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♪The white sail came too late♪

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♪Where did he go?♪

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♪Snow veils the mountains♪

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♪Love endures beyond life and death♪

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♪A black chess piece♪

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♪Whose game did he stumble into?♪

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♪All his life, there's no escape♪

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♪In ten thousand years, what will still remain?♪

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♪Will anyone still love with an unchanging heart?♪

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♪I will remember♪

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♪Those days long past♪

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♪As the wind drifts with the white sail♪

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♪Ten thousand years ago♪

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♪Did you once walk this shore?♪

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♪Why can't our bond be severed in this life?♪

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♪I am lost yet willing♪

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♪Still I love you with a steadfast heart♪

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♪Until all things fade away♪

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♪The stars will remember us♪

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[Love & Crown]

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[Adapted from the novel "My Queen" by Xie Lounan]

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[Episode 22]

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I love your baked pears the most.

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Your mother made them better.

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I can never get them to taste like hers.

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That's not true.

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I like your pears

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better than anyone's.

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Oh, yes.

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Jueding sent a letter.

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He mentioned your trip to Jiangzhou.

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That journey

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must've been hard on you.

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Not at all.

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I promised you and Mother

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I'd look after Jueding

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and make sure nothing happens to him.

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Good.

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Very good.

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By the way,

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the day after tomorrow is your mother's death anniversary.

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Come home and pay your respects.

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All right.

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Since Your Majesty plans to return home,

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there will be many things to prepare.

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This old minister

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will take his leave now.

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Father...

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the pears aren't done yet.

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I'll bake some for you next time.

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Father...

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[Ling Manor]

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[Writing]

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My Lord.

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Young Master Xianxue has returned.

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Where is he?

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He found out

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that we poisoned the Young Lady.

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I love your baked pears the most.

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Father...

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the pears aren't done yet.

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It seems...

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they already know the truth.

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My Lord,

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then won't he

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be a danger to us?

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He knows too much.

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Kill him!

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Your Majesty!

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Who's there?

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My own empress can't even recognize me?

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If I really hadn't recognized you,

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I would've started swinging at you already.

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Why are you practicing swordplay blindfolded?

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With my eyes covered,

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I can sense the shifts in the air around me,

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and my sword work can improve.

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You're working this hard

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because you're afraid I can't protect you?

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Don't say that.

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I'm the proud leader of Fenglai Pavilion.

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When it really counts,

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I can protect you too!

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You're right, Leader Ling.

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My apologies.

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Since...

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you're easy on the eyes,

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I'll let you off.

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Is my empress flirting with me?

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Can't I?

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You can.

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The day after tomorrow

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is your mother's death anniversary.

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I can go back with you.

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I think...

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I'd better go alone.

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There are things I have to face on my own.

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I can't keep running away.

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Don't worry.

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I'll take good care of myself.

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All right then.

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[Ling Manor]

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Cangcang,

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you're back.

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Father.

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I didn't see you just now,

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so I came to look for you in your study.

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The crack on this inkstone reminds me of the past.

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When I was little,

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I knocked it over by accident.

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I was scared to death,

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since

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it was your favorite inkstone.

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Back then,

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your mother risked her life to shield you

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and spared you a beating.

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I never thought

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you still remembered that.

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Of course I do.

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Your mother said,

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"It's just a crack.

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It still works fine."

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I never thought

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I'd keep using it all these years

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and still not throw it away.

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Father,

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let's go visit Mother.

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All right.

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Every year,

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you set out her favorite green plum wine

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for Mother.

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That's right.

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Your mother loved her wine.

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Whenever she got tipsy, she'd dance with her sword.

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I can never forget...

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[Spirit tablet of the late Lady Shen of the Ling clan]

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how she danced

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with her sword beneath the plum tree.

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Every little thing about her,

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every memory,

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I still remember.

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Enough of that.

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Look what I've prepared for you.

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I knew you were coming today,

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so I went to the kitchen early

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to bake you some pears.

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See? They're still warm.

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Hurry, eat them.

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I just don't know

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if this batch tastes

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anything like your mother's.

