Original subtitles

[Legend of the Magnate]

[Episode 15]

Yimei.

Come on, sit down.

You're a grown-up now.

You need to mind your words.

Although our two families live close by,

once you're married,

don't run back home too frequently.

Your mother-in-law is a reasonable person.

Even I admire her when I

hear about how she handles things.

Besides, Pingyuan

wouldn't dare to upset you.

If there's really

something you can't get over,

you can always talk to your mother-in-law.

Remember that?

Father.

Finally, this day has come.

That day, when he told me

that he'd marry you very soon,

I felt I could die happy right then.

Good.

Do you think I'm not a good daughter?

Why are you rushing to send me away?

Sweetheart,

what did you just say?

I haven't thought about marriage.

Keeping you waiting for so many years,

that boy owes you a lot.

He knows it.

He'll treat you well.

Father,

he doesn't owe me anything.

And I don't need him to treat me well.

No one owes anyone anything in this world.

Please don't talk like this anymore.

If you want me to get married now

so that you can drive me out,

then I'll do it.

Did you hear something from others?

Is that why you're in a hurry to push me away?

You...

You...

W-What are you saying?

W-What do you think you're saying?

You're my own daughter!

How could I believe what others say?

Pingyuan risked his life,

rushing back and forth to the military camp.

We all care so much about you!

You are really

pissing me off.

Hey, you...

Why are you being so difficult?

Look at these things.

Father!

Father!

Check them out!

Look at them!

Father, please come down.

I don't need your help.

Father.

Father!

Girl,

w-why are you being so stubborn?

Father,

I'm sorry, okay?

Girl.

Look at them.

Look at these things.

I've been saving every penny

from daily expenses year after year to buy them.

How could you say

that I'm driving you out?

How could you say

something like that?

It's so infuriating.

I never said I wouldn't marry him, Father.

Why are you yelling at me?

The imperial court's troops are here!

[Battalion Commander of the Qing Army]

Where's your village head?

Here! I'm here!

Commander!

I'll go over there. I'm going.

Let me go over there.

[Head of Shanjian Village]

C-Commander,

at your service.

Listen up.

Send 50 men each day

to mend the trenches outside the camp.

And get 50 more porters

to gather horse feed.

The General said the troops won't enter the village

and won't disturb you.

The imperial court's troops are truly honorable.

We'll get everything ready right away.

Here's the case.

We have marched thousands of miles,

risking our lives to get here,

and we're getting nothing?

How could we leave you empty-handed?

I need to go back to the village

to discuss with the villagers.

You know, over these years in this area,

there's been endless fighting like a tug of war,

and all the tea plantations have been burned down.

I also want to offer your soldiers

something.

But there isn't much we can provide.

Come closer.

Commander...

Commander...

Well.

Sir...

Sir, please give me a hint.

After all these years of fighting,

every village has a few rich men

who are on good terms with the rebels, right?

These people must be punished.

In the best case, they get exiled.

In the worst case...

Off with their heads!

Listen, buddy.

Go discuss with them if necessary.

To save your pathetic life,

you need to pay a lot.

Off you go. I'll wait for you.

Move it!

Yes, Commander. I got it.

I'm leaving.

Come on, Mr. Bai.

Come on.

Take it slow.

Okay.

Here you go.

Fetch a doctor.

Any delay, and he won't get up again.

Got it.

Father!

Don't worry.

I was scaring Pingwen a bit.

Mr. Bai is having a phlegm blockage,

with his heart channels clogged.

Don't be afraid, Mr. Bai.

The doctor will be right here.

The acupuncture treatment will cure you.

I...

Stop stuttering like this.

Don't stand here crying.

Go wait for me outside.

Go out first.

Mr. Bai,

it's alright, don't worry.

The doctor will be here soon.

What happened just now?

How did you get him this worked up?

Yimei,

don't be fooled by his closed eyes.

He can hear

and understand

everything clearly.

