Kusuriya No Hitorigoto Lightnovel Translation

>chapter 1

(I want to eat open air skewers…)

The surroundings she saw up until now had been the most beautiful, dazzling world, and now she was in the muddy dregs, wriggling in miasma.

(It’s already three months huh. I wonder if dad is eating.)

The other day, she met with the kidnappers when she went to look for medicinal herbs in the forest. They were villagers with names: One, Two and Three.

It was a marriage capture, a hunt for women for the imperial court. A truly powerful and extremely bothersome marriage activity.

Well, she was getting paid. And if she worked for about two years, she might be able to return to town. Though the place of employment wasn’t bad, the case depended on the person’s purpose.
For Maomao whose livelihood in itself was a pharmacist, this talk was a pain for others.

To Maomao, whether the kidnappers were capturing young girls and selling them to a eunuch to earn money for their alcohol expenses, or that they were allowed their own daughters as substitutes didn’t matter. No matter what reason, the fact that she got roped into this doesn’t change.

Otherwise, she would have no relation with the inner palace in this lifetime.

The suffocating scent of cosmetics and perfume wafted from the court ladies clad in beautiful clothes, their smiles thin.

It was what the pharmacist thought up. That there is no terrifying poison in the women’s smiles.
That the palace where the court officials lived and prostitution quarter beneath the palace will not change.(???)

She walked towards the inside of the building with a laundry basket in her arms. The tasteless courtyard was different to the outside. It had a stone paved pool, where servants who were neither male or female washed a large amount of laundry.

Pretty sure this is the WN, as the chapter numbering and the source link published there show. But thanks for this a lot

>>158464967
>chapter 1 continured

It was fact that men were forbidden in the inner palace. The ones who could enter are the countries’ elite noble ones and their blood relatives, and the men who lost their most important thing. Of course, the ones here are the latter.
While warped, Maomao wondered if it was done because there was a benefit to it.

Setting down the basket, she saw the rows of lined up baskets in the nearby building. It wasn’t dirty laundry, just washing laid out for the sun.

She looked at the wooden tag that was attached to the basket. It had a drawing of a plant and a number on it.

Among the court ladies, there were those who couldn’t read. This was because it included those who were kidnapped too. Before they were bought into the imperial palace, they were taught the minimum etiquette but not words as that was difficult. The literacy rate of girls from rural areas were a little over half.

On the topic of evil practices of the inner palace that has become overly large, the occurrence of such viciousness increased.
Although you cannot possibly compare with the previous emperor’s flower garden, the current one was a large gathering that consisted of 2000 consorts and court ladies, and 3000 eunuchs altogether.

Within that, Maomao is among the lowest of maids, receiving not even government services. She especially lacked a backing shield, just like the other kidnapped girls. Well, if only she had plump body like tree peony and skin white like the full moon, then she might have the chance to serve a low consort. What Maomao had was vibrant skin covered in freckles, and limbs like a dead branch.

(Let’s finish this job quickly.)

>>158464998
Oh I assumed that the WN and LN were virtually the same

>>158465020

>chapter 1 continued

Seeing the plum flowers and “One-Seven” written on the tag of the basket, she slightly quickened her pace. She wanted to return to the room before the deep overcast sky started to rain.

The owner of the basket of laundry was Lower-ranked Consort Hin. Compared to the other low-ranked consorts, the quality of the furniture in the private room she was bestowed was gorgeous but overly extravagant. One way or other it gave in to the expectation that the owner of the room was a wealthy merchant’s daughter. It is possible for those with a rank to have personal maids; consorts with low ranks are allowed two at most. Therefore, maids like Maomao who don’t have a master to serve carry laundry like what she is doing right now.

Low ranked Consort Hin is permitted a personal room within the inner palace. As the location is at the edge of the palace grounds, it would be rare to catch the emperor’s eyes. Even so, if ordered to attend to his bedside even once, the room can be moved. The second time had the meaning of a promotion.

On the other hand, for consort who have passed the suitable age without being chosen would have their ranks lowered, particularly when her family has no political power, and at worst, she would be bestowed. Whether that is unfortunate depends on the person; it seemed that court ladies being bestowed to eunuchs is the most fearsome.

Maomao lightly tapped the door.

“Come in from here.”

Bluntly answering and opening the door was a room attendant.

Within, there was a consort with a wafting saccharine scent waving a wine cup about.
Before entering the inner palace, she was praised to have a beautiful figure. After all, she was like a frog in a well (sheltered and close-minded). After being overpowered by the other gorgeous flowers, and breaking her nose, she hasn’t left her room recently

(The inside of the room, no one came to pick up for them.)

>>158465144

>chapter 1 continued

Maomao received the laundry from the room next door and went back to the washing area.

