On my way back, I encountered
a group of flood victims who were heading to the capital
to seek refuge.
I know Your Lordship cares very much for the people,
so I lent them a hand.
Mother, your leg was previously injured--
But Mother, didn't you suffer a leg injury before?
You're all right, Xi'er.
I am so glad.
I've made you worry, Your Ladyship.
I am all right.
Your Ladyship has had a tiring journey.
You've had a tiring trip, Baili.
Return to the palace with me now.
Let's go.
EVERLASTING PROSPERITY AND PEACE
Your Lordship, I have another matter to report.
A while ago,
I ran into the wife of our clan leader
at the Yutan Stream.
During our conversation,
I learned that Mother-in-law was a descendant
of the Xiao family of the previous dynasty.
Is that true?
I wouldn't dare lie to Your Lordship.
Mdm. Xiao has updated the genealogy register.
It will be sent to the capital in a couple of days.
Xi'er, Baili has been so thoughtful of you.
She cares for you deeply.
We in Yongzhou have always valued filial piety.
Shouldn't you give her a ride
as a gesture of gratitude?
-His Lordship is right. -Indeed.
Yes, His Lordship is right.
-That's true. -That's true.
Of course.
Your Lordship, I would like to report something.
Come forth.
Greetings, Your Lordship, Your Ladyship.
While one should sing the praises of Her Ladyship's low-profile voyage
and her kindness in helping the needy,
her escort, Sun Mingyang, should be punished.
How so?
As the saying goes,
no royalty should shoulder unnecessary risks.
Her Ladyship is of noble status.
As her escort and protector,
he should have advised Her Ladyship to think twice.
Even if Her Ladyship insisted on traveling with the commoners,
he shouldn't have dispatched all other guards away.
Has he verified the background of these commoners
to see if traitors lie among them?
The Six States are in turmoil.
Prince Yongping barely escaped from an assassination attempt.
If something dire happened to Her Ladyship,
our nation would not be able to bear this pain.
I should be punished for my oversight!
How do you think we should proceed?
To make sure Official Sun retains this valuable lesson,
he should be administered a public flagellation.
In public? That's too harsh a sanction.
Sun Mingyang committed a grave mistake.
On a legal level, he deserves a punishment.
On a personal level, his mother is part of the Feng family.
As the chief of the Feng family,
I should punish him severely to set an example.
Your Lordship, Your Ladyship,
is my logic not sound?
Yes, it is.
However, public flagellation
is overly harsh.
A three-year confiscation of his salary.
Yes, Your Lordship.
There is one other person who should be punished too.
Who?
Vice Minister Yang of Rites.
The Ministry of Rites is in charge of the homecoming ceremony today.
Her Ladyship returned in plain clothing, yet no one was informed of such a matter.
If an assassin lurked among civilians and struck,
would you shoulder the outcome?
My sincerest apologies!
It seems like
what you did today
suffered from a lack of foresight.
I am indeed at fault.
Yuan Lu.
-Yes, Your Lordship. -Find another person to give Baili a ride.
Yes, Your Lordship.
Interrupting your carriage is also a crime, Your Lordship.
Please punish me for my mistake.
You are a loyal servant, Minister Feng.
You have not made any mistakes.
Hop on in.
EVERLASTING PROSPERITY AND PEACE
Father,
when Her Ladyship mentioned the Xiaos,
why was His Lordship so happy?
His Lordship's mother was a palace maid.
Before he inherited the throne,
he was ranked the lowest among all princes.
If the then heir of Lord of Yongzhou did not pass away in a riding accident,
the throne might be…
The previous Lord knew how lowly the mother of the current Lord is
and that's why the current Lord married Princess Yige of the Imperial Family.
No wonder His Lordship is always harsh towards His Highness,
but he dotes on Baili who came from a lowly background.
Stop this nonsense.
Baili knows more tricks
than Prince Ju will ever know.
Now that she has returned to the capital,
His Highness will have another patch of a rough time.
Lanxi is almost like another person
after our last encounter
several months ago.
His attitude towards me…
You have to thank your son, Feng Ju, for that.
He is your child too, Your Lordship.
He is your favorite.
It's precisely because of that
that he grew the guts to bring harm
to his own brother.
Your Lordship, Feng Ju is young and naive.
-He was used by someone unscrupulous. -Report!
Your Lordship, Prince Ju seeks an audience with you in the hall.
Make him wait in the side hall.
