Original subtitles

♪ Smoke and the city go slow in March ♪

♪ The moon soothes us gently ♪

♪ Who plaits her hair beside the river and bridge? ♪

♪ A mirror writes many a story from reality ♪

♪ A thousand lamps with verses at dusk ♪

♪ Light flees in madness ♪

♪ The looks that never age ♪

♪ Those that are not to be moved ♪

♪ Yearning time and time again ♪

♪ Is life after life, going on and on ♪

♪ Light drizzle fell a few times with scented blossoms ♪

♪ Covering the branches ♪

♪ I will travel the world with you ♪

♪ Until our hair becomes all white ♪

♪ Disengage from worldly riches in a thought ♪

♪ Thrill in a dream together ♪

♪ I keep for you ♪

♪ Our joyous time in music ♪

♪ Light drizzle fell a few times with scented blossoms ♪

♪ Covering the branches ♪

♪ I will travel the world with you ♪

♪ Until our hair becomes all white ♪

♪ Disengage from worldly riches in a thought ♪

♪ Thrill in a dream together ♪

♪ I keep for you ♪

♪ Our joyous time in music ♪

[Unique Lady 2]

[Episode 17]

You'll be more shocked by something else.

Master Tang, Tang Meng's father,

colluded with former Grand Chancellor and did some harm to Sheng Jing.

Really?

Why are you slandering our Tang family?

Like father, like daughter. I didn't say anything wrong.

Consort, I'd suggest you

to have less contact with such people.

You...

Meng.

Are you okay?

Is what they said true?

No, not at all.

Don't believe them.

I believe your love for Jiang Xuan Yu.

I also believe

you would never do anything to hurt him.

As for the rumor,

before there is definite proof,

I would never help it spread.

Consort, don't believe them, okay?

Before I find out the truth,

please never tell Brother Jiang, okay?

Brother Jiang and I have hard-won happiness now.

I don't want it to be ruined.

Don't worry.

I will tell no one.

Your Highness, how are you doing lately?

Prince Jing Yuan, hope you've been in good health since we last met.

What brings you here today?

It seems Your Highness is making progress lately.

I'm here

of course to tell you some good news.

Your Highness, do you know

the Sacrificial Offering Ceremony starts in a few days.

This is a golden opportunity.

It's foreseeable

that something big is happening soon.

Prince, you mean...?

Your Highness, you just sit by and watch.

Since when Royal Brother got so familiar with Liu Xiu Wen?

Xi Que.

It's you.

Why do you look so weird today?

-Where are you going? -I... actually, I...

Yu, can you help me, please?

Yu.

What is it in your hand?

Couldn't it be Xi Que has something to do with the opium?

There was no trace of anyone

other than Miss Tang Meng and the owner

in the kitchen of the restaurant.

But upon investigation,

we found a fuzzy shoeprint

in a very hidden corner.

From the size of the shoeprint,

we inferred it to be a petite woman.

The shoeprint has been sent to bureaucrat's office for inspection.

A result should be ready in a few days

for us to find more clues.

There's really something hidden.

I'd been suspecting

that the opium was put into the soup by some acquaintance.

Plus what LAN said at the banquet yesterday,

and Tang Meng also admitted that it was her.

But Tang Meng as a boudoir miss,

how could she know about it?

She must have been instructed by someone experienced and sociable.

And Yu as an orphan grew up in Nan Yan,

learned the rules fast upon her arrival at the Mansion.

She never crossed lines.

Could the owner of the shoeprint be...

Yu,

tell me honestly,

what is this?

-Consort, it's... -Just tell me what you know.

Otherwise, I'm going to punish you for theft.

It's the letter Xi Que asked me to send.

It's indeed Xi Que' handwriting on the envelope.

But the content of this letter

is written in Qi Yu characters.

Could it be...?

Xi Que told me this morning

she was in need of money because something had happened to her family.

But she didn't want you to know and worry about her, Miss.

