1
00:00:01,626 --> 00:00:04,838
ORIGINAL STORY BY NATSU HYUUGA

2
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JADE PAVILION: MAOMAO

3
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What should we do...?

4
00:01:37,013 --> 00:01:38,348
{\an8}What do you think, sir?

5
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{\an8}THIS STORY IS A FICION, AND ALL NAMES OF
FIGURES ND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.

6
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{\an8}MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION
TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.

7
00:01:40,975 --> 00:01:42,101
<i>After the execution</i>

8
00:01:42,811 --> 00:01:45,438
<i>of Fengming, her relatives
were robbed of their wealth,</i>

9
00:01:45,522 --> 00:01:48,817
<i>and were sentenced to varying degrees
of corporal punishment.</i>

10
00:01:50,568 --> 00:01:53,905
<i>The crime was said to be committed
by Fengming alone,</i>

11
00:01:53,988 --> 00:01:57,367
<i>and it was fortunate that her master,
Ah-Duo, was not questioned.</i>

12
00:01:59,577 --> 00:02:00,495
<i>And now,</i>

13
00:02:01,079 --> 00:02:05,291
<i>I have the names from Fengming's family
and anyone with connections to the family.</i>

14
00:02:05,375 --> 00:02:09,879
The list contains names of the customers
who conducted business with the family.

15
00:02:09,963 --> 00:02:12,715
They did a wide variety of business,
not just beekeeping.

16
00:02:12,799 --> 00:02:14,926
There are about 80 people with connections

17
00:02:15,009 --> 00:02:16,553
in the rear palace.

18
00:02:16,636 --> 00:02:19,180
Eighty people out of 2,000, huh?

19
00:02:20,140 --> 00:02:21,975
That's quite a blow.

20
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JADE PAVILION: MAOMAO

21
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<i>The party where the Apothecary was
sold off to after being kidnapped</i>

22
00:02:28,481 --> 00:02:30,733
<i>had connections to the family.</i>

23
00:02:30,817 --> 00:02:33,528
We can cover this up if you'd like.

24
00:02:34,154 --> 00:02:35,822
<i>"If you'd like."</i>

25
00:02:36,573 --> 00:02:37,949
<i>Of course, what else?</i>

26
00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:41,327
<i>It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong.</i>

27
00:02:41,411 --> 00:02:43,538
<i>Whatever I say will happen.</i>

28
00:02:44,414 --> 00:02:47,167
<i>She's clear about the divide
between commoners and nobility.</i>

29
00:02:47,792 --> 00:02:50,336
<i>She'll follow whatever order
is given to her.</i>

30
00:02:55,216 --> 00:02:57,594
<i>It's simple for me
to strike down any order.</i>

31
00:02:57,677 --> 00:02:59,637
<i>I can just decide right now.</i>

32
00:03:00,305 --> 00:03:04,225
<i>If I cover this up,
I can keep her in the rear palace.</i>

33
00:03:04,309 --> 00:03:09,647
<i>But what if that's not what she wants?</i>

34
00:03:09,731 --> 00:03:12,567
<i>If she learned she was forced
to remain where she didn't want to be,</i>

35
00:03:13,651 --> 00:03:15,570
<i>how would she react?</i>

36
00:03:19,574 --> 00:03:21,409
<i>I'm afraid of deepening the gap</i>

37
00:03:21,492 --> 00:03:24,412
<i>that already exists between us.</i>

38
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Sir Jinshi.

39
00:03:28,499 --> 00:03:31,169
I thought she was
just a convenient chess piece.

40
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{\an8}- A mass firing?
- Yeah, that's right.

41
00:03:38,301 --> 00:03:41,054
{\an8}All the daughters of parents
that did business

42
00:03:41,137 --> 00:03:43,556
{\an8}with that family have to quit.

43
00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,976
It's going to be a large number of girls.

44
00:03:47,060 --> 00:03:48,394
I see...

45
00:03:48,478 --> 00:03:52,649
There's a lot of girls who are panicking
because they have to quit suddenly.

46
00:03:52,732 --> 00:03:55,318
Looks like that family did business
with a lot of people.

