The Story of Ming Lan (知否知否应是绿肥红瘦)

The Story of Ming Lan

Episode 5

It takes a decade to grow trees, but a century to nurture people.

It would be best if Your Majesty can decide on the child to adopt from the Royal family at the earliest possible time.

Are you forcing me to abdicate?

Your Majesty, please be appeased.

These are just the shallow views of the ministers.

Your Majesty lost a young son.

When Your Majesty is in pain, we too are in pain.

Your Majesty grieves for your son, we Ministers grieve for the land.

Your Majesty, please adopt from the Royal family,

test their moral character, select from the best and choose an heir.

Are you all going to do away with the last shreds of propriety?

You still say you're not forcing me?

I lost a son,

but still pushed myself to attend court and attend to government affairs.

But you ungrateful, shameless lot!

You dare to force me in this great hall!

I did not want to hurt your feelings Your Majesty,

but I must insist on doing this today.

Silence.

It's to maintain Your Majesty's integrity in the later years.

Your Majesty, please adopt an imperial candidate.

- test their moral character, - Mutinous!

- You mutinous bastard! - Choose from the best,

and establish him as heir.

Bastards!

This is the nation's foundations Your Majesty!

Court is adjourned!

Court is adjourned!

Your Majesty. Your Majesty.

Men!

Your Majesty. Your Majesty.

If we can set to stone,

the matter of adopting from imperial clan.

Even if I'm beaten thirty times, I'm contented too.

Fine.

About adopting an heir,

I will listen to your advice.

I will leave it to whoever you want to appoint.

Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, do you suspect this old minister?

That I am favoring an heir?

Your Majesty, look at this old man.

This hair and beard,

I'm already more than seventy years old.

I don't have any children.

Would I still have any selfishness?

Royal heirs are the foundation of the national security.

So many turbulence happened in the past.

Each came from lack of early decisiveness.

Be decisive, Your Majesty.

If you say to appoint an heir, we will appoint an heir.

If you say to adopt from imperial clan, I will adopt.

I select or not,

someone has to come and be the emperor,

but I already don't have a son.

Who...who can give me my son?

Who can give me my son?

Who?

That Lin Qinshuang, isn't she a reincarnated witch?

A few days at Yangzhou, the official gave her the cold shoulders.

She cried and she's heating up things again.

Big Madam, don't think of these non-matters.

Soon, Scholar Zhuang will come to Bianjing.

We need our young master to hurry and get ready to study.

Ming'er is not going to study?

On one hand, she's the youngest and she's not getting up in the morning?

Secondly,

her concubine mother only recently passed away.

If she goes to the academy, she would just be unfocused.

This time, even the young master from Qi Princess Consort's Manor

will come to our manor to study and what a heavenly honor.

In the future, our young master and the young lord are classmates.

When it comes to studying, Changbai says Second Master Gu will come too.

I'm just worried about this.

That child comes from a great family but he's not so sightly.

I don't want him to influence our Changbai to the bad.

But thankfully he's not coming anymore. He's going to some White Deer Academy to study.

I don't have to worry then.

Let her to study.

First, having somethings to do will help her faint her sorrow.

And secondly, she needs to understand some ways too.

So she can be a person who is enlightened and learned.

Mother, you are right.

When the scholar is here, we will have them go greet him.

Young, I was witless in the world's affairs.

My natural wildness prefers the hills.

By mishap I fall into the snares.

And wasted are my thirty years.

Birds in the cage long or their old forest.

Fish of bond long for their former river.

I clear the wildness stretching to the south.

Hiding my defects homeward I return.

I build my house on ten acres.

Eight or nine grass thatched huts.

Elms and willows shade the eaves.

Peach and pear trees spread before the courtyard.

A distant village gleams beneath the sun.

While smoke from nearby huts hang in the breeze.

A dog is barking in the deep alley.

A cock crows from the mulberry trees.

All is clear of dust in my courtyard.

In tranquil and leisure I remain.

I have been imprisoned in a cage for long.

Now back to nature I return again.

Master.

Take your time.

I got it. Slow.

According to Zhang Hailing of last dynasty,

what an era of beautiful nature.

Look at how he wrote 'ping' character.

Such handsome ink strokes.

Sit.

His ping-an (peace) card is my favorite.

I love Wang Youjun's character 'an' on the ping-an card.

'An' is a hard character to write. Yang Youjun's 'an' character,

The side strokes are arched and perfectly balanced in thickness. It's the hardest to accomplish.

I've tried to work on it since youth.

Now, I still haven't mastered it.

That's not something you can rush on.

And who is this Wang Youjun? T/N: better known as Wang Xizhi, famous calligrapher

I dare not study his handwriting, I'd loose all faith in myself.

You are being lazy.

How wonderful. You are still in good health I hope.

By your grace, all good.

Grandmother, Madame, Mistress, my respects.

Sit.

My body is still in good health,

I won't be returning home until Yanran has been betrothed.

You should know about my family matters.

There is no hope

- in relying on her father and step mother. - The father and son's calligraphy may be similar

but their personalities are different.

Every character in Wang Youjun's cursive scripts is different.

But Wang Daling carved a new path, completing everything in one stroke.

The top and bottom connected, with their pulses fluid.

With that father and that penmanship, he was divinely fortunate.

You are right, Uncle.

Then I shall go and change.

Go then.

This child is mature.

A good child.

Later, have the Ming girl take Yanran and play in the room.

At my house, you can let the child go wild.

A little girl playing wildly is quite cute.

Mother. I have been good. I didn't go wild.

I wasn't talking about you.

So unruly.

Second Brother Gu, when will you be back?

It's will take a few months.

He can only come back when the studies halt.

I heard he's already passed the provincial level imperial exam at White Deer Academy.

He can just come to our academy and study under Scholar Zhuang.

Is that really something like this?

He and I already agreed.

He's coming back for the next imperial exam.

It will be best if he returns.

He used to be hedonistic and never too serious.

Now he's devoted to his studies for a few years,

and he's passed the level exam.

You! Studying and writing.

You're not accomplished in anything.

You don't feel bad? Still asking when he will be back?

I'm telling you,

Scholar Zhuang already sees your essays aren't good.

He will definitely tell your father.

I just come across some areas I don't understand when I study.

So I want to ask you for help.

Lately, you have improved compared to before.

That's good now.

If there's anything you don't understand, I will teach you.

I won't hide it from you, but soon I have a poetry meeting with Qiaojiu and them.

It's the day after New Year's. Old Madam Yu and the young master even came to greet the new year.

What Poetry Society? Stay home and eat.

My timing is here. I can't miss this appointment.

I will learn from you on another day.

You..!

Are you thinking of having your meal here before you leave?

I heard Master Yu is coming at night too. Since I am an exam candidate,

I should seek more understanding from the elders.

Who are you coaxing? You just want to stay at Sheng House to be alone with 6th Miss.

Shut up.

It was supposed to be alright to go home later after coming to bid the new year.

But Madam already said to be sure to get back for dinner.

Let's do this then.

Let's bid our farewell later before we leave.

Thank you, Young Master, for doting on me,

Wait for me here.

Young Master, that fast?

Where is my handkerchief?

Where did I drop it?

Let's search the places when we first came.

If it still can't be found,

I must have lost it at the hall. If it's not there, then...

the handkerchief isn't worth much.

We are delaying our time by looking for it. It's almost time to eat.

We still need to bid farewell.

I must find it.

Not only do I need to find it, I need it find it with whole fanfare.