There is still a lot of work left.
It wasn’t that she liked it. She planned to work for her pay.

Diligent as a core, that was the ex-pharmacist Maomao.

She could eventually leave if she worked obediently.
Of course not, there’s no way she would be chosen.

Deplorable that it could be said that Maomao’s thoughts were too optimistic.
No one knows what will happen, that is life.

As a 17-year-old girl, she had a headed by a farsighted way of thought. Even so, she had something that couldn’t be restrained.

Curiosity and the thirst for knowledge.

And, a little sense of justice.

In a couple of days, Maomao will be exposed to the certain strange truth.

The serial deaths of the infants born from the inner palace.

Though it was strange to Maomao, the thing called the previous concubine’s curse was a trifling thing.

>>158465183

https://shikarito.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/2-the-two-consorts/

>chapter 2

“Ahh, so it was like that.”
“Yes, I heard that was what the doctor saw that upon entering.”


Maomao listened intently as she sipped her soup. There were several hundred maids eating breakfast in the vast dining hall. It consisted of a soup and a cereal porridge.

The maid sitting diagonally before her continued to gossip. Though she was making a pitiful expression, the depths of her eyes were gleaming with curiosity.

“It was the same with Gyokuyou-sama and Rifa-sama too.”
“Woah, those two as well. It has been half a year, and three months, right?”
“That’s right. It has to be the curse.”

The names mentioned were the favoured consorts of emperor. Half year and three months were the ages of their respective children.

The rumours spread quickly in the inner palace. They were hottest stories about the court ladies picked by the emperor and the heirs, on their bad reputation of bullying and prejudice.

“I guess so. Otherwise there’s no reason for those three to pass away as well.”

The ones passed away were the consorts’ children, in other words, those who were chosen in the future as successors. When the emperor was the crown prince there was one, now as the emperor, two. Any of these infants were being watched. Though it is obvious that the mortality rate of infants are high, having three children from high ranked people to die was strange.
As of now, only Gyokuyou and Rifa’s children are left.

“Could it be poisoning?”

Maomao reached a different conclusion as she clutched the hot water.
Among those three children, two had been princesses. While only boys can be bestowed succession rights, there were no reasons to kill princesses.

>>158465272

>chapter 2 continued

The two sitting in front of her continued to speak curses and calamities without raising their chopsticks.

(I said already that there is no curse.)

This thing could be boiled down to a single word, pointless. Maomao’s thoughts on the method of killing of an entire clan just because of a curse was pretty much heresy. However, Maomao’s head had knowledge she could assert her basis on.

(What kind of illness? Could it be genetic? How did they pass away?)

It was then the quiet and unsociable maid spoke to the talkative maid.

The regret from losing to her curiosity, was something that happened a little while later.

–

“I don’t know the details but, apparently they all gradually got weaker.”

The talkative maid, Shaoran who spoke with Maomao had an interest on the topic. Afterwards she also told her about the rumours.

“I thing it’s worse from Rifa-sama’s side, seeing how the doctor has been seeing her more often.”

She said as she wiped down the window frame with a wrung dust-cloth.

“What about Rifa-sama herself?”
“Mother and child both.”

The fact that the doctor is seeing Consort Rifa more often suggests that it was the crown prince that was sicker. Consort Gyokuyou’s child was a princess.
The emperor favoured Consort Gyokuyou more, but it was clear with the gender of the children who was the more important one.

“While I don’t know the specifics of the symptoms, of course, I heard there were things like headache, stomach aches, and nausea.”

After Shaoran spilled everything she knew to her hearts content, she went to her next job.

Maomao gave her tea with liquorice as an expression of gratitude. It was made from the ones that grew on the edges of the courtyard. It had a strong sweetness. The maid who rarely tasted sweetness was overjoyed from that.

>>158465325

>chapter 2 continued

(Head ache, stomach ache and nausea…)

As she recalled the symptoms, she could not form an answer.
Her dad had always severely taught her to never make a guess.
（ちいとばかし、行ってみるか）
(????, try going there.)

Maomao decided to finish her work quickly.
The scope of the inner palace was vast. Normally, there are two thousand court ladies and over five hundred stay-in eunuchs.
Though maids like Maomao were crammed into large rooms in groups of ten, low ranked consorts had their own rooms, middle ranked consorts had buildings and high ranked consorts had large palaces that were larger than towns complete with a dining hall and garden.

Therefore, Maomao cannot leave her station in the east side. She had no free time to leave as long as she is called to work.

(If I have no tasks, I can just make do with something.)

Maomao talked to a court lady who was holding onto a basket. The basket in her hands had high quality silk that must be washed in the pool on the west side. It would be damaged if it was washed in the east side, whether it be due to the water quality or washers being different.

Though Maomao knew about the difference of drying it in the shade on the deterioration of silk, it wasn’t something she needed to say.

