WRITTEN BY: HYUGA NATSU ILLUSTRATION: TOUKO SHINO
Did someone summon me?
The palace woman from the clinic did?
Yes, it seems she wants to see you.
I’m sorry. I should have taken
the medicine you prepared right here.
But the palace woman from yesterday saw me.
That's a problem.
Only medical officers are allowed to make medicine, after all.
I deeply apologize.
Will you get in trouble?
No, it’s just that…
Tell me what’s going on.
Yes…
They’re asking to…
borrow Maomao for a while.
Maomao?
Ailan, call Yinghua for me.
Eh? O-Okay.
I got summoned…
Let’s hurry.
They even sent someone to keep an eye on me.
My name is Shenlü.
Eyes with a greenish hue…
Is she, like Lady Gyokuyou, from the western region?
Yesterday, she seemed like a strong-willed mother, but…
now that we’re talking calmly, she gives off an intelligent impression.
In any case, being served tea like this makes me feel awkward.
I was rude to you yesterday. My apologies.
I didn’t realize you worked under the Consort.
No, it’s fine.
"Consort" refers to Lady Gyokuyou’s title.
Palace women from outside often use official titles to refer to them.
I summoned you because there’s something I’d like to ask of you.
Go ahead.
I want you to make a medicine
for Wise Consort, Lady Lihua's
maid at the Crystal Pavilion.
Do you understand what that implies?
If it gets out that someone other than a medical officer is making medicine--
I am fully aware of the consequences.
There seems to be a reason.
Maomao?!
Please, you can tell me.
Is it alright?
Could you explain the circumstances?
Thank you very much.
She's a maid I became acquainted with
at the laundry area.
Since the caravan season,
she's been experiencing fatigue and a slight fever.
Then it escalated into a strange cough.
So I told her to take proper rest.
But after that, she completely stopped showing up.
Maybe she switched laundry areas,
or was reassigned?
Even so,
that cough needs to be checked at least once.
So, she hasn't gone to the clinic either?
Yes.
Perhaps she couldn't get permission from her superiors.
That's the problem with the Crystal Pavilion.
If the maid needed permission,
it wouldn't be from Lady Lihua, but from the head attendant.
There's a high chance her request was ignored.
It's already been half a month since I last saw her.
Half a month!?
This has turned into a troublesome situation.
Does such a maid even exist?
It might be necessary to investigate.
A strange cough, huh?
If it's contagious, we can't just leave it be.
It might spread outside of the Crystal Pavilion.
I know you're the type that worries about these kind of things, but…
make sure to ask for permission properly.
Rushing ahead is your bad habit.
Yes.
It won't help to rush.
First, I'll have this issue passed on to Lord Jinshi.
What I can do right now is…
Ah?
Wait!
Maomao!
Geez, just as I was saying…
Sorry. I found what I was looking for, so I couldn't help myself.
-What were you looking for? -This.
Unfortunately, the main body managed to escape.
I'm going to make medicine to grow it. To do that…
I'm trying to figure out
why its tail grows back.
Lady Yinghua?
Where are you going?
Lady Shin!
You’re supposed to be cleaning the main house.
Are you going to show your face there again?
Ah, well…
I told you, don’t do unnecessary things.
I’m sorry.
I’m really sorry…
Lady Shin!
The doctor has arrived from the medical office.
Doctor?
What does he want?
He couldn’t even help the Crown Prince.
Do you need something?
Well… I wanted to see the Wise Consort.
I apologize.
Lady Lihua likely
doesn't wish to meet with you.
Well, but…
Such a tall woman. Was there such a palace woman?
I received a letter like this.
JINSHI
I understand. This way, please.
Excuse me, but Lady Lihua is in good health.
Ah, that's good to hear.
You must have excellent attendants
to support the Wise Consort.
Of course we do.
All attendants of the Crystal Pavilion come from distinguished families.
They are all worthy of serving the Emperor.
Lady Lihua is also of noble birth, and from the royal family.
And so am I.
