WEBVTT
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The Apothecary Diaries
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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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Suirei.
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Yes—
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Keep your rats in line.
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My apologies.
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Oh,
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I've seen this child before.
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L-Lady Shenmei, I'm sorry...
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He's the honorable Shirou's son.
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Oh.
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It's just children playing.
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Let us be on our way, Mother.
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Loulan.
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So, it's as I thought.
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You're right. Let's just
give this girl a caning, then.
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Should one hundred strikes be enough?
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Find me a good pillar to tie her to.
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Lady Shenmei, that's—
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This is bad.
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This woman is trouble.
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I snuck in without permission
and saw the feifas.
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I'm likely going to get executed "by accident."
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Hurry.
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Mother.
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You mentioned before that you
wanted a new apothecary.
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This is the girl.
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She doesn't look like an apothecary.
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No. But she's actually over thirty years old.
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Apparently, after testing medicines
on herself, she no longer ages.
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Oh?
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We haven't figured out
which specific drug it is,
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but she can certainly make something
approaching an immortality potion.
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If she fails, she'll just die,
like the man before.
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An immortality potion? Who's "the man before?"
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I see. That's that, then.
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Lady Ayla, let us continue
our discussion later.
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Yes.
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I know.
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It must be hard to get any real work done here.
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Let's take the apothecary with us,
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out to our stronghold.
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Shisui's true identity was Concubine Loulan.
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What an actress. Or maybe
she's more like a tanuki.
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When I gave that lecture
to the four concubines,
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she had that flashy outfit
and listened expressionlessly.
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She hid from the empress dowager and
avoided Concubine Lishu at the baths
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so that she wouldn't be recognized
as Concubine Loulan.
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She didn't hide from me,
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since I didn't recognize her as Concubine
Loulan when we caught Maomao the cat.
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I was starting to get the hint, but...
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An insect-loving, quirky,
gossipy, but ordinary girl.
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Shisui played us all.
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Episode 44: The Stronghold
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This is the room
the previous apothecary used.
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I didn't want to bring you
all the way out here.
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Is Shisui your half-sister?
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She's the only one that treats me as a sister.
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I knew it.
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I heard Loulan was Shishou's only daughter,
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but if he had another daughter
with a different woman...
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That would be totally unforgivable
to his terrifying wife, Shenmei.
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Lady Shenmei hates me more than anything.
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My father, Shishou, is originally from one
of the Shi clan's offshoot families.
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However, the main family—Lady Shenmei's
family—saw his talents and adopted him.
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He was given the name "Shishou"
and the two became engaged.
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But during the late emperor's reign,
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Lady Shenmei was taken to the rear palace.
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When she was returned later as a gift,
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my mother and I were already with my father.
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Lady Shenmei threw my mother
and I out of the mansion,
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and used us as servants.
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She even hated the fact
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that my name contained the character
signifying our clan name.
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Wait, so "Shisui" is...
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Yes. It was originally my name.
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Loulan seems to like that name.
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She could have chosen any other
name as her servant pseudonym.
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It's just how she is.
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Even though they were born
from the same father,
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just because their mothers were different,
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one gets treated as a treasured
princess to be given to the emperor.
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The other is sent in as a court lady to
scheme in the shadows of the rear palace.
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Suirei was part of the attempt to
assassinate Master Jinshi at that ceremony.
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She used the explosion
at the warehouse as cover
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to steal some ceremonial tools,
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and when she was caught,
she escaped, feigning death.
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And Shishou must have been the mastermind
behind the feifa attack the other day.
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Master Jinshi, the manager of the rear
palace, was trying to make changes.
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It wasn't in line with what Shishou was doing.
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Is that all, though?
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Shisui... I mean, Loulan said
this hair stick was valuable.
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He isn't just some official.
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Rather, he wasn't even a eunuch.
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What's wrong?
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When you returned to the rear palace
pretending to be a eunuch,
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how did they inspect you?
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Where did this come from?
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It was by touch.
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Would an uncastrated man be able to enter?
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The physical inspection is
done by three officials.
