(Royal Romance)
(Episode 10)
Based on that, I am at least certain that...
my feelings for Dong Xiaowan is not one-sided.
Dong Xiaowan do, at least,
feel something for Young Master Huang.
Not just something.
I believe Miss Dong holds you in rather high regard.
High regard?
Why doesn't that sound flattering at all?
How could you put me in such a humble position?
- l... - Liu Guangcai.
Yes, Your Majesty.
You wouldn't have put it that way, would you?
Never, Your Majesty,
not even in the face of death.
Such inappropriate language.
Your Majesty, you are trying to scare me again.
What I mean is, Miss Dong holds Young Master Huang in high regard,
not Emperor Shunzhi.
Is that wrong?
You really are irrepressible today.
Your Majesty is in such a good mood.
l have never seen Your Majesty...
in such high spirits.
Yes, I got to know Miss Dong,
and Wu Sangui defeated the empire's greatest enemy in Yunnan.
How could I not be happy with such good news?
How could I not be in high spirits?
Yes.
I just want to go out now,
to enjoy the scenery, watch the tide and listen to the bells.
Come on, let's go.
Find a spot to hide.
Let's stay hidden. Hurry.
I am so happy today.
Your vitality is impressive, Your Majesty.
I am exhausted after...
being so busy these seven days.
Even Lord Liu and Captain Ying are showing signs of fatigue,
yet Your Majesty is still...
so energetic.
It is truly amazing.
You are right, Lord Eshuo.
His Majesty has been stunningly energetic on...
this trip to Jiangnan,
as if he took some kind of magic pill.
Yes...
You are such a sweet talker.
The magic pill is...
Dong Xiaowan.
Whenver I think about her,
I feel energised, as if I'll never be tired.
None of us can compare with His Majesty.
His Majesty sees a way where there is none,
and bubbles where there are none.
A way where there is none, bubbles where there are none?
What does that mean, Your Majesty?
It's something I said before.
It has to do with Dong Xiaowan as well.
l have decided to visit her again tomorrow.
Then we'll return to the capital the day after.
I want to make the most of the time I have left to...
express my love to her.
(Clouds in the the blue sky, yellow flowers on the ground)
(Strong winds from the west, wild geese flying south)
(Clouds in the the blue sky, yellow flowers on the ground)
(Strong winds from the west, wild geese flying south)
(Who dyed the forest red overnight?)
(It's the tears of goodbye)
(Who dyed the forest red overnight?)
(It's the tears of goodbye)
Your Majesty,
Dong Xiaowan's voice and skill...
are unmatched.
The emotions in her voice...
really brings one to tears.
I wonder if her tears of goodbye...
are for Young Master Huang?
As for that,
I'll soon find out.
Right, Eshuo.
Have you looked into Hongshan's family assets?
l was just going to report to you, Your Majesty.
He has about sixty thousand taels of silver in...
his family assets,
but none of it from bribery.
It was all from the three laws laid down by the Qing Dynasty.
He had his family servants farm on land he has marked.
Manchurian officials of his rank...
have this right.
The three laws...
What should we do with Hongshan, Your Majesty?
I await your command.
Hongshan may not be corrupt,
but he allowed his son to bully good people and...
twisted the law to arrest others in revenge.
That is unforgiveable.
Well then,
demote him, but keep him employed and under surveillance.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Also,
what are you planning to do with Hongshan's impertinent son?
Hongqi's deeds are...
indeed wicked and despicable.
If he had gone through with them, he should be sentenced to death.
However, they were never realised,
so by law, he can be sentenced to a year in prison.
Would that be appropriate, Your Majesty?
Yes, quite fair.
Your Majesty, Miss Dong's performance is almost over.
I already talked to Madam Wu.
She asked Your Majesty to wait for Miss Dong in her room.
I want to surprise her.
I want to see who...
her tears of goodbye are for.
Miss Xiaowan,
Young Master Huang should be back from merchandising by now.
Maybe he already left Jiangning for the capital.
Miss Xiaowang, why didn't you invite him to Yiqing Garden to...
say goodbye in person?
Koukou, you are still young.
There are some things you don't understand.
Some people and things are...
best forgotten.
Miss Xiaowan, why is your door open?
Xiaowan,
why should we forget each other?
I don't want to forget, and I can't forget.
That's why I am back.
I want us to forget each other.
I can't.
I am too emotional at seeing you again, Xiaowan.
Why am I feeling emotional too?
Xiaoqiangzi, what are you so emotional about?
Don't play along with your young master.
Young Master isn't playing around.
