1
00:00:02,043 --> 00:00:04,754
WRITTEN BY HYUGA NATSU

2
00:01:31,508 --> 00:01:32,926
THIS STORY IS A FICTION AND ALL NAMES OF
FIGURES AND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.

3
00:01:32,926 --> 00:01:34,385
MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION
TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.

4
00:01:36,054 --> 00:01:38,223
That whistle! Must be Lihaku.

5
00:01:38,807 --> 00:01:41,184
So he got Maomao out of the fortress.

6
00:01:42,102 --> 00:01:43,436
Basen,

7
00:01:43,436 --> 00:01:45,146
take it easy.

8
00:01:45,146 --> 00:01:47,357
Then let me go ahead first!

9
00:01:53,655 --> 00:01:54,948
Wait, step back.

10
00:01:55,698 --> 00:01:57,575
- Feifa!
- Let’s go!

11
00:01:57,575 --> 00:01:58,701
Damn it!

12
00:02:03,623 --> 00:02:05,041
Where is Shishou?

13
00:02:05,041 --> 00:02:08,962
I don’t know! We were tricked, that’s all!

14
00:02:08,962 --> 00:02:11,214
Bold of you to say!

15
00:02:11,214 --> 00:02:14,843
Evidence shows you embezzled national
funds, using them to build this fortress!

16
00:02:15,718 --> 00:02:17,637
You know what that means!

17
00:02:18,138 --> 00:02:20,265
We were told, it was for the country!

18
00:02:20,265 --> 00:02:23,309
We thought it was all for the nation!

19
00:02:24,769 --> 00:02:27,063
How merciful of you.

20
00:02:31,359 --> 00:02:33,778
If he is going to be executed anyway,

21
00:02:34,863 --> 00:02:38,116
- you may as well finish him off cleanly.
- Shishou!

22
00:02:39,951 --> 00:02:43,621
How relaxed you sound, Shishou.

23
00:02:45,206 --> 00:02:46,374
By imperial decree,

24
00:02:47,041 --> 00:02:49,836
you are under arrest
for embezzlement and treason.

25
00:02:49,836 --> 00:02:55,175
The Forbidden Army is here.
I assumed an edict had been issued.

26
00:02:55,175 --> 00:02:57,635
Senile, are you?
You do not even have a spark.

27
00:02:59,179 --> 00:03:00,054
Down!

28
00:03:04,726 --> 00:03:06,853
How pitiful.

29
00:03:06,853 --> 00:03:11,065
You used to shoot animals for sport,
itching to try it on a person someday.

30
00:03:11,065 --> 00:03:15,028
What a pity you never got the chance.

31
00:03:15,028 --> 00:03:16,196
How disappointing.

32
00:03:16,196 --> 00:03:17,864
I never said that!

33
00:03:17,864 --> 00:03:19,657
There's no spark.

34
00:03:19,657 --> 00:03:23,328
It is a new model.
It can fire without a spark.

35
00:03:23,328 --> 00:03:25,663
Ah, so you were aware.

36
00:03:25,663 --> 00:03:27,749
I was attacked with one, after all.

37
00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:30,585
A pity.

38
00:03:30,585 --> 00:03:32,545
Had I succeeded then.

39
00:03:33,588 --> 00:03:35,548
Such a waste.

40
00:03:37,175 --> 00:03:38,426
So this is it.

41
00:03:39,219 --> 00:03:41,429
If I had more time.

42
00:03:42,013 --> 00:03:45,099
No, perhaps nothing would
change regardless.

43
00:03:45,725 --> 00:03:46,726
What is this?

44
00:03:47,310 --> 00:03:49,896
He sounds like he is reading
from a prepared script.

45
00:03:52,649 --> 00:03:53,900
Move in!

46
00:04:29,686 --> 00:04:34,023
It feels like watching a play
about this man named Shishou.

47
00:04:37,610 --> 00:04:41,990
A favored retainer since the previous
emperor’s reign, now a traitor.

48
00:04:41,990 --> 00:04:43,783
It’s anticlimactic, to say the least.

49
00:04:44,826 --> 00:04:46,494
Such was his end.

50
00:04:48,371 --> 00:04:50,290
We have not done anything!

