Original subtitles

Episode 8

Lord, although I'm just a woman

I know that

a person has only one life.

Even if I have evil intentions

I won't risk my life.

What do you mean?

You brought the physician with you today.

Wasn't it just to check

if my injury was real?

I know that you're prejudiced against me.

But Physician Wu also said that

this arrow could've killed me.

Because I'm so afraid of pain

I resort to using fragrance to relieve it.

Do you still think that I don't fear death?

At the ancestral worship

I don't know what I did

to raise your suspicion

but I value the safety of Master

more than my own life.

Isn't that enough to prove my sincerity?

I made a slip of the tongue.

Lord. Mistress.

Master's maid, Mu Yao, is here.

Are you the guqin player from that day?

Yes, Lord. That was me.

Master heard that you have come to visit

so he sent me to invite you over.

Take a good rest.

I shan't bother you.

Mistress.

Is your wound hurting too much?

Your eyes are red.

Yes. It hurts too much.

Shall I top up on the fragrance?

No.

Put it away from now on.

Aren't you afraid of the pain?

As the doctor said

excessive use of this sleep-aiding fragrance

will damage the mind.

From now, regardless of how much it hurts

I must quit it.

I can't lose my head again.

I don't know

why some people can easily

win the love and trust of others.

With just one look

others will fall for them.

While some people

who go all out of their way

still receive hostility and suspicion

despite all their effort

and aren't viewed differently from before.

Mistress, who are you talking about?

Mistress.

Master said he's busy

so he can't come over.

Where's everyone?

You've been confined to your bed

and Master hasn't been visiting

so the staff started slacking.

Mistress, why don't you go back

and I'll clean it up?

Mistress.

Your brother has sent you jewellery again.

Didn't I tell you to stop him from doing it?

My closet is almost full.

I did.

But he doesn't listen.

He sends me stuff all the time

yet never visits.

He visited with your mother this morning.

But...

What?

Just...

It's just that Master stopped them

and seemed to have said something to them

so they're afraid to show up anymore.

Mistress.

Are you going out?

I'm going to see Zhong Yelan.

I need to talk to Master.

Please inform him I'm here.

Master said...

he doesn't want to see you.

But I have something to tell him.

Mu Yao.

As I've said before

many choices weren't made by the current me

but I no longer harbour

any evil intention towards you.

What I owe you

I promise I'll pay you back little by little.

Won't you trust me for once?

I'm dealing with work

and don't have time to see anyone.

I, Hua Qian

am here to ask for a divorce.

What I said is

after much careful consideration.

I hope Master will seriously consider it.

I shall leave and wait for your response.

You two silly girls.

Why are you so sad?

I have my own plan.

Don't worry about it.

Do you think I would be bullied?

Cuizhu, get me some snacks.

I didn't have breakfast.

Now I can't even walk properly.

I guess I was too presumptuous again.

Mistress, are you all right?

Young man, you're promising.

You're that young man

that saved me

during the ancestral worship, right?

Mistress.

Yes, that was me.

I couldn't hear you clearly then.

What's your name again?

My name is...

Hua Rongzhou.

How dare you look directly at Mistress...

Qianzhi!

You saved my life.

I'll remember your name.

Coincidentally, we share the same surname.

I guess we're destined to meet.

How old are you?

I'm 16.

Then, I'm older than you.

One year older. Yes, I'm 17.

I'll remember that you saved my life.

Work hard.

Thank you so much, Mistress.

Lord, regarding the assassination

I've looked into it several times

and discovered something fishy.

What's that?

In the past year

all traces of the Ge family were wiped out

and they've never shown up once.

That didn't stop me from the investigation.

After all, the people here still hate them

for using fake and inferior fragrance

to harm people.

Once they find out

they'll report it to the authorities.

It's plausible

if there are only a few Ge's people

who are hiding here.

But there's no way

a bunch of them would show up out of nowhere.

Really?

I feel that the attack

was aimed at stealing our secret formula.

The Ge family and the Zhong family

are evenly matched.

Besides them, who else would have

the nerve to launch the attack?

The attackers

may indeed be from the Ge family.

There may be people

in our city

who are helping to cover their tracks

so that a large number of them

can remain undetected here.

Or maybe someone...

from other forces is helping them

so that they can sneak into the city so quickly.

That is to say

either there are covert traitors in the city

or it's the work of outsiders?

Our guards shall step up effort to search

and patrol

to find out the culprits.

You and Her Highness can be assured of that.

I'll speak to my mother about this

but I suggest

not to beef up the number of guards

except at the city gates.

Make sure it remains the same strength.

How can we find out

if we don't increase the number of guards?

The incense banquet is about to begin.

At this critical point

we can't lose face

in front of out-of-town merchants.

Anyway, we didn't incur heavy casualties

and now the civilians are watching us.

I think what needs to be done now is

reassure our people

and keep a close watch covertly

instead of adding on more guards

which could cause people to panic.

