Subtitles brought to you by Xu Haiqiao Subteam - 徐海乔字幕组 & KUKAN
Episode 36
Alright, I'll leave you to it.
Yes, ma'am.
Yunfei?
Tao Tao.
You are cleaning the yard?
Yes.
This house was built not long ago,
many things are yet to be arranged.
Can I help you?
It's fine. It's fine.
I'll just leave you to it.
If you don't have anything to do,
help me move these things to the backyard.
Yunfei.
Be quick.
There are many things that need to be moved.
Hua Yunfei.
You can kill a man without blinking.
Why are you suddenly so timid?
Kiss her.
Hug her.
You can do it, Yunfei.
Yunfei.
Are you alright?
I'm fine. I'm fine.
Strange.
Madam.
Dear.
You are back.
Oh right, Cui'er.
Bring Master the chicken soup
I boiled.
You must be tired.
Here.
Clean yourself.
OK.
Cui'er. Come quickly.
Madam.
Dear.
I made this chicken soup for you.
Official business is important, but you should take care of yourself too.
I am thinking
that tomorrow you and I should go see assistant magistrate Ye together,
what do you think?
Dear.
What is wrong?
Xu Boyi is finished.
Ye Xiaotian is of no more use to me.
I need to think of a way to deal with him.
Dear! Dear!
What is going on?
I employ you as my adviser.
You can't show yourself to the public.
So stay at the post station for now.
I apologize for the inconvenience.
You have given much thought to it.
I understand.
Ye Xiaotian is a man full of trickery.
If we want to deal with him,
we mustn't act hastily.
We must have a plan that ensures success.
He will
recover very soon.
If he goes back to the yamen,
it will be even harder for me to deal with him.
Do you have a plan perhaps?
Don't worry, my Lord.
I had a plan ready
before I came to see you.
What is your plan?
My Lord.
First we lure the tiger out of the mountains.
Then we go for it.
Our county is not like the Central Plains.
This place is poor.
Thus, at the end of every year,
the imperial court sends us a relief fund
to help with the refugees.
Every year, my county is the one that gets the least money.
But
it is manageable.
This year,
because of the change of customs,
many people were exempt
from paying taxes.
There is much more strain put on the finances of our county.
With that,
the relief fund is far too little and I fear problems may arise.
This is a difficult thing.
But my Lord,
what do you wish for me to do?
I want to ask you to go to Tongren
and ask for funds.
What do you think?
I can't guarantee that I will succeed.
But my Lord, don't worry.
I will do my best.
That's good then.
Because you are acquainted with Prefect Zhang,
you can talk to him better
than I could.
That's why I asked you to go.
Otherwise, with your recent recovery
I would have never
asked this of you.
This money concerns the people of Huxian. it is my duty to do it.
If there's nothing else,
I'll take my leave.
OK.
[Hongfenghu]
What is he doing right now?
Does he miss me?
That heartless man.
Has he forgotten me?
Miss, look who's here.
Xiaotian ge!
Little girl. Why didn't you write me after all this time?
Did you forget me again?
It's really you, Xiaotian ge.
I miss you so much.
Really?
Really.
Stop staring.
Jump down!
I miss you so much.
I came to see you.
Tomorrow I will go to Tongren.
Already?
Yes.
I'm traveling on official business.
Little girl.
Do you know?
I travelled day and night
at full speed for five days
to come see you.
I feel so exhausted now.
If being an official is so tiring,
just quit.
You know,
I wrote my family a letter the other day.
When my family heard that I was promoted,
they were so happy.
They said that their Xiaotian
had honored the family.
A good man should have great ambition.
I must make them proud.
And you too.
Me?
Think about it.
If I become a high ranking official one day,
I can afford
to negotiate with the elders.
And when I do, even if we can't reach an agreement,
as an official
I can give you a good life.
And then,
we will buy a big house.
And then we will have many many babies.
Xiaotian ge.
Xiaotian ge?
You've worked hard.
♪ I won't be staying ♪
♪ The aged mellow has become wine ♪
♪ Head held high, let memories and tears flow backwards ♪
♪ Clogging the throat, sealing the heart ♪
Wait for me.
I'll come marry you with a sedan chair carried by 8 people.
OK.
♪ Broken branches ♪
♪ With time the wounds start to heal ♪
♪ Flowers falling ♪
♪ Trod underfoot, wrapped in mud ♪ ♪ Struggle no more, wilt away with the memories ♪
♪ Let the flowers fall ♪
♪ Fear the height, but tumbling down the edge of the cliff ♪
♪ Broken branches ♪
♪ With time the wounds start to heal ♪
♪ Flowers falling ♪ ♪ Trod underfoot, wrapped in mud ♪
♪ Struggle no more, wilt away with the memories ♪
♪ In this wilderness, there once grew summer ♪
[Tongren]
Song Yue.
