E23 - Balsam and Woodsorrel

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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] Fengxian
    Sleep, my baby, sleep.
[01:45] Fengxian
    Where is she? She cries.
SIGN    Advisor
SIGN    Bishop
SIGN    Episode 23: Balsam and Woodsorrel
[02:06] Maomao
    Would you join me for a few games?
[02:10] Lakan
    How could I possibly decline
    a request from my lovely daughter?
[02:17] Maomao
    A best-of-five match, no special rules.
[02:20] Maomao
    In other words, the first to win
    three rounds is the victor.
[02:24] Lakan
    How about handicaps?
    Which pieces should I drop?
[02:28] Maomao
    There's no need for that.
[02:30] Jinshi
    She could've just accepted.
[02:32] Maomao
    More importantly, let's place a bet. A reward.
[02:36] Lakan
    Great, right down to business!
[02:38] Lakan
    If I win, will you come live with me?
[02:45] Gaoshun
    You promised not to interfere.
[02:47] Jinshi
    But—
[02:51] Maomao
    I don't mind.
[02:52] Maomao
    However, I'm under hire right now.
[02:55] Maomao
    You'll have to wait until my contract expires.
[02:57] Lakan
    Hired? You're actually employed right now?
[03:01] Maomao
    Yes.
[03:02] Lakan
    Huh...
[03:06] Maomao
    In exchange, if I win,
[03:09] Maomao
    could you buy out a courtesan
    at the Verdigris House?
[03:15] Lakan
    Of all the things you could ask...
[03:17] Maomao
    I won't say who, but the old lady
    wants to get rid of an aging courtesan.
[03:23] Lakan
    So that's your first move.
[03:26] Lakan
    If that's what it takes, I suppose I must accept.
[03:31] Lakan
    Is that all, then?
[03:33] Maomao
    I'd like to add two more rules.
[03:42] Jinshi
    From the smell of it,
    that's a distilled hard liquor?
[03:51] Jinshi
    I have such a bad feeling about this.
[03:53] Lakan
    What is that?
[03:55] Maomao
    A medicine, in small amounts.
[03:57] Maomao
    Three sips turn it into
     a deadly poison, though.
[04:01] Maomao
    I'll pour it into three of these cups,
[04:05] Maomao
    then make it so that
    we can't tell which is which.
[04:09] Maomao
    After every match, the winner picks one cup,
    and the loser drinks from it in one breath.
[04:15] Maomao
    That's the first rule.
[04:17] Jinshi
    What a brutal rule...
[04:20] Maomao
    The second rule is that no matter the reason,
[04:24] Maomao
    if a player abandons a match, they lose.
[04:29] Maomao
    Do you accept?
[04:35] Lakan
    That's fine.
[04:37] Jinshi
    Is she trying to shake him?
[04:39] Jinshi
    I guess a regular person
    would be scared by that.
[04:42] Jinshi
    But...
[04:44] Jinshi
    This is the famous weirdo strategist
    we're talking about.
[04:47] Jinshi
    I doubt he'd lose his composure
    from being pressured this way.
[04:53] Jinshi
    What is she thinking?
[05:42] Jinshi
    She lost again!
[05:44] Jinshi
    That's two games in a row.
[05:46] Jinshi
    Since she chose to challenge
    the invincible chess master in chess,
[05:50] Jinshi
    I thought she had some skill in the game.
[05:53] Jinshi
    It seems like she just knows the rules
    and has never played a real game before.
[05:58] Jinshi
    Two cups...
[06:00] Jinshi
    She drinks it so eagerly,
    I can't tell if it's poisoned or not.
[06:05] Maomao
    May I play first in the third game as well?
[06:08] Lakan
    Sure, fine by me.
[06:12] Jinshi
    What in the world is she thinking?
[06:14] Jinshi
    She's not going to win the
    third match, either.
[06:17] Jinshi
    If the two cups she already had were poisoned,
[06:21] Jinshi
    drinking a third would be too risky.
[06:24] Jinshi
    Did Lakan predict this situation already?
[06:31] Maomao
    That's checkmate.
[06:34] Lakan
    I yield.
