【海外の反応】薬屋のひとりごと2期7話（第31話）、「この人、皇帝のわりにめちゃくちゃお茶目だな」

小蘭の声ってほんと独特だよな。リアルな女の子の子どもの声に聞こえる。『王様ランキング』のミランジョとか『ソウルイーター』のマカも同じ系統。

Xiaolan's voice is so unique. She sounds like an actual female kid. Same with Miranjo from Ranking of Kings. And Maka from Soul Eater.

あの子がしゃべるたびに、場面を全部持ってかれる感じがする。ほかのキャラが急に平板で似たような声に聞こえてきて、ちょっと違和感あるくらい。『推しの子』のあの章で、かなが周りの下手な役者に合わせて演技のレベルを落とさなきゃいけなかった話を思い出すわ。
まあ何にせよ、今の声のままで好きだけどな。

>>1

Everytime she speaks it's like she steals the scene for me. Everyone else starts sounding dull and same-voice all of a sudden, it's kinda jarring. Kinda reminds me of the reason why kana in oshi no ko has to match the shittyness of the other actors so the scene turns out balanced in that one arc.
Either way I like her voice the way it is.

この作品、2期より先もアニメ化が続く見込みってある？

Is there any chance that this will keep getting animated past season 2?

2期が当たって、ラノベ、漫画、円盤、グッズ、ねこねこのぬいぐるみやらクローンやらが売れれば、続かない理由はないんじゃね？

>>3

If season two performs well and gets sales of the LN, mangas, bluerays, merch, catcat plushies and clones, etc. Then I don't see why not?

原作は自分では読んでないんだけど、読んだ人から聞いた話だと、今期で小説4巻の終わりまで行くらしい。4巻の終わりはひとまずの区切りになってて、序盤から積み上げてきた謎が全部片付くんだとか。だからアニメ側から見ても、区切りのいいところって感じなんだろうな。

>>4

I haven't read the source material myself, but I've heard from people who have that we'll likely reach the end of novel 4 in this season. Apparently the end of novel 4 serves as a soft ending where all the mysteries that have been building up since the beginning get resolved. So from the anime team's perspective, it just seems like a good stopping point for the adaptation.

最近なら可能性は高いと思う。2000年代みたいな「原作の宣伝のためだけのアニメ」ってクソなやり方は、だいぶ減った気がする。特にこれはもう24話もやってるし、当たったら何期も続ける前提で作り始めたんだろ。

>>3

I would give it a high chance these days. I feel like a lot of anime stopped doing the "just an ad for source material" bullshit from the 2000s. Especially since we already have 24 episodes, they probably went into it planning to do several seasons if it performed well.

皇帝が猫猫のことを「薬屋」って呼んでる…つまり薬師として公式に認められたってことだ。これ後で効いてくる気がする。あとこの場面、猫猫が動くのを3人そろって目で追ってたのが妙にかわいかった。

The Emperor calls Maomao the apothecary...so she has been officially recognized as an apothecary. This will come up late me thinks. Also this little scene, all three were looking at her as she moved. Was oddly cute.

ねこねこはこれからどうやって立ち直ればいいんだ？

How will the catcat ever recover from this?

皇帝が猫猫を妃にする案を口にしたってことは、猫猫は公式にかわいいって確定したようなもんじゃね？

>>8

Considering that the emperor actually ventilated the idea of making maomao a concubine, isn't this pretty much a confirmation that maomao is canonically cute?

どっちかというと、皇帝は弟の[spoiler]壬氏[/spoiler]が猫猫に気があるのを知ってて、ちょっとからかいたかったんだろ。それに猫猫が賢いのも分かってるし。

>>9

It's more so the emperor knows that his brother [spoiler]jinshi[/spoiler] is into her and wanted to f**k with him a bit. Plus he knows she's smart

ファンタジー中国ってセンチ使ってんの？

>>8

Does fantasy china really use centimeters?

使ってるよ。タバコもカカオもあるし。

>>11

Yes, and they also have tobacco and cacao

忘れたんだけど、猫猫って阿多妃の件が片付いたあと、壬氏の素性（と、それに付いてくる政治的なしがらみ全部）に気づいたんじゃなかったっけ？

I forget, didn't she figure out Jinshi's identity (and all the associated political baggage) after the stuff with Ah-Duo went down?

猫猫は壬氏の素性についてだけ、わざと鈍いふりしてるように見える。ほかのことには何でも異様に観察眼が鋭くて好奇心旺盛なのに、後宮の誰よりも偉そうなこの謎の宦官のことだけは別。

>>13

Maomao seems to be willfully dense about Jinshi's identity. She is hyper observant and curious about literally everything else except this mysterious eunuch who seems to outrank everybody else in the palace.

知ったら危ない知識があるってことを分かってるんだよ。今の暮らしを少しでも長く続けるためなら、砂に頭を突っ込んで見ないふりをする気でいるんだ。

>>14

She recognises that some knowledge is dangerous, and she is willing to bury her head in the sand in order to keep her current lifestyle going a bit longer

かわいいなあ

She's so cute

見ろよ、猫猫が書いたやつ！

>>16

Look what she wrote!

うちの嫁は賢いなあ！

>>17

My wife is so smart!