Say more comforting words

to him later.

If you talk back to him again,

aren't you pushing him toward his grave?

Why did you save me?

If I had died in there,

wouldn't you all be at peace now?

Why are you saying this again?

If I hadn't gotten you out of there,

your father would have passed away already.

If anything happens to my father because of me,

I just don't deserve to live.

What should I do?

What do you mean by "don't deserve to live"?

You're still so young.

You were forcibly taken away

by someone with a weapon.

You did nothing wrong.

If anyone's to blame, it's them.

They couldn't stand up to the imperial court themselves,

so they came here,

throwing their weight around.

Kidnapping women and children,

what the hell did they do?

I think those guys are the ones

who don't deserve to live.

Mr. Bai!

Mr. Bai!

Mr. Xu.

G-Gu, you're here.

Where is Mr. Bai?

He was choked by phlegm just now

and won't wake up anytime soon.

Anything wrong? You can tell me.

Come with me.

Look.

I'm just a minor village head.

All I want is peace

for the village.

Those from the east

boss me around,

and those from the west

don't treat me any better.

Gu, don't

blame me

for saying this.

Go on.

The Battalion Commander wants me to find those

who work with the enemy in the village.

In times like these, everyone's trying to flee for their lives.

Where am I supposed

to find any traitors?

But once I accepted this task,

I must deliver some results.

So,

you came to Mr. Bai's place

for the "results"?

G-Gu,

you can't talk like this.

I also studied the books

of morality and virtues from Mr. Bai.

If I do something like that,

God will strike me with lightning.

I'm asking Mr. Bai to figure out a solution.

His life is at stake! Hurry up!

It's an emergency! Quickly!

My shoes! They're slipping off!

You brat...

-Pingwen, give him a hand. -I don't need your help.

I can walk on my own.

I'll do it myself.

Be careful.

Come on.

Well...

Wait.

Where are you going, Gu?

Didn't you want to talk to me?

No.

I-I need to see Mr. Bai.

Hey.

Where are you taking me?

I'm Gu Pingyuan,

seeking an audience with General Qiao.

Bring him in.

Sir.

Go ahead.

Sir,

Anhui's been going through

really tough times the past few years.

[General Qiao of the Qing Army]

The ceaseless battles

have drained all resources from our countryside.

We truly

have nothing left to offer.

The villagers thought I might be able to work things out,

so they sent me over

to discuss this matter with you, General.

The imperial court owes us wages

that haven't been paid for years.

My men are risking

their lives in battle,

but what about their families?

What's your idea?

You must give your offerings.

Arrest some traitors and beat them up.

So you can get

the money from them.

What?

Are you a traitor, too?

Sir,

we truly have no silver to offer.

The rebels set fire

to our tea plantations

and burned everything.

The villagers just trade their possessions

for new seedlings.

We'll harvest a crop and sell the tea

after the Qingming Festival.

Only then will we have some income.

You're asking me to wait until you

grow and sell your tea?

Why don't you say you'll get married now

and raise your child to join the army?

What a joke!

Report!

The map.

[The four camps of the Southern Army under the mountain have marched to Hefei.]

[Chizhou Prefecture]

Take him away.

I'll deal with him after I defeat the enemy.

Relay my order!

Break camp tonight!

Do you have a fire starter?

Yes.

Go get it.

And bring a small stove, too.

Got it.

Here you are.

You're way too rough. Take it away!

Don't mess up

my things!

M-Move. Move aside.

Sir.

Put them down.

This medicine of mine is

a mix

of gentian,

musk,

and pine oil.

It clears all the senses and soothes the spleen and stomach.

One whiff will wake him up.

Father.

Father.

Don't rush to speak yet.

Try to move your hands

and feet.

A second chance at life.

Thank you, Sir.

In the future,

you should take the patient out

for walks more often

and get some sunshine.

This illness,

though fatal when it flares up,

will be fine once the phlegm is coughed up.

