Good Bye My Princess (Dong Gong / 东宫)

A'Du.

I really feel that I'm lucky.

I initially thought that here in the Central Plains that you were my only loved one.

But now, there's also Gu Xiaowu.

I thank Heaven for letting me find him again.

For remembering him.

What else can I ask for?

A'Du, look.

There are so many stars in the sky.

But I still don't think that they are as bright as the ones in Xi State.

Li Chengyin, I'm going back to Xi State soon.

Gu Xiaowu!

Gu Xiaowu! Gu Xiaowu! Gu Xiaowu!

Gu Xiaowu!

Gu Xiaowu!

Your Imperial Highness, although the crown princess consort was taken by the assassin,

it's good that we now know

she is all right.

Zhao, do you think Xiaofeng has been taken away

or that she really wanted to leave?

Your Imperial Highness, you are overthinking.

Crown Princess Consort has always been full of ideas.

She probably has her thoughts on why she did it.

She has usually been so simple-minded,

but so full of mischievous ideas.

She loved causing trouble and so stubborn like a bull.

Her stubbornness not only brought her trouble.

Sometimes, she was able to hit the right path and helped us big time.

But I didn't want her to get involved in our conflicts.

I only wanted her to stay simple-minded every day.

I only wanted her to fight with me,

argue with me, make a ruckus every day.

I only wanted...

her to stay in the Eastern Palace and wait for me to return.

Zhao,

could it be she doesn't like Shangjing?

Does she want to return to Xi State?

Do you have a problem?

None.

Rest early. We'll leave the city first thing in the morning.

Xiaowu,

I'm thinking that it would be the Shangyuan Festival soon.

Why don't we leave after the festival instead?

The longer we stay here,

the easier it will be for the guards to find us.

Also, there are so many people during the Shangyuan Festival. It is not convenient for us to go out in the streets.

Why so? There will surely be a lot of people out in the streets that day.

If we mixed within the crowd, it would be harder to be noticed.

Also, other than grilling fish and roasting yams,

we haven't eaten anything else these past two days.

I want to go to Mi Luo's place and have a good meal.

Are you unable to put Li Chengyin down?

No such thing. Now that I know that you are Gu Xiaowu,

I won't allow my heart to have someone else.

What if I wasn't Gu Xiaowu?

How could you not be Gu Xiaowu?

You clearly look the same as the man in my dream.

Also, you have the scent of Xi State on you.

That can't fool anyone, right?

Xiaowu, I don't want to leave this place so hastily.

Can't we say farewell to this place

in a magnanimous manner before leaving?

Okay. After the Shangyuan Festival, we will immediately leave.

Xiaowu, believe me.

I will always stay by your side.

We will be together forever.

I promise.

Father, we found that grand preceptor that you asked me to search for.

It's just that when we found him, he had already committed suicide.

His corpse is even hanging inside his house.

It looks like he just died recently.

I fear that he knew long before that we'd go find him.

This matter is indeed not that simple.

Who is this person behind the scene? The crown prince?

The crown prince? No way.

The emperor?

I fear that someone has long started a slow fire to stew something, while we

thought all along that it was just cooking soup.

Write to your eldest brother. If we want to end this matter with us being safe,

we can only rely on him in earning us a merit from His Imperial Majesty.

[Eldest Brother, recently, His Imperial Majesty reopened the old case regarding the imperial civil examiners...]

Yuan Tong!

I'm here!

- General. - How much money do we still have? Do we have 20,000 taels?

Replying to General. I fear that we can't come up with that much immediately.

Swallow it down first.

Isn't the salary for last month not been distributed yet?

It doesn't seem proper to touch that.

Why not?

Don't worry. In a few days, there will be money to fill the gap.

Since Danchi has been eliminated,

it's been so long since we played a good act.

What General means is...

Do this. Immediately come up with the money.

Write the king of Shuobo a secret message.

Tell him that I want to invite him for a drink.

My Lord, an urgent report from the Western Border Protectorate General Office.

The Shuobo Tribe was able to conquer the three cities

Huaibian, Xizhu, and Youshan in just one whole day.

How is that possible?

Any news from the Protectorate General Office?

The two parties fought, but the Western Border Protectorate General Office couldn't resist them

and was forced to retreat.

What is this Gao Xian trying to do?

