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The Apothecary Diaries

This story is a work of fiction. The names of all of the characters, organizations, and so on are imaginary. It also bears no connection to any specific real-life events.

Several high-ranking officials realized what's going on,

and immediately began a search, but...

Where could he have gone?

He took off with a servant girl.

Oh, perhaps a lover's tryst?

That's impossible, idiots.

But he's been gone for two hours now.

I've already sent men out to search, but no updates.

I can't ask Father for help right now.

He did seem to issue an order to that servant girl.

I should have gone after him, no matter what he said!

I'm sick of roles that are pure formalities!

If the organizer could at least wrap up the party...

Shishou.

As always, there's no way to tell what he's thinking.

But I'm sure he wouldn't want trouble taking place at his own party.

If that's true, could he have nothing to do with all this?

Episode 36: Ka Zuigetsu

He's warm. And he smells faintly of incense.

But more importantly...

What is this?

Is it the frog from earlier? But it seems too big for that.

Sorry, but could you move your hand away? It's touching something...

Touching...?

It can't be.

It can't be what a eunuch has prior to entering the rear palace.

But... it is!

His build is unlike that of a normal eunuch.

There were so many other hints.

But I might have been subconsciously avoiding the thought of it.

He may have the face of a goddess, but Master Jinshi is...

In a way, I don't have to go through as much trouble explaining.

I need to tell you something.

No. I must not listen.

That's the reason I had you come along on this trip.

If I learn this, I'll have to take it to my grave.

Apothecary, I am—

My apologies, I might have crushed a frog.

Huh? A frog?

It suddenly fell on my head, and I lost my balance.

Are you hurt?

No, it wasn't a frog—

It was a frog.

A frog. Yes, it was a frog.

Come on, let's get out of here.

Who are you calling a frog?

What else could it have been but a frog?

Frogs are much smaller, aren't they?!

There are lots of somewhat large frogs this time of year.

Somewhat...

Yes. Somewhat.

If it wasn't a somewhat large frog, what other somewhat large thing could it have been?

Hey! Why are you wiping your hands?!

Well, frogs are pretty gross. They get all slimy, you know.

Gross... Who are you calling slimy?!

Anyway. I don't know anything.

I must not know too much.

Master Jinshi and I are an official and his servant.

Nothing more, nothing less.

There's no need to share any unnecessary secrets—

Do you want to find out?

I provoked him too much!

W-What do I do?

Should I kick him?

What was that?

Good boy!

Hey, what' is it, boy? Why'd you suddenly take off like that?

This voice...

Master Lihaku! Can you pull us up?

Huh? Little miss?

What are you doing down there?!

I see.

Someone shot at you with feifas, so you jumped over a waterfall.

I wasn't able to see the shooter's face, though.

I'm glad you're safe.

So, little miss, why are you with him?

It's a bit complicated to explain.

Huh? Well, okay.

Has anyone brought feifas to this hunt?

No. They're not suitable for hunting in the forest, anyway.

I think it's safe to assume they were smuggled in for the assassination.

Should we check everyone's luggage? But...

All the guests are high-ranking officials invited by Master Shishou.

I doubt that they would hold onto tools of assassination.

Master Lihaku, about that dog...

Does he know any other tricks besides following a whistle?

Huh? Well, he can sniff out a rabbit's burrow, I guess.

He is cute, but...

Master Ji— Kousen.

What now?

He's angry.

I guess he would be. I got a little carried away, taunting him like that.

He was trying to tell me something,

but I made up some crazy excuses to avoid hearing him out.

He's someone who takes pride in his appearance.

I bet his frog's quite impressive too, and yet I referred to it as only "somewhat large."

Things are awkward, but I have to say what needs to be said.

There might be a way to determine who shot at us earlier.

Excuse me.

What is it?

We found this.

Hey, is that...?!

A piece of my master's garments.

What?! No!

We found it on a rock by the river.

No one else was in the area, and there were rapids ahead,

which were higher due to the rain last night.

If he was washed away...

H-Hurry! Send a search party!

Yes!

Go, now!

It's too late to panic now.

I will join the search as well, then.

What are you thinking, Master Jinshi?

W-What?!

Oh, my apologies!

Hmph. What a poorly trained dog!

Good boy!

What is it?

Master Basen! We found this...

It's from my master's garment.

Is this blood? Any sign of people nearby?

The riverbank isn't wet, so I don't think anyone's climbed out of the water.

I see.

However, we found this near the cloth.

Falcon feathers...

Was it made to wish for good luck in falconry?

Yes.

I'm sorry, could we check everyone's luggage?

I found it!

It's the same arrow as the one we found by the river!

I don't know anything about that! This has to be a mistake!

Then why was your arrow found by the river,

along with a piece of my master's garments, Sir Lo-en?

Someone must have stolen my arrow to entrap me!

What's going on?

I don't know anything!

Could it be...?

S-Someone!

Lo-en's panic seems genuine.

His men aren't reacting unnaturally, either.

In that case, why don't we try to see if there are any more arrows?

We should search the forest as well, not just the river.

Understood. Do a thorough search of the forest!

Yes, sir!

I hope he takes the bait.

What's going on?! I don't know anything about some arrow!

Is something there?

That's...

Give it back!

You... You're from earlier...

The dog really doesn't like you.

