A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
ADAPTED FROM TIANXIA GUIYUAN'S NOVEL HUANG QUAN
EPISODE 61
Hua Qiong.
Sorry you had to suffer.
You do know me well, Prince of Chu.
You are right.
This is a serious matter.
I should be more cautious.
Please forgive me, Your Majesty.
As Prince of Chu mentioned,
Feng Zhiwei is originally from Tiansheng.
She has another identity as well.
The ninth princess of Dacheng.
Am I right?
Prince of An, you are truly
the most detail-oriented person I've ever met.
You're too kind.
The members of Dacheng's Zhangsun family all have a birthmark on their shoulder.
I wonder if you could show it to me.
Prince of An, that's inappropriate.
You're just telling me what you suspect.
Where's the truth or evidence?
You favor Ning Yi.
Of course, you think someone's framing him.
Your Majesty, I just don't want anyone to fool you.
Please give me some time, so that I can find out the truth.
Then you can kill me.
The truth?
They're just fighting for the throne.
What good is it to discover the truth?
I'll just lose another child.
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, Headmaster Xin is here.
Let him here.
Yes, Your Majesty.
I pay respect to Your Majesty.
What can I do for you today, Your Majesty?
-At ease. -Thank you, Your Majesty.
Xin Ziyan.
Can I trust you?
Yes.
Then let me ask you this.
Do you know where Ning Yi is right now?
I don't.
I don't want to continue investigating Shaoning's death.
I asked you to come here today
to ask you to help Ning Qi become my successor.
Are you willing to help him?
Why did you suddenly make this decision, Your Majesty?
I don't have much time left.
Your Highness.
Did you find the birthmark?
I did.
When you go to Jinshi,
Feng Zhiwei will be in great danger.
It's best if no one knows her true identity.
Will you protect her?
If you're asking me this, you must have a plan already.
I'm willing to protect Zhiwei, even if it costs me my life.
Feng Zhiwei has the Zhangsun family birthmark on her body.
I'll have someone make the same mark on yours.
This is an ointment for Feng Zhiwei
to cover her birthmark.
Hua Qiong, good luck.
I've heard that the Queen of Jinshi is both brave and smart.
I'm glad I finally have the opportunity to meet her.
I told you who I was.
Yet you were too suspicious to trust me.
Yes, that's my fault.
The King of Jinshi, Helian Zheng, and his troops
have arrived outside Pucheng.
It seems like the Queen
is of utmost importance to the King of Jinshi.
Good timing.
How can you go meet your husband like this?
Maids.
The Queen needs to bathe and change.
Yes, Your Highness.
Hua Qiong.
From what I've seen in the past few days,
you and Feng Zhiwei are very close.
Therefore, I'd like you to ask the Queen
if she's willing
to welcome the King of Jinshi, Helian Zheng, at the city wall?
Would you be willing to do that?
I understand what you mean, Prince of An.
I'm just worried that it might not be the best idea.
Why is that, Prince of Chu?
You've seen how stubborn Feng Zhiwei is.
What if she climbs up the city wall and jumps?
Prince of An,
you'll be left with nothing to bargain with.
If this angers Helian Zheng,
he'll surely attack Pucheng.
It's all right if you lose the city,
but if you lose the trust of your father,
that would be troublesome.
Prince of Chu is here in Pucheng.
Would she really jump?
We can't be sure.
Then you should go up there with her, Prince of Chu.
If she really jumps--
Prince of An, how can you be so arrogant?
Prince of Chu said he came here to hide for a few days.
He was just being polite. Are you really going to risk it?
If anything happens to Prince of Chu while he's here,
the anger of the Emperor of Tiansheng will make its way to Dayue.
Then your father
will probably have to sacrifice you.
Prince of An.
Please calm down.
It's just a maid's nonsense.
Hua Qiong, go get a bandage for your wound.
I need to ask you some questions later.
Go now.
Yes, Your Highness.
Prince of An.
I guess we both care about this matter.
How about we sit down and find a way to make us both happy?
What do you have in mind?
Tell me.
Prince of An,
this is a serious matter.
We must plan it carefully.
Your Majesty is leading the troops yourself.
The soldiers are in high spirits.
It'll be too easy to conquer Pucheng.
Of course, it's easy to conquer Pucheng.
Yet, we must be careful.
I have to make sure that the Queen is safe.
Yao Yangyu from Tiansheng pays respect to the King of Jinshi.
You may rise.
Your Majesty, how do you know that the Queen is in Pucheng?
I found Gu Nanyi wounded at Baitou Cliff.
