Your Majesty. Your Highness.
The messenger of East Marquis died of exhaustion
upon arrival in Zhaoge.
He left a message that
traitors of Eastern Barbarians had only fifty thousand soldiers
and five hundred war chariots.
They passed the Lu State without a fight,
and went directly to the northwest.
The northwest?
Isn’t that the North Sea?
Exactly.
Grand Tutor Wen is locked in a stalemate
with barbarian tribes of the North Sea.
If the Eastern Barbarians can’t be stopped,
Grand Tutor Wen will have enemies in front and rear,
won’t he?
What do you think then?
Father, I don’t know much about
deploying forces.
Your Majesty.
Without the tiger tally,
East Marquis doesn’t dare to dispatch troops without authorization.
Your Majesty, please give the instruction.
What a Heaven-sent chance!
I’ll lead the troops myself!
Your Majesty.
Don’t lead the troops yourself.
During the eight years when Grand Tutor Wen fought wars in the North Sea,
a large sum of money has been used.
We’re short of army provisions and soldiers.
We can’t transfer any soldiers
to fight with traitors of Eastern Barbarians.
I practiced a lot in Zhaoge.
How can I miss such a wonderful chance?
It’s been years
since I was last in a battle.
Your Majesty, I’d like to fight wars with you
and wipe out the traitors
But…
we have barely
one hundred thousand soldiers in Zhaoge.
If they leave for the war,
the city will be unguarded.
Our country will be in danger in case of any problem.
Besides,
Grand Tutor Wen
urged again and again that
the three realms would be in chaos
and the world will be changing inscrutably.
He insisted that the emperor stay in the capital.
Well, we have to depend on Jiang Huanchu then.
East Marquis is experienced in wars
and he’s your father-in-law.
He’s loyal and competent.
He will definitely wipe out the barbarians.
Your Majesty, please give the decree,
allowing East Marquis, Jiang Huanchu,
to lead the troops for the battle.
Father, I’d like to lead the army for the battle
so that I can share your burden.
Your Majesty.
Please write the decree
and give him the tiger tally.
What are you rushing at?
Traitors of Eastern Barbarians are a motley crew
who will not get anywhere.
Military situation always changes.
We don’t know their purpose now.
We’ll make a plan
after the new messenger of East Marquis comes.
Father.
I’d like to go.
Think about it carefully.
The battlefield is different from the imperial harem.
Get out of the way. Get out of the way.
Father.
Is that what you’ve got?
What about your magic arts?
Spells?
I thought you could
have had magic arts to make a fire
as our master.
Stop calling me Father. Sounds annoying.
Father.
What should I call you then?
If you insist,
call me Master.
You’re as importunate as Yang Jian
and Wu Ji anyway.
Master?
Well, I’ll sometimes call you Master
And sometimes Father.
Whatever.
It makes no difference.
You are my father.
Senior brother, did you hear?
Right now,
I’m his apprentice,
and his daughter, too.
He has a bad memory.
He’ll soon forget
what he just said.
It doesn’t matter. I have a good memory.
I’ll keep it in mind.
Father.
Master.
Is roasting a rabbit also the practice?
What should we do now?
Where should we start?
Yeah, Master.
Please enlighten me today.
Enlighten you?
Have you heard of fleeing underground?
Flee underground
among the immoral arts.
It means disappearing into the earth and fleeing.
That’s great!
After I steal something,
I can disappear into the earth.
Uh, to bring things back to you, Master.
There are boundless magic arts in Kunlun Mountain.
Fleeing underground is among the lowest.
What about superior ones?
Superior arts include
the art of invisibility, freezing,
flying and reclamation.
Master, teach me all of them!
Unfortunately,
I’ve forgotten all of them.
The older I grow, the more muddled I become.
Besides, I don’t need spells
for such tiny magic arts.
It works when I think about it.
But if you want me to teach you,
I should think about it carefully.
Can such two broken bowels
Are you strong enough to learn such great spells?
Yes.
Master.
How soon can you remember such spells?
That depends.
If my apprentices are dutiful,
maybe I’ll remember them tomorrow.
But if they
disrespect me,
maybe it’ll take me
a dozen years.
I can’t wait that long.
Don’t you know?
I’ll take revenge.
I must save my sister,
Daji.
Sister?
To take revenge, you must kill people.
To save your sister, you have to kill, too.
If you just learn to kill people,
you’d better not learn it.
Still no message from His Majesty?
No.
Hasn’t the dinner party ended yet?
No dinner party tonight.
Where will His Majesty spend the night then?
Is he coming to my palace?
I have no idea.
Anything unusual with Kunde Palace?
Nothing unusual.
I see. Leave me.
Yes.
What the hell is going on?
Your Grace.
It’s getting late.
