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ORIGINAL STORY BY NATSU HYUUGA

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THIS STORY IS A FICION, AND ALL NAMES OF
FIGURES ND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.

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MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION
TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.

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It was around the first spring breeze

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that Lady Gyokuyou’s
pregnancy became a certainty.

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Hi!

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How mysterious.
Can she tell that there’s a baby inside?

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So cute!

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I should start thinking about marriage…

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Even if she gets proposed to,
they’ll try their best to stop it.

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Being too good at your job can
be a problem.

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When your days are busy,
time passes quickly.

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Although the two months I spent
with Sir Jinshi felt like forever.

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Do you want to draw again?

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Yeah!

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This is woolly milkcap.
It's a poisonous mushroom.

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Draw a regular flower.

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A regular flower, huh?

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Blue roses?

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Yes. You don't know them?

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The blue petals stimulate the eyes.

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They're very beautiful.

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They used to be decorated
all around the court.

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Perhaps you were dreaming.

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Blue roses don’t exist.

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But they do.

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I’d love to enjoy them again.

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What do you think? Could you pull it off?

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I thought there was nothing
you couldn't achieve.

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I understand.

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If such roses exist,
I’d love to see them myself.

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So it’s decided.

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I'm truly looking forward to it.

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Good day, sir.

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I’ll see you at next month’s garden party.

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You’re already so busy.

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-Did you need to take this on?
-Don’t talk about that.

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Start by talking to flower shops
around the country.

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The flower shops explained that
roses are out of season right now.

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I’m sorry for calling upon you
so suddenly.

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There’s a plan to view blue roses soon.

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Blue roses?

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I work with medicine.

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Yes, I know that.

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Is he in some kind of trouble?
He looks tired.

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Roses, huh?

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I have some knowledge, but…

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I’ve worked with roses

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to earn pocket money
from courtesans. However…

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He really said he saw blue roses?

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Yes.

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He didn’t use any hallucinogens?

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If such a thing was common,
the empire would fall apart!

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Sir Jinshi.

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Is it impossible?

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What do I need to do exactly?

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Can you have them
by next month’s garden party?

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Next month?

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Roses don’t bloom
for at least two more months.

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You’re right.

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I’ll tell him I can’t.

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Sir Jinshi’s reaction.

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This impossible task and pushy tactic…

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Could it be that this request
came from a certain military man?

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That’s right.

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All right. I accept this job.

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Really?

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I don’t know if I can do it,
but I’ll do what I can.

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I don't want to be running away
from him forever.

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I'd love to crack
that smirking monocle of his.

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Sir Jinshi.

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Can I request some items from you?

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Thank you for giving me permission
to use these,

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-Lady Lihua.
-It was no trouble.

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It was originally something you had made.

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It brings me back.

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I requested a steam bath to be made

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to help Lady Lihua recover from poison.

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I'll be borrowing the bath for this job,

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but I would feel bad
borrowing it for free.

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This is the Emperor's favorite text.

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Thank you. This will help.

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I'm glad I had it delivered
from the brothel.

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-Take care of that.
-Yes, sir!

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Sir Jinshi.

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Oh, you're here.

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I had this made, like you asked.
But what is it for?

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I'm going to confuse the roses.

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Confuse the roses?

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What does that mean, Apothecary?

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I'll add some sunlight

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and add some steam into the shed
from there.

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We'll grow the roses in a warm room.

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The flowers may bloom
ahead of season this way.

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So that's what you mean by
confusing the roses.

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I'm not certain this will work, though.

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Maomao!

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-Xiaolan?
-I'll help too.

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How's your injured foot?

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Is he a chaperone?

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They kept saying

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not to push myself repeatedly.

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I'm all right. Thanks for coming to help.

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Not at all. It's been so long
since I worked with you!

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You're right.

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We carried in more than 100 pots of roses.

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This is the last one.

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Wow, there are so many!

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We got different types of roses,

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and selected species that bloom
earlier in the year.

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You think they'll all bloom?

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I hope so.

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We take great care
in maintaining the temperature.

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A few people were sent to help us,

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but it's a hard task to leave
to someone else.

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If you make a mistake

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and all the flowers die,
then everything is over.

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We put the flowers out on sunny days
so they can absorb sunlight.

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Looks like they like the sun!

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Yeah.

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How is it going?

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I brought some food.

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Thank you.

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This is great! I don't have to work,
and we get snacks!

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This is work too.

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What's wrong?

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I don't know. Maybe they're just curious.

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Or, are they trying to see
something scary?

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What should we do next?

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If there are seedlings with too many buds,

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can you pluck some out?

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That way, the nutrients gather in one spot
making it easier to bloom

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and protects it from diseases.

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It's totally fine!

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-Thank you so much.
-Not at all!

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Hurry up!

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They're not budding yet.

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On the days the cold returns,

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we keep the shed warm all night.

