EPISODE 2
Mother, I'm 18 already.
If you have something on your mind, you can tell me.
Mother.
If the purpose of raising me for 18 years
was only to have me marry into a wealthy family,
then why would you hire a teacher
to teach me how to read and learn how big the world is?
Now that I have learned all that,
how can I tolerate a lonely life of confinement after marriage?
Mother!
Look at all these goods.
-Where did they come from? -Go away.
Those are what we received after selling me off.
Has someone proposed marriage?
Who is it?
Who is this generous man?
You will never guess.
-He-- -Zhiwei.
Feng Hao.
You did not take off your outer garment,
yet you are fanning yourself from the heat.
Tell me.
How much did you spend on this useless thing?
Mother has never interfered with my life.
Who are you to judge me? You are merely a bride-to-be.
Yes, I am in no position to lecture you.
Be rest assured.
From today onward,
you will be able to live like a true young master,
buying a houseful of paintings and fans.
You can also hire many maids to fan you.
I will be the only one suffering anyway.
As your big sister, it is the least I can do.
You can just count the money
after selling me off.
Zhiwei.
How could you mock your brother?
Besides, that was not what I meant.
Then what did you mean?
Are you two keeping something from me?
Put it down.
Duke Chang,
this young lady, Zhu Yin, plays the Chinese zither well.
It is especially rare to find someone in the capital
who plays the song "High Mountains and Flowing Water."
I went to great lengths to hire her to entertain you.
How do you like the performance?
Colonel Qiu, now that you are in the Emperor's favor,
no one can compare to you.
These privileges that are hard to come by
are all within your reach now.
But it is such a shame that an uncultured soldier like me
does not know how to appreciate this rather harmonic instrument.
You are all dismissed.
Duke Chang, you are my savior.
It was actually a pain in the neck to play this instrument.
I was just trying to act elegant and classy.
Since you are not interested in that,
would it be fine if I tell you a joke instead?
Great! Tell us a joke!
Go ahead.
But if it is not funny, you will be punished.
An ambassador from Dayue comes to visit.
Emperor Ai sends Hou Bai to test him in secret.
Hou Bai changes into ragged clothes
and pretends to be a servant.
The ambassador looks down on him.
He talks to him while looking sideways and farting at the same time.
The ambassador asks,
"Do you know the worth of the horses of your country?"
Hou Bai replies,
"There are several kinds of horses.
Each has a different worth.
The kind that has its tail between its legs
and only knows how to fart while lying on its side
is absolutely worthless."
Fart...
-Here. -Let me serve you this drink.
All right.
Duke Chang,
I hope that from now on,
we can drink and listen to music together.
What do you say?
Come on.
Look who's here.
It's you, the little skank. A woman of lowly birth.
Do you really think you can become a noble by drinking with the lords?
How dare you pick my flowers?
Madam Yuhua.
Sorry for crossing the line.
The lord is not here. You can drop the act.
You cannot fool me.
You are merely a courtesan from House of Lanxiang.
Do not act like you are a virtuous lady in front of me.
Madam, you are being funny.
I am indeed a courtesan. I do not need to have virtues.
I cannot compare to you.
You possess the manner of the mistress of the house.
I am a madam.
You are only a courtesan.
How dare you make fun of my status?
Do not get too arrogant because you are the favorite now.
How much did the lord pay you?
As much as he likes you, is he going to marry you?
You are right.
I will forever be a courtesan.
I have stopped dreaming of becoming someone's concubine.
So please do not be so harsh on me.
Why you...
Whom are you calling a concubine? Tell me!
I'll tear your mouth off!
Why--
-Stop! -A concubine?
-Feng Zhiwei, how dare you meddle? -What did you call me?
Think twice before you talk to me,
or you will be punished for being disrespectful.
Princess.
-"Princess"? -Flowers go with a beauty.
Yet you have ruined the moment.
You ruined the mood for this lady too.
I happened to pass by, so you happened to spoil my mood as well.
We are a decent family.
How did we raise an ugly person like you?
You would bring disgrace to our family if the nobles saw it.
-You-- -"You"?
You don't even know how to behave.
Go.
Go and pick a rose from the vines over there.
I think that it suits this lady.
Yes, Princess.
Go ahead and laugh. Do not hold back.
Are you from House of Lanxiang?
Yes.
I entertain men to make a living.
-I am not proud of it. -Do not say that.
