©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
Oh, hairpins have so many meanings! While Gyokuyou’s servants are pining for Maomao’s interest in ~secret~ meanings (and she really couldn’t care less), we still get three distinctly different motivations behind the three pin that she hung up from this week to last week. Lihaku, the young dog-like officer, is just trying to spread love, not so much because he’s a ladies’ man, but because he doesn’t seem to want anyone to feel left out. As Maomao said, it’s a participation trophy. On the other hand, Lihua gives Maomao a hairpin as a means of showing that the apothecary has a place in her work at any time, if she wants it. Although it could also be interpreted as Lihua picking her nose at Gyokuyou, it’s more likely that she was just showing her gratitude to the woman who saved her life and helped her regain her favor. the emperor’s good graces. And finally, Jinshi’s hairpin is most likely a symbol of protection. After hearing her story last week, his horror at her motives for wearing freckles and deliberately downplaying her appearance, his impulsive gift could be considered is romantic, but more likely a way of showing that she has his back—because we do too. be reminded this week, the Inner Palace is a dangerous place.
The forms of danger are varied, as Lishu’s introduction shows. Although only fourteen years old, this was her second time as a consort: horrifyingly, her first time was at the age of nine, when she was the previous emperor’s consort. What is a nine year old child doing in such a sexual position? Although it could be seen as purely political (and they may have played a role), the more disturbing answer is that the old emperor liked his young women—just as he did. like them as little girls. When Maomao noted that the empress dowager looked very youthful, her maid whispered about the woman’s age when she gave birth to the current emperor, and Maomao’s reaction spoke volumes. Pair that with Lishu’s age during her previous time in the Inner Palace and it creates something very disturbing. If Lishu left the palace without incident then she was very lucky indeed and her behavior may have been less due to being a nasty person and more due to being hurt.
Whatever her reason, it was clear that she had gone inside—waiting didn’t seem to care much for her. Her youth may have played a role in that, but from their whispered conversations, it seemed like they found her more spoiled and annoying. Is that a reason to make her eat something she’s allergic to? Absolutely not, but it seems like most people aren’t fully aware of food allergies and how dangerous they can be; people don’t always consider them valid. (Source: my mother is very allergic to strawberries and mangoes, and people have flatly refused to believe her, thinking she doesn’t like them.) The problem is that the ladies’ apparent revenge has hindered the poison Maomao soup identified because at least one of Lishu’s dishes had been exchanged with Gyokuyou earlier in the party. Was the intended victim the mother of the emperor’s only child? Or does the young spouse seem incompatible with many people?
Either way, it points to a larger problem within the palace. The women of Lihua acted misguidedly but with good intentions when they kept and used arsenic makeup, but was this true of Lishu? She’s probably an easier target than Lihua or Gyokuyou (we don’t know much about Ah-duo yet), but what would be the motive? Even Jinshi seemed uncertain; he just knows that Maomao’s suicide because of her macabre love of sexy poison will probably fuel his investigation. The plot is getting thicker and thicker, but the thickener they’re using could determine how things play out from here.
Rating:
The Apothecary’s Diary is now streaming on Crunchyroll.