I want Ruyi to go away with me.
Only one of you can live.
One of the two cups of wine is poisoned.
You pick one, she'll drink the other.
What if I refuse to choose?
I'll have you executed.
Because she keeps begging me and has become such a nuisance.
I'll send her to guard the imperial mausoleum
where she'll grow old and die.
so, I was right.
You don't love her.
To this day,
you don't know the meaning of love.
If Ruyi survives,
let her decide if she wants to stay.
Very well.
Fine, I'll choose one.
Thank you, Your Majesty!
The second cup is for my parents.
You're the Emperor after all,
you must keep your word.
Don't lie!
Or I'll haunt you even when I'm dead.
I'm curious...
Did you really lace the wine with poison?
Cairen Wu...
Please get up. His Majesty wants to see you.
Really, Wang Gong-Gong?
Yes!
Come on...
Are you alright?
Let's go!
Greetings, Your Majesty!
You haven't been here for a while.
Yes, after so much has happened,
I have almost forgotten
there's such a place in Ganlu Hall.
Get up! It's been one full day and night. Haven't you done enough kneeling?
What do you want from me?
For you to spare Li Mu
and let him leave the Palace.
Your Majesty!
What is Li Mu to you?
We grew up together.
He was like a brother to me.
He's also once saved my life.
That's why I've been asking you to let him go.
If he's only someone who has saved your life,
I could absolutely let him go,
let him settle down somewhere and live out his life.
But he's a descendent of Li Xiaochang's clique,
a wanted man who escaped from the place he was exiled to,
someone who vouched to kill me
and who almost became an accessory to the assassins.
The courtiers are well aware of this.
Even if I spared him,
Zhangsun Wuji and the other courtiers
would not go easy on him.
You made a decision, Your Majesty?
Last night,
I secretly took care of him.
Who else do you think
I'm lighting this altar lamp for?
No...
Why?
Why wouldn't you let me die?
You have no right to decide.
Because I own you.
Even if you were to die, it'd be my decision.
Understand?
Fine! Kill me!
Very well! You'll get your wish!
Cairen Wu, His Majesty ordered you to drink this cup of wine.
Ruyi!
Brother Mu?
You're awake!
Brother Mu, where are we?
A courier station outside Chang'an
that has long been abandoned.
What's happening to me?
You were in a coma and have not eaten all night.
Of course you feel weak.
Get some rest while I cook something for you.
Who saved us?
The Prince of Jin.
Zhinu?
He swapped the poison wine.
We were just in a deep sleep.
Or else we couldn't have left the Palace.
That's the horn from the expedition against the rebel army.
To wish our soldiers good luck
and to make a triumphant return.
so we're not the only ones leaving Chang'an.
That's right. We're not.
What is it, Ruyi?
Brother Mu, since we were little,
each time you lied, you'd turn your ring subconsciously.
Looks like that habit has stuck with you.
Tell me the truth.
Who saved us and sent us out of the Palace?
Forget it! I never expected that he would let us go.
His Majesty?
Yes!
Ruyi!
You're awake!
What do you really want?
she's in a coma.
she'll wake up in 6 hours.
But within the same 6 hours,
I would be leaving Chang'an on my expedition.
I can spare you,
but you must do something for me.
You want me to give her up?
I want you to take care of her for the rest of your life.
Why are you letting us go?
You're part of Li Xiaochang's clique.
Chancellor Zhangsun has his eyes on you.
If I didn't fake your death,
you'd never get out of Chang'an alive.
I'm letting you go,
because I can only be free from worries if you're there to look after her.
You're willing to part with her?
What you said was disrespectful but true.
I'm getting old when she's still so young.
When she was with me these last few years,
she had it rough
more than she was happy.
I have an ominous feeling about this expedition,
and I may not come back alive.
Even if I do, how many more years do we have?
Life is but a journey uphill and downhill.
I have been lucky.
I have seen the best view from the top.
But I'm now on my way downhill,
while Meiniang is half way up.
After I'm dead,
I don't want her to spend the rest of her life in Ganye Temple.
Might as well...I didn't keep my promise to him,
but I don't want you to stick with me
because you had the wrong idea about him.
Brother Mu, I...
That man in Taiji Hall,
had a blood feud with me.
But I made a terrible mistake,
I should not have passed onto you
our personal vendetta.
What was supposed to be good for you
ended up forcing you down the road to ruin.
I once told someone
loving someone means giving her a choice.
I'd rather wait in the corner
and let her decide.
How you wish to live your life,
it's your decision to make.
Remember this?
Yes!
From that moment on, like this ring
you had me tightly hitched.
I'm giving this back to you.
I'm returning it.
Brother Mu!
Thank you!
I'm sorry, Brother Mu!
I let you down!
I can only repay your love in another life.
Father, the army is ready!
Father!
Greetings, Able Consort!
Take that over there!
Aye!
In a few days, I'll go to the Able Consort
and ask for my retirement.
When Consort Wei was in charge,
I wouldn't dare bring up leaving the Palace.
I hear the Able Consort is reasonable.
That's right!
I think you should hurry.
The Able Consort came from an ordinary family.
she's not as favoured by His Majesty as Cairen Wu, who disappeared.
she has no one in Court to back her up.
Whether or not she'll last in the harem is still an unknown.
I think so too.
They say she's weak, but lucky.
