Highness, Heshen at your service.
Heshen, you are a wanted man.
You have the nerve to come here alone?
Because I know Your Highness is a just man.
I have a request.
I've found out who killed His Late Majesty.
Who?
Aisin-Gioro Yongyan.
How dare you!
Your back is already against the wall.
You still have the nerve to smear Sire?
I have concrete evidence.
Do you mean Yongxuan's just a scapegoat?
That's right.
Though I have concrete evidence,
I need a man of integrity to do His Late Majesty justice.
Heshen, if you are lying, death will be the last of your worries.
Let me be struck by lightning if what I said is not the truth!
Alright! As the Iron Cap Prince,
It's my duty to right the wrongs.
Whoever commits patricide or treason to Qing will face justice.
Highness, His Late Majesty's spirit in heaven can now rest in peace.
Highness, please go with me.
After you.
Changdong...
Who's it? Tell me!
Heshen, you are a wanted man.
Instead of feeling remorseful,
you have the nerve to spread rumors to smear me.
You are unforgivable!
My death means nothing.
However, you will rue the day you killed me.
How outrageous!
If anything happens to Mianning, you will pay for it!
Sire, don't worry.
How will I harm Prince Mianning?
Let me take you to them.
Sire, let me go with you.
I need you to stay here to deal with emergencies.
I can handle it.
Aye.
Nayancheng...
Hand over the gate token or your family will all die.
Token?
Your Honor, all corners are searched. Nothing is found.
Next one!
Don't worry. Rescuers will soon come.
Natu...
Where are they?
Chase...
Yes...
They are just kids. They can't go far.
Search!
Look carefully!
Search!
You can't get away...
Prince Mianning, you're the future emperor.
Nothing can happen to you.
I have no other choice...
Natu...
Find them... Come on...
Look everywhere...
Just go... Come on...
Over there! Get him!
No going away...
Who's your father? Tell me!
Where's Prince Mianning?
Tell me or I'll kill you!
Keep looking...
I am sorry...
Natu, I had no choice but to sacrifice you.
I can't fail my mission.
I have to take Prince Mianning back safe and sound...
Where's Sire?
Cao Goong Goong, White Lotus followers are everywhere,
where has Sire gone?
Yongxing, you are in collusion with Heshen!
You are two of a kind!
It's said in the Book of Change,
Take a leap; there will be no mistake.
I am executing heaven's will.
Yongyan, you killed your father and brother
It's most hideous and unforgivable.
Prince Yonxing is of royal descent, a son of His Late Majesty.
He is eligible for the throne.
Highness, please wait outside.
Heshen, you think my hands are tied because you have Mianning kidnapped?
No one is capable of hurting their own children.
Sire, your mind is made up.
Still, I am a thorough man.
Prince Mianning is not my one and only hostage.
Highness, you've come to.
Lady Heshen?
This is pregnancy tonic.
Please take it.
You have me kidnapped here.
Do you know where Mianning is?
Do you have him?
He's fine. Don't worry about him.
He's just a child. How could you?
I always saw you as a sister.
You are the head of the imperial harem.
I am not worthy to be your sister.
Our common link is Heshen.
I knew him when I was still a maiden.
There's nothing between us.
If this is some conspiracy,
don't expect me to be your accomplice.
I sure know you are faithful to Sire.
You wouldn't have been alive if you still had feelings for my husband.
You should thank me for your pregnancy.
I asked you to smuggle me saffron.
Yet I still became pregnant.
It was your doing.
Yes. I gave you fake saffron.
Only by making you pregnant could cut off the bond between you and my husband.
I shouldn't have bothered.
My husband has long forgotten you.
It's fate.
My pregnancy is a blessing for me and Sire.
I'll keep it no matter what.
No one can harm it!
The one who wants to harm you is not me.
It's Noble Consort Dowager Ying.
You would have been dead if you weren't taken out of the palace.
Noble Consort Dowager Ying?
She has long harboured the ambition of putting Prince Yonglin on the throne.
If you give birth to a boy,
Prince Yonglin's chance of becoming emperor will be further diminished.
She would strike first to make you lose the child.
