01x09 - Episode 9

[bunniefuu]

I just want to break free

from this prison.

I just want to live my life

without turning against my will.

Can't I do that?

Do you take me

as a prison?

Can't you see that I protect you

from the wind and rain every day?

Do you think everything will go well

when you do woodcrafting?

You're naive and foolish.

All the land in the world

belongs to the emperor!

Once the fame and fortune are gone,

the real prison awaits you!

Sir, the imperial physician,

Physician Li, has arrived.

Invite him to come in

and examine the young master.

Yes.

Tell the imperial physician to go back.

I'm not seeing him.

The physician said

if you're not meeting him,

we should show this to you.

(Blossom)

(Episode 9)

Mr. Chen, I'm bidding goodbye

to you today.

If there's any inconvenience caused,

please forgive me.

You're too serious, Mr. Song.

I'm nothing more than a commoner,

but I've been bothering you

for some time.

I am sorry.

I don't like your character,

but I know that you're talented.

Why are you willing to

work for a farm girl?

I am a tainted sinner

and I am old now.

But Young Lady Zhao didn't mind it

and took me as her servant.

I'm satisfied to live

the rest of my life in peace.

You're so willing to submit.

That makes me even more

curious about Young Lady Zhao.

Fortunately, your condition

wasn't worsened.

Take two servings each morning

and evening starting from today.

Young master, please take the medicine.

Young Lady Zhao

came here despite the danger.

-Don't let her down.

-Don't talk too much.

I thought I had made it clear last time.

Nothing in this world

is more important than your life.

Why are you torturing yourself?

I I'm not using my illness

to coerce you.

It's just that your question

got to the bottom of my heart.

I know how you feel.

But your grandfather transferred you to

be the officer of the Ministry of Rites.

Did he advise you about this?

You can't even take care of yourself.

Why bother thinking

about protecting others?

I have always respected my grandfather.

What he said was never wrong.

But the only thing is marriage.

I can't just judge

whether it's right or not

without considering willingness.

If I were not born into

a wealthy family,

if I were a poor and happy carpenter,

would I have more freedom?

There are differences

between men and women,

but in the matter of marriage,

I am almost the same as you.

You compare yourself

to this wooden bird.

I understand.

But have you ever thought about this?

People come and go

in the Grand Secretariat.

Mr. Wu mediates people

in the imperial court.

It's physically and mentally exhausting.

Whether you get married or not,

he needs your support.

If you have a successful career

and can help the Wu family

to revitalize the family fortune,

he will never force you to get married.

You can fight for freedom.

This is true no matter

what family you are born into.

I was simple-minded

and had a wild goose chase.

Keep going against my grandfather

will only hurt both of us.

If His Majesty recognizes me

and it revitalizes the Wu family,

I will have the right

to choose for myself.

Man is not a tool

made of wood and stone.

Even if you're trapped,

you should take good care of yourself.

Only then will you

have the strength to fight.

The rain has stopped.

I should go now.

Mr. Song.

Young Lady Zhao

sent me to pick up Mr. Chen.

Didn't she come?

Did something happen?

I'm just following her order.

I don't know anything else.

Please forgive me.

Mr. Song has prepared gifts for her,

but she only sent her servant over.

She's such a proud person.

Lu Ming.

Send someone to bring the gifts

to Young Lady Zhao.

-Yes.

-Goodbye.

Wait a minute!

Physician Li?

Young Lady Zhao

pretended to be Physician Li.

I caught Su Lan.

She's on the carriage.

Thank you for

your hard work, Physician Li.

Please go and rest.

Thank you so much, Mr. Song.

Lu Ming.

Yes.

Go and invite Young Lady Zhao.

Yes.

Young Lady Zhao.

Can I still see you for the fifth time?

Even if you don't change your mind,

I'm happy

that I can see you again.

If you can live happily and freely,

why bother seeing me?

Take care of yourself.

Mr. Wu.

Physician, please.

Wait a minute.

Grandfather.

This is This is the imperial

physician sent by Yan Tang.

Imperial physician?

Can you turn around

and let me take a look?

Physician Li!

Mr. Wu.

Mr. Song is meeting Physician Li

at Guanghe Restaurant.

I was asked to take Physician Li over.

In that case,

it's inconvenient

to force the physician to stay.

You were willing to see this physician.

This physician

I'm afraid her surname is Dou.

Now that you've seen her,

have a good rest.

Grandfather.

I was wrong.

Since I became mature,

you arranged everything for me.

The books that I read

The friends that I made

The teachers that I learned from

The government office

where I should work

And you even arranged for my breakfast.

