The Empress of China Episode 72
Empress
ai::bowo-subs
This is the child's name,
birth date
and other information are in here.
If you were to become his Mother,
please read this carefully.
Allowing Wu Mei Niang to stay
as a Zhaoyi,
is a deliberate concession
by the Grand Chancellor.
His Majesty knows this as well.
That's why if we
jointly suggest to him that your son should be
named Crown Prince,
he probably won't object.
I'll make the arrangements right away.
Arguably,
as soon as the boy's mother agrees.
you can adopt him right away.
Thank you, Father
I'm sorry, I've let you down.
Whatever father and Zhangsun Daren
have decided,
I'll go along with it.
But I won't trouble you with
such little things as
convincing the boy's mother.
Very well,
Let's not waste any time.
I hope the Empress will get it done soon.
Old man will take my leave now
Watch out!
Zhaoyi Wu
Next time, when you play at the water's edge
be careful
Have someone watch over you,
understand
Zhong
You little pixie, You ran off so quickly.
Don't you want your wooden sword
Zhong is really sorry, I was wrong
Please forgive me.
What are you doing?
Get up
At that time... , At that time... Zhong
didn't mean to lie,
but someone from Xianling Palace
made me say those things.
If I didn’t say that,
they'd send my Mother
to Yeting prison.
That's why I told them
you beat up on Sujie.
I'm sorry
Get up
If you’re still angry,
you can punish me.
But please don't tell my Mother.
She's weak
and may get sick.
Silly boy,
did I say I blame you for it
Zhong my son, who are you talking to?
May I ask, you are...
Mei Niang and Liu maid
we have met.
Didn't know Liu-maid here
Do you remember Mei Niang?
Slave pay a visit to Zhaoyi Wu
At ease
May I ask what brings
you here
Zhong my son is an insensible child.
What he said last time at the Attending Office,
he didn't mean it
It's okay,
that's between me and Xianling Palace.
It has nothing to do with Zhong’er.
Besides,
we have great affinity.
Today, at Jingchu Pond,
I ran into him again
Yes, accidental
I almost fell into Jingchu Pond,
Zhaoyi Wu saved me
so I invited her
to our home.
Yes, that’s what happened.
Will I be any trouble?
You flatter me
This shabby room
not fit for such a distinguished guest.
Please have a seat.
Notice the Princess
Princess, Zhaoyi is not inside.
That's odd
We’ve looked for her in Ganlu Palace,
Penglai Palace and here.
Where is she?
Sewing you plain tea
like this is rude of me.
This tea reminds me
of the days at home
before I came to the Palace.
That's right
Earlier, Zhong my son said
this is his home.
I've been so long in the Palace
I have never heard
anyone in the Harem
call their residence
"home".
This is the nonsense
I often speak of and he picked it up.
I beg your pardon.
For a long time,
I haven't heard the word "home"
The word
makes me feel warm.
Why would you say that?
Zhaoyi, slave is different from you
l'm ordinary
and useless.
I came to the Palace when I was 12 years old.
I was assigned to the Imperial Library,
to stand in the corner of a stairway.
There was an oil lamp
and I thought my duty
was to keep that light from going out.
I stood there for 8 years
until I found out
by accident that
several decades ago,
the wall next to the stairway
was being renovated.
so they needed a Palace maid to
stand guard
to remind people
not to go near the wall.
Though the renovation was completed,
for some reason they kept the post.
That position
was actually retained
Zhaoyi, can you imagine
how I felt then?
I realised then
my life is meaningless.
Who'd dare say
his or her life is
meaningful
Don't be too hung up on this.
Until one day,
I got it
His Majesty came to me
In my life
I was with him for 3 days.
Suddenly people started trying to please me
and I've soon my share of fancy clothes and food.
But on the 4th day
His Majesty stopped coming
and I was back to being
a lowly Palace maid.
But I also know
my background and appearance
I know His Majesty's grace
and the perks he brought
would disappear sooner or later.
If I were to lose them anyway,
sooner
would be better than later.
To have such
an open mind in the Harem
is not easy at all.
But after
Zhong was born
in this House
I'm no longer a living corpse.
I have my own home
My home is wherever my son Zhong is.
My son is everything to me.
That's great.
