E1 - Maomao

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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
SIGN    The Apothecary Diaries
SIGN    The Apothecary Diaries
SIGN    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.
[01:37] Luomen
    Maomao.
[01:39] Maomao
    Hmm?
[01:41] Luomen
    Could you deliver some medicine
    to the Verdigris House?
[01:44] Maomao
    Yeah, got it, Dad.
[01:48] Luomen
    Be careful out there.
    Kidnappings are on the rise.
[01:52] Maomao
    I'll be fine. I'll stop by
     the herb plot on my way back.
[01:56] Luomen
    Yes, please do.
[01:58] Maomao
    I'm off!
SIGN    Verdigris House
[02:22] Old Lady
    Huh, is this all you've got?
[02:25] Customer
    It's my life savings! I beg you!
[02:31] Old Lady
    This is a non-starter.
[02:34] Customer
    That must be Pairin, one of the famous
    Three Princesses of the Verdigris House!
[02:38] Old Lady
    If you want to gawk, pay up!
[02:49] Maomao
    Hmm, it's taking too long to heal.
[02:51] Maomao
    I'll tweak the recipe some.
[02:52] Pairin
    Oh, Maomao!
[02:55] Maomao
    Hey, Pairin.
[02:56] Pairin
    Hey, you have more wounds again!
[03:00] Maomao
    It's just my usual drug experiments.
[03:03] Pairin
    Are you eating well?
[03:05] Maomao
    You seem to be very well nourished, as always.
[03:08] Old Lady
    Maomao!
[03:09] Old Lady
    You'd better not be setting off explosions
    again for your so-called experiments!
[03:16] Old Lady
    Or, would you like to start
     a career as a courtesan?
[03:19] Maomao
    Yikes!
[03:20] Maomao
    Granny, I left your meds here!
[03:22] Old Lady
    Say hi to your old man for me. Sheesh.
[03:25] Joka
    Did I just hear Maomao's voice?
[03:27] Meimei
    Hey, where's Maomao?
[03:29] Pairin
    She took off.
[03:31] Maomao
    That shrewd old bag, always trying
    to make me a courtesan...
[03:50] Maomao
    Could it be? Kidnappers?!
[03:58] Maomao
    Dad's gonna be really worried...
[04:18] Guen
    The prince is born!
[04:20] Guen
    Congratulations, Lady Lihua!
[04:30] Hongniang
    The prince was born safely.
[04:33] Gyokuyou
    I see. Wonderful.
SIGN    Three months later
SIGN    Episode 1: Maomao
[04:48] Maomao
    I want meat skewers from a stall...
[04:52] Maomao
    I wonder if Dad's eating properly.
[04:57] Maomao
    I'm not sure if I was sold off or ransomed,
    but annoyingly, it's already been three months.
[05:04] Maomao
    The palace and the brothels are really similar.
[05:07] Maomao
    If I had a choice, I'd have nothing to do
    with the rear palace, ever. But...
[05:12] Maomao
    Well, what can I do, now that I'm here?
[05:15] Maomao
    I was living a pretty good life
    as an apothecary, and now...
[05:21] Maomao
    The rear palace is a garden of women
    who are to give birth to the emperor's children.
[05:25] Maomao
    No men are allowed to enter.
[05:28] Maomao
    The only people allowed in here
    are the emperor, his kin,
[05:33] Maomao
    and eunuchs, "formerly male" individuals
    who lost an important part of their body.
[05:39] Maomao
    It's a huge collective of two thousand
    concubines and servants,
[05:42] Maomao
    and one thousand eunuchs.
[05:45] Maomao
    Unlike the high, mid,
    and low-ranking concubines,
[05:49] Maomao
    we serving girls are expendable
    and can lose our lives at any moment.
[05:56] Maomao
    Next in line are the shut-in,
    low-ranking concubines.
[05:58] Maomao
    I guess, at the very least, I get paid.
[06:02] Xiaolan
    Hey, Maomao...
[06:04] Xiaolan
    Do you know which room this plate is for?
[06:07] Maomao
    Oh. This one is Wisteria-9, so over there.
[06:11] Xiaolan
    Thank you!
[06:14] Maomao
    Many of the servants are illiterate.
[06:17] Maomao
    In order to work in the rear palace,
[06:19] Maomao
    they're taught the bare minimum
    essentials of etiquette.
[06:22] Maomao
    But reading and writing
    is a whole different story.
[06:25] Maomao
    The raise I would get for being literate
    would just get swiped by my kidnappers.
