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 27]

Su Rongqing.

Hand over Hongde's son now.

Your Majesty, I'm wronged.

I don't know where you heard this from.

Why don't you summon him here

so I can confront him directly?

Confront him?

For what?

Hongde had already identified you.

As soon as the Remonstration Office received his testimony,

it was burned.

I summoned him to come as a witness,

yet he died on the way here,

which was confirmed as suicide.

If it weren't because someone's threatening him with his son,

why would he kill himself?

Now that we're investigating the child's whereabouts,

you're involved in this as well.

If it happened only once, it may be called a coincidence.

But there are two or three in a row. How can they be called coincidences?

Your Majesty, you are correct.

I also believe that this is not a coincidence

and someone's trying to frame me.

Your Majesty, I hope you will investigate the truth.

Very well.

I will investigate it now.

Someone.

Take Su Rongqing away

and put him in prison.

Your Majesty,

Su Ronghua, the Deputy Supervisor of the Inspectorate Office,

requests an audience.

Summon him in.

Greetings, Your Majesty.

You may rise.

I dare not, Your Majesty.

Oh, no! He's here to take the blame.

Father...

Your Majesty, I hope we can talk alone.

The rest of you can leave now.

What? Are you disregarding my command?

Yes, Father.

I'll take my leave.

They say you're very close to your brother.

I finally get to see that with my own eyes today.

Don't you feel guilty at all?

Your Highness.

Sometimes, we can't afford to feel guilty.

Some people tread on the path of despair.

So all they can do is to forge on

without being overcautious and indecisive.

I used to believe

people were moving forward because they were forced to do so.

But I've come to realize

that we create our own paths.

If you don't move forward,

you will never know what kind of road lies ahead.

What if...

ahead of you is a cliff?

That depends on whether you're willing

to risk your life.

Then, are you willing to risk your life

to continue on your path?

Perhaps.

I'm just taking one step at a time.

Please,

pass this memorial to His Majesty.

Yes.

You weren't like this in the past.

Well...

People change.

You took action against me first.

Sorry.

I had no choice.

But you have to believe me.

I would never

hurt you.

Your Highness, I noticed that it's raining heavily,

so I came to take you home.

Mr. Su.

Good to meet you here.

This is more than just a meeting.

Mr. Pei, long time no see.

Your Majesty, please let me explain.

It was I who abused my position as Prince Su's former tutor

to instigate Consort Rou

into framing the Crown Prince and Princess Pingyue.

You scoundrel!

Do you think I don't know if you are this capable?

Your actions

only prove that Su Rongqing must be involved in this.

Your Majesty, you may not know

that while I seem uninterested in politics,

I am actually envious of my younger brother.

That's why I tried to rope Consort Rou in

so that I could gain a position in the imperial court.

So I can prove my worth as the eldest son of the Su Family.

This is outrageous!

Your Majesty.

It was me who abducted Hongde's son.

On account of my family's loyalty

and my service as Prince Su's former tutor,

I hope my merits can atone for my wrongdoings.

Please spare me.

So, this is the kind of tutor I got for Prince Su.

Since it was you,

why didn't you say so earlier?

Please forgive me.

Let me ask you this again.

Was it you or Su Rongqing?

It was me.

I dared not admit it,

but I couldn't bear to see my brother be wronged,

so I had no choice but to admit my guilt.

I hope you'll forgive me, Your Majesty.

Then, why did Hongde testify against your brother in his testimony?

I didn't show my face when I met Hongde.

Perhaps Hongde saw something else

and guessed that it was the Su Family.

In Huajing,

my brother is more famous than I am.

Perhaps Hongde guessed the wrong person.

Since he guessed the wrong person,

why did you set fire to the Remonstration Office

and even commit murder?

What were you thinking?

Your Majesty, about the fire at the Remonstration Office,

I don't know what happened.

As for Hongde's death, it was a misunderstanding.

I did tell Hongde

that if anything happened, he must never sell me out.

But I don't know

why he would kill himself on the way here.

Your Majesty.

I was so stupid and made a mistake.

As Prince Su's former tutor,

I wanted the best

for Prince Su and Consort Rou.

Even though you later

appointed my brother to teach Prince Su,

I'm the only one who truly cares about Prince Su.

Princess Pingyue is the Supervisor of the Inspectorate Office.

She is in a high position and powerful.

She's also the Crown Prince's sister.

They're inseparable.

