WRITTEN BY HYUGA NATSU
THIS STORY IS A FICTION AND ALL NAMES OF FIGURES AND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.
MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.
Starting today, this will be your room.
A storage shed…?
You're seriously telling me to live here?
Yes. Reflect on your actions.
Lady Yinghua, are you alright?
Of course not!
Collecting all that junk! You're unbelievable.
At this rate, Lady Hongniang will kick you out of your room
and you'll be banished to the storage shed!
That sounds great.
The storage shed is bigger than my current room.
And even if I make noise at night…
-Maomao? -Not bad.
Now that it's decided, let's hurry.
I need to get back quickly and ask Lady Hongniang about this.
Wait. Hey… wait!
What is all this…?
Make sure you reflect properly.
Lady Hongniang…
Thank you so much!
I'll dry medicinal herbs here! And I'll prepare medicines here!
This goes there, and that goes here…!
See? I told you it’s pointless!
The storage shed? Unbelievable.
Isn't telling Lady Hongniang
a bit too much, Yinghua?
It wasn’t me!
Maomao asked Lady Hongniang herself.
Right, Maomao?
Yes. It was quite convenient for me in many ways.
What?
That aside,
Maomao, you need to stop collecting bugs, okay?
Bugs?
Actually, I'm collecting lizard tails…
And besides, I haven't collected any since Lady Yinghua collapsed.
Really?
But there's a rumor going around that a strange court lady is catching bugs
while laughing.
I've done no such thing.
I did collect moths for a job,
but I never laughed while catching bugs…
This is a serious matter.
Huh? Did I see Shisui lately?
Yeah. Have you seen Shisui around lately?
Shisui, huh?
That girl is always vanishing and reappearing out of nowhere.
Hey, hey! Does anyone know where Shisui is?
Shisui?
I might've seen her… or maybe not.
Huh? Where did you see her? Tell me!
Well…
Is she wary because I'm the attendant assigned to the consort?
Someone like Xiaolan,
who treats everyone equally, is actually pretty rare.
Maybe I can bait them with something.
Oh, this might work…
Depending on how detailed your information is,
I might just give this to you.
Use it. You're bleeding.
This is…
Could it possibly belong to that person?
I'll leave it to your imagination.
Now, would you mind telling me her whereabouts?
From what they told me,
she's often seen in the northern thicket…
Come to think of it, I ran into her around here before.
Perhaps this is her favorite spot.
I should've brought some mosquito repellent.
Marvel-of-Peru…
So they were growing here.
I remember when I was little, I used to go pick their seeds
with the courtesans.
However the powder inside wasn't used as face powder,
but to make an abortion pill.
Shin originally didn't wear perfume.
Shin, who was trying to replace Lady Lihua as a consort,
avoiding a pregnancy risk is not strange.
But despite that,
Shin deliberately wore perfume while trying to make an abortion pill.
Which means…
It's not as if only Lady Gyokuyou
receives the Emperor's favor.
It's entirely possible that Lady Lihua is pregnant as well.
But the strange part about that incident isn't just that.
The abortion pill made by the courtesans, aside from Marvel-of-Peru flowers,
can also be made with Chinese lantern plants, peonies, balsam,
as well as quicksilver.
Leaving quicksilver aside,
the rest are flowers that can be obtained within the rear palace.
And yet,
Shin sourced the ingredients for the abortion pill
from supplies brought in by the caravan.
In other words, someone must have taught Shin,
who had no knowledge of medicine, how to make poison.
And that person is likely still within the rear palace…
Gotcha!
Wait, wait, wait!
Being lumped together with someone like that…
That's just insulting.
Gotcha!
A bug!
Shisui…
I’d appreciate it if you could move your hands.
-Sorry, Maomao. -Whatever.
-Were you trying to catch those bugs? -Yes.
She must really like bugs.
This bug lives on an island nation in the East,
and it makes sounds by rubbing its wings together.
It probably escaped from some traded goods.
Like that moth I caught before,
it likely only exists here.
It kind of looks like a cockroach,
but it’s different, so don’t worry.
And you know, I have so much more to tell you!
I shouldn't have asked.
What’s that sound?
That’s the Empress Dowager, isn’t it?
I saw her at last year’s garden party, but she looks so young.