[06:32] Maomao
    That said, even servants like us
    could become low-ranking concubines.
[06:36] Maomao
    What's key is...
[06:39] Maomao
    Looks.
[06:41] Maomao
    Freckles.
[06:42] Maomao
    Flat.
[06:44] Maomao
    Given my skin-and-bones look,
    that's not applicable to me.
[06:53] Maomao
    If I stood out, my life would be
    at risk. I'm better off just laying low.
[06:59] Maomao
    All I have to do is work hard.
    I'll be out in two years.
[07:04] Maomao
    I need a drink.
[07:09] Xiaolan
    Hey, did you hear?
[07:10] Maomao
    Huh?
[07:11] Xiaolan
    I heard there's a super beautiful
    eunuch in the central area.
[07:15] Xiaolan
    Everyone's been talking about him!
[07:18] Maomao
    I see.
[07:19] Xiaolan
    I'd like to get a glimpse of him,
    if he's so handsome!
[07:23] Xiaolan
    Am I right?
[07:25] Maomao
    A eunuch, huh?
[07:55] Gaoshun
    She has lost much weight.
[07:57] Jinshi
    Yes.
[08:04] Gyokuyou
    Xiaoling...
[08:06] Jinshi
    I'm sorry, the physician is busy
    attending to the prince.
[08:13] Gyokuyou
    I see...
[08:17] Servant A
    They're only three months and six months old, right?
[08:19] Servant B
    Yeah, both the prince and Princess Lingli...
[08:24] Xiaolan
    Is it really a curse?!
[08:27] Maomao
    What are you talking about?
[08:28] Xiaolan
    You didn't hear, Maomao?
[08:30] Xialoan
    The entire rear palace
    is buzzing about this rumor.
[08:34] Xiaolan
    The deaths of all the heirs
    born in the rear palace!
[08:38] Xiaolan
    All three of the emperor's children
    born so far grew weak and passed away!
[08:43] Xiaolan
    Doesn't that seem weird?!
[08:45] Maomao
    All three?
[08:46] Xiaolan
    And it looks like the same
    thing's happening now.
[08:49] Maomao
    You mean they're unwell?
[08:50] Xiaolan
    Yes! And this time, the doctor went to visit
    both Lady Gyokuyou and Lady Lihua!
[08:58] Maomao
    Huh...
[08:59] Xiaolan
    The emperor doesn't have an empress
    consort, so that makes Lady Lihua,
[09:02] Xiaolan
    who gave birth to the prince,
    the empress consort, right?!
[09:05] Maomao
    Naturally, I guess.
[09:07] Maomao
    Since there is no empress consort,
[09:10] Maomao
    Concubine Lihua gave birth to the prince,
[09:11] Maomao
    so she should be considered
    the top of the rear palace.
[09:14] Xiaolan
    But then, rumor says the emperor
    favors Lady Gyokuyou.
[09:19] Xiaolan
    They say that could be
    related to the curse, too.
[09:23] Maomao
    A power struggle...
[09:26] Xiaolan
    Lady Lihua might be worse off,
    since the doctor is always with her.
[09:32] Maomao
    Lady Lihua herself is sick, too?
[09:34] Xiaolan
    Yeah, mother and child both.
    Head and stomach aches.
[09:37] Xiaolan
    Nausea too, I think.
[09:41] Maomao
    Headache, stomachache, nausea...
[09:45] Xiaolan
    It has to be a curse!
[09:49] Maomao
    Curses are stupid.
[09:52] Xiaolan
    Huh?
[09:58] Maomao
    Headache, stomachache, nausea...
[10:01] Maomao
    Poison is a possibility.
[10:03] Maomao
    No, if it's over the position of imperial heir,
[10:05] Maomao
    it doesn't make sense to go after the princess.
[10:07] Maomao
    Deliberate poisoning is low on the list of possibilities.
[10:10] Maomao
    Could an illness be more likely?
[10:14] Maomao
    Perhaps something hereditary?
[10:18] Maomao
    Why am I taking a rumor so seriously?
[10:22] Maomao
    It's all just conjecture.
[10:26] Maomao
    But still...
[10:29] Maomao
    I guess I can take a quick peek.
[10:36] Maomao
    Given this is where all the high-ranked
    concubines' pavilions are,
[10:39] Maomao
    every building is exquisite,
    right down to the individual pillars.
[10:47] Lihua
    It's your fault!
[10:48] Yinghua
    Lady Gyokuyou!
[10:50] Lihua
    You're trying to curse my son,
    because your child is a daughter!
[10:54] Gyokuyou
    You know that's absurd!