So she asked for six months' salaries in advance and let me send it out for her.

That's why I was in a hurry.

Xi Que entered the Grand Chancellor Mansion as a maid since she was a child.

How could she have something to do with Qi Yu?

Consort?

I see. Assume I don't know about it.

Yes.

-Officer Zhang. -Officer Zhang.

Why is Officer Zhang so weird today?

Who knows?

He might be upset for some order from Prince.

Officer Zhang's always calm.

I've never seen him like this even for a big thing.

Could it be that Xi Que doesn't love him anymore?

Love-sickness?

-It's possible. -You two!

-Run twenty circles around the drill ground. -Yes, sir.

Why are you in a daze?

Xi Que...

They said you're busy working these days.

So I told the chef to cook something delicious. Here they are.

The dishes...

I don’t have much appetite these days,

so I have some board expenses left.

I let them add to your dishes.

Enjoy them, okay?

Finish them all, okay?

Prince.

What is it?

Is the result of the footprint ready?

Yes.

Is it related to Xi Que?

That night,

the intruder only left a shallow shoeprint

in a very hidden corner.

And this pair of shoes with a pattern of Xi Que (magpie)

is exactly the one I gave to Xi Que.

The letter Xi Que wanted to send this morning

was written in the Qi Yu language.

And the shoeprint was also proved to belong to Xi Que.

Now, all the evidence points to Xi Que.

Is she

really undercover of Qi Yu?

The Xi Que I've known for so many years

is not who she really is?

Although I haven’t known Xi Que for a long time,

I'm willing to guarantee with my reputation

that Xi Que is by no means a scheming person.

I'm afraid there's still something we don't know.

Being around for so many years,

Xi Que's always a kind and innocent girl.

Sometimes she's even silly.

I also believe it has nothing to do with her.

But...

How to explain the letter this morning?

Anyway, before things are fully settled,

I hope that Prince and Consort could believe in Xi Que.

I will investigate it to the end,

and clear Xi Que's name.

Even if it turns out to be really her,

I believe she's bewitched and almost commit a blunder.

I will definitely find out the man behind it.

Zhang Ji,

do as you said.

Thank you, Prince.

Miss, after we're done with your hairs,

I'll go and light the censer for you,

so you can sleep well.

Xi Que,

are you bothered by something lately?

No.

You must tell me if there's any, okay?

It's true. I have no secrets before you, Miss.

What's wrong, Miss? Did I hurt you?

Sorry, I...

It's nothing. I just feel that you have been a little absent-minded lately.

Xi Que,

If you really have something, you must let me know, okay?

Otherwise, how can I help you?

Miss, I do have one thing.

Tell me.

Tell me now.

You...

Don't you like me anymore?

Why do you think that way?

Because I found

ever since Yu came,

you don't need me that much as you used to, Miss.

That time when you ran away,

you left me alone behind.

You only talk to Yu if you have something.

I'm a little jealous of Yu,

but I think I shouldn't do that.

Silly girl, how could you think that way?

Miss, don't dislike me, okay?

I know I’m not as smart as Yu sometimes,

and sometimes I'm silly,

but I will change, I promise.

Why are you still fighting for favor like a child?

You are the one who came here from Grand Chancellor Mansion with me.

You are like my younger sister.

No matter how good others are, they can’t replace you

at the bottom of my heart.

You are who you are.

Don't compare yourself with others, okay?

Miss.

Silly girl.

Okay, it's getting late. Go rest early.

Go back and have a rest. I'm fine.

I retreat then.

System, tell me,

what should I do?

Why do you set up so difficult a plot for me?

Xi Que,

I believe you have nothing to do with it.

You should also believe,

no matter what, I'll find out the truth for you.

Zhang Ji.

Silly girl.

Don't say I'm silly.

Are you here for me?

Why don't you say hello...

Silly Xi Que,

I will not let others hurt you.

I promise.

You tell me,

is it better for me to ask her directly?

I know

you don’t believe it was Xi Que,

do you?

