Original subtitles

=To Kill a Songbird=

(Adapted from Shen Xiaoguan's Bird Kills Seven People)

=Episode 15= (Goose Cries Echo. Obsession Endures)

(Gathering Auspiciousness With the Sun) Mr. Cui.

Do as I instructed yesterday.

Split up and keep searching.

Leave this place empty.

Not a single soul?

I'm counting on you.

(Gathering Auspiciousness With the Sun)

(Official Liang is not staying at the courier station.)

(None of the main routes show any sign of him either.)

(A high official of the second rank)

(cannot simply vanish without a trace.)

Miss Li.

What brings you here?

Why are you in such a hurry?

You?

I came across some excellent tea today.

Sit down and share a cup with me.

Ah, yes.

I have yet to introduce myself.

My name is Liang Andao.

There is no need for formalities.

You arrived in Huachang County long ago in plain clothes.

If I never step outside,

how could I see

or hear what truly happens?

Then why would I come at all?

At my age, am I here just to admire the scenery?

Miss Li.

We have already submitted the evidence.

I have reviewed it all.

I never imagined

that an old unresolved case

would hide so many dark turns.

Murder to steal another man's wife.

False testimony.

And framing the innocent.

All these cases are connected.

I know these words are long overdue.

Still, I hope

they are not too late.

Miss Li, you have suffered greatly.

I will see that justice is done for you.

Thank you, Official Liang.

Alright.

At last, I can give an answer.

When you fell from the cliff,

it threw Magistrate Lu into a panic.

He pressed me to seek out Official Liang.

I have a favor to ask.

I fear Jiang Chun lacks the ability to find him.

As for Official Liang…

Very well.

I give you my word.

So it was he who sent you to seek Official Liang.

(If one day I were gone,)

(would you grieve for me?)

From the moment I fell from the cliff until today,

has anything in his conduct

seemed out of the ordinary?

Inspecting Envoy Zhai arrives.

Master Zhai.

You didn't waste a single second.

He attempted an assassination last night,

and today he sent everyone away.

Even if he believed I was dead,

he would not act with such reckless arrogance.

Did he leave

any trace behind last night?

Such as

marks or wounds on his body.

(The Sun Rises, The Moon Endures)

Lu Yanchong, so it truly was you.

How dare you!

I'm sure you already know

what I'd dare to do.

He meant to draw Zhai Lu out to find him.

What is he truly plotting?

Gentlemen.

I am the assassin who attacked Master Zhai last night.

Guards.

(The Sun rises. The Moon endures.) Come and seize me!

I have a conjecture.

Outside the capital region,

should two officials of the seventh rank or above

die suddenly or meet an unnatural end,

the case may not be tried locally.

It must be sent to the Court of Judicial Review,

to be retried and held for further judgment.

If Magistrate Lu and Zhai Lu were to meet misfortune together,

then even without my involvement,

this case

would be quietly buried.

Once it is reported to the capital circuit,

Zhai Lu's influence in Haining

would no longer avail him.

His ties at court would fail.

When matters are forced into the open,

Miss Li would naturally be protected,

and the Thrush Case would no longer be suppressed.

Still, Miss Li, you need not worry too much.

Perhaps I have guessed wrongly.

Is there truly someone in this world

who would stake his career and his life

for an old and unresolved

cold case?

Seize him.

Hold.

Master Zhai.

There are certain matters

best not discussed before others.

For example,

Luofu Manor.

Wait outside.

- Yes. - Yes.

Please.

Your struggle is futile.

That woman

is already dead.

That is true.

She is dead.

Everything comes to nothing.

Nothing remains.

Sit.

I once met Li Ji.

When I first took office,

the Thrush Case had not yet occurred.

Li Ji had fine handwriting

and solid learning.

He served for several months as a clerk at the county office.

He and I

crossed paths a few times.

You two

bear some similarities.

Do we?

