That loathsome silver hair is a signature of the previous Luan dynasty.
Behead every last one of the traitors!
Why are we dyeing our hair black?
Because we mustn't go outside with our hair like this.
But, never forget
that this hair is a blessing.
I named you with the hope that it would bless you too,
Shouxue.
Find them!
After them!
A woman escaped!
Hide here.
No matter what you hear, do not move.
Stay perfectly still.
Don't make a single sound. Understand?
Yes.
Mother!
There she is!
You'll pay for all the trouble you caused!
Please, stop! It hurts!
Mother...
Mother, where are you?
Mother!
Didn't she work at that shop?
I was a regular of hers since she was so beautiful.
I hear she committed treason.
Apparently, she planned to attack the emperor.
How terrifying.
I shall play the best role of all
The saddest role where one kills the most
Even at the ends of this square ocean, people change and are replaced
You forget that you're playing a role in this world
Everyone is just a bird in a cage
We all look forward to the day we can escape
And once it's within our grasp
The great big sky overwhelms us
MYSTERIOUS
Call out the name and bring calm
No one can stop your MYSTERIOUS
My MYSTERIOUS
Now, I shall play the best role of all
Raven of the Inner Palace
Deep in the inner palace,
there lives a consort known as the Raven Consort.
She holds a special position. Despite her title of consort,
she does not perform nighttime duties.
Though she lives in the inner palace,
she has no contact with the emperor.
It is said that she can use mysterious arts...
That silver hair is the previous dynasty's...
Episode 2 The Jade Earring, Part 2
You forgot your washtub by the lake.
I'll leave it here.
You should dry yourself off. Otherwise, you may fall ill.
I'm leaving now.
You...
You don't have anything else to say?
No. I saw nothing tonight.
U-Um, I beg your pardon!
I'm here from the Feiyan Palace.
My, what a cute little creature!
You've got such beautiful feathers.
Apparently, Xing-xing's taken a liking to you.
Shouxue?
The same. Thank you for yesterday.
Huh? Why are you dressed like that?
I am the Raven Consort. I apologize for deceiving you.
What?!
Wh-What am I going to do?!
I was so rude to the Raven Consort!
Please forgive me!
Calm yourself.
I'd like you to become my lady-in-waiting.
Huh?
This is my first time wearing such fine clothes.
I can't believe the Raven Consort has made me her lady-in-waiting.
Do not worry. It won't be for long.
What?
Appointing you to be my lady-in-waiting was my excuse
to peruse the register of court ladies.
I've learned the name of the personal attendant
to the consort Ban Yingnü, who hanged herself.
Her name is Su Hongqiao.
So, when you said you'd make me your lady-in-waiting...
I used your name when I said I wanted to select a lady-in-waiting.
After all, I'm not acquainted with any other court ladies.
Aw, really?
It's her...
That court lady from the other day.
She's gone now.
Thank you.
Didn't you say she exchanges letters with a eunuch from the Feiyan Palace?
I see she visits him rather frequently.
She said she only comes so often because she's been instructed to.
Instructed by whom?
By another court lady at the Office of Books and Writing Materials.
I think she's just embarrassed, though.
I see.
Wash House
They say getting sent to the wash house
is like being banished within the inner palace.
Is Ban Yingnü's former lady-in-waiting really in a place like this?
You're no ordinary ruffians, are you?
Your Highness?
Jiu-jiu, let's go.
You're not getting away!
Jiu-jiu!
What do you think you're doing?!
Retreat!
Are you hurt, Your Highness?
Who are you?
I've been instructed by the emperor's attendant Wei Qing to protect you.
Eunuch Wen Ying
My name is Wen Ying.
I see.
I appreciate your help. Thank you.
Who were they?
Probably the empress dowager's men.
The empress dowager...
That eunuch isn't one of Wei Qing's subordinates?
I do not know him.
I didn't get to thank him.
Jiu-jiu, are you all right?
Can you stand?
I'm sorry for dragging you into a dangerous situation.
You should return to the Ye Ming Palace without me.
No, I'll stay here with Your Highness.
Don't strain yourself. I'll have Wen Ying escort you.
Your Highness, you protected me even though you could've been stabbed.
I will go with you.
Su Hongqiao is in here,
though I doubt there's much point in asking her anything.
Why?
You'll see once you meet her.
