[EngSub] 九尾狐殿下 17|九尾狐楊冪為取回心魄,下凡助帝君歷劫狠傷其心,轉世帝王一氣之下竟要立她為後

Crown Prince? How can you be dressed this way? At the observatory today, I had drawn a kau cim stick telling of bad fortune. I fear that Fairy may be in danger, so I must pay her a visit in order to rest my mind at ease. You will leave the palace? The palace doors have already been locked though. Do not worry. I have already prepared this. As long as you make no mention of my leaving, no one will know. Do you not fear that His Majesty will lay blame upon you? For Fairy's sake, I must take this risk. Profound love will leave opportunity for neither regret nor blame. If your fairy were to learn of your undertaking such a risk for her, even any dangers will be worth it. Do not speak so. Fairy will be fine. Who is it? Who is speaking there? Come behind me. It is I. This young eunuch had forgotten to deliver a midnight snack to the crown prince so I am scolding him for his incompetence. The night is late now. Hurry back to your quarters to rest. If this were to come into the notice of the masters, everyone will be made to suffer. Yes. Leave now, Crown Prince, or else others will arrive soon. Thank you. Eunuch Li. Tonight, do you know who will be graced by His Majesty's presence? Godfather, do you know? Do you see the jade bracelet upon my arm bestowed by a certain patron? Understand? Does that not belong to Consort Yi? Could you have...? As servants, to have done our master's task well is no strange rarity. But to have your master do as you wish, is an accomplishment indeed. Eunuch Li. - Have you need to speak to me? - The crown prince has left the palace. Thank you, Eunuch Li. Godfather, the crown prince has left the palace? - I will go stop him. - Wait. Have you forgotten my words to you? Before taking even a single step, first evaluate your potential losses and gains. If you were to so impulsively restrain him and ruin his plans to leave the palace, where do you think his thoughts will lie? He will surely be wanting my life. If you were to make no movement instead and then notify His Majesty afterwards, then what would happen then? His Majesty will surely recognize my efforts! Will you still stop him then? I understand now. I understand. However, if you were to randomly speak to His Majesty of this, then that can also not be. His Majesty will question the reason for your not hindering him. You should then say that it was reported to you by the guards of Shen Wu Gate. Yes, yes. Yes. Within this palace, although life is of difficulty and discomfort, once you have mastered its rules, then it is not intolerable. - Godfather, yes. Yes. Yes. - Go now. - What? Crown Prince has left the palace? - Yes. How could his escape have been allowed? Your Majesty, he had an all-powerful token of authority so the guards of Shen Wu Gate could not have halted his escape. That unfilial child, he cannot cease his troubling ways for even a second. Do you see? Some progress for a mere few days, and now... Your Majesty, perhaps the crown prince is merely suffering from frustration and will return after partaking of some outside pleasures. Your Majesty, where will you rest tonight? His Majesty will leave for Chu Xiu Palace. When have I said that? Did I consent to that? How dare you announce a false imperial edict? I cannot dare. I deserve death. Concubine Xi's card should not have been here. Now that it has appeared here, have you received a bribe from her? No, I have not. Never. Even if I had courage as vast as the sky I could never have dared. Drag him out and have him beaten. - Your Majesty, how many strokes? - A hundred strokes. Yes. You troublesome fool! You troublesome fool! Kneel down now! Kneel! Kneel! You troublesome blockhead, how dare you play me for a fool? I had only taught you half the trick just now. There is still another half that I have yet to teach you! To have forced His Majesty to your will is no skill on your part. The true skill lies only in an inconspicuous influence on his decisions. Tell me. How many bribes have you accepted from Concubine Xi? - Godfather, I have not. I have never. - No? Never? - I'll give you never! - Godfather! I really have not. I simply wished to aid Concubine Xi. - Aid her in what? - Actually, Concubine Xi and I had grown up in innocent friendship together. It was for her that I entered the palace. So that's it. You have hidden the truth well. So much time has passed, yet I have never seen it. Godfather, I had not meant to hide this from you. The truth is that Concubine Xi holds hatred of me in her heart. The first time I saw her again since our parting, she had said to me, that from then on, upon the sight of her, I must walk an alternate route. I never dared to do more than I should, but recently, I have observed that she has become much more haggard. I deserve death. I deserve death! I deserve death. I deserve death. That's enough, that's enough. Rise now. Stand up! A while ago, when I saw that Consort Yi's card suddenly became Concubine Xi's card, my heart nearly leaped from my chest. I thought you had accepted the bribes of others behind my back. Who would have thought the situation was of such complexity? Godson, I must remind you of this. Since you have passed through this door and suffered castration, whatever sentiments of love, abhorrence, and hatred must all be forgotten. You need only set your heart into doing your servant's duties well. Only a life lived in relative comfort is of any purpose and value now. Yes. All right then. You will have to go and bear your punishment now. I will ask them to use a light hand. Thank you, Godfather. Wait. You must understand who it is who has the greatest love for you in this world. Go now. Any task handed down to us by his majesty must be done with all our efforts. 