WEBVTT

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The Apothecary Diaries

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The caravan this time has more
merchants and goods than before.

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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.

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Apparently it's the advance party
to the special envoy of a foreign nation.

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As such, it's larger-scale
and scheduled to stay longer.

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How's the welcome banquet prep going?

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A high-ranking officer in charge of
receptions is working on it.

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Good.

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This is an important diplomatic partner.
Keep up the good work.

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Understood.

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Episode 26: Caravan

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It's starting to get more humid.
I think it's time for a wardrobe change.

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First, we'll organize our outfits.

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Yinghua, Ailan, Maomao.

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Yes.

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Yes, Lady Hongniang.

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Guiyuan, please tend to Princess Lingli.

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Yes.

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Some of the designs are out of style.

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This one's still good.

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Oh, this one was super popular for a while,

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but you know how fads can
be quick to go super stale?

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What happens to the old outfits?

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Some craftsmen rework them,

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and they get handed out in the western
region, Lady Gyokuyou's home region.

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I see. In that case, I'll put in
some insect-repellent herbs.

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Yes, thank you.

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Oh, by the way, a new
lady-in-waiting is coming soon.

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A new lady-in-waiting?

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Now that Lady Gyokuyou is pregnant,
we'll need more help.

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There's another reason.

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Another concubine joined with more than
50 ladies-in-waiting and servant girls.

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Lady Gyokuyou needs a few more too, you know?

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Concubine Loulan, I bet.

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It makes sense. Lady Gyokuyou
having only five ladies-in-waiting

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despite being the emperor's favorite
sends the wrong message.

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The Crystal Pavilion for Lady Lihua
has thirty, including servant girls.

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The Garnet Pavilion has double that!
That feels wrong, doesn't it?

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Yinghua, don't talk like that.
Lady Hongniang will scold you.

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Come on!

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Well then, we made some good progress.

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Is it all right to have so few?

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It's fine. We already ordered
a few new ones, and...

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And besides, the caravan will arrive soon!

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Caravan?

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Maomao wasn't here the last
time it came by, was she?

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This one's bigger than usual!

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Entertainment's abundant
in the pleasure district,

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but scarce here in the rear palace,

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so the shopping must be really exciting.

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I'll make sure you get some time
to check it out too, Maomao.

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Lady Gyokuyou always
gives us an allowance—

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What's wrong?

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Less chatting, more working!

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I should be careful not
to incur Hongniang's wrath!

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Lady Gyokuyou, please stop joking around.

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Did you summon me, Lady Lihua?

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Shin, pass this out to everyone.

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Shopping at the caravan? I'll have one of
the ladies-in-waiting take care of it.

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Yes, thank you.

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L-Lady Shin, a message from the clinic.

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A message from the clinic...?

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The caravan stays for five days.

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A bottom-tier servant like me

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can't just cut in front of concubines
and their ladies-in-waiting.

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I'm jealous. I want new clothes and stuff, too!

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We've got nowhere to wear it to.

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I know, but still!

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The rear palace really is
a peculiar environment.

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So many people, yet no shops.

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No doctors except for quacks...

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It seems like if disease broke out,
it would spread uncontrollably,

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but not really, because
the sanitation level is top-notch.

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An underground waterway
carries out the waste

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goes straight to the great river
without going through the moat.

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It's water working technology from the west,

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cleverly applied by the empress.

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As long as proper hygiene is maintained,
diseases can be mostly prevented.

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Those that still manage to contract
severe illnesses are sent home, but...

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Hey, Maomao.

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Hmm?

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I might get some time off on the last day.

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It's not so bad to get asked out.

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Did I spend too much?

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No, you could have bought more.

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The other houses have probably bought more.

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True.

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The ladies-in-waiting at the
Crystal Pavilion probably go all out.

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Concubine Lihua is actually
pretty generous, too.

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At the Diamond Pavilion,

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the ladies-in-waiting probably flatter
Concubine Lishu into buying things for them.

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As for the Garnet Pavilion,

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it goes without saying, seeing how
flamboyant Concubine Loulan is.

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Compared to them, Concubine Gyokuyou,
whose items fit in one room, appears thrifty.

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Caravan merchants will arrive
tomorrow as well,

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so let's put away what we got today.

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Yes.

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Huh?

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Something wrong?

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There are several sleeved robes and skirts
whose belts go right under the chest.

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Were these the only types of clothes available?

