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[The Promise of Chang'an]

[Episode 27]

Prince of Wei.

So you are Xue Ji's former deputy general.

now Great Liang's San Bian Governor, Lord Hong Guangzhi?

You are indeed correct. I am Hong Guangzhi.

You are very daring. You even made it over here.

You must know that the bounty for your head is worth thousands in gold.

To be so important to His Majesty, I feel grateful.

You're an interesting person.

Fine. Let's stop being polite with each other.

Why did you insist on seeing me in person today?

Your Highness has the rare combination of wisdom and bravery in this world.

You should not be under Xiao Chengrui's rule.

Yet you are magnanimous and open-minded.

You respected Xiao Chengrui. You always aided him, and were always willing to fight to the death for him.

but what happened after that? You were suspected and treated coldly by Xiao Chengrui.

Yet now, all of Your Highness's power has been cast aside.

Now, I feel that none of this is worth it for you, Your Highness.

If Your Highness wants to persevere and turn the situation around,

From now, you can only collaborate with our Great Liang.

Collaborate with us from the inside to oppose the emperor of Sheng.

You and my Emperor will be able to share and enjoy everything below the Heavens together.

Fine. But based on only one Great Xiao Battalion, it

might be a bit hard.

Your Highness, do not be worried. Xiao Chengrui is cruel and harsh.

In the Sheng nation, you are not the only person

who is dissatisfied with Xiao Chengrui.

What do you mean by that?

You know that within the 12 Great Xiao Batallions,

there is another high ranking and powerful battalion leader

who is willing to ally with me.

General Hong, are you speaking the truth?

I have a secret letter as proof.

Fine.

Good. Men, come!

I was so sincere, yet you set me up to be trapped!

You were sincere, but I, Xiao Chengtai, have a heart that belongs to Great Sheng.

I am not a person who will sell out my country.

I'll definitely capture you today to offer to His Majesty

and weed out the traitor you speak of. I will slice him open a thousand times!

Capture him for me!

My lord!

My lord, run!

Don't let him get away! Catch him!

After him!

[Si Fang Inn]

Sir, you've awoken.

It was you who saved me. Where is this place?

This is a spare room of an inn.

I saw you injured, fainted on the ground.

I don't know how it happened, so I brought you over here.

Thank you, madam, for saving me.

However, from the manner in which you speak, I can tell that you are not a normal commoner.

This place is very ordinary and doesn't match your status.

I don't know why you are here.

This Young Master, you are quite strange.

What kind of person asks so many questions to their savior?

Whatever my lady's status is, it doesn't concern you.

This young lady is quite right. I was rude. Please forgive me, Madam.

Young Master, you are not a person from Great Sheng.

You've run into trouble, it's understandable that you have some doubts.

How did you find out that I am not from Sheng?

I heard the accent and knew.

Though you are wearing our Great Sheng's attire,

but the way a scholar ties the belt is quite different.

[Si Fang Inn]

My Lord. I finally get to see you, My Lord.

Jingzhou, it's you. Get up and tell me.

What about Jingyuan? Has he already carried out the plan?

Jingyuan pretended to be defeated when he covered your escape.

He was also captured by Xiao Chengtai.

My Lord's countermeasure is proceeding according to plan.

It's just unfortunate that you have been injured.

In order to make the act look more realistic, this isn't much.

As long as I can lure Xiao Chengtai onto my hook,

then I won't care if I die for this.

Xiao Chengtai believed that we really wanted to ally with him.

He never would've thought that allying with him was a farce

and that using his hand to fight Xiao Chengxu was real.

Chengxu has never gotten along with Xiao Chengtai.

The letter that was left has Xiao Chengxu's Wolf Battalion's stamp on it.

He'll use this reason to fight Xiao Chengxu.

Even if Xiao Chengxu can cleverly refute it,

but we have already planted a seed of suspicion in Xiao Chengrui.

We also have a second play. General Chen Wenzhi has successfully obtained the trust of Xiao Chengxu.

Once General Chen offers Great Liang's military positioning map to Xiao Chengrui,

Xiao Chengrui will definitely find it.

On the map there are several positions aiming at Great Sheng's vital defense locations

that are all under Xiao Chengxu. At that time, Jingyuan will confess about Xiao Chengxu under torture.

General Chen will commit suicide by pretending to be silenced by Xiao Chengxu.

