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WRITTEN BY HYUGA NATSU

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THIS STORY IS A FICTION AND ALL NAMES OF
FIGURES AND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.

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

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Starting today, this will be your room.

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A storage shed…?

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You're seriously telling me to live here?

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Yes. Reflect on your actions.

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Lady Yinghua, are you alright?

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Of course not!

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Collecting all that junk!
You're unbelievable.

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At this rate, Lady Hongniang
will kick you out of your room

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and you'll be banished
to the storage shed!

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That sounds great.

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The storage shed is bigger than
my current room.

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And even if I make noise at night…

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-Maomao?
-Not bad.

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Now that it's decided, let's hurry.

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I need to get back quickly
and ask Lady Hongniang about this.

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Wait. Hey… wait!

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What is all this…?

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Make sure you reflect properly.

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Lady Hongniang…

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Thank you so much!

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I'll dry medicinal herbs here!
And I'll prepare medicines here!

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This goes there, and that goes here…!

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See? I told you it’s pointless!

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The storage shed? Unbelievable.

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Isn't telling Lady Hongniang

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a bit too much, Yinghua?

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It wasn’t me!

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Maomao asked Lady Hongniang herself.

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Right, Maomao?

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Yes. It was quite convenient for me
in many ways.

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What?

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That aside,

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Maomao, you need to stop
collecting bugs, okay?

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Bugs?

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Actually, I'm collecting lizard tails…

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And besides, I haven't collected any
since Lady Yinghua collapsed.

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Really?

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But there's a rumor going around that
a strange court lady is catching bugs

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while laughing.

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I've done no such thing.

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I did collect moths for a job,

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but I never laughed while catching bugs…

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This is a serious matter.

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Huh? Did I see Shisui lately?

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Yeah. Have you seen Shisui around lately?

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Shisui, huh?

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That girl is always vanishing
and reappearing out of nowhere.

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Hey, hey! Does anyone know
where Shisui is?

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Shisui?

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I might've seen her… or maybe not.

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Huh? Where did you see her? Tell me!

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Well…

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Is she wary because
I'm the attendant assigned to the consort?

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Someone like Xiaolan,

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who treats everyone equally,
is actually pretty rare.

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Maybe I can bait them with something.

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Oh, this might work…

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Depending on
how detailed your information is,

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I might just give this to you.

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Use it. You're bleeding.

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This is…

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Could it possibly belong to that person?

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I'll leave it to your imagination.

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Now, would you mind
telling me her whereabouts?

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From what they told me,

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she's often seen in the northern thicket…

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Come to think of it,
I ran into her around here before.

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Perhaps this is her favorite spot.

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I should've brought some
mosquito repellent.

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Marvel-of-Peru…

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So they were growing here.

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I remember when I was little,
I used to go pick their seeds

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with the courtesans.

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However the powder inside wasn't used
as face powder,

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but to make an abortion pill.

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Shin originally didn't wear perfume.

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Shin, who was trying to replace
Lady Lihua as a consort,

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avoiding a pregnancy risk is not strange.

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But despite that,

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Shin deliberately wore perfume
while trying to make an abortion pill.

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Which means…

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It's not as if only Lady Gyokuyou

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receives the Emperor's favor.

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It's entirely possible that
Lady Lihua is pregnant as well.

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But the strange part about
that incident isn't just that.

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The abortion pill made by the courtesans,
aside from Marvel-of-Peru flowers,

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can also be made with
Chinese lantern plants, peonies, balsam,

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as well as quicksilver.

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Leaving quicksilver aside,

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the rest are flowers that can be
obtained within the rear palace.

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And yet,

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Shin sourced the ingredients
for the abortion pill

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from supplies brought in by the caravan.

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In other words,
someone must have taught Shin,

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who had no knowledge of medicine,
how to make poison.

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And that person is likely
still within the rear palace…

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Gotcha!

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Wait, wait, wait!

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Being lumped together
with someone like that…

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That's just insulting.

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Gotcha!

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A bug!

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Shisui…

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I’d appreciate it
if you could move your hands.

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-Sorry, Maomao.
-Whatever.

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-Were you trying to catch those bugs?
-Yes.

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She must really like bugs.

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This bug lives on
an island nation in the East,

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and it makes sounds
by rubbing its wings together.

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It probably escaped
from some traded goods.

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Like that moth I caught before,

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it likely only exists here.

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It kind of looks like a cockroach,

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but it’s different, so don’t worry.

