Original subtitles

♫ The falling snow ♫

♫ Is bitter cold ♫

♫ My sigh ♫

♫ Misted the path in front of me ♫

♫ The moonlight knows my intention ♫

♫ I just want to make a place for me in your heart ♫

♫ I laugh and I cry ♫

♫ Quietly building a pond in my heart ♫

♫ I accept all the gifts from sorrow ♫

♫ I can't let down my regrets ♫

♫ I won't admit defeat ♫

♫ I slowly chew on the bitterness of life ♫

♫ The fragrance remains the same after the bleak winter ♫

♫ Awaiting spring to color the way back home ♫

[The Double]

[Episode 32]

Be it the previous life or the current, just live to the fullest.

Never compromise yourself to become someone else just to please others,

including me.

Miss Jiuyue.

Magistrate Xue is recovering well.

I left the prescription.

After a period, Magistrate Xue will fully recover.

You've refused to see me during this period.

I finally get a chance to thank you today.

There's no need.

Xiao Heng has repaid this favor for you.

If you need my help in the future, I will do my best.

If you want to help me, you should cherish the person you have now.

Where's the bell I gave you?

Wen Ji has it.

That's something I gave you.

You need to keep it yourself.

Why would I keep a lady's accessory?

I must not be in my right mind.

Why on earth did I give it to you?

Jiuyue, tell me honestly.

Have you fallen in love with Duke Su?

Why do you ask that suddenly?

I heard you gave him the bell.

That was given to you by Mother.

She asked you to give it to the person you love.

If you want, I can propose marriage to the Emperor of Yan.

But...

some things can't be forced.

If he likes me,

he will never wait until you propose it.

[Shen's Residence]

Quick! Clean the place!

Yes, Madam.

Be careful with the vase. It's an antique. Be careful!

Seriously. Work quickly.

- Yes, Madam. - Hurry!

Madam, this is the guest list for tonight.

[Banquet Guest List]

[School of Integrity, Jiang Li, Liu Xu; Imperial Academy, Jiang Jingrui]

I don't agree for her to come here.

Eldest Princess's confinement will end soon.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Don't let Jiang Li come here. You can't make another mistake.

Sure. I won't let her come here.

You must be thirsty now.

Let me get you a cup of water.

You finally know how to treat your mother well.

Mother.

Go and do your work.

Yurong, where's Mother?

I've looked all over, but I still can't find her.

Mother was busy the whole day and caught a cold.

I gave her some medicine and she's asleep now.

I'll go and check on her.

Don't disturb her. She is fast asleep.

Get changed and welcome the guests with me.

I'll go dress up then.

[Shen's Residence]

Greetings, Mr. Shen.

Greetings, Mr. Shen.

[Shen's Residence]

Mr. Shen.

Please come in.

[Shen's Residence]

Sure. Cheers.

Cheers. After you.

- Cheers. - Please.

Mr. Shen leading the alliance of the two kingdoms has made the Emperor very happy.

Mr. Shen, you have a bright future ahead of you.

You'll know when the time comes.

Mr. Shen is now highly valued by His Majesty.

I hope you will guide me in the future, Mr. Shen.

Mr. Chen, a toast to you.

- Here. Drink. - A toast to you.

Come on. Cheers.

- A toast to you too. - Come on.

That's so nice of you.

The loser will drink.

- You said it. - Fine. I'll drink.

- Why did I lose again? - Drink.

Here.

The moon is pretty tonight.

It's excellent.

Indeed.

Here. Let me offer you another toast.

Li, from today onward, there's no need to be afraid of anyone.

- Who are you? Go away! - Dear!

- Let me go! - Dear!

Dear!

Mr. Shen, when will you stop following me?

Second Lady Jiang, it's your first time at Shen's Residence,

but you seem familiar with this place.

If you want to enter, I can open the door for you.

Only a good place makes people want to visit it again.

Do you think I'd want to go into that place?

Don't want to put on an act anymore?

I tried to convince myself to believe

that you are Jiang Li.

You can keep pretending.

