Welcome back to Anime Rants, where I’m catching up on recent episodes of The Apothecary Diaries. In the 12th episode, Maomao takes a temporary job entertaining men as a courtesan. This anime is loosely based on the Ming Era in China, so I decided to do some very light research into Chinese courtesans of the Ming Era.

Though I barely scratched the surface of understanding the history, it was interesting for sure. Traditional Chinese courtesans are sometimes called Yiji, though this term apparently describes the dancing/musical profession more than prostitution. According to what I read, courtesans were not always sex workers, but primarily those who practiced music, song and dance. Still, many were consorts and prostitutes, too.

Yiji and their relatives were typically seen in a negative light by high-ranking people in society. However, late in the Ming Era, courtesan culture became increasingly romanticized. Many courtesans were renowned for their skills despite their place in the social order. I appreciate The Apothecary Diaries indirectly introducing me to this history lesson. Now then, let’s get started with the episode reviews.

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Episode 10: Honey

Jinshi orders Maomao to go work for a day in the Garnet Pavilion, house of Concubine Ah-Duo. Here, she observes that the head lady-in-waiting, Fengming, has a motive to poison Lady Lishu. She is intensely loyal to Lady Ah-Duo, who may be replaced once a new concubine joins. I suppose eliminating Lishu would solve the problem of too many concubines. That could save Ah-Duo’s position.

As the episode goes on, we get more and more hints related to the mystery of who tried to poison Lady Lishu. One important fact seems to be that Lishu is allergic to honey. There’s plenty of honey in the palace because Fengming’s family runs an apiary. I forgot to mention this earlier, but Maomao also noticed that Fengming had bandages on her wrist, as if to hide injury or rash. We do know that whoever was involved in the poisoning also used those wooden tablets that cause violent rashes on the hands and wrists.

So far, it seems likely that Fengming is the culprit. Maomao asked Lady Lishu if she knew the head lady-in-waiting, and Lishu’s expression showed dread. But we didn’t get to hear her answer before the scene cut away. To be honest, the mystery is a bit hard for me to follow at this point because I don’t want to expend the mental energy to formulate a solid hypothesis. At any rate, I hope nothing happens to Lady Lishu.

In other notes, the part where Jinshi was “pranking” Maomao was funny, but would have been upsetting and concerning in reality. Like many so-called pranks, it’s just an excuse to mess with someone you either don’t like or have a certain power dynamic with. Jinshi tried to get Maomao to lick honey off his fingers, backing her into a corner when she tried to edge away. That honey looked really good, though. I’m not sure I would have resisted, personally. XD

The last few minutes if this episode show Maomao looking into some old scrolls. She discovers that Lady Ah-Duo’s male baby, many years ago, was delivered by “Dr Luomen.” This is the name of Maomao’s father. It seems that Maomao has a stronger connection to the Inner Palace than she knew. Unfortunately, Dr. Luomen was probably fired from there after the baby son of Ah-Duo died under his care. I don’t know if this is relevant to the mystery at all, but perhaps there will be more clarity in the next episode.

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Episode 11: Reducing Two to One

Things finally became clear in this episode. Maomao went to talk with Fengming and put all the pieces together. Sixteen years ago, Ah-Duo was giving birth at the same time as the empress. Since the empress took priority, there were complications, and Ah-Duo lost her uterus. Her only child, a baby boy, was accidentally killed by Fengming, who fed him poisonous honey. The lady-in-waiting had no idea at the time it was her fault.

A few years later, Fengming discovered that honey is sometimes poisonous to babies. She found this out after hearing about baby Lishu, who had a dangerous reaction to honey, but who ultimately survived. Realizing that she had killed Ah-Duo’s precious baby, Fengming was devastated. There was nobody she loved more than Ah-Duo. So, to prevent Ah-Duo from ever finding out about the honey, she decided to eliminate Lady Lishu. That’s why she tried to poison the young concubine.

