©日向夏・主婦の友インフォス/ 「薬屋のひとりごと」製作委員会
Even though I’m not one to usually advocate violence, I couldn’t help but feel that Maomao was 100% on the right side when she slapped that woman in waiting. (Pouring arsenic makeup on her head? Maybe a bit too far, even though she did show her how to clean it up.) It wasn’t enough that the tainted powder killed the crown prince and almost the princess as well. , or it made Lihua herself sick. ; It is clear that “looking beautiful” is much more important than “living”. Sadly, it’s a theory that has appeared time and time again throughout history with many fake beauty practices, including tying shoe laces too tightly, makeup with lead and arsenic, as well as the whole craze. radium in the early twentieth century. It may not even be fair to call a woman stupid, because for the most part she acts the way she was taught. As a young lady in waiting for one of the emperor’s favored high-ranking consorts, she has a status far above Maomao’s and she is taught that beauty is a woman’s most important function in life, along with childbirth. Asking her to suddenly accept the invitation of an upstart with random freckles (short for “not pretty”) might be a bit much, especially since all of Lihua’s ladies seem to have them. healthy snobbery.
None of this made her or the other ladies-in-waiting act any less horrible towards us. Lihua was sickened by the arsenic powder, combined with the horror of losing her child. At this point, it almost doesn’t matter that he’s the crown prince; the terrible truth is that she is a mother who has lost her child. Part of her might even know that by ignoring Maomao’s message she was killing her child; that will only make her depression and self-loathing stronger. It’s hard to say whether the emperor guessed any of this—we don’t know much about him at this point. But the fact that he asked Maomao to consider says a lot: it not only implies that he completely trusts Gyokuyo and Jinshi (they are the people most likely to have told him about her) but also that he also cares about Lihua-present’s health. Sure, her dying in his Inner Palace wouldn’t be a good thing, but the enthusiasm with which he returns to her when she’s healthy again implies that he at least cares. mind a little.
However, it says something about the ladies of Lihua that they feel they can ignore Maomao with impunity. I can’t think that she or Jinshi didn’t tell them that she was there on the emperor’s orders. What makes them think they can throw her out without consequences? Yes, those consequences were originally caused by Maomao, but when she revealed the truth, the woman in question would suffer harsher punishment, as would the eunuch who failed to find the powder. covert. (That statement seems unnecessarily harsh, since we don’t know that he was in cahoots with her.) But really, they’re lucky that Maomao understands what’s going on, because if Li Hua died and then the makeup came. to clarify…let’s just say that I doubt that “detention” will be the full punishment for her.
As with the first three episodes, the biggest joy of this episode is Maomao herself. It’s easy to think that she doesn’t care about anything or anyone, but her dedication to ensuring that Lihua recovers says otherwise (as does the slap), and so does her application of her knowledge from Verdigris House. – not only does she help Lihua return to the emperor’s bed, she also helps Gyokuyo escape his tiring attentions. The only person she seems to dislike is Jinshi, which is sad for her, and Gaoshun only seems to make Jinshi care about her more. Keep an eye on Gaoshun in the background whenever Jinshi appears on screen; His facial expressions and body language are amazing.
If you haven’t realized that this isn’t necessarily a show you watch for mysteries, this episode will reinforce that. Yes, there are elements of mystery, but it’s mostly about Maomao being Maomao and operating outside the bounds of what the Inner Palace considers “common sense”. That’s more than enough to keep this drama interesting, and the preview for next week’s episode seems to suggest that her range will continue to expand – whether she wants it or not.
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The Apothecary’s Diary is now streaming on Crunchyroll.