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Incredibly interesting and poignant episode. I really feel for Fengming. Imagine the guilt she's been carrying for years, knowing she was accidentally responsible for the death of Ah-Duo's child... or rather a baby that *may* have been Ah-Duo's child. Given the esteem Fengming had for Ah-Duo, that would have been crushing.

Jinshi's growing emotional attachment to Maomao is as amusing to a viewer as it is nausea-inducing to the poor girl herself. Full props to Maomao's, seiyuu, the wonderful Aoi Yuki, for the typically stellar job she's doing with our heroine.

In general the show has some amazing voice-acting and animation/music. I vivdly remember one of the earlier episodes in which the lady dancing in the night was sent away to be with a soldier and the music/mood near the end of the episode was rather emotional. As for Fengming, I do feel bad for her, but after seeing some of her expressions in the episode, I would rather not come near her. I really thought that she might just use that knife near her for something unpleasant.

Also, just spitballing here, so I could be misunderstanding something (or maybe saying something obvious), but is Jinshi Ah-Duo's son? The theory of the children having been swapped out (for whatever reason), Jinshi having some possibly important status that has been left vague and him looking a heck of a lot like Ah-Duo. There is also him ending up in tears after a meeting with her. There was also talk about the younger brother of the emperor if I remember correctly.

@ smurky turkey: Maomao's speculation is that Jinshi is Ah-Duo's son who was swapped with the Empress Dowager's baby on the theory that her son would be safer and have a better life that way.

Then I understood correctly, which means that he is a child of the previous emperor, making him the (half) brother of the current emperor.

If Jinshi was one of the babies, which is not yet established, it would make him rather younger than he comes across.

If the babies were not switched, the survivor is the Emperor's younger brother. If they were switched, the survivor is the current Emperor's son. Regardless, he would be the current next in line for the throne. If one of the consorts has a son, the Emperor's brother would be displaced by the child as next in line, a son would retain that position. If they were switched, I'm not sure how that could be established.

I had the same thought about Jinshi's age if he is Ah-Duo's son, Alan45. Last week when the show hinted at a familial connection between he and Ah-Duo, I assumed it was as siblings.

You say that, but I cleary remember making the mental note that the previous emperor was a pedo, I think it was talked about during the garden party, hence me thinking he would get her pregnant sooner rather than later. Though she did not look that young during the flashback, so I am probably wrong on that one.

Think of them as Emperor Pedo (the previous Emperor) and Emperor Big Uns (the current Emperor).

Time line: Thirty four years ago, Emperor Pedo and the dowager Empress (who was about ten at the time) had a child (Emperor Big Uns) He was given to a wet nurse to feed who was still nursing AhDuo at a year old. They grew up together and AhDuo eventually became Prince Big Uns consort.

About fourteen years later, Emperor Pedo gets the dowager Empress pregnant again. At the same time Prince Big Uns gets AhDuo pregnant (he would be fourteen and she would be fifteen at that time). Both children are born within a week or so of each other and may or may not have been switched. The child raised by the dowager Empress (or her servants) is Emperor Big Uns elusive brother that didn't show at the garden party. The child believed to be AhDuo's dies.

Maomao speculates that the children were switched by AhDuo to get better care for her son and that Jinshi is related to AhDuo.

Is this perfectly clear??

Yup, that is indeed clear, thanks, it sure is a big mess family wise when you have an emperor and prince that active.

Sadly, my ability to think clearly ended at the mention of Big Uns... Wink

Well, to be fair to the current emperor, he also has some concubines who are not as endowed as some of the others, so it seems like he does not discriminate that much.

#12

The fallout from the attempted poisoning has the unexpected outcome of Maomao being released early from her contract and sent back to the pleasure quarter. Although she said she found little difference in the two settings as far as plotting and relationships were concerned, the fact she tried to persuade Jinshi to keep her employed (which ultimately fails because of her inability to properly convey her request across and his typical misunderstanding) shows how much she valued her time spent in the palace and the experiences and relationships she built up during this time. Life goes on, but her link to the palace isn't completely severed and next season will throw up more entertainment as she's somehow re-employed by the imperial household despite the fallout.

As for Jinshi, he's not about to give up on his favourite toy and poison taster cum investigator so easily. It's becoming clear he's interested in her beyond their hitherto professional relationship, but he can't really get her attention as he's not found a way to convince her he's more than just a sparkly pretty boy with creepy fetishes. He'll need to find a way to improve his standing within her mindset to have any chance, but to do that he needs to get her back into palace employment somehow so that he can actually meet her again inside the walls.

The rest of the ensemble cast have their own charms, and I for one would love to see them back in this adaptation one way or another. How the narrative will bring that about is going to be interesting.

Pretty much everyone should be back along with additional oddballs. There may even be a second Maomao spoiler[(this one is a real cat).]

