Lan Ling Wang
[Prince of Lan Ling]
[Episode 20]
We can finally be together.
Fourth Prince.
Ever since I met you a lot has happened.
Even this time was the second time that we got married.
Do you still remember what you said to me in front of Goddess Nu Wa?
We were in great danger back then so why would I remember what I said?
All men are like that.
You never keep your promises.
How can you laugh about it?
I, Gao Si Lang, take Yang Xue Wu as my wife today.
I shall protect and take care of her always
and shall never leave her.
She shall be the only love of my life.
Are you sure I'll be your only love?
Thank you, Fourth Prince.
Through all this time
I went through many struggles
and gave up a lot of things
in order to be with you
so that I can protect you.
Please stick to your promise
and stay with me for the rest of my life.
[One month later in a forest in Zhou state]
I, Yuwen Shen Ju, greet Your Majesty.
- You may rise. - Thank you, Your Majesty.
Have you heard any news from Qi state within these two weeks?
Your Majesty.
Within these two weeks
a few hundred people have moved from Qi state to Zhou state.
I've already given them fields for farming and tax exemptions as per your order.
That's good.
We must make the people in Qi state feel that I'm a kind king.
By the time I try to unify the northern part
it'd be easier for us to attack Qi state.
That's very wise, Your Majesty.
So is the rumor that I've heard true?
Your Majesty.
Miss Xue Wu has already married Prince of Lan Ling a month ago.
Your Majesty!
I'm fine.
Shen Ju, give me your bow.
I always get what I want.
My strive to conquer the world is not going to stop here.
Keep an eye on Qi state.
I'll have it wiped out once we reach the deadline of our treaty.
Yes.
Shen Ju.
How's Xue Wu's marriage going?
According to our spy
Prince of Lan Ling and Xue Wu didn't hold an extravagant banquet.
Instead, they held a simple wedding in Ye City.
Maybe they didn't want to get the crown prince jealous
so that's why they kept it simple.
She's very understanding and intelligent.
Prince of Lan Ling would be even stronger now that he's got her.
Nobody's more suitable to assist the God of Battle than her.
- Shen Ju. - Yes.
Divine Sorceress will be a key factor of our attack on Ye City.
- Tell our spy to keep an eye on her. - Yes.
Yang Xue Wu.
Now that you're with him
you should be very happy, right?
Make sure it's clean over there.
- Here. - Okay.
Zheng Er!
Why did you tear off the word 'double happiness?'
Since I saw it was getting a bit worn out
so I wanted to give the pillar a wipe.
Sorry if I've upset you.
Look, you didn't even clean floor properly.
So why would you want to tear this off and clean the pillar?
Can't you see all the fallen leaves over there?
There are also flower petals everywhere.
Didn't you see that?
You were the one who cause Fourth Prince to be jailed before.
But His Highness and my Lady were kind enough
to let you stay and work in here.
If you're not going to do your job properly
then let me tell you
don't even think about staying in Lan Ling Manor.
I know, Xiao Cui.
I'll go clean it up now.
What's wrong?
Do I look messy?
Everyone's looking!
So what if they're looking?
Just let them look!
Good morning, Your Highnesses.
Hang on.
Zheng Er, do you need to speak to Fourth Prince?
- Nothing? Let's go. - Okay.
Good morning, Your Highnesses.
Young Mistress, don't worry.
Why would Zheng Er want to speak to Fourth Prince?
- Let me prepare breakfast for you. - Your Highnesses.
Your Highness.
There's a Taoist monk outside who demanded to see you.
He wouldn't let us pass on his message.
Xiao Dong tried very hard to make him go but he just wouldn't.
Then give him some money and he'd go away.
We did but he didn't want it.
He said he must talk to you about something.
- Let me meet him. - Okay.
Hello, Prince.
Xiao Cui, offer him some tea.
Yes.
I didn't come here to have tea or money.
Since you're a kind and popular prince
so once I knew you'll soon be faced with a great calamity
I'm willing to take the risk of disclosing God's will
to come and protect you.
What kind of calamity is it?
It is often said that we must not go against God's will.
