Previously...Skip to 7:05 to start EP. 29
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would only allow for all the persons present at court
to believe that we of Shu blindly climb the social ladder.
Di Lian bids farewell.
Imperial brother, let's return to Shu Kingdom.
Emperor please forgive, I also bid farewell.
Hold it.
Is this a joke?
And I was thinking that the men of Northern Han
were of such boldness and power.
But as it turns out all are timid as mice.
Fearing that an instance of carelessness,
their preposterous nature would be revealed.
Explain yourself to me.
Meng Qi Yun,
you can return to your Kingdom now and debrief.
The Princess Di Lian, I will keep.
I would like to see
the face of this young woman,
which can overturn a Kingdom
or bring disaster upon the country and the people.
I thank your Majesty.
What?
The Emperor has accepted Princess Di Lian
into the Imperial harem?
This Princess Di Lian
is not at all simple.
The Emperor is keeping her
and has arranged for her to stay at Hong Luan Palace.
He has been enamoured by this girl's words.
Xiang Yun.
Yes?
Don't think too much of this matter.
I think
the Emperor,
for the sake of peace between Shu and Northern Han,
has decided to do this.
In this rare show of the Emperor to put Kingdom first,
by doing this
he's also acting for the good of
the common people.
Imperial mother is right.
The abundant Imperial harem, to begin with,
has always been my Kings responsibility.
So how could I,
over the small matter of an extra concubine,
be bitter and worried?
This mentality of yours is good.
Imperial mother,
Princess Di Lian is new to these surroundings.
There must be many things she won't be used to yet.
So I shall delegate someone
to make some necessary preparations for her.
I will take my leave now.
That's good.
She's now married into our Northern Han family.
If we neglect etiquette,
then we'll seem petty.
Yes.
Go on.
This must be tough on her.
Your Highness,
are you really not at all worried?
What have I to be worried about?
The Emperor's recent military campaign
was started for the purpose of rescuing Ma Fu Ya.
But he came home empty-handed.
I am too happy for words.
But this Princess Di Lian. . . ?
She should be the one that's worried.
Matrimony?
More like the road to death.
I have strived so hard all these years
but failed to make any impact on the Emperor's heart.
So I don't believe that this Princess Di Lian
can surpass me in terms of
determination and patience.
Exactly.
Milady has served the Emperor for so many years.
The Emperor's stone heart is still unmoved.
This Shu Princess Di Lian person,
how could she compare to
the undying devotion you have?
Undying devotion. . .
what use has even come of it?
Breaking through the Emperor's emotional barrier
is like breaking a stone with dripping water.
Because of my strong will,
I have managed to persist to now.
But as for this woman,
I believe it won't be long until
Lian Cheng abandons and forgets her.
Her lifetime
will be destined to remain until she dies
inside Hong Luan Palace.
You stinking neanderthal.
You're just a prisoner of war,
yet we're housing you here in Northern Han
with meals to eat and water to drink.
How about it?
Still dare to give me a grumpy face?
Looks like the gales and snow of Northern Han
are not cold enough.
Hey, let's help this guy out.
Alright.
How was that? Beg for mercy.
If you call me "elder"
we show you some mercy.
Say it.
Say it, say it! Are you going to say it?
Call me "elder". Quickly, quickly.
Stop it!
Your servant greets your Majesty.
Long live the Emperor.
Take him out for beheading.
You fools!
The Emperor isn't referring
to the Emperor of Shu
but rather it's you two.
Emperor have mercy.Let's go!
Emperor have mercy.
Your Majesty please have mercy!
Meng Qi You, you've suffered.
I regard you highly as a hero.
As well as Shu Kingdom's monarch.
You should be extended the appropriate courtesy.
I've currently been reduced to a prisoner.
Save the speech about honor.
I've you want to keep me hostage
and force Shu Kingdom to surrender to you
then you're sorely mistaken.
What you've said of me,
is perhaps thinking too little of me.
An Zi.
Present.
Yes.
Don't waste your energy on me.
If I died,
to have saved thousands of innocent civilians of Shu.
Then my death is not so bad.
I appreciate this honorable patriotism
and air of courage you have.
I had originally thought
if only your Shu Kingdom
could betroth someone to me
Then I could be more lenient
and spare your life.
What's so funny?
I'm laughing at your stupidity.
How did you think up
such a sadistic idea like that?
Wanting Shu Kingdom to surrender to you
is an outright foolish fantasy.
