The Princess Royal (2024) s01e22 Episode Script

1
[The Princess Royal]
[Adapted from Mo Shu Bai's novel,
The Princess Royal on jjwxc.net]
[This is a work of fiction.]
[Episode 22]
What are you doing?
Why are you scared?
Don't you want to know the truth?
Mr. Xie, do you recognize it?
Where did you steal it from?
How did you get this?
I've seen this same pendant
on a young lady
from the Xie Family.
How did she know about this?
Father, with this pendant
and the resemblance
between the two of them,
as well as the red ink,
I started getting suspicious.
So I sent someone
to look into Mr. Xie's past.
Then something surprising
was discovered.
I found out
that Mr. Xie had a love affair
that was once the talk of the town.
It's said that when Mr. Xie was young,
he fell in love with a woman
from the martial world.
But they couldn't be together
due to his family's objection.
That woman left when she was pregnant
and gave birth to a child by herself,
named Lin Feibai.
Her Highness was able
to investigate it clearly
in such a short time.
And Mr. Xie
Could it be that
went to that woman after he was married.
But she didn't want to be his concubine
and didn't want her child
to return to the Xie Family.
For some reason,
Mr. Xie agreed to this.
He provided her with protection
and helped her found
today's Seven-star Sect.
After listening to this story,
do you think it is more likely
that I was so insane
that I kept directing a man
to kill his biological father?
Or is it more likely
that the father and son conspired
to falsely accuse me?
Nonsense.
Then we shall test your relationship
with a drop of blood
from both of you
to see if I'm talking nonsense.
Father.
Get a bowl of water.
Your Highness.
Mr. Xie,
you're the Minister of Justice.
You're familiar with testing
a relationship with blood drops, right?
She traveled thousands of li to Huajing,
got pregnant out of wedlock
but was abandoned,
and then was alone ever since.
Mr. Lin, as a child,
don't you feel sorry for your mother?
Mr. Xie, you're not moving.
Is it because you're not feeling well
or because you dare not do this?
Mr. Xie.
Xie Lanqing!
Impossible.
This is impossible.
Your Majesty, someone's framing me.
This result is false.
It can't prove
that this assassin and I
are father and son.
I don't know him.
Mr. Xie.
You tried
to assassinate Her Highness
and then colluded
with your son to frame her.
And even now,
you are still not willing
to confess to your crimes
to ask for forgiveness
from His Majesty and Her Highness.
Instead, you're still quibbling
and resisting the law.
I'd like to know
how come you dare
to disregard His Majesty,
the law,
the principle of moral conduct,
and the justice of the world.
Pei Wenxuan,
you're making irresponsible remarks.
Your Majesty.
I've been an official for 30 years.
I've spared no effort in the performance
of my duty for you and the country.
But now,
I'm being framed by these two kids.
Your Majesty, I hope
you will look into the matter.
Look into the matter?
Xie Lanqing.
As an official who has been working
for the court for so many years,
I should have trusted your words.
But now the solid evidence is here.
How else do you want me
to look into this?
You said Pingyue framed you
and set you up
again and again.
How can a young girl
who's not even twenty years old
be able to set a cunning man like you
who's worked for the court
for over 30 years up?
Please calm down, Your Majesty.
There are too many
misunderstandings, Your Majesty.
What misunderstandings?
In the past, there was no evidence.
Now the evidence is solid.
If there's any misunderstanding,
you can talk about it in prison.
Your Majesty
Someone, drag this traitorous minister
out to the Censorate
for Pei Wenxuan to investigate
and deal with accordingly.
Please don't do this, Your Majesty!
Your Majesty.
Pei Wenxuan is the Prince Consort.
It's hard to convince people
without avoiding arousing suspicion.
Even if he's the Prince Consort,
so what?
When you work, you can allow yourself
to not make a clear distinction
between public and private interests.
But when it comes to me, I have to think
about avoiding arousing suspicion?
