I must say, her skills are impressive.
You can tell?
That's the lute player of the Red Sparrow.
Ah, the one everyone speaks so highly of.
You've certainly got an eye for talent.
That's right. Today I brought something interesting for you, good sir.
What's this?
A cloth mask.
This mask is possessed by a spirit.
What?
Try putting it on.
Whoa!
Th-There's someone there!
This is a very valuable article.
But for you, good sir, I'd be willing to sell it for a good price.
What?!
Stay away!
No, stay away!
So, what happened to him?
He developed a fever and was bedridden.
Scholar He Mingyun
Fortunately, he recovered after a few days,
but ultimately, he purchased the mask.
It was certainly foolhardy for someone who collects antiques.
Mingyun, would it be possible to purchase that mask?
What? Of course.
I'd like to show it to someone.
Master, Chancellor Yun has arrived.
The lotuses are at their finest.
Yongde.
Have you finally developed a love for flowers?
Chancellor Yun Yongde
I heard there are beautiful blossoms at the Yuanqian Palace as well.
Though the flowers are likely past their prime,
why not view them with your consort?
Huaniang prefers books over flowers.
Ah, excuse me. You know the consorts better than I.
By the way, have you heard the rumors that a eunuch of Feiyan Palace is cursed?
Yes.
He claims he was cursed by the Raven Consort.
Surely he lies.
Perhaps, but we hear the Raven Consort's name often these days.
Don't you think so, Your Majesty?
Do we?
I'm returning to the Ningguang Hall.
Your Majesty, they say associating with the Raven Consort brings about misfortune.
If you are displeased with your current consorts,
then why not consider my youngest grandchild?
She has recently come of age—
They are satisfactory.
I shall play the best role of all
The saddest role where one kills the most
Even at the ends of this square ocean, people change and are replaced
You forget that you're playing a role in this world
Everyone is just a bird in a cage
We all look forward to the day we can escape
And once it's within our grasp
The great big sky overwhelms us
MYSTERIOUS
Call out the name and bring calm
No one can stop your MYSTERIOUS
My MYSTERIOUS
Now, I shall play the best role of all
Raven of the Inner Palace
Xiangniao Temple
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 never kneels before the emperor.
Ministry of Works Xue Yuyong
Such is the Raven Consort.
Are you Xue Yuyong?
Episode 10 The Masked Man
You are not doing as you were told.
You are keeping both a lady-in-waiting and a eunuch.
I didn't intend to break the rules.
It just happened.
What would Li Niang say if she were alive to see this?
Well, I'm in no position to talk.
The Ministry of Works should not be meeting with the Raven Consort.
I'm violating that restriction because I was moved by His Majesty.
You look so much like her.
When you passed through the gate, I thought Li Niang had arrived.
Li Niang said to ask you for help if I ever needed it.
There was an incense Li Niang held dearly.
Xiangfu incense.
I burned it as I mourned her death.
Were you the one who gave it to her?
When Li Niang came to me after her death, I smelled xiangfu incense.
That was enough for me.
I was young and thoughtless when I gave it to her,
but I should've known better.
Regardless, Li Niang always treasured it.
I appreciate that.
Minister Xue, Raven Consort.
His Majesty has arrived.
He always arrives so suddenly.
Does Gaojun come often?
Yes.
He must have taken a liking.
What?
To you, I mean.
I see...
What can I do for you today?
I thought Shouxue would be here, so I came.
Do you always make frequent visits to those who are unkind to you?
What does that mean?
I'm here because I wanted to be.
It's the same reason I visit you.
You needn't visit me.
It's as though you have nowhere else to go.
You're right.
Why not visit Huaniang?
She's the granddaughter of Yun Yongde.
Never mind. Forget I said anything.
I'm leaving.
Will you tell me about Li Niang again sometime?
If it would please you, Raven Consort.
I'm returning to the inner palace.
Yes, Your Highness.
