Episode 16
You still don't want to go to bed?
You're still awake as well.
Don't imagine things.
I'm a little restless.
Since Mr. Xun said so, I'm sure he has a solution.
What can possibly happen overnight?
You're panicky lately.
You're right.
Concerns makes one panic. You can go to bed without me.
I'll read some books to calm down.
Don't go to bed too late. -Alright.
Master, the king granted you a set of meal boxes.
Do you want to eat now?
I dare not reject a gift from my king.
Serve it. -Yes.
"Please enjoy".
After 30 years of officialdom...
I am finally dismissed.
I get it.
My lord.
Why do you have to do something so unnecessary?
Bring me my official suit. -Yes.
Close the door. Don't let others disturb me.
Yes, master.
Young Master Yi.
Young Master Yi, Mr. Xun's servant came...
to deliver a message to you.
But, this person... - invite him in quickly.
Please come in.
Greetings, Mr. Sima.
Who are you mourning for?
Our master is gone.
Young Master Yi! -How did he die?
Our master killed himself with poison.
He instructed me to pass you a message.
"I have disappointed you."
I'll go over immediately to pay my last respect to him.
I shall excuse myself.
Young Master Yi.
Hou Ji. -Yes.
Prepare plain clothes for me. -Yes.
Sir. -What else do you want to say?
Sir, are you really going to leave Sima Lang alone?
You're not from Sima Family. Can you stop bringing it up?
This isn't about my relationship with Sima Family.
It's about you.
You've gone through so much with Brother Yi.
Are you really going to give up on him now?
Sir.
Young Master Zi Huan. Ms. Guo.
The court meeting is cancelled today.
Father can even set aside the state affairs for Zi Jian.
It's not because of Marquis of Pingyuan but Mr. Xun.
Mr. Xun died of illness last night.
What?
I just saw him yesterday. He looked perfectly fine.
How can he possibly die of illness?
I don't know.
But, that's what the messenger from the palace said.
Do you know what it means to me...
to lose Mr. Xun Yu?
The person who protects you is gone.
Wen Ruo.
My lord.
Wen Ruo.
Xun Yu.
Wen Ruo, for 20 years we worked together...
to defeat our enemies...
and establish the court
You corrected me.
You recommended talents.
You gave me suggestions.
You devised strategies.
You are one meant for assisting a king.
You promised to conquer the world with me.
I have yet to conquer the world.
Why do you leave ahead of me?
Wen Ruo.
Wen Ruo!
We came together. Why is it that...
you do not leave with me?
Read it.
Xun Yu, the late chief secretary...
was a man of good deeds.
It is regretful that a loyal man like him passed away.
For 20 years, he fought alongside me.
I am fortunate to have his assistance.
Xun Yu's merits are of the greatest.
I have owed the success of my conquest to him.
No title or reward...
can reflect his great contributions.
He is given the posthumous title of Marquis Jing.
His eldest son, Xun Yun, shall inherit his lordship...
and receive the position of General of the Palace Gentlemen.
Thank you, my lord.
MY lord!
You came. -Were you expecting me?
Yes.
Do you know what happened last night?
I do.
I thought of you as a true gentleman.
But, I didn't expect you...
to wrong the right for your personal interest.
This serves no purpose now.
Mr. Xun is gone.
An era has ended following his death.
The hopes of many have ended as well.
I have no choice and the same goes to you.
Greetings, my lord.
These are...
the documents Xun Yu handled...
as well as his private and official letters.
One will handle the laws, one will handle the documents...
and one will handle the legalist classics.
Tonight, I'll trouble the three of you to...
go through all these documents.
If you find anything suspicious or unusual...
repol1 to me.
Yes, my lord.
Xun Yu...
wanted to burn all the documents.
These are just the remaining ones.
I'll be troubling the three of you.
Zhong Da.
Father.
Zhong Da, listen to me. Pack up...
and leave this place with Chun Hua and the kids.
Go back to our home in Wen County.
Father, Brother Lang is still in the prison.
Don't I need to save him?
Your brother will be fine. -Why?
Don't you understand? Since the very beginning...
he is a pawn in the competition for heirship.