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Father,

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on our way back to the Capital,

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we were ambushed.

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The assassin...

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was Luo.

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These days,

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I've been thinking,

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thinking for a long time.

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When I saw you again,

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what should I say,

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how should I begin,

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what should I ask?

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Go ahead and ask.

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If I do,

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will you answer me?

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Will you tell me the truth?

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I will.

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You know,

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in front of your mother,

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I never lie.

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Father,

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did you

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put Lovesickness Powder into my pear blossom honey?

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I did.

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And did you...

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also poison it?

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I did.

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So...

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when you kept calling me Cangcang,

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calling me your precious daughter,

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was any of that real?

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Cangcang!

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I was absolutely certain

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His Majesty would save you!

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But you say an emperor is heartless.

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If you really believed he'd save me,

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is he heartless or not in your eyes?

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To you, Father,

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whether he's heartless or not

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depends on which answer helps you.

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And whether you love your precious daughter

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depends on whether she hinders your grand plans.

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Isn't that right?

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Cangcang,

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you... you have to believe me.

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Sometimes,

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I have no choice but to weigh and choose.

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And everything I've done...

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was for our Ling clan!

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You've already made your choice!

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You chose

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to be a ruthless Grand Tutor,

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even at the cost of your daughter's life.

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Didn't you?

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Cangcang...

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I have my own reasons!

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The hunger for power is endless.

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Stop saying it's for me,

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for the Ling clan,

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for Jueding.

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If you stop now, it's still not too late

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to turn back!

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Your Majesty,

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you want to teach me how to live?

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I can never repay

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all you've done for me.

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I only beg you:

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if you don't stop now,

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there'll be no turning back.

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Very well.

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So when Your Majesty went to my study,

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you were looking for evidence?

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Did you really think no one else would expose you?

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You mean Luo Xianxue?

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He treasures you like his own life.

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For your sake,

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he can tell you certain things.

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But do you really think

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he could come back alive?

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What did you do to him?

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Luo is the foster son

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you raised from childhood.

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And you still wouldn't spare him.

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So tell me, Father...

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what will you do with your precious daughter?

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Kill me?

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How could I bear to?

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"Her Majesty

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has returned home to mourn her late mother.

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Overcome with grief,

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she has fallen gravely ill

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and will remain here

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for a time". That is all.

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Do you really think

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His Majesty will let you live?

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With Your Majesty in my hands,

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he won't dare act rashly.

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You chose him

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because in your heart

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he's a man of feeling and honor, isn't he?

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Yet he hurt you and lied to you!

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He even killed the master you loved most.

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And now he wants to kill your father!

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And yet

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you still choose to stand with him?

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From beginning to end,

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I never meant to kill you.

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Did you think

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that by getting rid of Luo Xianxue,

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you could erase your ties to the Lingbi Sect

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and the proof of your treason and regicide?

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I have far too much evidence

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of your crimes in my hands.

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Sir,

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do you recall a move you taught me at chess?

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"Drive in a wedge

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and shatter the formation."

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So, you used Luo Xianxue as that wedge

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to lull my pieces into dropping their guard?

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That's right.

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If Luo learned you once poisoned Cangcang,

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he'd dig out the truth.

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But you would never leave

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a piece you couldn't control.

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So,

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I let him go on purpose.

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While you were busy purging your own ranks,

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I could tighten the net I'd cast.

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Secretly forging weapons,

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skimming off grain,

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rigging prices,

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controlling intelligence...

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[Letter]
As an elder of two reigns,

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you've spent years weaving your power.

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To wipe it out in one stroke

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is no easy task.

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Sir,

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for this day,

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I've been planning for many years.

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Since it's come to this,

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kill me or punish me as you please.

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I told you,

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I've never once thought of killing you.

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I'll spare your life

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and spare the entire Ling clan.

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I will not

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allow my empress

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to have a traitorous father

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and a rebel family.

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What did I always teach you?

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Remove the threat completely.

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You never soften your heart.

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Letting me go today

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might just be...

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your greatest mistake.

