The Apothecary Diaries (2023) s01e01 Episode Script
Maomao
1
ORIGINAL STORY BY NATSU HYUUGA
THIS STORY IS A FICION, AND ALL NAMES OF
FIGURES ND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.
MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION
TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.
Maomao.
Can you deliver medicine
to the Verdigris House?
Got it, old man.
A lot of women are getting
kidnapped recently.
Be careful.
I'll be fine.
I'll stop by the farm.
All right. Thank you.
I'm off!
THE VERDIGRIS HOUSE
That's all you've got?
Come on, this is my whole fortune!
Out of the question.
That's one of the Verdigris House's
prized Three Princesses,
the popular Pairin!
Don't look without paying!
It's not healing fast enough.
I'll change the recipe.
Oh, Maomao.
Big Sis Pairin!
Look at those new scars!
Oh, this?
They're experiments for my medicine,
like usual.
Are you eating properly?
Those things are impressive as always.
Maomao! If one of your little experiments
blows up this room, I won't forgive you!
Or would you rather work
as a courtesan here instead?
Shoot!
Granny, I'm leaving the medicine here!
Say hello to the old man for me!
Geez.
I heard Maomao's voice.
-Where did Maomao go?
-She ran away.
That sleazy granny
She tells me
to be a courtesan any chance she gets!
Could they be kidnappers?
Old man will worry about me.
The Eastern Palace heir is born!
Congratulations, Lady Lihua!
Her baby was delivered without issues.
I see. I'm glad
THREE MONTHS LATER
I want to eat skewers from the market
I hope the old man is eating properly.
So annoying. I don't know if I was
sold off or used as a scapegoat,
but it's been three months
since I got here.
The palace and the pleasure district
are not that different.
I wanted to avoid getting involved
in the rear palace if possible, but
now that I'm here, it can't be helped.
Even though I had a pretty good life
as an apothecary
The rear palace is an all-female area
for giving birth to the emperor's child.
Men are strictly forbidden
from entering this area.
The only people who can enter here are
high nobility and their blood relations.
Other than that, only eunuchs,
or "former men"
who've lost their "precious parts"
can enter.
All the consorts
and palace women total 2,000.
Along with the 1,000 eunuchs,
it is a large living area.
Unlike the high, mid
and low-ranking consorts,
us maidservants doing menial tasks
can lose our lives at any moment.
SEVENTEEN
Next up is the shut-in
low-ranking consort.
At least we get paid a salary.
Hey, Maomao!
Do you know which room this tag is for?
This is Wisteria Nine, so it's over there.
Thank you!
There are many maidservants
who can't read.
Before working at the rear palace,
we are trained strictly in basic manners,
but it's different
with reading and writing.
Even if you got higher salaries
for your literacy,
the kidnappers would just take
a higher portion of your pay.
But there are rare cases
where maidservants are promoted to
low-ranking consorts.
Simply put
it's looks.
Freckles, flat chest.
A figure with no curves.
So it has nothing to do with me.
If I stand out too much,
my life could be put at risk.
I'd rather stay like this.
If I shut up and work,
I can leave after two years.
I want to drink so bad!
-Hey, did you hear?
-Huh?
There's apparently a really pretty
eunuch in the central area.
That's all everyone's talking about
these days!
I see.
If he's that beautiful,
I'd love to see him once, don't you think?
A eunuch, huh?
-She's lost a lot of weight.
-Yeah.
Xiaoling
Unfortunately,
the physician is fully occupied
with the Eastern Palace.
I see.
They're just three months
and six months old, right?
Yes, both the Eastern Palace
and Princess Lingli.
Do you think it's a curse, like they say?
What's this about?
You don't know, Maomao?
The entire rear palace is
talking about this!
About the serial deaths of the heirs
in the rear palace!
All three of the Emperor's children got
gradually weaker after their births
and died!
It's strange, right?
All three babies?
It looks like the same thing
is happening now.
The baby is sick?
Exactly! So this time, there are doctors
in both Lady Gyokuyou
and Lady Lihua's residences!
The current emperor has no empress,
so Lady Lihua, who gave birth to
the Eastern Palace will be empress!