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The weather is unpredictable.

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You didn't sleep again yesterday?

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I slept at dawn.

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That was only moments ago!

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I'll do what I can here,
so you should sleep just a little.

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I should keep an eye on them.

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What?

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They're looking over here again.

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They do this every day!
Don't they get tired of it?

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It's very distracting.

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If only I could divert their attention…

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Wow!

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So these are rouge nails!

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Everyone at the pleasure district
does these.

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They're very beautiful!

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You do your nails too, Maomao?

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They're so cute!

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They're very trendy these days.

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Yes, they are.

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High-ranking concubines who receive
the Emperor's affections

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are the creators of fashion trends.

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They're very inefficient.

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Ms. Hongniang cares more about work
than fashion.

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I'm done with the food testing,
so I'll head back to the Crystal Pavilion.

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So soon?

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There's not much time left
until the garden party.

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That's true.

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That reminds me.

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Lady Gyokuyou
will not be attending this party.

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She'll be giving up her seat so that
Lady Loulan can introduce herself.

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It must be to hide her pregnancy.

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I understand. Goodbye.

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Hey, are you all right
at the Crystal pavilion?

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You're getting skinnier by the day!

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Don't push yourself, all right?

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Thank you.

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Maomao!

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Maomao, come quickly!

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It's budding.

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I found it just now.

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It's our first one!

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If everything goes as planned,

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maybe they'll start to bloom…

183
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Maomao?

184
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Any messages from the Apothecary?

185
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No.

186
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I haven't been able to drop by
for a few days.

187
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We were both busy
preparing for the garden party.

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Sir Jinshi.

189
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That must be Sir Shishou's daughter,
Concubine Loulan.

190
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How glamorous!

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For Concubine Loulan.

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If she has any shortcomings,

193
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please let us know.

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-Anything at all.
-Oh, dear.

195
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-Blue roses?
-Could it be?

196
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Perhaps it'll be agreeable

197
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to enjoy these buds
and imagine what they will look like

198
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when they bloom.

199
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Yes. They are beautiful.

200
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These glances that are thrown at "Jinshi."

201
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No matter how beautiful he may be,

202
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no official is so unselfish that
they'd enjoy a young eunuch

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showing off his abilities.

204
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Lust is easy.

205
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You can use it to your advantage.

206
00:15:58,123 --> 00:16:00,501
Jealousy is easy. It's easy to manage.

207
00:16:01,126 --> 00:16:02,503
What's bothersome is

208
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when you can't read the emotion
behind those eyes.

209
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Shishou. Concubine Loulan's father,

210
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and the man who won
the empress's affection.

211
00:16:12,137 --> 00:16:14,765
The emperor still owes much to him.

212
00:16:15,265 --> 00:16:18,686
That's why our side continues to smile.

213
00:16:19,770 --> 00:16:22,940
And right now, we have someone
more concerning than Shishou.

214
00:16:23,857 --> 00:16:26,318
It's that man, Lakan.

215
00:16:36,203 --> 00:16:38,080
My, how disagreeable.

216
00:16:45,212 --> 00:16:46,505
Are you awake?

217
00:16:47,089 --> 00:16:48,424
Ms. Yinghua…

218
00:16:48,507 --> 00:16:50,926
Don't go to the Crystal Pavilion anymore.

219
00:16:51,010 --> 00:16:53,595
You always come back all skinny and tired.

220
00:16:55,556 --> 00:16:57,141
I'm sorry.

221
00:16:57,224 --> 00:16:58,684
You're awake?

222
00:17:02,730 --> 00:17:03,981
I'll be going now.

223
00:17:06,942 --> 00:17:08,444
Stay seated.

224
00:17:10,279 --> 00:17:12,031
It was very hard.

225
00:17:12,114 --> 00:17:14,116
We couldn't get them to bloom in time.

226
00:17:15,242 --> 00:17:19,580
But it's not like
you wanted to impress me, did you?

227
00:17:19,663 --> 00:17:20,748
Huh?

228
00:17:20,831 --> 00:17:23,542
It's nothing. It was more than enough.

229
00:17:25,127 --> 00:17:26,545
How did you achieve this?

230
00:17:27,296 --> 00:17:29,214
I just dyed them.

231
00:17:29,298 --> 00:17:31,842
You dyed them? But there's nothing there.

232
00:17:32,509 --> 00:17:34,636
It's not dyed on the outside.

233
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:36,263
It's dyed from the inside.

234
00:17:40,142 --> 00:17:43,437
These roses were all originally white.

235
00:17:46,106 --> 00:17:48,233
We used different types of colored water

236
00:17:48,317 --> 00:17:50,319
and soaked the white buds in them.

237
00:17:50,402 --> 00:17:54,448
So that's why there were many colors,
not just blue.