I’m extremely empathetic, so I felt horrible for Fengming. Imagine killing the infant of the person who matters most to you. It’s a horrible thought. After being found out by Maomao, Fengming was punished with execution. But Maomao at least gave her the mercy of not letting the whole truth reach Ah-Duo. She reported that Fengming’s only motive was to secure Ah-Duo’s position by eliminating Lishu. She revealed nothing about the incident with the baby. Still, it’s depressing that Fengming died.

This episode also revealed that the servant killed herself to take the blame for the poisoning so that nobody would suspect Ah-Duo. But that’s enough about the depressing stuff. I really liked the conversation between Maomao and Ah-Duo on top of the wall at night. It’s always funny to see Maomao’s reaction to being offered alcohol, for one thing. But the main reason I liked this scene was that it gave us a glimpse into Ah-Duo, her personality, and her history. She is extremely cool.

Jinshi continued being annoying in this episode as well. He startled Maomao on her way down the wall, causing her to fall. It was nice of him to catch her, at least, but then he clung to her and refused to let go. Jinshi was both drunk and in an emotional, vulnerable state of mind.

I didn’t comprehend at first why he was crying, and I judged him too harshly for being clingy. Thanks to a friend in the comments, however, I now understand that Jinshi was emotional because Ah-Duo was leaving. She is most likely his mother, who stayed in the Rear Palace just to be close to him. More on that in a bit.

At the end of this installment, Ah-Duo leaves the Inner Palace to make room for the new, younger concubine that will be arriving soon. While watching her leave, Maomao wonders about a scenario wherein the babies of Ah-Duo and the empress were swapped sixteen years ago. Ah-Duo might have arranged that to give her son a better life.

I didn’t put the pieces together myself at first, but I think I get it now thanks to the person who commented. Maomao noticed that Ah-Duo and Jinshi look very similar. Apparently, Jinshi is only seventeen. Thereore, he is most likely the secret child of the emperor. That was certainly an interesting way to end the episode.

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Episode 12: The Eunuch and the Courtesan

All the people who were related to or did business with Fengming and her family are now being fired by the palace. Jinshi compiled a list of everyone connected to Fengming’s family. Apparently, Maomao’s kidnappers were also connected to that family, so anyone they sold to the palace would typically be fired. However, Jinshi is torn because he doesn’t want to fire Maomao. A simple order from him would mean she would have to stay. But Jinshi also doesn’t want to force her to stay against her will.

Although Maomao doesn’t want to leave the palace, she does a poor job of expressing herself. She doesn’t want to beg to stay, either. Jinshi misunderstands her and assumes she wants to leave. Maomao was officially laid off. That’s a problem for her, since she’s still in debt to the owner of the Verdigris House. In order to pay off that debt, Maomao temporarily works as a courtesan.

Though the owner wishes she would take personal customers, Maomao dislikes the idea and refuses to go that far. In other words, she’s not sleeping with anyone. (I don’t think that matters at all, but it does suggest Maomao is by nature reluctant to be vulnerable with anyone. That’s good to know.) Her job is to look pretty and help entertain the men who are really there to buy the other women. While serving drinks and chatting with the customers one night, Maomao happens to run into Jinshi.

When he finally recognizes her, he tries to touch her, which isn’t allowed. But Jinshi, being an annoying little shit, keeps insisting. Maomao allows him to touch her face briefly, and he pressed his fingertips against her lips before bringing his hand back to kiss it. In other words, he got an indirect kiss with Maomao. I really don’t like this man’s arrogance and pushiness, but I am also interested in seeing if he can improve. Despite treating Maomao like a toy, Jinshi is becoming fonder and more attracted to her.

A few days later, Jinshi comes to Verdigris House to buy Maomao back and take her to the palace again. He brings a chest of coins for the owner of Verdigris house, thus erasing Maomao’s debt. Additionally, he brought Maomao some kind of weird and rare apothecary ingredient. These gifts make Maomao and the owner dance for joy. If it wasn’t clear before, Jinishi is in love. To be continued.

Thanks for reading~

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PATREON