[ Episode 6 ]
Scholar, you are very intelligent and a highly skilled strategist,
but I hope that you will not forget the word "loyalty".
8th Prince, in personal terms, you are my savior.
In matters of the kingdom, you are benevolent. If you inherit the throne, you will benefit the kingdom and its citizens.
Since you are the leader that I have chosen to follow,
I will never betray you.
But my Prince, may you also put yourself in my shoes.
Put myself in your shoes...
I heard that you sometimes like to drink by yourself.
Because the weather has changed, even wines that have been warmed easily get cold.
Inside this wine pitcher is an especially refined inner lining.
It will preserve the heat. You will have no need to drink cold wine from now on.
Thank you for the care, Scholar.
I will take my leave.
Prince, it's time to go visit the Empress Dowager.
Yu Hao, starting from today on,
observe Liu Shang's every movement.
Yes.
Why is Xiao Tan always so peculiar?
Even if she has gone crazy and spouts nonsense,
she shouldn't have forgotten our past together too, right?
Also, Xiao Tan's writing lately is really untidy.
Compared to her previous writing that was so orderly and legible,
it is so vastly different. Even if she has lost her memories,
how come she is so different in her manners and speech?
Is there anything amusing on the ground?
14th Prince.
This is a mule eyebrow ink given by the Bosi Kingdom in tribute.
This is of a high grade. There's no use for men like me to have it.
This... This is for you.
14th Prince, I'm a humble maidservant.
I don't need to draw my eyebrows.
Even if I used it, no one would look at it.
You can use it and let me look at it.
14th Prince, is this why you were looking for me?
14th Prince, if there's nothing else then,
I'll take my leave.
How come she looks troubled?
There's an assassin!
- Chase him! - Hurry!
So you're saying that Scholar Liu Sheng called you into the room
just to allow you to keep him company by playing chess?
Yet he didn't say a single world.
Then he even asked you to prepare this vase of roses?
He also said that he would come and pick them up after dark.
He is such a weirdo.
Speak of the devil, and he will arrive.
I'll go open the door.
Tan'er, I've missed you so much.
How have you been doing? Did you suffer?
I was incompetent. I wasn't able to protect you well.
Is this the First Prince?
Looks like he's the other guy in this love triangle.
First Prince, I'm not your Qu Tan'er. Hurry up and let go of me.
How could you not be my Tan'er?
Look, if I say I'm not her, then I'm not.
I don't want to get mixed up in your love triangle!
How could you not be my Tan'er?
It turns out... you're also...
the same as me?
We're from the same era?
This watch looks quite old.
It must be an antique.
Could it be you're that much older than me?
Don't let any outsider hear about this.
Oh, right, right... We must be lowkey and not blow our covers.
Tan'er indeed has lost her senses. She doesn't even remember me.
So what? No matter what she changed into,
she will always be the Tan'er whom I love the most in this lifetime.
Then I'll take you back.
You are a real friend. Such a loyal friend too.
You're just going to take me away, no questions asked.
You are indeed my BbF from now on! (BbF - Best boy Friend)
I'll take you back right now. Let's go.
Sayonara! (Goodbye in Japanese)
Royal Brother, you are still on house arrest
and you're now taking my servant away without my permission.
Won't that add to your crime?
8th Brother, Tan'er and I are childhood friends,
and we love each other. We've long made a pact to be together for a lifetime.
I hope 8th Brother will allow it.
Right, right. The First Prince and I
are in love and will not change until we die.
Leaving the manor without permission is punishable by death.
If you want to leave the 8th Prince Manor as soon as possible,
then be obedient and cooperate with me. If you cooperate well
then I'll give you freedom in exchange.
Royal Brother, Tan'er is now my bed chamber attendant.
In the future, she's going to be my Princess Consort.
No one is allowed to touch my woman.
How come I don't have any immunity against this 8th Prince at all?
I won't let go of Tan'er that easily.
