Original subtitles

[The Vendetta of An]

Everyone outside

is on the move.

The city will soon be in chaos.

Those with somewhere to go

are all thinking of fleeing.

[Travel Pass]

[Travel Pass]

The realm is in peril,

yet I still have a place to go.

Thank you, sir.

I know what's on your mind.

But

at your age,

it's too soon to speak of life and death.

But sir,

I've harmed people.

Innocent people.

Heaven and earth are vast,

and a life is long.

Try to walk farther,

to see a wider world,

and to forgive yourself.

I know

the ones you wronged have forgiven you.

Come on.

The men escorting you are all my old friends.

They'll keep you safe on the road.

Move.

[Episode 26]

What?

Why is the gate closed?

Why is it closed?

Sir.

Why have you stopped?

There's no way ahead.

Look.

What happened?

Why are they all lying on the ground?

- What's going on? - How am I supposed to get out?

Exactly.

We can't leave now.

What's going on?

The gate is shut.

Starting today,

entry and exit are only allowed

through Yanping Gate.

That'll be a long detour!

Yeah.

[Flatbread]

Open the door!

Open the door!

How can I help you?

I'll take 700 flatbreads

and 350 bowls of noodles flakes in soup.

Well...

I...

You refuse?

My...

my shop is too small.

I'll give you time

and money.

So

the Tiemo people entered the city just like that.

[Wontons] It feels like a dream.

Exactly.

What do we do?

Flee?

Flee?

The city gates are all in their hands.

Who knows how many

Tiemo soldiers lie outside?

Exactly.

We're just common folk.

Where can we run?

How would we run?

Then what do we do?

I'm staying.

If our army fights its way back,

I can kill a few Tiemo scoundrels myself.

That's what I was thinking.

But first, eat.

Sir.

Three bowls of wontons.

All right.

Once the Tiemo army arrives,

we commoners

will be the ones who suffer the most.

Truly.

Tell me about it.

Who knows how many more meals

we'll be able to get from this stall?

Eat while we still can.

Indeed.

Your wontons are ready.

- Come on. - Careful. They're hot.

All right.

- Thanks, sir. - We've got it.

Thank you, sir.

Sir.

Sir?

You haven't eaten, have you?

Come have a bowl of wontons.

I don't want wontons.

I have no appetite

and no money.

What money?

Come.

It's only a bowl of food.

Sit.

With the Tiemo army approaching,

money means nothing.

Consider this a small favor.

If you knew what I'd done,

you wouldn't help me.

Xie Huai'an said

you'd understand everything

when you saw this bowl of rice.

You must stay strong.

I said I'd cook it,

but he insisted on doing it himself

and burned one of my pots.

Burned it clean through, you hear?

What a waste!

Go on, eat.

I will stay strong.

I can stay strong.

It's just a lad who can't truss a chicken,

yet they sent a whole crowd to tail him.

They truly have nothing better to do.

The Tiemo people are already in the city.

People are terrified.

The shadow guards

they've planted in the city

aren't enough to hold Chang'an.

They're waiting for their troops.

Until they arrive,

they won't touch the common folk.

You seem

confident.

I planned for years

to return to Chang'an and kill Yan Fengshan.

But the Tiemo invasion

and my kin's betrayal

were beyond my calculations.

Life is

unpredictable indeed.

Tomorrow at the Shen hour,

a wind will rise.

I don't know why,

but looking at you now

gives me

a strange feeling.

What feeling?

As if you were an old man.

I am.

I truly am.

My parents are gone.

I have no family left in this world.

Living in this world,

I can only cling to memories.

Such days

should come to an end.

End? What end?

Huai'an, don't say that.

Silly girl.

Don't worry.

Heaven above,

please show Huai'an

some kindness.

Xiaoqing,

I need a walk.

It's dangerous outside.

Where's Zheng?

Zheng...

I already sent him off.

I want to look around outside.

All right.

This pot is ruined.

I need to have it mended.

As for Heaven's kindness,

we'll see.

Don't tell your senior brother about this.

Let's go.