47
00:03:56,694 --> 00:03:58,613
<i>I have a bad feeling about this.</i>

48
00:03:59,322 --> 00:04:02,158
<i>I'd be in a bind if I was fired right now.</i>

49
00:04:02,242 --> 00:04:03,493
<i>The timing is bad.</i>

50
00:04:03,576 --> 00:04:04,535
<i>After Lihaku's visit,</i>

51
00:04:04,619 --> 00:04:08,873
<i>I haven't been able to send
any wealthy customers to Grams.</i>

52
00:04:08,957 --> 00:04:10,124
<i>If I go back now...</i>

53
00:04:10,750 --> 00:04:11,918
I'm home!

54
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Here's a customer!

55
00:04:15,338 --> 00:04:17,507
<i>I'll definitely be sold off...</i>

56
00:04:18,967 --> 00:04:19,801
Maomao?

57
00:04:26,474 --> 00:04:30,436
<i>When I checked last time,
my registered family was</i>

58
00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,564
<i>listed as a merchant family
that conducts trade.</i>

59
00:04:41,823 --> 00:04:43,908
<i>If Fengming's family are bee farmers,</i>

60
00:04:44,575 --> 00:04:46,035
<i>they may have some kind of</i>

61
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<i>connection!</i>

62
00:05:31,247 --> 00:05:32,290
Sir Jinshi!

63
00:05:43,676 --> 00:05:46,179
What's wrong? You're out of breath.

64
00:05:47,305 --> 00:05:50,224
- Well...
- Calm down. Your face is all red.

65
00:05:50,975 --> 00:05:52,727
I need to talk to you.

66
00:05:53,728 --> 00:05:56,481
Fine. Let's talk inside.

67
00:05:58,816 --> 00:06:00,735
It's about the mass firing, right?

68
00:06:00,818 --> 00:06:01,986
Yes.

69
00:06:02,695 --> 00:06:06,032
- What'll happen to me?
- Here's the registry.

70
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THE JADE PAVILION: MAOMAO

71
00:06:09,368 --> 00:06:11,954
So I'll be fired?

72
00:06:13,790 --> 00:06:14,665
What do you want?

73
00:06:20,088 --> 00:06:22,173
I thought she was
just a convenient chess piece.

74
00:06:26,844 --> 00:06:29,472
<i>Ever since I became
Lady Gyokuyou's attendant,</i>

75
00:06:29,555 --> 00:06:32,892
<i>I can taste test, and have access to
the medical office.</i>

76
00:06:32,975 --> 00:06:35,770
<i>I enjoy the life I have now.</i>

77
00:06:37,105 --> 00:06:39,982
<i>But I'm just a palace woman.</i>

78
00:06:40,066 --> 00:06:43,277
<i>I'm in no position to request
not to be fired.</i>

79
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<i>I can't look like I'm begging...</i>

80
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I'm just a palace woman.

81
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Whether it's menial work,
cooking, or taste testing,

82
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I'll do whatever you say,
if it's an order.

83
00:06:58,626 --> 00:06:59,836
<i>"If it's an order..."</i>

84
00:07:00,545 --> 00:07:01,546
<i>That's right.</i>

85
00:07:01,629 --> 00:07:04,757
<i>As long as it's an order,
I can get through this.</i>

86
00:07:04,841 --> 00:07:07,844
<i>I won't complain
even if my salary goes down.</i>

87
00:07:07,927 --> 00:07:11,597
<i>If I can buy some time
before I'm sold off, I can survive.</i>

88
00:07:14,016 --> 00:07:16,394
<i>So, don't fire me!</i>

89
00:07:19,439 --> 00:07:20,481
I understand.

90
00:07:21,065 --> 00:07:21,899
So...

91
00:07:22,984 --> 00:07:24,402
I'll pay as much as I can.

92
00:07:26,654 --> 00:07:29,574
- Oh...
<i>- Negotiation failed.</i>

93
00:07:29,657 --> 00:07:31,659
<i>Maomao has been fired.</i>

94
00:07:33,828 --> 00:07:35,413
All right, then.

95
00:07:43,796 --> 00:07:46,424
How long are you going to stay like that?

96
00:07:48,092 --> 00:07:50,720
You should have stopped her.

97
00:07:50,803 --> 00:07:51,804
Don't say anything.

98
00:07:54,432 --> 00:07:56,267
<i>The week after she was dismissed,</i>

99
00:07:56,893 --> 00:07:59,770
<i>Xiaomao returned to the pleasure district.</i>

100
00:08:00,646 --> 00:08:02,231
<i>I hear she was courteous</i>

101
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<i>and said goodbye to all the people
that took care of her.</i>

102
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<i>I won't help you even if you regret this.</i>

103
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<i>He lost his favorite toy.</i>

104
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<i>It'll be a lot of work to find
an interesting replacement toy for him.</i>

105
00:08:18,331 --> 00:08:19,832
I want the other one!