てことは、帝が気まぐれに妃にするって言ったら、断れないってこと？

So if big E randomly makes you a concubine you can't refuse, right?

家に十分な影響力があれば断れるんじゃないか。現に今回、皇帝は羅漢を敵に回したくないって感じだったし。ただ普通は、力のある家ほど政治的な理由で娘を妃にしたがるもんだけどな…

>>19

If your family has enough influence, you probably could refuse, as we can see here the emperor doesn't want to get on Lakan's bad side. But usually influential families usually WANT their daughters to become concubines for political reasons, so...

皇帝って、気軽に人を名前で呼んだりしないと思うんだよな。召使いならなおさら。本来なら猫猫は床にへばりつくくらいひれ伏して、顔も上げず、聞かれるまで口もきかないはず。人目のないところとはいえ、大臣並みの扱いを受けてる。

>>7

I don't think the emperor can casually call someone by their name, much less a servant. Like Maomao should be hugging the floor as close as she can, never looking up, and never speaking unless told to. She is being treated like a minister, even if only in private.

>皇帝って、気軽に人を名前で呼んだりしないと思うんだよな。召使いならなおさら。
どこかで大臣か役人の宦官がブチ切れてるぞ

>>21

>I don't think the emperor can casually call someone by their name, much less a servant.
Somewhere out there, a minister or government eunuch is SEETHING

まったくだ。普通なら猫猫が皇帝のそばにいること自体許されない。今の猫猫は、重要人物じゃないにせよ、ほぼ側近の輪の中にいる。名家出身の高官が何日も、下手すりゃ何週間も謁見を待たされてるのに、ねこねこはふらっと出向いて世間話できるんだ。これが表沙汰になったら、1時間おきに刺客をかわす羽目になるぞ。

>>22

Absolutely, Maomao even being in the emperor's shadow is something that wouldn't be allowed under normal circumstances, and currently she is pretty much in his inner circle, even if not an inportant figure. A high ranking official coming from prestigious noble family having wait days, possibly weeks for an audience while Catcat can just walk up and have a casual conversation with him would have her dodge assassins hourly if it was more public.

で、今の皇帝の狙いってそもそも何なの？壬氏を跡継ぎにする道を探ってるのか、それとも妃の誰も成人まで育つ男の子を産めなかったときの保険なのか？

What is the current emperor's gameplan anyway? Does he intend to figure out a way to make Jinshi succeed him, or is he the backup plan in case none of his concubines can bear him another son who survives to adulthood?

中国人もこういうヨーロッパの剣を使ってたの？

Did chinese use european swords like these?

無知なのは逆に潔いな
それは剣（ジエン）っていうんだよ

>>25

Based ignorant anon
Its called a Jian

皇太后は知ってるはずだろ。赤ん坊の取り替えをやった張本人なんだから。

The Empress Dowager has to know, since she was responsible for the baby swap.

知らない、かもしれない。皇太后は阿多妃と同じ時期にお産の真っ最中だったんだから。
それが取り替えの起きる状況を作ったわけで。
自分の子か孫か、見分けがつくはずがない。

>>27

She doesn't or might not since she was going through childbirth at the same time as Ah-dou.
That created the scenario for the swap.

There's no way she could tell it's her baby or her grandson.

つまり猫猫は今、壬氏の妃ってこと？

so is maomao jinshi's cocubine now?

そんなの無理だろ、おばかさん。壬氏は宦官なんだから

>>29

That's impossible, silly, Jinshi's a eunuch

法的には、壬氏は猫猫を妃として国を治める資格を得たってことだな。

>>29

Legally Jinshi now has the right to rule with Maomao as his concubine.

この人、皇帝のわりにめちゃくちゃお茶目だな

this guy is pretty f*****g goofy for an emperor

根っからいい人っぽいよな。気を張らなくていい相手の前では偉ぶらないんだ。

>>32

He seems like a genuinely nice guy. He doesn't put on airs in front of people he doesn't have to.

そもそも皇帝になりたくなかったからだよ。阿多妃と並んで普通の人として生きたかっただけなのに、壬氏が同じことを猫猫とやろうとしたもんだから、一生その役から降りられなくなった。いい親父なんだよ。

>>33

Its because he didn't want to be emperor, he just wanted to be a normie alongside Ah-Duo, but since Jinshi decided to do the same but with maomao, he is now forever stuck in the role because he is a based dad

てことは、今の皇帝じゃなくて、試練に通ったのは実は壬氏だったってこと？

So, does that mean that, instead of the current Emperor, it was Jinshi who actually passed the test?

>色の見分けがつかない異国人どもが宮廷に入り込んで、血筋を毒し、障害のある遺伝子を受け継がせた
>血筋が受け継がれてるか確かめる試験のために、手の込んだ建物まで建てた
すげえな

>f*****g colorblind foreigners infiltrated the palace and poisoned the bloodline passing on their disabled genes
>they even built an elaborate building as a test to ensure their blood kept being passed down
incredible

日本の平安時代を少しでも知ってれば、こういう血筋への執着なんて大したことない。500年くらいの間、藤原氏は天皇が必ず藤原の女から生まれるようにして、幼いうちに即位させて代わりに政治を握った。で、自分で考えられる歳になってきたら若い藤原の女たちで周りを固めて、誰かに子ができたら若いうちに退位させてまた最初から。これが文字通り何百年も続いたんだよ。

>>36

If you know about Japan's heian era at all, this kind of obsessive control over breeding is nothing. For like 500 years the Fujiwara clan ensured the emperor was always born to a Fujiwara woman, so they could then elevate him to the throne as an infant / young child and then rule in his name, and once he started getting old enough to think for himself they surrounded him by young Fujiwara women until he knocked at least one of them up, and then once they had a new heir they'd force him to retire as a young man and start the cycle over. This went on for literally hundreds of years.