This is my prescription for you.

You

should follow this prescription

to get the herbs.

They're

surely available in Huizhou,

but I'm not sure if there's

still fighting going on there.

Fighting?

Haven't you heard that the fighting stopped long ago?

The soldiers hunted them down to Liuhu Town

and killed many people.

They even killed the commanding general.

Dogs stop barking

once they get some bones.

With such a great achievement,

they surely won't mess with my brother anymore.

Sir,

this is so fragrant.

Can I have one?

Hands off my stuff!

Give it back to me.

Father.

Tell me

what I should do.

Tell me.

What should I do?

What should I do?

What should I do?

Pingwen!

Pingwen!

[Two days later]

Pingyuan has returned!

Pingyuan is back!

Pingwen.

Pingyuan is back.

He's returned.

Over there.

Pingwen, slow down.

You speed up!

I can't run anymore.

Pingyuan.

Pingyuan.

Don't touch me.

It hurts.

Pingyuan,

you're finally back.

Where are those soldiers?

They won a great victory

and broke camp to head for Hefei.

Pingyuan, your hands...

Let's go home quickly.

Mother asks about you hundreds of times a day.

I lied to her, saying

that you went down the mountain to buy wedding gifts.

Do I look like I'm buying wedding gifts?

Tell her

that I bought the gifts

and sent them to Mr. Bai's house.

I'll come home after dinner.

Her eyesight is poor at night,

so I can fool her and get away with it.

How is Mr. Bai?

Go check on him yourself.

When we heard you got in trouble,

he was worried sick about you.

Yimei!

Coming.

Where is Mr. Bai?

What happened to your hands?

Oh dear,

they tied me up to prevent me

from running away.

Sir.

I'm back.

Pingyuan, quickly...

Don't talk.

Lie down

and rest well.

Take good care of yourself.

When you recover,

we'll plan the wedding.

All right.

Mr. Bai looks

much better now.

The acupuncture treatment this morning

helped clear the phlegm from his chest,

and his body stopped trembling.

The doctor said that it needs

10 consecutive days of treatment to cure completely.

Thanks to Pingwen, who ran quickly.

This illness,

if not treated promptly, could be life-threatening.

Mr. Bai is blessed.

The good days are ahead of you.

Yimei,

let's go.

Hurry and pack your things.

We need to leave.

Leave?

I'll prepare a carriage for you and your father

to go down the mountain.

Why are you

suddenly telling us to leave?

The situation has changed.

If you stay here any longer,

I'm afraid you'll be in danger.

My father still needs acupuncture.

If necessary,

we'll take the doctor down the mountain, too.

Pingwen says

he has a friend at the foot of the mountain,

who owns a large house

about 15 kilometers from here.

You go hide there first.

If the situation remains tense,

you can move elsewhere.

Anyway, I have friends in Shanxi,

and in the capital, too.

In this vast world,

you can live anywhere.

When

this battle is over,

I'll bring you back.

Well...

The imperial court's troops are gathering in greater numbers.

If word gets around,

it will spell destruction for your entire family.

When Mr. Qiao returns,

if anyone with ill intentions

goes to him to gossip about you,

you'll all be done for.

Gu.

Wait here for me.

I have something to give you.

[Betrothal Letter]

My father asked me to give this to you.

[Betrothal Letter]

Yimei,

you returned the betrothal letter to me.

What does this mean?

Are you rejecting our marriage?

Gu,

your words...

You got me wrong with your words.

[Betrothal Letter]

My father wrote this himself.

[I'm too old for more disgrace.]

[The betrothal letter is returned for you two to split up peacefully.]

Check this out.

"I'm too old

for more disgrace.

The betrothal letter is returned

for you two to split up peacefully."

If Pingyuan returns alive,

give this to him.

Someone must survive.

He'll get what I mean,

and so do you.

Girl,

you're still so young.

You shouldn't die.

