Timing and Subtitles brought to you by the Legend of the Phoenix Volunteer Team @ Viki
[Legend of the Phoenix]
[Episode 29]
Her Majesty is the mother of the country. No matter what,
can't abolish Empress
otherwise, without fighting, Yan Kuan will
And win the battle of the peoples' hearts.
-Greetings, Your Majesty. -Greetings, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, I just saw
an official from the front line scurry here.
Did Grand Marshal Wei send a letter?
In his letter, Wei Guang wrote that
not to abolish Empress. He worried too much.
I won't do that.
Your Majesty, on my way back from the peace talks
I heard because of nonstopping natural disasters and famine
So, Princess Royal took the opportunity to open the grain house and assist the people.
Because of it, many people
sided with those two brats. Even more,
Yan Kuan knows to summon the wind and rain, and turn the natural disasters around
You don't have to worry about that. Wei Guang also wrote that
he is size up the enemy, not really losing the battle
And Yan Kuan, about him summoning the wind and rain...
is nonsense
Your Majesty, I also heard that Yan Kuan suddenly sent an army
To come straight to Yan city.
You don't have to worry about that either.
I have three cities protecting Yan city,
Ping Zhou, Ning Zhou, Han City
All have big armies guarding.
The enemy's army is led by...Han Zi Feng.
He's an actual failure.
He doesn't have a tad bit of battle skill.
You two just take care of the Inner Palace and Empress Dowager.
also disaster relief. Then I am carefree behind my back
you brought me to Guang Xuan palace
What was the purpose?
Now to look at it, it won't be a big problem.
Emperor doesn't have the intention to abolish Empress
So you were worrying about that.
I have the confidence in that
But, thank you anyway.
Greetings, Your Majesties.
Tie this useless person up!
Your Majesty, what did I do?
You dare ask.
Great Marshal Yan gave you 30,000 picked troops to strike Ning Zhou in 3 days
you use all kinds of excuses to delay the military plan, halt the troops and wait
drag him off, first, beat him 30 times with the military cane
Princess Royal, it's not the right time for strike
- Princess Royal! - - look, what he has to say -
Grand Marshal Yan...
Why did you arrest General Han?
Grand Marshal Yan,
If I remember correctly, you should be leading the battle at Sheng Xi county
Why are you here?
Anyhow, Sheng Xi county is still a six day and night ride away.
Let General Han go.
Anywhere I am needed, I appear.
What's so hard about that?
I understand now.
So, there are really strange things.
You really are a mysterious person.
Sis, what do you mean?
Did you not hear about it?
One year, Yan Zheng was playing chess with the previous Emperor,
At the same time, the King of Yueling Country saw Grand Marshal Yan present his credentials
both kings didn't lie, all the sudden, it became a favourite tale
Someone said Yan Zheng used a deceptive trick.
But now, it seems you really do have powers.
I've heard about that.
But, I just didn't believe it.
But today I witnessed it, well-deserved reputation.
What skills I have aren't important.
What's most important is how to win this fight.
General Han had his reasons for not battling.
We shouldn't bother about that. It'll interrupt what's happening.
Thank you, Grand Marshal Yan.
General Han, please get up.
Princess Royal, General Han and I will stay here to battle.
take over Ning Zhou; target Yan city is just around the corner.
Good.
Wei Guang thought I was in Sheng Xi, so he set up armies there.
to fight it out with me. But he doesn't know
I'm not only there, but also here.
I want to see how good he is.
You should go and rest. Don't accompany me any longer.
this battle relate to Your Majesty's fate
I told Mister Wang the eunuch to report back the moment he hears anything.
you worried once we lost the battle
Emperor will agree to Princess Royal's request?
every time the battle started Emperor always said he trust Wei Guang fully
but when things got tough he would turned his back
I believe Wei Guang
I won't let Your Majesty be abolished
Your Majesty, news from Emperor, we lost Ning Zhou
What?
go to Guang Xuan palace
go
Being a grand commander can't do anything right
why did you come back?
Grand Commander, what happened?