Since you're a person from my 8th Prince Manor,
you're not allowed to look at any other men in the future.
♫ I'm within a vast sea of people, while you're in the summit of the end of the world ♫
♫ Chilly spring, autumn dreams, no one thinks of you ♫
♫ The gentle wind infiltrates into the dark night, the peach flower blossoms for a year again ♫
The First Prince already left.
We don't need to continue acting, right?
♫ Looking at the window from afar as the snow floats down, my heart has dreamt of you a thousand times ♫
♫ Like a flower, like a butterfly, so indistinct ♫
Tan'er, I--
♫ Thousands of continuous strings, it's so hard to get stranded ♫
Prince—
♫ We can't return anymore to our first encounter ♫
♫ People have always known that it's hard to fulfill true love ♫
♫ Yet still gambled one's lifetime for it ♫
This feels wonderful!
♫ I'm within a vast sea of people, while you're in the summit of the end of the world ♫
♫ Chilly spring, autumn dreams, no one thinks of you ♫
♫ The gentle wind infiltrates into the dark night, the peach flower blossoms for a year again ♫
I...
♫ We are like swallows that couldn't bear to part ♫
You speak first.
♫ Looking at the window from afar as the snow floats down, my heart has dreamt of you a thousand times ♫
My acting tonight was quite okay, right?
You must be a man who keeps his word.
Earlier, when you said you'd set me free,
you mustn't renege on it.
♫ We can't return anymore to our first encounter ♫
But about us meeting each other,
you're not allowed to let anyone else know
or else our agreement is void.
Attendant Tan'er!
After the curfew, maidservants are not allowed out of the manor.
How can you disobey the rules of the manor and not show any shame?
I was ordered by the 8th Prince to be here.
Nonsense!
8th Prince?
How come he's inside the carriage? His clothes are different too.
What drama is this?
Yu Hao.
Tell Butler Zhou to not give her any taels for this month.
And if she breaks the manor rules again, flog her.
Yes.
Who is he putting this act on for?
This schizophrenic Prince, how come he has such fluctuating personalities?
I knew it! I shouldn't have believed his damn meeting agreement earlier.
[Eldest Prince Manor]
9th Prince has arrived!
Greetings, Eldest Royal Brother.
You have been away for more than a decade.
Now you're finally back. How come there's not even any celebratory sound here in the palace?
With you personally welcoming me, that's much better than gold.
You were not in your manor last night.
Did you go see that Lady Tan'er that you frequently mention in your letter again?
I heard that Lady Tan'er
has since become a servant of the 8th Prince Manor.
It's exactly because of that.
I've decided to go save her from that sea of flames,
but I never thought that 8th Prince would suddenly appear to hinder me.
If this matter reaches Royal Father,
I fear that 8th Prince will use your sneaking out while being on house arrest as a reason
for provoking a huge upheaval.
Do you believe that I'm from a future era?
Although not completely,
if what you said is true,
the pain you get during certain forbidden situations is a warning generated by the principle of mutual promotion and restraint,
and retribution for disturbing the order of time and space.
Lately,
the mirror image symptoms are getting worse. Even if I don't come into physical contact with my blood relatives
or the 8th Prince, usually it still triggers an attack.
You have mistakenly appeared in an era that you shouldn't be in.
The reaction that should result will surely keep returning to you.
The condition you're experiencing is a result of this.
What I'm worried about is, as time goes on,
you will slowly lose your senses
until you completely disappear from this place.
Oh, right.
I have some medicinal pills here.
Whenever your symptoms appear, immediately take one
to lessen your symptoms.
However, you must not take too much of this medicine
because each pill taken will worsen the next attack.
It may also hasten your disappearance.
What's important now is to wait for the celestial changes to occur.
That's when you must immediately leave this era.
Don't worry. I surely will observe the cosmic phenomena for you.
Once there are changes, I will immediately inform you.
9th Prince has arrived for an audience!
Greetings, Royal Father.
Kang'er, quickly rise.
