♪The white sail came too late♪
♪Where did he go?♪
♪Snow veils the mountains♪
♪Love endures beyond life and death♪
♪A black chess piece♪
♪Whose game did he stumble into?♪
♪All his life, there's no escape♪
♪In ten thousand years, what will still remain?♪
♪Will anyone still love with an unchanging heart?♪
♪I will remember♪
♪Those days long past♪
♪As the wind drifts with the white sail♪
♪Ten thousand years ago♪
♪Did you once walk this shore?♪
♪Why can't our bond be severed in this life?♪
♪I am lost yet willing♪
♪Still I love you with a steadfast heart♪
♪Until all things fade away♪
♪The stars will remember us♪
[Love & Crown]
[Adapted from the novel "My Queen" by Xie Lounan]
[Episode 4]
We have an invitation.
Please,
go upstairs
to the Green Haitang Chamber.
This young lady is a distinguished guest.
Let her in.
Please
come with me.
Let's go.
Master,
why did you let her in?
Willow
and haitang blossoms.
She's one of us.
Look.
Sorry for the long wait.
The highlight of our show today
will begin soon.
You who come to this pleasure boat
must have already known the rules here.
A blind auction.
You each have three haitang flowers on your table,
representing three bidding chances.
But let me put out a disclaimer now.
If you bid but fail to pay,
you'll be fed to the fish.
What are we bidding for today?
I wonder.
Allow me to start the bid.
My starting price is
100 liang.
200 liang.
How can we bid when we don't know
what it is?
400 liang.
400 liang already? This soon?
Mr. Niu offers 400 liang.
Do I hear a higher bid?
3,000 liang.
- 3,000? - 3,000?
Are you out of your mind?
How generous of this gentleman.
3,000 liang.
Any
higher bids?
5,000 liang.
5,000 liang?
That's not fair.
He didn't throw the flower.
Patience, my esteemed guest.
Guests on the second floor, in the Golden Haitang Chamber
have special privileges,
but they all have only three chances
as well.
6,000 liang.
8,000 liang.
8,000 liang?
Enough is enough.
Stop it.
What if they feed you to the fish?
Did you hear me?
Two fluorite night pearls.
Fluorite night pearls.
What an elucidating experience.
That spoiled brat.
What exquisite fluorite night pearls.
Fine tributes from the Western Sea.
May I know where you hail from,
Mr. Bai?
This is just a transaction.
Outside of this pleasure boat,
we're both strangers.
Right.
I agree.
I wonder what it is that my husband spent a fortune
to purchase.
When can we get it?
You're so impatient, Miss.
Come with me.
After you.
Wait for me here.
I'd like to see a friend.
A friend?
Who?
You're alone.
Oh, my dear brother. Are you worried
that I might feel lonely,
so you came to have a heart-to-heart talk with me?
Someone tried to kill me when you learned
that I joined Fenglai Pavilion.
As my only brother,
you sure want me dead.
You think I tried to kill you?
Are you implying
that it was your mother who wanted me dead,
and you had no idea at all?
Just like all the times before,
it's always your mother who wants me dead,
not you.
Will you believe me if I say I have nothing to do with it?
Whether it's your or your mother's doing,
it makes no difference.
Right.
You lured me to Botang Pleasure Boat.
What if I kill you right now?
Can you kill me though?
I can try.
I don't have time for a spar right now.
Many kids
on this boat are waiting
to be rescued.
Drop your act.
You forsook moral principles for the throne.
A human life is nothing in your eyes,
let alone the lives of those kids.
You only care about ruling Great Qi.
Yes.
I do care about our empire
but I care more about the lives of my subjects.
Even if it's just one person,
that person is still a citizen of Great Qi.
You're still
the sanctimonious Xiao Huan I know.
You again?
Why do you two always fight when you see each other?
I told you to wait for me there.
I...
We have to pick the goods.
They are here.
Help yourself.
Are these murder thralls?
Keen eyes, Mister.
They are stone men.