Your young master should feel emotional,
because he doesn't want to forget Miss Xiaowan.
- l... - Xiaoqiangzi.
- Leave us for a while. - Yes.
- Let's go... - l...
Come on, Koukou.
Young Master Huang, I am still in my performance outfit.
I am not dressed appropriately.
Xiaowan,
whether onstage or offstage,
in makeup or not,
you are always...
the most beautiful woman in the world.
What nonsense.
l have to go back to the capital tomorrow.
Please go out again with me today.
Jiangnan scenery is...
stunningly beautiful.
Miss Xiaowan,
l have been wanting to write poetry these few days to...
express my love for Jiangnan,
yet I have been hesitant to write it down.
Why?
You are so talented, Young Master Huang.
I am sure it will be great poetry.
It is Bai Juyi's fault.
He has written all there is on...
one's love for Jiangnan.
All I can think about is...
his Memories of Jiangnan,
thus I dare not write.
What is the point of competing with an ancient poet?
You are two different people,
not to mention the brilliance of Tang poetry.
You cannot even compare to him.
I wouldn't dare compare myself to him.
I just thought of two lines,
but alongside his poetry on Jiangnan,
I found it too lacking.
It's better to just recite his poetry.
Miss Xiaowan,
how about we recite Bai Juyi's poetry in...
this beautiful scenery?
All right. Please start, Young Master Huang.
Thinking of Jiangnan, yearning for Jiangning.
How clever of Young Master Huang, to modify the original so.
Looking for osmanthus by the moonlight in the mountains,
watching the waves breaking on a pillow in the pavilion.
When will I revisit this scenery again?
Look how good Miss Xiaowan and Young Master Huang are...
at reciting poetry.
Why don't we recite one too?
You want me to recite poetry?
Why don't you just kill me?
Study harder when you go back to the capital,
or I won't welcome you back to...
Jiangning again.
How bold of Emperor Shunzhi.
It's another golden opportunity...
to assassinate him.
Rather than a golden opportunity,
it's more of a trap.
Look.
Governor Eshuo has men in place all around to...
secretly protect him.
However, with Lord Liu's reminder,
we're not going to assassinate him.
General,
there must be guards on every road.
Reroute all passerbys.
Be polite.
Don't make anyone feel harrassed.
Be sure to...
maintain a certain distance from His Majesty, understand?
Don't worry, my lord. Everything is in place.
His Majesty is absolutely safe.
I wouldn't be so nervous...
if not for the assassination attempt.
Heaven and Earth Society has gone too far.
I won't sleep in peace until...
His Majesty has left Jiangnan.
Memories of Jiangnan, missing Wu Palace.
A glass of Wu wine, green bamboo leaves,
two Wu lasses dancing and dazzling all.
A fateful encounter.
Miss Xiaowan,
see, Bai Letian already wrote us an ending...
a thousand years ago.
We are fated to meet.
That last line is the reason you wanted to...
recite Memories of Jiangnan with me, right?
Not only that line.
I even want to do a limerick.
Thinking of Jiangnan, missing Xiaowan.
A beautiful, flowing outfit, a vivid, seductive picture.
Young Master Huang.
Young Master Huang, you are so talented.
This is, of course, easy for you.
You don't...
have to do this.
Do you not believe we will meet again?
Meeting again isn't difficult.
If you happen to come to Jiangning again on business,
if I am still in Yiqing Garden,
we may meet each other again.
Chief,
seems like Shunzhi is head over heels in love with...
Dong Xiaowan.
It's a good thing.
But...Dong Xiaowan seems to...
be rather reluctant.
I wonder if Shunzhi can...
take her back to the capital.
Xiaowan, I really want to see you dance.
I saw you dance to Everlasting Sorrow at...
Yiqing Garden that time. It was beautiful.
Would you...
dance for me again today?
Of course I will dance for you, Young Master Huang.
However, I don't have my dance clothes.
Second Uncle, bring it over.
Yes.
How pretty.
I had this made for you.
Do you like it?
Very much.
In that case,
would you give me something too?
Then...
when I return to the capital,
I can look at it and think of you.
I don't know what would be best for you,
but this is a hairpin I carry with me.
Take this as a souvenir.
Miss Xiaowan, Young Master Huang gave you such a pretty outfit.
You were so beautiful when you danced today.
Young Master Huang really put much thought into it.
Are you touched, Miss Xiaowan?
Young Master Huang is leaving Jiangning tomorrow.
Are you going to see him off outside the city?
I already bade him farewell today.
I won't see him off tomorrow.