Here.
Your favorite, dried persimmons.
Here. Try it.
Let me feed you.
Here.
That couple really love each other.
But it's only here that they can be like this.
If this were the Central Plains,
even the newlyweds
wouldn't dare show such public display.
A beauty is a beauty. Even the food she's tasted is delicious.
Come, take one more bite.
Be careful.
Don't let others see.
No one will see us.
Don't worry, here.
Take a big bite.
Song Yue.
I don't know why
butI when I think of your name Song Yue,
I feel exhilarated.
Delicious.
I came to Tongren mostly because
I wanted to ask the prefect for more relief fund for victims of natural disasters.
Sir, you are much more familiar with Tongren's yamen than me.
I hoped that you could give me some advice.
Xiaotian.
Out of all the counties under the jurisdiction of Tongren,
Huxian is the only one already under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court.
It is not under the administration of the Tongren government.
Think about it,
which counties does the prefect favor?
But this year there are special circumstances in Huxian.
Master.
Your daughter is home.
Dad.
I'm back.
Why did you come back by yourself again?
Dad.
Aren't you happy I come home often to see you?
Won't your parents-in-law fault you?
Song Yue, let me introduce you.
This is Ye Xiaotian. I've often mentioned him.
He is the assistant magistrate of Huxian.
Xiaotian.
This is my daughter.
Song Yue.
You can call each other brother and sister.
Nice to meet you, sister.
Brother Ye.
Dad.
I'll go see my mother.
Why didn't my son-in-law come back?
Is the man I just saw
not her husband?
He is busy with work.
He said he'll be back by evening.
Good. Good.
Go.
Xiaotian.
Sit. Sit. Sit.
I'm worried
it may be difficult for me to fulfill my task.
I have to
dig deeper into this in many areas.
Every penny is valuable.
Yes.
I thought you'd arrive long ago. Why haven't you checked in yet?
This is assistant magistrate Ye.
Assistant Magistrate.
This is...?
Dage.
He's Post Station Administrator Pang.
Lord Pang.
Assistant Magistrate Ye. You came here too late.
All the officials
came here in early July.
The post station already booked out.
Booked out?
Yes.
But, Lord Ye,
don't worry.
There is the Tianyuan Temple not far from here.
It is quiet and beautiful inside.
A good place to stay at.
You just need to pay for the incense burning
and you can rent a house there.
It's even cheaper than here. Plus, no one will disturb you.
All right.
We'll go stay at the Tianyuan Temple for a few days.
Chieftain Zha.
You are back.
Chieftain Zha must be here on matters of the relief fund too?
Everyone is doing everything to get more money.
Yes.
They all try hard.
It's a pity Principal Li is the only one I know in this prefecture.
I don't know whether he has any say in front of the prefect, either.
Principal Li?
You know my father-in-law?
Principal Li is your father-in-law?
He is.
So you are my father's student. Then you are my friend too.
What a coincidence.
I wonder, how many daughters
does Principal Li have?
Just one.
Why?
So this is her husband.
Nothing.
My little brother isn't married yet, I was thinking maybe we can become relatives.
My father-in-law is healthy. You still have a chance.
You got cuckolded.
Dage.
I've talked to the monks.
I rented the left house.
OK.
Go settle down first.
I like the environment here.
I'll go take a walk.
What the...
He got himself another girl?
This is called "as beautiful as a picture".
Come, beauty.
Sway your hips. I love seeing you sway your hips.
Even Lord Ximen Qing
from “Water Margin"
can't compare to him.
[Tongren Yamen]
The prefect has arrived!
Hail the Lord Prefect.
Sit down.
My Lord.
This is the record of achievements.
Please look it over.
Brother.
Who is the man next to the magistrate?
He is the prefect's favorite.
Assistant Prefect Dai Chonghua.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
The relief fund from the imperial court is here.
As for how to distribute it,
let us discuss this.
My Lord.
My county had some issues last year so I had to greatly reduce the taxes.
My Lord, I...
You only reduced taxes last year.
My county is remote,
I can't get help
from anywhere.
I can only count on the relief funds.
At least your county borders the Sizhou prefecture.
My county is in the greatest difficulty.
I can only
eat meat once every two days.
Shut it.
You think eating meat every two days is poverty?
My county suffered draught last year, we lost all our harvest.
I haven't eaten meat for half a year!