Although I'm already doing that by coming here today
but God will punish me for it later.
Since Prince of Lan Ling had also gone against God's will before
therefore, in the near future
you'll also be faced with a great calamity.
You evil monk!
Fourth Prince has never done anything harmful to anyone.
Is God blind?
Why would He want to punish Fourth Prince?
Xiao Cui.
Calm down.
Let's listen to what he has to say.
The person next to you must be the renowned Princess Consort Zheng
and the famous Divine Sorceress Yang, right?
Yes, I am.
Since your surname's Yang, then how could you be called Princess Consort Zheng?
Perhaps somebody else should be Princess Consort Zheng
but Divine Sorceress had stolen it away from her?
Damn you!
You dirty monk!
What did you say?
What do you mean by stealing him?
- It's called true love. - Xiao Dong.
- Do you know what love is? No, right? - Xiao Dong... Xiao Dong!
You must have been mistaken.
It was Empress Dowager who granted her the surname of Zheng. It wasn't her idea.
So you mean I'm making this all up?
In that case
I'll let Princess Consort think about it herself.
Master.
It's time for us to have breakfast now.
Go and prepare food and wine for Master
to thank him for his daring words.
Since I couldn't convince you to believe me
and avoid this calamity
then let's pretend that I was never here.
- Master! - My Lady.
Please wait, Master!
Master.
Can you tell us about the calamity
that's going to fall upon Fourth Prince?
I'm afraid people will either flee or get injured.
Lan Ling Manor is now filled with a sense of inauspiciousness.
So how can we break it?
Having a concubine will be able to make up for going against God's will.
Shut up!
If you don't stop your nonsense
then I'll ask you to leave!
Listen up, all of you.
Yang Xue Wu is my one and only wife.
There will be no more of today's nonsense.
Exactly!
If I see that stinky monk again then I'll tear up his mouth!
Damn it!
Who would have thought a beggar would make such a good monk?
When I saw you pretending to be a monk at the market the other day
I knew you were a great liar.
Take this, it's jewelry taken from Lan Ling Manor.
You should be able to sell it for a high price.
But...
will I get into trouble for saying those things just then?
What's the use of worrying about that now?
Don't worry.
What you said would only scare them.
If anything happens they'd only think it's God's will
and what you said would become true then.
You better go now.
Leave Ye City.
I can't do anything about it if you get caught.
Hurry.
Greetings to Your Majesty.
You may rise.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Why did you want to see us so urgently?
Ji Province suffered a locust attack last year
and the whole place was covered locusts.
Ying Province had a drought the following year
and a flood killed many people early this year.
So this is what we've got left for our rice harvest.
Our people are suffering.
It's not that I'm neglecting their suffering
but I've allocated all resources to the continuing battle
so our people are struggling with their everyday lives.
Due to the continuing battle
it's left our treasury empty to help our people.
Your Majesty, how can I help you?
Qi state can finally catch our breath now.
I hope you can quickly find a large sum of money
to fill up our treasury and help our people
to improve their harvest and in turn refill our treasury.
Don't worry, Your Majesty.
I'll definitely do my very best.
Why are you so late?
Why did His Majesty want to see you so urgently?
He asked me to find a sum of money to fill up the treasury within one or two months.
I was in a meeting with Fifth Brother and Minister of Appointments
and lost track of time.
But...
it's only been a few years since an order was passed down
to give everyone land for farming.
So how can our treasury be empty?
At first, our treasury was very full.
But soon, due to bribery
everyone began to struggle with their lives.
What about the traders?
Most of the traders that I see look quite well-off.
That's an even more complicated problem.
As you know
the traders in Qi state usually have quite a high status.
If I increase the taxes from them
it'll cause many conflicts.
There will be huge trouble.
I can only reduce the budgets within the palace
in order to solve the immediate problem.
It's very late, you go to bed first.
I still have a bit of reading to do.
Xue Wu.
Until I find a solution to this problem
I might not have time to take care of issues within the manor.
Please go to Veterans Village and bring them some daily necessities for me.
After the monk's visit this morning
Fourth Prince is already burdened with so much work now.