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♪Who♪

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♪Walks lone through storm and snow♪

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♪Reading every warmth and chill♪

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♪Of the heart?♪

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♪Who...♪

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Sir,

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take care of yourself.

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Let's go, Cangcang.

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♪My blade sweeps the heavens...♪

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Cangcang!

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♪Blood once drenched♪

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♪My armor and charging steed♪

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♪I know what it means to let go♪

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♪When to step in, when to hold back♪

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♪A broken blade cuts through♪

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♪Years of winter and summer♪

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♪Enemy flags burn to ash like gauze♪

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♪Yet my heart♪

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♪Still bears the scars of rise and fall♪

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♪I'm willing♪

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♪To wield my sword with you and burn the waning moon♪

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♪I'm willing♪

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♪To brave all storms with you, boiling with passion♪

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♪I'm willing♪

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♪To break my wings and become the blade in your hand♪

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♪I'm willing♪

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♪To write with you this torn, enduring page of history♪

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♪To live and die with you, my one and only wish in this lifetime♪

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My Lord,

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we failed to kill Young Master Xianxue.

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We await your punishment.

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He's no longer

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the Luo Xianxue he once was.

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He asked me to bring you a message.

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Speak.

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He said...

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Go back and tell my foster father

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he saved my life and raised me.

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More importantly,

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he's Cangcang's father.

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Hurting him is hurting Cangcang.

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That's something

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I would never do!

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After a lifetime

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of reading hearts,

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in the end,

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it was he who taught me a lesson.

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True.

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No one in this world

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can escape love.

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Once you care,

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you grow a weak spot.

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[Nanrong Palace]

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I never imagined

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that one day

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I'd drink tea personally brewed by you.

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Nor did I imagine

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that one day

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you'd dare come see me.

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I haven't forgotten

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who forced my mother to her death.

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The situation left us no choice.

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The late Preceptor died for the sect.

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It was not one man's doing.

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We're both smart enough.

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Spit out

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what you came to say.

25:45.423 --> 25:46.183
All right.

25:47.983 --> 25:50.503
Tell me, to this day,

25:50.943 --> 25:53.263
do you still believe

25:53.863 --> 25:57.383
you'll serve His Majesty alone all your life?

26:01.423 --> 26:02.623
What are you getting at?

26:06.423 --> 26:08.183
Here's a letter.

26:09.143 --> 26:10.743
It holds a secret I've kept

26:10.743 --> 26:12.863
for the imperial family for over ten years.

26:13.183 --> 26:14.623
You can read it.

26:16.703 --> 26:18.103
Read it on your own.

26:19.143 --> 26:20.503
When you've finished,

26:20.703 --> 26:22.103
think carefully

26:22.983 --> 26:25.343
about what I just said.

26:33.783 --> 26:35.023
It smells wonderful.

26:35.783 --> 26:38.023
This top-quality jasmine tea

26:38.463 --> 26:41.423
really does have a pure, lofty aroma.

26:42.503 --> 26:43.903
But once you taste it,

26:44.743 --> 26:45.983
it's fierce and overpowering,

26:47.103 --> 26:52.183
nothing like its calm, desireless scent.

27:11.223 --> 27:12.903
Madam, you know what?

27:13.503 --> 27:15.543
You are the late Emperor's daughter.

27:19.223 --> 27:22.623
"All living beings are trapped in love and hate.

27:23.503 --> 27:25.263
Though I serve as Imperial Preceptor,

27:26.183 --> 27:27.583
I cannot escape it either.

27:28.543 --> 27:32.623
I only pray my child can escape this crisis

27:33.063 --> 27:34.463
and grow up safe.

27:35.303 --> 27:37.303
My child truly carries imperial blood.

27:38.263 --> 27:40.423
I swear on my life!"

27:42.023 --> 27:43.143
Is this blood-letter

27:43.583 --> 27:44.423
telling the truth?

28:06.983 --> 28:07.983
Nanrong...

28:13.063 --> 28:14.223
Nanrong...

28:16.743 --> 28:19.023
No wonder I'm so unwelcome in the world!
[*"Nanrong" here means unwelcome.]

