Original subtitles

ADAPTED FROM A SHUQI.COM NOVEL ORIGINAL AUTHOR: SENLIN LU

FUCHANG COUNTY PRINCESS MANOR

Yes. Water here too.

Your Ladyship! You're back!

Your Ladyship!

We planted a plum tree without asking you,

hoping to bring a touch of color to the back courtyard.

Your Ladyship, we'll go make something in the kitchen.

Let's eat at home tonight.

Let's go.

Uncle Luo, with all your duties,

you still took the time to plant this tree for me.

You really didn't have to.

One generation plants the trees. Another enjoys the shade.

There's not much I can do at my age.

I just hope this tree grows tall one day

and can shelter you from wind and rain.

Then I'll have no regrets.

I've never heard of anyone using a plum tree for shelter.

You might pick the wrong tree.

Look. Even if it can't block the wind and rain,

it can splash a bit of red in this lifeless winter.

Isn't that great?

For a moment's pleasure,

you'd kill the innocent?

Innocent?

Who was innocent?

Did Yu Shishun's whole family deserve death?

Did Li Sheng? The court actress?

The Assistant Director?

How did you find out?

No hard proof.

The iron caltrop in Li Sheng's belly.

The Celestial Lord vanishing

in Chongren Ward, right where my manor stands.

The blade wounds on Yu Shishun's servant.

That's all just a guess.

It's not enough to close a case.

If I'm right,

Yu Shishun is the apprentice who slowed my family's water clock,

making my father miss his audience with His Majesty.

But that's still just a guess.

It's not enough to close a case either.

On that alone, I didn't want to believe you were the killer.

Until Yu Lan'er drew your portrait.

Then every guess I had

was proven true.

This portrait cannot possibly be linked to me.

Yes.

Yu Lan'er is only five.

He barely comes up to your waist.

So the angle he saw you from isn't like anyone else's.

But Uncle Luo,

you used to play with me when I was little.

Others can't recognize it,

but I knew it was you at a glance.

If you still won't admit it, come back with me.

Yu Lan'er will recognize you on sight.

So,

you're arresting me?

Tell me first. Why did you do it?

To avenge the Prince of Duan and all my fallen comrades!

Then go kill the Right Chancellor.

Why kill the innocent?

I did this to kill the Right Chancellor!

Yu Shishun deserved to die.

He was the apprentice

who slowed the water clock in the Prince of Duan's Manor!

As for the rest, innocent?

I'd say it was fate!

If that court actress hadn't been so vain, craving His Majesty's favor,

would she have believed that a little money

could buy her a front-row seat at the Grand Festival?

Or agreed to meet a stranger on a winter night?

And if the Assistant Director

hadn't been so eager to win His Majesty's favor,

would he have rushed to report that "auspicious sign"?

If I hadn't killed them,

they would've died sooner or later for their pathetic desires!

What's more,

if I couldn't kill these people,

how could I make you understand

I'm determined to avenge the Prince of Duan?

So it seems

Yu Shishun

made a pretty good killer.

I only gave him the task,

and he could carry it out so cleanly.

You spread that nursery rhyme too?

You knew His Majesty feared star omens.

Everything you did was to frame Consort Shu?

Yes. If Consort Shu doesn't fall,

the Right Chancellor can never be removed,

and our vengeance will never be paid back!

The one who killed my parents was the Right Chancellor.

Consort Shu had nothing to do with it!

Why has the Right Chancellor held power at court for decades?

Because Consort Shu has bewitched His Majesty!

You underestimate His Majesty,

and you overestimate Consort Shu.

But to make the Right Chancellor truly fall,

Consort Shu must be cast aside by His Majesty!

Without Consort Shu's protection,

I'd have died in the palace long ago.

I won't let you hurt her.

But she protects more than you!

She also protects the enemy who wiped out your whole family!

All these years, you've searched for proof

and risked your life

to force the Right Chancellor to show himself.

But what came of it?

He lives in the biggest mansion in the capital,

guarded by the best troops,

eating delicacies, and copying scriptures.

Is this the punishment he gets?

That still isn't a reason to drag in the innocent.

Your father served with loyalty all his life.

Yet in death, he was branded with disgrace.

How was he guilty?

A dozen of my comrades gave their lives to protect him.

Now, no one even knows where their bones rest.

How are they not innocent?

You were just a child when this tragedy struck.

