[ Legend of the Phoenix ]
[ Episode 26 ]
Princess
Call me and Ningzhi over, then you suspect the both of us
What about this. I
to Noble Consort Ning
Here. Take this!
Do it. You said it many times, didn't you?
You have wanted to kill Lang Kun
Don't worry about me.
I will have a lot of opportunities to prove myself innocent.
Take this.
Your Highness! If you kill me, you will regret it.
Do it. It's okay. He betrayed us.
He deserves to die. Come on. Kill him!
Hold it.
Noble Consort Ning. You will miss your target holding your crossbow like this.
Three inches. Lower your crossbow by three inches and you will put the arrow through his head.
Mr. Yang is absolutely right. You are holding it too high.
Lower it a little.
Wei Guang
Lower it.
- Wei Guang. - Noble Consort Ning.
Now shoot.
What do you think now, Mr. Yan? Is she holding it all right?
Yes, she is.
Ningzhi,
when have I ever lied to you? Do it.
Well done! Nice shooting!
She missed. She missed.
Mr. Yan, you keep telling me
there is a mole between the three of them.
Now can you see it? Can you tell me?
Who, of the three of them, is the mole?
Marshal Wei, you won.
It's all been a misunderstanding.
Each one of you can really put his life in the hands of another.
I was so scared! I thought I was going to die!
But you are not.
Yan Zheng! I think you are the mole.
Do you want to see everyone close to the Princess Royal die?
You told a woman to pull the trigger for you?
Your Highness, my hands are still shaking.
Noble Consort Ning, don't be mad.
It was Mr. Yan's idea.
Luckily, Wei Guang lowered the bow for you
so you aimed right at the spot between his brows.
So Wei Guang and Noble Consort Ning
are the most trustworthy allies.
Why didn't I die?
I rigged the crossbow. If you aim for the spot between the eyebrows,
you will end up missing the head but barely.
What a plan!
You could have killed me! I have been a loyal servant!
But you are fine.
[Yongde Palace]
You are really smart.
How did you know the arrow would miss by two inches?
Someone told me.
Who?
Rigging the crossbow is delicate work.
Only the craftsmen at the arms factory can do it and they are like my brothers.
They keep me posted on everything the Princess Royal's men do.
How could I not know?
You are so smart.
All right. Let's go.
Your posture is wrong. Mr. Li will kill you.
Really? This is my posture when I served the emperor.
He never said anything.
Greetings, Your Majesty.
What's the matter?
I'm so sorry.
Get some rest if you are sick.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Help her.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Pick them up.
Why were you so clumsy?
I'm sorry, Lord Zhu. I didn't see you.
You know me?
I'm Ban Ling'er. I used to serve in the emperor's chamber.
When I was at Lihua Academy, I didn't focus on learning all the etiquette. I was so ignorant.
The emperor sent me to Chengxiang Palace. And Mr. Li gave me some serious censure a moment ago.
Focus on your learning, or you won't survive in the royal palace.
Lord Zhu! You work at the Ministry of Ceremony.
You must be familiar with all the palace etiquette.
Please teach me.
This is how you do a kowtow.
The way you did it was wrong. Got it?
I see. Lord?
The girls say I also did the wanfu salute wrong.
Can I do it for you so you can tell me what I'm doing wrong?
Okay. Let's pretend I'm your master. Now, dismissed.
Yes, sir.
Chin is out too much. Steps too small.
How about now?
Lower your hands.
My lord, why don't you
hold my hands?
Put them here.
My lord, will you excuse me?
This time you did it right. Let's do it again.
Will you excuse me?
Ban Ling'er, you are so pretty.
When you have learned your manners, Her Majesty
will soon make you her chamber maid.
What does a pretty face do for a maid? Madam Ning is the blessed one,
married to such a noble man.
With my meager earnings,
I'm nothing compared to my colleagues at the Ministry of War.
It's weird. You are all on the emperor's pay roll.
Why are those at the Ministry of War making more money?
You wouldn't understand if I told you.
Is it because they work for the Princess Royal?
And...
are they in her pocket?
These things
are better left unsaid.
Come on, let's not talk about this. You need more practice.
Lord Zhu, what are you doing?
Didn't you ask me to teach you the manners?
A man and a woman should keep their distance.
Lord, please watch your behavior.
Greetings, Your Majesty.
Ban Ling'er? Didn't I tell you to go and serve the Empress Dowager?
Why are you back in Guangxian Palace?
Your Majesty, many people at the Ministry of War are secretly working for the Princess Royal.
The Ministry of War controls the royal guards. They are the ones that keep the capital safe.
Please replace these men before they turn their backs...
Calm down. Tell me what you think.
