1 00:00:04,004 --> 00:00:15,015 The Apothecary Diaries 2 00:01:30,965 --> 00:01:33,968 This story is a work of fiction. The names of all of the characters, organizations, and so on are imaginary. It also bears no connection to any specific real-life events. 3 00:01:33,968 --> 00:01:34,969 That can't be! 4 00:01:35,011 --> 00:01:39,015 EpisodeThe Unsettling Matter of the Spirit A reward?! 5 00:01:41,059 --> 00:01:42,977 I understand. 6 00:01:44,979 --> 00:01:45,980 Lady Fuyou! 7 00:01:45,980 --> 00:01:47,023 Please, wait! 8 00:02:23,977 --> 00:02:25,019 Wow, that's cold! 9 00:02:25,019 --> 00:02:27,981 We've been at the capital for a while now, 10 00:02:27,981 --> 00:02:30,024 but the morning cold is still hard to get used to. 11 00:02:30,024 --> 00:02:32,986 I miss the sand and sunlight back home. 12 00:02:32,986 --> 00:02:35,989 The mornings and nights were cold back west as well, though. 13 00:02:35,989 --> 00:02:37,949 Ah, the Western Capital... 14 00:02:37,949 --> 00:02:39,993 It feels like a long time ago. 15 00:02:39,993 --> 00:02:43,997 And yet, Lady Gyokuyou's palace entry feels like yesterday. 16 00:02:44,038 --> 00:02:48,001 By the way, my father gave me some good news. 17 00:02:48,001 --> 00:02:52,005 Apparently, trade between the western and central capitals is on the rise. 18 00:02:52,046 --> 00:02:55,008 The emperor really does love Lady Gyokuyou. 19 00:02:55,049 --> 00:02:58,052 It's the family home of the emperor's favorite concubine. 20 00:02:58,052 --> 00:03:00,972 Surely the central officers can't ignore that. 21 00:03:01,014 --> 00:03:04,976 Cleaning the kitchen? We'll help. 22 00:03:04,976 --> 00:03:08,062 No, we have to split up or we'll never finish the work. 23 00:03:08,062 --> 00:03:10,064 It's not like we can rely on other servants. 24 00:03:10,064 --> 00:03:13,026 Yes, I remember how bad it was back when she was pregnant, 25 00:03:13,026 --> 00:03:16,070 like that time there was a poison needle in her dress. 26 00:03:16,070 --> 00:03:19,991 Part of it is likely because she's the princess of a foreign land. 27 00:03:19,991 --> 00:03:23,953 It's fine. We have one extra lady-in-waiting now, right? 28 00:03:26,039 --> 00:03:29,000 Maomao, what are you making? 29 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,084 It's a cold remedy. 30 00:03:30,084 --> 00:03:32,045 Wow, you can make those too? 31 00:03:33,046 --> 00:03:35,048 The new lady-in-waiting is so talented. 32 00:03:40,053 --> 00:03:43,014 Hey, are you sure you don't need anything? 33 00:03:43,014 --> 00:03:44,057 Are you eating well? 34 00:03:44,057 --> 00:03:45,975 Thanks to you, yes... 35 00:03:45,975 --> 00:03:48,019 Please don't keep your troubles to yourself! 36 00:03:48,019 --> 00:03:49,062 Sure... 37 00:03:50,980 --> 00:03:56,027 By the way, did you hear the new rumor everyone's talking about? 38 00:03:56,027 --> 00:03:56,986 No. 39 00:03:57,987 --> 00:03:59,989 They say there's a spirit haunting the rear palace. 40 00:04:01,032 --> 00:04:02,075 A spirit? 41 00:04:02,075 --> 00:04:05,036 I heard that one! The ghostly lady in white, right? 42 00:04:05,995 --> 00:04:06,996 So, it's famous? 43 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:11,000 All of the servants, eunuchs, and concubines are talking about it! 44 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:14,003 I think it started a few weeks ago. 45 00:04:14,003 --> 00:04:18,049 They say a ghostly lady in white dances in the air under the moonlight! 