The Apothecary Diaries (2023) s01e06 Episode Script

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‪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.
She has no understanding of chastity.
She's a picky eater too!
It's not like she'd die.
- So cold!
- The warming stones help a little, but
To have nothing to do
in this cold is torture.
The wind is so chilly!
At least have some sort of tent
This seating is made to foster hostility
among the four concubines.
Look. That lady is the Empress Dowager.
She's very youthful.
She's quite young, actually.
Because she gave birth to the Lord at
She must've worked hard
to give birth to him!
The Empress Dowager has two children,
the Lord and his younger brother.
But it's rumored that
the brother is very ill and can't leave
the house often.
It seems like he was here
until recently, but
I see.
What? You call this plain?
An attendant is to serve her master.
What's the point of dressing up?
Did you hear that?
It's the master who suffers
when her attendant looks poor.
I'm so pissed!
Those attendants are Lady Lihua's
Oh no, Yinghua's at it.
They started a battle by proxy.
Let's go, Maomao.
She even hired that ugly duckling,
that's to be expected.
Ugly duckling? Is she talking about me?
That is so embarrassing!
What did you say?
- Yinghua!
- Calm down!
They haven't realized?
We were so close at the Crystal Pavilion!
If you get too carried away,
I'll tell Father!
Then I'll make sure
you physically can't tell on anyone.
Huh?
It was just a courtesan joke
Apologize to Maomao!
Why are you suddenly all quiet?
I'll leave you alone for now!
- Huh?
- You
You better be grateful!
What's up with them?
Hey, are you okay, Maomao?
They don't know you're really this cute.
It doesn't bother me.
Do you want to switch warming stones?
Not only did she suffer misfortune,
she even mistrusts men so much
that she dirties her face
She desperately suffered horrible bullying
at the Crystal Pavilion for two months
She didn't complain once,
and she doesn't want to worry us
It makes sense that the kind-hearted
Sir Jinshi watches out for her!
They're making up stories again.
Doesn't she even know her position?
Look at that red clothing!
Another battle by proxy.
It's the Virtuous versus the Pure.
Those two groups don't get along well,
either.
The Virtuous Concubine
is very young at 14,
while the Pure Concubine
is a veteran at 35.
Of course they don't get along!
And, they were formerly mother
and daughter-in-law.
Mother and daughter-in-law?
So This is a bit complicated,
but the two Ladies were originally
the former Emperor's concubine
and the current Lord's concubine.
But then, the former Emperor passed away.
The former Emperor's concubine
became a monk,
then came back as
the current Emperor's concubine.
The former Emperor passed away
five years ago.
Concubine Ah-Duo, who was a Lady
at the time, was 30-years-old.
The Virtuous Concubine, Lishu,
was nine at the time.
I know it's politics,
but to be married at nine
Can you believe it?
A nine-year-old mother-in-law.
A nine-year-old mother-in-law
A mother-in-law?
So
The one who was concubine
to the former Emperor was
Lady Lishu?
So that is the young mother-in-law?
I think you've noticed,
but the Virtuous Concubine, Lady Lishu,
is still quite young.
It seems like it.
Traditionally, the Virtuous Concubine
should be wearing white.
But that dark pink color
It clearly overlaps with Lady Gyokuyou,
The Precious Concubine.
Maybe she doesn't notice things like that.
The warming stones were a big help.
Please make them again.
Yes, ma'am.
‪So cold
If you're cold, you should have these.
Here.
Here.
You're too nice.
Asking whether you can share with
the attendants in the Crystal Pavilion.
You even asked for permission
from Lady Gyokuyou.
It's nothing.
A hair clip?
That's how they recruit talented people
hidden in the flower garden.
I see.
It can have other meanings though.
I see.
I said, it can have other meanings!
Meanings, huh?
This is for you, miss.
I guess he's giving them out to everyone
so that no attendants are embarrassed.
Thanks.
I'm Lihaku.
Nice to meet you!
He's like a big dog.
Woof, woof!
You got that? Show me.
It's a participation prize.
That's not enough, don't you think?
Long time no see.
Long time no see, My Lady.
That's all for now.
Lady Lihua?
Let's go. Goodbye, all.
Lady Gyokuyou
Might get a little more than upset.
What are you going to do?
Wow.
This is quite impressive.
He must be more higher-up than I imagined.
He fits right in with all the soldiers.
That soldier from before is there too.
He's in the last seat. He's young,
so he might have been promoted.
That glittery eunuch isn't here.
But that doesn't matter.
Now, time for poison testing!
No cloudiness to the contact areas.
No strange scents, either.
