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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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That outbuilding will soon be demolished.

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So I would like you to investigate
before that happens.

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The curse that Lady Anshi spoke of.

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The reason the late emperor's body
remained unchanged from when he was alive.

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That is what I want you to uncover.

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It has been six years
since the late emperor passed.

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Once that outbuilding is gone, only
his tomb will remain to remind us of him.

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If the mystery remains unsolved,
Lady Anshi's heart will never be at peace.

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Understood. However, I have one request.

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A request?

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May I enter the room

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where the late emperor once resided?

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You will have permission.

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It is said that
the emperor's consent is required,

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but if the Empress Dowager intervenes,
there should be no issue.

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Maomao, your bed is ready.

20
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Thank you very much, Lady Suiren.

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Thank you for lending me a room.

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It's fine. Don't worry about it.

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Surprisingly, she has rather cute taste.

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The couch would have been fine.

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I can't let you do that. It's been a while
since you've been in this wing.

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Please rest well.

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Yes.

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Lately, I've always been
at the Jade Pavilion.

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Honestly, I'm relieved
I don't have to go back tonight.

30
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I wonder how Lady Hongniang
would have reacted if I had seen her.

31
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Actually, I've been
getting off easy until now.

32
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An attendant who doesn't
belong to any specific palace

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and shows up in other palaces…

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That's not something the palace women
would find acceptable.

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Sometimes, I don't even understand
my own position.

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Reading next to candlelight…
how luxurious.

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Do you want to read something, Maomao?
You can go look in the back room.

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Books are precious.

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I should read whenever I get the chance.

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I hope there's something
that suits my taste.

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Wait for me!

42
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Lady Suiren, you're actually quite young.

43
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Are you curious about that?

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Rest assured.
I have no intention of stealing anything!

45
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I know that.

46
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Is this a child's toy?

47
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Yes, they were Lord Jinshi's favorites.

48
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Maomao, what do you think of Lord Jinshi?

49
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Huh?

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I think he's a good superior.

51
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Mainly because he gives me rare medicines.

52
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Is there some hidden meaning in that?

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Well, never mind.

54
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Because he always
wanted to play with this one,

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I secretly hid it from him.

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But when I did, he cried uncontrollably.

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There are other toys, you know.

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No! I want that one!

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Only that one will do!

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Gaoshun struggled

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to find a new toy
that would stop him from crying.

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Why did you take it away?

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When someone becomes too attached to
one thing, they can't see anything else.

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He wasn't born into a position
where that was allowed.

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Whether he liked it or not,
he had to grow up quickly and act mature.

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That was his mother's wish.

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His mother's…

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I've heard that growing up in a repressive
environment can affect the heart.

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Gradually, he began
to show his childish side.

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That too must be a part of
Lord Jinshi's true nature.

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And yet, those around him
treat him as the beautiful eunuch.

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It's strange, isn't it?

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This painting…

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Oh, what's this doing here?

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I was told to throw it away.

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What was it?

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May I touch this?

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Go ahead.

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It's just a small stone.

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I wonder where he picked it up from.

81
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Did you take it away from him immediately?

82
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Yes, a random stone
isn't exactly clean, is it?

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That was the right call.

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It's poisonous.

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What do you mean?

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That's what I'd like to ask.
Why was something like this lying around?

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Did Lord Jinshi ever enter
the inner court as a child?

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Yes,

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occasionally…

90
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But why does that matter?

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I can't say anything for now…

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I have a theory. But no proof yet.

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Lady Suiren, by tomorrow,
the Empress Dowager's so-called curse

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and the reason why the late emperor's body
didn't decay will become clear.

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Can you wait until then?

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Even Lord Jinshi is involved now.

97
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I didn't want to make this a big deal.

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This smell… It's not just mold.

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A brush with evenly flattened bristles…
As I suspected.

100
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Did the late emperor
have a hobby of painting?

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Just once, he painted something for me.

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He said it was a secret just between us.

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That if anyone found out,
it would be taken away.

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Is he getting flustered?
That's Lord Jinshi's habit.

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He is pretending to be calm.

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I don't know much about
the late emperor, nor do I wish to.

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But to uncover the truth
behind this curse, I need evidence.

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Did the late emperor
always paint in this room?

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I'm not sure about that,

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but from the time
he began secluding himself here,

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one individual had been accompanying him.

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Can you call that person here?

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I believe they still work here.

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I'll call them.

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May I touch it?

116
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Go ahead.

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It's stiffer than I expected.

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And it has a distinct smell.

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There are translucent fragments
on the floor.

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And stains that look like someone
tried desperately to wipe them away.

