The Apothecary Diaries, episode 7

Rating: B+

If last episode was the big showpiece of the garden party, this episode is the metaphorical side of the clean-up. It covers in efficient fashion a number of matters brought up last episode, providing the smoothest and clearest sense of plot progression seen so far in the series.

Few details from last episode are left unaddressed. Maomao has recovered fine because of her experience with poisons, but the minister who also tasted the soup is still very sick, hence maintaining the poisoning as a Major Incident. Maomao also gets to go into investigation mode over the soup, whose contents and bowl are efficiently provided by Gaoshun. Although modern forensic use of fingerprints did not emerge until the late 19th century, the concept of fingerprint or handprint use in crime scenes did exist in early China, so Maomao knowing about how to find fingerprints isn’t so far-fetched. Even though she cannot identify the culprit with the fingerprints, Maomao is still able to deduce an impressive amount just from where they are located; ironically, it’s her experiences in the Rear Palace, rather than her background knowledge, which give her the insight on who all probably handled the bowl and how. Most critically, it confirms two things: that Lishu’s food taster tester did deliberately switch the bowls (rather than it being a mistake by the server) and that the actual poisoner was a fourth party, rather than the food taster or a server, who was probably responsible for the actual poisoning.

That spins into the matter of Lishu. The supposition that could reasonably be drawn from last episode was that some or all of Lishu’s ladies-in-waiting were trying to mess with her, and Maomao elaborates on that this episode. The irony here is that some of that bullying unwittingly saved the life of the bully (i.e., the food taster), but even beyond that there was a clear effort to embarrass Lishu on her dress color. Exactly why still has yet to be revealed, but the awkward position Lishu is in doubtless has a lot to do with it. Maomao also confirms another point suggested by last episode: that she went comparatively easy on Lishu’s food taster because she sympathized with her situation, even if Maomao does find her actions towards her mistress repulsive.

The significance of the hairpins also gets more elaboration. It is, indeed, a sign of favor, but a man giving it to a woman typically means romantic favor. Maomao still seems to be either ignoring or missing that aspect, but she seizes on the opportunity such pins can provide to temporarily leave the confines of the Rear Palace with a man of sufficient standing vouching for her. Maomao wouldn’t be Maomao if she didn’t exploit that, and her past connection to Verdigris gives her the ideal method to entice the soldier Lihaku: offer an introduction to an elite courtesan whom he could normally only dream of approaching.

The key part of this is that it allows Maomao to go back home for a couple of days, though the business about one of the elite courtesans possibly taking to Lihaku because of his muscles isn’t an idle plot point; it will come back up again later. The most interesting part of this is how genuinely happy Maomao seems to be back in her father’s humble dwelling, and how comfortably and innocently she’s sleeping in that environment. Her father’s curious comment about the Rear Palace at the end of the episode suggests a story to tell there, too. After all, a man of his talents living and working where he is seems out of place.

The story hasn’t forgotten about Jinshi in all of this. His conversation with Gaoshun – and especially the comments about his hairpin and that Gaoshun has been attending him since birth – even more strongly suggest that he is actually the Emperor’s younger brother but hiding that fact in the Rear Palace for some reason. The best scene concerning him, though, was his reaction to Gyokuyou’s tease about Maomao being gone for good. This creates one of my favorite reaction shots in a series already loaded with them, and as much because of the reactions of the attendants in the background:

Gyokuyou may be a kind-hearted and pleasant woman, but she also seems to get her fun from watching how people react to things. I have to wonder if that isn’t as much the reason for choosing Maomao as a lady-in-waiting as it was a thank-you for saving the princess’s life. She certainly seems to delight in watching how Maomao and Jinshi interact.

Strong technical merits which pay attention to all sorts of little details help bolster this as another solid, enjoyable episode.