51
00:04:50,290 --> 00:04:50,373
Lady Shenmei and Loulan
are in the back room!

52
00:04:50,373 --> 00:04:52,917
Lady Shenmei and Loulan
are in the back room!

53
00:04:53,751 --> 00:04:55,712
- I am leaving this to you.
- Yes, Sir!

54
00:05:01,551 --> 00:05:03,386
- I leave the other side to you.
- Understood.

55
00:05:17,650 --> 00:05:19,068
Boom!

56
00:05:20,695 --> 00:05:21,946
Loulan.

57
00:05:21,946 --> 00:05:24,365
Greetings, Moon Prince.

58
00:05:24,866 --> 00:05:28,828
No, for convenience,
I shall call you Lord Jinshi.

59
00:05:30,246 --> 00:05:32,999
Would you be so kind as to follow me?

60
00:05:32,999 --> 00:05:34,334
And if I refuse?

61
00:05:34,334 --> 00:05:37,295
That is precisely why I am
threatening you.

62
00:05:39,213 --> 00:05:41,924
How obedient of you
to come along so willingly.

63
00:05:42,633 --> 00:05:45,219
You were the one
who told me to follow you.

64
00:05:45,887 --> 00:05:50,350
But surely, taking this from me
would not be difficult for you?

65
00:05:54,395 --> 00:05:55,229
This way.

66
00:05:57,565 --> 00:06:01,235
Sister Suirei,
are they not hurting you anymore?

67
00:06:02,403 --> 00:06:03,780
So this is Suirei.

68
00:06:04,655 --> 00:06:08,576
She coaxed the court physician,
faked her death, escaped,

69
00:06:08,576 --> 00:06:11,579
and returned disguised as a eunuch.

70
00:06:12,622 --> 00:06:14,874
I always thought her bold.

71
00:06:16,167 --> 00:06:18,544
Loulan, no. That man is.

72
00:06:18,544 --> 00:06:22,548
I brought him to fulfil your wish, Mother.

73
00:06:24,509 --> 00:06:26,677
You have always hated the one

74
00:06:26,677 --> 00:06:29,013
who resembled this figure, haven’t you?

75
00:06:29,597 --> 00:06:32,975
Was it jealousy because she was
far more beautiful than you?

76
00:06:33,768 --> 00:06:38,064
Or was it because he chose an attendant
who was far younger than you?

77
00:06:39,065 --> 00:06:41,984
Even though you were a senior consort,
he never visited your bedroom.

78
00:06:41,984 --> 00:06:42,068
Loulan!!!

79
00:06:42,068 --> 00:06:43,903
Loulan!!!

80
00:06:44,529 --> 00:06:46,781
Forgive me. That may have gone too far.

81
00:06:47,573 --> 00:06:51,119
Now then,
before you fulfil your final desire,

82
00:06:51,119 --> 00:06:53,287
shall we have a little show first??

83
00:06:55,873 --> 00:06:58,918
This happened more than 30 years ago.

84
00:06:58,918 --> 00:07:02,713
The late emperor was a dim-witted man,
unable to defy his mother.

85
00:07:03,381 --> 00:07:07,260
As a result, she wielded true power

86
00:07:07,260 --> 00:07:09,720
and was called the Empress in the Shadows.

87
00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,725
Tired of her son’s lack of interest
in women,

88
00:07:15,601 --> 00:07:16,894
And then, one day.

89
00:07:17,728 --> 00:07:18,771
Shenmei,

90
00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,900
is it true you are entering
the rear palace?

91
00:07:22,900 --> 00:07:25,987
Yes, as a senior-ranking consort,
by request.

92
00:07:25,987 --> 00:07:28,990
But you were to be, with me.

93
00:07:28,990 --> 00:07:31,242
That plan is cancelled.

94
00:07:32,201 --> 00:07:34,912
Do you not understand? This is my chance.

95
00:07:35,955 --> 00:07:39,500
If I bear the emperor’s child,
the seat of empress could be mine.

96
00:07:40,001 --> 00:07:42,837
I will not settle for being the wife

97
00:07:42,837 --> 00:07:44,505
of a northern lord!