That's obvious.
If the emperor has no empress,
the consort with the Eastern Palace,
Consort Lihua,
is at the top of the rear palace.
But it's rumored that
the emperor's favorite
is Lady Gyokuyou.
People say that might have something
to do with all this.
A political power struggle, huh?
I wonder if Lady Lihua's condition
is more serious.
I hear the doctor is by her side
day and night.
Lady Lihua is unwell as well?
Yes. Both mother and child.
I heard they have headaches,
stomachaches, and nausea as well.
Headaches, stomachaches, and nausea
I knew it! It's definitely a curse!
-A curse? You've got to be joking.
-What?
Headaches, stomachaches, and nausea
Could murder by poison be a possibility?
No. If they want the throne, there's
no reason for the princess to be targeted.
It's highly unlikely they were poisoned.
It could be an illness, or
Could it be in their blood?
Why am I getting so serious over rumors?
These are just speculations.
Just speculation. However
I can check it out for a little bit.
As expected of a building
where the high-ranking consorts live,
even a single pillar is more sophisticated
than the building we live in.
It's your fault!
Lady Gyokuyou!
Because you gave birth to a girl,
you intend to curse my son to death!
You know that that's impossible.
Xiaoling is suffering
just as much as your son.
Lady Lihua is furious.
How unfortunate for Lady Gyokuyou.
Sir Jinshi
That's why I want you
to examine my daughter as well.
Yes, but Well
Is that flustered eunuch
in the middle, the physician?
That quack doctor, is he stupid?
He spends all that time with the two
consorts, and he really hasn't realized?
Or could it be, he doesn't even know?
Deaths of infants. Headache,
stomachache, and nausea.
And even more, the haggard state
of Lady Lihua.
This isn't a curse at all.
The problem is how to tell them.
If I can find something to write with
Not a month had passed when the news about
the Eastern Palace's death got around.
It looks like you want to
ask me something.
This is
It was the day I visited
the Crystal Pavilion
to ask for my daughter to be examined.
This was placed by my window after that.
It was tied to this branch.
A rhododendron?
"The powder is poison.
Don't let the baby touch it.
Ignorance is sin."
A court physician wouldn't leave
such a cryptic message.
Yes, it looks like he never figured out
how to treat the Eastern Palace.
Who wrote this letter?
I want you to find that out for me.
Now that I think about it, that time
If I can find something to write with
Understood.
Could I keep this with me
for a little while?
The Emperor is cherishing
the princess who survived,
so he's been visiting Lady Gyokuyou often.
What about Lady Lihua?
I don't hear about that at all.
How convenient for him, huh?
Oh, I finally found you!
You're to head to the Matron of
the Serving Women's office right away.
What?
You've been summoned?
I wonder what this is about.
All right, everybody who gathered here
should enter.
Maidservants being
summoned by a higher-up?
I have a bad feeling about this.
Are they just short on staff?
Sorry to call you all like this.
Who is this bossy palace woman?
I'm the manager of the rear palace,
Jinshi.
He's a man?
I guess the "really pretty eunuch"
Xiaolan mentioned was this guy.
What a waste for him
to be this beautiful
and not be able to have children.
THE FRECKLE WOMAN OVER THERE,
YOU'RE STAYING WITH ME.
Freckle Woman
Oh, shit!
We're done for today.
Go back to your rooms.
Huh? What's going on?
Did I make some big mistake
that got his attention?
Could it be the letter from that time
I see! I'm the only maidservant here
that can read.
He wrote that sentence to figure that out!
Shit, I have to run
You can't run. I told you, you're staying.
Shut up and come with me.
I got played
This is strange.
I looked at my records
and it said you can't read.
Yes, I was born of low class.
This must be some sort of mistake.
Why would I tell you?
The world is easier to get around
if you pretend to know nothing.
Anyways, how did this man find out
about my letter?
I was careful of my surroundings!
Why is he so suspicious?
He has way too much time on his hands!
-Come in.
-Excuse me.
What will they yell at me for?
I hope I can make it out alive
I have come with the girl.
Come in.