The son makes you feel contented
How I envy you
I've taken up
enough of your time,
I should go.
I‘ve been
talking too much
I hope you won't find me annoying.
No, you're
someone who deserves respect.
Hearing your stories,
I have learnt so much
Why would I find you annoying
Liu maid
If there is anything
you need me
feel free to come to me.
Zhong my son, come here
My son and I, thank you for everything.
Zhaoyi great kindness
Slave will never forget.
Come here
What can I do, Your Majesty
Where is Zhaoyi Wu?
Zhaoyi Wu... Zhaoyi Wu...
During the morning assembly,
she went out.
Said she wanted to take a walk
and wouldn't let me go with her.
So... slave
I don't know where she is.
I see, You may go
Yes!
Might as well...
Mei Niang, I'll give you time
to think.
Mei Niang
You're finally back
You have thought things through
What about the brocade?
I'll send it
to Ganlu Palace.
I will take out
my baby's killer.
I remember
when I was in Ganye Temple
and I felt hopeless,
the baby gave me strength.
It gave me
hope and the courage to go on living.
It gave those miserable days
a shred of hope.
But now...
Now
the killer destroyed everything.
I want revenge.
The Empress title,
Pheasant Slave's favour
and everything Empress Wang's
most values in this world
I will take them away from her
I will make her
pay a heavy price
I want her to know
to lose
everything she values.
What it's like
Mei Niang,
are you sure
If you want to topple Empress Wang,
you'll be going up against Zhangsun Wuji
and his lot.
I want to know
and I already have a plan.
That's why I need help.
I need someone to give me a hand.
Then
How are you going to deal with Empress Wang
Do you have a plan?
In the long run,
we must
support like Li Yifu
and Xu Jingzong.
They are poor family scholars
When they're fully plumaged,
we’ll find a chance
in the court
to publicly impeach the EmpressWang
Only people like them
can help His Majesty
break Zhangsun Wuji's absolute control
of the Tang Court.
That's right, if His Majesty want to
seize power from Zhangsun Wuji,
he must count on
these poor family scholars.
But this is
a long term plan,
Now,
what should we do
The Empress has produced no sons.
It's the worst of fence against filial piety.
Childless
It's her weakest spot.
So
To topple the Empress,
this is where we should start.
Now I'm with Zhaoyi's identity.
I can stay in the Palace
the pressure on
the Empress Wang is enormous.
She'll try everything in her power
to secure her position.
ai::bowo-subs
The only thing she can do,
ai::bowo-subs
should be...
to make her son the Crown Prince.
But
she doesn't have a son.
You mean...
she'll adopt one
You plan to stop her
Ninth brother
has 4 sons,
which one will she pick
We must find someone
who is
in contact with these Princes,
someone who knows them,
to help me choose and determine.
Mei Niang
Your Majesty
Mei Niang pay a visit to his Majesty
You’re back
Your Majesty...
Except in here,
where else can I go
Before you came back,
I kept telling myself
if you still wanted to leave,
I wouldn't stop you
or try to dissuade you.
I could only wait here
for you to make your decision.
But you came back
Mei Niang, I'm so happy
His Majesty, I...
It's alright,
as long as you at this moment
stay by my side,
I’ll be content with whatever the reason.
I am happy
His Majesty do worth it
Is it worth it
For you, anything is worth it.
Mei Niang don't have
a heart of stone.
Your Majesty have been so good to me.
How Mei Niang to be cruel enough
such run away.
Don't worry, Your Majesty.
In the future,
whatever hardships there may be ahead,
I’m willing to see you through them all.
We'll deal with them together
That's wonderful
Mei Niang,
I'll never feel lonely again,
or that I’m in over my head.
Please pass on my message...
If Zhaoyi Wu
plans to fight for control of the Harem.
I'll pledge my undying allegiance.
I know, Li Daren is a smart man
and we knew
Li Daren would make
the right decision.
What does Zhaoyi Wu
want me to do
My Lady hope Li Daren
can contact in secret
other courtiers from humble background
and shortlist those who will be useful,
someone like Xu Jingzong.
Xu Daren is no doubt a talent,
but he has been banished to Zhengzhou.
I'm afraid he can't be of much help.
Go ahead and contact him.