How dare you pretend to be poor?
My county lies in a mountainous area. We can't even grow crops.
We rely on the fruits of the trees and the meat of birds.
I am so poor!
My Lord.
Chieftain Zha's county is the most prosperous one.
Education is our priority.
Please allocate us enough money for education.
I agree with Principal Li.
It takes 10 years to grow the trees, but 100 years to foster the people.
And who are you?
I am the assistant magistrate of Huxian, Ye Xiaotian.
My county is poor.
My county is the poorest.
No one is poorer than us.
So please have some sympathy for us.
Grant our county a little more money.
Look at your clothes, how can you say you're poor?
This robe was made of finest brocade.
Your hairpin
must be of white jade.
Your belt.
The gem on your belt is blending my eyes.
Your shoes are so delicate.
It must have cost you at least two Liang.
How can you claim to be poor when you are so rich?
You're shameless.
Utterly shameless.
In my opinion,
the relief fund for Huxian
must be greatly reduced.
Yes. It must be reduced!
Don't.
I borrowed these clothes.
I borrowed them.
You borrowed them? Stop lying.
Really!
Really, my Lord.
I borrowed these clothes.
It's called "the rich pretend to be poor, the poor pretend to be rich".
Assistant Magistrate Ye.
Don't speak nonsense in front of the prefect.
Assistant Prefect Dai. I didn't lie to you.
I arrived here yesterday.
And because I was poor,
I had to buy some dried persimmons on Qinglang Street to quell my hunger.
To save money,
I had to stay in the Tianyuan Temple.
So, don't you think
that I'm poor?
By the way,
I always love
to watch those plays about the romance between scholars and beauties.
But I am poor,
I don't have money to go to the theater.
So I can only stand on the streets,
looking around.
And maybe
I get to see someone having a secret love affair. It's entertaining.
Don't you think?
My Lord.
Since you are in disagreement,
I will listen to your suggestions
and think about it.
We will discuss this tomorrow.
I am tired.
You shall all step down.
Goodbye, Lord Prefect.
Assistant Magistrate Ye, please wait.
What can I do for you?
You are quite daring.
How dare you tail me?
You misunderstood, my Lord.
It was a pure coincidence,
I went to Qinglang Street to visit Principal Li.
As for what I saw at the Tianyuan Temple,
I was only there to lodge at the temple.
I saw you by accident.
Then what do you want?
You are my superior.
I dare not offend you.
Even if we were colleagues,
blackmail isn't something
a gentleman would do.
So how could I ever
blackmail you?
Then why did you mention it?
I was thinking
if I saw it,
then others may see it too.
I just wanted to give you a reminder,
you should be more careful.
That's it?
Huxian is
living on a tight budget. We need money urgently.
If you could put in a good word for us in front of the magistrate,
and have our relief fund increase by 50% compared to last year,
then I would be so very grateful.
Forget it.
If you hear some rumors in the future,
do remember
it wasn't me who leaked the information.
What the hell do you want?
I'm just in need of money.
I'll tell you the truth.
Every year,
everyone is fighting over the relief fund with everything they have.
Your Huxian has come too late. All the others have already secured their advantages.
It will be too difficult to gain even one more penny.
That's why
I need your help, my Lord.
Alright.
I will increase your fund by10%.
I think
increasing it by 40%
would be perfect.
Perfect.
You are pushing your luck.
Please help me, my Lord.
Alright. Alright.
At most I will give you 10% more. It can't go any further than that.
Otherwise we can't make this deal.
Since you are so ready to help,
I will accept your offer.
But
let me warn you,
I can only try my best
to persuade the prefect.
I can't guarantee the outcome.
As long as you help us with sincerity,
this will be a success.
Lord Tian.
You are here.
You seem preoccupied.
What happened?
Nothing.
I... I'm going...
Come back.
Speak.
It's nothing really.
Just yesterday a married woman and I...
And then...
Someone saw you?
I told you so.
Don't flirt with those married women.
You never listen to me.
If you can't change your bad habit,
you will pay your price for it sooner or later.
It won't matter if you are done for.
But if your problems
ruin our great plan,
then I will let you regret it.
No. No.
It would never.
Speak.
Who saw you?
Look at your troubled face.
He isn't an ordinary man, is he?
Yes.
He is the assistant magistrate of Huxian.
He threatened me with this.
He asked me to give him more money.
That's easy for him to say.
But that fat Zhang is a hard nut to crack.
Ye Xiaotian?
Why? You know him?
I haven't met him.
But the man I sent to Huxian
was destroyed by him.
He is just an acting assistant magistrate.