I'm sorry for the trouble.
I'm so glad
So you are
You've saved my Lingli's life.
Thank you.
I'm not of a position
for you to do such things!
No. I can't thank you enough.
My child owes you her life.
You're mistaking me for someone else.
You've probably made a mistake.
I'd hate to get beheaded
for contradicting her,
but I don't want to get involved!
I have something from Consort Gyokuyou.
You know that this fabric is used
in the uniform of maidservants, right?
I guess it looks similar
Yes, it's used by maidservants
in Wardrobe Service.
For example, a laundry girl like you
Maybe you ripped off a hem
from your skirt.
He even knew about that?
Tell us.
Why did you place a rhododendron branch
by the window?
Because I found out about
the truth behind the incidents.
It was caused by the face powder.
In the pleasure district where I grew up,
there were many courtesans
who used expensive powder.
Most of these women
were consumed by the poison
contained in the powder
and lost their lives.
They weighed their lives against beauty,
and ended up losing both.
I was an apothecary,
so I know a lot about poison.
That face powder
This was used by my child's wet nurse.
She said the white of this powder
stood out the most,
so she liked using this.
The wet nurse was also ill,
so I placed her on leave.
I gave her plenty of money as well.
I see.
Ignorance is sin.
I should've kept a closer watch
on what my child puts in her mouth.
I should have as well.
If we had realized this earlier,
we could've saved many lives.
Even the Eastern Palace
After finding this letter,
I told Consort Lihua about
the powder as well, but
She wouldn't listen to anything
I had to say.
So
What should I do?
Starting today, you will be my attendant!
What?
What Maomao can't hold back
is her curiosity and her appetite
for knowledge.
That, and a little bit of
a sense of justice
Shit, shit, shit!
If I had just stayed put and worked.
-I could've
-Welcome back, Maomao!
How did it go?
This is how Maomao became
the lady-in-waiting for
the Emperor's beloved Consort Gyokuyou.
In other words, she got a promotion!
LI
Hey!
This is poison!
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE
Next episode, "Chilly Apothecary."
Subtitle translation by: Yukimi Ohashi
ORIGINAL STORY BY NATSU HYUUGA
THIS STORY IS A FICION, AND ALL NAMES OF
FIGURES ND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.
MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION
TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.
Maomao.
Can you deliver medicine
to the Verdigris House?
Got it, old man.
A lot of women are getting
kidnapped recently.
Be careful.
I'll be fine.
I'll stop by the farm.
All right. Thank you.
I'm off!
THE VERDIGRIS HOUSE
That's all you've got?
Come on, this is my whole fortune!
Out of the question.
That's one of the Verdigris House's
prized Three Princesses,
the popular Pairin!
Don't look without paying!
It's not healing fast enough.
I'll change the recipe.
Oh, Maomao.
Big Sis Pairin!
Look at those new scars!
Oh, this?
They're experiments for my medicine,
like usual.
Are you eating properly?
Those things are impressive as always.
Maomao! If one of your little experiments
blows up this room, I won't forgive you!
Or would you rather work
as a courtesan here instead?
Shoot!
Granny, I'm leaving the medicine here!
Say hello to the old man for me!
Geez.
I heard Maomao's voice.
-Where did Maomao go?
-She ran away.
That sleazy granny
She tells me
to be a courtesan any chance she gets!
Could they be kidnappers?
Old man will worry about me.
The Eastern Palace heir is born!
Congratulations, Lady Lihua!
Her baby was delivered without issues.
I see. I'm glad
THREE MONTHS LATER
I want to eat skewers from the market
I hope the old man is eating properly.
So annoying. I don't know if I was
sold off or used as a scapegoat,
but it's been three months
since I got here.
The palace and the pleasure district
are not that different.
I wanted to avoid getting involved
in the rear palace if possible, but
now that I'm here, it can't be helped.
Even though I had a pretty good life
as an apothecary
The rear palace is an all-female area
for giving birth to the emperor's child.
Men are strictly forbidden
from entering this area.
The only people who can enter here are
high nobility and their blood relations.
Other than that, only eunuchs,
or "former men"
who've lost their "precious parts"
can enter.
