Welcome back to Anime Rants. These two episodes of The Apothecary Diaries were highly enjoyable for me. The central plot is still moving very slowly, but there was enough progression to keep me interested, in addition to delightful character moments. Without further rambling, here are my notes for The Apothecary Diaries episodes 28 and 29 (AKA season 2 episodes 4 and 5).
Episode 28: Mirror
Episode Rating: 8/10
After the caravan came to the capital city, “the special envoy” also arrived. According to Jinshi, there are two female envoys that are cousins. They gifted large mirrors to each of the four high-ranking concubines in the rear palace. This is not the first time Gyokuyo and her pavilion have seen a mirror, but it’s the first time they’ve seen one so large and ornate. All the ladies at the Jade Pavilion love the rare and luxurious gift.
The subject of mirrors comes up again later when Gaoshun meets with Maomao. He tells her about a story that he said happened to an acquaintance (already suspicious). There was a man with two daughters who looked very similar. The abusive father kept the girls locked inside the house at all times, usually doing embroidery. Even though the father posted male guards outside for surveillance, one of the girls somehow snuck outside and got pregnant. Goashun asks Maomao how this might have happened.
Maomao proposed mirrors as a possible solution. The sisters probably took turns sneaking out. They made it look like two girls were present at all times by arranging the mirrors at certain angles for the surveillance guards to see. Assuming the girl intended to get pregnant, good for her. That’s an effective way for to protest her imprisonment. That father is fucked up. Maomao offers no such moral commentary, but that’s natural when the wrong words could result in her getting beheaded. Cheerful.
On the bright side, Maomao finally received some form of payment for her recent efforts solving random mysteries for Jinshi and Gaoshun. Although Jinshi was unable to acquire an ox bezoar as promised, he found another weird apothecary item to give to Maomao. It’s a sample of dried bear gall, which, in ancient Chinese medicine, was used for digestive ailments. Maomao was over-the-moon hyped about this rare ingredient. It was great to see her so happy.
The case with the imprisoned sisters was forgotten for the time being because Jinshi was trying to solve a different mystery. Fifty years ago, the grandfather of the current special envoys was an envoy himself. He frequently told his granddaughters the story of how he saw a beautiful, glowing Moon Fairy while visiting. The two envoys asked Jinshi if they could see the Moon Fairy, but Jinshi had no idea what to do with this request. He thus recruited Maomao to help.
It didn’t take Maomao long to gather information and form a plan. She interviewed the old Madam of the Verdigris House, who was a beautiful and famous courtesan fifty years ago. Sure enough, Madam had a story of dancing in the moonlight for the envoys many decades ago. A bunch of glowing white moths also fluttered around her, adding to the gorgeous scene. (They were male moths attracted to the scent of female moth carcasses that someone rubbed on Madam’s clothes as a prank.) The old Madam also showed off a stunning painting of herself fifty years ago.
Obviously, it would be difficult to replicate the magical performance from fifty years ago. Jinshi wondered if he should look for tall women dancers to present to the envoys. After all, Madam was quite tall in her prime. That’s when Maomao suggested that Jinshi could act as the Moon Fairy for the special envoys. I’m excited to see cross-dressing Jinshi next time! To be continued.
Episode 29: The Moon Fairy
Episode Rating: 9/10
In this installment, Maomao runs into Shisui while foraging in the wilder grounds of the rear palace. Shisui is the kind of girl who is difficult for anyone to dislike. She’s so cheerful, passionate, and curious. It was adorable watching her rave about caterpillars that would turn into moths. Maomao took the opportunity to learn about moths from Shisui. This would help in the secret plan to recreate the dance of the Moon Fairy.
Jinshi and the other event organizers hosted a show for the special envoys that night. Courtesans danced and sang on a stone stage in the moonlight. The two envoys were named Ayla and Aylin. They looked more like twins than cousins. I assumed they were supposed to be Middle Eastern, but Maomao confirmed that they are blond and blue-eyed within the story. So I guess they’re Eastern European?
One of the envoys – I still can’t tell them apart – broke social etiquette and tried to flirt with the Emperor during the performance. Luckily, the more reasonable girl convinced her cousin to return to the carriage. Major trouble was avoided. After the dance ended, Aylin and Ayla started the carriage ride home thinking that there was nothing comparable here to their grandfather’s stories.
A surprise was waiting for them. Maomao stepped out of the shadows and the carriage slowed to a stop. Then Maomao pulled a dark cloth off of Jinshi, who stood beside her, making it look like he materialized out of nowhere. He was beautiful as he started dancing in the moonlit night with luminescent moths. I honestly wasn’t expecting him to pass so well. This is the first major highlight of season 2 for me. So damn pretty!!!
The next day, Maomao spent some free time thinking about recent events and drawing diagrams representing the concubines and factions in the sand. She wondered who tried to poison Gyokuyo during her previous pregnancy. It could have been the concubine who died from toxic mushrooms, but who taught her about poisons? Was it Suirei? What happened to Suirei, anyway? Why was she involved in a plot to kill Jinshi? Maomao didn’t reach any important new conclusions, but this scene was definitely supposed to make us start thinking.
One of Gyokuyo’s ladies-in-waiting (Ailan) came down with a fever. Maomao walked with her to a clinic on the north side of the palace that she never knew existed. The clinic was run by an older lady with silver hair. She agreed to take care of Ailan for the night.
Importantly, Jinshi cautioned Maomao not to tell others that she makes medicines. (Only doctors are allowed to make medicine according to the official rules of the rear palace.) But unfortunately, Ailan exposed the secret to the silver-haired lady at the clinic. I hope this doesn’t mean serious trouble for Maomao down the line. Anyway, that’s all for today. Sayonara until next time! 🙂
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Click for more posts on Apothecary Diaries S2
Anime Rants 
Apparently, some people are saying that the envoys are Turkish.
LikeLiked by 1 person
These two episodes were sooo good! I still think there’s more to the envoys. It’s weird that Maomao just happened to be given a mystery about two “sisters” that look alike and then just days later the envoys, two cousins that could pass for twins show up on the scene. I think there’s a connection, but I don’t know what. Jinshi’s dance was super pretty! I kind of wanted Jinshi and Maomao to dance together, but this was still pretty good.
LikeLiked by 1 person