In my opinion, House of Lanxiang is the only place
where women of this world can live freely.
I feel as if you are an old friend.
What is your name?
-Zhu Yin. -Zhu Yin?
What a nice name.
-And you? -My name is Feng Zhiwei.
Let's become sworn sisters.
Do not just stand there.
Put it on my sister.
Put it on.
You look great.
ROYAL GUARDS
-Report it now! -Guards!
Guards!
Chief Gu.
This is what caused the wound.
A halberd?
Looks like I cannot run away from it any longer.
Father,
I have captured a member of Bloody Pagoda, Gu Yan.
He is the brother of Gu Heng.
He can testify that this baby is the ninth prince of the Dacheng Empire.
Gu Yan.
Since you have defected, tell me.
What should I do with the leader of Bloody Pagoda
and the remnants of the Dacheng Empire?
Your Majesty,
your mercy will save the world.
In my humble opinion,
this is the moment
where you show your mercy.
Should I have mercy on you and spare your life as well?
I do not dare to ask so.
I only beg Your Majesty
to have mercy on my wife and children.
I can pardon your wife and children.
But there are many remnants of Bloody Pagoda.
Can you help me persuade them
to defect to my empire?
Pass the order.
All Royal Guards should be on high alert.
Stay in groups of three.
-Do not act alone. -Yes.
Chief Gu.
I think there is something in the mouth of the body.
"Those who betray Bloody Pagoda shall die."
Ziyan,
why do you have Bloody Pagoda's halberd?
My master, Tian Jizi, made the halberd for Emperor Ai of the Dacheng Empire.
As his top student, I took the chance and made two more.
It was not a big deal.
If we are going to cause a stir in the name of Bloody Pagoda,
we have to make it look real.
That's why I let my man attack him with the halberd.
I went to great lengths to carry out the scheme
just to help resurrect Bloody Pagoda.
Do you know why?
Whatever they do,
they do it for the title of the Crown Prince.
Now that they have taken action,
why don't we give them a hand?
Do you already have a plan?
How dull would life be if I only lived to conspire?
Ning Cheng.
Are you the kid who has been serving Ning Yi
since you got into the palace?
Yes.
It is truly my honor to be remembered
by Your Highness.
It must have been hard for you to live in Zongzheng Temple
with my sixth brother.
I understand.
Your Highness,
I did not think I was suffering when I was living there.
I only realized
that it was indeed harsh
when I left that place and saw the world.
Ning Cheng.
Thank you, Your Highness.
Go home and tell your master
that I have not seen him in years and that I miss him.
Go.
I will never forget your kindness, Your Highness.
I will get going now.
It seems like the followers of Prince of Chu have suffered a lot.
Eight years of prison time in Zongzheng Temple.
I did not show him much generosity,
and he lost his sense of loyalty.
That poor child.
Your Highness, do we need
to take precaution against Prince of Chu?
Take precaution?
I do not need to do that.
Ning Yi has never been easy to deal with ever since he was young.
If prison life in Zongzheng Temple can soften up his rough edges,
everything will be fine.
However, if he is still the same,
I will not have to do anything.
Because the Crown Prince and Ning Yan
will take action against him.
That's right.
If word gets out that the orphan of the Dacheng Empire
has shown up in Yanzhou,
you can ask His Majesty to go to the fief to settle this matter.
Let them fight over the capital.
We will take a step back in order to advance at the right time.
Vice Minister Ge, look.
If you give Ning Yi an inch, he will take a mile.
He merely sold a few silk brocades,
but His Majesty granted him a big reward and allowed him to leave the temple.
As for me?
I was reprimanded by His Majesty for donating my salary
to relieve the people in stricken areas.
Calm down, Your Highness.
You were not the one whom His Majesty was scolding.
If it was not me, then who?
Besides, it was the Crown Prince's idea.
I ended up taking all the blame.
Not only did His Majesty give me an earful,
but the Crown Prince also lashed out at me.
Your Highness.
The Crown Prince knew that His Majesty
was in truth reprimanding him.
That's why he got upset.
He wasn't scolded. Why was he upset?
Forget it.
I am used to this.
Anyway,
I am always the one who does the dirty work.
When there are rewards,
he is the one who receives it.
When things go wrong, I am the one to blame.
There is nothing I can do.
He is the Crown Prince after all.
I am merely Prince of Zhao.
I even had to rely on him to earn this title.
Your Highness.
