Original subtitles

♪The world decays, in gloom I stray♪

♪Right and wrong, in frost engraved♪

♪On dreams of love, blades clash and sway♪

♪Alone I ride, blood still unswayed♪

♪Through heaven's mirth and earth's despair♪

♪Toasting the moon, I drink the chill air♪

♪Though hearts like battlefields may be♪

♪Let fate write its uncertainty♪

♪From this life to the great unknown♪

♪Who'll stand with me, on thrones unknown?♪

♪I'll wander through this life to guard you♪

♪Through mortal realms, serene I roam♪

♪With you, the world becomes my home♪

♪Unbroken, bold, as I have sworn♪

♪I'll roam this life, and feel no torn♪

♪Our souls embraced, no regret born♪

♪By twilight's lamp, though night be worn♪

♪Through deepest dark, I'll find the morn♪

=Fight For Love=

=Episode 37=

I volunteer

to lead

the delegation to North Qi

and fulfill your wish.

If the peace talks succeed

and I return safely,

I hope you

can rescind the decree

and allow me and Wei Yun to be together.

If I fail,

I will accept any punishment.

To rid Great Sui

of the danger posed by North Qi,

someone must

take this risk.

If this person

must be chosen from among us,

let it begin with me.

This journey will be dangerous.

Are you truly willing to go?

Yes.

To defend Fengling, my father died,

and my brother was wounded.

Though I am a woman,

as their daughter and sister,

I share their duty.

For Great Sui and you,

I'm willing

to travel far to North Qi

to complete the peace talks.

Thus,

I approve.

Chancellor Gu,

tell North Qi at once

that our envoys will set out now,

and they should be prepared for the peace talks.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Court is dismissed.

Farewell, Your Majesty.

Thank you for your reminder yesterday.

You're not mad at me

for what I did to Yu?

I understand your intention.

Because of you,

Yu and I survived a desperate situation.

Everything before this

no longer matters.

Yu,

let's go.

(Huajing City)

Go back now.

Everyone else has returned.

Take care of the family.

My Lady,

you're traveling alone,

with no one at your side.

Take good care of yourself.

(Sui)

My Lady...

My Lady, can't I just go

with you this time?

If you go,

I'll have to look after you.

Don't worry.

I will surely return

in triumph.

(Sui)

But His Lordship

is still locked up in the Arsenal Bureau.

We don't even know when he'll be released.

It's all right.

When we meet again,

we can see each other every day.

There's no need to rush.

All right.

I'm leaving.

Yu,

we're here.

Who said Ms. Chu

is going alone?

With me around,

you'll have an extra army.

Why are you here?

I had no choice.

Young Marquis Wei

begged me so pitifully.

My greatest flaw

is a soft heart.

Fine.

I'll accompany you on this trip.

You're so good

at flattering yourself.

As soon as Yun mentioned it,

we rushed over.

Yu, don't worry.

With me by your side,

you'll surely come back

unscathed.

With you two by my side,

things will surely be smoother.

Goodbye.

(Huajing City)

In Year 6 of Yuanle,

- (the war paused.) - Let's go.

(Emperor Chunde of Great Sui)

(appointed Chu Yu as an envoy to North Qi)

Take care of my lady!

(to conduct peace talks in Qizhou,)

(Sui) (capital of North Qi.)

(Gu Mansion)

Chusheng,

this inkstone looks a bit worn.

I'll buy you a new one someday.

This inkstone

was a gift from Chu Yu.

I've used it for years.

It's time to replace it.

Chu Yu set out for North Qi today.

Aren't you going to see her off?

She may not want to see me.

Why should I impose myself?

This journey is dangerous.

I hope she returns soon

and achieves what she wishes.

It was you who let Young Marquis Wei

appear in court, right?

Aren't you afraid the Emperor

will be angry with you?

The Emperor wished

to temper his sharpness.

Your recommendation

that I be the one to imprison

Young Marquis Wei

was also intentional, wasn't it?