[Earthenware]

Huai'an,

they sell new pots here.

Let's take a look inside.

Sir, why is there

so much smoke?

Do you mend pots,

or do you cook?

Three chi down the alley behind us

is an eatery kitchen.

When they start cooking, the smoke drifts over.

Huai'an,

I don't think they mend pots here.

Let's ask.

Sir,

my pot is broken.

Take a look.

Can you mend it?

I can.

When do you want it done?

Today?

Not today.

I'm too tired to walk.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

At night?

Not at night.

Tomorrow at the Shen hour.

Shen hour?

Very well.

I'll have it done then.

My thanks.

Think nothing of it.

Let's go.

Huai'an,

there was something odd

about that man.

How so?

He almost

seemed

afraid of you.

You're overthinking things.

Come with me to a clinic.

If we could return to Taiyiji,

we wouldn't need to go to another clinic.

Can a clinic in a place like this

really be trusted?

Yes.

Your senior brother's life was saved there.

Really?

Yi Zhihu.

Yi Zhihu is real?

How did you meet this physician?

I've been hunted for years.

One winter, Yi crossed paths with me

and saved me.

Yi said obsession

as deep as mine had never been seen

and wished to see how my story would end.

Yi Zhihu,

you're a woman?

I thought Yi would be some ugly old man.

Rumor says

that a northern healer, hideous of face,

can bring the dying back to life

and wed a young bride at 50.

But in truth, Yi Zhihu

is a woman.

The ugly one

is her helper.

Those who come to me

have all been to the verge of death.

Without a few tricks,

I couldn't have survived.

Treating your senior brother last time, for example,

drew the Huben guards upon me.

Aren't you going to step out?

Why should I?

I need to examine his wounds.

There's no need to keep things from Xiaoqing.

There's nothing

she can't know.

Is that so?

Seems to me you're still hiding something from her.

Where is he?

The King of Tiemo is in the city now.

Is your blade ready?

With the enemy at the gates,

killing him alone won't be enough.

I've devised a plan

to kill every Tiemo invader.

Do you have enough forces?

Of course.

- General. - General.

- General. - General.

Where are the others?

Have my orders

lost all weight in this camp?

General,

the other officers

are gone.

What did you say?

The other officers

and their men

have vanished.

Have they deserted?

Then track them down!

General,

(Watch on www.dramacool.club to support Admin)

it's been nearly five days.

We have

no trail to follow.

Xiang Xuehuai!

Please.

How are you

still drinking tea?

Look,

he caught us.

This is Mr. Xie Huai'an's friend,

Ye Zheng.

He's brought Mr. Xie's command.

Whatever the order is,

we have a greater internal crisis.

Do you realize

what is happening?

Six entire units have disappeared!

I know that.

That was due to Mr. Xie's first order.

Then why didn't you tell me?

Calm yourself.

I knew your temper,

so I held back.

The messenger that day

was from the Huben Army.

This letter is from Xie Huai'an.

If we follow his strategy,

we may

have a chance to defeat the Tiemo people.

Farewell.

Wait.

Why are you helping us?

You are soldiers.

So are we.

That's why Xie Huai'an

trusts me.

Where will you go next?

The four regional commanders hold massive forces.

I will carry Xie Huai'an's order

to each of them.

Five days ago,

Mr. Xie Huai'an secretly ordered me

to send out

our finest troops.

Where were they sent?

They're all in Chang'an.

When do we strike,

and what is the signal?

Tomorrow

at the Shen hour.

The wind will rise.

Where have you been?

Zheng, how thoughtful you are.

You look grumpy,

but the congee you made smells wonderful.

Thank you.

You and that mouth of yours.

Come in.

The food's ready.

Tiemo shadow guards won't risk alerting us.

If they're walking openly with axes,

they're likely just ordinary neighbors.

Come on.

Cen Pickles!

Is Cen Pickles not home?

Why are you here?

For a meal!

You've run out of grain already?

We're saving it.

Once war starts,

supplies may be cut off at any moment.

We eat his grain first,

then ours. Come on.