Let me tell you
Shu Kingdom has no Princess
so wake up from your dream already.
Shu Kingdom has no Princess?
But sure enough, Shu Kingdom
offered a Princess Di Lian to me.
That's remarkably interesting.
Princess
How was it?
Reporting to Princess,
we've searched the entire imperial city
but still can't find Han Cheng Emperor.
The Hans are overly suspicious
They must have hidden a prisoner like Qi You
very well.
Go inquire in the imperial kitchen
and household division.
Someone must be in charge of his meals
Perhaps there will be a clue
Emperor arrives
Retreat for nowYes
Princess Di Lian
Just you here?
Where are your maids?
I've done as you wished
and let you stay here.
Why not remove this mask?
Meng Zhi Xiang
has no daughters, this everyone knows.
You pass yourself off as his daughter, to enter into this marriage
Are you tired of living?
Ma Fu Ya
Are you curious
how I recognized you?
At the grand palace hall,
from the first sentence you spoke
I already recognized you.
You may laugh at me but
All these years,
your every frown and smile
the sound of your voice
I've never forgotten.
I've finally seen you again.
Don't leave me again
You can't leave me again
Never leave me again
Ok?
I won't let you leave me
Fu Ya
I will take you to see
my Northern Han kingdom now.
Come, be careful
Come
Fu Ya
This is my Northern Han
My kingdom
Do you still remember?
Back then you said
you wanted to live a free and unconstrained
life.
If I give you this world,
would you willingly stay here for me?
Lian Cheng, I am no longer
that naive and ignorant princess.
My perished kingdom and lost family, wandering destitute in foreign lands...I...
I know
All these years
you've been through so much hardship.
wandering destitute and suffering extreme misery
Don't worry
I will give you a peaceful world,
a free and unconstrained
life.
You can't even
live freely and unconstrained,
much less me.
Don't deceive yourself
You are ruler of the kingdom
You're scrutinized by the entire court
and watched by the Empress Dowager.
And that Ma Xiang Yun...
She loves you so much
She won't tolerate me
Fu Ya
Ma Xiang Yun
is not the same as before.
She's already forgotten the past
She won't ever harm you again
I also heard before coming
that the Empress is now
kind and virtuous,
generous towards people.
She's no longer the Xiang Yun from the past
But what wife
would allow her husband
to take another woman?
If I said, all these years
Xiang Yun and I were never real husband and wife,
would you believe me?
In this life, you are
the only woman I dearly love.
For you,
I would be willing to do anything.
The kingdom, the imperial throne
I can all give up.
If you don't want to stay in the palace,
we once fled to the ends of the world as fugitives,
and we can do the same now.
You don't need to exile yourself to the ends of the world for me
I can stay beside you
But can you
agree to three conditions, Lian Cheng?
Go ahead, I'll agree to anything
First, aside from you
I don't want to be in contact with anyone from Northern Han.
Ok, then from now on
I will protect you in this Hong Luan palace.
If anyone disturbs you
I will kill him.
Second,
although I am already your imperial concubine
and know that you love me deeply,
but consummating the marriage
would be very difficult for Fu Ya right now.
I've longed for you all this time
and you're finally here.
No problem, I will wait for you.
For that day you accept me
Third?
Third,
I want to see Meng Qi You.
Not bad.
I thought
you would
ask me to release him.
You know everything?
Meng Qi You,
for a royal consort
candidate named Pan Yu,
willfully disobeyed Meng Zhi Xiang.
Everyone in Shu Kingdom knows this,
how could I not know?
If you know I came for him,
why did you have me stay here?
Fu Ya, regardless of who you came for,
since God
brought you to my side,
I will treasure it.
I will let you know
that only I truly love you.
Only I can protect you
And only I
can provide you a free, unconstrained life.
Niang Niang, everyone in the palace has been saying
that last night until this morning,
the Emperor was staying at Princess Di Lian's Hong Luan palace.
Impossible. Impossible!
I want to go see
I want to see what kind of evildoer she is!
Niang Niang, you can't go
Why?
The Emperor personally ordered
that no one is to approach Hong Luan palace.
Violators will be killed as punishment
I know you're filial
but you should also watch your own health.
Yes
Empress is virtuous, kind and filial
the entire country knows.
But Empress dowager,
the Emperor
now only favors Princess Di Lian
and even
granted her the title of Imperial Concubine Di.