What do you plan to do about the feast held by Prince of Chu tomorrow?
I did not even invite him.
He decided to show up instead.
The word is out that Bloody Pagoda assassinated
a Royal Guard with a halberd.
What if there's something more behind the assassination?
Were they trying to cause a commotion?
Headmaster Xin, what do you mean?
Goodness.
Everybody knows about this. It was quite a coincidence.
I was there the other day when Zhao Yuan
delivered the birth card of the Qiu family's daughter
to the astronomy official.
Even Zhao Yuan brought up this matter.
That's right.
I did mention the incident to Official Zhao.
I thought it was a bit odd.
If Bloody Pagoda simply wanted to seek revenge on me,
I would definitely recognize this special killing method.
But why did they leave a note?
It was an unnecessary move.
If that was not the purpose,
I have no idea
why someone would want to bring Bloody Pagoda back
and what his intention would be.
Go, Ning Chuan.
You must capture Gu Heng and the remnant, the ninth prince.
The remnants of the Dacheng Empire have nowhere to run.
-Kill them! -Yes.
Kill them!
-Long live the prince. -Long live the prince.
-Long live the Tiansheng Empire. -Long live the Tiansheng Empire.
His intention?
Is it not obvious enough?
He is coming for my position as the Crown Prince.
-Take a seat, Headmaster Xin. -Okay.
I have been following the case of Bloody Pagoda.
I discovered that they came from Yanzhou.
Therefore, I sent my man to Yanzhou to look into it.
I got an urgent message from him today.
He told me that the ninth prince
of the Dacheng Empire has shown up in Yanzhou.
The ninth prince?
You joined the palace a while later.
There are things that you do not quite understand.
How did I become the Crown Prince?
Because I was the one who killed the ninth prince.
And now, there is another ninth prince in Yanzhou.
What does that mean?
Do you know what it means to me? It is the crime of deceiving the Emperor.
Do not panic, Your Highness.
It does not matter who plotted this.
In my opinion, although it seems like a crisis,
it is actually full of holes.
His Majesty is an intelligent man.
Nothing escapes his eagle eyes.
If we have thought of it, His Majesty must have thought of it too.
I am afraid that my father may have thought of it,
but pretends not to know anything.
You heard what my father said
the day that Ning Yi returned to the palace.
If you were not there to dissuade him,
Ning Yi might have been put in charge of the Qingming Academy instead.
Your Highness.
You can be frank.
Are you suspecting that Ning Yi has something to do with it?
Your Highness, Prince of Chu sent an invitation.
He would like to invite Your Highness and the other princes to his place tomorrow.
Prince of Chu is making a lot of moves.
Ning Yi is now my father's red-tasseled spear.
Of course, he is going to use this as an excuse
to stir up as much trouble as he can.
However,
if he is the mastermind behind this scheme,
certain people will take advantage of this.
You are talking about Ning Sheng and Ning Yan,
are you not, Your Highness?
I understand everything now.
I will look into this discretely.
Please excuse me.
Your Highness.
If your speculation is correct,
that someone with an ax to grind is trying to make a fuss
about the remnant of the Dacheng Empire,
then the key person of this issue
is Prince of Chu.
Therefore,
as reluctant as I am,
I am going to attend the feast tomorrow.
QIU RESIDENCE
What...
Feng Zhiwei, what are you doing?
You clever lad.
You waste your intelligence on useless things.
How did you know it was not Mother?
Mother would never treat me like that.
So you are aware of that.
Is this how you repay Mother's love? By stealing things?
I...
Feng Zhiwei.
You may be my older sister, but you are not superior to me.
If I want something in this house, I can get it.
There is nothing that I cannot take.
All right, Feng Hao. Let me tell you this.
These dowries were given in order to purchase me,
so do not lay your hands on them.
Feng Zhiwei.
You and Mother were being secretive about it,
but do you really think that I know nothing?
You do not want to get married, but Mother is forcing you to.
Do you understand Mother's intention?
It does not matter. Mother is not going to force me to do it.
Do not think of it that way.
Take a look.
Look at the dowries.
They are a wealthy family.
Mother is looking after you.
Of course, she is also looking after me.
Dear sister.
You call those dowries the price to purchase you.
You are certainly the person who will get sold,
so that I can live a good life.
And do you know the reason?
Because I am the only son of the Feng Family.
I carry the bloodline of the Feng Family.