Why should you help me?
I don't want to owe people favors.
That time I sneaked into the palace to see you,
instead of exposing me, you had me escorted out.
I owed you the favour.
You have me and Mianning kidnapped,
you mean to use us to blackmail Sire.
It's treason! It's unforgivable.
It means all your kin will be implicated.
Lady Heshen, it's not too late to stop it!
Highness, just take your tonic.
It's no use for you to worry about others.
Listen to me.
Those outside are tough people.
Don't be rash.
You will rue it if something happened to your pregnancy.
Let me out.
Royal Noble Consort is missing, it's your doing!
She's a woman! You are not human at all!
Her death or life is not up to me, it's up to you.
We know each other's mind.
She understands me.
She knows what to do for the greater good of Qing and the people!
The greater good is your excuse of taking out others.
Your distrust of others forced the two princes to turn against you!
Yongxuan and Yongxing betrayed me.
They colluded with you.
They aren't worthy to be Aisin Gioro.
What I did was housecleaning.
Sire, you now only have Prince Yonglin on your side.
If he knows that you committed patricide, he will chop you into pieces.
He's bound to do the housecleaning for Aisin Gioro.
You have no proof.
Changdong's dead.
Why should Yonglin believe you the traitor?
If you two are as close as you said,
I'm sure Prince Yonglin has already got your letter
and is on his way to rescue you.
Aren't many in the Vanguard Battalion he leads his own men?
Since you trust him so much,
let me see if you siblings really are that close.
Aye.
Return to the capital in secret. Zhu Gui will arrange it.
Zhengyong, get my horse ready.
I need to go back to the capital right away
Now?
Highness, isn't it too sudden?
What if it's a trap?
Let me check it out first.
It's urgent. I can afford no delay.
It's said the road back is blocked by a snowstorm.
We can only go by Yixiantian Gorge.
Alright. I set out first.
You call up the men and rush back to the capital to standby.
It'll be done.
Prince Consort, shouldn't you be in Mongolia?
Why are you here?
I am here to wait for you.
What about a reunion over a cup of kumis?
It's not the right time.
I'm on an order. Please give way.
If you won't give me the honor, I have to use force.
I have to disappoint you.
Going away? Can you?
Lavan Dorji, I am ordered to expel you and your men out of the capital.
Sire is aware of Heshen's plot.
I am ordered back to the capital.
Heshen is isolated.
Prince Consort, choose the right side.
The capital is guarded by the Cavalry, Guards and Vanguard Battalions.
Your Mongolian troops are just marching into their deaths.
Prince Consort, we are acquaintances.
I'll plead for leniency for you. Your life will be spared.
I'll follow your advice.
Honourable Zhu Gui, let's not waste time.
We go back to the capital right away!
To Sire's rescue!
Highness, it's a pretty morning.
The palace is in turmoil. I see a gathering storm.
Liu Yong...
Ji Yun...
At Your Highness's service.
Your Honours, you aren't supposed to be in this part of the palace.
Your Highness, traitor Heshen's men have sneaked into the palace to wreak havocs.
We are ordered to ensure the imperial harem's safety.
What?
Let me see what Heshen can do.
It's Sires order.
Your Highness should stay in Shoukang Palace.
At no time should you venture out.
It's for your safety.
What nonsense!
The court and the imperial harem are independent of each other.
You are using Sire's name for your own gain
Granny Fang, the two Honours are mainstays of the court.
No way will they cross the line.
Still, it's highly unusual.
I need to get the confirmation from Sire.
Rules shouldn't be broken lightly.
Sire is busy at the moment.
He's not receiving anyone.
Our dispatch here is the assurance.
Highness, please make it easy for Sire.
Who are you two to stop me?
Highness, an order is an order.
Please do as told,
or we have to do it by the book.
Please don't take the disrespect personally
Since it's Sire's idea,
I should wait here in the palace.
Your Honours, please pass my request for an audience to Sire.
It'll be done.
This is a house arrest.
They wouldn't have had the nerve to make such a demand were it not Sire's order.
It now rests on Heshen to make Sire's absence permanent.
Sire had the foresight to put Noble Consort Dowager in house arrest.