After all, the Ge family case

caused so many disturbances

and many were deeply harmed by their actions.

Lord, you're so thoughtful.

Lord.

What's the matter?

Just now when you were busy

Chief Lin left a message with me.

What is it?

Mistress Hua wants a divorce.

Divorce?

Master, it's mealtime.

Master?

I saw that you didn't eat much

so I cooked this as a gift for you.

I hope you enjoy it

and appreciate the thought behind the gift.

Because I see him as the only one in my life

so, by hook or by crook

I also want to be

the only one in his eye.

I guess I loved him so much

that it helped me understand this.

I'd do anything to make him happy.

I, Hua Qian

am here to ask for a divorce.

What I said is

after much careful consideration.

I hope Master will seriously consider it.

Your hair is dry now.

Mistress, you should watch your injury

and have an early night.

How long has that Hua Rongzhou

been working here?

Almost a month.

Do you find something wrong with him?

Yes.

What's wrong?

He's so beautiful.

An ordinary guard in our household

with such a pretty face

and the same surname as mine.

Yet, I don't remember seeing him before.

Mistress.

- I heard what you did... - Housemaid Li.

Does my father have any extramarital affairs?

What are you talking about, Mistress?

Or does he have any illegitimate children

that are abandoned?

Butler Hua acts upright.

He only cares about his business.

He has never even taken a concubine.

How would he do such a thing?

Then what about my brother?

Mistress.

How can you speculate

about your family like this?

Sir is only 23.

He's still a child!

Mistress...

I think she's not in a good mood today.

You should stop now.

Mistress.

Take the soup while it's still hot.

You'd better have an early night.

Don't think too much.

Take good care of her.

Regardless, he doesn't look like a nobody.

Mistress, please go to bed early.

There are countless beautiful people around.

Please take care of your health.

Don't brood over this.

That's right.

Anyway, this situation

is different from the past.

It's not odd that I see someone

I have not met before.

Just let it go.

It seems quite valuable

but they look so cumbersome.

Wearing them on my head

will hurt my neck and annoy me.

I'd better sell them tomorrow

and save up the money.

I remember there are more.

What are you doing?

Packing my luggage.

Light the candle.

Master, why are you here?

The maids didn't inform me of your visit.

Did you come

with an answer to my question?

You expect that I'd drive you out

so you're packing your luggage here, right?

That's not it.

I couldn't sleep

and thought to myself that

I'd yet to check out

the jewellery my brother sent me

so I got up to sort through them.

In that case

don't try to read my mind in the future.

In the future?

What?

Are you in such a hurry to leave?

No, I just...

Lately, something's been puzzling me.

Did you save me at the ancestral worship

just to redeem yourself

and then leave?

Why do you say that about me, Master?

My love for you is so true

that no one can judge me.

But I was misguided

due to my obsession.

Now that my mind is clear

I should ask for a divorce to let you and...

Fine. Since you love me so much

I'll fulfil your wish

and let you stay.

That's not a good idea.

I've done so much wrong.

- I can't forgive... - Owning up is good.

You almost died to save me

and I'm not an ungrateful person.

Besides, our household

can afford to support an idler.

Master, it's not what you think.

I just didn't manage to...

push you away.

Your father is the butler here.

Even I have to show him some face.

If you're truly sorry

you can redeem your wrongs

in the days to come

by staying here

and living a peaceful life.

Master, you're a figure of authority here

and my father is merely a butler.

Master...

Master?

Master, you can leave

but can you light the candlestick?

I can't see anything.

Master, I'm not kidding you.

I really can't see anything.

Master?

Master?

Zhong Yelan.

You're so ungrateful and inhumane.

Didn't Qianzhi close the window?

It doesn't matter. I won't freeze.

If I go to close the window

I might get knocked a few more times.

Butler Ji.

This is your business.

You can't leave it to me.

Master told you to do it.

How dare I do it? This is...

I must give it to you anyway though.

Or you should do it yourself.

It's so much trouble going back and forth.

It's okay. I don't mind the trouble.

Hey, Ji!

Why are you so ruthless?

You really let go.

Hey, don't you always like to go

to the Mistress' compound?

This is a great opportunity.

You can have it. How's that?

It's none of my business. I can't take it.

Hey, Ji.

Listen to me.

The maids working for her

look so sullen when they see me.

If I go there again today

I'm afraid they'll chase me out.

As a man of honour

and head of the guards

how can you be so unconfident?

Look at you. You're young...

and handsome.

Those maids would be thrilled

to see you.

Hey, Ji!

Ji!

Why do you want to take it?

Master told me to.

So? We're at Mistress' compound.

She's seriously injured.

Let Master come do this himself.

Miss Qianzhi.

If he were to do that

it'd be really awkward.

Why?

There's no good reason in this world

why a husband would treat his wife so coldly.

Exactly.

What's the noise so early in the morning?

