The Apothecary Diaries
How dare you try to feed Lady Lihua such lowly food!
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.
Only the most luxurious foods suit our Lady Lihua.
I'd hesitate to even show this to her!
Episode 4: The Threat
Who would ever think Lady Lihua would enjoy something like this?
Yikes. What a pain.
We know best what Lady Lihua likes to eat.
I'd never have come to the Crystal Pavilion if I'd had a choice, but...
How dare you try to sneak this past us, servant. Shame on you.
The night the emperor visited the Jade Pavilion...
There is no poison.
Excuse me.
Wait.
Uh-oh, the emperor directly addressed me for the first time.
I have a request for the famous apothecary.
Famous? I have a bad feeling about this.
Yes.
Concubine Lihua is not well. Could you look after her?
By "look after her," he means "cure her."
The word of the emperor is the word of the heavens.
If I declined, that would be grounds for my beheading.
Yes, Your Majesty.
Why would he say that in front of another concubine?
His Majesty really is "an emperor" by nature.
That said, it's pretty incredible that they treat me like this. I'm here by imperial order.
Since they serve Lady Lihua, I suppose they hate me as a servant of Lady Gyokuyou.
Hmm?
Get out if you're done cleaning!
Boing boing.
Oh, well. Guess I have to cook it again.
Maomao, are you at the Crystal Pavilion now?
Yeah, I'm looking after Lady Lihua.
I see. Lady Lihua hasn't recovered yet...
The whitening powder's poison must still be in her system.
The poisonous powder, huh? I heard it was banned.
I heard the eunuchs took away all the remaining powder in the rear palace.
I see. Good.
But a request from the emperor? You're awesome, Maomao. I was surprised!
He must really not trust the doctor to rely on a girl like me.
Maomao, you're going to the kitchen later, right?
Yeah.
Good luck with the cooking!
Thanks.
Right!
In looking after Lady Lihua, the first thing I set out to do was to improve her diet.
Um, excuse me.
Yes?
First I needed to expel the poison still in her body.
To do this, a porridge with lots of fiber,
plus a diuretic tea sounds good.
Not this. Not this either. This one...
And this one, too. But not this one...
Enough is enough!
This is no place for lowly girls like you.
Boing boing.
This is going to take a while.
In that case, let's try...
This one, that one, the other one, and this.
How many times do I have to tell you?!
Well, first, she needs to eat something easy to digest—
No way! Sick people need nutritious food, not cheap stuff like that. Obviously.
So that's her usual meal.
Sure, it's nutritious,
but it's too heavy for a sick person's weakened stomach.
That's not hard to understand.
Why won't anyone stop them?
Lady Lihua, your meal is ready.
We brought you all the things you like. Please try to eat.
Lady Lihua?!
Oh no, what do we do?!
Quick, bring water!
Are you all right, Lady Lihua?!
Lady Lihua, please have some water.
This is your fault, lowly servant!
Your presence ruins the atmosphere!
Get out! Now!
Boing boing.
I won't even be able to get near her at this rate.
Now, what shall I do...
If I could at least do an examination...
No need. What if you make things worse?!
At that rate, she's bound to wither and die.
People die unless they eat.
She probably lost the will to live after losing her child.
How many days do I have left,
before my head bids farewell to my body for defying the emperor's order?
It seems like you're in a bit of a bind.
Does it appear that way to you?
It does appear that way to me.
Master Jinshi?!
What's with that girl?
Why is she with Master Jinshi...?
An annoying misunderstanding...
Let's go inside, for now.
Oh...
M-Master Jinshi?!
Eek!
It's not befitting of beautiful and talented ladies like you
to ignore the emperor's arrangements.
Oh! Oh no, we aren't ignoring...
Whoa! Eek!
Right. We were just, um...
H-Hey!
It's scary how women can change so quickly.
There. Now go.
She does have the will to eat.
But she's weaker than I thought.
Maybe she can handle rice water instead.
Excuse me.
The same shade as before...
Are you the one in charge of the concubine's makeup?
Indeed I am.
We want Lady Lihua to always be beautiful.
That is our duty as ladies-in-waiting.
It's all for Lady Lihua. Obviously.
I see.
What's wrong with you?!
Huh? Just punishing an idiot, obviously.
Ouch! You're hurting me! Stop! It hurts!
The poison will infect your whole body after a while.
