Linhua, daughter of the Chancellor of the Right, is as gifted with caring for children as she is at playing the erhu. Her talents shine during the ceremony to select a consort for the five-year-old emperor. There she catches the eye of Souren, the highest-ranking regent. Suddenly, Linhua is swept into the vibrant world of the inner palace as a new court lady—and the young emperor's personal caretaker!

The Emperor's Caretaker has story and art by Haruki Yoshimura, based on a novel by Ichiha Hiiragi, with original designs by Aya Shouoto. English translation by Meredith Singer and lettering by E. K. Weaver. Published by Square Enix Manga and Books (March 4, 2025).

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

Inner Court Drama is, by most measures, its own genre. Most stories that fall under its heading are romances, dealing with the intrigue of which woman will capture the emperor's eye and heart. Still, you also get mysteries, like The Apothecary Diaries and Raven of the Inner Palace, food stories like The Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower, and now this twist: The Emperor's Caretaker is a child-rearing story set in the inner palace of totally-not-China's child emperor.

What immediately stands out about this story (apart from Aya Shouoto's exquisite character designs) is the heroine, Liu Linhua. Linhua is the eldest daughter of the prestigious Liu family, one of the five most powerful clans in Guangyan, and at age seventeen, she's rapidly approaching the dreaded spinster shelf. That's okay with her, both because her father seemed to care little about her as a person and because she's not very good at playing the sweet and docile lady. When her father decides to send her to the selection for the emperor's bride, she's livid and humiliated because the emperor in question is only five years old. But while she was there, she unveils a talent her rotten dad never anticipated: Linhua is really good with kids. And not in a sickly sweet way; she interacts with the other potential brides in a way that respects them as people but also takes their age into account. She doesn't care if that means catering to them a little bit, she just seems to genuinely enjoy interacting with children. (Her younger brother may have something to do with this.)

And that's how Linhua becomes not the emperor's bride, but his nanny. It's a delicious twist on the genre, especially since it still features a potential romantic plot with the emperor's twenty-something uncle, Souren. He's the one who ultimately hires Linhua, and comparisons to The Apothecary Diaries' Jinshi wouldn't be out of place, especially in the way only Linhua can resist his gorgeous looks. Like Jinshi, Souren is drawn to Linhua's less traditional aspects, although he clearly admires her skill with the erhu as well, a talent cultivated by accomplished young women. But his primary goal is to make sure that his nephew grows up happy, something that Linhua can respect – although the emperor's apparent fear of his uncle could speak to tensions within the court that are rubbing off on the little boy.

There's an appealing mix of politics and child-focused storytelling here, all held together by Linhua herself, who is no one's wilting lily or delicate blossom. The art ably enhances the plot with richly detailed clothing and backgrounds and the writing doesn't try too hard to make things feel particularly “fantasy China,” relying instead on Linhua herself to make the plot engaging. I very much enjoyed my time with this, and eagerly await the continuation.