I will also keep believing you.

There's no need for that now.

You are so honest.

Aren't you afraid that I might expose your identity?

You already know my identity.

If you wanted, you could've exposed me at any time.

But you didn't. Why?

My affair was set up by your mother, right?

You wanted to kill me because your mother threatened you that she'd commit suicide.

I had no choice.

You always like putting all the blame on other people.

- Li. - Shen Yurong.

You are used to being the perfect scholar.

Everything you did was forced. You did nothing wrong.

You are pitiful. Even you believe that.

So, when you told me you loved me when you protected me from the slash,

it made me feel disgusted.

Since you could mention your love, why couldn't you express your guilt?

You protected my identity in the hall.

You risked your life to save me before a sharp weapon.

There is still turning back now.

Li, I've let you down.

Both of us should take another path.

What path?

Go to the hall and tell His Majesty everything.

You will face His Majesty yourself

and tell him everything you and Wanning did to the Xue family.

This is the only way for you to atone for your sins.

I know you still have a conscience.

This is the last chance I'm giving you.

You are being so honest with me

only because you want me to confess my crimes?

This is what you are supposed to do.

Shen Yurong, you're a well-educated man.

You should know that it's never too late to turn back.

Li, I killed you.

It has made me regret it forever.

If my mother and sister die because of me, I can never atone for my sins.

You can do anything you want with my life, but I must... protect the Shen family.

So, in your opinion,

the crimes of your mother and your sister do not need to be atoned

and my innocence and grievance do not need to be compensated.

Right?

Sorry.

Fine.

Shen Yurong, you won't choose this path.

You've let me down once again.

You can keep being obsessed.

Just wait until the day when I make you and Wanning pay for what you've done.

You will never win against Wanning.

She has Lord Cheng to support her.

I'm not like you. You're a coward!

- I'm reminding you. - That's not necessary.

Li, listen to me.

Let go, Shen Yurong!

Let go! Let go of me!

Let go of me, Shen Yurong!

Are you all right?

I'm fine.

I noticed you've been away for a long time, so I came to find you because I was worried.

I didn't expect him to...

He's still breathing. It should be fine.

I'll go and find a physician.

Shijie, stay out of this.

I'll deal with it.

Why?

I saw him trying to hurt you just now.

He was trying to hurt me indeed.

That was why I knocked him out.

No, I did it.

Shen Yurong has Eldest Princess Wanning to support him.

If you Wanning holds grudges against you because of this,

you and the Ye family will face huge trouble.

Listen to me. Wanning and I already have a beef.

- So this won't make a difference. - How can I let you take the blame for me?

To be honest, I was planning to hit him.

You just did what I wanted.

Moreover, if you are not involved in this,

you'll be able to help me from the shadows better.

But I don't have to help you from the shadows.

This is my personal grudge.

- I know. - You don't know.

Have you been falsely accused?

Has your reputation been sullied?

Have you been locked up in a woodshed?

Have you been buried alive?

Do you know how many people died because of this?

Xue Fangfei.

I want to help you. I mean it.

Since you know everything, listen to me and leave.

Otherwise, you'll be causing me trouble.

I beg you, Ye Shijie.

Mother.

Go and do your work.

Oh, no.

Yurong!

- Cheers. - Yurong, where are you?

Yurong! Where are you?

Don't scare me!

What happened?

I don't know.

Yurong! Where are you?

- Mother. - Let's take a look.

- Let's go. - Let's take a look.

- Let's go. - Mother!

Yurong!

Yurong!

- Mother. - What's wrong?

Mr. Shen was going to defile me.

- What? - That's...

Yurong! Let go of my son!

Return my son to me!

Yurong, come back! Yurong! [Shen's Residence]

Return my son to me! Let him go!

Don't go!

Catch her! She injured my son!

- Mother. - What are you doing?

Shen Yurong attempted to hurt Jiang Li first.

He has been sent to the Court of Judicial Review.

If you keep this unreasonable act up, he will never return.

You... You...

Mother. Mother!

Mother!

