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{\an8}ADAPTED FROM A SHUQI.COM NOVEL
ORIGINAL AUTHOR: SENLIN LU
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FUCHANG COUNTY PRINCESS MANOR
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Yes. Water here too.
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Your Ladyship! You're back!
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Your Ladyship!
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We planted a plum tree without asking you,
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hoping to bring a touch of color
to the back courtyard.
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Your Ladyship, we'll go
make something in the kitchen.
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Let's eat at home tonight.
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Let's go.
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Uncle Luo, with all your duties,
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you still took the time
to plant this tree for me.
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You really didn't have to.
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One generation plants the trees.
Another enjoys the shade.
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There's not much I can do at my age.
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I just hope this tree grows tall one day
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and can shelter you from wind and rain.
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Then I'll have no regrets.
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I've never heard of anyone
using a plum tree for shelter.
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You might pick the wrong tree.
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Look. Even if it can't block
the wind and rain,
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it can splash a bit of red
in this lifeless winter.
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Isn't that great?
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For a moment's pleasure,
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you'd kill the innocent?
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Innocent?
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Who was innocent?
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Did Yu Shishun's
whole family deserve death?
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Did Li Sheng? The court actress?
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The Assistant Director?
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How did you find out?
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No hard proof.
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The iron caltrop in Li Sheng's belly.
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The Celestial Lord vanishing
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in Chongren Ward,
right where my manor stands.
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The blade wounds on Yu Shishun's servant.
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That's all just a guess.
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It's not enough to close a case.
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If I'm right,
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Yu Shishun is the apprentice
who slowed my family's water clock,
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making my father
miss his audience with His Majesty.
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But that's still just a guess.
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It's not enough to close a case either.
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On that alone, I didn't
want to believe you were the killer.
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Until Yu Lan'er drew your portrait.
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Then every guess I had
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was proven true.
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This portrait
cannot possibly be linked to me.
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Yes.
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Yu Lan'er is only five.
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He barely comes up to your waist.
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So the angle he saw you from
isn't like anyone else's.
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But Uncle Luo,
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you used to play with me
when I was little.
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Others can't recognize it,
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but I knew it was you at a glance.
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If you still won't admit it,
come back with me.
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Yu Lan'er will recognize you on sight.
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So,
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you're arresting me?
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Tell me first. Why did you do it?
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To avenge the Prince of Duan
and all my fallen comrades!
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Then go kill the Right Chancellor.
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Why kill the innocent?
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I did this to kill the Right Chancellor!
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Yu Shishun deserved to die.
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He was the apprentice
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who slowed the water clock
in the Prince of Duan's Manor!
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As for the rest, innocent?
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I'd say it was fate!
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If that court actress hadn't been so vain,
craving His Majesty's favor,
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would she have believed
that a little money
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could buy her a front-row seat
at the Grand Festival?
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Or agreed to meet a stranger
on a winter night?
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And if the Assistant Director
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hadn't been so eager to win
His Majesty's favor,
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would he have rushed
to report that "auspicious sign"?
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If I hadn't killed them,
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they would've died sooner or later
for their pathetic desires!
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What's more,
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if I couldn't kill these people,
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how could I make you understand
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I'm determined
to avenge the Prince of Duan?
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So it seems
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Yu Shishun
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made a pretty good killer.
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I only gave him the task,
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and he could carry it out so cleanly.
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You spread that nursery rhyme too?
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You knew His Majesty feared star omens.
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Everything you did
was to frame Consort Shu?
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Yes. If Consort Shu doesn't fall,
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the Right Chancellor can never be removed,
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and our vengeance will never be paid back!
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The one who killed my parents
was the Right Chancellor.
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Consort Shu had nothing to do with it!
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Why has the Right Chancellor
held power at court for decades?
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Because Consort Shu
has bewitched His Majesty!
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You underestimate His Majesty,
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and you overestimate Consort Shu.
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But to make
the Right Chancellor truly fall,
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Consort Shu must
be cast aside by His Majesty!
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Without Consort Shu's protection,
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I'd have died in the palace long ago.
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I won't let you hurt her.
