Original subtitles

[English subtitles are available]

[Unchained Love]

[Episode 26]

In my opinion,

none of you have to continue

staying here with me here.

It's the Buddha's Birthday,

but the Heavenly Dog has eaten the Moon.

There may be someone with an ominous aura here

who is making the Buddha unhappy.

You may all go back now.

His Majesty is wise,

and his rule is almighty.

Even if the Heavenly Dog comes,

it'll be scared away by His Majesty's prowess.

You and that glib tongue of yours.

Your Majesty.

Today,

I'll make it clear to you.

Consort Duan is unchaste and ominous.

The heavens ordered the Heavenly Dog to eat the Moon

to warn all of us in Great Ye.

I won't let her go back to the palace.

Where's Consort Duan?

Your Majesty.

Consort Duan's maid reported that

Consort Duan is not feeling well.

She's afraid she might offend the Buddha,

so she went back earlier to rest.

Is that so?

I sent a maid two hours ago

to send some light snacks

to each of the concubines' rooms.

The maid didn't say anything

about Consort Duan being in the room.

Since you gave me a token,

I'll give you the Fish Immortal

as a token too.

It will bless and protect you

from misfortune, and grant all your wishes.

Everyone thinks I was the one who saved you.

But they don't know that

it was actually you who saved me.

All these years,

I've been trapped in countless schemes and conspiracies,

and I was so close to being torn apart and swallowed up

by this Imperial City.

Until I met you.

It was you who saved me from the path of no return.

I'm not afraid of descending into hell,

neither am I afraid of falling into

a pit of hungry ghosts and wild beasts.

You are my only refuge.

After Rong'an is punished,

we'll find a place

where no one can find us

and live a normal life.

You already know Rong'an is the culprit?

I also know there's a little lunatic

who was so determined to track down the culprit

she kept putting herself into dangerous situations,

and catching me off-guard.

Then...

this little lunatic

wants you to promise her one thing.

You can take revenge,

but you must take me with you.

I'll help you.

You're not allowed to leave me behind alone.

Also,

I’ll keep this silk pendant.

Your wish is my command.

Oh no.

We'll be doomed if we don't go back soon.

Let's go. Are you trying to get us into trouble?

I think you're the one trying to get us into trouble

by trying to get us to head back together.

You're right.

Then, I'll leave first.

You head back a little later alright?

I see now.

You don't care about me at all.

You're just after

my beautiful looks.

Stop it. I'm leaving.

Come back a little later.

Be good.

Running off so quickly like that.

Your Highness, isn't that Consort Duan?

Why is she coming from there?

Did she really

stay out all night?

Greetings, Your Majesty.

You...

You didn't return all night.

Where did you go?

I got bored of

listening to the old monk reciting sutras,

so I sneaked out to slack off for a while.

You forgot to bring your sutras,

and even sneaked out in the middle of listening to the recitations.

You did it on purpose.

Are you really that reluctant

to go back to the palace with me?

Where is the necklace

I gave you?

Why aren't you wearing it?

I think I must've dropped it somewhere.

I'll go look for it.

Why do you have to

deal with such a trivial matter yourself?

Yu Zun.

Give my order to search the entire temple

for Consort Duan's necklace.

Search every nook and cranny.

Yes.

You must be hungry

after being out for the whole night.

Have breakfast with me.

Yes.

Sure enough,

they were together last night.

The audacity...

How dare you come back?

How bold of you!

It seems that you really had

a secret rendezvous with Bu Yinlou

here last night.

Stop right there!

If you dare to take a single step away,

I will tell His Majesty

about every single detail of

your affair with her.

Go ahead then.

I'm just a mere eunuch.

Will His Majesty even believe

any of your stories?

He will only suspect that

I wanted to collude with Consort Duan

to win his favor.

If I lose all of His Majesty's favor

because of this,

I will definitely remember Your Majesty's grace to me

and take you down together with me.

After all, I know very well

all of the blood that is on your hands.

What do you mean by that?

I saw with my own eyes

how Noble Consort Shao

met her demise.

In the seventh year of Longhua,

the pregnant Consort Shu drowning in a well

was also planned by you.