The palace is stabilized.
It's just a temporary measure.
If Honourable Zhygui failed to bring Sire back in time, it would be chaotic.
Your Honours, Prince Mianning is found.
Highness, greetings.
Where are Father and Mother?
Qi Jin is sent to look for Royal Noble Consort...
As for Sire...
Your Honours, Prince Yi has people sent out to look for Sire.
There is still no news of his whereabouts.
Sire's taken away from Guande Hall by Heshen, they can't go far.
They must still be around Jing Mountain.
I just got the news, Honourable Zhu Gui and Prince Yonglin are on their way back.
Leave the palace to me and Honourable Ji.
You two please go to Jing Mountain to rescue Sire.
I'll take my men there.
De Goong Goong, show me the way.
Aye.
There is still no sight of Prince Yonglin.
Sire, you will be disappointed.
His failure to show up is likely due to your stalling trick.
It's against his will.
Other people are just pawns to you.
You don't really want to put Yongxing on the throne.
You only use him to force me to abdicate.
Once I am dead,
you will accuse him of the palace coup
and make him your scapegoat.
You will again hold sway in court.
Sire, you are learning fast.
You can see through it.
Do you remember what I once taught you here?
I sure do.
It's not what I wanted to be.
Why won't Sire believe in me?
Wuweishen means deities of sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty.
Late Emperor Yongzheng had the five temples built here in Jing Mountain
to represent the aspects of life.
Sitting on the throne will not spare one of them.
Highness, you come here for a retreat whenever you feel down.
It touches a chord here?
My late grandfather was a sage emperor. I dare not compare myself to him.
Highness, it seems you don't just agree with the five tastes philosophy,
you too have Late Emperor Yongzheng's ambition.
Father is in his prime.
Honourable Heshen, it's inappropriate.
Your Highness have the ambition and the capability.
However, Sire has sold you short.
Your frustration is understandable.
Still, lying low is not the way to get the throne.
You mean...
What you need is a break to distinguish yourself.
I can help you with it.
Do you trust me?
I do.
Heshen, you had an ulterior motive.
You didn't have my ambition in mind!
I did want to help you get the throne.
I harboured no disloyalty.
Though you weren't bright, I was willing to serve you.
It's your suspicious nature that sealed your doom.
You had the nerve to commit patricide.
You killed His Late Majesty with poison.
You have neither the capability nor the character to succeed His Late Majesty!
I could put you on the throne, I too can dethrone you.
How arrogant! How audacious!
I got here in time! I almost missed the show.
Fuchang'an...
You are still alive?
I won't die before you two have paid me back.
Fuchang'an, you managed to cheat death, you should cherish your life.
You should seek a quiet life...
Do you have a death wish?
One the emperor, the other the vice emperor,
as you two's foe, I am already doomed.
Fuchang'an, help me and I can forget the past.
Forget the past?
Sire, I have heard it before.
How will you let me off?
I had an affair with the empress.
You killed my brother because you thought he's His Late Majesty's illegitimate son.
Actually, I am the illegitimate son.
Prince Yongxing, Fuchang'an doesn't really work with you.
He has an ulterior motive!
Heshen, spare us your alienation trick.
Prince Yongxing, I cheated death.
I do have an ulterior motive...
It's revenge!
Kill them!
Chase!
Yes...
Push it open...
Yes...
It's Mongolian.
Let go of the burning desire;
Embrace the light of the Buddha;
Let the infinite wisdom,
Enlighten general ignorance.
Let go of the burning desire...
Kill the lights...
Jing Mountain isn't that big.
Search every corner...
Yes...
Where are Royal Noble Consort and Mianning? Tell me!
They are my guests.
They are well taken care of.
You can't make me tell you!
Don't waste time with me.
Once Fuchang'an's here, we both will die.
Alright, a truce for the time being.
Come with me.
Where's Mianning?
Eat first.
You want a hostage to tie Sire's hands.
You already have me.
I can't escape.
Mianning is redundant.
I don't need you to tell me what to so.
What's wrong with you?
It's the seven-day deadly pill.
My days are numbered.