This was what Consort Rou worried about.

That's why I came up with this plan.

Both you and Consort Rou are imbeciles.

Why did I empower Pingyue?

Without her,

would your family dare take on a powerful noble family

like the Shangguan Family?

They would muster the entire clan's strength to support the Crown Prince.

Can you?

Pingyue has been fighting against the noble families for power.

Whether it is genuine or not,

it's true that the position once held by the Shangguan Family is vacated,

and I can appoint my own people

to replace the noble families.

This is the result.

Why was she so worried?

She may be worried,

but why are you worried too?

Is this how you're helping her?

Your Majesty, I have realized my mistake.

I was too near-sighted

to understand your intentions.

Please forgive me, Your Majesty.

Forget it.

I think that you are not suited

to remain in the imperial court.

Leave now.

Thank you for sparing me, Your Majesty.

You shouldn't have come.

What would you do if I didn't come?

Rongqing.

I don't know what you're up to,

but don't forget

that I'm your elder brother.

You're not on this path alone.

But there are some paths

that are destined to be trod alone.

When I reach the end,

if I die there

and if you would,

I hope you'll collect my dead body.

Rongqing, what nonsense is that?

Ronghua.

Can you promise me something?

Stay out of my business.

I hope what happened today won't happen again.

I will walk alone on my own path.

I will bear

my own sins.

Ronghua.

If you want the best for me...

just mind your own business.

As for the rest,

leave them to me.

Ronghua, go home now.

You should grab a drink with Shangguan Ya.

When the time is right,

you should propose to her.

Mr. Su, you need to leave the palace now.

[Zhengwu Gate] Mr. Su.

You didn't get flogged?

Congratulations.

Are you here to laugh at my misfortune?

I thought you've finished your act.

And His Majesty didn't punish you.

So, you're here to pick me up

because you care about me?

You're wrong.

I don't really care much about other people.

It's fine.

I'm good at this.

I can teach you.

To be honest,

I brought some liquor.

Are you interested in joining me

to go up the mountain to watch the sunrise?

Watch the sunrise?

Why? You're not interested?

No.

Of course, I'm interested.

Besides,

how could I bear to let you

go up the mountain alone

without any company?

I didn't realize before

that you were good at saying sweet words.

Let's go.

Your Majesty,

I know you don't trust anyone now.

Since you don't,

why don't you give it a try?

Give what a try?

Try to test...

all the doubts you have in mind.

What is it?

You've been thinking hard about something.

You feel bad for him?

What do you mean?

Seriously?

Why would I feel bad?

I was just thinking

that everyone is doing fine now,

so why is the past repeating itself?

What went wrong?

Your Highness.

Only saints can remain pure in a tainted world.

Most people like you and me

are just ordinary mortals.

Have you committed any evil then?

I am but an ordinary human.

But when I had any evil thoughts,

I would think about you.

For some reason,

even when I hated you the most,

I didn't want you to look down on me.

Why?

When we first met,

you were such a wonderful person in my eyes.

I want to be the light in your eyes,

not a dark shadow.

Your Highness, actually...

It's fine.

As long as you can keep your conscience clear,

I will support you.

In fact, I was feeling apprehensive

about the whole thing concerning Hongde today.

But you wanted me to confront Su Rongqing,

so I did as you said.

That's because I knew you'd plan everything out.

Because you were there,

I felt safe.

Pei Wenxuan.

I can accept both good and evil.

But I'm happy that you can fulfill

my anticipations that are almost

like a dream to achieve.

Let's go back. I'm tired.

All right.

[Mingyue Palace]

Mother,

I'm afraid Hongde's case will implicate us.

I share your concerns.

But as long as your uncle remains stationed at the borders,

we still have hope.

Your Highnesses.

Your Highness, Second Young Master Su sent a message

saying that you and Prince Su

can pin all the blame

on First Young Master Su.

He still doesn't know His Majesty that well.

His Majesty does not want to see anyone shifting blame.

Everyone.

Do you have any objections to this year's list

of staff mobilizations in the court?

Your Majesty.

What are your thoughts?

Your Majesty.

I have little talent and learning and am inexperienced.

I've found it tough to fulfill my duties as a minister.

Therefore, I implore you to select another official to replace me.

What is he up to this time?

Who else would take over his position?

Since Official Su is resigning voluntarily,

I shall not force him to stay.

How about this?

