A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
ADAPTED FROM TIANXIA GUIYUAN'S NOVEL HUANG QUAN
EPISODE 65
Ziyan, wait a moment.
I'm tuning this guqin for my mother.
Sit.
Your Highness.
Call me Liulang.
Liulang.
All right, Liulang.
That night, I had a family matter to take care of.
When I got to the city wall,
it was already too late.
Please forgive me.
Good thing you were brilliant
and thought of this idea to make yourself a commoner.
His Majesty won't be suspicious of you for now.
You can also take your time to plan your next step.
Is everything all right with your family?
Yes.
Just personal matters.
I'll tell you when the timing is right.
Very well.
Liulang.
Have you ever heard of an organization called Huofeng Gang?
They run the largest underground slave market in the capital.
I sent Erhua to investigate them
and found out that they are working with Ning Qi.
Shaoning's death
was also orchestrated by the gang following Ning Qi's orders.
And this Huofeng Gang...
This Huofeng Gang has probably done many more dishonorable deeds for Ning Qi.
In my opinion,
this is our opportunity to take down Ning Qi.
We will attack their hideout, capture the leader of Huofeng Gang,
and bribe them or threaten them to tell everyone what Ning Qi has done.
They could even tell the truth about Shaoning.
This will clear your name
and His Majesty will trust you again.
His Majesty loved Shaoning very much.
He'll strip Ning Qi of his title and punish him.
That bastard should be killed.
Listen.
It's perfect now.
It seems like Liulang doesn't agree with me.
Do you have a better plan then?
Ziyan, I am now a commoner called Ning Yi.
Look at me.
Do you think I have the power to fight back?
Why should I fight back?
-Forgive me for-- -No.
This is my own problem.
The palace is a treacherous place. The sons fight their way to the throne.
I'm incapable, powerless,
and I have no intention of taking part in that again.
I was born a prince,
but I can now finally take care of my mother as a commoner.
I'm so happy.
Really?
Yes.
Ning Yi.
Mother.
-Headmaster Xin. -My lady.
My lady.
Mother.
I've had this guqin for years now.
I've just tuned it.
-I want to play it for you. -Sure.
That's wrong. Just like when you were a child.
My lady, Liulang,
come eat together.
Try my cooking to see if it tastes the same as before.
Mother, here.
The food is getting cold. Come.
Please.
Lingying, it looks just like it used to.
Yes, it smells delicious as well.
I was drooling while carrying it all the way here.
-Ning Cheng almost had some. -Ziyan.
Do you remember?
We used to drink together all the time.
When I almost got drunk, I would tell you
how much I missed Lingying's cooking.
To me, this is the best food in the world.
Now, come try it with me.
How happy it is to gather as a family.
How wonderful.
It's wonderful indeed.
Congratulations, Liulang.
I'm happy for you, Liulang.
Yet, I myself
do not have the fortune to enjoy time with family.
Ziyan.
Mother.
Is there something wrong with the wine I made?
Yes,
you added too much sweet osmanthus.
It drowns the fragrance of the wine.
I just thought
that you had suffered all these years because of me.
Now, you can finally come back to my side.
So, I couldn't help but add more of it.
I just...
I just want you to only taste sweetness in your life from this day on.
Ning Yi.
You always think about how I've suffered.
To put sweetness in the wine
and sugar in the snacks,
my son, you had to give up your title
and become a commoner.
Mother, let me try.
It's good.
Mother, we make this wine for ourselves.
We should be able to add whatever we want and as much as we want.
There are no rules here.
We shouldn't care about what other people think.
Mother.
That's the life I want to live.
What about your dreams?
I have lots of dreams, Mother.
When I was a child, I used to think
how great it'd be if one day, I could always be by your side.
Now, that dream came true.
As for the others, I'm in no rush.
I have a lot of time.
Lingying told me
that as Prince of Chu,
you have the courage of the Riluo Tribe warriors.
I do.
As a commoner,
how will you show your courage?
Mother. What about giving up?
Giving up
takes courage as well, doesn't it?
I'm a commoner now.
I have no enemies.