121
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And those stains…

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They increase the closer
you get to the wall.

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It's soft. Layers of thick paper
seem to be pasted here.

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It's coated,
perhaps to reinforce the surface.

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I had a general idea about the curse,

126
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but now, I might uncover something
seemingly insignificant as well.

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I've brought them here.

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You are…?

129
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He seem quite old for someone entrusted
with the room of a person of high status…

130
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I have something to ask you.

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This person is a former slave.

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And also, he cannot speak.

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I see.

134
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So that's how it is, huh?

135
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It's not uncommon to choose
a servant who cannot speak.

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Especially for someone of high status
who is constantly under watch.

137
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Then, just nod or shake your head
and that will be enough.

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Were there any paintings in this room?

139
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I believe there was something…

140
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So, he won’t even bother listening
to what a young girl has to say?

141
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No, that's not it.

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Is he hiding something?

143
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Is there something on the wall?

144
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May I remove this wallpaper?

145
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It’s as if he's telling me not to.

146
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I don't mind.

147
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It's going to be destroyed anyway.

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If it helps to uncover something,
please do it.

149
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Carefully…

150
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This painting…

151
00:10:53,569 --> 00:10:55,196
What is that?

152
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It must have been
painted by the late emperor.

153
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I have no interest
in the emperor's character.

154
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Because he stood
at the pinnacle of the nation,

155
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he likely died without ever being able
to fully utilize his true talent.

156
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That talent resides in this painting.

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The color of the robe
this woman is wearing…

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I believe it's made from pigment ground
from orpiment stone.

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Orpiment shares the same properties
as arsenic.

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And arsenic has a preservative effect,
preventing decay.

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At first, I thought that the orpiment used
in the wallpaper or something similar

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was unknowingly absorbed
into his body over time.

163
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That's what I thought.

164
00:11:40,741 --> 00:11:43,869
But after seeing
the shape of the brush in this room,

165
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another possibility emerged.

166
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He must have been
using pigment made from orpiment.

167
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The arsenic contained in the orpiment

168
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was likely absorbed gradually
into the late emperor's body.

169
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By the time of his death, it must have
spread throughout his entire body.

170
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He continued painting in secret,

171
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right here in this room.

172
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For an emperor to engage in painting, such
a thing would be considered unthinkable.

173
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At least that's how people
around him would see it.

174
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That's why, even if he was called a fool,

175
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the late emperor never made it public.

176
00:12:19,655 --> 00:12:23,617
It was likely for that reason
he entrusted the care of this room

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to a mute slave servant.

178
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There's still some resilience left.

179
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Just how many layers lie beneath this?

180
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With so many paintings,

181
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the one who prepared
the materials was likely…

182
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the Empress, the late emperor's mother.

183
00:12:38,591 --> 00:12:40,801
The woman in this painting must have known

184
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that her own child
was not fit to be emperor.

185
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So, to protect her son who had stumbled
upon the imperial throne by chance,

186
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she gathered power under herself.

187
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Even if it meant being called
the Empress in her own right.

188
00:12:58,152 --> 00:13:01,739
The empress,
who did everything for her child,

189
00:13:01,822 --> 00:13:03,324
ultimately granted him this room…

190
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and the tools to paint with.

191
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Unaware they were poisonous.

192
00:13:08,829 --> 00:13:10,623
What an irony.

193
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That is all I can say.

194
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You've done more than enough.

195
00:13:31,393 --> 00:13:36,190
It's as if she's questioning someone
far beyond the azure sky.

196
00:13:37,316 --> 00:13:39,944
How sentimental I've become.

197
00:13:52,039 --> 00:13:54,959
How irritating.

198
00:13:59,380 --> 00:14:01,048
Even though it's faded,

199
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his presence remains overwhelming.

200
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Am I within this painting too?

201
00:14:10,474 --> 00:14:13,060
No, in the end, I am merely…

202
00:14:13,727 --> 00:14:15,896
a fleeting existence passing by.

203
00:14:18,148 --> 00:14:20,693
It is only thanks to the scars left here

204
00:14:20,776 --> 00:14:23,404
that I now stand
as the Mother of the Nation.

205
00:14:25,239 --> 00:14:27,700
By chance,
I fell into the late emperor's hands

206
00:14:27,783 --> 00:14:29,910
and conceived a child.

207
00:14:30,661 --> 00:14:32,746
There were voices that pitied such a girl.

208
00:14:33,372 --> 00:14:35,207
Surely, such girls did exist.

209
00:14:36,292 --> 00:14:40,212
But I had known of
the emperor's perversions from the start.