They are invincible
and feel no pain,
perfect for a killing machine.
It's hard to make one,
and that's why it's expensive.
We only have 10 minutes to save them.
After 10 minutes,
Prince of Yuzhang will surround the boat.
None of the passengers
will be able to escape.
We want
this one.
Wise choice.
There are small boats behind the boat.
Someone will pick you up there.
Protect yourself
and take the kids away.
Run!
Here.
Mother!
Careful.
Here.
Come.
Take the kids away first.
I'll save Bai.
Why did you return?
We fight together.
Who are you?
It doesn't matter.
What you need to know
is
that he is not for you to kill.
It's too late.
Surrender yourself now.
You came nonetheless.
It is my feudal land.
If someone wants to commit an atrocious crime on my land,
they'll have to get through me, Prince of Yuzhang.
Enemy vessels are three zhang away from our boat.
The boat must be destroyed.
Long live Lingbi.
We give our lives to you.
Long live Lingbi.
We give our lives to you.
Long live Lingbi.
We give our lives to you.
Long live Lingbi.
We give our lives to you.
Long live Lingbi.
We give our lives to you.
Long live Lingbi.
- We give our lives to you. - Run!
Long live Lingbi.
We give our lives to you.
Long live Lingbi.
We give our lives to you.
[Fenglai Pavilion]
Miss Ling,
you merely suffered from the shock,
so you're fine.
He, however, got the short end of the stick.
His back is seriously wounded,
and he is suffering from nightmares.
We don't know when he'll wake up.
Bai.
I'm sorry.
Please be all right.
What a joke.
You want to regain your power?
Have you forgotten
that you gave it to us willingly in the past?
Your Highness.
It is cold out here,
and you have a weak constitution.
Why are you standing here alone?
Don't do this, Your Highness.
Come.
If one day,
I become the emperor,
I shall make you the Grand Chancellor,
and Cangcang the empress.
The Empress Dowager never takes His Highness seriously.
His Highness is isolated politically.
It is shrewd of him to form an alliance with the Grand Tutor.
But should he become the emperor in the future,
this promise might be the one thing that binds him.
Indeed.
Grand Tutor Ling,
when will you let me rule in my own right?
The day Cangcang weds you
will be the day you take real power.
Unfortunately,
you might not live to see that day.
Isn't it great to be the Bai Chifan
who roams freely in the martial world?
If I lose my power,
I'll lose my life too.
I will treat Cangcang with sincerity.
Your sincerity is a joke.
What a lovestruck ruler!
Not only did you fail to regain your power,
but you will live like you used to before,
wondering every day
if you can live to see the sunrise tomorrow.
You lay low for ten years,
but you messed up your plan in one crucial moment.
You brought this upon yourself.
No.
What should I do?
This can't be it.
Bai.
You're finally awake.
Cangcang.
Marry me.
What?
Cangcang.
I love you.
Marry me.
All right?
Luo.
Cangcang.
Father wants me
to bring you back to the Capital.
Come with me.
Let Cangcang go already.
I'm going to marry Cangcang.
Luo, don't hurt Bai.
Cangcang.
Since the beginning, he approached you to fulfill his plan.
He has an agenda.
I know very well if he has an agenda or not.
Someone with a secret agenda
will not risk their lives to save me again and again.
Cangcang.
He did that to earn your sympathy.
Can't you tell?
Luo.
I can tell if it's a ruse
to earn my sympathy,
or if he truly cares about me.
You'd rather believe a stranger you just met
than me?
I...
I didn't mean it that way.
Do you...
Do you fancy him as well?
Father wants me
to bring you back.
Don't make my job difficult for me.
Luo.
Headstrong as I may be,
I dare not defy my father.
Give me three days.
Once I settle everything,
I'll see my father and ask for a punishment.
But today,
you're not hurting Bai.
[Fenglai Pavilion]
I'm coming.
Bai?
What is this?
A gift.
A gift?
Frostflame Iron?
Give this
to your master.