For the sake of the family,
it is important to gain the Emperor's favor.
Understood, Lihua and Shin.
-Yes. -Yes.
Then why is it that…
What's the matter?
Well…
I was wondering what that small building was.
It's nothing, just a storage room.
Have you been tending to the garden recently?
No, not particularly.
Now that you mention it, were there always those bushes in the garden?
You're wearing perfume today.
Huh?
Lady Shin.
Long time no see.
I apologize for what happened the other day.
Are you the girl from that time?
Wait a minute!
What are you doing?!
Young lady!
Boil some water, now!
All right.
Drink this slowly.
Why did you treat her like this?
There's nothing to explain.
It's to prevent the disease from spreading.
It's common sense to isolate the patient, right?
Indeed,
but while the contagion risk is low, this is still a transmissible illness.
If such measures continue, it will lead to her death.
Of course, the death of a single maid
may seem like a trivial matter to you.
I remember when I first came here.
It was when Lady Lihua was bedridden due to illness.
A fragrance was burned to mask the smell of the sick person.
What are you trying to say?
This time, I felt it was the opposite.
The sick person is being placed here
to mask the smell of the fragrance.
Wait!
The Crystal Pavilion attendants
really have many secrets, don't they?
These are the goods from the caravan that were banned recently.
Once again, a poor eunuch will be sentenced to lashes.
Don't get shaken up.
Each small bottle may not be considered poisonous,
but if you mix them together, what could happen?
A girl like her could never understand.
What my true purpose is.
Lady Shin.
What are your intentions
in creating an abortion pill?
If I could find her on the first visit, maybe I didn't need to disguise myself.
My face is known, so I was prepared for a long battle.
Thank you for waiting.
Thank you for the change of clothes.
Of course.
You shouldn't walk around in the clothes you wore
while caring for the sick, as it could spread the illness.
Shall we go? Everyone is gathered.
What does this mean, Lady Shin?
The items from the caravan
were to be removed because they were potentially toxic.
I'm sure that was announced.
Are you going to keep silent?
Even when questioned by Lord Jinshi, she acts like this?
Lady Shin.
She is the head of the Crystal Pavilion's attendants,
and also a cousin of Lady Lihua.
Her features are somewhat similar, attracting attention.
She's an evidently proud and beautiful woman.
That is why she became the head of the attendants.
Beautiful flowers are more noticeable when gathered in one place.
Given her status, it is not surprising she moved up to a middle-level consort.
She must be aware of that herself.
Let me change the question.
What were you planning to do with the prohibited goods?
I don't know what you're talking about.
Indeed, I did instruct that the sick maid be laid down in the storage room.
But that was to prevent the spread of the disease.
I didn't know what items were kept there.
Does that make me guilty?
It's not a crime to isolate the maid in the storage room.
It can't be helped.…that's how little a maid's life is valued.
Rather than that,
you came out of nowhere
and demanded to meet Lady Lihua.
Isn't it more of a problem to go snooping around in other palaces' storage rooms?
After all, the storage room is a place where no one goes,
except for delivering food to the sick.
To put it another way, anyone could have approached the storage room.
Do you have evidence that these items belong to me?
You should ask the maid who was there in that room.
Are you going to trust the words
of a maid who was suffering from a fever and was delirious?
How reliable can she be?
So, you knew she was suffering from a fever?
How kind of you.
To go out of your way to check on a lowly maid's condition.
Then it's not surprising if the scent of perfume oil lingers on your body.
Before, there was no scent of perfume oil on you, Lady Shin.
I shouldn’t go any further…
I understand that, but…
There are things that make one angry.
Today, Lady Shin,
you smell just like this perfume oil.
This bottle was found inside the chest.
Is it really such a strong scent that it can be picked up easily?
Just to be sure,
may I check?
Don't touch me!
Apothecary!
It's nothing serious.
You're right.
I should have never touched you.
Let's have someone else check you.
Could you leave the rest to me?
Lady Lihua.
What crime will she be charged with?