28:59.783 --> 29:02.103
[Changhe Gate]

29:37.983 --> 29:39.463
What great matter is this?

29:42.463 --> 29:43.063
I've served

29:43.783 --> 29:45.263
through two reigns as Grand Chancellor,

29:45.503 --> 29:46.703
blessed with wise rulers.

29:46.743 --> 29:49.423
I rode to war with the late Emperor,

29:49.463 --> 29:50.423
and helped Your Majesty

29:50.983 --> 29:52.223
open this golden age.

29:54.543 --> 29:56.023
That is enough

29:56.423 --> 29:57.503
for one lifetime.

30:17.263 --> 30:19.543
Now that I am old,

30:20.383 --> 30:21.783
I wish to retire to the hills

30:21.863 --> 30:23.143
and lay down my burdens.

30:23.623 --> 30:24.623
I humbly ask Your Majesty

30:25.263 --> 30:26.103
to grant this request.

30:42.263 --> 30:43.303
Granted!

30:46.423 --> 30:47.343
May Your Majesty

30:47.423 --> 30:48.903
set your heart for Heaven and Earth,

30:48.943 --> 30:50.383
give the people a sure foundation,

30:50.663 --> 30:52.903
carry on the teachings of the sages,

30:53.143 --> 30:55.703
and open an age of peace for all time!

30:56.663 --> 30:57.943
May Great Qi

30:58.023 --> 30:59.463
endure for generations,

30:59.503 --> 31:00.863
its realm forever secure!

31:01.423 --> 31:02.903
I kiss the ground in thanks

31:03.383 --> 31:05.103
for Your Majesty's grace!

31:25.783 --> 31:27.103
A power in his own age,

31:27.383 --> 31:28.783
pillar of two reigns,

31:31.463 --> 31:33.383
he retires just like that.

31:34.383 --> 31:35.263
Strike now,

31:35.703 --> 31:36.663
or he'll be a threat later.

31:51.183 --> 31:57.023
[Qi]

32:04.223 --> 32:08.983
[Fuguang Hall]

32:16.543 --> 32:18.063
I still remember

32:20.423 --> 32:22.023
it was right here

32:23.583 --> 32:25.703
you waited for me in the snow.

32:27.343 --> 32:29.303
You said you'd make me Grand Chancellor

32:31.183 --> 32:32.943
and make Cangcang your empress.

32:33.463 --> 32:34.583
I've done

32:35.343 --> 32:36.383
everything I promised.

32:38.423 --> 32:39.823
Your Majesty is true to your word.

32:40.223 --> 32:41.823
You'll always do exactly as you say.

32:42.463 --> 32:43.463
I promised to spare your life

32:44.103 --> 32:45.183
and protect the Ling clan.

32:45.543 --> 32:46.863
I'll keep my word.

32:47.183 --> 32:48.343
No need to remind me again.

32:51.183 --> 32:52.863
Then I have worried too much.

32:54.663 --> 32:57.023
I wish Your Majesty and Her Majesty good health.

32:58.343 --> 32:59.743
From this day on,

33:00.023 --> 33:01.783
I only wish to find

33:03.183 --> 33:04.623
some quiet place of retreat.

33:07.183 --> 33:08.343
I will not return

33:10.383 --> 33:11.823
to this palace again.

33:37.343 --> 33:38.823
[Ling Manor]

33:38.823 --> 33:40.663
By His Majesty's command,

33:40.983 --> 33:42.583
I am here to escort you to Deer Courtyard.

33:43.463 --> 33:44.783
Thank you, General.

34:34.423 --> 34:37.743
[Refuge in the Dharma Realm]

35:00.863 --> 35:02.223
Sir, what did you pray for?

35:04.423 --> 35:05.903
To retire in peace.

35:06.623 --> 35:08.183
Nothing more.

35:12.783 --> 35:15.183
And what do you wish for, General Lu?

35:17.343 --> 35:18.783
Only that the one in my heart

35:20.023 --> 35:21.143
stays safe and well.

35:22.623 --> 35:28.023
So, you're a man of feeling too.

