= Love Like the Galaxy=
=Episode 9=
General Wan, please stay.
General Ling,
are you not staying for a meal?
Our Young Master has never eaten at other residences.
All right, it's for the best.
General Ling, I won't see you off then.
Uncle Wan.
I've been driven into a corner now.
You and Qiqi are all I can turn to for shelter now.
Excuse me, Young Lady.
Which family are you from?
Are we acquainted?
Uncle Wan, stop putting up an act.
I seem to know you but you are...
I'm Niaoniao.
Cheng Shaoshang of the Cheng Family.
You're Niaoniao?
How did you end up this way?
You don't have to tell me.
I know
it must be your mother who beat you.
Fear not.
I'll talk to your father about this.
It wasn't Mother who beat me.
But why do you look glad
that I was beaten?
No, I wasn't.
I just didn't recognize you for a moment there.
Don't hold it in. Just laugh if you want.
Why did you laugh?
I wasn't laughing.
If Young Master said you did, it means you did.
Niaoniao,
Qiqi is in the back hall.
Why don't you go and meet her?
I'm occupied here.
Qiqi!
General Ling.
The door is...
It's getting late now.
I'm afraid dinner is not prepared at my residence yet.
So I can only continue
to trouble you, General Wan.
General Ling, I thought...
Would it be troubling you?
Of course not.
Please come in.
That wretched Wang Ling.
How could she beat you so viciously?
Look at what she did
to this pretty face.
I hope she...
I hope she'll suffer from frostbite on her face.
Why don't you stay for several days now that you're here?
(Old Madam Wan)
You can go home after your mother is no longer upset.
Thank you, Old Madam Wan.
Qiqi's elder sisters are all married.
(Mrs. Wan) Since she returned to the capital,
she has been idling all day long.
You and your friends
should start learning to read and write now.
I don't want to learn all those.
I want to teach Shaoshang how to ride a horse.
Besides,
can't you see
Shaoshang's face is still bruised?
Do you write with your face?
Qiqi,
when are you going to stay put
to learn to read and write?
Also,
take off all your jewelry.
Who are you showing these jingling things at this late hour?
Don't you find them heavy?
Grandmother,
people in the capital dress like this now.
Then bring me a lady
who dresses up this way.
Then I'll have
the exact jewelry ordered for you.
If you can't find one who dresses up this way,
you'll have to give all of these to me.
Old Madam Wan,
it was a rough journey here.
My stomach is pretty much empty
and I'm starving.
Is there any food?
Take Shaoshang to your room and have a meal.
And change your clothes.
So based on what Shaoshang said,
she fought with them because of a disagreement.
If that's what happened,
how is that a conduct of a lady from a noble household?
Even if she has suffered injustice,
there are other ways to solve it.
There's no need to go to such an extent.
Pray tell,
what can be done to solve this
in ways where she can vent her anger
while keeping the peace?
She can inform the elders.
Her mother was present at the time.
She didn't even speak up
to seek justice for her daughter.
There's no need to vent.
It's all solved if she bears with it.
Life is all about strength of character.
Losing it means it's all but dead.
If General Cheng is
someone who plays safe and is a patient person,
do you think I'd let Songbai be his sworn brother?
In turbulent times,
what's the use of an ally
who won't step up to fight for you
at a critical time?
You're right, Old Madam.
Qiqi takes after Songbai.
Shaoshang takes after General Cheng.
They're both frank and care not about trivial matters.
Making friends isn't just
about being sincere.
You must discern well.
I'm not young anymore.
I should be telling
these to my grandson
and teach him how to distinguish and see through others.
Yet, I'm here nagging
at you here.
I'm to blame for not bearing any male offspring.
General is not young
and he has no son.
Don't dwell on this matter anymore.
Who knows you might live longer than Songbai and me.
There is nothing worried
once people die.
Old Madam Wan. Madam.
Master is drunk from drinking too much.
He rests in his study room now.
He won't be greeting you for the night.
I understand.
Has Ling Buyi left?
General Ling is still here.
I heard he's staying the night in the guest room.
I guess he's also drunk.
General Ling didn't have a drink.
It's good, isn't it?
It's strong enough.
Qiqi,
I'm curious about something.
What happened to your grandmother's ear?
Everyone knows about this.
Yet, you didn't know?
I don't know.
When my grandfather passed away,
my father was barely ten years old.
Then my granduncles came to the residence.
They insisted my grandmother would remarry
and let another man take
my grandfather's property.
No matter how my grandmother vowed,
those people wouldn't let the matter rest.
So my grandmother
cut off her left ear,
threw it directly at the person who headed them there
and said she'd never remarry.