[10:58] Gyokuyou
    My Xiaoling is sick, too!
[11:01] Eunuch A
    Lady Lihua is furious.
[11:04] Eunuch B
    I feel sorry for Lady Gyokuyou.
[11:06] Gaoshun
    Master Jinshi...
[11:10] Gyokuyou
    That's why I'd like you to examine
    my daughter's state, as well.
[11:14] Guen
    Yes... Well... Um...
[11:16] Maomao
    Is that flustered eunuch
    in the middle the physician?
[11:20] Maomao
    What a stupid quack.
[11:22] Maomao
    He seriously still hasn't noticed? After
    spending all that time near the concubines?
[11:27] Maomao
    Or rather...
[11:28] Maomao
    Maybe he really doesn't know?
[11:31] Maomao
    Death of the infants.
    Headache, stomachache, nausea.
[11:35] Maomao
    And most of all, how
    Lady Lihua seems so worn out.
[11:39] Maomao
    As I thought, this is no curse.
[11:43] Maomao
    The only issue is, how do I tell them?
[11:46] Maomao
    If only I could find something to write with...
[12:31] Maomao
    Barely a month passed before word got around
[12:34] Maomao
    that the prince had passed away.
[12:41] Gyokuyou
    It seems like you have a question for me.
[12:45] Jinshi
    Is that...
[12:47] Gyokuyou
    The day I visited the Crystal Pavilion
    to ask to have my daughter examined,
[12:52] Gyokuyou
    I found this on the windowsill,
    tied to this branch.
[12:58] Jinshi
    A rhododendron.
[13:00] Gyokuyou
    "The white face powder is poison.
    Don't let the baby touch it."
[13:05] Gyokuyou
    It truly is a sin to be ignorant.
[13:08] Jinshi
    The palace physician would not take
    such a roundabout approach.
[13:12] Gyokuyou
    Agreed. He never could seem
    to figure out how to treat the prince.
[13:17] Jinshi
    Who could have sent this message?
[13:20] Gyokuyou
    I'd like you to find out.
[13:27] Jinshi
    Coming to think of it, back then...
[13:30] (Flashback) Maomao
    If only I could find something to write with...
[13:37] Jinshi
    Understood.
[13:39] Jinshi
    May I keep this for the time being?
[13:48] Xiaolan
    I heard the emperor is visiting
    Lady Gyokuyou a lot,
[13:51] Xiaolan
    to show his love for
    the surviving princess.
[13:54] Maomao
    What about Lady Lihua?
[13:56] Xiaolan
    Haven't heard anything about her.
[13:59] Maomao
    How convenient.
[14:01] Eunuch C
    Oh, there you are.
[14:04] Eunuch C
    You are to report to the Matron
    of the Serving Women immediately.
[14:08] Xiaolan
    You're being summoned?
[14:10] Maomao
    For what, I wonder?
[14:12] Eunuch C
    All right, all of you who've
    gathered here, head inside.
[14:17] Maomao
    Serving girls getting summoned by
    the high officials can't be good news...
[14:23] Maomao
    Or do they just want more workers?
[14:36] Jinshi
    Thank you all for coming.
[14:43] Maomao
    Who is this arrogant-looking woman?
[14:49] Jinshi
    I am Jinshi, manager of the rear palace.
[14:57] Maomao
    That's a man?
[14:58] Maomao
    Ah, that must be the good-looking
    eunuch that Xiaolan was talking about.
[15:04] Maomao
    That's a waste. He's so handsome,
    but he can't have children.
SIGN    You with the freckles, stay here
[15:12] Maomao
    Huh? Freckles? Stay...?
[15:16] Maomao
    Oh, no!
[15:20] Jinshi
    We're done here. You may
     all return to your rooms.
[15:23] Servant 1
    Huh?
[15:24] Servant 2
    What was that about?
[15:26] Maomao
    Did I do something to get attention?!
[15:29] Maomao
    Wait, did the message from the other day...
[15:32] Maomao
    Ah!
[15:33] Maomao
    I'm the only servant here who can read!
[15:36] Maomao
    He wrote that just now to single me out!
[15:39] Maomao
    Oh no, I have to get out!
[15:41] Jinshi
    Come now, I just told you to stay.
[15:46] Jinshi
    Just keep quiet and follow me.
[15:54] Maomao
    It was a trap...
[15:56] Jinshi
    This is odd. I looked you up.
    It said you couldn't read.
[16:02] Maomao
    I am of lowly birth. It must be a mistake.