When we reach that point, even if Xiao Chengxu is covered with mouths all over his body,

he won't be able to explain things away.

When General Chen and I set up this interlocking series of strategems,

As long as we can kill Xiao Chengxu, then I will be willing to pay any price.

If we can sow discord between the emperor and his subject, they will be suspicious of each other. Great Sheng's Great Xiao Battalions

will quickly dissolve into self-fighting fragments.

Back then, Xiao Chengrui used countermeasures

and got General Xiao killed. I will now

repay him with his own method to let Great Sheng's ;most capable general die under Xiao Chengrui's suspicion.

Mingyu, you were right.

He admitted that he was Xue Ji's deputy general, so that means that he is Hong Guangzhi.

If it weren't because he was about to leave after recovery, I wanted to give him some clothes

and wouldn't have been able to hear their conversation.

All of this is fate. That means that the Prince of Yan's life should not be taken.

We must leave this inn and go find Chengxu.

Stop Chengxu before he offers the prisoner of war to His Majesty.

But the General Yan already went back to report the military affairs.

Before he left, he kept reminding us to wait for him and not randomly move around.

Perhaps we should wait for General Yan to return, so that he can report to Prince of Yan.

If we stall longer, there will be no time!

Mingyu, you finally got out,

if you go back, there will be a good chance traces of you are discovered!

Wouldn't it be better... wouldn't it be better if you let me go?

No. Do not worry. I will be cautious.

Brother, the nation's doors are not far from here.

Offering the captured prisoner at the city gate is a great honor for the Great Xiao Battalion.

We cannot let there by any room for error.

Don't worry. There will be no errors.

However, the person I am most ill at ease about is the person in the back.

When we offer the prisoner, get two more people to watch him carefully.

We cannot let him move at all.

Ok. I got it.

Ahead of us is the nation's walls. His Majesty is waiting for us.

Brothers! Get into focus!

Yes!

It's Chengxu's Wolf Battalion, Chengxu is right over there!

Mingyu, what should we do? We won't get to His Highness in time.

Zhen'er, go over there to find Chengzu, tell him what happened.

I will think of a way to stall His Majesty and buy us time.

No! If His Majesty sees you, then all of the things you did to escape would have been for nothing!

You might even be accused of the crime of deceiving the emperor.

We can't worry about all that. Go!

Rise.

Your Highness.

Zhen'er, why are you here? Did something happen to Mingyu?

Let's not talk about that yet. Did Your Highness capture a Great Liang's general named Chen Wenzhi?

- How did you know? - Don't trust him.

Your Highness, this is a conspiracy between those two states.

Cheng Wenzhi is planning to harm you! It's hard to explain,

but you need to deal with Cheng Wenzhi first, and then I will explain everything to you.

What about Mingyu? Where's she right now?

When we received the information, it was already too late.

In order to buy time and let me reveal all of this to you,

she has already went to stop His Majesty.

She is going to see Xiao Chengrui.

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty! It's Mingyu!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

- Your Majesty! It's me, Mingyu.

Your Majesty! Your Majesty!

I'm Mingyu!

Your Majesty.

Mingyu, what's going on?

Your palace burned down. They said you . . .

Your Majesty, I'm alive.

During the fire, Zhen'er and I escaped through the back.

But I inhaled too much smoke

and fainted.

Luckily, some nearby civilians saved us.

I wanted to recuperate and then come find you.

But who would have thought the the road to return to the palace had so many obstacles.

And I finally made my way back to you.

You must have suffered.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

Thanks to Your Majesty's blessing, I did not disappoint you and took down Ying City.

I hereby submit Ying City's surrender to thank Your Majesty's grace.

I will give rewards by merits according to Great Sheng's customary rule.

Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty.

I had originally wanted to go to the nation's borders to meet you,

but I met Consort Xian, who escaped death.

I saw that her health was weak, so I had to take her back to the Palace.

Congratulations, Your Majesty, for recovering what you lost.

Prince of Yan, on the report, you said that Liang nation's Cheng Wenzhi

was returned to our Great Sheng. Where is he now?

I was just about to report this matter to Your Majesty.

On the way back to the capital, I discovered that Chen Wenzhi pretended to surrender.

He had planned to assassinate Your Majesty using the opportunity to offer the map.

