Original subtitles

ADAPTED FROM MO SHUBAI'S NOVEL, THE GRAND PRINCESS ON JJWXC.NET

THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION

Pei Wenxuan has so much on his plate right now!

Can he handle it all?

And you,

do you think you can take charge of it?

I'm genuinely trying to help,

so I take care of it on his behalf.

-I don't care! -Mother.

It's my turn.

It's just handling the accounts, right?

I'll do it.

Your Highness.

With your noble status--

However noble my status is,

I'm still Wenxuan's wife, aren't I?

Wenxuan is busy with state affairs.

So as his wife, isn't it my duty to help him with managing accounts

and such matters?

Don't you have many things to do in the Inspectorate Office?

No matter how hard it is for me,

it's worth it for Wenxuan.

As for the finances,

it's actually not a huge amount.

I already have my own fiefdom, so I'll manage them all together.

Second Uncle.

Please mind your own business.

Right, Wenxuan?

-Yes. -She's doing it.

My wife is quite formidable.

Second Uncle, you'd better not get on her nerves.

Liming!

Say something.

Give it to them.

What?

Give it to them?

Alright.

I have nothing more to say.

I have nothing to say!

Alright then.

In that case,

I'll send someone tomorrow to check the accounts

and move them into my mansion, okay?

You'll move them into the Princess' Mansion?

Your Highness.

Are you suggesting that Wenxuan should sever ties

with our family?

Third Uncle, you misunderstood.

Her Highness is just checking our assets

and keeping the warehouse keys on my behalf.

Besides, moving them into the Princess' Mansion

is only because of her noble status.

-Grandfather. -Yes.

Since no one objects,

let's settle it this way.

Those of the same surname are bound by blood

and there is no bond stronger than blood ties.

Please, everyone.

I hope we can all support each other and move forward hand in hand

in the days to come.

I am truly gratified

by Wenxuan's thoughts on this matter.

Let's consider this settled then.

Thank you, Grandfather.

Careful.

Wenxuan,

Mother isn't feeling well. We'll take our leave.

-Slowly. -I'll take my leave now.

-I'll visit you again, Grandfather. -Good job.

I was so scared.

So stupid.

-What was I supposed to do? -You too.

Don't give it to them then if you are so capable.

Those from the noble families

must have brought these crucial witnesses here

to kill them once and for all.

Quickly report this to Her Highness.

Yes.

I'll come over tomorrow to check your assets.

Who knows if Pei Lixian

will stir up trouble again?

Just get whatever you can get.

Pei Lixian is clever.

He won't make things difficult for you because of these trivial things.

Tomorrow night, just send anyone to check the assets.

Focus on retrieving the land deed.

-Got it. -Most of my father's estate is elsewhere.

Just instruct Tuoba Yan to get them back one by one.

By the way, do you trust him to handle

your father's assets?

Why wouldn't I be at ease?

Tuoba Yan works for you.

And now, you and I are on the same side.

So why should I worry?

You said "now."

Then what about the future?

The future?

As for the future,

we'll know when it comes.

That's not like you.

You're always so calculating.

Don't you have any plans for the future?

Or is your future

something I'm not meant to know?

Not at all.

I've long planned my future.

I will

certainly have a future with you.

What do you mean?

Am I not making myself clear?

You and I won't part ways in the future.

After all these years being together,

even if we are not husband and wife, we are still family, right?

Yes.

You are right.

So it seems

that you will have to bear the title of Mrs. Pei for a while.

It's just a title.

I don't care about it at all.

That's the attitude of great people

who don't care about trivial things.

Right, Mrs. Pei?

What are you doing?

Why are you so shy now?

You were putting on quite an act at Pei's Mansion earlier.

I…

Yes, that was an act.

-Let's continue. -Your Highness.

Your Highness, bad news.

Something bad has happened.

What is it?

All the witnesses are dead.

Your Majesty.

Something bad has happened.

How dare he!

He knew I ordered Pingyue to investigate the case,

yet he still acted boldly and had the witnesses killed.

Your Majesty.

Please calm down.

If we look at it from another perspective,

the Inspectorate Office

has already played a deterrent role against them.

You do have a way with words.

From my perspective,

they don't take the Inspectorate Office

seriously at all.

Nevertheless,

it seems the Inspectorate Office must be kept.

Go.

