It's reasonable that Her Highness Concubine Li
doesn't want to mention
what she suffered outside the palace
for the moment.
However, it's deeply perverse that
she refused to
come forward to defend herself
after knowing that Han Shen was arrested by us.
It's still so strange
even if Her Highness Concubine Li treats anyone with tolerance
and disregards gains and losses.
After all, it's the villain who held her hostage.
It's unethical for them
to stay outside together for several days.
Why doesn't Her Highness
come forward and defend her chastity?
Unless there is already a hidden relationship
between them.
Li Zhong, what do you think?
Your Majesty, I didn't understand
why Central Regular Attendant arrested Han Shen.
I thought his leaving for his hometown
might be unrelated
to Her Highness's leaving.
However,
Her Highness's response to this matter
or Han Shen's attitude of taking all the blame
is indeed perplexing.
I guess…
Go on.
Your Majesty, with all due respect,
I think there must be an undisclosed secret
between Her Highness and Han Shen.
An inner palace guard presents himself to Your Majesty.
Summon him.
Your Majesty, I have something urgent to report.
Go ahead.
Other fellows and I were guarding
outside Her Highness Concubine Li's room.
Her Highness disguised herself as a palace maid
and secretly went to the prison just now.
Come with me.
Don't stay for long.
Yes.
Junior.
Senior Han,
you shouldn't have come here.
How silly you are.
You know, His Majesty won't treat me harshly
even if I go back alone.
He may criticize and confine me at most.
You know how dangerous it is for you to stay here.
Central Regular Attendant is very cunning.
If he has something on you,
he won't give up the opportunity to show off
in front of His Majesty.
There're no grievances or grudges between Central Regular Attendant and me.
He won't baffle me.
Fortunately, I'm back.
Ying Zheng
is harsher on you.
He actually put you into prison.
He just wanted me
to reflect on myself.
And he won't ask the prison guards
to do anything to me.
Only the servants of Her Majesty Great Empress Dowager Huayang
can enter here.
The harem is full of danger.
Put into prison by him,
you would be cut up like fish and meat.
Lots of people
wanted to kill you by this chance.
He just wanted to kill you.
Even so,
you shouldn't have
risked holding me hostage.
If he wanted to behead you tomorrow,
how should I save you?
I don't care.
Since I entered the Qin palace
and decided to become a guard,
I have been ready to die at any time.
I will never leave you alone
in the dangerous Qin palace.
I once swore to heaven that
I would protect you
until my death.
You've suffered
due to me.
My suffering is nothing
compared to the pain in your heart.
I will definitely come to save you.
Take care of yourself.
Li.
I'm afraid if I don't tell you tonight, I won't have a chance.
On that day in Puyang,
I actually…
What are you talking about?
Your Majesty.
Since you're here,
just stay.
Someone?
Lock the door.
So you've been cheating on me.
You,
you left the palace
together.
Han Shen, it's bold for you
to abduct my concubine.
Someone?
Execute him on the spot.
Yes.
His Majesty, please don't kill him.
He is my first senior.
I met Han Shen
before entering the palace.
Because we are senior and junior who used to practice together.
My grandfather Gongsun Yu
raised Han Shen from a young age.
We practiced martial arts and swordsmanship
and played together since childhood.
So I wasn't kidnapped
out of the palace by him.
I did that voluntarily.
We agreed to meet my sworn sister.
She's Ge Lan,
the daughter of Swordsman Ge Nie.
Your Highness,
the Qin palace is not a deep prison.
If you want to visit your relatives in your hometown,
you may report to His Majesty
for permission.
Since you're senior and junior,
why didn't you tell us in advance?
According to the regulations of the Qin palace,
no inner palace concubines are allowed to leave the palace.
Even if I'm very homesick,
His Majesty won't make an except for me.
Did Concubines Chu and Mindai
once go out of the palace
and visit their relatives in their home countries as they please?
Your Highness Concubine Li,
you left the palace without permission,
making a tremendous fuss.
Lots of palace servants
are nearly killed due to you.
I'm performing my duty of defending the palace.
So Your Majesty, please maintain your sanity.