すべては計画（けいかく）通り

>>37

All according to keikaku

[spoiler]そばかすは偽物。[/spoiler]
教えてくれ、これって見る価値ある？ここまでは気に入ってるんだけど、これだけは許せる気がしない。

[spoiler]The freckles are fake.[/spoiler]
Tell me, is it worth watching? I like what I've seen thus far, but I'm not sure I can forgive this.

あるよ。最初の何話かが気に入ったなら、残りも気に入る。

>>39

Yes, if you liked the first episodes, you will like the rest

そばかすは彼女の心の中では本物だよ[spoiler]俺の心の中でもな[/spoiler]

>>39

they are real in her heart [spoiler]and mine[/spoiler]

民主主義なんかクソ食らえ、俺はこの、人の姿をした神みたいなお方に国を治めてほしい。

F**k democracy, I want this God among men to rule my nation.

>民主主義なんかクソ食らえ
>この人に治めてほしい
お前、民主主義が何か分かってないだろ

>>42

>f**k democracy
>I want this guy to lead
I don't think you understand what democracy is anon

国民の大多数とか今の制度がどう思おうが関係なく、この人に治めてほしいって意味だよ。

>>43

I want him to lead no matter what the majority of the population and the current system want, though.

なんで俺は小蘭と結婚できないんだ？

Why can't I marry Xioalan?

あいつはさくらと結婚してるからな

>>45

because he is married to Sakura

それは小狼（シャオラン）であって、小蘭（シャオラン）じゃない

>>46

That's Xiaolang, not Xiaolan

それめちゃくちゃ面白いな。俺は北欧の人間なんだけど、夜間訓練のとき暗視装置なしでも暗闇でわりと見えてた。でも何人か全然見えてないやつがいて、みんな茶色い目だった。青とか灰色の目がそういう場面で関係するなんて考えたこともなかったけど、確かに差はあったっぽい。

That is pretty interesting because I'm a scandi and when we had night ops I usually didn't have much problem seeing in the dark without night vision but some of the other dudes were basically blind and they all had brown eyes. Never really thought about the implications of having blue/gray eyes in that context but it did seem to matter.

うん、かなり面白い話だよな。同じ理屈で、猫が夜目が利くのも説明できる。猫ってだいたい緑か黄色か青の目で、そのうえ瞳孔がとんでもなく開いて光を取り込めるから。
色覚異常の原因はよく知らないけど、ネットで調べた範囲だと白人系にいちばん多くて黒人系にいちばん少ないらしい。だから明るい目の色のヨーロッパ人と何か関係ありそうだけど、確かなことは分からない。

>>48

Yeah it's pretty interesting stuff. Another interesting thing is that the same principle explains why cats have such great night vision, since they basically all have green/yellow/blue eyes, as well as pupils that can dilate to an absurd degree to let in even more light.
I'm not exactly sure what causes color blindness, but from what I can find on the internet it's most common among white ethnicities and least common among black ethnicities, so there's seems to be some connection there with Europeans having lighter eyes, but I just don't know for sure.

目ってほんと面白いよな。夜の森で懐中電灯を照らして地面がチラチラ光ったら、それはだいたいクモ。猫の目と同じで光を反射するんだ。色覚異常については、目の色との関係は見たことないな。俺の知ってる色覚異常の人はほとんど茶色い目だったし。単に遺伝なんだろう。だからこの話で継承に使われてるわけで。

>>49

Eyes are pretty fascinating. If you're ever out in the woods at night and shine a flashlights and see glints of reflection on the ground those are mostly spiders, they have the same cat eye effect of reflecting light. As far as color blindness I have never seen a correlation of eye color with that because most of the color blind people I've met had brown eyes. It's just genetical I suppose which is why they use that for succession in this story.

でもほとんど誰も知らないんじゃ、正統性があるとはみなされにくいだろ。DNA検査があるわけでもないし。皇帝が死んで、壬氏が「よう、俺が実はあの人の息子で新しい皇帝だ」って出てきても、誰が信じるんだ？

But if almost nobody knows there's not much perceived legitimacy. It's not like they had DNA tests. Say emperor dies and Jinshi comes out like "Sup I'm aksh his son the new emperor", who's gonna believe him?

要するに、これって壬氏が「王母」の血の特徴を持ってるってことの遠回しな言い方？壬氏は回の間ずっと黙ってたな、いい回だった！

So basically, is this a roundabout way of saying that Jinshi has the royal mother's bloodline trait? He has been silent the whole episode, great episode!

ねこねこがもう説明してただろ、顕性遺伝の問題ってだけで、確実な方法じゃないんだよ。

>>52

Cat Cat already explained, it's just a matter of dominant genes, it's not a foolproof method.