98
00:07:45,965 --> 00:07:47,383
Shenmei.

99
00:07:47,383 --> 00:07:50,636
She was chosen as
the emperor’s senior-ranking consort.

100
00:07:50,636 --> 00:07:53,514
But that was merely the official story.

101
00:07:53,514 --> 00:07:57,226
Official story?
What are you talking about, Loulan?

102
00:07:57,226 --> 00:07:59,312
I was brought in
as a senior consort by request.

103
00:08:00,646 --> 00:08:03,649
That was your assumption.

104
00:08:03,649 --> 00:08:06,402
I heard it from Grandfather
as he lay on his sickbed.

105
00:08:06,402 --> 00:08:09,113
He kept muttering like a curse,

106
00:08:09,113 --> 00:08:12,867
"With my daughter held hostage,
I could do nothing."

107
00:08:12,867 --> 00:08:14,368
Hostage?

108
00:08:14,368 --> 00:08:19,248
A high official's daughter may be called
a "consort" and taken as a hostage.

109
00:08:21,667 --> 00:08:25,338
Father once gave up on you,

110
00:08:25,338 --> 00:08:28,799
but then something unexpected happened.

111
00:08:28,799 --> 00:08:31,135
The late emperor’s proclivities.

112
00:08:31,135 --> 00:08:36,098
Lord Jinshi, do you know
why the rear palace became so large?

113
00:08:36,098 --> 00:08:39,477
I heard Shishou encouraged
the Empress in the Shadows.

114
00:08:39,477 --> 00:08:42,813
Yes, he proposed expanding the palace

115
00:08:42,813 --> 00:08:46,025
as a new public project.

116
00:08:46,025 --> 00:08:47,818
A replacement for the slave trade.

117
00:08:48,819 --> 00:08:50,279
Slave trade?

118
00:08:51,614 --> 00:08:55,368
It seems you truly know nothing, Mother.

119
00:08:55,368 --> 00:08:59,163
Do you even know what Grandfather did
to draw the empress’s attention?

120
00:08:59,163 --> 00:09:01,999
But back then, slavery was still legal.

121
00:09:02,959 --> 00:09:03,668
I heard they were treated similarly
to courtesans in the pleasure district.

122
00:09:03,668 --> 00:09:03,709
I heard they were treated similarly
to courtesans in the pleasure district.

123
00:09:03,709 --> 00:09:06,087
I heard they were treated similarly
to courtesans in the pleasure district.

124
00:09:06,087 --> 00:09:06,128
But those sold to foreign lands
were different.

125
00:09:06,128 --> 00:09:06,170
But those sold to foreign lands
were different.

126
00:09:06,170 --> 00:09:10,800
But those sold to foreign lands
were different.

127
00:09:11,384 --> 00:09:15,721
That is why the empress
outlawed the slave trade.

128
00:09:15,721 --> 00:09:18,724
The Shi family,
whose trade had long been in slaves,

129
00:09:18,724 --> 00:09:22,770
had no choice but to scale it back after
their daughters were taken as hostages.

130
00:09:23,396 --> 00:09:26,357
At that time, with no options left,

131
00:09:26,357 --> 00:09:28,693
Father made a proposal to Grandfather.

132
00:09:29,527 --> 00:09:31,862
What if we use the rear palace

133
00:09:31,862 --> 00:09:33,739
as a destination for the remaining slaves?

134
00:09:34,699 --> 00:09:37,368
Young girls can become maids
or palace women,

135
00:09:37,368 --> 00:09:40,246
and the boys, eunuchs.

136
00:09:40,246 --> 00:09:44,917
If we say it is for the emperor,
who has no interest in women,

137
00:09:44,917 --> 00:09:46,502
the empress may accept it.

138
00:09:46,502 --> 00:09:49,505
Indeed, families who sold their daughters

139
00:09:49,505 --> 00:09:51,048
may feel less guilt

140
00:09:51,048 --> 00:09:54,719
if they enter the rear palace
rather than being sold abroad.

141
00:09:54,719 --> 00:09:55,803
Exactly.

142
00:09:56,596 --> 00:09:59,640
It benefits everyone.

