Original subtitles

[The Princess Royal]

[Adapted from Mo Shu Bai's novel, The Princess Royal on jjwxc.net]

[This is a work of fiction.]

[Episode 11]

Your Highness.

Miss Qin.

You're here so early.

Is something the matter, Your Highness?

Not at all.

I was taking a stroll,

and before I knew it, I found myself here.

So I thought I should visit you.

Jiulu Mountain and the capital

are at least an hour apart by horse.

A mere stroll cannot take you here.

I see dark circles around your eyes,

and your gait is weak.

You didn't sleep well at all.

Tell me. What's the matter?

None.

Did something happen to my brother by the border?

Not at all, Miss Qin.

Don't worry.

It's something more private.

The phoenix landed in the houses of noble.

And the flowers blossomed for four generations.

Your Highness, you are worried about the consort selection?

Are you overwhelmed by choices?

Quit mocking me.

I received an invitation missive several days ago.

It says Her Majesty will hold a banquet during the Qixi Festival,

where all noble maidens are invited.

Is this your concern?

Will you be there?

Far be it for me to defy a royal edict.

However, I do not want to.

While life in the palace might be harsh on a woman,

I believe

that someone is willing

to traverse the rocky path ahead

with you, Miss Qin.

Together, you overcome difficulties

and devote yourself to each other

like any ordinary couple does.

That only exists in novels.

In reality, life is long and humans are treacherous.

Women in the palace are like the flowers in four seasons.

One wilts as the other blooms. They get replaced often.

Who's to say the flower won't lose its charm?

Who's to say the man won't lose himself amidst the temptations.

Besides,

some flowers choose to live in the nature.

The sky and earth are their home, and they enjoy the freedom.

Your Highness, you are the Crown Prince.

You mustn't let romance distract you.

Come.

Let me see if your swordsmanship has improved.

How thrilling.

The banquet is near. You should head back, Your Highness.

Since you're attending it, Miss Qin,

why don't we travel together?

In this robe?

♪If the past was caught in the turbulent waves of the storm♪

How foolish of me.

You're a lady.

Of course, you'll want to dress up.

♪Memories flash back♪

See you.

♪I am that solitary boat♪

Your Highness.

♪Tossed about in the waves, unable to escape♪

Do you believe in those ideals from the novels?

♪Until a pair of hands♪

When there's a will, there's a way.

I love that.

I hope you

won't run away

when faced with challenges.

♪No need to imprison myself in longing♪

You have my words.

♪Eyes like flickering fireflies♪

♪Lighting up the misty sea tower♪

It's getting late.

You should go, Your Highness.

♪Allowing you and me to dock safely♪

See you at the palace.

See you.

♪In this long and arduous journey♪

♪I'm fortunate to have met you♪

Will you be different from those

♪It is your tenderness♪

who live in the palace?

[Innocence]

♪That makes me willing to set aside my pride♪

♪Even if the world falls into my grasp♪

What a great weather today.

Indeed.

We haven't seen such great weather in so long.

What a great day to celebrate the Qixi Festival.

Greetings, Your Highness.

At ease.

Thanks, Your Highness.

Ya and I were separated, and we haven't

seen each other for years.

I'd like to speak with her in private.

Will all of you mind?

Sure, Your Highness.

Your Highness.

I'm all ears.

I was worried

you'd become maladjusted

and start screaming.

I suppose I worried for nothing.

I appreciate your concerns, Your Highness.

You're so early today.

You too, Ya.

Have you listened to the song?

Yet you

still want to enter the palace?

You can lie to me

but not to yourself.

If you wish to know my stance,

I can tell you here

that I don't want to stand there

and compete with

other women

for the affection of one sole man on the throne.

Here presides Her Majesty.

Today is the Qixi Festival.

By right, you should celebrate it with your family.

However,

I like the merriment of a crowd,

so I invited all of you here.

Please have fun.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Worry not, Queen Mother.

Young maidens are fond of festivities.