赤い扉が無いって指摘したの、壬氏じゃなかったっけ

>>52

Isn't jinshi the one who points out there's no red door

最後の組でだけな。実際そこには赤い扉が無かった

>>54

Only on the last set when there was, in fact, no red door

>でもこの話は女性向けだからそうはならない
お前アジアの時代劇見たことないだろ。特に宮廷の権力争いとか恋愛ものの中国ドラマ。女はそういうのに夢中だぞ。

>Not going to happen though since this story is for girls
You've clearly never watched any asian period drama, especially those chinese ones involving court drama/romance. Women lap that s**t up.

そうそう、女はほかの女にモテる男が好きなんだよ。
ただ壬氏の場合は猫猫にデレデレすぎて、キャラとしての受けは限られる。ああいうのが刺さる女もいるけど、大半は尻に敷かれる男に魅力は感じないと思う。

>>56

Yep women like men that are popular with other women.
Though in Jinshi's case, his character has limited appeal because he's such a bitch for MaoMao. While some women dig that, I'm sure most don't find submissive men attractive.

>ああいうのが刺さる女もいるけど、大半は尻に敷かれる男に魅力は感じないと思う。
そういうこと言わないで。

>>57

>While some women dig that, I'm sure most don't find submissive men attractive.
Please don't say this.

陸孫は後宮で働いてないから宦官じゃないよ。

Rikuson doesn't work in the rear palace so he's not an eunuch.

壬氏といつも一緒にいるあのゴリラみたいなデカいのが宦官ってのが、いまだに信じられない。ムキムキだし。しかもなぜか息子までいる。もう何が何だか。

>>59

I can't even believe that big gorilla guy that's always with Jinshi is a eunuch. He's swole. And he has a son somehow. None of this makes any sense.

壬氏は公式の話を受け入れてるけど、心の奥では本当のことを分かってる気がする。だから阿多妃が去るとき泣いたんだよ。今でも母親だと思ってるんだ。

I get the impression that even though Jinshi accepts the official story, deep down he knows the truth. That's why he cried when Ah-Duo left. He still thinks of her as his mother.

壬氏があそこまで阿多妃に懐いてたのが、いまだに分からない。産みの母だってこと以外は、ほとんど他人じゃないの？昔の中国だと違うのかもしれないけど、俺が壬氏なら母親は育ててくれた人（皇太后）で、産んだあと人生から消えた人じゃないな。

>>61

I still don't understand why Jinshi was so attached to Ah-Duo. Other than being his biological mother, she was practically a stranger no? Maybe it's different in ancient China but if I was Jinshi, my mother would be the one that raised me (the Empress Dowager) and not the one that birthed me and then disappeared from my life.

>ほとんど他人
阿多妃はずっと昔から壬氏の人生にいたんだよ。ほかの妃みたいに最近初めて会ったわけじゃない。

>>62

>she was practically a stranger
Ah-Duo has been in his life since forever, it's not like he just met her for the first time a while ago like with other concubines.

とにかくこのアニメは本当にすごいって言いたかった。普段はサービスシーンが少ないって文句言うんだけど、それが無くてもこのアニメはかなりいい。

I just wanted to say that this anime is really great. Usually, I end up complaining about the lack of fanservice, but even without it, this anime is pretty good.

俺が鈍いだけかもしれないけど、仕掛けは色覚異常か、逆に余計に色が見えるやつに関係してるんだろうな。前者は男にずっと多くて、後者は女に多いって聞いたことある。それが「王母」の話とつながるのかも。遺伝するって点も含めて。

Maybe I'm a bit slow but I'm guessing the trick is something to do with colourblindness, or the opposite where you can see extra colours. I know the former is a lot more common in men and the latter in women which might tie into the whole Mother Royal thing, plus the whole hereditary nature of it.

ほらな。
珍しく種明かしの前に自力で分かったぞ！

>>65

There we go.
I actually figured something out prior to the reveal for once!

答えは、かっこいい君主になって看板と逆のことをすることだと思ってた。

>>65

I expected the solution is to be a cool ruler and do opposite of what the sign says.

なんでみんなカエルの話ばっかりしてんの

Why does everyone keep talking about frogs

>オープニングにカエル
>チェーホフのカエルが前に出てくる
この作品で一番重要な場面の一つなんだよ、制作側だって分かってる

>>68

>Frog in OP
>Chekhov's frog appear earlier on
Its one of the most important moments in this series, even the studio knows it

カエルはこの物語の大事なモチーフなんだよ

>>68

Frogs are a vital motif in this story

この作品で一つ気に入らないのは、毎回設定に新しい概念を持ち込んで、別の流れや場面でそれがすぐその回の本筋に効いてくるところ

one thing I don't like about this show is how it always introduces a new concept to the setting and then in a separate context/scene its immediately relevant to the rest of the episode

この作品の謎解きの作りは俺も好きじゃない。たいてい都合よすぎて運任せに見える。
それでも見てるのは、なんちゃって古代中国の舞台と政治の駆け引きが好きだから。作画もそこそこいいから一気見しやすいし。

>>71

I'm not a fan of how the mysteries work in this show either. They just seem too convenient and luck-based most of the time.
I still like it mostly because of the pseudo ancient China setting and the political intrigue. It helps that the anime has decent production value so it's easy to binge.

