A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
ADAPTED FROM TIANXIA GUIYUAN'S NOVEL HUANG QUAN
EPISODE 49
Don't you understand, Headmaster Xin?
Feng Hao doesn't know anything.
And Zhiwei?
Do you think she knows who she is?
If I were really planning something,
if I still wanted Feng Hao to restore Dacheng,
why would I keep this from them until now?
Then why are you still keeping these things?
These are the only things my late husband left me.
I can't bear to destroy them.
Regarding this birth card,
to you,
Feng Hao is the remnant of Dacheng.
But to me,
he's just my child.
This birth card
has his real birth information.
YEAR OF XINYOU, APRIL 18TH
I was overly sentimental.
Headmaster Xin.
After I die,
please destroy this birth card
and remove Feng Hao's birthmark.
This way,
no one will ever know Feng Hao's real identity.
There will be no remnant of Dacheng anymore.
I just hope that the two of them
can live well,
just like children from ordinary families.
Peacefully.
I hope you'll allow that.
FIFTEENTH GENERATION NINTH ROYAL SON, ZHANGSUN HAO
Remember what you said.
There will be no remnant of Dacheng anymore.
I will be indebted to you for eternity, Headmaster Xin.
There's no need to thank me.
I just don't want Prince of Chu to be sad.
I hope you can remember Prince of Chu's grace.
Please don't implicate him in the future
and make me regret
being overly sentimental today.
Go get Feng Hao outside Shunping Gate
at a quarter to ten today.
Since Headmaster Xin's so worried that I'll stir up trouble
and do bad things to Ning Yi,
I don't want to disappoint him.
Your Highness, are you guessing that Feng Hao is with Xin Ziyan?
Even if he's not with him,
he must know where Feng Hao is.
Watch Xin Ziyan carefully.
Yes, Your Highness.
Ziyan.
It's late.
Go and rest.
All right.
How long will you sit here?
It's almost dawn.
Furthermore, don't you always say
you want to have a child?
How about...
How about we...
My good wife.
Of course, I understand what you're trying to do.
You see me sitting here alone,
looking so worried.
You want me to be happy.
-However... -However, you're worried
that Erhua and Feng Hao would be in danger going out of the city.
Am I right?
You know me so well, as if you have been
inside of my head.
It's half past nine.
The ghosts are out and about.
Looks like Feng Hao won't be able to come.
This is our destiny.
Mingying.
Since they already found out, please consider Leader Gu's last wish.
Go to Minhai immediately and find Zhiwei.
I'll stay in the capital and find a way to save Feng Hao.
There's no need.
To me, being in hiding
for the past few years was a form of torture itself.
Since we can't avoid this anymore,
I consider this a release.
Furthermore, isn't our destiny
already set from 20 years ago?
Forget it.
I'm also tired.
I have endured
longer than Gu Heng.
You can't give up so easily.
As long as there's a ray of hope, I'll protect you both.
Don't try to persuade me.
I've already decided.
If possible,
I just hope
that Zhiwei never finds out her real identity.
I hope she can live peacefully all her life.
Mingying.
Even though I can never atone for my sins...
Mingying.
Please help me.
Mingying.
Protect the royal children.
Only then will I be at peace
even if I die.
It's been 20 years.
In my heart,
she's my daughter.
If possible,
I hope you and Feng Hao
can also live peacefully.
But the heavens won't grant my wish.
With the change of the empire, everything changed.
How can we let go of all the lives lost and the bloodshed?
Zhiwei...
Zhiwei won't agree either.
Master Zong.
Regardless of whether it's favor or enmity,
it's all given to her by us,
who still think of the former empire.
One day,
if Zhiwei finds out about all this...
Master Zong,
I have
one last request.
Don't force her.
Let Zhiwei make her own decisions.
Don't worry.
I promise you.
Mingying.
It's time.
What must come will come.
Look.
Look at your sad face.
I have never seen you like this before.
I almost can't recognize you anymore.
Is this the Xin Ziyan I married?
The Xin Ziyan I married is always composed and deals with things calmly.
Even if something big happens, he always has a way to deal with it.
That's right.
You're right.
I should always be composed
and deal with things calmly.
Even if something big happens, I should think of a way to deal with it.
Then...
Well... Why does it seem like
you're worried about something?
I'm worried about you.
You're not the least bit worried about Erhua?
Erhua has always been smart since she was little.
With her beside Feng Hao, nothing will happen to him.
Furthermore,
they have Prince of Chu's personal guards with them.
What can happen to them?
Bad news!
Ziyan.
-Ziyan. -Erhua.
-Erhua! -Tell us!
-Tell us what happened. -Erhua.
We were surrounded by Ministry of Justice's men along the way.