Your Majesty,
Emperor wanted me to go to the military camp to boost the troop's spirit
but there is a rumor, Yan Kuan has a being duplicate power
It's all over the place. Everyone heard it.
soldiers lost morale, lots of them became deserters
lose before the battle
It is a trick. Why would you buy into such a vicious rumor?
Your Majesty.
Rebels halted their advance
when they made it to Hancheng.
They have set camp near Hancheng.
The rebels sent a messenger.
He is asking for an audience with Your Majesty.
He is waiting outside now.
Send him in.
Bring him in.
Greetings, Your Majesty.
What is the message from the traitors?
The princess royal said the war isn't what she wants to see.
In order to spare the people from a catastrophe,
she is willing to negotiate peace with Your Majesty,
on one condition.
She would like you to
strip the empress of her title.
What?
She also said
you need to do it publicly so the world will know.
Otherwise, there will be no peace.
Guards!
Take him out
and give him 80 strokes of the cane. Cripple him!
Your Majesty, please don't be mad.
I have been wearing this phoenix robe for so many years.
I'm getting tired of it.
But I like to know
what it is that your masters want.
Your Majesty,
I really have no idea.
You go back and tell the traitors
that I will never depose my empress even if hell freezes over. Get out of here!
Get out of here now!
Your Majesty, given where we are with the war,
I would like to visit the soldiers at the battlefront to help with the morale.
A member of my harem to the warzone?
No way.
I came from Baixi Circus.
I will see what tricks Yan Kuan is trying to pull.
He may fool anyone else, but he won't fool me.
Your Majesty, Noble Consort Ning does have a point.
She exposed all the tricks by Yan Kuan.
That's right. There is no other way.
Please let me try.
I...
will allow it. But be careful.
Prime Minister.
Get a unit of elite soldiers to escort Noble Consort Ning.
If anything happens to her
it'll be your head.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Sister, I don't understand.
What is Yan Kuan trying to pull?
Why did he stop at Hancheng when he was on a winning streak?
When Hancheng falls, the capital city will be the next.
Let Grand Marshal Yan do his job.
The man is hard to read. We don't know what he is thinking.
-Yan Zheng! -Yan Zheng!
Prince of Guangding...
Didn't my brother warn you
about drinking during an expedition?
You can still be court-martialed for offenses against the military law even though you are a prince.
Didn't you die?
Are you really Yan Zheng? What are you doing back?
My brother used to say when you have a great goal, you will get help from the gods and people.
Even if I was dead, my ghost would come back to help you.
But Xiao Yu killed you himself.
The prince was fooled by the wicked ones. I don't blame him.
I see the prince as a true leader chosen by the gods.
I'll follow him as a man or a ghost.
All I want is for you to make me the chief advisor to the emperor one day.
Yan Zheng.
- Sister. - Xiao Yu.
Yan Zheng!
If you follow me,
I promise you I will hang your portrait in the shrine
so everybody can worship it.
Thank you, Your Highness.
Sister, I killed him.
I killed him. He must be an imposter.
Someone is playing ghost on me.
- Someone is... - Xiao Yu.
Sit down.
This is impossible.
I knew Yan Zheng very well.
I watched him very closely for any telltale body language.
It was him.
It was Yan Zheng.
Your Majesty, the enemy is holding still. Whatever their plan is, I will deal with them in the one way I know will work.
I won't send troops out even if they manage to capture Hancheng.
I will lure the enemy into the capital of Yan.
The capital is easy to defend and very hard to break in.
Once they enter the capital of Yan,
Your troops that have been in position and my 80,000 elite soldiers
will be able to join forces
and take them all.
Please remember this plan.
Whatever happens,
don't accept the terms of the princess royal and Prince of Guangding.
You can't strip the empress of her title. You'll walk into Yan Kuan's trap if you do.
Greetings, Your Majesty.
Ningzhi, what are you doing here when it's so late?
You are leaving tomorrow.
Because I will be gone for a few days,
I'm worried about you.
I will do what I see fit here.
With this trip
I will find a way to expose Yan Kuan's little trick.
Please remember
what Grand Marshal Wei said.
We will win, so...
