Greetings, Your Majesty.
Why didn't you start eating first?
Gao Wuyong.
Your servant here.
Eunuch Gao has tried to persuade me a few times but I was the one who wanted him to wait.
You may leave.
Yes.
All this was made by you?
It's home cooked style. The flavor cannot be compared to the Royal Kitchen's food.
Eat with my kind intentions in mind.
Everyone is dismissed.
I have already commanded 14th brother to come back for the funeral.
In a couple of days, the edict should reach him.
These few days, I have always avoided thinking about 14th Prince.
The capital has already changed its master but he still doesn't know that his father has passed away.
Maybe he is still drinking wine and toasting his father's health.
I have something to ask you.
Ask.
The eagle that died.
Were you behind it?
How did you know?
On that day when I wanted to ask for mercy,
Wangxi prevented me from doing so.
That time, I thought it was only a coincidence.
Now that I think about it,
although Wangxi is smart,
but the warning words he gave were full of crucial points.
Only someone who knows me well would be able to think of it.
He doesn't have that kind of intelligence.
You are soft hearted and impulsive. You act with your emotions.
8th Brother is your brother-in-law. I'm afraid you'll be impulsive and do silly things,
so I had Wangxi look after you.
Back then, I thought it was the 14th Prince.
I'm afraid 8th Prince would think so too.
How did you manage to persuade 8th prince's servants?
All humans will have a weakness.
Normally, people would think that young people are more susceptible to temptation.
But they don't know that older people have more dark secrets in their heart.
Then why did they all kill themselves?
Let's eat.
I don't want you to know about these matters.
This has caused a lot of doubt and suspicions in me for many years.
Tell me.
The attendants were all poisoned by the old eunuch.
The old eunuch hung himself from the beams. So from an outsider's point of view,
all of them committed suicide because they dreaded punishment.
So a human's life is this cheap?
Where you not scared that the previous Emperor
would not just let matters rest
and to investigate the case thoroughly?
Do you really think that Imperial Father did not really investigate the matter secretly?
I never thought that he would handle matters with such a hard heart.
Actually, when I saw Imperial Father like that,
I was very surprised too.
But it has let me gained a clear view of many things.
Maybe the only thing you miscalculated
was that the previous Emperor was so hard-hearted towards 8th prince.
But 14th prince gained favor instead.
Your Majesty, Yutan has arrived.
What does Your Majesty want her to do?
Let her serve tea.
Yes.
It's my fault.
Last night you gave a grunting sound in your sleep.
I thought you were clear about it in your mind.
Forget it.
I have overstepped my boundaries.
Between us, there is no such words as "overstepping boundaries".
Gu'gu, it's late. Please retire for the night.
Yutan, Yutan!
What is going on?
Eunuch Gao has ordered us to watch Xique being punished.
For what matter?
She secretly reported to Concubine Qi about the Emperor and Yangxin Palace's living arrangements.
Besides the attendants in Yangxin Palace,
the Emperor has also ordered Concubine Qi
and the other palace maids and eunuchs to watch.
It is to punish an individual as give an example to others.
Jie'jie you better not go over.
The Emperor does not want to let you watch this scene.
Jie'jie.
Your servant, in the future won't dare anymore.
Why must you treat a small servant like that?
And using such cruel methods.
Jie'jie, drink some hot tea to lift your spirits.
Yutan, what's wrong?
I am scared that sooner or later, I will suffer the same fate as Xique.
Why do you think like that?
In the palace, Jie'jie has advanced gradually.
I am scared that I didn't learn to be cautious like you.
Now my heart is thumping with each step I make.
It is for my sake that you are still in the palace.
I promise you that whatever happens,
just as long as I am here, I will definitely not allow you to come to any harm.
Jie'jie.
Don't worry.
Thank you, Jie'jie.
14th Brother.
The Emperor arrives.
Imperial Father, I have arrived late.
I could not be with you at your passing.
I am not filial.
Brazen fellow. His Majesty is before you and you're still not kneeling!
Scram!
Issue a decree.
Take away the Great General's nobility title.
His title is now Gushan Bei'zi.
Yes.
What's the matter?
9th brother and the rest are sparing no efforts into planting spies in the court,
using completely unscrupulous methods to find a cause for provocation
to manufacture some senseless disputes.
The motive is that I will have no choice but to get angry.
I will not let them get that satisfaction.
Now you are the biggest winner.
There are some things you really don't have to bother about.
Your Majesty.
13th prince wants to see you about an urgent matter.
I beg Your Majesty to issue a decree.
Please rise. What has happened?
Without your permission, nobody can enter or leave Jiucheng.
Please grant me permission to leave the Capital to search for Luwu.
What happened to Luwu?
She left a letter saying that she does not like the life in a prince's residence, as she loves the mountains.
She has gone back to Jiangnan.
She said, there is no need to go look for her.
How could this happen?
How can Luwu bear to leave you?
What about Cheng Huan?
She said that there's you and Imperial Brother.
Also with me, Cheng Huan won't suffer.
Imperial Brother.
Gao Wuyong, send for Long Keduo.
Yes.
Thank you, Imperial Brother.
13th prince.
Do you have a drawing of Luwu?
Bring it so that the drawing master can make copies to be used for the search.
Yes, I...
I drew many pictures when I was Yangfeng Jiadao.
I will get them now.
Luwu!
Luwu! Luwu!
Luwu!
I've already asked Imperial Brother to grant you as my Ce'fujin.
No.
What's wrong?
I just want to stay next to 13th prince and continue serving you.