I must share his burden with him.
Come on!
Put the food and fabrics to be taken to Veterans Village onto the cart!
- Hurry, we've got to go! - Okay.
Hurry up!
My Lady...
Hello, my Lady
- My Lady. - What's wrong?
Why do you look so upset?
My Lady.
Is this the accounting book for the manor?
We're in deficit?
My Lady.
Fourth Prince has always used half of his pay to help those in poverty.
After doing that for a while
the manor's expenses have exceeded its income.
We really can't go on like this.
From now on you no longer have to deduct my allowance from Fourth Prince's pay.
My Lady, that's not what I mean.
I understand, Li.
It's just that I don't really need to spend much money at all.
I'm not particularly interested in buying expensive jewelry like other officials' wives.
I prefer to look simple.
So why don't you use that on the manor instead?
Well...
Stop hesitating.
Let's just do that.
However...
rather than keep using money to help the people in Veterans Village
we should think of a solution instead.
Please give it some thought, my Lady.
Oh yeah, don't tell Fourth Prince about this just yet.
He's very busy so I don't want to make him worry.
I understand.
Here.
My Lady, the carriage is ready.
Let's go.
- Please wait, my Lady! - Catch.
I know Fourth Prince is concerned about the people in Veterans Village.
So I've prepared some snacks for them.
I wonder if I can go with you as well.
Thank you so much!
You won't be going.
Li.
As for our housework
would it be okay if I take Zheng Er with me?
My Lady!
I think it should be fine.
Good, then come with us, Zheng Er.
Since you've been there before you can go visit them.
Thank you, my Lady.
Come here, everyone!
- Come get your food! - Free food!
- Here you go. - Thank you, Princess Consort!
- You'll all get some. - Here.
My Lady, I want to ask you something.
- Why are we giving them food? - Thank you.
The people here are either war widows and orphans
or people who have fought with Fourth Prince
who got permanently injured.
So Fourth Prince has always been looking after them.
But are they going to rely on him for the rest of their lives?
That's also what I'm worried about.
Hurry, Zhang and Li.
Share it amongst them.
So Princess of Lan Ling is here.
Fourth Prince is very busy at the moment so I've come on his behalf.
Thank you so much.
Granny.
Have you ever thought about relying on yourselves to earn a living?
Please don't be offended.
It's just that
it might not be a good long term solution to rely on Lan Ling Manor's help.
You're absolutely right, Princess Consort.
We're also very grateful for Fourth Prince's charity.
But take a look at our village.
We're either the aged or the weak
or even people that were handicapped as a result of war.
We don't mean to burden Fourth Prince at all.
Careful!
- Brother, are you okay? - I'm fine.
- Here you go. - Thank you.
Princess Consort's such a kind person!
My Lady, don't forget what I said to you.
Don't turn other people's worries into your own worries.
My Lady, that's not true.
These people are very important to Fourth Prince.
As his wife, you should help them.
Then it'd be like helping Fourth Prince, right?
Zheng Er's right.
As Fourth Prince's wife
I should share his burden with him.
Xiao Dong... Xiao Dong!
I know how I can help them!
But it might take a long time and much efforts.
Fourth Prince is very busy right now
so I don't want him to worry about Veterans Village.
I also don't want to worsen the manor's deficit.
What should I do?
My Lady, don't worry.
You can focus on taking care of Veterans Village
while I look after the manor.
That's great, thank you.
Why don't you go back now?
Then I'll go back now, my Lady.
Xiao Dong, where can I get timber from?
It's all over the forest.
The palace's expenses are shockingly high.
What the Imperial Kitchen spends in one day
is more than six times my pay!
With such expenses
once we're hit by natural disasters
there would be big trouble.
Fifth Brother.
How did you go with talking to the heads of the various bureaus?
They're mostly very well off people
so it's difficult to get them to reduce expenses.
They either tell me it's the king's order
or that their bureaus don't have enough disposable money
so it won't be easy for us to collect the amount of money required over a short time.
Increase taxes
or suspend some of the current infrastructure costs
to reduce expenses.
No, we must not do that.
The war has only just stopped
so our people have just began to have stable lives.