Kang'er, you've lived in an impoverished region for 10 years.
I have always felt guilt over it.
Now that you're back in the palace, I must reward you well.
What wish do you have? Just say it.
I earnestly ask Royal Father to remove the restrictions on Eldest Royal Brother.
Lately, I saw him not having any appetite at all and just repenting day and night.
He looked so haggard. I really feel very worried.
Kang'er,
the Empress died early.
Regarding Huai'er's matter,
I admit not disciplining him well and can't deny my fault in this.
But do you know that as my royal son,
Huai'er actually dared to disobey my marriage decree. He disregarded the proper decorum.
In the future, he might not be able to bear great responsibilities.
Eldest Royal Brother said disrespectful words in a moment of anger.
Yesterday, he showed such extreme regret and shame, that he almost took his own life.
May Royal Father verify that.
What?
Huai'er is placing the blame on himself to that extent?
Spread my decree,
considering that the Eldest Prince was able to repent on his sins after a time, all his restrictions are now removed.
Yu Hao, this matter is very important. Its content
can bring death to Eldest Royal Brother. You must keep watch over it well.
Don't let it leave this study.
Yes.
The return of Eldest Royal Brother is the best time
to test if Qu Tan'er is a spy.
Watch her very closely these next few days. If the letter leaves the study, immediately inform me.
Yes.
Greetings, Your Highness.
In the Court today, everyone spoke of how good my foresight was,
but they don't know that I was just relying on your strategic plan.
Why do you say so?
The Yellow River disaster has happened exactly as you predicted.
Everyone in the Court thinks that I was good at devising a strategy with good foresight.
You were a meticulous person to begin with.
Even without my words, you would have taken the same and proper preventive measures.
I fear that only a few people in this world could have predicted the Yellow River disaster.
Scholar, how did you know of it?
I came from a poor family and once begged in the streets. To earn a living,
I once learned some foretelling skills from a Daoist priest.
Moreover, if I didn't have such skills, how could I assist you?
I heard that His Majesty removed the restrictions on Eldest Prince a few days ago.
I'm sure that he has already started his preparations for his return to Court.
Now, while the whole Royal Court is supportive of me,
why not use this chance
to incite a conflict between Royal Consort Dugu and Eldest Royal Brother?
The battle for the Royal Throne is a very dangerous situation. If you can preserve your sibling relationship,
you should do your best to do so. Don't have regrets in the end.
Could it be...
you are predicting that I will have regrets?
I personally saw my eldest brother die in the arms of my father.
Only then did I understand
that everything I cared about before was unimportant.
The pain of losing one's loved one
will forever accompany your dreams, but it's too late for regrets.
I hope that 8th Prince can sympathize with him.
Never thought that Scholar would be this overcautious.
How come there is no deli food snacks at all?
Spicy strips, spicy duck necks, spicy squid flakes, there's none of that at all.
Ancient people really live in a vacuum.
You keep disobeying the rules.
Could it be you want me to punish you before you mend your ways?
I was just sleepwalking!
I must have been thinking about food in my dreams,
so my body involuntarily walked me here.
On the day you're flogged, convince your body then too, so you'll be able to bear your punishment.
8th Prince!
Just give me one more chance to mend my ways.
Hand me the item behind your back.
Do you know that in my manor,
those that disobey my commands are punished with death?
Inside this royal manor, everything I do is punishable by death.
Because of sneaking out yesterday,
Butler Zhou punished me with having no meals the whole day.
If I continue to starve like this, it's possible I'll have stomach failure.
8th Prince, if you will drop this matter, I promise to turn over a whole new leaf
and become a model maidservant.
Take these back and eat them. No leftovers.
No leftovers?
He really is a schizophrenic prince.
I'll eat them all.
8th Prince.
You never change despite repeated admonitions.
Now, you still dare to sneak out of the manor?
You just got caught stealing dumplings last night. Did you forget that?
This 8th Prince keeps track of me
instead of doing his official job.