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But she protects more than you!
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She also protects the enemy
who wiped out your whole family!
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All these years, you've searched for proof
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and risked your life
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to force the Right Chancellor
to show himself.
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But what came of it?
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He lives in the biggest mansion
in the capital,
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guarded by the best troops,
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eating delicacies, and copying scriptures.
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Is this the punishment he gets?
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That still isn't a reason
to drag in the innocent.
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Your father served
with loyalty all his life.
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Yet in death,
he was branded with disgrace.
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How was he guilty?
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A dozen of my comrades
gave their lives to protect him.
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Now, no one even knows
where their bones rest.
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How are they not innocent?
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You were just a child
when this tragedy struck.
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You never saw justice.
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How are you not innocent?
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You and I
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want the truth laid bare
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and blood debts paid in blood.
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If the law and His Majesty
deny us justice,
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we'll use our own way to take it!
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Don't you
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really want revenge?
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Mr. Xiao may have many reasons
to tell you to give up.
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But I only ask you one thing.
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Are you really
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letting go of that blood debt?
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Can you really forget
the Lantern Festival night 15 years ago?
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Your father and mother
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still cannot rest in peace!
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Enough!
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My life
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should've ended back then.
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If I can't get revenge, you may claim it.
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I have no complaint.
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You can choose.
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Either arrest me now
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and keep being
that high-and-mighty County Princess
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or kill your enemy
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and be again your parents' daughter!
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We're not the only ones
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who want the Right Chancellor dead!
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Your Ladyship.
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How did it go?
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How did what go?
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Didn't you take
the Celestial Lord's portrait out?
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How did it go? Did you find him?
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I showed it to the Wannian County offices.
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They're posting copies
all over Chongren Ward.
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Now we wait for word.
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All that fuss just to post portraits?
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For something this small,
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why did it herself?
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VIRTUE ALONE ENDURES
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Don't touch it.
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The Ceremony is near.
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The sacrificial dragon's eyes
are weeping blood tears.
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That's no good omen!
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Report this to the Palace
Investigation Bureau at once.
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Understood.
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Yesterday, His Majesty
painted the dragon's eyes himself.
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But it weeps blood tears today.
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It's paint.
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There's oil in the paint.
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The dragon's blood tears
have nothing to do with His Majesty.
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When they danced the dragon head,
the red paste melted into oil,
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soaking through the paper layer
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and running down.
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From the outside,
it looked like blood tears.
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This layer of paper
is thinner than the rest.
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It's hard to tell from the outside.
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Who made this dragon lantern?
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Your Ladyship,
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it was Lang Maochun
of the Palace Workshop Service.
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Lang Maochun!
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Hurry and greet the County Princess
and the Deputy Director.
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I'm Lang Maochun.
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Paying my respects, Your Ladyship,
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Deputy Director.
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You made the dragon head
for the dragon dance?
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Yes.
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It was made by my own hands.
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You're not a palace craftsman, right?
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I'm from Puzhou, Hedong Commandery.
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He's a skilled artisan
hired from the folk.
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All the dance props for this year's
Ceremony and Grand Festival
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are made by him.
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The hidden grooves
under the dragon's eyes are your trick?
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That's no trick!
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That's our Lang family's special craft.
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The grooves under the dragon's eyes
are filled with paste.
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After the paste melts,
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it keeps the bamboo oiled and soft,
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so it holds shape.
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So bleeding dragon eyes
are also your "special craft"?
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Bleeding?
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Faking an evil omen to stir up trouble
and still playing dumb?
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00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:07,720
Oh… I'm wronged!
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Who would dare play tricks with this?
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That would cost you your head!
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Besides,
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His Majesty personally chose me for this.
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How could I do something so treasonous?
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Yesterday, His Majesty came
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to paint the dragon's eyes,
and he praised my skill,
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saying I could make
such exquisite lanterns.
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This revolving lantern is complex.
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Even palace craftsmen
would struggle to finish.
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His Majesty liked it so much.
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He ordered me to make more.
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I barely ate or slept,
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rushing these lanterns out.
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That's proof of my loyalty to His Majesty!