It is our honor to be invited

by you, Your Majesty.

I have discussed with Her Majesty.

We will introduce a new game today,

a perfume-making contest.

Since it's a contest,

I'd like to suggest something, Your Majesty.

Pray tell.

The perfume concocted by the maidens here

will be submitted.

The top three

will be awarded. What do you think?

I am married.

If I participate in this,

the nature of the contest will change.

Its outcome cannot be used to select future consorts.

I beg to differ.

We're all attending this banquet.

How come they can concoct perfumes and win prizes

but I can't?

I want to join too.

Rong,

today is the Qixi Festival.

You're married.

You cannot join in.

Consort Rou proposed the contest,

which means that she must have persuaded Father

that the top three candidates

would be Chuan's primary and secondary consorts.

Mother is planning

to play along.

Everyone is participating in it.

I won't make that much of an addition, will I?

Miss Qin.

Do you not make perfumes?

It doesn't matter to me.

What a unique lady, you are.

It seems like

Qin Zhenzhen doesn't want to enter the palace at all.

What a contented lady.

The banquet

is attended by important ministers and young officials.

Forsake the formalities.

Let's assess the perfume

and share ideas and insights

about governance.

Feel free to speak your mind.

Your Majesty,

a nation only has a future

if it has an heir.

The Crown Prince is old enough

to select his consort.

Official Xie is right.

I've been thinking about this too.

Any suitable candidates?

Feel free to suggest anyone.

What is Her Majesty's plan?

Winner of the perfume-making contest will be the Crown Prince Consort.

Don't worry.

Her Highness will help you.

I appreciate that.

Your Highness.

Official Shangguan.

You grew up under my nose.

Please know

that no matter what,

your mother and I mean you well.

I believe you know who to pick today.

Consort Rou wants Xiao Wei to win.

Queen Mother wants Shangguan Ya to win.

[Three] This chest

contains the numbers of the perfume pouches, and their owners.

If I were Consort Rou...

Time's up.

Miss Qin,

my jade pendant fell on your seat.

Can you get it for me?

[Eight]

Why did you swap our perfume pouches?

You said you didn't care about the result.

You don't mind

saving a life here, do you?

Uhm...

Miss Qin, what perfume is that?

It smells so unique.

Don't worry. I'm not trying to harm you.

You shouldn't take my pouch.

Will you believe me

if I say I don't want to fight the same women

for a man?

But the perfume you made...

Don't worry.

My perfume will not be under my name.

Your perfume will not be under your name.

Okay. I trust you.

[Six]

Father doesn't care who Chuan marries

as long as it's not someone from a prestigious family

like Shangguan Ya or Su Rongwen.

He will mandate the marriage

if Chuan picks a woman

from a less prestigious family.

Qin Zhenzhen is the best candidate.

[Sandalwood Perfume Pouch Three] No, I have to stop this.

Send this to the consort.

Tell him to ask the Crown Prince to pick my perfume pouch.

She insisted on participating in the contest.

I knew it was odd.

Li Rong, you are shrewd.

The banquet is not over.

Where are you going, Miss Jinglan?

Pingyue.

You know your brother very well.

Whose perfume do you think he will choose?

Turn around.

Lift it.

[Eight]

[Five]

Since it's a banquet for the young,

in my opinion, to select the winner,

we should remove their names

and replace them with numbers.

The Crown Prince will select the winner of the contest.

The runners-up

will be chosen by everyone here. What do you think?

[Nine]

This soothing perfume pouch has a very elegant scent.

How remarkable.

What do you think, Your Highness?

[Six]

I wonder who made Pouch Six.

She mixed lilies and roseleaf raspberries.

It's fragrant and calming.

This must be one of the winners.

I might even hazard a proposal

that its owner

must be the winner.

Watch your mouth, Ronghua.

Ronghua, just write your opinion on the paper.

His Highness will decide the winner.

Worry not.

We can all express and exchange our opinions.