決まった型があるんだよ
>出来事1、2、3が起きる
>全部つながってるけど、見て分かる形ではない
>出来事4が起きる、これが大ごと
>ほかの3つで集めた知識で4を解き明かす
この型は変わらない。猫猫がこのやり方で解かない章は一つだけで、それは不意打ちの殺人で終わる

>>72

It follows a simple formula
>Event 1,2,3 happens
>They are all connected but not in an obvious way
>Event 4 happens, its big deal
>The knowledge gathered in the other 3 events helps piece things together to solve event 4
This formula doesnt change, only one arc isnt solved by maomao this way, and it ends with a surprise murder

これ薬剤師の団体のポスターなんだけど。
皮肉なのは、猫猫が毒を作ってるってこと

This is a poster for a group of pharmacists.
The irony is that she is making poison

猫猫はめったに毒なんか作らないよ。薬をよくするために自分の体で毒を試すだけ。
実際に毒を作ったのは、超強力な殺虫剤「ねこねこ毒スーパーエクストラ謎の調合」のときくらい

>>74

Maomao rarely makes poison, only test poisons on herself to improve meds.
The only time she in fact does poison is the super effective pesticide "Catcat-poison-super-extra mystery concoction"

問題は、跡継ぎの多くが、賢い者でさえ、批判的に考える訓練を受けずに儒教の経典の暗記ばかりさせられてたこと。古代中国は決断に過去の経験を引くのを重んじたから、ほとんどの皇帝は先を見るより、船を安定させることに力を注いでた。

The problem was that a lot of heirs, even the smart ones, weren't taught how to think critically but rather memorization of Confucius text. Ancient China was big on drawing on past experiences for decisions making so most emperors weren't forward thinking and focus more in keeping the ship steady.

道家とか儒家以外の連中が文化戦争に勝ってればよかったのかもな。

>>76

maybe taoists and all the other non-confucians should have won culture wars.

道についての本を持ってるんだけど、文字通りこう書いてある。「道の意味は掴めない。もし掴めたなら、それは道ではない」
まったく従う価値のある教えだな。

>>77

I have a book about dao. It literally says: you cannot grasp the meaning of dao. if you somehow can, then it's not dao.

totally a teaching worth following.

うまく回ってたんだよ。本当に、本当にダメになるまでは

>>76

It worked well, right until it really, really didn't

前回、皇帝が猫猫に興味を持ったってみんな大騒ぎしてたのに、ふたを開けたら進展の無さにイラついてる壬氏×猫猫推しだったってのが笑える。

I find it funny how everyone was freaking out about the Emperor taking an interest in Maomao last episode, and it turns out he's just a JinMao shipper annoyed by the lack of progress.

二人とも自分の出自を認めようとしないってのが、なんか似合ってるよな。猫猫は屈指の名門の娘で、壬氏は自分が皇帝の息子で跡継ぎだと認めたくない。

It's kind of fitting how both of them are in denial about their parentage. Maomao being the daughter of one of the most powerful noble families and Jinshi not wanting to accept he is the Emperor's son and heir.

まあ、オープニングで描かれてるとおり、今の「皇帝の弟」って立場だけでも壬氏はめちゃくちゃ参ってるからな。自分の立場がどれだけヤバいか知ったら…ｗ

To be fair, as shown in the opening, even his current status as the Emperor's brother already stress Jinshi the hell out. If he knows just how f****d his position is... lol.

面白いと思ったのは、壬氏が子どもの頃、違うと言われるまで皇帝が自分の父親だと思い込んでたところ。たぶん阿多妃に初めて会ったときも、すぐ本能的に何かつながりを感じてたんだろうな。

I thought it was interesting that as a child Jinshi already assumed the Emperor was his father until he was told otherwise. Like he probably immediately, instinctively, knew he had a connection with Ah-Duo when he first met her.

猫猫は壬氏の顔のせいで戦争が起きかねないとか散々思ってるけど、皇帝が猫猫を妃にしたり壬氏に嫁がせたりする話が羅漢の耳に入ったら、猫猫だって戦争を起こしかねないんだよなｗ

For all her thoughts about Jinshi possibly starting wars because of his looks, she could also start one if Lakan catches wind of the emperor making her his consort or marrying her off to Jinshi. Lol

まあ、皇帝とのやり取りは毎回危険ではあるよ。
鷹揚な人だけど、猫猫がうっかり重大すぎる秘密を暴いたら、それを知ってること自体が国にとって大きすぎる脅威だと判断するかもしれない。
（でも今は2期の真ん中だし、まだアニメ化してない巻も残ってるから、本当の危険は無いけどね）

To be fair, every interaction with the Emperor is dangerous.
He’s chill, but if Maomao accidentally uncovered a secret that was too important, he might see her knowing it as too big of a threat to the kingdom.
(But we’re in the middle of the second season, and there are still books left to adapt, so there’s no real danger here.)

猫猫は賢いのに、皇帝がこれだけ自分に目を留めてる（しかも体目当てじゃなく）ってことを、ちゃんと受け止めてないみたいだ。

Maomao, smart as she is, doesn't really seem to process the fact that the Emperor is taking such notice of her (and not because of her {physical} attributes).