In order to prevent the possibility, I already executed him on the spot.

This happened?

Due to my oversight, I nearly endangered Your Majesty.

Please punish me, Your Majesty.

Prince of Yan can detect minute details and perceive insidious schemes. What crime is there?

Transmit my decree.

Prince of Yan achieves the feat of successfully guarding the city,

he is conferred with Ying City.

Thank you for Your Majesty's grace.

What? Mingyu didn't die? She's back?

I heard that she escaped the fire.

It took a lot of hardship to return to His Majesty.

How's that possible?

What about the two corpses?

Ling Zhen'er came back, too.

According to her, it's because Eunuch Wang

at the travel palace filled his own pocket and harshly withheld their provisions.

They wanted to eat better

and bribed a palace maidservant with a small jade pendant.

That corpse is the palace maidservant wearing the jade pendant.

It's good that she's safe and sound.

I didn't waste time chanting so many scriptures for her.

Thank the heavens for letting Mingyu escape the danger

and come back safely.

I figured out long ago that Consort Xian had luck on her side.

Now that she escaped a great disaster, she will definitely enjoy more luck.

Doctor, why hasn't Consort Xian awaken?

Is there something wrong?

Congratulatons, Empress. Consort Xian is pregnant.

What? She's with child?

How far along is she?

She's about three months along.

Three months?

Isn't that Mingyu's birthday?

Now that Consort Xian is pregnant with His Majesty's child, she cannot stay outside to live in hardship.

She has been careful with her behavior in the past few months.

She must have repented.

I'll let His Majesty know and

let her return to the inner palace and take good care of her body.

Your Highness, good news! Good news!

What's the big deal?

I just went to the palace to see my Auntie.

I heard the big news from the inner palace.

What do you think it is?

Isn't it because Consort Xian returned to the palace? I already knew that.

Not just that.

I also heard the biggest news.

Consort Xian is pregnant.

Who could have guessed that she would return to the palace by being pregnant with His Majesty's child

and regain imperial affection.

What nonsense are you spouting?

What, you only allow her to do it, but won't allow me to speak of it?

Let me tell you. What I've said isn't all that bad.

What the people are saying inside the palace are even worse.

Your Majesty, should I prepare dinner for you?

There's no need. You may leave.

Yes.

Mingyu.

Today, you have had my child.

Between you and me, we now have

an unbreakable connection.

Mingyu.

Your Majesty.

Stay down. Don't move.

The Imperial Physician said that earlier, you moved too much and moved the fetus.

He wants you to rest well.

Fetus?

Mingyu, you're pregnant.

You're pregnant with my child.

I know that in the outskirts palace,

you had many bitter days and had many grievances.

Now that you've returned safely, and you're pregnant,

as long as I'm here, no one will mistreat you.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

It's late. Please rest well.

I'll come see you tomorrow.

- Thank you, Your Majesty. - Don't move.

If I had acted more carefully

and I considered more,

then maybe this kind of ending wouldn't exist.

I'd rather be harmed by schemes

and be suspected by Xiao Chengrui.

I am willing to carry all of the pain myself.

But Mingyu is different.

She has been through so much turmoil.

Finally,

she had the hope to live the life she wants,

but because of me,

she has once again fallen into the cage deep in the palace.

Today,

she already has a child.

I fear that in this entire life,

she will never be able to leave.

Brother, how could you blame yourself?

Besides, Mingyu ran into Hong Guangzhi.

These kinds of coincidences are impossible to foresee.

Maybe my own strength wasn't enough.

No matter how hard I try,

I can't seem to change her fate.

Don't blame yourself.

All this

is heaven's will.

No matter how strong you are, you are unable to fight the Heavens.

Heaven's will?

What's Heaven's will?

If Mother's death was heaven's will,

and Xiao Chengrui took the throne away from is also heaven's will,

losing Mingyu is also heaven's will,

. . . If all this is heaven's will,

Then Heaven really has been too unfair to me.

Since this is it,

then what's the point of respecting the Heavens?

Even if I go against Heaven,

I will let Mingyu regain a new beginning.

Your Majesty.

These are local specialties offered by the king of Xi Qi.

Take a look. If there are any you like, we will leave them here.

The rest, you can take control and choose who to bring them to.

I have everything I need.

This Tian Luo silk can make the softest clothing.

