WEBVTT

00:07.610 --> 00:14.490
The Apothecary Diaries

01:30.440 --> 01:33.440
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.

01:42.170 --> 01:43.460
Excuse me.

01:43.460 --> 01:44.540
Master Jinshi.

01:45.100 --> 01:47.510
I heard Concubine Gyokuyou
has gone into labor.

01:45.580 --> 01:49.540
Episode 42: Lantern Plant

01:47.510 --> 01:49.750
Yes, as of this morning.

01:49.750 --> 01:54.090
We expect the actual birth to be a little
later, but we're getting ready anyway.

01:54.790 --> 01:55.760
This way.

02:06.950 --> 02:08.060
How is she?

02:08.360 --> 02:10.650
She's stable.

02:11.030 --> 02:14.720
Her contractions have subsided,
and she doesn't seem to be fatigued.

02:15.690 --> 02:16.560
I see.

02:17.210 --> 02:20.570
It's still unclear when
the actual birth will take place.

02:21.150 --> 02:22.950
How is the baby doing?

02:22.950 --> 02:26.340
If you're talking about the breech birth,
that is no longer a concern.

02:26.340 --> 02:29.930
It seems like Maomao's treatments worked.

02:31.670 --> 02:32.730
Maomao...

02:34.630 --> 02:37.700
It's already been ten days
since she went missing.

02:38.490 --> 02:39.690
Is she alright?

02:46.860 --> 02:50.840
L-Luomen, what can I do to help?

02:50.840 --> 02:52.850
Doctor, out of the way!

02:52.850 --> 02:55.460
Don't stand in the doorway, please!

02:56.650 --> 02:58.420
Just look after the cat.

02:58.420 --> 02:59.470
Yes!

03:04.810 --> 03:08.870
It's a bit reassuring to have someone else
more panicked than me around.

03:13.470 --> 03:17.750
I'll depart for now. Please let me
know if something happens.

03:18.900 --> 03:19.920
Master Jinshi!

03:20.390 --> 03:21.220
What is it?

03:22.740 --> 03:25.080
It's about the missing eunuch.

03:29.190 --> 03:31.310
So, what did you find?

03:31.900 --> 03:33.890
The eunuch is named Tian.

03:33.890 --> 03:36.910
He was supposed to be
a slave from a foreign nation,

03:36.910 --> 03:40.820
but none of the others who arrived
with him were acquainted with him.

03:40.820 --> 03:43.950
He must have snuck in somewhere.

03:45.720 --> 03:47.950
In order to infiltrate the rear palace.

03:49.210 --> 03:53.130
He probably kept his distance from
the others to maintain that secret.

03:53.130 --> 03:56.110
Because of that, we barely
have any information on him.

03:58.310 --> 03:59.130
Anything else?

03:59.130 --> 04:02.390
He was seen praying at a shrine.

04:02.830 --> 04:05.660
That's not strange.
Maybe he was just religious.

04:06.510 --> 04:07.850
Well...

04:12.860 --> 04:15.850
The graveyard on the north side?

04:15.850 --> 04:16.310
Yes.

04:16.940 --> 04:21.940
The graves of those who were deflowered by
the late emperor, who died in the rear palace.

04:25.560 --> 04:30.260
Tian was seen paying his respects
to one of the graves there.

04:35.080 --> 04:39.740
Those who were deflowered
by the late emperor at a young age

04:40.150 --> 04:42.940
were never allowed to leave
the rear palace, even after death.

04:48.090 --> 04:53.800
They vanished in this garden, without
even a record of their names kept.

05:01.910 --> 05:03.530
Is that a worker from the clinic?

05:04.940 --> 05:06.940
E-Excuse me.

05:12.330 --> 05:13.580
This smell...

05:22.050 --> 05:23.420
Where did Maomao go?!

05:29.320 --> 05:33.060
Calm down! I'm "Jinshi the Eunuch" right now.

05:33.060 --> 05:34.560
I have to be my usual self...