If she were trying to create an abortion pill,
it would be the same as murdering the Emperor's child.
Does that apply no matter whose consort's child it is?
Of course.
Even if Shin's target was me?
Lady Lihua! That's…
So that’s what this is about.
Lady Lihua's clothes
are similar to the clothes that Lady Gyokuyou is wearing.
That explains why there aren’t any decent attendants.
It’s not Lady Lihua's fault.
Those attendants were gathered intentionally
by the head attendant, Shin.
Shin, you’ve never treated me as a consort, have you?
You thought I wasn’t worthy of being
the mother of the nation.
That’s what you must have thought.
You and I,
we never knew who would become a consort…
until the very end.
Speaking to me as if I'm inferior to you.
I’ve always hated that about you!
I was better at studying and etiquette!
And many other things!
I was better than you in so many ways!
Why does everyone around me…!
The size of their chests… No.
The difference in capacity between them is simply too vast.
"Lihua" and "Shin," "Pear" and "Apricot."
Both were born with beautiful names, having a good background and education.
Still, there are plenty of foolish people who are ruled by their emotions
and make mistakes.
Lady Shin is likely one of them.
Because you’re the daughter of the head of the family?
Does that make you better than me?
That can't be!
I’ve always been
raised to become the mother of the nation!
Can I take that as a confession?
May you wither in the flower garden, unable to bear children!
Lihua!
Don’t touch me!
How disgusting, a mere eunuch!
Let go of me! Let go of me!
Lady Shin,
you really do hold the Emperor in high regard, don’t you?
-Of course I do! What are you saying? -No.
I just…
simply thought you seemed to love the position of the mother of the nation.
Unlike Lady Lihua.
You thought that way, Shin?
Lord Jinshi,
this head attendant has spoken violent words.
To the point where I had to step in.
Therefore, I will dismiss this person.
Lady Lihua, that is…
Oh, is a slap not enough?
Then, let me do it…
Please wait!
I won’t!
She's really changed. She's not the old Lady Lihua anymore.
A woman waiting for her own life to fade away
is nowhere to be found.
From now on,
please forbid her from entering the rear palace.
What a light punishment…
But for this woman, it will be enough humiliation.
Even if she bears a grudge,
she can’t do anything, as she was driven out of the rear palace by scandal.
I'm sure they will never stand beside each other.
-Use it. -Huh?
You're bleeding.
It’s fine, it’s just a scar.
Just use it!
Fine.
To stain such fine silk with blood…
How did you know the sick maid was in the storage room?
Since you were in disguise,
I’m sure you didn’t know from the start, right?
I had a rough idea.
Since she was ill,
she had to be somewhere out of sight, away from everyone’s sleeping areas.
I didn’t think it would be the storage room, though.
And there was a clue.
Those bushes?
Yes.
Normally those flowers are red.
But only white flowers are blooming.
Someone must have chosen and planted them.
In Feng Shui, the combination of green and white is said to be good for health.
I see…
And the name…
'Marvel-of-Peru' is rather ironic.
Marvel-of-Peru?
The white powder in the seeds
can also be used as an abortion drug.
Those flowers are everywhere!
As long as you don’t misuse them, it won’t do any harm.
Just like today’s perfume.
How did Lady Shin know
that perfume could be used as an abortion drug?
Also, being that it was one of the trade goods brought in by the caravan.
Even if I interrogate her, I don’t know if she’ll spill anything.
Apothecary, may I ask you something.
Within this rear palace,
is there someone who spread the idea that perfume could be used as an abortion drug?
I don't know.
However, it would be best to stay cautious.
Um…
Marvel-of-Peru.
What happened to the maid in the storage room?
She will be leaving the rear palace and will receive treatment.
That was what Lady Lihua suggested.
She feels responsible for what happened,
so she will bear the cost as well.
I see…
It seems that the apothecary has visited.
Yes. You seem to know everything.
I've been saved by her countless times.
Is something the matter?
No…
Next episode…
"Shrine of Choosing." r?