We must not alarm them.
Let's think of another way
to cut down on our expenses.
Xiao Cui, you shouldn't season it like that.
- None of your business! - Okay, fine.
Hey!
- Keep an eye on it for me. - Okay.
Hey!
What kind of an attitude was that?
You better explain yourself.
Since I grew up in the palace
so I know what palace food should be like.
I was also officially trained in the Harem.
So of course I'd know more about palace cuisine than you do.
- You... - I'm just stating the fact.
Her Highness only made me responsible for the manor because she trusts me.
I reckon there's still room for improvement in your cooking.
- How dare you... - My Lady, you're back.
My Lady.
Let me have a look.
What's wrong, my Lady?
- What's the rush? - It's nothing.
Fourth Prince will be back soon.
He'd get doubtful if he finds out I got home so late.
That's why I rushed back to help prepare dinner.
Thank you, Zheng Er.
You're very welcome, my Lady.
Xiao Cui.
You can go take a rest now.
- Let me help you, my Lady. - It's okay.
- Zheng Er doesn't know... - Leave it with me and Zheng Er.
Go take some rest and have a cup of tea.
Okay.
It's time for Fourth Prince to try my cooking.
- Help me out, Zheng Er. - Yes.
What should I cut first?
I have to check on my lamb stew!
My Lady.
Fourth Prince is back!
You're back.
Are you tired?
I had a meeting with Fifth Brother and the Minister of Appointments
about ways in which we can raise money.
We came up with a few ideas.
That's good.
I guess you must be hungry, right?
What? Is something wrong?
I'm starving!
Then let's eat.
Looks like my princess consort has been doing some cooking today.
I know I'm not very good at cooking.
That's why I have to practice more.
How is it?
Nice.
Yummy?
I also think I've improved.
This lamb stew tastes very nice.
Did you cook it as well?
Since Her Highness came home late
it was actually me who cooked this dish
because I was worried the lamb wouldn't be tender enough.
Did you come home late today?
I was playing with the children
and lost track of time.
Fourth Prince.
This lamb stew's ingredients were brought from Empress Dowager's Imperial Kitchen.
So of course it would taste delicious.
The ingredients are certainly important.
But its cooking and seasoning are also equally important.
Zheng Er's obviously quite good at cooking.
Did you really have to add so many flower petals into my bath?
What aren't you talking?
What's wrong?
Zheng Er's lamb stew
was too delicious!
So I want to keep its taste in my mouth
and reminisce on it!
What's so funny?
I cooked five dishes for dinner
and you only ate six mouthfuls.
But you had seven pieces of Zheng Er's lamb.
As a princess consort
why are you comparing yourself to a chef?
Are you jealous?
What the Taoist monk said keeps echoing in my heart.
As you know
it was very likely that Zheng Er could have become Princess Consort Zheng.
If it had not been me...
I know.
I was also quite worried about Zheng Er at first.
If I did not marry Zheng Er
I could have offended the queen.
But as you know
I don't want any concubines.
There's only room for you in my heart
and nobody else.
But that Taoist monk's curse...
it sounded so...
scary.
No other curse would be scarier than losing you.
If I can only stay safe by leaving you
then I'd rather be punished by God.
Don't say something like that!
You knew that's what I was most worried about...
Who said you could kiss me?
I didn't kiss you.
I just wanted to taste the lamb taste
and jealousy from you.
How annoying.
Since you said I'm the only love of your life
then you must not give compliments to another woman again.
Especially Zheng Er.
Okay.
If you keep cooking for me
then I'll never praise another woman again.
Okay.
From tomorrow on, I'll prepare your lunch box.
But...
what I feel like having now is...
- Princess Consort is here! - Xiao Dong!
- Come here! - Princess Consort's here!
Princess Consort, you're here again!
You've come to see us again!
Princess Consort.
You just brought us many things not so long ago, so why...
Not only did the continuing war cause hardship for you
but it's also left our treasury empty.
Fourth Prince is also worrying about the same issue at the moment.
But I think people can be very powerful.
If we can strengthen our people
and teach you how to earn your own living
then it would help you, Fourth Prince, as well as our state.