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These were everywhere.

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I heard they're in style right now.

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Lady Gyokuyou's pregnancy
isn't yet known to the outside.

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Normally, they would bring in
clothes that the customer likes.

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In Lady Gyokuyou's case, it would be
dresses with belts around the waist.

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However, if her belly grew bigger,
she would choose less restrictive outfits.

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Did they bring these
designs knowingly? If so...

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I want to believe I'm overthinking this, but...

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Tomorrow, you should ask if they have
designs that have tight belts around the waist.

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Yes, we should keep
a variety of designs around.

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Hongniang, have a word
with the merchants for me.

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Yes.

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Seems like Lady Gyokuyou
and Lady Hongniang got the message.

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I guess it's all leftovers on the last day.

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Wow, awesome! Awesome!

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I did get some allowance
from Lady Gyokuyou, but...

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I'll take this.

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Looks good on you.

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Thanks, Maomao!

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If I had a little sister of some kind,
would she be this type of creature?

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Are there stalls you want to
check out, Maomao? I'll go with you!

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In that case, I'd like to look around a bit.

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Obviously no medicines here,
but they do have teas and spices.

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Also, there's another reason
why I came on the last day.

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Discounts.

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I doubt they'd charge fair prices for goods

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in a special environment
like the rear palace.

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But don't think you can gouge me that easily!

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Jasmine tea.

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I'll take this.

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Huh?

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How's the kitty?

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Ah, she's from that one time...

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She's fine. She lives at the clinic now.

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I see! That's good to hear!

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Oh, you got time off too, Shisui?

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Yeah! And you're here too, Xiaolan!

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What'd you buy?

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I'm just looking.

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Oh! Maomao bought me a hair tie!

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So cute!

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So, they know each other.

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Seeing how she wears the same dress as Xiaolan,

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she must be a court lady
using the same laundry area.

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We don't want to block the stall,
so let's go somewhere else.

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I'll take three of these.

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I didn't know you had friends, little lady!

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Doctor Quack can be pretty rude
sometimes, but he's not wrong.

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So cute!

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What's her name?

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Admonisher of Thieves.

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Huh? That's a weird name!

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Less weird than "Maomao."

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How about I make some tea?

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I've brought my own.

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Then I'll get the snacks.

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Wow!

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What a nice scent.

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A jasmine flowering tea.

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Place it inside a pre-warmed bowl,
slowly pour in lukewarm water,

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and the bud opens up like this.

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I probably won't get the chance
to make this often, but...

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My little ladies, these are
special just for today.

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Mooncakes! Thank you very much!

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Is it always like this?
A huge festival every time?

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This is Shisui's first caravan, too.

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If she came at the same time
as Concubine Loulan,

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I think she's been here
for about six months.

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Hmm, it's lasting longer than usual.

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I heard that's because a special envoy
is coming from a foreign land soon.

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Oh! It must be someone important.

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Are you allowed to talk about that?

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By the way,

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there's this weird smell on the north
side these days. Do you know about it?

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On the north side?

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Nope.

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A strange smell, huh?

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That area's a bit of a mess,
maybe a waterway got clogged.

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If an underground waterway
carrying waste got clogged,

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the smell could reach the ground level.

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Do you have work on the north side, Shisui?

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Actually, there are good shrubs out there.

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You're good.

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Yeah, there's a lot of bugs here,
so it's great that I can draw so many!

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Insects can be ingredients for medicines, too.

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The egg cases of praying mantises
can make an aphrodisiac,

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and earthworms can be fever reducers.

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The fruit garden on the south side is
well-kept, so there aren't many out there.

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But the ruins on
the north side are really nice!

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There's huge spiders there, even!

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Spiders?! I haven't tried it
since it's so hard to gather,

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but they say spider silk has
blood-staunching properties.

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You wanna go check it out?

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I wanna go check it out.

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Look! This one has pretty colors
and is plump and cute.

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It's delicious, too.
I'm sure you'll like it! Also...

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A few days after the caravan left...

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Scented oils became all
the rage in the rear palace.

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It stinks...

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It really does stink.

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The imports from the west have a strong scent.

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They might smell nice individually,
but all mixed together, it's awful.

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Oh, I'm so sorry!

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Rose, huh?

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If I sold that rose water that I made before,
I might be able to make some money.

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No, the strong scent of roses
can negatively affect a pregnancy.

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Right now, the Jade Pavilion can't—

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This scent, too...