05:37.980 --> 05:39.960
I'm looking for the freckled lady-in-waiting,

05:39.960 --> 05:42.580
the one working for the Jade Pavilion.

05:43.060 --> 05:44.750
Do you know who I'm talking about?

05:54.690 --> 05:56.040
You know something.

05:57.320 --> 06:02.420
I have recalled... an old memory.

06:06.420 --> 06:09.320
He called my name with such a gentle voice.

06:10.500 --> 06:14.240
He gave me sweets from a foreign land.

06:27.800 --> 06:29.150
What are you talking about?

06:29.780 --> 06:34.330
I guess nobody knows what he
looked like when he was young.

06:35.050 --> 06:38.410
I did hear he was completely
different during his final years.

06:39.010 --> 06:42.860
He never came to see me after I grew up,

06:42.860 --> 06:45.220
so all I know about him is through rumors.

06:45.940 --> 06:47.650
Who do you mean?

06:47.650 --> 06:49.930
You look just like him.

06:49.930 --> 06:51.300
What are you talking about?!

06:51.770 --> 06:57.620
He too had a voice as sweet as honey,

06:57.620 --> 07:01.100
and a face like a beautiful goddess.

07:02.090 --> 07:07.880
Why is someone of your status
pretending to be a eunuch?

07:11.910 --> 07:13.100
Arrest her!

07:13.780 --> 07:14.970
Let me go!

07:14.970 --> 07:16.120
Stop resisting!

07:17.640 --> 07:19.800
Master Jinshi, what should we do?

07:22.380 --> 07:23.560
Master Jinshi?!

07:31.630 --> 07:33.470
What was that?! Poison?!

07:35.050 --> 07:36.090
Bring water!

07:36.090 --> 07:36.810
Yes!

07:38.220 --> 07:40.180
Master Jinshi, your instructions!

07:42.690 --> 07:43.600
Master Jinshi!

07:48.600 --> 07:52.780
Take this woman to the doctor's office.
Make sure she doesn't do that again!

07:52.780 --> 07:53.520
Yes, sir!

07:56.970 --> 07:58.650
Please snap out of it!

07:58.650 --> 08:01.240
Don't let some servant's
casual insult shake you!

08:02.600 --> 08:03.920
Casual?

08:05.090 --> 08:07.530
She drank poison.
It seems more serious than that.

08:10.760 --> 08:14.510
She went pale when she saw me smile at her.

08:15.040 --> 08:16.760
He too...

08:18.200 --> 08:22.230
Gaoshun, do I look like him?

08:22.670 --> 08:25.780
Enough to make someone
drink poison out of fear?

08:28.050 --> 08:32.810
In my memory, he was
already a withered old man.

08:34.940 --> 08:38.120
I didn't look like my mother or my brother.

08:38.930 --> 08:39.760
So...

08:40.930 --> 08:42.460
So, I believed.

08:43.950 --> 08:46.250
I wonder where he got his looks from?

08:46.250 --> 08:51.140
Given the emperor's tastes, it couldn't
be the empress, not at her age.

08:53.000 --> 08:56.660
That's why everyone's saying
he's an illegitimate child.

09:04.350 --> 09:07.510
I believed the rumors that said
I had no connection to him.

09:07.950 --> 09:10.520
I tried to escape the position of crown prince.

09:11.570 --> 09:14.280
I begged my brother, the emperor,
to let me take on a eunuch's identity,

09:14.280 --> 09:18.350
and plant myself in the garden
of women. All for what?

09:19.990 --> 09:21.880
How ridiculous.

09:51.610 --> 09:54.440
But I can only do...

09:55.230 --> 09:56.630
...what I can do.

09:58.360 --> 09:59.760
Right.

09:59.760 --> 10:01.580
I can laugh at myself later.

10:01.980 --> 10:03.710
For now, I have things to do.

10:05.270 --> 10:08.790
That woman was paying her
respects to this grave, correct?

