Wh-What was that?!
Hey! What happened?!
It's burning!
Thieves?!
Assemble the men!
Put the fires out!
Move it!
All right. Let's go.
What's going on?!
Hey! Stop right there!
That man...
And who are you?
Xia Gaojun.
Ah, the ruined prince.
A man of low birth such as yourself is not welcome here.
Grovel before me and beg for your life.
I refuse.
Then you shall die.
Glory unto the emperor!
Blessings upon the emperor!
Glory unto the emperor!
The moon sank into the sea and became two gods:
one the god of shadow, one the god of light.
Eight thousand nights they spent at the sea,
the first god hiding away in the Black Palace,
the second god cavorting in the Moon Palace.
And thus, one became the Palace of Seclusion,
and the other the Palace of Pleasure.
Another god became the port of the Palace of Seclusion.
This was the Great Turtle God.
This god had sinned, and was thus rent into eight parts.
The flowing water carried them away from the palace.
Its bones were made one once again, and the white turtle was formed.
This was the Turtle God.
This god could calm the violent seas to protect ships.
The descendants of these gods began the bloodline of the white king, the emperor...
Deep in the inner palace,
there lives a consort known as the Raven Consort.
She holds a special position. Despite her title of consort,
she does not perform nighttime duties.
Though she lives in the inner palace,
she has no contact with the emperor.
It is said that she can use mysterious arts...
Episode 1 The Jade Earring, Part 1
Emperor Xia Gaojun
Ye Ming Palace doesn't light the night as its name implies.
Probably because the lanterns aren't lit.
Emperor's Attendant Wei Qing
Everyone is too scared to approach.
Why?
They say a monster bird appears.
A monster bird?
A great bird with a golden glow.
I hear it attacks any who approach the palace.
Master, are you really going to visit the Raven Consort?
That's why we're here.
She isn't like the other consorts.
Some say disaster befalls those who meet her.
I didn't know you were the type to believe rumors.
Master, I—
Master! Get back!
It came close to marring your flesh.
Is it a chicken?
Shall I strangle it?
No, wait—
Put Xing-xing down, you lowlife.
This is a precious monster bird.
If you kill it, you will never atone.
You had best be careful.
The Raven Consort Liu Shouxue
Are you the Raven Consort?
What do you want, Emperor?
Watch your tongue!
I have a favor to ask of you as the Raven Consort.
Death curses, exorcism, finding that which is lost...
You accept any request asked of you.
This, I have heard, is your duty.
I do not accept requests for which the prices cannot be paid.
What is your price?
"If you curse someone, dig two graves."
Your life for a death curse. Your assets for an exorcism.
The price to find something lost is a consultation.
And if I wanted to know the owner of this jade earring?
I refuse.
If you want to know who owns it, you need only ask everyone until you find out.
If you do not, either there is some reason why you cannot,
or it is simply a whim to kill time.
Neither is satisfactory justification.
Who do you think—
It's fine.
Some say the Raven Consort is a female hermit, or perhaps a ghost...
But you are human, are you not?
You haven't told me your name. What is it?
Shouxue.
Shouxue... Shouxue, eh?
A fine name.
I will not accept your request! Begone at once!
Master!
You forgot this.
Ningguang Palace
Your tea, Master.
It smells great.
Just who is the Raven Consort?
The descendant of the priestess who served the goddess Wulian Niang-niang.
Past emperors, who deeply admired the Raven Consort's mysterious arts,
hid her within the inner palace in order to monopolize her powers,
and gave her the rank of empress as a special exception.
That is the Raven Consort... or so the history books say.
Still, should you really have to ask a favor of a girl like her?
No one can give the Raven Consort orders.
However, it seems I have upset her.
Enough, Xing-xing.
You never do as I say.
You may come here again and again, but I will not grant your request.
I have brought a gift for you.
Hmph. You think such a thing will sway me?
I have no need of money nor ornaments.
Take your gift and go.
What is that?
Baozi filled with red bean paste and lotus seeds.
They are freshly made and still warm.
I heard they were your favorite.
Will you hear what I have to say?
If all you wish to do is talk, I will listen.