Yes, Your Lordship.
You can speak
to your son.
I will not join the conversation.
Do remind him
of how foolish his recent endeavors have been.
I asked Lanxi to give you a ride
because I wanted everyone to see
how loving
the royal family of Yongzhou is.
The state that fights among itself first
will be the first state to be devoured by the rest.
We have been together for more than two decades.
You can understand this necessity, don't you?
Yes.
Right,
if you have the time,
please pay more attention to Feng Chang.
He is my eldest son.
Mother, your leg was previously injured--
You're all right, Xi'er.
I am so glad.
Not even a glimpse.
She would rather put on
a loving mother act with Lanxi
than look at her biological son in the face.
Shopkeeper, we have served him three catties of wine.
He doesn't want any female companion or side dish.
He is Prince Chang!
He wants to drown his sorrow in my restaurant,
but he didn't reveal his identity.
We can only play dumb.
Go and dilute his wine with some water.
Yes, sir.
Prince Ju.
Her Ladyship can see you now.
Mother.
Has Father left?
Why didn't Father allow me to offer my greetings just now?
-Is he-- -Never panic in the face of surprises.
I just taught you that
and you forgot all about it.
Right.
I took everything
into account,
but I failed to realize that Feng Lanxi is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
He hid his claws well for more than a decade.
Now that he bore his claws,
they are sharper and more well-hidden than mine.
Mother,
what did Father tell you?
Your father said
that your recent endeavors were quite frankly embarrassing.
He wanted both of us to remain obedient and stop causing trouble.
What should we do then?
Why are you panicking?
I have been with your father since I was 16.
I know what he's thinking.
All these years
when you try to outdo Feng Lanxi,
be it openly or secretly,
it is done with your father's tacit agreement.
It's because deep down,
he is ashamed
of the fact that he is a child of a palace maid.
That's why he never
ever liked Yige,
not to mention her bloodline, Feng Lanxi.
But remember this,
no matter how much
your father loves both of us,
nothing can entice him as well as power and glory can.
On my way back,
your uncle had a missive delivered to me.
He said that after the Empyrean Token went missing,
your father has been amassing the military
by the border.
At the moment,
he doesn't want
any domestic trouble.
Mother,
maybe I can volunteer to train the troops?
If I can come back with an achievement, Father will--
No!
Swords on the battlefield can't tell if you are a friend or foe.
They are not like what you do in the training field.
I only have a son.
I can't risk losing you.
You, however, should get married soon.
Marry Ms. Yan and establish a family.
That will put my mind to rest.
Mother, I…
Ms. Yan's father, Duke of Liang, holds an important position in court.
You know very well the benefits
of marrying her.
I know.
But I have no time for it now.
Whenever I think about how Lanxi keeps stealing my thunder,
I get frustrated.
Your father doesn't want you
to eliminate Feng Lanxi in this straightforward fashion.
After all,
Feng Lanxi is the firstborn of the late lady.
But if a third person does it,
we won't be dragged into this.
What would you like to pawn, miss?
All of them.
PAWN SHOP
After seeing what you have here,
I can offer you three silver leaves at most.
Three silver leaves?
That's too little.
It's already a generous offer.
Miss, if you pawn that too,
I can offer you a higher price.
Don't take it off.
Do not trade the hairpin for wine.
This one is not for pawning.
Sir,
three silver leaves is too low an offer.
Five silver leaves maximum.
Not more than that.
-But-- -If it's still too low a price,
you can consult another pawn shop.
Five silver leaves it is.
Here you go.
Thank you.
Twenty-something people.
Five silver leaves are only enough for a day's worth of food.
I will pawn this vase.
Bugger off. You think you're in the House of Jade?
One broken vase
is not worth three silver leaves.
Do you remember the password?
If you ever need help during an emergency,
go to a branch of the House of Jade.
You can take anything you want within 1,000 silver leaves.
HOUSE OF JADE
Here, please.
Please wait for a moment.
Miss, how may I help?
Dark sky and yellow soil, monolith pure as jade.
Revered as the mountain, followed as the path to righteousness.
Well received, miss.
I need 50 silver leaves.
I'll be right back.
Please wait here.
HOUSE OF JADE
Have a safe trip.
-What's wrong? -He fainted.
His legs are twitching.
A demonic possession?
Oh, my God.
What should we do?
No idea.
This must be demonic possession.
Calm down.
