01x40 - Fighting Against the Quanrong Army

[bunniefuu]

[Episode 40]

k*ll!

k*ll!

k*ll!

k*ll!

Miao Miao!

Someone, help!

- Fang Miao Miao!
- Fang Miao Miao!

Hurry, someone!

Miao Miao.

Fang Miao Miao.

Am I dying now?

- Miao Miao.
- Miao Miao.

Xiao Ran.

I am here.

Wang Shi Er.

Lin Mu.

I am here.

I am done playing games with you.

Miao Miao!

Fang Miao Miao!

No!

Miao Miao!

Huan Huan.

In the next life, let's be brothers again.

A gentleman keeps his word.

Don't break this promise.

Xing Er.

I am here.

Zhuge Yue.

Xing Er.

Zhuge Yue.

At last, you have come for me.

Sorry, I am late.

Xing Er.

Xing Er.

Xing Er.

Xing Er!

Xing Er.

Wait for me!

Hurry!

Come, hurry!

Stop.

Leping Lane, Chu's Residence.

Thank you.

Take care.

Hey.

You two look very sneaky.

You both look awfully unfamiliar.

You are not locals, are you?

We are...

merchants from Yanbei.

We are looking for Leping Lane.

Little one, do you know where that is?

I would never help sneaky people like you
find your way.

I could take you to Leping Lane.

Why are you helping these baddies?

Brother, Mother always says,

we must always stand up for what is right,

and lend a hand when there is trouble.

Especially for a handsome uncle
and a beautiful sister.

But Father always says,
there is no use in being good-looking alone.

We should be like him and Mother,

both beautiful and skilled in martial arts.

That is what true role models are.

Little ones,
you are all so very lovely as well.

Most good-looking I have ever seen.

Really?

Really.

Even more good-looking than me.

Someone finally said
something nice about Brother.

Since you are honest people,
come on, follow me.

Time for the shadow puppets!

Shadow puppets! Hurry!

It is starting!

Come watch the shadow play, everyone!

Pretty child,

why did you bring us here for a shadow play?

This is Ximeng City's
most famous shadow puppet show.

Every newcomer has to see it
the first time they visit.

You are lucky to see it
as soon as you arrive.

Speaking of Ximeng City as it is now,

it was founded by King of Ximeng
and General Chu Qiao.

General Chu Qiao

once stood shoulder to shoulder
with King of Yanbei, Yan Xun,

bound together by the trust
of comrades-in-arms.

She was also a confidante
of the late emperor of Biantang.

Truly, a remarkable woman.

A most extraordinary soul indeed.

Back then, the people of Great Yong
had yet to rouse from their slumber.

They were still bound
in the shackles of sl*very.

Great Yong resented Ximeng
for declaring its own rule.

So they sent their armies
to lay siege to Ximeng.

General Chu Qiao led her men
to face the armies of Great Yong.

In the final battle against Great Yong,

General Chu Qiao
joined forces with Zhuge Yue,

who was still the strategist of Great Yong,

and at last turned the tide
and claimed victory.

- Bravo!
- Wonderful!

Don't be fooled by how simply
the shadow play tells it.

Back then, such loyalty and cunning
were needed on both sides.

Even General Chu herself thought
Zhuge Yue had fallen.

Brother makes it sound
even more exciting than the shadow play.

From then on,
Great Yong never regained its old glory.

And then, the tribes of Quanzhong
slipped in amidst the chaos.

They sent their armies
sweeping across the land.

General Chu rallied
and rode to the front once more,

joining forces with Ximeng and Yanbei,

and the armies of Biantang
and Great Yong too.

Together, they struck a mighty blow
against Quanzhong.

- Bravo!
- Well done!

- Bravo!
- Wonderful!

But in this battle,
General Chu was gravely wounded.

She was close to death.

She fell to the ground on the b*ttlefield,

yet her heart was still with the common folk.

Little Uncle, don't worry.

General Chu is alive and well.

She may have been gravely hurt in battle,

but Zhuge Yue braved through the battle
and carried her safely home.

Thanks to the great healer, Xiao Ran,

she was brought back from the brink.

Pretty little brother,
how do you know so much?

Zhuge Yun Zhou, Zhuge Yun Sheng.

- Father!
- Father!

- Father!
- Hurry!

If you don't get home now,
you will get a spanking.

A spanking.

Tell Father what you played at today.

Open the door. All right, softly now.

Don't let your mother catch on.

So you do remember where home is.

Cheeky things.

Handsome little uncle.

Yan Xun.

You two are just in time.

We are in the middle of things,
come lend a hand.

Let's do it together.

Come, have some meat.

Meat is ready, everyone!

[36 Years Later]

Chu.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, have you dreamt
of General Xiuli once again?

Where is Queen Helian?

Slowly, Your Majesty.

You are lost again, Your Majesty.

Queen Helian has been gone these ten years.

Ten years?

If you wish to remember her, Your Majesty,

when you return from the hunt,

perhaps visit her at the imperial mausoleum.

Outside the tent, someone is waiting.

It is General Helian Tu.

She says Emperor Changzhao of Biantang
has sent a new treaty of goodwill.

She wishes to discuss this with you.

Emperor Changzhao, Li Xiu Yi.

How long was it since Li Ce passed away?

Your Majesty,

the late Emperor of Biantang
departed this world 46 years ago.



I have grown old as well.

[Helian Tu from the Helian tribe]

Helian Tu, at your service, Your Majesty.

Speak.

Your Majesty,
as is the custom every five years,

the Emperor of Biantang
has sent a state letter.

Following precedent,
they have added a new policy for trade.

Should Your Majesty approve,

they wish to send 30 emissaries to Yan.