What are you doing?
Mother, help me!
Feng Zhiwei is going to kill me! Mother!
My leg...
I...
You thief.
Give it to me.
-This is not your dowry. It is mine. -Yours?
-Yes. -When did you become a woman?
-Are you wearing jewelry? -No.
It is mine.
I found it in the garden. Give it to me.
You found it in the garden?
You are shameless.
You...
Are you from House of Lanxiang?
I entertain men to make a living. I am not proud of it.
I feel as if you are an old friend. What is your name?
-Zhu Yin. -Let's become sworn sisters.
RESIDENCE OF PRINCE OF CHU
My lord.
The Crown Prince summoned Headmaster Xin to the East Palace today.
This is a letter from Headmaster Xin.
The invitations have been delivered to the three princes.
I even met Prince of Yan today.
He felt bad that we had lived such difficult lives for eight years
in Zongzheng Temple.
It seems that the Crown Prince has suffered
more than you and I did in the past eight years.
Prince of Yan, Ning Sheng, hit the mark unintentionally
with the move he made this time.
If one has a guilty conscience,
he will be startled by the slightest noise
in the middle of the night.
A clear conscience is a soft pillow.
Make sure that you show Prince of Yan
that you have put his reward to good use.
He has also given me a gift.
It is a huge gift.
Then...
Let's get Prince of Yan
a gift too.
Of course.
We will get him a big gift in return.
Big enough to make him unwilling to leave the capital.
HOUSE OF LANXIANG
Zhu Yin treats Liulang differently.
Not every nobleman receives the same special treatment.
Qinyu is talking nonsense.
Are you not all the same?
That's true.
The Crown Prince is no match for Liulang
-in House of Lanxiang. -Hey.
-Who are you looking for? -Hey, you.
You seem to be lost.
Is this House of Lanxiang?
Yes, this is House of Lanxiang.
You should not be here.
I am looking for my sister.
Who is your sister?
I do not have to tell you.
-Hey! -Stay right here.
Qiu Shangqi is a cunning old fox.
He plans to just sit on the fence.
It must have been tough for you.
Serving those two old men was not easy, of course,
but I had an interesting encounter yesterday.
I met an interesting person.
This person is connected to you.
It brightened up my day.
-Connected to-- -What is the matter with you?
Zhu Yin has never told us that she has a sister.
That's right. You should not come to this place.
-Listen, you cannot enter. -Zhu Yin.
It's you, my sister.
Greetings, my sister. I am here to give you this hairpin.
You really are an interesting person.
Who are you?
Why are you holding scissors?
I...
Do not move.
There is a loose thread.
Here it is.
I am a tailor who makes clothes for the girls here.
He cares only about clothes.
Nothing else catches his eyes.
But like you, he is also an interesting person.
All right.
Since you are done, let me see you out.
I will get going then.
Zhu Yin, this man is so impolite.
Is he really a tailor?
Liulang, I heard there will be a feast at Prince of Chu's residence tomorrow.
If I come in first place,
could you give me the newly-woven silk brocade?
-Sure. -That's right.
We get to feast on good food and wine and also receive silk brocades.
Is it not wonderful?
Zhu Yin.
Is this tailor really from the residence of Prince of Chu?
He is...
This is for you.
-Thank you. -I'll give you one next time.
-Mr. Tailor. -Yes?
You must know Prince of Chu well.
-Prince of Chu? -Yes.
Of course.
There is no one else in the world who knows him better than I do.
How can you be so certain?
I do not believe you.
Tell me what Prince of Chu does in his daily life.
Does he throw feasts, ride horses and get into fights all the time?
You are wrong, young lady.
Prince of Chu is not interested in any of those.
He is just like me.
He likes to observe people,
dye fabrics and weave brocades.
He is a prince of an empire.
Why is he so eccentric?
-Eccentric? -That's right.
What is wrong with that?
Will his siblings not look down on him?
His siblings?
His siblings are ambitious people, but he is completely different from them.
The only thing on his mind
is how to turn his residence
into a fabric-dyeing center.
I believe he just wants to be a commoner.
He is not so eccentric now, is he?
In that case, I am more curious about him now.
He must have been bullied since he was young.
Why do you keep asking about him?
Every girl is fond of Prince of Chu.
-Liulang. -Zhu Yin.
-Zhu Yin.
Liulang.
-May I have a word with you? -Sure.
I'll talk to you next time.