Summon Consort Rou.

Yes, Your Majesty.

The noble families will get rid of

Luo Juan, the crucial witness.

The Inspectorate Office

poses a huge threat to the noble families.

So,

they will definitely try to find ways to force you out.

If you win

this battle,

the Inspectorate Office's position will be secure.

But if you lose,

it will be even more difficult in the future

for His Highness or His Majesty

to establish another force that is capable

of deterring the noble families.

Also,

there will be no hope for our future.

I need to go to the Ministry of Justice.

-Your Majesty. -If Pingyue can't handle it,

would you dare to take over the Inspectorate Office?

I and the warriors of the Xiao Family

are all at your command.

Your Highness.

Princess Pingyue has sent someone to deliver a message.

What did she say?

She wants to see Qin Lang.

-Rong. -Chuan.

I'll go in with you.

What are you doing here?

You shouldn't have come here.

There are too many people around. Let's talk inside.

Your Highness, this way, please.

Let's go.

Your Highness.

You need to keep it brief.

They'll switch shifts in an hour.

Please be quick.

Got it.

You may go out and keep watch first.

Yes, Your Highness.

General Qin.

Are you Princess Pingyue and the Crown Prince?

General Qin.

I'm in charge of reviewing the Qin Family's case now.

Did you know that?

Your Highness.

Did Zhenzhen come to see you?

Your Highness.

Is Zhenzhen well?

We don't have much time.

How about you go through the case from start to finish?

Your Highness, where would you like me to start?

Huangping County.

This case began with Wen Ping from the Censorate.

He received a report letter

accusing you of accepting bribes from the Yang Family

and instructing the Qin Family to abandon the city

during the Battle of Huangping.

Later,

they confirmed it

with the testimony of Deputy General Luo Juan as evidence.

They also used the gold

and the letters from Yang Ye as evidence.

I initially intended to ask Luo Juan

to testify for you,

but I just learned

that Luo Juan has already died.

Luo Juan is dead?

Yes.

All the commanders who fought in the Battle of Huangping

have died.

General Qin.

Her Highness is investigating the case.

We need evidence to overturn it.

You just need to tell us what you know.

Leave the rest to Her Highness and me.

Okay.

All right.

In the Battle of Huangping,

there were 3,000 soldiers defending the city.

There were also 3,000 enemies attacking us.

Originally, Yang Ye intended to order us to defend the city for five days.

However, facing defeat and unable to withstand the enemy,

we had no choice but to evacuate the civilians first

and then abandon the city.

You defended the city while they attacked.

With equal forces, theoretically, you shouldn't have lost.

Why did you lose?

We didn't have enough soldiers.

Quickly, ask the soldiers to get some rest.

-General. -Have the provisions arrived? Great.

They've arrived, but…

What's wrong?

General, please take a look.

It's filled with sand inside.

These darn scoundrels!

General.

How many people do we have left?

Including these wounded soldiers,

we have 3,000 in total.

Here's what we'll do.

Let's rinse the rice first.

Add some water

and distribute the rice soup and congee to the soldiers.

We need to last as long as possible.

Yes, sir.

Unable to even fill our stomachs,

we may have only half our forces

fit for battle soon.

Later, there were less than 2,000 of them who could fight in the battle.

With provisions and funds still not arriving,

if we persisted like that,

the remaining soldiers

would be trapped in the city and starved to death.

Have you reported these issues?

I've previously reported and explained it.

It should be at the end of the Military Record.

The Military Record.

The noble families might have destroyed it long ago.

Let's do this instead.

Please write a list

of all relevant personnel for me.

Okay.

Your Highness, I'm done.

WANG PINGNING, TIAN KE, TONG HUANGSHI, LIU SHI CHUN

Your Highness, we have to go now.

Keep an eye on General Qin

and ensure nothing goes wrong.

Your Highness, rest assured. I've made the arrangements.

Your Highness, please hurry.

-Leave quickly. -I'll take my leave now.

Your Highness.

Your Highness, how is Zhenzhen

doing right now?

She's safe. Please rest assured.

Good.

Thank you, Your Highness.

-You take care too. -Okay.

Let's go.

-Xun Chuan. -Yes, Your Highness.

Hurry up and mobilize some manpower.

No matter what,

we have to get the Qins out from the Ministry of Justice tonight.

If there are any issues,

ask them to come to me.