Pingwen also persuaded my father

to let our family escape.

My father said

that if we ran away,

it would put you in danger

and confirm the accusation

of your collusion with the enemy.

War and unrest are raging everywhere.

Even if we flee,

where could we possibly go?

We've known each other since childhood.

Our families have been friends for generations.

Even without this betrothal letter,

I can't just stand by

and watch you be humiliated.

I'll protect you

even at the cost of my life.

This is my father's wish.

I will never defy him.

You should go home now.

Come back when he's feeling better.

[Gu's Mansion]

Mr. Bai?

Yimei is missing.

Yimei is missing.

Don't panic.

I'll go look for her.

I'll find her.

Mr. Bai,

let's go inside to talk.

Mr. Bai!

[Liuhu Town]

Bowls.

Rice bowls.

Rice pots.

Hoes.

Take your pick, Sir or Madam.

If you sell all these things,

how will you survive?

My two sons

and two grandsons were

regarded as rebels

and beheaded

for them to claim credit.

I have no future anymore.

Where are those soldiers?

The imperial court's troops are

stationed outside the town.

The Southern Army

went to Hefei.

You there! Stop!

Catch him!

A spy!

It's a woman!

And quite a pretty one!

Whose soldiers are you?

Don't block the way.

Move aside!

An ant wears a bridle,

pretending to be a big animal.

How dare you speak to me like that?

Do you want to die?

You're just a petty battalion commander.

Who are you to act high and mighty here?

Get out of the way now!

Who's that?

What a pretty boy.

Come have some fun with us.

I never thought General Qiao's soldiers

would be such a crew of scum.

Who

are you?

You don't deserve to know.

This is General Qiao's honored guest.

Asking too much might get you killed!

Where are you going, lady?

Get off your horse

and get into my carriage.

They won't dare hurt you.

I need to go find someone.

If I let go of the reins,

you won't be able to go anywhere,

as they'll take you away.

Who knows what these people are

going to do?

Get down.

I'll protect you.

Stop there!

I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been?

General Qiao, I was looking for you, too.

Why did you...

A rich person came from the south.

I can't see her.

She specifically asked to see you.

Who?

A rich person!

Wait.

Mr. Qiao.

Someone from my family is missing.

I was hoping to get some news from you.

In this chaotic period,

someone going missing is nothing rare.

I've accommodated

that guest in the tent on the north side.

If you mess this thing up,

I won't let you off.

Let's go!

[The Qing Army's Camp]

Mr. Gu,

how have you been since our parting in Shanxi?

Ms. Su,

have you been doing well?

Me?

No, I've been anything but well.

You messed up

my plan in Shanxi.

Don't bother finding a way out.

It's not like Shanxi,

where you could disappear into the crowd.

Your home is right here.

Your mother, your younger brother,

and that

beautiful Miss Bai.

How do you know everything?

I won't let the same person

get me twice.

If I hadn't investigated you thoroughly,

how would I dare to come?

I have something to show you.

You got Yimei?

Tell me

what you want me to do

to release her.

You're such a hypocrite.

Don't you know she can't stay

in her hometown anymore?

With her status as a collaborator,

aren't you afraid it'll implicate your mother

and your brother?

I came here today to meet you.

Saving her was

an unexpected gain.

I'm begging you.

Please take me to see her.

[Li Cheng’s Military Camp, Hefei]

It really is you.

My men told me that you were here.

I didn't believe it.

But I didn't expect it to be you for real.

Okay.

I won't move.

You don't move either.

Let's just stay like this

and have a good talk.

They said you died.

Died in Liuhu Town.

With iron grit embedded in your bones,

not removed yet,

it hurts on rainy days.

You must pay attention to it.

I...

Looks like your jade pendant

can really work wonders.

You know what?

I prayed to her every day

just to let me see you again.

For that, I'd even accept the fate

of being torn into pieces with no regrets.

Where are you going?

Where are you going?