Hard to believe she’s the Emperor’s mother.
Why are you hiding?
You are too, Maomao.
A reflex, I guess…
Is she going to the clinic?
-The clinic? -Yeah.
It's an unofficial clinic run by the court ladies.
I know about that.
They say the Empress Dowager established it.
The Empress Dowager?
It was during a time when the Empress Regnant's power was strong,
so it seems she couldn’t set it up officially.
I see.
The Empress Dowager is kind, isn’t she?
Plus, the ban on eunuchs and slavery…
I heard that was due to her influence as well.
From a humanity perspective,
abolishing slavery is a good thing.
But putting aside those treated like livestock,
cases where maids use themselves as collateral for debt
are considered legally similar to employment.
Still, from an outsider’s view,
there’s little difference between a maid and a slave.
Granny said she was really nervous when the abolition was decided.
Officially, slavery has been abolished,
but it’s common knowledge that it still exists under a different name.
Well then, I should be heading back soon.
Maomao, if you keep wandering around too much, won’t you get scolded?
Yeah, but…
The Empress Dowager is heading to the clinic.
Could it be related to
the Crystal Pavilion incident from the other day?
If the Empress Dowager is getting involved,
there might be reform in the palace’s medical system.
I’d love to hear more about that, but…
-Yeah, I’d better go home. -Huh?
I’ve been making people mad lately…
Do it again!
Yes…
This is the third time.
I was starting to think she finally started picking on me…
-Clean more thoroughly! -Yes!
-There! -Yes!
The other attendants are getting criticized too.
Clean more thoroughly than usual! Not a speck of dust should be left behind.
Huh? Is someone coming?
It’s been a while, Lady Anshi.
It’s the Empress Dowager!
Have you been well?
Thank you for your concern.
Does the Empress Dowager know about Lady Gyokuyou's pregnancy?
So that must mean that she’s really trusted.
Rather than a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law,
they are more like friends with a bit of an age gap.
You…
You’re the attendant Jinshi assigned, aren’t you?
Yes, that’s right.
How does she know that?
Suiren told me.
She said a girl worth training has returned to the rear palace.
Suiren used to be my attendant a long time ago.
I see.
So that sly attendant and the Empress Dowager
were old acquaintances.
Lady Anshi,
pardon me, but Lingli seems tired.
May I put her to bed?
Yes. Go ahead.
She's quite perceptive.
She really is.
Now, have a seat over here.
Yes.
You know,
I hear you’ve been solving all sorts of problems.
I’m just applying the knowledge I have
to situations where it fits.
Did that sound negative?
But really,
I don’t have a wild imagination,
nor do I have my father’s vast knowledge.
I can’t stay calm unless I tell them upfront.
That’s just my principle. I can’t help it.
That’s fine.
Just tell me what you can understand.
I want you to investigate something.
Did I…
place a curse on the late Emperor?
A curse, huh?
It’s not unreasonable to think that way.
To be honest, I’ve never heard
anything good about the previous Emperor.
A foolish brother, a dim-witted lord, a puppet of the Empress Regnant.
But the most well-known thing about him in the rear palace
was that he was attracted to young girls.
Political marriages and settling debts
by taking young brides does happen.
However, even though there were plenty of women
of appropriate age in the selection,
he always chose the youngest girls.
The Empress Dowager bears a scar on her stomach.
When she gave birth to the current Emperor,
her body was still not fully developed,
so she had no choice but to have her stomach cut open.
And the one who was forcibly made into a eunuch
just to assist in that childbirth
was my unfortunate father, Luomen.
Perhaps because of such sacrifices,
the current Emperor grew up healthy,
and the Empress Dowager later gave birth to imperial younger brother.
If I remember correctly, the imperial younger brother
is one year older than me.
When the Empress Dowager gave birth, she was nearly 30.
She was far from being considered a young girl.
If that’s the case…
Is the prince really the former Emperor’s child?
If I were to say something like this aloud, I’d probably be beheaded.
A few days later, the Empress Dowager
arranged a tea party,
bringing together the four high-ranking consorts.
Lady Gyokuyou, this way.
There’s still some time before the tea party begins,
so please take some rest.
Yes, I’ll do that.
Lady Gyokuyou is still experiencing
the drowsiness typical of early pregnancy.