10:08.790 --> 10:09.560
Yes.

10:11.970 --> 10:14.630
Lantern plant? This isn't in season.

10:16.680 --> 10:18.190
Taihou...

10:18.830 --> 10:21.060
The name of a court lady
who passed away last year.

10:21.850 --> 10:26.230
Yes. She used to gather women
around to tell ghost stories.

10:27.730 --> 10:30.700
She was the lady-in-waiting
to one of the concubines.

10:37.960 --> 10:39.310
Her relatives were...

10:43.490 --> 10:46.240
Only one person is related to Taihou by blood.

10:46.780 --> 10:48.370
During the late emperor's reign,

10:48.370 --> 10:50.990
she gave birth to a daughter
after an affair with a doctor.

10:53.690 --> 10:56.070
If that daughter is still alive...

11:02.290 --> 11:03.560
Where are you going?

11:03.560 --> 11:04.670
The Garnet Pavilion.

11:13.890 --> 11:17.770
The concubine that Taihou served
was later given to Shishou.

11:17.770 --> 11:19.100
She gave birth to a daughter.

11:19.790 --> 11:21.950
That daughter is Concubine Loulan.

11:22.610 --> 11:26.810
As for the daughter of Taihou and the doctor,

11:27.790 --> 11:30.540
there's no record of what happened
to either her or the doctor,

11:31.200 --> 11:33.100
who was ousted from the rear palace.

11:42.980 --> 11:47.880
Perhaps Concubine Loulan knows where
the doctor and the daughter went.

11:49.640 --> 11:54.340
It's just a hunch. There's no way
to know if there's even a connection.

11:55.050 --> 11:56.060
But, still...

11:58.510 --> 11:59.360
Please.

12:00.670 --> 12:04.170
I will do everything I can.

12:10.450 --> 12:12.810
My apologies for the sudden visit.

12:16.840 --> 12:19.300
She says she doesn't mind.

12:19.890 --> 12:21.360
Thank you.

12:22.690 --> 12:25.290
How strange, as always.

12:25.290 --> 12:29.560
Flashy outfits and matching makeup with
sharp points at the corners of their eyes...

12:30.870 --> 12:32.560
It makes them look like foxes.

12:33.660 --> 12:36.690
I had a question for you—

12:40.200 --> 12:40.940
Master Jinshi?

12:43.480 --> 12:44.360
What are you doing?!

12:47.730 --> 12:50.330
You used to have seven ladies-in-waiting.

12:50.820 --> 12:52.590
Where did the last one go?

12:54.020 --> 12:58.950
I keep track of the faces and names of all
of the ladies-in-waiting working here.

12:59.870 --> 13:03.820
Your group changes outfits
and makeup almost every day,

13:04.340 --> 13:07.390
so I made note of features
that were easy to track.

13:07.710 --> 13:11.910
For example, the shapes of your lips or eyes,

13:12.820 --> 13:14.250
and also...

13:16.200 --> 13:17.740
The positions of your moles.

13:19.380 --> 13:22.860
Sourin... no, Renpu, was it?

13:23.430 --> 13:24.810
That's your name.

13:27.750 --> 13:30.040
This was planned all along, wasn't it?

13:30.670 --> 13:32.940
Bringing in a huge number of servants,

13:32.940 --> 13:35.540
selecting similar-looking women to serve her...

13:35.990 --> 13:39.350
The strange outfits and makeup.

13:39.990 --> 13:42.590
All for this.

13:43.610 --> 13:44.500
M-Master Jinshi—

13:44.500 --> 13:45.130
Speak!

13:45.860 --> 13:47.990
Where is she?

13:50.580 --> 13:52.460
Where did she go?

13:56.350 --> 13:58.310
Where did Concubine Loulan go?!

13:59.190 --> 14:01.060
Please forgive her!

14:01.330 --> 14:04.320
Renpu really doesn't know anything.