Let me escort you.

I have nowhere to go.

Before I came, I thought

that if you were alive,

I'd like to tell you something.

You can't just walk away

after lighting up my life.

These days,

what's been embedded in my bones is

not just iron grit,

but also my longing for you.

Stay.

Even if it's just for one day,

to me,

it's worth more than 100 years.

[Gu's Mansion]

Mother.

You're back.

This time, Mr. Bai

won't pull through, I'm afraid.

That's right.

You and Pingwen are both lying to me.

Both of you are fooling me.

Mother.

Where exactly did Yimei go?

Those rumors spreading in the village,

are they true?

I saw

that girl grow up.

How did she change so much, like a different person?

Even if you no longer

have an engagement with Yimei,

you and your brother

have received great favor from Mr. Bai.

When you were little,

Mr. Bai taught you to read and write,

showing the same care as parents.

During the years you were away,

Yimei came to take care of me from time to time.

No matter what,

you must find her

and tell me the truth!

Mother.

Today, I...

I saw an acquaintance

at the military camp.

She told me

that Yimei went there.

Where did she go?

She said

that Yimei went to the Southern Army's camp

to find

that general called Li Cheng.

What a troublemaker.

You all screwed it up.

What are you mumbling about?

I'm saying that you

might as well not have come back.

You stirred up such big trouble.

How is that my fault?

She's already a grown-up.

How can I meddle in what she wants to do?

You all feel bad,

like I don't feel upset, huh?

Why is everyone taking it out on me?

Well, after your return,

I thought life

would get better day by day.

But now,

it's getting worse every day!

In my point of view,

Bai Yimei is not one of our family after all.

You should take good care of Mother and me first.

Yimei's departure

made the two

old folks barely hold on.

What am I supposed to tell them?

Just persuade her to come back!

Do I seem

that persuasive or what?

You think she'll listen to me?

You're just shirking responsibility,

not caring about anyone,

not even me.

How am I not caring about you?

How are you caring about me?

Let's sort this out.

How long have you been back?

Didn't you promise

to teach me how to do business?

Have you taught me?

You also promised to help us

make our lives better and better.

Has it gotten any better?

I'm just an ordinary folk.

I don't have time to observe

who's giving someone different looks

or whose tone of voice has changed.

But I do know

that clothes and food all cost money!

Keep it down.

Getting someone to roast tea for sale

also costs money!

Big shots fighting down the mountain,

what does it have to do with us?

You might as well go back to Ningguta!

I...

I don't have time to fight with you today.

Tomorrow, come with me

down the mountain.

All you do is boss me around.

Pingyuan,

you're being so mysterious.

You haven't told me

why you brought me to town.

What are you looking for?

What do you think?

[Ping]

What do you mean?

This is the shop I rented for you.

Go in and take a look.

[Ping]

You rented it for me?

Why didn't you tell me?

Here, take this.

200 taels of silver?

Where did you get so much money?

I'm not forcing you to do anything.

You can take this money,

go straight back home,

lock it in a box,

and continue working in the fields.

Of course,

you could also try

this business of buying and selling,

the life of a merchant.

It's your choice.

I've had enough of scratching out

a living from the soil.

I'll pick a different path.

-Head Manager. -Head Manager.

Let me introduce you all.

This is your real head manager,

Gu Pingwen.

I am the Boss.

-Manager -Manager

Well...

Go buy some food from the market.

Your manager and I need to have a talk.

Okay. Let's go.

"Ping"?

[Ping]

Yes.

What's your name?

Gu Pingwen.

That's right.

Your name is Gu Pingwen,

so this shop is called Ping.

From now on,

this shop belongs to you.

And I also selected

those two assistants for you.

They're loyal, reliable,

and experienced.

As for the 200 taels of silver,

it's enough to pay them for a year

and cover the cost of goods.

So, Pingyuan, what business

does this shop do?

You're the head manager now.

It's up to you.