143
00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:03,144
By earning the empress’s trust,
Father hoped to restore

144
00:10:03,144 --> 00:10:05,313
the Shi clan’s honor,

145
00:10:05,313 --> 00:10:08,774
and to reclaim you, Mother,
held as a hostage.

146
00:10:08,774 --> 00:10:10,776
It must have been hard for you.

147
00:10:11,986 --> 00:10:13,154
Running away earlier

148
00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:16,490
would have been wiser now.

149
00:10:22,204 --> 00:10:24,665
Shishou? How did you?

150
00:10:24,665 --> 00:10:24,749
I made a secret passage. Shenmei,

151
00:10:24,749 --> 00:10:27,710
I made a secret passage. Shenmei,

152
00:10:28,502 --> 00:10:30,046
will you not come with me?

153
00:10:31,422 --> 00:10:34,258
If you wish it, let us escape together.

154
00:10:34,258 --> 00:10:34,342
Escaping from the rear palace
is a capital offense.

155
00:10:34,342 --> 00:10:37,595
Escaping from the rear palace
is a capital offense.

156
00:10:37,595 --> 00:10:40,139
Making a secret passage
is already treason.

157
00:10:40,723 --> 00:10:43,726
I could never give you up.

158
00:10:43,726 --> 00:10:46,687
I could not marry anyone else,
and I came this far

159
00:10:46,687 --> 00:10:48,522
because I wanted to see you again.

160
00:10:50,941 --> 00:10:53,903
- Are you sure you want me?
- Of course I do.

161
00:10:55,988 --> 00:10:56,614
Now come.

162
00:11:04,914 --> 00:11:09,168
Is that the high-ranking consort
who got upstaged by the attendant Taihou?

163
00:11:09,168 --> 00:11:12,672
Even though she entered before Lady Anshi.

164
00:11:12,672 --> 00:11:15,800
I hear the emperor has never
visited her chambers, not even once.

165
00:11:16,926 --> 00:11:18,219
Do not make a fool of me!

166
00:11:18,219 --> 00:11:18,302
You would have me escape
with that shame lingering on me?

167
00:11:18,302 --> 00:11:21,430
You would have me escape
with that shame lingering on me?

168
00:11:21,430 --> 00:11:22,390
That is not it!

169
00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:23,391
Get out!

170
00:11:26,268 --> 00:11:29,605
Was it that you could not trust a man
willing to throw away

171
00:11:29,605 --> 00:11:29,689
his own status for you?

172
00:11:29,689 --> 00:11:31,691
his own status for you?

173
00:11:32,274 --> 00:11:35,778
There is no way
I could trust a man like that!

174
00:11:35,778 --> 00:11:38,322
Right after my father collapsed,

175
00:11:38,322 --> 00:11:41,659
he took over the clan
and then married this woman’s mother!

176
00:11:45,496 --> 00:11:46,539
Sister,

177
00:11:46,539 --> 00:11:48,249
forgive me please.

178
00:11:53,170 --> 00:11:54,004
That is the phoenix hairpin!

179
00:11:54,004 --> 00:11:56,465
That is the phoenix hairpin!

180
00:11:56,465 --> 00:11:59,927
Yes. As you well know,

181
00:11:59,927 --> 00:12:02,138
this ornament,

182
00:12:02,138 --> 00:12:03,806
like the qilin design,

183
00:12:03,806 --> 00:12:06,142
is only worn by those of imperial blood.

184
00:12:06,142 --> 00:12:06,225
Lies!
The late emperor never acknowledged her!

185
00:12:06,225 --> 00:12:10,229
Lies!
The late emperor never acknowledged her!

186
00:12:11,564 --> 00:12:12,064
It seems he carried guilt.

187
00:12:12,064 --> 00:12:14,567
It seems he carried guilt.

188
00:12:15,151 --> 00:12:18,654
He worried about the baby
he cast out of the rear palace.

189
00:12:18,654 --> 00:12:22,241
From time to time, he would visit,
aided by Father.

190
00:12:23,701 --> 00:12:25,703
He once denied it,

191
00:12:25,703 --> 00:12:28,372
but eventually recognized her
as his daughter.

192
00:12:28,372 --> 00:12:30,750
And so, he made a request of Father.

