A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
ADAPTED FROM TIANXIA GUIYUAN'S NOVEL HUANG QUAN
EPISODE 34
How did it go with Headmaster Xin? When can you return to the palace?
Thanks to your gift,
I can now live an easy life in Qingming Academy.
Headmaster Xin
has more worries than His Majesty.
What is he worried about?
You are valued greatly by His Majesty in the palace.
I believe that when you return to the palace,
you'll become one of His Majesty's closest officials.
When that happens,
you'll have as many worries as Headmaster Xin does.
I don't want to do that at all.
By the way, may I ask you something?
Do you think I won't be a good wife?
No.
What do you mean, Nanyi?
Am I not a woman at all?
No.
What did Headmaster Xin say to you?
Nothing.
He just wants me to stay away from Ning Yi.
As if I want to be close to him.
Come. Let's go to the academy.
You're walking like a man.
Your Highness, what do you need from me?
Nothing much.
I think Qingming Academy is a good place
because you have managed it well.
That's why
I also want to be a part of it.
It's quite an easy position for a prince.
Best if I could be Director of Studies.
What do you think?
I'm just joking around.
Rulers of a country need to be strict and indifferent.
That's how they become great.
They shouldn't be too emotional.
I know what you're thinking.
Your Highness, if you think I shouldn't have done that,
I'll go ask His Majesty to take back the order
and let Feng Zhiwei go back to the palace.
Back to the dangerous palace and back into your worst nightmares.
-Big! -Small!
This isn't going to be easy for you.
I'm going to teach you a lesson!
Six!
Admit it.
Admit your defeat.
I heard that Headmaster Xin has Wei Zhi manage the academy now.
What do you think that means for us?
Wei Zhi is just a weak and frail scholar.
-Yeah. -He just graduated.
We don't need to be scared.
Wei Zhi is now very close to the Emperor.
It's fine. The academy is far away from the Emperor.
When Headmaster Xin is not around, you two are in charge here.
The Headmaster?
I'm not afraid of anyone.
Let me tell you, ever since I was a child,
I've read many books.
Yet, I still don't know what "headmaster" means.
-Let's play. -Do it again.
-I'm going to win this time. -No, sorry.
Go!
-Big! -Big!
I think Headmaster Xin is testing you.
Huaishi, you think too much.
Headmaster Xin is very proud.
He wouldn't do that just to deal with a lowly scholar like me.
These rich students are the hardest
-to discipline. -Be it Headmaster Xin or whoever else,
they're gone now,
-so Qingming Academy is ours to manage! -You give the order.
I'll beat them up.
That's what silly men do.
Silly man.
-Big! -Big!
-Small!
Again!
Let's play again.
Play all you want. I'll take responsibility.
I, Wei Zhi, never knew that there was something so interesting
at Qingming Academy.
Come. Play with me.
Come on.
Stop staring. Come.
If it isn't Wei Zhi.
So?
Do you want to play?
Sir Yao,
I can't believe you remember me, your humble classmate.
Of course, I want to play.
Wei Zhi.
I heard that you're Director of Studies now.
But we're gambling with real money.
No problem. Let's play.
I'm not afraid of you.
I'm not afraid either.
-Let's play. -Watch out.
Double sixes!
One.
My turn.
Small!
-Director! -Yao Yangyu!
One!
What? I'm not playing anymore. This is pure luck.
I'm so unlucky today.
How about we play a different game?
-Do you accept the challenge? -You name the game.
I'll play whatever you want.
All right, it's a deal.
Qian Yan, bring me my stick.
We'll play ball.
Single-round match.
Fine.
If you win, I'll give you everything I've won today.
But what if you lose?
Me, lose?
If I lose,
I'll do whatever you want me to.
-Let's go. -Let's go.
-The Director will win! -Director Wei!
Director Wei!
-Director Wei! -Go!
Good luck, Yangyu!
Hurry!
Good.
Go!
