# E22 - Blue Roses
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/GD9UV37DZ/blue-roses)
Translator:
Editor:
Timer:
QC:
(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.
**[01:33] Maomao**
* By the time we started*
* to smell spring in the air,*
**[01:36] Maomao**
* it became certain that*
* Lady Gyokuyou was indeed pregnant.*
**[01:46] Maomao**
* That's curious. Can she tell*
* there's a baby inside?*
**[01:54] Yinghua; Guiyuan; Ailan**
So cute!
**[01:56] Hongniang**
Maybe I also should start to...
**[02:03] Maomao**
*Even if she did get a proposal,*
**[02:05] Maomao**
*they'd probably never let her leave.*
**[02:08] Maomao**
* Being too good at one's job*
* can be a curse at times.*
**[02:16] Maomao**
*Time flies when every day is so fulfilling.*
**[02:21] Maomao**
* In comparison, the two months spent at*
* Master Jinshi's offices felt like forever.*
**[02:30] Maomao**
Would you like to draw pictures again?
**[02:32] Lingli**
Yes!
**[02:38] Maomao**
This is the woolly milkcap,
a poisonous mushroom—
**[02:41] Maomao**
Ow!
**[02:43] Hongniang**
Draw *normal* flowers, please.
**[02:45] Maomao**
*Normal flowers, huh?*
**[02:50] Jinshi**
A blue rose?
***SIGN*** Episode 22: Blue Roses
**[02:52] Lakan**
Yes. Perhaps you've never seen one before?
**[02:56] Lakan**
The striking blue petals are so beautiful.
**[03:01] Lakan**
I used to see them in the palace often.
**[03:05] Jinshi**
Perhaps you were dreaming?
**[03:07] Jinshi**
Blue roses do not exist.
**[03:11] Lakan**
But in fact, they do.
**[03:15] Lakan**
Oh, how I'd love to appreciate them
with everyone again.
**[03:19] Lakan**
What do you think? Could it be done?
**[03:23] Lakan**
With your power, there must be
nothing outside your reach.
**[03:27] Jinshi**
Understood. If such a rose does
indeed exist, I'd like to see it as well.
**[03:33] Lakan**
Then it's settled.
**[03:35] Lakan**
Goodness, I can't wait!
**[03:39] Lakan**
Excuse me.
**[03:44] Lakan**
I hope to see it at next month's garden party.
**[03:49] Gaoshun**
You're already so busy.
You didn't have to take on more work.
**[03:54] Jinshi**
Don't rub it in. Please just go ask
every florist in the nation about this.
**[04:04] Gaoshun**
The florists say that roses are not in season.
**[04:12] Jinshi**
Sorry to call you up so suddenly.
**[04:16] Jinshi**
We were talking about getting
together to admire blue roses.
**[04:21] Maomao**
Blue roses...?
**[04:23] Maomao**
I'm just an apothecary, you know.
**[04:25] Jinshi**
Yes, I'm aware...
**[04:28] Maomao**
* I wonder what prompted this?*
* He seems awfully tired.*
**[04:33] Maomao**
*Roses, huh? I* do *know
a thing or two about them.*
**[04:38] Maomao**
* I've sold them before to make some*
* quick cash with the courtesans. But...*
**[04:44] Maomao**
They really said they saw a blue rose?
**[04:47] Jinshi**
Yes.
**[04:49] Maomao**
Is there some new popular hallucinogen, or...?
**[04:52] Jinshi**
That'd ruin our whole nation!
**[04:54] Gaoshun**
Master Jinshi.
**[04:59] Jinshi**
Is it impossible?
**[05:04] Maomao**
What exactly is it that you desire?
**[05:07] Jinshi**
Can you find some by next month's garden party?
**[05:10] Maomao**
Next month? Roses bloom
two months later at the earliest.
**[05:15] Jinshi**
I know...
**[05:18] Jinshi**
I'll find a way to turn him down.
**[05:22] Maomao**
* Master Jinshi's reaction, and this style of*
* forcing people to attempt the impossible...*
**[05:28] Maomao**
Was this brought up by a certain strategist?
**[05:35] Jinshi**
Yes.
**[05:37] Maomao**
Understood. I will take this on.
**[05:40] Jinshi**
Are you sure?
**[05:41] Maomao**
I don't know if I can pull it off,
but I'll try my best.
**[05:45] Maomao**
*I don't want to just run from him.*
**[05:51] Maomao**
* I might as well take a swing at*
* smashing his creepy monocle.*
**[05:56] Maomao**
Master Jinshi, may I make a few requests?
**[06:01] Maomao**
Thank you for allowing me
to use it, Lady Lihua.