It's decided.
This case is assigned to Pei Wenxuan.
Anyone who says another word
will be put on trial too.
Your Majesty, I think
it's inappropriate for me
to be the Chief Judge of this case.
It should be handed back
to the Ministry of Justice.
Hand it back
to the Ministry of Justice?
Who in the Ministry of Justice
would dare to interrogate him?
I'd like to recommend someone.
Who is it?
Right Minister of Justice, Pei Liming.
He's my uncle.
He's a man of integrity and honesty.
He's been working
at the Ministry of Justice for years,
and he knows the law well.
I raise the virtuous
without avoiding relatives.
I would like to recommend this person
to investigate this case.
I second the recommendation.
I also think
that Minister Pei
is the most suitable candidate.
Since Official Su also said so,
just let Minister Pei
investigate the case.
Prepare the decree.
I'd like to test our blood again.
Get the water!
Take him away!
I'd like to test it again.
Your Majesty! Please get the water!
I'd like to test it again, Your Majesty!
I'm innocent!
Your Majesty!
I'd like to test it again!
Just once!
I'm tired.
You shall take your leave now.
Pei Wenxuan, you may stay.
I have something to talk to you.
Your actions today
have taken me by surprise.
Mr. Su, your actions today
have also greatly exceeded
my expectations.
What did you think I would do?
I thought you wouldn't let go
of Xie Lanqing's case.
He tried to assassinate you.
Of course, I won't cover up for him.
However, Your Highness
why must you establish
the Inspectorate Office?
For the country.
For the people.
Also for justice.
Justice?
Is it that in your mind,
justice means making enemies
with the noble families?
Even if there are bad people
in the noble families,
it's still the foundation
of the Great Xia.
One should not demand absolute purity.
For a few bad people,
the very foundation
of the Great Xia will be affected.
Then war will break out
and the people will suffer.
How can there be any justice
and well-being that you mentioned
for the country
and the people?
Let's drop the subject.
Your Highness.
How have you been
since you married Pei Wenxuan?
Mr. Su.
In fact, I really don't need you
to worry so much about my relationship.
Actually
I have a small wish.
I hope that your relationship
will not be related
to power and politics.
I hope that it can be pure.
And you'll have no regrets.
Take care, Your Highness.
I hope you will proceed with caution
in the future.
I shall take my leave now.
You two had a good time chatting, huh?
What did Father say to you?
His Majesty asked me
why I recommended Pei Liming.
How did you answer?
For others, this opportunity
is the icing on the cake.
But for the Pei Family,
it's offering timely help.
There will be a big difference
in their mentality.
Well said.
Oh, right.
What were you and Mr. Su
exactly talking about?
I think you were touched by his words.
Feeling moved?
Yes.
He just told me something
very important
that made me feel touched
and had even more feelings for him.
Had even more feelings for him?
Don't you have enough feelings for him?
How much more do you want?
Why not put him
on the tip of your heart?
It's just that it'll be hard for Mr. Su.
Wait.
Why is it hard for him?
Your Highness, there's only a small spot
on the tip of your heart.
If Mr. Su is going to stand on it,
he'll have to stand on one leg.
He will need to make a switch
and stand on different legs
over and over again.
Don't you think Mr. Su will be tired?
Yes. He'll be exhausted.
If so, I don't think
you can do such a tiring job,
therefore, I'd better find someone else.
Your Highness.
That's not right.
You don't know
that my unique skill
is standing on one foot.
If you are willing,
I'm willing
to stand on one foot on the tip
of your heart for the rest of my life.
You weren't worried at all in there.
Especially during the blood drop test
for relationships.
You looked confident.
I worked on a shipwreck case before,
and many people
came to identify their families.
The blood drop test
for relationships was used.
After using it many times,
I found it strange.
Later, I learned
that the blood of any two people
can be fused.
There's no basis for the method
of blood drop test for relationships.
In that case,
does that mean that our blood drops
can fuse, too?