Now that Mr. Xun is dead, the strongest power protecting...
General Cao Pi is gone.
If Cao Zhi wins, Yang Xiu and Ding Yi...
won't need to give your brother a hard time.
Father, you're wrong.
In order to become the successor, Cao Zhi must...
first prove his innocence in this case.
Brother Lang will surely be made the scapegoat.
Yang Xiu and Ding Yi will not spare him.
If Cao Pi falls, he will be severely punished.
You are his closest aide. You will surely get implicated.
Your situation is 10 times more dangerous.
We can't be bothered now.
Let's try to save as many as possible.
You'll pack up tonight and leave Yecheng with...
Chun Hua and the kids tomorrow morning.
Leave this land of conflicts. I will try to save your brother.
Alright. I get it. Father.
I will discuss with Chun Hua. -No, it's decided.
Pack up quickly and leave Yecheng in the morning.
Alright.
Master.
Wen Ruo.
Father, come here!
Father! It's me, Chong Er!
Father! Come here!
Chong Er.
Father! Come here!
Chong Er.
MY lord!
Greetings, father.
Treacherous son. -Did I do something wrong?
Read for yourself.
Father, I did not write this letter.
I'm innocent. How could I write something so treacherous?
I have your works in my reading room!
Do you dare to say that this is not your handwriting?
I've never even seen this. This is definitely not my work.
I'm innocent!
General Cao Pi, the king found this letter...
among the materials in Xun Yu's reading room.
Xun Yu sealed it personally.
Outsider cannot enter Xun Yu's reading room.
Isn't it strange? You were on good terms with Xun Yu.
Why would Xun Yu frame you?
Shut up.
Answer my question. If you have the guts to...
write letters to Xun Yu...
why don't you have the guts to admit it?
Mr. Xun... How is this possible? Father.
Don't call me "father".
I can't believe I've such a loyal and filial son.
He complained to Xun Yu about me...
favouring the younger over the eldest.
He said that I will repeat Yuan Shads mistake.
He compared me to Wang Mang.
Fine. If you are so loyal...
why don't you say it to me yourself?
Father, I absolutely did not write something like this.
I am willing to...
You were trying to please Xun Yu. You wanted his support
So, you catered to his ideals and criticised your own father!
Fine. Listen. I can't do the other things Wang Mang did.
But, I don't mind learning from his move of...
killing his own treacherous son...
for the sake of the nation.
Father, I did not write this letter.
I can swear. Father, please investigate!
Of course I will investigate! Guards!
Yes! -Take away Cao Pi's crown...
and throw him into the prison! -Yes.
Father! Civilians who are wronged...
can appeal to officials and officials can appeal to you.
But, who can I appeal to?
I will send legal officials to try you.
Tell them if you think you are wronged.
I am innocent!
My lord, this case concerns your family.
Announcing it might shock the officials.
Should we not record or announce the case...
for the time being? -His identity as a subject...
is above his identity as a son.
A letter like that is enough to prove treason.
Why can't we record the case?
Mr. Zhong doesn't want to offend General Cao Pi...
or accept this case. But, it's understandable.
That is not true. I will surely handle the case fairly.
Who says we must let Zhong Yao handle this case?
My lord, I've a suggestion I don't know if I should say.
Go ahead. -As Mr. Zhong said...
leaving this case to the legal officials...
will cause a commotion.
Since we shouldn't leave it to the legal institution...
why don't we send an official from the West Bureau?
It should be acceptable for an official of...
the West Bureau to try another official.
However...
Cui Yan, the chief of the West Bureau...
is an elegant gentleman.
It's somewhat inconsiderate to put him in charge of a case...
that might involve death sentence.
In my opinion, Ding Yi of the West Bureau...
is a suitable candidate. - We'll do as you suggested. Go.
Fight.
Let me see who will emerge as the winner.
Young Master Yi.
Shi Er. -Mother.
Am I doing well? -You are only getting better.
But, father never teaches me. - You don't need him to teach you.
You are better than your father now.
You sweated so much. Go and take a break.
I'll prepare food for you.