If that's the case,
we need to send a spy in there to see what's going on before we act.
That was what I was thinking.
But after the Baitou Cliff battle,
Jin Siyu had become like a startled bird.
He has closed off Pucheng. There's no way in.
I have already lost a few Jinshi scouts.
Yet we still can't get in.
Yao Yangyu, since you're here, I need to ask you for a favor.
Don't say "favor." I'll comply to any of your orders.
Would you please find a way
to tell Prince of Chu that Feng Zhiwei has been locked up in Pucheng?
Tell the Emperor of Tiansheng to put pressure on Dayue
to prevent Jin Siyu from hurting her.
I...
Did I hear you right?
You want Prince of Chu to save Feng Zhiwei?
When have you become so generous?
As long as Zhiwei is safe,
I don't care how it's done.
Excuse me.
Your Majesty, Gu Nanyi left a letter and left for Pucheng.
I'm afraid His Majesty has chosen the wrong prince.
What are you going to do, Headmaster Xin?
Right now, I have to follow His Majesty's orders.
Otherwise, His Majesty may order someone else to help Ning Qi.
But I think, since it is clear that Ning Qi wants the throne,
we can just go along with that.
We will pretend to support him, collect evidence at the same time,
then expose his wrongdoings, casting him into hell.
I agree with you.
But another important issue is to find out where Prince of Chu is.
I'll ask someone to go meet Yao Yangyu
and check if Prince of Chu went to Pucheng.
Have you checked our surroundings?
Jin Siyu is very careful.
We can't be caught off-guard.
Your Highness, we are in a pavilion in the inner court.
It seems to be very peaceful here,
but there are many hidden guards surrounding us.
I'll find out how many there are and how often they change shifts.
Please be cautious.
We can't ruin our relationship with Jin Siyu right now.
Watch the door. I need to talk to Lingying.
Yes, Your Highness.
Ning Yi.
I know that you have many questions.
I've been avoiding your questions about your mother.
I'm guilty.
I don't expect you to forgive me.
Lingying.
I know there must be a reason.
All I want to ask is,
is my mother
still alive?
My poor Yale.
Your father locked her up
in a room without windows.
It has been 20 years.
I couldn't tell anyone. I had no one to tell.
All I could do was pray.
Pray for you to grow up soon.
I wanted you to grow up faster because...
I was worried she would be gone before you found out.
Mother is alive.
Why have I believed Father's lies for 18 years?
How could I not know?
Lingying.
-Ning Yi. -Lingying.
Ning Yi.
Don't blame yourself.
How could it be your fault?
If Yale saw you like this,
she would be heartbroken.
Lingying. I was only eight years old.
She was gone so suddenly.
Whenever I really missed her, I blamed her.
I blamed her for not even saying goodbye to me.
No. It was me.
I was too smart as a child.
To win compliments from Father, I must have offended the Chang family.
That's what got Mother in trouble.
No, Ning Yi.
It's not your fault.
No, it's not your fault.
I have something to give you.
Your mother gave it to me.
From Mother?
This...
She wrote this after she was locked up.
She told me to hide it well
and give it to you one day
when you can protect yourself.
Ning Yi.
My child.
When you receive this letter,
I might already be dead.
Forgive me for saying goodbye to you like this.
Forgive me for being forced
to protect you by hurting you.
Forgive me for not being there to watch you grow up.
As I write this letter,
you are only eight.
You're a smart, kind child.
Therefore, I know that when you grow up,
you'll also be a smart and kind man.
I hope that you can leave the royal family.
You must choose what makes you happy.
Unless one day,
you find your one, true mission.
Ning Cheng.
Your Highness.
There is a change in plans.
I'm returning to the capital to rescue my mother.
Go prepare.
We're killing Jin Siyu tonight.
-Go. -Yes, Your Highness.
No, you can't do that.
Ning Yi, I know how you feel right now.
You want to see your mother immediately.
I won't stop you.
But I must ask you, do you have a plan on how to rescue her?
I only know that the secret room is in the Inner Court.
Since I'm blind, I don't know where it is exactly.
Your Father has people guarding it day and night.
If you try to break in,
before Yale even sees you,
you'll be killed.
-No. -I have a plan.
I'll have a plan as soon as I get there.
This is a waste of time.
I have to leave right now.
I have to save Mother.
I can't wait any longer.
-I must go now. -No.
Ning Yi.
Whenever I had a chance to leave the secret room,
your mother would tell me again and again
to say this to you.
"If one day, he hurts himself while trying to save me,
then all this suffering I've been through will go to waste.