It's just epilepsy.
Find a room.
Help me.
Help me carry him inside.
Come, here.
Thank goodness you're here to help.
This is what you requested.
Thank you.
That said…
I know this sickness is treated as a taboo.
I won't tell anyone.
Right, find him a physician.
-Head to Prince Chang's Residence now. -Yes, sir.
Chang'er, here.
It's so delicious, Mother.
Go away. Don't call me Mother.
Chang'er.
You took a fall?
Let me have a look.
You're awake, Your Highness.
Why am I here?
Did it happen again?
Someone saved you in time.
I also used a Six-Herbs Calming Pill on you.
The people from House of Jade sent me back?
This sickness of yours
hasn't resurfaced for many years.
It must be due to the cold you contacted earlier on
and you had too much to drink.
FENG CHANG'S RESIDENCE HOUSEKEEPER, MR. DE
Don't worry.
I have already told everyone
that you left the capital
on a hunting trip.
Your Highness,
drink this.
You're dismissed for now.
Yes, Your Highness.
Mother.
Come.
-What happened, Young Master? -Chang'er!
-Young Master, wake up!
-It's demonic possession. -Young Master!
-Monster. -Young Master!
What a freak.
YOUNG BAILI
I was sent to this hellhole when he was born.
And now, he's possessed by a demon.
His Highness will not like me.
I don't care. I don't want to see him.
Mother.
Mr. De.
Mother saw me
in the garden just now.
Why did she say she was not my mother?
It's not that Her Ladyship doesn't acknowledge you as her son.
She has her own difficulty now.
So she can't.
When you grow up and make her proud,
she will call you her son.
Mr. De,
if I can recite the Long Ballad,
will she acknowledge me as her son?
Your Highness!
Are you all right, Your Highness?
Do not let anyone know.
If His Lordship knows that I gave birth to this demonic bastard,
it might affect the one in my womb now.
He's a jinx.
-Your Highness. -I heard everything.
She called me a bastard.
Don't overthink it.
Her Ladyship was forced to use that term.
Mr. De, when will you stop lying to me?
Someone!
Is there anyone else who witnessed the episode?
-There's no one else, sir. -Do you have the ledger for that day?
I'll give it to you here.
-Destroy it. -Yes, sir.
Since you're the owner of House of Jade,
you will be spared.
If I ever hear something I don't want to hear…
Nothing will go out, sir.
Bring them in.
I'll deal
with their lives.
Bring them in.
Go.
That's what I get for seeing what I shouldn't have.
Why are you here?
Why were you sleeping here?
The physician said that Langhua would wake up soon.
Her body needs to heal so he wrote a prescription.
Apparently, even crushing the herbs will incur a fee.
I will not pay for that
so I crushed the herbs myself.
While I was working on it,
perhaps it was too quiet,
I fell asleep.
Your Highness,
Ms. Fengxi withdrew 50 silver leaves from the House of Jade today.
All right.
If you fall sick
to avoid paying this petty fee,
it won't be worth it.
Living in the capital of Yongzhou is not easy.
Everything is so expensive.
What now?
Are you tired of being the Acting Leader of Tianshuang Sect?
You know me.
I'm not built for it.
Also,
I can't manage so many disciples.
Some of them even revel in disobeying me.
I am exhausted.
It's amusing to see you all flustered
for something for once.
You won my respect, truly.
Fountain Abode is huge
and everything is so organized.
Do you want to know how I do it?
I can teach you.
I don't have the tuition fee.
A bowl of noodles will do.
The one you made on the ship.
Just a bowl of noodles?
Yes.
Here, the tuition fee.
STELLAR TALENT
Huang Chao wants to return the Empyrean Token?
Interesting.
Your Highness, isn't the token counterfeit?
That's why it's interesting.
I'm afraid
this is Mr. Yu's idea.
Sir, Minister Feng has come to visit you.
Let her wait in the main hall.
All right.
Your Highness, she just did you a huge favor.
Perhaps you can meet her here?
It will be less formal.
Stop it.
I'm not spouting nonsense.
Disregarding Minister Feng's exceptional character,
like what they say,
if you want a favor from someone,
you treat him nicely.
Am I not nice enough?
I know love has no place in your heart, sir.
But giving her the title of wife
in exchange for the support from the entire Feng family
sounds like a splendid deal.
Are you done?
Your…
Sorry for the long wait, Minister Feng.
You look good, Your Highness.