You and Wei really think alike, don't you?
You don't want me to remove the empress from her position?
I get it.
The same words, coming out of two mouths.
Then I'll say no more.
Your Majesty.
Your Majesty, I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning.
When Yan Kuan was playing ghost,
the princess royal said no peace deal until the empress is deposed.
We must never do that.
But the emperor is deeply concerned about the war.
I hope you will keep an eye on him while I'm away.
I was stupid.
What does the princess royal have against the empress?
They are after the throne, not the empress's title, after all.
I don't know
what you are trying to pull here either.
But I know we haven't lost.
But if we do what our enemy says,
we may lose.
I know.
You go. Don't worry about here.
Take care and come back safely.
I know.
You take care, too.
Bai Ling'er, you can go now.
Chengxiang Palace isn't big enough for you now.
Please give me another chance.
I realize I made a mistake
You never wanted to be a maid.
You were distracted.
I don't know what is on your mind.
Lihua Academy won't take you back.
Noble Consort Ning.
Noble Consort Ning, I heard you are going to the front.
I'm worried for you.
Maybe you can take me with you?
I will be your handmaid.
I have my handmaids. You go back to the empress dowager.
Your Highness, you are too important
to have only two maids by your side.
They can't be trusted to take care of everything.
I served you for so many years.
I know what you need.
Please take me.
Ban Ling'er, I'm going into a warzone,
not some playground.
I'll go wherever you go.
I know you aren't happy with me giving the map to the emperor.
But I saw the emperor was having trouble sleeping
over the arsenal explosion.
I didn't know where you were. So the only thing to do was to give it to the emperor.
Your Highness, please forgive me.
Take me with you, will you?
All right. You can come.
Run!
Someone was killed!
Run!
Someone has been killed!
Let's move.
You guys, protect Noble Consort Ning!
Yes, sir!
Let's go!
Take these women.
Run, Noble Consort Ning!
Come on!
Your Majesty, it seems to have quieted down a little.
But it's unclear if the rebels have taken over.
They must have been some bandits
trying to cash in on the wartime chaos. They won't be there for long.
But it won't be long before the princess royal's rebel forces enter the city.
Your Highness, we have no more guards to protect us.
Let's go back to the palace while we still can.
No.I came to investigate.
I will see Yan Kuan and Yan Zheng myself.
Although I do need the emperor to send me backup.
Someone needs to go back and tell him.
I'll go.
You?
I'll go tell the emperor.
Ban Ling'er, you might run into the bandits again on your way back.
Are you not afraid?
I can do this.
All right. You can go.
But be careful.
Let's do something to your look so it'll be safer.
All right, Your Highness.
Gentleman, I'm a maid from the palace.
Can you give me a ride?
What are you...?
I'm one of the emperor's maids.
I need to get back to the palace now. Please help me.
You can drop me here.
- We can go further. - That's okay.
I can walk from here.
Ban Ling'er, what happened?
Are you okay?
You look awful.
No...
The emperor is here!
Your Majesty!
-Your Majesty! -Ban Ling'er?
Your...
Ban Ling'er?
Ban Ling'er. Are you okay?
Take her to the empress dowager so she can have some rest.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Your Majesty. Noble Consort Ning ran into some bandits in Qingfeng Township.
She is hiding in the cellar of a restaurant.
I ran for hours to get back.
Please send people to help her.
What shall we do?
- Your Majesty. - How are things on the battlefront?
The rebels have taken Hancheng.
How can they be so fast?
That old son of a gun, General Liu, promised me
he would hold up for two months.
He lost the city in just two days?
Your Majesty, now is not the time to assign blame.
We need a plan.
Your Majesty, Lord Wei sent you a classified message.
Your Majesty, hold your ground for another couple of days. My troops will be there soon.
Great!
Wei Guang's troops will come in two days.
Then we will attack from the front and back. They won't see us coming.
Your Majesty, the enemy troops have made it to the outskirts of Hancheng.
How can they be so fast?
Our soldiers fled their positions before they saw the enemy.
There are rumors that you...
Say it.