Old Madam Wan
is really impressive.
Grandmother also said
she comes from a humble background.
But my grandfather was never mean to her.
He always respected her and loved her.
He used the most elaborated way to marry her.
He said
my grandmother is the world's best woman.
Because of what my grandfather said,
my grandmother doesn't fear
even if she has to cut her flesh
piece by piece.
This is what we called,
"If the Emperor treats me as the nation's pillar,
I shall contribute as the nation's pillar."
Old Madam Wan is indeed
a heroine among women.
In the future,
it would be best
if I can marry into a stable family
and live a stable life.
How can you marry casually?
Would you be contented with marrying an ordinary person?
Yes, I would naturally be contented.
Since I was born,
it wasn't up to me to decide to feel discontent.
Yao,
(Lou Ben)
you came home with Li.
Why aren't you resting in your room?
(Lou Yao, you shall be more brave.)
(You mustn't be lesser to the Cheng's Young Lady.)
(At least, she dared to fight.)
Why are you standing at my door?
Brother Ben,
I came here to see you.
I...
I want to break off the betrothal with He Zhaojun.
Ben,
we have opposite personalities and it's hard to get along with her.
Besides,
everyone in the capital knows
about the relationship between her and Prince Xiao.
I feel miserable
and it's better to break it off sooner.
I know you wouldn't agree to it but...
All right.
You...
You agreed?
With me running the second chamber,
I won't let you sacrifice for a marriage.
You're right.
It's better to be decisive in this matter.
No matter who you choose to marry in the future,
I'll fully support you.
Thank you, Ben.
I agree with your sudden decision to break off the betrothal.
You look so happy.
Do you have someone else in your heart?
No, I don't.
If I have one,
you'll be the first person I tell.
You can go back to your room now.
For your grandmother's birthday banquet preparation,
I can hear knocking from early in the morning.
So this is here.
Mister,
what's wrong with this bridge?
It's Young Lady and Fourth Lady Cheng.
Greetings.
This bridge is unsteady and unsafe to walk on.
I'm looking for someone to repair it.
But this bridge is a little strange.
No matter which piece of wood is moved, it'll affect other pieces.
So we can only demolish this bridge and build a new one.
I'm planning to tell General about this.
Uncle Wan really spent a fortune
in repairing this house.
Qiqi,
is the water flowing in the lake?
It flows from the outskirts of the east side of the capital.
Father spent ten thousand cash
to construct the canal alone.
On Grandmother's birthday,
I'm going to show Wang Ling and the rest
that our mansion is not inferior
to Lord Ruyang's Mansion.
Niaoniao, what are you doing?
Follow me to the horse training ground.
Qiqi,
you know
I love building things the most.
I want to take a look
before they take down the bridge.
Come with me.
The bridge is going to be taken down anyway.
I don't want to stare blankly at it.
I'll head to the horse training ground first.
Come over once you've finished inspecting it.
I'll teach you how to ride a horse.
I'll be there in a while.
(So that's how it's built.)
(I only need to pull this one out.)
(Then the whole bridge will...)
General Ling,
I want to apologize for last night.
I had too much to drink that I left first.
I didn't take good care of you.
No matter.
It's just that His Majesty will travel to the west soon.
Yet, I haven't found the geographical map of Shu.
So I'm just concerned.
It was you who recaptured Shu back then.
General Wan,
have you never seen that geographical map?
No.
I've never seen it.
General Ling,
look around Wan's residence.
We don't lack any treasures.
Why would I keep that treasure map?
Yes, it doesn't appear to lack anything.
I did say that, right?
I'm grateful to His Majesty for rewarding me with this huge mansion.
My family has ample food and clothing.
I can't thank His Majesty enough for his grace.
So what can I do
with that map?
General Ling, how about you take a look around
since you're already here?
General Ling.
General Ling, stop.
This bridge is dangerous.
It'll collapse if you walk on it.
Why don't you come this way?
The bridge is dangerous?
It turns out to be a dangerous bridge.
We should be cautious then.
Yes, we must be careful.
(Why is this fiend still here?)
(I can't seem to get away from him.)
Qiqi!
Shaoshang.
My father bought this horse recently.
It's docile and suitable for beginners.
If you like it, I'll have someone send it over.
If you only have one,
it's better you don't give it to me.
My mother is a very fair person.
If you only have one horse,
she'll politely refuse to accept it.
Or she won't give it to me even if she accepts it.
Good horse.
It's obedient, is it not?
Good horse.
Young Lady, Old Madam is asking for you.
All right.
Shaoshang,
why don't you ride it first?
Me? Ride it?