Sometimes I really envy Dou Zhao

and Yan Tang.

They're unrestrained.

Grandfather.

I know the imperial court

is dangerous and unpredictable.

You're maintaining

the family status alone.

I should work hard

and strive for my best

and overcome difficulties with you.

It's Dou Shi Shu's order.

The Duke of Ding's Army at Futing

were disarmed.

The Duke of Ding is accused of

having evil intentions,

so all soldiers are deported

to their hometowns.

Young Lady Zhao

was here to hold you back.

She even caught Physician Li.

The court took action against

the Duke of Ding's Army.

This is Uncle Shi Shu's doing.

I took the risk to save Song Mo.

Everything that I did

had removed his hostility.

But it was all in vain now.

Mr. Song.

Young Lady Zhao's carriage is reaching.

Alright.

Go greet her for me.

Yes.

My lady, something's wrong.

Young Lady Zhao, you diverted

our attention to do something else.

That's a brilliant trick.

I'm asking questions

on behalf of Mr. Song.

Young Lady Zhao.

What's your explanation?

I have nothing to explain.

Mr. Song said the covenant was broken.

Chen Qu Shui

will not be returned to you.

When we meet again,

we're enemies.

My lady, why didn't you explain?

These are Fifth Master's doing.

It has nothing to do with you.

If he trusts me,

I don't have to explain.

But if he doesn't trust me,

any explanation is useless.

It's better not to say anything.

Don't blame yourself, my lady.

We can't disobey the edict.

Mr. Song, are we going to let it go?

The truth

is still unknown.

If she had planned to trick me

by doing me a favor first,

she wouldn't have

straightened De Zhen out.

We'll see how it goes.

You took all precautions,

but it wasn't enough.

Young Lady Zhao is inscrutable

while Mr. Song is soft-hearted.

It'll be safe if you marry her

and keep her at home.

I guess you're looking for fun.

You want to get smack.

I

I found you!

The Jiying Guards found some clues.

As expected.

Someone was missing.

You owe me 300 taels and

yet you dare to play tricks again.

What a bold gambler you are!

I told you.

Someone will definitely pay my debt.

Well, you treat me like a fool.

He'll be worthless

if you beat him to death.

Mr. Mei has something to ask him.

Mister, please make some room.

Here comes the person

to pay my debt.

You were once the squad leader

of the Jiying Guards.

Based on your previous position,

your annual salary

is no more than 10 taels.

But in just a few days,

you owed 300 taels.

No wonder you were dismissed.

Compared with what you want to know,

300 taels is probably

not worth mentioning.

If you lie while gambling,

your hands will be cut off.

If you lie to me,

your life will be gone!

That's for sure.

You must have checked

my background, right?

Based on the records of

from Criminal Investigation Service,

eight Jiying Guards were responsible

for the journey to the south.

I checked the directions

along the waterway.

I originally wanted to find out

the identities of these eight people.

But all the clues showed that

there were nine people.

And you

You're the ninth person.

An Su?

Why did you come here?

Mr. Ji wrote a letter from Futing.

Someone from the Maritime Trade Office

seized my ships.

They even put my family in jail!

The Fifth Master brought

a message to the farm.

He told you to cut off

your relationship with my family

and business dealings.

But there were only eight bodies

of the Jiying Guards on the ship.

I remember the looks of the eight

Jiying Guards on the ship.

Only you, Chen Jia.

You were not on the ship.

Indeed, you're like

what people say about you.

You remember everything you have seen.

Stop the nonsense! Explain it!

Chen Zu Xun, the battalion leader

who was responsible for escorting

the Duke of Ding was my adoptive father.

My name was not on the list.

He wanted me to atone for

my crimes and obtained a credit,

so he brought me along.

That night, when we

reached the Cangzhou River,

we docked for a break.

But a group of people

boarded the ship to visit.

I was taking some air at the stern.

Suddenly I heard the sound

of k*lling coming from the cabin.

They used the bandit knife of Dongyu.

But they were not using

Dongyu's sword technique.

They were excellent.

Even the Jiying Guards

couldn't compete with them.

My adoptive father

was also k*lled by them.

I was no match for them.

I escaped by jumping into the water.

Who are those people?

If you keep asking,

I'm afraid 1,000 taels is not enough.

You obviously don't know about them.

Yet you dared to bargain.

Ring finger or little finger?

I'm a gambler, to begin with.

I am treated indifferently.

I have debts.

My adoptive father, the only one

who treated me as a human being,

died a violent death.

It doesn't matter whether

it's my fingers or my life.

Take whatever you want!

Dogs salivate when they hear

the sound of a bowl being knocked.