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Very impressive.
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The paste under the dragon's eyes
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is this one.
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It melts easily,
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but there isn't much.
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00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,760
How could it turn into blood tears?
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00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,000
They say hearts here are hard to read.
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Someone must be jealous,
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trying to ruin me!
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00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:22,840
You… You commit treason!
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00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:25,400
"Phoenix pecking dragon,"
a direct challenge to the throne!
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00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,120
That was also meant to frame you?
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00:15:35,520 --> 00:15:36,640
I…
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I didn't do it.
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00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:38,880
I didn't do it.
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Not me!
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- Go!
- Fire!
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00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:46,720
- Fire!
- Hurry!
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My lanterns!
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My lanterns!
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00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:50,880
I…
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Who is it?
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Put out the fire!
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00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:12,920
He got away.
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The guards will tighten security today.
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No one will leave the palace.
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That person might not need to leave.
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He ran toward the palace gate.
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If not today,
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00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,480
then tomorrow, he can't hide forever.
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00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:27,520
The bleeding dragon eyes was just a lure.
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00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:30,520
The killer meant to draw us
to the Palace Workshop Service
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and killed with bamboo ribs.
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Your Ladyship.
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00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:52,760
In a fire,
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people instinctively protect their head.
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00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:59,520
Why was this body's face
burned even worse?
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00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:02,120
There wasn't time for him
to cover his mouth and nose.
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00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:04,880
The moment
these bamboo ribs pierced his throat,
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00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:07,160
he was dead.
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00:17:11,079 --> 00:17:13,480
Just as I thought.
He barely inhaled any soot.
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00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:17,640
When the body burned, he was already dead.
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00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:20,319
However, if not for the spreading blaze,
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00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:21,680
we would've caught him.
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00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:24,720
That only proves
every step is full of variables.
268
00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,040
As long as one step
didn't go as the killer planned,
269
00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:29,680
he wouldn't get this outcome.
270
00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,720
That's why the killer
risked showing up on site?
271
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:38,240
Something still feels off.
272
00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:39,880
But I have no leads yet.
273
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:43,240
The Grand Festival is in three days.
274
00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:44,560
We're going to be busy.
275
00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,960
The Palace Workshop Service
and the Bureau of Sacrifices
276
00:17:50,040 --> 00:17:53,320
have swiftly gathered
folk artisans from the capital
277
00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:54,760
to remake the palace lanterns.
278
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,640
They'll be finished
before the Grand Festival.
279
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,360
Your Majesty, please don't worry.
280
00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,000
Using the lantern's bamboo ribs to kill…
281
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,080
Now that is a work of art.
282
00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:12,480
Any leads on the nursery rhyme
going around the capital?
283
00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:15,040
The Court of Judicial Review's
ordered the offices
284
00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:16,560
of Chang'an and Wannian counties
285
00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:18,400
to question every household
286
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:20,320
and force out where the rhyme came from.
287
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,480
They've been at it day and night
without stopping.
288
00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:24,840
But…
289
00:18:24,920 --> 00:18:27,960
People in the capital always say
"metal, wood, water, fire, earth."
290
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:31,280
The order "fire, water,
earth, wood, metal" is quite unusual.
291
00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:34,040
People in the capital rarely say
292
00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:36,440
"fire, water, earth, wood, metal."
293
00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:38,920
This servant is ignorant.
294
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:43,720
I truly don't know
where that saying comes from.
295
00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:46,960
That phrasing is common
296
00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:50,040
in Puzhou,
297
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:52,160
Consort Shu's home, right?
298
00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,640
Consort Shu's loyalty has never wavered!
299
00:18:55,720 --> 00:18:58,200
Ever since returning from Qinghui Palace,
300
00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,760
she's done her utmost
to prepare for the Grand Festival.
301
00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:03,440
In my humble view,
302
00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:08,840
Consort Shu surely couldn't
have anything to do with this.
303
00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:19,960
ETERNAL RENEWAL IN IMPERIAL SPLENDOR
304
00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:26,760
You old servant,
305
00:19:28,720 --> 00:19:30,000
you know quite a lot.