Your Majesty, you must act now. Replace the royal guards
- including their commander... - Ban Ling'er.
You know it's an offense punishable by death for a maid to discuss state affairs.
But I must say it. I've been watching the commander.
The way he looked at you? There was no respect or fear.
The man has turned.
I personally appointed my royal guards' commander. And you, a maid, are telling me to fire him.
You should know you are just a maid. Do your job.
It is not your position to discuss state affairs.
You are lucky. You found me the map.
Otherwise, I could have you beheaded for saying those inappropriate things.
Thank you for sparing my life.
Will you excuse me?
Ban Ling'er?
Ban Ling'er? Are you okay?
How can I not know I'm way out of line?
But I can't keep quiet. I would die
to make sure you are safe.
If that's what it takes, I will do it.
Why are you doing this?
When I served in Guangxuan Palace,
I saw how hard you worked every day and night.
I can't pretend I don't care.
I dream about Guangxuan Palace every night.
I'm not scolding you. I just tried to warn you to be careful.
You could die if the Princess Royal heard about this.
When you are here, I'm not afraid.
Your Majesty, you must keep an eye on the Ministry of War,
Lord Zhu of the Ministry of Ceremony and the royal guards' commander.
Come on.
Please excuse me.
Black represents the die-hard royalists.
Green means those we think are already working for the Princess Royal.
Red is those fence sitters. They are still watching.
There are not a lot of blacks. Less than 30 percent.
The princess royal and Prince of Guangding put a lot of people in their pocket the past few years.
They spread the rumor that the last emperor had meant to pass the throne to Prince of Guangding,
that the emperor cheated and stole the throne.
Your Majesty, is there any substance to the rumor?
Nonsense.
The emperor got the throne fair and square.
Everybody needs a cover. These people claim they are protecting the tradition and trying to make Liang great again.
They talk about serving the emperor and the state when their true motive is selfish.
Wei Guang, what do we do next?
We stick to the plan. We do three things asap and we take our time with the other thing.
Take care of the arsenal asap.
Get information asap on where they put their soldiers. We did these things.
We have yet to deal with Yan Zheng. But given the circumstances,
we can't act now.
Lord Lang and I will leave the palace tomorrow. He goes south while I go north.
We will gather information on the generals and commanders.
Then Her Majesty and I will stay put and take our time with this slow job.
We will prevent the princess royal and the emperor from clashing with each other too soon.
I thank you all for Great Liang.
[Three days later]
Waiter, send some quick dishes to my room. Waiter?
Who are you? And what are these doing here?
Mr. Yan? What brought you to this small town?
That old question. Are you the mole or not?
Mr. Yan, you are way more persistent
than most people.
I'm giving you one last chance.
Are you working with Wei Guang and Noble Consort Ning?
Who else is in on this? You better tell me everything.
No wonder Prince of Guangding said he thought you were up to something
when we were drinking together. A thief is accusing others of stealing.
You can fool the whole world, but you can't fool my eyes.
Let's cut the nonsense. Take me to the princess royal if you have evidence.
If you have no evidence, get out of here. Don't bother me when I'm working for Prince of Guangding.
Right. I know
you have the trust of Prince of Guangding. The empress also supports you.
I can't touch you. However...
I can touch the woman in this casket.
Who is in there?
Her name is Liang Xiulan. She died of some disease when she was 23.
I heard she missed her fiance so much that it made her sick.
Her fiance had an unusual family name: Huo.
Huo Yanghong was his name. He was a famous royal physician
who had served the empress and the empress dowager.
What does all this have to do with me?
Nothing, it seems.
Except you gave Liang's family some money two months ago
to repair her grave.
Why?
Mr. Yan, you are way too obsessive,
trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Stop pretending.
I know you've been paying the family in the past 18 years.
Mr. Huo saved my life. I'm helping his family. What's wrong with that?
Nothing.
But you've never stopped all these years.
Some villagers saw you cry in front of her grave. What's that about?
There is only one explanation.
You are Huo Yanghong.
I was a frequent visitor to night clubs and brothels when I was young.
I got sick and I thought I would die.
Mr. Huo saved me and cured me.
But I don't even know where he is buried.
All I can do is shed some tears over his fiancee's grave.
What's wrong with that?
Lord Lang!
Don't cry. I'll take you to the magistrate.
We'll file a complaint against him for disturbing the dead.
Come on.
Let's go.
Get out of my way.
He is telling you to get out of the way.
Lord Lang!
- Lord Lang! - Lord Lang!
It's a fight to the death!
Go! Tell Lord Lang go!
Go! Now!
- Let go of me! - Go!
Open up!
[Yongde Palace]
Lang Kun?