Your Grace, here comes the king.
Leave us.
Yes.
If you didn’t insist on leading the army yourself,
why would my son take the risk for you?
You sound exactly the same
as those officials.
I haven’t decided
how to deal with it. What are you rushing at?
Whatever happens,
I won’t allow my son
to take the risk alone.
So what?
If he doesn’t dare to go to battles,
how can he the king of our country?
A great king
doesn’t only rely on forces.
His virtue matters most.
A king represents power.
Well, may I send a message
to my father?
What message?
What do you think
I should say?
Do you really mind it
when East Marquis fights with Eastern Barbarians?
What do you mean?
If he makes more contributions
and wields military power,
you’ll always suspect him.
Therefore, you said you would lead the army
so that you could force our son to do it for you.
You proclaimed to give him more experience in battles.
In fact,
you doubt if East Marquis
colludes with me and my son.
You’re sounding us out, aren’t you?
You’re threatening me.
I’m…
just looking for
a better solution.
I don’t want my son
to take unnecessary risks.
He’s so weak
just because he’s always
sheltered by his mother.
You fear East Marquis
could be a better shelter, huh?
Yeah.
That’s why I married you,
A humdrum
and boring woman.
And that’s why you’re the queen.
Oh, I see.
I just want to ask
if you still want our son to go out to battle.
It’s not that simple.
It seems
To be a long night.
Your Grace, be careful with the blood.
What’s the blood about?
There used to be no blood when people were killed at night.
This girl is fiery.
I guess
she cut her throat
when she saw the demon approaching.
Killing herself is better than being insulted.
Your Grace, I’m scared.
She was killed this time.
Who do you think
will be the next?
Get one thousand coins from my salary
to her families.
Tell them that
she died of emergency
after the treatment.
Thank you, Your Grace.
How greedy you are!
When can you stop?
Unless you come into my nectar pot.
You brought me here.
You should be blamed for her death, huh?
Your greediness
killed her!
Don’t get too excited!
That’s her blood.
Not yours, okay?
Don’t be so sad.
You should
kill the king early
and come into my nectar pot.
In that way,
no more palace maids will die.
If you really want to help me,
stop doing things
to hurt people!
If His Majesty
suspects me,
we’ll be in great trouble.
It sounds like
I’m holding up your revenge plan.
Yeah, who else can?
Yes.
The crown prince Yin Jiao.
What do you mean?
Your plan to be the queen
has failed.
Explain to me.
The king did get away from the queen
as you expected.
and ran into Kunde Palace
to throw his sword in front of Queen Jiang.
And then?
I’m finished.
What?
How was that possible?
But why?
Because the crown prince Yin Jiao
broke in.
Got it?
Where did the king sleep
last night?
Could he sleep in…
Finally, you understand.
Now you know how you look.
What happened?
And why?
See?
You can’t even
approach the queen.
I just killed a palace maid
and you were disturbed
and got angry.
How much it worries me!
And how disappointing you are!
Yeah.
How disappointing!
What I did before
just hurt the queen’s pride.
The way to
hurt her heart
is always close at hand.
So you’ve got your eyes on the crown prince.
Only when I have the crown prince in hand
can his mother catch up.
Only when I hurt the crown prince
will the queen beg for mercy.
Good.
It seems I don’t need to teach you then.
Father, Mother,
I know what I’m doing and what I’m going to do.
I also know
how evil I am.
But to take revenge,
I’ll do everything,
however evil it is.
Because I must be evil.
If I’m not,
I’ll be killed by
someone like Queen Jiang.
Or someone like
Du Yuanxian.
In the end,
I’ll be buried somewhere in the palace.
I’m not afraid of death.
I should have been dead.
But I’ll be scared if I can’t revenge.
That’ll be worse than being killed.
So…
I must be eviler than them.
You don’t…
You don’t want me to do this?
Father.
Mother.
Even if you don’t
want me to do this,
I must go ahead.
Because I’m…
still your daughter.
But no longer
the old Daji.
Watch your step when walking.
See you.
What are you thinking of?
Your Grace.
What brings you
to my palace?
What are you hiding
in your arms
that makes you
stare at
such ragged cloth?
I’ve got nothing.
Nothing.
The curiosity is killing me.
It’s just a corner of a dress.
Well, I was wondering
what kept you
thinking about it.
Well,
I sound ridiculous, huh?
Your Grace,
are you coming
to tell me anything?
I’ve got something embarrassing.
Why don’t you take one?
I hear
you like iced oranges most.
What’s wrong?
Nothing.
What…
what do you mean embarrassing?
Even if I pretend not to know or care,
not to see or refuse to see,
I always can’t help
being attracted by someone.
and missing him.
What do you think
is such feeling?
I don’t know, either.
I’ve got a lot to read.