She's my maid for so many years after all.

She's just like my younger sister.

I know,

but sometimes we take sides

exactly because we care too much.

I grew up in the royal court,

and I'm used to seeing people scheming against each other.

Sometimes,

even close kin betrays you.

So when you have no choice,

you have to learn to be sensible.

I know.

But still, I don’t think it was Xi Que.

She's been with me for so long.

There's no motivation or reason for her to do such things.

Besides,

if it's really her,

she could be able to do it long ago.

Why did she wait till now?

Maybe in their eyes,

it's the best time now.

All right.

Things only get worse for a longer time.

How about I ask Xi Que to come here?

Maybe it's the best way to do it.

Don't worry.

I know how to do it.

If Xi Que really did some irreparable things,

I will never take sides.

Prince, bad news, Prince.

-Prince. -What's wrong?

Someone from the Palace is here to inform

that His Majesty...

His Majesty is dying.

His Majesty has ordered.

Prince, please leave.

Eunuch Su,

how's Royal Brother?

How does the Imperial Doctor's diagnosis turn out?

His Majesty said he didn't want to see you.

Prince, please leave.

-Why? -His Majesty said

he had been already tired of you last time.

First, for Princess of Bei Yu,

you repeatedly violated his instructions,

and made him worry.

After the Princess left,

you've never cared about His Majesty's feelings,

and made him fall sick from anxiety.

Don't bother him anymore, okay?

I won't let you in even if you give me tons of gold.

Prince, please just leave.

I never gave Eunuch Su any gold.

Why did he say so?

Could it be Royal Brother in some dilemma?

If you don't leave now,

you'd never see the sun tomorrow morning.

-Come on, send Prince off. -Yes.

No need.

I know what Royal Brother wants.

I'd bother Eunuch Su to say sorry for me to Royal Brother.

Eunuch Su, you have to be more careful when you speak.

What? His Majesty is severely sick?

Then the one to take over Sheng Jing City in the future

should be our Prince.

But rumors in the street this morning

told that our Prince is not the biological brother of His Majesty.

They said Prince's mother was known for her indiscretion

in the Palace.

She got sick upon returning from a tour to Jiang Nan once,

and was diagnosed by the Imperial Doctor as pregnant.

All competing concubines offered advice to the late emperor

telling Prince was not his son.

But the late emperor loved her so much that he quieted the whole thing.

But what I heard is

that the late imperial concubine was barren, and so adopted him.

The secrets in the Palace

are only known to those who are involved.

The wet nurse never let us mention his mother's name in the past.

Don't you think it's true?

I don't believe so.

Prince is so handsome and dignified.

How could he not have Zhong's blood in him?

But we can't stop outsiders from talking nonsense.

As the saying goes, "Bad news travels fast",

and "Flies always find the cracked egg".

-Do you think... -You two!

Get lost!

I didn't expect the rumor spreads so fast.

What if what His Majesty did endangers Prince and Miss?

No matter what,

we'd better not let Prince know about it.

Prince.

That's all.

Don't worry. I know everything.

Royal Brother avoids seeing me.

Could it be related to the rumors outside?

But Eunuch Su didn't mention it at all.

Royal Brother doesn't seem to be angry because of the rumors.

Who's spreading the rumors?

What is the purpose?

Who is sighing here?

Jing.

I heard it from Zhang Ji.

Don't care about what they say,

and don't be sad for rumors, okay?

I'm not feeling sad about that.

If at this point, I throw myself into confusion with these rumors,

I may fall into the trap of those who started them.

At the point when Royal Brother's severely sick,

those who can spread such rumors and make it known all over the city,

must not be underestimated.

Are there any other bad guys we're not aware of?

System,

is the ultimate villain showing up?

Shall we send someone to find out

where the rumors come from?

Maybe you can find clues faster.

I won't let you in even if you give me tons of gold.

I won't let you in.

If you don't leave now, you'll never see the sun in the morning tomorrow.