46 00:04:19,968 --> 00:04:22,971 And she appears every night at the eastern castle walls! 47 00:04:26,015 --> 00:04:27,058 Huh... 48 00:04:28,059 --> 00:04:31,062 The castle walls completely surround the rear palace. 49 00:04:31,980 --> 00:04:37,026 The only way to enter is through the four gates on the north, south, east and west. 50 00:04:39,028 --> 00:04:44,033 The gates are always guarded, and the walls are surrounded by a moat. 51 00:04:44,033 --> 00:04:46,035 Sneaking in or out would be impossible. 52 00:04:47,036 --> 00:04:51,040 They say that sunken in the moats are... 53 00:04:55,044 --> 00:04:59,048 The corpses of concubines who tried to escape. 54 00:04:59,048 --> 00:05:02,969 In other words, just your typical ghost story. 55 00:05:03,011 --> 00:05:05,972 What should I do if I see the spirit for real? 56 00:05:05,972 --> 00:05:07,056 It's just a rumor. 57 00:05:10,977 --> 00:05:13,980 Excuse me. Could you take a look at this medicine? 58 00:05:14,022 --> 00:05:17,984 Hey, little lady. One moment. 59 00:05:17,984 --> 00:05:21,029 To think that he was so wary of me just a short while ago. 60 00:05:22,030 --> 00:05:28,036 When he found out I can make medicine, he started allowing me to do it here. 61 00:05:28,036 --> 00:05:30,997 He also gives me the ingredients I need. 62 00:05:30,997 --> 00:05:32,999 He even makes me tea. 63 00:05:33,041 --> 00:05:36,044 Should he really be so laid back? 64 00:05:37,045 --> 00:05:38,963 Sorry to make you wait. 65 00:05:40,965 --> 00:05:42,008 Wow... 66 00:05:42,050 --> 00:05:45,011 You like salty better than sweet, right? 67 00:05:45,011 --> 00:05:47,013 May I have some as well? 68 00:05:47,972 --> 00:05:48,973 Right away! 69 00:05:53,019 --> 00:05:55,021 Good work. 70 00:05:55,021 --> 00:05:56,981 It's the least I could do. 71 00:05:57,982 --> 00:05:59,984 Does this guy have nothing better to do? 72 00:06:00,985 --> 00:06:03,029 Shouldn't he be at the Domestic Service Department as a eunuch? 73 00:06:03,029 --> 00:06:07,033 Instead, he wanders around the entire rear palace like he's on surveillance duty... 74 00:06:09,035 --> 00:06:13,039 In that case, he must outrank the Matron of the Serving Women. 75 00:06:13,998 --> 00:06:20,004 He could be the emperor's guardian, but he's too young for that. 76 00:06:22,090 --> 00:06:25,093 Are you thinking something inappropriate right now? 77 00:06:25,093 --> 00:06:27,136 Huh? You're imagining things. 78 00:06:28,096 --> 00:06:32,100 Doctor, could you fetch me this? 79 00:06:37,105 --> 00:06:40,066 So, what do you really want? 80 00:06:41,150 --> 00:06:43,111 Have you heard about the spirit haunting? 81 00:06:44,070 --> 00:06:45,113 A few rumors, yes. 82 00:06:45,113 --> 00:06:48,032 How about sleepwalking? 83 00:06:50,076 --> 00:06:51,119 Sleepwalking... 84 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:54,080 Seems like I got your attention. 85 00:06:55,498 --> 00:06:56,541 That's too bad. 86 00:07:00,503 --> 00:07:02,505 That's truly, truly too bad. 87 00:07:03,548 --> 00:07:07,468 Yuck! He's so persistent! 88 00:07:10,471 --> 00:07:11,514 I'll do my best. 89 00:07:24,527 --> 00:07:27,530 This guy doesn't come off like a eunuch. 90 00:07:29,490 --> 00:07:30,533 Lady Maomao. 91 00:07:31,451 --> 00:07:36,456 Please don't call me "Lady." You outrank me by quite a bit. 92 00:07:36,539 --> 00:07:39,459 In that case, how's Xiaomao? 