“I heard that you can see an extremely beautiful eunuch in the center palace.”

Overhearing that from Shaoran, she eagerly took over.
Here where the incentive for romance is scarce, it appeared that even eunuchs can be a target. After court ladies resign, you can sometimes hear that some become the wives of eunuchs. That they still have a healthy lust for women, is still something that tilts heads.

(I wonder if I will turn out like that?)

Maomao groaned and folded her arms when she asked herself that.

–

After swiftly delivering the laundry basket, she looked at the red building that was situated in the center palace. It was an elaborate palace, more refined than east.

>>158465400

>chapter 2 continued

As of now, the one who lives in the largest room in the inner palace was the crown prince’s mother Consert Rifa. While the emperor is lacking an empress, Consort Rifa with the only male child is the most influential person.

Inside that palace, the sort of spectacle she saw was not much different to the town.

A scolding women, a women who hung her head in shame, flustered women and a man who was acting as the mediator.

(It’s not much different to a brothel.)

Maomao the third party, who held an extremely calm expression, joined the onlookers.

The scolding woman was the inner palace’s most influential person, The one looking down in shame was the next powerful. The flustered ones were their attendants. And the one who came into mediate was the doctor who used to be male. That was what she gleaned from the surrounding whispers.

“You’re wrong. Just because you yourself gave birth to a daughter, you wanted to curse the male infant to death, didn’t you!”

Her beautiful face that was distorted to something terrifying. The one with white skin like a ghost and the look of a demon, faced the beauty with her hands drawn up towards her cheeks. (???)

“You know that sort of thing is impossible. Shaorin is also suffering in the same way.”

Red haired and jade eyed woman replied coldly. Consort Gyokuyou with her western features gazed up towards the doctor’s face.

“As you said, I want to see your daughter’s condition as well.”

Although he acted as the mediator, the reason for the outburst seemed to be about the doctor.
The doctor had just came in from the east palace; it seemed she raised a protest about him not seeing her own daughter.

She didn’t understand mothers, but it is a given that male infants came first in the structure of the inner palace.
Looking at the doctor, she saw he had a face that said that he had nothing to speak of it.

(Is he an idiot, that shrub.)

>>158465478

>chapter 2 continued
That he didn’t notice with the two consorts standing so close to him. No, he didn’t even know about it before that?

The death of the infants. Head aches. Stomachaches. Nausea. And Consort Rifa’s white skin and unsteady body.

Maomao left the place of strife while muttering and grumbling to herself.

While thinking,
(What can I use to write?)

Consequently, she took no notice of a passing person.

>>158465553

https://shikarito.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/3-jishin/

>chapter 3

“It happened again.”

Jishin’s handsome face contained a hint of gloominess. He had delicate features that could be mistaken as a woman, almond eyes, and hair wrapped up in a silk cloth, the rest flowing down his back.

One of his jobs was getting to the bottom of the uproar raised by the flowers of the palace.

As he split the crowd, there was only one person who walked over with an unconcerned air.
It was short maid with freckles that densely covered her nose to her cheeks. Though she didn’t have features that stood out, her figure left an impression of one who was talking to herself without noticing him.

That was the only thing he expected.

–

The talk that came about of the crown prince’s malnourished body came not even a month after.

Gone were the days when she was called the large rose, the bawling Consort Rifa was skinnier than the time compared to a couple of days ago. Was it because she was ravaged by the same illness as her son, or that her illness was severe.

For her, the hopes for another child were gone.

The older sister of the crown prince from another mother, Princess Rinrii’s condition improved after an hour of poor health. The mother and child consoled the emperor who lost the crown prince.
With the emperor coming often, the next child might be near.

The princess and crown prince were inflicted with the same illness of unknown cause. One recovered, one fell.
Their ages may be different, but the three month difference may have a big influence on the infants’ physical conditions.

However, how was Consort Rifa?
If the princess recovered, Consort Rifa might recover as well. Nonetheless, she may be a mental thing from the death of her son.

As Jishin parsed over the documents and stamped them, his mind spun, thinking it over.

If there is something different, it would be Consort Gyokuyou.

“I’ll be away for a bit.”

>>158465631

>Chapter 3 continued

After he finished stamping the last document, Jishin left the room.

–

The princess with cheeks like steamed manjuu had the innocent smile of a baby. Her small hands made fists and grasped onto Jishin’s index finger.

“There there, please let go.”

The red-haired beauty gently took her daughter back into her arms, and went to put her to sleep in the basket.
The baby pushed aside the hot blanket, and babbled happily while looking towards the visitor.

“You have something you want to ask.”

The wise consort felt Jishin’s expection, it seemed.

“How has the Princess-dono recovered?”