What did Eunuch Su really want to tell me?

I take out the word "gold".

"Never see the sun in the morning".

The morning without the sun?

If I break up the words, it would be

Jin (gold) Chen (morning without sun).

Was Eunuch Su hinting to me

it's Prince Jing Yuan behind it?

You know why I granted the honor of Prince to Jin Chen?

I gave him the title

to reward him and to remind myself to stay alert.

It's very likely that Royal Brother has been controlled by Jin Chen.

I must confirm if Royal Brother is safe as soon as possible.

Prince, only the guard at this gate have not been replaced

Guards at other gates have all been replaced.

I know this guard well.

Let me go and talk to him.

Key an eye on everything after Prince goes in.

Prince, they will change guards after the shift.

You must leave before that.

Okay.

If I didn't come back as we agreed,

-you stick to our plan. -Yes.

I knew it.

Prince.

-You're finally here. -Eunuch Su.

Was there anyone watching you yesterday

that you couldn't tell me the truth?

Luckily, Prince understood what I said.

Did anyone see you when... when you came in?

I avoided the patrol guard.

No one saw me.

Where is Royal Brother? Is he okay?

Is Jin Chen the one behind all these?

He locked His Majesty up in the secret passage

taken care of me.

Prince, don't worry about that.

But it seems Jin Chen wants something from His Majesty.

He shouldn't be taking any reckless actions for the moment.

It’s just that this Prince Jing Yuan who used to be caring so much

about His Majesty and even sent him the thousand-year-old Isatis root,

now put His Majesty under house arrest.

Unbelievable.

I was proud of knowing people at the first sight.

But I failed to see the true face of Prince Jing Yuan.

Shame on me.

I didn't expect Jin Chen could be so ambitious, either.

Eunuch Su, don't blame yourself.

You've done your best for Royal Brother.

Now that everything happened,

our top priority is to find a way

to rescue Royal Brother at the earliest.

But with this situation now, there're

Prince Jing Yuan's men all around.

If we do it by force,

I'm afraid it's hitting the rock with an egg.

The Sacrificial Offering Ceremony starts in a few days.

Royal Brother once intended to announce his heir during the ceremony.

Jin Chen chose to put His Majesty under house arrest at this point,

is it for...?

But Prince Jing Yuan is one from another family after all.

Even if he controls His Majesty and the little prince,

he can't succeed anyway.

Eunuch Su,

you said that Jin Chen

wants something from Royal Brother?

It's...

It's a treasure

named crystal bead or something alike.

That's it.

The crystal bead matters a lot.

Royal Brother will not reveal anything to him.

As long as Jin Chen can't get the bead,

Royal Brother is safe.

The sacrificial ceremony has always been presided over by His Majesty.

Royal Brother's trip to Royal Ancestral Temple

will be a good chance for rescue.

Prince, I think Prince Jing Yuan

will definitely challenge you at the ceremony.

You must take care of yourself then.

Eunuch Su.

Eunuch Su.

Coming.

What took you so long to fetch the medicine, Eunuch Su?

I accidentally knocked over the medicine pot when I decocted the medicine.

I had to do it again.

His Majesty, take your medicine.

Now, you still have no plan

to tell me where the crystal bead is?

Even if you kill me,

-I can't give you the crystal bead. -You can't?

Or the crystal bead is with Zhong Wu Mei?

Since neither of you has it,

it should be with Zhong Zi Yun,

Princess Royal, then.

It seems I'm right.

Zi Yun has left the Palace for years, wandering somewhere.

How could I give her the crystal bead?

Jin Chen, I suggest you stop it now.

Don't disappoint yourself anymore.

The game has started.

How could it end so easily?

If I can't get the crystal bead by the Sacrificial Offering Ceremony,

none of you

will get off alive.

Kill me now if you can.

How am I willing to part with you, Royal Brother?

If I will kill you now,

how can I threaten Zhong Wu Mei?

I still remember,

it was my father who made you the emperor,

but he died without an explanation.

