Sire, if you find me not trustworthy, do whatever you like with me.
I am now a woman scorned.
I can't care less about Heshen.
Dead or alive means nothing to me.
Sire, Heshen is a cunning man.
It's not so easy to capture him.
It helps to have someone who knows him well.
It's to our benefit to keep her alive.
Good!
Your life is spared for the time being
Xiaodezi, seven-day deadly pill.
Aye.
Take it.
Bring Heshen to me in seven days.
It has no antidote.
If you fail to do so, it'll mean your death.
I won't fail you.
Lady Heshen, you showed no fear in front of death.
You have my admiration.
Did I have a choice?
Sire, are you sure Lady Heshen will do as you said?
Though a woman, she has the guts.
We have no news anyway.
Why not give her a chance to redeem herself?
Lady Heshen is alone, she's no threat.
Honourable Fuchang'an used to collude with Heshen.
He has troops under his command. He's...
You are worried he'll be persuaded by Heshen to change sides?
Don't worry. He's simple-minded.
I read him like an open book.
Of course...
Fuchang'an will help me find out what Heshen has up his sleeve.
Does he really mean to flee or it's just a recoup?
Why should Heshen go to Tianjin?
Ask him yourself once you find him.
Do you really want him captured?
He put that woman before my life.
We are no longer a couple.
He wronged me first.
It's just payback time.
You two used to be a loving couple.
Now you are at each other's throats.
You are poisoned.
Long journey is not for you.
Leave it to me.
I await your news.
Be careful.
Day 20 of the first lunar month
Year 49 of Qianlong Era
Lady, who are you? What can I do for you?
My name is Chang Mei.
I've long heard of Grand Secretary Heshen.
I am here to make your acquaintance.
Miss Chang, how do you do?
Your tacky accessories tell me you are a shallow man with no soul.
No taste, no depth, as greedy as a wolf, As sly as a fox.
Yes, I'm as greedy as a wolf, as sly as a fox.
Miss Chang, you are saying I am a shallow man with no soul,
just like a greedy wolf and a sly fox.
Stop it.
I am not a learned man,
The bit of English I know,
I picked it from business dealings with Englishmen.
Still, I could get the drift from the way you said it.
I see.
Are you the only daughter of Chang Rong, the renowned silk merchant of Jiangnan?
That's right.
You are interested in Western cultures.
You were taught English since small.
You have westerners as friends.
You are known to be independent and eccentric.
Now I can say it's not an exaggeration.
You are right.
I have no time for ordinary men.
I meant to ask my father to call off our engagement.
You beat me to it.
To my immense regret. Please forgive me.
There is no right and wrong in it. What forgiving you?
I should bid you goodbye. May we meet again.
I didn't know you knew Western dance.
I learned it for you.
You are the most special woman I have ever met.
The only thing I want to say is
will you marry me?
I am no ordinary woman.
I'm not versed in traditional cultivations,
nor do I know household chores.
I am not contented to be a housewife.
I want no ordinary women.
Traditional cultivations mean nothing to me.
I have underlings to take care of household chores.
My women can do what they please.
Miss Chang, are you willing?
I picked you as my husband.
Though we have parted ways,
I don't look back with regrets.
Help... No...
You are fine...
Fear not, you have me.
I won't let you be harmed.
We are about to land.
Qingyun Hall
May I see your chief?
Who are you?
I am a friend of Chief Wang of White Lotus Sect
She gave me this jade lotus as a token.
Please announce me.
Canal Trade Gang and the White Lotus Sect worship the same deity and are allies.
However, we have our own rules.
No entrance unless you are a member.
There's no sidestepping it.
You want to see our chief?
No so easy.
Canal Trade Gang wants no weaklings.
You can see our chief only if you can beat me.
Interesting.
You are too kind.
May I see your chief now?
I am Gu Chuan, the chief here.
Grand Secretary Heshen, you took the trouble to pay us a visit incognito.
What is it that you need to enlist my help?
My sole purpose is to make friends with your gang, for our mutual benefits.
Grand Secretary Heshen, your plate is full lately
Associating with you is a risky business.
We are strong in number and highly organized.
We don't need to ask for outside help.
You may be strong, you too have formidable foes, such as...
Pu Shuhai, leader of Heaven and Earth Society's Huangtu branch!
Grand Secretary Heshen, I am impressed.
This beast was cunning and lecherous.
He had time and again framed my men.
Thank you for getting rid of him for us.
You see I am sincere in my offer.
What about making me your friend?
We don't like to owe others favors.
Just tell me what I can do for you.
I want passage for my shipment to Tianjin.
What is your shipment? Firearms or treasures?
You don't have to know.
Just say yes or no.