Are you really going to forget each other?
Miss Xiaowan, I really think...
you and Young Master Huang are...
soulmates.
When you wore this and danced for Young Master Huang,
you looked stunningly beautiful.
Only in front of your soulmate...
would you dance so entrancingly...
and beautifully.
A rich young heir like Young Master Huang only...
feels passion fleetingly.
Once he returns to the capital,
he will soon forget everything.
He won't come to Jiangning again for me.
l have seen too many like him.
Well, I think...
you may be wrong about Young Master Huang.
It's late. Go to bed.
- It's so pretty. - I had this made for you.
Do you like it?
Very much.
In that case,
could you give me something too?
Why are you here, Young Master Huang?
Your dancing is beautiful, far more than any ancient beauty.
Young Master Huang, do you really like my dancing?
You dance like a fairy,
light and elegant.
It's entrancing.
You flatter me, Young Master Huang.
When one is deeply in love,
one will be entranced by...
one's lover's every move.
Miss Xiaowan, here comes Young Master Huang.
Are you really not going to greet Young Master Huang,
Miss Xiaowan?
No. I'll just stay here.
They are leaving the city gate, Miss Xiaowan.
Halt.
What are you looking at, Young Master?
I keep feeling a pair of eyes...
gazing at me lovingly.
You are imagining things, Young Master Huang.
Didn't you talk about this already? Miss Xiaowan won't come.
She may not be here in person, but her heart is here.
Missing Jiangnan, yearning for Xiaowan.
I will be back, Jiangning.
Miss Xiaowan,
Young Master Huang and Xiaoqiangzi look so handsome on...
ther horses.
Kou kou,
do you want Xiaoqiangzi to come back?
I don't know, I really don't know.
Miss Xiaowan,
don't you want to see Young Master Huang again?
I do,
and I don't at the same time.
I am afraid to get hurt again.
His Majesty will be back in a few days.
We need to give him an explanation for Guozhen's miscarriage.
You should all know...
why Guozhen lost her baby,
to prevent any rumours once His Majesty comes back.
No wonder Guozhen isn't here today.
I thought she was feeling unwell.
Don't worry, Royal Mother.
We will say as you see fit, Royal Mother.
Yes. Then Royal Mother should...
just punish whoever makes up any rumours.
Guozhen's miscarriage is a suspicious matter.
That's why I ordered Dr. Jin to...
investigate it thoroughly.
His conclusion is that...
Guozhen had a miscarriage due to...
inhaling a kind of snake poison.
What? Poison?
How could anyone be so ruthless? What should we do?
Poison...
Who did it? We must catch the culprit.
What I can be certain of is that...
someone did try to poison Guozhen...
within the consort.
However, Dr. Jin has no evidence of this poisoning attempt yet.
How did this person poison her, Royal Mother?
Was it through food or incense?
Does Dr. Jin have any idea?
Remember the butterfly banquet on the third of March?
Some butterflies were circling Guozhen and Concubine Xian.
One even landed on Guozhen's lips.
Three days later, Guozhen had a miscarriage.
I suspect...
someone put poison on those butterflies and...
used them to poison her.
Royal Mother, I suspected that too.
I visited Guozhen that day,
and she said she didn't feel well after going to the garden.
I even reported this to you, Royal Mother.
Royal Mother, I expressed my suspicions too...
after Guozhen had the miscarriage.
I even asked Concubine Xian...
if she felt unwell,
but she said she felt fine.
How should that be explained then?
Yes, Royal Mother.
Everyone said I got a taste of Guozhen's good luck that day,
but I didn't feel anything wrong after I went back.
That's not hard to explain.
This poison isn't used to kill,
but to cause a miscarriage.
Whoever isn't pregnant won't be affected.
I asked Dr. Jin about this.
I can also tell you...
Dr. Jin examined all the dead butterflies from...
Cining Garden these days,
but none had any poison on them.
Maybe I was wrong,
but this doesn't mean the butterfly couldn't have...
flown off and died elsewhere.
Another possibility is that...
the mastermind behind this is most careful,
and has kept the butterfly alive.
It may still be flying around in this garden.
With so many butterflies around, there is no way to be sure.
Moreover, with all the time that has passed,
all the poison must have worn off by now.
Royal Mother is incredible.
She is only a stone's throw away from the truth.
Thank goodness I caught the butterfly back in time.
I don't believe she can deduce that.
There is one more possibility.
The culprit caught the butterfly...
on the day of the act,
thus no matter how thoroughly we searched the garden,
we can't find it.
