A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
ADAPTED FROM TIANXIA GUIYUAN'S NOVEL HUANG QUAN
EPISODE 18
Fire!
Fire in the backyard!
-Fire in the backyard! -Fire!
Hurry!
Your Highness.
This hair ornament is the only thing left.
The hair ornament of Qingming students.
Ladies in House of Lanxiang said
that Old Stableman took Wei Zhi away
to avenge his son's death.
Your Highness.
I promise I'll kill Old Stableman to avenge her.
Your Highness, say something.
Cry if you want to.
Scream if you wish to.
Say something.
If the little raccoon were still here,
she wouldn't want to see you so sad.
Your Highness.
Your Highness!
She is a little raccoon.
Little raccoons have nine lives.
It has nine lives!
-Your Highness, come quickly. -What?
Feng Zhiwei, she...
Come here first.
Don't come near me.
I came to you.
Why didn't you help me?
Why do you want me dead?
Why did I listen to you and go to Qingming Academy?
Why did I have to be outraged by injustice?
Why did I go to Qingming Academy?
Why did I have to discover Bloody Pagoda?
It's all my fault.
I went crazy.
But fortunately...
-Fortunately, you're still alive. -But they're all dead.
You're still alive.
Zhu Yin is dead.
Stableman is dead.
They all died because of me.
But you're still alive.
You're still alive.
I don't want them to die.
Neither do I.
But fortunately, you're still alive.
But they died because of me.
They died because of me.
Because of me.
Let's just say I'm fulfilling your wish.
What are you doing?
Go.
Go!
My child.
I have to do something for them.
I must do something for them.
What are you going to do?
Your Highness, how do you plan
to use Bloody Pagoda to defeat the Crown Prince?
I don't have any plans.
Are you sure?
Yes, I am.
All right.
Where are you going?
I'm going to find Gu Nanyi and kill the Crown Prince's dog, Xin Ziyan.
You must have faith in me.
Xin Ziyan is not the Crown Prince's man.
He is the headmaster of Qingming Academy.
How can he be unrelated to the Crown Prince?
He is with you,
isn't he?
After Ning Qiao died,
Xin Ziyan was the only person I could trust.
Turns out you never trusted me.
Feng Zhiwei.
You want me to trust you, right?
All right.
I'll tell you my plan, okay?
Your Highness, can you promise me something?
No matter what your plan is,
please stop sacrificing the lives of the innocents.
Will you?
Feng Zhiwei, you also have to promise me.
Remember these words.
Eradicate all evil.
That's the only way
to have good people die in peace
and bad people convicted for their sins.
Okay?
But Old Stableman
is not an evil person like you say he is.
Just because he let you live?
You still don't trust me.
All right.
I promise.
Is Wei Zhi really dead?
Why?
Do you doubt me, Your Royal Highness?
I have always been loyal to Your Royal Highness.
Don't say that.
Why would I doubt you?
Don't worry.
After this mission, I'll surely set you free.
What?
You mean Prince of Chu
replaced all the servants in Qingming Academy?
Indeed.
Ning Yi is strange indeed.
Why exactly did he do that?
Your Highness.
Did you follow
her last wish?
Zhu Yin
has already left from Tianshui River.
From there, she'll go toward the sea
and see the world.
Your Highness, please take care of yourself.
If Zhu Yin were still alive,
she might have said the same thing.
Come out.
Come out!
Your Highness.
Wu Ying, let me tell you.
From now on,
you don't need to sneak around and eavesdrop anymore.
Let me tell you this.
Yes.
I have a secret scheme.
My objective is
to seek justice
for the thousands of lives victimized in the Wugu Incident eight years ago.
My plan is
to clear my brother's name,
who was righteous his whole life
but was framed for treason
and couldn't be buried in the imperial tomb after his death.
Well...
Virtue will be rewarded
and evil will be punished.
I want justice to prevail in this world.
I don't want any innocent citizens
to suffer from injustice anymore.
That's my secret scheme.
Your servant is willing to follow you, Your Highness.
Tell me.
What have you heard and seen these past three days?
Official Zhao.
I overheard Duke Chang reporting to the Crown Prince
that after Prince of Chu took over Qingming Academy,
he changed all the servants in the academy.
He said
that it was suspicious.
Changing servants is a minor thing.
Who would care about that?