If someone else handled it,

they'd follow orders strictly

and might hurt him.

Great Sui is in need of generals.

He's brave and skilled,

a rare talent in war.

I do not wish to see him fall.

During my days off,

I'll buy a new inkstone

for you.

Thank you, Shilan.

(Sui)

How far have we come?

Over 20 li from Huajing by now.

What's wrong?

I miss Jin.

Yun is really ruthless.

This journey might take a very long time,

yet he didn't even come to see Yu off.

He has things he needs to do.

Everyone, listen up.

Turn around.

I thought I wouldn't see you.

Looks like the Bureau

can't trap you.

In this world,

no one can stop me

from seeing you.

Yu,

I know all your planning

is to roam free under this vast sky

without being bound.

But now, for our future,

you willingly accept restraints.

Yu,

I won't always be locked

in the Bureau.

I know.

Even if

my hands are tied,

I can still come and go with ease.

Do you know why?

Because I know

that whenever I look back,

you will always be there.

Restrain yourself.

You might get beaten.

They won't notice me.

I'm sure.

Do you remember what I told you?

As long as I like you,

I will do everything I can

to clear all obstacles to return to you.

So, Wei Yun,

wait for me to come back.

Yu,

be extremely careful this time.

Just as you said,

whenever you look back,

I will always be here.

Everyone,

the peace talks in North Qi

will be full of hardships.

Zhao Yue is cunning;

things are unpredictable.

I hope you can return in triumph.

Delegation to North Qi,

depart.

(Sui)

(I won't make you wait too long.)

Your Lordship,

I finally found you.

Mr. Gongsun sent a message by pigeon.

He said he finally has a chance

to see the true face

of your confidante,

and he promised

to give his full support

to Ms. Chu.

I'll reply to him when I return to the Bureau.

We need our own plan as well.

We can't let Yu fight alone.

I knew it.

There's no way you'd let

Ms. Chu face it alone.

Of course not.

After we're back,

I need to see General Song.

Did you see Ms. Chu today?

Thank you for letting me out.

Is this your token of gratitude?

Next time at Spring Breeze House,

everything will be on me.

You always

keep everything

in your heart.

The Emperor distrusts me.

If you hadn't taken this position in my stead,

I might be in greater danger.

You'd rather bear Wenchang's scolding

than let this fall on me.

To be honest,

I owe you

a drink for that.

You still owe me

one more drink.

Thanks to you,

I was able to see Yu off today.

Thank you.

Actually, the Emperor

gave me the title of General of the West

only to warn you.

He didn't intend to strip you of your troops.

That day,

Wenchang asked me

why I had to accept it

when I knew

how dangerous

this decree was.

I said many noble reasons,

but in truth,

I wasn't without selfish motives.

As a concubine's son,

I must seize every opportunity

to climb step by step.

Only then

can I realize my ideals

and ambitions.

If you were truly selfish,

you wouldn't have helped me time and again.

I chose you to go to Qingzhou with me

not only

because of your adaptability,

but because there is a bottom line

in your adaptability.

Your selfishness

has never outweighed the greater good.

Shilan,

you deserve to be

the General of the West.

When I can defeat you,

you can say that again.

Still,

I didn't expect

you'd send Wenchang to North Qi.

Very well.

He does need the experience.

In that case,

please work with me

to accomplish another great task.

(Zhonggong Gate)

The delegation of Great Sui is coming.

Yue,

why did you quarrel so fiercely

with the City Lord of Xuan

in court today?

Mother, you know

that my ambition is to annex Great Sui.

Why did you not speak

a single word for me?

I share governance with you

to build up your influence.

By remaining silent,

I was trying to preserve your dignity

before the officials.

Though the City Lord of Xuan

used to serve Su Can,

you only secured

your rule over North Qi

because you married his daughter.

So, you must not embarrass him.

You are nowhere to be seen most days,

yet today you're so attentive.

Did you also hear

that the delegation of Great Sui

is coming?