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And you know,
I have so much more to tell you!

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I shouldn't have asked.

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What’s that sound?

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That’s the Empress Dowager, isn’t it?

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I saw her at last year’s garden party,
but she looks so young.

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Hard to believe she’s
the Emperor’s mother.

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Why are you hiding?

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You are too, Maomao.

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A reflex, I guess…

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Is she going to the clinic?

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-The clinic?
-Yeah.

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It's an unofficial clinic
run by the court ladies.

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I know about that.

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They say the Empress Dowager
established it.

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The Empress Dowager?

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It was during a time when
the Empress Regnant's power was strong,

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so it seems she couldn’t
set it up officially.

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I see.

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The Empress Dowager is kind, isn’t she?

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Plus, the ban on eunuchs and slavery…

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I heard that was due to
her influence as well.

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From a humanity perspective,

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abolishing slavery is a good thing.

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But putting aside
those treated like livestock,

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cases where maids use themselves
as collateral for debt

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are considered legally similar
to employment.

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Still, from an outsider’s view,

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there’s little difference between
a maid and a slave.

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Granny said she was really nervous
when the abolition was decided.

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Officially, slavery has been abolished,

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but it’s common knowledge that
it still exists under a different name.

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Well then, I should be heading back soon.

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Maomao, if you keep wandering around
too much, won’t you get scolded?

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Yeah, but…

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The Empress Dowager
is heading to the clinic.

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Could it be related to

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the Crystal Pavilion incident
from the other day?

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If the Empress Dowager
is getting involved,

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there might be reform
in the palace’s medical system.

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I’d love to hear more about that, but…

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-Yeah, I’d better go home.
-Huh?

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I’ve been making people mad lately…

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Do it again!

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Yes…

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This is the third time.

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I was starting to think she finally
started picking on me…

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-Clean more thoroughly!
-Yes!

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-There!
-Yes!

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The other attendants
are getting criticized too.

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Clean more thoroughly than usual!
Not a speck of dust should be left behind.

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Huh? Is someone coming?

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It’s been a while, Lady Anshi.

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It’s the Empress Dowager!

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Have you been well?

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Thank you for your concern.

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Does the Empress Dowager know about
Lady Gyokuyou's pregnancy?

174
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So that must mean
that she’s really trusted.

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Rather than a mother-in-law
and daughter-in-law,

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they are more like friends
with a bit of an age gap.

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You…

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You’re the attendant Jinshi assigned,
aren’t you?

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Yes, that’s right.

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How does she know that?

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Suiren told me.

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She said a girl worth training
has returned to the rear palace.

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Suiren used to be my attendant
a long time ago.

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I see.

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So that sly attendant
and the Empress Dowager

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were old acquaintances.

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Lady Anshi,

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pardon me, but Lingli seems tired.

189
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May I put her to bed?

190
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Yes. Go ahead.

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She's quite perceptive.

192
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She really is.

193
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Now, have a seat over here.

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Yes.

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You know,

196
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I hear you’ve been solving
all sorts of problems.

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I’m just applying the knowledge I have

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to situations where it fits.

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Did that sound negative?

200
00:12:44,513 --> 00:12:45,764
But really,

201
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I don’t have a wild imagination,

202
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nor do I have my father’s vast knowledge.

203
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I can’t stay calm
unless I tell them upfront.

204
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That’s just my principle. I can’t help it.

205
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That’s fine.

206
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Just tell me what you can understand.

207
00:13:10,164 --> 00:13:12,041
I want you to investigate something.

208
00:13:16,086 --> 00:13:17,296
Did I…

209
00:13:20,132 --> 00:13:23,344
place a curse on the late Emperor?

210
00:13:41,362 --> 00:13:43,113
A curse, huh?

211
00:13:43,656 --> 00:13:46,951
It’s not unreasonable to think that way.

212
00:13:47,993 --> 00:13:49,578
To be honest, I’ve never heard

213
00:13:49,662 --> 00:13:52,665
anything good about the previous Emperor.

214
00:13:52,748 --> 00:13:56,627
A foolish brother, a dim-witted lord,
a puppet of the Empress Regnant.

215
00:13:56,710 --> 00:13:59,296
But the most well-known thing
about him in the rear palace

216
00:13:59,380 --> 00:14:00,965
was that he was attracted to young girls.

217
00:14:02,925 --> 00:14:05,010
Political marriages and settling debts

218
00:14:05,094 --> 00:14:07,221
by taking young brides does happen.