193
00:12:31,625 --> 00:12:34,837
I want you to take my daughter
as your wife.

194
00:12:35,588 --> 00:12:40,050
Father accepted the child born between
attendant Taihou and the late emperor

195
00:12:40,050 --> 00:12:41,594
as his wife.

196
00:12:42,678 --> 00:12:45,765
And eventually,
they had a child of their own.

197
00:12:47,057 --> 00:12:48,893
We have named her Shisui.

198
00:12:48,893 --> 00:12:53,481
Shisui, a fine name
for one of the Shi clan.

199
00:12:53,481 --> 00:12:57,401
Lord, you said you would grant
any wish of mine.

200
00:12:57,401 --> 00:13:01,238
Then please,
grant me Senior Consort Shenmei

201
00:13:01,238 --> 00:13:03,407
as a reward.

202
00:13:03,407 --> 00:13:05,576
When the late emperor saw his grandchild

203
00:13:05,576 --> 00:13:07,912
bearing the "Shi" name, he was satisfied.

204
00:13:07,912 --> 00:13:10,581
There was no longer
any need for a hostage.

205
00:13:11,207 --> 00:13:14,293
And so, Mother, you were given to Father.

206
00:13:17,797 --> 00:13:20,633
The late emperor was a foolish man.

207
00:13:20,633 --> 00:13:22,426
He never realized how selfish his wish was

208
00:13:22,426 --> 00:13:27,223
and how deeply it would affect
the lives of Shishou and his daughter.

209
00:13:27,807 --> 00:13:28,933
Lies!

210
00:13:28,933 --> 00:13:29,016
All lies! Don't talk nonsense!

211
00:13:29,016 --> 00:13:31,435
All lies! Don't talk nonsense!

212
00:13:32,019 --> 00:13:33,646
Nonsense, is it?

213
00:13:33,646 --> 00:13:37,399
Even though Father did it all for you?

214
00:13:37,399 --> 00:13:40,611
Knowing there was no salvation
at the end of it?

215
00:13:44,615 --> 00:13:47,785
Do you not even understand
why Lord Jinshi is here?

216
00:13:49,328 --> 00:13:51,539
How did Father meet his end?

217
00:13:53,040 --> 00:13:54,750
He laughed as he said his final words.

218
00:13:55,876 --> 00:13:59,004
That man only ever wanted power!

219
00:13:59,004 --> 00:14:02,925
He married me
just to show off his new position!

220
00:14:03,759 --> 00:14:08,889
And yet, it was you who wielded more
influence than he did within the clan.

221
00:14:09,515 --> 00:14:14,520
Do you know what your flatterers

222
00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:15,771
were doing at court?

223
00:14:15,771 --> 00:14:19,066
You mean the embezzlement
from the treasury?

224
00:14:19,066 --> 00:14:19,650
Yes. They took bribes,
stole from the national coffers,

225
00:14:19,650 --> 00:14:22,987
Yes. They took bribes,
stole from the national coffers,

226
00:14:22,987 --> 00:14:25,948
and anyone who dared speak out
was removed.

227
00:14:25,948 --> 00:14:27,575
All that remained was rot.

228
00:14:28,325 --> 00:14:31,453
Father took it all upon himself,
acting as the traitor

229
00:14:31,453 --> 00:14:35,332
to bring down the rot in the Shi clan.

230
00:14:36,125 --> 00:14:40,170
Lord Jinshi, they called Father a tanuki,

231
00:14:40,170 --> 00:14:43,340
but tanuki are timid creatures.

232
00:14:43,340 --> 00:14:47,136
It is precisely because they are timid
that they try so hard to outsmart others.

233
00:14:47,887 --> 00:14:49,889
If that story is true,

234
00:14:49,889 --> 00:14:53,893
rear palace expansion and embezzlement
should be judged separately.

235
00:14:54,435 --> 00:14:59,189
Shishou played the villain, gathering
the nation’s corruption onto himself.

236
00:14:59,940 --> 00:15:01,150
What a thankless role.

237
00:15:01,150 --> 00:15:03,402
Did he play the villain

238
00:15:03,402 --> 00:15:05,529
well enough?