How would he dare to challenge you?
He relied on the power of the imperial envoys.
I didn't even dare show up because of that.
As for that man I fostered for so long,
I don't even know if he is dead or alive.
[Tongzhou Pier]
We've reached the pier of Tongzhou!
Get up!
I'm in Tongzhou?
I'm about to enter the palace.
I put everything into climbing the career ladder,
just to one day become
an official beside the emperor.
Now...
Now I am finally close to the emperor.
Close to him.
But I...
Go, brother.
We...
We're going to serve the emperor, aren't we?
Dream on.
Serve the emperor?
we won't even be able to serve
the concubines and princes,
let alone the emperor.
All we can do is wash some clothes,
or sweep the floor.
That's not right.
I remember
that when the Western Depot* was founded, * a eunuch secret-service agency
the eunuch Director, Eunuch Wang,
was a criminal caught during the chaos caused by bandits at the Tengxia Canyon.
Eunuch Wang?
He was just a boy at that time.
How old are we now?
Only now were we....
Let's just go...
If Eunuch Wang could do this.
Then I can do this too.
I must serve the emperor.
I must become second only to the emperor. I must get the power.
I must take revenge.
I...
I can do this.
I have an idea.
What idea?
You can go persuade Fat Zhang
to let Ye Xiaotian solve the unrest at the Shuiyin Mountain.
If he can solve the matter,
he shall be given 20% more fund.
Why would you want to send him to solve the unrest?
Didn't you provoke the unrest at the Shuiyin Mountain intentionally
in order to damage Fat Zhang's reputation?
You want all chieftains to become resentful of him.
If you ask Ye Xiaotian to go soothe the unrest now...
Will he able to do it?
The ownership of the Shuiyin Mountain
is a messy business
even Heaven himself can't solved.
I want him to go there
because I want him to die there.
Let the Shuiyin Mountain
fall into even more chaos.
Fantastic.
My Lord.
As for the relief fund...
Of course it should go to
the counties that are under my jurisdiction.
Huxian?
Why should I care about it?
But Ye Xiaotian
is half your student after all.
If you refuse him upfront,
you may lose your face.
I have thought long and hard about it last night.
I finally came up with an idea.
You can make him an offer.
Whoever can solve the unrest at the Shuiyin Mountain
will be given 20% more fund.
The rest of the money
will be allocated like last year.
That way,
no one will complain.
Also, all the lords know that
the Shuiyin Mountain only means trouble.
They won't do it.
But Ye Xiaotian
is a capable official.
He is fearless, right?
Just let him go.
Not even I can solve this case,
can he?
My Lord.
If he can't,
then we don't have to increase his fund.
If he does,
it means one less trouble for you, my Lord.
The other officials...
The other officials won't say anything to this.
Isn't that a prefect plan?
We are the real poor ones.
It's not easy. We suffered years of drought.
The Prefect knows
your difficulties.
He wants to satisfy you all.
But
we don't have enough money.
Now,
the amount of money is set.
If we satisfy some of you,
the others will deem it unfair.
So the prefect has made a decision.
Whoever can help the Prefect solve his problem
will gain 20% more fund
this year compared to last year.
20%! That's 20%!
20%? So much!
Assistant Prefect Dai. What is this problem?
Yes. Tell us. Just tell us.
It is
the Shuiyin Mountain.
Shui....
So?
Who will go solve this case?
Who will help the prefect?
Anyone?
I'm Huxian's assistant magistrate, Ye Xiaotian.
I wish to share this burden with the prefect.
Can he do it?
He says that he can do it.
Can he?
But I don't know what happened
at the Shuiyin Mountain.
Could you send someone to come along with me?
I think Assistant Prefect Dai would do just fine.
No. No. No.
It is my duty to share the prefect's
burdens of course.
But I am very busy.
I really can't leave.
Good.
No problem.
Assistant Prefect Dai,
I must trouble you with it.
Yes, sir.
Brother Dai.
Where exactly is this Shuiyin Mountain?
What happened there?
The Shuiyin Mountain
lies between Shiqian and our Tongen.
Most importantly,
this mountain is rich in cinnabar.
There are two chieftain at the other side of the mountain.
One is called Zhan, the other is called Huang.
Is the one called Zhan
also called
one of the eight great chieftain families, the Zhan family?
Exactly.
Ning Er's family.
[Zhan Family Stockade]
Cousin.
Our uncle's birthday is almost around.
That Ge Long
is quite restless lately.
Don't let him cause troubles
for our uncle's birthday.
Ge Long?
Him?
He doesn't have the guts to cause us any trouble.
