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ORIGINAL STORY BY NATSU HYUUGA
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{\an8}THIS STORY IS A FICION, AND ALL NAMES OF
FIGURES ND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.
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{\an8}MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION
TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.
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It was around the first spring breeze
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that Lady Gyokuyou's
pregnancy became a certainty.
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Hi!
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How mysterious.
Can she tell that there's a baby inside?
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{\an8}So cute!
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{\an8}I should start thinking about marriage...
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Even if she gets proposed to,
they'll try their best to stop it.
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Being too good at your job can
be a problem.
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When your days are busy,
time passes quickly.
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Although the two months I spent
with Sir Jinshi felt like forever.
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Do you want to draw again?
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Yeah!
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This is woolly milkcap.
It's a poisonous mushroom.
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Draw a regular flower.
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A regular flower, huh?
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{\an8}Blue roses?
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{\an8}Yes. You don't know them?
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The blue petals stimulate the eyes.
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They're very beautiful.
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They used to be decorated
all around the court.
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Perhaps you were dreaming.
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Blue roses don't exist.
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But they do.
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I'd love to enjoy them again.
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What do you think? Could you pull it off?
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I thought there was nothing
you couldn't achieve.
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I understand.
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If such roses exist,
I'd love to see them myself.
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So it's decided.
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I'm truly looking forward to it.
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Good day, sir.
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I'll see you at next month's garden party.
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You're already so busy.
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-Did you need to take this on?
-Don't talk about that.
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Start by talking to flower shops
around the country.
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The flower shops explained that
roses are out of season right now.
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I'm sorry for calling upon you
so suddenly.
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There's a plan to view blue roses soon.
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Blue roses?
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I work with medicine.
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Yes, I know that.
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Is he in some kind of trouble?
He looks tired.
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Roses, huh?
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I have some knowledge, but...
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I've worked with roses
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to earn pocket money
from courtesans. However...
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He really said he saw blue roses?
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Yes.
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He didn't use any hallucinogens?
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If such a thing was common,
the empire would fall apart!
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Sir Jinshi.
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Is it impossible?
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What do I need to do exactly?
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Can you have them
by next month's garden party?
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Next month?
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Roses don't bloom
for at least two more months.
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You're right.
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I'll tell him I can't.
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Sir Jinshi's reaction.
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This impossible task and pushy tactic...
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Could it be that this request
came from a certain military man?
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That's right.
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All right. I accept this job.
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Really?
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I don't know if I can do it,
but I'll do what I can.
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I don't want to be running away
from him forever.
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I'd love to crack
that smirking monocle of his.
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Sir Jinshi.
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Can I request some items from you?
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Thank you for giving me permission
to use these,
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-Lady Lihua.
-It was no trouble.
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It was originally something you had made.
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It brings me back.
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I requested a steam bath to be made
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to help Lady Lihua recover from poison.
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I'll be borrowing the bath for this job,
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but I would feel bad
borrowing it for free.
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This is the Emperor's favorite text.
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Thank you. This will help.
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I'm glad I had it delivered
from the brothel.
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-Take care of that.
-Yes, sir!
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Sir Jinshi.
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Oh, you're here.
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I had this made, like you asked.
But what is it for?
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I'm going to confuse the roses.
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Confuse the roses?
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What does that mean, Apothecary?
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I'll add some sunlight
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and add some steam into the shed
from there.
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We'll grow the roses in a warm room.
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The flowers may bloom
ahead of season this way.
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So that's what you mean by
confusing the roses.
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I'm not certain this will work, though.
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Maomao!
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-Xiaolan?
-I'll help too.
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How's your injured foot?
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Is he a chaperone?
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They kept saying
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not to push myself repeatedly.
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I'm all right. Thanks for coming to help.
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Not at all. It's been so long
since I worked with you!
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You're right.
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We carried in more than 100 pots of roses.
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This is the last one.
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Wow, there are so many!
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We got different types of roses,
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and selected species that bloom
earlier in the year.
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You think they'll all bloom?
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I hope so.
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We take great care
in maintaining the temperature.
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A few people were sent to help us,
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but it's a hard task to leave
to someone else.
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If you make a mistake
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and all the flowers die,
then everything is over.
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We put the flowers out on sunny days
so they can absorb sunlight.
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Looks like they like the sun!
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Yeah.
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How is it going?
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I brought some food.
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Thank you.
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This is great! I don't have to work,
and we get snacks!
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This is work too.
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What's wrong?
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I don't know. Maybe they're just curious.
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Or, are they trying to see
something scary?
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What should we do next?