My Lord, are we going to go there and provide reinforcement?

No.

Order the whole army to be on guard and stay put. Let's wait for what Shangjing will say.

Yes.

Xiaofeng wants to wait after the Shangyuan Festival before returning to Xi State.

What? We can't do so.

The more we delay it, the more it would be dangerous.

You better convince the ninth princess not to do so.

Let us just satisfy her wish.

She has to truly let go of everything here.

I have thought about it. We can use the disturbance during the Shangyuan Festival

to directly leave the city through the Bearing the Heaven Gate.

Usually, when there are few people, it would be harder to go out of the city.

Okay.

What? Shuobo is suddenly making rebellious movements?

What then are the people of the Protectorate General Office doing?

Where is Gao Xian?

Your Imperial Majesty, this is an urgent memorial from General Gao.

What sandstorm?!

Not enough rations, soldiers, and horses?!

Why did he not report this before?!

He only thought of reporting it now!

What has Gao Xian been doing?!

Your Imperial Majesty, on behalf of my son, I ask for punishment.

May Your Imperial Majesty take back Gao Xian's military badge and be reassigned.

Your Imperial Majesty, there is an urgent war at the borders now. General Gao lost the first battle.

However, he has numerous experiences when it comes to the war at the border.

He is the only choice in pacifying the uprising of the Shuobo Tribe.

As long as we send over more rations and military equipment,

there is still a chance to pacify the Shuobo uprising.

I ask Your Imperial Majesty to punish me for my crime.

Prime Minister Gao, what crime have you committed?

In the rebellion of Shuobo, Gao Xian is the main commander, yet he failed to resist the enemy.

I am his father.

I was unable to teach my son well and that is my first crime.

I am the head of the cabinet of the current empire.

The army garrisoned in the Western Border lacks rations and men.

I failed to know this and that is an oversight of mine. That's my second crime.

May Your Imperial Majesty punish me sternly.

Prime Minister, please rise.

Prime Minister Gao, I know of your loyalty.

Promulgate my decree! Gao Xian is being promoted to Far Subduing Generalissimo.

Rations and military equipment must be immediately supplied to his army.

Hope Generalissimo can successfully pacify the uprising of Shuobuo.

Thank you for Imperial Majesty's graces.

Your Imperial Majesty is wise!

When I was still a prince,

I frequently told bold statements to my imperial brothers,

as if I could do anything.

I always felt that I could obtain the empire in front of me

just by extending my hand.

But after I ascended to the throne,

I realized that I totally can't clearly see

how this empire looks like.

I also couldn't clearly see

what position in this empire should an emperor be standing.

Tell me.

Am I still the son of Heaven?

Of course, you are.

I dare not guess the intentions of Your Imperial Majesty,

but I know that you are the son of Heaven.

The reason that one is the son of Heaven

is not only because he has complied to the will of his citizens,

but more because he has complied to the will of Heaven.

Since it is complying with the will of Heaven, Your Imperial Majesty is naturally standing above this empire.

No one can waver the position

that the will of Heaven has bestowed you.

Why did you stop investigating the case about the imperial civil examinees?

Does Minister Xi not know

that this is an order from the emperor?

It was His Imperial Majesty who halted the investigation?

When did His Imperial Majesty make such a decree?

I did not know that there was a new decree.

Some of the decrees of His Imperial Majesty may be written in books,

some on his face, and some are even written on his heart.

Minister Xi, you should know that

the war at the northwestern region is quite intense.

His Imperial Majesty has to rely on the power of Prime Minister Gao in the northwest.

What official position do we have?

Do you want to throw eggs on a stone,

or seek for your own destruction?

Self-preservation. An ant greedy to survive.

Too bad. How could the empty fame of a scholar

win against the official hat of the minister of the Ministry of Personnel?

It is exactly because I have once read all those books by sages

and spent so many years of hard work and arduous training in the political arena;

that's why I will not be like a pedantic old man like you,

who only knows to show off a moment of strength

and eventually cause the eternal loss of the last hope

of exonerating those scholars.

You... You are...

What you?! Did I say anything wrong?!

Do you think that in investigating a case, one must openly wear a flag and beat the drums?

If everyone was as rash as you, so many innocent people would have died

even before the investigation of this case had finished.

I knew it! I knew it! I wasn't wrong about you.