free?

Shu Qian.

Shu Qian!

Shu Qian.

Shu Qian.

Shu Qian.

Imperial Guards, heed my order!

Protect Prince Shu He!

Huo Ying.

The Rhino Horn Pill formula.

Rhinoceros horn over 300 years old,

roasted on thunder-struck wood for seven days.

Three maces of snow lingzhi,

grown upon a century-old coffin in a land of bitter frost.

It can cure all poisons.

Two and a half maces of Ghost Dove's tears,

steamed in strong liquor for seven days...

until a shape of amber is formed.

Swallow it with warm water.

I only trust you.

You must be loyal to me.

On a stormy night,

I will come back to accompany Your Highness.

I have killed 17 powerful princes.

But I have never felt as satisfied as now.

A reunion after long parting,

Huai Yi,

and avenging your father.

What is real?

This heart is real.

How ridiculous.

I actually spent my last days...

teaching an enemy spy to write poems of the southern frontiers...

and paint the snows of Jinling.

Shu He.

Let us go, shall we?

You do not wish to be this prince,

nor do I wish to be the heir to the throne.

Can you feel it?

From now on, every beat here belongs only to you.

Every beat will call your name.

Then, allow our heartbeats...

to end tonight.

The prince of South Hui and the heir of Ji North...

They should have...

never met.

You should go.

In this life,

let us never meet again.

Protect Prince Shu He!

Hear me, soldiers of South Hui!

Capture the Ji North assassin,

and avenge Shu Qian!