I assumed

you relied on the current Grand Chancellor,

while I,

after writing that poem at Tunhai House

that offended the Chancellor,

earned your deep dislike.

Walk this road long enough and you will understand.

In officialdom, and in life,

nothing is ever purely black or white.

If you wish to accomplish certain things,

you must inevitably

let go of some principles.

Believe it or not,

when I was in my early twenties,

I was not the man I am today.

What you said to me today

was rather amusing.

That said,

I am nothing like Li Ji.

A woman alone

is not enough to make me throw my life away.

But yesterday,

had I not staged that scene,

you would not have

revealed yourself so easily.

Some matters

can only be discussed in private, face-to-face.

What is it you wish to discuss?

You know me well enough.

You should know I am no fool.

Helping Li Ji's sister overturn the verdict

was a calculated risk on my part.

I wagered that the Thrush Case

would stir enough waves in Haining

to win me

a reputation for integrity and uprightness.

But now that the woman is dead,

and the victim is gone,

this case

is unlikely to make any further impact.

If I wish to advance further in office,

I must seek another path.

After much thought, I came to one conclusion.

It is easier to rest in the shade of a great tree.

Master Zhai,

this time,

I have come to offer my allegiance.

Empty promises.

Since I dare sit down to bargain with Your Excellency,

I would not come without goodwill.

Everything here

is evidence tied to the Thrush Case at Luofu Manor.

It has never been shown.

Your roots in Haining run deep.

You may not fear my accusation,

yet such leverage in another's hands

is never safe.

Now,

I return it all to you.

That should count as sufficient sincerity.

What do you want?

Luofu Manor was burnt down,

but Zhao Chengxi's wealth

cannot have vanished entirely.

I want the estate.

The land.

And the northwest ginseng routes.

That should be easy.

This is daylight robbery.

If I take possession of this property,

you are not losing out.

I am handing you a leverage this large.

From this day on,

we stand or fall

as one.

That way,

you can finally rest easy.

Everything I have done

was for gain,

and for a future.

Just sign here.

From here on,

we walk the same path.

(Hereby granted to Lu Yanchong the estate and the northwest ginseng transport permit.)

(Hereby granted to Lu Yanchong the estate and the northwest ginseng transport permit.)

(Hereby granted to Lu Yanchong the estate and the northwest ginseng transport permit.)

(Signed by Zhai Lu.)

What is this?

Why is there another document?

Something that can convict you.

You are playing me.

(Lu Yanchong.)

(Master Lu.)

You came just in time.

Do you see that box over there?

It is made of metal.

Fire should not damage it.

Take it with you.

What is inside?

Evidence that will clear your brother's name.

Turn around and leave.

Do not look.

He is about to die.

Will you do nothing?

Only if the two of you die together

will this case be sealed beyond doubt.

Besides,

he prepared the tung-oil fuse.

It has nothing to do with me.

Very well.

Human affection

is as thin as water.

From this day forth,

may you be like a kite with wings,

free to soar any sky as you please.

Stop right there!

♪A thrush's song pierced the endless night♪

♪Blood splattered on the bamboo cage, reflecting the cool moonlight♪

♪Thirteen years of frost and snow sealed the old study window♪

♪I twisted the needle, prying open the past♪

♪A cold stone marrow presses against my palm♪

♪My older brother lay buried afar♪

♪Flames licked across that place♪

♪A list of righteous hearts♪

♪Who laughed in the dark at the panic?♪

♪I'm the shadow caged within as well as the flying light♪

♪Only when hatred burns out did we know how scorching our obsessions were♪

♪You said you'd die if you hit a stone♪

♪Yet you crashed into my fate's web♪

♪Pear blossoms fell all over the wound on your shoulder♪

♪The wind in the bamboo forest dispersed the hexagrams♪

♪The thrush carried the past away♪

♪I stood at the end of the fireworks and gaze♪

♪You lifted a lantern to illuminate♪

♪That page♪