Yangyu, over here.
Yangyu, behind you.
Stop him!
-Stop him! -Hey!
-It went in! -We won!
ONE TO ZERO
Yiyi.
It's all right.
Good job. Keep going.
Go, Yangyu!
Good!
-Good. -Nice.
-Good. -Go!
-Nice. -Good job.
TWO
THREE
Yao Yangyu.
Do you admit your defeat now?
Defeat?
Yes.
Director Wei is not only good at writing,
but also good at playing games. Very impressive.
Director, what do you want me to do?
I'll do whatever.
I have no task for you.
Why can't you just be yourself?
Only when you do things sincerely
can you be a person true to your heart.
-Yes. -That's true.
Yao Yangyu pays respect to Director Wei.
-We pay respect to Director Wei. -We pay respect to Director Wei.
Your Majesty.
Song Jie is here.
Your Majesty.
Song Jie, Lord of Minhai is in the capital.
He needs a bodyguard.
You're familiar with him.
I'll order you
to stay by his side and protect him. What do you think?
I...
I've been waiting here for you.
I need to ask you this.
Do you want to go back to Minhai?
Official Zhao, please help me. I would rather die than go back.
Then let me remind you this.
His Majesty protects his own people.
Since you're an Imperial Guard,
that makes you His Majesty's man.
Whether you can return to His Majesty's side
solely depends on yourself.
I understand. Thank you, Official Zhao.
Forgive me for disobeying you, Your Majesty.
But I do not wish to go back to Minhai and be humiliated.
Please spare me, Your Majesty.
What do you mean? Explain it to me.
Guard Song.
Were you treated poorly in Minhai?
Tell us now.
I won't blame you.
Your Majesty, when I get back to Minhai,
I won't go easy
on these ungrateful bastards.
You're an Imperial Guard whom I appointed personally.
Who dared treat you poorly?
That's disrespecting me.
-Tell me. -Please forgive me, Your Majesty.
After the four of us
arrived at Lord of Minhai's residence,
we had to do
the lowly jobs of a slave and were humiliated.
Please forgive my incompetence.
I've tainted Your Majesty's name.
-Zhao Yuan. -Yes, Your Majesty.
Take Song Jie away for questioning.
I need to find out
whether Minhai
is still a part of my empire or not.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty.
I was not aware
that the servants in my house were appointed by you.
My servants must have misunderstood.
When I get to the bottom of it, I'll kill whoever's responsible.
I see that you're very busy.
If you can't even discipline
the servants in your own house,
how will you rule the large land of Minhai?
You are right, Your Majesty.
In the future,
I will work even harder so that I don't let you down.
Chang Yuan,
managing your residence is like ruling a country.
Without rules in place, there will be chaos.
Perhaps we could
let the officials deal with the judicial affairs.
That way,
you can focus on leading the army.
What do you think?
Of course, Your Majesty.
I will not interfere with judicial affairs anymore.
I hope that Your Majesty
can rest assured.
You are very considerate, Chang Yuan.
You are one of my most senior officials.
No one else can compare to you.
I'm getting old.
I don't want you to be far away from me.
The next time we meet
might even be at my own funeral.
Your Majesty, you are the Emperor.
You are blessed by the heavens.
You should not make such bold statements.
I also wish to be able to see you every day.
Why don't you stay in the capital
as Chancellor?
You can help me in the palace
and mentor the officials.
Your Majesty.
I would be...
more than honored to do so.
Your Majesty, a report from Minhai is here.
Read it out loud to me.
Yes, Your Majesty.
"Since Lord of Minhai returned to the capital,
the pirates have been attacking more frequently.
However, the Minhai army
is controlled by Lord of Minhai.
Without his permission,
the army cannot battle the pirates.
We hope that Your Majesty
would let Lord of Minhai return as soon as possible."
How can something this important depend on only my orders?
Your Majesty.
It's difficult for me to not worry about Minhai.