A watchman found this recently while on patrol at the palace.
Can you tell who dropped it?
No.
Can't the Raven Consort find the answer to any question?
Don't be ridiculous. I'm not a god.
A mere object does not provide enough qi to find a person.
I see.
Leave, then.
In that case, I will change my request.
This earring seems to be possessed by a ghost.
What does that mean? Did you see a ghost?
Just once, though not clearly.
A woman wearing a red ruqun.
She wore one of these in her left ear.
If I asked who that woman was, could you tell me?
And if I could, then what?
Does the answer merit the emperor coming here?
I simply wish to know.
If you do not know who dropped this, then at least tell me who the ghost is.
You'll work off the baozi you ate.
How does that sound?
Hmph.
I doubt even you would feel very good about being a freeloader.
You're an even worse man than I thought.
Did you think I was a good man?
It's the first time that's been said of me.
You're cuter than I expected.
This won't do.
She can't speak like this.
She was a court lady.
It seems that way.
That symbol on her wrist...
Three stars. It's the symbol of the current dynasty.
That must make her a consort of my grandfather or father's inner palace.
Either she was strangled, or she hanged herself.
Her unfortunate death must be the reason her spirit haunts this earring.
Is there something that can be done?
Something? Such as?
It is said that people go to a paradise beyond the sea when they die.
But because she has become a ghost, she cannot.
Instead, she must suffer eternally.
Will you save that ghost?
Why do you care about a ghost?
I pity it.
I ended up accepting his request.
Feiyan Palace
I couldn't possibly by tomorrow!
It's just a bit of sewing.
I can't adjust a garment's length on such short notice.
If you won't do it, then I'll tell my father.
Imperial Writing Office Li Qiurong
Perhaps I'll have him put your shop out of business.
But...
You can handle your own sewing.
Imperial Table Office Jiujiu
You're not a child.
Wha— Who are you?
As you can see, I'm a simple court lady.
You're bothering her.
Are you incapable of taking care of yourself?
F-Fine. I'll let you off the hook today.
Thank you.
She always causes trouble by making unreasonable demands.
I can't refuse her, though.
She's a court lady of the Imperial Writing Office.
She demands the impossible after coming all the way
from the Office of Book and Writing Materials?
Visiting me is only an afterthought.
She exchanges letters with one of the eunuchs here.
I see.
Oh, that's supposed to be a secret!
Don't tell her I told you!
What?
Hey, which palace do you serve, anyway?
We've never met, have we?
The Ye Ming Palace.
What?! The Raven Consort's palace?
I heard there weren't any court ladies there, though...
There has to be some, right?
Yeah... Yeah, you're right.
So, what's the Raven Consort like?
Are the rumors about her being over a hundred years old true?
She's 16.
Huh?! Wow, that's young!
Is it true that she has mysterious powers?
Or that she can predict the weather?
She's like a skylark...
Or that she knows who'll die next?
And, and...
Wait, could it be?
You're not allowed to say, I bet.
Yes.
Well, what's your name?
I'm Jiu-jiu.
Shouxue.
Shouxue, the way you talk is pretty odd.
Not even the consorts speak in such an old-fashioned way these days.
Is that so?
Jiu-jiu, why are you lazing around?!
Coming!
Sorry, I need to get back to work!
Thanks for earlier.
Huh?
Allow me to assist you with your work.
Did you begin working here when the current emperor came to power?
Yes, I've been here for about a year.
You know nothing about the previous emperors, then.
I've heard about them from the senior court ladies.
There was a lot that happened, right?
You know, with the previous empress...
The empress?
The current empress dowager, the one who's locked up.
Locked up?
You don't know?!
Do you know the current emperor was disinherited, then?
No.
It's just a rumor,
but they say the empress dowager killed the emperor's birth mother.
Curse you. I'll kill you. Curse you.
His mother?
On top of that, she disinherited the crown prince.
For years, he practically lived in confinement.
But the emperor didn't give up.
He built up his strength and stood up to her.
He allied himself with officials and eunuchs
who'd been sucking up to the empress dowager.
I had no idea.
They say the emperor's mother was a beautiful woman.