[06:36] Maomao
    A win is a win, even if
    you let me win, correct?
[06:39] Lakan
    Yes. I can't risk feeding my daughter poison.
[06:46] Lakan
    Can you choose a cup?
[06:48] Maomao
    Please take whichever one you like.
[06:50] Lakan
    Does this medicine have a special taste?
[06:54] Maomao
    One sip and you'd notice that it tastes bad.
[06:58] Jinshi
    Lakan can lose up to twice.
[07:01] Jinshi
    If even one of those cups
    has a different taste,
[07:03] Jinshi
    he'd know that his daughter
    can avoid the poison.
[07:07] Jinshi
    He really does know what he's doing,
    losing on purpose to do that.
[07:12] Lakan
    This one, then.
[07:29] Lakan
    What an awful taste.
[07:32] Jinshi
    It's poisoned! Now there's no risk of
    the apothecary drinking the third poison.
[07:38] Jinshi
    That means Lakan no longer
    needs to lose on purpose.
[07:44] Jinshi
    The apothecary has no chance of winning now.
[07:47] (Flashback) Lakan
    If I win, will you come live with me?
[07:51] Lakan
    Also, it's quite warm out.
[08:09] Jinshi
    What's going on?
[08:11] Jinshi
    I thought one cup of it was safe!
[08:13] Jinshi
    Did you actually poison him?!
    Do you really hate him that much—
[08:16] Maomao
    It is medicine. Alcohol is the king
    of all medicines, isn't it?
[08:21] Jinshi
    Alcohol? What do you mean?
[08:23] Gaoshun
    Master Jinshi, it seems like he's just drunk.
[08:28] Jinshi
    Huh?
[08:34] Maomao
    He completely abstains from alcohol.
[08:38] Jinshi
    Come to think of it...
[08:40] Jinshi
    He always just drinks fruit juice,
    I've never seen him drink alcohol.
[08:45] Jinshi
    So, what was that liquid earlier?
[08:47] Maomao
    Spirits.
[08:49] Maomao
    Anyway...
[08:52] Maomao
    Let's drag this guy out of here and
    have him pick a flower from the brothel.
[09:04] Lakan
    From the day I was born, I couldn't
    differentiate between humans.
[09:09] Lakan
    Not only did I mistake
    my nanny for my mother,
[09:12] Lakan
    I couldn't even tell men and women apart.
[09:15] Lakan
    My father believed me to be useless,
    and ran off to his mistress in disgust.
[09:23] Lakan
    My mother was desperate to get him back.
[09:28] Lakan
    Because of that, despite being
    the eldest son of an important family,
[09:31] Lakan
    I was able to live freely,
    devoting myself to go and chess,
[09:35] Lakan
    which I learned in my spare time.
[09:38] (Flashback) Luomen
    Differentiate people based on their voices,
    behavior, and build, instead of their faces.
[09:45] (Flashback) Luomen
    In your case, you can use chess pieces.
SIGN    Pawn
SIGN    Pawn
SIGN    Pawn
SIGN    Pawn
SIGN    Pawn
SIGN    Pawn
[09:48] Lakan
    My uncle was the only one who understood me.
[09:52] Lakan
    Thanks to my uncle, who
    is clumsy but very intelligent,
[09:56] Lakan
    I gradually learned to see
    people's faces as chess pieces.
SIGN    Pawn
SIGN    Pawn
SIGN    Chariot
[10:02] Lakan
    When I started to see
    my uncle as a Chariot piece,
[10:04] Lakan
    I reaffirmed that he is indeed a great man.
[10:09] Lakan
    After I grew up, thanks to my family name,
[10:13] Lakan
    I was suddenly assigned to lead a squadron,
    despite having no talent in combat.
[10:17] Lakan
    Even if I was weak,
[10:18] Lakan
    I could more than make up for it
    by using the men under me effectively.
[10:23] Lakan
    Most of all, playing chess with human pieces
    was the most fun game I had ever played.
SIGN    Verdigris House
[10:29] Lakan
    As I continued my lossless
    streak in both work and games,
[10:33] Lakan
    I followed my colleagues to a brothel
    to take on a famous courtesan.