**[06:06] Lihua**
I don't mind. You were the one that
had it constructed in the first place.
**[06:12] Maomao**
*It's been a while.*
**[06:14] Maomao**
* I remember back then, I got them to*
* make a steam room for Lady Lihua,*
**[06:18] Maomao**
*who was suffering from poison back then.*
**[06:20] Maomao**
* I'm borrowing it now,*
* but I feel bad using it for free.*
**[06:26] Maomao**
This is the emperor's favorite book.
**[06:29] Lihua**
I appreciate this.
**[06:32] Maomao**
*I'm glad I got it through the brothel.*
**[06:40] Jinshi**
Take that side.
**[06:42] Eunuchs**
Yes, sir!
**[06:43] Maomao**
Master Jinshi.
**[06:44] Jinshi**
Ah, you're here.
**[06:46] Jinshi**
I had them build this as you asked, but...
**[06:48] Jinshi**
What is this for?
**[06:50] Maomao**
We're going to make the roses go mad.
**[06:52] Jinshi**
Make the roses go mad?
**[06:54] Jinshi**
What does that mean, apothecary?
**[07:03] Maomao**
We're going to let the sunlight in,
and blow steam inside through there.
**[07:09] Maomao**
The roses will grow in this warmed room.
**[07:12] Maomao**
This way, the flowers might
mistake it as the time to bloom.
**[07:17] Jinshi**
I see, so they'll "go mad."
**[07:20] Maomao**
I can't guarantee it, though.
**[07:30] Maomao**
Oh.
**[07:33] Xiaolan**
Maomao!
**[07:36] Maomao**
Xiaolan?
**[07:37] Xiaolan**
I'll help, too!
**[07:39] Xiaolan**
Is your leg okay?
**[07:43] Maomao**
*Did he summon her to chaperone me?*
**[07:48] Maomao**
* They did repeatedly tell me*
* not to push myself too hard.*
**[07:53] Maomao**
I'm fine. Sorry to make you help.
**[07:55] Xiaolan**
It's okay. It's been a while since
we've worked together, huh?
**[07:59] Maomao**
Yeah, it has.
**[08:05] Maomao**
*We brought in over one hundred roses.*
**[08:11] Maomao**
This is the last one.
**[08:14] Xiaolan**
Wow, this is a lot!
**[08:17] Maomao**
* We diversified the species, selecting*
* early-blooming ones where possible.*
**[08:21] Xiaolan**
Will they all bloom?
**[08:23] Maomao**
I hope so.
**[08:37] Maomao**
*Temperature control requires utmost care.*
**[08:41] Maomao**
* I got them to send some help, but this is*
* a tough task to delegate to others.*
**[08:48] Maomao**
* If we make a mistake and kill them all,*
* that would be the end of it.*
**[08:56] Maomao**
* On sunny days, we bring them*
* outside to expose them to sunlight.*
**[09:02] Xiaolan**
That must feel good!
**[09:05] Maomao**
Yeah.
**[09:06] Gaoshun**
How are you doing?
**[09:09] Gaoshun**
Here, a gift.
**[09:14] Maomao**
Thank you very much.
**[09:17] Xiaolan**
I get to skip work and
eat snacks? This is great!
**[09:22] Maomao**
This is work too, though.
**[09:27] Xiaolan**
What's with them?
**[09:29] Maomao**
I don't know. Maybe they're just curious.
**[09:32] Maomao**
*Or they want to be scared.*
**[09:37] Xiaolan**
What should I do next?
**[09:40] Maomao**
If a seedling has a lot of sprouts
on it, can you pick a few?
**[09:44] Maomao**
It concentrates the nutrients into the
remaining sprouts and helps prevent sickness.
**[09:49] Eunuchs**
Ah.
**[09:51] Eunuchs**
Whoa!
**[09:55] Xiaolan**
It's fine.
**[10:01] Eunuchs**
Thank you.
**[10:02] Xiaolan**
Don't mention it!
**[10:06] Maomao**
Hurry!
**[10:16] Xiaolan**
It's taking them a long time to bloom.
**[10:24] Maomao**
*On days where it gets cold,*
**[10:31] Maomao**
*I stay up all night to maintain the heat.*
**[10:41] Maomao**
*Weather can't be controlled.*
**[10:55] Xiaolan**
Did you pull another all-nighter?
**[10:58] Maomao**
I did sleep, around dawn.
**[11:00] Xiaolan**
Dawn was just moments ago!
**[11:02] Xiaolan**
I'll do what I can,
so why don't you get some sleep?
**[11:06] Maomao**
I can't leave this alone.