Li Rong, you're unbelievable.
[Ministry of Justice]
Your Highness.
Uncle.
Uncle, spare the formalities.
Uncle, has Lin Feibai arrived
at the Ministry of Justice?
Yes.
Miss Shangguan has just sent him here.
I'll go and see him then.
I'll be waiting for you here,
Your Highness.
Why did you recommend me?
With your help, we'll be able
to go to the prison
as we want now.
Although you recommended me,
I still have something to say.
You're being a little reckless.
You should have
told me about this earlier.
I didn't know this would happen today.
His Majesty needed someone
on short notice,
so I had to recommend you to help.
You call this help?
One dots, two dots, three dots.
Where's the four dots tile?
Where is it?
Your Highness.
Why are you still here?
I
I guessed you would come
to interrogate him,
so I waited here.
Your Highness, I'm so curious.
Please enlighten me.
Mr. Lin, you
Don't you have anything to say?
My mother never told me about him.
Two years ago,
my mother held this jade pendant
at the end of her life.
She said she wanted
to meet the owner of the pendant.
She told me to go
to the mountain gateway and wait
because at the gate,
I could see the incoming people
on the trail right away.
He'd be dressed in black.
It was snowing that day
and he didn't come.
When I arrived at my mother's side
in the early hours of the next morning,
she was already dead.
My mother had made many requests for me
before she died.
One of them
was that she owed Xie Lanqing
three things
and asked me to help her.
That's why when Xie Lanqing went
to Qinqu Mountain
to ask for help
from the Seven-star Sect,
I knew that getting involved in this
would bring the Seven-star Sect
to its doom,
but I still did it.
I just don't understand.
This man
failed her,
humiliated her,
and never even acknowledged her.
She hated him so much.
But why did she ask me to help him?
She didn't honestly speak her mind.
Do you know why?
All I know
is that your mother wanted you
to stay alive.
And I'm here today
to give you a chance.
What chance?
A chance to live.
And a chance for revenge.
Now, Xie Lanqing
is bound to step down
from the position of
the Minister of Justice.
Whoever takes over
Xie Lanqing's case now
means to take over the position
of Minister of Justice.
You deserve to take this position.
Then,
we'll have to rely on you
to help us from now on.
Your words
are like a slap in my face.
No.
On the way here, I was thinking
about in the past,
I could have been
nicer to you.
But I
Uncle, let bygones be bygones.
Let's move on.
Okay.
What's the condition?
No conditions this time.
All you have to do is tell the truth.
Xie Lanqing will get whatever punishment
he deserves.
As for your attempted assassination,
I'll report to Father
and ask him
to absolve you of your crime
for you making amends
for your fault by good deeds.
Your Highness, you're not
using me again, are you?
But I'm willing
to identify Xie Lanqing.
That's good then.
I wish you can get out soon, Mr. Lin.
Mr. Lin, don't be too sad.
The days go by fast
when you're playing tiles.
There are plenty of things
that can bring you joy in this world.
I'll leave the tiles here for you.
I'm leaving now.
Let's go.
Your Highness, why do you think
Lin Feibai's mother
had such contradictory feelings?
She had been teaching Lin Feibai
to hate Xie Lanqing
in her whole life,
but she asked him to help Xie Lanqing
at the end of her life.
What did she want?
Do you know what it feels like
when you're dying?
Of course, I don't know.
I've never died.
Do you know?
I guess
it's true that Lin Xia had hated
Xie Lanqing all her life.
But hatred comes from love.
That's why she waited for him
when she was dying.
But it didn't really matter
if Xie Lanqing came or not.
When someone is dying,
what they think about
is not only regret,
but also the wonderful things
in their lives.
Why do you sound like
you've been dead before?
But Lin Feibai is really pathetic.
There are a lot of pitiful people.
He's not that pitiful.
That's true.
The greatest sorrow
in the world is poverty.
