Original subtitles

(Guardians of the Dafeng)

(Episode 38)

Notify the Cabinet. We'll hold a court meeting at once

to discuss the Lord Huai massacre case.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Lin An, what's so urgent?

Big Brother,

Father will not acknowledge it.

He won't acknowledge

that Uncle was the culprit behind the massacre in Chuzhou City, right?

Big Brother.

You're a woman.

Do not inquire about this matter.

You should learn from Huai Qing. She never asks.

But why?

Isn't it true that Uncle has massacred Chuzhou City?

Shut up!

Lin An.

Father likes you

because you have a sweet tongue.

It's because you don't meddle with court affairs.

But now...

Why have you changed?

Are you meddling with this

because of Xu Qi An?

He instigated you to do so, right?

It wasn't him!

I haven't seen him for the past few days.

I dare not see him.

I'm too ashamed to see him.

Lord Huai is my uncle.

However, he committed such a violent crime in Chuzhou City.

How could I absolve my responsibilities

as a fellow member of the imperial family?

So, you told me to come here

because you want me to offer advice to Father, right?

Father isn't even willing to see you.

Why would he agree to see me?

Lin An,

there's no right or wrong in the imperial court.

There are only gains and losses of interest.

Let's forget about the fact that my presence is useless.

I'm the Crown Prince.

I have to side with my imperial kin.

You're just a princess. No one cares about what you do.

If you were a prince, you would've lost your chance

at ascending the throne by what you said earlier.

But he has killed many people.

He has slaughtered a lot of people.

Shouldn't he pay a price for that?

If not, who will revere the imperial family of Dafeng?

Who will respect the laws of Dafeng?

There were plenty of such affairs in the past and the current.

And, it'll continue to happen in the future.

Once Father sets up his mind, no one can change his mind.

My silly sister,

beneath Father's throne

is mountains of corpses.

If we don't come here,

The 600-year reputation of the Dafeng's imperial family

will be ruined by you all!

My Lord, Lord of the North had massacred Chuzhou City.

The 380,000 vengeful spirits of Chuzhou City need an account.

The people of Dafeng need an account!

After the battle at Linyuan Pass,

Lord of the North headed toward the north

to guard our borders under imperial orders.

Now, he has been executed.

Must even his posthumous reputation be tarnished?

Merits cannot offset faults.

Your Majesty,

it's true that Lord Huai had rendered merits before this.

It's also true that he has committed an atrocious deed.

He should receive harsh punishment for it.

Your Majesty, Wang Zhen Wen is slandering a lord in public.

It's a crime worthy of the death penalty.

My Lords, please think twice before proceeding.

You're just a eunuch.

You would have no chance to speak here

had Your Majesty not given you a chance before this.

I thank His Majesty for his grace.

However, if you guys truly care about the imperial family's reputation,

you guys shouldn't try to hide the truth.

Yesterday, the three great scholars of Yunlu Academy

intended to enter the capital to criticize His Majesty.

I stopped them.

This is what they said.

"Lord Huai had massacred the people of Chuzhou City.

In the future, Yunlu Academy will record this case

in the historical records and pass them down to the future generations.

It will include how the various lords are trying to cover up for his crime.

Everything will be recorded in detail."

Lord Li.

You were outstanding your entire life. You're very knowledgeable too.

You're a role model for both the imperial family and the scholars.

Are you sure

you want to let Yunlu Academy

record your selfish act and ruin your great reputation

in order to cover up for your fellow kin?

How dare you blackmail me?

Are you trying to rebel here?

Since when did offering advice become a threat?

You!

You guys...

Your Majesty, I have something to say.

According to Si Mu,

His Majesty organized a sudden court session

to discuss Lord Huai's massacre of Chuzhou City.

How did it go? What's the result?

The various lords were humbled.

However, His Majesty kept quiet as well.

Initially, they thought it would be a war of attrition.

But no one expected Duke Cao to step forward and let out a huge cry.