That's how she survived the fight for power in the harem.
The harem is a place where they fear the bad and bully the good.
Meiren Chen and Cairen Feng
won't pay her any attention.
she may just be a flash in the pan.
You're right, I'd better hurry!
That's right!
You should! Hurry!
I'll speak to the Able Consort soon.
I haven't been home for so long,
I wonder how it has turned out.
I ordered you to redo the flower bed,
not to frolic and chitchat.
I'm sorry, Milady! Please don't be angry.
If it was Consort Wei who gave the order,
would you have brushed her off?
I'm known to be forgiving,
but that only made you lazy.
In order to restore order,
I must resort to Consort Wei's harsh ways.
Come...
Yes?
Take them away and give each of them 60 canes.
Remove the tongues of these lady officers.
Banish them to Yeting for life.
Please have mercy...
stop standing there! Take them away!
Aye!
I'm sorry, Milady! Please don't be angry.
Please have mercy on us...
I'm sorry! I'm sorry...
This is quite effective.
You're quite right, Milady!
Everyone on standby!
Ready...charge!
Charge...
stop!
Where are you going?
Brother Mu?
You've been secretly protecting me?
As far as I know, the Tang army has besieged Anyan City.
But the rebel generals Zhang Quanzhen and Liu Boyan
led 150,000 men to rescue Anyan City
and formed a bigger encirclement.
Now the Tang soldiers are trapped
and Li shimin is in danger.
You still want to find him?
I must find him.
Come to think of it,
peaceful days were rare for us anyway.
Brother Mu, there's no need for you to...
say no more, great danger lies ahead.
I'll take you to him, let's go!
It's the Tang army.
You...
Your Highness?
Cairen Wu, I thought you were...
Her Highness, the Crown Princess!
Your Highness!
You've been working so hard,
I've brought you ginseng soup.
Please mind your health.
Thank you.
Is there something else?
Have you forgotten Father has instructed
the Attending Office to choose concubines for you?
They just reported back
they have chosen 4 ladies for you
and are sending them over today.
Your Highness!
The candidates have arrived.
Greet His Highness!
This is officer Liu Rongjie's daughter;
Officer Zheng Lujun's daughter;
and Officer Yang Yiyong's daughter.
They're Palace maids.
sis Wu?
How dare you!
The Xiao's from Lanling of the southern Dynasty.
she has been named a Liangdi.
Why are you laughing?
Because of you, Your Highness.
I'm marrying a handsome man.
From now on, I'll be your Liangdi.
This flower is for you.
I plucked it from the garden
because I thought it was beautiful
and wanted to keep it.
But after meeting you I think I like you more.
That's why I'm giving you the flower.
Your Highness, I need to take them away,
there are still things we need to settle.
Greetings, Your Highness!
Get up!
Thank you, Your Highness!
You're all Imperial wives who came to the Palace the same time I did.
Looking at you
reminds me of myself back then.
Though you're not as highly ranked as I am,
you're still His Majesty's Imperial wives.
Before His Majesty went on the expedition,
he designated me with the task of running the harem.
Luckily, I have your help,
or else I won't be able to manage this enormous harem.
I won't forget your kindness.
From now on, when you see me in private,
there's no need to be punctilious.
Your Highness has a pure heart and noble spirit.
We have so much to learn from you.
I hope you'll give us advice and keep us in line.
Thinking back,
I almost died because of this fan.
That's why after all these years,
I still keep this fan with me at all times,
to remind me I must be extra careful inside the harem.
The slightest oversight can get me killed.
Luckily we all get along and I'm especially pleased.
Why don't I give this fan to one of you?
Tell me, anyone among you would like to have it?
I'm in too lowly a position to be worthy of it.
Please give it to Cairen Feng.
That's precisely the reason you should keep it, my dear.
You should take it.
Don't be ungrateful.
I...
That's right, Meiren Chen,
You should take the fan.
Thank you, Your Highness!
They say you have spoiled your younger brother.
In the past days,
his kidnapping a civilian girl must have given you a headache.
I think there must have been some misunderstanding,
so I tried my best to find the victim
who swore she would never give up pursuing the matter.
I believe if you say something,
the misunderstanding will go away.
Cairen Feng, His Majesty is away on an expedition.
If he should find out someone in Chang'an
is guilty of embezzlement,
what do you think will happen?
At a time like this,
I bet the whole clan will be executed.
Cairen Feng, go home and tell your father,
even if he wishes to cover his tracks,
he should never have hidden such an important account book in a brothel.
Isn't that a bit foolish?
But don't worry,
I've moved it to a much safer place for him.
Thank you, Your Highness!
Don't mention it!
Your Highness!
Here's the list of the new concubines in the Eastern Palace.
Leave it here.
Aye!
You may go!
Aye!
Wenniang, tell me...
before His Majesty left, did it ever occur to him
I would manage his harem so well?
Now that Meiniang has disappeared,
Cairen Feng and Meiren Chen are gone.
I don't know anyone in the harem anymore.
Tell me who gets the last laugh now!
But I'm thinking further ahead.
There's no telling when His Majesty will be back,
or if I'll have a chance
to bear him a son, if not,
I'll spend the rest of my life in Ganye Temple.
Everything inside this harem
will be left to those in Eastern Palace.
No way! Tell me, Wenniang,
should I start planning about my future?