"Ashes of Love"
"Episode 25"
- Hurry and ask for the Saintess. - Yes.
- General Qin. - What happened to the king?
The king is unwell, please return.
- Please wait, Prime minister. - Move.
- My Lord. - My Lord.
Prime minister, Lord Nanping.
Do you have matters to report?
We are worried about your health, My Lord.
I've caught a cold.
Just a minor cold. I'll be fine.
Any emergency at the borders?
The mains of the Liang Guo people had almost retreated.
Rest assured, My Lord.
With the Prime minister in charge of military affairs,
My Lord can rest well.
We will share our assistance as well.
With two efficient ministers,
there's nothing more I could ask for.
- My Lord, Saintess is here. - Ask her in.
Anything to add, my beloved ministers?
Please take care, My Lord.
We shall take our leave.
Prime Minister, please hold on.
King Yi is merely suffering from a slight fever,
since when it's my turn to lead and handle the military affairs?
Lord Nanping, this accusation of yours,
is one I could not be blamed for.
Prime Minister,
please do not say so.
The King is unwell. It is clearly nothing wrong in...
letting Prime Minister to take over the country's affairs.
Prime Minister, was my eyes playing tricks on me?
I thought I saw that the King had coughed out blood.
Prime Minister, what do you think?
The King did cough out some blood, I saw it too.
So you are saying that, the King doesn't only have a fever,
but some other severe illnesses?
The roots of it maybe due to the King's battles in the early years,
all the hardships and arduous journeys,
and overworking himself excessively.
Of course,
the specific condition is still depending on the Saintess' diagnosis.
The King had battled for the half of his life,
and buried himself in the country's affairs in the recent years,
he had not the time to seek for consorts,
and there remains no heirs after him. We have submitted many proposals,
but the King had ignored us all.
If the unfortunate happens,
to whom we can entrust the country?
Exactly,
Bad luck had befallen upon our nation.
The former King was cruel and murderous. Every family member...
and relative of the King, had been sabotaged and killed.
And now,
a single heir can't even be found.
Lord Nanping, please.
Prime Minister, please, after you.
Please be careful.
Go now and arrange.
Tomorrow, the Princess will greets the King,
Let the Princess probes further on the truth.
As you wish.
Today King Yi had claimed that he was sick and absent to the court,
This news,
spread it out for me in secret.
Remember, before the Princess faces the King tomorrow,
don't let her know about this news,
it may unnerve her and affects her decision then.
I understand.
I could feel him.
Mu Ci, I know it was you.
Why won't you acknowledge that you are Mu Ci?
Why did you rescue me but don't wish to see me anymore?
You even took away the only gift that you had given me.
Since you are so eager to draw a clear line between us,
then fine,
I will return my life to you now.
Henceforth,
we owe each other nothing.
Just as expected, you won't appear.
Fine.
I know you care about me.
Even if you don't wish to take off your mask,
I know it is you nonetheless.
Your Highness, you should not place you life as a bet.
If I didn't use my life as a bet,
would you even come forward and face me?
It looks like I have won the bet.
Go back quickly.
Your trackers have failed once,
and they will surely strike back again.
Be careful of your own safety.
Mu Ci,
You can leave, but return my brass sheet to me.
Why can't you just acknowledge that you are Mu Ci?
Do you know how much I wish to see you again?
Your Highness, the Mu Ci you are talking about,
has already died.
Everyone says that you are already dead.
But I don't believe it.
I am sure that you are still alive.
You will return and look for me.
It seems that Your Highness and I,
have different opinions as to what it mean to be alive.
What actually happened at that time?
Why did you disappear after The Anger of Shadow appeared...
at the River of Unmindfulness?
Mu Ci, what actually happened at that time?
Demon Lord, Demon Lord,
Your Majesty, Demon Lord
Demon Lord, this Mu Ci,
was injured by Liu Ying during a hunt a thousand years ago
The King of Biancheng saw that he had no one to rely upon,
and he brought him back and raised him up.
