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00:03Take off your clothes and crawl into this dog cage.
00:06If you can last the hour, I'll spare you.
00:09My lady, I merely brushed aside some petals and spoiled your moment of leisure.
00:14Why drive me to my death for this?
00:17So you refuse. Let your daughter take your place.
00:22No, I beg you, please let Yasmin go. I'll do anything you ask.
00:25Please spare my mother. Please spare my mother. Please, please.
00:29Yasmin, don't be afraid. If there's another life, I'd want to be your mother all over again.
00:38Mother!
00:44Mother!
00:47This is entertaining!
00:49Mother!
00:50Truly amusing!
00:52How entertaining!
00:55If anyone asks, tell them this lowborn slave was caught in adultery and hanged herself beneath the tree.
01:02That way, no one can smear me or ruin the consort's selection.
01:06Yes, my lady.
01:07My mother never did anything wrong! Why did you have to kill her?
01:09Because soon our lady will be chosen for the palace and become its most honored consort.
01:14And your worthless aunt.
01:17Yet you think your opinion matters?
01:21Feed her to the wolves at the back of the mountain.
01:25Mother!
01:26Mother!
01:27Mother!
01:29Mother!
01:33Mother!
01:36Mother!
01:37Mother!
01:39Mother!
01:40Mother!
01:47Mother!
01:49I'm coming to join you.
01:51Mother!
01:53Mother!
02:03Mother!
02:08Mother!
02:16Mother!
02:17You're awake.
02:20Drink the medicine.
02:23Let me go!
02:24I want to kill Elsie and avenge my mother!
02:28She's already been crowned queen.
02:30If you storm in now, you'll only be marching to your death.
02:32So what should I do?
02:33Become my student.
02:36I'll teach you how to charm men.
02:39You win the king's favor.
02:41And one day you'll crush her beneath your feet and settle this blood debt.
02:50Master!
02:58Like a flower born of clear waters.
03:02Flawless without embellishment.
03:04Good.
03:10I planted in you the Lotus of Fertility.
03:13Each time the king favors you, the lotus will bloom once more.
03:17When it's in full blossom, you'll conceive.
03:19The royal line is dwindling.
03:21If you can bear his first child, your rise will be unstoppable.
03:25I'll hold fast to your guidance, master.
03:28But first, I must test whether you have the skill to win the king's favor.
03:32Your first trial is temptation.
03:35Lie on this bed.
03:37Beneath these ten layers of quilts is a single bean.
03:40Tell me where it is.
04:04Master, it's right here.
04:06It digged into me and feels awful.
04:16Skin soft as silk, delicate as glass.
04:19Good.
04:23Good.
04:44A body that bends with ease.
04:46A stance brimming with seduction.
04:48That's enough to drive a man wild.
04:49You've passed.
04:50Now, the second trial.
04:51This one will test how well you can serve a man.
04:54Hold this egg between your thighs.
04:56Without breaking it, fold this silk paper into a fan.
05:23Good.
05:24Your technique is polished.
05:25You've passed.
05:26Now, the third trial tests your will.
05:29To lure a man, you must first master your own desire.
05:32If you can't even resist my touch, how will you ever seduce the king?
05:56Excellent in this round of testing.
06:19You failed.
06:20You may not enter the palace.
06:22Why?
06:22Haven't I already passed?
06:25Master?
06:26I only pretended to be hurt, and you instantly rushed to my aid.
06:30If I'd been an enemy, you'd already be dead.
06:32With a heart this soft, how will you ever survive in a palace that devours the weak?
06:37I...
06:37Enough.
06:38I said no, and that's final.
06:53Forgive me, master.
06:54I've waited ten years for revenge.
06:57I can't wait any longer.
06:58I'm determined to triumph in the consort selection tomorrow.
07:03I'll be right back.
07:05I'll be right back.
07:12You may enter the palace.
07:38I thought the candidates would be breathtaking, but they're nothing more than a crowd of plain faces.
07:43What a waste of my time dressing up.
07:45Why, of course.
07:46In family and beauty, who here could possibly compare with you, Natalie?
07:51This year's first place is surely yours.
07:53Thanks!