219
00:14:07,805 --> 00:14:09,848
However, even though
there were plenty of women

220
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of appropriate age in the selection,

221
00:14:12,101 --> 00:14:14,728
he always chose the youngest girls.

222
00:14:16,438 --> 00:14:18,774
The Empress Dowager bears
a scar on her stomach.

223
00:14:19,900 --> 00:14:22,278
When she gave birth
to the current Emperor,

224
00:14:22,361 --> 00:14:25,781
her body was still not fully developed,

225
00:14:25,865 --> 00:14:27,992
so she had no choice but
to have her stomach cut open.

226
00:14:28,576 --> 00:14:31,495
And the one who was
forcibly made into a eunuch

227
00:14:31,579 --> 00:14:33,581
just to assist in that childbirth

228
00:14:33,664 --> 00:14:36,250
was my unfortunate father, Luomen.

229
00:14:36,959 --> 00:14:39,044
Perhaps because of such sacrifices,

230
00:14:39,128 --> 00:14:41,255
the current Emperor grew up healthy,

231
00:14:41,338 --> 00:14:44,758
and the Empress Dowager later
gave birth to imperial younger brother.

232
00:14:45,342 --> 00:14:47,219
If I remember correctly,
the imperial younger brother

233
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is one year older than me.

234
00:14:49,638 --> 00:14:52,766
When the Empress Dowager gave birth,
she was nearly 30.

235
00:14:53,642 --> 00:14:55,769
She was far from being
considered a young girl.

236
00:14:56,478 --> 00:14:58,022
If that’s the case…

237
00:14:59,231 --> 00:15:03,027
Is the prince really
the former Emperor’s child?

238
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If I were to say something like this
aloud, I’d probably be beheaded.

239
00:15:11,535 --> 00:15:13,746
A few days later, the Empress Dowager

240
00:15:13,829 --> 00:15:15,247
arranged a tea party,

241
00:15:15,331 --> 00:15:18,250
bringing together
the four high-ranking consorts.

242
00:15:18,834 --> 00:15:20,753
Lady Gyokuyou, this way.

243
00:15:20,836 --> 00:15:23,505
There’s still some time
before the tea party begins,

244
00:15:23,589 --> 00:15:25,341
so please take some rest.

245
00:15:25,424 --> 00:15:27,509
Yes, I’ll do that.

246
00:15:30,804 --> 00:15:32,598
Lady Gyokuyou is still experiencing

247
00:15:32,681 --> 00:15:35,517
the drowsiness typical of early pregnancy.

248
00:15:36,894 --> 00:15:39,438
What is the Empress Dowager planning?

249
00:15:39,521 --> 00:15:41,815
A tea party outside the rear palace?

250
00:15:41,899 --> 00:15:44,610
Even if it’s outside,
it’s still within the inner court.

251
00:15:44,693 --> 00:15:46,362
Plus, it’s His Majesty’s residence.

252
00:15:46,445 --> 00:15:49,114
That makes it even more nerve-wracking!

253
00:15:49,198 --> 00:15:51,075
It’s not a place we usually enter.

254
00:15:51,158 --> 00:15:53,035
The Empress Dowager is aware

255
00:15:53,118 --> 00:15:55,120
that Lady Gyokuyou is pregnant,

256
00:15:55,204 --> 00:15:56,288
so why do this now?

257
00:15:56,372 --> 00:15:58,332
That’s true,

258
00:15:58,415 --> 00:16:01,001
I’m sure she’ll take
that into consideration, but…

259
00:16:01,085 --> 00:16:03,337
When it comes to the other consorts,

260
00:16:03,420 --> 00:16:06,382
who knows what they might do?

261
00:16:07,383 --> 00:16:10,678
Lady Gyokuyou's pregnancy
is an open secret,

262
00:16:10,761 --> 00:16:13,055
but in a face-to-face tea gathering,

263
00:16:13,138 --> 00:16:15,891
they might openly
try to probe for information.

264
00:16:16,892 --> 00:16:18,477
However, Lady Lihua

265
00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:21,897
wouldn't ask any questions
that might implicate herself.

266
00:16:22,690 --> 00:16:25,859
Besides, Lady Lihua, who has
always been proud and dignified,

267
00:16:25,943 --> 00:16:28,696
would never try to disgrace someone else.