This...
makes a laughing stock of him before the imperial court and the people.
Makes him a laughing stock?
The Emperor showing special favor to a woman
makes him a laughing stock?
and hurts the country?
This...no...
That means
the hundreds of civil and military court officials
don't want to see the Emperor happy?
Humble servant
would not dare.
It's just that this witch from Shu just arrived in Northern Han,
but has already enchanted the Emperor.
So humble servant deeply fears that the Emperor...
that he will be drawn to her charm and neglect official state affairs?
No
Yan er, listen to this
The imperial court and the people
don't want the Emperor to be happy.
What about you?
Important state affairs
Yan er dare not get involved in.
But the Emperor has rarely been happy since childhood.
Lately,
one often hears sounds of his hearty laughter.
I am happy for the emperor from the depths of my heart.
Official Xiang,
did you hear what Yan er said?
I am not being biased
The Emperor's willingness
to forget the past
and take special interest in a woman
is also helping our Northern Han to continue the royal bloodline.
This is a matter of great urgency
Lately
if you have something important to discuss with me,
then also let the Emperor delight in it.
Perhaps, soon
my grandson
will come into this world!
Empress dowager is exactly right
Humble subject
is going to enact Empress dowager's imperial decree now.
Empress
Yes
You should focus on important state affairs
That way the emperor will have high regard for you
and appreciate you.
Thanks mother for your instructions
I will benefit from your advice
If you're obedient and do this,
I promise that the Emperor won't disappoint you.
I
will also guarantee you the position of Empress.
Thanks mother for your kindness
I will scrupulously abide
and keep this in mind.
Niang Niang, don't worry
These years,
all the effort you've put in before the Empress dowager
won't be in vain.
The Empress dowager
has supported you all along.
Supported me?
You're wrong
She is protecting her son
She's afraid I will cause trouble out of my grievances
She said those words just for show
so that her son
can live a carefree life with Princess Di Lian.
But
Empress dowager clearly said
she would guarantee your position of Empress.
Even if the mother-in-law wants to keep her daughter-in-law,
how can she prevent her son from renouncing his wife?
Besides, without the Emperor's heart,
what's the use in being empress?
Basically
that witch Di Lian is causing all the trouble.
Niang Niang
Do you think
fox spirits are really reincarnated in this world?
Otherwise,
how would the Emperor, who's always been deeply in love with Ma Fu Ya,
suddenly change
and warm up to a woman who just arrived?
Unless...
she looks very similar to Ma Fu Ya!
Right, not to mention me
Of the thousands of maidens in this palace,
which one has he ever been moved by?
Why is he so devoted to this Di Lian...
unless...
this is the only possibility...
she is Ma Fu Ya!
Ye Ye, Yun Zhu
What's up with you?
So hard...
So worrying!
I really don't know when my precious princess
can return!
And I don't know if my First Prince is still alive
Yun Zhu, Ye Ye
I came to tell you news
The Princess has news? Quickly tell us
Second Prince Qi Yun said upon returning to the palace
that Princess as already been granted the title of Imperial Concubine Di
and is strongly favored by Han Emperor Liu Lian Cheng.
No problems for the time being
As for Han Cheng Emperor,
although we have no definitive news about him,
at least he's still alive.
Great
Imperial Concubine Di??
If First Prince knew
that Sister married someone else,
he would be so upset!
Yes!
Pei! Crow's mouth!
Princess and Han Cheng Emperor's
hearts are linked.
He would surely understand
the Princess's great pains.
You!
What's the use in understanding?
She still married someone else
Yun Zhu, don't be too troubled
With Princess's wit and resourcefulness,
she will fight Liu Lian Cheng to the end.
She will surely think of a way to save Han Cheng Emperor.
As long as he's still alive,
that's good news.
Yun Zhu, Ye Ye
Princess asked Second Prince
to bring back these snacks from Northern Han.
They're called Zi Gui.
Zi Gui
Zi Gui? I understand!
Princess is telling us
to wait for her.
She will definitely come back! (Gui = return)
Yun Zhu
Quickly eat
Sister doesn't lie
She didn't even forget to bring me snacks
She will definitely save First Prince!
Yi Bing
Ye Ye would like to ask you for a favor
Ye Ye, under the circumstances,
please do not hesitate.
It's too difficult for me to leave the palace
Ye Ye would like to
wait for Princess and Han Cheng Emperor outside the palace gates.