Okay.
It is rare to see you in such a good mood.
I could not even cut in.
When I went to the Qiu Residence,
I heard Madam Yuhua call her
"Princess."
Is she Qiu Yuluo?
She is quite interesting.
Madam!
-What is the matter, Yuhua? -Madam!
I...
I got hit by the princess.
The princess?
Are you talking
about Feng Zhiwei?
Madam, there is no one else in this residence
who is as impudent as she.
She has been acting so insolently
since she found out she is going to become a princess.
That cannot be.
I had a chat with her mother and her the other day.
She looked like she was reluctant to get married.
Reluctant?
Madam.
You are too naive.
Do not let Feng Zhiwei deceive you.
It is such great news.
How could anyone be unwilling?
She is trying to fool you.
She just wants to get more benefits out of you.
If you do not believe me, you can ask the servants.
Just now, she used her title as the princess
to bully me for a girl from House of Lanxiang.
How imperious of her.
Madam.
You did not want to put Yuluo's head in the lion's mouth.
That's why Feng Zhiwei is accepting the proposal instead.
But is she the kind of person who expresses gratitude?
If she becomes the princess,
will she not walk all over you?
Think about it, madam.
How did the three of them
get into our residence back then?
My brother,
we are blood siblings after all.
Please have mercy and take me in.
Mingying.
Do not blame your brother for being cruel.
The entire family has long stopped talking about you and your past.
But all of a sudden,
you came home unannounced.
That is fine.
However,
you brought the spawns with you.
Mingying.
I probably should not say this.
As the saying goes, "The ones who receive dowries become wives.
The ones who elope become concubines."
If we take you in,
aren't we
bringing disgrace upon our family?
Don't you agree?
My brother,
I have nowhere to go. If I had,
I would not have come back knowing I would be insulted.
Back then,
I did bring disgrace to our family.
But the children are innocent.
Please have mercy on them.
My lord.
Madam.
On a big day like today,
you should not soften up.
Let's go.
Mother, you said that we have nowhere to go.
This is the only place where we can stay.
We cannot leave.
Let's go.
-Zhiwei. -I beg you.
Please take us in.
We have traveled without rest to come to the capital.
We have not eaten anything in the past two days.
Mother caught a cold on the road.
Could you at least get her a doctor to treat her cold?
What a cruel family.
-Just help them. -That's right.
-They are his nephew and niece. How cruel. -Exactly.
-He is abandoning his nephew. -Look at how cute they are.
-The kids are so mature. -That's right.
This is wrong.
Do not cry.
-She is a widow with two kids. -Such poor children.
I cannot believe it.
Look at you.
All right.
Mingying.
Come inside.
Poor kids, come on in.
It's time to come home.
-That is more like it. -She is his sister.
-Let's go. -Move.
Move.
Let's go.
Feng Zhiwei.
We definitely need to watch out for her.
Once she gains power, she will turn her back on us.
Madam,
this is too reckless.
Although we have high hopes for Zhiwei,
we cannot put her at risk.
Besides,
if she really marries Ning Yi,
how would she deal with the situation
when she finds out about our wish?
Master Zong,
I understand what you are saying.
That's why I am so torn.
It has been 18 years.
After these past 18 years,
have we figured out a way?
No.
We could not find any.
All I can do
is dream of the moment
that I said goodbye to him.
Marrying into royalty
may perhaps be
an opportunity.
Madam.
Let's wait for other opportunities.
If the opportunity never comes,
it would not be
a bad thing to let her remain naive and innocent.
Mother.
Master Zong.
Mother.
If you really want me to get married,
I will comply.
I hear that Prince of Chu
is a humble man.
I suppose,
he is not as imperious compared to the royals and the nobles.
Nonsense.
Your mother will never agree to the marriage.
Mother.
I am sorry.
HOUSE OF LANXIANG
My lord.
The daughter of the Qiu family you asked me to find out about
is very different from the girl you met at House of Lanxiang.
What do you mean?
Qiu Yuluo is Qiu Shangqi's precious daughter.
She is a spoiled and wealthy girl
who rarely leaves the house.
However,
she does not have the demeanor of a well-educated lady.
I heard that two days ago,
a maid accidentally broke her golden hairpin.
She sold her as a royal courtesan.
Every servant of the Qiu family describes her
as an insolent and high-maintenance lady.
Do not move!
Subtitle translation by Judy Lu