E8 - Wheat Stalks

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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.
SIGN    Episode 8: Wheat Stalks
[01:48] Maomao
    Oh, right, I'm home.
[01:56] Maomao
    So sticky...
[01:58] Maomao
    Dad...
[02:01] Maomao
    Must be out in the field.
[02:09] Maomao
    I wish he'd stop working the field at his age,
[02:15] Maomao
    but he just really enjoys making
    medicine out of the herbs he grows.
[02:25] Maomao
    Don't break it.
[02:28] Maomao
    I don't know you. Are you
    a servant at a different brothel?
[02:32] Maomao
    My dad's—
[02:32] Servant A
    Come with me!
[02:33] Maomao
    Hey!
[02:41] Servant A
    Big Sis! I brought the apothecary!
[02:44] Mob Courtesan
    Hurry!
[02:45] Maomao
    This smell...
[02:51] Courtesan B
    Apothecary! I made them
    throw up already, but...
[02:57] Maomao
    Right!
[03:00] Maomao
    The man isn't breathing!
[03:02] Maomao
    The woman's breathing is too weak.
[03:04] Maomao
    We'll check if there's any
     vomit left in their throats.
[03:07] Maomao
    You check her.
[03:07] Courtesan B
    Y-Yes!
[03:10] Maomao
    No pulse. Nothing clogging the throat.
[03:20] Maomao
    Just saliva.
[03:34] Courtesan B
    Bring water!
[03:35] Maomao
    No water! Bring charcoal. Charcoal!
[03:38] Servant A
    Y-Yes!
[03:49] Maomao
    Great way to start the morning.
[03:53] Maomao
    Wow, I need a bath...
[03:55] Courtesan B
    Thank you, apothecary. They're both stable now.
[03:59] Maomao
    Wait, leave that alone.
[04:01] Courtesan C
    Even what they threw up on?
[04:03] Maomao
    There could still be poison in it.
[04:05] Courtesan C
    Poison...
[04:08] Courtesan B
    I'll go make some tea.
[04:16] Maomao
    The two who collapsed here were
    a courtesan and her customer.
[04:20] Maomao
    The room was filled with
    the scent of alcohol and tobacco.
[04:25] Maomao
    Two bottles.
[04:27] Maomao
    Broken glass cups.
[04:30] Maomao
    This is... a wheat stalk?
[04:34] Maomao
    A pipe and some tobacco leaves.
[04:37] Maomao
    They really went out of
     their way to cause trouble.
[04:40] Servant A
    I've got the charcoal...
[04:42] Maomao
    Good. Also, get me a text plate
    and something to write with.
[04:45] Servant A
    Huh?
[04:48] Maomao
    My dad should be out in the fields,
    near the southern wall.
[04:52] Maomao
    Bring him over here later.
[04:54] Servant A
    Got it.
[05:06] Maomao
    You're late, Dad.
[05:08] Luomen
    This girl was worried about my leg.
[05:12] Maomao
    I crushed the charcoal.
[05:14] Luomen
    Yes, let's mix it with the herbs
    and give it to them immediately.
[05:18] Courtesan B
    Can you drink this?
[05:22] Courtesan A
    What about him...?
[05:23] Courtesan B
    He's safe. He had the medicine, too.
[05:27] Luomen
    Your treatment's not bad.
[05:29] Maomao
    "Not bad," huh?
[05:33] Maomao
    Dad's able to deduce two or three things
    from a single piece of information.
[05:40] Luomen
    What kind of poison do you think this was?
[05:42] Maomao
    Here goes!
[05:50] Maomao
    Dad sometimes tries to
    make me learn stuff this way.
[05:55] Maomao
    Tobacco leaves are deadly poisons.
[05:57] Maomao
    That would be what they'd use
    in a double suicide.
[06:00] Luomen
    You didn't have them drink water, right?
[06:03] Maomao
    Water would make things worse, right?
[06:05] Luomen
    Correct. Gastric juices can prevent
     the intake of poison in some cases,
[06:09] Luomen
    so diluting it might make things worse.
[06:12] Luomen
    However, what if this poison
    was already soaked in water?
[06:18] Maomao
    There are no leaves in the vomit.
[06:20] Maomao
    I missed that. Maybe I'm still half asleep.
[06:24] Maomao
    If the poison was soaked in water,
    sometimes diluting it with more water is good.
[06:28] Maomao
    Got it. Lesson learned.
[06:32] Generous Old Lady
    Sorry for the trouble.
[06:34] Maomao
    Serving us snacks reserved for customers?
    That's quite generous of her.
[06:41] Maomao
    I see, it prevents lipstick
    from getting on the cup.