That the last emperor didn't pass the throne to you, but to Prince of Guangding,
and that the prince is coming for you now, leading a divine army.
Nonsense!
Bring me my body armor!
Your Majesty, you can't.
Your Majesty.
Prince of Guangding sent a messenger.
He said he is still open to peace talks on the previously stated condition.
And you have to make it known to the public.
Your Majesty, have you found Ningzhi yet?
The men from Flying Tigers Battalion are on the way to meet her.
But Hancheng has fallen. I don't have much intell now.
With the Flying Tigers there, she will be fine.
Do you think they got Ningzhi?
Your Majesty?
- Your Majesty! - My empress.
You told me
you have been the head of my harem for too long and that you get tired.
The harem is at peace now.
Why don't you take a break while you can?
Ningzhi can take care of the harem affairs.
If she doesn't come back soon,
Consort Zhao can do it. She has been in my harem for long enough.
She knows all the rules.
What do you mean?
You know what the princess royal wants in exchange for peace talks.
I hope you will help me.
You are casting me away?
Don't worry. This is just temporary.
I will reinstate you when things quiet down.
I'm doing this for the people.
This way, we can stop the war.
Your Majesty,
why don't you believe Wei Guang?
He said he will be here with his troops in two days.
If he said he will come, he will come.
Of course I trust Wei Guang.
But there are so many variables you can't control.
If something goes wrong, the capital will fall in the hands of the princess royal.
When that happens, it will be too late to ask for peace talks.
We have tens of thousands of troops here.
Aren't they enough to stop the princess royal and her thugs?
Just two days.
They can do it for two days.
And if they can't?
Hundreds of thousands of people live in the capital.
Are you willing to see them trapped in the war
and in despair?
You keep talking about
the people.
What a noble cause.
I can't say no.
There is nothing else I can do.
If there is any other way,
I won't do this to you.
Now, you make a small sacrifice
and we will have peace.
Why not?
But aren't you naive?
Even if I step down as your empress, will the princess royal be satisfied?
We have been married for 20 years.
I made you my empress. You have everything a woman can ever want in the world.
Now, you won't make such a
small sacrifice for me?
Your Majesty, it's not that I don't want to give up the tile.
Wei Guang made it clear in his letter.
You must not depose your empress.
If you do that, you are just walking into the princess royal's trap.
The number one priority for Great Liang
is for the people to see the two of us
fight the rebels side by side.
You just can't stop with your noble talks, can you?
Do you ever think about the people?
I'm so disappointed in you.
The one who doesn't think about the people is you.
You only think about yourself.
What did you say?
If my death can bring peace to the world,
I will not hesitate.
If that's the case,
why would you depose your empress? You could fight the enemy head-on.
This conversation is over.
You will step down.
I promise I will reinstate you.
But you should know what you are supposed to say
and what you aren't.
Marshal, the emperor said he will
depose the empress and cast her into solitude.
- Is that so? - Yes.
I lost the game.
Bring me the emperor.
Your Majesty, it's too late.
The decree of deposition has been made public.
Your Majesty.
[Notice]
The emperor walked into the princess royal's trap.
Continue to investigate. If the soldiers have any movements, we'll immediately return to the palace.
- Yes.
Wait.
If Wei Guang were here, he would assess the situation.
The deposition of the empress has been made public.
Even if I go back, it won't make any difference.
But the most important is
to turn things around here on the battleground.
Put on some rebels' clothes and find out more about the Yan Brothers.
We don't have enough people to attack Yan Zheng.
No need to attack, just investigate.
-Yes.
Wei Guang, why didn't you and Ningzhi stop the emperor?
The empress is in trouble.
Ningzhi is somewhere on the outskirts of the capital but I don't know where.
The emperor has walked into Yan Kuan's trap.
There is nothing I can do. We are losing this time.
Grand Marshal Yan.
What makes you so happy?
We won a big battle. Of course, I'm happy.
We'll have a celebratory party for everyone tonight.
I don't understand. We attacked Ningzhou.
We attacked Hancheng. Nobody could stop us.
Did we do this all just so the emperor has to
depose his empress?
