♫ The ones standing on the top of the thistles and thorns to look up ♫
♫ will see through vicissitudes of life ♫
♫ In this city where both good and evil are hiding from each other, ♫
♫ I will survive with you ♫
♫ That ray of light guides me to overcome sorrow by its brightness ♫
♫ Meeting you at that time means you're my destiny ♫
♫ Desires wear down the edges and corners of my heart and ♫
♫ laugh at forever-losing leniency ♫
♫ I insist on being the grain which cannot be burned down by the wildfire ♫
♫ to feed the love ♫
♫ Standing in the center of the surges, winds are my thoughts ♫
♫ Rain is the hunting ground urging the horse to fight back ♫
♫ Lift up my head to look at the non returnable times at a distance ♫
♫ The torch in front of my eyes is surging ♫
♫ The sky is getting darker and darker ♫
♫ The path is getting longer and longer ♫
♫ I know hearts cannot waver ♫
♫ Whoever dares to be a king during the chaos of the world ♫
♫ will stop evils with all his might for sure ♫
♫ Then there is hope ♫
[Princess Agents]
~ Episode 26 ~
[Heaven Prison]
Timing and Subtitles brought to you by The Dancing Fingers Team @ Viki.com
Yan Xun,
you have to live on.
You must climb up even if you are stepped into the mud.
Only when you are alive can you see hope.
Only when you are alive can you fulfill your desires.
Only when you are alive,
can you take back what belongs to you.
The world is not fair after all.
You can't depend on others in this world.
The only one who you can depend on is yourself.
I want to live.
You need to live.
I swear to the sky of Northern Yan.
I will take back
those I have lost.
I will massacre Chang'an City.
You have to live to go back to Northern Yan.
Xian Wan, you are responsible for killing the guards of Heaven Prison by 11 p.m.
in case they send a signal for reinforcements.
Remember, be quick and quiet.
You must finish within half an hour.
Yu Jiang, you lead the second team in an ambush
outside Knights Camp to support us.
Your task is to temporarily disconnect the communication
between Knights Camp, Chang'an Manor, and Heaven Prison.
And try to stall the soldiers for an hour while we are executing our tasks.
Yes.
Si Xuan, Si Die, Feng Mian and I will lead people to break into Heaven Prison.
It doesn't matter if it is by sudden forced attack or we secretly sneak through.
Even if we have to sacrifice lives to make a path,
we must get Heir Apparent out within fifteen minutes.
Heir Apparent is probably heavily injured and unable to move freely.
We must escort him to Boutique Shop on Zhuque Road before daybreak.
There will be people in the shop for our aid.
Once the Heir Apparent arrives, we will split into three troops.
Through east, west and north gates,
we will use force to get out of the town.
At the gate, I have arranged our people there.
Once our people have arrived, we will use force to take control of the gates.
We just need half an hour.
After we get out of the town, we will burn down the gates.
At the same time, Yu Jiang and Xian Wan, you guys at your respective locations, start fires, create chaos
to give us more time to escape.
Yes.
Everybody, time is short.
We don't have time for a more careful plan.
We've suffered great losses in the previous action.
We may not have enough people.
But our Duke's whole family were killed.
Heir Apparent is at stake.
We can only go for it.
I hope everyone will work closely with each other and sacrifice your life
in order to keep the last bloodline of the Duke.
Yes. Miss, be at ease.
- Act immediately! - But it's not time yet.
Yu Jiang's part hasn't started yet.
No time to consider that. If Heir Apparent is in danger,
no matter how much we do, it's useless.
You can never avoid meeting your enemy.
Go!
Mister... This... This—
Open the door!
Heir Apparent Yan Xun is so blessed.
He has become a stray dog.
Not only is a beauty keeping him company, but also gets many visits.
What are you doing here?
I am here visiting you.
We were once friends. Now you are in trouble,
it's natural for me to show my condolences.
Why are you looking at me like that?
Do you hate me a lot?
You shouldn't.
I just killed your pregnant older sister.
Comparing to the killing of your father by Yuwen Huai,
the massacre suggested by Wei Guang,
and the arrow Yuwen Yue shot at you,
I am being kind-hearted.
What happened? Do you still not know?
Do you think His Majesty would terminate your father without a reason?
He has asked Yuwen Yue to collect information about your family with the Spy Network of Heavenly Eyes long ago.
You didn't know that, did you?
Your best friend already knew about this situation but he didn't tell you.
They are the executioners on your way to hell.
You're talking nonsense.
That day when you escaped from Chang'an,
who shot you after that? It was him!
He was afraid that no one would know, so he spread the news among the whole of Chang'an.