Feng Hao risked his life to save me.
But he and two other guards
fell into the hands of Ministry of Justice's men.
I'm useless.
I couldn't do what you asked me to.
Please punish me.
No. There's no need to blame yourself.
-It's not your fault. -Stand.
Prince of Wei, Ning Qi, must have ordered Peng Pei to do this.
They want to charge Prince of Chu
for covering up for the remnant of Dacheng.
Ziyan.
What should we do?
It seems
I can only see His Majesty now.
Ziyan.
When will you be back?
Wait for me.
TO GENERAL LU HAITAO
Did Ning Yi send this?
No.
The guards at North Gate caught a spy from the Chang family
and found this letter.
A spy? Did he confess?
He said Chang Zhongxin had him deliver this letter to Yanzhou.
Chang Zhongxin wrote this indeed
to get an army from their former comrades in Yanzhou.
But didn't Prince of Chu transfer the army in Yanzhou to Xiayang?
I'm also wondering about that.
Could it be that Yanzhou's army still hasn't reached Xiayang?
Nanyi, please go there.
If something changed within Yanzhou's army
and they didn't go to assist Prince of Chu,
use this fish amulet immediately and bring the army to Xiayang yourself.
All right.
Don't worry. Nothing will happen to Prince of Chu.
Thank you.
What should we do?
Prince of Wei will surely use this chance to stir up trouble.
That's exactly why
I came here to ask you to go to the prison
and ruin Prince of Wei's plan in order to protect Prince of Chu.
Don't worry. I'll surely do my best.
I really had no choice. That's why I'm asking you
to take such a risk.
Thank you very much.
Wait.
This concerns the remnant of Dacheng,
His Majesty's biggest worry.
If you go there now,
what if...
My crime is not the prince's crime.
When I meet His Majesty, I will do all I can
to ensure Prince of Chu doesn't take the blame.
If I don't return,
I hope
you can protect my family, Grand Secretary Yao.
-Your Highness. -Did those two guards confess?
They're too tight-lipped. They didn't say anything.
Torture them intensely.
Regardless of how tight their lips are, you must open them.
I understand.
When are you letting me out?
Once you confess, you may go.
What should I confess?
Let's start with the basics.
What's your name? Where do you live?
That's all?
I mean,
aren't you asking the obvious?
Who in this prison doesn't know that I'm Feng Hao?
My sister, my elder sister,
is Tiansheng's first female Royal Inspector,
Feng Zhiwei.
That means, Royal Inspector Feng
is involved too.
From the looks of things, yes, indeed.
What did my sister do?
You blocked my way on the road and locked me in here.
What are you planning to do?
Do you know the two guards of Prince of Chu who were captured
with you?
Yes.
What if I do,
and what if I don't?
They've already confessed.
They were tortured.
But I want to hear you say it again.
Based on your sincerity,
I might spare you from the torture.
You can't torture me.
My skin is delicate. I'm intolerant to pain.
-You can't torture me. -Then tell the truth.
You left in the middle of the night.
Whom were you planning to see?
Where were you planning to go?
The thing is, I don't understand any of your questions.
Is that so?
Then I'll tell you something you can understand.
Who let you out of the prison?
-Where is he now? -They knocked me out.
I didn't see anything.
I couldn't remember anything when I woke up.
Your Highness.
Headmaster Xin Ziyan is in the palace.
I pay respect to Your Majesty.
You came here so late.
You're really diligent.
Tell me. What's the matter?
Please look at this, Your Majesty.
Gu Heng from Bloody Pagoda?
FIFTEENTH GENERATION NINTH ROYAL SON, ZHANGSUN HAO
Dacheng's royal son?
These ancient objects
take me back
to the era of Dacheng Empire.
I wonder where you found this.
Your Majesty.
Before Prince of Chu left the capital,
he asked me to monitor a family.
This family only has a few members.
They obey the law and there's nothing suspicious about them.
I found out by accident that there's a profligate son in this family.
So I used Prince of Chu's guard,
Ning Cheng, to trick him into gambling.
He couldn't pay his big gambling debt, so Ning Cheng sent him to prison.
Then I pretended to break him out of prison
so that he'd trust me.
With this plan, I found these ancient objects
with him.
Also, I myself saw
that he has the unique birthmark
that Dacheng's Zhangsun Hao has.
In that case,
you've done a great thing.
-You may rise. -Thank you, Your Majesty.
Please forgive me for coming this late at night.
I discovered someone who seems to be the remnant of Dacheng.
I don't dare to delay, so I came here to ask for your orders.
Rise and speak, both of you.
-Thank you, Father. -Thank you, Your Majesty.
How did you discover him?
What proof do you have?
Tell me in detail.
Father.