[06:48] Generous Old Lady
    You really saved us. This is just
     a small token of our gratitude.
[06:53] Luomen
    Oh no, that's too much—
[06:54] Maomao
    Dad, can you afford rent this month?
[06:57] Luomen
    Ah, in that case...
[06:58] Maomao
    Jeez, you old man...
[07:05] Maomao
    Must have been a double suicide.
    Not exactly rare in the pleasure district.
[07:09] Maomao
    A man who can't afford to buy out a courtesan,
[07:11] Maomao
    and a courtesan with time left on her term.
[07:13] Maomao
    People like that often reach
    this same conclusion.
[07:16] Maomao
    Still, that man was very well-dressed.
[07:20] Maomao
    He had a handsome face, too.
[07:22] Maomao
    Didn't seem like someone who'd be
    short on money or women.
[07:25] Maomao
    Dad wouldn't approve of me
    judging through stereotypes, but...
[07:30] Maomao
    He didn't seem like someone
[07:32] Maomao
    who'd drink poison with a courtesan
    out of despair for their future.
[07:39] Maomao
    I'm going to go check on them.
[07:42] Maomao
    The man seemed to be in worse condition...
[07:52] Maomao
    What are you doing?!
[07:58] Servant A
    Don't stop me! This guy deserves to die!
[08:19] Courtesan B
    Wh-What are you doing?!
[08:25] Courtesan B
    Apothecary, may I speak with you?
[08:34] Courtesan B
    That man was always a problem customer.
[08:38] Courtesan B
    He'd sweet-talk a courtesan and
    insinuate that he would buy her out.
[08:41] Courtesan B
    When he got tired of her, he'd just dump her.
[08:44] Courtesan B
    He was widely hated. Some woman
    tried to stab him, even.
[08:49] Courtesan B
    He'd been poisoned in the past, too.
[08:51] Courtesan B
    But his rich merchant father pampers him.
[08:55] Courtesan B
    He settles everything with money.
[08:59] Courtesan B
    Recently, he asked his father to hire
    guards for him to travel to the brothels with.
[09:04] Courtesan B
    This girl's older sister got dumped by him, too.
[09:08] Courtesan B
    She was so happy she could live with him,
[09:12] Courtesan B
    but on the day of the buy-out,
    he suddenly canceled on her.
[09:19] Courtesan B
    That's why, I think, she couldn't forgive him.
[09:22] Courtesan B
    The courtesan who drank the poison
    today was close to her, as well.
[09:26] Maomao
    So, you want me to pretend
    I didn't see anything?
[09:28] Maomao
    If he's such a problem, why not just ban him?
[09:31] Courtesan B
    It's the courtesan who fell for him.
[09:35] Maomao
    In that case, I suppose
    word of a double suicide
[09:37] Maomao
    would make matters worse for the brothel.
[09:41] Maomao
    So, they served us the good snacks
[09:42] Maomao
    because we prevented a rich merchant's
    son from dying on the premises.
[09:47] Maomao
    And...
[09:50] Maomao
    That must have felt unfair to her.
[09:57] Maomao
    I understand.
[10:01] Maomao
    I just happened to be home today,
[10:04] Maomao
    but if the girl shops with us often, perhaps
    she knew when my dad is usually away.
[10:11] Maomao
    Normally you'd call for
    a doctor at a time like that,
[10:14] Maomao
    but she went out of her way
    to find a missing apothecary.
[10:18] Maomao
    That servant girl is scarier than she looks.
[10:24] Luomen
    It's too bad your homecoming
    turned out this way.
[10:28] Maomao
    Dad, show me that money from earlier.
[10:30] Luomen
    Hmm?
[10:31] Maomao
    Yep, all there.
[10:33] Maomao
    As expected, including hush money.
[10:36] Maomao
    Something bothers me, though.
[10:39] Maomao
    Judging from the stories,
    the man is pretty clever.
[10:43] Maomao
    Would someone like him join
    a double suicide over romance?
[10:48] Maomao
    Was it a forced suicide? No, a man who'd
     been poisoned before wouldn't easily—
[10:55] Luomen
    Maomao, you shouldn't
    speak based on conjecture.
[11:00] Maomao
    Dad, you already figured out
    what really happened, right?
[11:07] Maomao
    Let's try to recall what was at
    the scene and what I might have missed.
[11:13] Maomao
    Tobacco leaves are deadly poisons.
[11:14] Maomao
    This would be what they would
    use in a double suicide.
[11:16] Luomen
    However, what if this poison
    was already mixed in water?
[11:20] Courtesan B
    It's the courtesan who fell for him.
[11:22] Servant A
    This guy deserves to die!
[11:25] Courtesan B
    The courtesan who drank the poison
    today was close to her as well.