Missing one's homeland is normal.

However,

I have no intention

of returning anytime soon.

What if they insist on taking you away?

Do you know

that Chu Yu is part of the delegation?

Do you not trust me?

How could I not trust you?

You are the only one I trust in this world.

My appetite

has been peculiar lately.

I find

that grapes

taste sweeter

at night.

I am tired.

I'll go back to rest.

These grapes are very sweet.

Mother, why don't you try one?

Do you want me

to taste a grape,

or are you trying to silence me?

She relies on your favor

and shows no respect for me.

Please calm your anger.

She only wanted a grape.

As for the delegation

that concerns you,

I'll let

Gongsun Lan receive them.

(Qizhou Posthouse)

Everyone, rest here for the night.

Tomorrow, you'll go to meet the King.

What kind of place is this?

Is this how North Qi

treats its guests?

If you refuse to stay,

you can sleep outside.

We are at least

the envoys sent for peace talks.

In your eyes,

are we so easy to bully?

Great Sui is hardly a victor.

You're gravely weakened.

Otherwise, why would you come here?

You brought yourselves here,

yet you expect us to respect you?

Good.

Finally showing your true colors.

Seize those two.

We are officials of the posthouse.

If you dare lay a hand on us,

you will be openly opposing North Qi.

Exactly.

Look at you,

arrogant and bullying.

Who started this conflict first?

Enough. So noisy.

Gag them,

tie them up, and throw them outside.

(Qizhou Posthouse)

Behave yourselves.

Yu,

we just arrived. Why provoke them?

Before we left,

the Emperor said

that though we won greatly,

North Qi

was not completely defeated.

So,

on our first day here,

we can see how they intend to negotiate.

It's easy to meet the King

yet hard to deal with his lackeys.

If those below dare act like this,

the order must have come from above.

This is clearly

a show of force.

Tomorrow, we must make them pay.

That's why I retaliated just now.

If we get pushed around once we arrive,

we'll be trampled

all the way through.

But judging from the attitude

of those two underlings,

I fear Zhao Yue

has no intention

of negotiating with us.

He's just ascended the throne.

With the uncertain domestic situation

and the foreign army at the border,

if I were him,

negotiation wouldn't be impossible.

Of course, I would talk.

But the key

to peace talks is "talk".

If they want a ceasefire,

I could consider it.

But if they propose

any other unreasonable demands,

not a chance.

Of course,

I also expected

that Zhao Yue would not

agree so easily.

Actually, before we left,

the Emperor gave one more verbal decree.

Wait.

Don't tell me

peace talks are just a pretense.

Does the Emperor

want us to assassinate Zhao Yue?

How can we three do that?

What are you thinking?

The peace talks are a pretense

so that we can approach

the King of North Qi.

But our primary mission

is to bring back the Eldest Princess

at all costs.

I can give them money,

horses, and even silk,

if they want.

But they can never

take Changming away.

Mother,

Changming is my only bottom line.

I can consider all other demands,

but this one

is non-negotiable.

Yue,

you are a ruler of a nation.

Your bottom line should be your people.

Are you willing

to fight another battle for a woman?

Why are you so afraid of Great Sui?

In Great Sui,

how many capable generals are there now?

If they really want

to take Changming,

I will not spare them.

Even if Zhao Yue wants to kill us,

we will still bring

the Eldest Princess back.

Of course,

we must first enter the Palace

to gauge Zhao Yue's attitude.

The best outcome

is....

Rescue the Eldest Princess.

Reclaim the three cities.

Bring peace to the world.

Chu Yu,

it's really you.

Truly a woman of Great Sui,

not yielding to men.

Don't worry.

I'm safe.

I will be waiting for you.

You have covered my eyes

for so long,

saying you'd show me

a wonder.

What wonder?

Today is your birthday, Your Highness.

The King wants to give you a surprise.

Your Highness.

Your Highness.

Your Highness.

In the past,

I couldn't afford a pearl

you liked.