Gamblers want to play a game when

they hear the sound of dice rolling.

You can find a future

with the skills you have.

That was why your adoptive father

refused to give up on you.

But he was blind!

You have no right to mention

my adoptive father!

The grace of parenting

is greater than ever.

Those who k*lled him

k*lled my uncle too.

You don't want to take revenge

to repay his kindness.

You want to dream and

get drunk at the gambling table,

and live without any purpose?

I've seen through it.

Be it a squad leader

or a battalion leader,

the Jiying Guards are nothing

but lackeys ordered around by others.

They're just some ants that

can be crushed to death casually.

This revenge

Even if I risk my life,

I can't take revenge!

I don't know who those people were.

But the leader was wearing

a crimson-red official uniform.

He must be someone

with fifth rank and below.

My adoptive father allowed him to pass

and greeted him as "sir".

He must be a senior official

in the imperial court.

Who ordered the Jiying Guards

to t*rture him like that?

They were under a secret order.

Before arriving in the capital,

the Duke of Ding

must admit to the crime

of having autocratic military power.

Whose secret order?

My adoptive father never revealed.

Mr. Song!

I never dare to

think about this before.

But after meeting you

and listening to what you said,

I do not want to waste my life anymore.

I want revenge.

I want my life to be clear.

Mr. Song, please fulfill my wish!

I'm willing to pay for it with my life!

How can we trust the words

of a gambler who cheats?

Tell the Count of Yunyang to find ways

to send him back to

the Criminal Investigation Service.

-Yes.

-You'll be mine from now on.

The finger

Keep it so that you can

hold the sword to fight for me.

Zhao, don't be anxious.

People from the Maritime Trade Office

have always been like this.

Their bite is worse than their bark.

They just want to get more benefits.

I'll go to Futing

to deal with it right away.

After all, this is related to

your principal and profit sharing.

I'll go with you.

What about Mr. Chen?

Based on Song Mo's personality,

he won't hurt Mr. Chen easily.

No. The Fifth Master

just sent his message.

If the Maritime Trade Office

is asking for benefits,

Uncle Shi Shu

wouldn't know about this.

He knows about this

because the imperial court

is involved in this.

I must go.

The natural disaster

in Futing is not over yet

and the soldiers are angry about it.

Someone from the

Directorate of Ceremonial is there too.

It must be an extremely dangerous mess.

We can't let Zhao take risks then.

No matter what happens,

I will definitely return the principal.

What nonsense did you say?

What I care about is not the money.

It's the business we're doing.

We can't let

someone set up our business.

If I go,

maybe I can plan for a change.

(Duke of Ying's Residence)

Yan Tang!

Mother.

Why did you come out?

General Yan said

you're going to Futing

to retrieve Jiang's belongings.

You can fool your father with this,

but not me.

Did you find some clues

about your uncle's incident?

Someone with a higher authority

is involved in this.

I must go immediately.

If it's too late,

I'm afraid all the clues will be lost.

You're just like me.

Once you make up your mind,

no one can stop you.

The emperor told Wang Yuan

to take charge of this matter.

When you're there,

no matter what you get,

never go against Eunuch Wang.

General Yan.

Please.

Rest assured, Mrs. Song.

Mother.

Don't worry.

Your safety comes first.

Don't force it.

I've lost my elder brother.

I can't afford to lose you.

Come on, put it on.

Fortunately, I mended this cloak.

Go.

Mother.

Wait for my return.

What's wrong with Zhao?

She's been like this

since she met Mr. Song.

She's probably worried

because Mr. Chen didn't return.

Zhao.

Eat something.

You've not eaten anything for a day.

I'm not hungry. You should eat.

I wonder how's the farm now.

Will something happen?

Young Lady Zhao's pulse

sounds healthy and strong.

She seems fine.

How could she be fine?

Shou Gu has blisters all over her body

and is extremely itchy.

I think you have poor skills.

You should check again.

Wait a minute!

Her pulse goes up and down.

This This is weird!

This is weird!

By the way, Young Lady Zhao,

about your blisters,

can you let me take a look?

What? Take a look my foot!

She's a lady!

You're such a pervert!

-Leave! Go prescribe the medicine!

-That's not it

Slow down

Grandmother.

How's Shou Gu?

Let me take a look.

Don't look.

Shou Gu has chicken pox.

We'll be worried

if you're infected with it.

Besides, the physician

has prescribed medicine.

She will recover in two weeks.

What's the use of having medicine only?

It's suffering to have chicken pox.

Let me take a look.

-Grandmother!

-Slowly

Grandmother, don't come in!

You're not fully recovered yet.