08:10Wow.
08:11She's gorgeous.
08:12Truly stunning.
08:14Which family is she from?
08:15I've never seen her before.
08:17Whose daughter is that?
08:18She's beautiful.
08:23Which shabby corner of the world bred her?
08:26She's not beautiful.
08:27She can't even afford a piece of gold.
08:29It's laughable.
08:31I may be poor, not glittering with jewels like you.
08:35But your words remind me of a story.
08:37There was once a princess who wouldn't eat unless her tableware was coming.
08:42Covered in gold.
08:43In the end, she starved to death.
08:45What are you implying?
08:46You can cover a fool in gold.
08:48But she's still a fool.
08:52Who are you calling a fool?
08:54The selection begins now.
09:00Fool or not, we'll see soon enough.
09:10First place in calligraphy goes to Yasmin Conrad.
09:22Hmm.
09:23First place in needlework goes to Yasmin Conrad.
09:30First place in dance goes to Yasmin Conrad.
09:35The selection is over.
09:37Soon, portraits of the candidates will be sent to his majesty.
09:41Once he reviews them, the results will be announced.
09:44Natalie is a noble lady of high birth.
09:46Cousin to the queen herself.
09:48How could she lose to a bumpkin?
09:50Lose?
09:53We'll see who truly wins.
09:55Here comes the king and queen!
10:04Long live the king!
10:06Long live the queen!
10:11This is entertaining!
10:13Truly amusing!
10:16After ten years, at last I stand before you once more.
10:20You may rise.
10:23Mr. Cruz, announce the top three.
10:26By the king's decree in this consort selection,
10:29third place goes to the daughter of the prefect,
10:31Aliyah Phillips.
10:33Second place, the daughter of the minister of justice,
10:36Natalie Warner.
10:42If Natalie is second, surely first place must be Yasmin.
10:46First place, the daughter of Rosewell's deputy magistrate, Chelsea Hood.
10:50What's going on?
10:51I don't understand.
10:52How could it be Chelsea?
10:53Why not Yasmin?
10:54Yes, it's strange.
10:55These are the top three.
10:57Good.
10:57The winner, by custom, is raised to noble consort
11:00and housed in the spring court.
11:01I have official duties to see to.
11:03I'll take my leave.
11:05Understood.
11:05Farewell to his majesty.
11:07You may all go.
11:08Yes, ma'am.
11:11Natalie.
11:14You're the one behind my loss, aren't you?
11:16There's no need to be so blunt.
11:18All I did was slip the painters twice their fee
11:20to make you hideous on canvas.
11:22His majesty saw once and was done.
11:30Let this be a lesson.
11:32Stop showing off in front of me.
11:39My lady!
11:42My lady!
11:43Are you okay?
11:46Who are you?
11:47I'm Sasha, your maidservant.
11:49Seeing you hadn't returned,
11:50I went searching, only to find this scene.
11:53Don't worry, my lady.
11:54I'll go with you to accuse Lady Warner.
11:56If you end up living in the same palace as her,
11:58she'll surely find ways to torment you.
12:00She's loyal.
12:01There's no need.
12:03Huh?
12:04Because I let her take first place on purpose.
12:16Did you accept Natalie's bride
12:18to make me look so dreadful in my portrait?
12:20I don't know what you're talking about.
12:24What?
12:26This is...
12:26My lady, please spare Sophia.
12:28I'll paint you as radiant as a goddess
12:30to make amends for my mistake.
12:32Okay.
12:41I want you to paint me.
12:45Ooglia.
12:50Why?
12:51Perhaps tomorrow you'll understand.
13:01Bad news!
13:02Lady Hood has been found dead!
13:17Her methods remain unchanged after all these years.
13:20If I had taken first place,
13:22the one hanging from that tree,
13:24it'd have been me.
13:26That's why,
13:27until I've won the king's favor,
13:29I must tread carefully
13:31and avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
13:34But the king is buried in state affairs.
13:36Aside from the rare visit to the queen,
13:38he scarcely sets foot in the inner palace.
13:41When will we ever gain his favor?
13:43Tonight.
13:44Tonight?
13:46Tonight, I'll make him think of me.