14:05.720 --> 14:08.940
Please, forgive her...

14:17.990 --> 14:20.410
Damn it. Calm down.

14:23.580 --> 14:26.550
So, she didn't tell you where she was going?

14:27.080 --> 14:29.980
No. Only that she wouldn't be returning.

14:30.580 --> 14:34.780
A high-ranking concubine left
the rear palace of her own free will.

14:50.290 --> 14:52.720
There's no value in
continuing to question them.

14:56.660 --> 14:58.650
We have every available person on the search,

14:58.650 --> 15:01.130
but are unable to locate Concubine Loulan.

15:01.950 --> 15:04.260
There's no need to call her
"Concubine" anymore.

15:05.950 --> 15:08.380
Leaving the rear palace
is a serious crime.

15:08.780 --> 15:10.940
Especially for a high-ranking concubine.

15:12.310 --> 15:14.640
She must have planned this knowing that.

15:15.050 --> 15:16.000
Yes...

15:17.190 --> 15:20.440
Bringing the daughter of a high-ranking
official into the rear palace

15:20.780 --> 15:23.060
is a deal that benefits the emperor, as well.

15:23.910 --> 15:28.540
He can trap them in the birdcage
that is the rear palace as a hostage.

15:30.020 --> 15:33.780
Shishou seemed to care for his daughter a lot.

15:34.140 --> 15:37.310
But who knows how he really felt?

15:40.530 --> 15:43.170
I wonder how it was for Maomao.

15:44.250 --> 15:47.980
She said one time that it's like
a courtesan trying to quit.

15:49.490 --> 15:51.530
Did she go with them willingly?

15:52.230 --> 15:55.300
No, if she had, she wouldn't
have left a note like that.

15:56.260 --> 15:59.390
Where did she go, and why?

16:05.340 --> 16:06.520
What?

16:06.900 --> 16:08.720
Maomao is...

16:08.720 --> 16:10.650
missing...?

16:16.590 --> 16:19.450
Wait for me, Maomao!

16:20.370 --> 16:24.900
Papa's coming to rescue you!

16:27.100 --> 16:29.750
Master Lakan!

16:31.390 --> 16:33.300
How did he find out?

16:33.300 --> 16:35.760
It seems to have leaked out somehow.

16:38.090 --> 16:41.610
Also, Shishou is currently missing.

16:42.440 --> 16:44.850
Was he colluding with Loulan?

16:45.150 --> 16:50.140
I don't know. But he is the father
of an escaped concubine.

16:50.140 --> 16:53.900
He will be charged with
crimes against the emperor.

16:54.790 --> 16:56.490
I understand.

16:57.050 --> 17:00.580
Oh, and, regarding the court lady
from yesterday... Shenlü.

17:01.160 --> 17:03.070
She's no longer in mortal danger.

17:04.360 --> 17:05.390
Is she awake?

17:06.110 --> 17:07.670
No, not yet.

17:09.220 --> 17:13.280
However, we've confirmed that
she had connections to Taihou.

17:13.870 --> 17:16.730
That's probably why she
participated in this rebellion.

17:17.660 --> 17:19.350
Is everyone in the clinic part of this?

17:20.220 --> 17:21.140
No,

17:22.380 --> 17:26.260
none of the others knew about it.

17:29.710 --> 17:35.110
Yet they helped her, probably because
they all shared the resentment Shenlü held.

17:36.360 --> 17:38.300
With the late emperor gone,

17:38.300 --> 17:42.490
their anger is directed
toward the rear palace itself.

17:46.450 --> 17:51.160
I must find Loulan immediately,
but there's just not enough information.

17:51.650 --> 17:53.820
Should I go after Shishou first?

17:54.920 --> 17:57.800
No, someone else is doing that already.

18:03.870 --> 18:04.970
Who could that be?

18:05.780 --> 18:06.390
Enter.

18:08.330 --> 18:09.940
Excuse me.

18:20.690 --> 18:21.950
An abacus?