Why would I need courage?
There are enemies everywhere.
They just change their appearances.
Ning Yi.
The Riluo Tribe warriors
value their courage and dignity more than anything else.
Even if it costs their lives.
I don't want you to give up on your dreams.
Mother,
look.
It's already dark.
It's chilly outside.
I'll escort you to your room.
We can get warm and talk some more.
The heavens are cruel.
I, Xin Ziyan,
am just as talented as Ban Chao
and just as skilled as Zhuge Liang.
For almost all my life, I've served in the palace
so that this empire would be ruled by a wise emperor.
I never thought that I would end up like this.
I'll never get to the place I want.
All I can do is dream about it.
Heavens, why have you let me down?
Ning Qi, you bastard.
I, Xin Ziyan...
will take you down.
By any means necessary.
CHENGMING PALACE
I, Ning Qi, will follow Father's orders.
From now on, I'll discipline myself strictly.
I'll always remember my duty
and I'll work as hard as I can every day.
What do you think of Chengming Palace, Ning Qi?
Father,
what I see is responsibility.
To bring peace to the empire and welfare to the people,
everything relies on the ruler's decisions.
What I see
is the blood and flesh of my children.
Ning Chuan.
Ning Sheng.
Ning Qiao.
Ning Yan.
SHAONING
And my only daughter.
To be in charge of Chengming Palace,
I've lost my children, one by one.
Father,
I understand.
I hope you truly understand.
I will give another imperial will to Yao Ying.
When you take the throne, you shall not hurt your siblings.
If you do not let my children live the rest of their lives in peace,
the court officials
can use the imperial will to strip you of your title.
I swear,
I'll remember what you told me.
I'll protect my siblings.
If one day, I really become Emperor,
I'll treat the sixth prince and tenth prince well.
They
and I
are brothers for life.
I hope that one day you will understand
that being an emperor
means you're imprisoned in this palace.
The Huofeng Gang spies sent a message.
They said Ning Yi and Xin Ziyan are planning something together.
Your Highness, you must be careful.
That was a smart move, Ning Yi.
Becoming a commoner
to live an ordinary life with his mother
was just a trick to deceive Father.
Now, I am in the light, and he is in the dark.
Father is watching me at all times.
If I really do something to him,
I would become
a terrible man who picks on commoners.
Then, maybe we should continue observing them.
If Ning Yi does anything,
-you can respond-- -So you mean
I should wait for him to kill me?
If you don't want to wait,
are you going to attack him?
You can find his weakness and threaten him.
"His weakness?"
I thought that a clever woman like Yueling
kept you by her side for a reason.
Tell me, what can you do?
I used to steal things from people's houses.
That's how my leg got broken.
Since you asked me what I can do,
does abducting people count?
Finding hostages and asking for ransoms. Those are the things I'm good at.
Capturing a hostage?
All right.
Go capture a hostage.
But this time,
we're not asking for money.
I'm very willing to help, Your Highness.
Take care, Your Highness.
-Ask Zong Chen to come see me. -Yes, Your Highness.
It's getting late now. I have to leave.
His Highness isn't here right now.
Could you wait for a while?
Wu Ying.
My lady.
My lady, good thing you're here.
Prince of Wei sent many gifts.
His Highness isn't here, I was just worrying about what to do.
Consort Yan,
Prince of Wei wants to congratulate you on your reunion.
He sent me to bring these gifts.
I've received Prince of Wei's kindness.
But...
This is too much.
We can't accept them.
This is also from Lady Wang.
She's always had you in her heart.
Accept them then.
Yes, my lady.
Please pass this message to Lady Wang.
Now, I've have reunited with Ning Yi.
Everything is fine.
There's no need to worry.
Yes, my lady.
Leave them here.
Liulang will take care of them when he comes back.
Yes, my lady.
Go now.
My lady.
-My lady, where are you? -My lady.
My lady.
Got her.
Leave from the back. I'll cover you.
All right. Come on.
Master.
Master!
-Master. -Zong Chen!
-Master. -Zong Chen.
Nanyi, you must protect her.
Protect Feng Zhiwei.