106
00:08:20,875 --> 00:08:22,376
<i>No...</i>

107
00:08:22,460 --> 00:08:26,088
<i>Perhaps that girl isn't a toy after all.</i>

108
00:08:27,048 --> 00:08:30,718
<i>He didn't make her stay
because he didn't want to use her.</i>

109
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<i>What a burdensome master I have.
He's a lot of work.</i>

110
00:08:35,598 --> 00:08:37,225
<i>If I can't find a replacement...</i>

111
00:08:38,100 --> 00:08:40,728
<i>Perhaps I'll ask that soldier.</i>

112
00:08:41,395 --> 00:08:44,982
Depressed, sulking, gloomy...

113
00:08:51,572 --> 00:08:54,492
See. You look better without freckles!

114
00:08:54,575 --> 00:08:57,495
I'll lend you my lipstick.

115
00:08:57,578 --> 00:09:01,207
I never imagined that I would ever
get ready for a banquet with Maomao...

116
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<i>Our work tonight is</i>

117
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<i>a banquet for the nobility
held outside of the brothel.</i>

118
00:09:06,462 --> 00:09:09,799
<i>It costs that much money to
invite courtesans to one's mansion.</i>

119
00:09:09,882 --> 00:09:10,716
<i>Not only that,</i>

120
00:09:11,509 --> 00:09:15,221
<i>one night of entertainment costs
a year's worth of salary for a common man.</i>

121
00:09:15,304 --> 00:09:18,724
<i>To call the Three Princesses of
the Verdigris House at the same time...</i>

122
00:09:19,475 --> 00:09:22,228
<i>Some people are just really rich, huh?</i>

123
00:09:23,062 --> 00:09:24,605
I might be going with you,

124
00:09:24,689 --> 00:09:27,525
but I'll just be there to
support you, Big Sisters.

125
00:09:27,608 --> 00:09:28,859
Here you go, Maomao.

126
00:09:29,860 --> 00:09:33,447
<i>I was able to get more money than
I imagined when I left the rear palace.</i>

127
00:09:33,531 --> 00:09:35,866
<i>That's why I was able to prevent
being sold off.</i>

128
00:09:37,410 --> 00:09:40,162
A supporting role is very important.

129
00:09:40,246 --> 00:09:42,123
Let's work hard, Maomao!

130
00:09:43,082 --> 00:09:44,875
You're really cute!

131
00:09:44,959 --> 00:09:47,336
It's almost time! Hurry up...

132
00:09:50,423 --> 00:09:53,217
Hey, you look better than usual.

133
00:09:53,301 --> 00:09:55,803
I can get you a customer
right now, if you'd like.

134
00:09:58,931 --> 00:10:02,935
<i>Looks like Grams really wants me
to be a courtesan.</i>

135
00:10:04,312 --> 00:10:05,646
Go earn us some money!

136
00:10:06,647 --> 00:10:09,442
<i>I can't sing poetry,
and I can't play erhu.</i>

137
00:10:09,525 --> 00:10:11,652
<i>Never mind dancing.</i>

138
00:10:11,736 --> 00:10:15,156
<i>I'm just an apothecary's daughter
who's only interested in medicine.</i>

139
00:10:15,865 --> 00:10:19,160
<i>But she keeps approaching me with offers
these past few years...</i>

140
00:10:39,555 --> 00:10:42,433
<i>As expected of nobility.</i>

141
00:10:43,309 --> 00:10:46,145
<i>This house is packed with
super-expensive furnishings!</i>

142
00:10:46,228 --> 00:10:49,190
<i>I'm sure they won't notice if I take one...</i>

143
00:10:49,273 --> 00:10:51,025
<i>No, I shouldn't.</i>

144
00:10:51,108 --> 00:10:53,527
It's this room right here.

145
00:11:02,119 --> 00:11:06,290
<i>I hear they're high court officials
who are friends of Lihaku's.</i>

146
00:11:06,374 --> 00:11:08,334
<i>But they're younger than I imagined.</i>

147
00:11:08,959 --> 00:11:09,877
Drool...

148
00:11:10,753 --> 00:11:12,880
All right, let's go.