Furthermore, Prince of Chu is not a sneaky person.
You are speaking for your master.
Don't forget.
You're spies.
Just report whatever you see and hear.
There's no need
to provide your own judgment.
-I was wrong. -Go.
-Yes, sir. -Yes, sir.
He changed the servants?
Is he planning to do something
in Qingming Academy?
-Go to Qingming? -Yes, Father.
I want to go to Qingming Academy
to choose talented individuals for our empire.
It's my first time managing the country's affairs,
so I am quite nervous.
I hope you would go with me personally
and teach me how to manage the country.
Prince of Chu is the one overseeing Qingming Academy now.
Ning Yi.
What are your thoughts regarding this?
The Crown Prince
has always been nice to me.
I am just worried
that I can't repay his kindness.
I'll surely try my best
to fulfill his wishes.
How can I not understand Ning Yi's thoughts?
I also know and admire Ning Yi's capabilities.
-Your compliments are too gracious. -I'm not being gracious.
I believe Qingming Academy under you now
is better than when I was overseeing it.
Better?
You're too kind.
However, it was a shame that you weren't able
to select the Ultimate Scholar among Qingming Academy students
while you were overseeing it.
Father.
Maybe I'll have such luck.
It seems you want to make a bet with me.
That's fine.
Good luck to you.
Father.
I sincerely request your presence at Qingming Academy.
I sincerely beseech you, Father, to eliminate the Conundrum.
I sincerely beseech you, Father,
to select the Ultimate Scholar for our empire.
And let Tiansheng achieve unparalleled success.
Chief Gu.
Headmaster Xin.
From a distance, I could see someone walking with dignity and eloquence.
I knew it was you.
Headmaster Xin, you are such a jokester.
What a coincidence.
I was just thinking of asking you to go to Qingming Academy for a gathering.
Headmaster Xin.
Is there a happy event you want to celebrate?
It's not me.
It's you.
Me?
What happy event could I have?
I'm so ashamed.
I only found out today
that you have some old friends at Qingming Academy.
Old friends?
Your old friends who were like your brothers.
Really?
Then I should really go there and meet my old friends.
Shall I make the arrangements?
All right.
Please, thank you.
I'll wait for your invitation.
Bloody Pagoda's weapon
is truly an unreplicable, superior weapon.
Your Royal Highness.
What does this mean?
Haven't you ever thought of killing me?
You can't do it?
Tomorrow, you have to do the same
and point the weapon at me.
I'll block your knife with my hand.
Then have my palm graze it.
Afterward, I'll punch you in the face.
You must strike me with that again.
Remember.
You must make me bleed.
Remember the position.
Three inches below the lungs.
Don't harm his stomach and internal organs.
Otherwise, I'll grab you by the neck.
You can only let go of the Crown Prince to escape.
Then I'll kick you to the ground.
There will be guards who will hold you down.
You should just let them capture you.
Don't worry.
I'm the one managing the country now.
I'll be the one who interrogates you.
You just have to say who the mastermind is
and turn from your old ways.
Then you'll be pardoned.
After that, if you and your men still want to continue helping me,
you can openly become my guards.
I promise you a good future.
If you want to retire to the mountains,
I'll also fulfill my promise and give you 10,000 pieces of gold.
Do you understand what the Crown Prince said?
Bloody Pagoda was ordered
to assassinate the Crown Prince
at Qingming Academy tomorrow.
The mastermind is...
Ning Yi, Prince of Chu.
Do you still recognize me?
Gu Yan.
Traitor.
I'm going to kill you!
So this is how you treat an old friend.
You say I'm a traitor.
All right.
How about you?
You should know
that I betrayed Bloody Pagoda back then
just to protect my children.
Today, I risked my life to see you to protect my brother's,
Gu Heng's children.
How will you protect Leader Gu's children?
Currently,
the one who wants to kill Wei Zhi
is the Crown Prince.
If you want Wei Zhi to live,
you must kill the Crown Prince.
Tomorrow at Qingming Academy,
pretend to assassinate Prince of Chu and expose the truth
that the Crown Prince is keeping Bloody Pagoda in Qingming Academy.
Then...
Then,
I'll be captured.
Can Prince of Chu let my men
leave the capital alive?
Your Majesty, here's the Conundrum.
Headmaster Xin.
Yes, Your Majesty.