Your Majesty,

over the years, the court has faced numerous threats,

and the people's lives had been difficult.

Taxes from various regions have been delayed year after year.

Although His Majesty has reduced the taxes time and time again,

the people were still filled with anguish and complaints.

At this moment, if news of the massacre gets out,

how will the people view the imperial court?

How should the gentry and the clerks view the imperial court?

Will they think that the imperial court is already corrupted?

Thus, will they become more extreme and plunder the people's wealth

with more audacity?

Such audacity.

Are you saying that I'm a fatuous ruler?

Are you saying that all the officials here are foolish?

I dare not do so.

But now, aren't all of us doing something foolish?

The officials are saying that they want to convict him of his crime

in order to uphold justice for the people.

But has anyone ever considered the bigger picture?

As an official,

how could one not know that the dignity of the imperial court

also represent our dignity?

But Lord of the North,

he did commit a heinous crime.

Your Majesty,

Lord of the North,

he's already dead.

Does that mean all of his wrongdoings can be erased?

That's right.

Chuzhou was plagued by the Kui Tribe for a long time.

Now it has become a ruin.

The Kui Tribe attacked the city.

Lord of the North risked his life to resist them.

He fought Jili Zhigu alone, slaying him in the process.

He fought for the sake of Dafeng until the very end.

He fought until his last breath, until the city was captured!

After the battle,

Chuzhou will embrace decades of peace!

Your Majesty, Lord of the North died a heroic death!

He's the hero of Dafeng!

Your Majesty!

Duke Cao,

did you guys forget?

I'm not the only one who has witnessed the incident!

There are others!

There are the rest of the diplomatic corps!

There are the 20,000 soldiers of Chuzhou!

And the people of the capital as well!

You guys...

You guys...

Can you guys stop all of them?

He used the court and the imperial family's honor

to appeal to their emotions.

He used the death of the Kui Tribe as a logical conclusion.

Although Chuzhou City is gone, the culprit is the Kui Tribe.

It's truly well-thought-out. It's both logical and reasonable.

This way, they're making the loss of Chuzhou City more acceptable.

And, they're pushing the blame on war and the Kui Tribe.

Lord Huai is turning into a hero of Dafeng

from the city-slaying murderer.

He even slew the leader of the Kui Tribe, rendering huge merits.

- Something's off. - Something's off.

Sir, you may speak first.

Although it's effective, it'll only make the officials more wary.

Those who know any better will know that His Majesty is staging an act.

That's right. Lord Zheng's last statement was the main point.

There are plenty of people who know about the truth of the massacre case.

How could they stop the people from talking about it with their act?

And, he has been preparing for this for a long time.

Of course he knows about that.

Could it be

that this is just a prelude?

Does His Majesty have other tricks up his sleeve?

After the death of Lord Huai,

the northern regions have lost its main pillar.

The Kui Tribe has been rendered useless.

However, regarding the Wizard God Sect,

if they take a detour and pass Chuzhou City,

they'll be able to head straight to the capital

and slay the dragon emperor.

The main pillar has too much power.

It's difficult to keep it under control.

When it falls,

not only will it harm other people,

but it'll also harm ourselves.

Is that so?

Your Majesty,

according to our reports,

no one in the palace was injured.

No items were stolen.

Have you guys captured the assassin or not?

Your Majesty.

Not yet.

Hurry and find him, then.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Was there an assassin in the palace?

Your Majesty, why do I have no idea?

I told them to suppress the issue.

It was very sudden. Everyone in the palace was on edge.

Even the empress

was terrified.

We should arrest the assassin as soon as possible

so that the case can settle down.

If so, the empress

wouldn't need to fear anything.

Your Majesty, your chess skills

have been improving indeed.

Are you surrendering already?

Let's play another round.

Court dismissed!

Farewell, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

I'm tired.

I know you're tired as well.

Your Majesty, please convict Lord of the North for his crimes!

Lord Zheng!

Lord Zheng, please wait!

Lord Zheng.