238
00:17:54,531 --> 00:17:57,409
Yes. The leaves get muddy and dark
when they're dyed,

239
00:17:57,493 --> 00:17:59,828
so we plucked them all in advance.

240
00:18:00,746 --> 00:18:04,291
After that, we fixed some cotton
soaked with colored water so that

241
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the color doesn't come off
during the garden party.

242
00:18:08,420 --> 00:18:10,047
It's very simple.

243
00:18:10,798 --> 00:18:12,091
In actuality,

244
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The truly hard part was getting the roses
to bloom in time.

245
00:18:16,136 --> 00:18:18,138
Yes, it's very simple.

246
00:18:18,222 --> 00:18:19,431
That's why there may be

247
00:18:19,515 --> 00:18:23,101
officials who complain
and make accusations.

248
00:18:23,602 --> 00:18:26,605
I explained the trick
to the Emperor in advance.

249
00:18:27,481 --> 00:18:30,484
He seemed to enjoy knowing
the secret beforehand,

250
00:18:30,567 --> 00:18:32,861
and listened to me explain it
with interest.

251
00:18:33,654 --> 00:18:37,866
So why did he say
he used to see blue roses in the court?

252
00:18:37,950 --> 00:18:39,618
There must've been some bored person

253
00:18:39,701 --> 00:18:43,205
soaking blue-colored water
into the roses every day.

254
00:18:46,083 --> 00:18:48,168
Why would they do such a thing?

255
00:18:49,044 --> 00:18:50,003
Who knows?

256
00:18:50,087 --> 00:18:52,923
Maybe they wanted something
to flirt with women with.

257
00:18:53,549 --> 00:18:56,844
I haven't seen you with dyed nails before.

258
00:18:56,927 --> 00:18:58,637
It doesn't suit me.

259
00:18:59,304 --> 00:19:03,142
If I had some balsam or wood sorrel,
the dye would apply more evenly.

260
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,854
Balsam are known as "rouge nails,"

261
00:19:06,937 --> 00:19:09,273
and sorrel are known as "cat's feet."

262
00:19:09,356 --> 00:19:13,110
If you rub these plants together, it makes
a vibrant red color for your nails..

263
00:19:13,777 --> 00:19:15,904
Though a little nail dye
wouldn't change this…

264
00:19:16,864 --> 00:19:18,907
At least it's better than it used to be.

265
00:19:20,701 --> 00:19:23,370
Sir Gaoshun, do you have
the requested items?

266
00:19:23,453 --> 00:19:25,622
Yes, just as you asked.

267
00:19:26,206 --> 00:19:27,916
Thank you, sir.

268
00:19:29,251 --> 00:19:31,587
Now, the stage is set.

269
00:19:32,171 --> 00:19:33,297
All that's left is to

270
00:19:34,214 --> 00:19:37,926
blow away that despicable man.

271
00:19:40,220 --> 00:19:44,725
I didn't think that
the challenge would end in failure.

272
00:19:52,900 --> 00:19:56,737
Most humans look like Go pieces to me.

273
00:19:56,820 --> 00:19:59,865
Men are the black stones,
and women are the white stones.

274
00:20:00,449 --> 00:20:02,492
Even the men who work
for me in the military

275
00:20:02,576 --> 00:20:04,828
are all just xiangqi pieces.

276
00:20:05,579 --> 00:20:08,165
Most are soldiers, or pawns.

277
00:20:08,248 --> 00:20:12,252
As they rise up the ranks,
they become horses, or cannon.

278
00:20:12,836 --> 00:20:15,088
Working in the military is quite simple.

279
00:20:15,589 --> 00:20:18,091
You simply have to place the pieces
where they belong.

280
00:20:19,259 --> 00:20:20,510
Everyone has their roles.

281
00:20:20,594 --> 00:20:23,263
That's how you win most wars.

282
00:20:24,056 --> 00:20:25,682
It's not difficult at all.

283
00:20:26,308 --> 00:20:29,895
Even if you are unskilled,
as long as the pieces fulfill their roles,

284
00:20:29,978 --> 00:20:32,773
they'll finish your job for you.

285
00:20:33,690 --> 00:20:36,401
My eyes hurt more than usual.

286
00:20:36,485 --> 00:20:39,196
I keep noticing red flickering around
in my vision.

287
00:20:41,365 --> 00:20:43,200
Rouge nails, huh?

288
00:20:43,992 --> 00:20:48,246
The rouge nails I remember
aren't a distasteful, flashy red.

289
00:20:49,248 --> 00:20:52,793
It's a subtle red, dyed from balsam.

290
00:20:59,007 --> 00:21:02,344
MINISTER - SCHOLAR

291
00:22:36,063 --> 00:22:39,483
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE

292
00:22:47,949 --> 00:22:50,494
Next Episode, "Balsam and Wood Sorrel."

293
00:22:50,577 --> 00:22:51,912
Subtitle translation by: Yukimi Ohashi