149
00:11:15,508 --> 00:11:17,426
<i>If he knew someone this rich,</i>

150
00:11:17,510 --> 00:11:20,429
<i>he should've introduced me earlier!</i>

151
00:11:20,513 --> 00:11:22,098
<i>If they're Lihaku's connections,</i>

152
00:11:22,181 --> 00:11:24,475
<i>then some of my debt might've been
taken away.</i>

153
00:11:25,893 --> 00:11:27,686
<i>All right, I have to work.</i>

154
00:12:25,744 --> 00:12:29,915
<i>I know it's work, but it's tiring
to smile all the time.</i>

155
00:12:30,749 --> 00:12:32,668
<i>Oh? Isn't he entertained?</i>

156
00:12:33,752 --> 00:12:36,005
Excuse me.

157
00:12:36,088 --> 00:12:37,798
Leave me alone.

158
00:12:38,966 --> 00:12:40,759
I want to be alone.

159
00:12:40,843 --> 00:12:44,513
<i>Huh? His voice sounds familiar...</i>

160
00:12:49,810 --> 00:12:51,187
Sir Jinshi?

161
00:12:54,356 --> 00:12:55,816
Why are you running away?

162
00:12:55,900 --> 00:12:58,027
You can't touch courtesans.
Don't you know?

163
00:12:58,110 --> 00:13:01,906
Has anyone ever told you that you look
really different with makeup?

164
00:13:01,989 --> 00:13:03,657
I get that a lot.

165
00:13:03,741 --> 00:13:05,910
Why are you dressed like that?

166
00:13:05,993 --> 00:13:07,703
I'm earning money.

167
00:13:07,786 --> 00:13:09,830
- At a brothel?
- Yes.

168
00:13:10,748 --> 00:13:11,749
Could it be, you...?

169
00:13:12,500 --> 00:13:16,504
<i>He must be in the habit of
questioning people's chastity.</i>

170
00:13:16,587 --> 00:13:19,340
I don't take any personal customers.

171
00:13:20,299 --> 00:13:23,093
- Yet.
- Yet...

172
00:13:23,802 --> 00:13:26,305
Shall I buy you, then?

173
00:13:26,972 --> 00:13:28,974
What? You've got to be kidding...

174
00:13:30,684 --> 00:13:32,269
<i>Wait, that might be a good idea.</i>

175
00:13:33,646 --> 00:13:37,566
It won't be so bad to work
in the rear palace again.

176
00:13:39,151 --> 00:13:41,820
I thought you quit
because you didn't like it there.

177
00:13:41,904 --> 00:13:45,074
What? When did I say that?

178
00:13:45,157 --> 00:13:48,577
I said I wanted to keep working there.
You're the one that fired me.

179
00:13:48,661 --> 00:13:49,870
What?

180
00:13:49,954 --> 00:13:52,331
Yes, it was annoying work,

181
00:13:52,957 --> 00:13:56,877
but not anyone can become a food taster.

182
00:13:56,961 --> 00:14:00,339
My only complaint was
I couldn't experiment with my poisons.

183
00:14:03,300 --> 00:14:05,719
You shouldn't experiment with poison.

184
00:14:06,303 --> 00:14:10,140
<i>His expressions are really childish today...</i>

185
00:14:10,224 --> 00:14:13,727
That's right.
That's the kind of person you are.

186
00:14:13,811 --> 00:14:14,728
What do you mean?

187
00:14:14,812 --> 00:14:17,731
Are you ever told that you don't
explain yourself enough?

188
00:14:17,815 --> 00:14:18,941
I get that a lot.

189
00:14:22,278 --> 00:14:24,238
Why are you running from me?

190
00:14:24,321 --> 00:14:25,573
It's the rules.

191
00:14:25,656 --> 00:14:27,908
- It's just a little.
- It's against the rules.

192
00:14:27,992 --> 00:14:30,619
- It won't cost you anything!
- My willpower.

193
00:14:30,703 --> 00:14:32,580
Just one hand. Just the fingertips!

194
00:14:33,455 --> 00:14:36,584
<i>I forgot how stubborn this guy was...</i>

195
00:14:38,752 --> 00:14:40,379
Just the fingertips, okay?

196
00:14:42,339 --> 00:14:43,257
What...

197
00:14:54,018 --> 00:14:55,269
<i>This dude...</i>

198
00:14:55,352 --> 00:14:57,354
<i>Now I'm blushing too!</i>

199
00:14:58,147 --> 00:14:59,940
Oh, when did that happen?

200
00:15:00,482 --> 00:15:02,818
- You should've told us, Maomao!
- So embarrassing.