8th Brother, do you see? It's the old man Long Ke Duo. He must be seeking Yin Zhen to discuss their next plot's hatching. That cannot be. Following what happened last time, they should have no reason to not avoid suspicions. Following that incident, Yin Zhen has remained at Yong He Palace without having left even once. Even if he wished to meet him, he may not receive the opportunity to do so. Today is the day Yin Zhen will depart the palace following his recovery, so he must have been impatient and sought to await Yin Zhen’s departure here. Come on. Let us go provoke him a little. Let's go. Uncle! 8th Prince. 9th Prince. 10th Prince. Have you all been well? - Yes. Yes. Yes. - Very good. Uncle. Uncle, why are you leaving in such a hurry? I have matters awaiting my attendance. The morning court has already been dismissed, so what matter of urgency can await you, Uncle? I have heard that Uncle's calligraphy is renowned to be masterful. Perhaps Uncle will consider leaving samples of your penmanship here and allow us to imitate your skills. Yes. 8th Prince, you must be teasing me. - My calligraphy is quite commonplace. - Uncle, there is no need for such modesty. Unless, you do not care to stand by our side... I have heard that your relationship with 4th Brother has been one which will soundly share advice. So is 4th Brother your nephew but we are not? Yes, Uncle. Since we were young you have said people must be tactful in order to ensure survival. It is the same manner fish is caught, where the net must be spread in all directions in order to guarantee no losses. A thousand miles separates us from Uncle. So do you have such trust in 4th Brother to be able to grant your every wish? Where does such speech come from? My treatment towards each prince is indistinguishable. You are all Uncle's good nephews. Since that is so, let us leave together now. - Let's go, Uncle. Come on, Uncle. - All right, all right. I can walk there myself. I will walk there myself. Uncle. Yin Si. Yin Tang. Yin'e. - My Lords, please make your donations. - Here you are. Thank you, My Lord. Qing Chuan, thank you. If it were not for you I would not know what reason there is to remain living. Do not say such words. You are now the capital's most desired number one courtesan. If even you have lost the desire to live, then many others have far less reason to live. That flattering little mouth of yours. All in all, no matter what, I still owe you my thanks. Qing Chuan, if you ever find yourself in need of anything, just ask it of me. I will surely satisfy any needs of yours. Donate to the disaster relief. Extend a hand to the refugees with a small donation. My Lords, please make a donation. Lords. - Thanks, My Lord. - Zi Yan, will you do me a favour? - What is it? - Come forward and make a donation. - Help me make a donation. - A copper coin donation isn't too little. - That is not hard. Stop the carriage. Stop. - A donation of 100 taels isn't too much. - Stop the carriage. - Show your charitable spirit. Make a donation! Ah, thank you, thank you. My Lord, thank you. Thank you. Miss, won't you leave your name? Acts of benevolence are not done for the notice of others. I will not leave my name. Next time, come by Meng Xian Court and remember to patronize my show. Yes, yes. Of course. Thank you. Leave well. How have the collection of the donations gone these past few days? 4th Master, just now, a maiden donated a hundred taels. Which maiden? I believe she is a maiden of Meng Xian Court. She has just entered the carriage. Qing Chuan. Qing Chuan! Qing Chuan! - Hurry! Please hurry and leave! - Qing Chuan! Qing Chuan! - Qing Chuan! - A ghost in the white light of day. My guest... - Has your time here been convivial? - Quite well. Quite well. - Are you satisfied? - Yes, yes. Come back next time. Leave well now. - You've returned. - 9th Aunt. What has happened? Please do something for me. Qing Chuan! Qing Chuan! Qing Chuan. Excuse me, Guest. If you wish to have some drinks, then summon a maiden down here. This place does not attend to guests that way. I am looking for the maiden who had just entered. I am acquainted with her. She is not feeling well, and is not available to service guests. Qing Chuan! Qing Chuan! Come out! Qing Chuan! - Guest... - What is going on? Qing Chuan! - You cannot enter! - How can you be here? - Qing... - Who is responsible for all this racket? You are... You have just chased me down that entire road, yet you know not who I am? Now that I've emerged, if you have anything you wish to say, then speak. - It was you just now? - Who else can it be? That cannot be. Then would you like all of the maidens of Meng Xian Court to be brought out in front you for your examination? Do not believe that we escorts cannot donate money. Many a hero had been a dog slaughterer; many a heroine, an escort. I have always been naturally inclined to do good and give alms. Goodbye. - Why are you leaving? - Don't go! Remember to come patronize my show! - How could he just leave this way? - Exactly. Please leave well on your road. Do not return to haunt me. I did not intend to kill you. I am only a servant. I cannot have refused the princess's orders. You must not return in search of me. What did you say? What have you done to Qing Chuan? It was not I, 4th Master. It was... It was Her Highness who ordered me to have Qing Chuan tossed into the river. What is going on? It is already so late. Liu Ma said it was you who ordered her to have Qing Chuan thrown into the river. That's true. So what, then? Are you going to kill me in revenge? - Why did you do such a thing? - Why? I still have yet to ask you why. 4th Prince. 