Yes.

Rong, Xun Chuan--

You go back first.

Don't let anyone find out that you intervened.

Don't worry.

I know how to handle this.

Leave now.

Rong.

The Qins must stay alive.

You have my promise.

I'm leaving.

Walk with me.

Let's go.

Careful.

I really want to walk with my eyes closed for a bit.

WINE

I suddenly realized

that this seems to be the first time

we've ever worked hard together on the same thing.

The first year after we got married,

our relationship was okay, right?

Later on, when things happened,

we often argued.

The only time I felt touched by you was when I was in prison.

Do you remember?

Back then, the Nie Family

of one of the consorts of the Crown Prince committed atrocities.

Chuan was implicated

and I was imprisoned as a result.

The reason you felt touched

was because you thought

I would give up on you and His Highness

and join Consort Rou.

At that time, Chuan asked me if you would help me.

Honestly, I wasn't sure

because I didn't think

we were on good terms.

It was all my fault.

I didn't give you a sense of security.

Pei Wenxuan.

I want you to take the Inspectorate Office's and my token

and follow the trail of the military provisions back then.

Check all the records

of the military provisions in transit

from the county offices along the way.

So you trust me now?

Don't flatter yourself.

You can more or less put my mind at ease, I suppose.

Today, I interrogated Qin Lang.

They couldn't possibly be unaware of it.

Moreover, Qin Lang provided a list of names,

which would put him in danger.

I've already arranged for Xun Chuan to get him out.

Tomorrow during the morning audience,

I will also request a house arrest.

This isn't the only way.

But it's the best way.

The Qin Family will be executed

in 20 days.

Can you

come back with the evidence by then?

The journey

might not be safe.

So you must be careful.

If I leave the capital

and investigate the accounts of the grain depots along the way,

it won't just be unsafe.

It might get me killed.

But it doesn't matter.

I'm at Your Highness' beck and call.

I would always die for you without hesitation.

I will set out immediately.

Pei Wenxuan.

I'll wait for your return.

There will be a reward if you handle it well.

Take care.

It's no big deal.

The enemy is approaching, everyone.

By order of Her Highness,

secure the gates!

-Yes! -Yes!

Ms. Xun Chuan.

The Qins have arrived.

Thank you.

Mr. Pei is a civil official,

yet he took on this trip for Her Highness.

Can he handle it?

I can barely

feel my legs.

Why hasn't Tian Sheng returned from buying supplies?

What's taking him so long?

Mr. Pei, I'm back.

Take this.

Mr. Pei.

You were drawing when I left,

and you're still drawing.

I'm just sketching casually,

refining my character,

and elevating my mind.

By the way, sir, here's the ointment.

What ointment?

Shouldn't it be moisturizer?

Did I buy the wrong thing?

No, sir,

you asked me to buy Jinchuang Ointment.

The physician also said

it was normal for your buttocks and feet to get worn out

from long-distance riding.

What buttocks?

It's not that severe.

It's just the shoes caused the skin on my feet to peel.

By the way, sir,

the physician specifically instructed

that once you applied his Jinchuang Ointment

and rested for two days, you'd recover.

So, shall we take a break here?

I already said it was not that severe.

It's just the shoes caused the skin on my feet to peel.

I'll apply some ointment.

-Then we'll hit the road. -Yes, sir.

-Take it. -Here.

It's just the shoes caused my skin to peel off my heel.

I'll be fine once I apply the ointment.

Do not tell anyone about this.

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

Especially Her Highness.

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

Come here.

Look.

RONG

SU'S MANSION

This way, please.

-Father. -Master.

The Qins were rescued from the Ministry of Justice by Li Rong.

Go keep an eye on Pei Wenxuan

and towards the direction leading out of the city.

He will definitely take action.

Yes, sir.

Many noble families are involved in the Qin Family's case.

If Her Highness keeps investigating further,

she may be in danger.

This won't do. I must go into the palace immediately

and have Li Rong send them back to the Ministry of Justice.

Father, please wait.

Let me go meet Princess Pingyue first.

Please wait for my news.

Your Highness, Ms. Xun Chuan is here.

Your Highness.

How is Mr. Qin?

Thankfully, his life has been saved.

You two may leave now.

Yes, Your Highness.

Take a seat.

He brought you up, right?

Yes.