Since young, he learned the spells alongside with...
both of the Princes and Liu Ying.
There was nothing extraordinary.
But today the Anger of Shadow appeared again for no reason.
This is a very ominous sign.
He can easily defeat the Anger of Youming,
and his eyes show the sign of Black Pupil.
Only the purest bloodline of the Immortality Destructing Tribe...
will show these extraordinary signs after he reaches adulthood.
However, at that time,
I did kill everyone in the Immortality Destructing Tribe.
Who would have thought,
that there is still one last offspring in the Immortality Destructing Tribe.
The Immortality Destructing Tribe had shown signs of betrayal at that time.
It planned to turn our Demon Realm upside down.
Thanks to the Demon Lord's wisdom and decisiveness,
we have managed to avoid a misfortune.
All roots must be cut off and this person could not be left alive.
Demon Lord, I am no alien,
please let me go!
You are no alien,
but the whole of Demon Realm had witnessed...
the incident where you hurt Liu Ying at the River of Unmindfulness.
Yet you still dare to retort
I have injured Princess Liu Ying...
Princess Liu, Liu Ying, was her injuries serious？
Demon Lord,
He is a threat and we shall not treat it lightly.
I suggest we seal him up,
throw him into the Lake of Yu.
I injured the Princess.
Alright, I will hand this over to you.
Remember, don't cause anymore stirrings.
Yes.
Your Highness, you need not know what happened in the past,
you only need to remember that, in this world
this person, Mu Ci, no longer exists.
I know that you have suffered a lot.
Mu Ci, follow me back to the Demon Realm,
just like any other days,
we can train together, together...
Mu Ci, don't go.
Please don't leave me, please?
As fast as the wind,
as calm as the forest,
as aggressive as the fire
as still as the mountain
as unpredictable as the shadow,
as strong as the storm.
Well there is some improvements.
Of course, there is. In those days when you are not around,
Hui He was studying the art of war diligently.
Qin Tong did tell me that,
You took all of the seven military classics from my study?
From what I remember, you never liked anything about the wars and military.
I couldn't understand it when I was younger.
As I start to read them again few years later,
surprisingly I could not put them down anymore.
The art of war is just like the way our world is,
we need to observe the situation and people around us meticulously.
As the saying goes, nothing is certain in a war, like...
water with no constant shape. He who has greatest foresight win.
No wonder you are always reading diligently.
Luckily you started your learning late.
Otherwise my title as the God of War,
Would have belonged to our General Fei Fong from Huai Wu.
You are teasing me again.
A girl I am, so how would I dare to comment on the...
nations' affairs. Only that I am influenced by you,
and caught a glimpse about it.
Sadly, I am only a girl.
Otherwise I would serve in your army...
as one of the vanguard soldiers.
Your Majesty, it is time for your medicine.
Your Majesty.
Who are you...?
I am Jing Ni from the Holy Healers Tribe.
I am Qiang Huo.
Long Live Your Highness.
So both of you are the esteemed healers from the Holy Healers Tribe.
You flattered us, Your Highness.
Our tribe has always been living in seclusion.
We would not dare so much to think that we are so reputable.
You have not been in this world.
The stories about your tribe has spread far and wide in this world.
We have long heard that The Holy Healers Tribe walks secretively,
and is filled with different rules.
Now that I have met the both you, you are indeed most remarkable,
however, why do you cover your face with the scarves?
Covering our faces with scarves is our hundred-years-old's tradition.
Our tribe's healers had started to wear scarves since they were young.
We will remain so even when we are facing the King.
I am no King, why don't you let me take a look?
It seems that I am not qualified to see you without the scarves.
No, no.
Our faces are ugly and unsightly for the nobles.
So you say,
I have grown even more curious then.
The rules of their tribes are strict, let's not force them.
Isn't it that the Holy Healers Tribe are loyal to the royal family?
Why don't you issue an order to abolish this archaic tradition?
If everyone cover their own face with scarves,
should there be a spy who sneak in,
and planning to hurt my brother,
Brother
Brother, are you okay, brother?