Shipping contraband is capital crime.
It's too risky for me to say yes.
I ask you for passage,
You can be sure it won't be detected.
There will be a huge reward and more cooperation to come.
Chief Gu, it is a very lucrative deal.
It's my good fortune to have Grand Secretary Heshen as a friend.
You have my word.
I will not fail you.
It's a deal.
Xianfu Palace
Prince Yonglin asks for an audience.
If you are here to plead for leniency, save it.
Noble Consort Dowager Ying intended to harm Mianning.
Her life is spared, I am already kind to her.
Sire, how could you take a palace maid's words for the truth?
It should be investigated.
Do you mean I wronged her?
She raised me up.
I have known her for so many years, I don't believe she's so conniving.
You know her so well.
What about her correspondence with Prince Jasak?
What about the positioning of Mongolian troops outside the capital?
How do you explain?
It's not for me to make guesses.
Too scary? Let me say it for you.
She's treasonous! She colluded with Prince Jasak to force me to abdicate.
So she could put you on the throne!
She's just a woman. How would she be so ambitious?
I think she's being manipulated.
Sire, please understand.
It's because of the years she had spent with Father,
I let her pass her twilight years in the palace.
Yet she her greed for power was so strong,
she tried to alienate us.
She's unforgivable!
Sire, if it's your conviction, I have nothing to say.
As her son, I can't turn a blind eye to her suffering.
Sire, allow me to share her punishment.
Alright, since you so filial as to share her fate,
you are ordered to oversee the construction
of His Late Majesty's mausoleum.
No coming back to the capital without my permission.
Thank you, Sire.
It's not easy to be an emperor.
It's not a bad thing to send Prince Yonglin away from court intrigues.
What about the palace maid?
Sire, don't worry. She will never show up in the palace again.
Noble Consort Dowager Ying is now
powerless the Mongolian threat is relieved,
Helin was taken care of.
The one next in line is Heshen.
Yonglin...
Mother, I am setting out for the mausoleum,
I am here to bid you goodbye.
I implicated you.
Please don't say so.
We should be filial to our parents.
I did it of my own accord, nor do I regret it.
The mausoleum is far away from the capital.
I worry about you.
It can't be better for me.
It suits me fine to be far away from court intrigues.
I don't know when we'll meet again.
You are on your own, who's there to take care of you?
I can take care of myself. Don't worry about it.
It's you...
Live a quiet life in Cishan Temple.
Spend your time on worshipping.
Put other things behind you.
Yonglin...
Mother, I need to go.
Yonglin, believe me.
I didn't have Mianning poisoned.
If you said so, I believe you.
It's Sire's doing! He framed me!
Highness, walls have ears.
Yonglin, once Heshen is removed, it'll be your turn!
I am not an ambitious man.
I abide by my conscience.
I bid you goodbye here. Mother, take care.
Yonglin...
Yonglin, when are you setting out?
What can I do for you?
You are too kind.
I've already packed. I am setting out at 1 pm.
Sire's plate is full of national troubles and family affairs,
it's understandable he's short-tempered.
The palace is filled with dread.
A misstep may draw wrath.
I worry about Shuangshuang and Fu'en who are put in house arrest in the palace.
Any action from Heshen will put them in jeopardy.
I will be far away and can do nothing.
Yongxing, take care of them.
Siblings in an ordinary family are close.
Royal siblings have national survival to consider.
Caught in power struggle and intrigues,
their hands are tied.
I pray that Sire still has kinship in mind and be lenient to Shuangshuang.
The removal of Heshen is the key to the restoration of peace.
What have the stars told you?
What is the fate of Heshen? Or Qing's future?
The stars were dim last night.
The sky later turned overcast.
It's too murky to tell.
So even heaven has no clue.
We can only walk out a way on our own.
We may not meet again after this farewell.
Yongxing, take care.
Be careful on the road.
I had this feeling I was tailed in the palace.
You too should be alert to the people around you.
Don't worry. I'll be back safe and sound.
Take care.
Take care...
What good does my knowledge of divination do me?
I can't work against the will of heaven.
Will stay away from court intrigues spare me from the looming doom?
Qingyun Hall
Who have the nerve to barge in and stir up trouble?
I'm Commander-in-Chief of the Bordered White Banner.
I am here to arrest fugitive Heshen on Sire's order.
I'm Gu Chuan, the Chief here.
We don't have such a person here.
Please turn back.
I am tipped off he's in hiding here.
Search!
Yes, Your Honor.
Halt!
License to Kill Qianlong
This coiling dragon staff was bestowed by His Late Majesty. Show your respect!
This coiling dragon staff was bestowed by His Late Majesty! You had the nerve!
This is Sire's token banner.