93 00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:42,503 A "Xiao" nickname? That was a sharp turn. 94 00:07:42,503 --> 00:07:48,468 Could you stop glaring down at Master Jinshi like he's an insect? 95 00:07:48,468 --> 00:07:50,470 Yikes, he knows. 96 00:07:50,511 --> 00:07:52,513 When he returned earlier, 97 00:07:52,513 --> 00:07:57,518 he told me, ecstatically, how you stared at him like he was a venomous caterpillar. 98 00:07:59,479 --> 00:08:01,439 I'll be more careful. 99 00:08:04,484 --> 00:08:08,529 If someone unprepared saw him like that, they might pass out. 100 00:08:10,448 --> 00:08:12,450 To each their own, I guess... 101 00:08:20,458 --> 00:08:21,459 Over there. 102 00:08:24,921 --> 00:08:26,923 That's a good guess. 103 00:08:28,841 --> 00:08:30,885 That is Concubine Fuyou. 104 00:08:31,886 --> 00:08:33,804 She's a mid-ranking concubine, 105 00:08:33,804 --> 00:08:36,849 scheduled to be bestowed to a military officer as a reward. 106 00:08:45,858 --> 00:08:47,902 It's been two years, I think. 107 00:08:47,902 --> 00:08:50,821 She's a timid princess. 108 00:08:50,863 --> 00:08:54,825 She's supposed to be a skilled dancer, but stumbled at her first showing. 109 00:08:54,825 --> 00:08:59,872 The emperor hasn't laid a finger on her, and she shut herself in ever since. 110 00:09:01,832 --> 00:09:04,835 I guess some things can't be avoided, but... 111 00:09:05,836 --> 00:09:06,837 Lady Fuyou! 112 00:09:09,882 --> 00:09:12,885 She started sleepwalking over the shock of being treated as a reward? 113 00:09:12,885 --> 00:09:16,847 They do say illness is a result of an unbalanced mind... 114 00:09:17,890 --> 00:09:20,893 No, I need more information. 115 00:09:20,893 --> 00:09:22,895 Maybe I'll take another look at her. 116 00:09:23,854 --> 00:09:25,856 Where is Concubine Fuyou's room? 117 00:09:26,315 --> 00:09:28,276 Leaving already? 118 00:09:30,236 --> 00:09:32,321 I hope she feels better. 119 00:09:33,239 --> 00:09:36,242 I heard she's a princess from a small vassal state. 120 00:09:36,242 --> 00:09:38,244 I'm sure she doesn't want to go back. 121 00:09:39,245 --> 00:09:40,288 Go back? 122 00:09:40,329 --> 00:09:42,290 Oh, yes. She's... 123 00:09:44,208 --> 00:09:46,294 I feel sorry for Concubine Fuyou. 124 00:09:46,335 --> 00:09:49,297 Yes, being given away to a military officer? 125 00:09:49,297 --> 00:09:51,257 I shudder at the mere thought. 126 00:10:01,225 --> 00:10:06,230 She seems very different from how she looked dancing on that wall. 127 00:10:06,230 --> 00:10:10,234 Yes. I was surprised too, the first time I saw her. 128 00:10:10,318 --> 00:10:12,320 She's very unassuming most of the time. 129 00:10:14,238 --> 00:10:16,324 She really is like a cotton rose. 130 00:10:17,241 --> 00:10:18,284 A cotton rose? 131 00:10:19,243 --> 00:10:19,327 Yes. 132 00:10:20,286 --> 00:10:23,247 The fuyou flower, also known as the cotton rose, 133 00:10:23,247 --> 00:10:25,249 blooms as a large white flower in the morning. 134 00:10:25,333 --> 00:10:31,255 However, by evening, it turns a deep pink. 135 00:10:31,339 --> 00:10:36,260 So, the flower changes its appearance over the course of a single day? 136 00:10:36,260 --> 00:10:37,219 Yes. 137 00:10:43,309 --> 00:10:45,269 The spirit story? 138 00:10:45,269 --> 00:10:50,232 Yeah, I wanted to hear more about it. Do you know anything else? 139 00:10:51,233 --> 00:10:56,280 Well, I heard she first appeared on the north side. 140 00:10:56,280 --> 00:11:02,328 Huh? The north side? Xiaolan! Laundry! She moved from the north to the east? Coming! 