At the point-blank question, Consort Gyokuyou let out a small laugh and took out a piece of cloth from her bosom.

On the piece of cloth that was ripped out without using scissors, clumsy words were written on it. It wasn’t that the words were written messily. The blotted text was hard to read because it was written with plant juice.

‘The face powder is poison. Don’t let the baby touch it.‘

Was the messy writing on purpose?
Jishin tilted his head.

“Was it face powder?”
“Indeed.”

Consort Gyokuyou entrusted the princess to the wet nurse and took out something from a drawer.
Packed in the cloth was a ceramic container. When she opened the lid, white powder wafted out.

“Face powder?”
“Indeed, it is face powder.”

He pinched the white powder wondering what could be inside it. Come to think of it, Consort Gyokuyou who originally had beautiful skin didn’t use the face powder. Consort Rifa heavily covered her face to hide her bad complexion.

“The princess is a glutton. Just my milk wasn’t enough for her. I only let her drink from the wet nurse when mine wasn’t enough.”

She employed a wet nurse when she lost it soon after giving birth. (??)

>>158465767

>chapter 3 continued

“This is what the wet nurse used. She liked to use this as it was whiter than the other face powders.”
“How is the wet nurse?”
“She took a break when her physical condition got bad. I planned to give her sufficient retirement money.”

That were the words of the intelligent, overly kind consort.

What would happen if there was poison inside the face powder?
If the ones who used it were mothers, their foetuses would be affected. Even after birth, the infants could get it in their mouths too.

Jishin and Consort Gyokuyou didn’t know what it was. Just that this was the poison that killed the crown prince.

“Ignorance is a sin. We should take more care in what the infants are putting into their mouths.”
“I agree.”

As a result, four of the emperor’s children were lost. If they included those still in their mother’s wombs, more might be affected.

“I want to tell this to Consort Rifa as well, but I think that anything I say will backfire.”

Consort Rifa, even now, is coating her bad skin complexion with the face powder. All without knowing it was poison.

Jishin looked at the piece of unbleached cloth. He had a mysterious feeling that he had seen this before.
The messy writing also looked like it was hide the handwriting. However, he seen this feminine script from elsewhere.

“Who could have done this?”
“That day was the time I got the doctor to look at my daughter. In the end, this was left by the window after I bothered you. It was tied to an azalea branch.”

So, could it have been that they figured something out when they were at the riot and wanted to leave some advice?

Just who could it have been?

“The palace doctor wouldn’t do such a roundabout thing.”
“Indeed. It seemed he didn’t know how to treat the crown prince even till the end.”

The riot of that time.
That said, he remembered the unconcerned maid from the group of onlookers.
What was she muttering about?

>>158465813

>chapter 3 continued

‘What can I use to write?‘

Suddenly, everything in his head connected.
Kukuku, evil laughter burst out. The consort, beautiful like a celestial maiden, smiled widely.

“Consort Gyokuyou. The owner of those words, what shall we do when we find them?”
“Of course, they are our benefactor. I want to give thanks to them.”
“I understand. Please wait for a bit.”
“I await your good news.”

Jishin followed the memories of the cloth that was embedded with feelings.

“If the beloved consort so wishes, I must certainly find then.”

Under the celestial maiden smile, the treasure hunting child’s innocence grew.

>>158464998
Are there any significant differences between the web novel and the published one?

>>158465873
I'm not sure about this one but usally there's just extra chapters and better grammar

>>158465400
>Here where the incentive for romance is scarce, it appeared that even eunuchs can be a target. After court ladies resign, you can sometimes hear that some become the wives of eunuchs. That they still have a healthy lust for women, is still something that tilts heads.
For the anons who wondered if an eunuch and a girl can fall in love, they actively do in this universe.

>>158466340
How do they have sex then?

>>158466468
Lots of foreplay, pegging and fingering I guess.

>>158464967
>open air skewers
Does this satisfy the autists

I hope NTR doesn't happen

>>158465183
WN are straight from the writer.
LN is when it gets published and has to go through an editor and adjusted for sale
Also has the gift of foresight, adjustments can be made to the early story based on where the author now knows the plot is heading

>>158466751
If she keeps a low profile and saves enough money, she can resign from the imperial court it seems.

File: img000032.png (901KB, 891x1280px) Image search: [Google]

901KB, 891x1280px

>>158465837
All according to keikkaku

>>158466340
>>158466468
So the eunuch has the possibility to choose the sperm donor for his adopted kid should he choose to get one.

>>158468916
>choose
I think it's a case of having a baby with the emperor or having none at all.

Man it's (good)weird how much attention this series been getting all of the sudden. Nothing like getting a manga translated to shed some light on stuff, people are even doing the novels now.

Did you translate this yourself OP? Good stuff man. Do you plan on doing everything eventually?

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