How come you don't teach Shi Er how to wield a sword?
I'm not as good as you. I might mislead him.
I can still correct his mistakes.
You should at least show the child some concern.
Look at how absent-minded you are.
Do you still care for this family?
I'm making pickled vegetables for winter.
Father told me that we are going back home.
I can't leave.
You already got into a fight with Cao Pi.
Do you still want to help him?
My dear, I can't leave him so irresponsibly.
Sister Chun Hua.
Ah Zhao.
Ah Zhao. -Sister Chun Hua.
What's wrong? What happened? -Sister Chun Hua.
Brother Yi, please save Young Master Zi Huan.
Don't panic. Tell me what happened.
The king summoned Young Master Zi Huan this morning.
I don't know what happened. But, he was dismissed...
and thrown into jail. - When he was taken away...
Young Master Zi Huan instructed me to inform you.
Alright. I've been informed. If anything happens again...
tell Brother Ji Bu and let him come to me.
Housekeeper Shi, the two of you should not come to my place again.
But"... Brother Yi, what should we do next?
General Cao Pi hasn't done anything wrong.
Ah Zhao, don't worry.
Mr. Sima, even though Young Master Zi Huan...
said something harsh to you days ago...
you are actually the person he trusts the most.
I apologise to you on behalf our young master.
Please forgive our young master and save him.
Don't say that, Housekeeper Shi.
I will surely do my best.
We'll be counting on you.
Ah Zhao, don't worry.
If Zhong Da agrees to do something...
no one can change his mind.
Let him think.
Let me think. -Alright.
This way.
Father. -Zhong Da.
Father. -I told you to pack up...
and leave. What are you doing here?
Father, I can't leave.
If you don't leave now, it'll be too late.
This morning, the king sent General Cao Pi to the prison...
for treason.
You need to leave with Chun Hua and the others...
before you get involved.
Father, all beneath the sky belongs to the royal family.
Even if I go back to our hometown...
the king can send men to arrest me?
You...
Did Guo Zhao come? -Yes.
You still want to help Cao Pi? -Father.
Brother Lang is still in the prison.
Who will save us if I don't save General Cao Pi?
What can you do? He is jailed for treason.
Can you save him when Ding Yi is put in charge of this case?
Zhong Da. -Ding Yi?
Yes. The king ordered Ding Yi to try General Cao Pi personally.
He'll make the situation worse for General Cao Pi.
Zhong Da.
Speak. What else do you know?
Don't hide it from me at this crucial moment.
Father, I only know that if we let Ding Yi take charge...
we'll be doomed.
Zhong Da! -You...
It's you. -Who do you wish to see?
It doesn't matter. I've a clear conscience.
That's not my problem.
I just want to ask you if...
you wrote this letter.
I've told my father.
I've never seen this letter.
How can I write something so treacherous?
You don't have to bring up the king.
I'm investigating upon the king's order.
We found this letter from Mr. Xun's reading room.
Do you agree that the handwriting on the seal...
is Mr. Xun's handwriting?
It looks very similar. -This proves that the letter...
was indeed sealed by Mr. Xun personally.
You won't deny that you were on good terms with Mr. Xun, right?
Mr. Xun treated me like his nephew. I won't deny it.
That's strange. Mr. Xun sealed this letter personally.
The handwriting in the letter is the same as yours as well.
Yet, you claimed that you have never seen this.
Could it be that Mr. Xun colluded with someone...
to frame you?
Mr. Ding, a friend of yours...
Yang Xiu, is good at imitating handwritings.
Why don't you ask Registrar Yang?
You don't have to lie to get others involved.
I am investigating treason upon the order of the king.
I am not here to have a casual chat with you.
"Even a loving mother beats her son who misbehaved."
The king might be kind...
but you are not allowed to defame your own father and king.
General Cao Pi, our laws are absolute.
Forget about quibbling.
As I said...
I've a clear conscience.
Since you're so stubborn...
don't blame me for enforcing law...
on behalf of the king.
Guards. -Yes!
Spank him 20 times. -Yes!
Don't touch me!
How's it going? It's been 2 hours.