Mother, wake up! Mother!

Mother!

Mother, wake up!

Mother.

Mother, wake up!

What's wrong, Madam? Are you all right?

Mother, are you all right?

Madam.

[Jiang's Residence]

Li, you must be shocked.

Grandmother, are ugly rumors being spread out there?

Will it affect the Jiang family?

It's the child of the Jiang family who had been mistreated.

When your father knew about this, he rushed back to the capital overnight.

Just rest and don't think about anything.

Leave it to your family.

We must never let you suffer this grievance for nothing.

Lie down and rest.

How do you plan to deal with this?

Li is the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family.

Let's not talk about how the Jiang family is going to seek justice for her.

The Shen family dared to do this to the Jiang family.

This incident is known to everyone in the capital.

You've wanted a reputation your whole life,

but your reputation has been tarnished by the Shen family now.

Can you really let this go?

Li has been abandoned at Zhennyu Hall since young.

You haven't fulfilled your responsibility as a father for all these years.

Since she came back last year, terrible things have kept happening.

And you showed little sympathy for her.

This time, you must think carefully.

Mother, you are right.

I was too suspicious back then.

I didn't know how much I'd hurt my own daughter.

This time, I must fulfill my responsibility as a father, and seek justice for my daughter.

Set up the table! I will write a complaint for Li personally.

It has been a while. You look haggard.

It's all thanks to you, Your Majesty.

I have learned a lot.

It's great that you understand my intentions.

You will be released from your confinement today.

Remember not to be so willful in the future.

Speaking of which, something happened recently.

I was so busy that I neglected you.

What troubles you, Your Majesty?

The Emperor of Zhao came to Yan to reunite with his long-lost sister.

However, coincidentally, his sister was assassinated and almost died.

That's outrageous.

Was the assassin captured?

He escaped.

This is unforgivable.

Allowing assassins to enter and leave the capital as they wish.

So of course, I'm furious.

It's bad when the Emperor gets angry.

So, I abolished the Capital Security Office for hiding the assassin.

The Capital Security Office?

Yes. I'm curious as well.

How could the Great Yan's Capital Security Office have changed its leader in secret?

Wanning, help me think about this.

Is there someone who doesn't want a friendly relationship between Zhao and Yan?

Our brother has won battles up north, and Your Majesty has formed an alliance with Zhao.

Stability in the north and south is a blessing for the Great Yan.

Why would someone destroy the peace?

You are right.

It is extremely foolish, for someone to cause trouble now.

The alliance banquet is over. Everything is set in stone.

Unfortunately, you weren't present at the banquet

and missed Jiang and Shen's performance.

You said Second Lady Jiang was Shen Yurong's late wife.

Now that I think about it, it's sad.

Since Your Majesty said that, it became a regret of mine.

It's quite regretful indeed.

Shen Yurong is awaiting his sentence at the Court of Judicial Review.

His crime is an attempted sexual assault on Second Lady Jiang.

The performance at the banquet was their last one, unfortunately.

Mr. Shen did something so filthy?

Yes. I'm quite surprised as well.

It's late.

You should go back to rest.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Go to the Court of Judicial Review.

Yes.

[Court of Judicial Review]

Shen Yurong, is this what you mean by having a clear conscience?

To the point of wanting to be intimate with her?

Are you not afraid to die at all?

Raise your head.

Why are you laughing?

Kill me.

What do you mean?

You always like to look down at me from above.

You knew I was hiding my crime, yet you still wanted to control me.

I'm sick of it now. Aren't you tired as well, Your Highness?

I killed my wife for my mother's and my sister's sake.

To gain power, I tainted the reputation I obtained from studying hard.

I deserve to die.

Are you blaming me again?

I'm not blaming Your Highness. I'm not blaming anyone.

I just hope Your Highness can live on, and spare my mother and my sister.

As for myself, if Your Highness doesn't kill me,

you may wait until I'm sentenced to banishment, execution, or lifelong imprisonment.

I'll accept it.

What kind of crazy talk is this?