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If there are seedlings with too many buds,
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can you pluck some out?
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That way, the nutrients gather in one spot
making it easier to bloom
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and protects it from diseases.
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It's totally fine!
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-Thank you so much.
-Not at all!
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Hurry up!
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They're not budding yet.
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On the days the cold returns,
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we keep the shed warm all night.
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The weather is unpredictable.
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You didn't sleep again yesterday?
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I slept at dawn.
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That was only moments ago!
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I'll do what I can here,
so you should sleep just a little.
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I should keep an eye on them.
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What?
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They're looking over here again.
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They do this every day!
Don't they get tired of it?
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It's very distracting.
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If only I could divert their attention...
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Wow!
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So these are rouge nails!
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Everyone at the pleasure district
does these.
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They're very beautiful!
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You do your nails too, Maomao?
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They're so cute!
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They're very trendy these days.
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Yes, they are.
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High-ranking concubines who receive
the Emperor's affections
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are the creators of fashion trends.
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They're very inefficient.
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Ms. Hongniang cares more about work
than fashion.
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I'm done with the food testing,
so I'll head back to the Crystal Pavilion.
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So soon?
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There's not much time left
until the garden party.
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That's true.
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That reminds me.
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Lady Gyokuyou
will not be attending this party.
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She'll be giving up her seat so that
Lady Loulan can introduce herself.
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It must be to hide her pregnancy.
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I understand. Goodbye.
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Hey, are you all right
at the Crystal pavilion?
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You're getting skinnier by the day!
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Don't push yourself, all right?
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Thank you.
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Maomao!
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Maomao, come quickly!
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It's budding.
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I found it just now.
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It's our first one!
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If everything goes as planned,
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maybe they'll start to bloom...
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Maomao?
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Any messages from the Apothecary?
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No.
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I haven't been able to drop by
for a few days.
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We were both busy
preparing for the garden party.
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Sir Jinshi.
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That must be Sir Shishou's daughter,
Concubine Loulan.
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How glamorous!
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For Concubine Loulan.
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If she has any shortcomings,
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please let us know.
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-Anything at all.
-Oh, dear.
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-Blue roses?
-Could it be?
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Perhaps it'll be agreeable
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to enjoy these buds
and imagine what they will look like
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when they bloom.
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Yes. They are beautiful.
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These glances that are thrown at "Jinshi."
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No matter how beautiful he may be,
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no official is so unselfish that
they'd enjoy a young eunuch
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showing off his abilities.
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Lust is easy.
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You can use it to your advantage.
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Jealousy is easy. It's easy to manage.
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What's bothersome is
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when you can't read the emotion
behind those eyes.
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Shishou. Concubine Loulan's father,
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and the man who won
the empress's affection.
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The emperor still owes much to him.
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That's why our side continues to smile.
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00:16:19,770 --> 00:16:22,940
And right now, we have someone
more concerning than Shishou.
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00:16:23,857 --> 00:16:26,318
It's that man, Lakan.
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00:16:36,203 --> 00:16:38,080
My, how disagreeable.
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Are you awake?
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00:16:47,089 --> 00:16:48,424
Ms. Yinghua...
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Don't go to the Crystal Pavilion anymore.
219
00:16:51,010 --> 00:16:53,595
You always come back all skinny and tired.
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00:16:55,556 --> 00:16:57,141
I'm sorry.
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00:16:57,224 --> 00:16:58,684
You're awake?
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00:17:02,730 --> 00:17:03,981
I'll be going now.
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00:17:06,942 --> 00:17:08,444
Stay seated.
224
00:17:10,279 --> 00:17:12,031
It was very hard.
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00:17:12,114 --> 00:17:14,116
We couldn't get them to bloom in time.
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00:17:15,242 --> 00:17:19,580
But it's not like
you wanted to impress me, did you?
227
00:17:19,663 --> 00:17:20,748
Huh?
228
00:17:20,831 --> 00:17:23,542
It's nothing. It was more than enough.
229
00:17:25,127 --> 00:17:26,545
How did you achieve this?
230
00:17:27,296 --> 00:17:29,214
I just dyed them.
231
00:17:29,298 --> 00:17:31,842
You dyed them? But there's nothing there.
232
00:17:32,509 --> 00:17:34,636
It's not dyed on the outside.
233
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:36,263
It's dyed from the inside.
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00:17:40,142 --> 00:17:43,437
These roses were all originally white.
235
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We used different types of colored water
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and soaked the white buds in them.
237
00:17:50,402 --> 00:17:54,448
So that's why there were many colors,
not just blue.