Central Regular Attendant,
I went out of the palace for personal reasons,
causing much trouble.
But this is not Han Shen's fault alone.
To help me get rid of punishment,
he lied about kidnapping me out of the palace.
It turns out that you are cheating His Majesty
from the very beginning.
How dare you say it so confidently?
Han Shen, you said you're Li's senior,
so you tried your best
to help her find
the missing Tianming, right?
Yes.
Your Majesty, with all my due respect,
I can't believe
their relationship
only by Her Highness Concubine Li's words.
Yes.
A mere verbal statement
is no guarantee.
We also need to find one in the martial arts world
to prove whether it's true.
Your Highness, if you refuse it,
what you said is all a lie.
Okay, I agree.
My senior and I practiced Gongsun Swordsmanship
since childhood.
One top master
in the martial arts world
can tell whether we're from the same sect.
I think he can
prove for you.
You competed with General Meng Wu
when you just entered the palace.
He's the No. 1 martial master in our state,
so he won't act unfairly due to personal reasons.
I'll invite General Meng
to compete with Han Shen tomorrow,
so that we can know
whether your swordsmanship
is from the same sect.
Your Majesty, it's such a good idea.
But my senior
has been tormented in prison
these days.
If he, with harmed internal force,
competes with General Meng Wu tomorrow,
I don't think it's fair to him.
The victory or defeat is not important.
I only care about the outcome of this matter.
You shouldn't worry
whether he can win Meng Wu now.
And
if he isn't your senior,
I'll definitely
kill him.
Give me wine.
Give me wine.
Don't stop me. I need to drink more.
Why?
Give me wine quickly.
Tell me
whether I can trust you again.
There're only us.
Tell me the truth.
Is what you just said true?
Half is true, and half false.
Well.
Go on.
Han Shen is indeed my senior.
I was not kidnapped
but left the palace voluntarily.
But the person I want to see outside the palace
is not my sworn sister Ge Lan.
You went to see him?
Did you see him?
Yes.
If so, why did you still come back?
For the sake of Tianming,
I must come back.
And I had planned to come back
when leaving the palace.
Because I know
as long as you're alive
and Qin is still a strong state,
you won't let me go.
I don't want to involve more people in this.
And
I tell him
Tianming is our child.
What did you say?
Why are you doing this?
Because I want Tianming
to live a free life,
do what he wants to do,
and control his own fate.
I've already
seen this,
so I am willing to come back.
You're still thinking
about that man until now.
For him,
you'd like to sacrifice yourself, right?
I couldn't eat or sleep well
in the days when you left the palace.
But you make a fool of me.
If you dare
to deceive me again,
I won't be lenient.
Lan.
Don't stop me.
What's wrong with Jing Ke?
He's drunk again.
He's drunk again.
Father,
how did you get through the sadness
after my mother was killed by Xiahou Yang?
I was like a living corpse.
Losing Li, who always supports him,
Jing
is a living corpse
like you were.
Junior.
So what should I do?
What else do you want to do?
I need to find a way
to encourage him to pick himself up again.
Lan,
Jing Ke already has Gongsun Li in his mind,
so it's hard for him to accept other woman.
I have to remind you.
He loves Gongsun Li deeply.
Even if you try harder and do more for him,
he can't read your kindness.
Don't waste your time
to try to change his mind.
I've understood what you said,
but you often say,
"Where there's a will, there is a way.
No matter how many difficulties we meet,
we can't give up easily,
right?"
Guy, you're so lucky.
When we were about
to scratch your face,
His Majesty summoned you.
But it doesn't matter.
You may come back soon.
We're waiting for you here.
Let's go.
Good morning, Mr. Tian.
Let me help you.
Morning.
Did you go to practice early in the morning?
I reviewed swordsmanship with my father.
I didn't practice carefully these days,
so I felt sort of strange.
Where is Jing?
I went to his room
and didn't see him there.
I guess he went out last night.
Did he go to drink again?
Lan.
Lan.
Your Majesty, we've got Han Shen here.
You can leave.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Why don't you kneel down after seeing His Majesty?
