The Apothecary Diaries - LN 7, 8 Impressions
The Apothecary Diaries Volumes 7 and 8 by Natsu Hyuuga, Illustrations by Touko Shino. Published by J-Novel Club.
Volume 7 contains the end the of the "Western Capital" arc and the beginning of what I would say is the start of Maomao's next phase/status quo.
Now that she's outside the palace, Jinshi needs a way to keep Maomao around, and he finds it. He compels her to take the court service exam and become a medical assistant. From what you can see in the cover, she clearly passes (after tons of effort) and ends up entering the court service with two other young ladies in the same position.
This entire volume consists of her adventures as a medical assistant while getting embroiled in various side quests related to either her job or the political situation with the neighboring country, Shaoh. They discover a famine on the horizon, and this is an ongoing plot point that started from volumes 3-4. The twists and turns in this book are numerous, and I enjoyed seeing the new characters who get introduced be friendly with Maomao (eventually). Maomao has always been amiable to her female compatriots, but I think this is the first time she has friends that actually understand her thinking when it comes to drugs and medicine.
Volume 8 is kind of a breather, as it focuses primarily on her continued work in the medical office, as well as a deeper look into what Jinshi's day-to-day life actually is, and how he's dealing with the immense work that gets piled on him (not well). There's also a Go tournament setup by Lakan (with Jinshi's help), and the outcome is pretty funny.
I won't spoil any more than that, but the ending of Volume 8 is truly great and shocking.
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