[16:08] Maomao
    I'll never admit it. Pretending to be ignorant
    makes everything easier in this world.
[16:13] Maomao
    Besides, how did this man
    find out about the messages?
[16:17] Maomao
    I made absolutely sure nobody was around...
[16:24] Maomao
    He's so mistrustful!
[16:27] Maomao
    Rather, he must have nothing better to do!
[16:30] Hongniang
    Please.
[16:31] Jinshi
    Excuse me.
[16:33] Maomao
    What will I be punished for?
[16:35] Maomao
    I hope I make it out of this alive.
[16:42] Jinshi
    I brought her.
[16:44] Gyokuyou
    Come in.
[16:51] Gyokuyou
    Thank you for your trouble.
[16:57] Maomao
    I'm so glad.
[17:00] Gyokuyou
    So, it was you.
[17:02] Gyokuyou
    Thank you for saving Lingli's life.
[17:06] Maomao
    P-Please, I'm not worthy of such kindness!
[17:11] Gyokuyou
    No, I can't ever thank you enough.
[17:15] Gyokuyou
    You are my baby's savior.
[17:17] Maomao
    Perhaps you have the wrong person?
[17:20] Maomao
    There must be a misunderstanding.
[17:23] Maomao
    I don't want to get beheaded for lying,
[17:25] Maomao
    but I don't want to get involved, either!
[17:31] Jinshi
    Concubine Gyokuyou showed me something.
SIGN    The white face powder is poison. Don't let the baby touch it.
[17:37] Jinshi
    Did you know this fabric is used
    in the clothing for the serving girls?
[17:42] Maomao
    It does look similar, I suppose...
[17:45] Jinshi
    Yes, for those who work on clothing, I hear.
[17:48] Jinshi
    Like a laundry worker, such as yourself.
[17:53] Jinshi
    Did you rip apart a skirt, perhaps?
[17:59] Maomao
    So, he figured out that much already...
[18:02] Jinshi
    Now, you will explain why you put
    that flower on the windowsill.
[18:18] Maomao
    Because I figured out what was wrong that day.
[18:21] Maomao
    That the cause was the makeup powder.
[18:24] Maomao
    There were many courtesans
[18:26] Maomao
    who used high-end powder
    in the brothels that I grew up in.
[18:30] Maomao
    Most of them were poisoned
    by it and lost their lives.
[18:39] Maomao
    They tried to trade life
    for beauty and lost both.
[18:53] Maomao
    I used to be an apothecary,
    so I know a few things about poisons.
[19:07] Jinshi
    That face powder...
[19:09] Gyokuyou
    It was used by the baby's nurse.
[19:12] Gyokuyou
    She said it has a better whitening effect
    compared to other powders.
[19:17] Gyokuyou
    She seemed to have gotten ill too, so I gave
    her a break. I paid her properly, too.
[19:23] Jinshi
    I see.
[19:25] Gyokuyou
    It truly is a sin to be ignorant.
[19:27] Gyokuyou
    I should have paid more attention to
     the things that go into my baby's mouth.
[19:32] Jinshi
    I am guilty, as well.
[19:34] Jinshi
    Had I noticed sooner, I might
     have been able to save more lives.
[19:39] Jinshi
    The Prince, too...
[19:42] Gyokuyou
    When I saw the message, I told
    Concubine Lihua about it, as well.
[19:51] Gyokuyou
    But it seemed like everything
    I said only made her believe me less.
[19:56] Maomao
    So...
[19:59] Maomao
    What can I do for you?
[20:09] Gyokuyou
    Well, starting today, you'll
    be my lady-in-waiting!
[20:14] Maomao
    Huh?
[20:16] Narrator
    There are some things Maomao cannot hold back.
[20:19] Narrator
    Curiosity, a thirst for knowledge...
[20:22] Narrator
    And just a smidgen of a sense of justice.
[20:30] Mao
    No, no, no, no...
[20:34] Maomao
    No, if I keep a low profile,
    it shouldn't matter where I—
[20:34] Xiaolan
    Hey, Maomao!
[20:36] Xiaolan
    Welcome back, Maomao! How was it?
[20:39] Narrator
    And thus, Maomao became a
    lady-in-waiting of Concubine Gyokuyou,
[20:44] Narrator
    recipient of the emperor's love.
[20:46] Narrator
    Put simply, it was a big promotion.
[20:57] Soldier A
    Hey!
[21:01] Soldier A
    It's poison!
SIGN    Next Time
[22:46] Narrator
    Next time: "Chilly Apothecary."
SIGN    Episode 2: Chilly Apothecary