#13

New OP and ED animation and songs all round. The new OP is less catchy than the first season, but I prefer the new visuals. The new ED has more detailed animations and a very different song; the latter I'll listen to it a few more times before I get used to it.

What a way to start the new quarter. The cordyceps and cash were used to "buy" Maomao for service in Jinshi's personal quarters. His original plan was to get her to pass the court official exam so that she could serve as a palace secretary, but Maomao being Maomao failed it since it isn't related to medicine and herbs. So they're stuck with using her as a live-in servant until they can find a job for her that won't cause too much scandal. Maomao herself was surprised about her new job placement. Although not as fun as her old job was (she always wanted to die from tasting poison after all), she's not restricted to the rear palace and can visit her family anytime she chooses. As Jinshi's live-in servant, she basically listens to his orders the same way she did at Gyokuyou's quarters, only now he has exclusive access to her. So doing seminars for the concubines like the trailer suggests would not be out of the question.

Jinshi and the Emperor together is an interesting scene, especially the way the Emperor behaves around him. Usually, no emperor would let someone like Jinshi near his concubine palace, yet the Emperor treats him as the "Head Gardener" so the relationship between them must be so unique he can let Jinshi have free reign yet have no concerns about unwanted pregnancies. A huge hint as to who Jinshi really is, but will the adaptation spill the beans before its airing finishes?

Maomao's approach towards the secretaries is again typical Maomao, but she needs to up her game since they're more intelligent and not as easy to fob off compared to ladies in waiting. This time round a mix of self-deprecation, forced empathy and turning the expectations of the secretaries on their heads mostly did the trick, but the tallest of the five wasn't fooled but didn't let anything on when they left. She warned Maomao again when she trespassed into the military quarter, so perhaps she has a role to play in the rest of the series. Still early days.

Suiren is scary; not only is she handling Jinshi's personal quarters on her own at her age she is fully aware of what he's capable of and what type of person would be suitable for service around him. Maomao's reaction to seeing Jinshi after he woke up was again typical of her, and very atypical for anyone else. Since he's less than human in her appraisal of him, his charms don't work on her and Suiren is comfortable letting her see him early mornings before he dresses up. Telling her to stay quiet after hours when Maomao is going wild over the cordyceps suggests she also patrols at night, which is tough given she's up earliest in the morning. One to watch, as she features prominently in the OP and ED from her expanded role as a cameo washing Jinshi's back in the first season.

The next story arc focuses on Ah Duo's successor as one of the four prime concubines. She's closer to Lishu in appearance, but comes off as very stand-offish in demeanour. Maomao will meet her for the first time next episode, and I wonder if she's getting involved in more rear palace intrigue and mysterious cases so soon after being reemployed.

#14

It's another slow episode as Maomao slowly eases back into life in the palace and as Jinshi's live-in servant. No major plotline like the poisoning (so far), so viewers get to enjoy the one-off for its intrinsic entertainment value rather than think about how it relates to the rest of the quarter. I suppose the main focus is on Ah Duo's replacement Loulan, who is very different from the prime concubines to date. Maomao's "lecture" with the prime concubines is a very unusual way of introducing her to the cast, and despite her disinterested demeanour she might prove to be important in this quarter if there's another major plot to be adapted this quarter.

The approach taken by the other three concubines to Maomao's lecture more or less conforms to type. Gyokuyou always finds sessions with the Emperor physically draining and sleep depriving, so Maomao's tips help her out in terms of health. Lihua was the first recipient of Maomao's advice, so she's naturally keen to learn more on how to service the emperor. Lihua given her age and physique has the typical reaction to Maomao's lesson, which is hilarious in contrast with the two older childbearing concubines. Loulan doesn't appear to be paying attention and gives off the demeanour of someone who would much rather be outside the palace completely, but who knows if she's taking mental notes given her sphinx expression?

For today's case, an update on Lihaku's situation with Pairin is cleverly weaved in with a mysterious explosion on palace grounds. The cause of the explosion should be familiar to many viewers, as it is still a problem even today in some parts of the world. Maomao naturally gets to the bottom of it in her efficient style, but the interesting part is the monocled official who has been in and out of this quarter in short bursts. He noticed the pipe as well and fingered the flour dust, so highly likely he knew what happened but despite being a military official didn't bother writing a report on the incident and investigation was delegated to Lihaku instead. We know his name is Lakan/Rakan (credits gives it as 羅漢, which in Mandarin Chinese would be Luohan. The series can be very inconsistent in its romanization for characters) but beyond that not much else.

Maomao does what she can to pay back the brothel madam as well as help her apothecary father, which is coupled with her obsession with herbs growing in the rear palace. Typical Maomao, but how long will it be before Jinshi starts relying on her again as his investigative pawn when more serious unexplained incidents occur in the palace?

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