ORIGINAL STORY BY NATSU HYUUGA
THIS STORY IS A FICTION, AND ALL NAMES OF FIGURES AND ORGANIZATIONS ARE FICTITIOUS.
MOREOVER, THE STORY HAS NO RELATION TO REAL-LIFE INCIDENTS AND EVENTS.
-Yeah. -I think so.
He's very suspicious!
Then there's a new problem, right?
Alcohol… Bring me more alcohol…
He's changed so much.
Looking at his face makes alcohol taste bad.
I agree completely.
Huh? Thanks…
How long are you going to sulk like that?
I'm not sulking.
Please don't forget, you're at work right now.
I get it.
He doesn't get it.
A man like Sir Jinshi does not respond like a child like that.
A man like Sir Jinshi does not get attached to his toys like that.
Here's more work for you.
That day, I struggled in getting details of what happened from Concubine Gyokuyou.
-She couldn't stop laughing. -A misunderstanding?
She explained the payment for the surety was a meeting with a popular courtesan.
To think that that girl had such connections…
And what sorts of things did my master imagine?
Youth is a scary thing.
But to think that he finished his work so quickly so that
he could go meet the girl,
only to learn she had gone home with another man…
It must've been quite the shock.
Why can't they use their heads a little more?
Many bureaucrats try to propose laws that only benefit them.
I do feel pity that his workload is increasing from such nonsense.
Sir Jinshi!
Work hours have ended. Can't this wait?
No, this isn't about work. The thing is…
Sir Kounen is…?
-Sir Jinshi. -Let's go, quickly!
Oh, my. That's terrible news…
Apparently, some high-up bureaucrat has died.
This may be a bit harsh,
but I'm not so sentimental as to mourn someone who's a complete stranger.
He was in his fifties, and the cause of death
was over drinking.
He brought this onto himself.
But if this person
went out of his way to get the head lady-in-waiting to leave, then…
Apothecary. Do you really think the cause of death was alcohol?
I knew he would ask that.
Anyone who enjoys alcohol
would know that drinking too much is bad for your body.
Over-drinking for many years causes your organs to deteriorate.
Drinking a large amount at once could cause death in some cases.
I heard that he was at a banquet and drank a large amount of alcohol.
In that case, he would die.
But Sir Kounen holds his liquor well.
I don't believe he died from over drinking.
The dead man's name was Kounen.
He was a vivacious soldier who could chug an entire bottle,
and he was well-liked.
-Gaoshun. -Yes, sir.
This is the alcohol he was drinking at the banquet.
Alright, alcohol!
The bottle containing Sir Kounen' drink.
It was knocked over and all of it spilled out.
So we wouldn't know if that bottle contained poison.
Exactly.
He's lacking energy today. He probably knows he's asking for a lot again.
He should be his usual glittering self.
These days, I can't help but see Sir Jinshi
as much more child-like than he used to be.
There's a mix of sweet and salty flavors.
It tastes like someone added salt to an originally sweet alcohol…
-What's wrong? -It has a unique taste.
Yes. It's sweet, right?
It's what Sir Kounen liked.
He loved sweets more than anything.
He wouldn't touch even the most expensive smoked meats or rock salts.
I see.
He used to like spicy things, but he said
he suddenly developed an appetite for sweet things.
Even his meals were mostly sweet.
That would cause diabetes.
Don't bring my memory back to reality.
-You're still drinking? -Spice-lover turned sweet-lover, huh?
Was there salt at this banquet?
Yes. They served rock salt, moon cakes, and dried meats.
Should I prepare the same things?
No. I'll finish drinking before it's ready.
That's not what I was….
Can we get our hands on the bottle Sir Kounen was drinking from?
It's shattered into pieces.
It doesn't matter.
There's another thing I want you to look into.
Excuse me.
-Here's the report. -Thank you very much.
I knew it.
This is the bottle.
Is it okay to lick it?
There's no poison in here.
It's salt?
Precisely. You mentioned, Sir Jinshi,
that Sir Kounen suddenly developed a liking for sweet things.
-And he only ate sweets after that. -Yes.
But in this bottle has so much salt that there are grains leftover
after it has dried.
Salt is a necessary ingredient for the human body,
but too much, and it becomes poison.
So the cause of death was…
Considering how much he drank,
and how much salt was dissolved in the drink,
this could very much be the cause of death.
But if he drank
something this salty, wouldn't he notice the taste…
He didn't notice. Please take a look at this.
These are the records of Sir Kounen's lifestyle habits.
Looking at this, my guess is that Sir Kounen
lost the ability to taste salt.
There's no way…
I learned that Kounen
was a diligent and talented bureaucrat,
who lived a monastic life.
And many years ago,
he lost his wife and child to an epidemic disease.
After that, all he did was work.
His only place of joy was in alcohol and sweets.
There is an illness where one loses their sense of taste.
Causes include an imbalanced diet or stress.
Diligent people often suppress their emotions.
and that burden can lead to illness.
So who placed the salt in the alcohol bottle?
It's not my job to investigate that.
However, there was salt added to yesterday's alcohol as well.
It could be someone who didn't like sweet drinks
added the salt from the banquet.
Or… There are many people that dislike diligent and honest people.