4th Master. If you do not love me, then do not provoke me. Why have you brought me to this house in matrimony then engaged in affairs with other women? In your eyes, am I of such little value? - Am I so cheap and despicable? - There is nothing between us. If not, then why did you have me at your sword's point? Do you believe me deaf? Believe me blind? As a child I watched my mother wait her entire life for my father. My heart was in such turmoil. That time, I thought to myself that I must find a man who will treasure me all my life and care for me in our existence together. However, I could never have thought that you are even worse than my father. At the very least, my father truly loved my mother. Yet, you do not have even love for me. You do not! I have been lying to myself, telling myself it is all no fault of yours. It was those women who sought you, who seduced you. Even when my father was with the 8th prince, I detested him for betraying you. Only now do I realize that absolutely all of it has been my fault. If you will kill me then kill me now. In my next life, I will surely keep my eyes opened wider. Your Highness. Your Highness. Your Highness. Your Highness. My Guest, the day is already breaking. Will you be returning or staying here for the night? Bring me another bottle of liquor. You've already drunk several bottles. If you continue drinking, you will not be able to return home. It will be no issue for me to take you in for the night, but do you have much money on you? - Is this enough? - Enough, enough. Of course it is enough. You may drink as much as you wish and stay as long as you desire. Does he still refuse to leave? As long as he has money to give, it matters not to me if he stays. Qing Chuan, this man seems to come from money. If he loves you so much, why do you refuse to go with him? He has a wife. To have multiple wives and mistresses is not uncommon among men. You will not understand even if I were to tell you. Why do you still not sleep? I see the black circles around your eyes. I had forgotten that I cannot stay up during the nights. Then I will go to bed now. This place is in your hands. I'll leave you now. One drink to cure a thousand sorrows... To draw a sword against water, the water will only run faster. To use intoxication against sorrow, those sorrows will only run deeper. You better stop drinking now. - Who are you? - A maiden of Meng Xian Court. Then do those of Meng Xian Court feel no sorrow? We do. So what do you do against its pain? After suffering sorrow, a person seeks to pour one's heart out too. Treating the heart's pains as akin to garbage, it is similarly tossed out. Pour out one's heart? The heart cannot be revealed. Were the heart's thoughts to be voiced, it will only fall into the trap of the mouths of others. Perhaps even one's death cannot be known then. In your heart, is there no one worthy of your trust? Then you can believe in me. Why is that? Because we are strangers, with the fate that brought us here to be severed when the night leaves. Once tonight has passed, we will know nothing of each other. Very well. Then I will tell you. At my birth, someone said I was born a bastard. No matter the talents in which you excel, or how much effort you expend, it is still nothing in comparison to your ignoramus elder brother. With every day consumed by fighting, requiring every step to be taken with the caution of walking on thin ice, I must think of ways in which I can incite my own father's affection and bring happiness to my mother. Without the warmth of family happiness, all that remains is the fighting. Fighting... More fighting. I am tired of it all. So tired now. Truly tired... Seeing you this way, my heart pains for you, but what can I do? Crown Prince. Crown Prince, you've returned? Fairy is dead. She was buried beneath the Imperial Mausoleum. She is dead. Crown Prince, do not be in such sorrow. Those who have perished cannot be returned to life. You must restrain your grief. Fairy was the embodiment of all my hopes. With her death, all my hopes have been lost. All my hopes are no more. How can I restrain my grief? Ask me to accept her death? Crown Prince! Crown Prince! Crown Prince, wake up. Somebody! Hurry, someone! Crown Prince! Crown Prince! Please awaken! Fairy. Fairy. Fairy, do not leave me! Do not leave me, Fairy. - Fairy, are you all right? Fairy. - Crown Prince. Fairy, it's you. Fairy, are you all right? - Crown Prince. - Fairy. - Fairy! - Your Highness, I am the newly-transferred palace maid Su Yan. I am here to attend to Your Highness. Yes... You are not Fairy. You cannot be Fairy. That is true. My Fairy is dead. My Fairy has died. Eunuch Li. Greetings, Eunuch Li. Your Highness... His