It's so bothersome.
When my grandmother asks me to run errands,
she'd call for me several times a day.
I'll see what she needs and you can ride it first.
All right, go on.
Let's go.
Come here.
Stay still.
That's more like it.
Stop. Stop.
Stay still.
I'll teach you.
All right.
It's all right now.
Don't take such a risk again next time.
A good horse knows human nature best.
If you fear it,
it'll pick on you.
If you're tenacious,
it'll fear you.
That's the way of handling a horse.
In this world,
the same thing applies to most things.
Why are you here, General?
If it weren't for me, you'd have suffered serious injuries.
That's quite bold of you.
You have no knowledge of horse riding.
Yet, you have the guts to ride a horse alone.
I'm not bold.
That happened
because man and woman shouldn't be too intimate.
You were too close to me.
So I was scared.
Not because I'm scared of the horse.
You grabbed onto my arm tightly.
You were the one who was too close to me.
Besides, if I was indeed too close to you
because I've admired you for a long time.
Yet, you have no interest
in me at all.
Did you say you admire me?
General Ling,
I was speaking nonsense the other day.
Please don't take it to heart.
Besides,
didn't you come to our home and tell my father
that I'm similar to the interrogators at the Ministry of Justice?
Was I wrong?
Miss Cheng, you eavesdropped on a military discussion under the bridge.
When you go to the Ministry of Justice,
you can only be a wanted criminal under imperial order
and not an interrogator.
I didn't eavesdrop on any military discussion.
General Ling,
even if I may have offended you in some way,
you can't make a false accusation.
I admit I was under the bridge.
But I can't hear anything from under the bridge.
Is that so?
Yes.
Ling... Ling Buyi,
I didn't hear anything at all!
I really can't hear anything from under the bridge!
Young Lady Cheng is
all bruised and swollen from being beaten.
It makes me want to laugh when I see her every time.
You better don't let Old Madam hear you.
She'll punish you for disrespecting our guest.
I think you can hear clearly
from here.
When I'm nervous,
I can't hear anything.
Are you certain you didn't hear anything?
General Wan has
the geographical map of Shu in his possession.
I'm here to obtain it on behalf of His Majesty.
You wanted to tell me this yourself.
I never wanted to hear it.
It's about the armament case your Granduncle was involved in.
That batch of armaments may have been transported to Shu.
When His Majesty heard of this,
he decided to travel to the west.
By all means, we must have the geographical map of Shu.
Yet, General Wan is hiding this map in secret.
Young Lady Cheng,
you must think of the connection in this matter.
Your father and General Wan are close friends.
And your family member
is involved in this armament case.
If His Majesty finds out about this,
how would he punish the Wan Family
and the Cheng Family?
How do you know
the geographical map of Shu
is in Uncle Wan's possession?
If I didn't know,
I wouldn't have stayed for the night.
Uncle Wan only loves wine and riches.
He would never be disloyal to His Majesty.
He may think...
He might think
that was just a treasure map.
I thought so too.
General Ling, you're capable of doing anything.
I'm sure you know
where this treasure map is hidden.
I've searched every corner of Wan's residence.
Only Old Madam Wan's chamber is inconvenient for me to search.
So
I can only trouble you to do this task.
Why don't you search for it yourself?
Would you believe me
if I say I don't want to act presumptuously
because I want to protect the lives
of the whole family?
If you help me retrieve the map,
I'll be tight-lipped
about what you want to do.
What is it that I want to do?
Dangerous bridge.
So it's a dangerous bridge.
Then I shall await
your good news.
After you do me a favor today,
I shall fulfill
your wish in the future.
Old Madam, watch your steps.
Qiqi,
you're not a child anymore.
Do you still want to play hide-and-seek with me?
I'm exhausted.
I want to get some rest.
You can all leave.
Yes, Old Madam.
Qiqi,
I forgot to remove my pearl hairpin just now.
It was uncomfortable.
Come and take it.
And put it in the box next to the shelf.
Are you listening to me?
I'm waiting for you!
Remember.
Put it in the fragrant rosewood box with flower carvings.
Don't ever touch the box made from red sandalwood.
Your father left this treasured object
with me for safekeeping.
If you make a mistake,
it's a much worst mistake than stealing his Qianlizui.
Do you understand me?
I'm talking to you.
You can leave after you keep it.
I need some rest.
General Ling.
It's done.
Good.
Drink, General Ling.
Have another drink.
General Wan,
I've been nothing but trouble for the past two days.
I think it's time for me to take my leave.
General Ling,
we haven't had enough drinks.
I'll be sure to attend
the Wan Family's banquet a few days later.