Please leave.
Come on.
After all the trouble,
I confessed myself.
But how boring you are!
Answer me.
I wonder
if it’s the answer.
But
you seem to have feelings
you shouldn’t have.
Are you kidding me?
Your Highness, I’m asking
whose corner of dress are you holding.
Why did you talk about
feelings I shouldn’t have?
What the hell are you thinking of?
Or what do you really want?
Could you stop and leave me alone?
How fickle you are!
You’ll annoy His Majesty.
I’m his concubine.
I’m just thinking…
May I have a look at
that in your arms?
You’d better leave.
See you then.
Perish with the roses and die a romantic death.
You won’t let the crown prince
die here, will you?
Jiao’er.
Jiao'er. Jiao'er.
What’s wrong with you?
Mother.
Your Grace.
Iced oranges.
Who was here?
Jiao’er.
Tell me who was here.
It’s okay. Don’t be scared.
She…
Your Grace.
The hairpin…
What a bitch!
Your Grace.
This is a clever bird.
I’m teaching it to talk.
Is this yours?
Answer me!
Where did you find it?
You know it!
No. I ask
just because I don’t know.
I lost it before.
Where did you find it?
Stop playing dumb!
In the Eastern Palace.
The Eastern Palace?
But why?
Did the crown prince take it?
Why?
Don’t think I don’t know
you’ll do some bewitching again.
What? Are you going to frame the crown prince up?
You know what?
Your trick can’t fool me
that easily.
Your Grace.
Where do you think
I should put it
so that His Majesty may easily find it?
I wonder how His Majesty will react
when he sees it.
I’m afraid he’ll
disown his own son
in a rage.
You grabbed it
as the queen.
Incredible!
Why did this happen?
You know what?
I’ll let you off
this time.
If I find you play magic arts ever again,
I’ll send you
to the execution ground.
You’d better keep that in mind.
This is just the beginning.
Maybe when I feel boring
someday,
I’ll do something
more interesting.
For example,
crying to His Majesty that
the crown prince flirted with me.
I’ll ask His Majesty to kill me
when I’m too ashamed to live.
What will His Majesty do?
Impale your son
and then kill me?
No.
Maybe I’m wrong.
Maybe he’ll kill me
before killing your son.
Your Grace,
I’m a humble girl.
In your heart,
I may have died millions of times.
So what even if I die once more?
But you have only one son.
Make your own son
die with me,
isn’t that too much
for me?
Fine. You’re damn good.
I promise
I won’t hurt you any more
from now on.
Nor will I interfere with you.
But please stay away from my son.
I beg your pardon?
I’m begging you
to let go of my son.
I heard you.
In fact,
before you
spat it out
I had heard you.
See you, Your Grace.
- Your Grace. - Your Grace.
- Your Grace. What’s wrong with you? - Your Grace.
She’s a demon!
She really is a demon!
Your Grace, what did you say?
She’s a demon?
You mean Consort Su?
- Your Grace. - Your Grace. - Your Grace.
Horrible!
Your Grace. Your Grace.
Your Grace.
What happened in Shouxian Palace?
Why did Her Grace
go to Shouxian Palace?
It must be about that bitch.
I’m going to Shouxian Palace
to teach her a lesson.
I’ll spit at her
and kick her.
No.
Don’t irritate her ever again.
Consort Huang.
It occurred to me that
you hadn’t gone home
for a long time.
Why don’t you go home today
and stay for a few days?
Your Grace.
Why do you ask me to go home?
I’d like to stay here
and take care of you.
I mean…
If you can’t
figure something out,
you can go home
to consult Lord Wucheng.
He’s a pillar of our state.
Your Grace.
I understand.
I’m going back home right away.
Why didn’t I understand
what you talked with Consort Huang?
His Majesty dotes on Daji.
If I want to
strike her alone,
that’ll be really hard.
Consort Huang is clever.
She knows
she can’t win the love
of His Majesty with her appearance.
So she always
pretends not to
struggle for anything.
But as long as Lord Wucheng is alive,
she will be the queen
sooner or later.
Long live Your Grace.
Don’t say anything
so inauspicious!
It depends on our fate.
If you die,
I’ll die with you.
Then I can take care of you
in the heaven.
Thank you.
You’re welcome.
In the past,
I used to advice His Majesty
to get close to Consort Huang.
But I didn’t expect
Daji to show up
and fascinate His Majesty.
Among us,
Consort Huang
feels worst.
In fact,
I ask her to go home today,
because I want her to
check what Lord Wucheng
thinks.
You mean
using Lord Wucheng
to strike Daji?
How can that be easy?
Sister,
maybe we should
hire an immortal
to get rid of that bitch?
Immortal?
Where can we find one?
Don’t you remember
how Du Yuanxian ended up?