Please plea with Han Ming for me
Me too!
Ye Ye, at your age
it's the same if you wait inside the palace.
Although I am old like a yellow pearl,
I still want to wait outside the palace gates.
I refuse to believe
that God is blind.
I want to be the first
to see Princess and Han Cheng Emperor return safely,
to be assured.
Subject Qi Yun respectfully greets the Emperor
10,000 years
Second Brother, originally I...
Originally I was going to punish you
for the crime of taking troops to Northern Han without my permission.
But considering your tactful response,
I will let this slide out of my generosity.
From now on,
stay in your Cheng Sheng Palace
with your musical instruments, chess, poetry, and paintings,
and live your romantic life.
Why have you changed into this
after becoming emperor?
I hope you won't do anything too extreme
It's so messy
What are you drawing?
You've turned my Ding Bei Palace
into such a mess.
I'm writing a book on military strategy
One day,
I will use my military strategies
to defeat your brother, defeat Northern Han.
What?
Don't want your brother to lose his life?
Don't want your family and kingdom to perish?
Then just do it already
End my life quickly
Fine. Great!
You know
that my brother
is always so proud,
so arrogant.
I can't wait
for someone to defeat him.
Go, get some good paper and ink
Yes
Stop writing! What is this?
What are you doing?!
Helping you!
Aren't these circles and dots
all part of some military strategy book?
Something so important...
aren't you afraid of my brother
coming in one day and copying it?
Then how will you defeat him?
This princess
will think of ways to help you.
Quickly thank me!
This is the route map of the palace
Remember it clearly
Search carefully
room by room.
Princess
What if Han Cheng Emperor isn't inside the palace?
Not possible. The Emperor promised me
that at a suitable time,
he will let me visit Qi You.
I think
he must be somewhere in the palace.
Then why doesn't Princess ask the Emperor
to take you there earlier?
So that we know where Han Cheng Emperor
is?
We came this time
not only to see Qi You,
but also to rescue him.
Many court officials in Northern Han
want him to be killed.
We have to proceed carefully
to avoid putting Qi You in danger.
Yes
Princess, look
Northern Han's kites
do not pale in comparison to Chu Kingdom's.
These colors are gorgeous
Let me inside! Let me inside!
Go take a look
Yes
Niang Niang
A servant of the Empress
is outside.
She wants to come in and retrieve her kite
The Emperor has ordered
that no one is to enter without permission.
Didn't you tell her?
I did, but she insists on barging in
She also threatened
that if I continue to block her way,
I will lose my head.
Those who should come will come
You go take a look
Be careful to maintain your courtesy when dealing with her
Yes
If you don't move aside,
I will go back
and tell on you!
Let Niang Niang grant you death!
This sister has such a big temper
We just arrived
and are ignorant of proper etiquette.
Sister, please be magnanimous enough to excuse us.
This is your kite
Please go well
How could you
be so reckless?
You're the ones who are reckless!
You
ruined the Empress's kite!
Quickly get your master
to come out and apologize!
You clearly ripped up this kite
yourself!
So what if I falsely accuse you?
People should know their rightful place.
No one has ever heard
of a lowly outside servant
with such haughty manners.
Since entering the palace,
you've never
paid respects to the Empress.
Hey! Your master hasn't apologized yet
and you want to leave!
The Emperor has orders
that anyone who charges into Hong Luan Palace without permission will be killed without pardon!
Stop
Empress
Concubine Di's servants
are intolerable bullies!
Servants greet the Empress
Please rise
Thanks Niang Niang
Niang Niang
These two lowly servants bully us with their master's power
and look down
on us.
They even ruined
your favorite kite.
Niang Niang, please clearly investigate
The truth
is not as this sister claims.
Even if servants had extreme audacity,
we wouldn't dare ruin Niang Niang's playthings.
Sister, don't harass us anymore
It's not that Concubine Di
doesn't want to pay respects to the Empress.
Fact is, the Emperor ordered an ironclad decree
that Concubine Di
is not to step outside Hong Luan Palace.
Outsiders are also not allowed inside the palace
What outsider?
The proper master of this imperial harem
is an outsider of the palace,
according to your concubine?
Niang Niang
Servant can't tolerate watching you
being so insulted.
Servant refuses to believe
that I would die outside
while Concubine Di
sits comfortably
inside the Hong Luan palace!
Lu Qiao! Have you had enough of your games?