Now,

(Bright and Virtuous)

I don't want that regret anymore.

Unfortunately,

I no longer like pearls.

So,

is this

the birthday gift you give me?

Do you like it?

From the moment we arrived in North Qi,

I began preparing all of this.

Whether you are Hanmei or Zhao Yue,

you always please me.

Why would my followers

agree to come to North Qi with you

and follow your orders?

Changming, have you forgotten?

I know how to use poison.

This is Farewell at Dawn.

It leaves at dawn

and returns at night.

Half a pill

is addictive.

One must take another half each month

to relieve the bone-deep itch.

What if someone takes a full pill?

There is no cure.

They'll surely die.

There is one pill left in this bottle.

It's for you, Changming.

If you still want to leave me,

I don't mind using it.

But I hope

that day will never come.

I like this curtain

of pearls,

and I will accept

your Farewell at Dawn.

However,

this is not what I truly want.

The time has come.

The reception of the delegation cannot be delayed.

Very well.

I will wait

for you in the hall.

(Qi)

The delegation from Great Sui is here.

(Chengtian Hall)

Is Great Sui without men?

The envoy they sent

is only a woman.

Only a woman?

Your Majesty, weren't you

already defeated several times

by this mere woman?

Did your crossbow workshop

blow itself up?

Outrageous!

Your Majesty,

I have a question.

Is North Qi without men?

You even sent two snobbish officials

to receive us.

The delegation of Great Sui

is by no means an easy target.

I will surely write a letter

to inform the Emperor

of our treatment in North Qi.

No need for that.

Our King

would never deliberately mistreat you.

I suppose it was those two officials

being petty and snobbish.

That's fine then.

We've tied them up.

You can handle them by law.

Of course.

Of course.

Since you are here for peace talks,

how do you wish to proceed?

Before peace talks,

may we first see

the Eldest Princess?

After the hot spring villa,

we have had no news of her.

What?

You want to take Changming back?

The Emperor cares deeply for her

and wishes us to first ensure

her safety.

We just want to see

if the Eldest Princess is well.

Is that not allowed?

Who knows?

If North Qi harmed

the Eldest Princess,

it's not impossible

they wish to conceal it.

Yue,

the envoys' concerns are reasonable.

We've never

mistreated Li Changming,

so letting them see her

would do no harm.

Today happens to be Changming's birthday.

I had ordered preparations

for a birthday banquet this morning.

With envoys from Great Sui present,

Changming will surely be happier.

(Chengtian Hall, Qi)

Everyone, rest assured.

In peace talks, peace comes first.

But for some matters,

you should raise them carefully.

I may not wish to discuss them.

The Eldest Princess of Great Sui is here.

Your Highness.

Your Highness,

you have suffered.

How could that be?

With my temperament,

how could I let myself suffer?

Chu Yu,

your visit

has already made me happy.

Your Highness,

the Emperor is concerned about you.

Tell my brother not to worry.

I am not in any danger here.

Weren't you going to give me

a birthday gift I would like?

I have just decided what I want.

Could you present it before my old friends?

I will give you

whatever you wish.

I want

to be your consort.

What?

Did I hear it right?

This...

Your Highness,

the Emperor is waiting for you in Great Sui.

If so,

you will never return.

Your Highness,

if the people find out,

your reputation

will be ruined.

Changming,

do you mean it?

Even if I am

in the North Qi harem,

I want to be the most unique

and most distinguished.

I do not desire to be

an ordinary consort;

it is hardly worthy of me.

Zhao Yue,

do you dare to grant me that?

This Great Sui woman is so bold.

- Yes. - Outrageous!

You want to be

the Queen of North Qi?

You are even unworthy

to be an ordinary consort.

Your Majesty,

choose between the throne

of North Qi and this woman.

Mother, is this a threat?

But you should understand

that even if my queen

is not her now,

it'll be her in the future.

The position of Queen

is not something she can demand.

Your throne

was not gained

by your effort alone.