Do you want me to pity you?

To feel sorry for you?

To save you?

Your Highness, you don't need to save me.

You've toyed with me for so long. I'm sure you are bored of it now.

I'm not bored.

Have you accepted your fate?

Shen Yurong, in this world, I'm the only one who can decide how you die.

The imperial court is nothing.

Your life is in my hands.

What do you want to do?

Naturally...

I'm going to save you.

You're still not resting so late at night?

Did you fly back from Zhao?

You came to find me at this time.

Aren't you afraid that someone might see you?

Tea.

What is your next step?

Do you remember when I asked you

which brick in the capital that Shen Yurong and the Eldest Princess are standing on?

I thought Shen Yurong would repent,

but I never expected him to insist on going down the wrong path.

Right now, I want to use Shen Yurong as my pawn to find that brick.

I want to expose their filthy relationship to the public.

Do you think Wanning will save Shen Yurong?

If she doesn't save him, she will lose.

An arrogant person like Princess Wanning will fall into this trap.

Do you think you are amazing?

What's with you?

Is sacrificing both your reputation and his future a win for you?

Xiao Heng,

I'm not as shallow as you imagined.

I want to give Shen Yurong another way out.

I wanted to see if his conscience still existed and if he'd confess to his crimes

when we were at the place where I got set up.

I never expected him to still refuse to repent in the end.

I figured I was wasting my energy, and wanted to give up, but he wouldn't let me go.

It made Ye Shijie misunderstand and knock him out.

The Ye family is Jiang Li's family and my family.

I can't get them implicated because of me.

So, I must admit to the crime of hitting him.

So, he did attempt to harm you.

Otherwise, you'd be the one in prison today!

Yes.

You promised me twice not to use yourself as bait.

This is the second time you have broken your promise.

It was not my intention this time.

I was forced to do it in that situation.

Li,

what should I do with you?

No matter what,

I need to apologize to you.

You told me we would face the same end.

On one hand, I know you are responsible for the country,

and on the other, you care about my safety.

Right now, I'm willing to walk into this set-up of yours.

I'm not a liability. I want to help you.

Lady Jiang, Wen Ji insisted on having me tell you that as soon as Duke Su knew what happened,

he rushed here from the border, and left Zhao's envoy group behind.

I see.

He was still wearing the same outfit he wore when he left.

Your Highness, Lord Cheng asked me to send a message.

Shen Yurong's reputation is ruined.

If you save him now, you might dirty your hands.

You should kill him soon, and make it look like a suicide.

Just a little hiccup and he's panicking.

My brother is still so impatient.

Tell him to just focus on training his troops.

I'll manage things in the imperial court.

Yes.

Xue Fangfei, it's time for me to meet you.

How do you plan to deal with Shen Yurong?

That depends on what the Jiang family wants.

The Jiang family won't forgive him.

That suits me.

I want to see how Wanning will react.

Second Lady Jiang is a capable person.

Unfortunately, she is not a man.

Otherwise, she can contribute greatly to the imperial court.

Your Majesty, have you considered

that her life might be in danger if she keeps going down this path?

It was fine if you only urged her to approach Shen Yurong,

but you even got the Eldest Princess to add fuel to the fire later.

Have you considered

that she might not be able to handle the Eldest Princess's counterattack?

She's just a pawn. Why are you getting so concerned?

She was no longer a pawn a long time ago.

Xiao Heng.

You've fallen for her?

Yes.

I warned you not to get too attached.

Have you forgotten what kind of path we are walking on?

What if I say I must sacrifice her to achieve our ambitions?

Your Majesty, do you still remember when you had your first morning audience?

Why isn't His Majesty here yet?

He doesn't attend his first audience.

Can he become a good emperor?

Your Majesty!

Where are you, Your Majesty?

- Your Majesty! - He's not here.

- Let's go and look for him over there. - Let's go.

They are looking for you.

If I leave...

This bird will die. [Young Emperor Hongxiao]

It's your first morning audience.

If you are absent, they'll be confused.