306
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:33,080
I wouldn't dare!
307
00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:35,480
I spoke out of turn! I spoke out of turn!
308
00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:37,600
- I spoke out of turn!
- Enough.
309
00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:43,680
Well,
310
00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:46,440
that brother of hers, under house arrest,
311
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:48,320
what's he been up to lately?
312
00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:51,840
I don't know.
313
00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:54,200
Has anyone gone to see him?
314
00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:56,720
I don't know either.
315
00:19:57,920 --> 00:19:59,480
You don't know,
316
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:01,160
or you don't dare say?
317
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:04,240
I live inside the palace.
318
00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:06,640
As for matters outside,
319
00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:09,120
I really don't know…
320
00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:13,600
After all, he's been
Right Chancellor for years.
321
00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:17,960
Every last one of his disciples
has called on him privately.
322
00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:19,600
For a man publicly confined,
323
00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:21,880
he receives a steady stream of visitors.
324
00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:24,800
Tell me.
325
00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:28,720
Should I be glad that my key ministers
326
00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,240
still value loyalty and remember old ties?
327
00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:34,240
Or have they already decided Cui Minzhong
328
00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:36,040
will rise again someday?
329
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:40,640
Year-end is near.
330
00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:44,560
Time to sweep out
the dust and filth, right?
331
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:48,400
Yes!
332
00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:57,680
Someone's targeting me.
333
00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:00,240
My former classmates at court
334
00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,040
have all been demoted
or sent out of the capital,
335
00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:04,040
scattered everywhere.
336
00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:08,280
That was to be expected.
337
00:21:08,360 --> 00:21:10,040
What chills me is,
338
00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:13,560
now that my influence is fading,
339
00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:15,560
they drop all pretenses!
340
00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,320
You haven't left the residence,
so you may not know it.
341
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,160
Ever since that nursery rhyme
342
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,000
spread through the capital,
343
00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:26,080
His Majesty has posted more guards
outside your gates.
344
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:27,040
The watch is tight,
345
00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:28,760
and the transfer orders came fast.
346
00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,240
They didn't even have time
to bid you farewell
347
00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:32,680
before rushing out of the capital.
348
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,560
Every one of them knows
how to protect himself.
349
00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:40,000
So why would you
still dare come to my door?
350
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,320
I'm low-ranked and insignificant.
351
00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:45,840
I can't help anyone gain
352
00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:48,120
or stand in anyone's way.
353
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,920
So they just turn a blind eye to me.
354
00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,360
At least you still cared.
355
00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:02,400
As your disciple,
356
00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,240
I'd gladly sink or swim with you.
357
00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:07,240
But can you really stomach
waiting to be destroyed?
358
00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:12,720
His Majesty shows no mercy
to your faction,
359
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,120
but he still holds affection
for Consort Shu.
360
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:17,640
If she stays steady,
361
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:19,960
you are safe.
362
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:23,480
But once she falls from favor,
363
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,160
then you will share her fate.
364
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,840
That nursery rhyme
is banned in the capital,
365
00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:37,080
but it's still
a thorn in His Majesty's side.
366
00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,920
You've always planned ahead.
367
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,280
You should plan a way out for this.
368
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:53,560
A way out?
369
00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:58,440
I've been forced into a corner.
370
00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:00,520
If there's no retreat,
371
00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:03,200
then let's break the wall
and fight our way back to life!
372
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:17,440
Right now,
373
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:19,840
I have been stripped of all my arms.
374
00:23:20,360 --> 00:23:22,720
They're scattered or lying dead.
375
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:26,160
I'm afraid I'm now utterly powerless.
376
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:28,960
Back then, to protect Lv Chongshan,
377
00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,720
you sent him to the Andong Protectorate.
378
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,280
For 15 years, they have stayed
calm and secure,
379
00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:38,720
never short of pay or rewards.
380
00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,360
It's time to have them
381
00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:44,040
do something for you.
382
00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:57,240
These bamboo ribs weren't tied with cord?
383
00:23:57,880 --> 00:23:58,720
Sir, please look.