If you're infected too,

I'll feel even more guilty.

Look. I told you.

I had chicken pox before.

I'm the most suitable one

to take care of Shou Gu.

Just go back and have a good rest.

Don't worry. I'll give you

the chubby Shou Gu after a few days.

-Are you sure you can handle it?

-Go. You should go too.

Don't worry, I'm here.

God, God of Wealth, Guan Yu,

please bless that

Shou Gu and Su Su return safely.

Mr. Shi Shu was appointed

as the assistant imperial censor

while Mr. Wang was promoted

to Grand Secretariat.

We should meet up frequently.

Our lives will get better with Ms. Wang.

We'll just have to wait to get profits

from the money we keep with Ms. Wang

Pong!

Seventh Madam.

Excuse me.

Whose turn to draw the tile?

Seventh Madam.

Someone at the city gate

saw Young Lady Zhao and Ms. Miao

went out of the city and headed south.

I see. You may go now.

Yes.

She must be heading to Futing.

The Miaos' merchant ships

were detained by

the Maritime Trade Office in Futing.

She's anxious

as her financial path is cut off.

An unmarried girl

secretly leaves her house.

This is against the family rules.

She's giving us her weakness.

You can take the opportunity

to get her back and question her.

No rush.

If I capture her now

Well, she fails to escape.

At most, she'll be punished to kneel

in the ancestral hall for a few days.

Dou Shi Ying will feel distressed again.

Isn't she a tough one?

Futing is like a tiger's den now.

Let's see how capable she is.

(Futing)

Please Give me some food.

You can exchange tea for rice

Eight dou of tea for one dou of rice.

-Don't push!

-Here.

-Step back!

-Don't snatch it

-Everyone will get it!

-You'll have it.

-Slow down

-Everyone will get it.

Everyone will get it.

-Here.

-Don't push!

Don't push!

How did Futing become like this?

They don't even have food.

The maritime trade has been

prospering, so tea earns better.

People have switched to tea plantations.

When the Duke of Ding died,

the maritime trade stopped.

So they can't sell the tea.

That's right.

Doesn't the government care about it?

Who dares to meddle in this?

Whoever meddles in this

is the profiteer like the Miao family.

A few major tea houses funded the

Miao family when they built the ships.

But the ships are seized now

and the money is wasted.

The goods are still on the ship.

It's my father's fault. He was greedy

and didn't listen to advice.

He asked the commoner

to raise funds to build ships.

In the end, many people were harmed.

Uncle Miao didn't cheat on purpose.

So he wasn't harming anyone.

The suspension of the trading

and the seizing of the ships

are the ones that

cut off people's livelihood.

When we enter the city,

let's meet up with Ji Yong first.

The state affairs of Futing

and the intention of

the Maritime Trade Office,

he must know better than us.

Su Lan, buy some more rations.

We've got a long way to go.

Alright.

Stop right there.

Stop right there!

It's not her. Go.

Go.

You're Ms. Miao, right?

Mr. Ding Wei, the general manager of the

Maritime Trade Office invites you over.

And you.

You must be Dou Zhao, right?

Take them away.

Ji Yong.

Loosen the ties.

The Miao family secretly

communicated with the pirates.

The evidence is conclusive.

If you sign it, you're pleading guilty.

If you don't sign it, there'll be

another crime under your name.

No way.

My father will never

collude with the enemy.

The Miao family is engaged

in maritime trade.

The pirates k*ll and rob at sea.

They're being hated.

Why would the Miaos collude with them?

When the maritime trade was banned,

there were many unscrupulous people

who colluded with pirates.

He must have benefited from the pirates,

that was why he dared to collude

with them to k*ll someone.

You're suspecting that the Miao family

colluded with the pirates

to k*ll the Duke of Ding.

This is the heinous crime of murdering

the trusted adviser to the nation.

How can you simply judge the case?

Besides, Eunuch Wang Yuan

is also here in Futing.

How are you going to explain

if you make a mistake in the sentence?

You're presumptuous!

You know it's a serious crime

and you're still being loud.

Present the evidence!

Take a good look.

These knives from the pirates

were found on your ship.

It's the same as the knife

that k*lled the Duke of Ding.

This is irrefutable evidence that

you committed m*rder.

This is impossible.

I filled in the ship's account book.

We were sending tea leaves, fruits,

silk, and porcelain for this trip.

There were no weapons.

Xue Ping, the escort,

Li Gui, who did the inventory count,

and Officer Liu of the Maritime Trade

Office who filed for preliminary review

can testify to this.

Mr. Ding.

Where are those witnesses?

That's right!

That's right!