But you?

You are second to no one,

yet you hold on to this crystal bead.

Zhong Shi Li,

how greedy you are.

You've also got something.

Concubine Shen died for you,

the Grand Chancellor submitted to you,

and

your unidentified bastard brother

also love and admire you so much.

Even this eunuch

is so loyal to you too.

What makes you deserve all these?

Now that you want to know about your father,

fine,

I'll tell you every detail of the story back then.

Your father was the favorite general of my Royal Father.

He sent him to fight Qi Yu,

but on the way, he took the wealth of the people

and killed innocent people, leaving no choice to Royal Father

but to kill him, one of his former capable assistants.

It's your father who defied first,

and ended up like that.

Jin Chen, this crystal bead

will never belong to your Jin's family.

Shut up!

Even so,

it's the retribution of your Zhong's family.

Whatever your Zhong's family owes our Jin's family,

will be paid one by one, step by step.

Don't worry, Royal Brother.

Let's wait and see.

His Majesty, I just met Prince Yuan Zheng.

He said he would find a way to rescue us.

Wu Mei.

Good.

Prince.

I was right.

Royal Brother is in danger.

Zhang Ji, go find some loyal men

to protect His Majesty in the Palace.

Besides,

go back to fetch my token from the late emperor,

recall the imperial guardss stationed outside the city,

and rescue His Majesty in Royal Ancestral Temple

at the Sacrificial Offering Ceremony on 15th.

Yes.

Hua Ying Chi, Elder Cang Jian of Tianyi Clique

greet His Majesty.

[Hua Ying Chi, Elder Cang Jian of Tianyi Clique]

I didn't expect you to move so fast

and really got Zhong Shi Li.

No pay, no gain.

It's so important

that I didn't have time to tell you that day at the banquet.

But the Sacrifice Offering Ceremony starts in two days.

Zhong Shi Li will offer sacrifices to Heaven and ancestors on that day,

and announce those who will assist the little prince.

At that time, only the highest officials could enter the hall.

The Temple is somewhere outside the Palace.

We can take this chance

-to kill Zhong Wu Mei at one go. -Great.

Be rest assured.

I have long planted my men, but...

the thing promised me will also appear there.

Of course.

We've planned for so long.

It's finally time to reap the harvest.

The crystal bead

will be mine.

Oh my god, all the way up,

I never expect the gentle and elegant Prince Jing Yuan

to be the ultimate villain.

System, are you kidding me?

Jin Chen put His Majesty under house arrest?

Now, they've got Royal Brother,

so we can only fight back.

Jing, I have to go to the ceremony.

But the day after tomorrow, you must never go out.

If I didn't come back on time,

no matter what happened,

You must leave Sheng Jing with Zhang Ji immediately.

-But I... -No buts!

My heart rests only when you are safe.

♪ Snow in winter ♪

♪ So pure and white ♪

♪ It fell all night ♪

♪ Without making a sound ♪

♪ The bluestone path has gone ♪

♪ The charming young man in my memory ♪

♪ At some point ♪

♪ At the same spot ♪

♪ How impressive ♪

♪ Everything about you is! ♪

♪ My heart was a wasteland before I met you ♪

♪ But you have given me a brand new world ♪

♪ Everything and every moment we've been through together ♪

♪ Have become the butterflies flying freely ♪

♪ Our endless love will last for a life time and beyond ♪

♪ Your face comes to me clearly over and over again ♪

♪ Time fades and you walk away ♪

♪ Whether saying goodbye will bring us back in time? ♪

♪ You are my eyes ♪

♪ You showed me so many things I had never seen before ♪

♪ Which now have become my everything ♪

♪ Everything and every moment we've been through together ♪

♪ Have become the butterflies flying freely ♪

♪ Our endless love will last for a life time and beyond ♪

♪ Your face comes to me clearly over and over again ♪

♪ Time fades and you walk away ♪

♪ Whether saying goodbye will bring us back in time? ♪