臣却缠绵病榻 不能助长公主一二
“I have been bedridden and unable to assist Your Highness.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
不过近日朝堂风波不断
“However, with the court in such chaos,”
臣却 缠绵病榻 不能 助长 公主 一二
“I have been bedridden and unable to assist Your Highness.”
特来请罪
“I come to seek your punishment.”
“Please do not blame me for not standing by you; I genuinely had no choice because I was sick.”
Ministers in imperial China were expected to downplay their capabilities and profusely apologize for their shortcomings to maintain imperial deference and preserve their safety.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
bedridden with a lingering illness
A literary four-character idiom describing long-term confinement to bed caused by persistent illness.
to lend a little assistance to someone
A modest and polite classical phrasing used when offering or talking about providing help to a superior or peer.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“I had a quarrel with my wife.”
“But as a court official, what can I really do for Her Highness?”
“Instead, he hid the truth from me with his servants' help.”
“Let the Empress Dowager and Emperor fight it out.”
“we earnestly request you to move to the temporary palace for recuperation.”
“I'll work together with you to assist His Majesty.”