13:50Day and night.
13:56My lady,
13:58didn't you say his majesty would favor you tonight?
14:00It's nearly midnight.
14:01Why haven't you gone to see him?
14:04Why should I go to him?
14:07I'll make him come to me.
14:10Huh?
14:12Sasha,
14:13do you know why this place is called the Blossom Court?
14:17Because it borders a grove of cherry trees.
14:19Correct.
14:20But only a few know the grove was planted by the king's late mother.
14:24On the 15th of each month,
14:27his majesty comes here alone to mourn her.
14:30And that is the perfect time for him to see me.
15:00See you later.
15:05Bye.
15:05Bye.
15:06Bye.
15:14Bye.
15:14Bye.
15:44It's rare to meet an equal in music. You play beautifully. Why not show yourself?
15:48If the music speaks, why meet at all?
15:51It's a woman. Which palace are you from? What's your name?
15:53When fate allows us to meet again, I'll tell you my name then.
16:10My lady, since you've already caught his majesty's eye, why not tell him your name?
16:15Sasha, what do you think is the most delicious thing in the world?
16:19Why, it's canny fruits!
16:22Silly, it's what you crave but cannot have. I want the king curious, aching to know who I am. Only
16:29then will he be haunted by me day and night.
16:31My lady, you're brilliant, come.
16:40By his majesty's command, every maid and matron in the palace is to line up and play music!
16:52Enough! Stop the noise!
16:57What kind of woman plays so well? She's bewitched his majesty, forcing every maid and matron to line up while
17:03turning the entire palace upside down.
17:05Whoever she is, she's about to soar overnight.
17:17You've been here so long and still haven't gotten close to his majesty. And now you're losing to some nameless
17:24musician?
17:24If this continues, even the concubine Yasmin who shares your palace may see the king before you do.
17:33Don't worry, Elsie. That portrait convinced his majesty Yasmin was unbearably ugly. She'll never win his favor.
17:43In truth, I have a guess.
17:49Your method is brilliant, my lady. His majesty's been looking for you non-stop, nearly driven mad.
17:54I've served in the palace all my life and never once seen him so bewitched by a woman.
17:58For men, a wife never compares to a concubine, a concubine never to a secret affair.
18:05And nothing is sweeter than what they can't have. Without leaving him hungry, how could he long for me?
18:22Still, drag this out any longer and his majesty will lose patience.
18:28I've already sent word to his majesty to meet me tonight at the southeast pavilion. Let's go.
18:34Do you think you can leave?
18:37Stand where you are!
18:40Stand where you are!
18:41What are you doing here?
18:42If Lydia hadn't told me, I'd never have known that the vixen his majesty's been searching for all these days
18:48was hiding right here in my palace.
18:50Seize them!
19:00So this is how you bewitched the king?
19:12Let's see how you can be with him now!
19:16Lydia! Lock the gates! This wretch is not leaving this place tonight!
19:19Yes, my lady.
19:22Thank you for creating the opportunity for me. I'll take your place at the pavilion and meet his majesty. Once
19:28I've won his favor, I'll be sure to thank you properly.
19:36What do we do, my lady? She'll surely try to steal his favor.
19:42She won't.
19:44She won't.
19:47Because his majesty was never going to the pavilion. It was nothing but a ruse to lure her away.
19:59His majesty is coming here tonight from Blossom Court.
20:06But the instrument is shattered. How will we draw his majesty here now?
20:23Your majesty.
20:25Where is she?
20:26We searched the entire palace, yet we couldn't find the woman who could play that tune. Please punish me.
20:32No matter. I've been a fool these past days, turning the palace upside down for the sake of one woman.
20:39It was wrong of me. No one is to look for her again.
20:48That's the melody.
20:49That sound seems to be coming from the Blossom Court nearby.
20:59But isn't this place already in use? Why is it locked?
21:20You've got to guess that the wind is didn't it?
21:22No one is.
21:23Why is it that?
21:26No.
21:26No.
21:26.
21:57.
21:57.
21:57.
21:57.
21:57.
21:58.
21:58.
21:58.
21:58.
21:59.
22:06.
22:06.
22:07.
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