In the ninth year of Longhua,

the few princes

who were most likely to inherit the throne

were killed by you one after another.

In the same year, during the great drought in the northwest,

you colluded with the Assistant Minister of Revenue

to embezzle disaster relief provisions,

causing countless disaster victims to die.

Should I continue with more,

Your Majesty?

Shut up.

After all these years of

painstaking effort

to get to

where you are today,

are you really going to

crash and burn together with me

just because of a girl like Bu Yinlou?

My wretched life is worth nothing.

Bu Yinlou

might be a mere girl to you,

but she is more noble and distinguished

than anyone else in my eyes.

If anyone dares to hurt her,

I'll drag that person down to hell with me.

Your Majesty, please forgive us.

We searched every corner of the temple grounds

but found nothing.

Tanxi Temple

is so small.

How can it just disappear?

There's a lake behind the temple.

Did you miss that out?

I've searched there too,

but found nothing.

Sun Taiqing,

you go and search too.

Yes.

Here, this is good.

This is delicious.

Let me

ask you again.

Where did you go last night?

Who did you meet?

Think carefully before you answer.

It's a serious crime to deceive the Emperor.

Last night, it was me who pulled Yinlou

along with me to listen to some storytelling.

Come on.

If His Majesty asks,

you can just

rat me out you know.

Why are you so guileless?

Please don't make it hard for her any more, Your Majesty.

Everything is all

my fault.

I apologize to you.

So

I must have lost the necklace at

Wan Wan's place.

I was so engrossed listening to the storyteller

that I don't quite remember.

Ruolan.

Yes.

Go search in my room.

Yes.

You don't have to search any further.

Are you all looking for this?

I just passed by the entrance of the Princess' room.

This was stuck

by the crack of the door to the entrance.

I initially thought

this belonged to the Princess.

I didn't expect that it was Consort Duan's.

Your Majesty.

Listening to the monks reciting sutras is an act of devotion.

Yet Consort Duan and the Princess have been slacking off all night.

How inappropriate.

I think they should be punished.

Don't worry about it, Imperial Sister-in-law.

I'll deal with it accordingly.

You may leave.

Slacking off?

It's just slacking off.

Why couldn't you just tell me honestly?

Silly girl.

Is it not enough for you to mess around on your own?

I can't believe you're being a bad influence on Yinlou now.

Who's the bad influence here?

Let's go.

We haven't finished listening

to the story last night.

You...

Stand here.

You're only allowed to leave

after staying with me for an whole hour.

You know everything?

How much do you know?

Are you still thinking of how much more

you can hide?

No.

I didn't mean to hide it from you.

At first,

I didn't plan for things to end up like this.

When I went back to the palace,

I... He...

But now...

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept it from you.

How bold of you two!

[Tani Txemple]

A concubine,

and a Head Eunuch.

Disregarding morals and having secret relations with each other.

How can you let my brother down?

I treated you as my friend,

but you lied to me, tricked me, and used me.

Wan Wan.

Don’t touch me.

No.

I'm not trying to use you.

I care about you a lot.

Don't be angry.

I won't tell my brother

about this.

If you know you were in the wrong,

then break up with Xiao Duo as soon as possible.

No.

You...

You're still trying to push your luck with me.

Am I right?

Actually, since I came back to the palace,

I've been feeling uneasy all the while.

Everyday, I worry about

people finding out

about me and Xiao Duo.

Everyday, I live in fear,

masking my true feelings.

I don't want to become a liar.

But I am a liar.

I don't want to go back to the palace.

I don't want to be a consort.

I don't want to have to feel like it's a mistake

to like someone.

I keep saying I don't feel like it,

and I don't want to.

But no one in the Imperial City

listens to me,

or what I want to do.

His Majesty just wants to

gag me up,

and bind my hands and feet.

He wants me to obey and listen to him.

I feel like...

I feel like

I'm a dead thing.

I don't deserve the right to

my own feelings.

[Tanxi Temple]

I can't even be unhappy.

I can't be sad.

Wan Wan.

But...

But I'm a human being.

I've let you down.

I put you in a difficult spot,

making you choose sides between me and His Majesty.