[11:28] Maomao
    I see, it prevents the lipstick
    from getting on the cup.
[11:38] Maomao
    This wasn't a double suicide.
[11:41] Maomao
    It was murder.
[11:49] Maomao
    Poisoned water, wheat stalks,
    two separate drinks with different colors...
[11:59] Luomen
    It's already over.
[12:03] Maomao
    I know.
[12:08] Maomao
    Murder, not a double suicide.
[12:10] Maomao
    And it's the courtesan
    who tried to kill the man,
[12:14] Maomao
    using drinks laced with tobacco poison.
[12:18] Maomao
    But the man was cautious enough
    to have guards around.
[12:22] Maomao
    How did she get him to drink the poison?
[12:26] Maomao
    Simple. She took a sip as well.
[12:29] Maomao
    If the courtesan was safe,
    the man would drink, too.
[12:33] Maomao
    But if she drank the poison,
    she'd be in danger herself.
[12:38] Maomao
    That's why she used a trick.
[12:40] Maomao
    Two drinks, one cup.
[12:44] Maomao
    Different drinks have varying
    thicknesses and weights.
[12:49] Maomao
    By pouring a lighter drink
    slowly over a heavy drink,
[12:53] Maomao
    you can create a pretty-looking, layered drink.
[12:55] Maomao
    She used that as a small parlor
    trick to impress her guest.
[12:59] Maomao
    Then, she used the wheat stalk to drink just
    the lower layer, without raising suspicion.
[13:19] Maomao
    Afterwards, she drank from
    the upper layer as well.
[13:22] Maomao
    Just a little bit, so it wouldn't kill her.
[13:25] Maomao
    She didn't want to end up dead herself.
[13:32] Maomao
    She did the act in the morning to
    increase the odds that he would die,
[13:37] Maomao
    and she would survive.
[13:39] Maomao
    And conveniently, someone came to witness it.
[13:44] Maomao
    She appeared fragile,
    but she's actually quite clever.
[14:14] Servant A
    What are you doing, Big Sis?!
    You should stay in bed!
[14:18] Maomao
    The servant girl did
    behave a bit strangely.
[14:21] Maomao
    In order to make sure the man didn't survive,
[14:23] Maomao
    she went to an apothecary, not a doctor.
[14:26] Maomao
    She even took her time
    bringing my dad over.
[14:29] Maomao
    Wasn't she worried that
    her "Big Sis" would die?
[14:33] Maomao
    Wasn't she worried that someone close
    to her would die again, like her real sister?
[14:39] Maomao
    It's almost as if she knew
    the courtesan would survive.
[14:43] Maomao
    Or am I over-thinking this?
[14:46] Maomao
    In addition, the other courtesan
    was sympathetic to the servant girl.
[14:50] Maomao
    Plus, the very generous madam...
[14:52] Maomao
    Once I start doubting, there's no stopping.
[14:57] Maomao
    Could they all have been...
[15:03] Maomao
    I shouldn't speak based on conjecture.
[15:08] Maomao
    I really missed this pleasure district,
[15:11] Maomao
    but in essence, it's no different
    from the rear palace.
[15:14] Maomao
    It's both a garden and a cage.
[15:18] Maomao
    The stale, trapped air poisons everyone.
[15:22] Maomao
    The courtesans also eat the poison around them
[15:26] Maomao
    to become a sweet poison themselves.
[15:32] Maomao
    I don't know what'll happen to that courtesan.
[15:35] Maomao
    Maybe the annoying customer
    will assert that she tried to poison him.
[15:40] Maomao
    Maybe the brothel will accuse him
    of ruining their merchandise instead.
[15:47] Maomao
    Well, whatever.
[15:48] Maomao
    You can't live life in this neighborhood
    worrying about every little thing.
[15:54] Meimei
    Maomao.
[15:57] Maomao
    Meimei.
[16:01] Meimei
    You're going back to the rear palace already?
[16:03] Maomao
    I have a year left on my term.
[16:06] Maomao
    I also have work to do
    that I can't force on others.
[16:09] Meimei
    That's too bad. You just got back.
[16:13] Meimei
    Everyone was worried
    when you suddenly went missing.
[16:17] Meimei
    Pairin, Joka, and even the old lady.
[16:19] Meimei
    Really? She never said...
[16:23] Meimei
    She acted like usual, right?
    It's because you came back.
[16:27] Maomao
    I see.
[16:31] Meimei
    Oh no, did I make you
    all sentimental? There, there!
[16:35] Maomao
    Come on, Meimei!
[16:41] Meimei
    Maomao, did you visit the annex?
[16:46] Maomao
    I'll go later.
[16:59] Luomen
    Take care of yourself.