Wei Qing, Gaojun is...
He seems down.
Xiao Yue! Xiao Yue!
The Magpie Consort is calling you.
You were asked to stay with her. Come on.
I'm sorry.
It's fine.
I'll help you carry that.
Come on, quickly.
It's so heavy. What's in this thing?
I can't say.
What? You're so weird.
I want to show you something.
What is it?
A cloth mask. The kind used by musicians.
This? I've never seen one before.
But it's no ordinary mask.
See the eye holes?
If you look through them, you can see a man.
You saw him?
I did.
It stinks of mold.
Did he serve the court?
Yes. He's probably from the Baoer Workshop.
The Baoer Workshop...
So, where the palace entertainers and musicians are.
Why did you bring this to me?
I thought it would interest you.
Well, it doesn't, you fool.
I see.
We already have enough ghosts at the inner palace.
I don't wish to associate with those who are in pain.
No, I suppose you wouldn't.
My apologies—
Wait.
I won't be able to sleep well at night if you take it away after showing me.
No?
Is there anything else you know about this mask,
such as that man's identity?
I don't know who he is.
But he apparently turned around for someone at a banquet.
He turned around?
Yes.
I thought he was perhaps drawn to the sound of music, so I tested it,
but he didn't turn around.
I heard that a troupe of traveling performers,
known as the Red Sparrow, was hired to perform at the banquet.
That may be related.
The Red Sparrow...
Wei Qing, could you have Wen Ying come here?
Why?
He used to be part of the Red Sparrow.
I'm surprised you know that, Your Highness.
Wen Ying told me. Should he not have?
It's fine. I'll summon him right away.
Most eunuchs don't like to talk about their pasts.
He must really trust you.
I'm not sure if he trusts me, exactly.
I see. The Red Sparrow...
I thought you might be able to figure something out.
The lute player I knew played a five-string lute.
Five strings?
Yes.
Normally, a lute has four strings.
I heard her lute was one played on a small island to the west
and was originally from a foreign land.
I see.
Gaojun, would it be possible to summon that lute player here?
The troupe has already left the capital.
However, I do know of a place where we could find a foreign lute.
Where?
There's one in the treasure house at the Ningguang Hall.
I'll let you know once it's ready.
You're leaving?
Yes. What of it?
If you need something, then I'll stay a little longer.
I don't need anything.
You visit even when you don't need anything from me,
but you demand that I have a reason?
You're right.
In that case, shall we have some tea, like friends do?
Do you ever wonder how the Red Sparrow are doing?
No.
I'm sure you could learn more if you asked.
It's fine. As long as they're in good health.
Your Highness.
I'm back.
If you'll excuse me.
Um, Mr. Wen Ying.
I heard you're the reason I was able to serve the Raven Consort.
Thank you very much.
I did it for Her Highness, not you.
Well, it helped me a lot anyway.
Thank you.
I see. That's good.
Your Highness, these plums are from His Majesty.
I see. Wen Ying, you should have some.
By the way, I heard the eunuch who was your instructor is bedridden.
Yes, but I don't think he's ill.
He's just afraid, probably.
Of what?
Her Highness.
Me?
He said there was a monster in your eyes.
Yi Siha!
I'm sorry. He was just that frightened by you.
Do you not understand that I'm telling you to get away from her?
Ah, plums? Those look good.
Mr. Dan Hai, welcome.
Your Highness, His Majesty is calling you.
Could you please come to the Aozhi Hall?
Aozhi Hall
I am Zuoqiu Yao.
Musician Zuoqiu Yao
This is the lute.
Ah. I'm impressed.
It's made with red sandalwood, tortoiseshell, and turban shell mother-of-pearl.
There's no other instrument like it in this world.
Take a look.
He's looking our way, isn't he?
He must have a strong attachment to lutes.
About that...
I thought the ghost possessing that mask might be a man I knew.