141 00:11:02,328 --> 00:11:03,329 Gotta go. 142 00:11:04,246 --> 00:11:06,290 Oh, yes. She's... 143 00:11:07,249 --> 00:11:10,294 I knew it. Concubine Fuyou is... 144 00:11:15,299 --> 00:11:20,262 My dad would tell me not to speak up based on just speculation, but... 145 00:11:22,264 --> 00:11:26,227 Not much is known about somnambulance, or sleepwalking. 146 00:11:26,227 --> 00:11:28,312 It is said that it's caused by stress. 147 00:11:28,312 --> 00:11:32,274 The patient moves about in their sleep, as if they're awake. 148 00:11:33,317 --> 00:11:38,280 A while ago, at the brothels, I saw a courtesan with the same illness. 149 00:11:40,282 --> 00:11:43,285 She was a cheerful person, skilled at poetry. 150 00:11:43,285 --> 00:11:45,287 She even received a purchase offer. 151 00:11:47,248 --> 00:11:50,209 However, that offer fell through. 152 00:11:50,334 --> 00:11:56,257 She started roaming the brothel at night, as if possessed by a demonic spirit. 153 00:12:04,306 --> 00:12:07,268 Why hello. What's wrong, everyone? 154 00:12:08,227 --> 00:12:11,313 She had no recollection of the night before. 155 00:12:12,273 --> 00:12:14,275 And then what happened? 156 00:12:14,275 --> 00:12:20,239 Nothing. When the purchase offer was rescinded, the sleepwalking stopped. 157 00:12:20,281 --> 00:12:24,285 So... That courtesan didn't want to get sold off? 158 00:12:26,287 --> 00:12:27,288 It's possible. 159 00:12:28,289 --> 00:12:30,291 The offer was made by a wealthy merchant, 160 00:12:31,250 --> 00:12:34,253 but not only did he have a wife and children, he had grandchildren as well. 161 00:12:35,254 --> 00:12:39,300 Also, she only had one year left on her term. 162 00:12:43,304 --> 00:12:46,265 Perhaps Concubine Fuyou was the same. 163 00:12:46,265 --> 00:12:50,269 Hmm. Is that really it? 164 00:12:54,231 --> 00:12:55,274 That's it. 165 00:12:56,275 --> 00:12:58,235 Really? 166 00:13:00,237 --> 00:13:02,239 Please, stay calm. 167 00:13:02,281 --> 00:13:04,241 I'll get back to work. 168 00:13:12,291 --> 00:13:16,253 From that day on, Concubine Fuyou was forbidden from leaving her room. 169 00:13:17,254 --> 00:13:21,300 Until the day of her bestowal, eunuchs were placed to watch her. 170 00:13:25,304 --> 00:13:27,306 I hope it works out. 171 00:13:32,269 --> 00:13:36,273 Isn't Maomao behaving strangely lately? 172 00:13:37,233 --> 00:13:38,317 Is she? 173 00:13:46,283 --> 00:13:47,284 I can tell. 174 00:13:48,285 --> 00:13:50,246 There must be something. 175 00:13:57,253 --> 00:14:01,215 Concubine Fuyou is leaving today, right? 176 00:14:02,258 --> 00:14:03,300 That is what I've heard. 177 00:14:21,235 --> 00:14:21,318 Hey. 178 00:14:22,278 --> 00:14:28,284 You can tell me the truth, you know. 179 00:14:29,243 --> 00:14:32,288 I won't get upset, since I'm the one who asked. 180 00:14:36,250 --> 00:14:41,255 This is all just speculation, so could you keep this between us? 181 00:14:41,255 --> 00:14:43,257 My lips are sealed. 182 00:14:46,260 --> 00:14:49,305 Do you remember the story of the courtesan I told you before? 183 00:14:50,264 --> 00:14:52,266 The sleepwalker? 184 00:14:52,266 --> 00:14:53,267 Yes. 185 00:14:53,267 --> 00:14:56,270 There was actually another courtesan 186 00:14:56,270 --> 00:14:59,315 whose purchase offer was called off for the same reason. 