I have an 80 percent chance to defeat Yan Kuan. If he wants a win,
he has to find another way and that is public opinion.
He only agrees to peace talks after the emperor deposes his empress.
There can only be one reason.
He wants everyone in the empire to see
that the emperor is abandoning his wife.
If the emperor does it,
he will lose the support of the Zheng family in his court.
The empress is a strong woman in the court.
The people look up to her.
Any man will face the scrutiny of public opinion
if he abandons his wife,
not to mention a monarch.
If I'm guessing right, Yan Kuan will soon spread the rumor
that the emperor betrayed his wife
and that he will throw anything away for his self interest.
Given his state of mind,
the story of the fight over the throne must be true.
We will hold the peace talks with the emperor
at Guangxuan Palace. Tell him to gather his entire court.
Don't worry about any danger. Walk right in there.
Take your throne back like a hero.
That's a great idea from the marshal.
I'm not your empress any more.
Stop saluting me this way.
It's about time. Let's go.
What are you standing around for? I haven't left the palace yet
and you dare disobey me?
Your Majesty, according to the harem rules,
You can't go to the palace of solitude wearing the phoenix crown and the phoenix robe.
I made the rule.
Now you are talking to me about my rules?
Who has the guts? Come on up and take off my crown!
All right.
Who knows when I will come back.
Maybe I never will.
This palace will eventually have a new owner.
Who will you be serving after me?
I have no idea.
I can't imagine what challenges you will face.
You served me all these years.
This is my last day here. I don't want to give you a hard time.
Who would have thought this could happen to her one day?
Greetings, Your Majesty.
Get up.
Who is it?
Your Majesty.
Come in.
I was the benefactor to so many of them.
Now that I'm no longer the empress,
you are the only one
who still care about me.
Unfortunately I don't have much here.
Not even a cup of tea.
Please don't give up.
Wei Guang has come to Hancheng.
Noble Consort Ning is stuck outside the capital,
but the Flying Tigers are there to protect her. She will be fine.
How did the emperor break it to the world
that he has cast his empress away?
Knowing how won't
make any difference now,
but I'm still curious.
The emperor said you violated code of the harem.
He said it broke his heart but he had to do it.
Right.
What else could he have said?
Admit
he is a coward
and doesn't have the courage to face the princess royal?
Our noble emperor
can only hide away in his palace
and hope that peace will somehow come.
The peace talks will be held in two days.
Knowing the emperor and his sister,
this round of talks may last a while.
You may have to stay here for a while.
I know very well.
I've known since the moment I stepped in here
that I will never get out.
What I didn't know is I will be the one
to receive the punishment that I desgined for offenses.
But it's okay.
I don't have any regrets.
I was the empress for so long.
I enjoyed the fortunes a regular girl can
never dream of.
So no regrets.
What I didn't see is I would be defeated
by the emperor and not any girl in the harem.
Your Majesty, I will get you out
if there is the slightest of hope.
Your Majesty, many girls
in the palace of solitude are here because of you.
They hate you.
Be careful.
I know only too well
how to handle the girls.
You must be very careful
as you are dealing with the princess royal.
I promise
I will come back alive.
Please promise me
you will see me again in the palace.
I promise.
Your Highness, we only found out where Yan Zheng is now.
He is at three different locations at the same time. We were only able to verify one of them.
That's enough.
All right. We roll out as planned. We will split into to groups.
One gets the boats ready.
The rest of you are with me. Let's find Yan Zheng.
When I see his face myself,
we will rendezvous by the river and go together.
Please take care, Noble Consort Ning.
Get up.
Everybody watch your back.
Noble Consort Ning, it's been a long time.
You owe me my life!
Now is payback time!
It's payback time!
[Agreement of Ceasefire]
Let's do as this agreement stipulates.
I have good news.
We saw Noble Consort Ning somewhere near here.
We haven't caught her yet,
but we will soon. If we have her,
we will have one more bargaining chip.
Timing and Subtitles brought to you by the Legend of the Phoenix Volunteer Team @ Viki
♫ 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 watch the peaceful marketplace with you ♫
♫ 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 ♫