Even His Majesty appreciated him a lot.
His Majesty wants the official to die and the official is forced to die.
Yan Xun, you and I never had hatred between each other.
But it's too bad that your family's luck isn't good.
You could have annoyed anybody else, but you chose to annoy me, Zhao Xifeng.
I, Zhao Xifeng, have experienced everything in life.
I have never experienced any unfavorable situation before in my life.
Today, I won't kill you.
Don't you really love this woman?
I will cut all her fingers off.
Then, I'll see if you still like her.
You dare!
Go.
Ah Chu!
Stop.
Don't move.
Behave yourself!
Let her go.
Lowly wench! You owe me! Remember?
Zhao Xifeng!
I'll kill you!
You'll kill me?
You are worse than a stray dog right now.
I can kill you with one finger. You want to kill me?
Hurt me.
Your life is low.
I don't need to kill you. Someone will help me kill you.
I just need a few fingers and that's enough.
If you want fingers, cut mine off.
I'll pay you back!
What a pitiful couple.
As friends, if you want to be an affectionate boy, I can help you.
Cut it off yourself.
Yan Xun. Don't do it, Yan Xun.
Do it!
Let her go.
Return them to me.
Yan Xun.
Don't, Yan Xun!
Yan Xun!
Yan Xun, did you forget what I told you?
Don't be like this. Don't.
Do it.
No! No! My life is cheap! Please don't!
Please don't! Yan Xun!
Who says your life is cheap?
To me, your life is more important than anything else.
Yan Xun.
Let me go!
Yan Xun.
Zhao Xifeng, are you satisfied?
No, I'm not! What I want is your whole hand.
You only gave me one finger. What does that mean?
I'll kill you.
Ah Chu!
Miss Yu, people from Knights Camp will arrive soon.
It's not doable. Let's retreat!
If we all die, Heir Apparent will have no hope then.
- Retreat! - Retreat! Retreat!
You Highness, the officers are arriving soon.
We will also retreat.
Commandant Zhao, someone is here to break-in into the jail.
Our people can't stop them.
It's better for you to retreat through the back door.
Let's go.
Ah Chu, stop crying.
I'm fine.
Your finger is cut off.
How will you hold a sword?
How... How will you shoot arrows?
Look, it's only the little finger of my left hand.
It wouldn't affect me from holding a sword or shooting arrows.
It wouldn't affect my bow draw.
Don't cry anymore.
I only cut off one finger.
Seeing you being tortured by others
is more painful than me dying.
[Criminal Justice]
The person who killed Official Luo has been captured but the person already died.
Just recently two groups of people came and started fighting outside.
Who knows why?
- Are the prisoners okay? - Originally, they were fine.
But Mr. Zhao Xifeng came and wanted to chop off the woman's hand.
And then?
Heir Apparent stopped him.
He cut off his own finger in place of hers.
Mr. Yue! Mr. Yue!
How are your injuries?
It won't kill me.
- Yan Xun— - You don't need to say anything.
I just want to ask you.
Back when I escaped from Chang'an,
was the last arrow that shot me
your Icy Snow Arrow?
It was mine.
His Majesty ordered you to secretly gather the evidence of Northern Yan's rebellion.
Is that true?
Yes.
When Zhao Dongting sent my mother back to Northern Yan,
he took a detour to North River Camp to lead 50,000 fine soldiers.
Did you knew that, too?
I knew.
You long knew that His Majesty wanted to kill my father.
Yan Xun,
I've been hinting to you.
That day,
before you boarded Forever Serene Platform to supervise the executions,
had you thought of your so called "hints?"
The ten years of friendship
was all about the life and death of my Northern Yan clan.
I can't believe you only hinted to me!
Didn't you steal the Duke of Northern Yan's letter to Yan Xun
and give it to His Majesty?
How did you know?
Yuwen Yue,
I, Yan Xun, can't have you as a friend.
Just leave.
Timing and Subtitles brought to you by The Dancing Fingers Team @ Viki.com
If anyone else comes here, send a letter to Mister.
Medicine and food must be the cleanest.
If anything else happens to Heir Apparent Yan Xun, Mister won't let you off the hook.
Yes. Yes. I understand. I understand.
They fought for an hour. All have injuries.
After people from Knights Camp arrived, some people ran off.
The corpses Chang'an Manor took are all strangers.
But after looking at the style of the weapons and the martial arts,
they look more like people from Jianghu.
But the reason of their fighting and killing in front of the Heaven Prison's door is still under investigation.
Does this need to be investigated?
How is it possible for Jianghu people to break into the heavily guarded Heaven Prison?