187 00:14:59,315 --> 00:15:04,320 She later received another purchase offer, 188 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:10,242 but since she was ill, the price was cut in half. 189 00:15:11,243 --> 00:15:14,246 However, it was all fraud. 190 00:15:14,288 --> 00:15:15,289 Fraud? 191 00:15:16,248 --> 00:15:20,294 The two men who made the purchase offers knew each other. 192 00:15:21,295 --> 00:15:26,300 The woman pretended to be sick to call off the first offer. 193 00:15:26,300 --> 00:15:31,305 Then, the real purchaser made a bid at half the first price. 194 00:15:32,306 --> 00:15:36,268 If they wanted to be together, the man lacked the silver, 195 00:15:36,268 --> 00:15:38,312 and the woman still had time left on her term. 196 00:15:40,230 --> 00:15:44,234 So, you're saying Concubine Fuyou is the same as that courtesan? 197 00:15:44,276 --> 00:15:47,237 Concubine Fuyou and the military officer 198 00:15:47,237 --> 00:15:50,324 are childhood friends who grew up in the same homeland. 199 00:15:50,324 --> 00:15:51,325 Huh? 200 00:15:51,325 --> 00:15:58,248 I heard the man showed his valor in a battle against barbarians the other day. 201 00:16:28,278 --> 00:16:30,280 When asked what he wished as a reward, 202 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,243 he strongly insisted on receiving Concubine Fuyou. 203 00:16:37,246 --> 00:16:41,333 He must have fantasized about it even before he left home. 204 00:16:42,292 --> 00:16:46,255 As a military officer, he could never propose marriage to a princess. 205 00:16:47,256 --> 00:16:51,260 But then, she was pulled into the rear palace... 206 00:16:52,261 --> 00:16:55,264 And the princess also had feelings for her childhood friend. 207 00:16:56,223 --> 00:16:58,308 So, that could be why she failed at her dance, 208 00:16:59,226 --> 00:17:02,312 to avoid attracting the attention of the emperor. 209 00:17:03,272 --> 00:17:08,235 And as intended, the emperor never touched her. Her body is still pure. 210 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:13,240 That said, it's entirely possible 211 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:15,284 that the emperor would show interest in Concubine Fuyou, 212 00:17:15,284 --> 00:17:18,245 now that she's scheduled to be given away. 213 00:17:18,287 --> 00:17:21,290 And so, she feigned somnambulism... 214 00:17:22,249 --> 00:17:26,336 I can't say anything about the emperor. It's entirely possible. 215 00:17:27,254 --> 00:17:30,257 The barbarian battle took place in the eastern region. 216 00:17:30,257 --> 00:17:33,260 And Concubine Fuyou's nightly dance took place on... 217 00:17:34,303 --> 00:17:36,221 The eastern gate? 218 00:17:37,264 --> 00:17:40,225 She was probably wishing for his safe return. 219 00:17:40,225 --> 00:17:42,269 Again, all speculation. 220 00:18:15,302 --> 00:18:17,304 Hey, Maomao. 221 00:18:17,304 --> 00:18:18,263 Yes? 222 00:18:19,223 --> 00:18:25,229 Would it make me a terrible woman if I said I envy Concubine Fuyou? 223 00:18:33,278 --> 00:18:37,241 That night, Concubine Fuyou was beautiful. 224 00:18:40,202 --> 00:18:42,246 No, I wouldn't say that. 225 00:18:49,795 --> 00:18:50,796 Let's go. 226 00:18:51,755 --> 00:18:52,756 Yes. 227 00:19:13,777 --> 00:19:16,822 If love makes a woman beautiful, 228 00:19:19,783 --> 00:19:21,827 what kind of medicine would it make? 229 00:19:49,771 --> 00:19:53,734 I have a request for the rumored apothecary.