Sire made you take it?
Only then could I buy his trust.
I can't die before my husband got what he wanted.
It's foolish of you! Is it worth it?
Will you trade your life for Sire's?
Is it worth it?
I am carrying his child.
I won't die whatever happens,
not before my child is born safe and sound.
I am willing to die for my husband's safety.
No sacrifice is too great for it.
Get the traitor!
Yes...
Protect Royal Noble Consort!
Lady Heshen...
Madam Mei, you alright?
You are coughing blood...
Go in to have some rest...
Uncle Quan, I'm fine...
Go save Master...
Bao, you stay behind to take care of Madam Mei.
Yes...
No... Master has no help.
You all have to go, just to be safe.
But...
Say no more.
I've gone this far. Nothing can go wrong.
Just go...
Alright, I go take care of things.
Madam Mei, hang in there...
Bao...
Don't worry...
Fuchang'an, where is Sire?
Take him back!
Sire must be nearby.
Honourable Zhu Gui, we keep searching!
The person you want is there.
Go...
You dog! Prepare to die!
You can't get away...
Just drop dead!
Charge!
Run...
Protect Sire...
Go!
Ling'er...
Sire, Qi Jin at your service...
I came too late. Please forgive me.
At ease...
Thank you, Sire.
Ling'er, you alright?
I'm fine...
I worried so much about you...
Sire, be careful...
Ling'er...
Protect Sire...
Ling'er...
Sire... my belly... it hurts...
Don't worry, you have me...
We are going back to the palace to get you imperial physicians...
Sire... promise me...
Whatever happens, keep our child...
I promise you.
Our child will be fine.
Ling'er...
Get him!
Sire, he's our brother, please...
Have people taking Royal Noble Consort back to the palace.
The rest pursue Heshen and other traitors...
Aye.
Sire, how's our child?
Sire, say something...
Sire, how's our child?
Please, tell me. Sire...
Our child's gone.
Ling'er, you are still young.
Once you have recovered, we can have another child...
Our line will thrive...
Ling'er...
You gave me your word!
You said you would save our child.
You didn't honor your word!
Imperial physicians were summoned once you were taken back.
Our child inside you was already dead.
There's nothing I could do.
Nothing you could do?
You are the emperor!
You have the country under your will.
How could you not save a child?
I can't fight heaven.
See it as heaven's punishment on me.
If heaven has eyes, I should be the one punished.
Why not take my life instead?
Ling'er...
I said I would sacrifice myself for you.
I didn't say our child!
Why?
Ling'er...
I won't let your heart be broken again...
It hurts...
I can live without our child.
I can't live without you.
My heart... hurts...
Mother, don't cry.
You have me.
Where does it hurt?
What hurts you hurts me too.
What breaks your heart breaks mine...
It hurts me all over...
Mother, don't be so upset.
You lost your child, you still have me.
I'll love you in their stead...
Mianning, you are a loving son...
Cry no more...
I will stop...
Mianning, good boy.
I know whatever happens,
so long as I have you two,
I can overcome it.
A life of ease, a life of no worries
It's easier said than done...
You once asked me what my greatest wish was
I said we could live as hermits and be far away from court intrigues.
We could live a simple, rustic life in nature.
You could spend your time on poetry.
I could paint your portraits.
I didn't ask for fame or fortune, luxury or leisure.
I just wanted to be a couple with you.
We could spend days and nights together.
We could grow old together.
It's the greatest blessing for me.
Though my dream can't come true...
you always had me in your heart, I am contented.
It's selfish of me.
You were sold short all these years.
I picked you as my husband.
I never regretted it.
You fool! I proposed to you.
I picked you as my wife.
It's the best decision of my life by far...
What's the pursuit of immortality?
Peach-blossom and it's fleeting beauty.
In the company of Hongya the sage
An hour is worth more than eternity.
A life of ease for my beloved wife
You are always beautiful in my heart.
May we meet again in our next life.
The scepter,
first appeared in the Han Dynasty,
was used for ceremonial purpose.
It was also used an instrument
for defense and penalty.
Made of brass and decorated in gold,
it's similar to the staff in martial arts.