They will come to the capital of Yan,
bearing gifts,

to forge a bond of friendship with Yanbei.

Noted.

Besides, our northeastern border

was disturbed several times last month
by the Quanrong.

Luckily, their numbers were few.

They only raided the border villages,

and didn't come any nearer.

I stationed our men in ambush nearby,
and we ambushed their band.

It turned out they were only

a band of brigands roving
between Yanbei and Ximeng.

This year has seen bitter cold,

so the Quanrong lands
are near impossible to endure.

How is Ximeng faring?

Ximeng?

Is Ximeng well?

Are they still alive?

Your Majesty, the canal we are building
with Ximeng is underway.

By next year, boats may sail it.

Last month, the King of Ximeng
set forth the Seedling Law,

the Market Exchange Law,
and the Trading Court Statute,

and made a new decree.

He declared each month shall have one day
for all to voice petitions.

By Xi...

You may all go now.

I am weary.

As you command, Your Majesty.

[To Zhuge Yue]

I don't accept this.

It is not only my word.

King of Ximeng,
you may not call yourself king,

no matter what,
you are still a person of standing.

How could you possibly know
the matters of us commoners?

You want me to pay him 45 coins,

then how will you explain my losses?

What loss have you suffered, really?

Your family's chickens wandered
into my barley field and ruined it.

You have so many chickens,

but I'm only asking for
one mu's worth of harvest.

You got off lightly, if anything.

Were it not for my own land
being taken to build the new road,

I would never have moved in
beside your family.

My chickens would not have
feasted on your land's crops at all.

Well, that is nothing to do with me.

- Enough.
- Those were your chickens.

You have not heard, have you?

This year's new Market Exchange Law says

any land used to build the new road
means the owner gets compensation.

What luck is this?
They are giving out money for nothing?

That money does not
just appear from thin air.

Ximeng is building this new road
to make trading with Biantang easier.

This way, the sea-buckthorn berries

get sent to Biantang faster than ever.

The profit from those berries
is where the compensation comes from.

Take them away now.

Yes.

Make way!

- They want to force me into sl*very!
- Stop!

Stop!

- Don't run!
- Move aside!

- Stop!
- Your Majesty!

Your Majesty, save me!

- Stop there!
- Your Majesty, save me!

They want to buy me as a sl*ve!

Get up.

sl*very was abolished in Ximeng years ago.

By law,

selling or trading sl*ves in secret
is a grave crime.

Who dares try to make her a sl*ve?

Your Majesty, please judge the truth.

Our young master issued a marriage contract.

Everything was arranged
by a proper matchmaker.

It is not sl*ve trading at all.

You bought off my father
with your bride price.

No one even cared what I thought.

How is that any different
from trading a sl*ve?

Your father accepted our bride price.

So you are our young master's bride.

No point in complaining here.

You...

Yun Chu Qiao?

Your name is Chu Qiao?

Yes. Is there a problem with that?

My dream is to be like her,
and become a woman general too.

That is why I gave myself this name.

So the reason you are fleeing your marriage

is because you wish
to become a woman general?

Yes. I am going to join the Ximeng army.

The b*ttlefield is not some game
for children.

You are nimble enough.

But your training still
leaves much to be desired.

You ambushed me.

If you have got the nerve, let's go again.

Take this to General Chu.

She will allow you into the Ximeng army.

If you prove yourself enough
to become a centurion,

your pay will be 150 coins a month.

In under two years,

you will have earned back
what your father took as a bride price.

See this?

This bears the personal seal
of the King of Ximeng.

From today, I am part of the Ximeng army.

My father took your money.

I shall pay every coin back.

Thank you.

They have settled it.

[To Zhuge Yue]

It is already March, yet snow still falls?

Ximin Mountains have always been like this.

But wait just a month and a half more,

the weather will finally turn warm.

Once the snow melts from the peaks

and lake water from Ximin spills down,

that will be spring's true arrival.

The grasslands of Yanbei will be thick
with green grass and clear water.

The herders are in for a bountiful year.

Your Majesty!

Zhuge Yue,
I have a craving for Yanbei hotpot.

Am I too late?

You have come at the perfect moment.

The hotpot is just beginning to simmer.

Li Ce.

Have you ever truly loved someone?

Your Highness.

No beauty lasts for all eternity.

Yet a pleasing face still delights the heart.

Qiao Qiao,

I like you.

Your Majesty, you are here again,
waiting on General Xiuli.

Qiao Qiao!

Qiao Qiao!

Qiao Qiao has returned in triumph.

Qiao Qiao!

Could you, for a little while,
pretend I am that person?

Until the day you can truly let him go,

and your heart no longer aches.

If you are not yet ready for marriage,

we shall pretend this day never came.

I shall wait for you,
for as long as you need.

Until the day you love me back.

I shall wait until you truly wish
to become my wife.

You are already becoming a mother,

yet still you don't know how to be careful.

Soon there will be three of us,
a real family,

celebrating our first festival as one.

I shall never be alone again.

I am truly happy.

I long for a life that is my very own.

To find a place where no one knows my name.

To live simply, to live freely.

And you, General Cheng?

Let's set off for Yunzhou.

Or anywhere your heart longs for.

We shall live a life
meant for just the two of us.

Helian!

A woman ought to bear herself
as a woman should.

May I borrow your horse?

Why does everyone
insist on borrowing my horse?

My horse has already been borrowed.

Now, I have only this donkey left
for the mill.

Zhao Che.

Lay down your burdens,

and come away with me.

All right.

Let's go together.

[Qingshan Court]

Brother Shi Yi.

At long last, we are free of duty.

Where will you wander next?

The world is wide. Anywhere is fine with me!