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It would be hard to trick them all.
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Then how did Master Jinshi enter?
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The only men who can enter
and leave the rear palace freely
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are the emperor himself
and his closest relatives.
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The only close male relative
the emperor has is his younger brother.
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I thought of that, but the age doesn't match.
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But what if that youthful side that Master
Jinshi sometimes shows is his true nature?
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Come to think of it,
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he was trying to tell me something
important during that hunt...
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Ox bezoars!
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Ox bezoars can drive
a person mad. How terrifying.
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What is it?
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Oh, nothing.
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Hmm...
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Right!
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Let's set this aside for now.
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Right now, I need to understand
what's going on.
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Snow...
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Yes, it's going to start snowing hard soon.
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Northern highlands...
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Shenmei called this a "stronghold."
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Surrounded by sturdy walls, backed by a cliff.
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What is Shenmei doing out here?
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Master Gaoshun suspected
that the special envoy
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snuck out at night to meet someone in secret.
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That workshop was making a cutting-edge
weapon from the west, the feifa...
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Are you all trying to start a war?
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That isn't for me to decide.
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Because Lady Loulan said what she did, I need
you to at least pretend to make medicine.
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You don't even have to ask.
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Food will be brought to you.
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Just make sure you don't anger Lady Shenmei.
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War, huh? They're going big.
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So, what now?
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This is the third floor.
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With the snow outside, I probably
won't make it back to the village.
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Was this how the previous
apothecary was imprisoned?
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It sounded like he died testing medicines...
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Oh?
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Oh?!
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A mountain of treasure left behind
by the previous apothecary?!
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Farming season is over soon.
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I heard somewhere that wars happen
when farmers aren't busy.
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Assuming this is the Shihoku-shu,
the northern region...
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Ten days by boat from the rear palace,
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then to the hot springs village by foot,
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then horse carriage...
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What mountain is in that range...
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I should have studied harder.
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Young sir, you can't play over there!
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Come on! I haven't explored there yet!
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There are other kids besides Kyou-u as well?
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When I was brought here from the village,
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Kyou-u insisted he'd come too,
but Suirei seemed reluctant.
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Perhaps she wanted to keep him at the village.
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If the Shi clan rebels, the punishment
will extend to the entire clan.
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No one will be spared. Not even
women, children, or babies.
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Do the children know?
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Did the adults tell them?
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I should just write this off
as someone else's problem...
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Mother is laughing.
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This is where I laugh.
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Mother is angry at father.
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This is where I get angry with her.
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Mother is giving punishment.
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This is where I just watch.
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That is how I understood it.
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When Mother laughs, I laugh.
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When she is sad, I am sad.
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As long as I remain her puppet,
she will not get angry at me.
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The ugliness wouldn't get worse.
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It was so tight and uncomfortable,
but I was going to accept it.
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But...
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Filth! You, and that woman too!
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You should never have been born!
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I was wrong.
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Mother will continue to become uglier.
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Acting as Mother's puppet will not stop her.
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Oh, it's all useless.
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I noticed that far too late.
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Hey.
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Lady Shenmei wants to speak to you.
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I brought the apothecary.
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Excuse me.
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The scent of musk...
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She mixed something in.
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So?
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Where is my potion of immortality?
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It may take a while longer.
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Oh, I see.
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Here, they're like master and servant.
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Outside, they're like close sisters.
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I expect some kind of result by tomorrow.
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Yes.
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We're going back.
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I only get to leave the room
once a day, to make my report.
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This situation I'm in is rather annoying,
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but I don't dislike the actual work.
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A lot of the medicines here are old,
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but the inventory is just as
good as the doctor's office.
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Tons of reading material, too.
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This previous apothecary
must have been really good.
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Hey, apothecary!
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Yes, Master Kyou-u?
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Ew, that's so creepy!
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Ow ow ow! That hurts, apothecary!
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Yeah, I want to hit him.
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Who's that?
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The new apothecary.
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Hey, did you see any other women
in Lady Shenmei's room?
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I did.
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Really?! My mother's supposed
to be there. How was she?