I'm sorry.

But these are two different matters.

I like Xiao Duo.

I really, really like him.

For this matter,

I'm not in the wrong.

I won't acknowledge that I did anything wrong either.

Forget it.

You two go ahead

and do whatever you want.

I'll pretend I don't know anything

and didn't see anything.

So,

you won't be mad at me anymore?

Bu Yinlou,

you're asking too much of me.

Why don't...why don't you hit me?

Take it out on me.

But don't hit me too hard, I'm afraid of pain.

Who wants to hit you?

Fortunately, he's just a eunuch.

No matter how involved you get with each other,

nothing too serious will happen.

Actually...

He- He's a fake?

This matter is too serious,

I've never told anyone about this before.

You must help me keep this secret.

Bu Yinlou.

Are- Are you crazy?

You said you wouldn't hit me!

Listen.

This isn't over.

I won't help you two.

If you dare to continue having relations with each other,

and I find out, I'll—

Consort Duan.

Tonight, at quarter to 8, at the same place.

I'll wait for you.

This bastard.

I can't believe he has the guts to do this

in broad daylight.

Seriously, I'd better hit you.

Bu Yinlou!

You'd better stop right there!

Don't hit me!

Do you want to die?

Quick, get down!

What's happening? Are they blind?

The entire Tanxi Temple is full of my men.

No matter how bold they are,

they wouldn't dare go against me.

Look.

"A boat flies freely,

not knowing right from wrong.

Idling after catching fish,

refusing to return if not.

Akin to indolence, or to madness.

Who knows of this happiness?

The luxurious hall sees only beautiful lanterns,

but not the moon above a peaceful river."

The most precious thing in this world of ours

is the sight of the moon shimmering against the still waters.

You still remember?

I remember everything you say.

Isn't this a moment

with the moon above a peaceful river?

The moon above a peaceful river

is only temporary.

Look at these fish.

They will always be trapped

within the confines of the royal family's property,

with no chance to escape at all.

This lake doesn't even lead to any rivers.

Do you think

we can really escape from here?

♫ The palace is as it was yesterday ♫

♫ Whose soul has it trapped ♫

♫ Fate is unpredictable ♫

♫ No one can escape ♫

♫ Like bubbles, like fireworks ♫

♫ Fate is so full of twists and turns ♫

♫ You are ♫

♫ The persistence of my lifetime ♫

Why are you here?

Quick, have a seat over there.

Didn't I ask you to rest in your room?

You haven't recovered yet.

Things are so busy over at the Zhaoding Bureau,

yet you come to help me do my chores everyday.

I can't just continue

keeping you from your work everyday

and do nothing.

Not at all.

You are part of my work.

By the way,

let me see your hand.

Why?

I got you a box of ointment

from the Imperial Hospital.

This ointment is very effective.

Your hands will heal fully after applying it a few times.

I'll be gentle.

The other one.

Does it hurt?

It doesn't hurt anymore.

I'm just a servant anyway.

It's not a big deal

to be bullied a little by them.

How can it not be a big deal?

Godfather told me before

the nobles up there

may not treat us as humans.

But we should always

treat ourselves as human beings.

I didn't understand it before,

but after seeing you suffer,

I understand this fully now.

In the future,

if anyone dares to bully you again,

just tell me.

I'll teach them a lesson.

What if you can't?

If I can't,

there's still my godfather.

I'll beg him to help.

What if your godfather

ignores you?

Then I'll beg my godmother.

My godfather will definitely agree.

By the way,

Godfather sent a message saying

that he and Godmother have made up.

Really?

They'll get you out

from here

very soon.

My master

must be very happy now.

Actually,

I'm very happy too.

Are you?

I-

I am!

I'm so happy.

Take this.

Thank you.

I'll get back to work now.

In a few days,

we'll be leaving Tanxi Temple.

Don't worry about Tongyun.

Cao Chun'ang replied me.

Everything is fine.

I'll find an excuse

to get her out soon.

I trust your ability to do things.

But right now,

His Majesty doesn't trust you.

Furthermore, Tongyun offended him greatly.

If you try and help her now,

won't you lose

even more of his trust?