210
00:14:41,255 --> 00:14:44,800
My father was a civil official,
and my mother, a concubine.

211
00:14:44,884 --> 00:14:49,013
And though my face was youthful,
I matured early.

212
00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,225
And my father used me
as a convenient tool.

213
00:14:56,896 --> 00:15:00,149
I entered the rear palace as an attendant
to a mid-ranking consort.

214
00:15:00,774 --> 00:15:03,193
That consort was my half-sister.

215
00:15:03,277 --> 00:15:06,196
She was raised with
the utmost care and affection.

216
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,116
She had no way of knowing
our father's true intentions.

217
00:15:09,199 --> 00:15:12,161
Hey, Anshi! Hurry up
and put on the ornaments for me!

218
00:15:12,244 --> 00:15:14,413
Yes, Sister.

219
00:15:17,291 --> 00:15:20,794
At last, tonight, His Majesty will come…

220
00:15:20,878 --> 00:15:22,963
I caught a glimpse of him
from afar the other day…

221
00:15:23,547 --> 00:15:25,841
He was truly a beautiful man.

222
00:15:26,634 --> 00:15:27,968
Is that so?

223
00:15:30,596 --> 00:15:32,222
We have been expecting you.

224
00:15:39,563 --> 00:15:42,358
Please, come in.

225
00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:44,985
Get away!

226
00:15:47,446 --> 00:15:48,572
Emperor!

227
00:15:54,995 --> 00:15:56,205
That figure…

228
00:15:56,288 --> 00:15:59,959
hardly seemed worthy of
standing atop the nation.

229
00:16:00,542 --> 00:16:02,711
As an attendant, I should have
either comforted the consort

230
00:16:02,795 --> 00:16:06,215
or apologized for
any disrespect toward the Emperor.

231
00:16:06,924 --> 00:16:07,800
Yet…

232
00:16:21,689 --> 00:16:23,524
Are you alright?

233
00:16:27,653 --> 00:16:28,779
The Emperor's eyes…

234
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certainly caught sight of me.

235
00:16:32,741 --> 00:16:36,328
The eyes of a girl brimming with ambition.

236
00:16:42,543 --> 00:16:44,920
I bore the late Emperor's child

237
00:16:45,003 --> 00:16:47,756
and faced death's shadow countless times.

238
00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,259
I was fortunate that my child was a boy,

239
00:16:50,342 --> 00:16:53,554
and the Empress acknowledged
the child as her grandson.

240
00:16:55,264 --> 00:16:56,557
"There, there…"

241
00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:58,142
"Yes, yes."

242
00:17:00,811 --> 00:17:03,147
There was once a woman
who bore a daughter.

243
00:17:03,772 --> 00:17:06,525
She claimed the girl was
the late Emperor's child,

244
00:17:06,608 --> 00:17:08,527
but the Emperor denied
any knowledge of her.

245
00:17:08,610 --> 00:17:10,738
The medical officer accused of
being the father,

246
00:17:10,821 --> 00:17:12,906
was exiled along with the child.

247
00:17:13,782 --> 00:17:17,953
At that time, only medical officers were
spared from castration in the rear palace.

248
00:17:18,037 --> 00:17:21,415
But from then on,
even they were forced to undergo it.

249
00:17:22,082 --> 00:17:24,918
The one who performed
surgery on my abdomen…

250
00:17:25,002 --> 00:17:27,421
How pitiful that
such cruel misfortune befell him.

251
00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:32,843
The woman who gave birth to a daughter
remained alone in the rear palace.

252
00:17:33,510 --> 00:17:36,430
She would never leave the palace
for the rest of her life.

253
00:17:37,389 --> 00:17:39,808
Time passed even further…

254
00:17:41,018 --> 00:17:43,729
When I no longer appeared as a young girl,

255
00:17:43,812 --> 00:17:45,939
the late Emperor never came to see me.

256
00:17:46,815 --> 00:17:49,610
It seems the court ranks
will expand again.

257
00:17:49,693 --> 00:17:52,821
Yes. I heard that Lord Shishou
proposed it.

258
00:17:53,864 --> 00:17:54,698
I see.

259
00:17:54,782 --> 00:17:57,618
The rear palace kept growing larger,

260
00:17:57,701 --> 00:18:00,996
and young girls burdened
with the same fate as mine

261
00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:02,456
kept arriving, one after another.

262
00:18:14,676 --> 00:18:18,138
Existing solely
as a puppet of the Empress,

263
00:18:18,222 --> 00:18:21,683
he was a pathetic man who could only

264
00:18:21,767 --> 00:18:23,936
converse properly with young girls.