You never saw justice.

How are you not innocent?

You and I

want the truth laid bare

and blood debts paid in blood.

If the law and His Majesty deny us justice,

we'll use our own way to take it!

Don't you

really want revenge?

Mr. Xiao may have many reasons to tell you to give up.

But I only ask you one thing.

Are you really

letting go of that blood debt?

Can you really forget the Lantern Festival night 15 years ago?

Your father and mother

still cannot rest in peace!

Enough!

My life

should've ended back then.

If I can't get revenge, you may claim it.

I have no complaint.

You can choose.

Either arrest me now

and keep being that high-and-mighty County Princess

or kill your enemy

and be again your parents' daughter!

We're not the only ones

who want the Right Chancellor dead!

Your Ladyship.

How did it go?

How did what go?

Didn't you take the Celestial Lord's portrait out?

How did it go? Did you find him?

I showed it to the Wannian County offices.

They're posting copies all over Chongren Ward.

Now we wait for word.

All that fuss just to post portraits?

For something this small,

why did it herself?

VIRTUE ALONE ENDURES

Don't touch it.

The Ceremony is near.

The sacrificial dragon's eyes are weeping blood tears.

That's no good omen!

Report this to the Palace Investigation Bureau at once.

Understood.

Yesterday, His Majesty painted the dragon's eyes himself.

But it weeps blood tears today.

It's paint.

There's oil in the paint.

The dragon's blood tears have nothing to do with His Majesty.

When they danced the dragon head, the red paste melted into oil,

soaking through the paper layer

and running down.

From the outside, it looked like blood tears.

This layer of paper is thinner than the rest.

It's hard to tell from the outside.

Who made this dragon lantern?

Your Ladyship,

it was Lang Maochun of the Palace Workshop Service.

Lang Maochun!

Hurry and greet the County Princess and the Deputy Director.

I'm Lang Maochun.

Paying my respects, Your Ladyship,

Deputy Director.

You made the dragon head for the dragon dance?

Yes.

It was made by my own hands.

You're not a palace craftsman, right?

I'm from Puzhou, Hedong Commandery.

He's a skilled artisan hired from the folk.

All the dance props for this year's Ceremony and Grand Festival

are made by him.

The hidden grooves under the dragon's eyes are your trick?

That's no trick!

That's our Lang family's special craft.

The grooves under the dragon's eyes are filled with paste.

After the paste melts,

it keeps the bamboo oiled and soft,

so it holds shape.

So bleeding dragon eyes are also your "special craft"?

Bleeding?

Faking an evil omen to stir up trouble and still playing dumb?

Oh… I'm wronged!

Who would dare play tricks with this?

That would cost you your head!

Besides,

His Majesty personally chose me for this.

How could I do something so treasonous?

Yesterday, His Majesty came

to paint the dragon's eyes, and he praised my skill,

saying I could make such exquisite lanterns.

This revolving lantern is complex.

Even palace craftsmen would struggle to finish.

His Majesty liked it so much.

He ordered me to make more.

I barely ate or slept,

rushing these lanterns out.

That's proof of my loyalty to His Majesty!

Very impressive.

The paste under the dragon's eyes

is this one.

It melts easily,

but there isn't much.

How could it turn into blood tears?

They say hearts here are hard to read.

Someone must be jealous,

trying to ruin me!

You… You commit treason!

"Phoenix pecking dragon," a direct challenge to the throne!

That was also meant to frame you?

I…

I didn't do it.

I didn't do it.

Not me!

- Go! - Fire!

- Fire! - Hurry!

My lanterns!

My lanterns!

I…

Who is it?

Put out the fire!

He got away.

The guards will tighten security today.

No one will leave the palace.

That person might not need to leave.

He ran toward the palace gate.

If not today,

then tomorrow, he can't hide forever.

The bleeding dragon eyes was just a lure.

The killer meant to draw us to the Palace Workshop Service

and killed with bamboo ribs.

Your Ladyship.

In a fire,

people instinctively protect their head.

Why was this body's face burned even worse?

There wasn't time for him to cover his mouth and nose.

The moment these bamboo ribs pierced his throat,

he was dead.

Just as I thought. He barely inhaled any soot.

When the body burned, he was already dead.

However, if not for the spreading blaze,

we would've caught him.

That only proves every step is full of variables.