Brother!
Brother, brother!
What happened to the King now?
When I was on my way here,
I have already heard that the King is unwell.
When I saw him practicing his sword skill just now,
I thought it was merely a false rumour.
Now it seems that the rumours are real.
Your Highness,
There is an imbalance of Yin and Yang in his kidney,
which then leads to erectile dysfunction.
It is not a cough?
How could, how could this imbalance of Yin and Yang happen?
It takes more than one cold day to freeze a river three feet deep.
The King had worked too excessively,
and it has sapped all the strength from his body.
In addition to the imbalance of Yin and Yang,
the King is also suffering from the five strains...
and seven impairments. It caused him regular exhaustion...
and coughs. There is also blood in his phlegm.
On the surface,
the illness is caused by Taiyin Lung Channel of Hand.
But in fact,
it is due to Shaoyin Kidney CHannel of Foot
Can it be cured?
The illness is serious, we could only delay it.
Your Highness, however, please be rest assured that,
we shall do our best cure The King.
Your Majesty,
Your Highness, my tribe is very skilled in the medicinal field,
and we shall give our best to cure The King.
Looking at the situation now,
it's gonna be some time before the King wakes up.
Your Highness, staying here and keep worrying...
serve you no good. It isn't worth it if you exhaust yourself in the end.
Your Highness, why don't you go back and rest first,
Once The King wakes up,
we will inform you immediately.
I will leave it to you then.
Don't worry, Your Highness,
we will all do our best.
Qiang Huo, escort The Princess.
Yes.
Your Highness, please.
If the King has gotten better,
you must let me know immediately.
Definitely, Your Highness, be rest assured that we will.,
Look at how much she is fond of you.
How is my acting skills?
Lord Nanping has sent you his messenger,
right?
How, how did Your Majesty know about it?
Today, Huai Wu has its enemy within and without the nation.
Our borders are unsafe and the government is shaky.
Our people are in war and their lives are at stake,
it is a dream to think about living safe and sound.
However, there are some with ill ambitions.
For their own power and desire,
they strive to eliminate me and take my place.
However, to get rid of them,
will definitely take me more than one day.
The hardships, profits and challenges involved in the process,
are far too many to say.
I was doubtful of you the first time you were here.
I was worried that you will choose to stand with Lord Nanping against me.
However, you have not replied Lord Nanping even after so long.
I know that,
you choose to stand with me in your heart, Am I right?
The Holy Healers Tribe will give its life to King Yi.
As a Saintess I will not dare to disobey our mission.
Then tell this to Lord Nanping.
I am far too sicked and it is impossible for me to recover.
But why?
Only this will let him lower down his guards,
and reveal his true self.
I could then strike back at him when he is not ready.
As such, I need your full cooperation.
As to what kind of illness I am suffering now,
you will need to think about it.
This is so clever,
and it is a smart act.
Your Majesty, my admiration comes from the bottom of my heart,
and I give you my greatest respect.
Stop teasing me.
The enemy we are facing now,
is Lord Nanping, who now sides with the Chancellor.
These old bricks have remained in their positions for decades.
If I put them on a stage play,
they will all be the greatest actors of the time.
We must be very alert and vigilant.
Yes.
Look at what you have done.
You told people that I have erectile dysfunction.
Someone so weak that he could not even have intercourse.
How do you expect me to face the people next time?
No no no, this, isn't this is what Your Majesty wanted?
What?
What is this?
Qiang Huo could read them. You just have to follow the prescriptions.
This Seven Emotions Powder,
can produce the effect that you wish to see.
However, everyone possess these seven emotions,
being emotional about the things around us and having feelings...
in our hearts, are all too natural.
But this medicine could reverse your meridians,
and takes away your feelings and emotions.
Hence, it could not Ba taken for an extended period.
If you really have to take it,
remember, you must control your anger and feelings.
It is best to be taken along with this pill of Golden Chamber Kidney-Qi,
in order to slow down the side effect of the medicine.