How about me?
- How can I earn a living like this? - What does she mean?
With these timber, you can do it.
- Timber? - What do we do with them?
Let me tell you a famous story.
A carpenter has made a puppet for the king.
Since the puppet could move freely
so the king thought it was a real person.
But when he cut it open
it was made with leather and timber.
So if we use timber to make arms and legs
and imitate a human body's actions
then you can all help brighten up the future for Veterans Village.
Here, let me see.
Show me your arm.
This should be long enough.
Let's make one with this length
so you can try it on.
Xiao Dong, after we finish making these artificial limbs for them
you can use leather to keep it in place so that they can wear with ease.
My Lady, is this really going to help them?
Since they can't move like normal people do
that's why they can't earn their own living.
We should teach them how to move like a normal person.
Then we'll be able to teach them how to rely on themselves.
Fourth Prince would be so happy if he finds out about this.
No, don't tell him about this.
I don't want him to get worried, okay?
Okay, sure.
Princess Consort, please have some tea.
I'll go and help them.
You can have a chat.
Princess Consort, please have a seat.
Thank you, Granny.
- You sit down, too. - Okay.
Here's your tea.
Thank you.
They look very much in love.
They've been married for more than 20 years.
They've stayed by each other despite the war.
How good is that!
Princess Consort.
Is something troubling you?
Not me, it's my friend.
My friend and her husband
recently got married so they should have been very happy.
But someone unexpectedly came between them.
A maid who's in love with her husband.
How dare a maid do such a thing?
Not exactly.
She didn't really do anything bad.
She just cooks much better than my friend.
If she has such a helpful maid
shouldn't she be happy about it?
What makes you think that?
That maid's always closely observing every single move
of my friend and her husband.
Then your friend should be more grateful for it.
It's not easy to find such an observant maid.
But she knows that I...
I mean my friend...
She knows that my friend was hiding something from her husband
but she still mentioned it to her husband on purpose.
Really?
Then it's your friend's fault.
Husband and wife should be honest with each other.
Here, have some tea.
I've finished.
Let's keep working.
Princess Consort.
You should have a talk to your friend.
It's normal for men to have more than one wife.
I'm not going to say that to my friend.
Because her husband once promised her
that he'd only love her for the rest of his life.
I see.
My Lady.
Do you want to have lunch here?
I forgot I said I'd prepare a lunch box for Fourth Prince!
Regarding my request for everyone to reduce your budgets
I wonder how you're all going with that?
Let's start with Imperial Kitchen.
As we're responsible for the palace's food
changing our budget will affect the meals of the king and his consorts.
We really shouldn't be asked to reduce our budget for buying ingredients.
What about Palace Administration?
Our imperial doctors strongly object to it.
Since they're responsible for the health and well-being of the people in the palace
if they have to use poor quality medical ingredients
and how would they be able to carry out such an important role?
Fourth Prince.
It's time to have lunch now.
Thank you, Head of Imperial Kitchen.
It's just part of my job.
Go on.
Everyone's already used to the posh life within the palace.
That's why it won't be easy to reduce our budgets.
Fourth Prince.
A lady from your manor has brought you a lunch box.
- Let her in. - Yes.
Judging from the smile on your face
it must be a lunch box prepared by your newlywed wife.
Hello, Fourth Prince and officials.
Why is it you?
Princess Consort knows you prefer simple dishes over oily food.
That's why she's asked me to prepare a lunch box for you.
How thoughtful of Princess Consort!
You better eat it now or you'll waste Princess Consort's kind thoughts.
Come on.
Fourth Prince, a Mr. Han said he was sent by Princess Consort
to bring you a lunch box.
I knew she wouldn't forget.
Xiao Dong, what are you doing here?
Her Highness has already asked me to bring the lunch box.
Didn't you know that?
Fourth Prince was about to eat it.
I really didn't know
how you can daydream in broad daylight.
Fourth Prince, this is the lunch box that Princess Consort has prepared for you.
This is Young Mistress' signature dish.
Now this is Xue Wu's cooking.
Subtitles by DramaFever