-Zong Chen. -Master.
Zong Chen...
Ning Cheng!
I'm Zhangsun Zhiwei's brother.
Zong Chen died for me.
Tell Zhiwei not to come back to the capital.
It's impossible for us to stay in Tiansheng.
Ning Yi wants to kill us all.
Zhiwei.
Zong Chen.
-Zong Chen. -Master.
Zong Chen.
Your Majesty,
this woman is so beautiful.
Looking at her face, even I want to love her.
I wonder if I could ever meet her.
She would rather die than see me.
How could there be someone who doesn't want to see the Emperor?
Her white robes are not in their original color anymore.
Could you fix that?
"Like a lost rabbit,
looking around here and there.
New clothes are better than old, yet old friends are the best."
She seems like Your Majesty's past lover.
Your Majesty, we are holding the winter festival next month.
Maybe you could invite Liulang.
What do you think?
One can be austere with no desires.
He doesn't want anything anymore.
How would he be willing to come?
How dare you ramp at Prince of Wei's residence?
Stop.
I was wondering who the intruder was,
trying to kill me in broad daylight.
And it's you, Ning Yi.
You may all leave.
Yes, Your Highness.
If you don't like the gifts I sent you,
I apologize.
You're still the same, Ning Yi.
Although you're a commoner now, you're still quite daring,
breaking into my residence for this.
Very impressive.
Just as you said,
and just as you wished,
I, Ning Yi, am just a commoner now.
Why?
Why are you still doing these things to me?
Why?
I don't understand what you're saying.
Give my mother back to me.
I'm afraid I don't understand.
Give my mother back to me!
Did Ning Cheng really kill Master Zong?
I saw it myself.
Master Zong died in my arms.
Did he say anything before he died?
Before he died, he told me to...
Protect her.
Protect Feng Zhiwei.
Master.
Nanyi, say no more.
-I'll go to the capital with you. -Wait.
Nanyi.
You should get some rest.
I have a few words to say to Zhiwei.
You're going back to Tiansheng?
Master Zong's death is fishy.
Nanyi saw it himself.
What is so fishy about it?
Can't say anything?
Can you not even say his name?
You know my true identity.
My brother appeared in the capital.
Master Zong died to protect him.
If you want me to ignore all that, I can't do it.
Why don't you say it?
Why don't you say what you're thinking?
Fine. I don't believe it.
I don't believe that Ning Yi killed Master Zong.
I don't think he was trying to kill my brother and anyone related to Dacheng.
It's not because of my feelings for him.
It's because I've known him for years.
That's how I know.
That's how you know?
You know that he has you in his heart, so he wouldn't do anything to hurt you.
You know that he wouldn't kill Zong Chen,
or your brother,
or anyone else who has anything to do with Dacheng
because the person he loves the most is Dacheng's ninth princess!
That's how you know, right?
I have to go there myself to find out the truth.
You finally found an excuse
to leave me and go to him.
I don't want to go either,
but I have family in Tiansheng.
Helian Zheng, give me one month to find out the truth.
I'll come back to you. Trust me.
You want me to trust you, but have you ever trusted me?
Have you ever trusted your husband?
Why can't you be like other women,
who let their husbands take care of their problems?
They let their husbands find out the truth.
I'm not like other women.
If the King of Jinshi wants a wife who relies on him completely,
I'm afraid I am not the one.
You can't rely on me?
Is it because you never wanted me to become your husband?
I've never hidden anything from the King of Jinshi.
Yes.
You've never hidden anything.
I was just stupid enough
to think that I could replace him.
I think you know what I want the most.
It's never changed.
Fine.
Just as you want, I'll give you the papers for divorce.
From now on,
we have nothing to do with each other.
Your Majesty.
-You may rise. -Thank you, Your Majesty.
You're in a rush. Something serious must have happened.
Whether it's serious or not depends on how Your Majesty sees it.
Tell me.
I heard that Prince of Wei, Ning Qi, and Liulang, Ning Yi,
got into a fight.
Yueling, you're back.
I'll go tell His Majesty.
No rush.