After Warden Peng worked in the prison,
he discovered something strange that caught my attention.
So I investigated and suddenly found out that this
-is related to Dacheng's Bloody Pagoda. -In the prison?
What strange thing did you discover?
Your Majesty.
After I reported for work there,
I discovered that there was a prisoner
who was not recorded in the books and was well taken care of.
Aside from not being tortured,
he was gambling and having fun in prison.
I was surprised.
After I investigated, I found out
that Prince of Chu's guard, Ning Cheng, sent him there.
Based on my observation,
this person didn't seem like he was locked up in prison.
Speak.
It seemed like
he was put in prison on purpose to be protected.
I felt uneasy about this.
I initially wanted to check with Dali Temple,
but there was a prison break the next day.
I didn't know where he went.
In Warden Peng's panic, he asked me for help.
I'm also not sure why Ning Yi did this.
But I was thinking I shouldn't delay Ning Yi's official business,
so I personally went to the prison to check.
I never thought
that I'd find the Dacheng's Command Token
used by the leader of Bloody Pagoda, Gu Heng, in this person's possessions.
We also have other prisoners as witnesses.
Father.
We can have Warden Peng send them here,
so you can personally interrogate them.
Go.
Yes, Your Majesty.
It seems Prince of Chu is still my good son.
Even when he's in Minhai,
he's still concerned with matters in the capital.
You're also my good official.
You were able to break such a cold case in one shot.
-What an accomplishment. -It's incomparable.
Prince of Chu's heart is in sync with Your Majesty's.
He thinks your thoughts and worries about your concerns.
He's really our role model.
My small accomplishment is all due to you, Your Majesty.
Like the light of day, it doesn't give monsters and devils
a place to hide.
You've also learned the art of flattery.
It's all due
-to Official Zhao's pointers. -I'm flattered.
It came from my heart.
Since you've found the remnant of Dacheng in the capital,
I want to know where he has been hiding
all these years
and where he is now.
Your Majesty.
This person's name is Feng Hao.
He's been hiding in Colonel Qiu Shangqi's residence.
He was brought up by Colonel Qiu's sister, Qiu Mingying.
But based on my investigation,
Colonel Qiu doesn't know his real identity.
As to where this person is right now...
Please forgive my usurpation of authority.
That Qiu Shangqi is good.
He's so bold.
He committed such a treacherous crime in my watch.
Ning Qi, let me ask you.
Is Feng Zhiwei involved?
Where is Feng Hao?
Father.
I don't dare to guess if Royal Inspector Feng knows about this.
However,
they've been together for 19 years.
If you say she doesn't know anything, it's quite hard to believe.
As for Feng Hao...
Please forgive my usurpation of authority.
I got the Royal Token.
I was thinking that this is an important matter.
But Ning Yi is not in the capital.
I don't dare to act on my own,
so I asked Peng Pei to bring the Royal Token
to Qingming and question Headmaster Xin.
But he said he has a way to deal with this.
But I was really anxious and worried,
so I went to Qingming myself to see Headmaster Xin.
But when I was outside the academy, I saw...
What did you see? Speak.
I saw Prince of Chu's guard
trying to sneak Feng Hao away.
In my panic, I could only arrest them
and lock them in prison.
Why do you say you usurped authority?
I was thinking
that since this Feng Hao was able to hide in the capital all these years,
and Colonel Qiu never gave any special care to him,
he must have comrades.
Maybe he even has the secret protection
of the remaining members of Bloody Pagoda here in the capital.
So I pretended to take him out of the city and sent men to watch him.
I discovered that he indeed has comrades.
Your Majesty can capture them all at the same time.
You've always been smart.
You thought of a great plan.
You've done nothing wrong.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
I think
that since we already found out about the remnant of Dacheng,
we can secretly order the Royal Guards
to watch Feng Hao and his mother.
This case regarding the remnant of Dacheng
really makes me feel emotional.
Compared to the late Emperor Ai,
I'm considered very lucky.
Ning Yi
is helping me out there.
You and Ning Qi
are helping me here.
You can say we all have one heart and mind.
Prince of Wei?
Is Prince of Wei working on this case too?
Before you came to see me,
Ning Qi already came by.
He said he captured the remnant of Dacheng who was about to escape.
Don't you know about this?
No.
Prince of Wei...
But why didn't Prince of Wei discuss this with me?
He acted on his own and alerted the enemy.
If we go and try to find
the remaining members of Bloody Pagoda now,
it will be even more difficult.
That's why,
to prevent Qiu Mingying from escaping after knowing that Feng Hao was captured,
I ordered Ning Qi to go to Qiu Residence
and arrest Qiu Mingying.
Colonel Qiu.
I think you know very well
what my intentions are for coming here.