Alright, you will arrange it for me.
Lord Nanping is highly suspicious,
he will not believe it easily.
Within these three days,
he will definitely send Hui He to visit me.
At that time, you will cooperate with me,
and we will stage a show before Sui He.
Your Majesty,
Everyday, you have to think about how to defeat each other,
are you tired of it?
I am only a healer, not an actor.
I have not married,
yet you are spreading news that I could not have sex everywhere,
you have broken my good name.
In future,
If I end up unmarried and lonely,
who would compensate me, you?
Your, Your, Your Majesty, please, calm, calm down,
you must not be angry or emotional when taking the Seven Emotions Powder.
Well, I have also heard that,
a person possess seven emotions, and changes with the surroundings.
The variety of things and beauty could shake even the stillest heart.
And what make my heart lingers,
and keeps me awake at night,
is none other than the face hiding behind this scarf.
What do you actually look like?
Not only Hui He is curious about it,
I am very curious too.
Your Majesty, There is an ancient saying that,
"“There is no man who is both moral and lusty."
Please restrain yourself, Your Majesty. Also, my face...
is ugly and hated by humans and demons alike.
I don't care.
When we were at Mount Luo Ye,
We were staying in the same room for more than a month.
I know who you are.
I worry like a drunk man when I couldn't see you.
So on, so on. You have truly forgotten much about me.
I dare not.
When we were in the mountain,
you did have a lot of nerves.
You will seize any chances to touch me here and there.
Well, after you were done with harassing me in the mountain,
you want to be a betrayer of your promise,
and forget about your responsibility towards me?
Or is it...
that the Saintess has a unique preference,
to fall in love only with robbers?
I am confused, I am guilty,
I, I, I deserve to die a million times.
You talk about death day and night,
but I know you cherish your life.
No, no, no,
Although I cherish my own life,
but my loyalty towards Your Majesty outweighs it.
Otherwise I, will not even dare to think past my life and death,
to help Your Majesty to fight against Lord Nanping.
What I always wanted is not your loyalty.
Whatever,
there is still a long time ahead.
Finally, one day,
I will let you take off your scarf for me willingly.
Your Majesty,
my mission is to be a healer of the Holy Healers Tribe.
I would need to obey both orders from The King and the rules in our tribe,
and I dare not sway away from them.
I have no other strength...
except my loyalty towards The King.
What Your Majesty desire, I am afraid that it is something I couldn't give.
Although the times in the mountains are calm and peaceful,
but, eventually, it is not where Your Majesty belong.
And neither do I.
The, the times in the mountains,
please just treat it as merely a dream in the night.
I almost couldn't hold my self upright!
Despite being The King of the nation, but that was so outlandish,
it almost kills me!
What kind of a bad idea is that?
What nonsense is this book?
It is all following the ancestral sayings,
Joy with no lust, mourn with no sadness, think with no evil.
I've never guess that it would scare the Saintess away.
Your Majesty, this romance between men and women is exactly like a war,
other than the right time, the right place and the right person,
we also need to guess what the others are thinking.
If the enemy advances, then we'll retreat,
if they retreat then we will pursue.
Your Majesty is fond of the Saintess,
but the Saintess is decorous and dignified.
Hence, the normal battlefield might not work.
We need to deploy the battle tactics used against a stronghold.
You seems to understand well, huh.
Me and my brothers,
have only thought about two things in our lives
Protect our nation and our homes,
and to have our sons and daughters.
That is a good man.
Go, bring me Hu Zi,
I want the scroll edited by Chun Tian.
Hu Zi's Art Of War,
has already lent to the Princess of Nanping.
Then what about the Six Tao?
Your Majesty, don't you know that,
the Seven Military Classics have already been borrowed by the Princess?
Haven’t she finish reading it? Find and ask her to return it to me.
Your Majesty, you have forgotten that,
you are still sick and remain fainted.
How do we even receive an order?
That's true,
then let's wait for another day,
wait until my kidney recovers.
Go now.