I'm not sneaking out of the manor. I was ordered to go out and shop for stuff.
Based on the work schedule, it shouldn't be you that should be going out to shop today.
What? Did you privately switch with someone?
8th Prince, I really miss the Qu Manor so much,
hence, I risked danger to exchange my job shift to get out of the manor.
In consideration for my filial piety, please spare me.
Spare you?
I can do that,
but you must agree with my conditions.
My condition is that we have to make 3 agreements.
3 agreements?
First,
you mustn't look me in the eye.
I'll just treat him just like that giant python in Harry Potter. The one that if you look into its eyes you turn to stone.
Second,
you mustn't readily approach me.
But on the other hand...
I can readily approach you.
Third, you must not
enter my sleep chamber.
If I'm able to do all those things,
you won't tell Butler Zhou my crimes anymore?
8th Prince, you must not break your word, or you'll get hit by lightning.
But,
you must not leave the manor without permission again.
Right on! Thank you, 8th Prince.
Remember... if not, you'll get hit by lightning.
Before, my love for Tan'er started from being suspicious of her.
Looks like this time, if I don't keep interfering, history will repeat itself.
This is so unimaginable.
I've actually become my own love rival.
How come he changed his clothing again?
Every time he changes his clothes, it's like he becomes this dark and tyrannical prince.
And I'm the one who always has to pay the price.
How can you be so careless at serving tea?
8th Prince is starting to get hostile again.
Y-Your servant was just totally following
your princely rules.
Lift up your head.
I don't dare do that.
♫ Last night, I was worried about you ♫
♫ This morning, luxuriant blooms are right in front of my eyes ♫
Maybe because of what happened in the kitchen,
I frightened her.
♫ Once I saw your graceful reflection, I was deeply enthralled ♫
Go back first.
Yes.
♫ drinking wine as tea in the chilly night ♫
♫ Where could I send my yearnings except via the sound of the flute as it travels in the night breeze through the steep ash-gray cliff ♫
8th Prince.
Did Tan'er execute any strange actions today?
Since last night, Lady Tan'er has never privately entered your study.
The letter you left is still in its original position.
But Lady Tan'er indeed did execute some strange actions.
Just say it.
Today, Lady Tan'er seems to be excessively avoiding you.
If she could avoid going to any place where you are, she would do so.
I have noticed that as well.
Starting from today, you can stop monitoring Lady Tan'er.
Yes.
Order someone to get me some steamed dumplings.
Yes.
♫ To hold your hand as we walk into the horizon ♫
♫ All the way, from fine black hair to white hair ♫
8th Brother, why do you look so happy?
You've been smiling all day. Did you encounter any joyous event?
Why not tell me and let me join in the joy?
♫ I can't bear to step on the fallen petals everywhere on the ground ♫
8th Brother, say something.
8th Brother.
♫ Your most beautiful times with me are engraved in my heart ♫
8th Prince.
You may leave now.
Yes.
Steamed dumplings? 8th Brother, you like eating steamed dumplings now?
I remember that you hate steamed dumplings the most.
14th.
If a young lady
suddenly refuses to look you in the eyes,
and keeps distancing herself from you, why is that so?
Oh... so you're having problems with a female.
If you ask me, the situation you speak of
is the 'shy' state of women when they are in love.
What about if she acts too obedient, but frequently makes mistakes? Is it because of the same reason?
I feel that a person will usually change when he or she is in love.
Just like how you suddenly love eating steamed dumplings.
8th Brother, who is the young lady that you mentioned?
Before,
I hated steamed dumplings so much.
But looking at them now, they look pleasing
and the taste is delicious too. I've forgotten
why I hated them before.
8th Prince!
Look.
Our spy in the palace would never ask to meet you
unless it's very important. Could this be related to the Crown Prince position? [Very important. Let's meet at noontime.]
There's no point in guessing. Immediately prepare my horse. Don't alarm anyone.
Yes.
14th.
Come with me to the palace to check this too.