今思えば、猫猫の名前が出たときの皇帝の真剣な顔は、猫猫を（壬氏と一緒に）あの廟に連れて行くことを考えてたんだろうな。
正直、皇帝は壬氏に帝位を譲る準備をしてるんじゃないかって気がしてきた。
今回の試しも、猫猫の力量を測るための手の込んだ計画だったのかも。だとしたら、あのくっつけようとする言動も、猫猫に壬氏の妃として次の皇后になってほしいって願いだと解釈できる。

In retrospect, the Emperor’s serious look in response to the mentioning of Maomao must’ve been him thinking of taking Maomao (with Jinshi) to the Shrine of Choosing.
I’m honestly starting to get the impression that the Emperor might be making plans to relinquish the throne to Jinshi.
Today’s trail might’ve been an elaborate plan to test Maomao’s capabilities. If so, his matchmaking attempts could be interpreted as him wishing for Maomao to become the next Empress as Jinshi’s consort.

猫猫がどれだけ自分はあの人の娘じゃないってふりをしたくても、実際には娘だし、その恩恵もしっかり受けてるってことを改めて思い出させてくれたな。猫猫は時々「私のような一介の下女が帝の機嫌を損ねたら処刑されかねない…」とか考えてるけど、実際はそうでもない。本人が思ってるよりずっと融通が利く立場にいる。

It's an interesting reminder that, as much as Maomao wants to pretend that she isn't his daughter, she definitely is - and definitely benefits from it. She sometimes thinks "A mere servant such as myself could be executed for offending the Emperor..." but that's not really true. She has a lot more leeway than she lets on.

影響力だけで言えば、猫猫は帝国で5番目に力のある人物だぞ。
壬氏、羅漢、上級妃4人のうち2人は、猫猫が何か提案したら100%耳を貸す。
これだけの政治的な貸しを引き出せる人間なんて、ほかにいないと思う。
しかも今回、正統性を与える謎を猫猫が解いたことを皇帝が知った。たとえ精神的な意味だけだとしても。
もちろん表立ってはできないけど、その気になったら？3〜4人の耳にささやけば、みんな聞くよ。

She's the #5 most powerful person in the empire by influence alone.
Jinshin, Lakan and 2/4 high-rank concubines would 100% listen to her if she were to suggest something.
I doubt anybody else has the ability to draw on so much political capital.
Now the emperor knows she solved the riddle that gives legitimacy, even if in-spirit only.
Obviously she cannot do so overtly but if she wanted to? She can wisper in 3-4 ears and they will listen.

そのうちの大半は、自分の立場が悪くなるならそこまでして助けちゃくれないだろ。
でも羅漢は…猫猫が子猫みたいな目でお願いしたら、断ることなんてあるのかね。

Majority of those wouldn't go out too much to help her out if it is bad for their position.
Lakan though... I wonder what he wouldn't do if Maomao asked him to with some big kitten eyes.

自分が損をしてまで助けるなんてのは、よほど固い絆が無い限り、権力だけができることだからな。その意味では妃たちに大きく見劣りする。それでも、これだけの政治的な影響力を持ってるのは本当にすごい。

Well helping to one's own detriment is something that power and power alone can achieve barring extremely tight knit relationships. In that sense she is severely underclassed by the Concubines. But still to have this much political leverage is truly remarkable

しかもまだ社交界に顔も出してない若い娘なんだからな。羅漢が自慢してる可能性を除けば、大半の貴族は猫猫の存在すら知らないだろう。羅漢はちょっとアホっぽいけど、とんでもなく頭は切れるから、猫猫のことをそこまでペラペラしゃべってるとは思えない。

Especially as a young woman that hasn't even had a social debut. The majority of the nobles wouldn't even know that she exists, outside of Lakan potentially bragging about her though while he is kind of a fool he is extremely smart so I doubt he ran with his mouth about her existence too much.

正直、猫猫は気づいてると思う。考えたくなくて認めないだけ。回の最後で壬氏の出自についての考えを振り払ってたみたいに。前期の時点で、猫猫がそこまで推測してたのは分かってるのに。

Tbh I think she does realize. She just doesn't want to think about it and is in denial. Like at the end of the episode where she brushed off the thought about Jinshi's heritage, even though we knew she already speculated as much last season.

皇帝はそんなことしないと思う。壬氏が猫猫を好きなのは明らかに分かってるし、壬氏のことをかなり可愛がってるから、自分の息子（とされる）にそんなことはしない。仮に好みのタイプだったとしても、街で美人をさらって無理やり妃にするような人じゃないし。

I don’t think the emperor would do that. He clearly knows jinshi likes her and he’s actually quite fond of jinshi and wouldn’t do that to his son (allegedly) . Even if she was his type it’s not like he goes around snatching off hot women off the street and forces them to be concubines

壬氏が本当に皇帝の息子なら、猫猫を妃に見立てて試練に通ったってことになるな

if jinshi is really his son. then he just passed the test with her as his concubine

そうそう、皇帝は猫猫を処刑なんてできない。普通なら貴族でも処刑されるようなことでもな。猫猫が処刑されたら、羅漢が腹いせに国をぶっ壊す。

Yeah the emperor can't really execute her, not even for things that would get nobles executed normally. If Maomao gets executed Lakan is going to tear the kingdom down in spite.