I won't forgive him."
Why didn't you tell me?
Why didn't you tell me when I was in the capital?
I pay respect to Your Majesty.
You may rise.
Help her up now.
What's going on?
Is this how the Dayue servants serve their royalty?
Why are you standing there?
Go get an imperial doctor.
Go now.
Forgive us, Your Majesty. We'll go now.
Hua Qiong.
Zhiwei, what you did today scared me to death.
I have to ask you something.
-The mark-- -That's not important.
Do you know why Prince of Chu is here?
It seems like he's here to save us.
I don't know what his plan is.
We have to find a way to meet him.
Hua Qiong.
Ning Yi looks cold, but he's actually warmhearted.
I'm just worried that no matter what his plan is,
it'll be ruined by Jin Siyu.
I'm worried about his safety.
I believe Prince of Chu came here with a plan.
We should try to find out what it is first.
If it's feasible, we'll work with him.
If it's not, we'll find another way.
All right.
But...
What is it?
Why are you sighing?
I just remembered an old saying.
It depicts our fate almost perfectly.
"What does not start well, will not end right."
We met each other through a tragedy.
Our endings will be tragic as well.
This is our destiny.
You still can't get over him, right?
You're worried you'll hurt him.
Hua Qiong.
It's not just him.
I've caused the death of my mother and Feng Hao.
I'm worried I'll hurt you, Gu Nanyi, and Helian Zheng.
I'll hurt everyone close to me. I...
Hua Qiong.
Promise me one thing.
Jin Siyu will find out who I am eventually.
If I get in the way of Ning Yi's plan to escape,
you must kill me and end this.
-Do you understand? -Feng Zhiwei.
You shouldn't think about that.
Think about those soldiers who followed you,
their family members who are waiting for them in Jinshi.
You, Feng Zhiwei,
have to stay alive.
You have to take them home.
Feng Zhiwei, look at me.
Look at me.
Promise me. Don't you dare give up,
not even at the very end.
All right.
Your Highness.
Please sit. Here.
Lingying.
There's a poem in my mother's letter.
I still don't know what it means after a long deliberation.
Could you help me?
I'll read it out to you.
All right.
"The water is the color of peach blossoms.
The mountains smell like jiajian incense.
Upon the white rocks and clear river,
who can wait for the moonlight?"
What does it mean?
She had me memorize how to lift the Shuangsheng Spell.
She told me that everything needed was in the letter.
That must be what this is.
Mother is very cautious.
She's worried that if Father finds the letter,
he would kill me.
Ning Yi.
Now that we have what we need,
we should do it soon.
Yale wants to free you of the spell.
Lingying.
Making an incense is simple
and most of the ingredients can be found easily.
But I don't know what jiajian is made of.
Your mother told me
we also need the Riluo Tribe sorceress' instruments.
The sorceress' instrument and jiajian incense...
She does embroidery for me.
Jiarong, please turn around.
Lingying.
This must be fate.
Right here in Puyuan, there's a girl called Jiarong.
She smells like jiajian incense.
FOURTH PRINCE
"The fourth son of Dacheng's Emperor Ai, Zhangsun Hong,
has come to beg for forgiveness from Tiansheng's Lord of Minhai.
I have prepared my own coffin
and am determined to die.
All I want is for the Lord to punish me with decapitation
so that I can go back to where the sun shines and the moon lights."
Now, everyone who has read that
is dead.
It's no use.
Even if you burn it to ashes,
each and every one of those words have been etched forever in my heart.
It's all right.
Ning Shizheng and Ning Yi have turned upon each other.
After Ning Shizheng kills Ning Yi,
I'll kill the old man.
I'm sure that the blood of your enemy
can wash away the humiliation in your heart.
Zong Chen, the leader of Bloody Pagoda, pays respect to Your Highness.
You may rise.
Thank you, Your Highness.
Thanks to your wisdom and bravery,
we can finally get revenge for Gu Heng and his family.
We can't let Ning Yi die.
One day,
I'll use the blood of Ning Yi as an offering to Gu Heng and his family.
But not now.
Your Highness, is our next step
to let Ning Shizheng see Ning Qi's true intentions?
Leader Zong,
we should let Gu Yan
find some clues about Ning Qi and Shaoning's death.
You want them to fight each other and wear them out?
Yes.
I want Ning Shizheng to know what it feels like
to lose his children one by one.
I understand.
I'll take my leave.
Yueling.
Remember your excuse for leaving the Court.
You can't go back empty-handed.
Your Highness.
What are you going to do with the traitor, Gu Yan?