His order is supreme.
I have the license to kill!
Kill whoever dares to resist!
Your Honor, Heshen is not found.
Where is Heshen?
Your Honor, I told you we don't have such a person here.
Have we?
No...
Save me your act!
I give you three days.
Hand him over or all your piers and warehouses will be closed.
None of you will be spared.
Think about it.
Opposing the court to your own woe.
It's windy here. You aren't fully recovered
Don't stay here for too long.
Go back in for some rest.
The decoction is done. Drink it.
No...
I leave it here.
Drink it hot.
Doukou.
Thank you.
Forget revenge, don't torture yourself.
If you want to, I can take you away any time.
I want to.
Good! It'll be arranged.
Once you are recovered, we can leave.
Forget everything!
We can be wanderers. Let us roam the land.
If there's nothing else, you are excused.
Sire, I have a request.
Go ahead.
Heshen is unpardonable.
However, Gulun Princess Hexiao and her son have not involved in his doings.
They are innocent.
Sire, please release them.
Fengshen-yinde is in Tianjin looking for Heshen.
Releasing his wife and son is giving him the freedom to go over to the other side.
He may help Heshen flee.
It's well-known that he's a man of integrity and loyalty.
If he wanted to help Heshen flee,
he would have lied to cover him up yesterday.
Are you criticizing my doing?
No, Sire.
I had been doing it your way.
Yet we failed to capture Heshen every time.
He's a cunning man.
I failed to see through his tricks, it's my fault.
Still, innocent people shouldn't be made to pay for Heshen and his men.
Fengshen-Yinde is his son.
I give him a chance to redeem himself.
I am already kind to him.
Sire...
Say no more.
Your priority is the capture of Heshen.
Don't show up before he's caught.
Aye.
You are excused.
Aye.
Sire, Prince Yongxing asks for an audience.
Show him in.
Prince Yongxing may enter.
Sire, greetings.
At ease.
What is it about?
I am going to Taishan Temple in Tianjin for retreat
I am here to say goodbye.
You are going to Tianjin? Why this sudden decision?
It's said there's a Buddha apparition in the temple, it's a miracle.
I am going there to pray for blessings for the Qing reign,
to make ruling smooth for Sire.
You are too kind. Be careful on the road.
Thank you, Sire.
It' said you didn't sleep well last night.
I have longan and wolfberry honey tea made for you.
It has the soothing effect.
Drink it hot.
I didn't have a good night's sleep since I came to the palace.
All the maids and eunuchs are Sire's spies.
We are being watched days and nights.
Fu'en couldn't even go out to stretch his legs without being questioned.
It's no different from being locked up in a prison.
Have patience.
It'll be over once Prince Consort is back with his mission accomplished.
It'll be over if he can bring Father back.
What if he comes back empty-handed?
I don't think we'll be left to live.
Why not?
Sire and you grew up together.
You two are close.
He says Fu'en is smart and he loves him every much.
How will he be so heartless?
The times are different.
Sire is now a different person.
He now puts power and pride before kinship.
He will do anything to get what he wants.
You two are here because he's impatient for the capture of Heshen.
You love him and make excuses for him.
But he doesn't trust you anymore.
I am not afraid to die.
But Fu'en is still small.
He almost died in Noble Consort Dowager Ying's poison attempt.
It broke my heart.
As his mother, I can't let him die.
Do you have a way to help Fu'en and I flee?
It means betraying Sire, how can I do it?
Moreover, Noble Consort Dowager Ying got her punishment.
It won't happen again. Don't worry too much.
Highness, Consort Xian knows Gulun Princess Hexiao is here.
She brings her peony cakes.
She is waiting outside.
She knows I am here already?
She's on Noble Consort Dowager Ying's side.
Is this another poisoning attempt?
Walls in the palace have ears.
Take it easy.
Tell Her Highness Fu'en and Mianning have refreshments already.
They're busy playing.
I need to keep an eye on them, I cannot receive her.
She may turn back.
Yes, Highness.
I am being grounded.
I can't guarantee my own safety, I can't help you even if I want to.
Highness...
Please... I won't get up before you say yes.
Get up first...
Alright, you have my word.
You are too kind. I won't forget it.
See? Fu'en wrote it yesterday.
It's the character filial.
He'll grow up to be a filial son.
He'll make his name.
I was given the cold shoulder!
She is now in the dog house.
She still thinks she is the head of the imperial harem!
It means nothing!
You are now Sire's favourite.
Once you give birth to an heir,
you will be the head of the imperial harem.
Whoever slighted me will have to pay for it
Aren't you playing with Fu'en in Jingren Palace?
Sire has assigned me 30 pieces of calligraphy practice.