羅漢とのつながりってより、猫猫が上級妃3人、皇女、皇帝の弟、もしかしたら世継ぎ、それに西との外交関係まで救ってるからだと思う。しかもこれはパッと思いつくぶんだけ。

I don't really think it's the Lakan connection as much as the fact that she saved 3 royal concubines, the royal princess, the brother to the king, possibly the royal heir, diplomatic relations with the West, and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head.

いや、羅漢の後ろ盾はめちゃくちゃ効いてるよ。あんたが挙げた功績があっても、本当に庶民だったら面倒なことになってたか、死んでたかもしれない。この話は古代中国の歴史から一部着想を得てるんだ。当時の農民は貴族よりずっと権利が少なかったし、猫猫みたいな女ならなおさら。

Actually, the Lakan background does help A LOT. Even with all those good deeds you've mentioned, she could still be in trouble or died if she was truly a commoner. Remember, this story is partially inspired by ancient China history, and back then, a peasant had way less rights than nobles, even less so for women like Maomao.

「胸回りが15センチほど足りないな」
これを聞いたときの猫猫の反応が最高だったｗ
もっと皇帝に出てきてほしい。今回は皇帝がいたおかげで、すごくいいスパイスになってた。

"She's lacking about 15 cm around the chest."
Maomao's reaction when she heard the Emperor say that was hilarious xD
I'd really love for more of the Emperor in the series as his presence in today's episode spiced things up very nicely.

思ったよりかなりまともな人だった。1期ではあんまり出てこなかったからな。

He turned out to be a pretty decent guy. We didn't see much of him in season 1.

ほんと楽しい人だよ。今回のは全部、本人にとってはお遊びだったんだな。

He's really a fun guy. This was all a romp for him.

猫猫と壬氏の2回目の挑戦こそ、今回の本当の目的だったと思う。最初から計画されてたんだよ。前回里樹妃から猫猫の話を聞いて、皇帝はついに猫猫を壬氏の妃に見立てて試すことにした。成功しないのは分かってたけど、その挑戦で猫猫に全体を観察して答えを出す機会を与えた。で、その間ずっと二人をからかって楽しんでたと。

I think the 2nd attempt with Maomao/Jinshi was the real purpose of this attempt, it was planned. After hearing about Maomao from Lishu last episode, Emperor finally decided to test her as Jinshi’s consort. He knew he wouldn’t succeed, but that attempt gave Maomao a chance to study the whole thing and figure it out. And he had a blast trolling both her and Jinshi the whole time

楼蘭妃と皇帝の間に何か取り決めがあるっていう、いい証拠にもなってるな。楼蘭妃は梨花妃や玉葉妃と張り合える感じじゃないし。

Also excellent evidence toward the fact that Loulan and the Emperor have some deal going, cause Loulan ain't competing with Lihua or Gyokuyou

血筋に色覚異常が受け継がれてることの見せ方がうまかったし、西王母が自分の血を残すことに、賢くもあり必死でもあったことがよく伝わってきた。
あと、皇帝がずっと「羅漢とは揉めたくない」って強調してたのが最高だった。

That was a neat way to show how a bloodline had colorblindness and showing how wise while also desperate Queen Wang Mu was in preserving her legacy.
Also the emperor constantly highlighting he doesn't want to f**k with Lakan was hilarious.

羅漢は敵に回したくないわ。いろんな意味で悲惨なことになりそう。

I wouldn't want to have Lakan as my enemy. Sounds to be a miserable thing in more than one way.

そう、偉大な将軍は簡単に皇帝になれる。今は国が軍に給料を払ってるから忘れがちだけど、昔はそれが当たり前じゃなかった。軍の多くは給料を出してくれる将軍に忠実で、そこに戦に勝ちまくる将軍（羅漢はそう読み取れる頭の持ち主）が加われば、兵士は出世して身分も上がる。羅漢は皇帝にとってかなり手強い相手になるだろう。

Yeah great generals can easily become emperors. We often forget because the state pays their armies these days. This was not always the norm. So many armies are loyal to their generals for the pay, but toss in one who wins a lot of battles (due to intellect that is inferred about Lakan) which helps soldiers move up in station and society. Lakan would be a very formidable adversary to the Emperor

皇帝だろうと、軍の将軍と仲が悪いのは間違いなくまずい

Even as a emperor, having a bad relationship with your military general would definitely be a bad idea

それと、目をつけてる女に手を出して、弟（息子かもしれない）を怒らせたくないってのもあるだろうな。

And also probably not tick off his brother/possible son by making moves on the girl he has his eyes on.

この世界では女は男ほど政治的な力を持ってないかもしれないけど、手持ちのものを自分に有利に使う道をいつも見つける。こっちが気づかないうちにね。
皇帝は羅漢と揉めたくないけど、だからって猫猫や壬氏をからかうのはやめない。いろいろ考えると、けっこう楽しい人っぽい。

Women may not have quite the political power that men do in this setting but they always find ways to use what they have at their disposal to their advantage, even if you don't even realize it.
The Emperor doesn't want to mess around with Lakan but that won't stop him from teasing Maomao or Jinshi. Seems like a fun enough guy, all things considered.