Why don't you let me do it?

I'll coax His Majesty

and ask him to forgive Tongyun this time.

How are you going to coax him?

I can do the drum dance.

No.

Then...

I'll make him a meal?

No.

How about I sew something?

No way.

Why is everything a no?

Are you being jealous?

If everything is a no,

how do we help Tongyun?

Let me give you an idea.

You tricked me?

Okay, I won't. I'll talk to you properly.

Come here.

Come on.

Come over here!

No.

You're pretty smart huh?

I'll go find His Majesty.

Who are you going to see?

His Majesty.

The audacity!

I haven't seen Consort Duan for days.

What has she been up to?

Your Majesty,

Her Highness has been praying in

the temple's worship hall over the past few days.

Praying?

When did she become so sensible?

Whatever.

Let's go have a look.

Oh, merciful Buddha.

Your devoted disciple, Bu Yinlou, prays to you sincerely.

Please watch over Tongyun,

such that she is safe and sound.

You've been kneeling for days.

She's just a mere servant.

Why put yourself through so much for her?

Since we first entered Xiecui Garden,

we have been relying on each other.

In my heart, she is not a servant.

She's like family.

If it weren't for me,

she wouldn't have been punished.

People in the palace

will always side with those in favor.

She's probably suffering a lot

in the Dyeing Workshop now.

It's all my fault for being useless.

I don't know

what else I can do.

I'm willing to cut my flesh and pray fervently.

I beg Buddha to redirect all of her sufferings

onto me.

What are you doing?

As long as I can protect her from harm,

cutting a piece of my flesh is nothing.

Even if I have to sacrifice myself in her place,

it doesn't matter.

You...

Stop!

Stop!

You are my woman.

Every inch of your body belongs to me.

How dare you

hurt yourself?

Your Majesty, please forgive me.

I just feel terrible.

If I don't do this,

I don't know

what else I can do.

You...

Instead of praying to the Buddha for a miracle,

you'd be better off begging me for mercy.

Then...

Your Majesty, you mean...

For your sake,

I'll spare her just this once.

Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty.

When can I go pick her up?

I'll send someone to do it now.

Stop crying.

Help me keep an eye on her.

Okay.

Let's go.

You were so fake just now.

Didn't I ask you to hold me back?

Why didn't you?

I was so close to actually cutting myself.

How was I to know you'd do that so suddenly?

It’s all Xiao Duo’s fault.

What a terrible idea!

Why am I helping you two?

This is the last time.

Whatever you two do in the future,

it has nothing to do with me.

Wan Wan, your brother asked you to keep an eye on me.

You can take care of yourself.

Wan Wan.

Godfather, Godfather!

I see it.

I'm seeing it with both my eyes.

Stop showing off.

I finally understand now.

You deliberately

sent me away these few days.

But you act pretty fast.

It's only been a while,

but Her Highness has already become my Godmother.

Hearing you call her that sounds much more pleasant.

By the way,

dispose of all of

my medicine later.

You won't take them anymore?

I won't.

You're not a reckless person by nature.

But why do you always act out of character

when it comes to Godmother?

We can't stay in the Imperial City

for much longer anyway.

I don't want to

wear this mask

when I'm with her any longer.

I should have stopped you

when you were planning all of this.

People will find out the truth sooner or later.

I wonder

how long more we can keep this under wraps.

You could have just

protected her from a distance,

and watched her lead a peaceful and happy life.

Isn't that enough?

Why are you trying to fight for more?

You want me to give up?

Dream on.

If you're willing to quietly

watch over your beloved,

then go do that yourself.

Why are you

trying to dictate what I should do?

Beloved?

I don't have one.

Go on and quietly watch over her.

Watching her get married, have children,

and lead a peaceful and happy life.

Isn't that enough?

Why fight for more, am I right?

Godfather!

How did you know?

His Majesty has lifted Tongyun's punishment.

Head to the Dyeing Workshop yourself.

How on earth did he know?

How can I be like Godfather?

If she follows me,

she'll be doomed.

But Godfather and Godmother

have been through so much,

and they're together now.

Should I learn from them?

I was careless.

Please forgive me.