The Crown Prince and Prince of Chu
were asked to oversee Qingming Academy, one after the other.
My two beloved sons are very filial
and competitive.
They made a bet in front of me
hoping that the Conundrum
can help me select the Ultimate Scholar.
What do you think?
Your Majesty is brilliant.
His Highnesses also have high hopes for Qingming.
Thus, I believe
that this bet was just made for your pleasure.
In fact, His Highnesses are one in heart in Tiansheng's talent selection.
For this,
I thank you on behalf of Qingming Academy.
There is no need for that.
When Qingming Academy was founded,
I prepared the Conundrum
hoping to select good talent for Tiansheng Empire.
However, until today,
we still haven't had anyone
answer all three questions correctly.
I've always felt bad about that.
Father, you are blessed by the heavens.
How can mere Qingming scholars compare to you?
It seems Your Royal Highness knows His Majesty's thoughts well.
I was taught by His Majesty since I was a kid.
Of course, I know his thoughts well.
However, you might be mistaken regarding today's affair.
His Majesty cares about his citizens.
Of course, His Majesty wants scholars to be able to answer his questions.
And if we manage to choose
an Ultimate Scholar,
it would be a great event
that will further strengthen the Tiansheng Empire.
Prince of Chu.
-Your Royal Highness. -Zhao Yuan.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Aren't you going to announce my order?
Yes, Your Majesty.
"According to the will of the heavens,
I worked hard day and night.
My officials have many plans to strengthen the empire.
Now is the right time to announce
my desire to select a champion among the scholars.
I hereby present the Conundrum.
Anyone who can answer all the questions here
will become Tiansheng's Ultimate Scholar
and awarded imperial privilege.
This will be executed immediately."
We will do our best.
We won't let His Majesty down.
Long live His Majesty.
Go and prepare yourselves.
We shall.
-Stop. -Stop. You can't come in.
A great number of students study hard for ten years
awaiting the opportunity to pass their training
and go to Chengming Palace.
I look forward to seeing
if someone among you deserves my warm welcome
and be called the Ultimate Scholar.
-You go. -Me.
I...
I'll go later.
Why?
Is no one from Qingming Academy taking the challenge?
Chun Yumeng.
Are you scared as well?
Your father is Tiansheng Empire's most powerful warrior.
Does he have a cowardly son?
That really makes me sad.
I, Chun Yumeng, will try my best
and be the first to take the challenge for Qingming Academy.
All right.
How dare you?
Forgive me, Duke Chang.
Qingming Academy's security is tight. We cannot get into the lecture hall.
All right.
It seems we really need to have an Ultimate Scholar today.
He's out.
-He's out. -I see him.
How was it? Tell us.
Why do you care? Go if you dare.
Do you think I wouldn't dare?
I, Qian Yan, will do my best.
I'll test the difficulty of the Conundrum on your behalf.
Grand Secretary Yao.
You have assisted His Majesty for over 20 years.
You're among the best in the capital and your son must be as good as you.
Why don't you ask Yangyu to try as well?
I have long wanted to try.
Qian Yan is out.
I guess he couldn't answer them.
He wasn't able to answer.
All right.
It's not the first time
that His Majesty used the Conundrum to choose an Ultimate Scholar.
Why are you especially hoping that someone can answer the Conundrum this time?
If His Majesty can select an outstanding talent,
it would be good for our empire.
Why are you so reluctant today?
Could it be that you're afraid of losing your power
with the addition of one more scholar in Chengming Palace?
How can my thoughts compare to yours?
First question.
Discuss
"Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth in valley maintenance."
Yao Yangyu answered correctly.
Open the second question.
All right.
For this question...
That's...
I apologize to Your Majesty.
Even the son of Grand Secretary Yao who studied in Qingming Academy for ten years
only managed to answer one question.
Forget it.
Back to the palace.
Headmaster Xin, do you know your sin?
Headmaster Xin.
You have taught thousands of students at Qingming Academy,
yet no one can ever answer the Conundrum.
Does Qingming Academy deserve to be called the school of heavenly scholars?
I don't care what you do.
Someone must be able to answer the Conundrum today.
I shall do as you request.
I know I have sinned.
Your Majesty, I want to recommend someone quick-witted
who can try to take up the challenge.
It's just that...
It's just that he is hideous and unfit to face Your Majesty.