Birth, senility, illness, and death
are the order of nature.
Only poverty always
makes you doubt yourself.
It's like being stuck
in a spider's web
and wondering
if you're not trying hard enough
to break free.
All right.
Your Highnesses,
I shall leave now.
Take care.
Your Highness, I wonder
what you saw in your past life
when you were dying.
What about you?
What did you see when you were dying?
Me?
The Chinese New Year.
That was the first time
we spent the Chinese New Year together.
There was a fireworks show.
It was right here on this street.
♪A dream takes me through eternity♪
There are no fireworks here.
It's on the right.
On the right.
♪Only wrinkles on one's sleeves♪
♪Then, you wave to me♪
♪I follow the breeze♪
♪And I see your eyes♪
♪Parasol trees by the garden♪
♪With a brush, one weaves a view♪
♪Talking about everything♪
♪I'm glad to have you in my world♪
♪By my side♪
♪We watch the moon and sun♪
♪We share the fate♪
Can you promise me
that you'll watch fireworks with me
every Chinese New Year?
♪Then we light up a lantern somewhere♪
Sure.
♪The years pass♪
♪History may repeat♪
♪I know you will be with me♪
I envy you.
I didn't expect you to think
of something so wonderful
when you were dying.
♪People come and go♪
But then,
you broke the promise.
♪You're the only one who knows me well♪
♪It's like meeting
an opponent in a game♪
Then, we'll watch it again this year.
I'll watch the fireworks with you again.
♪Enjoying each other's company♪
♪No matter what tomorrow holds♪
Promise me one more thing.
What's it?
♪All worries are behind us♪
This time,
we'll either not say out loud
what we'll promise each other
or
we'll keep our promises
till the end of our lives.
♪Then we light up a lantern somewhere♪
Okay.
♪The years pass♪
Neither of us can break the promise.
♪History may repeat♪
♪I'm always by your side♪
Well.
Let's make a pinky swear.
♪I'll walk with you
to the end of the journey♪
♪No matter how many times
I have to choose♪
One hundred years.
No change in lifetimes.
♪Under the lush sycamore tree♪
♪Waiting for you to turn around
as if you could sense me♪
Mr. Xie,
do you confess to the accusation
of hiring someone to assassinate for you
by Princess Pingyue?
Mr. Pei,
didn't I teach you on the day
you joined the Ministry of Justice
that you need evidence
when handling cases?
Li Rong's assumptions alone
won't convict me.
I have evidence.
The money Mr. Xie used to pay
for the assassination
is marked with the Xie Family's mark.
[Taiji Hall]
Your Majesty,
the former Minister of Justice,
Xie Lanqing,
instructed an organization
in the martial world, Seven-stars Sect,
to assassinate Princess Pingyue
and the Prince Consort, Pei Wenxuan.
The evidence is conclusive.
According to the Great Xia's law,
the crimes of committing rebellion
and hiring someone to assassinate others
should be sentenced to death.
But Xie Lanqing is a minister
who's worked
for both you and the late Emperor,
once made contributions to the nation,
and served you with sincerity.
So the Ministry of Justice suggests
that the merits and demerits
should offset each other
and he should be sentenced
to exile in the northern desert.
Any objections?
Your Majesty,
the Qin Family's case
and the case of the embezzlement
of military provisions and funds
have been investigated
by the Inspectorate Office for months
and have now come to obvious.
I request to close the cases.
Granted!
Your Highness.
Mr. Su.
I wonder if you are available.
Mr. Su, what's the matter?
Now that the cases have been closed,
there will be a break tomorrow
to welcome the Chinese New Year.
If there's anything you want to discuss,
why don't you wait
until after the Chinese New Year?
Mr. Pei, don't be nervous.
It's not about me.
It's Mr. Xie.
He wants to see you, Your Highness.
Your Highness, have some tea.
Mr. Su, have some tea, too.
Thank you.
Why don't you pour yourself one?
There is a notch in the cup.