You must have had several days of good sleep.
It's all thanks to your timely help outside of the city yesterday.
How may I help, Minister Feng?
Now that you have the title of Prince Yongping,
His Lordship is pondering about your marriage.
What is your opinion, Your Highness?
Should I intervene?
Give me your advice, Minister Feng.
If you can ask for my hands properly,
I can make sure
that you never have to worry about a thing
in your future.
I like your candor, Minister Feng.
However, if I agree to this,
I will become a man who has to rely
on his wife to succeed.
I burned the bridge with Her Ladyship
in front of His Lordship and other ministers.
I'm on my way to becoming a pariah.
I came here hastily
not because you need me,
but because
I need you, Your Highness.
I do not care much about romance
and I do not want to ruin your happiness forever.
It sounds like your heart
already belongs to someone else.
Only to the world.
Then for the sake of--
But I detest those who sacrifice love
in the name of the world's betterment.
I'm afraid I have to turn you down, Minister Feng.
I cannot
ask for your hands at the moment.
However, I can promise you
that the Feng family will continue to have its lofty position.
Thank you, Your Highness.
I understand.
Don't worry, Your Highness.
The Feng family is still your Feng family.
I will also wait for the day
I become yours.
Having your assistance
is already a blessing.
Although
you cannot reciprocate my feelings today,
I will continue to work hard
to help you claim the throne earlier.
The only man in this world who can be this indifferent towards me
is him.
However,
if he will marry me that easily,
then he is not the Prince Lanxi I know.
From Xuejuan Goods, ten ingots of Pine Ink,
30 Huzhou brushes,
10,000 Xuan papers and Xuelang papers…
Five silver leaves here.
One snow twill clothing article,
one set of Lunar Headdress
and 50 silver leaves from the House of Jade.
You must be mistaken.
Only females need snow twill.
We do not have female masters.
Who will need it?
This purchase
was made by His Highness outside.
His Highness?
There must be a mistake.
His Highness does not mingle around.
Why would he purchase feminine products?
Return the invoice to House of Jade.
Yes, ma'am.
Madam.
I am heading to House of Jade. Give it to me.
I can't burden you so, madam.
Besides, this is His Highness's private affair.
His Highness and I are a family.
Ms. Huan.
Should we inform Young Master?
There's no need.
It's just a trivial matter.
No need to bother Young Master.
Right.
I'm sure my eyes
did not fool me that day.
You said you couldn't care less about romance.
Let me see
who you bought the snow twill and the accessories for.
HOUSE OF JADE
Minister Feng.
Welcome.
This is the invoice you sent to Prince Yongping's Residence?
This?
In my opinion,
it's a forgery.
A forgery?
Yes.
The similarity is there
but the honorific spacing and the characters
cannot escape my eyes.
Recently, I have heard of this thief
who forged restaurant or jewelry bills
and sent them to the rich.
If you do not pay attention to it, you'll walk into the trap.
Are you speaking the truth?
Why would I lie?
HOUSE OF JADE
Don't worry, Your Highness.
Other than the owner of House of Jade,
all maids or servants who saw you
have been dealt with.
Only maids and servants?
Wait.
I remember there was a lady in white.
Your Highness,
if the lady didn't intervene
when you had your episode…
I don't care.
Those who saw me in that situation
have to die.
Investigate further.
Identify the lady.
Yes, sir.
Where are you going, Gu Yu?
I agreed to hang out with a few friends from the capital of Yongzhou.
Don't head out today.
You sure give a lot of orders, Fengxi.
I have a pair of legs.
I can go wherever I want.
Master said I would--
Master told you to look after us for the moment.
You really think you're the Acting Leader?
I know you resent me, Gu Yu.
Let's spar today.
If you can defeat me,
I will not meddle in your affairs anymore. Do we have a deal?
If you don't want to spar with me,
you have to train hard.
Don't act tough if you don't have what it takes.
Fengxi, Langhua is awake now.
Continue your training.
Let's go.
All right.
Stop dallying.
Begin your training now.
You're finally awake.
Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?
Your pulse is still weak,
but it is much more stable now.
Sorry for the trouble.
No, it's no trouble at all.
Here.
Drink this broth.
I'll have someone brew some congee for you.
Here.
This broth is too bitter for me.
Langhua, bitter medicine makes the best medicine.
It's easy for you to say that. You should drink it.
Jiurong, feed her the broth.