Chuan,

who do you think should be the winner?

Ya will make a lily perfume pouch tomorrow.

She will mix lily flowers with roseleaf raspberry wine.

Upon mixing it, the floral scent will invade your nose.

Remember now.

She must be the Crown Prince Consort.

All perfume pouches

are unique in their own right.

Why haven't I heard anything from Li Rong?

Did something bad happen?

[Sandalwood]

[Three]

White sandalwood?

This must be Li Rong.

It's been so many years,

and she never forgets it.

I knew she would do something

for the consort selection.

F-Father.

I...

I...

I'd select

Three.

[Eight] Third place, Pouch Eight.

[Shangguan Ya] Soothing perfume by Shangguan Ya.

Second place, Pouch Six.

[Qin Zhenzhen] Lily perfume by Qin Zhenzhen.

Miss Qin made the lily perfume?

First place, Pouch Three.

[Li Rong] Princess Pingyue, Li Rong.

Where is Pingyue in there?

Father, while Rong wasn't good at perfume-making,

she has done an excellent job this time.

I hope that you can discard

your prejudice against her.

You're right, Chuan.

I shouldn't doubt her.

She should be awarded.

Bring them here.

Pingyue won?

Mother,

I should claim my award from Father.

How can this be, Mother?

Xiao Wei is not within the top three.

My goal

is to show His Majesty through this banquet

who is coveting the Crown Prince Consort position.

They all show themselves now.

Please wait here, Your Highness.

Do you know she replaced your pouch with hers?

Yes.

You didn't tell anyone?

No.

Why not?

My perfume pouch is empty.

If she wants to harm me,

I can prove that the pouch is not mine.

She said

she didn't want to fight other women for one man.

I am of the same opinion too.

You're lucky today

because you met me.

If it weren't for you, Miss Shangguan,

I might not have lent assistance at all.

Why are you so certain that she didn't lie?

Father told me

that to ascertain if someone was telling the truth,

it sufficed to look into her eyes.

What about me?

You are a kind person, Your Highness.

You're wrong.

Her Highness

is a cunning person.

Insolence.

You've seen the worst of me.

What more is there for me to be afraid of?

If you like, Your Highness,

let's hang out at the poetry society one day.

Sure.

We should bring some taels with us

to gamble.

We're in the palace.

Don't make me look bad.

Gamble what?

Your Highness, follow me.

Greetings, Father.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

At ease.

- Thanks, Your Majesty. - Thanks, Father.

I was of the impression that you were bad

at making perfumes.

Somehow, you impressed everyone today.

It's all thanks to the prince consort.

He taught me

the recipe.

I knew it.

I know perfectly well

what Rong is capable of.

I have heard of Ya's talent,

but Miss Qin here

is a new face.

Come closer.

Let me take a look.

I need to know the face of the lady

who concocted such a perfume.

Yes, Your Majesty.

What defiant, heroic features.

Is Father mandating the marriage now?

Zhenzhen is never interested in perfume-making.

Why is she here?

She doesn't admit it

but her intense gaze says it all.

Whether it's for Pei Wenxuan

or Chuan,

I have to stop this.

Your Majesty,

the ladies must be tired from standing this long.

Perhaps you should award them

so they can get some rest.

Rongqing!

You're right, Official Su.

Award them.

Chuan,

help me

award them.

Yes, Father.

Rong.

Thank you.

Congratulations, Miss Qin.

Thank you, Your Highness.

Thank you, Your Highness.

Congratulations.

I am tired now.

You young ones should have fun.

I owe my father an explanation

so I must go now.

What about you, Your Highness?

I'm waiting for Pei Wenxuan.

Like I said previously,

you two are close.

Go back and face your father's wrath already.

By your leave, Your Highness.

Miss Qin, can we talk?

Shangguan Ya took your pouch

so that you can become

the Crown Prince Consort in her stead.

I helped you at someone's behest.

Pei Wenxuan and I do not love each other.