Qianzhi.

Qianzhi.

Mistress.

What's wrong?

Nanfeng is here and said he's going to...

Speak properly.

He said that he was told to remove

the housekeeping token.

Mistress, you're still injured

but Master doesn't care about your kindness.

Just give it to him.

But you just started to take over housekeeping

and haven't fully grasped it, how can you...

I learnt to do it

not to take over the Zhong household.

Now that I know the process of housekeeping

it doesn't make any difference

whether I keep this token or not.

I don't care for their money anyway.

But, Mistress, how could Master...

Qianzhi.

Zhong Yelan knows the truth about the temple

and the ploy I set up to marry him.

But you took the arrow for him

which almost killed you.

He can't be so ruthless, can he?

Well, if there's someone

who tricks me into believing his lies

all day long

how would you treat him?

Who has the nerve to trick you, Mistress?

I'll teach him a lesson.

Now, to Zhong Yelan

I'm such a person.

So, even taking the arrow for him

can't change the facts of

what happened in the past.

This is what I've come to understand now.

Go, give Nanfeng the token.

Yes, Mistress.

Here you go...

Happy now?

Miss Qianzhi, please hear me out.

Save it. You don't have to explain anything.

Don't come here anymore.

You're such a jinx.

Bad things happen every time I see you.

M-M-Miss Qianzhi...

- Miss Qianzhi... - Just get out of here.

- Miss Qianzhi. - Didn't you hear her?

She doesn't want to see you.

- Leave us alone. - Miss Qianzhi...

Jinx! You always bring bad luck!

- Get lost! - Qianzhi...

Go on!

Get lost!

How did it come to this?

Mistress spoke of divorce

in front of many servants and maids

at Zhong Residence that day

so now almost everyone knows of it.

Although Qian wasn't very lovable at first

she isn't someone

who throws petty temper tantrums

and Yelan isn't an unreasonable person.

What's wrong with them?

Maybe he realised

he didn't marry the one he wanted

and she felt she married the wrong guy

so the two of them had a rift.

They're already married.

How can they take that lightly?

Send someone there

to invite Hua Qian over tomorrow.

I want to ask her

what's going on between them.

Yes, Your Highness.

Wait.

These few days

she's probably still recovering.

Wait another five days

and then send someone to invite her.

Noted.

Qianzhi?

Yinxing?

Cuizhu?

Housemaid Li?

Where's everyone?

Greetings, Mistress.

Why are you the only guard around?

The household is short-handed

so I'm the only one left to guard this place.

What about my staff?

The maids went to collect

some daily necessities.

Did all of them go? What about the rest?

The household is short of staff

so in these days...

some of your staff

have been dispatched to other places to help.

There used to be no shortage of staff.

But, right after I fell out with Zhong Yelan

the shortage begins.

Oh, well.

That just means I don't need to

remember so many names now.

Since everyone else has left

why are you still here?

I was assigned to serve you

so naturally, you're my priority.

I must tell you this.

Master and I won't get back together

so you have no future here.

Get another job while you're still young.

Mistress, why are you out here?

I didn't see anyone in the house

so I came out to look for you.

I went to collect your meal.

You can have your meal now.

Why do you need to collect it?

The cook used to bring it here.

I get it. They're short-handed, right?

The cook was instructed by Master

to reduce expenses for the household

so we only have these dishes.

It's fine. At least we still have two dishes.

When I was in exile...

Where were you?

I went to collect your new outfits.

Butler Ji said that

Master had ordered to cut spending

so you won't get

any more new outfits, Mistress.

It's okay. I have more than enough

to go around.

Mistress.

What did you get?

The stewards in the house are over the line.

They said Master ordered to cut spending

and sent me away with these cheap incense.

It's fine. I won't use it from now on.

Anyway, I didn't like

the ones they issued anyway.

I'll make some myself some other day.

Tell me. Master ordered to cut spending

and what's being reduced now?

Please take a look.

That's too much!

He even lowered the quality of the walnuts.

They're good for my brain.

How'd he make it up to me if I become stupid?

Mistress...

Mistress...

The walnuts look smaller but they're edible.

- Yes, Mistress. - No!

Calm down...

Mistress.

You can't fight with Master anymore.

After all, you're still living in his house.

Take a seat.

Fine.

He ordered to cut spending, right?

Then I'll go out and buy my own supplies.

It's not like I have no money.

But, Mistress

you can't show yourself in public.

That's right.

But you can.

Well...

every reputable shop in Huangcheng

knows who your maids are.

It's not a good idea for them

to go out and buy stuff every day.

Bonus footage

My senior.

Lord, why didn't you tell me you're visiting?

Mother's worried about Hua Qian's injury

so she had me bring the physician over to her.

Senior.

I heard from Sister-in-law's maids

that in the past few days

you haven't shown her any concern

despite her serious injury.

This is my family's business

so you don't have to worry about it.

Well...

great.