I'll find some food for you.
No, I will not drink it.
It costs ten silver leaves for one portion.
Fengxi spent a great deal of effort to get you this.
But it's very, very bitter.
I know it's hard to swallow
so I prepared this for you.
You did?
I'll drink the broth,
but after that,
you have to tell me what happened when I was out.
No problem.
Here, drink it.
Fengxi!
The homing pigeon to Master has returned.
We still failed to deliver the letter to him.
Where do you think Master went?
-The letter couldn't reach him? -Yes.
Did something bad happen to him?
He's a powerful man.
No bad thing can come to him.
Don't worry.
And don't let anyone know,
especially Langhua.
She just recovered. She can't risk having her qi flow disrupted.
Cook something for her now.
I'll figure out a way.
All right.
-Here. -Did you get everything down?
-Yes. -Go then.
Sir.
HOUSE OF JADE
Miss,
you're here again.
I'm looking for Hei Fengxi.
Miss,
House of Jade does not contact the clients directly.
-Also-- -Don't worry.
He told me to come here if there's an emergency.
Tell him that I have an emergency.
Miss, please wait here.
I will send someone to him now.
Thank you.
No problem.
JIZHOU
INVITATION TO SIX STATES BANQUET. FROM EMPEROR CHUNXI
His Majesty has issued a decree
to hold a Six States Banquet to welcome me.
I will head to the Imperial City tomorrow.
What do you think
His Majesty will do to me?
In my opinion,
His Majesty will have two choices.
One,
accept the Empyrean Token, reward you handsomely,
and praise Jizhou.
Jizhou will be stronger than ever.
However, His Majesty may use Jizhou
as the scapegoat to spare the Imperial Family from dishonor.
And then, the other five states
will view Jizhou as their common enemy.
What should I do?
Even if this hypothesis does not come true,
the other States will still view Jizhou as their enemy.
But you have never been afraid of them, right?
You know me too well,
Wuyuan.
And the other choice?
His Majesty will notice that the token is counterfeit
and accuse you of submitting a fake token
so that you can keep the real one.
You will then be punished.
This sounds worse.
However,
as long as His Majesty
believes the token is a real one, then this will never occur.
But it's counterfeit.
Where did it come from then?
Are you saying that
this token came from the Imperial Palace?
All Six States will fight for the Empyrean Token.
The only one
who can profit from that is His Majesty.
A day without the reappearance of the Empyrean Token
is a day with more chaos and conflicts.
Whether the token is real or fake,
it has to be returned to the Imperial City.
You take advantage of me for the sake of the world.
But you don't want
a broken world, do you?
Although your concern is the world,
you choose me to be its owner.
In that case,
you must already have a solution.
Actually…
Come out now,
my dear sister.
PRINCESS OF JIZHOU, HUANG YU
Wuyuan.
Your Highness.
You rascal.
Why are you eavesdropping here?
I am not eavesdropping.
I was here to look for you, Wuyuan.
Coincidentally, you were here.
It has been a while,
Wuyuan.
You didn't visit me this time when you're back.
He has been advising me lately.
He doesn't have time for you.
I don't care.
Wuyuan finally came back,
but he has to go to the Imperial City with you tomorrow.
He has to
hang out with me today.
Wuyuan.
Come. Let me play this song for you.
I've been practicing the zither sheet you taught me.
Wuyuan,
what do you think?
Wuyuan,
how did I do?
The music of your zither brought back memories.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
A good thing, of course.
Which is better?
The zither or the musician?
The maverick who roams the world alone,
adored by the world but finds love in none.
The author of these two lines
must have read my life thoroughly.
I appreciate
your sentiment.
However, as a member of the Empyrean Yu family,
I will not live beyond 30 years old.
I can only reject
your precious feelings.
But…
I'm sorry
for letting you down.
Haven't I already told you?
So?
I know he would reject me,
but it won't change a thing.
If he still breathes for another year,
I'll confess to him for another year.
If he still breathes for a decade, I will confess to him for a decade.
I will not fall in love
with any other man.
All right. Don't cry.
I have asked the chefs to prepare
some of your favorite Osmanthus cakes.
Shopkeeper, any news?
I have delivered your message,
but he might not be in this residence.
It's getting late now
so I should head back.
If he comes here,
let him know
that I'll be waiting for him here tomorrow at noon.
All right.
Why are you tailing me?
I'm here for your head.
Charge!
Who are you?