We'll vacate the position of the Minister of Justice for now

and the vice ministers shall run the ministry.

If there are any crucial decisions to be made,

you may report directly to me.

Report directly?

That means His Majesty is taking over the Ministry of Justice

and going over the Department of State Affairs' head!

What do you think, Official Su?

Wise decision, Your Majesty.

Does anyone else have other opinions?

As for the rebuilding of the Remonstration Office,

the Ministry of Rites should expedite the project.

Before the Remonstration Office is rebuilt,

we need to keep this imperial court running.

After some thought, I have decided

to build a grand secretariat

to temporarily replace the Remonstration Office

so that officials can review and sort the memorials in there

to share my burdens.

Pei Liming.

Su Minzhi.

Shangguan Xu.

I will need the three of you

to spare some time every day

to review and sort the memorials.

If you are busy with your regular work,

you may inform me beforehand,

and I will find another arrangement.

- Yes, Your Majesty. - Yes, Your Majesty.

The three of them represent different power factions

in the current imperial court.

I guess that's fair.

However, the three of them are burdened with their regular duties,

so other than them,

I hope to select a few more officials for this task.

I have not decided who to select yet.

We'll discuss this later.

Those three people are not the crucial part of Father's plan.

It's the people that will be appointed later.

A remonstration office that can be monitored by Pei Wenxuan

is not better than a grand secretariat that will benefit Prince Su's future.

I know I have committed a stupid act

and brought much disaster

by letting someone take advantage of me.

To silence others,

I am willing to be demoted.

You're not that stupid.

At least you've realized your mistake.

Forget about the demotion.

Why are you crying if you've realized your mistake?

I know that you may

chastise me for saying this,

but my feminine intuition tells me

that Pei Wenxuan and Pingyue

are still deeply in love.

Therefore, my guess

is that they're scheming something together.

Pei Wenxuan claims to be on your side,

but I believe that he's overtly agreeing but covertly opposing.

The Prince Consort is handsome and has high moral qualities.

Princess Pingyue is beautiful and gorgeous.

Despite being a perfect match, their marriage has come to an end.

Due to their conflicting personalities,

their marriage is impossible to sustain.

Therefore, I have approved Pei Wenxuan's request

for an amicable divorce.

Mr. Pei, please receive the decree.

I accept your decree. Thank you, Your Majesty.

I shall return now.

Take care, Eunuch Fu.

Take care, Eunuch Fu.

Young Master, you must be feeling smug.

You're too ahead of yourself.

You've lost Her Highness just like that.

This is so vexing.

That's it?

Yes, Your Highness.

You haven't lost any of your wealth or power.

You've only lost me.

All you know is venting your anger on me.

Must you leave in such a rush?

You...

I...

The Prince Consort is so heartless.

He wouldn't even stay a second longer.

He's leaving overnight.

What a cold-blooded man.

Young Master, you must think it over.

If you leave now...

Pei Wenxuan!

Don't go!

Your Highness!

You...

Look at her...

What are you doing?

Do you hate me that much?

Don't go.

I'll ask my father

to cancel the divorce.

No need.

I don't deserve to be your consort.

Don't even harbor that thought.

Young Master, how could you say that?

Her Highness has treated you so well.

She's never let you down.

I've been so nice to you!

How have I let you down? Tell me!

She's even crying. I feel so sad for her.

Exactly.

Her Highness may have

a foul temper...

What did you say?

What's wrong with her temper?

Let's not talk about that now.

Well...

If you leave now,

you can never return anymore.

That's enough. Are you leaving with me?

Pei Wenxuan, don't go.

You...

Well?

You...

You...

I need to go.

Pei Wenxuan!

He...

Go! All of you, leave!

Out of sight, out of mind! Leave now!

Leave!

Pei Wenxuan!

Let them go! Don't let them come back!

We sing while drinking...

The life is short.

We hold hands and watch the light of the early morning sun...

As if the immortals have appeared in front of us!

Look!

The sun is out.

Come on!

How beautiful.

Ya.

Tell me the truth.

Why did you come to keep me company?

Su Ronghua.

Congratulations on leaving the dark and embracing the light.

You are the light in my heart.

Since the first day I met you...

you've always been my light.

Mr. Su.

Are you confessing your love for me?

You'd better be careful.

I'm going to pursue you as much as I please.

You'll have to work hard

if you want to hold my hands like this forever.

I won't let you go.

Since you have nothing to report,

the morning audience is dismissed.