384
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:00,680
We first roast the ribs over fire
385
00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:02,520
to bend them into shape.
386
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:04,840
Then we brush glue between the ribs,
387
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:05,760
tie them down with cord,
388
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:07,720
and remove it once the glue sets.
389
00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:09,520
If you use only cord,
390
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,680
the bamboo's spring will snap it?
391
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:13,400
That's possible.
392
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,040
But for every cord to break at once,
393
00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:18,320
like on that lantern,
394
00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:19,640
it would be hard.
395
00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:20,800
Hard, yes.
396
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,240
But if you use just one cord
to bind all the ribs,
397
00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:25,240
it's simple.
398
00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:29,960
What's this for?
399
00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:34,360
There are small rings
at each joint of the dragon body.
400
00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:36,880
The rings are linked by a cord.
401
00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:39,800
That way, if the dancers get out of step,
402
00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:44,160
the cord keeps the sections together
and prevents a total disaster.
403
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:45,520
I see.
404
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,480
When was the burned
coiled-dragon lantern made?
405
00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:58,720
The night before the incident,
it wasn't ready yet.
406
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:00,880
So Craftsman Lang
likely finished it overnight.
407
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,280
What are you looking for, Sir?
Let me help you.
408
00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:08,440
There should be a hook
near the wooden frame
409
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,080
to snag the cord,
410
00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:11,720
but it won't stand out.
411
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:21,160
That barrel of tung oil here
was moved by you?
412
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,280
Yes. Good thing
Her Ladyship warned us in time.
413
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:26,360
If tung oil caught fire,
414
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:27,920
this whole place would've been lost.
415
00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:31,240
- What's in that barrel?
- Tung oil!
416
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:32,760
Hurry!
417
00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:39,080
Move! Move!
418
00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:40,800
Move!
419
00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:45,240
Where did you put the tung oil?
420
00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:46,840
Right outside the back window.
421
00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:00,920
The barrel was right outside this window.
422
00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:02,600
Why is it gone?
423
00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:40,560
This is…
424
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:41,720
This is the steel needle
Craftsman Lang uses
425
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:42,760
to sew palace lantern shades.
426
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:46,120
That's enough.
427
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:48,160
Please prepare brush and ink for me.
428
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:50,840
- Yes, sir.
- Forget it.
429
00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:54,200
Get a portrait artist.
430
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:55,920
Understood.
431
00:27:04,760 --> 00:27:08,120
It's simple to make the head fall
and the ribs spring loose.
432
00:27:08,640 --> 00:27:11,240
All it takes is someone cutting this cord.
433
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,480
All the bamboo ribs inside
were bound with a single cord.
434
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:16,320
And the bamboo hadn't fully set yet.
435
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:18,560
Once it's loosened,
it springs straight at once.
436
00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:20,760
The tips are razor-sharp.
437
00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:22,760
In that instant,
it's no different from an arrow.
438
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:24,040
But back then,
439
00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:25,800
we didn't see any cord
linked to a mechanism.
440
00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:30,840
At the third ke of Mao Hour,
441
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,160
it was still dim.
442
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,080
The daylight in the room was faint.
443
00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:37,080
The cotton thread was very thin,
444
00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:38,200
and it was dark-colored.
445
00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:39,200
It blended into the light,
446
00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:40,320
so it was hard to see.
447
00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,880
Once the lantern was lit,
the position of the thread
448
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:46,480
was even harder to spot.
449
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:50,360
So, the killer set up the whole mechanism
and hid in the dark.
450
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,560
When Lang Maochun stepped
into the trap, he cut the cord.
451
00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:58,080
The steel needle holding the cord
was right here.
452
00:27:58,160 --> 00:27:59,720
Your Ladyship was nearby then.
453
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:00,680
Did you notice the killer?
454
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:03,920
The lantern was heated by the flames,
and a phoenix shape appeared.
455
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,840
Everyone's attention was drawn
to the dragon-and-phoenix pattern.
456
00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:09,400
The killer likely struck in silence.
457
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:11,640
Then how did the killer get away?
458
00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:14,480
There were plenty of dancers watching.