General Ling.
I shall get going now.
But...
Don't go.
General Ling!
They say you're hard to deal with.
So much for being cautious.
Mother!
Mother,
can you guess what happened?
I've easily sent
that ill-fated person away.
Did he leave?
Yes.
Is he really gone?
Yes, he's gone.
Did he leave any word?
He said he'll be attending
the banquet here a few days later.
Thank you for helping the Wan Family, General Ling.
What are you saying, Mother?
Why do you need to thank that lad?
Mother.
Come here.
Come closer.
Mother.
I said closer.
Mother, what is it?
Shaoshang, why are you going home
when Aunt Yuanyi's anger
has yet subsided?
I missed my father terribly.
My father...
Mother!
Stop hitting me.
Why do you have to be so fierce?
Mother?
Father?
Father.
I'm sorry.
Even if Mother beat me to death this time,
I'll never run away from home anymore.
Niaoniao has a fright
from Lord Ruyang's Mansion several days ago.
Now she has suffered at Wan's residence.
Besides, she already knows her mistakes.
So please don't punish her.
Only she can do something to shock others.
Who can shock her?
Do think she suffers at Wan's residence?
How is it not so?
It's only been a couple of days.
Look at her sunken face.
It's because her swelling has resided.
You said you were wrong.
What did you do wrong?
I used to think
everything outside is the best.
So I was eager to venture out.
But I've finally understand
that no place is better
than home.
Father,
I'll never go anywhere from now on.
I'll stay with you and serve my duty as a child.
All right.
It's not over yet.
What happened at Wan's residence?
Ling Buyi was there.
What was he doing there?
He said he was searching
for the geographical map of Shu.
Mother,
I didn't cause any trouble at Wan's residence.
I only came home
because I find Ling Buyi
is scary.
You're right about that.
When I talked to Ling Buyi,
I felt
a cold shudder all over my body too.
Is it that hard to stop
your habit of eavesdropping?
I overheard it by accident.
It was Granduncle's fault for losing the armaments.
Ling Buyi suspects that this batch of armaments
was sold to the Shu.
He thinks Shu has second thoughts.
That's why he was searching for this map.
Is this something
a young girl like you should be discussing?
I don't mind you talking about family matters.
But this concerns the nation.
General,
the monarchs and officials play different roles.
We must not discuss
this matter any further.
You have a point.
Niaoniao,
have you told anyone about this?
No.
I only told you and Mother.
I didn't tell a third person about this.
Niaoniao,
you must never speak of this
and tell another soul of this matter.
Helping to keep this matter a secret is enough
to make up for your previous mistakes.
Go back to your room.
Where did she go?
I haven't started questioning her yet.
Dear, didn't you just forgive Niaoniao?
We'll just consider that she has made up for her mistakes.
I never said that.
You just said so.
Don't you remember
what you said just now?
Dear.
Do you think
Shu will raise a rebellion?
(Geographical Map of Shu)
With this map,
we can deploy our troops in advance.
Then Shu won't be able to cause any huge trouble.
But Young Master,
you already knew the map was hidden
at Wan's residence.
You can just retrieve it.
Why did you go through the trouble
and end up owing Fourth Lady Cheng a favor?
Young Master thinks
General Wan would be charged for the crime
of hiding the map
if we found the map after searching his residence.
But it would be a different story
if Old Madam Wan gives
the map to us
through Fourth Lady Cheng.
So that's the reason.
His Majesty has a benevolent heart.
He thinks there's a misunderstanding
in this matter.
I'm afraid His Majesty's plan
to travel to the west
would raise an alert
to Shu.
If they restrain themselves
and not make any move,
it'll be harder for us to find something to hold
against them.
We both know His Majesty's journey to the west is mainly
to force them to yield by showing our military strength.
But those who are afraid of being exposed
may not surrender.
If they think His Majesty's journey is
to attack them,
what do you think they'll do?
They will be desperate and try to gain the upper hand by attacking first.
Young Master,
what should we do next?
We'll round them up and leave them no way to escape.
Let's make them feel anxious first.
Thief!
Catch the thief!
After the thief!
Search over there!
Why are you just standing there?
Go that way!
Your Highness,
we searched the place.
That thief was too fast.
We failed to capture him.
Useless!
You can't even catch a thief!
What's the point of taking you in?
Your Highness,
we've inspected the area.
Nothing is missing from the residence.
Your Highness, something bad had happened!
Your Highness, something happened!
Ling... It's Ling... Ling...
Ling...
What Ling?
Speak properly!
It's General Ling!
He brought the black armored guard and surrounded us!
(Steafast Allegiance)