- Take care, Your Majesty. - Take care, Your Majesty.

Your Highness.

I have a prescription passed down by my family

that can reduce swelling.

I've tested that it's effective.

Thank you, Mr. Cui.

Rongqing.

Let's go home.

Look into these people.

If they refuse to confess,

just arrest them.

Yes, Your Highness.

Greetings, Your Highness and Miss Shangguan.

Your Highness, I'll be off to work.

Give me your resignation letter.

Your Highness, you knew what I would do?

I'm not that dumb.

This is good for you, though.

If you continue working in officialdom,

no one knows

how you will end up.

I shall not see you out.

Let's meet again another day.

Thank you, Your Highness.

Your Highness.

Rongqing may have gone astray lately,

but he means no harm towards you.

I hope you will not hold a grudge against him.

I keep my work and personal life separate.

Wise words, Your Highness.

Your Majesty.

Consort Rou is waiting outside with a bowl of soothing soup.

Let her in.

Your Majesty.

I made some soothing soup for you.

Please drink it.

Why are you still kneeling?

You may rise.

I am punishing myself.

I admit I was tricked by someone else.

I need to remember this lesson.

I'm glad to hear that.

Your Majesty, you may have forgiven me,

but I cannot forgive myself.

I know that I have little talent and learning,

but I am loyal to you.

I can also be a sword at your disposal

and I'm definitely more obedient than Pei Wenxuan.

Wherever your sword points,

that's where I'll go.

Bring the soup here.

Fulai.

No need for that.

[Princess's Mansion]

Your Highness, here's another freshly boiled egg.

Let me replace that one with this.

All right. Roll the egg on this side.

It's hot.

It was so embarrassing at the court today.

My heavenly beauty

has been ruined by Pei Wenxuan.

Exactly.

It's all that scoundrel's fault.

When did you come here?

Rong.

I...

If there's something, just say it.

If not, just leave.

This is not a good time to meet.

Rong.

It's not like I didn't see

how you looked in the morning.

See,

you look better than you were in the morning.

Really?

Yes.

Just roll your face with the egg a while more

and you'll be fine tomorrow.

Say it. What brings you here?

Given my understanding of Pei Wenxuan,

he's already planned everything out.

At worst,

you can remarry him later.

I know you fancy him.

Otherwise, given your temperament,

you wouldn't have

run across the whole street just to stop his carriage.

But seriously, Rong,

your stamina must be great.

Wait.

Who ran across the whole street to stop his carriage?

You.

It's the talk of the town now.

Everyone in Huajing knows.

If I must say,

an amicable divorce is better than both of you getting into danger.

So, don't be too upset.

Who said I'm upset?

I'm absolutely delighted.

I feel fantastic now.

Delighted?

Why were your eyes swollen from crying then?

Want to hear the truth?

Your Highness,

here's some chili powder from the Shu area.

They're bound to make your eyes become swollen.

I haven't had any of it,

yet I feel my eyes are getting swollen.

I see. That's a relief.

All right,

get to the point.

If you have spare time,

I need you to gather some information.

About what?

Check whether the chief examiner

for the imperial examination is selected.

It probably has been decided.

But it shouldn't have been this soon.

It's so weird this year.

Minister Wang said

that this year's examination is particularly important,

and he even requested directly to Father

that he wants to be the chief examiner.

A minister volunteering to be a chief examiner?

Who would dare go over him?

So, even though it's not formally decided yet,

the result is almost certain.

Rong, stop thinking about Pei Wenxuan.

Out with the old, in with the new!

I'll bring you out someday.

If you see anyone you fancy...

That's enough.

Stop sticking your nose into my business.

What about you?

What about your marriage?

Me? I don't care anymore.

They can choose whomever they want.

Guess what happened?

Father and Mother secretly decided

to put this off for now.

No more consort selection?

No more.

Your Majesty, Her Majesty is here.

Don't you want to know why I'm here?

To speak up for Pingyue?

No. Since the focus of all our problems

is on the future Crown Princess,

we shouldn't be in this stalemate any longer.

Besides, the Shangguan Family

has already given up on the consort selection.

Given up?

On what condition?

Chuan must not marry anyone related to Consort Rou.

Sure, I promise you this.

How very decisive of you.

No matter how inadequate I find the Crown Prince to be,

I still hope

that he can marry someone worthy of him.

Very well.

I'll take my leave.