Are you Su Hongqiao?
Lady-in-waiting Su Hongqiao
Your tongue's been cut out.
How cruel.
Did this belong to Ban Yingnü?
You want to write, don't you?
Let's take her to the Ye Ming Palace.
Wen Ying, carry her.
Wait. You can't just take her out of here.
I am the Raven Consort.
What?
On my authority, I am taking her out of here.
If anyone complains, tell them to come to the Ye Ming Palace.
Have you learned anything regarding that earring?
It probably belonged to Ban Yingnü.
She was accused of poisoning the Third Consort and hanged herself.
I'm on my way to speak with her former lady-in-waiting.
Wait here.
"They'll kill me if they discover I can write,"
"so I pretend that I cannot."
Who's going to kill you?
"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Her Majesty the Empress Dowager
The empress dowager killed the Third Consort
because she became pregnant.
Her father was a senior vassal, but not one of the empress dowager's men.
The empress dowager bribed Ban Yingnü's chambermaid
into planting stellaria in a chest in her room.
I saw her do it.
I also did as I was told.
They threatened to kill my family back home.
I let Ban Yingnü die.
She didn't hang herself.
She was killed so she could be framed for the murder of the Third Consort.
The chambermaid was killed.
But killing a lady-in-waiting like myself would attract attention,
so they cut out my tongue so I couldn't speak.
This earring is possessed by a ghost,
most likely Ban Yingnü's.
"She treasured that earring."
"She said her betrothed back home has the other."
"But, apparently she gave it away to someone one day."
She gave away an earring that precious?
I have a question.
It is all right.
Do you know the name of the eunuch who silenced you
and framed and killed Ban Yingnü?
"Guxuan."
Do you know him?
One could call him the empress dowager's shadow.
He is currently at the servants' quarters.
I'm glad I didn't kill her back then.
I have one other question.
What is the name of the man who was betrothed to Ban Yingnü?
Guohao
"Guohao."
Hongtao Palace
I feel so nervous leaving the inner palace dressed like this.
They're all men.
Of course they are.
Are you Guohao?
Yes, Your Majesty!
It's you.
You're the man who helped us when we were attacked at the wash house!
You were wearing eunuch's clothes at the time.
Um, I—
Did you sneak into the inner palace?
The punishment for that is death.
I'm sorry!
We heard you were betrothed to Ban Yingnü.
You knew?
Her former lady-in-waiting told us.
Lady-in-waiting?
Where is she now?
I have questions for her.
There's no way Xiaocui would poison—
Step back!
Is "Xiaocui" what you called Ban Yingnü?
Yes. There's no way Xiaocui killed anyone.
On top of that, she'd never hang herself.
Did you sneak into the inner palace to find her lady-in-waiting
so you could uncover the truth about your betrothed's death?
I doubt you'd understand, Your Majesty,
how it feels to have your betrothed taken from you by the emperor.
How dare you!
Xiaocui and I were betrothed to one another since we were little.
But once she entered the inner palace,
I wasn't even allowed to see her anymore.
The night before she headed to the capital...
Take this as a memento of me.
Don't forget me.
It was the only keepsake I had of her, but I dropped it in the inner palace.
Are you talking about this earring?
That's it. That's definitely the earring Xiaocui gave me.
So it was her betrothed's.
It's now possessed by a ghost.
What?
I got dragged into this mess because this man said he wanted to help her.
His Majesty? Does that mean you're...
I am the Raven Consort.
By ghost, do you mean Ban Yingnü's?
Yes. It is as you said.
Ban Yingnü was framed and killed.
She continues to suffer because of that grudge.
Why? Why did this have to happen to Xiaocui?
Why...
Your Highness Raven Consort, would you allow me to see Xiaocui's ghost?
You wouldn't recognize her as she is now.
It matters not what she looks like,
just as long as I can see my Xiaocui again.
Very well.
Xiaocui?
Xiaocui...
Shouxue.
What is it?
Take this.
What's the meaning of this?
Why do you have this?
When I was ten years old,
I met her at the inner palace after my mother's funeral.
Are you crying?
When I asked her about the earring,
she said she'd given the other to someone very important to her.
She said she felt connected to him when she wore the one she had.
She must've told me that story to distract me because I was crying.
I did a terrible thing to her.
I asked her to give me that earring
because I was jealous the person she loved was still alive.
