The Apothecary Diaries Season 2

Episode 41

Any doubts we may have had about Shenlü should now be more or less confirmed: she's been working with Suirei and therefore against the imperial family. That both makes sense and puts her past actions with Shin and the abortifacients in a darker light, because now it seems clear that her motives weren't just to prevent other women from suffering as she did, but to actively undermine the emperor from having children and continuing his line. The ill-will engendered by the late emperor has deep roots that stretch far from the capital, and that makes sense. The hurt Shenlü and the others endured does more than leave a scar; it's an unhealing wound that never stops hurting or bleeding. That makes Shenlü the perfect fit for someone like Suirei because she doesn't necessarily care what Suirei's motives are. She cares about the results.

We may be able to say the same thing in a different context for Jinshi. His panic is rapidly increasing the longer Maomao is missing, something we can both see this week and extrapolate from last week's episode when Ah-Duo stood in for him at a meeting. Jinshi has remarked that he feels only average in the intelligence department, and that must be eating at him now as he tries to find Maomao. He has to rely on others, particularly Luomen, to figure out what's going on, and Luomen doesn't move with any urgency. (Also, A+ needling from him when Jinshi expresses exasperation at his apparent lack of concern. Sure, Jinshi didn't kidnap Maomao, but he also didn't just let her leave the rear palace back in season one.) The pace of their investigation feels painfully slow, as demonstrated by the literal pace Luomen can move at and Jinshi fighting the urge to run around the rear palace, which would, as Gaoshun gently reminds him, tip everyone off that something is wrong.

It's interesting to think that Jinshi, Suirei, and Shisui have all been playing a role, especially when contrasted with Maomao, Luomen, and Lakan, all of whom are unabashedly themselves at all times. Shisui was perhaps the least adept at acting her part because Maomao noticed that something was just slightly off about her – her interests, actions, and knowledge base weren't quite right for the role she was playing. The reveal that she was never registered at the rear palace in the first place, however, indicates that their security is far from unbreachable, as does the tunnel hidden in plain sight, suspiciously close to where the kitten appeared. Ask anyone with a cat and they'll tell you: that cats are remarkably good at finding hidden spaces. But more to the point, Jinshi is now actively hampered by his role as the beautiful eunuch, because it means that he can't just drop everything and alert the world that something is wrong. He has to be smart and cautious, and that's not just difficult because he's worried he's not smart enough, but also because his every instinct is screaming at him to do something.

Does anyone in the hot springs village where Maomao has been taken know what's going on? It seems likely, given that the emissaries (or at least one of them) are there, and I can't imagine that too many foreigners show up in remote towns; a new boat in the harbor was enough to cause mass speculation where I grew up. Whether they know or not, though, the biggest concern should be collateral damage; it may not be a great sign that we're introduced to a spunky little imp who's close to Shisui, because even if Ka Zuigetsu's wrath isn't fierce, Lakan's surely will be.

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