You left Chuzhou without permission and reported the case to His Majesty.

You thought you had the advantage.

I suppose you didn't expect this to happen.

Why don't I point the right way for you?

Lord Zheng.

Now, Chuzhou City is in dire need of rebuilding.

You should remain in Chuzhou and assist them in rebuilding it.

As for the affairs in the capital,

you shouldn't intervene.

This is His Majesty's intention too.

When one is shameless,

there's nothing I can do.

That old fool.

He doesn't know what's good for him.

Lord Zheng, after the imperial inspection ended,

and after you returned to the capital to report for duty,

I once met you before.

I remember that although your hair was white,

you looked spirited and vigorous.

Lord Wei, do you intend to give up as well?

I do admire Xu Qi An.

I think he's a born warrior.

However, he does give people a headache with his personality.

I told him

that he wanted to navigate the officialdom,

there are three things he needs to consider.

One must consider the threats,

escape routes,

and changes in the court.

One needs to understand

the consequences and the logic

behind one's actions.

One should only make their decision after considering all of that.

If the unstoppable tides cannot be stopped,

one should retreat

and avoid danger.

But Xu Qi An said this,

"Lord Wei,

I understand your intention.

However,

I don't care."

What a vulgar boy.

Lord Wei, you actually described him as vulgar, huh?

Seems like you can't do anything about him either.

One will only be safe

by retreating.

One will be able to come up with plans

to change the circumstances only when they're safe.

There's still room for maneuver in the current situation.

Lord Zheng,

why don't you back down

and take it slowly?

I'm Zheng Xing Huai, the intendant of Chuzhou.

I seek an audience with Chief Advisor Wang.

Chief Advisor is entertaining an important guest.

He'll be busy for quite some time.

Intendant Zheng, you should head back.

My Lord.

Let's head to the residence of the Ministry of War's supervisor.

Yes, My Lord.

My Lord.

My Lord, the sun will set soon.

Let's go.

(Justice Inn)

Lord Xu.

Lord Zheng.

I'm sorry.

Lord Xu, I've let you down.

The city is quite lively today, huh?

Today's the Dragon Boat Festival.

I've looked for Lord Wei today.

I've done the same as well.

Lord Xu.

Why don't I buy you a bowl of Yangchun noodles?

Lord Zheng.

I'm not hungry.

But I'm hungry.

- Enjoy your meal. - This is a specialty of Jiangnan.

It has been my favorite since young.

You should try it.

Today, I've visited the offices of all Six Ministries and Nine Ministers.

Luckily, Lord Wei agreed to receive me.

If not, I would've been embarrassed.

All of the officials are merely observing the situation.

I understand.

Lord Zheng.

What's your next plan?

Lord Xu, what do you think?

There's a famous story from my hometown.

It's called The Tortoise And The Hare.

Lord Zheng, I wish to tell you about it.

Please go ahead.

Once, a hare and a tortoise were involved in a race.

The hare was a fast runner. The tortoise was very far behind.

However, the hare belittled the tortoise because of its speed.

It decided to take a nap before continuing the race.

But the tortoise

kept crawling.

It kept crawling and crawling.

It never stopped.

When the hare woke up,

the tortoise had already crossed the finish line.

Although the tortoise was slow,

it'd reach the finish line eventually.

Regarding Lord Wei's words,

Lord Zheng, why don't you consider it?

You should avoid danger

and take it slowly.

Lord Xu, I have a story to tell you as well.

Please go ahead.

Once, there was a scholar.

At a young age, he passed the imperial exam and joined the Hanlin Academy.

With a heart of passion, he went to take up a post in Chuzhou

at the age of 30.

Everyone believed that he volunteered to serve for the sake of the people.

But that wasn't the case.

He merely offended the chief advisor at the time.

That's why he was demoted to that desolate land.

At first, he hated the place.

He resented it because of his demotion.

He only wanted to achieve some results

in hopes that he could return to the capital one day.

If so, why didn't he return to the capital?

At first, he was merely seeking political achievements.

