His Majesty wants you to go with him to Lishan.
Your name is not on the list, Jieyu Xu.
All you can see is Wu Meinaing?
Wonderful!
His Majesty the Emperor!
His Majesty wants you to study,
you need not go hunting with him.
You want to visit Chancellor Wei?
Forget it!
Come!
Catch!
Are you alright, Your Highness? I'm fine!
Your Highness!
I'm glad you're here! Play with us!
The scholars are working very hard.
This...is rather inappropriate.
Aye! You're right!
Remind me again! Aye!
What is it?
Consort Wei sent another message.
Tomorrow's war game at Lishan
should be a good time to get rid of Wu Meiniang.
No!
Though Father has not summoned
Wu Meiniang for the past 3 months,
his attitude is still unclear.
Over these past 3 months,
nobody else tried to go after her.
And nothing happened in Court either.
Don't you find that rather odd?
You have a point!
I have a feeling,
tomorrow's hunting ground should be quite bustling.
I've been waiting for you, Your Highness!
How did you know it's me?
Of course!
The footsteps sound agitated, confused and feeble.
And you reek of alcohol, who else could it be?
Please have a seat.
I'd like to know, in your eyes
what kind of a man am I?
An upright man, willing to offend Father with your honest opinions.
Years ago,
Father was furious about some of your advice
and wanted to execute you on several occasions.
Years from now,
if my name should go down in history,
I suppose I'll always be known
as a honest and upright advisor.
But has it ever occurred to you
if I were truly so honest
how come when I was assisting the Crown Prince Jiancheng,
I never had such a reputation?
Why is that?
Because after Xuanwu Gate,
I felt frustrated and disheartened.
I purposely offended His Majesty
hoping he would have me executed in a fit of anger.
If an advisor
cannot help the Crown Prince ascend the throne properly,
and allows him to suffer a crushing defeat,
that would be his biggest insult
as well as biggest failure.
And my existence would be meaningless.
Does Father know you wanted to die?
Perhaps...perhaps not.
But no matter how I tried to rile him,
he never punished me.
Instead he often took my advice.
In the course of time, I earned my reputation.
And as time goes by,
I've gradually come to realise
what's happening now
is history repeating itself.
The rise of the Prince of Wei;
your inability to fight back;
courtiers are gradually forming different camps;
His Majesty remains undecided and noncommittal.
The vicious cycle has started,
this time, though, you and the Prince of Wei are the key players.
I was given a second chance
and also my last.
I'm once again assigned to assist a Crown Prince.
I must not lose again.
I'm so used to peaceful days now.
I thought I had lost the fighting spirit.
But I guess as I get older, I'm more anxious to excel.
But I've been known as the disgraced Crown Prince.
Even Father is disappointed in me.
What makes you so sure
I'll be a good Emperor?
Or is it possible you dream of
putting the Crown Prince on the throne,
and it doesn't matter who he is?
In terms of ability,
when you were 17 and His Majesty was in mourning,
you were appointed regent.
Everyone praised
your good judgment and logical abilities.
In terms of virtues,
the fact that you turned down Hao Gong-Gong's offer
and went to His Majesty's rescue
can prove your benevolence.
Li Tai may be smart,
but he's too caught up in scheming, he lacks a broad mind.
Li Ke is valiant, but he's also an arrogant extremist.
Not to mention he's Emperor Yang of sui's grandson.
Neither one is a good choice for the throne.
I chose you,
partly because it was a knot in my heart.
It's also because it's a responsible choice
for the people and His Majesty!
At a time like this,
you still haven't given up on me.
From now on, I will treat you with respect.
My teacher, please accept my kowtow.
The means I use to help you,
His Majesty may not approve.
Perhaps they may leave you utterly defeated,
will you regret it?
No! I'll gladly take the bet!
Good! Listen to me,
Regarding the hunting trip in Lishan,
though His Majesty grounded you,
you should still attend it,
to save a woman.
Who? Wu Meiniang!
Greetings, Your Majesty! At ease!
After the war game started,
I will lead Wu Meiniang to the foot of the hill on the west side.
Then I'll dump her.
You'll take over from there.
Make sure nobody sees you.
I won't let you down!
Take Meiniang
down Lishan via the 18 Pan Trail.
Inside the inn at the foot of the hill
you'll find supplies for her use.
Tell her to leave Chang'an and never come back.
Tell her to start a new life.
Aye!
Last year at Lishan,
Ke was outstanding
and received a sword from Father.