Then this will be nothing but mere speculation,
meaning there were never any poisoned butterflies.
Royal Mother completely figured out my scheme.
But how did the Empress do it?
According to Royal Mother, Guozhen inhaled a snake poison.
That wasn't the poison I used.
That means the Empress did use butterflies to poison Guozhen...
and caused her miscarriage.
Did the Empress manage to catch the butterflies back too?
Dr. Jin,
you wanted to see me?
Here you are, Dr. Feng.
Everyone,
I need to discuss something with Dr. Feng.
Please give us some privacy.
Yes...
Why are you suddenly so interested in butterflies, Dr. Jin?
Are you studying their use in medicine?
Not quite.
I am examining them for poison...
as per the Empress Dowager's instructions.
Poison on the butterflies?
Dr. Feng, you are Concubine Jing's doctor.
We both know...
she had a miscarriage due to snake poison.
The Empress Dowager suspects something was amiss in...
the butterfly banquet in Cining Palace on the third of March,
that Concubine Jing was poisoned by the butterfly on her lips,
which caused the miscarriage.
Have you...found the poisoned butterfly?
Not yet.
Dr. Feng, His Majesty will be back soon.
Our problem now is...
how to explain the miscarriage to His Majesty.
I called you here on...
the Empress Dowager's orders today.
I see.
Does Her Highness want me to shoulder the responsibility?
You know this, Dr. Jin.
I am innocent.
Don't be afraid, Dr. Feng.
We don't have evidence yet on the poison being used,
nor have we found out who put poison on the butterflies.
The Empress Dowager doesn't want to add to His Majesty's troubles,
or for him to investigate this and complicate things,
so she is planning to keep this from His Majesty.
This is clearly a case of poison,
so we must get our stories straight.
If it wasn't a case of poison,
it would be my oversight.
My reports have always been that...
Concubine Jing is fine and healthy.
The Empress Dowager doesn't want...
to make it a case of poison,
but a case of the flu on Concubine Jing's part,
along with something she ate that upset her stomach,
leading to diarrhoea, and finally her miscarriage.
Dr. Jin, if I report this to His Majesty,
I would have to take responsibility as well.
Dr. Feng,
the Empress Dowager has your back.
His Majesty won't blame you.
This won't affect your position as Royal Doctor either.
You will still be in charge of Concubine Jing,
understand?
I do.
Thank you for looking out for me, Dr. Jin.
The case of the poisoned butterflies will come to light sooner or later.
l summoned you all here today...
just to remind you...
not to overestimate yourselves...
and try to hurt others,
you will only hurt yourselves.
Once the truth comes out, punishment will be doled out.
Much trouble has had arisen from conflict within the consort,
but fortunately, thus far,
our empire has only had a few cases regarding babies within the consort,
and no attempted murders on the mother.
A concubine was banished to the cold palace a few years ago...
due to her scheming and suffered much loneliness there,
but was unable to die.
Half a year later, she ran into a wall and died.
That determination to die...
made that once beautiful woman...
damaged and distorted in an instant,
sending blood and brain matter everywhere.
Even the experienced eunuchs screamed in terror.
I didn't say all this to scare you all,
but to remind you to...
live together harmoniously like true sisters.
Do not attempt to scheme and hurt anyone again.
l have too much to worry about concerning the empire already.
The best you can do for me, as good daughters-in-law,
is to keep the consort in peace and harmony.
This is the end of this matter.
No one is to mention it again once His Majesty is back.
Royal Mother clearly suspects the Empress,
but has halted the investigation to protect her.
However, His Majesty will...
find out about this someday.
Royal Mother,
what if His Majesty asks us?
What...should we tell His Majesty?
That's right. We mustn't say one wrong word.
We must get our stories straight.
I will tell Guozhen this as well.
She had a miscarriage due to a serious case of the flu...
and diarrhoea.
Do you understand?
Yes, Royal Mother.
Halt...
I am back safely, Beijing.
Young Master is back with bright eyes.
Someone's eyes seems to...
be shining even more brightly.
Are you talking about Koukou, Your Majesty?
How would I know?
How could she possibly make my eyes shine?
Let's go.
Royal Mother, that's about the gist of my travels.
An assassination attempt from Heaven and Earth Society,
a meeting with their leader Chen Jinnan and meeting Dong Xiaowan,
it seems like an exciting trip, Your Majesty.
ls Dong Xiaowan beautiful, Your Majesty?
Royal Mother, that was just...
a chance encounter on this trip.
I admire her dance and song, that's all,
not to mention I won't ever see her again.