All the consorts
and palace women total 2,000.
Along with the 1,000 eunuchs,
it is a large living area.
Unlike the high, mid
and low-ranking consorts,
us maidservants doing menial tasks
can lose our lives at any moment.
SEVENTEEN
Next up is the shut-in
low-ranking consort.
At least we get paid a salary.
Hey, Maomao!
Do you know which room this tag is for?
This is Wisteria Nine, so it's over there.
Thank you!
There are many maidservants
who can't read.
Before working at the rear palace,
we are trained strictly in basic manners,
but it's different
with reading and writing.
Even if you got higher salaries
for your literacy,
the kidnappers would just take
a higher portion of your pay.
But there are rare cases
where maidservants are promoted to
low-ranking consorts.
Simply put
it's looks.
Freckles, flat chest.
A figure with no curves.
So it has nothing to do with me.
If I stand out too much,
my life could be put at risk.
I'd rather stay like this.
If I shut up and work,
I can leave after two years.
I want to drink so bad!
-Hey, did you hear?
-Huh?
There's apparently a really pretty
eunuch in the central area.
That's all everyone's talking about
these days!
I see.
If he's that beautiful,
I'd love to see him once, don't you think?
A eunuch, huh?
-She's lost a lot of weight.
-Yeah.
Xiaoling
Unfortunately,
the physician is fully occupied
with the Eastern Palace.
I see.
They're just three months
and six months old, right?
Yes, both the Eastern Palace
and Princess Lingli.
Do you think it's a curse, like they say?
What's this about?
You don't know, Maomao?
The entire rear palace is
talking about this!
About the serial deaths of the heirs
in the rear palace!
All three of the Emperor's children got
gradually weaker after their births
and died!
It's strange, right?
All three babies?
It looks like the same thing
is happening now.
The baby is sick?
Exactly! So this time, there are doctors
in both Lady Gyokuyou
and Lady Lihua's residences!
The current emperor has no empress,
so Lady Lihua, who gave birth to
the Eastern Palace will be empress!
That's obvious.
If the emperor has no empress,
the consort with the Eastern Palace,
Consort Lihua,
is at the top of the rear palace.
But it's rumored that
the emperor's favorite
is Lady Gyokuyou.
People say that might have something
to do with all this.
A political power struggle, huh?
I wonder if Lady Lihua's condition
is more serious.
I hear the doctor is by her side
day and night.
Lady Lihua is unwell as well?
Yes. Both mother and child.
I heard they have headaches,
stomachaches, and nausea as well.
Headaches, stomachaches, and nausea
I knew it! It's definitely a curse!
-A curse? You've got to be joking.
-What?
Headaches, stomachaches, and nausea
Could murder by poison be a possibility?
No. If they want the throne, there's
no reason for the princess to be targeted.
It's highly unlikely they were poisoned.
It could be an illness, or
Could it be in their blood?
Why am I getting so serious over rumors?
These are just speculations.
Just speculation. However
I can check it out for a little bit.
As expected of a building
where the high-ranking consorts live,
even a single pillar is more sophisticated
than the building we live in.
It's your fault!
Lady Gyokuyou!
Because you gave birth to a girl,
you intend to curse my son to death!
You know that that's impossible.
Xiaoling is suffering
just as much as your son.
Lady Lihua is furious.
How unfortunate for Lady Gyokuyou.
Sir Jinshi
That's why I want you
to examine my daughter as well.
Yes, but Well
Is that flustered eunuch
in the middle, the physician?
That quack doctor, is he stupid?
He spends all that time with the two
consorts, and he really hasn't realized?
Or could it be, he doesn't even know?
Deaths of infants. Headache,
stomachache, and nausea.
And even more, the haggard state
of Lady Lihua.
This isn't a curse at all.
The problem is how to tell them.
If I can find something to write with
Not a month had passed when the news about
the Eastern Palace's death got around.
It looks like you want to
ask me something.
This is
It was the day I visited
the Crystal Pavilion
to ask for my daughter to be examined.
This was placed by my window after that.
It was tied to this branch.