I've been writing hard since morning. I didn't have the time to play.
These are His Late Majesty's burial objects
Be careful.
Highness, it's getting late,
please set out for the mausoleum.
Leave the chores to us.
The burial objects will be sent later.
Alright.
Highness, take care.
Check the burial objects. Then we can go.
Yes.
You take over.
Thank you.
Grandma...
Fu'en, listen!
Do whatever Miss Dieyi says. Get it?
Yes.
You are a good boy.
Miss Dieyi, I entrust him to you.
Please take good care of him.
Why don't you go with us to Tianjin?
I did it because Fu'en is my grandson.
Once he's in Tianjin,
his life there and the people he knows there are no longer my concern.
Take care of him.
Sire, I have searched everywhere.
There's no sight of Prince Fu'en.
Where has he gone?
I don't know.
He's in Jingren Palace. How could you not know?
Sire, please don't be mad.
It's my oversight. I really don't know.
Sire, I was told that Fu'en and Mianning were playing when I brought them cakes.
I was turned back.
Then I saw Mianning practicing calligraphy in the garden.
Her Highness lied to me. There must be a reason behind it.
Be honest with me.
Where is Fu'en?
Was he sneaked out of the palace?
Don't blame Her Highness.
I worried about Fu'en's safety here. I insisted she help me.
Shuangshuang loves her son. I feel for her.
I did it of my own accord.
No one made me do it.
Let go of me... Let go of me!
What nerve! You really think I don't have the heart to kill you?
It never crossed my mind.
As a woman, I know how a mother feels.
Sire, it's not easy to carry a baby to term
No mother will have the heart to let her child live in fear or under death threat.
Sire, spare her a thought, spare her.
Highness, you are wrong.
We consorts should put Sire first.
Moreover, Fu'en is not Sire's or your flesh and blood.
This insubordination is baffling.
Shut up!
I know what to do.
Get out!
Aye.
Lock Gulun Princess Hexiao up.
Look for Fu'en.
Take him back no matter what.
Aye.
I can walk.
Take it easy.
I have an identical one.
It's found in the search of Heshen's mansion.
Heshen took the trouble to patch it up.
He missed you. He couldn't let go.
Sire, don't get it wrong.
It's just a childhood memento.
Hehsen and I were not romantically involved.
No? Then why should you risk your life for his grandson?
Since you aren't afraid of death,
your wish is granted!
Sire, Her Highness suddenly passed out, it's because she's pregnant.
Sire, there's nothing to worry about.
Sire, congratulations!
Highness, you have come to.
Where's Sire?
He's left.
He gave the order that you should be taken care of.
We should make sure you take pregnancy decoction as prescribed.
Pregnancy decoction?
Highness, the imperial physician said you are pregnant.
That's why you are put on probation until the baby is born.
How come? I took saffron regularly to ensure it wouldn't happen.
How come...
Maybe it's heaven's will.
The timely pregnancy saved your life.
Highness, follow heaven's will.
Take good care of yourself.
If you give birth to an heir, you will be the emperor's mother.
There's no way to change Sire's opinion of me.
He won't forgive me.
I may not have the chance to see my child growing up after it's born.
Xiaodezi, did I make the right decision?
Royal Noble Consort made a mistake,
the baby is innocent.
Sire, it's the people's good fortune that you can keep a cool head however trying.
Your Honor...
Check out every carriage and passer-by.
Make sure Prince Fu'en is found.
Yes!
Fu'en, there are soldiers outside.
Make no sound. Get it?
Yes.
Close the gate! No one can go in.
Charge...
Stop...
Fu'en, stay inside.
Don't come out unless I tell you to.
In the message Dieyi's pigeon brought us,
she said they would be here by 5 o'clock.
It's long last the said time.
How come they aren't here?
It's going to be dark soon.
We shouldn't just wait here.
We look for them along the way.
Good!
Dieyi...
You alright?
Hang in there. I go get a physician...
No... it's dangerous out there.
Don't go... Stay here with me.
I won't go...
What happened?
We were discovered by Nayancheng on our way out.
Fu'en is not hurt.
He should still be inside the carriage.
He must be frightened.
Go find him...
I go right away.
Uncle Quan, be careful.
Dieyi...
Brother Liu, I love the jade pendant you gave me.
I ask for nothing more.
I can see you before I die, I am contented.
Dieyi...
What I want to see is our family sharing a table and having fun together.
It's like what it says here, good fortune forever.
Fu'en... where are you?
Tell me, where's Fu'en...
Fu'en...
It's said Qianlong once presided over the canal Trade Gang.
The Coiling Dragon Staff was his token,
with the words License to Kill on it.
Token banners gave regional officials
a license to kill during suppressions.