201
00:15:02,902 --> 00:15:05,988
Hey, Big Sisters! Sir Gaoshun?

202
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:10,868
<i>I was in so much of a frenzy</i>

203
00:15:10,951 --> 00:15:13,495
<i>I don't really remember
what happened after.</i>

204
00:15:13,579 --> 00:15:16,081
- Who was that?
- How do you know him?

205
00:15:16,165 --> 00:15:17,833
Geez. You're good!

206
00:15:17,917 --> 00:15:21,962
<i>I just remember that Big Sisters'
interrogations were</i>

207
00:15:22,046 --> 00:15:23,839
<i>never-ending...</i>

208
00:15:23,923 --> 00:15:26,091
VERDIGRIS HOUSE

209
00:15:28,177 --> 00:15:29,595
All right, next...

210
00:15:29,678 --> 00:15:31,931
I'll make some just in case.

211
00:15:32,014 --> 00:15:34,600
Nothing good ever happens
without my freckles.

212
00:15:35,851 --> 00:15:37,853
That must've been last winter...

213
00:15:41,357 --> 00:15:43,150
I was surprised to be kidnapped,

214
00:15:43,233 --> 00:15:45,736
but to think I was sold off
to the rear palace...

215
00:15:49,073 --> 00:15:51,700
Not only that, I also got promoted to be
an attendant.

216
00:15:55,537 --> 00:15:59,917
I was supposed to stay out of people's
business until my term was up...

217
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,378
Maomao. Is it ready?

218
00:16:02,461 --> 00:16:03,963
Yeah. Here it is.

219
00:16:05,172 --> 00:16:08,425
I need you to see a patient.
Can you do it?

220
00:16:08,509 --> 00:16:09,510
Okay.

221
00:16:23,857 --> 00:16:25,734
<i>The rear palace, huh?</i>

222
00:16:25,818 --> 00:16:28,696
<i>That's the one place I never wanted
to get involved in...</i>

223
00:16:34,076 --> 00:16:36,453
I hope everyone's doing well.

224
00:16:40,541 --> 00:16:42,001
I'm leaving now.

225
00:16:42,084 --> 00:16:45,713
Stay put. You only have so many chances
to bathe here.

226
00:16:53,012 --> 00:16:55,097
So what are your plans now?

227
00:16:55,180 --> 00:16:57,057
I'll pay back my debt.

228
00:16:57,141 --> 00:16:58,851
Of course you will.

229
00:17:00,853 --> 00:17:03,355
Are you going back to the rear palace?

230
00:17:05,065 --> 00:17:06,275
I don't know.

231
00:17:08,027 --> 00:17:10,738
But maybe, the rear palace
and the pleasure district...

232
00:17:10,821 --> 00:17:12,698
Are not so different.

233
00:17:12,781 --> 00:17:13,782
I see.

234
00:17:27,129 --> 00:17:28,964
Can't sleep?

235
00:17:29,590 --> 00:17:31,717
I'm going to get some fresh air.

236
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,386
- Be careful.
- Yeah.

237
00:18:05,959 --> 00:18:09,797
The rear palace, the pleasure district,
it's all the same...

238
00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,883
It's a flower garden, and a bird's cage...

239
00:19:30,586 --> 00:19:32,254
LUOMEN

240
00:20:17,507 --> 00:20:20,719
What will happen next?

241
00:20:27,559 --> 00:20:28,894
So cold...

242
00:20:32,231 --> 00:20:33,649
VERDIGRIS HOUSE

243
00:20:33,732 --> 00:20:35,484
<i>A few days later,</i>

244
00:20:35,567 --> 00:20:39,404
<i>a beautiful nobleman comes to
the capital's pleasure district.</i>

245
00:20:42,574 --> 00:20:45,452
<i>Equipped with enough money to
make even Grams happy,</i>

246
00:20:45,535 --> 00:20:47,204
<i>and, for some reason...</i>

247
00:20:50,499 --> 00:20:54,086
<i>a strange plant growing out of an insect...</i>

248
00:20:58,674 --> 00:21:01,426
<i>All this man wished for was one girl.</i>

249
00:22:36,021 --> 00:22:39,524
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE

250
00:22:47,657 --> 00:22:50,077
{\an8}<i>Next Episode,
"Serving in the Outer Court."</i>

251
00:22:50,160 --> 00:22:51,661
{\an8}Subtitle translation by: Yukimi Ohashi