What happened?
Get up. Whatever it is, I will help you.
I went to Taoxi.
Yan Zheng found me in a hostel.
Yan Zheng?
He exhumed the coffin of my
deceased wife, Xiulan.
He also rounded up her family
as a way to get me to say I'm the mole.
Xiulan's family threw themselves on the swords
in order to help me escape.
They might all have died.
Lang Kun. Don't go anywhere.
Lay low here.
I will find physicians from outside the palace to treat you.
You stay on the watch outside Yongde Palace for anything the empress is trying to do.
Report back when you see anything.
Yes, madam.
You need a plan before it's too late.
I...
Greetings, Your Highness.
Ban Ling'er, leave us alone.
Yes, Your Highness.
Ningzhi, what's the rush?
Your Majesty, I saw the royal guards' commander and Lord Zhu of the Ministry of Ceremony were arrested.
I wanted to know if you gave the order.
Yes I did.
I got information that they were defecting to the princess royal.
Your Majesty. Did you have any evidence? Any witnesses?
Why are you so nervous?
I didn't order their execution yet. I put them under the Ministry of Justice's custody, pending their interrogation.
The royal guards' commander isn't any other courtier.
If he gets caught, there will be many comments and fear
I thought this over. If I don't have the unquestionable loyalty of the commander,
my city will become an unguarded place. The princess royal will be able to come and go whenever she likes.
I will lose my last line of defense.
I would rather kill them and be wrong than let them go and be sorry.
Ningzhi, you look awfully pale.
I just came from Huashan Palace. The princess royal's men are divided.
Some argued for immediate action.
Others said they should wait for the opportunity to come.
Whose idea prevailed?
It seems those in favor of waiting are prevailing so far.
The princess royal thought she should wait.
But then you arrested the royal guards' commander and Lord Zhu.
Will your courtiers think, in order to save themselves, it is a good idea
to convince the princess royal to move up her plan?
I would like to see those in favor of immediate action win.
Your Majesty!
Lord Wei played it out in his simulation.
80 percent of them are with the princess royal.
A mere 20 percent are with you. When she acts,
we will lose.
So what do you want me to do? Withdraw an order I just gave?
I will tell the Ministry of Justice to expedite their trial. If they are found innocent, I will let them go.
Let them go now. This will hurt you in many ways and it helps you in no way at all.
If the commander is loyal to you,
then you are punishing a loyal servant and hurting the morale. If he has defected,
you are declaring war with the princess royal.
I got it. Calm down. I will tell them to let them go now.
Your Majesty, Your Highness.
Your chambermaid is outside. She said she has something important to tell you.
Your Majesty, will you excuse me?
[Yongde Palace]
I saw Chen the eunuch run out of Yongde Palace, so I followed him.
He mobilized 20 soldiers from General Zheng's royal guard squad, citing the empress's order.
Are you feeling better?
Don't move.
You can't skip meals. You will only get weaker.
I'm okay.
I sent people to look into it. Yan Zheng still has Xiulan's coffin.
He hasn't killed her father and three brothers.
But I don't know where he is keeping them.
Don't worry. When I find out more you will be the first to know.
Your Majesty, you have to get someone to burn the mountain top cabinet down now.
And the rocky trail to the mountain top. You must immediately have it destroyed.
Why? You built the cabinet for me.
Why do you want to burn it down?
Yan Zheng will never stop until he uncovers my identity.
And he will find something against me.
There are letters
the empress dowager wrote me in that cabinet. If Yan Zheng finds them,
it will be the worst disaster.
I got it.
I know what to do.
You don't worry about it. Get better soon.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Noble Consort Ning, you can't go in there.
What do you want, Your Majesty?
You don't really take me seriously, do you?
You got some guts forcing your way in when the palace is closed.
I'm not leaving until you tell me.
They are my cousin
General Zheng's royal guards.
The princess royal is acting up lately,
so General Zheng sent some of his men over for my protection.
What's wrong with that?
If they are here for your protection,
why aren't they in uniform? Why are they all in black?
They are assassins, aren't they?
What exactly are you doing, Your Majesty?
Is it because of Lord Lang?
I will never let my own
savior
You want to kill Yian
No way.
I knew you would disagree.
Guards! Escort Noble Consort Ning to the inner chamber for some rest.
Empress, what you're doing
will spoiled the affair
Queen Mother!
Your Majesty! Bad news!
Queen Mother, the Empress wants to kill Yian
What?
The empress mobilized 20 soldiers from the palace guard squad.
They are armed to the teeth. She is going to revenge Brother Lang.
Wei Guang told me to keep things stable in the palace before he left.
Otherwise, things will get out of control.