What a bad luck.
This little Jing Ni spoke none about her own desire.
The same goes to this Feng Wa.
She said no, but you give up just like that!
If this situation continues,
how long I would need to wait to see both of you end up together!
It makes me go mad!
There is no show this time round.
Look at what you've done, you are the cause of all these.
You send our little Jing Ni, to that nonsense Holy Healers Tribe.
I think it is you,
you are jealous of that little girl who is beautiful and young.
You couldn't bear to see her to be happy,
and that's why you've arranged this fate for her,
that she will be lonely until she dies!
You old and cunning fox, why should I be blamed?
You were there at that time too.
Think back properly.
Who gave his nod to the Holy Healers Tribe.
And who didn't let Jing Ni go and experience love and sadness...
in the human realm? None other than you dear nephew!
Who would've thought that he would jump after her?
He was digging his own grave,
and breaking his own leg!
He deserves it!
Sui He.
Father,
What's it?
Who bullied you, my dear Princess,
that she become so sad as thus?
Tell father.
Cousin brother,
His Majesty...
What happens to The King?
It is brother, he...
Calm down, calm down, talk slowly.
Today I saw that cousin brother had...
coughed blood and fainted before my own eyes!
His hand was filled with blood.
The Saintess from the Holy Healers Tribe had checked on His Majesty.
What did the Saintess said?
She said this illness of cousin brother...
he has erectile dysfunction, five strains and seven impairments,
and he is too ill beyond recovery.
Father, what should I do?
You must find a way to save him!
Okay, okay, okay, don’t be scared, don't be scared.
I am here with you.
Luckily the former King had already passed away.
I will definitely find some way to terminate your engagement.
Father, what are you saying?
Don't worry.
I won't push you to death.
You...
What?
What are you doing?
As you can see,
My wedding dress, mourning garment
Since I was twelve,
Every year, I will prepare a wedding dress for myself secretly.
Also, at twelve,
I saw for the first time that cousin brother was injured.
Every time he returns from the battlefield,
I know another kind of fate is waiting for me.
My dear Sui He, you are really madly in love with him.
Xu Feng, he killed too much.
He is not one who could live a long life.
I know that you are very fond of him since you were young.
However, it's time for him to go.
We are merely humans, what could we do?
Being your parent,
I will not let you marry this lone man.
So this is what you think about him all this while.
I am so disappointed with you.
But I am afraid that I am going to disappoint you too.
He is the one whom I am determined to spend the rest of my life with.
It doesn't matter that I will become a widow or remain lonely,
I will not regret it even if I die.
I will be grateful to have him. If I were to lose him...
then I could only blame on my fate. Unless he dies,
otherwise,
No one could set us apart.
Qi Cong,
Yes, sir, what can I do for you?
Bring the Saintess here.
I have some urgent matters to discuss with her.
As you wish.
What happened to you?
You were not here for the whole evening.
You are finally back now,
but you look so serious.
Come and try this,
the King had just sent us this sweetmeat.
You will feel better after eating something sweet.
I went to meet Lord Nanping just now.
Why did you see him?
I didn't want you to be worried about me,
that's why I dare not tell you about he meeting.
However, now,
Jing Ni, could you tell me what actually happened?
What happened to The King,
I was already told by Princess Sui He.
You did well.
My Lord, you flattered me.
So, in your opinion,
how much longer does King Yi have to live?
Most optimistically, one more year.
I didn't dare to inform the Princess about it, else she might be too sad.
No need to care about her.
The reason why I want to meet you today,
is to let you think of a way...
to reduce King Yi's lifespan...
to only ten days.
Ten days?
Exactly, the plan has changed.
I could wait no longer.
The Grand Assembly will be conducted in ten days' time.
All ministers and generals from all over the nation,
will present at the Assembly.
I want to abolish Xu Feng during the Assembly.
What you have to do is that, precisely on that day,
let him...
get killed by poison on the spot during the Assembly,
not too early and not too late.
As you wish.
