Original subtitles

(Funeral of the Empress Dowager of Ning)

(Gu Qing, Empress) The Empress Dowager has passed away.

(Meng Shu, Noble Concubine) You ordered us to kneel for six days.

Given your deep bond as aunt and niece,

shouldn't you be buried with the Empress Dowager?

His Majesty is here!

(Xiao Luo, Emperor)

Long live Your Majesty!

After ruling behind the curtain for ten years,

(Spirit Tablet of Empress Dowager Gu) the Empress Dowager's dream

of becoming a female emperor has been shattered.

Before her spirit tablet,

Your Majesty should maintain filial propriety

and not lose decorum.

Filial propriety?

I had been her puppet for ten years.

Aren't you just trying to force me

to grant your aunt's burial

in the imperial mausoleum?

What propriety are you talking to me about?

I beg Your Majesty to follow ancestral rites

and inter the Empress Dowager's coffin.

And what if I absolutely refuse?

Get the physician.

Yes!

I am willing to stake my life to plead,

begging Your Majesty to bury her in the imperial mausoleum.

With her gone, the Gu family's power wanes.

Now, the only one you can rely on

is me.

Will you leave with me

or stubbornly stay guarding her?

♪ A lifetime of calamity, traded for a drunken stupor ♪

Your Majesty, please calm your anger.

(Gu Wan, Concubine)

My sister was just acting impulsively.

Since the Empress refuses to leave,

let her kneel as she wishes.

His Majesty has already left. Why keep kneeling?

Are you all going to defy His Majesty's will like her?

- Yes. - Yes.

Do you know what this is?

This is his love for you.

It's fake and illusory.

I am still the Empress.

A mere noble concubine dares to discuss the Emperor and Empress?

Aren't you an abandoned Empress after all?

Aren't you the best at playing chess?

How does it feel now to be the discarded piece?

His Majesty and Her Majesty

got married young.

(Leng Yue, Noble Concubine) But they've drifted apart so far

because of the Gu family and the Empress Dowager.

Noble Concubine Meng's elder brother

cleansed the Empress Dowager's influence from the court for His Majesty.

(De Zhuang, Noble Concubine) She's gaining prominence in the harem.

It seems the harem is about to change.

Oh, no.

Such an ominous sign

foretells a great calamity.

Your Majesty, please endure a little longer.

The physician is coming.

Your Majesty, what's wrong?

Perhaps kneeling has made me dizzy.

Yinsheng,

fetch me a cup of water.

Yes.

(Why do I feel utterly drained?)

(Something's off.)

(This scent...)

(The incense has a problem.)

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Fire broke out!

Fire broke out!

Someone! Help Her Majesty!

Help, quickly!

Help!

Her Majesty is still inside!

Hurry!

So this is the great calamity?

How did a fire suddenly break out?

Her Majesty is still inside.

What should we do?

With such a fierce fire, the outlook is grim.

The talk of burial has become a prophetic remark.

(This fire is suspicious.)

(It's hard to tell friend from foe in the palace.)

(Was it an accident or sabotage?)

(Am I truly destined to perish here?)

(No.)

(Even if consumed by flames, )

(I will rise from the ashes.)

(I will never submit to fate.)

=Glory Back=

=Episode 1=

(I should be feeling the agony of burning.)

(Why is my whole body icy cold?)

Help! Feng Qing has fallen into the water!

Someone, help!

(I must survive.)

Feng Qing!

Feng Qing?

Feng Qing?

Feng Qing?

(Feng Qing, Palace Maid) Help me!

Feng Qing? What's wrong, Feng Qing?

On the 18th day of the second month, Bingwu Year,

Her Majesty has passed away.

(I)

(passed away?)

(What is this place? Why am I here?)

(And wearing these clothes?)

Feng Qing! You're finally awake.

You were unconscious for three days.

How dare you! Who are you?

(Wenxin, Place Maid)

Feng Qing,

what's wrong with you?

(She calls me Feng Qing?)

(How did I become like this?)

Where am I?

I...

I was unconscious for three days?

That fall must've messed with your head.

This is the Imperial Wardrobe Office.

Three days ago,

you jumped into the lotus pond in despair.

Why did you want to end your life?

(Could it be)

(that when Feng Qing drowned herself, )

(I reincarnated)

(into her body?)

(How could such a bizarre thing happen?)

Fortunately, you are blessed.

You can't imagine what happened in just three days.

Empress Dowager's mourning hall burned.