But later, he saw the lives of the people decaying.

He also saw the simplicity of the people's character.

It was a lively place.

As for his favorite street,

he went there at first because there was a stall selling Yangchun noodles.

But after that,

he realized that the buns sold by the bun stall were tasty too.

He saw the widow on the west side of the town

remarrying another man.

He also watched over a young mischievous boy as he grew up

until he took over his father's mutton stall.

It has been over two decades.

He made many friends there.

He visited every single street and alley.

It isn't as affectionate as Jiangnan

or as prosperous as the capital.

But over time, it became his hometown.

Thus, he decided not to leave the place.

I suppose you're the scholar, right?

I'm already over the age of 50.

I know my own destiny.

I've already lost all of my aspirations.

Now, I only want to support my mother,

play with my grandchildren,

and ensure the safety of Chuzhou City.

But Chuzhou City,

it was destroyed overnight.

All of those people,

all of them were dead.

I also wish to lead a carefree life.

I wish to take it slowly as well.

But every night,

the dead will come and find me in my dreams.

It's excruciating for me to stay alive,

but I cannot afford to die.

My heart is broken,

and I'm unable to find peace.

I still remember the piles of corpses

and their piercing wails vividly.

Lord Wei might be right

when he told me to take it slowly.

But I can't afford

to stop.

Mister, do you want to buy a river lantern?

If you set it on the river and make a wish, the heavens will bless you

and make your wish come true.

I'll buy one.

Here you go.

Thank you, mister.

Lord Zheng.

May your wish come true.

I hope so too.

Has there been any movements from the cabinet lately?

Your Majesty,

Chief Advisor didn't take any visitors.

What about Wei Yuan?

Two days ago,

Intendant Zheng visited the Night Guardians after the court session.

Lord Wei received him.

They stopped making contact after that.

Both of them are intelligent.

By not receiving Zheng Xing Huai, they're giving him an escape route.

However, that Wei Yuan,

he never respected me.

Where's Zheng Xing Huai?

Your Majesty,

Lord Zheng didn't heed your advice.

He's been visiting many offices lately

in an attempt to sway influential figures and officials.

But the others will most definitely not receive him.

All of the officials know your intention, Your Majesty.

He's digging his own grave.

Who's there?

Dismissed.

I am

Lord Protector Que Yong Xiu, commander of Chuzhou City!

Today!

I'm going to report Zheng Xing Huai, intendant of Chuzhou City!

He has murdered Lord of the North!

He murdered all 380,000 civilians of Chuzhou City!

He deceived the diplomatic corps!

He tried to hunt me down!

His goal was to cover up the fact

that he colluded with the Kui Tribe!

He framed Lord of the North!

He framed him for the massacre of Chuzhou City!

He's a heinous sinner!

Your Majesty,

Zheng Xing Huai colluded with the diplomatic corps to hunt me down!

To cover up their collusion with the Kui Tribe,

they actually framed Lord of the North for massacring the city!

His sin is unpardonable!

Your Majesty, please uphold justice for me!

Please uphold justice for Lord of the North!

Please uphold justice for the people of Chuzhou!

Your Majesty!

380,000 lives

were snuffed out just like that!

Lord of the North!

How dare he deceive me?

How pitiful

are the 380,000 innocent lives lost.

My brother suffered a pitiful death as well!

Show this to everyone.

Yes, Your Majesty.

How dare he deceive me?

This...

This is too tragic.

All of you, take a look.

Your Majesty, please practice wise judgment!

Your Majesty, Zheng Xing Huai colluded with our enemies

and caused the death of Lord of the North!

He also twisted the facts to deceive our ruler!

His sins are unpardonable!

He and his clan should be executed for it!

I've already tried to persuade Zheng Xing Huai.

It's a shame that he's as stubborn as a mule.

He wouldn't have been sent to the northern regions

by the previous chief advisor if he wasn't stubborn in the first place.

But the time isn't ripe yet.

Why can't he wait just a little longer?