Song'er,
do you really not understand
or are you acting stupid in front of me?
I wouldn't dare.
You're naturally kind. I don't blame you.
But you need to remember one thing.
You must have your own position when making friends.
The Yan Xun's family has been labeled as rebellious.
Making a friend out of an enemy
will injure other people and yourself.
I know I was wrong.
All this isn't important anymore.
The important thing right now is that the remaining people in Yan Shicheng's gang
are still resisting stubbornly.
The territory that has been captured needs someone to govern it.
Song'er, how about you going on my behalf?
Emperor Father,
- do you want me... to go? - Yes.
I—
Forget it.
You're too soft.
You don't understand the military
and you have no ability to deal with important matters.
If only Che'er were here.
He's the best candidate.
Then should we ask Seventh Older Brother to return?
Emperor Father, Luo Yongchen is dead.
Should we send someone to replace him?
We will talk about it later.
Then Emperor Father, I will take my leave now.
Emperor Father doesn't want someone to replace Official Luo.
Maybe there is no suitable candidate.
How is it not possible to find a suitable candidate?
Obviously, they want to turn Heaven Prison into dereliction.
Emperor Father's attitude is clearly telling everyone
that he didn't really want to forgive Older Brother Yan Xun.
If anyone has any injustice and hatred, they can use this opportunity to do what—
Chun'er,
you can't reproach Emperor Father.
But that's really his intentions.
Chun'er.
Older Brother, tell me how pitiful Older Brother Yan Xun is.
Why does Emperor Father still have to treat him like this?
Whenever I close my eyes,
the scene of Forever Serene Platform is still sticking out and stunning.
I'm already so hurt and sad, not even mentioning Older Brother Yan Xun.
How much pain and hate do you think he feels in his heart?
Timing and Subtitles brought to you by The Dancing Fingers Team @ Viki.com
[Heaven Prison]
You woke up.
Are you thirsty? I will pour you some water.
Slowly.
Hurry and drink.
You haven't eaten the entire day.
You must be starving, right?
I'm fine.
Prison Officer! Prison Officer!
What's wrong? What's wrong?
What's wrong? Oh, Master Heir Apparent woke up.
- Do you have anything to eat? - Yes, I do.
Mr. Yue of Yuwen Manor has instructed me
to take good care of you two's nutrition. Please wait.
Heir Apparent, your food.
Here. If you need anything, please let me know.
- Thank you. - You're welcome. I will leave now.
Here. Drink it.
Ah Chu,
have you eaten yet?
I'm not hungry.
You should eat some or you'll damage your body from hunger.
Is it delicious?
It's delicious.
Ah Chu,
I actually wanted to bring you back to Northern Yan to live a good life.
But I never thought that I would have you fall this far with me.
I'm sorry.
I'll never promise you anything again.
If I have the chance, I will find ways to save you.
Yan Xun,
before you were Heir Apparent, I never looked up to you.
Now you are in a difficult situation, why would I look down on you?
I am willing to be your friend.
Not because you are Heir Apparent of Northern Yan, but as a person.
Also, I don't think the current situation is that bad.
Look. We have food and shelter, and our lives.
I believe
you will rise again one day.
When that happens, I still need to live the good life with you.
Let's say, after you and I go to Northern Yan, what should we do?
Open a dojo.
I know how to fight.
No, I don't want to fight and kill anymore.
Also, you've said that Northern Yan is very peaceful.
The people there are free.
Didn't you say that I can practice my horse riding skill at Xiuli mountain?
Then I can open a horse stable.
At that time, I will ride on a handsome horse
leading millions of troops. It would look so cool.
Whoever dares mess with me, I'll have you send soldiers to beat them up.
I want to live a life to bully other people, too.
Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.
Xing'er. Xing'er. Xing'er. Xing'er.
There's someone secretly protecting Yan Xun?
Yes.
Do you know who it is?
I still don't know.
I've sent people to go investigate.
The documents Your Majesty instructed the Ministry of Official Personal Affairs to prepare
for the past three years of all the officers' reviews,
evaluations, background
have been compiled together and delivered here.
Is there a suitable person to go to Northern Yan?
Zhao Gui's son,
Officer Zhao Dongting, can be a person to train.
He is reckless in killing, just a person who can only do martial arts.
Wei Guang's nephew, Wei Shuye, is loyal and diligent.
From this generation, he is considered as one of the outstanding ones.
He cannot make decisive decisions and be given important tasks.
Prince Jin's only son, Jin Han,
is really smart, agile and outstanding.