Forget it.

When it comes to doing my hair,

Xiao Duo still does it the best.

Do you think

he's with Bu Yinlou now,

doing her hair for her?

Please don't be angry, Your Majesty.

How dare Xiao Duo

use my secret

to threaten me?

I'm still angry.

If he has something on me,

don't I also have something on him?

Even if he's made of the strongest steel,

I will find

the chink in his armor.

Yilan.

Send someone to keep an eye on Xiao Duo.

Your Majesty,

I’m afraid our men

will be taken down by Chief Xiao

even before they manage to get close.

Then keep an eye on the people around him.

It can't be that everyone around him

is as thorough as he is, can it?

Yes, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

I heard

another piece of news.

I heard His Majesty agreed to

pardon Consort Duan's maid,

the one who got sent to the Dyeing Workshop

Pardoned?

That's good.

Now that she's free from punishment,

I can use her to my benefit.

I've really been pardoned?

Yes, no mistake about it.

Someone will come to get you later.

Thank you sir.

Miss Tongyun.

So soon? Coming.

Sir,

shouldn't I be leaving the palace?

This doesn't seem to be

the way to Deer's Reed Residence...

Your Majesty, we brought her here.

Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress.

It's been a long time

since someone acknowledged my status as the Empress.

It makes me happy hearing that.

Rise.

Yes.

Where have you been?

I've been waiting for you.

What?

Are you lost for words at the prospect of leaving this place of suffering?

Let's go. Let's not stay

in this terrible place any longer.

Tongyun,

tell me.

If a person has a secret hidden in his heart,

should he say it out loud?

What do you mean?

Actually, about this,

I originally thought that

I should just

keep it to myself.

I didn't want to make things difficult for you.

But after thinking about it,

if people feel guilty about something,

the truth will come out sooner or later.

Am I right?

Actually, I...

I...

I care about you.

When we were at the Imperial Mausoleum,

I already thought you were very special.

Although you always scold me,

the more you scold me,

the more enthusiastic I get.

I thought I was being crazy.

But I guess I am crazy.

And there's nothing I can do about it.

♫ The wind slips through my heart ♫

This hairpin...

I actually wanted to give it to you

before I went to West Shu.

♫ Wrinkling our past ♫

♫ Lamenting and sighing ♫

♫ We can't escape parting ♫

♫ How can ripples form on a mirror ♫

I know I don't deserve you.

I don't intend to do anything either.

♫ The wind can't blow away the loneliness ♫

I'm just letting you know.

In that case,

you can keep this hairpin.

♫ But the sorrows and joys of this world ♫

You can throw it away if you don't like it.

♫ Look upon desolation and recklessness ♫

I'll leave first.

♫ Not knowing when I can return ♫

♫ How can we be calculating in this ephemeral world ♫

♫ The wind has risen in the smoke and rain ♫

Cao Chun'ang.

♫ I'll pledge my life to you ♫

I'm the one who doesn't deserve you.

What should I do?

Your Majesty, this plan may have great repercussions.

One careless move will lead to catastrophe.

Please think twice.

Think twice?

What do I have to think twice?

I am the daughter of an aristocratic family,

the Empress of Heaven's will.

I am the one who stands at the very top of the Imperial City.

Since I was a child,

I've always understood something.

If you want the clothes you like,

you have to vie for them.

If you don't want to be bullied by others,

you have to fight.

If you want ultimate power,

you have to grab it for yourself.

But someone like Xiao Duo...

But why

is it only Xiao Duo

that I have

failed

to acquire, to possess?

Who does he think he is?

He's just a mere servant.

How dare he disobey me?

I've enjoyed a life of prestige and nobility,

and also weathered through desolate times and loneliness.

What else do I want?

And what do I fear?

So what if we'll be doomed?

I just want him to know

that if there's something I can't have,

I will fight for it, vie for it, snatch it away.

Your Highness,

are you really not going to care about anything else

just because of someone like Xiao Duo?

This Imperial City

can drive any

dignified and respectable person

completely crazy.

Since Xiao Duo went crazy for a woman,

I'll go crazy with him too.

Your Highness.

Xiao Duo.