老臣也请 求乞骸骨
“I also request to retire.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
老臣甘愿 辞官回乡 平复百姓 不满之心
“I am willing to resign and return to my hometown to calm the people's dissatisfaction.”
老臣 也请 求 乞骸骨
“I also request to retire.”
吕大人 赵大人
“Lord Lyu, Lord Zhao,”
“I stand with my colleague; accept our exit or bear the political cost.”
Requesting to take back one's bones to die in one's ancestral hometown was the highest formal way for officials to surrender power without losing honor.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
beg to retire due to old age (literally 'beg for one's bones')
A classical idiom exclusively used in historical drama contexts where an aging imperial official asks the emperor for retirement.
your humble elderly servant/minister
Self-referential title used by senior ministers when addressing the ruler in period dramas.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“My heart aches!”
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“I've worked with utmost devotion”
“It's true I brought troops into the palace. But only this way”
“I obeyed your command,”
“I'm not afraid to die.”