35:31.703 --> 35:32.783
[Wuying Hall]

35:32.783 --> 35:35.783
Madam, you don't look well lately.

35:36.143 --> 35:38.903
You seem very pale.

35:40.343 --> 35:42.383
I have an urgent matter and must see His Majesty.

35:43.863 --> 35:46.063
Is His Majesty really not here?

35:47.023 --> 35:47.863
I know...

35:48.703 --> 35:50.543
he hasn't wanted to see me lately,

35:51.063 --> 35:52.983
but this time it's truly important.

35:53.703 --> 35:55.503
Please, I beg you.

35:55.703 --> 35:56.423
Madam,

35:57.303 --> 35:59.343
His Majesty truly isn't here.

36:01.503 --> 36:02.423
Eunuch Feng,

36:04.543 --> 36:05.663
where is he?

36:07.023 --> 36:08.423
Where is he?

36:10.863 --> 36:11.623
Madam,

36:12.063 --> 36:14.263
forgive this old servant.

36:14.863 --> 36:16.783
His Majesty truly isn't here.

36:22.583 --> 36:25.863
[Wuying Hall]

36:30.183 --> 36:31.343
Your Majesty...

36:44.703 --> 36:45.503
Madam,

36:46.663 --> 36:48.943
shall I summon the imperial physician to take a look at you?

36:49.183 --> 36:51.583
Physician Li is in the palace.

36:53.383 --> 36:54.423
No need...

36:55.623 --> 36:56.663
No need...

36:58.503 --> 36:59.583
No need...

37:08.583 --> 37:09.343
Madam,

37:10.463 --> 37:12.943
the wintersweet in the imperial garden is in full bloom.

37:13.503 --> 37:15.103
Why not go and have a look?

37:54.263 --> 37:55.063
Cangcang,

37:55.863 --> 37:57.143
it's all over now.

38:02.063 --> 38:03.263
I often wonder

38:04.343 --> 38:05.943
if we had never begun,

38:07.023 --> 38:08.583
would things be different?

38:09.503 --> 38:10.343
Don't.

38:11.303 --> 38:12.303
There are no what-ifs.

38:12.903 --> 38:13.703
Everything

38:14.263 --> 38:15.503
has already begun.

38:20.463 --> 38:22.023
Sky so vast, wild plains so wide...

38:22.983 --> 38:24.703
My mother named me Cangcang
[*"Cangcang" means vast.]

38:25.823 --> 38:28.303
hoping that in this vast world

38:28.903 --> 38:30.063
I could live free and easy.

38:30.703 --> 38:32.903
If she could see me like this now,

38:34.063 --> 38:35.423
what would she think?

38:39.183 --> 38:39.943
Father said

38:40.863 --> 38:42.223
when you were fourteen,

38:43.023 --> 38:44.863
you waited for him all night at Xishi Gate.

38:48.303 --> 38:49.783
It wasn't quite all night.

38:50.783 --> 38:53.143
I knew he would enter by Xishi Gate,

38:54.143 --> 38:56.383
so I went there at the Yin Hour to wait for him.

38:57.183 --> 38:57.983
That day,

38:58.663 --> 38:59.583
snow was falling thick,

39:00.183 --> 39:01.063
and it was bitterly cold.

39:17.983 --> 39:18.823
Your Highness,

39:19.023 --> 39:20.583
you've always been frail.

39:21.183 --> 39:23.863
Why suffer the cold here to wait for me?

39:24.383 --> 39:25.583
Sir, is your daughter

39:26.063 --> 39:27.463
named Cangcang?

39:27.503 --> 39:28.383
Your Highness,

39:28.543 --> 39:31.063
I do have a girl named Cangcang.

39:31.143 --> 39:32.223
She's eight this year,

39:32.463 --> 39:33.543
and terribly mischievous.

39:35.703 --> 39:36.783
Sir, are you willing

39:36.863 --> 39:39.983
to betroth her to me as my future empress?

39:44.863 --> 39:45.903
Your Highness,

39:46.263 --> 39:48.863
do you know what you're saying?