Quickly and stop the Empress
I tried. She wouldn't listen to me.
Your Majesty, please go to Yongde Palace yourself.
Let's go to Yongde Palace.
Queen Mother, Queen Mother!
Your Majesty!
Get the palace physician!
- Go! Go! - You take care of her.
Please sit down. Careful.
Messenger coming in!
Your Majesty. This is verified information.
Yan Zheng is close to Dazhisha. He took one of our men.
He is expected to arrive at Qingchi Hot Spring in two hours.
Okay. Dismissed.
Set an ambush at the hot spring. When you see Yan Zheng,
kill him at sight.
It'll be his head or yours.
Yes, madam!
Your Majesty!
You have to go to Yongde Palace now. The empress is going to kill Yan Zheng.
She is going to kill Yan Zheng?
Yan Zheng is Yan Kuan's brother, strategic advisor to the princess royal.
Whether the empress gets what she wants or not,
the princess royal will attack the moment she makes the move.
General Wei is away and the royal guards' commander is under custody. The city is defenseless.
Your Majesty, we must not provoke the princess royal.
Go to Yongde Palace, now.
The empress is doing this to help you fight the princess royal. She is only striking prematurely.
Your Majesty!
His Majesty is here!
Your Majesty.
Did you mobilize the guard squad without telling me?
What are you doing?
I'm asking you.
Where did you send them?
When did they set off?
Yan Zheng is evil. He deserves to die.
Messenger coming in!
Your Majesty. The palace guards saw a group of soldiers leave the palace.
They had passes issued by the empress. An incense stick could have burned out since they left.
Which way did they go?
They went south.
Secretary of defense, send royal troops to bring them back.
Remind them they take orders from me.
Teach them about the consequences of disobeying my order.
Yes, Your Majesty.
[Wanxiang Hall]
Noble Consort Ning.
Your Majesty.
Get out, all of you!
The emperor went to Yongde Palace to stop me from killing Yan Zheng.
That bastard will soon be back to the princess royal.
And he will hurt other people.
Noble Consort Ning, that's on you.
So the emperor stopped you? Great!
You...
Your Majesty, calm down.
Yan Zheng deserves to die, but now is not the time.
When is the time then? After he kills me?
After he kills the emperor and destroys this country?
The one who will destroy this country is the princess royal.
Yan Zheng is nothing more than a pawn.
Your Majesty, Wei Guang has control of the whole thing.
All we have to do is get rid of the pests one after another.
I don't want to know your plan.
I want to know when I can revenge Lang Kun.
Your Majesty, the princess royal and Prince of Guangding are very powerful.
If we act recklessly, there is no way we can get them all.
That's because the emperor is weak.
If I were the emperor, I would have had them beheaded now.
An emperor cannot have so many doubts and fears.
I have been his empress for so many years and I control the entire harem.
Who has the guts to disrespect me?
The emperor is weak,
but what about Wei Guang?
Do you not trust Wei Guang any more? Isn't he the man you trust more than anyone else?
I don't want to hear about the emperor or Wei Guang. I want to revenge Lang Kun.
And I will kill anyone who gets in my way.
I will kill the princess royal if she gets in my way.
I will kill you if you get in my way.
Lang Kun has done so much for me.
If I can't even do this for him,
then I don't deserve to be the empress. Heck, I don't even deserve to be a human being.
Lord Yan!
Halt.
Lord Yan, we showed Lang Kun's portrait to people in Yongdu
and someone recognized him. Curiously, a sales assistant at a brick shop
said Lang Kun buys 350 kilograms of brick at his shop every year.
- 350 kilos of bricks? - Yes.
A mysterious woman visited his shop a month ago. She had a lot of men with her.
She asked about Lang Kun.
We are not going to the imperial palace. Go to Yongdu County instead.
Yes, sir!
Lord Yan, we found a brick road.
It was hidden very well and it leads to the top of the mountain.
Lord Yan, this is it.
Clear it out.
Keep close.
♫ In the clear sky, thousands of fireflies drift around ♫
♫ You were once the most ordinary firefly of them all ♫
♫ When you approached me, time stopped. My heart started racing ♫
♫ It was like a dream ♫
♫ I travel against the light in search for a faraway shadow ♫
♫ The crowded mountain cities, but I find it so peaceful ♫
♫ I really want to let go of my name and identity ♫
♫ I will wait with you for the rain to stop ♫
♫ I will light the light of love ♫
♫ To shine into your life ♫
♫ So that all the dangerous rivers can soften your eyes ♫
♫ Like the crystal tears in the dead of night ♫
♫ My heart has become more transparent and stronger ♫
♫ Even if it aches, it will not break ♫