I can't use it.
I'll just use yours.
Mr. Su.
Your Highness,
do you still want some more?
There's no way
there's a chipped cup in my mansion.
Just keep acting.
[Ministry of Justice]
Had you seen her?
Lin Xia.
You'd seen her before, hadn't you?
I hadn't.
I've been in Huajing.
And she
died two years ago.
She died two years ago?
You didn't know?
This is not surprising.
Twenty years.
You never went to see her
in the past 20 years.
Although I hadn't seen her,
I may still know
of what you want to know.
Xie Lanqing, that old man.
He's in charge of the Ministry
of Justice and he's gone too far.
Don't be angry.
I've found Xie Lanqing's weakness.
There's a swordswoman
named Lin Xia,
born into a famous martial family.
When she was young,
she went to Huajing accidentally.
In Huajing,
she accidentally met Xie Lanqing,
a childe back then.
They had a child
named Lin Feibai.
Lin Feibai?
Go ahead and ask me anything you want.
Is Lin Feibai
really my child?
Yes.
You were in love with Lin Xia
but had to break up with her
due to pressure from your family.
She was pregnant
with Lin Feibai at that time.
But she didn't tell me.
Why would she tell you?
You couldn't marry her.
And she had no intention
of marrying anyone else.
So this child was her only hope.
Because of this child,
she could not be accepted
by her family and clan
and had to follow her junior sister
into hiding.
Finally, she had no choice
but to write to you
and ask for the money.
You should have been relieved
at the time, right?
You felt you would
no longer owe this woman.
So you gave her Qinqu Mountain
with a stroke of your pen.
Later, she established
the Seven-star Sect,
and was surrounded
by her right and left guardians.
Rumor in the martial world had it
that she was having an affair
with her right guardian,
her senior brother, Lin Fei.
So you thought Lin Feibai
was Lin Fei's child.
After all
Lin Feibai's existence
was known to Xie Lanqing
a year later.
In other words,
Lin Feibai's real age is not 20,
but 21.
Lin Xia hid the exact time
she gave birth to her son.
When Xie Lanqing found out,
it was already a year later.
So he never thought
it would be his child.
Lin Xia spent her whole life
on Qinqu Mountain.
Lin Xia spent her whole life
on Qinqu Mountain,
and even when she was dying,
she thought of you
and asked people to get to you.
But you didn't want to go to see her.
Your Highness,
I'm sure you're back, too,
aren't you?
Mr. Xie, what else
would you like to ask?
If no,
I'll be leaving.
Did she hate me?
I don't know
about this.
But there's one thing
I'm curious about.
Have you ever loved her?
I dare not to say it.
Love is nothing
to you.
But I pity Lin Xia
for her life
of wandering and loneliness,
being trapped by a man like you.
I wanted her
to have a good life.
I was young and ignorant.
I thought if I risked my life,
I could protect both of us.
Only then did I realize
that I was not qualified
to talk about love
when I was a member of my family.
If I married her,
my family's centuries-old reputation
would become a laughing stock.
My family couldn't tolerate me
being with her.
Death was nothing to me.
But what about her?
Why did a heavenly being
end up in the mortal world?
Even though Lin Xia
was a respectable swordswoman,
she was also a foolish woman
infatuated with her feelings.
Why did a heavenly being
end up in the mortal world?
I let her go
because I wanted her to stay alive.
I didn't go to see her
because I knew
it would be meaningless,
so why made her become more heartbroken?
It's not that I didn't love her.
It's just that I was not worthy of it
and I dared not love her.
That's because of your status.
I didn't expect you
to understand so much
at such a young age.
But I've spent my whole life
thinking these through.
I want to protect my family,
this noble name,
and this noble lineage.
You're a descendant of the royal family,
but you married a man who's a commoner.
It's fine that he's a commoner,
but you listened to him
and cut off the noble families
from the Crown Prince.
Your Highness, I'd like to ask you
why you're doing
all this.