We’ll hire one from outside the palace.
Outside the palace?
Isn’t that the crown prince?
Grand Opening Sale of Ma's Noodles.
Gravy noodles. Minced pork noodles.
Cold noodles and shredded bean noodles.
You’ll get whatever you want here.
Buy one and get one free.
Unique mixed flavor!
Uncles. Aunties.
Brothers. Come and have a look.
We have all flavors
that smell perfect.
All noodles are handmade,
with sweet dew of
the Queen Mother of the West.
Eat some and you’ll be blessed.
Eat some and you’ll be kind.
If you’re an orphan,
eat some noodles
and you’ll feel you have a family.
Come on.
Delicious! So delicious!
You’ll enjoy it,
sweat all over
and share a happy life.
Come and have some noodles.
Bravo.
Is it for real?
Bro. what are you looking at? Get in and have some noodles.
Hurry. Go.
And you. You. Have some noodles.
Come on. Have some noodles.
Buy one and get one free.
Come and have some noodles.
Get in and have some noodles.
Hurry. Go.
Smells so good!
So delicious! So delicious.
Get my noodles faster!
Coming!
One more bowl!
Have some noodles.
Here. Here are you noodles.
Boss, hurry and get my noodles done.
Come on.
How does it taste?
Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!
Brilliant! The noodles are so delicious.
One more for me.
Here come your noodles.
Ninety-eight. Ninety-nine. A hundred.
- Another hundred. - Mother. Boss.
Here’s the money!
That much?
Mother, let’s use a bigger box.
Yes. Right away.
Right away.
Okay.
Come on. Have some noodles.
Buy one and get one free.
I’m going out of the palace today.
No today.
You’ll catch the attention
if you go to private homes frequently.
It’s boring to stay in the palace.
I feel upset and depressed.
I’m going out.
Go.
Get me some ordinary clothes.
Not such silk fabrics.
But you’re the crown prince.
How could you be dressed up
like ordinary people.
You don’t understand.
My father is right.
As the crown prince,
I can’t always stay in the palace.
What?
Give your clothes to me.
What will I wear then?
Mine!
No, Your Highness.
Why not?
In this way,
people will take you
as my servant.
Isn’t that better?
Your Highness.
Are you leaving the palace?
Please don’t tell my mother.
Her Grace asked you in.
You’re leaving the palace in plain clothes again, huh?
Your father is worrying for
your going out to battle.
At such a critical juncture,
why do you still have the mood
to leave the palace?
Mother. I read in a record that
King Wu Ding kept
visiting his people in plain clothes
every ten days
to view the hardships of the people
when he was the crown prince.
In this way, he managed to find
talented Fu Yue from slaves
who later helped him prosper our country.
Is that your reason to leave the palace?
Mother, can I?
Well, this is serious.
And a good.
I’ll support you, for sure.
But as far as I know,
Fu Yue wasn’t the one
who helped
King Wu Ding most.
Do you know who was?
Sure, I do.
It’s Fu Hao, wife of King Wu Ding.
Yeah.
In old years
when King Wu Ding commanded in the capital,
Fu Hao led millions of troops
and fought wars all over the country.
She almost doubled
our territory.
Now half of our existing territory
was from her.
Therefore…
Jiao’er, remember.
To be a wise king
like King Wu Ding,
you need more than a Fu Yue.
You still need
a wise wife,
namely a great queen.
I see.
Fine then.
I’m going to
discuss with your father
on which girl from noble families
can be your wife.
I’ll get you married soon.
All right?
No.
No?
I mean
you don’t need to
discuss with my father in a hurry.
It’s said that marriages are made in heaven.
Why don’t we have it divined by an immortal?
Immortal?
See you, Mother.
Stop.
Jiao’er, where are you going today?
Tell me the truth.
Mother.
Have you heard of
Crooked Neck Lane A3?
Crooked Neck Lane?
I’ve spent half a lifetime in Zhao’ge.
But never have I heard of
A3 in Crooked Neck Lane.
There is one!
Mother, do you member
when I went to pay my respect to
Master Du Yuanxian on the seventh day
after he died.
On my way back,
I ran into
a girl.
Following her,
I met Crooked Neck Lane A3.
So you mean
Crooked Neck Lane A3
really exists?
No, not exactly.
No A3.
There’s B, C and D in Crooked Neck Lane.
No A.
That’s why it’s named Crooked!
You confused me.
Then how did you meet
A3?
An old man said it.
He said,
it was
Crooked Neck Lane A3?
A wasn’t crooked.
But B, C and D were.
So weird?
Maybe weird, or maybe marvelous.
Xiao'e not only found A3,
but also found
her father.
That old man
was her father.
He refused to
admit that
he was her father.
What’s his name then?
Jiang Ziya.