She gave it to me,
smiling as she did.
It wasn't because I was the crown prince.
She did it to comfort a crying child.
I immediately regretted taking the earring from her,
but I'd lost the opportunity to return it.
I'd always wanted to return it someday.
Xiaocui...
Xiaocui?
Xiaocui!
Xiaocui...
Has Ban Yingnü moved on?
Yes.
Seeing her betrothed, if only for a moment, must have saved her.
Thank you.
I shall pay for the crime of sneaking into the inner palace with my death.
That will not be necessary.
You can go see your betrothed after living a full life.
Wait. There's something I'd like to report to you, Your Majesty.
Speak.
While eavesdropping on the court ladies' gossip when I snuck into the inner palace,
I overheard a certain eunuch and court lady's conversation.
They seemed to be secretly plotting to poison you.
Where did you hear that?
The Office of Books and Writing Materials.
The Office of Books and Writing Materials...
Jiu-jiu, isn't there an obnoxious court lady who comes all the way
from the Office of Books and Writing Materials to bother you?
Huh? Yes.
What is this, now?
I know a court lady who serves the Office of Books and Writing Materials.
She exchanges letters with a eunuch at Feiyan Palace.
But you said that she is actually not the one writing those letters, correct?
I did.
Who is that court lady's superior?
I think she said there's a court lady who's kind to her.
That court lady promised to recommend her for a lady-in-waiting position eventually.
I believe her name was Xingshi.
Xingshi is a lady-in-waiting who serves the empress dowager.
She's surely given more than letters to that eunuch.
Search the Feiyan Palace.
Feiyan Palace
Wei Qing.
The eunuch says Xingshi instructed him to hide a poison.
Xingshi admitted it as well.
She said the empress dowager's eunuch Guxuan
approached her with a plot to assassinate the emperor.
What about Guxuan?
He confessed.
He said the emperor's assassination
and the murders of the Third Consort and Ban Yingnü
were carried out on the empress dowager's instructions.
This is the poison Xingshi was hiding.
It's the same poison that was used to kill your mother.
Master, this is concrete evidence.
Any last words?
Come to think of it, it was delightful.
Watching your mother dance.
Assassination within the inner palace
and treason against the emperor cannot be excused.
Execute her.
I did not permit you entry.
Then you should bar your door.
I thought I should reward you for your assistance.
I need no reward.
Dried jujubes, huh?
Like candy you'd give a child.
I thought this room smelled strongly of incense when I first visited.
Is it to conceal the smell of the hair dye?
That's what you came to say?
Why do you turn a blind eye to me?
Exposing your identity benefits me in no way.
I have no need to kill you.
Provided you do not wish to kill me. That would be another matter.
Do you not hate me?
Perhaps you hate my grandfather or father, instead.
I'm not sure.
If there is anyone I hate, it is myself.
Why?
There she is!
Please, stop!
Because I watched my mother die.
Shouxue.
As a symbol of my promise, I give this to you.
Keep it.
What promise?
I promise not to kill you.
I'm the same. I watched my own mother die, as well.
My mother endured all manner of humiliation to protect me.
I didn't even understand that much.
And then my mother died.
Today, all that finally came to closure.
But I should have known there is no right way to kill a person.
All that remains is the regret that I couldn't save anyone.
I'd been consoling myself with thoughts of my revenge against that woman.
And now, you're empty.
What is it?
Will you become my consort?
What?!
What are you talking about?
Are you out of your mind?
Perhaps. I've been so busy until today that I've barely had the chance to sleep.
Don't speak nonsense, then.
Nonsense, huh?
I don't have time for this. Get out of—
When I saw you by the lake, I thought, "This must be what a goddess looks like."
I'd never seen anything so beautiful.
My fate had tainted
What... What are you...
The heavily falling snow black
Hey.
Hey, wake up. Don't sleep in my bed.
The sun shines in gradually
And freshly melts it away with its summer warmth
This is just for tonight.
The dream you saw in your eternal sleep
I shall grant you pleasant dreams.
I'll do whatever I can to make it come true
(I want to help you, it's true)
Because you made your wish to me
Just like the sun shining through the darkness
The bouquet of light
That you had given me
Still connects the seasons that will never meet
The proof of this pain
Will it be able to stay the snow that falls in the summer?
Episode 3
The Flute