459
00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:15,400
It was so chaotic.
460
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:17,760
When the dragon head fell
and flames burst,
461
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:20,080
the killer could slip away in the chaos.
462
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,080
However, you did see the killer.
463
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:26,320
Not clearly.
464
00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:28,880
Just a shadow flashing past the window.
465
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:30,760
I chased him all the way to Chuyang Gate.
466
00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:32,160
Then he vanished.
467
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:34,960
The guards saw no one suspicious.
468
00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:37,080
The trail seemed
to vanish all of a sudden.
469
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,840
In this palace,
are there those you can't catch?
470
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:41,240
Of course!
471
00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:43,400
I still need to visit Consort Shu.
472
00:28:43,480 --> 00:28:45,120
I'll leave the case to you two.
473
00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:00,800
Who is it?
474
00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:05,440
I chased him all the way to Chuyang Gate.
Then he vanished.
475
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,880
The trail seemed
to vanish all of a sudden.
476
00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,000
- What's in that barrel?
- Tung oil!
477
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,160
The barrel was right outside this window.
478
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:22,520
Her Ladyship was nearby then.
479
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:25,240
So someone's framing you with that too?
480
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:31,240
No.
481
00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:34,600
That wasn't the killer.
482
00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:37,120
ZICHEN HALL
483
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,400
How is the Palace Workshop Service
case going?
484
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:42,400
The crime happened at Mao Hour,
485
00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:45,080
on the east side of the palace.
The victim was killed with bamboo ribs.
486
00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:46,440
Just like the previous three cases,
487
00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:48,800
it follows the Five Elements pattern,
and it aligns with Wood this time.
488
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,160
The killer is very particular
about the time and the place.
489
00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,120
As for his motive, we still don't know.
490
00:29:57,160 --> 00:29:59,600
If you won't say it, then I'll say it.
491
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:03,400
I'm afraid they want to use
the omen of Venus in daylight
492
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:05,960
to shake the realm
and speak up for Consort Shu.
493
00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:08,520
Your Majesty,
I observe the stars every night.
494
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:09,440
I only see the five planets
keeping their course,
495
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:10,160
appearing and fading in season.
496
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:11,800
There's no sign of Venus in daylight.
497
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:13,840
Even if, as the rhyme implies,
498
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:15,360
"Venus" is a hint at Consort Shu,
499
00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:17,480
we should send more men to protect her.
500
00:30:19,120 --> 00:30:20,080
Then what if
501
00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:23,280
the "metal" in that sequence
points not to Consort Shu,
502
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:24,920
but to me,
503
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:26,720
to this golden throne?
504
00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:30,720
I will do my utmost
to bring the killer to justice.
505
00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:38,880
Your Highness, tired from rehearsal?
506
00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:40,440
Why push yourself so hard?
507
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:43,080
I choreographed this dance myself,
508
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,280
and the Grand Festival is my duty.
509
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:46,880
In this emergency,
510
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:48,040
I must see it through.
511
00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:51,080
Since only you can perform this dance,
512
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:53,600
the measure of its success
is yours to decide.
513
00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:57,240
Listen to you, silver tongue.
514
00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:00,520
But I'm rusty, after all.
515
00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:02,680
I have to rehearse it well.
516
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:04,480
I can't let His Majesty down.
517
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:07,880
The Palace Workshop Service
sent a few necklaces.
518
00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:09,160
Help me pick.
519
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,120
Look. Which one?
520
00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:24,200
What's wrong?
521
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:26,640
Who upset you this time?
522
00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:29,680
Your Highness,
523
00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:32,880
don't attend
the Grand Festival this time, all right?
524
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:36,800
I'm a consort.
525
00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:39,280
Of course I must do my duty.
526
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,160
Don't you know
the killer is still striking?
527
00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:44,280
Of course I know.
528
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:48,120
These past six months,
His Majesty has toiled for the state.
529
00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:50,760
He meant to use
the Southern Suburb Ceremony
530
00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:51,880
to pray for the realm,
531
00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,880
then reward the ministers
at the Grand Festival after.