His Majesty and Headmaster Xin are talking about important matters.
I can just wait here.
Very well.
This is from His Majesty.
Take it.
Thank you, Yueling.
All he has are mere accusations without any solid proof.
Ning Yi clearly does not respect me anymore.
How dare he not come tell me that Yale has gone missing?
I'm sure that Liulang
doesn't want you to worry, Your Majesty.
If Ning Qi really did this, then I don't dare to think about
what other things he'll do.
I'm worried about the same thing.
Prince of Wei is doing exactly what Ning Chuan did.
Even though you chose them as your successors,
they worry about losing that title and fight their brothers.
This is not good in the long run.
It was because...
I understand.
You're trying to prevent future problems.
Headmaster Xin, tell me.
Am I wrong about Prince of Wei?
Your Majesty...
Go investigate the matter.
-Find out who kidnapped Yale. -Of course, Your Majesty.
I'm so sorry.
The night I came back to the capital,
I didn't know that something this serious happened in your family.
Liulang.
I only found out that Yale was abducted
when you went to Prince of Wei's residence yesterday.
Ning Qi ordered Huofeng Gang to kill Erhua.
But I think your mother's disappearance
has to do with them as well.
The night Mother was abducted,
-Zong Chen was in my residence. -Zong Chen?
Zong Chen is still loyal to the previous empire.
How would he work for a Tiansheng prince?
I understand.
You mean that Zong Chen's involvement
also has to do with Huofeng Gang.
Who is Huofeng Gang? They're very suspicious.
Do you know why I'm here today?
Father knows.
You fought with Prince of Wei. Of course, His Majesty knows.
He ordered me to investigate the matter.
He's starting to suspect Ning Qi.
That's why I think
this is the best time for Liulang to return to the palace.
-"Return to the palace"? -Yes.
They abducted my mother to threaten me.
If I return to the palace, wouldn't Mother be in greater danger?
To be with your mother, you gave up your title
and turned yourself into a commoner, but what happened?
Commoner Ning Yi couldn't stop his mother from being taken.
You knew Ning Qi was behind it,
but what could you do besides causing trouble at his residence?
Right now,
be it Ning Qi or the underground slave market,
you can't investigate anything at all, can you?
This is the result of fighting for power.
I know.
When I find Mother,
I'll take her to a faraway place. I'm never coming back to the capital.
Never in my life.
Why don't you understand?
As long as you're alive,
you'll always be a threat to Ning Qi no matter where you go.
You will never be safe.
If you don't go forward, you'll go backward.
If you really want to protect your loved ones,
you must be the most powerful prince.
Do you understand, Liulang?
But, Ziyan, do you understand me?
All I can think about
is my mother's safety.
All other matters...
I don't care.
I don't want to care.
Ziyan.
Thank you for everything.
Ning Qi.
I pay respect to Mother.
It's the 15th again. I just went to Qinglong Temple.
So I brought some blessed food to give to you, Mother.
You're such a good son, Ning Qi.
Now, you go to Qinglong Temple every month on the 15th to study Buddhism.
I'm sure the Buddha will bless you with health and happiness.
Thank you, Mother.
I'll go prepare this.
I pay respect to Prince of Wei.
I must be fortunate to be able to pray on the 15th with Lady Wang
and have a taste of the blessed food given by Your Highness.
You're too kind.
Every month on the 15th,
go to my mother's palace to get the antidote.
His Majesty has changed his mind.
You must plan ahead, Your Highness.
Ning Qi, Yueling, come join me.
Thank you, Mother.
Find out whether the imperial will is still there.
Mother.
Your Highness, I've followed Ning Qi for a few days.
I haven't seen anything strange.
Ning Qing has been watching the slave market.
There's nothing going on there either.
The capital is huge. If they really want to hide,
we'll never find them.
We shouldn't search at random.
Lady Wang, the monk at Qinglong Temple said
after the event yesterday,
there are many offerings in front of the Buddha.
He wants to give them to the servants so that everyone can be blessed.
Amitabha.
That's a good thing.
You should go now.
Yes, my lady.
Subtitle translation by Sophie Chang