#btw0157

[btw0157]

The Apothecary Diaries LN1

So this was definitely was not about Maomao's being a virgin. Originally when I read this in the manga, I thought it was Jinshi being surprised that she was working at the brothel instead of apothecary-ing away.

You have to agree it's kinda insane if for example u had employed a maid who had the calibre to be a doctor then let them go because you thought they wanted to pursue more than being your maid but then you realise they have been forced into prostitution to survive, it would be very horrifying to see that waste of potential??

This makes me feel like it's one of the first instances of Maomao being an unreliable narrator because the way Jinshi has been up till now (and after) in the story gives me no indication that he was not worried if Maomao was a virgin, rather he was shocked she was working as a courtesan itself.

What this scene has always told me about Maomao, in a way, accepts what societal roles are placed upon her (after a bit of fighting back to make the condition more ideal). She's a talented apothecary, she could try running away for freedom or fighting the courtesan work more but she doesn't. She only tries to work within the system and not break it, just like what she did at the inner palace. Her willingness to accept whatever hurdle life throws at her and make it work for her is one of her best qualities.

I can also think of a reason why someone like Maomao who grew up around a brothel might see this as inevitable fate and not unusual for her. (Her "brothel" humor makes me think she's doesn't exactly understand the norm.) And she does meet Jinshi at a gathering with courtesans for young men so that too adds to make her think he's worried about her chastity and not just her in general.

Anyways in other news, Maomao didn't want Jinshi to touch her because it'll charge extra but she clearly tries to scam him later on (the sex education episode book prices) so I'm telling u she's 100% using that as an excuse because she wants to avoid that kind of intimacy with Jinshi and pretend everything is strictly professional between them. Maomao is a pretty closed off person, and she definitely does not want attention from authority figures.

She's wary from the way Loumen was treated by the court i.e. being banished from court despite being an incredible doctor on something that was not his fault and castrated (ruining chances of marriage, respect in society and leadership in his clan) just to help the empress deliver a baby. This extends to the way she doesn't want Jinshi to get close to her, how she tries to everything to not be misinterpreted as trying to cause harm to the people who have power above her.

Also, she sees through Jinshi's facade and understands how he uses his charisma to use people for gain. A very minor incident in LN1 of the courtesan who poisoned her client via the different density drinks is think can tell us what she might think of Jinshi at this point, a nobleman who plays with women's hearts and leaves them when he has had his fun, using money to cover up the messiness. Getting close to Jinshi makes her vulnerable to be a victim to being used, he has the looks of a nymph, power over the entire inner court and is a noble with power to use her as pawn and discard later (his plan originally btw).

TLDR: Maomao internally enforces social expectation by viewing herself as only a courtesan and Jinshi, a nobleman and uses him worrying only about her chastity as a wall to protect herself from being exploited by him.

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It's important to me that people don't call Maomao pretty or think that she believes she is ugly, because she doesn’t. She knows she isn't ugly, she's just average and if she tried she could be beautiful too. She isn't a goddess with ethereal beauty stopping the hearts of anyone she meets, but she isn't ugly either.

It's important to me that people don't focus on calling Jinmao attractive or expecting they'd compliment each other's appearances because Jinshi's beauty despite being useful sometimes is also his prison. It undermines his talents, it makes him believe that it's his only skill and it makes him vunerable to assault. To Jinmao, beauty despite being charming, is still a danger.

It's important to me that people see Jinmao loving eachother not because they are beautiful but because of their personality. Both of them judge character, not looks, so it's important to me that people see they'd still love eachother, ugly or beautiful.

[btw0157]

I think Ah-duo would love to swear in private. She's done that for so long everyone who knows her knows that but anyone who sees her do it for the first time is like very shocked that such a calm serene person would be so vulgar.

Maomao ofc grew up around the brothel, swearing is like second nature but she has great control over it (at least from the outside). I imagine Gyokuyou would be the type to laugh at someone swearing but wouldn't do it herself. Loulan saw Shenmei curse people 24/7 hates swearing because it feels too much like her mother.

Lihua probably grew up with etiquette grilled into her so doesn't know much swears and can't really catch them too. She doesn't really care either way. Lishu, who went to nunnery and then came back to see Ah-duo swearing now that she's old enough, probably died from shock.

The Emperor probably saw Ah-duo curse out and tried to copy her when they were teenagers but got scolded by Anshi so he doesn't do it anymore because it's too vulgar for an Emperor. Jinshi doesn't swear because his PR branding is the Divine Heavenly Nymph™ and he doesn't know much but he did see Ah-duo curse once and repeated it to Suiren who was horrified.

So what I'm saying is Ah-duo somehow learnt to curse and Suiren is perpetually horrified how her daughter does not follow the consortly order of politesse.

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The power gap between Jinshi and Maomao doesn't bother me, you know why? It’s because there is trust between them. Maomao despite saying Jinshi can get her killed for anything continues to do stuff without thinking of its consequences because she knows he won't kill her even if she doesn't want to admit it.

I'm not saying the appeal is Jinshi in his position does not kill Maomao for any petty reasons like historically people in his position would, that's basic human deceny. Even if the moral standards shouldn't be applied to this story doesn't mean that I don't have the morals that exist now, so I get anyone who backs out of this story because of the power gap.