Perhaps they played a prank on someone they didn't like
by messing with their alcohol at the party.
And if that person continues drinking without noticing,
they might keep adding more salt until they do notice.
-Gaoshun. -Yes.
Yes, sir.
I'm such a coward.
At this point, I'm basically telling them who the culprit is.
I don't want to be the direct cause of anyone's punishment.
Sorry about that.
-You helped a lot. -Thank you.
An obsidian tassel…
Is he in mourning?
He must've been a great man.
Yes. He took care of me when I was young.
He looks like a regular young man.
I guess he's human after all.
Oh, I almost forgot.
-This is a gift of thanks. -A gourd?
Yes, although it's different from what you had yesterday.
It's alcohol?
-Yeah. Don't get caught, all right? -Yes, sir.
Thank you!
You don't look that grateful to me.
You think so?
I think you should be getting back to work.
I knew it, he's slacking off from work.
You should finish before it starts piling up.
I have been working…
-What kind of work? -For example, I'm working on a bill.
They say they should prevent the youth from over-drinking,
and they should set an age limit.
Huh?
The law states that drinking is prohibited until you're 20.
Sir Jinshi…
Make sure that never passes, all right?
That's out of my hands.
Sir Jinshi!
Doctor!
It's this way!
A ghost!
You're lucky it was winter.
The body is in a good state considering that she drowned.
How can you stare?
-Where was the body found? -She was floating in an outside moat.
From her clothes, she must be a servant in the rear palace.
I see. That's why they called for the old man.
And the quack doctor. The one doing the autopsy is like this…
-Miss, can you look for me? -No.
I've been told not to touch the body.
That's surprising.
-Sir Jinshi! -How do you do, Sir Jinshi.
Looks like you're used to dead bodies.
I've seen them many times.
The back alleys of the pleasure district are a lawless area.
Why can't you touch the body?
I've been instructed by my apothecary master.
-Because it's bad luck? -No…
Because humans can also become "ingredients for medicine."
I'm sure with your curious nature,
you will start robbing graves if you try it even once.
Never cross that line, okay?
Yes, sir.
I see. That makes sense.
That's rude of them.
Doctor, could you please take a look?
Yes, sir…
Geez…
She's tall, wearing hard, wooden shoes.
Bandaged on one foot with red fingertips…
It must've been cold inside the water.
The girl was a Food Service maid,
and had been working as usual yesterday.
The guard speculates she climbed the fence last night
and jumped into the moat.
In other words, it was suicide by jumping.
Suicide by jumping…
-What do you think? -I don't know if it's suicide or not.
But I think it was impossible to accomplish on her own.
What do you mean?
There were no ladders along the wall,
and there were no climbing tools either.
The castle walls of the rear palace are four times my height.
So you need a tool to climb.
Usually, yes.
Strictly speaking,
it's possible to climb the walls without tools.
Do you remember the ghost incident from before?
-The one with Concubine Fuyou? -Yes.
I wondered how Concubine Fuyou climbed the outer walls,
so I performed a close investigation of the castle walls.
There, I found a protrusion that must've been used
by the carpenters.
But it would be difficult for most women to climb,
let alone a woman with bound feet like that maid…
Foot binding is based on the belief that the smaller your feet, the more beautiful.
It's not performed on all women, but I often see women
with a distinctive walking style in the rear palace.
So if it's not suicide,
you're saying it's murder?
I don't know about that.
But I am sure that she was alive when she fell into the moat.
She must've kept scratching the fence to climb up.
The fingertips on the body were red from bleeding.
So, was it suicide or murder?
I would never consider taking my own life.
I'd never want to get murdered either.
Once you die, you can't test for any medicine or poison.
But if I were to die…
What are you thinking?
About what poison I'd use if I were to die.
-What? You mean to die? -Not at all.
But you never know when you could die, right?
Even if you don't wish it, someone's ill wishes could
lead to an unwanted death.
Like Sir Kounen.
You never know when death will visit you.
You cannot defeat fate, no matter what…
-Sir Jinshi. -What is it?
If you are ever going to execute me,
can you kill me with poison?
Why would that happen?
If I ever make a mistake and offend anyone,
I'm sure you will be the one to punish me.
Have I already offended him?
I'm sorry. I got carried away.
I won't complain even if it's death by hanging or beheading.
I'm saying, why would that happen?
Because I'm a peasant.
My life could be taken away by any small mistake.
I'd never do that.
No matter what you will or won't do.
It could happen.
Looks like I shouldn't have said that.
If we're finished here, I'll be off.
Later, I heard rumors that the dead maid was present
at the poisoning incident at the garden party.
They even found a suicide note,
and thus, the case was ruled a suicide and closed.
The reports from the other day are finally here.
Two months since I ordered a search for a person with a burn on their arm.
You took too much time.
I'm sorry, sir.
So, who was it?
It was someone higher-ranked than we expected.
Fengming, from The Garnet Pavilion.
She's the head lady-in-waiting for the Pure Concubine, Lady Ah-Duo.
I see.
You may leave.
Concubine Ah-Duo…
PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE
Next Episode, "Honey."
Subtitle translation by: Yukimi Ohashi Pure Concubine, Lady Ah-Duo.