You should be glad. You'll be pretty too,
just like your beloved Lady Lihua.
Pale, bloodless skin, sunken eye sockets, a body unable to even eat...
Don't you understand why this stuff was banned?!
I j-just thought it would make Lady Lihua happy—
I told you, it's poison.
There are no thoughts in your head. You just think you know everything.
Who would be happy poisoned with the same thing that killed their son?!
Go rinse your mouth and wash your face.
Hey! This is bad for the patient.
Clean this floor up immediately!
Y-Yes!
It truly is scary, how women can change so quickly.
Oh...
I've really done it now...
Let's go.
Lady Lihua's health was worse than I thought.
I started by changing from porridge to rice water.
I forced the food into her mouth and had her swallow slowly, repeatedly.
No sense in worrying about manners at a time like this.
I did some ventilation, which thinned out the incense, revealing the smell of the sick.
Those incompetent fools can't even wipe down their mistress properly?
How do they even call themselves ladies-in-waiting?
There's so much they could have been doing before worrying about incense.
Hey. Hot water and cloth, now.
Y-Yes.
You all, get to work.
Y-Yes!
I had her drink tea every chance I could find.
Frequent urination helps flush the poison out of her body.
Um, are you sure Lady Lihua isn't in pain...?
It doesn't matter, she must drink.
She began to eat more, so I increased the amount of rice grains in the water.
When she began to be able to swallow them, I added soup and ground fruit.
I heard the lady-in-waiting was put in confinement.
Apparently, she'd hid the powder for Lady Lihua.
The eunuch who was supposed to recover the powder was punished by flagellation.
You seem tired.
Yes. Unlike a certain someone, I'm quite busy.
We brought gifts.
Thank you!
Wow!
He really knows what I want!
It's considerate people like him who become good husbands.
He is a eunuch, though.
Compared to him...
Do you need help with anything?
Well...
What is it? Tell me anything.
Over there, they need help. Someone please.
Everyone, please hurry.
Yes!
A steam bath?
Apparently, sweating is good for her.
Is it useful?
I suppose it is.
We have to use whatever we have.
You... Why...
Yes, what is it?
Why wouldn't you...
let me just die?
You could stop eating, then.
But you eat the porridge because you want to live.
I see.
You're right.
You.
I was released from confinement and am permitted to serve Lady Lihua once again.
I will never make that mistake again. Ever.
I will take your place now. Please rest.
All right.
Lady Lihua.
Ah...
Can you get me some water, if you could?
Yes.
Yes!
After about two months, Lady Lihua recovered enough to be able to walk by herself.
She has self-respect, but isn't arrogant.
After that matter with the prince, I imagined her as a selfish princess,
but as it turns out, she has a personality befitting a concubine.
I will take my leave tomorrow morning.
I see.
I've already spoken to your ladies-in-waiting about your food
and other things to be careful of.
Hey. Am I incapable of birthing another child?
I don't know. Perhaps you should try.
But His Majesty's love for me is gone.
I was sent here by a direct order from the emperor.
Once I return to the Jade Pavilion, perhaps the emperor will visit you.
I ignored those words of advice and let my child die.
Will I be able to win against Concubine Gyokuyou?
It's not a matter of winning and losing.
There are hundreds, thousands of flowers in the world,
but who can decide whether a peony or a bellflower is more beautiful?
I have neither her jade eyes nor her bright hair.
You have other... assets.
Not just the sheer size, but the shape and tension are truly magnificent.
Huh?
Could you lend me your ear?
Y-Yes.
Excuse me.
The knowledge I left with Lady Lihua was a secret technique taught to me
Lady Lihua, what's wrong?
Lady Lihua?!
by my big sisters at the brothel.
You should learn this, just in case!
Huh?
Unfortunately, I don't have the sizable fruits to employ the technique.
It's perfect for Lady Lihua, though.
I hope it turns out to be useful.
I'm back.
Welcome back.
Maomao, are you all right?!
You've gotten so thin.
It must have been very hard.
She completed the emperor's mission all by herself. Impressive.
There was a period after that where the emperor's visits to the Jade Pavilion
decreased in frequency quite significantly.
Finally, released from sleep deprivation.
Maomao couldn't keep a straight face, but that's another story.
It's a curse...
Next Time
Next time: "Covert Operations."
Episode 5: Covert Operations