532
00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:57,560
But the killer kept striking,
533
00:31:57,640 --> 00:31:58,640
with evil omens unending.
534
00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:01,440
His Majesty is worried sick.
535
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:06,320
Not just the palace cases.
536
00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:11,840
But also that nursery rhyme
sung in the capital.
537
00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:13,440
I know it all.
538
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:17,440
Have you considered
539
00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:20,440
the killer means to strike
at the Grand Festival,
540
00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:21,760
and the target is likely you?
541
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:24,480
You've exhausted yourself.
Your old illness has returned.
542
00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:27,360
You could use your health
as reason to withdraw.
543
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:29,560
He would never blame you.
544
00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,640
Why put yourself in danger?
545
00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:35,600
If he truly wants to kill me,
546
00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:37,240
why wait for the Grand Festival?
547
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:39,600
Haven't you noticed it?
548
00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:41,560
These past two weeks,
549
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:43,720
His Majesty hasn't come here once.
550
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:50,440
Five, four, three, two, one.
551
00:32:50,960 --> 00:32:52,280
"Fire, water, earth, wood, metal."
552
00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:56,640
That rhyme uses the wording
from my hometown, Puzhou,
553
00:32:57,160 --> 00:32:58,840
and it likens Venus to me.
554
00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:00,560
Even if I do nothing,
555
00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:04,120
the palace cases alone,
plus that folk rhyme,
556
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,720
are enough for His Majesty
to grow distant and suspicious of me.
557
00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:10,840
Who does Your Highness think did it?
558
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,240
Either my elder brother,
559
00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,360
too bored to sit still, stirred up trouble
560
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:18,800
or those who hate the Cui family,
561
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,080
seizing this chance
to wipe out the Cui clan,
562
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:23,640
plotting in the shadows.
563
00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:27,720
No matter which it is,
564
00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:29,800
I can't try to do anything.
565
00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:31,800
The more I do,
566
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:33,840
the more His Majesty will suspect me.
567
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:39,800
So you yield to fate without a fight?
568
00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:42,840
I do not yield.
569
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:44,800
I'm doing what I should do.
570
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:47,200
All these years,
571
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,280
everything I have
came from His Majesty's favor.
572
00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,880
He granted me glory
and also made me a target.
573
00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:57,800
Blessings come and so slander.
574
00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:00,080
In this vast inner palace,
575
00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:02,880
only His Majesty can kill me,
576
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,480
and only His Majesty can protect me.
577
00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:10,920
Doing my duty
578
00:34:11,639 --> 00:34:13,600
is how I stay steady through change.
579
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:19,239
I say
580
00:34:20,679 --> 00:34:21,920
we pick this one.
581
00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:28,199
Proper and flawless.
582
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,199
Perfect and complete.
583
00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:41,480
Mr. Gu showed up early,
584
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,440
said hello to me,
then fell asleep right here.
585
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,960
You're a dignified prosecutor.
586
00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:49,280
It's past Chen Hour,
587
00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:51,120
and you're slacking off here?
588
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:54,320
For the nursery rhyme case,
I was up all night.
589
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:56,360
The moment I got a lead,
590
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:58,760
I rushed over to tell you without a pause.
591
00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:01,320
I run my legs off every day,
592
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:02,560
and not a soul pities me!
593
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:04,120
Looking for sympathy, huh?
594
00:35:06,240 --> 00:35:07,240
Spit it out.
595
00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:08,320
You traced the rhyme's source?
596
00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:15,280
Technically, yes.
597
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:16,360
Effectively,
598
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:17,960
it's like we didn't.
599
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:20,360
Let me see.
600
00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:21,960
The first one who learned the rhyme
601
00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:23,760
was a little girl from a butcher's family.
602
00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:26,640
She said the one who taught her the rhyme
603
00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:27,880
was this person.
604
00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:39,240
Is it the Celestial Lord?
605
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,360
This one was drawn
from the butcher girl's description,
606
00:35:42,440 --> 00:35:44,600
and this one from Lan'er's.
607
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:45,880
It should be the same man.
608
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:48,960
When did the Celestial Lord
teach the girl the rhyme?