I've sent my men to search for Que Yong Xiu in secret.

They couldn't find him.

Now that he has entered the palace,

I'm afraid it's too late.

Not necessarily.

Before this, the officials submitted to His Majesty

because Lord of the North was dead.

And, there's no proof to be found upon his death.

Now that Que Yong Xiu is back,

we have a chance to turn this around.

I've already sent my men to investigate Que Yong Xiu.

Once he's convicted of his crimes,

we'll be able to convict Lord of the North of his crimes.

This is our chance.

Que Yong Xiu's return does mean that we have hope of turning the tides.

For today's court session,

His Majesty excluded us from it

so that he, Duke Cao, and the rest,

could conclude the case without us.

Your Majesty, this case must be thoroughly investigated.

This case is of great importance.

We have to get to the bottom of it.

The Imperial Court of Justice will handle the case.

Duke Cao, you shall be the main investigator

- Yes. - I will grant you a golden token.

Head to the inn and arrest Zheng Xing Huai immediately.

Execute those who dare to go against my order.

Your Majesty is wise!

Your Majesty is wise!

Your Majesty!

Your health is above all else.

Go.

Get me a golden elixir.

- Yes, Your Majesty. - Your Majesty, please tend to your health!

Sir.

Lord Wei. Chief Advisor.

What was the situation in the imperial study room?

The court session was dismissed not long ago.

His Majesty was exhausted.

He's taking a break.

He said that he won't receive any guests today.

His Majesty has made up his mind.

He has sent his men to the inn to arrest Intendant Zheng.

You fell sick due to your frustrations and troubles.

But it's nothing major.

You'll be fine after taking some medicine and some rest.

Physician, I suppose you're from the Astronomical Bureau.

I heard that the physicians there were outstanding.

And, the Imperial Astronomer can even glimpse the will of destiny.

I know your intention.

I know why Xu Qi An requested me to give you a diagnosis.

However,

if you wish to meet Master,

you should give up.

The Astronomical Bureau doesn't intervene with court affairs.

That's the rule.

Who are you all? How dare you all intrude upon our place?

My Lord, I'll check out the situation.

I'll check it out myself.

Old man, stay here. I'll check it out.

Xu Qi An wants you to be safe.

Thank you, miss.

But I have to face the music myself.

Miss,

please hand this to Silver Guardian Xu.

Under His Majesty's order,

we're here to arrest Zheng Huai Xing and take him back.

What crime has Lord Zheng committed?

Lord Protector Que Yong Xiu,

commander of Chuzhou, had returned to the capital.

He told His Majesty about the truth in Chuzhou City.

The truth is

that Zheng Xing Huai, the intendant of Chuzhou City,

colluded with the Kui Tribe

and harmed Lord of the North and all 380,000 civilians of Chuzhou City!

That's total slander!

No one will be able to take Lord Zheng away today!

Ignorant ants,

you guys don't know what's good for you.

Take them down!

Silver Guardian, Li Yu Chun.

Copper Guardian, Song Ting Feng.

Copper Guardian, Zhu Guang Xiao.

We swear to protect Lord Zheng with our lives!

Copper Guardians, huh?

You think Rank 7 warriors like you all can stop me?

There's even a Silver Guardian, huh?

Take them down!

What about Gold Guardians, then?

Gold Guardian, Peng Yuan.

Gold Guardian, Fang Wu Yan.

Gold Guardian, Sima Qin.

Gold Guardian, Wu Lei.

Gold Guardian, Yan Ming.

Gold Guardian, Huo Jun Cheng.

Gold Guardian, Jiang Lv Zhong.

Gold Guardian, Nangong Qian Rou.

And Gold Guardian, Yang Yan.

All of you are pillars of the imperial court!

You guys have a bright future ahead of you!

Have you guys considered the consequences

of going against the imperial court and the imperial order?

If anyone dares to take one step forward,

I'll show them the consequences.

The Night Guardians will protect Lord Zheng of our own accord!