Cangcang,
if I want your hand in marriage,
I'll have to earn your father's and master's recognition.
I don't want to see any tension
between you and them because of me.
So
let's pay your master a visit.
I'm sure he'll be over the moon.
Among all things, he loves
making swords the most.
Doesn't this belong to Prince of Yuzhang?
Why do you have it?
[Heroic Composure]
Frostflame Iron?
It's mine.
Why must I give it to you?
Botang Pleasure Boat was destroyed.
The Lingbi Sect suffers another great loss.
You also solved the case of the missing boys.
I'm sure the imperial court will reward you handsomely.
You don't need the Frostflame Iron.
I can
give it to you for free.
But only if you...
If I?
I'm afraid you can't give me
what I want.
Don't covet
what isn't yours.
Give me the Frostflame Iron.
Are you ordering me as the emperor
or are you pleading as my brother?
What do you think?
Whatever.
I saved you twice in the quarry
and on the boat.
I will ask you to pay me back
for those favors eventually.
Consider this iron ore
my gift to you for your upcoming wedding.
Thank you.
Bai, wait for me.
Cangcang.
Didn't you say your master is a swordsman?
I thought a swordsman would go on an adventure to uphold justice.
Why is your master
residing in this remote area?
He was a swordsman,
and now, he's a recluse.
Because
he doesn't like the hustle and bustle.
How did you meet your master then?
Did I tell you
why I wanted to rescue those kids?
When I was little...
Father!
I miss Mother.
Can we visit her grave?
Cangcang.
I'm busy.
Quit making a fuss.
Go back now.
No.
I don't want to stay home alone.
Cangcang.
Be a good girl.
We
will visit her grave in the future.
Bring her back.
Find some playmates for her.
Go back now.
Slow down, Young Lady!
Don't trip yourself.
If you won't bring me there,
I'll go there myself.
Try running now.
Run!
I'll spank you.
Father will save me!
Run!
Try running.
- He'll save me. - Come out!
My father is the best father in the world!
You had
similar experiences,
so you hate those who traffic
children.
What does this have to do with your master?
Mercy, sir.
I've not seen this girl before.
I'm serious, sir.
Just
take that girl away.
For free.
Don't be scared.
Let me help you.
Easy now.
I'll take you home, all right?
I'm not a bad guy.
Tell me.
What is your name?
And then?
And then,
Master brought me to my father.
My father hugged me and cried.
Master also told Father
that his daughter had suffered the same fate,
and that he had been looking for her.
Did he manage to find her?
It's over there.
Master told me
that she loved haitang blossoms the most.
Even though I have never met her,
I'm sure
she missed her father
and this wonderful world a lot.
[Tombstone of Beloved Daughter, Li Xiaotang]
So later,
I made the decision
that even though Master had lost her daughter,
I would
treat him as if he were
my father.
Bai.
You will treat Master with kindness,
won't you?
[Tombstone of Beloved Daughter, Li Xiaotang]
Master, I'm here.
Master.
I'm here to visit you.
Master.
I'm here to visit you.
Where did he go?
What are you doing here?
I'm here to see Cangcang's master.
You're not welcome here.
Are you saying that as Cangcang's master,
or as the Ghost King?
As expected of a student of Grand Tutor Ling.
Do you know
what your teacher thinks of you?
He said
you were like a wolf pup
prowling in the snow.
People assume you're alone
and powerless.
But they seem to forget
that you
are still a wolf.
Master!
You're here.
I was looking for you.
Greetings, sir.
I see you have talked to him.
Allow me to introduce...
No need.
We met just now.
Then,
about our marriage...
I am
just a farmer now.
Your father
should have the final say.
What do you mean?
You're as important to me as my father.
I trust your judgment.
Cangcang,
Bai Chifan told me
that you came to have a sword made.
Quick.
Give me the Frostflame Iron.
Your Majesty,
I found something important whilst investigating
Grand Tutor Ling.
Ling Cangcang's master is likely
to be the Ghost King.
Likely, you said?
Don't you know how important he is
to Cangcang?