This year, I will try my best
to earn Father's reward.
Qingque, I was told
you started practising your horsemanship and archery just 3 days ago.
I'm afraid that won't do.
If you can hit any target, I'll give you a reward.
Thank you, Father!
Where's Zhinu?
He's already set out.
He said when the war game started,
he'd be here.
Very well, let's get started.
Who did that? Excellent!
This man is very agile.
Whoever shoots him will get this sword.
Greetings, Father!
Zhinu, why didn't you shoot?
In such a short range,
I'm still afraid
even without the arrowhead, this man will get hurt.
What are you doing here?
You're here to practise your horsemanship and archery,
as well as your courage.
But Father,
the purpose of the war game is not to hurt anyone.
If he gets hurt,
how can I not feel bad?
Why would he get hurt?
We removed the arrow head, and he's wearing an armour.
You couldn't have hurt him!
Zhinu, you're a grown man.
It's good to be benevolent,
but overdoing it makes you weak.
You'll be a pushover, understand?
Thank you for your teaching.
I promised your brothers
this sword would go to whoever that hit him.
Tell me, did you or did you not hit him?
I did not, Father!
You like this sword?
I like it very much!
Father, I think Zhinu has won.
someone is defending you.
Fine! since this is your first war game...
see that tree beyond 50 paces?
shoot it from here.
If you hit it, I'll give you the sword.
Don't go back on your word, Father.
I did it, Father!
Not bad!
Very well, the sword is yours!
Thank you, Father!
When we split up,
you must be careful, Cairen Wu.
Don't go inside the forest tied with red silk.
It's where peasants do their hunting.
It's full of animal traps.
Thank you, Your Highness!
sis Wu, is war game fun?
Thank you, Your Highness! You're welcome!
Let's go!
Your Highness! Tell me...
Have you seen Cairen Wu?
You're looking for His Majesty? Yes!
I saw His Majesty! He went that way with Cairen Wu!
Your Majesty, wait up!
Your Majesty!
Cairen Wu! You are...
His Majesty went on ahead.
He's afraid you'll fall behind,
so he sent me to fetch you.
Where is he now?
Please follow me!
Your Majesty, Cairen Wu couldn't keep up!
shall we wait for her?
No need! Aye!
Where's His Majesty?
Be patient, Milady! He'll be here soon.
When we were hunting just now
I don't remember seeing you.
Turn around! Aye!
split up, if you find Wu Meiniang,
you must protect her!
Aye!
Meiniang! Meiniang!
sis Wu!
Your Majesty! Li Xiao, stop it!
Your Majesty!
Brother?
Li Xiao, how dare you disobey me?
It's my duty to kill this woman!
Who are you working for?
I acted on my own! I'll make up for it with my life.
Greetings, Father!
What are you doing here?
I've been thinking since I was grounded.
I regret my insensible behaviour.
I came here to apologise and...
Thank goodness you were here!
Good job! Thank you, Father!
I'll search for his collaborators.
Go! Aye!
Meiniang!
Come...
I was afraid I'd never see you again.
That was a close call!
The result...
Meiniang...
Watch out, Your Majesty!
You're awake?
Does it still hurt?
It's late. What are you doing here?
Don't worry, I used to play on the city wall when I was young.
I'm used to it.
Play? Play what?
To temper myself.
My concentration.
My courage.
If I can overcome my fear,
I can stay alert at a critical juncture,
and won't make the wrong decision.
Help me up!
I want to get up there.
sit down!
You're not like any other women.
Up to this very moment,
is there anyone or anything
you have misgivings about?
Not a lot, except...my kingdom.
I can't let anything go wrong.
Your Majesty,
I'm just a woman.
Unlike you, my world is tiny.
I don't have to worry about the state and its people.
Your Majesty,
if you're still worried about me,
you can just tell me.
I'll kill myself.
There's no need to trouble you
to send assassins after me.
I did not send any assassins.
Li Xiao took it upon himself.
Nevertheless,
you believe in the prophecy about a woman ruler named Wu.
In that case,
I need not keep you company.
What are you doing? Are you crazy?
Your Majesty!
Congratulations, Your Majesty!
What is it?
Chang'an sped over two pieces of good news.
First, it's from the front,
General Hou Junji
led his troops across the desert in the Western Region.
They crushed the Qara-hoja army from Qikou onwards
and literally scared Qu Wentai to death!
That's great news!
General Hou is not far from the capital.
As long as they get past the desert,
the war has been won.