Have you thought

about telling him about your situation?

For now,

I'll hold off on saying too much.

If I tell him,

he'll be worried about me.

Just let him know I'm still alive

and he'll be reassured.

Okay.

Take this name list.

WONG WEN JIN

I might be trapped in the palace,

so you'll have two things to do.

First, protect the Qins.

Don't allow anyone to take them away

from the Princess' Mansion.

Got it.

Second, go and see Shangguan Ya.

Sort out the suitable candidates from this list

and obtain testimony from witnesses

who embezzled military provisions and funds back then.

Yes.

PRINCESS' MANSION

The Ministry of Justice

is here to apprehend fugitives.

Your Highness.

Mr. Su has come with some men

from the Ministry of Justice.

They say that they want to see you.

Don't panic.

Help me get changed.

Sir, we've been followed.

Find an inn up ahead. We'll get some rest.

-Rest? -Yes.

PRINCESS' MANSION

Mr. Su, you're showing your authority here.

You've brought so many people here this early in the morning.

May I ask what the reason for this is?

Your Highness.

The prisoners detained by the Ministry of Justice

has somehow been brought to your mansion.

According to our laws, this violates national regulations.

You should hand over the prisoners.

If you do, I will pretend

this prison escape never happened.

Prison escape?

My Inspectorate Office is investigating the Qin Family's case.

Now, someone I need to interrogate is in danger.

So I brought them here instead. How is that a prison break?

Your Highness, even if you need to interrogate a prisoner,

you must follow the proper legal procedures

and obtain approval from the relevant officials.

You should hand them over.

You must know this.

The Inspectorate Office

has not been fully established yet.

Your Highness.

This is the only way I can protect you.

Are you threatening me?

So you are threatening me.

Your Highness, I am doing this for your own good.

You're not doing this for me.

It's for the Su Family

and the power of the noble families behind you.

Mr. Su.

It's natural for people to do things for their own good.

You don't need to justify yourself so grandly.

You don't need to threaten me either.

If you want to complain, go ahead.

The morning audience is about to begin.

I'll be waiting for your complaint

in the hall.

Why don't you believe me?

Why do you always

interpret everyone's good intentions

as malicious intention?

Everything you're doing

will only cause harm and bring no benefits.

What are you seeking?

What am I seeking?

I suppose I am seeking peace of mind.

I once thought

we were the same.

But now I see that may not be true.

You may be willing to sacrifice everything,

conscience, righteousness,

even your life, for your family.

I can't say for sure

if one day,

you'll become someone like Yang Ye.

He started with youthful idealism.

But in the end, he betrayed the country

for the power and glory of his family,

But I cannot do that.

If I did,

I would never…

find peace…

in my life.

Today, I can't stand by and watch the Qin Family suffer injustice

and perish.

If one day,

the Su Family faces injustice,

I will also not hesitate to intervene.

You're right.

If I were only pursuing power,

everything I'm doing today

wouldn't benefit me much.

I should align myself with the noble families

and not establish the Inspectorate Office or investigate this case.

But my pursuit of power

isn't about elevating myself above others.

It's about living in a world

that aligns with my values.

It's a world of justice and fairness.

Fairness.

The word fairness

is too precious

and too rare in this world.

Mr. Su, there's no need to persuade me

or try to stop me.

You can't change my mind or stop me.

If you truly disagree,

feel free to confront me directly.

The Crown Prince and I are not on the same path.

I will walk

my own path.

-Mr. Pei. -Mr. Pei.

How come only you two are here?

Where are the others?

They're having diarrhea after arriving.

They won't be dining with you.

Got it. Sit down and eat.

-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.

Pei Wenxuan's purpose on this trip

must be to collect the Military Record.

Since he won't work for us,

he must be eliminated.

Pingyue.

Last night, I received a memorial

reporting that you broke into the Ministry of Justice at night

and took away the entire Qin Family.

What? Has it become your habit

to cause trouble at the Ministry of Justice now?

Your Majesty, please punish Her Highness severely.

Please punish her severely.

Please punish her severely.

Please strip her of her fiefdom and punish her severely.

Pingyue, you heard them and you saw their reaction.

After causing such a big trouble,

have you managed to find anything?

Not yet.

However, during the investigation,

I found that all the witnesses had been killed

and most of the evidence had been destroyed.

I'm still investigating.