268
00:16:28,779 --> 00:16:30,447
For Lady Gyokuyou as well,

269
00:16:30,531 --> 00:16:33,200
it wouldn't be wise
to quarrel with Lady Lihua,

270
00:16:33,283 --> 00:16:34,910
whose lineage is even more noble.

271
00:16:35,494 --> 00:16:37,287
If anyone were to say something,

272
00:16:37,371 --> 00:16:39,623
it would likely be Lady Lishu
who was tricked by her attendant.

273
00:16:39,707 --> 00:16:43,419
But I don't think the head attendant,
a former poisoner, would do that.

274
00:16:44,753 --> 00:16:46,714
If anything, the one to watch out for
is Lady Loulan.

275
00:16:47,506 --> 00:16:49,550
Apart from her flashy attire,

276
00:16:49,633 --> 00:16:51,885
there’s strangely little gossip about her.

277
00:16:54,263 --> 00:16:57,016
Maomao, do you have a moment?

278
00:16:58,726 --> 00:16:59,727
Yes.

279
00:17:03,856 --> 00:17:05,190
What is it?

280
00:17:05,274 --> 00:17:07,818
I’ll be the one tasting for poison today.

281
00:17:07,901 --> 00:17:10,821
You understand what that means, right?

282
00:17:11,488 --> 00:17:12,322
I understand.

283
00:17:13,907 --> 00:17:17,745
For the Empress Dowager to host
a gathering without assigning

284
00:17:17,828 --> 00:17:18,829
a poison taster implies that

285
00:17:18,912 --> 00:17:21,832
she trusts the attendees.

286
00:17:22,416 --> 00:17:24,042
And as for you,

287
00:17:25,002 --> 00:17:27,921
the Empress Dowager
has requested your assistance.

288
00:17:29,256 --> 00:17:31,842
Has another problem been brought to you?

289
00:17:33,427 --> 00:17:38,098
Did I place a curse on the late Emperor?

290
00:17:38,182 --> 00:17:39,808
If possible,

291
00:17:39,892 --> 00:17:42,186
I’d prefer to have this conversation
somewhere else.

292
00:17:42,770 --> 00:17:46,273
It doesn't matter.
I'm sure you can't tell me anyway.

293
00:17:46,356 --> 00:17:47,316
However!

294
00:17:47,941 --> 00:17:51,653
Make sure you don't do anything
to betray Lady Gyokuyou.

295
00:17:53,489 --> 00:17:56,992
I have no intention of making
you an enemy, Lady Hongniang.

296
00:18:00,913 --> 00:18:02,664
Good.

297
00:18:02,748 --> 00:18:05,375
I'd like to maintain a good relationship
with you too, Maomao.

298
00:18:06,585 --> 00:18:07,836
That's true…

299
00:18:08,545 --> 00:18:09,880
Lady Hongniang is

300
00:18:09,963 --> 00:18:13,425
undoubtedly suited to being
Lady Gyokuyou’s head attendant.

301
00:18:18,347 --> 00:18:21,892
If the Empress Dowager is calling for me,
it must be about that curse.

302
00:18:26,271 --> 00:18:27,523
Sorry to keep you waiting.

303
00:18:28,190 --> 00:18:29,525
This way.

304
00:18:31,193 --> 00:18:33,320
Before the current rear palace was built,

305
00:18:33,403 --> 00:18:35,864
this place used to
serve as the rear palace.

306
00:18:36,448 --> 00:18:37,825
Is that so?

307
00:18:39,368 --> 00:18:41,495
There’s no sign of people here,

308
00:18:41,578 --> 00:18:44,039
yet it's spotless,
without even a speck of dust.

309
00:18:50,295 --> 00:18:54,049
Even the raked gravel of
the dry landscape garden is clean.

310
00:18:57,094 --> 00:18:58,053
This is the place.

311
00:18:59,429 --> 00:19:01,139
You may not go any further.

312
00:19:01,223 --> 00:19:02,891
Even the cleaning staff

313
00:19:02,975 --> 00:19:05,269
are not permitted beyond this point.

314
00:19:14,486 --> 00:19:15,946
What is this smell?

315
00:19:17,030 --> 00:19:17,865
This room is…?

316
00:19:20,242 --> 00:19:22,452
During the reign of
the emperor before last,

317
00:19:22,536 --> 00:19:23,620
an attendant,

318
00:19:23,704 --> 00:19:26,957
who became a consort
of lower rank, lived here.

319
00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:31,211
This was the room of the woman
known as the Late Empress Regnant,

320
00:19:31,295 --> 00:19:34,089
the place where
the late emperor was raised,

321
00:19:34,173 --> 00:19:35,841
and also where she passed away.