After we use him,
I'll give him to you and let you kill him yourself.
You know me so well, Zhangsun Hong.
The fourth prince, Zhangsun Hong, has been chosen by the heavens.
He is now the Crown Prince and will relocate to East Palace.
He will uphold the traditions of the past thousand years.
Your Highness.
They've sent the third message asking you to return to the capital.
Let's take all the prisoners and head there now.
Also, Ning Yi must be here to save Feng Zhiwei.
Why let him stay here?
Guo Jun.
The Crown Prince finally has my weakness.
Do you think he won't take advantage of that?
Therefore,
I'll invite him here to Puyuan
to bring me to the capital and be rewarded.
Your Highness, you mean...
We have to make good use of the Queen of Jinshi.
Think about it.
Ning Yi wants to save her.
Helian Zheng wants to save her too.
Very well.
I'll open the doors and welcome them here.
That way,
when the Crown Prince dies here,
I'll have a scapegoat to blame.
Your Highness,
I've perfected the azalea powder.
Really? Show me.
Yes, Your Highness.
Where did you come from?
Baitou Cliff in Jinshi.
Have you seen the leader of the troops, Feng Zhiwei?
During this battle, we had two leaders.
I'm just a mere soldier.
I can't meet the leader.
Get the sword and kill yourself.
Doctor, for how many days
must the powder be taken for one to become like this?
Your Highness. I've experimented many times.
I've given the powder to other prisoners in various dosages.
The others have either died or gone crazy.
This prisoner took the powder for nine days in a row.
Nine days.
Very well.
I'll keep them here for nine days.
Doctor, hurry up and make more of it.
Yes, Your Highness.
But Your Highness,
one of the main ingredients in the powder is the Lianhua azalea.
We're almost out of those in the palace.
Then go out and get some.
Buy all the Lianhua azaleas in the city.
Yes, Your Highness.
Guo Jun.
Pick some trustworthy guards.
Bury the explosives secretly in the designated spots.
Remember, you must be cautious.
This is very important.
We can't let the Crown Prince's spies find out.
Don't worry, Your Highness. I'll go right now.
-I pay respect to Your Highness. -At ease.
Hua Qiong, how is the Queen?
Your Highness, she's feeling quite bored.
She wants me to get some flowers for her.
How about this one?
-This one looks nice. -Take it then.
Yes, Your Highness.
Yes, my lady.
I'll take my leave.
I have something to ask you.
Go give the flowers to the Queen.
Yes, my lady.
Come with me.
Apart from you and Hua Qiong, has anyone else been captured?
Probably.
We don't know yet.
What is your plan?
I'll find out about the others.
Wait.
The Crown Prince of Dayue
will give me a map of the secret passages of Puyuan.
Why is he helping you?
I gave him half the list
of the names of Jin Siyu's spies in the Dayue Court.
This is Tiansheng's Prince of Chu writing to the Crown Prince of Dayue.
I have a list of spies
who work for the Prince of An, Jin Siyu, in the Dayue Court.
I would like a map of the secret passages of Puyuan in exchange.
I am sure this will help you
secure the throne, Your Royal Highness.
Deliver this as soon as possible
to Zhuya Palace in the capital of Dayue.
We can wait, but can Jin Siyu?
I think he's up to something.
Since we know there are secret passages here,
how about I try to find them?
Don't do anything reckless.
Zhiwei.
You know Jin Siyu. He's very clever.
If he notices that we know about the secret passages,
he'll try to guard them by all means.
Then we'll never get out of here.
Right now, what we need to do is to stall them.
How will we do that?
Hua Qiong, come back to my side.
The Queen won't treat you as well as I did.
Make the Queen fall ill.
The more serious, the better.
There's a maid called Jiarong here who says she's a Riluo Tribe sorceress.
She has been locked up by Jin Siyu.
She might have something to do with your mother.
Your Highness!
You're in the same situation as I am.
You've fled here, away from home.
You...
-Let's go. -What's that supposed to mean?
You hurt my feelings.
Your Highness, I've set up the explosives.
But how will we lure the King of Jinshi into Puyuan?
The azalea powder...
We'll start with the maid, Hua Qiong.
I pay respect to Headmaster Xin.
Prince of Wei, what do you mean by this?
I can't let you bow to me.
You have a message from Father.
Of course, I have to pay my respects
and listen to what Father has to say.
Your Highness is a very polite man.
Very well.
I'll make myself at home.
Of course, Headmaster Xin.
If Father gave the message to you
instead of a palace servant,
he must have something very important to tell me.
Subtitle translation by Sophie Chang