[10:39] Lakan
    In a world full of black and white,
    that was the only bright color I saw.
[10:46] Lakan
    Her name was Fengxian.
[10:49] Lakan
    The undefeated courtesan of the brothel,
[10:52] Lakan
    versus me, undefeated in the military.
[10:54] Lakan
    The audience would have had
    a good time no matter who lost.
[10:58] Lakan
    She's strong, but she only fights
    in her own small world...
[11:06] Lakan
    I lost.
[11:08] Lakan
    I was absolutely thrashed.
[11:10] Lakan
    When was the last time I lost so badly?
[11:22] Lakan
    Ah, so that's what a human face looks like.
[11:30] Lakan
    Her defiant eyes, like a balsam flower
    that would burst if touched...
[11:46] Lakan
    Next time, I won't lose.
[11:49] Lakan
    For several years after that,
    we continued to meet to play go and chess.
[12:01] Lakan
    Fengxian, who was born at the brothel,
[12:03] Lakan
    had a personality that was
    almost purely made of pride.
[12:07] (Flashback) Fengxian
    I have no mother. A woman did give birth to me,
[12:12] (Flashback) Fengxian
    but in the pleasure district,
    a courtesan can never become a mother.
[12:18] Lakan
    Once a talented courtesan gains popularity,
    the brothel becomes reluctant to sell them.
[12:25] Lakan
    Fengxian fit that profile exactly.
[12:29] Lakan
    Her harsh attitude wasn't for everyone,
[12:33] Lakan
    but she became the favorite
    of several dilettantes.
[12:37] Lakan
    Her prices gradually rose,
[12:40] Lakan
    and I could only afford to see her
    once every three months.
[12:50] (Flashback) Lakan
    Balsam flower, and... What's that?
[12:54] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Woodsorrel, also known as cat's foot.
[12:58] (Flashback) Fengxian
    I hear it's a medicine that helps
    treat poisons and insect bites.
[13:03] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Like the balsam, touching a ripe fruit
    causes the seeds to burst.
[13:10] (Flashback) Lakan
    Interesting.
[13:13] (Flashback) Fengxian
    When can you come next?
[13:20] (Flashback) Lakan
    Three months from now, as always.
[13:23] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Understood.
[13:27] Lakan
    That was when I heard about
    Fengxian being bought out.
[13:32] Lakan
    Fengxian's price was being hiked up by
    the dilettantes competing against each other.
[13:38] Lakan
    I was on a good career
    path as a military officer,
[13:41] Lakan
    but since I'd lost the title
    of heir to my half-brothers,
[13:45] Lakan
    her price was well outside my reach.
[13:50] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Would you like to place a bet, for a change?
[13:53] (Flashback) Fengxian
    If you win, I will give you anything you want.
[13:57] (Flashback) Fengxian
    If I win, I will take anything that I want.
[14:02] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Please choose a board.
[14:06] Lakan
    A terrible thought crossed my mind.
[14:11] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Go, is it?
[14:13] (Flashback) Lakan
    Yes.
[14:15] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Meimei, I want to concentrate on this game.
[14:19] (Flashback) Meimei
    Yes.
[14:58] Lakan
    Before I knew it, our hands touched.
[15:03] Lakan
    There were no sweet words from Fengxian.
[15:08] Lakan
    I wasn't the type to offer any, either.
[15:10] Lakan
    In that way, we were quite similar.
[15:15] (Flashback) Fengxian
    I want to play go.
[15:17] Lakan
    I'd been thinking about how
    I wanted to play chess, myself.
[15:22] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Sleep, my baby, sleep.
[15:30] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Where is she? She cries.
[15:38] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Little birds are so innocent.
[15:45] (Flashback) Fengxian
    Off they fly to somewhere far.
[15:54] Lakan
    Three months later, my supposedly intelligent
    uncle was ousted from his position.
[15:59] (Flashback) Father
    First you became a doctor in the
    rear palace, and now you're exiled?!
[16:02] (Flashback) Father
    You bring shame to our family!
[16:05] Lakan
    For all his intelligence, he really is clumsy.