18:22.460 --> 18:23.520
What do you want?

18:26.140 --> 18:28.360
It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

18:28.360 --> 18:30.500
My name is Kan Lahan.

18:31.880 --> 18:37.300
There are only two people with the "La"
name in the outer court: Lakan and Lahan.

18:37.970 --> 18:40.960
It's a courtesy name, historically
given by the imperial family.

18:42.420 --> 18:46.070
A member of the La family.
You must be the strategist's adopted son.

18:46.070 --> 18:47.160
What do you want?

18:48.440 --> 18:50.980
I wanted to show you this.

18:59.000 --> 19:00.080
This is...

19:00.680 --> 19:02.240
What do you think?

19:03.720 --> 19:05.660
A receipt journal for
the national treasury.

19:06.080 --> 19:10.280
Yes. My father told me to look into it.

19:10.280 --> 19:14.350
It didn't sit well with him that we
can't find where the feifa came from.

19:14.760 --> 19:16.460
How did that lead to the national treasury?

19:16.910 --> 19:21.820
It was natural, after investigating the
situations of recently punished officials.

19:22.600 --> 19:28.160
I wanted you to see the original
documents, but they got a bit lengthy.

19:28.890 --> 19:31.630
So I made an excerpt based
on the most obvious ones.

19:32.860 --> 19:37.190
The price of grain has gone up
visibly over the past few years.

19:37.190 --> 19:39.160
Interesting, isn't it?

19:39.160 --> 19:41.930
We've had no droughts
nor insect plagues, nothing like that.

19:42.440 --> 19:46.660
And one more thing: for some reason,
the price of iron has increased, as well.

19:47.310 --> 19:49.990
As have the prices of all metals nationwide.

19:52.270 --> 19:56.430
Is our government building
some huge structure somewhere?

19:56.850 --> 20:01.260
I couldn't find any plans for such a
project anywhere that I looked.

20:01.900 --> 20:05.040
He's just like his adopted father
in that cunning, shrewd way.

20:06.120 --> 20:07.760
I understand what you're trying to say.

20:08.300 --> 20:11.050
The price of grain
isn't extraordinary by itself,

20:11.050 --> 20:15.830
but given the volume of trade, that small
price hike results in a huge difference.

20:16.510 --> 20:19.530
Someone is pocketing that difference.

20:20.100 --> 20:25.510
Also, the price of metals means
someone is buying a lot of them.

20:26.460 --> 20:28.030
That's what you're implying, right?

20:28.540 --> 20:34.380
Yes. From what I'm thinking,
these both lead to the same thing.

20:34.380 --> 20:39.200
And there aren't very many people
who can pull off something like this.

20:41.660 --> 20:45.760
I could look into it in more detail.

20:47.100 --> 20:52.510
Wouldn't it interest you to know
where all this is flowing?

21:00.100 --> 21:02.070
And what do you want in return?

21:04.550 --> 21:07.850
You couldn't have brought this to me
without asking for something in return.

21:07.850 --> 21:08.740
Master Jinshi!

21:10.880 --> 21:17.020
Could you give us just
a <i>small</i> discount on this bill?

21:17.020 --> 21:17.830
What's that for?

21:18.110 --> 21:22.270
It's the cost of repairs for the gate into
the rear palace that my father destroyed.

21:23.460 --> 21:25.630
He should reap what he sows...

21:26.010 --> 21:26.930
Fine.

21:26.930 --> 21:28.390
Are you sure?!

21:31.110 --> 21:33.840
In exchange, I expect you to be thorough.

21:33.840 --> 21:38.340
Find out what's going on at the destination
of this trail of money and metal.

21:42.710 --> 21:44.650
As you wish.

21:46.650 --> 21:50.110
I'll use whatever I can.

23:45.060 --> 24:00.000
Next Time

23:56.660 --> 23:59.220
Next time: "Festival."

23:56.740 --> 24:00.000
Episode 43: Festival