This is your sister, Madam Gu, right?
The widow of Gu Heng, the leader of Bloody Pagoda.
Nice meeting you.
I pay respect to Prince of Wei.
My identity is known only to me
and my brother in this household.
Today, since His Majesty can't tolerate us,
I'm willing to take responsibility for all the crimes.
Please investigate thoroughly. Don't implicate the innocent.
Your Highness.
I'm willing to share the crime with my sister.
All right.
Madam Gu committed a grave crime.
Since Colonel Qiu values affection and loyalty so much,
then I'll do as you wish.
Guards.
Take them.
Yes, Your Highness.
Headmaster Xin.
There's one thing I don't understand.
Can you clear my confusion?
I'm willing to listen.
According to Ning Qi,
when he captured Feng Hao,
the ones with him were Prince of Chu's guard.
Do you know about this?
Yes, I do.
He's the spy I had arranged.
Your Majesty knows that I'm a scholar.
I don't have anyone who knows martial arts.
So I had arranged him.
A spy?
Your relationship with Prince of Chu is not ordinary.
-You can order a guard from his residence. -No.
Your Majesty.
It's all because investigating the remnant of Dacheng
was all arranged by Prince of Chu.
He saw that I have no one I could use, so he sent a few guards to assist me.
Your Majesty, please understand.
By right, I should trust you
and Prince of Chu.
However, you've personally experienced
the case when the former Crown Prince
hid Bloody Pagoda in private.
Prince of Wei is not aware of this.
And he has a bit of a misunderstanding with Prince of Chu.
To be fair,
can you listen to this guard's confession
with me?
I came without delay tonight
because I wanted to present the evidence to Your Majesty.
I was in such a hurry that I haven't had dinner.
I'm starving now.
Am I allowed to go back to my residence and eat a little...
Yes, Your Majesty.
I pay respect to Father.
You may rise.
Thank you, Father.
Prince of Wei.
Headmaster Xin.
Why are you in such haste?
Just say whatever you want to report.
You don't need to mind Headmaster Xin.
Speak.
Father.
Warden Peng said that the two guards from Prince of Chu's residence
committed suicide while being interrogated.
And the Bloody Pagoda's Command Token was found on one of them.
Headmaster Xin.
-Yes, Your Majesty. -Prince of Wei.
How should we resolve this case?
I want to hear your thoughts.
Father.
Warden Peng said that when those two were in prison,
they didn't find anything strange with them.
And now that they're dead,
they cannot bear witness anymore.
I believe there must be a hidden story behind this.
That's why I want to properly investigate this,
completely eliminate Bloody Pagoda, and punish the mastermind.
I hope Father permits.
Your Majesty.
Given the situation, I believe we should
investigate with the clues we have
and abolish Bloody Pagoda from the previous empire
in order to eliminate our worries.
That's why I ask Your Majesty to give the orders,
and I'll investigate Qiu Mingying tomorrow.
You're really my good official.
Therefore,
I allow your wife, Dahua,
to stay in the palace for a few days.
For one,
you can be at ease while handling this case.
Secondly,
you can prevent Bloody Pagoda from taking revenge.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Prince of Wei, follow Headmaster Xin and learn from him.
Protect Headmaster Xin for me.
Yes, Father.
Xing Yi.
You all refuse to follow orders.
What's the matter?
Why does everyone think I will die?
Leader Zong.
How would we dare not trust you?
However, you ordered us to leave the capital,
but you're staying. Well...
Please tell us your reasons.
If you don't, we cannot follow your order.
Come on. Xing Yi, stand.
Stand, everyone.
I asked all of you to leave the capital
because Madam Gu is willing to die
to protect the Dacheng's heir.
Bloody Pagoda should also preserve ourselves
until the royal heir can escape and lead you to revolt
and overthrow Tiansheng.
We'll risk our lives to follow you.
-We'll risk our lives to follow you. -We'll risk our lives to follow you.
I'm staying
because Ning Shizheng is very suspicious.
We can't trust him.
Madam Gu is relying on herself to protect the Dacheng's heir.
That's why we made a deal to confess about this place if necessary.
We'll use my blood to let Ning Shizheng believe
that the Dacheng's heir and Bloody Pagoda
have all been eliminated.
Leader Zong.
I volunteer for this.
You can't.
If the leader of Bloody Pagoda doesn't die,
how will Ning Shizheng believe it?
Bloody Pagoda, listen to my command.
Strengthen our power.
On the day of our revenge...
-We'll wipe out Tiansheng. -We'll wipe out Tiansheng.
Leader Zong, forgive me.
Take him away with us.
-We shall. -We shall.
-Come. -Hurry.
Subtitle translation by Coleen Chua