We agreed

to divorce each other once we freed ourselves

from these impositions.

The palace is a chaotic place.

If you decide to stay here,

you have to be cautious.

Farewell.

Your Highness.

Mr. Su.

Your Highness.

Thank you so much for today.

Whatever for?

For your timely intervention just now.

Never mind.

Thank you.

Let's go.

Let's go.

I must go now.

Miss Qin.

Your Highness, we're at the palace.

You can risk it but I cannot afford the risk.

I just want to tell you

that I like the perfume you made.

It makes me happy.

I don't like it.

Why not?

I don't like the perfume

or the palace.

Someone swapped her pouch with mine.

That was how I won.

Do not have the wrong idea.

Please write to me in time

if you have news of my brother.

You thanked Su Rongqing today

because Qin Zhenzhen went to see His Majesty?

Yes.

I can't believe Su Rongqing

can read my mind already.

We won today.

You must be very happy, Your Highness.

Aren't you the same, Mr. Pei?

Other than when you bully me,

I do feel upset too.

Tell me.

What do you plan to do after our divorce?

Why do you ask?

Qin Zhenzhen's death

must have filled you with regrets.

I know you still love her.

She died very early,

so you felt indebted to her.

For her sake, you must work harder

in this life.

Work harder on what?

Qin Zhenzhen is old enough to get married.

If all goes well, it takes us three years to get the divorce.

If you don't make a vow with her now,

she might give her heart away.

I came clean to her today.

I told her I helped her because of you,

and that we would get a divorce later.

You grew up with her.

Hang out with her more.

And once you two settle down in the relationship,

I'll ask Qin Lin to send her to the North.

Once everything's done and we get the divorce,

I'll mandate the marriage between you two.

What do you think?

Why the silence?

You think she'll be miserable

in the North?

If you have any issues,

you can tell me.

What's there to complain about?

What else can I add?

You planned everything.

Everyone has

a clear role to play.

What else do you want me to say?

Halt.

Your Highness, what happened to the Prince Consort?

Who knows?

Have someone follow him

in case he gets into trouble.

Yes, Your Highness.

What is wrong with him?

Let's go home.

Resume.

This isn't fair.

Stop.

Stop.

Stop!

What now?

Li Rong, I'm telling you now.

From now on,

before you ask me to do something,

you have to ask for my consent.

What kind of person do you think I am?

What do you think I want?

What do you think I should do?

You need to consult me first.

So you're confronting me.

Sure.

Tell me.

What is the misunderstanding

that upsets you so?

I do not like Qin Zhenzhen.

I know

you're still stung

by her rejection.

It's been many years,

so perhaps you don't love her like you did.

However...

Stop.

Whether in the past or present,

I never like Qin Zhenzhen.

I do not miss her.

I do not care about her.

Everyone tells me

that she's meant to be my wife,

that I have to treat her well.

Therefore, I...

I assume I must like her.

Until I met someone.

When she's sad,

I become nervous.

When she smiles,

it feels like winter doesn't exist.

If she fancies a hairpin,

I'll make sure I remember what it's like.

If the weather changes,

I'll be worried if she is soaked under the rain.

If she goes away for a few days,

I'll pine for her.

I want to write her a missive every day.

I will wonder

how many kids we should have.

I will wonder

if we can spend the rest of our lives together.

Li Rong,

I do not have any regrets toward Qin Zhenzhen.

My regret, if anything,

is you.

I loved

and lost

Li Rong.

I know you used to love me.

But...

You don't like Qin Zhenzhen?

Because you never tried to understand what I want.

Once you make up your mind,

no one can persuade you otherwise.

Shangguan Ya is meek and obedient,

yet you never discern her duplicity.

Su Rongqing's family was murdered,

yet you never discern his thirst for revenge.

Li Chuan lost his father and wife,

yet you never discern his heartbreak.

What about me?

Li Rong,

I loved you.

And I lost you.

Can you see now

what I want?