Please give me some more time, Father.

Are the witnesses all dead?

It was on the outskirts of the city.

Their corpses were left in the wild after they were all killed.

Father.

If the witnesses of a case

were all killed,

don't you think there must be something wrong?

Your Majesty, the witnesses are dead,

but the evidence is still there.

Yang Ye's letters are verified.

The taels of gold they took as bribes

were also found in Qin's Mansion.

These pieces of evidence have been verified

by the Censorate, Ministry of Justice, and Court of Judicial Review.

Do you think

that all these three organizations are deceiving you here?

Isn't that possible?

When I established the Inspectorate Office,

what you've been thinking is to seize power

and make me yield.

You are the minister of the Ministry of Justice.

When faced with such a case that's full of doubts,

you did not care about investigating it or uncovering the truth.

You only think about pulling the strings

in the expense of people's lives.

How can I not be furious?

I know very well what you are planning to do.

But let me tell you.

The Qin Family who have been wronged and killed by you

are not just a few ministers

or a few lives.

They are the walls defending our border and the backbone of the Great Xia.

What you seek to ruin today

is the prosperity and future of the Great Xia.

Therefore,

I will never back down.

Go after them!

I'll bear the responsibility for the intrusion.

But let me ask you this.

Do you dare to leave

the Qins in my hands?

Do you dare to let me investigate

the Qin Family's case?

Since you claim that the death of witnesses

has no connection to the Qin Family's case,

then why are you scared?

Your Majesty, it's not that I'm afraid of Her Highness investigating the case,

I'm just worried that she'd continue to cause trouble.

What if I vouch for her?

I'm afraid you can't restrain Princess Pingyue.

What do you want then?

I'll definitely continue to investigate the Qin Family's case.

You still need to be punished.

Your Majesty.

as the minister of the Ministry of Justice,

I cannot tolerate someone flagrantly disregarding the law.

Even if you are a princess,

you should still abide by the principles set by His Majesty.

Very well.

I will do as you wish, Mr. Xie.

Father.

I was wrong to intrude into the Ministry of Justice.

I willingly accept the punishment of being flogged 30 times

and reciting scriptures at Beiyan Pagoda for a month.

However, the Ministry of Justice

failed in their duties in protecting the witnesses

which indirectly led to the deaths

of the key witnesses.

This is their first crime.

Father appointed me to take charge of the Inspectorate Office,

but the Ministry of Justice refused to follow imperial orders

and did not cooperate with the investigation.

Instead, under the guise of regulations,

they obstructed me in every way,

disregarding Father's authority.

This is their second crime.

Your Majesty.

Now, upon learning of the deaths

of the witnesses and the doubts in this case,

they refuse to investigate it thoroughly.

-This is their third crime. -That's completely nonsense.

Mr. Xie is the minister of the Ministry of Justice

and he's in charge of it.

Yet now, the Ministry of Justice is plagued with numerous problems.

Mr. Xie has to be held accountable.

I voluntarily accept my punishment.

However, cleaning up the Ministry of Justice is imperative.

Although these three crimes

are mainly shown through the Qin Family's case,

the overall situation can be deduced.

The Ministry of Justice's usual ways of handling cases

are indeed harmful to the state.

Father, please thoroughly investigate them

without any leniency.

My niece is different now.

What Her Highness said is reasonable.

Please investigate

those in the Ministry of Justice, Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Please punish the Ministry of Justice severely.

Father.

Since I've already intervened in the Qin Family's case,

I will not quit so easily.

Please grant me another 20 days.

Your Majesty, please don't.

If nothing is uncovered

after 20 days,

it will prove that there is no injustice in the Qin Family's case

and that I have been unreasonable.

I shall accept my punishment

of being expelled from the capital and return to my fiefdom.

I'll never enter the capital again.

Your request is granted.

Your Highness.

BEIYAN PAGODA

Guard our residence.

If you hear anything from my husband,

come and let me know at once.

Yes, Your Highness.

BEIYAN PAGODA

Rong has completely betrayed the Shangguan Family.

As her mother, did you know this?

I don't know

what happened to this child.

Ever since her wedding day,

it's like she's become a different person.

It seems Pei Wenxuan has had a significant influence on her.

I guess

it's the only explanation.

You should go to Beiyan Pagoda and tell her

not to wait for Pei Wenxuan.