**[11:10] Xiaolan**
They're looking at us again.
**[11:13] Maomao**
*Every single day. Don't they get tired of this?*
**[11:16] Maomao**
*It's irritating.*
**[11:19] Maomao**
*I wonder if I can divert their attention...*
**[11:26] Xiaolan**
Wow! So this is what a manicure is like!
**[11:31] Maomao**
Everyone does it in the pleasure district.
**[11:34] Xiaolan**
It sure is pretty!
**[11:47] Guiyuan**
Oh, you did it too, Maomao?
**[11:49] Guiyuan**
So cute!
**[11:51] Ailan**
It's been popular recently.
**[11:54] Maomao**
Indeed.
**[11:57] Maomao**
* The high-ranking concubines are always*
* at the cutting edge of fashion.*
**[12:08] Hongniang**
Seems like a waste of time.
**[12:12] Maomao**
*Lady Hongniang prefers work over fashion.*
**[12:16] Maomao**
I've finished tasting for poison,
so I'll go back to the Crystal Pavilion now.
**[12:20] Gyokuyou**
Already?
**[12:21] Maomao**
The garden party is coming up soon.
**[12:24] Gyokuyou**
I see...
**[12:26] Hongniang**
Oh, by the way, Lady Gyokuyou
won't be attending this time around.
**[12:31] Hongniang**
We're letting the focus of this event
be Lady Loulan's introduction.
**[12:35] Maomao**
*To hide the pregnancy, right.*
**[12:38] Maomao**
Understood. Excuse me.
**[12:41] Yinghua**
Hey, is everything alright
at the Crystal Pavilion?
**[12:44] Guiyuan**
You look worse for wear every day.
**[12:46] Ailan**
Don't push yourself too hard, okay?
**[12:48] Maomao**
Thank you.
**[13:01] Xiaolan**
Maomao!
**[13:04] Xiaolan**
Maomao, hurry!
**[13:11] Maomao**
A bud...
**[13:12] Xiaolan**
I found it just now.
**[13:14] Xiaolan**
Our first one, finally!
**[13:18] Maomao**
At this rate... We might just make it in time.
**[13:23] Xiaolan**
Maomao? Maomao!
**[13:26] Xiaolan**
Maomao!
**[13:36] Jinshi**
Has the apothecary sent any word?
**[13:38] Gaoshun**
No, nothing.
**[13:40] Gaoshun**
I haven't been able to visit her
for the past few days.
**[13:43] Jinshi**
We were both busy preparing
for the garden party.
**[13:50] Maomao**
Master Jinshi.
**[14:21] Military Officer 1**
So, that's Concubine Loulan,
daughter of Master Shishou.
**[14:29] Bureaucrat 1**
How splendid.
**[14:44] Shishou**
Regarding Concubine Loulan,
**[14:49] Shishou**
is there anything that needs improvement?
**[14:53] Shishou**
Please, hold nothing back.
**[14:59] Loulan**
Please.
**[15:01] Empress Dowager**
Oh.
**[15:14] High Official 1**
Blue roses?!
**[15:15] High Official 2**
It can't be...
**[15:22] Jinshi**
It may be entertaining
**[15:25] Jinshi**
to enjoy the beauty of these buds while
imagining how they look at full bloom.
**[15:30] Emperor**
Yes. They're beautiful.
**[15:34] High Official 1**
Hmph.
**[15:34] Jinshi**
*The attention that "Jinshi" gets.*
**[15:39] Jinshi**
*Unlike some of the worthless officials,*
**[15:42] Jinshi**
* many don't appreciate a young eunuch*
* hoarding attention, no matter how beautiful.*
**[15:50] Jinshi**
*Lust is fine. It's easy to exploit that.*
**[15:57] Jinshi**
*Envy is fine, too. It's manageable.*
**[15:59] Jinshi**
*What's really troubling is...*
**[16:02] Jinshi**
*When I can't tell what they're thinking.*
**[16:05] Jinshi**
* Shishou. Concubine Loulan's father, the man*
* favored by the mother of the former emperor...*
**[16:11] Jinshi**
* Even now, the emperor*
* can't look him in the eye.*
**[16:14] Jinshi**
* That's why I also can't let*
* my smile fade, either.*
**[16:18] Jinshi**
* And besides, the one who's more*
* worrying than Shishou right now is...*
**[16:22] Jinshi**
*That man, Lakan.*
**[16:35] Lakan**
How annoying.
**[16:44] Yinghua**
Are you awake?
**[16:45] Maomao**
Yinghua.
**[16:47] Yinghua**
Don't go to the Crystal Pavilion anymore.
**[16:49] Yinghua**
You always come back looking so exhausted.