I've heard that's why the emperor is so handsome as well.
That man was no fun at all.
What?
Nothing.
Were there any consorts aside from the emperor's mother
who died unfortunate deaths?
Well, one was executed for adultery
when the empress dowager discovered her unfaithfulness,
one was poisoned,
and the consort who did the poisoning hanged herself.
Wait. There was a consort who hanged herself?
She was a consort named Ban Yingnu.
She was a lower-ranking consort, but she was an ephemeral beauty.
Ban Yingnu lived in the palace of the Third Consort.
But the Third Consort was a young, beautiful woman.
Ban Yingnu
She was the daughter of an important man.
She was apparently quite the arrogant and insolent woman.
Third Consort
One day, she died from ingesting poisoned fish broth.
She was pregnant at the time.
After a thorough search, they discovered stellera in a chest in Ban Yingnu's room.
That night, Ban Yingnu hanged herself
using her own shawl fastened to a beam in her room.
Did this Ban Yingnu woman wear earrings?
Earrings?
Jade earrings.
I don't know.
What of her ladies-in-waiting, or chambermaids?
They must still be serving at the inner palace.
Who knows? This is a big place, you know?
Did she truly kill the Third Consort?
It must have been possible for someone else to poison the broth.
Well, of course. That's how everything works around here.
Even when the emperor's birth mother was killed,
officially, a lady-in-waiting was framed for the crime and executed.
You don't have to say it like that. That's awful.
But because of that, we never run out of things to gossip about.
Even death is entertainment in the inner palace.
What do you expect us to do?
We're forbidden from leaving this place for our whole lives.
Shouxue, what are you trying to figure out?
I'm simply curious about a particular ghost.
A ghost?! You've seen one?
That would be so scary.
Ghosts are not scary.
They're sad.
Come to think of it, I heard a rumor once
about the current emperor's grandfather, the Yandi.
When the Yandi visited the consorts' palaces,
he'd keep the lanterns on all night long.
He said it was because ghosts come out at night.
Ghosts of the previous dynasty.
The Yandi exterminated every last member of the previous Luan dynasty.
The elderly, the women, and even tiny little babies, all indiscriminately.
They say the ghosts shake loose their beautiful silver hair—
a signature of the Luan family— and continuously spout curses.
The Yandi was apparently haunted by them until the day he died.
He probably killed too much.
I must head back now.
I appreciate the help.
One moment, Shouxue. Wait here.
Here's a little reward for helping me.
See you later.
"Live a solitary life."
The Raven Consort must desire nothing.
How were things at Teilei Palace?
There is nothing suspicious happening at the moment.
And their cash flow?
The funds we confiscated do not match the estimated amount.
The eunuchs will be key to finding the empress dowager's hidden fortune.
I will continue my investigation.
Understood. Rest now for today.
What is it?
The empress dowager isn't the type of person to quietly accept her confinement.
She's the woman who seduced the previous emperor and pushed you into disinheritance.
What of it?
Why...
Why didn't you take off her head, back then?
She killed your mother.
Because we need concrete evidence for an execution.
Evidence?
Master, you could fabricate a plausible crime and execute her for—
Then I'd be no different from her!
I won't walk the same path she did.
What's next?
I hear Xie Fei is a master of dance.
Wouldn't you all like to see?
Indeed, yes.
As would I.
Please, you wouldn't want to see a country girl like myself dance.
What's this? It would seem Xie Fei will not dance for me.
Daughters of low-ranked officials are always so obnoxiously prideful.
Mother, why do you endure their mockery?!
Why do you not try to fight back?
Don't come here anymore.
You have many things you should be doing in the eastern palace.
Very well. I will not come here again.
I heard poison was found in Xie Fei's chambermaid's room.
How horrifying.
Your mother did not resist because she feared you would be harmed.
One by one, I'll steal the stones she stands on
and leave her no means of escape.
I shall find the perfect reason according to both law and logic.
And on that basis, I will have the empress dowager's head.
Do not worry. It will just be a little longer.
I will never forgive the woman who cruelly murdered my mother.
Episode 2
The Jade Earring, Part 2