What do you want?
Attack them!
Beat them up good!
Bad news! Bad news!
What happened? Take it slow.
Ge Long and his men came to cause trouble. He hurt many of our people!
Unbelievable!
Ge Long.
How dare he.
I'm gonna head for the mountain. You go gather the people.
Go.
Summon all our men!
Yes, sir.
Hurry!
Hurry up!
This way.
Move! Go!
Hurry up!
At this side of the Shuiyin Mountain, there are also two chieftains,
one is called Ge,
the other is called Yu.
Talking about the cause of the unrest,
it is a long story.
200 years ago...
200 years ago?
The Yu family gave the Shuiyin Mountain to the Zhan family as dowry.
Kill them!
But
some dozen years later...
And then this mountain
was given to the Ge family as dowry.
And then...
And with that,
the Zhan family and the Ge family got involved again.
Retreat!
Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!
So the Yu family say this mountain belonged to them first.
It was given away as a dowry,
so the family who accepts it must pay taxes to the Tian family.
Wait a second.
When did the Tian family pop up?
Yeah.
The Tian family. Of course, the Tian family has already declined.
Nowadays
only the Yu family belongs to the Tian family.
They must pay taxes to the Tian family.
So
pardon, so coming back to it,
the mountain must be claimed back. Do you understand?
Now you get it, right?
It's not important. It's fine. Let's go.
Stop!
Cousin.
Why did you come?
Since you help me fight this fight, I can't just stand by and watch.
Where is she?
That's her.
Help me
catch that girl!
Brother.
You should stop daydreaming.
Kill them!
Little uncle! Little aunt!
I'm here.
You came just right!
Help me teach them a lesson!
Kill!
That's the Yu family. They're trying to gain profit from this chaos.
Get them!
After our long days of travel, my legs are getting tired.
Brother Dai.
So this is the Shuiyin Mountain?
Yes.
It's beautiful here and very peaceful.
It seems like people aren't jumping down each other's throats in this tribal dispute yet.
Things are looking good for our mediation to be a success.
The people here
are indeed quite peaceful
when they aren't fighting.
Dage.
Look.
♪ yòu shì yī chǎng yǔ ♪ ♪ It is raining again ♪
♪ jiù shì jiàn jiàn méi rén shuō qǐ ♪ ♪ Old stories are slowly fading into oblivion ♪
♪ shuí yuàn yì fù yī pán wú jiě de jú ♪ ♪ Who would want to replay an insoluble game of chess ♪
♪ gè zhí qí bù bù wéi yíng ♪ ♪ Move the pieces carefully every step on the way ♪
♪ wǒ bú zài dòu liú ♪ ♪ I won't be staying ♪
♪ chén nián de huí gān zhǐ shèng jiǔ ♪ ♪ The aged mellow has become wine ♪
♪ yǎng zhe tóu ràng huí yì hé lèi dào liú ♪ ♪ Head held high, let memories and tears flow backwards ♪
♪ gěng zhù hóu fēng dǔ xīn de chū kǒu ♪ ♪ Clogging the throat, sealing the heart ♪
♪ rèn huā luò xià ♪ ♪ Let the flowers fall ♪
♪ wèi gāo què piān duò rù xuán yá ♪ ♪ Fear the height, but tumbling down the edge of the cliff ♪
♪ duàn le zhī yā ♪ ♪ Broken branches ♪
♪ shí jiān cuī huà jié jiā ♪ ♪ With time the wounds start to heal ♪
♪ huā luò xià ♪ ♪ Flowers falling ♪
♪ cǎi tà guǒ rù ní shā ♪ ♪ Trod underfoot, wrapped in mud ♪ ♪ bú zhēng zhá suí jì yì fǔ huà ♪ ♪ Struggle no more, wilt away with the memories ♪
♪ rèn huā luò xià ♪ ♪ Let the flowers fall ♪
♪ wèi gāo què piān duò rù xuán yá ♪ ♪ Fear the height, but tumbling down the edge of the cliff ♪
♪ duàn le zhī yā ♪ ♪ Broken branches ♪
♪ shí jiān cuī huà jié jiā ♪ ♪ With time the wounds start to heal ♪
♪ huā luò xià ♪ ♪ Flowers falling ♪
♪ cǎi tà guǒ rù ní shā ♪ ♪ Trod underfoot, wrapped in mud ♪
♪ bú zhēng zhá suí jì yì fǔ huà ♪ ♪ Struggle no more, wilt away with the memories ♪
♪ nà huāng yuán céng kāi guò shèng xià ♪ ♪ In this wilderness, there once grew summer ♪