265
00:18:38,408 --> 00:18:41,328
To be forgotten by someone like that…

266
00:18:41,411 --> 00:18:42,830
I couldn't forgive him!

267
00:18:46,333 --> 00:18:48,085
Are you afraid of me?

268
00:18:50,921 --> 00:18:53,298
Is it because I've become a grown woman?

269
00:18:54,508 --> 00:18:55,342
Or is it…

270
00:18:55,425 --> 00:18:57,970
this scar on my stomach?

271
00:18:58,762 --> 00:19:03,142
I tormented the man who trembled,
begging for forgiveness in the bedchamber.

272
00:19:03,934 --> 00:19:07,020
The young girls who had
been touched by him.

273
00:19:07,729 --> 00:19:09,648
And his great mother, the Empress.

274
00:19:10,774 --> 00:19:13,152
I wanted to imprint memories of myself
onto him more than them.

275
00:19:14,778 --> 00:19:16,155
After that, the late emperor

276
00:19:16,822 --> 00:19:19,825
broke his spirit,
and withdrew into that room.

277
00:19:19,908 --> 00:19:22,911
No one felt the urge
to question the reason.

278
00:19:25,706 --> 00:19:27,249
In the end,

279
00:19:27,332 --> 00:19:30,460
that man probably only
pictured the Empress, his mother,

280
00:19:30,544 --> 00:19:34,339
and those ambitionless daughters
in these pictures.

281
00:19:37,176 --> 00:19:38,552
Just once,

282
00:19:39,136 --> 00:19:40,554
he painted me.

283
00:19:41,930 --> 00:19:43,432
Even though

284
00:19:43,515 --> 00:19:45,809
I once cherished that painting dearly,

285
00:19:45,893 --> 00:19:47,769
I told Suiren to throw it away.

286
00:19:48,353 --> 00:19:49,813
"I don't need it," I said.

287
00:19:50,731 --> 00:19:53,650
Just as I wasn't needed by him.

288
00:20:01,909 --> 00:20:05,871
Long ago, the late emperor
once came to see us, didn't he?

289
00:20:06,455 --> 00:20:09,374
Yes, I wonder how many years ago that was.

290
00:20:10,083 --> 00:20:12,836
At that time,
I picked up something like this.

291
00:20:13,629 --> 00:20:15,464
They say this is orpiment.

292
00:20:16,465 --> 00:20:17,841
This stone…

293
00:20:18,717 --> 00:20:21,595
This morning,
Suiren finally returned it to me.

294
00:20:23,430 --> 00:20:24,264
I see…

295
00:20:29,561 --> 00:20:31,605
Even if they call it
an illegitimate child,

296
00:20:31,688 --> 00:20:33,857
or say it was a child switched at birth,

297
00:20:33,941 --> 00:20:36,526
there's no doubt
it's still a precious child.

298
00:20:36,610 --> 00:20:39,988
Once, I think I saw one of his paintings.

299
00:20:40,572 --> 00:20:44,493
It was softly-colored,
depicting a young girl.

300
00:20:45,452 --> 00:20:48,997
I must have picked up this stone
because I remembered that painting.

301
00:20:49,748 --> 00:20:51,917
Even though I said to throw it away.

302
00:20:52,542 --> 00:20:56,421
In the past, you used to like
wearing this color, didn't you?

303
00:21:16,692 --> 00:21:17,526
It's just a coincidence.

304
00:21:18,652 --> 00:21:21,947
Is the woman in that painting
really the Empress?

305
00:21:23,073 --> 00:21:26,910
What was he trying to convey back then?

306
00:21:32,582 --> 00:21:33,750
I don't know.

307
00:21:36,962 --> 00:21:39,381
I chose not to find out.

308
00:21:40,173 --> 00:21:42,050
More importantly, you…

309
00:21:42,134 --> 00:21:45,137
It seems you've taken quite
an interest in an intriguing attendant.

310
00:21:47,389 --> 00:21:49,558
She's quite useful.

311
00:21:50,350 --> 00:21:52,352
Indeed. But…

312
00:21:53,854 --> 00:21:56,356
I know that's not all there is to it.

313
00:22:01,862 --> 00:22:04,072
I've been watching you for years.

314
00:22:07,409 --> 00:22:10,078
If you don't keep your favorites hidden,

315
00:22:10,912 --> 00:22:13,206
someone will hide them from you.

316
00:23:46,133 --> 00:23:49,427
NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

317
00:23:57,310 --> 00:24:00,063
The next episode is "Ghost Stories."

318
00:24:00,147 --> 00:24:00,981
Subtitle translation by:
Abhishek Chand Ramola
ntriguing attendant.