I do not need any title.
You have already sacrificed enough.
These ten years, if it wasn't for you,
I wouldn't be able to get through the days.
From now on, I don't want you to have to suffer at all.
Mother, come and chase me.
Hurry, hurry, hurry! Mother.
I got you.
See. I got you!
Come.
Fujin!
You've come just in time.
We were about to go to the temple to pray for 13th Prince.
If you have nothing else to do, why don't you bring Cheng Huan and come along?
Yes, yes.
I want to eat candied haws.
All you know is eating.
Chen Huan, all the other princesses love to eat special delicacies.
How come you are like a street child,
preferring to eat some candied haws?
Such common fare.
It's not that I'm scolding you.
I understand your past life and making you change all of a sudden is impossible.
This is not your fault.
After all, you've been in those places for so many years.
But Cheng Huan is still considered born from a high status.
So you shouldn't let her be like you.
Jie'jie.
Am I right?
How can you have so much to say?
Let's go. We must not miss the auspicious hour.
Cheng Huan, be good, come with me.
Go on.
Since I've already said everything to this degree,
I will just say it directly.
Miss Luwu, you wouldn't want Cheng Huan
to have others know that her mother is of such low birth,
so that others will look down on her, right?
Ce'fujin is correct.
If you really care about Cheng Huan,
I have a suggestion.
But I'm afraid you won't agree to it.
Please go ahead and say it Ce'fujin
Let someone else raise Cheng Huan.
I understand this is very difficult.
But you can't be so selfish.
Unless you don't want Cheng Huan to be able to marry a prince in the future
and enjoy a life of high position and wealth.
Putting it in another way,
even the princes in the Palace aren't raised by their birth mothers.
The royal family has always been like this.
What are you still considering about?
Because of you, 13th Prince has already been humiliated.
Do you want Cheng Huan to suffer this as well?
Mother Mother, come on.
Be careful, slow down, don't fall.
Come on hurry come with me.
There are red flowers here.
Mother, there are pink ones too, and purples ones.
Hold on, Cheng Huan.
Come.
Kneel down.
Facing this direction, bow to your grandparents.
Alright.
Father, Mother.
Cheng Huan is going to kowtow to you.
You daughter is not filial, but I know you will protect Cheng Huan.
Who is Grandpa and Grandma?
They are people who deserve respect.
In the future, you need to come often and kowtow to them. Understood?
Yes.
Come, let's kowtow.
Being together for ten years isn't easy.
I'm just afraid they can't find her...
No, they will.
What do you know?
I hope that I've guessed wrong.
Quick, go search!
Luwu!
Prince, there seems to be a person next to the river, like you described.
Luwu!
Luwu, Luwu, Luwu!
Did they find Luwu?
13th Prince didn't come to Court today.
I sat on the throne, watching the people standing below.
All of them were acting suspiciously.
No one is trustworthy.
I kept thinking what is behind their masks?
They may seem loyal on the outside...
But just how much of that is genuine?
I finally understand why the Emperor is always aloof.
When 13th Prince was here,
I never felt this alone.
Everything will be okay once they find Luwu.
Your Majesty, Minister Wang begs to see you.
Granted.
Yes, Your Majesty.
There's news on Luwu.
Greetings, Your Majesty.
Did you find her?
Fishermen in the river found a woman's body.
I went to investigate.
The body was altered but still recognizable.
All the jewelry on it matched that in the picture.
Who else knows of this?
To answer Your Majesty.
I haven't let anyone else know.
Nobody is to know about this.
Including 13th Prince.
Continue investigating. Dismissed.
Understood.
No, this isn't possible.
Luwu couldn't be this heartless.
How can 13th Prince deal with this?
And Cheng Huan as well.
When I named her all those years ago,
Cheng Huan is to cater to her parents.
Now, who will she cater to?
Ruoxi.
Come, cheers.
10 days have passed.
13th prince has been relentlessly searching.
Look carefully, take a look. This tall, gourd-shaped face.
Have you seen her? Please think again. This tall -No, I really don't know.
-Come and take a look. -Let's go.
His Majesty and I are both overwhelmed with worry.
He still looks fine on the surface, but the cold countenance is a habit already.
Can't see much difference from how he usually looks.
I, on the hand cannot keep my feelings hidden even if I wanted to.
13th brother has not come to court for many days.
He's been in a drunken stupor in his residence all day.
Why don't you go and talk some sense into him?
All these were drawn in the days after we got married.
I could not give her anything.
Only had Heaven and Earth as our matchmaker.
The willow tree as our witnesses.
Miss Luwu was happy.
It is the greatest thing you've given to her.
Although we only met a few times,
there was always a sense that
she always had brows furrowed with many worries.
But when you look at these pictures,
although she may be harboring a lot of anger inside,
but she was full of joy as well.
Why did she have to go?
In just a few fleeting words, she has erased the past ten years of our life together.
Why?
Even if there was something wrong with me,
but what about Cheng Huan?
Why?
I have something to tell you.
Perhaps once you have heard it,
you can understand some things.
Before I tell the story,
I want to say a few words regarding other matters.
You and Luwu had a deep marital relationship,
but your other Fujin also suffered for the past years.
They brought their children up themselves.
They've been hoping, waiting for such a long time for you to come out.
But you're going to treat them like this?
Miss Luwu's ancestral hometown
is in Zhejiang Province, Wucheng city. Did you know?
I've only heard her say that she is from Jiangnan.
She has led a wandering existence
so she is not willing to speak more about it.
I did not want to make her sad,
so I have refrained from asking further.