**[16:54] Maomao**
I'm sorry.
**[16:56] Jinshi**
You're up.
**[17:01] Yinghua**
Excuse me.
**[17:05] Jinshi**
You can stay seated.
**[17:09] Maomao**
It was hard. I couldn't get them
to fully bloom.
**[17:14] Jinshi**
You're not apologizing to me, are you?
**[17:19] Jinshi**
Never mind. You did well.
**[17:23] Jinshi**
How did you do it, though?
**[17:26] Maomao**
I just dyed them.
**[17:28] Jinshi**
Dyed? But there's nothing on them.
**[17:31] Maomao**
Not on the outside. We dyed them from the inside.
**[17:39] Maomao**
All of these roses were originally white.
**[17:44] Maomao**
We mixed water with several colors
and had the white buds suck them up.
**[17:49] Jinshi**
So that's why there were
many colors, not just blue.
**[17:53] Maomao**
Yes. The leaves ended up coming out
black, so we plucked them all.
**[17:59] Maomao**
Then all we had to do was to fix cotton
soaked in the dyed water to the stems,
**[18:03] Maomao**
so they wouldn't lose their
vibrancy during the garden party.
**[18:07] Maomao**
It really was quite simple.
**[18:09] Maomao**
* What was actually difficult was*
* getting the roses to bloom at all.*
**[18:14] Jinshi**
Simple, indeed.
**[18:17] Maomao**
Also, because some officials might
have picked a quarrel about this,
**[18:22] Maomao**
I went ahead and revealed
the trick to the emperor.
**[18:26] Maomao**
He seemed to enjoy the fact that
he got to know the secret first,
**[18:29] Maomao**
and had a good time listening to me explain.
**[18:32] Jinshi**
So, about the story of the blue roses
being seen in the palace...
**[18:36] Maomao**
There must have been someone with a lot of
free time feeding blue water to the roses.
**[18:44] Jinshi**
Who would do something like that?
**[18:47] Maomao**
Who knows? Maybe they wanted
a gimmick with which to woo women.
**[18:52] Jinshi**
That's unexpected. Are you painting your nails?
**[18:55] Maomao**
It doesn't suit me, though.
**[18:58] Maomao**
* If I had some balsam and woodsorrel,*
* I could have made them look prettier.*
**[19:03] Maomao**
* Balsam is often used to dye fingernails,*
* and woodsorrel is nicknamed cat's foot.*
**[19:08] Maomao**
* Mixing them together and applying them*
* on the fingernails creates a vivid red.*
**[19:12] Maomao**
*But then, even if I made them prettier...*
**[19:15] Maomao**
*This is better than it was before.*
**[19:19] Maomao**
Master Gaoshun, what about
the item I requested?
**[19:22] Gaoshun**
Yes, as you wished.
**[19:25] Maomao**
Thank you.
**[19:28] Maomao**
*Now the stage is set.*
**[19:30] Maomao**
* All I have to do now is catch*
* that nasty creep off guard.*
**[19:39] Lakan**
*I didn't expect my provocation to fail.*
**[19:51] Lakan**
*Most humans only look like go stones to me.*
**[19:55] Lakan**
*Men are black stones, women are white stones.*
***SIGN*** Pawn
***SIGN*** Pawn
***SIGN*** Pawn
***SIGN*** Pawn
**[19:59] Lakan**
* Even my subordinates in the military*
* only appear as chess pieces, at best.*
**[20:04] Lakan**
*Most are soldiers, pawns.*
**[20:07] Lakan**
* As they gain ranks,*
* they become cavalry and cannons.*
***SIGN*** River
**[20:11] Lakan**
*Working in the military is easy.*
**[20:14] Lakan**
*I just need to know where to place the pieces.*
**[20:18] Lakan**
* The right pieces in the right places.*
* Most wars can be won by that alone.*
**[20:22] Lakan**
* It's quite easy. Even if I were*
* completely useless,*
**[20:27] Lakan**
* as long as I placed others in the right places,*
* the work would get done on its own.*
**[20:32] Lakan**
*My eyes hurt more than usual today.*
**[20:35] Lakan**
*A red color keeps flickering into my view.*
**[20:40] Lakan**
*Manicures...*
**[20:42] Lakan**
* The manicures in my memories*
* aren't this overly flamboyant crimson.*
**[20:48] Lakan**
*They're the soft color of balsam.*
***SIGN*** Advisor
***SIGN*** Bishop
***SIGN*** Next Time
**[22:46] Narrator**
Next time:
"Balsam and Woodsorrel."
***SIGN*** Episode 23: Balsam and Woodsorrel