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I have to go.

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To the place most easily influenced by fads...

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The Crystal Pavilion!

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What exactly do you think you're doing?

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Shin, the head lady-in-waiting at the Crystal
Pavilion, wrote an official complaint.

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I thought you had a bit
more restraint than this.

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I'm sorry. I got too worked up
and acted without thinking.

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You sound like a pervert making excuses.

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I'll get consent before
sniffing anyone next time.

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Why sniff them at all?!

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Oh, my.

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That should be enough apologies.

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I do have my reasons.

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And are they good reasons?

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Yes.

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Master Jinshi, could you please
read that list aloud?

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Sure.

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Rose, benzoin, parasol tree,
frankincense, cinnamon...?

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Those all sound like the names of scents.

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Yes. Those are the names of scents and oils
I smelled on the court ladies today.

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What about them?

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They all can have adverse
effects on pregnant women.

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Continue.

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In addition to scented oils,
the caravan also sold spices and teas.

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These are the ones I bought.

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Jasmine has the effect
of constricting the uterus.

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Mustard is often used as an ingredient
in abortion medicines for courtesans.

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So, by using these, the possibility
of miscarriages increases?

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In small amounts,
none of these cause problems.

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They're only harmful when used in
excessive quantities or abnormal ways.

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I should have noticed sooner.

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Maybe the festive feeling
clouded my judgment.

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Can you find out who the merchants were?

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I can, but I doubt they kept inventory
of every single item they sold.

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We did inspect them all, though...

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Isn't this similar to the other incident?

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What other incident?

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Something whose side effects aren't well known.

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Something that's not
out of place at the rear palace.

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Isn't it like what made Princess Lingli sick,

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and caused the death of
Concubine Lihua's child?

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The toxic makeup powder...

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Yes, the whitening face
powder that contained lead.

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So, is it safe to assume someone tried
to bring poison into the rear palace?

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All I know is, there are many things

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that were brought in that
could be made into poisons.

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In their normal use,
none of them are considered toxic.

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However, we should warn the other concubines.

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Gaoshun.

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Yes, Master Jinshi.

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This is similar to that incident,

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where coincidences converged
to become an inevitability.

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Hongniang, please.

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Yes, Lady Gyokuyou.

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Guiyuan, please check the scented oils,
spices, and teas in the Jade Pavilion.

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Yes!

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The court lady who came back from near
death to escape, Suirei, is still missing.

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The attempted assassination at the ceremony
probably involves many people.

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How far does their reach extend...?

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How much is conjecture,
and how much is certainty?

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You shouldn't speak based on conjecture.

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If I wasn't working directly for a concubine,

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I wouldn't have been paid enough
to gain interest in the caravan.

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If the scented oils weren't so popular,
I wouldn't have noticed.

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Maybe this is the only time
so much of it was brought in.

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How much is coincidence,
and how much was planned?

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I can't even tell that much.

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Wow, I'm tired.

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I miss those days,

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when my big sisters let me drink some
when customers weren't around...

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I thought that was poison.

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Poisons can be medicines in small amounts.

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Besides, it's not strong enough
in such a small amount of tea,

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and I'm not pregnant, either.

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That's true.

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Also, this is the kitchen.
It's not an area you should be in.

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Don't be so strict.

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Where's Master Gaoshun?

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He's out delivering messages.

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Can you make me some tea, too?

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What kind would you like?

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The same as this one.

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That's the last one.

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If I steep it again, it'll be watery.

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That's fine.

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It's not fine...

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What other effects does this tea have?

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It calms the mind.

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It improves sleep, and helps wake people up.

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Also, it's not good for pregnancies,

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but for actually giving birth,
I hear it helps with the delivery.

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It has more good effects than bad, then.

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Yes, which is why it's hard
to remember the bad effects.

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White tea.

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I told you I wanted the watery tea.

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Come to think of it, I've heard
jasmine has another effect.

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What is it?

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Decreased fertility, particularly for males.

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Yikes, maybe that was
a bit too spicy of a joke.

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I should get a snack...

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I don't like this much. I'm leaving.

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I messed up!

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Master Jinshi.

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Did you deliver the messages?

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Yes. Also,

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Concubine Jin, of middle rank, has passed away.

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Concubine Jin?

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Poison...?

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Could it be...?

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Next Time

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Next time: "Corpse Fungus."

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Episode 27: Corpse Fungus