Where are the witnesses?

That's right! Present them!

Don't accuse good people!

Be quiet!

Who are you to teach me

how to handle the case?

You want witnesses, right?

Aren't you witnesses too?

Guards! Send them to the prison!

You can interrogate me.

But do not drag her into this.

She is Dou Zhao, the granddaughter

of the Cui family from Ji'an,

the eldest daughter of the Dou's

Residence in the west of the capital.

How dare you hurt her!

The Miao family's affairs

are our family affairs too.

I was ordered by my family to

clear the misunderstanding first.

My family will arrive soon.

Do you still want to frame us?

Relatives of the minister

with a higher position

Maybe I can find out

your cliques and ulterior motives.

I'll gain more credits then.

Take them away!

(Prison)

Stop.

Why didn't you

interrogate me in the hall,

in front of the crowd?

Do you know that power abuse

and confessions extorted by t*rture

are serious crimes?

You're a smart person.

I just want a documented confession.

If you testify against the Miaos,

I'll release you immediately.

The Miao family didn't do it.

Why should I testify against them?

Then don't blame me

and say I didn't give you a chance.

Well, I have interrogated

Miao An Su.

I pulled all her ten fingers.

Take a good look.

She has confessed.

Sisterly love?

If you don't testify against her,

you'll be convicted, Ms. Dou.

What are you laughing at?

I laugh at you for being foolish.

You didn't check her background

before slandering her.

Even if someone

in this world would betray me,

this person would never be Miao An Su.

You have no witness.

The case cannot be closed

if there's no witness.

So you just want to find a scapegoat.

Great.

Looks like if I

don't punish you heavily,

you will not admit it, right?

Let's see if you dare to do it!

If he doesn't dare to do it,

I dare to do it.

Song Mo?

Mr. Song.

Young Lady Zhao.

We meet again.

Mr. Ding, your finger-pinch punishment

is like children playing house.

What can you get from her?

I've long heard about how good you are

to detect lies during t*rture.

No one in the world can compare to you.

So Mr. Song,

what kind of punishment should we use?

When the flesh wound touches

the liquid from the feces,

that will tear her apart.

Song Mo has no military position now.

Why do you want to do him a favor?

Indeed, he lost his military position.

But he is the son of the Duke of Ying.

I must do him a favor

since the day he was born.

That's right.

He is at odds with the Dou family.

Wouldn't it be better

for him to finalize this case?

You're right.

My uncle's blood feud

and your deception

Today,

let's clear this up.

I have a business partnership

with the Miao family.

I earn a lot of money.

That's because the Duke of Ding

suppressed the pirates at sea.

What good will it do us to harm him?

Of course, that's your reason.

But as far as your uncle,

Dou Shi Shu, is concerned,

he makes no achievements

though he is ambitious.

k*lling my uncle

can cause chaos in the imperial court.

He may rise to great heights.

Power

is more profitable.

I told you before.

Do not lump my fifth uncle

and me together!

You lied to gain my trust

and informed your uncle of the news

and order the Duke of Ding's Army

to be disarmed and repatriated.

Shouldn't I doubt you?

Mr. Song has been fighting on

the b*ttlefield since he was a child.

He is indeed cold-hearted.

She's such a charming woman.

Yet he's ruthless to her.

It's the medicinal powder used

in the military to treat bruises.

It can cure your hand injury.

You should scream, you know.

Be serious. They're listening.

-Scold me.

-Scold you?

Yes, scold me.

Is your zodiac snake?

You sure know how to "bite" someone.

It was my fifth uncle

who was evil and confused you.

Go interrogate him if you have the guts.

Why bully me?

You knew he was covering this up, right?

Yes. But do you have evidence?

Take me to the ship.

I'll find the evidence for you.

It's so sick.

I like it.

There is one more thing.

Sixteen years ago, the maritime trade

was not established yet.

Futing made nine losses

out of ten in business.

You were far away from Zhengding

and were still young.

Why bet huge sums of money on Futing?

If not premeditated,

how did you know that

my uncle would eliminate pirates

thereby making huge profits?

It was Mr. Chen's advice.

He said the Duke of Ding was brave

and he definitely was

able to quell the trouble.

Miao An Su defended you.

She said that at the start of the year,

you had said that maritime trade

had reached its peak,

and that it was time to pull out

of the business in Futing.

It's as if

you predicted my uncle's death.

I can see that

the things you hide in your heart

are related to me.

Why won't you tell me?

Say it!

The emperor is ruthless and unjust.

He repaid kindness with hatred.

A loyal minister and

a good general died in vain.

That treacherous official,

why can't it be me, Song Mo?