239
00:15:06,989 --> 00:15:09,742
And do you have proof this is the truth?

240
00:15:09,742 --> 00:15:09,783
Thanks to this, much of the rot
in the palace has been cleaned out.

241
00:15:09,783 --> 00:15:09,825
Thanks to this, much of the rot
in the palace has been cleaned out.

242
00:15:09,825 --> 00:15:14,413
Thanks to this, much of the rot
in the palace has been cleaned out.

243
00:15:14,413 --> 00:15:16,874
And what if it had not worked?

244
00:15:16,874 --> 00:15:20,961
Then we would have simply taken
the country as our own.

245
00:15:20,961 --> 00:15:23,964
If the nation collapses
from this fragility, let it be gone.

246
00:15:23,964 --> 00:15:24,006
So you were always with him,

247
00:15:24,006 --> 00:15:24,048
So you were always with him,

248
00:15:24,048 --> 00:15:26,175
So you were always with him,

249
00:15:26,175 --> 00:15:27,927
lying to me?

250
00:15:27,927 --> 00:15:31,931
I only did what you always said, Mother.

251
00:15:31,931 --> 00:15:35,893
You wanted the country to fall,
did you not?

252
00:15:37,978 --> 00:15:42,358
Surrounded with fools who only told you
what you wanted to hear,

253
00:15:42,358 --> 00:15:44,610
did you believe you could
defeat the Forbidden Army?

254
00:15:44,610 --> 00:15:46,111
Loulan!!!

255
00:15:49,698 --> 00:15:52,868
Is that not why you had this made?

256
00:15:52,868 --> 00:15:52,952
It is too much for you to handle.
Give it to me.

257
00:15:52,952 --> 00:15:56,330
It is too much for you to handle.
Give it to me.

258
00:15:56,330 --> 00:15:56,413
Shut up!

259
00:15:56,413 --> 00:15:58,248
Shut up!

260
00:15:59,375 --> 00:16:00,501
What is so funny?

261
00:16:01,126 --> 00:16:03,337
It is just...

262
00:16:03,337 --> 00:16:05,464
You really are such a small, petty woman.

263
00:16:05,464 --> 00:16:07,299
Loulan!!

264
00:16:11,553 --> 00:16:12,930
A gunshot?

265
00:16:12,930 --> 00:16:14,098
Lord Basen!

266
00:16:19,812 --> 00:16:20,437
I am a terrible daughter, am I not?

267
00:16:20,437 --> 00:16:22,189
I am a terrible daughter, am I not?

268
00:16:22,856 --> 00:16:26,944
If I had truly understood my father's
intentions, I wouldn't do this.

269
00:16:26,944 --> 00:16:27,027
Did you stuff something inside the barrel?

270
00:16:27,027 --> 00:16:29,530
Did you stuff something inside the barrel?

271
00:16:30,364 --> 00:16:33,075
The newer models are
more complex in design.

272
00:16:33,575 --> 00:16:37,579
Lord Jinshi, did you never consider
taking it from me then?

273
00:16:37,579 --> 00:16:40,708
You had plenty of chances.

274
00:16:40,708 --> 00:16:42,501
You wanted to convey something, right?

275
00:16:44,503 --> 00:16:47,256
If only you had been
just another pretty fool.

276
00:16:53,178 --> 00:16:54,304
Mother. Father has died.

277
00:16:54,304 --> 00:16:56,765
Mother. Father has died.

278
00:16:56,765 --> 00:16:59,184
The least you could do is shed a tear.

279
00:17:00,019 --> 00:17:02,813
He waited for you all this time.

280
00:17:03,731 --> 00:17:05,399
If you had just shed a single tear,

281
00:17:05,399 --> 00:17:07,776
even I might not have done
something like this.

282
00:17:09,987 --> 00:17:12,489
Was there truly no other way?

283
00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:14,783
Perhaps there was.

284
00:17:15,451 --> 00:17:18,412
But we were never that clever.

285
00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:23,959
Shenmei wanted to destroy the country
that scorned her.

286
00:17:23,959 --> 00:17:27,504
Shishou did everything for her, and yet,

287
00:17:27,504 --> 00:17:31,258
he was still a loyal subject
who could not turn his back on the nation.