This Lord Nanping, does he think himself as a living God of Death?
Whoever he wants dead, he shall not live to see the next day.
Don't talk so loud! Sit down and talk softly.
And this time,
over hundreds of lives of our tribe are in his hands.
Only that this time, it is more serious than before.
He have already deployed spies into our village.
They are only waiting for an instruction in ten days' time.
- Madam, you mustn’t die. - Of course I am aware of it.
But if King Yi actually dies,
even more people will suffer.
Why so?
Chaos reigns the nation at the moment.
The people are suffering and living in hell.
But wherever King Yi had set foot on,
the battles are put to a rest and the people are living in peace.
If King Yi dies,
who could save the nation from all the sufferings?
I have my trust in him.
If he could bring an end to all these wars,
he will surely develop a great nation with no more fights,
and no more hunger.
What you said do make sense.
But this is a big trouble for us.
There is no use if we...
continue to sit here and can't think of a way out.
Why don't we ask madam?
That's what I plan to do, too.
This is no small matter.
We need to discuss properly with madam.
Jin Mi,
Madam has sent us a letter.
Saintess,
Your previous letter had told me about everything that has happened.
Our tribe has has served and enjoyed the mercy of The King for centuries,
and we sworn to stay loyal towards King Yi in all circumstances.
Lord Nanping, a betrayer of the nation,
will not be tolerated by all realms.
His actions will bring death upon himself.
The Saintess should place the rules of our tribes above all else,
and should help King Yi against all odds to save our nation.
Don't be hindered by the death of a tribe with only hundreds of people.
When King Yi has conquered all evils,
and all the betrayers lost,
our tribe will die a honoured death.
Jin Mi, what should we do?
What we do now?
Lord Nanping, the Saintess has requested to see you.
Let her in.
Yes.
May peace be with you, Lord Nanping.
The Saintess, you have suffered.
I heard that The King had vomited blood and fainted again.
You are really god at what you are doing.
The reason I am here today,
is to inquire about a prescription.
The Saintess is asking me about prescription?
This is rare,
but say it nonetheless.
In these few days,
I follow your orders in prescribing the medicines.
Only that,
If I want the poison to take effect precisely in ten days' time,
I need an extremely accurate measurement of every single medicine.
I heard that The King has a habit of taking medicinal meal.
So I need Lord Nanping to give me a list of...
every single meal The King has taken...
in the past one year.
It should be extremely detailed, including amount of every main and...
side ingredients in the dishes, as well as how much King Yi ate.
That's easy.
It was the chief of the Royal Kitchen who takes care of this.
I will order him to produce a copy,
and have it delivered to you.
Thank you, Lord Nanping.
"Having received the Mandate from Heaven"
"May(the emperor) lead a long and prosperous life."
as one who is chosen by the God to take the throne.
I wish that you will succeed in your endeavours.
Then I'll wait for the good news from you.
Yes.
He is always changing his mind and it is indeed unwise to ally with him.
Dear Saintess, our Princess wishes to see you.
I give you my greetings, Princess.
You must be exhausted from all the works in these few days.
Please sit.
Thank you, Princess.
This is the Stone of Si Bin.
You have a good eyesight.
This Stone was carved by none other than...
the master of medicine, the Immortal Wang Shun with his own hands.
It was lost for close to a hundred years.
It was only a few days ago before it has entered into the city.
The Princess must have paid a large price for it.
This is a small gift to you, please accept it.
Thank you for your goodwill, however,
I have done nothing to deserve this gift.
Moreover, this Stone is very precious,
it is most suitable for your own use or to pass it down.
A good sword is a hero's match,
just like a jade stone is a healer's match.
The Saintess has always been loyal to my father,
you deserve it.
It's weird.
She seems to be a different person since the last time I met her.
These bunch of girls are here to serve her,
or to watch her?
Would you care to talk a walk with me?
Sure.
May I know why did Your Highness summon me today?
Don't act silly with me.
I only found out today that,
You are also one of those who are staying at The King's side...
under my father's instructions.