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Kyou-u's mother was among them?
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I don't know what she
looks like, so I can't say.
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I see.
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That's too bad!
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They say my mother's really busy with work.
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Maybe I should have waited at the village.
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They must have kept him at the hot springs
village to keep him away from his mother.
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Or perhaps his mother is...
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With that, I'll take my leave.
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Oh, hey!
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Nothing!
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So that's what this is, Lahan.
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Yes. Well, it's just a conjecture,
based on the numbers. But...
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The stronghold to the north,
governed by Shishou, is expanding.
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Yes. It was originally abandoned.
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There was no mention of an expansion to us.
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In other words...
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Rebellion.
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Even if the Shi clan has sworn fealty
since the era of the Mother Royal,
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and Shishou himself is the closest
advisor to the empress dowager,
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this is unforgivable.
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How far along are they?
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Given the timing of the rising iron price,
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they must be quite far along
with their preparations.
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I'd recommend quick action—
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What exactly are you doing,
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Lahan?
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F-Father...
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Master Strategist.
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You must not be visiting
this precious noble so often.
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You're bound to make people suspicious.
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Especially since it's hard to tell
if this noble is a man or a woman.
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What?!
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Basen!
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But Father!
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Master Gaoshun.
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Master Strategist, I know
what you're trying to say.
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You're dissatisfied
with my shiftless cowardice.
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Exactly.
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Given how much he dotes on his daughter,
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it's actually surprising he
took so long to show up.
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The secret escape route,
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the missing eunuch,
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the non-existent servant girl named Shisui...
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We were one step behind in every instance,
resulting the kidnapping of Maomao.
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I'm responsible for this.
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Despite the presence of a certain someone
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who can waltz in and out
of the rear palace at will,
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my daughter was kidnapped!
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And that someone is leisurely
taking his time with his paperwork.
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Can I assume you don't care
about the life of a single woman?
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I'll allow you to vent your frustration.
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But our enemy is Shishou, not me.
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What I'm saying is, now that
you've figured this all out,
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why are you still sitting here?
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He knows everything.
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He knows I lack the confidence
to assume my rightful position.
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He knows how I ran away from it
to spend my time here instead.
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Your appearance, your work...
all half-measures.
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And you think everything
will just all work out somehow?
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What can you ever hope to achieve
acting as a sorry eunuch?!
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I...
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My apologies.
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U-Uncle?!
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I had no idea you saw me that way.
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It's not as though I wanted
to become a eunuch, you know.
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N-No! I wasn't referring to you—
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I'm quite the "sorry eunuch," indeed.
I can't even walk right.
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I was carried here by a carriage.
How extravagant of me.
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I am also responsible for
not keeping an eye on Maomao.
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N-No, I don't blame you at all, Uncle...
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He made it.
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You're always so quick to become
aggressive when you're irritated.
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You should think about the situation
other people are in, too.
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I know, Uncle.
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That was just, you know, an exchange
that took an unexpected turn.
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I didn't mean to say those things, not one bit!
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An "exchange"? I didn't say anything...
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Perhaps there's something
you should be saying politely
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before starting a fight, is there not?
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I come to you with a plea.
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I humbly request that you rally
the army to defeat Shishou, the traitor!
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The Shi clan seems to
have been manufacturing
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a cutting-edge model of feifa
for several years now.
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There's also the assassination
attempt using said feifa,
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as well as the case of Loulan's escape.
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We have all of the evidence
to prove that this is a rebellion.
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This problem needs
to be addressed immediately.
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This politeness isn't extended
to Jinshi the eunuch.
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If Shishou is to be taken down
as punishment for a rebellion,
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the Forbidden Army, directly under
the emperor, would need to be mobilized.
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They would not be under the direction
of Grand Commandant Lakan, but...
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How long do you intend to fool everyone
with your false role, Master Jinshi?
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Or rather...
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Moon Prince?
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I knew this day was inevitable.
It just happens to be today.
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It seems like it's time for me to take charge.
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Next Time
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Next time: "Taibon."
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Episode 45: Taibon