-Forgive me, Your Majesty. -No need.
I've heard you say that a million times during your stay in the capital.
I'm tired of it.
Lord of Minhai, you should return to fight off the pirates.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Summon Ning Yi.
-I want to play Go with him. -Yes, Your Majesty.
I let Lord of Minhai return to Minhai.
Do you really believe
that Lin Renqi's accusations of Chang Yuan
were completely fabricated to frame him?
Do you really believe
that what Chang Yuan did in Minhai was really for the interest of Tiansheng?
Do you really believe that letting Chang Yuan return to Minhai
won't cause problems in the future?
How dare you!
Ning Yi, how dare you question
my judgment and decisions?
Forgive him, Your Majesty.
It's because
Prince of Chu was in Zongzheng Temple for a long time.
He was not taught well and he speaks carelessly.
Please forgive him, Your Majesty.
Ridiculous!
Who said you could speak for him?
Excuse yourself.
Twenty strokes.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Father, it was I who was disrespectful.
Official Zhao was just worried that your anger would harm your health.
Please relieve him of punishment.
Zhao Yuan.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Thank Prince of Chu.
Thank you, Prince of Chu.
No need.
-Zhao Yuan. -Yes, Your Majesty.
Read him the letter.
Yes, Your Majesty.
VICE MINISTER OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
"From Gui Jianzhou to Your Majesty.
You have written an imperial edict
and locked it in the golden box.
I think that is very wise.
However, the Emperor is the son of the heavens.
He is chosen by the heavens.
The legitimacy of his successor is crucial.
Even though Prince of Yan is the son of Noble Consort Chang,
he is closely related to the deceased Empress.
He is well-raised
and has much expertise in various fields.
I hope that Your Majesty can decide on a Crown Prince soon
so that the heavens and the people will feel assured.
I apologize if this offends you in any way.
But this is all for the people of the empire.
Please consider my suggestion."
You may rise.
I've locked the imperial edict away,
yet those close to the Chang family are still objecting.
They want to force me to make Ning Sheng the Crown Prince.
The Chang family is powerful.
Did you really think
you could use pirates and Lin Renqi to defeat him?
I think that if you continue to compromise,
the Chang family will just get worse.
Gui Jianzhou wrote this to Your Majesty,
hoping to make Ning Sheng the Crown Prince.
This shows
that Lord of Minhai doesn't think
that there is a name in that golden box.
The reason you called me here today
wasn't just to play Go.
I believe you actually already have a plan.
Even though there isn't a name in the box,
we do actually need a name
so that the Chang family will believe it has been determined.
Do you know
that if that name appears,
that person will become the target of attacks?
Not only that.
That person
will become a weapon in your hands.
What if I told you
the name in the box
is Ning Yi?
I will follow your orders.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Look at that.
-I won! -I won!
-You're cheating. -What do you mean?
-Stop it! -Stick it on him.
-You've been losing-- -You lost.
-What? -Don't move.
-I... -What's going on?
Your Highness, I won. I...
Hello, Ziyan. You came.
They're stupid. They always lose.
Ning Cheng is a cheater. Come play with me.
All right.
But we have to decide on the wager.
If you lose and deny it like Ning Cheng, who will be on my side?
I won't deny losing.
I don't care about losing anymore.
What's the wager?
Your Highness.
Before I came,
Dahua said that she wants to run House of Lanxiang.
I thought it was so funny.
But now that I think about it,
it's not a bad idea, is it?
I can be around beautiful ladies and also make a lot of money.
It's much better than Qingming Academy.
Let's bet on House of Lanxiang.
Fine.
If I lose,
I'll give you one like House of Lanxiang.
I'll even prepare clothes for all the girls.
High-quality clothes. I cheat you not.
All right?
You said it yourself.
I didn't force you.
That's wonderful.
You seem to be in a good mood.
I'm just a weapon.
I don't have a heart.