[16:09] (Flashback) Father
    You used to be close to him.
[16:12] (Flashback) Father
    Leave the house for a while, go study abroad!
[16:15] (Flashback) Lakan
    Study abroad...?
[16:16] (Flashback) Father
    Just in case.
[16:18] (Flashback) Lakan
    But...
[16:19] (Flashback) Father
    What?
[16:21] (Flashback) Lakan
    No, it's nothing.
[16:24] Lakan
    There was no way I could speak up
    against my father, who was also my boss.
[16:30] Lakan
    Around the same time,
[16:32] Lakan
    Fengxian wrote to me that
    her buyout agreement fell through.
[16:36] Lakan
    I assumed I would be back
    in six months or so.
[16:43] Lakan
    But, back then...
[16:50] Lakan
    I had no idea it would take
    three whole years for me to return.
[16:59] (Flashback) Lakan
    So many letters from Fengxian...
[17:16] (Flashback) Lakan
    Mud? No, a branch?
[17:20] (Flashback) Lakan
    And there's two of them?
[17:25] (Flashback) Lakan
    No, this is...
[17:30] Lakan
    Finger severing...
[17:31] Lakan
    I knew that was a popular
    way to curse someone.
[17:35] Lakan
    The reason why her deal fell through...
[17:38] Lakan
    The other small finger in the bag...
[17:42] Lakan
    Why didn't I notice?!
[17:45] Lakan
    All I had in my head was go and chess.
[17:49] Lakan
    I couldn't even reach that simple conclusion!
[17:57] (Flashback) Lakan
    Where's Fengxian?!
[17:59] (Flashback) Old Lady
    You!
[18:00] (Flashback) Old Lady
    Fengxian is gone now!
[18:02] (Flashback) Old Lady
    Where have you been all this time?!
[18:04] (Flashback) Old Lady
    You left her for three whole years!
[18:06] (Flashback) Old Lady
    You don't care one bit what happens
    to a worthless courtesan, do you?!
[18:13] Lakan
    If only I'd put even a little thought into it!
[18:16] Lakan
    The reason why she wouldn't get bought out...
[18:20] Lakan
    The reason was in her belly...
[18:23] Lakan
    By soiling the name of her brothel,
    her trust and reputation fell to nothing!
[18:30] Lakan
    All she could do was to take
    customers like a streetwalker,
[18:34] Lakan
    and...
[18:44] Lakan
    No matter how much I lamented,
    there was no way to turn back time.
[18:49] Lakan
    It was all my fault,
    for being so short-sighted.
[19:06] Lakan
    This is... The Verdigris House?
[19:12] Meimei
    Are you awake?
[19:16] Lakan
    Meimei.
[19:18] Meimei
    Some noble's servant brought you here.
[19:22] Meimei
    Your face looks terrible. I don't
     know if it's more red or blue.
[19:27] Lakan
    I didn't think I'd end up like this, either.
[19:30] Lakan
    I wasn't expecting it to
    be such a strong liquor.
[19:35] Lakan
    Meimei used to be Fengxian's servant girl.
[19:41] Lakan
    I used to play with her a lot.
[19:44] Lakan
    When I complemented her talents,
    she seemed abashed.
[19:48] Lakan
    Come to think of it...
[19:50] Meimei
    What is it?
[19:53] Lakan
    No, nothing.
[19:58] Meimei
    Here you are.
[19:59] Lakan
    Yes.
[20:04] Lakan
    So bitter!
[20:05] Lakan
    What is this?!
[20:07] Meimei
    Something Maomao made.
[20:10] Maomao
    Mix mix, mix mix, mix mix.
[20:11] Lakan
    I see, it was Maomao...
[20:15] Maomao
    Also, Maomao left this box for you.
[20:28] Lakan
    A withered rose?
[20:30] Meimei
    Even when withered, it can retain its shape.
[20:41] Servant Girl
    Big Sis Meimei.
[20:43] Meimei
    Excuse me.
SIGN    Next Time
[22:46] Narrator
    Next time: "Jinshi and Maomao."
SIGN    Episode 24: Jinshi and Maomao