His Majesty is using the Conundrum to choose an Ultimate Scholar.
He does not require such criteria.
How can we possibly lose a talent just because of his appearance?
Your Majesty.
I would like to request the presence of this person.
Your Majesty, it hasn't been a month
since I started overseeing Qingming Academy.
One day, there must be some scholar who can answer the Conundrum.
I also believe an Ultimate Scholar will surely come
from Qingming Academy under my supervision.
However, Your Majesty,
regarding this hideous person,
I think there is no need for you to see him.
While he is terribly talented,
if his looks are perverse,
it might startle Your Majesty.
That won't be good, will it?
Your Royal Highness,
if he startles His Majesty, will you be responsible?
If we can choose an Ultimate Scholar for His Majesty,
I am willing to take responsibility.
Your Royal Highness and Your Highness.
I have an idea
to let His Majesty see this person without being startled.
Could Your Majesty permit this person
to cover his face when seeing you?
Headmaster Xin is quick-witted indeed.
Your Majesty, I would like to request the presence of this person.
If he turns out to be a useless scholar, Your Royal Highness,
don't regret it.
We'll see whether or not
he is a useless scholar once His Majesty meets him.
Your Majesty.
I would like to request the presence of this person.
All right.
-Thank you, Your Majesty. -Thank you, Your Majesty.
Who is that veiled fellow?
We're all here.
Second question.
Discuss "Consideration in both punishment and reward."
-The Qingming scholar answered correctly. -Yangyu.
-Third question. -Who is he?
I don't know either.
Qingming Academy really has many talented scholars.
I would also like to see who he really is. He managed to answer the second question.
How surprising.
Father.
Aren't you curious as to who that person is?
Why don't you bring us in to take a look?
I think it's strange indeed.
-Come on, let's go. -Come on.
Come on. Let's take a look.
Do you see him?
Come on. Let's take a look.
Third question.
Discuss...
Zhao Yuan, hold it.
I have another question.
I'm willing to listen.
I bet you.
I look at past leaders
who received sovereign orders and dedicated their lives to their work.
However, the last Emperor of Dacheng Empire
overlooked many things.
Soldiers stayed in the central plains.
People were trapped in exhaustion with their numbers cut to half.
If you were an official,
what would you have done to make it prosperous again?
What can you do to alleviate such difficulties?
Who should be punished for those past mistakes?
Who should we warn for future mistakes?
I believe Your Majesty's question
intends to look at history to see how things should go moving forward.
How fortunate for society and the people.
Your Majesty came to Qingming Academy to choose talented scholars,
find workable plans, and listen to ideas.
That's the strategy used by talented and knowledgeable people.
I believe a country doesn't need to worry about lack of talent,
but about not using the talents.
Worry not about lacking candor, but not permitting candor.
We have a large administration.
There are hundreds of officials.
We do not lack talent.
Come on.
Make way.
What's going on?
Chief Gu, someone answered correctly all three questions of the Conundrum.
His Majesty is very pleased.
My peers and the scholars are all happy for Tiansheng.
All of us want to see the face of this talented scholar.
You...
You're not being considerate.
Release.
Hurry. Do you see him?
Who exactly is it? Well...
I can't see clearly.
Do you see him?
Amazing.
-Do you know who it is? -I don't see him.
Let me see.
I can't tell who he is.
Don't block my view.
If you can't see, then let me.
I don't know him.
If Your Majesty cannot benefit from my words, there's no need to ask.
If I cannot say anything, I shouldn't have come.
Since I'm here and Your Majesty is asking me questions,
I should answer candidly.
Since you asked, I'll try my best to come up with a good plan.
Without enough loyalty, candor would be lacking.
I won't regret my candor.
Don't deal with people you don't trust.
You can't doubt yourself.
You can't doubt others.
Worry about the Emperor and not yourself. Provide assistance without seeking reward.
Remember that in whatever you do.
The one who governs rules over the Emperor's citizens.
If the Emperor's at peace, I can live.
If not, I might die.
Worry about the citizens with such an attitude.
Don't think about yourself.
Think about the citizens.
Good.
Outstanding.
As they say, your words show who you are.
I believe that such a magnanimous scholar
would surely not have perverse looks.
Today, I want to see
the face of Tiansheng's Ultimate Scholar.
Subtitle translation by Coleen Chua