BUT it is Maomao's trust in him to not harm her even if she won't admit it to us but she likes him especially when he doesn't actively use his looks like she has seen courtesans do.

[btw0157]

Now that i've lost the random boost in interaction

Since I just read manga 81.1, I remember that "subduing the rebels with a grand proud display" thing makes me think a lot.

This is expected of Jinshi because he's an Imperial family member and a prince. (and ig still the crown prince acc. to most ppl rn.) He's also leading the forbidden army in the Emperor’s name (?) so it makes sense that Gaoshun suggests it.

But Gaoshun knows Jinshi doesn't want to be crown prince/emperor and has been doing everything to avoid it so the fact he still suggests it makes me question what Gaoshun wants Jinshi to do for the future. Does he want him to take more actions as a prince especially since there is a new heir to the throne? Or is it just to keep up the royal image because ambushs are beneath son of heavens and shit? Or is this just Natsu Hyuga telling me Jinshi can take decisions and give commands by himself?

It was pretty clear Jinshi would go with Lakan because least casualities would be caused and Jinshi likes to minimise damage and help the common ppl (ref: educating servant girls). Also Jinshi has worked so hard to make up the image of incompetent wimpy imperial brother to lose support from people so even if turns out he isn't burnt, not doing what is expected makes him seem like a coward on top of the fact that he was pretending to be an eunuch for 5 years.

Also the symbolism of Ka Zuigetsu, a prince who hides like to hide behind the mask of Jinshi the Eunuch, would rather like to suprise attack than be bold and forward in his attack is definitely smart. In a way, he's still hiding from the expectations placed on him which is contrasted by the fact that he joins the ambush himself instead of leading a direct attack from the shadows i.e. not hiding from the reality of soldiers.

I think too much about pretty man, he's just so bbg ❤️

[btw0157]

the urge to ship doomed yuri vs the repulsion towards said ship because it implies that a betrayal in a non-romantic relationship cannot compare to a romantic one and such a thing will not stick with you for years unless it was romantic

[btw0157]

Random pet peeve of mine, I don't like how similar Maomao and Loulan's dances are. I have no idea how chinese dances are meant to be but in my culture, there are different dances for different occasions/people. So I would expect the dance Loulan would learn as a noble lady raised to be a high consort would be different from the dance Maomao learnt from a brothel.

But it's an anime which did not even have a manga to adapt so how much can I expect them to use different dances to highlight chinese culture and the class difference between them. Anyways, I would love for anyone more knowledgeable on this topic to put their 2 cents in.

[btw0157]

I don't think Ah-duo and Jinshi look alike, now please wait as I try to explain why or just accept this is a minor plot hole and move on.

Firstly, the coloured hair in the anime/manga is mostly to help us distinguish the more important characters from the background so most characters in the story do just have black hair. (except foreigners like the envoys, Gyokuyou, etc. and old ppl) so that means both Jinshi and Ah-duo have black hair which is pretty common in Li.

Plus if you see the light novel art it shifts having characters like jinmao have black hair with tints of green and purple to full on coloured hair which is most likely due to the release of the anime it's use of coloured hair which became the more "iconic" hair colour for the characters to the point some people actually believe Maomao has green hair even though it's stated she (and others) have black hair.

Secondly, canonically Jinshi is considered an ethereal nymph with almost a traditionally feminine kind of beauty whereas Ah-duo is more of androgynous kind of beauty. The way they are described is in a way polar opposite to each other so they would not look the same if one is drop dead gorgeous and other is just like another young man.

Thirdly, why would someone try to think Jinshi and Ah-duo look alike? Most characters of the inner court are uneducated, many would never even seen Ah-duo in person to make comparison between the two people. Then again why would someone try to find a connection between a beautiful noble eunuch and a practically forgotten consort who was elevated from common birth? (Most people do not know Ah-duo lost her womb so her not conceiving a child after so long would clearly be her failure as a consort and being forgotten imo)

This is mostly based on the fact that Maomao, a very observant person takes some to think they look similar. You can argue that she is scared to form connections between imperial subjects but then why would she even continue to form the baby swap theory in her head? You can say it was alcohol in her system that doesn't let her make the connection and maybe you're right. But I believe she makes a connection between them because she finds them similar in personality and is looking for similarities between them so is noticing more details than usual + she has spent a lot more time with both them than most ppl.

Fourth, genetics are weird man. People have doppelgangers that don't share dna with them so thinking every person who looks similar is related is stupid. Also there is genuine threat of figuring out stuff you shouldn't know, Maomao mentions it a gazillion times and this info can alter court dynamics so much. Genes depend a lot on chance so different ppl can end with similar characteristics after a lot of lucky chances.

Fifth, now you will ask me why can Ah-duo pass off as the Moon Prince if they don't look similar? It's kinda hard to identify someone from their eyes especially when the Moon prince never shows up much or talks, similar to how Loulan tricked ppl. Even though I believe they could've found others to imitate the Moon Prince, they would choose Ah-duo because she knows why there is body double already and they are related afterall.

My point is I think Jinshi and Ah-duo do look similar but unless you're trying to find a connection between the two, the similarities can be dismissed off as just two people having similar looks being from the same geographical area and that is why no one is figuring out why they are related. Does all this matter? No, but that's the fun of overanalysing.