As long as one step didn't go as the killer planned,

he wouldn't get this outcome.

That's why the killer risked showing up on site?

Something still feels off.

But I have no leads yet.

The Grand Festival is in three days.

We're going to be busy.

The Palace Workshop Service and the Bureau of Sacrifices

have swiftly gathered folk artisans from the capital

to remake the palace lanterns.

They'll be finished before the Grand Festival.

Your Majesty, please don't worry.

Using the lantern's bamboo ribs to kill…

Now that is a work of art.

Any leads on the nursery rhyme going around the capital?

The Court of Judicial Review's ordered the offices

of Chang'an and Wannian counties

to question every household

and force out where the rhyme came from.

They've been at it day and night without stopping.

But…

People in the capital always say "metal, wood, water, fire, earth."

The order "fire, water, earth, wood, metal" is quite unusual.

People in the capital rarely say

"fire, water, earth, wood, metal."

This servant is ignorant.

I truly don't know where that saying comes from.

That phrasing is common

in Puzhou,

Consort Shu's home, right?

Consort Shu's loyalty has never wavered!

Ever since returning from Qinghui Palace,

she's done her utmost to prepare for the Grand Festival.

In my humble view,

Consort Shu surely couldn't have anything to do with this.

ETERNAL RENEWAL IN IMPERIAL SPLENDOR

You old servant,

you know quite a lot.

I wouldn't dare!

I spoke out of turn! I spoke out of turn!

- I spoke out of turn! - Enough.

Well,

that brother of hers, under house arrest,

what's he been up to lately?

I don't know.

Has anyone gone to see him?

I don't know either.

You don't know,

or you don't dare say?

I live inside the palace.

As for matters outside,

I really don't know…

After all, he's been Right Chancellor for years.

Every last one of his disciples has called on him privately.

For a man publicly confined,

he receives a steady stream of visitors.

Tell me.

Should I be glad that my key ministers

still value loyalty and remember old ties?

Or have they already decided Cui Minzhong

will rise again someday?

Year-end is near.

Time to sweep out the dust and filth, right?

Yes!

Someone's targeting me.

My former classmates at court

have all been demoted or sent out of the capital,

scattered everywhere.

That was to be expected.

What chills me is,

now that my influence is fading,

they drop all pretenses!

You haven't left the residence, so you may not know it.

Ever since that nursery rhyme

spread through the capital,

His Majesty has posted more guards outside your gates.

The watch is tight,

and the transfer orders came fast.

They didn't even have time to bid you farewell

before rushing out of the capital.

Every one of them knows how to protect himself.

So why would you still dare come to my door?

I'm low-ranked and insignificant.

I can't help anyone gain

or stand in anyone's way.

So they just turn a blind eye to me.

At least you still cared.

As your disciple,

I'd gladly sink or swim with you.

But can you really stomach waiting to be destroyed?

His Majesty shows no mercy to your faction,

but he still holds affection for Consort Shu.

If she stays steady,

you are safe.

But once she falls from favor,

then you will share her fate.

That nursery rhyme is banned in the capital,

but it's still a thorn in His Majesty's side.

You've always planned ahead.

You should plan a way out for this.

A way out?

I've been forced into a corner.

If there's no retreat,

then let's break the wall and fight our way back to life!

Right now,

I have been stripped of all my arms.

They're scattered or lying dead.

I'm afraid I'm now utterly powerless.

Back then, to protect Lv Chongshan,

you sent him to the Andong Protectorate.

For 15 years, they have stayed calm and secure,

never short of pay or rewards.

It's time to have them

do something for you.

These bamboo ribs weren't tied with cord?

Sir, please look.

We first roast the ribs over fire

to bend them into shape.

Then we brush glue between the ribs,

tie them down with cord,

and remove it once the glue sets.

If you use only cord,

the bamboo's spring will snap it?

That's possible.

But for every cord to break at once,

like on that lantern,

it would be hard.

Hard, yes.

But if you use just one cord to bind all the ribs,

it's simple.

What's this for?

There are small rings at each joint of the dragon body.

The rings are linked by a cord.

That way, if the dancers get out of step,

the cord keeps the sections together and prevents a total disaster.

I see.

When was the burned coiled-dragon lantern made?

The night before the incident, it wasn't ready yet.

So Craftsman Lang likely finished it overnight.

What are you looking for, Sir? Let me help you.