Oh? What's his name?
Qifu Shicui.
He seemed to live only for playing the lute.
Shicui was a master of the five-string lute,
and could produce beautiful sounds no one else was capable of playing.
However, he failed to get along with others,
and was invited to fewer and fewer banquets.
Regardless, Shicui tirelessly honed his craft.
Day and night, the sound of his lute rang throughout the Baoer Workshop.
It was continuous and without interruption.
I became curious and went to check in on him.
What I found shocked me.
Though his body was emaciated and his fingers bloody,
he ceaselessly strummed the strings.
I took his instrument from him and trapped him inside his room.
He screamed for the return of his lute and banged on the door.
The next morning, when it was quiet, I went to check on him.
He'd hanged himself.
The lute began playing the night after his funeral.
I believed he must be wandering here, unable to cross the sea.
So I burned Shicui's lute.
I thought once the lute was gone, he'd give up and cross the sea.
When the lute finished burning, the sound stopped.
Later, his belongings were tidied away, and I thought it was all over,
but his soul must have remained inside that mask.
Shicui must want his lute.
I shouldn't have taken it from him back then.
I wouldn't say that.
He's dead, and yet he's still so attached to it.
If you hadn't taken it from him, he would've transformed into a demon.
You could say you allowed Shicui to die as a human.
No, I was jealous of his talent.
I even felt joy in taking his lute from him.
Raven Consort, what must we do to send Shicui to paradise?
Yes, what shall we do?
All right.
Play the lute.
Don't stop playing until I say you can stop.
Yes, Your Highness.
Qifu Shicui.
Don't stop.
Enough.
Gaojun.
I'm going to burn this.
Burn it?
But that lute is a national treasure.
Now, Shicui has crossed the sea.
You always consider matters concerning ghosts earnestly.
The only thing I can do is save ghosts.
Sometimes I can't even do that.
Still, I want to release them.
You've come to express your feelings much more than when we first met.
Sometimes in saving ghosts, the living are saved in turn.
You're probably helping people far more than you realize.
It's dark. I'll have Wei Qing escort you.
Wei Qing, is Gaojun tired?
Master is very busy.
He is always tired.
He seemed down at the Xiangniao Temple.
It's rare for him to be seen like that.
The source of his troubles used to be the rot that was the empress dowager.
His troubles went silent for a while, but they are becoming a burden again.
There is one thing that troubles the emperor more than any other...
Relatives.
Yun Yongde has been Gaojun's attendant since he was the crown prince.
He married Yongde's granddaughter Huaniang to avoid starting trouble.
What do you mean?
To prevent her from having a child.
He's keeping the Yun family in check
by keeping them from producing a crown prince.
Gaojun must be fraying his nerves over that.
He shouldn't have time for me.
You're absolutely right.
You're as unpleasant as ever.
Thank you.
Wen Ying, Dan Hai.
Yes, sir.
I must speak with you. Come with me.
What are you doing? Come quickly.
Yes, sir.
What did you wish to discuss?
I should be guarding the Ye Ming Palace.
Don't get the wrong idea.
Your job is watching the Raven Consort.
Yes, but perhaps it's not necessary to be so cautious.
Shouxue is not harming Master, but helping him.
That's why I'm afraid of her.
Wen Ying, you're not a eunuch of the Ye Ming Palace.
You are Master's eunuch.
I didn't send you to the Ye Ming Palace to make friends with—
Sir.
I smell blood.
This way!
What is this?
My fate had tainted
The heavily falling snow black
The sun shines in gradually
And freshly melts it away with its summer warmth
The dream you saw in your eternal sleep
I'll do whatever I can to make it come true
(I want to help you, it's true)
Because you made your wish to me
Just like the sun shining through the darkness
The bouquet of light
That you had given me
Still connects the seasons that will never meet
The proof of this pain
Will it be able to stay the snow that falls in the summer?
Episode 11
Groundwork