I think we can give this to Wanyin.

Tian Luo silk? Wanyin should have a lot already,

though they aren't very special.

Then how about we give them to Qiao Shu Consort?

I think she will like this color.

Consort Shu?

Does she like this color?

From what I gather, this color doesn't suit her.

Then how about I give it to Mingyu?

She just returned to the palace and is with child.

If we give her new things, it will make her happier.

You can decide.

You don't need to ask me.

What happened to the brass octagon hand stove that I used to use?

That brass hand stove is too hard and angled.

Didn't you often say that using it wasn't as convenient?

So I especially changed it to this round gilt stove for you.

It's both beautiful and sleek.

What? You don't like it?

It truly is much sleeker.

However, if it's too sleek, then holding it in my hands

makes it feel like I'm missing a bit.

Perhaps I'm missing the feeling of constant concern.

It makes it seem boring.

Luckily, I've kept that brass octagon hand stove.

If you like it, I'll change it for you right now.

Gu'er, bring that octagon stove and exchange it for His Majesty.

Yes.

This octagon stove

truly isn't very convenient,

but I still desire it.

Nothing else can replace it yet.

But I remember, that in the past,

Your Majesty complained about this octagon stove a lot.

Some things can only be cherished after being lost.

It's a good thing that it is still here.

I still have the chance to cherish her properly.

Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian! Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian!

Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian! Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian!

Your Majesty.

Go. Bring this to the Yong Ning Hall.

Yes. Your Majesty.

Hey, wait a moment.

What other orders does Your Majesty have?

You know what to say, yes?

I know. Please rest assured.

Go on.

Yes.

Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian! Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian!

Mingyu, these are all things that Her Majesty brought.

They are the bounty from Xi Qi.

Mingyu, this silk is so soft. How about I make you clothing?

No need.

Mingyu, did you want to try a bite of these snacks?

I heard these are specific to Xi Qi. Normally, you will not be able to eat them.

I don't want to eat.

Greetings, Consort Xian.

This is something His Majesty wanted me to bring to you.

Say it.

Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian! Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian!

Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian! Ten thousand blessings for the Consort Xian!

This bird can talk?

That's so interesting.

Man Fu imperial eunuch, what type of bird is this?

Consort Xian, this is a parrot.

His Majesty caught it during hunting.

His Majesty brought it back and taught it speaking during his free time.

We finally taught the bird some words to earn affection.

His Majesty knows that these days, Consort Xian was not able to wander around.

He worried that you would grow tired of this stuffy place, so he specially asked me

to bring this bird and help ease the boredom.

Thank His Majesty's grace.

I will not disturb you longer.

I will take my leave.

Mingyu. Look, this bird is so interesting!

Good luck to Consort Xian. Good luck to Consort Xian.

This bird is so intere—

Mingyu, ever since we came back,

you've been feel down and not have any appetite.

I know that you're disappointed,

but you're with child now.

For his sake, you must be happy.

I never would have thought

that I would come back here, into this sad, bitter palace.

I still need to carry my child with me.

All of this

is just like a dream.

When I wake up,

I can't make myself happy about it.

Consort Xian, the royal physician sent over natal calming medicine.

Please drink this while it is hot.

Give it to me. You may leave.

Okay.

Mingyu. The imperial physician said that you exerted yourself too much in recent days,

the fetus doesn't look stable.

This medicine, you must drink it.

I'm fine.

Mingyu. Think about the Prince of Yan.

Think about the Prince of Yan.

You're already in so much pain. What about the Prince of Yan?

Because of you, he was rescued.

Don't you know how much self-blame he must be feeling?

If something happens to you during this time, how would you expect him to keep going?

How would you expect him to live?

You are right.

I chose this path,

so I must be responsible for it.

I cannot let bystanders worry for me.

If you think like this, then I will feel at ease.

This bird was supposed to be in the forest, free,

but because of human selfishness,

it was locked in this cage.

Zhen'er, set it free.

We shouldn't. His Majesty brought it especially for you.

I cannot leave here again.

I can't let have the same fate as me.

Prince of Yan.

Mingyu. I know.

I should meet you privately in the palace,

but I'm too worried about you.

It was me who let you down.

You could've lived the life you wished for,

but ultimately couldn't reach it.

I let you rejoice too soon.

Don't feel self-blame for this.