Hou Junji is still in excellent shape!!
And the other good news?
It's from the harem.
Congratulations, you have another child.
Cairen Xiao Qiang is pregnant.
Congratulations, Your Majesty!
Don't bother!
They're useless. Throw them away!
Is His Majesty back? Where is he now?
Milady,
he went straight to Qianxiang Palace
to visit Cairen Xiao.
The mother benefits from the son's position
Now that Cairen Xiao is pregnant,
His majesty should care about her.
Don't feel so bad, Milady.
Xiao Qiang is just lucky.
she'll get her retribution someday.
If someone evil like her can get pregnant,
someone kind like you can get pregnant too.
That's so childish.
But you have a point.
Good luck and bad luck go hand in hand.
The wise can benefit from a disaster and change his luck around.
One more thing, about Cairen Wu...
Meiniang? What about her?
They say when she went hunting in Lishan,
she was almost killed by an assassin.
Prepare some food and wine.
Follow me to Qingning Palace! Aye!
You waited months to report this?
Consort Wei!
You didn't know about this?
What's the matter with you?
And the rest of you...
How do you run things around here? Please forgive us!
Your Majesty,
don't blame them for my oversight.
All because this child is too ignorant and believed in the rumour
that a low ranked Cairen
must not let anyone know when she's pregnant.
she should nurture the fetus quietly
and wait for the right time to make a report.
she wrapped bed sheets around her belly,
and wore loose robes to cover it up.
It was too late when I found out about it.
It was my oversight!
Get up! Thank you, Your Majesty!
Get up, all of you! Aye!
Your Majesty, Milady,
Cairen Xiao is 4 months pregnant,
but the fetus is not steady.
she has too much internal heat and suffers yin deficiency.
It's bad for the baby.
she must have suffered.
You must keep the baby.
Cairen should not be running around.
she needs bed rest and must not be too excited or depressed
or else her vitality will be affected.
I'll prescribe Chinese angelica root and white dahlia root
for her yin deficiency
to strengthen her body,
and nurture the fetus properly.
That sounds serious! I can't move about?
But I don't feel anything.
Dr Zhou, her yin deficiency...
is it because
I impregnated her when I was drunk?
Were you also drinking then, Cairen?
That explains!
You're born weak,
and was impregnated in the winter,
that's why the fetus was affected.
In my opinion,
Xiang'er should stay in bed,
and nurture the fetus in my west chamber.
We'll make arrangements after the baby is born.
What do you think, Your Majesty?
I await your approval, Your Majesty!
I'd like to stay here with my Aunt.
Very well!
From now on, you'll be my Jieyu.
stay here and nurture the baby.
I'm pleased your Aunt is looking after you.
Congratulations, Jieyu Xiao.
Hurry up and thank His Majesty!
Thank you, Your Majesty!
sis Hui?
Come in!
What brings you here?
Can I interest you in having a drink with me?
Come...
You haven't... had a drink with me for so long.
I'm so excited!
Meiniang, honestly, I was jealous of you.
But I really didn't know
he summoned you that day I danced for him.
I'm sorry!
Don't say that!
I know you didn't mean to hurt me.
see?
You're still wearing this bracelet.
You have never taken it off!
I haven't been able to sleep or eat.
If I hadn't got to know about your injury in Lishan,
I would never have gathered enough courage to see you.
I'm so glad you're willing to forgive me!
You know...
when I first came to the Palace,
I thought
the Palace was like a big garden.
In different seasons, His Majesty could
choose his woman depending on his mood.
And that would be the best.
Come to think of it,
I was so ridiculously naive.
But Meiniang,
you've encountered so many things.
Do you regret having come to the Palace
or having fallen in love with His Majesty?
No, never!
You know...
when I was little,
I did fall for someone.
I was silly enough to swap my heirloom jade pendant,
for a wolf fang thumb ring that he liked.
We were family friends.
They had even proposed marriage.
If he hadn't been involved in Li Xiaochang's rebellion,
I could have married him already.
What's his name?
Li Mu!
Li Mu?
Li Mu!
Meiniang, you think
His Majesty believes in the prophecy about the woman ruler named Wu
and will punish you?
Honestly,
in the past,
I could confidently say, "No!"
But today, I really dare not say that.
He can save you once or twice,
but when the day comes
the prophecy is beginning to jeopardise the fate of Tang
and you're the prime suspect,
between the state and you
how would he choose?
Your Majesty,
I won't make it difficult for you again.