There should be a hook near the wooden frame

to snag the cord,

but it won't stand out.

That barrel of tung oil here was moved by you?

Yes. Good thing Her Ladyship warned us in time.

If tung oil caught fire,

this whole place would've been lost.

- What's in that barrel? - Tung oil!

Hurry!

Move! Move!

Move!

Where did you put the tung oil?

Right outside the back window.

The barrel was right outside this window.

Why is it gone?

This is…

This is the steel needle Craftsman Lang uses

to sew palace lantern shades.

That's enough.

Please prepare brush and ink for me.

- Yes, sir. - Forget it.

Get a portrait artist.

Understood.

It's simple to make the head fall and the ribs spring loose.

All it takes is someone cutting this cord.

All the bamboo ribs inside were bound with a single cord.

And the bamboo hadn't fully set yet.

Once it's loosened, it springs straight at once.

The tips are razor-sharp.

In that instant, it's no different from an arrow.

But back then,

we didn't see any cord linked to a mechanism.

At the third ke of Mao Hour,

it was still dim.

The daylight in the room was faint.

The cotton thread was very thin,

and it was dark-colored.

It blended into the light,

so it was hard to see.

Once the lantern was lit, the position of the thread

was even harder to spot.

So, the killer set up the whole mechanism and hid in the dark.

When Lang Maochun stepped into the trap, he cut the cord.

The steel needle holding the cord was right here.

Your Ladyship was nearby then.

Did you notice the killer?

The lantern was heated by the flames, and a phoenix shape appeared.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the dragon-and-phoenix pattern.

The killer likely struck in silence.

Then how did the killer get away?

There were plenty of dancers watching.

It was so chaotic.

When the dragon head fell and flames burst,

the killer could slip away in the chaos.

However, you did see the killer.

Not clearly.

Just a shadow flashing past the window.

I chased him all the way to Chuyang Gate.

Then he vanished.

The guards saw no one suspicious.

The trail seemed to vanish all of a sudden.

In this palace, are there those you can't catch?

Of course!

I still need to visit Consort Shu.

I'll leave the case to you two.

Who is it?

I chased him all the way to Chuyang Gate. Then he vanished.

The trail seemed to vanish all of a sudden.

- What's in that barrel? - Tung oil!

The barrel was right outside this window.

Her Ladyship was nearby then.

So someone's framing you with that too?

No.

That wasn't the killer.

ZICHEN HALL

How is the Palace Workshop Service case going?

The crime happened at Mao Hour,

on the east side of the palace. The victim was killed with bamboo ribs.

Just like the previous three cases,

it follows the Five Elements pattern, and it aligns with Wood this time.

The killer is very particular about the time and the place.

As for his motive, we still don't know.

If you won't say it, then I'll say it.

I'm afraid they want to use the omen of Venus in daylight

to shake the realm and speak up for Consort Shu.

Your Majesty, I observe the stars every night.

I only see the five planets keeping their course,

appearing and fading in season.

There's no sign of Venus in daylight.

Even if, as the rhyme implies,

"Venus" is a hint at Consort Shu,

we should send more men to protect her.

Then what if

the "metal" in that sequence points not to Consort Shu,

but to me,

to this golden throne?

I will do my utmost to bring the killer to justice.

Your Highness, tired from rehearsal?

Why push yourself so hard?

I choreographed this dance myself,

and the Grand Festival is my duty.

In this emergency,

I must see it through.

Since only you can perform this dance,

the measure of its success is yours to decide.

Listen to you, silver tongue.

But I'm rusty, after all.

I have to rehearse it well.

I can't let His Majesty down.

The Palace Workshop Service sent a few necklaces.

Help me pick.

Look. Which one?

What's wrong?

Who upset you this time?

Your Highness,

don't attend the Grand Festival this time, all right?

I'm a consort.

Of course I must do my duty.

Don't you know the killer is still striking?

Of course I know.

These past six months, His Majesty has toiled for the state.

He meant to use the Southern Suburb Ceremony

to pray for the realm,

then reward the ministers at the Grand Festival after.

But the killer kept striking,

with evil omens unending.

His Majesty is worried sick.

Not just the palace cases.

But also that nursery rhyme sung in the capital.

I know it all.

Have you considered

the killer means to strike at the Grand Festival,

and the target is likely you?

You've exhausted yourself. Your old illness has returned.

You could use your health as reason to withdraw.