Come on. Let me help you put it back on the tree.

I know.

They are not sincerely loyal to me.

I don't think I can navigate through all the plotting and trickery.

It's better to get someone capable to do it.

How do you know you are not capable if you don't try?

I wonder what Father saw in me.

Perhaps the late emperor saw your sincerity, and your love for every life in the world.

If you can remember this kindness and become a good emperor,

I believe Heaven will bless a good emperor.

As for me,

I'll accompany you forever.

That's not really a memory I want to remember.

I know Your Majesty has been facing great pressure recently.

Lord Cheng is waiting to strike and Wanning is ready to pounce.

Your Majesty shouldn't panic, and forget your initial intention.

No matter what, I'll always be by your side.

As long as you are still a good emperor,

the Xiao clan and I will swear our loyalty to you.

Protect your own pawn well.

In a few days, the Court of Judicial Review will try Shen Yurong.

Are you sure you don't want me to admit that I was the one who knocked him out?

If the testimony changes, it'll only cause doubts.

The important thing in this case is not who knocked Shen Yurong out

but Shen Yurong's act of rudeness towards me.

No matter how I think about it, it was because I was too reckless.

You did it for me.

You were helping me.

I wanted to thank you.

Yesterday, I asked the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

He said there are evidence and witnesses for this case.

Even if Shen Yurong is capable, he won't be able to silence everyone.

If he doesn't want to become a good official, you can have his reputation destroyed.

Don't you think it's scary?

I'm not Jiang Li and not your cousin.

I'm a woman with a tarnished reputation.

I am Shen Yurong's dead wife.

I lived on by replacing Jiang Li.

Right now, I even returned to the Jiang family to stir up trouble.

I don't think it's scary.

No matter who you are, you helped me and the Ye family.

The thick and thin we've been through is real.

When I truly understand what you went through,

I realized my understanding of you was so shallow in the past.

So, just do anything you want from now on.

Are you not going to ask me what I'm going to do?

I just want to tell you that no matter how far you go,

I'll always stand on your side.

Lady Jiang, the Eldest Princess has sent you an invitation.

[Jiang Li]

Is she planning something with this invitation?

During the trial of Xue Huaiyuan's case, the Eldest Princess had given Li a hard time.

Why would she invite Li to her residence at a time like this?

How did Li react?

She said she must go.

She said the Eldest Princess would not give up easily.

If she doesn't go this time,

the Eldest Princess will find a way to make her go another day.

She also said if the Eldest Princess wanted to harm her,

she would not have invited her with us everyone knowing.

Since she has decided to go, I will go with her.

I don't believe the Eldest Princess is so unscrupulous

to the point of harming Li before me.

[Princess Wanning's Residence]

Li,

don't be afraid. I'm here.

I'm sorry to trouble you to come here with me.

Second Lady Jiang, welcome.

Second Lady Jiang, the Eldest Princess only invited you.

You asked her to come here, but you didn't ask her to come alone.

Grand Chancellor, please don't make things difficult for me.

It's all right, Father.

Just wait for me at the entrance.

She can't do anything to me with you here.

I've wanted to ask you to teach me how to play the qin, Second Lady Jiang.

Unfortunately, I was confined.

Since we have this opportunity today, why don't you teach me a little?

Your Highness, I'm sure you didn't invite me

and leave my father outside to learn the qin from me.

Finding a confidant in life is difficult.

I want to see if I can play a beautiful tune with you, Second Lady Jiang.

Your Highness, you flattered me.

I'm not worthy of becoming a confidant of yours.

From Your Highness's music, I can only hear dominance,

cruelty, heartlessness, and endless hatred.

I don't think so.

Isn't this the essence of the tune, Spring Fading into White Pear Blossoms?

Didn't you also play your tune with hatred

so you could surprise everyone during the Entry Exam?

Your Highness, may I know why you have hatred?

As the Great Yan's eldest princess, you are loved by the people.

You have silk as your clothes and rice as your food.

Your Highness, isn't it pretentious for you to be talking about hatred?