A rhododendron?
"The powder is poison.
Don't let the baby touch it.
Ignorance is sin."
A court physician wouldn't leave
such a cryptic message.
Yes, it looks like he never figured out
how to treat the Eastern Palace.
Who wrote this letter?
I want you to find that out for me.
Now that I think about it, that time
If I can find something to write with
Understood.
Could I keep this with me
for a little while?
The Emperor is cherishing
the princess who survived,
so he's been visiting Lady Gyokuyou often.
What about Lady Lihua?
I don't hear about that at all.
How convenient for him, huh?
Oh, I finally found you!
You're to head to the Matron of
the Serving Women's office right away.
What?
You've been summoned?
I wonder what this is about.
All right, everybody who gathered here
should enter.
Maidservants being
summoned by a higher-up?
I have a bad feeling about this.
Are they just short on staff?
Sorry to call you all like this.
Who is this bossy palace woman?
I'm the manager of the rear palace,
Jinshi.
He's a man?
I guess the "really pretty eunuch"
Xiaolan mentioned was this guy.
What a waste for him
to be this beautiful
and not be able to have children.
THE FRECKLE WOMAN OVER THERE,
YOU'RE STAYING WITH ME.
Freckle Woman
Oh, shit!
We're done for today.
Go back to your rooms.
Huh? What's going on?
Did I make some big mistake
that got his attention?
Could it be the letter from that time
I see! I'm the only maidservant here
that can read.
He wrote that sentence to figure that out!
Shit, I have to run
You can't run. I told you, you're staying.
Shut up and come with me.
I got played
This is strange.
I looked at my records
and it said you can't read.
Yes, I was born of low class.
This must be some sort of mistake.
Why would I tell you?
The world is easier to get around
if you pretend to know nothing.
Anyways, how did this man find out
about my letter?
I was careful of my surroundings!
Why is he so suspicious?
He has way too much time on his hands!
-Come in.
-Excuse me.
What will they yell at me for?
I hope I can make it out alive
I have come with the girl.
Come in.
I'm sorry for the trouble.
I'm so glad
So you are
You've saved my Lingli's life.
Thank you.
I'm not of a position
for you to do such things!
No. I can't thank you enough.
My child owes you her life.
You're mistaking me for someone else.
You've probably made a mistake.
I'd hate to get beheaded
for contradicting her,
but I don't want to get involved!
I have something from Consort Gyokuyou.
You know that this fabric is used
in the uniform of maidservants, right?
I guess it looks similar
Yes, it's used by maidservants
in Wardrobe Service.
For example, a laundry girl like you
Maybe you ripped off a hem
from your skirt.
He even knew about that?
Tell us.
Why did you place a rhododendron branch
by the window?
Because I found out about
the truth behind the incidents.
It was caused by the face powder.
In the pleasure district where I grew up,
there were many courtesans
who used expensive powder.
Most of these women
were consumed by the poison
contained in the powder
and lost their lives.
They weighed their lives against beauty,
and ended up losing both.
I was an apothecary,
so I know a lot about poison.
That face powder
This was used by my child's wet nurse.
She said the white of this powder
stood out the most,
so she liked using this.
The wet nurse was also ill,
so I placed her on leave.
I gave her plenty of money as well.
I see.
Ignorance is sin.
I should've kept a closer watch
on what my child puts in her mouth.
I should have as well.
If we had realized this earlier,
we could've saved many lives.
Even the Eastern Palace
After finding this letter,
I told Consort Lihua about
the powder as well, but
She wouldn't listen to anything
I had to say.
So
What should I do?
Starting today, you will be my attendant!
What?
What Maomao can't hold back
is her curiosity and her appetite
for knowledge.
That, and a little bit of
a sense of justice
Shit, shit, shit!
If I had just stayed put and worked.
-I could've
-Welcome back, Maomao!
How did it go?
This is how Maomao became
the lady-in-waiting for
the Emperor's beloved Consort Gyokuyou.
In other words, she got a promotion!
LI
Hey!
This is poison!
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE
Next episode, "Chilly Apothecary."
Subtitle translation by: Yukimi Ohashi