Shameless.

You "flatter" us.

Your Majesty.

Have you found Xie Huai'an?

Not yet.

We're sending more men to search.

He's Liu Ziwen's son.

Everything

the Huben Army learned, he learned.

Finding him

won't be easy.

There is another matter

Your Majesty may want to hear.

Speak.

Sha from the wonton stall

treated Xiao Wenjing

to a bowl of rice.

Rice?

Yes.

He used the chance

to see how many of us

were tailing Xiao Wenjing.

They may

act soon.

Then we've likely

found Xie Huai'an.

And Cen Weizong.

Thank you.

All right, that's enough.

Full?

Yes.

Good. We're leaving!

- We'll take the clay pot tomorrow. - We're leaving.

Carry the ax for me.

We're leaving.

I'll come back tomorrow.

- We're leaving, sir. - Be careful.

Come on.

Your neighbors in Ronghua Alley

are treating your home like it's a granary.

Those few you saw,

plus the ones who didn't come today,

come here to eat

whenever they like.

I gave them nicknames:

Gulouzi,

Gourd Chicken,

Noodle Soup,

and Boiled Lamb.

Food is the primary need of the people.

When grain runs out,

their world collapses.

Sha told me

that in the old days,

the founding emperor, you, my father,

and Wu Zhongheng

often gathered in that little shop

for a bowl of wontons.

Sha worked all night

and barely earned a few coins.

So he complained?

But he's right.

It's been nearly 20 years.

Among the few of us, I'm the one

who achieved the least.

But I enjoyed

being with my friends.

Wu Zhongheng

is now the King of Tiemo.

Are you still friends?

Most likely not.

After your father

hung the red silk on the hemlock tree,

I never showed up again.

Wu Zhongheng must have known then

that I belonged to the Liu faction.

If we were still friends,

I could have walked into his courtyard

to assassinate him,

regardless of the outcome.

The Grand Preceptor cannot die.

As for killing him,

I already have a plan.

Are you hungry?

Want some congee?

Here.

No, thanks.

You go on and eat.

I'm not hungry.

Then why the long face?

I feel uneasy.

It's freezing out there,

yet he sits alone like that.

He'll catch a cold.

- I'll call him back. - Don't.

We'd better

let him be.

[You hour]

Open the door.

Yes, sir.

My men have been negligent.

You are, after all, about to be emperor.

How could they serve you a meal like this?

The empire is collapsing.

What emperor?

It's only a show,

with me playing the monkey

for the Tiemo people.

This is the peace treaty I drafted.

Accept it,

and you can save your nation,

Your Majesty.

[Firstly, the two nations shall be as brothers.]

[Secondly, the three prefectures north of North Office are ceded to Tiemo.]

"All land north of North Office

belongs to Tiemo"?

"Annual tribute: 250,000 liang of gold,

250,000 liang of silver,

100,000 horses,

300,000 bolts of silk,

[900,000 dan of grain]

and 900,000 dan of grain"?

Even the fertile fields of Ganzhou

yield only 200,000 dan a year.

Huzhou, Huai'an, and the others

yield less than 100,000 dan a year.

Yet you demand 900,000 in tribute?

You call this a peace treaty?

Isn't this

just turning my people

into your slaves

and livestock?

Past Xigu Mountain City,

Chang'an has no natural defenses left.

My main forces

are just 300 li away.

When they arrive,

the well-off people of Chang'an

won't just be slaves or livestock.

Even the chance to stay alive

won't belong to everyone.

Tomorrow,

tear off that mask of yours,

show yourself as the Emperor of Chang'an,

and sit on your throne.

We will seal this treaty by exchanging

letters of credence.

In return,

your people will live.

I was once a useless emperor,

blind to the sufferings of the people.

But now I understand.

A bowl of rice

or a single flatbread

can be the line between life and death.

If you can't even give them that,

then attack.

When you do, the people of Chang'an

will die fighting with you.

You can try.

If you lose,

Chang'an will be a wasteland.

Monster.

But so am I.

Huai'an.