If it weren't for you, I never would've dared to imagine

that one day, I could leave the palace.

It was you who changed me and gave me the courage to rebel.

You let me taste the air of freedom.

Still, Heaven's will got in the way. We still failed in the end,

But, we did try, so we don't need to regret or be resentful.

I know.

You are saying these things to make me feel at ease,

but I will never be able to forget

that because of me, you came back to this palace.

Since I said I would set you free,

I will definitely be able to do it.

- Chengxu. - Don't worry.

I know what you want to say.

No matter what, I know what I'm doing.

This is a medicine that I brought back from Great Liang's palace.

Keep it.

Eat it once at night every month. That's enough.

The medicine creators in Great Liang.

excel in medicinal diet and pay attention to nurturing.

Their recipes probably has reason.

You can try it first.

Chengxu.

Thank you.

In later days, I will go out to battle again.

I will go out to battle again.

In the palace, you must take care of yourself properly.

Take care.

All soldiers, hear my order. Anyone who retreats will be executed.

We can't withdraw. We're about to take Li City.

If we withdraw now, all our effort will be wasted.

However, due to the locust disaster last year, many places missed their harvest and there aren't enough provisions.

If you must continue,

His Majesty is concerned that Your Highness will get into trouble.

That's why he ordered me to deliver the order to withdraw.

When a general is fighting outside, he doesn't have to accept the emperor's order.

Go back and tell His Majesty,

I have a plan for the provisions.

If there is any mistake, I'll accept any punishment.

Older Brother, do you mean to forcibly take provisions from the civilians?

Older Brother, this matter can get worse or better.

If you're not careful, this can become a great disaster.

Without provisions, we'll have to withdraw.

As long as we can take Li City, we can open their granaries.

Once we return the grains to the civilians, everything will be fine.

It sounds good, but this is too risky.

Besides, what's wrong with withdrawing now?

Wait for next year when provisions are sufficient,

we can come back again!

Next year?

Do you know what it will be like next year?

You are always cautious when you do things,

but this time... how come you've suddenly gotten so impulsive?

Because...I must achieve military merits even faster.

For this, I can give everything up.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

No need to be polite.

Imperial Consort, This dress is so pretty.

Isn't it Tian Luo silk?

This was gifted to me by my younger sister.

They say it's a tribute from Xi Qi's king,

and what the Empress gave to Consort Xian.

The Empress gave this to Consort Xian

and Consort Xian gave it to you?

This . . .

Consort Xian has many good things,

oo she doesn't mind.

Maybe she knew that ever since our childhood, I loved these things.

Your Majesty, the Empress is playing favorites.

Whatever nice things she has, she'll give them to Consort Xian.

We don't get any.

Tomorrow, I will get her to give you one as well.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

In a few months, Mingyu will give birth.

I have already asked the Imperial Physician,

and he said that Mingyu's fetus has gradually became steadier.

What are you thinking, Your Majesty?

Nothing.

What's with you these past few days?

You're always so absentminded.

During this time,

there has been a fervent discussion in the court about proclaiming the crown prince.

[The Promise of Chang'an]

Timing and subtitles brought to you by Impossible Promises @ Viki.com

"Falling Fate" - Singer: Li Yugang

♫ Who is swaying at dusk on the riverbank by the gently fluttering willows? ♫

♫ That beauty dances between the clouds and the rippling moonglade ♫

♫ Dancing lightly like the startled birds and your graceful face is like delicate blooms ♫

♫ Longing in the wind, with glistening eyes looking toward the ripples ♫

♫ I could not take my eyes off such a sight to behold ♫

♫ It seems brief, my adoration for you has been for years ♫

♫ You come or go as you please, my soul is being led by dreams of you ♫

♫ These are foolish and infuriating times, I still wish we could be together forever ♫

♫ Destiny leads you into my life to make me whole ♫

♫ My love for you is like an ink-mark that never dries ♫

♫ As the snow scatters in the wind, as the clouds shield the moon ♫

♫ As I have to be drunk to sleep through the night ♫

♫ Like you, the paper I write on is full of melancholy ♫

♫ Destiny leads you into my life, times of great changes separate us ♫

♫ My tears fall and fill the curtained carriage along the way ♫

♫ This homeward journey, this boundless life ♫

♫ It is fleeting, and filled with joys and sorrows ♫