Have you figured out the meaning behind...
Cai Yong's work on the Stele for Cao E?
I just figured it out. It's actually a riddle.
The answer is "absolutely brilliant and wonderful writing."
Am I correct?
Yes. It took you 2 hours to solve the riddle.
It took King of Wei 30 miles to solve it.
But, one person solve it almost instantly.
I can't believe there's someone so clever in this world.
Who is he? Is he Young Master Zi Jian?
He is Yang Xiu, Yang De Zu, the registrar of Cao Family.
Father, it's true that he's clever and sharp.
But, to me, Registrar Yang isn't clever.
What makes you say so? -If I were him...
if it took King of Wei 30 miles to solve the riddle...
even if I solved it instantly...
I'll pretend that it took me 40 miles to solve it.
You're just a young student.
What do you know about King of Wei...
and Registrar Yang? -It's true that I don't know...
any1hing about politics or King of Wei...
I know that when there is no competition...
there is no resentment.
Tell me more.
We live in an era of competition.
Sun Quan and Liu Bei are our external competitors.
Internally, we have the competition between...
Cao Family and the noble scholars...
competition between noble scholars and landlords...
and competition between Cao Zhi and Cao Pi.
At the same time, King of Wei is very sensitive.
Everyone is feeling insecure in the midst of the competitions.
The officials are treading on thin ice.
A man who will show off his talent at a time like this...
is a shod-sighted, vain and conceited man...
who seeks instant success.
He tends to make enemies and become the sacrifice.
If Registrar Yang competed with the king...
even in something so trivial...
the king, the people and the other officials...
won't accept him.
So, in my opinion, a real clever man...
will constantly adapt and compete passively.
Young and naive student, you are so overconfident.
Tell me then.
Is there a person in this world...
who can adapt and compete passively?
Of course.
In my opinion, there are three men like that.
The first one is Xun Yu.
Unfortunately, he was standing on top...
and still got involved in the intense competition.
However, he balanced the powers of the Han government...
and King of Wei within 20 years.
As such, he is the person I admire the most.
Who are the other two?
The second person is the man who could...
spend two nights sitting before the remnants of a stele.
It's you, father.
Stupid brat, you were still talking seriously earlier on.
Why are you suddenly so glib?
I won't be humble if you call me...
the second best calligrapher.
But, I'm nowhere close to being adaptive.
Who is the third person? - The third person...
is the strategist behind General Cao Pi.
Master, an academician who claimed to be Sima Yi came.
You reall spoke of the devil.
This person is Sima Yi?
Father, I'd like to meet him.
This is not a good time. I will meet him.
This beating...
is just to let you understand the importance of...
the country's laws.
Do you regret it now?
I don't think this is the question you want to ask.
You want to ask me if I have regretted...
disapproving the marriage between you and my younger sister.
Even if I am your brother-in-law now...
I cannot save you.
I just told myself that...
for1unately, my sister did not marry you.
You are a despicable...
and unscrupulous person.
Even if you want to die, I want my sister to live.
I don't understand.
Who is the one in deep trouble now?
Of course you understand.
You can see even with one eye.
You still want to sound clever at this point.
Don't blame me for being cruel then!
Hang and whip him!
General Cao Pi is in the Court of Judicial Review's prison.
Uncle, he should be interrogated by you.
Why is an external official put in charge of such important case?
As I said, there are things beyond our control.
We are helpless when we can only seek temporary relief...
even though we know the real problem.
Uncle, Ding Yi resents General Cao Pi.
He will not be fair. Unless you lend us a hand...
there is nothing we can do to save General Cao Pi.
Zhong Da, you are right.
You are braver than me.
You are a filial son and a good official.
But, no one can do anything at this point.
Please return.
Uncle, justice lies in the heads of the people.
How can you turn a blind eye to this?
Please lend us a hand.
Zhong Da, don't give me that.
I know that you begged Mr. Xun Yu before.
Mr. Xun Yu is gone and I'm not as good as Mr. Xun Yu.
I don't have his courage. I still want to live on with...
the calligraphy works and inscriptions in my house.
Go home.