But a poison tester's job isn't over
until she swallows
Now rinse my mouth with fresh water
A poison tester's life is expendable.
I'm the only one who tastes poison
for fun.
If possible, I'd love some puffer fish!
Sneaking its organs into soup
The way it tingles my tongue
is irresistible!
Concentrate!
Raw fish and vegetables.
The Emperor's favorite.
It was served at the rear palace
sometimes.
It usually contains blue fish,
but today it's jellyfish.
The Food Service in charge of
the Emperor's meals
would never mistake his favorite
ingredient.
Lady Gyokuyou doesn't have any foods
she can't eat.
They must've messed up
the food distribution.
She doesn't like fish?
I guess she can't leave anything uneaten
in front of the Emperor.
I wish I hadn't seen that.
Did you see, Lihaku?
That poison tester looks determined.
What's so fun about watching people eat
while fearing for their lives?
Just look!
That poison tester
It's the girl from before.
How delicious is it?
This is poison.
- Poison in the Precious Concubine's soup?
- Is it really poisonous?
The poison tester drank it!
Minister! What are you?
Formal wear is so uncomfortable
The Minister drank the soup and collapsed!
Apothecary
Apothecary!
How do you do, Sir Jinshi?
You're in a great mood.
Oh no, I was excited by the poison.
It's like I smiled at him!
Where are you taking me?
To the medical room.
I spit out the poison.
There's nothing wrong with my body.
I actually wanted to
swallow it right there.
If I had, the poison would be
circulating all around me
Sir Jinshi, um
What is it?
Please give me the leftover soup!
You're stupid, aren't you?
I'm ambitious, you mean.
After you left,
someone doubted that it was poison,
drank it, and collapsed.
What idiot did such a thing?
The Minister.
Now, people are panicking even more.
In that case, use this.
It's an antiemetic drug. You can vomit
so much that your stomach turns around.
That's a poison on its own.
Hey!
A new hair clip?
So eunuchs get hair clips too?
Now that I think about it,
his collar is disheveled.
He's not as glittery as usual.
Is this why I didn't see him
at the banquet?
But now, he looks like
any young man his age
Actually, he looks quite young.
He looks better this way.
It works! As expected of medicine
from the court doctor!
Are you all right?
Yes. I'm all finished.
Now, tell me what happened.
Who put poison
in Concubine Gyokuyou's food?
I have someone I want you to bring
about that.
Who is it?
Will you call Lady Lishu for me?
Sir Jinshi. What did you need from me?
I apologize for calling you
to such an unrefined place.
Who we really wanted was
that attendant there.
The attendant?
Excuse me.
I knew it.
Is it seafood you can't eat?
What is this about?
There are some who can't
eat particular foods.
For me, it's soba noodles.
Even though you eat poison happily?
Leave me alone.
I've tried hard to eat them.
But my throat closes up,
and I can't breathe.
Even a little bit gives me a rash.
It's hard to adjust the amount,
and recovery is slow.
That's what "not being able to eat" means.
Lady Lishu. Is your stomach all right?
I can offer you a laxative.
How did you know?
The meal at the garden party was clearly
prepared by the rear palace.
The fish and vegetable dish had
different ingredients than usual.
I think there was an error
and Lady Gyokuyou
and Lady Lishu's meals got mixed up.
I see
Is it mackerel you can't eat?
This has nothing to do with
being a picky eater.
This time, hives were the only symptom,
but it could cause difficulty breathing.
If you knew this and served it
It's the same as poisoning someone.
You. You're the poison tester, right?
Yes.
I've gathered things to look out for
in case of emergencies.
Of course, the best bet is
to not eat it at all.
Please look over this.
There's nothing hard about it.
But if you mess up once,
even a physician can't resolve the issue.
This is a life-or-death problem.
Please don't forget that.
That's enough blackmailing.
What is this about?
I'm of low class.
Please refrain from touching me.
You're the only one
who says such things to me.
They just don't want you
to feel hurt, that's all.
Now, I must report to Lady Gyokuyou
Wait. Why did you have the poison tester
be present for that?
What do you mean?
Don't play dumb. You said to call her.
Just so I could inform her of everything.
So you're saying that the servers
simply made a mistake?
That's not for a mere attendant to know.
At least tell me this, all right?
The target was the Virtuous Concubine,
Concubine Lishu, right?
If there was no poison in any other plate.
I see
I'm so tired.
Does this have something to do
with the wood tablet incident?
There were no burns
on that attendant just now.
Who could it be?
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE
Next episode, "Homecoming."
Subtitle translation by: Yukimi Ohashi