For the sake of making the son
of that humble woman, Consort Rou,
ascend the throne?
All Her Highness has done
is to stop people like you
from asking why.
What she seeks in the world
is not for the family
to be the most important
but for all people to live a happy life
with hope.
It may not be realized today.
It may not be realized
in a hundred years or a thousand years.
But Her Highness still hopes
that one day
there will be no more people like you
asking what you did wrong,
and no more people like you
accusing Her Highness of being a royal
descendant married to a commoner.
Pei Wenxuan has already
answered your question.
You can leave in peace on your journey.
Mr. Su.
If there's nothing else,
we'll be going.
Your Highness.
Please.
The biggest mistake
in Mr. Xie's life
is that he shouldn't have allowed
himself to be carried away
even if he was deeply in love.
Are you the same?
In your world,
you can even
kill your beloved
for the sake of your family?
Why are you saying
such an unfortunate thing
out of the blue?
I'm just asking.
Mr. Su won't mind.
I do mind.
Mr. Pei,
please don't make fun of my beloved.
Mr. Su, do you have a beloved?
♪It's like standing on the edge
of a bottomless abyss♪
Yes or no
it's not something
you should make fun of.
♪But here,
the blossoms you adore abound♪
I'm sorry for speaking out of turn.
♪How do I shout out the words
I want to say?♪
But you haven't addressed me
as Your Highness, have you?
♪But the wind in the valley
gently ceases its whispers♪
Now, the prince consort's rank
is higher than that
of the investigating censor
of the Censorate.
You come from a prestigious family,
so you should abide by the rules.
Don't make that mistake again.
♪If we met at the right time,
love wouldn't have been so complicated♪
Let's go, Your Highness.
Your Highness.
♪The wind carries sand and dust♪
♪The moment I see the sunset♪
As the Chinese New Year is approaching,
I would like to wish you
a happy Chinese New Year
and all the best early.
♪My world gradually falls apart
as we fail to understand each other♪
Mr. Su, I also wish you
a happy Chinese New Year
and a bright future.
Thank you, Your Highness.
♪I can't bring myself
to take a step forward♪
♪Fulfilling others is something great♪
What's on your mind?
♪And there's no need to be afraid♪
I think
♪Just go for it with guts♪
he's a bit familiar.
You mean
♪The wind swept over the corners
of my eyes and your cheeks♪
I think he's
more like the old him now.
♪You know I just want to shield you♪
♪From the chaos of the world♪
♪The sound of falling rain is ticking♪
I hope I'm overthinking this.
♪Like the sound of a guqin
beating on fallen flowers♪
Let's go.
[Su's Mansion]
The conversation
at the Ministry of Justice
has proved that Her Highness is back.
No wonder she treated me that way
at the Spring Banquet.
Her Highness must remember
our time being together
at the Princess's Mansion.
But last time,
Her Highness
and the Prince Consort ended so badly,
why is she
still with Pei Wenxuan this time?
Is Pei Wenxuan back?
This time,
I have to protect both my family
and Her Highness.
Your Highness,
wait for me.
♪Who gazes at the sky from afar?♪
♪Who gazes at the sky from afar?♪
♪In the night's chill breeze♪
♪What is she singing for?♪
♪The wind caresses the hills♪
♪The wind causes ripples on calm water♪
♪Moonlight graces passing souls♪
♪Her steps get slower and slower♪
♪She's trod a lengthy path♪
♪Memories lost then found♪
♪Gazing idly as clouds roll by♪
♪She holds a red candle♪
♪To brave the thick fog♪
♪Life can be bitter sometimes♪
♪Experience it with grace♪
♪Like a fleeting dream♪
♪Like a fleeting dream♪
♪Neither warmth nor cold will last♪
♪Like a fleeting dream♪
♪Like a fleeting dream♪
♪The moon is reflected in her eyes♪
♪In her gaze,
the unwavering faith remains♪