He would never blame you.

Why put yourself in danger?

If he truly wants to kill me,

why wait for the Grand Festival?

Haven't you noticed it?

These past two weeks,

His Majesty hasn't come here once.

Five, four, three, two, one.

"Fire, water, earth, wood, metal."

That rhyme uses the wording from my hometown, Puzhou,

and it likens Venus to me.

Even if I do nothing,

the palace cases alone, plus that folk rhyme,

are enough for His Majesty to grow distant and suspicious of me.

Who does Your Highness think did it?

Either my elder brother,

too bored to sit still, stirred up trouble

or those who hate the Cui family,

seizing this chance to wipe out the Cui clan,

plotting in the shadows.

No matter which it is,

I can't try to do anything.

The more I do,

the more His Majesty will suspect me.

So you yield to fate without a fight?

I do not yield.

I'm doing what I should do.

All these years,

everything I have came from His Majesty's favor.

He granted me glory and also made me a target.

Blessings come and so slander.

In this vast inner palace,

only His Majesty can kill me,

and only His Majesty can protect me.

Doing my duty

is how I stay steady through change.

I say

we pick this one.

Proper and flawless.

Perfect and complete.

Mr. Gu showed up early,

said hello to me, then fell asleep right here.

You're a dignified prosecutor.

It's past Chen Hour,

and you're slacking off here?

For the nursery rhyme case, I was up all night.

The moment I got a lead,

I rushed over to tell you without a pause.

I run my legs off every day,

and not a soul pities me!

Looking for sympathy, huh?

Spit it out.

You traced the rhyme's source?

Technically, yes.

Effectively,

it's like we didn't.

Let me see.

The first one who learned the rhyme

was a little girl from a butcher's family.

She said the one who taught her the rhyme

was this person.

Is it the Celestial Lord?

This one was drawn from the butcher girl's description,

and this one from Lan'er's.

It should be the same man.

When did the Celestial Lord teach the girl the rhyme?

About half a month ago.

We worked for nothing.

Not exactly.

At least it confirms our earlier guess.

The Celestial Lord spread the rhyme among the people first,

then followed the rhyme to strike inside the palace.

So it seems the Celestial Lord uses the elemental pattern

to plague His Majesty with a series of bad omens

before the Southern Suburb Ceremony and the Grand Festival.

And by spreading the rhyme,

he's trying to make His Majesty grow sick of Consort Shu.

The Celestial Lord has now committed four cases.

Could the last one be at tomorrow's Southern Suburb Ceremony?

The killer is careful. He won't change his pattern at random.

"Metal" matches Shen and You Hours,

and the direction is west.

But tomorrow's ceremony is at Chen Hour,

in the southern suburbs.

The time and direction don't match.

After the ceremony,

His Majesty will hold the Grand Festival

at the Hua'e Xianghui Tower, banqueting ministers and their families.

Consort Shu will also perform a dance for His Majesty.

Notify the Imperial Guards and all palace gate guards.

During tomorrow's Grand Festival, we must be especially vigilant.

All right.

Let him sleep here.

Wuren,

about what I asked for yesterday, did you get it?

Yeah. You're really meticulous.

You checked the night-soil collectors' routes and shifts

to stop someone from sneaking into the palace?

Thank you.

ROUTES OF THE LAVATORY NIGHT-SOIL COLLECTORS

Mr. Xiao.

You wanted to see me?

- The hook's been cast? - Yes.

The bait is in the water.

He hasn't bitten yet,

but the ripples are already spreading.

I heard there was some trouble.

Not really trouble.

Just a bit of rough water.

Rough water doesn't matter.

As long as it gets the boat where it needs to go,

bigger waves are fine too.

Is everything ready?

All ready.

At the Grand Festival, it'll be a stunning debut.

That nursery rhyme

should've reached the Right Chancellor's manor by now.

He copies scriptures at home every day,

but inside, his mind is already in chaos.

That old fox

has been flooding the palace with pleas for an audience.

But neither His Majesty nor Consort Shu has answered.

Your plan really worked.

One more push, and he won't be able to sit still!

Once the Cui family falls,

the vengeance of the Prince of Duan

and Jianning Iron Army will finally be repaid.

Thank you, my lord!

Clearing the court is my duty.

We share the same aim.

No need for thanks.

Without your help,

I couldn't have done it so smoothly.