Junior.
Junior. Junior.
Don't call Her Highness without thinking.
I'm sure that
before leaving the palace,
you two had already conspired to deceive His Majesty.
Central Regular Attendant,
I swear in front of His Majesty that
my senior and I
never did anything shameful.
Let's invite General Meng Wu
to prove to us
whether we're senior and junior.
Meng Wu, begin.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Han Shen's kung fu is just so so.
It's so strange that
he's actually inferior to his junior.
Your Majesty.
The outcome turns clear.
Han isn't the senior
of Her Highness at all.
I think
it's time to ask General Meng Wu to stop,
or he'll be killed.
Li,
are you cheating on me?
No, I'm not.
Go kill him.
Junior.
Senior, cheer up.
Fill your Ren channel with qi, concentrate your strength at Lianquan acupoint, and wield the sword with your intention.
Fill my Ren channel with qi,
concentrate my strength at Lianquan acupoint,
and wield the sword with my intention.
General Meng, sorry for that.
Your Majesty,
I can learn
from our competition that
Her Highness Concubine Li and Han Shen
are indeed from the same sect.
Li Zhong,
what do you think?
Your Majesty,
they must have practiced together
since childhood,
so they could cooperate so perfectly.
They moved forward and backward, showing flawless cooperation.
And they've been practicing for at least over 10 years.
Zhao Gao,
what else do you want to say?
Your Majesty,
Her Highness used your sword without permission.
She acted recklessly
and even threatened you.
Shut up.
She was just trying to prove
her relationship with Han Shen.
And she didn't harm me at all.
Let me ask you again.
What else do you want to say?
Um,
I have nothing to say.
Li Zhong?
Yes, Your Majesty.
Take Han Shen to Guang'an Hall first.
I have something to ask him.
Yes.
Your Majesty.
Li, I won't hurt him.
Fill your cup. Fill your cup.
Well, cheers.
Cheers.
Sirs, here comes your dish.
Put it here.
Please enjoy yourselves.
Waiter.
Sir, you're drunk.
If you want to sleep, go somewhere else.
We're still doing business here.
Give me wine.
Don't sleep here.
Give me wine quickly.
Come on.
Senior.
Senior, you're drinking so much.
Aren't you afraid that our grandpa scolds you?
Li.
Sir, see you.
Please come again.
Okay.
Give me wine.
Give me wine.
Sir, please come in.
Serve me wine.
Waiter,
give me wine.
Meng Wu already proved that
you and Concubine Li are senior and junior,
so I have
to spare your life.
If I kill you, her senior,
she must hate me all this life.
She said
you had lost your parents when you were a child.
Her grandpa took in and brought up you.
You learnt martial skills, practiced swordsmanship
and grew up with her.
You're as close as brother and sister.
I wonder
whether you are childhood sweethearts?
Tell me
whether you have a feeling
for Concubine Li.
I have something to say to you.
I'm afraid that
I'll have no chance to tell you after tomorrow.
Li,
I actually…
Senior Han, why do you become pessimistic suddenly?
They love someone so deeply
that they don't mind even if they can't get a response from their beloved.
They feel contented
as long as they can stand beside their beloved silently.
I know
you are not the man she deeply loves.
I'm just her senior.
What should I do with you?
Your Majesty, if you spare me,
may I make bold to request you
to agree with my stay in your palace?
I risked my life coming back.
I thought I would be executed.
So I had no reason to seek your mercy.
You know
our relationship today,
so you should understand
why I managed to enter the palace
and risked my life coming back.
I did all this
out of my care for her.
Your Majesty, please allow me to stay in your palace
and protect Her Highness Concubine Li.
Ridiculous.
She's my concubine.
So just save your ravings.
Yes, she is your concubine.
However, no matter how much you love her and how carefully you protect her,
you can't deny that
the palace is full of dangers.
You can protect her for a while,
but you can't do that all her life.
Wanton.
If I can't do it,
can you?
Yes, I can.
Because I am fearless.
At what time and under what circumstances,
I can sacrifice my life to protect her
no matter what price
I pay.