Dogs will notice this smell right away, with their sharp noses.

This must be why they refused to take the dog along on the hunt.

We've already confiscated the contents. We found three feifas.

It's foreign-made. Most likely the latest model from the west.

I can still smell the smoke.

It's quite small.

I've never seen this model before, either.

I see, the metal parts create a spark.

Gunpowder's made from coal, saltpeter, and sulfur. When it explodes,

it emits a strong smell that makes you want to plug your nose.

Like a rotten egg...

Yes, the same smell as the one from when we were shot at on that cliff.

When I let the dog take a sniff of gunpowder, he found the feifa right away.

Then he found the person who had the same smell of gunpowder on them... The shooter.

What a clever dog.

You're such a good boy!

I feel bad for that old man and his crew, who we used as bait.

Master Kousen!

Basen.

What was that gunshot?! Are you hurt?!

First you disappear, then you suddenly show me a scrap of cloth

and order me to follow this man's lead.

I had no idea what's going on!

Sorry. What's the status?

We've got an eye on this man's associates,

so that we can apprehend them immediately.

Good. Then all we have to do is make their crime clear.

Yes, sir!

After that, the masked guest returned to the mountain resort,

and the afterparty of the hunt wrapped up.

The disappearance during the day was written off as the masked lord's whimsy.

It became public knowledge that, during that party,

a certain official and his party disappeared.

They will never be seen in public again.

I don't know what happened, but he seemed tired.

But since I'm here as the surrogate for "Master Jinshi,"

I'm not in a position to worry about that.

He still has a ways to go.

Was the entertainment not enjoyable for a eunuch?

On the contrary, I'm enjoying myself.

It must be terrible, being forced to become a eunuch because you angered the empress.

The past is the past.

More importantly, this drink suits the moon very well.

I became a eunuch, discarded the Ma name, and changed it to Gaoshun.

But at parties, I am treated as one of the Ma family.

That's how it is.

Speaking of which, it's too bad the beautiful eunuch couldn't join us on this hunt.

The masked lord is with us this time.

If that beautiful face joined us,

it would be an insult to our lord.

I heard the masked lord has a terrible burn scar on his face.

I also heard he's still locked away in his room.

The emperor must be worried too,

to have that as the crown prince.

Yes.

"That," huh? No respect at all for the crown prince.

So, do you happen to know?

After the tragedy earlier, have any of the concubines come to be with child?

Unfortunately, I have no idea.

If you'll excuse me, I think I've drank a bit much.

Everyone is trying to determine

if the main guest of this hunting party...

that is, the emperor's younger brother,

is fit to take over the throne.

Was Master Jinshi able to tell Xiaomao the truth?

She needs to know, in order to deal with problems

that could take place in the near future.

She really is that useful.

This sounds cold,

but we need all the useful pawns we can get.

Another uncomfortable ending.

Just like the other time,

so much is left unanswered, like where they got the feifa,

what they really wanted, and so on.

It's foreign-made. Most likely the latest model from the west.

The west...

The special envoys, who were almost mirror images of one another...

That story about the girls sneaking out and tricking their guards

was probably about them.

What were they doing, sneaking out like that?

Like the metaphor of the younger sister becoming with child,

were they after a man? Or...

I hope the culprits today can tell us something.

Do you have a moment?

Why is he here?! Isn't he supposed to be at the party?!

You don't need to open the door.

I'm sorry that I startled you so much.

I may not be able to see him, but I know what face he's making.

I don't mind. In fact, I'm the one who should apologize.

For calling it "somewhat large," and all.

What is Master Jinshi thinking?

I've always been slow when it comes to understanding human feelings.

The big sisters who raised me were hard-working courtesans.

No matter how much I cried, they left me alone until they were done with work.

I heard it didn't take long for me to learn to stop crying.

That might be why

I'm slow to notice how others feel about me, good and bad.

I also have no idea what to say in these situations.

I won't breathe a word of it.

No matter what, you will always be Master Jinshi to me.

Those are my honest feelings.

Whether he still has his balls or not has nothing to do with me,

since it's not like I'm going to see them.

I see. I will always be me, in your view.

Don't be alarmed. I just want to give you this.

For the longest time, I wanted to give you this when I told you a certain something.

It might cause trouble for you, but...

This is...

I brought you along on this trip...

O-O...

...all for that reason!

Ox bezoars!

Ox Bezoar

The gallstone of an ox!

The rarest of rare medicines I only saw in my dreams, now in my hands!

Yes! I'm sorry they took so long to find. I finally got my hands on them...

Wait! That's not what I wanted to—

Thank you so much!

Y-Yeah...

Well then, goodnight!

Wait!

Hey! Don't close the door on me! I'm not done talking!

Now no one will come between us!

I don't care whether or not Master Jinshi is a real eunuch.

But I do owe him for the ox bezoars.

If his secret get out and it gets me into trouble...

I'll make him into a eunuch for real.

Hey, are you listening?! Hey! I'm not finished!

Hey! Apothecary! Hey!

There are only two people in this land with "Ka"—for "flower"—in their names.

The emperor, at the top of the nation.

And...

Master Jinshi... Or rather, the Moon Prince.

You cannot stay in your temporary position forever.

After all, you are our emperor's younger brother,

Ka Zuigetsu.

Next Time

Next time: "The Baths."

Episode 37: The Baths