Original subtitles

=To Kill a Songbird=

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

=Episode 17= (Old Home, Memories, Sealed Letter)

(Pure And Righteous Mind)

(Pure And Righteous Mind)

(Pure And Righteous Mind) Spring's ease lets me sleep past dawn.

(Gentle Breeze)

We used to sit right here.

The teacher's desk was always a mess,

but three things never changed.

Bird feed.

His writings.

(Autumn Moon) Fruit wine.

(Autumn Moon)

Come here.

Now that you mention it, this chalcedony pendant

was a gift from the teacher.

You recited well.

I have a reward for you.

Why give me a stone roller?

I liked the color of the stone.

And your name has "stone" in it.

So I rounded it for you.

And the other one?

This is

for my little sister.

What is it?

That pendant was from my brother?

Was something wrong with it?

So that was what he was trying to tell me.

My brother's tongue was cut out,

and all ten fingers were broken.

He could neither speak nor write.

Yet he kept clutching that stone.

He was trying to tell me

that you were the key to everything.

Me?

But if you truly are the key,

then something still does not add up.

You have pursued this case for years,

and read countless records and files.

How could you have noticed nothing?

Unless that clue was hidden very well.

Back then in the study,

there were 17 or 18 children.

Why was it me, of all people?

That is what we need to consider.

What was different

between you and the others?

Anything I have seen or read,

I rarely forget.

In those days,

or rather, those months,

what exactly did you do?

Or perhaps,

was there any chance

you saw something out of the ordinary?

The lessons were engaging,

never dull.

But it seems unlikely

that he would speak to children in class

about a murder case.

Aside from lessons,

what else did you do?

I slept.

Why not go out and play?

It was boring.

Indeed.

I can find something more interesting for you.

If you are not going out,

copy texts instead.

Copied texts?

What did you copy?

Some of the teacher's own poems,

(Marginal Notes to the Book of Songs) and essays discussing the miscellaneous.

Not those.

What else was there?

(Marginal Notes to the Book of Songs)

There was one document

I never finished copying,

but I did read it.

What was it?

You need not copy that.

It was not an essay.

It was

a letter of remonstrance.

(Letter of Remonstrance to Liang Andao, submitted by the commoner Li Ji.)

So this letter of remonstrance

was written to him.

Then thirteen years ago,

the reason he was falsely accused and died

was this very thing.

(Pure And Righteous Mind)

(He wrote advice for all under heaven,)

(yet you buried them in silence.)

(All my life of hardship and wandering)

(was not fate.)

(It was you.)

(It was your greed)

(that wrote my life in blood.)

(From this moment on,)

(I will rewrite it myself.)

Someone's here.

My Lord.

I have

returned from Li Fuyuan.

That Li Fuyuan

has likely noticed you.

You are a clever man.

Handle it yourself.

Official Liang.

Are your injuries improving?

They were only minor wounds.

Today, Fuyuan and I

have come to thank you.

So, when can I attend

your wedding banquet?

That is precisely

why Fuyuan and I are here today.

Shi's parents and remaining kin

are far away in Qinghe County.

I no longer have elders in my family.

So I take the liberty

of asking you to serve as our officiant.

Why should I refuse?

Say, once we reach Bianjing,

what should we do then?

I have no idea.

We will see when we get there.

Hyah!

Hyah!

That would be wonderful.

Three days from now, the seventh of the sixth month,

is my brother's death anniversary.

We shall wash away the sorrow with joy,

and leave the past behind to begin anew.

My Lord,

what do you think?

Miss Li, this is brilliant.

I think

it is a good idea.

That is Magistrate Jiang's horse.

(Eighth year of Zhenghe,)

(Sixth Month, Third Day.)

(Clouds accompany the wind.)

(Light and shadow intertwine.)

(All remains uncertain.)

(Four days remain until the seventh of the sixth month.)

(Pure And Righteous Mind)

(Gentle Breeze)

Joy and mourning across ages.

(Pure And Righteous Mind)

(Pure And Righteous Mind) Flowers wither, spring draws near.

(Yuyue Prefecture)

When will those gone ever return?

Those people have vanished.

Have Lu Yanchong and that woman

shown any reaction?

None, so far.

Word from the magistrate's office

is that Cui San has taken leave,

and County Magistrate Jiang is away on duty.

Rest assured,

we have kept watch daily.

They appear unaware of those men.

They seem fully occupied with wedding preparations.

(If you were to stop here,)

(and stop digging any deeper,)

(the teacher's name could be cleared.)

(Would that be enough?)

(But if I were to let it go,)

(would you truly stop as well?)

Why do you smell of morning dew?

I did not sleep well last night.

I went out for a walk.

I meant to tell you not to be afraid,

but it seems you have no fear at all.

What I do now

is not for power,

nor for fame,

nor for gain.

It is so that those who die wronged

need not suffer as my brother did.

And so that those who were wronged,

need not live as I have.

(On the death anniversary of Li Ji)

(Pure And Righteous Mind)

♪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♪