The Empress died in a fire accidentally.

Accidentally?

(No. It was no accident.)

(I must find a chance to investigate.)

So you're awake?

(Head Chen, Imperial Wardrobe Office) You have quite the nerve.

Daring to take your own life?

Wenxin, come.

(Feng Qing killed herself. She must have been in dire straits.)

(I must tread carefully.)

Go quickly to Lanzhi Palace.

Deliver the robe for Noble Consort Wan's Silkworm Ceremony.

Yes.

Noble Consort Wan?

While you were unconscious,

His Majesty promoted the late Empress's sister to Noble Consort Wan.

Don't address her wrong and lose your life.

Yes.

(Wan is already a noble consort?)

(This is a perfect chance for me to see her.)

Guard this lacquered box, or answer for it.

Yes.

Let me go. I...

I've rested for three days and am well enough.

I am at your disposal.

First time I've seen you volunteer for a task.

Very well.

You are honest and reliable.

Then you go.

Remember,

you must personally present it to Noble Consort Wan. No intermediaries.

Yes.

(Why did she specifically warn me not to let others handle it?)

(Is there something wrong with the robe?)

(Corydalis pollen?)

(Wan has always been allergic to this.)

(If it touches her skin, her life could be at risk.)

(Who exactly it is?)

(Lanzhi Palace)

(Gu Wan, Noble Consort)

Noble Concubine De, Concubine Cao, and Junior Concubine Su have arrived.

Greetings, Your Highness.

No need for formalities. Please sit.

Your Highness is now the foremost among the imperial consorts

(Cao Zhen, Concubine) and presides over the Silkworm Ceremony.

You should be joyful.

Why do you still look so ill?

My elder sister's passing troubles me day and night.

(Su Dai, Junior Concubine) It's inevitable to lose some vigor.

I've prepared blood swiftlet nests and millennium-old ginseng

to nourish your health.

With the Empress's position vacant,

you will surely ascend to that position.

You must nurture your health.

You...

You come from a merchant family.

And are truly generous.

And you are very attentive to Her Highness.

However, appointing an empress is a grave matter.

To rashly speculate on His Majesty's intentions like this,

what punishment do you deserve?

Your Highness,

I've erred and deserve a thousand deaths.

As the mistress of Yongfu Palace,

I cannot stand by as you lose propriety and commit faults.

My lady, please have some tea.

A slip of the tongue shall be punished with the tongue.

A minor penalty acts as a huge deterrent to avert future disasters.

Concubine Cao, I admit my fault.

Your Highness, I beg you.

Since she has knelt and admitted fault, perhaps we should let it go.

If discussion of the Empress's position

reaches His Majesty's ears,

I fear even Your Highness might be implicated.

Junior Concubine Su,

the Yunwu Tribute Tea won't taste good once it's cold.

How dare you!

I've erred.

Your Highness,

an Imperial Wardrobe maid seeks an audience.

(De Zhuang, Noble Concubine) Perhaps she's with the sericulture robe.

Summon her.

Greetings, Your Highness.

(Wan has always been fragile.)

(Now her health has declined.)

The Silkworm Ceremony is of great importance.

If the sericulture robe doesn't fit,

it'd diminish your dignity.

The Imperial Wardrobe Office worked day and night.

We dare not make any error with the sericulture robe.

Perhaps Your Highness could try it on?

In case there's any oversight,

they can rectify it promptly.

The design of this robe is quite unique.

Your Highness, why not put it on?

So we can marvel at it.

Your Highness, please try it.

This robe is magnificent. Only Your Highness's grace can match it.

You will surely shine radiantly when wearing it.

(I just died, and someone is targeting Wan.)

(Among the villains in this harem, )

(who exactly is stirring?)

(Empress: Gu Qing Noble Consort: Gu Wan)

(Noble Concubines: De Zhuang, Meng Shu, Leng Yue)

(Concubine: Cao Zhen)

(Junior Concubine: Su Dai)

(Palace Maid: Feng Qing)

♪ Once a lonely sail, without a guiding light ♪

♪ With the warmth you lent me, how could I fear loneliness ♪

♪ Day and night together, sharing joys and sorrows ♪

♪ Searching all under heaven, my heart won't change ♪

♪ Fate in haste, looking back countless times, you swayed for me ♪

♪ Among a vast sea of people, faintly seeing the old self ♪

♪ Scenery along the way, looking back, love finds its echo ♪

♪ Watching the bustling world together, we write more verses ♪