[Su's Mansion]

Young Master.

Why do you seem upset?

Other than the First Young Master's involvement,

everything is going

as you planned, isn't it?

Xiao Rou was stupid enough

to antagonize us.

You mean...

My initial plan

was to kick Pei Wenxuan out of officialdom

so that he could just be the Prince Consort.

My aim was to reduce

the Princess's Mansion's and the Inspectorate Office's expenditure,

but she...

made the Princess get a divorce.

By reducing the Princess's Mansion's expenditure,

you want to prevent the Princess

from gaining too much control over the military?

Your Highness, we have received letters from the Northwest and Southwest.

Tell me the details.

There is no direct confrontation in the Northwest now.

The enemy only

strikes a particular city once in a while

and flees immediately.

Qin Lin has been sent to the front lines to guard the cities alone.

He has recruited the commoner people from the cities

whose food was taken by the enemy.

Together with his direct associates,

he has almost ten thousand people under his command.

But now, their biggest problem is funding.

He is requesting your help to gather more funds

as the growth of the military has hit a bottleneck.

Funds again.

And the Southwest?

There have been

several large-scale battles.

Lin Feibai has been rising through the ranks quickly,

but there are problems all the same.

He needs money to bribe his superiors

for his promotion.

Is there anything else not related to money issues?

And the divorce?

How's the investigation going?

We have discovered

that Su Rongqing

had a secret conversation with His Majesty.

His Majesty then issued a decree

to reduce the Inspectorate Office's expenditure

and make Qingzhou submit half of its tax revenue to the court

to support the military in the North.

Then, who made His Majesty

change his mind?

Consort Rou.

Xiao Rou is improvident, after all.

Only Su Rongqing knows

the Princess's weakness.

Well.

Go and talk to Cui Yulang

and ask him

if he still wants to proceed

with his earlier proposal he mentioned to me.

Yes, Your Highness.

The roses bloom amid the termites' nest.

They ask where you come from...

What are you doing here, sir?

Have I done something wrong

and you're here to take me to the Inspectorate Office?

Her Highness wanted me to ask you

whether you want to proceed

with the earlier proposal you mentioned to her.

Princess Pingyue?

Mr. Cui.

Then, please ask her this on my behalf.

If I agree to do as she says,

would she keep me safe?

Anything else you want to ask her?

One more thing.

Once the plan succeeds,

is she willing to help me investigate the case

and uphold justice for my friend?

Anything else?

If Her Highness agrees to all that,

just give me the word.

I'll have my day off in three days.

I will reserve a private room on the top floor of Deshun Inn

and wait for Her Highness.

By the way, before that,

tell Her Highness not to let the Prince Consort know about this.

Compared to the Prince Consort, I am just nothing.

I hope Her Highness can show some care to me.

Care?

Cui Yulang is unbelievable.

Why did he mention the Prince Consort for no reason?

He even wants you to show some care to him?

He's crazy.

Why would I go wherever he says?

Tell him

to wait for me at Qingyue Teahouse three days later.

All right, I got it.

I must say

Her Highness knows how to have fun.

Her Highness also mentioned something else.

What is it?

Tell him

not to harbor any wild thoughts.

Act decently.

I have no interest in him.

[Wenxuan's Abode]

Tong Ye.

What is it, Young Master?

Go to the Princess's Mansion

and ask Jinglan and the others

if the Princess has any plans on her day off.

Report to me afterward.

Young Master,

you shouldn't have...

I will gather the information you need!

Your Highness, Mr. Tong said the Prince Consort wants to meet you.

But I'm meeting Cui Yulang.

What should we do?

How about this?

Send someone to tell him

that I have something to do out of the city today

and that I'll meet him next time.

Tell him it's official business

and don't make a big deal out of it.

What business could she have on her day off?

They didn't tell me that.

Young Master,

why don't you rest up at home today?

No way.

My intuition tells me something is fishy.

Your Highness, we're being followed.

Let's change the location.

Send someone to tell Cui Yulang

to wait for me at Luwei Pavilion.

Find a place to stop later

so we can all get some rest.

Yes, Your Highness.

All right.

Given Li Rong's usual tactics,

that carriage must be empty.

Wait for me here.

[Qingmei Post]

I'll go inside alone.

Yes, Your Highness.

Your Highness.

How much more flamboyant can you be?

She's here to meet Cui Yulang?

I should have killed him with my sword that day.

♪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♪