The Apothecary Diaries Season 2

Episode 29

Let us stop for a moment to recognize Gaoshun, the hardest-working person in the entire palace. He's always right there, just behind Jinshi, ready to plead with Maomao to humor the younger man with nothing more than a facial expression and a gesture. His pained look and little “talk” sign this week is just one of many moments the poor man has done his best for his boss, playing both beleaguered servant and loyal wingman at the same time. If Gaoshun hadn't been there, I doubt Jinshi would have had any meetings with Maomao that lasted more than two minutes. Truly, Gaoshun is the unsung hero of this series.

Unless I miss my guess, he's also stuck between two of the most stubborn people in the rear palace. Although “stubborn” might not be the right word, both Maomao and Jinshi are simply very focused on what they're doing, and that focus can cross their paths and wires depending on what's going on. It's perhaps a bit more than luck that they end up putting their heads together more often than not, such as this week when Jinshi finds himself forced into the role of the Moon Fairy to appease Ayla and Aylin, the foreign envoys. He's undeniably the best choice for the role, and he knows it (even if he doesn't want to. However, Maomao's plans for how to pull off the charade are still asking a lot of him – would he have agreed to swim across a pond in layers upon layers of fancy robes if he didn't have a thing for her? Probably because, really, how else were they going to pull this off? But his pouty demand that Maomao dry his hair still speaks volumes about both his feelings for her and his emotional immaturity regarding getting her to interact with him in ways he wants.

The ruse isn't without success, though. Ayla, the brasher of the cousin-envoys, clearly has a goal in mind for her visit that may not have anything to do with trade contracts or economics (or at least, not only trade contracts and economics). As Maomao astutely observes, the mirrors may very well have been a challenge to the four consorts. However, it is also a potential sign that the cousins don't fully understand the culture of the very place they've been dispatched. Ayla, in particular, seems miffed (and annoyed) that she can't see the consorts' faces, which are politely hidden behind curtains, not the least to keep men other than the emperor from gazing upon them. She and Aylin proudly raise their shades so that they're on full display, and their clothing shows an amount of cleavage we more typically see on Maomao's big sisters at Verdigris House. When Ayla then strolls over to the emperor and not only speaks to him but offers to entertain him rather than enjoying the entertainment provided, she may as well be doing a striptease in the produce section of the grocery store for all the social awareness she's showing.

Since Aylin seems to have more situational awareness than her cousin, we should question Ayla's motives. She could just lack an understanding of the culture, but it's more likely (given her position and who her grandfather is) that she's simply bold and bored, a terrible combination. Either she doesn't know or doesn't care that she's risking offending the court.

It isn't clear how this will fit in with the unofficial clinic for court ladies Maomao has just discovered. Jinshi's statement about finding a way to allow women to practice medicine is a major one, even if it's only said in passing, but the more important information is that there are pieces in place for change. The school Maomao suggested is starting, the clinic already exists, and there are plenty of structures left over from when a different culture ruled the land. Change is primed to happen.

Now if only I could shake the feeling that Shisui is up to something.

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