Having good clothes and food. Having the people love me.

What do you know?

Should I go to Dai Country alone for the sake of the Great Yan's peace

and live a difficult life in an extremely cold place?

So?

Just because you live a difficult life, other people have to suffer as much as you do?

I was murdered.

I survived with my hatred,

but I never hurt innocent people, and killed other people's wives and family members

because of my selfishness.

It seems like you know many things, Second Lady Jiang.

You know so much as a rabbit, and you fell into the hole I dug.

Should I just kill you as well, and destroy all evidence?

You can't kill me.

Are you that confident?

If you kill me, how can you save Shen Yurong?

Do you know why I want to save Shen Yurong?

Shen Yurong played up to you for glory and wealth.

If he knows that you won't save him, he'll surely drag you down with him.

I'm not afraid of him dragging me down.

The whole imperial court has owed me too much.

The person on the throne can't kill me no matter what.

Your Highness, don't you think you are too arrogant?

This is called confidence.

It's the same for Shen Yurong too. He is confident and doesn't fear me.

I fancy him.

Eldest Princess, please stop.

Where is His Majesty?

His Majesty summoned a few scholars.

I'm afraid he's busy.

Fine.

Who is that man?

He is this year's Zhuangyuan, Shen Yurong.

His Majesty appointed him as an academician of the Hanlin Academy.

He will soon be in charge of compiling and revising the records.

♫ It's slightly cold, I look up and my gaze is like the warm sun ♫

Mr. Shen, why did you keep my handkerchief?

He was an interesting man back then.

Everyone avoided me or despised me in secret, but he treated me politely.

Eldest Princess, please keep it well.

Since you picked up my handkerchief, does it mean that there's fate between us?

I am married. Please don't say that, Eldest Princess.

♫ Wasted a life of wisdom ♫

♫ Yet not clearly seeing the beautiful scenery ♫

Back then, he only wanted to become a good official.

He was pure and innocent, which was very different from me.

He was too clean.

He was so pure to the point where I could imagine

the kind of pure woman who was beside her.

I was wondering if I wasn't sent to Dai Country,

I might also marry a good man, and live a normal life like you.

I think there's no difference between you and me.

If someone like me couldn't obtain such happiness, why would you deserve it?

I hated how unfairly fate treated me.

I wanted to drag Shen Yurong down, so we could be together.

What's the purpose?

Is Shen Yurong who has killed still the same as the young man who cherished your handkerchief?

As long as he is with me and you...

I no longer cared about him.

Both of you did so many ruthless things.

And you have got your payback.

Wanning, you can't save him.

You also can't live the life you want.

Who says I can't save him?

Are you planning to bribe everyone so they'll change their testimonies?

I don't believe you have control over the entire Great Yan.

I'm not that capable indeed.

Saving Shen Yurong doesn't require that many people either.

I just need one person to change the testimony.

Can't it be done if you tell the Court of Judicial Review

that it was a misunderstanding and you falsely accused Shen Yurong?

All right. I'll say that.

As you wish. Farewell.

My father is still waiting for me at the entrance.

What's the rush? You are already here.

Let me take you to see someone.

Someone you know very well.

♫ If there are no happy memories ♫

♫ How can we traverse the forbidden land of sorrow? ♫

♫ Two cold and unfeeling bodies ♫

♫ Holding hands, can we get through the snow season? ♫

♫ In the cold wind, in the long night ♫

♫ Embracing the remaining warmth ♫

♫ The depth of the sea, unfathomable ♫

♫ Can it bury yesterday's sighs? ♫

♫ Continue to love, cherishing it with my life ♫

♫ Continue to live, even with only a glimmer of hope ♫

♫ Whether in sorrow or joy, I believe in you ♫

♫ I'd rather be trapped in the world's extremes ♫

♫ Continue to live, exhausting all courage ♫

♫ Continue to love, until the breath runs out ♫

♫ Traversing half a lifetime of loneliness, just to meet you ♫

♫ After the hardships, never to part again ♫

♫ After the hardships, never to part again ♫