01x03 - The Unsettling Matter of the Spirit

[bunniefuu]

Diaries

Diaries

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.

That can't be!

Episode : The Unsettling Matter of the Spirit

A reward?!

I understand.

Lady Fuyou!

Please, wait!

Wow, that's cold!

We've been at the capital for a while now,

but the morning cold is still hard to get used to.

I miss the sand and sunlight back home.

The mornings and nights were cold back west as well, though.

Ah, the Western Capital...

It feels like a long time ago.

And yet, Lady Gyokuyou's palace entry feels like yesterday.

By the way, my father gave me some good news.

Apparently, trade between the western and central capitals is on the rise.

The emperor really does love Lady Gyokuyou.

It's the family home of the emperor's favorite concubine.

Surely the central officers can't ignore that.

Cleaning the kitchen? We'll help.

No, we have to split up or we'll never finish the work.

It's not like we can rely on other servants.

Yes, I remember how bad it was back when she was pregnant,

like that time there was a poison needle in her dress.

Part of it is likely because she's the princess of a foreign land.

It's fine. We have one extra lady-in-waiting now, right?

Maomao, what are you making?

It's a cold remedy.

Wow, you can make those too?

The new lady-in-waiting is so talented.

Hey, are you sure you don't need anything?

Are you eating well?

Thanks to you, yes...

Please don't keep your troubles to yourself!

Sure...

By the way, did you hear the new rumor everyone's talking about?

No.

They say there's a spirit haunting the rear palace.

A spirit?

I heard that one! The ghostly lady in white, right?

So, it's famous?

All of the servants, eunuchs, and concubines are talking about it!

I think it started a few weeks ago.

They say a ghostly lady in white dances in the air under the moonlight!

And she appears every night at the eastern castle walls!

Huh...

The castle walls completely surround the rear palace.

The only way to enter is through the four gates on the north, south, east and west.

The gates are always guarded, and the walls are surrounded by a moat.

Sneaking in or out would be impossible.

They say that sunken in the moats are...

The corpses of concubines who tried to escape.

In other words, just your typical ghost story.

What should I do if I see the spirit for real?

It's just a rumor.

Excuse me. Could you take a look at this medicine?

Hey, little lady. One moment.

To think that he was so wary of me just a short while ago.

When he found out I can make medicine, he started allowing me to do it here.

He also gives me the ingredients I need.

He even makes me tea.

Should he really be so laid back?

Sorry to make you wait.

Wow...

You like salty better than sweet, right?

May I have some as well?

Right away!

Good work.

It's the least I could do.

Does this guy have nothing better to do?

Shouldn't he be at the Domestic Service Department as a eunuch?

Instead, he wanders around the entire rear palace like he's on surveillance duty...

In that case, he must outrank the Matron of the Serving Women.

He could be the emperor's guardian, but he's too young for that.

Ah. He must be the emperor's "personal favorite."

Are you thinking something inappropriate right now?

Huh? You're imagining things.

Doctor, could you fetch me this?

So, what do you really want?

Have you heard about the spirit haunting?

A few rumors, yes.

How about sleepwalking?

Sleepwalking...

Seems like I got your attention.

How can it be cured?

I don't know. There's no medicine that cures somnambulism.

Is there a cure other than medicine?

My specialty is medicine.

That's too bad.

That's truly, truly too bad.

Yuck! He's so persistent!

I'll do my best.

This guy doesn't come off like a eunuch.

Lady Maomao.

Please don't call me "Lady." You outrank me by quite a bit.

In that case, how's Xiaomao?

A "Xiao" nickname? That was a sharp turn.

Could you stop glaring down at Master Jinshi like he's an insect?

Yikes, he knows.

When he returned earlier,

he told me, ecstatically, how you stared at him like he was a venomous caterpillar.

I'll be more careful.

If someone unprepared saw him like that, they might pass out.

To each their own, I guess...

Over there.

A moonlit cotton rose...

That's a good guess.

That is Concubine Fuyou.

She's a mid-ranking concubine,

scheduled to be bestowed to a m*llitary officer as a reward.

It's been two years, I think.

She's a timid princess.

She's supposed to be a skilled dancer, but stumbled at her first showing.

The emperor hasn't laid a finger on her, and she shut herself in ever since.

I guess some things can't be avoided, but...

Lady Fuyou!

A bestowal? I feel sorry for her.

She started sleepwalking over the shock of being treated as a reward?

They do say illness is a result of an unbalanced mind...

No, I need more information.