What is the Empress Dowager planning?
A tea party outside the rear palace?
Even if it’s outside, it’s still within the inner court.
Plus, it’s His Majesty’s residence.
That makes it even more nerve-wracking!
It’s not a place we usually enter.
The Empress Dowager is aware
that Lady Gyokuyou is pregnant,
so why do this now?
That’s true,
I’m sure she’ll take that into consideration, but…
When it comes to the other consorts,
who knows what they might do?
Lady Gyokuyou's pregnancy is an open secret,
but in a face-to-face tea gathering,
they might openly try to probe for information.
However, Lady Lihua
wouldn't ask any questions that might implicate herself.
Besides, Lady Lihua, who has always been proud and dignified,
would never try to disgrace someone else.
For Lady Gyokuyou as well,
it wouldn't be wise to quarrel with Lady Lihua,
whose lineage is even more noble.
If anyone were to say something,
it would likely be Lady Lishu who was tricked by her attendant.
But I don't think the head attendant, a former poisoner, would do that.
If anything, the one to watch out for is Lady Loulan.
Apart from her flashy attire,
there’s strangely little gossip about her.
Maomao, do you have a moment?
Yes.
What is it?
I’ll be the one tasting for poison today.
You understand what that means, right?
I understand.
For the Empress Dowager to host a gathering without assigning
a poison taster implies that
she trusts the attendees.
And as for you,
the Empress Dowager has requested your assistance.
Has another problem been brought to you?
Did I place a curse on the late Emperor?
If possible,
I’d prefer to have this conversation somewhere else.
It doesn't matter. I'm sure you can't tell me anyway.
However!
Make sure you don't do anything to betray Lady Gyokuyou.
I have no intention of making you an enemy, Lady Hongniang.
Good.
I'd like to maintain a good relationship with you too, Maomao.
That's true…
Lady Hongniang is
undoubtedly suited to being Lady Gyokuyou’s head attendant.
If the Empress Dowager is calling for me, it must be about that curse.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
This way.
Before the current rear palace was built,
this place used to serve as the rear palace.
Is that so?
There’s no sign of people here,
yet it's spotless, without even a speck of dust.
Even the raked gravel of the dry landscape garden is clean.
This is the place.
You may not go any further.
Even the cleaning staff
are not permitted beyond this point.
What is this smell?
This room is…?
During the reign of the emperor before last,
an attendant,
who became a consort of lower rank, lived here.
This was the room of the woman known as the Late Empress Regnant,
the place where the late emperor was raised,
and also where she passed away.
Let’s move to another location.
In his later years, the late emperor
and his mother, who was called the late Empress Regnant,
began spending more and more time secluded in that room.
As if clinging to memories, he immersed himself there.
Perhaps the late emperor had grown weak in spirit,
because after the Empress Regnant passed away,
he followed shortly after, drawing his last breath in that room.
Forgive me for asking, but he wasn’t particularly young, was he?
He had lived a full life, so you could say he passed away at an old age.
Then why does the Empress Dowager believe it was a curse?
I, too, told her that there was
no such thing as a curse.
However, Lady Anshi said…
I cursed him. I wished he would disappear.
Night after night…
For so, so long… I kept thinking about it.
Is there
any actual proof that a curse was involved?
The late emperor’s body
was enshrined in the mausoleum for a year.
The following year, His Majesty and Lady Anshi viewed
the late emperor’s remains before the burial.
And when they saw his body…
it had remained
almost exactly the same as when he had passed.
In other words, it hadn't decayed?
Yes. The Empress Regnant, who passed away around the same time…
Let's just say her remains were in a state too horrific to describe.
And so, Lady Anshi
believes she herself placed a curse on the late emperor.
Yes.
I see.
The mausoleum stays cool even in summer,
but unless a body is preserved in ice,
it will naturally decay, attract insects, and dry up over time.
The fact that this didn’t happen is certainly unusual.
All humans return to the earth.
Whether an aristocrat or a farmer, it is the same.
No matter our social standing at birth,
this one fate is shared by all.
That wing of the palace is set to be demolished soon.
Before that happens, I would like you to investigate it.
Understood.
But I have one request.
A request?
NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW
The next episode is "The Late Emperor."
Subtitle translation by: Abhishek Chand Ramola igate it.