Do you know
that if that name appears,
that person will become the target of attacks?
Not only that.
That person
will become a weapon in your hands.
My master once had a student.
He was very good at using a sword. My master taught him well.
Yet, my master didn't let him leave.
I didn't understand,
so I asked my master about it.
He told me,
-"Even swords have hearts." -What use is that?
The user of the weapon does not.
Before I left Zongzheng Temple,
I swore to stop yearning for Father's affection.
But the moment I saw him,
I realized I could never be as indifferent as he is.
Your Highness.
Love is
never fated for an emperor.
The Emperor suspects everyone.
Why torture yourself over that?
"Many have to sacrifice in order to succeed."
You once asked me whether it was worth it.
Now let me ask you, is it worth it?
Yes.
If one day,
I use you as a weapon,
will it still be worth it?
Yes.
"Just do the right thing.
Don't worry about the future."
If that day comes,
I will be a weapon with a heart.
Thank you, Ziyan.
Thank you.
A weapon with a heart.
Dingsan.
Who gave you this ridiculous name?
Grand Secretary Yao, it was Sir Yangyu.
I am Dingsan.
Yumo is now Ersi.
Dingsan and Ersi.
Yao Yangyu is getting out of control.
Director Wei, can't you lose just once?
-That's right. -You're too good at this.
-Are you playing or not? -How dare you, Wei Zhi!
You almost scared me to death.
Do you admit to your crime?
Grand Secretary Yao.
I didn't know you were coming, or--
It's good that you didn't know.
Or I wouldn't have witnessed this ridiculousness.
-If you had only-- -Quiet!
I was wondering why you never come home anymore.
Looks like without your headmaster around,
you're all gambling now.
Grand Secretary Yao, this is a misunderstanding.
I'm actually using this method
to teach the students about intercalation.
Intercalation?
I would like to know
how you can learn intercalation through gambling.
Come here.
Grand Secretary Yao,
The Santong calendar uses zhongqi for intercalation.
The Sifen calendar used after Han Dynasty uses jinsuo for intercalation.
As for the Dayan calendar,
it uses yet another intercalation method.
Therefore, I believe
that when we use the idea of zhongqi and jinsuo
to calculate the insertion of a leap month,
it is actually a lot like
what we do while gambling.
Is that so?
Grand Secretary, I'll show you.
This must have something to do with Ning Yi.
Really?
What does it have to do with Prince of Chu?
Father has allowed him
to have Xin Ziyan investigate his mother's death.
I think he's going to frame me.
What should we do?
I'm usually not afraid of him.
But...
This is a secret that only a few know.
Princess,
you should be aware of those around you.
Nanny,
Wei Zhi reminded me that day, but I didn't heed his words.
Now that I think of it,
there must be a snitch
in my Hanyan Palace.
Your Highness,
I...
I've always been very cautious.
Your Highness' food is all prepared in a small kitchen.
There shouldn't be anything wrong.
Nanny,
I trust you.
But there are many servants in Hanyan Palace.
Someone might be a traitor
and is working with Ning Yi to harm me.
Nanny, prepare my carriage.
I'm going to see Wei Zhi for advice.
Yes, Your Highness.
Do what I ask of you
if you still want to live.
Stay here in the palace.
Kill the snitch immediately once you find.
Yes, Your Highness.
JINSHI
DAYUE
Your Highness.
Shaoning is headed toward Qingming.
Let's go then.
Yes, Your Highness.
Wei Zhi, you...
Dismiss them all.
You may all leave now.
Have you read Overview of Dacheng?
Master Zong, the content of this book is interesting and useful.
It must have been written by a wise person.
But I'm confused.
Everything in here is harmless knowledge and theories.
Why is it a forbidden book?
I believe the author of the book is not someone the Emperor adores.
Dynasties end,
nothing lasts forever.
Master, there seems to be a second half.
Could you let me borrow it as well?
Maybe one day,
this book will be accepted again.