Is it true that our Great Wei
has no talent besides the descendants of the feudal families
and descendants of the officials?
Officer of Ji State, Li Xian, was born from a poor family and
has smart tactics.
But this guy is quite old since he is around the age of 50 to 60.
Older people are more stable than younger people.
This isn't a weakness.
[Li Xian]
The general of Yulin, Jiang Wei,
has served under General of Knights, Yang Ming, before
and has lot of experience in the battlefield.
He is careful with the usage of his soldiers and is very knowledgeable.
He is a scholar officer who is hard to come by.
It's too bad, his birth is lowly.
He has been a household servant to Yang Ming before.
As long as he has true ability,
his birth won't be a hindrance.
Your Majesty is right.
Officer Sun Ye from Zhu State,
even though he is a literary officer, he has military knowledge.
He has led his villagers to defend the roving bandits.
He is a practical person.
The court has too many people who empty talk
and lacks people who are able to do things.
Your Majesty, you definitely have an eye for hidden talent.
They can only be here with Your Majesty to serve the country and give everything that they have.
[Sun Ye]
[Qingshan House]
Mister, this is the record from these past three years of the officials' promotion evaluations.
It's all right here.
Help me pick up all sons
from feudal families, officers and royals.
And then remove the ones that are higher than rank 4 who have many connections,
get frequent promotions and have good connection with feudal families.
Yes.
I don't want the ones who do not know martial arts.
I don't want those without family members.
I don't want Northern Yan people.
I don't want people who don't have military experience.
Within this list of people,
pick out any Northern Huai people for me.
Mister, there are only these 3 left.
Release the information.
Yes.
Chun'er, do you trust what Yuwen Yue said?
I've always lived within the palace.
Even though there's a lot of things I don't want to ask about,
I still know quite a bit.
Yuwen Zhuo has been the head of spies for so long.
Yuwen Yue, that Icy Tuozi , was raised alone by him.
He is mindful and clear thinking.
If you're talking about manipulating human emotions or political trickery,
even if there are twenty of me, it will still not be enough to defeat one of him.
I don't care what he's going to do, what he wants to do.
I just need to confirm that he truly wants to save Older Brother Yan Xun. That's enough.
Chun'er, how do you know that he's sincere?
Then who else can we trust?
Consort Mother? Emperor Father? Or someone else?
Older Brother, we have no other choice.
We can only trust him.
Mr. Cold.
Then let's just listen to Mr. Cold.
Spread out the candidate names he recommended.
With such a large meat bun falling from the sky,
which one of those concubines in the harem wouldn't look out for their mothers?
As long as they fight for the prefecture chief position of Northern Yan,
Yan Xun will have a chance to survive.
Princess agreed to follow through with the plan,
but how will Mister ensure Heir Apparent Yan's life?
Duke of Northern Yan's family have all been killed.
Northern Yan's Xiuli Army betrayed their kingdom.
Northern Yan's situation has fallen into chaos.
Now each tribal leader is doing things in their own way.
Small-scale battles occasionally break out.
At this time, you need a strong character to take charge of Northern Yan,
in order to stabilize the situation and avoid trouble on the border.
Northern Yan is the door of the North of the Great Wei.
They produce war horses and are wealthy in resources.
Furthermore, they're connected to the western regions by a trade route.
Trade is flourishing.
The territory is a strategic jewel.
Since the Duke of Northern Yan is no longer here,
whoever takes control of Northern Yan would become akin to a local warlord who could proclaim himself king.
But this person
cannot be the descendants of the feudal families or the officials.
Even a prince with military achievements would have no way to obtain His Majesty's trust.
His Majesty put so much effort into killing the Duke of Northern Yan.
He must prevent another Yan Shicheng from arising.
So, this person must not be of high birth.
Without any family background, and with even fewer social connections.
But to be both completely educated in both culture and martial arts, to know military matters,
to be capable in military strategy, to be familiar with how to govern,
to have military experience, but not to have held a high government post,
and not to have a well-known reputation.
But Mister, how did you know they would be Northern Huai people?
Because Eunuch Wang is from Northern Huai.
Everyone wants to eat this piece of fatty meat,
including those three people who had good luck fall from Heaven.
They will be moved as well.
With just a distance of one step, one would be conferred as a border official,
who'd hold the power of life or death in their hands.
This opportunity to reach the heavens, not one would be affected.
Just because they never got involved before doesn't mean they have a high moral character.
It could be that they just never had the opportunity.
In past dynasties, the political situation and power are all controlled by the feudal families and nobles.
The governance of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works
are all under the control of the feudal families.
Now, in my dynasty, this situation has gotten even more severe.