Maybe I'll take another look at her.

Where is Concubine Fuyou's room?

Her building is on the north side.

Thank you. And thank you for the snacks.

Leaving already?

I hope she feels better.

I heard she's a princess from a small vassal state.

I'm sure she doesn't want to go back.

Go back?

Oh, yes. She's...

I feel sorry for Concubine Fuyou.

Yes, being given away to a m*llitary officer?

I shudder at the mere thought.

She seems very different from how she looked dancing on that wall.

Yes. I was surprised too, the first time I saw her.

She's very unassuming most of the time.

She really is like a cotton rose.

A cotton rose?

Yes.

The fuyou flower, also known as the cotton rose,

blooms as a large white flower in the morning.

However, by evening, it turns a deep pink.

So, the flower changes its appearance over the course of a single day?

Yes.

The spirit story?

Yeah, I wanted to hear more about it. Do you know anything else?

Well, I heard she first appeared on the north side.

Huh? The north side?

Xiaolan! Laundry!

She moved from the north to the east?

Coming!

Gotta go.

Also...

Oh, yes. She's...

I knew it. Concubine Fuyou is...

My dad would tell me not to speak up based on just speculation, but...

Not much is known about somnambulance, or sleepwalking.

It is said that it's caused by stress.

The patient moves about in their sleep, as if they're awake.

A while ago, at the brothels, I saw a courtesan with the same illness.

She was a cheerful person, skilled at poetry.

She even received a purchase offer.

However, that offer fell through.

She started roaming the brothel at night, as if possessed by a demonic spirit.

Why hello. What's wrong, everyone?

She had no recollection of the night before.

And then what happened?

Nothing. When the purchase offer was rescinded, the sleepwalking stopped.

So... That courtesan didn't want to get sold off?

It's possible.

The offer was made by a wealthy merchant,

but not only did he have a wife and children, he had grandchildren as well.

Also, she only had one year left on her term.

Perhaps Concubine Fuyou was the same.

Hmm. Is that really it?

That's it.

Really?

Please, stay calm.

I'll get back to work.

From that day on, Concubine Fuyou was forbidden from leaving her room.

Until the day of her bestowal, eunuchs were placed to watch her.

I hope it works out.

Isn't Maomao behaving strangely lately?

Is she?

I can tell.

There must be something.

Concubine Fuyou is leaving today, right?

That is what I've heard.

Hey.

You can tell me the truth, you know.

I won't get upset, since I'm the one who asked.

This is all just speculation, so could you keep this between us?

My lips are sealed.

Do you remember the story of the courtesan I told you before?

The sleepwalker?

Yes.

There was actually another courtesan

whose purchase offer was called off for the same reason.

She later received another purchase offer,

but since she was ill, the price was cut in half.

However, it was all fraud.

Fraud?

The two men who made the purchase offers knew each other.

The woman pretended to be sick to call off the first offer.

Then, the real purchaser made a bid at half the first price.

If they wanted to be together, the man lacked the silver,

and the woman still had time left on her term.

So, you're saying Concubine Fuyou is the same as that courtesan?

Concubine Fuyou and the m*llitary officer

are childhood friends who grew up in the same homeland.

Huh?

I heard the man showed his valor in a battle against barbarians the other day.

When asked what he wished as a reward,

he strongly insisted on receiving Concubine Fuyou.

He must have fantasized about it even before he left home.

As a m*llitary officer, he could never propose marriage to a princess.

But then, she was pulled into the rear palace...

And the princess also had feelings for her childhood friend.

So, that could be why she failed at her dance,

to avoid attracting the attention of the emperor.

And as intended, the emperor never touched her. Her body is still pure.

That said, it's entirely possible

that the emperor would show interest in Concubine Fuyou,

now that she's scheduled to be given away.

And so, she feigned somnambulism...

I can't say anything about the emperor. It's entirely possible.

The barbarian battle took place in the eastern region.

And Concubine Fuyou's nightly dance took place on...

The eastern gate?

She was probably wishing for his safe return.

Again, all speculation.

Hey, Maomao.

Yes?

Would it make me a terrible woman if I said I envy Concubine Fuyou?

That night, Concubine Fuyou was beautiful.

She didn't seem at all like the nondescript princess I saw during the day.

No, I wouldn't say that.

Let's go.

Yes.

If love makes a woman beautiful,

what kind of medicine would it make?

I have a request for the rumored apothecary.

Next Time

Next time: "The thr*at."

Episode : The thr*at