609
00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:50,480
About half a month ago.
610
00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:52,760
We worked for nothing.
611
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:54,840
Not exactly.
612
00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:56,560
At least it confirms our earlier guess.
613
00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:58,120
The Celestial Lord spread
the rhyme among the people first,
614
00:35:58,200 --> 00:36:00,080
then followed the rhyme
to strike inside the palace.
615
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,280
So it seems the Celestial Lord
uses the elemental pattern
616
00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:06,240
to plague His Majesty
with a series of bad omens
617
00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:09,080
before the Southern Suburb Ceremony
and the Grand Festival.
618
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:11,120
And by spreading the rhyme,
619
00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:14,240
he's trying to make His Majesty
grow sick of Consort Shu.
620
00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:16,720
The Celestial Lord
has now committed four cases.
621
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:20,920
Could the last one
be at tomorrow's Southern Suburb Ceremony?
622
00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:24,680
The killer is careful.
He won't change his pattern at random.
623
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:28,160
"Metal" matches Shen and You Hours,
624
00:36:28,880 --> 00:36:29,880
and the direction is west.
625
00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:31,440
But tomorrow's ceremony is at Chen Hour,
626
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:33,200
in the southern suburbs.
627
00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:35,000
The time and direction don't match.
628
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:36,480
After the ceremony,
629
00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:38,200
His Majesty will hold the Grand Festival
630
00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:40,080
at the Hua'e Xianghui Tower,
banqueting ministers and their families.
631
00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:42,280
Consort Shu will also perform
a dance for His Majesty.
632
00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:44,840
Notify the Imperial Guards
and all palace gate guards.
633
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:47,160
During tomorrow's Grand Festival,
we must be especially vigilant.
634
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:52,000
All right.
635
00:36:52,080 --> 00:36:53,280
Let him sleep here.
636
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:03,320
Wuren,
637
00:37:03,400 --> 00:37:05,200
about what I asked for yesterday,
did you get it?
638
00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:09,040
Yeah. You're really meticulous.
639
00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:12,040
You checked the night-soil
collectors' routes and shifts
640
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:15,040
to stop someone
from sneaking into the palace?
641
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:17,000
Thank you.
642
00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:21,600
ROUTES OF THE LAVATORY
NIGHT-SOIL COLLECTORS
643
00:37:22,200 --> 00:37:23,280
Mr. Xiao.
644
00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:29,120
You wanted to see me?
645
00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:32,040
- The hook's been cast?
- Yes.
646
00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:34,000
The bait is in the water.
647
00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:35,480
He hasn't bitten yet,
648
00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:37,160
but the ripples are already spreading.
649
00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:39,320
I heard there was some trouble.
650
00:37:39,400 --> 00:37:40,960
Not really trouble.
651
00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:42,160
Just a bit of rough water.
652
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:45,640
Rough water doesn't matter.
653
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,520
As long as it gets the boat
where it needs to go,
654
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:50,200
bigger waves are fine too.
655
00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:51,880
Is everything ready?
656
00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:52,960
All ready.
657
00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:56,160
At the Grand Festival,
it'll be a stunning debut.
658
00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:57,600
That nursery rhyme
659
00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:00,520
should've reached
the Right Chancellor's manor by now.
660
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,200
He copies scriptures at home every day,
661
00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:05,800
but inside, his mind is already in chaos.
662
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:07,400
That old fox
663
00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,760
has been flooding the palace
with pleas for an audience.
664
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:14,160
But neither His Majesty nor Consort Shu
has answered.
665
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:16,520
Your plan really worked.
666
00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,920
One more push,
and he won't be able to sit still!
667
00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:26,680
Once the Cui family falls,
668
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:28,200
the vengeance of the Prince of Duan
669
00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:30,040
and Jianning Iron Army
will finally be repaid.
670
00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:31,280
Thank you, my lord!
671
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:36,040
Clearing the court is my duty.
672
00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:37,880
We share the same aim.
673
00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:38,880
No need for thanks.
674
00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:41,520
Without your help,
675
00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:43,320
I couldn't have done it so smoothly.