眠ってる獅子は寝かせておくのが一番。敵に向けるとき以外はちょっかいを出すな。

It better to let the sleeping lion rest. Don't bother him, other than pointing him at your enemies.

猫猫が学校に小蘭を見に行く場面は、思ってたとおりかわいかった。
あれだけ政治的に重大な建物なのに、あの廟、ゲーム番組の挑戦にしか見えないんだよな。最後の扉で勝者が「観客」に明かされるところまで含めて。

Maomao visiting Xiaolan at school turned out to be as cute as I thought it'd be.
For a building with so much political significance, that shrine feels so much like a challenge you'd see on a game show right down to how the final door reveals the winner to the "audience".

めっちゃ日本のバラエティ番組っぽい。

Very Japanese gameshow like.

いや、それなら落とし穴とか上から何か降ってくる仕掛けがもっと要る
扉を間違えた？地下行きの滑り台か、股間めがけて振り下ろされる巨大ハンマーか、鬼の格好した連中に追い出されるかだ

Nah that needs more trapdoors and stuff falling on the participants
Wrong door? Here is a slide to the basement, or a giant hammer swinging down on your balls, or people in oni costumes chasing you out

姉貴分の猫猫が、小蘭が学校でうまくやれてるか（それと、たぶん学校が女の子たちを全体としてどれくらいちゃんと教えてるか）様子を見に行くのが好き。
猫猫、未来の義理の家族と初めてのファミリー向けバラエティ番組に挑戦。

I love big sis Maomao checking in to see how Xiaolan is handling school (and probably how well the school is teaching the girls in general).
Maomao's first family game show adventure with her future in-laws.

今回の話で、いろんなピースが少しずつはまってきた気がする。
・建国神話が「西」の女から始まってる
・皇族の血筋に嫁ごうとしてる「西」からの使節二人の来訪
・世継ぎ候補が組織的に狙われてる
・皇帝が「王母」の血を持ってないらしいこと
全部が大きな陰謀を指してる。でも誰が、何のために？

With this latest episode a lot of pieces seem to be slowly falling into place:
The founding myth of the country being from a "western" woman
The arrival of the two envoys from the "west" who are trying to marry into the royal bloodline
The systemic targeting of potential heirs to the throne
The fact that the emperor doesn't seem to have the royal mother's blood
It's all pointing towards a big conspiracy. But by whom and and why?

前期の壬氏暗殺未遂も忘れちゃいけない。皇帝も壬氏も本当の跡継ぎじゃないって知ってるやつがいるのかも（扉の試練を誰も通ってないって話が西に伝わったとか）。最初は皇帝が壬氏の継承権に敵対的で、だから宦官として隠れさせてるんだと思ってた。でも今回で、もしかすると刺客から壬氏を守ってるのかもって思えてきた。

Not to mention the assassination attempt on Jinshi last season, so maybe someone knows that neither the Emperor nor Jinishi is a true heir (news of no one passing the doors trial reaching the West). Initially I thought the Emperor was hostile against Jinshi's claim; that was why he made him hide as an eunuch. But this episode leads me to believe maybe he is protecting Jinshi from would be assassins

使節は「王母」と同じ国から来てて、皇帝に自分たちの血が流れてないことに気づいて、それを取り戻すために何か企んでるんじゃないかな。
ただ、今の妃と跡継ぎの状況でどうやってそれを実現するのかは分からないけど。

I wonder if the envoys are from the same nation as the Mother Royal, they've realized their blood is not present in the Emperor, so they plan to do something to re-instate it.
Though not sure how they could accomplish it with the current status of the concubine/heirs.

まあ、すでに何人もの妃が狙われてるからな。全部同じ計画の一部なら、早い段階で成功してれば、使節が来る頃には後宮に空きができてたってことになる。

Well, several concubines have been targeted already. If it's all part of the same plan, early successes could have meant that there would be spots available in the harem by the time the envoys were scheduled to arrive.

皇太后がしばらく実権を握ってたってのは、そこまで大した新事実じゃないと思う。皇帝が即位したばかりとか、父親（皇太后の夫）が死んだときにまだ幼かったりすると、宮廷ドラマじゃよくあることっぽいし。

I don't think the Empress Dowager being in charge for a bit is too big of a reveal. That sorta thing seems to be common in palace dramas when the Emperor first ascends or is still very young when their father/the Empress' husband dies.

最後に案内役が壬氏に一歩引いて、壬氏がその意図をしっかり受け止めてたのは、絶対そういう含みだと思う。
皇族の家族関係がほんと気になる。皇太后は壬氏を「父親」から守ろうとしたのに、その皇太后が、今の皇帝が即位する前に本当の権力を握ってたらしい女帝に頭を下げてる。これも「王母」の血筋と関係あるのかな？
皇帝はかなり鷹揚な人だね。女の好みも隠さないし、人をからかうのもためらわない。

Definitely think that was the implication when the instructor seemed to defer to Jinshi at the end and Jinshi fully acknowledged the intention.
I'm really curious about the royal family dynamic. The Mother Dowager tried to protect Jinshi from his "father" but bows her head to the Empress Dowager who seemed to hold the true power/authority before the current Emperor took over. Maybe also tied to the bloodline of the Mother Royal?
The Emperor is a pretty chill guy. Pretty open about his taste in women and not above teasing people.