288
00:17:31,258 --> 00:17:32,676
Lord Jinshi,

289
00:17:33,385 --> 00:17:35,387
this may sound selfish, but,

290
00:17:35,387 --> 00:17:38,057
may I ask two things of you?

291
00:17:39,475 --> 00:17:40,309
What are they?

292
00:17:40,893 --> 00:17:42,478
Thank you.

293
00:17:45,481 --> 00:17:47,232
Then, take this.

294
00:17:51,904 --> 00:17:55,741
To be honest, I meant to use it
as a bargaining chip to beg for my life,

295
00:17:55,741 --> 00:17:57,701
but it did not go as planned.

296
00:17:58,452 --> 00:18:00,037
What is written there,

297
00:18:00,037 --> 00:18:03,040
are the things
that may soon befall this nation.

298
00:18:04,792 --> 00:18:06,835
This is my first request.

299
00:18:06,835 --> 00:18:09,171
Those among our clan
who still think clearly

300
00:18:09,171 --> 00:18:11,548
were exiled by Mother
and have discarded the Shi name.

301
00:18:12,216 --> 00:18:14,384
My sister is one such person.

302
00:18:15,094 --> 00:18:18,180
Please, consider them already dead,

303
00:18:18,180 --> 00:18:20,349
and spare them.

304
00:18:20,849 --> 00:18:21,975
I will do what I can.

305
00:18:21,975 --> 00:18:26,396
Then, you will spare the ones
who are "already dead."

306
00:18:26,980 --> 00:18:28,732
Thank you.

307
00:18:28,732 --> 00:18:29,983
And the second?

308
00:18:40,786 --> 00:18:42,871
Now for the second request.

309
00:18:59,096 --> 00:19:00,639
Thank you.

310
00:19:01,223 --> 00:19:04,017
Mother, this is all I could do.

311
00:19:04,017 --> 00:19:05,936
Mother, this is all I could do.

312
00:19:16,947 --> 00:19:20,075
I wonder, could I ever become
a greater actor than Father?

313
00:20:53,543 --> 00:20:57,339
That was the last time I saw Loulan.

314
00:21:06,348 --> 00:21:08,016
My body feels heavy.

315
00:21:08,016 --> 00:21:11,353
Come to think of it,
I have not properly slept in days.

316
00:21:12,312 --> 00:21:13,480
Where is that girl?

317
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:14,815
She is safe.

318
00:21:14,815 --> 00:21:17,192
More importantly,
you should rest a little.

319
00:21:17,776 --> 00:21:18,902
Where is she?

320
00:21:20,779 --> 00:21:22,281
It is best not to get too close.

321
00:21:28,578 --> 00:21:31,665
They are the children of the Shi clan,
those who died.

322
00:21:31,665 --> 00:21:34,334
Why are they sleeping here?

323
00:21:34,334 --> 00:21:37,879
She insisted.
Once she did, none of us could say no.

324
00:21:39,089 --> 00:21:41,883
Terrible. She looks terrible.

325
00:21:42,467 --> 00:21:44,136
So do you.

326
00:21:46,430 --> 00:21:48,640
I knew that if I came back
with a wound on my face,

327
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,892
my subordinates would be punished.

328
00:21:51,685 --> 00:21:55,397
And yet, I still granted Loulan’s request.

329
00:21:55,397 --> 00:21:57,524
It doesn't matter what happens to me.

330
00:21:57,524 --> 00:22:01,445
Still. It was for the best
that the General was not here to see this.

331
00:22:01,945 --> 00:22:04,031
Yes, very much so.

332
00:22:04,865 --> 00:22:05,907
Wait outside.

333
00:22:13,623 --> 00:22:15,500
If I had not been here,

334
00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:16,835
she wouldn't have ended up like this.

335
00:22:26,470 --> 00:22:28,930
What exactly are you doing,

336
00:22:29,556 --> 00:22:30,682
Lord Jinshi?

337
00:22:42,527 --> 00:22:43,487
I...

338
00:22:44,488 --> 00:22:46,948
PREVIEW OF THE NEXT EPISODE

339
00:22:54,873 --> 00:22:55,540
MAOMAO
SHISUI