[17:01] Maomao
    You, too.
[17:02] Maomao
    I'm off.
[17:05] Maomao
    My three-day homecoming
    was over before I knew it.
[17:13] Pairin
    I'm so sad to see you go so soon!
[17:16] Pairin
    Right, Master Lihaku?
[17:18] Lihaku
    Yes! I'm so sad, too!
[17:21] Maomao
    Looks like he had a good dream.
[17:23] Maomao
    Once you have a taste of the heavenly dews,
    there's no turning back to reality.
[17:28] Maomao
    I'm sure they'll squeeze him dry,
    gently but thoroughly.
[17:32] Maomao
    That said, I'm the one that has to cover
    for the amount that I couldn't pay up front.
[17:37] Old Lady
    Let me know when you're coming home next.
[17:41] Maomao
    And thus, my next buyer has been determined.
[17:50] Maomao
    What's with the intense stare?
[17:53] Maomao
    I'd better make my escape.
[17:55] Maomao
    I'll go get changed.
[17:57] Yinghua
    Tell us...
[17:58] Ailan
    Everything...
[17:59] Guiyuan
    Later!
[18:04] Jinshi
    I'll be waiting for you in the parlor.
[18:20] Maomao
    Excuse me.
[18:25] Maomao
    For some reason, he seems really upset.
[18:29] Maomao
    Am I over-thinking it?
[18:32] Maomao
    I hope I'm over-thinking it.
[18:33] Maomao
    Let's go with that.
[18:36] Maomao
    Why are we alone, anyway?
[18:39] Jinshi
    So, you went home, huh?
[18:42] Maomao
    Yes.
[18:43] Jinshi
    How was it?
[18:45] Maomao
    Everyone's doing well,
    so I was glad for that.
[18:49] Jinshi
    I see.
[18:50] Maomao
    Yes.
[18:52] Jinshi
    What is this Lihaku fellow like?
[18:56] Maomao
    He was my guarantor.
[18:59] Maomao
    How does he know that name?
[19:03] Jinshi
    Do you even know what that means?
[19:07] Maomao
    Yes. Only a higher-ranking official with
    a good record can serve as a guarantor.
[19:17] Jinshi
    Did he give you a hairpin?
[19:19] Maomao
    He was passing out several,
    so I took one as a consolation prize.
[19:23] Jinshi
    So, I lost to a consolation prize, huh?
[19:29] Jinshi
    I thought I gave you one too,
    but I never heard from you.
[19:34] Maomao
    Huh?
[19:36] Maomao
    In other words, he's just unhappy
    because I didn't rely on him instead?
[19:42] Maomao
    Weird. It's obviously way better
    to not get involved in any trouble.
[19:48] Maomao
    Is he so bored that he wants attention,
    even if it'll cause problems?
[19:53] Maomao
    I'm sorry. I couldn't think of
    a repayment that you'd enjoy.
[20:02] Jinshi
    What repayment?
[20:04] Jinshi
    Did you give something to this Lihaku guy?
[20:07] Maomao
    Yes, I granted him a night
     of blissful dreams.
[20:13] Jinshi
    A night...
[20:15] Maomao
    He seemed very happy.
[20:17] Maomao
    I worked hard, so I'm pleased with myself.
[20:24] Maomao
    What are you doing?
[20:26] Maomao
    Let's wipe you off before it stains.
[20:28] Maomao
    Excuse me.
[20:30] Maomao
    You should get this washed right away.
[20:36] Maomao
    I'll clean up the cup right
     away, too. Don't touch it.
[20:43] Maomao
    Excuse me.
[20:44] Maomao
    Whoosh.
[20:52] Maomao
    Ow!
[21:06] ED Lyrics
    Not just some superficial sweetness
[21:12] ED Lyrics
    I want more warmth than I can even use, oh
[21:18] ED Lyrics
    Having these selfish idealistic thoughts
[21:23] ED Lyrics
    I swallowed them again today
    before putting them into words
[21:28] ED Lyrics
    Still in my memories,
    the scent of fragrant olive
[21:33] ED Lyrics
    The color of twilight in the city
[21:36] ED Lyrics
    We were laughing...
[21:41] ED Lyrics
    Filled with sadness,
    the tears welled up in my eyes
[21:53] ED Lyrics
    I found a glow during those days
[22:01] ED Lyrics
    I guess I took everything for granted
[22:05] ED Lyrics
    The wind was so loud I covered my ears
[22:18] ED Lyrics
    I gotta stop being like that
[22:25] ED Lyrics
    Even if I stumble over the words of love
SIGN    Next Time
[22:46] Narrator
    Next time: "Suicide or Murder?"
SIGN    Episode 9: Suicide or Murder?