Within a year, my Lady guarantees
he’ll be back in Chang’an.
In that case,
I believe Xu Daren
will pledge his allegiance.
Prince, are you reminiscing
the days when you used to practice here
Pardon me, Zhaoyi Wu.
I have no intention
to get involved in your fight for
control of the Harem with the Empress.
If you wish to solicit my help
Topple the Empress
you'll need to find someone else.
We're old friends.
I helped you stay in Chang'an.
If I really can
to topple the Empress.
For Zhangsun Wuji,
it would be a heavy blow
Prince
Why are you turning me down?
Why did you become Pheasant Slave's Zhaoyi?
Are you still
the Wu Mei Niang I once knew
Have you forgotten about Father
Or else
how can you so willingly
throw yourself into Pheasant Slave's arms
Or is it possible
you're no different from the other
women of the Harem
Whoever is on the throne is
the man you love, isn't it
Love is temporary,
but power lasts forever.
Prince, you're a smart man.
Why can't you understand
something so simple
I can't believe
that’s coming from your heart.
Do you have ineffable reasons
Someone is forcing you to stay
It's alright, you can tell me.
I can help you leave Chang’an.
No, nobody is forcing me.
I wanted to stay.
The Empress Wang
killed my unborn baby.
I'll make her pay for it.
I won’t go easy on her.
But...
you’re betraying Father
Not to mention,
you’re betraying yourself.
The late Emperor...
Maybe you're right.
Perhaps
I have betrayed him.
What about Pheasant Slave?
Your Majesty knows nothing.
He doesn't know
I’m after Empress Wang.
I hope you’ll keep it to yourself.
But
But... he should know well
that you're Father's Cairen.
Why have things
turned out like this
Life is full of surprises, Prince
Just like at this moment
the wind is blowing,
no one knows where the leaves
picked up in the wind will land.
What do you want me to do?
Tell me...
If the Empress were
to adopt a son.
which one of these boys
would she pick
I only know
it won't be Sujie.
I don't know
what she's thinking.
But I know
Zhangsun Wuji
would pick that boy.
Li Zhong? Is that possible?
The boy's mother
who doesn’t even have a title.
Caused she is a Palace maid
You know Li Zhong
Uncle Zhangsun prefers boys
who are weak and obedient.
Besides, this boy and his mother have nothing.
That’s why I believe
they won't turn down
this good fortune from Heaven.
Not necessarily.
The boy means more to his mother
than her own life.
I don’t think
she'd hand him over so easily.
So...
they’re in the Harem,
just likes the ordinary mayflies
Even if they wanted to turn it down,
I don't think they could.
Recently Wu Mei Niang
has been meeting with the Prince of Wu in private
Reply to Empress, that's right
Someone saw
this two people used Prince of Wu Palace,
while Prince of Wu was teaching the princes swordplay.
They are meeting in the imperial Garden secretly,
I heard they were old friends
and got along rather well.
Rumor has it the Prince of Wu,
on the battlefront up north,
he saved Wu Mei Niang's life
If His Majesty should
find out these two were rather intimate,
what would be his reaction?
The servant understand,
I'll get on it right away.
Also
Send someone to bring Li Zhong
to Lizheng Palace.
It's time I met with the boy.
Yes
Mother
Zhong my son,
say hello to Xu Gong-Gong
Greetings, Xu Gong-Gong
You flatter me
Let's go, Prince
Don't be afraid, Zhong my son.
The Empress wishes to see you.
Just behave and go with Gong-Gong.
Gong-Gong, Zhong my son is still young.
and has not seen much of the world.
I'm afraid he might
ai::bowo-subs
offend the Empress.
Can you make an exception
and let me go with him
I was told
to bring the boy to Lizheng Palace.
I wouldn’t dare act on my own
and bring someone else.
I didn't mean to put you on the spot.
I beg your pardon.
When you reach Lizheng Palace,
please look after Zhong my son.
Don't worry, Maid Liu.
THANK YOU
In fact,
The Empress likes the child very much,
everyone in the Harem knows about it.
The young Prince
If the Empress is fond of the young Prince,
he'll be heavily rewarded.
If the Empress doesn't like
my young Prince
I'll bring him back
He’ll be alright.
Let's go, young Prince
Come on...