However, as the king,
can you
do that?
You need to manage the court affairs, harbor the people in your state,
and seek benefits for the state.
Can you
do anything for a concubine?
Can you sacrifice your own life
to protect her?
Jing, be careful.
Slowly.
Slowly.
Father,
Father, why are you here?
Don't support him.
What do you mean?
I ask you not to support him.
Father.
Jing Ke, draw your sword.
Father, what do you actually want to do?
If you want to kill me, just do it.
I don't care.
Mr. Jing,
you good-for-nothing.
As the disciple of Gongsun Yu,
you actually abandon yourself to despair
because of a woman.
You simply destroy
the reputation of your master.
You can accuse me,
but you can't slander my master.
Your master Gongsun Yu
was an ignorant man who only advocated benevolence and righteousness
and had few true skills.
You can't stop me from saying that.
Shut up.
Father,
Jing has been frustrated.
Why do you treat him like this?
It's none of your business. Step aside.
Father.
Father, stop it.
Come again.
Pay attention to your sword intent.
The confused sword intent may damage your internal force.
Stop it.
Jing.
Well done.
I guess
it's the first time
that you made
such smooth movements.
Yes.
This is the true Gongsun Swordsmanship.
As a swordsman,
all you can think of in your heart is your sword.
You were irritated by me
and only concentrated on your movements.
This is the essence of wielding a sword.
Father, you were trying to provoke Jing.
But my master often said,
"When wielding a sword,
one should harbor his state and people
and practice for those important around him."
What your master said is correct,
but he already reached the realm
of unity with his sword.
So he could return to simplicity, eliminate all his distracting thoughts, and remain his pure mind.
You mean…
You're young and unsophisticated,
with complicated thoughts and numerous worries,
so you can't wield your sword smoothly.
I think Miss Gongsun might
faintly sense it,
so she chose to leave you.
She knows as long as she was with you,
you wouldn't refine and perfect your swordsmanship.
Jing.
Does she really think so?
Did she really leave me
for my own good?
Jing Ke,
think it yourself.
What kind of swordsman do you want to become?
What great things do you want to do?
Why was Miss Gongsun
determined to leave you?
Gongsun Yu passed his swordsmanship manual over to you,
hoping that you can do something.
Lan, let's go.
Let him think over what I said.
Only when he understands it,
can he get up after the fall.
It's heard that
you asked my senior to continue to stay in the guards' squad.
Thank you very much for sparing his life
and keeping him in the palace.
Okay. I allow you
to stay in my palace
and continue to protect Concubine Li secretly.
But I have one condition.
Your Majesty, please instruct.
You must regard me as your king
sincerely.
Although you protect Concubine Li,
you should truthfully
obey me.
No matter how deep friendship
you have with Concubine Li,
don't forget that
I can decide
her life or death.
You must report everything
about her to me.
If you dare to hide anything from me or treat me disloyally,
I'll expel you from my palace.
And you can't get any news
from Concubine Li.
Can you do it?
Yes, I can.
There's just one thing I haven't figured out yet.
You've kept my senior.
Aren't you angry?
I'm not upset about
your relationship with Han Shen.
What makes me upset is that
you still
haven't been honest with me
after over one year.
Senior,
remember.
No matter what happens
and no matter where you are,
my heart will always
belong to you.
Unfortunately,
you care too much, and are too gentle.
If you can let go of the shackle,
surely you'll be more extraordinary.
What if I kill Ying Zheng?
How about Li?
She can't leave the palace alone.
I give you my swordsmanship manual.
I don't hope that you can win immortal merits
but hope that you can have a strong sense of justice and help the weak
one day.
This is the true Gongsun Swordsmanship.
And only concentrated on your movements.
This is the essence of wielding a sword.
Eliminate all his distracting thoughts, and remain his pure mind.
From now on,
I'm a sword,
a sword that goes straight to the enemy
and never returns.
What exactly do you want to do?
You know, I dislike beating around the bush.
It's been a year since you entered the palace.
You and I haven't become a real couple.
That's my respect for you.
I want you now.
Can I?
Wanton.
Protect His Majesty.