Zhiwei, remember, don't let anyone know about this.
OVERVIEW OF DACHENG
Grand Secretary Yao,
I have never read that book.
I was just joking around.
I wasn't serious.
Director Wei,
don't blame me
for being nosy.
Overview of Dacheng
is an important classic from the previous dynasty.
The Emperor does not like it.
I do not hope to see the current dynasty
start conducting literary inquisition again.
Understand?
Don't worry, Grand Secretary Yao.
I understand.
Wei Zhi.
Your Highness.
Wei Zhi pays respect to Your Highness.
-What does-- -I need to talk to you. Let's go.
-We'll talk outside. -Your Highness.
Grand Secretary Yao is here. Be respectful.
Grand Secretary Yao,
I have an urgent matter to discuss with Wei Zhi.
Would you mind?
What a coincidence.
I came to see Wei Zhi for an important matter as well.
Could you wait until we're done?
All right. Hurry up and talk.
I'll wait here.
Director Wei. Is Director Wei here?
Director Wei, congratulations.
Prince of Chu.
-Prince of Chu. -Grand Secretary Yao.
Qingming Academy has many visitors today.
Are you coming back here to study?
Father would be glad.
Are you not?
It's none of your business.
I care about you.
All right, I'm leaving now.
-Goodbye, Grand Secretary Yao. -Goodbye, Grand Secretary Yao.
I brought your favorite wine.
Here.
What brings you here, Prince of Chu?
Nothing, really.
I just want to drink with you.
Why did you congratulate me?
You know why.
Prince of Chu, what are you doing?
-Drink with me. -Fine.
Good.
Very good.
Your Highness,
my temporary residence is nothing compared to yours.
What are you so interested in?
Temporary house?
It looks like
you've been living here for a while.
Are you fine with me living a good life here?
Living a good life
doesn't necessarily mean this is a suitable place for living.
It's better than the pavilion in your residence at midnight.
Is there anyone out there?
Hello?
Mr. Tailor!
Hello?
They say,
"Women and villains are the hardest to deal with."
It's very true.
You hold grudges, don't you?
-What did you hear? -Your Highness.
I couldn't get too close.
I only heard His Highness tell Director Wei...
-What? -Something...
Something about dealing with something.
Are you an idiot?
You stay here.
Don't let anyone pass. Do you hear me?
Yes, Your Highness.
Nice.
Director Wei,
I'm here to visit you.
-Where's the tea? -There's no tea.
Is there water then?
It's cold.
Director Wei, you've been influenced.
The way you talk is just like Gu Nanyi.
The fewer words you say, the fewer mistakes you make.
Listen to me, Director Wei.
Yes, Your Highness.
I'm ordering you, from this day on,
to manage Qingming Academy as well as you can.
You must nurture new talents for me and Tiansheng.
Your Highness,
it is my job to manage Qingming Academy.
I don't know what you mean.
Do you know why I persuaded Headmaster Xin
to have you come and manage Qingming Academy?
Do you remember when you first came to Qingming Academy,
to whom did everyone here listen to?
Qingming Academy belongs to the Emperor.
Yet when our students walk out the door,
people call them students of the Crown Prince.
Do you understand the meaning behind this?
I do.
Students of Qingming Academy
must follow all orders of the Crown Prince.
I will regard you
like Xin Ziyan by Ning Chuan's side.
Are you glad?
Your Highness, I'm not wise enough. I can't take that responsibility.
-Please take back the order. -Take it back?
It's too late.
I will not be choosing a new crown prince.
The papers for passing on the throne will be kept in this box.
Do you have a way to persuade my father to take back the golden box?
Who's there?
Ning Cheng.
Your Highness.
Get in here.
I'll do so right now.
What was that noise outside?
Your Highness,
I think I saw someone spying on you from outside.
Who dares spy on me? Go and find out.
Yes, Your Highness.
Subtitle translation by Sophie Chang