39:49.303 --> 39:50.103
Today,

39:50.623 --> 39:52.063
I stand here in snow,

39:52.343 --> 39:53.943
waiting for you.

39:54.063 --> 39:57.023
I know exactly what I'm saying.

40:05.623 --> 40:07.903
Your Highness, rise!

40:12.623 --> 40:13.783
Teacher,

40:13.903 --> 40:15.863
please accept my bow!

40:18.503 --> 40:21.063
If one day, I ascend the throne,

40:21.503 --> 40:22.983
I will make you the Grand Chancellor,

40:23.023 --> 40:24.783
and make Cangcang my empress.

40:27.423 --> 40:29.063
Get up!

40:30.423 --> 40:31.703
You must be cold...

40:35.183 --> 40:35.983
So,

40:36.783 --> 40:38.863
how did your father see that day?

40:40.143 --> 40:41.863
Father said our engagement

40:42.503 --> 40:44.583
was a deal struck ten years ago.

40:47.783 --> 40:49.263
He was being kind.

40:50.343 --> 40:51.303
Ten years ago...

40:52.543 --> 40:54.103
what right did I have

40:54.143 --> 40:55.583
to bargain with Grand Tutor?

40:56.783 --> 40:57.783
I was only clinging

40:58.463 --> 41:00.583
to a last lifeline.

41:02.783 --> 41:03.783
Father also said

41:04.583 --> 41:05.783
that you from ten years ago

41:06.223 --> 41:08.503
were no different from the man he is now.

41:10.903 --> 41:11.703
No.

41:12.903 --> 41:15.343
Back then, I only wanted to live.

41:17.063 --> 41:17.823
Cangcang,

41:18.383 --> 41:19.943
I am indeed a chess player.

41:21.103 --> 41:21.863
All my life,

41:22.263 --> 41:23.543
I've been playing the game,

41:24.383 --> 41:26.103
weighing gain and loss with every move.

41:27.063 --> 41:28.703
But taking you as my wife

41:29.623 --> 41:31.063
is the best thing

41:31.503 --> 41:32.783
all my plotting ever won me.

41:40.103 --> 41:41.423
And hiding my true origins

41:41.583 --> 41:43.463
was just another move in your game?

41:43.983 --> 41:46.583
He's weighed gains and losses...

42:04.423 --> 42:09.623
♪Who walks lone through storm and snow♪

42:10.143 --> 42:13.703
♪Reading every warmth and chill♪

42:14.303 --> 42:17.463
♪Of the heart?♪

42:18.863 --> 42:23.623
♪Who stands proud against a thousand weights♪

42:24.023 --> 42:27.823
♪Grace only a mask he wears?♪

42:27.943 --> 42:31.143
♪My blade sweeps the heavens♪

42:31.703 --> 42:34.583
♪Blood once drenched♪

42:34.863 --> 42:38.063
♪My armor and charging steed♪

42:38.343 --> 42:40.943
♪I know what it means to let go♪

42:41.383 --> 42:45.263
♪When to step in, when to hold back♪

42:45.703 --> 42:48.823
♪A broken blade cuts through♪

42:48.983 --> 42:51.983
♪Years of winter and summer♪

42:52.383 --> 42:54.903
♪Enemy flags burn to ash like gauze♪

42:55.223 --> 43:00.943
♪Yet my heart still bears the scars of rise and fall♪

43:01.103 --> 43:07.063
♪I'm willing to wield my sword with you and burn the waning moon♪

43:08.023 --> 43:14.223
♪I'm willing to brave all storms with you, boiling with passion♪

43:14.623 --> 43:21.183
♪I'm willing to break my wings and become the blade in your hand♪

43:21.983 --> 43:28.183
♪I'm willing to write with you this torn, enduring page of history♪

43:28.783 --> 43:34.903
♪I'm willing to travel thousands of miles, seeking your ambition♪

43:35.823 --> 43:42.103
♪I'm willing to give my life to keep you safe for a lifetime♪

43:42.303 --> 43:45.503
♪I'm willing to sing through every farewell and wait for you another thousand years♪