Majesty has decreed that from this day forth, the crown prince is not permitted to take even one step from his room. Crown Prince, please rest well within your rooms. I will leave you now. Crown Prince! Do you see? You see? They are here against me again. Fairy has just left, and they are already acting against me. Acting against me! Crown Prince... Crown Prince. Crown Prince, are you all right? Crown Prince, you must not feel so badly. You must take care of your body. Crown Prince... Do you know? Since my birth, every prince had envied me. They believed that my life is just too blessed to have been born from the womb of my imperial mother, the title of crown prince having fallen into my lap. But do you know? In order to become crown prince, I have lived my life so wearily. I have lived with such pain! My every word and conduct, every action and movement, have all been under supervision. Any imprudence on my part immediately draws their scorn as my lacking manner befitting that of a crown prince. And as if that were not enough, I must maintain constant caution around them in fear that they would make an attempt on my life, dragging me down from my horse. These days, do you know the degree of suffering and oppression I have had to live under? Although I run rampant and am profligate and an idler, I have made myself into a person of immeasurable dissoluteness. Yet everyone only has the eyes to see my apparent luxuriousness. Does anyone know of the nights I have spent all alone, clenching my fingers in count of my remaining days? Thankfully, fate acquainted me with Fairy, who has since become the source of all my hopes. Fairy had said, "Crown Prince, you can. You can become whoever you wish and do everything you have never dared to." It was Fairy who re-ignited my self-dignity, Fairy who had revived my hopes... But she has died. She is gone... My Fairy is no longer here, never to return... Therefore, you see? They have come. They have come. What must I do? Fairy, what should I do? What do I do? They have come to torture me again. 4th Prince. You have been at the Princes' Residence for so long, how can there be no news at all? The crown prince has fallen ill and everything has fallen to my responsibility, rendering me incapable of making any moves. The crown prince is ill? Yes. This is the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician. 4th Prince, what are you doing? 4th Prince. I will deliver this medicine for you. 4th Brother, everyone is now maintaining their distance from me. Only you do not hide and have especially come to see me. No matter how His Majesty punishes you, our fraternal ties will always remain. Between us brothers, what need is there for such formality? 4th Brother, it seems I have not miscalculated nor misjudged you. My good brother... - What is it? - I'm fine. I'm fine. It is nothing. Let me see. How can this be? Have you had an imperial physician see to it yet? - Servants! Summon an imperial physician! - Yes. No need. I cut my hand intentionally. It will be fine with the application of some medicine. I am all right. You lacerated yourself? Have you lost your mind? After learning of how you had fallen ill, I got anxious and was at a loss as to what to do. I happened to read a book yesterday. It spoke of using one's flesh to heal one's relatives. I feel that there's no harm in trying it. Do not call for an imperial physician, else I become a laughing stock. 4th Brother, how could you have been so foolish? For you to have done this puts me in such a difficult position. 2nd Brother, do not be agitated, you have yet to recover. No. 4th Brother, please let me finish. As brothers, we have grown up together, yet our meetings numbers few. Last time, when Mother gave me evidence of your misconduct, my heart could not believe the truth of it, but I still bore some suspicions. With regard to all that has passed, I see that I have been a contemptible man without any gentleman's values. 4th Brother, I will return this to you now. From today on, we will be of one mind. I will bear no mistrust of you again. - 2nd Brother, this... You better... - Take it. Mother is my mother after all. Although she tricked me into protecting the crown prince, she cannot bear to have me put in a dangerous position. The 14th prince is really filial. He always sends his battle spoils back here. Add these to my collection of precious items and take note of their amounts. Send them to the various court officials. Say that the items are from the 14th prince. But you have been sending them a lot of items these past few years in the 14th prince's name. Do we have to continue? His Majesty has been doting on 8th Prince recently. I got Yin Zhen to deal with him in the name of protecting the crown prince. We won't know if he will win or lose. If he wins, it will be easy to deal with the crown prince. If he loses, we will need the court officials' support. Money is not important. We'll be able to get it back even after losing it. But if we lose the position, we will end up with nothing. - You're right. - 4th Prince, what are you standing here for? Why aren't you entering...? Yin Zhen. What is wrong with the 4th prince? It is my fault. Even after having lived in the palace for so many years, I still failed to watch my words. Mother, you are his senior. It is okay for you to censure him. Do not be too hard on yourself. Mother, we are both your son. Why are you so biased? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Did the two of you quarrel again? Mother, to be honest with you, I quite regret marrying the 4th prince. I cannot figure out his true thoughts. Nonsense. It takes a hundred years of destiny at work to form relationships. and a thousand years of destiny to pair up couples.* (*a Chinese saying) How can you wipe off such hard-earned destiny with those words? - But... - All right now. I know what you are trying to say is that Yin Zhen is not receptive to your affections and does not dote on you. But, my child, it is not easy to keep a marriage going. You will not be able to fully understand a person in such a short time. You need to spend your entire life to slowly gain understanding. It is not a feat for a woman to be able to control her man. It is only a feat if she can change the man. I will heed your words. But now that things have came to this stage, what should I do? Have a child. He won't even come to my room now. How do I have a child by myself? It is like scaling a mountain for a man to woo a woman. But it is as easy as pushing a veil aside for a woman to woo a man. As long as you are willing to humble yourself, and take the soft approach, he will surely treat you well. Yin Zhen is just too lonely. He is so lonely that he does not trust anyone. If he gets a child, he might start to understand what goes into parenting a child. Fei Cui. I am here. Get the Goddess of Mercy* statue (*In Chinese lore, has power to grant children.) from my room and give it to the 4th princess. Yes. Every mother would wish that her son be blessed with good fortune and a long life, that he will have many children. That is why I never wanted Yin Zhen to become crown prince. Once a person steps onto that top position, many things will be out of his control. Women from the inner palace will be buzzing around you and matters of the government will be tying you down. It will be difficult to just meet, much more to enjoy family bliss. Isn't it better to just live a carefree life? What do you think? I understand. It does not help for you to understand; you must convey these words to Yin Zhen. Only when he understands this, will the two of you lead a life without worries. Yes. How should I speak when he returns later? 4th Prince. All of this is my fault. You are a magnanimous person. Please just forgive me this once. No, I cannot do this. If I were to say that, what should I do if he brings another woman back one day? 4th Prince, as long as you promise me that you will not have anything to do with other women in the future, let us forget about this whole Qing Chuan incident. Let's continue to live harmoniously the way we used to, okay? Yes, I will say that. Come in. Princess. Princess! So, is the 4th prince back? He has not come back. But the eunuch who followed the 4th prince came back. He said that... Quickly tell me what he said! You are making me anxious. He said that the 4th prince went to Meng Xian Court. Meng Xian Court? It's a brothel. What? The 4th prince went to a brothel? What should we do now, Princess? Go gather the household maids. Take along whatever weapons you can bring. I want to take a look for myself which woman is so bold to provoke me. Yes. [Meng Xian Court] Greetings from over here. You are here. Sire, you are really generous. You actually reserved the whole Meng Xian Court. There are a lot of things I wish to say that I don't want others to hear. So I could only do this. I see. Dear lady, why do you insisting on speaking with a screen between us? Can you come over and accompany me for a few rounds of drinks? It is precisely because of the screen between us that hides us from each other's view that we are able to speak of our true thoughts. If we got acquainted and met face to face, we won't know what to say anymore. Isn't that the case? That is true. May I ask Sire what worries are weighing down on you this time? All of you are my good nephews. Send them to the various court officials. Say that the items are from the 14th prince. If the truth that you believed in suddenly became a lie, how will you react? If you had been persisting in walking down a certain path, and realized that the friends you trusted are holding you back, how will you react? If you find yourself losing faith in the meaning for your persistence, how will you react? I will not react. Not react? A person's lifespan is actually very short. Since there was a beginning to it, there will be an end. Since we are to live in the moment, why impose so many rigid goals and directions on ourselves? Why not just make it simpler and happier for ourselves? Wait and accept whatever challenges fate has in place for us. Isn't that better? Listening to your words beats reading ten years' worth of philosophical texts. I have lived for so many years and has always taken the offensive, journeying towards my own goals. I did not know that I can also journey through life by going with the flow. I suppose doing that will be less stressful. I am glad you can see that. Let go of me! - You can't enter. - Let me enter! - Let go! - Sire, I'm really sorry about this. You wife insisted on coming in. - I couldn't stop her! - Move aside! Jin Zhi, what did you come here for? I came for murder. It is you? You are not dead yet? Come out with me! Qing Chuan?