I can capture Li Lu
and interrogate him
before we decide.
No need for that.
If I want Cangcang to marry me,
I must pay him a visit.
If he turns out to be the Ghost King,
we can only act on a full moon's night.
Bai.
What are you doing out here?
I'm here to get some fresh air.
Did you know?
Master never lets anyone into his sword cottage.
But he lets you in.
That means you've earned his recognition.
What's wrong?
The full moon's night is near.
Indeed.
It feels like the moon here
is prettier than anywhere else.
In the past,
Master would never allow me to admire the moon
on a full moon's night.
But tomorrow is a full moon's night
and the day we'll get our swords.
I hope
he won't chase me away this time.
Cangcang.
I pray that you won't resent me.
Is it done?
Yes.
Cangcang.
Take a look.
What an amazing blade.
Master,
it is a good sword.
If that is your choice,
you should now name it.
Master,
I have already thought it through.
Can we call it
Willow?
Of course.
Thanks, Master.
Bai Chifan,
you can have this sword.
Master,
you should give it a name.
The dragon hasn't soared high,
but his reign can already be felt.
This blade
shall be called Rex.
Rex
and Willow.
Those are good names.
Consider
these two blades
my gifts to your wedding.
Bai,
thank my master already.
Thank you for the sword, sir.
Thank you, Master.
You're here.
Is Cangcang asleep already?
Without her chattering,
it feels quiet.
You shouldn't have stayed here tonight.
I'm sure your men
are all around this sword grave.
You have already noticed my plan,
yet you decided to stay.
Are you surrendering yourself?
Do you know why
Cangcang named the blade
Willow?
My daughter
was playing house with the kids from the same village.
She loved to pretend to be a heroine.
[Tombstone of Beloved Daughter, Li Xiaotang] She went out to play all the time,
and pestered me
to make her a wooden sword.
Your sword is the best sword in the world, Father.
Thank you, Father.
Should we give the sword a name?
Sure!
That day when I found my daughter,
I saw a mountain full of cadavers.
All I could find of her
was a mangled hand.
That hand
was clinging to the wooden sword tightly
but she...
She was gone.
I held her hands
and carved the name, Willow,
on it
by guiding her
step by step.
Breeze passes through the willow tree softly.
The moon shines on the haitang blossoms.
So you know
the complete codes.
On Botang Pleasure Boat,
when Jin Haitang
saw the haitang blossom pendant on Cangcang's waist,
she let us into the auction.
I suppose the pendant
was left behind by your daughter.
You are indeed using Cangcang.
She's such a sweet girl.
How could you...
So the Ghost King
has empathy?
Why did you lead the Lingbi Sect
and commit inhumane crimes then?
Factors out of our control
often bind us.
The Ghost King is but a puppet.
I don't think myself morally perfect.
I seek vengeance
and repay gratitude.
But why give your life away now?
Come to the palace with me and repent.
You will bring solace to everyone.
Heed my warning.
Stop pestering the Lingbi Sect.
If I don't die,
there will be no peace.
So make it quick.
Alas, what a cruel joke from life.
Keep the truth from Cangcang.
A promise from the emperor
shall never be broken.
Do it.
Master!
♪The rouge spilling into old snow♪
♪The waning moon in your eyes...♪
Master!
Wake up, Master!
♪Only a wisp of smoke binds the butterfly♪
♪The blood on my hairpin is my hatred♪
♪The layer of melted candle wax is my love♪
♪Only blind devotion♪
♪Can warm this heartless night♪
♪You and I♪
♪Are destined to meet on that autumn day of White Dew♪
♪And to share the red kiss of a blade upon the neck♪
♪We brew our hottest tears♪
♪Into the deadliest wine♪
♪And fall drunk at midnight, caught between dream and reality...♪
Tell me why.
♪The cinnabar between my brows has turned to icy flakes...♪
Why?
♪Is filled with my grief♪
♪If yearning for each other is a tribulation♪
♪I should've broken my sword and rejected the invitation...♪
My intervention was tardy.