Why are you sharpening my blade?

Here.

It's done.

Huai'an,

you're acting strangely today.

Are you hiding something from me?

No.

You're the one hiding something.

The pageboy is locked in the Imperial Guard Station.

You scouted out the place, right?

So?

Did you find a way to rescue him?

You knew?

We're friends.

How could I not know what you're thinking?

I'm not confident.

There are too many guards.

It's hard to break in.

Once the Shen-hour plan begins,

the Tiemo people will kill him the moment

they feel threatened.

He won't die.

Give me a battalion.

I will take

the station within two hours.

If you storm it, he may truly die.

Ye Zheng,

the Shen-hour plan

cannot afford

a single misstep.

Therefore,

you must appear at the exact place

I designated for you

and wait for me there.

I will

rescue the pageboy.

How?

Yesterday,

I had Sha serve him a bowl of rice.

I let the Tiemo people see it on purpose

so they'd believe

I intended to rescue him.

That means today,

the pageboy will be

forced to exchange letters of credence with Tiemo

as the Emperor of Chang'an,

and

the best moment to act is when he is

on his way to the palace.

But

why expose such a flaw?

It's the only

and the most convincing way.

Only by doing so

can the Shen-hour plan

remain concealed.

No.

Absolutely not.

You will expose yourself.

You will be risking your life!

It is a life for a life.

Ye Zheng,

if you were the one in danger,

I would do the same.

But...

Enough.

No more arguing.

If we do manage to drive out the Tiemo people,

don't forget

to reunite with Zhaolu.

I will.

When all this ends,

I will find her.

But until then,

I must keep you safe.

If anything happens to you,

what meaning will my life have left?

I know

that once you decide something,

no one can sway you.

Since following you,

I've never questioned your decisions

or faltered

in carrying out your orders.

But this is different.

You're walking straight to your death.

Huai'an,

sometimes you should put yourself first.

Huai'an,

your hair...

I was born white-haired,

and I'll die white-haired.

What is there to fear?

All right,

time for me to go.

At the Shen hour,

we'll meet again.

♪May this be my last trip♪

♪May this howling wind never cease♪

♪Not looking back♪

♪Not fearing the hardship ahead♪

♪To Chang'an I go♪

♪Countless mountains I surmount♪

♪The joy and sadness of life♪

♪Shall be done away♪

♪Never coming back...♪

Zheng.

Zheng...

Master once said

that he was born white-haired.

The Grand Preceptor divined

that he would live

until his hair turned white again.

♪Never coming out in their lifetime♪

♪Looking at the bright moon...♪

Looks like his mind is set.

♪That misleads this chaotic era?♪

♪Borrowing the faint candle light to illuminate♪

♪This path♪

♪May this be my last trip♪

♪Flowers and plants, in their countless shapes and forms♪

♪Blossom with infinite colors♪

♪Time passes by, the cycle begins anew♪

♪The plants survived another winter♪

♪Looking at the sea of people from afar♪

♪I yearn for a connection♪

♪That lasts till we die♪

♪When you look back and smile, time seems to freeze♪

♪A swift moment becomes an eternity♪

♪In this vast world, our paths lead to different journeys♪

♪Like peacocks flying apart♪

♪Lifting my head, a bright moon hangs in the sky♪

♪Looking at my hometown, mountains away from me♪

♪A flick of hand is enough to stir turbulence♪

♪Oh, this world of splendor♪

♪Not dead, yet not alive♪

♪Prosper when it's prosperous♪

♪Serene like the moon when it's peaceful♪

♪Thousands of well-lit households♪

♪The dream of my homeland♪

♪Resides in me♪

♪Though it's but a small wish♪

♪I ask for peace in all four corners♪

♪Oh, this world of splendor♪

♪Not dead, yet not alive♪

♪Prosper when it's prosperous♪

♪Serene like the moon when it's peaceful♪

♪Thousands of well-lit households♪

♪The dream of my homeland♪

♪Resides in me♪

♪Though it's but a small wish♪

♪I ask for peace in all four corners♪