What I desire?

I will

think about it.

It's raining heavily. Come back in.

You could have scolded me,

given me your advice,

loved me, hated me,

or...

But it shouldn't have been this way.

You shouldn't have been indifferent toward me.

You should go back.

I'll return to the bureau.

Why are you doing this?

Why am I doing this?

When faced with anything,

you keep emotions to yourself.

You believe your rationality

provides a solution for everything.

But remember this, Li Rong.

Behind power is a human being.

If you cannot empathize with a human being,

your pursuits

will be in vain.

I'm tired.

Let's live separately now.

Your Highness!

Let's go back.

Let's go.

What a jerk.

He gets emotional and he starts saying hurtful things.

Behind power is a human being.

If you cannot empathize with a human being,

your pursuits

will be in vain.

Fine.

If you're that upset,

let's not stay together anymore.

Why did I say I didn't want us to be together?

You mean it.

I was just telling you that...

♪Falling into the whirlpool of dream♪

Li Rong, I'm tired.

I don't want to argue with you anymore.

♪I forgot to lock both our memories♪

From now on,

I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore.

We'll

go our own ways, all right?

♪The journey might be windy♪

Take care.

♪You whisper into my ears♪

♪Why don't we risk it all again?♪

♪Forget about the world♪

♪Flowers blossom and wilt, even if it's futile♪

♪We must be brave enough to love♪

♪To take the risk, to make the decision♪

♪To break through♪

♪In the shower of petals, and the stars twinkle♪

Your Highness!

♪Make the decision to love you to the moon and back♪

♪Don't be afraid of changes, there's no escaping destiny♪

♪The dream from the previous life is fading♪

Pei Wenxuan.

♪What is the right choice in this life?♪

Sorry.

I should have asked you

before I made a decision

for you and Qin Zhenzhen.

But I truly meant well.

Back then, I asked

what she was to you.

You said you were worried about her.

I thought

you not only loved me,

but also her.

I did not want a relationship like that

so I quit.

Qin Zhenzhen does not like the palace.

I thought you still loved her,

and that as long as she was with you,

you two could lead a peaceful life.

Then, you wouldn't have any regrets.

That was the best solution

I could come up with.

Also,

power isn't all I care about.

If someone treats me with kindness,

I want to return the same favor.

I'm not using you to solve Chuan's predicament.

I did care about you.

Besides,

didn't you decide that I should

be together with Su Rongqing too?

Li Rong.

I match-made Su Rongqing and you

so that you could face your heart.

You never tell me the truth.

You bury your emotions under rationality.

I'm always left with confusion.

I'm sorry.

I'm so used to my way.

Li Rong.

I know what I want.

Do you?

Do you know what you want?

Do you understand what I said

to you today?

Yes.

Are you happy?

I'm glad.

But...

Pei Wenxuan,

those were in the past.

I do not know

how to answer you now.

It was my regret back then,

and it was yours too.

You can be rational but you're still a mortal.

Mortals have emotions.

There's nothing wrong about it.

If back then, we

had told each other

about our feelings,

perhaps

we would have had a better ending.

Let's go home.

♪Who gazes at the sky from afar?♪

♪Who gazes at the sky from afar?♪

♪In the night's chill breeze♪

♪What is she singing for?♪

♪The wind caresses the hills♪

♪The wind causes ripples on calm water♪

♪Moonlight graces passing souls♪

♪Her steps get slower and slower♪

♪She's trod a lengthy path♪

♪Memories lost then found♪

♪Gazing idly as clouds roll by♪

♪She holds a red candle♪

♪To brave the thick fog♪

♪Life can be bitter sometimes♪

♪Experience it with grace♪

♪Like a fleeting dream♪

♪Like a fleeting dream♪

♪Neither warmth nor cold will last♪

♪Like a fleeting dream♪

♪Like a fleeting dream♪

♪The moon is reflected in her eyes♪

♪In her gaze, the unwavering faith remains♪