322
00:19:40,012 --> 00:19:41,221
Let’s move to another location.

323
00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,654
In his later years, the late emperor

324
00:19:57,738 --> 00:19:59,907
and his mother,
who was called the late Empress Regnant,

325
00:19:59,990 --> 00:20:02,659
began spending more and more time
secluded in that room.

326
00:20:04,077 --> 00:20:06,580
As if clinging to memories,
he immersed himself there.

327
00:20:06,663 --> 00:20:08,832
Perhaps the late emperor
had grown weak in spirit,

328
00:20:09,416 --> 00:20:11,001
because after the Empress Regnant
passed away,

329
00:20:11,084 --> 00:20:14,338
he followed shortly after,
drawing his last breath in that room.

330
00:20:14,922 --> 00:20:18,884
Forgive me for asking,
but he wasn’t particularly young, was he?

331
00:20:18,967 --> 00:20:22,095
He had lived a full life, so you
could say he passed away at an old age.

332
00:20:22,179 --> 00:20:25,182
Then why does the Empress Dowager
believe it was a curse?

333
00:20:26,433 --> 00:20:27,976
I, too, told her that there was

334
00:20:28,060 --> 00:20:29,853
no such thing as a curse.

335
00:20:29,937 --> 00:20:31,688
However, Lady Anshi said…

336
00:20:32,272 --> 00:20:35,692
I cursed him. I wished he would disappear.

337
00:20:36,985 --> 00:20:38,362
Night after night…

338
00:20:39,488 --> 00:20:41,740
For so, so long… I kept thinking about it.

339
00:20:43,867 --> 00:20:45,077
Is there

340
00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:47,955
any actual proof
that a curse was involved?

341
00:20:50,540 --> 00:20:53,210
The late emperor’s body

342
00:20:53,293 --> 00:20:55,712
was enshrined in the mausoleum for a year.

343
00:20:56,421 --> 00:20:59,049
The following year,
His Majesty and Lady Anshi viewed

344
00:20:59,132 --> 00:21:00,717
the late emperor’s remains
before the burial.

345
00:21:00,801 --> 00:21:03,428
And when they saw his body…

346
00:21:05,305 --> 00:21:06,640
it had remained

347
00:21:06,723 --> 00:21:10,310
almost exactly the same
as when he had passed.

348
00:21:12,688 --> 00:21:15,107
In other words, it hadn't decayed?

349
00:21:15,691 --> 00:21:19,027
Yes. The Empress Regnant, who passed away
around the same time…

350
00:21:19,111 --> 00:21:22,406
Let's just say her remains were
in a state too horrific to describe.

351
00:21:23,699 --> 00:21:25,283
And so, Lady Anshi

352
00:21:25,367 --> 00:21:27,661
believes she herself placed
a curse on the late emperor.

353
00:21:27,744 --> 00:21:28,870
Yes.

354
00:21:29,788 --> 00:21:31,665
I see.

355
00:21:32,541 --> 00:21:34,710
The mausoleum stays cool even in summer,

356
00:21:34,793 --> 00:21:37,170
but unless a body is preserved in ice,

357
00:21:37,754 --> 00:21:40,632
it will naturally decay, attract insects,
and dry up over time.

358
00:21:41,425 --> 00:21:44,678
The fact that this didn’t happen
is certainly unusual.

359
00:21:45,345 --> 00:21:47,848
All humans return to the earth.

360
00:21:47,931 --> 00:21:50,600
Whether an aristocrat or a farmer,
it is the same.

361
00:21:50,684 --> 00:21:53,020
No matter our social standing at birth,

362
00:21:53,103 --> 00:21:55,188
this one fate is shared by all.

363
00:21:56,023 --> 00:21:59,359
That wing of the palace is
set to be demolished soon.

364
00:21:59,443 --> 00:22:01,653
Before that happens,
I would like you to investigate it.

365
00:22:01,737 --> 00:22:03,280
Understood.

366
00:22:03,780 --> 00:22:06,908
But I have one request.

367
00:22:08,201 --> 00:22:09,494
A request?

368
00:23:46,049 --> 00:23:49,678
NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

369
00:23:57,269 --> 00:24:00,063
The next episode is "The Late Emperor."

370
00:24:00,147 --> 00:24:01,857
Subtitle translation by:
Abhishek Chand Ramola
igate it.