Forgive me, Your Majesty.
♪Whatever fancy promises have been reduced to ashes♪
♪You and I♪
♪Hugging across from the magpie bridge and the galaxy♪
♪Shattering glazed fantasy with these sewn shoes♪
♪Using the sweetest curse♪
♪To build the coldest graveyard♪
What did he just call you?
♪Are destined to meet on that autumn day of White Dew♪
♪And to share the red kiss of a blade upon the neck♪
♪We brew our hottest tears♪
♪Into the deadliest wine♪
♪And fall drunk at midnight, caught between dream and reality♪
You killed my master.
Why would I marry you?
I want you to marry me willingly.
I, Ling Cangcang,
am willing
to marry you.
Who are you?
Ling Cangcang
or the Empress of Great Qi?
Do you love the Emperor of Great Qi?
Bai Chifan
never existed.
Bai Chifan...
Bai Chifan
never existed.
My dear.
You're awake.
Your Majesty.
How come you're here, Your Majesty?
I came in
and heard you talking in your dream.
Are you all right?
I...
I had a dream.
What is it about?
I dreamed that...
I dreamed that you were kind,
and that my master
was still alive.
And I was still
the carefree soul.
My dear...
Alas, a dream is the opposite of reality.
My master is dead.
Your Majesty, it's time to wake up.
Today is the day you return home.
Come in.
Your Majesty.
Since you have to return home today,
I understand it might be tiring.
So I
will go back to the Grand Chancellor's Manor with you.
What do you think?
You are a busy man, Your Majesty.
I shouldn't burden you
with such a trivial matter.
Your matter
is not a trivial matter
to me.
I wouldn't want to impose.
Relax, my dear.
This is a wedding gift from the young general,
Ling Jueding.
It took me a while
to locate it.
My dear,
you may take a look.
How thoughtful of General Ling.
He couldn't attend our wedding in the Capital,
yet he gave us such a meaningful gift.
He is stationed in Jiangzhou.
I can only imagine the pain he feels from being away from his family.
Maybe it'll be less miserable
if he
can secure a position in the Capital.
My dear.
You must think about the ones who are still alive.
Jueding is brave, strong,
and straightforward.
He should be a soldier.
If...
If we find him a desk job in the Capital,
I'm sure he'd hate
that kind of lifestyle.
You're right, my dear.
I didn't think of that.
In that case...
I turned your offer down,
thinking that you'd be too busy to come with me.
But if
you are willing to come home with me,
I'll be extremely delighted.
Good.
Then I
shall wait for you outside.
Do you think
His Majesty loves Her Majesty?
What are you on about?
After they got married,
His Majesty hasn't consummated with Her Majesty.
Everyone in the palace
is saying that His Majesty only married Her Majesty
for political reasons.
But seeing
His Majesty go back home with Her Majesty today,
I feel
that he does love her.
[Ling Manor]
Let's go.
♪Dust gathers on the lost paths of time♪
♪A red candle keeps the dusk company in solitude♪
♪Blurred words on faded bamboo slips♪
♪Broken speech in twisted time♪
♪The heart still hums its old song of longing♪
♪On Phoenix Terrace, the seasons weave their tales in turn♪
♪Tears fall, nourishing all living things♪
♪Be it cloud or rain, sea or flower♪
♪The annual rings carve deep and shallow scars♪
♪In the end, silence is the only reply♪
♪Oh, broken-hearted one, still you wander the world♪
♪The setting sun listens to the tide's confession♪
♪A beam of moonlight keeps the hesitant poet company♪
♪Amid the swirling mortal dust, love and hate are hopelessly entwined♪
♪Empty cups greet the dawn of parting♪
♪The heart still hums its old song of longing♪
♪On Phoenix Terrace, the seasons weave their tales in turn♪
♪That iridescent soul gleams through the drifting past♪
♪Be it cloud or rain, sea or flower♪
♪Oh, wandering soul, one day you'll find your way home♪