238
00:17:54,531 --> 00:17:57,409
Yes. The leaves get muddy and dark
when they're dyed,
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00:17:57,493 --> 00:17:59,828
so we plucked them all in advance.
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00:18:00,746 --> 00:18:04,291
After that, we fixed some cotton
soaked with colored water so that
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the color doesn't come off
during the garden party.
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It's very simple.
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In actuality,
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The truly hard part was getting the roses
to bloom in time.
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Yes, it's very simple.
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00:18:18,222 --> 00:18:19,431
That's why there may be
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officials who complain
and make accusations.
248
00:18:23,602 --> 00:18:26,605
I explained the trick
to the Emperor in advance.
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He seemed to enjoy knowing
the secret beforehand,
250
00:18:30,567 --> 00:18:32,861
and listened to me explain it
with interest.
251
00:18:33,654 --> 00:18:37,866
So why did he say
he used to see blue roses in the court?
252
00:18:37,950 --> 00:18:39,618
There must've been some bored person
253
00:18:39,701 --> 00:18:43,205
soaking blue-colored water
into the roses every day.
254
00:18:46,083 --> 00:18:48,168
Why would they do such a thing?
255
00:18:49,044 --> 00:18:50,003
Who knows?
256
00:18:50,087 --> 00:18:52,923
Maybe they wanted something
to flirt with women with.
257
00:18:53,549 --> 00:18:56,844
I haven't seen you with dyed nails before.
258
00:18:56,927 --> 00:18:58,637
It doesn't suit me.
259
00:18:59,304 --> 00:19:03,142
If I had some balsam or wood sorrel,
the dye would apply more evenly.
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00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,854
Balsam are known as "rouge nails,"
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and sorrel are known as "cat's feet."
262
00:19:09,356 --> 00:19:13,110
If you rub these plants together, it makes
a vibrant red color for your nails..
263
00:19:13,777 --> 00:19:15,904
Though a little nail dye
wouldn't change this...
264
00:19:16,864 --> 00:19:18,907
At least it's better than it used to be.
265
00:19:20,701 --> 00:19:23,370
Sir Gaoshun, do you have
the requested items?
266
00:19:23,453 --> 00:19:25,622
Yes, just as you asked.
267
00:19:26,206 --> 00:19:27,916
Thank you, sir.
268
00:19:29,251 --> 00:19:31,587
Now, the stage is set.
269
00:19:32,171 --> 00:19:33,297
All that's left is to
270
00:19:34,214 --> 00:19:37,926
blow away that despicable man.
271
00:19:40,220 --> 00:19:44,725
I didn't think that
the challenge would end in failure.
272
00:19:52,900 --> 00:19:56,737
Most humans look like Go pieces to me.
273
00:19:56,820 --> 00:19:59,865
Men are the black stones,
and women are the white stones.
274
00:20:00,449 --> 00:20:02,492
Even the men who work
for me in the military
275
00:20:02,576 --> 00:20:04,828
are all just xiangqi pieces.
276
00:20:05,579 --> 00:20:08,165
Most are soldiers, or pawns.
277
00:20:08,248 --> 00:20:12,252
As they rise up the ranks,
they become horses, or cannon.
278
00:20:12,836 --> 00:20:15,088
Working in the military is quite simple.
279
00:20:15,589 --> 00:20:18,091
You simply have to place the pieces
where they belong.
280
00:20:19,259 --> 00:20:20,510
Everyone has their roles.
281
00:20:20,594 --> 00:20:23,263
That's how you win most wars.
282
00:20:24,056 --> 00:20:25,682
It's not difficult at all.
283
00:20:26,308 --> 00:20:29,895
Even if you are unskilled,
as long as the pieces fulfill their roles,
284
00:20:29,978 --> 00:20:32,773
they'll finish your job for you.
285
00:20:33,690 --> 00:20:36,401
My eyes hurt more than usual.
286
00:20:36,485 --> 00:20:39,196
I keep noticing red flickering around
in my vision.
287
00:20:41,365 --> 00:20:43,200
Rouge nails, huh?
288
00:20:43,992 --> 00:20:48,247
The rouge nails I remember
aren't a distasteful, flashy red.
289
00:20:49,248 --> 00:20:52,793
It's a subtle red, dyed from balsam.
290
00:20:59,007 --> 00:21:02,344
MINISTER - SCHOLAR
291
00:22:36,063 --> 00:22:39,483
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE
292
00:22:47,949 --> 00:22:50,494
{\an8}Next Episode, "Balsam and Wood Sorrel."
293
00:22:50,577 --> 00:22:51,912
{\an8}Subtitle translation by: Yukimi Ohashi