Again, moving this weekend so busy as heck and time is short. But there are no episodes of Kusuruiya no Hitorigoto that lack fuel for discussion. If I’ve learned anything after 34 eps of this show it’s that the more “one-off” something seems, the more you should be paying attention. There are no coincidences. Slice-of-life episodes like this one are usually where the author tries to sneak key information in under the radar. And key information is rarely if ever as it appears the first time it’s presented. Expect at least one misdirection, and sometimes more.

First, the three sisters – not triplets but close enough for Maomao to struggle distinguishing them. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree on that one, actually. She may not have Prosopagnosia like Lakan does, but she has extremely limited interest in people she deems not worthy of it. One suspects that in getting this introduction Sekiu, Hakuu, and Kokuu are going to have some larger role to play in the story (no coincidences). For now they’re here to gaze disapprovingly at Xiaomao and the freedom she seems to enjoy in the Jade Pavillion household.

The bulk of this episode is devoted to the “Thirteen Chilling Tales” storyline. It’s one that seems quite out of place to begin with, but far more so if the ending it hinted at was taken at face value. Yinghua drags Xiaomao out for the evening, not telling her where they’re going. It’s a pavillion in the East Palace (which is playing an increasingly large role in the story). An older woman leads them in, and a circle of twelve court ladies sits around a smoldering fire holding candles. The lady announces the commencement of the thirteen (a coven of witches, interestingly) scary stories, which is notable as only 12 women and girls are present.

This is a bit incongruous in concept for me, but I suppose it’s not impossible that court ladies in this context would do such a thing as a means of entertainment. As for the stories themselves, again – one has to look for hidden meaning anytime The Apothecary Diaries goes off on a tangent like this. The tale of the forbidden forest is probably nothing more than what it seems, but Shisui’s story – about a traveling monk choosing to stop for the night at the wrong house – is clearly a thing. If not for the story itself, for the fact that Maomao’s “why does she look so familiar?” is either confirmation that Shishui is Loulan’s daughter or designed to make us think she is.

Maomao has to offer a story of course – it’s a bit of a letdown to be honest, but very much in-character. Yinghua can’t even string a tale together. That clears the stage for the host, though, and this seems very much the main event of the evening. Her story is of the time when the former emperor still reigned from these halls, and of the girls imprisoned there to satisfy his deviant desires. Of one in particular who became pregnant, and died there. But before she gets to the punchline Maomao realizes that the fumes put out by the fire are causing the girls to lose consciousness, and springs into action.

Here’s where the whole misdirection vs. exposition thing really kicks in. In the first place, I would be extremely disappointed if the ghost thing is anything more than that. misdirection. That would feel like a real betrayal of the entire premise to this point. But let’s set that aside – the identity of the woman in the story (and baby) and the host is clearly a significant thing. Maomao assumes the woman was telling her own story – but the girl in the story died. Maybe it was the girl referenced by Anshi in the story she told last week (and maybe the baby is Maomao herself – we’re certainly being encouraged to consider it).

All this begs the question, if not a ghost why was the woman – whoever she is – trying to knock out the court ladies attending the event? Some sort of kidnapping/trafficking thing, or a revenge exercise? Given its track record so far I struggle to believe Kusuriya introduced all this for its own sake, or that there is in fact a supernatural explanation. But for now the truth is still unclear, and Maomao seems less worried about it than one would expect considering someone may have just tried to murder her (and Yinghua is only worried about ghosts).