The feudal family owns private armies which can even threaten the authority of the emperor.
I want to let His Majesty know that, if he wants to suddenly go over the feudal families
and take control of Northern Yan, it's impossible to succeed.
The only way he can control Northern Yan is to keep Yan Xun alive.
Only this way
would Yan Xun have a chance.
What does Princess mean?
Don't be flustered, Eunuch.
I didn't have any other reason to come find you.
I just wanted to tell you,
since I know this thing, other people will also know.
These three people, Li Xian, Jiang Wei, and Sun Ye are all public figures in Northern Huai.
Sun Ye and yourself are from the same hometown.
Propping those three up to higher positions would, of course, be of great help to you.
But once it's exposed,
you would lose all of my Emperor Father's trust.
Courtiers have official positions.
The feudal families have their clans.
Generals have their soldiers.
And you?
Other than my Royal Father's trust, what else do you have?
I want to give you a piece of advice.
Don't destroy your own foundation.
Princess, you mean—
How big a piece of fatty meat is Northern Yan
that would make you all fight for it like hungry dogs?
Do you want to steal my country from me, too?
Your Majesty, don't be angry. Your Majesty, don't be angry.
Your Majesty.
Didn't you say
Li Xian, those three people, were commoners? Huh?
That you had no connection with them, right?
The Great Wei belongs to me,
not Wei Guang or Zhao Gui.
A group of insatiably greedy folks.
They've risen to high positions, but they've never been satisfied.
And now they're eyeing my Northern Yan.
Should be killed! They all should be killed!
Just because I didn't have connections to them before,
doesn't mean I don't have connections to them now.
Recently, I heard that the various masters in the palace haven't been well-behaved.
They frequently bring their own family members into the palace.
I didn't notice it at first, but now it looks like
this information came from the harem.
Okay.
They've set their sights
on the positions closest to me, huh?
Your Majesty, why don't we ask seventh Prince to come back?
At this time, only your own son is most reliable.
Then are there any other choices?
Another person... There is one.
Say it.
Yan Xun.
Yan Xun?
Yes.
When the Duke of Northern Yan's family died,
the Xiuli Army turned renegade. The Heiying Army has been disbanded.
Northern Yan's power is already nothing to fear.
Yan Xun is someone who must atone for his crimes by doing good deeds, and he has injuries on his body.
Even if he inherits the position of the Duke of Northern Yan,
he's been living in seclusion in the capital, spending his time in meditation and nursing his body back to health.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Besides, he has rendered meritorious service already.
No one from the top of the imperial court to the lowliest commoners have anything bad to say about him.
It would also make conspicuous Your Imperial Majesty's benevolence and wisdom.
Yan Xun is just a rash young man.
Without Yan Shicheng, he's nothing.
In Chang'an City, do you still worry that he would escape your control?
Then, of course, Your Majesty can slowly consider other candidates
and gradually complete plans.
You...
are an old fox.
Your Highness.
You've worked hard.
Did my Emperor Father agree to it?
Your Highness has planned meticulously.
You should have more faith in yourself.
What could I have planned? You speak too highly.
I was just in a desperate situation and willing to try anything.
I hope you can understand my troubles.
I'll take my leave.
This Icy Tuozi has indeed put his efforts in.
Timing and Subtitles brought to you by The Dancing Fingers Team @ Viki.com
♫ The wild wind blows the moonlight into confusion ♫
♫ My life is like being expelled ♫
♫ The flame is hidden in my heart ♫
♫ Who will laugh at my rough interior ♫
♫ My wings are destroyed by fate ♫
♫ I fall into the bottomless abyss ♫
♫ Memories are sealed ♫
♫ The wind and snowfall are unbridled ♫
♫ Even if I am trampled, I won't look up to you ♫
♫ What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger ♫
♫ This breathing is heat ♫
♫ This heartbeat is light ♫
♫ Bit by bit, it brews the power for all my life ♫
♫ The boiling in my eyes lights up the hope ♫
♫ No matter how many wounds I have ♫
♫ I'm willing to burn the flame in my heart to shine through everywhere ♫
♫ To melt the coldness of the secular world ♫
♫ If only the bright moon knows my thoughts ♫
♫ If there is a long path and eternal darkness, so what? ♫
♫ I want the boundless flame of the heart to be boiling again ♫
♫ To burn into a light ray of the horizon ♫
♫ I'm reborn after a fire bath ♫
♫ Fragrance fills heaven and earth ♫
♫ The red spider lily blooms again ♫
♫ To burn into a light ray of the horizon ♫
♫ The red spider lily blooms again ♫