Do you want

to defy me

in front

of everyone here?

I'll respect you

as you want.

But you can't stop

what I want to do.

Li Changming, Eldest Princess of Great Sui,

is willing to forsake her status

to form a bond with me.

She's diligent in inner affairs,

graceful, and proper.

I appoint you as my consort

and grant you the title Mei

to formalize your rank.

Greet the Consort of Mei now.

Greetings, Your Highness.

If the Emperor were to know,

he'd fall ill again.

Chu Yu,

I'm willing

to be this consort.

You must not overthink it.

Changming.

Changming!

Changming!

The Consort of Mei is unwell.

Postpone the peace talks.

Your Highness.

Your Highness...

I am weary.

Mr. Gongsun,

entertain these envoys on my behalf.

Yes.

(Chengtian Hall, Qi)

Mr. Gongsun,

what should we do?

Follow me.

It makes no sense, Yu.

I don't understand

why the Eldest Princess would do such a shocking thing.

To be honest,

as a master in romance,

her action seems sincere.

I trust the Eldest Princess.

She is devoted to Great Sui.

There must be a reason for this.

Did she pretend

to pass out?

Impossible.

What about this arrangement?

Then prepare some more wine.

How tricky.

We'll do as you say.

Mr. Gongsun.

We have come from afar.

Thank you for your hospitality today.

To you.

We'd never snub envoys.

You'll surely have a good time.

Cheers.

- Cheers. - Cheers.

Changming.

Changming.

You are finally awake.

Do you feel any discomfort?

Now that you've become my consort,

how could I allow Chu Yu to take you away?

Why did you stop?

Mr. Gongsun.

You can't hold your liquor.

Move a little.

Let me sit here with you.

Gongsun Lan.

The Consort of Mei is unwell,

but peace talks are important.

When shall we start?

Why rush?

When you outdrink me,

we will discuss the peace talks.

No problem.

He's provoking you.

Wenchang, I cannot tolerate it.

Drink with him.

We cannot lose at drinking.

Cheers.

You can really hold your liquor.

Mr. Gongsun,

I will drink with you.

Don't use that cup.

Let's drink from the pot.

- No problem. - Come on.

Come on.

The banquet is not over yet.

Where are you going?

I've drunk several pots of wine.

What else could I do?

I need to relieve myself.

Haven't you heard her?

Exactly.

Let her go.

Exactly.

Her companion is even sleeping here.

What are you afraid of?

Ms. Chu,

please go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. Gongsun.

Come on.

Let's drink.

- Come on. - Hey, you guys.

Let's drink together.

Cheers.

Your Highness, did you contract

a cold toxin years ago,

damaging your health?

Your menstrual discharge

is scant and irregular.

That's correct.

But earlier, I fainted

because of a headache.

Just prescribe me

a few remedies.

How is she really doing?

Your Majesty,

congratulations!

The Consort of Mei is pregnant.

Pregnant?

♪If not for dreams by windswept flight♪

♪How would my hand find yours tonight?♪

♪This moonlit glow, in dusk's soft veil♪

♪Hears heartbeats tell their secret tale♪

♪Thoughts ablaze like beacon's fire♪

♪Outline your form in golden lyre♪

♪Through thorns we've trod and trials passed♪

♪Each grief and joy forever cast♪

♪Let the fierce warmth within your gaze♪

♪Melt this war-torn world's cruel maze♪

♪Still through the frost, I'll walk with you♪

♪Our mountains and our streams anew♪

♪Dawns greet the spring we longed to see♪

♪Through meadows where wild larks soar free♪

♪Let countless sails cross this worldly tide♪

♪When lonely shadows turn to two♪

♪Through countless turns and all we've borne♪

♪No regret ever could be sworn♪

♪Dawns greet the spring we longed to see♪

♪Beneath heaven's vault, in harmony♪

♪Let tears now fall for yesterday's strife♪

♪We've reached this blossom-covered hill♪

♪I'll follow you through every dream♪