One (more) of my observations about The Apothecary Diaries (I’m pretty absolutely sure I’ve written it) is that there are no coincidences with this series. Every red herring winds up on the serving platter in front of you eventually, or near enough. Yes, Chekov gets a full arsenal here – which can be exhausting, because you have to try and remember every detail no matter how trivial it seems at the time. It stretches credulity just as too many coincidences do (albeit in a totally different way), but it undeniably makes for an interesting story.

Not only is Maomao missing, but Miaomiao too. Jinshi’s struggle to remain calm and detached evidences just how smitten he is. Loumen is worried too of course, but the sly old fellow is the very picture of composed contemplation. He’s a fascinating figure, this man. Behind that serene facade the wheels are always turning. Loumen obviously connects his daughter’s disappearance with the cat’s, even if he’s not sure how. When Guen remarks that Miaomiao seemed very interested in Maomao, Loumen surmises that she might have been working with silvervine – a cousin of kiwi fruit with medicinal properties that also happens to be an even more potent cat stimulant than catnip (though this seems not to have been known until the 20th Century – but that’s never stopped Kusuriya before).

Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch that even Loumen – the smartest man in this world and the one who knows Xiaomao best – could have found the cat (and thus the clue Maomao left behind), But never mind, it is what it is. That clue is a hidden message left in alcohol with two kanji, hurriedly written. One is “hokora” – a type of small Shinto shrine. The other is a bit of a mystery given its sloppy nature, but eventually one of the triplets (Seki-u) realizes it’s “Sui” – emerald green or jade. She immediately connects this is Shishui, Maomao’s odd servant friend who doesn’t quite seem to  make sense the closer you examine her existence.

From there, we turn to the apothecary in question and more mysteries reveal themselves. Whichever “Sui” Maomao was referencing, they’re both with her. On a ship – in fact three ships, which leads Xiaomao to include they’re on a river. At first  Shisui seems like a fellow captive but once they disembark and start trekking through a forest, it becomes clear that the two Suis know each other. In fact once the cat is out of the bag Shishui refers to Suirei as “Nee-sama”, though in theory that might not be meant in the genetic sense.

I’m not quite sure what to make of this. My working assumption (and Maomao’s suspicion) has been that Shisui is Loulan but there’s nothing revealed here that would confirm that. Loulan being Suirei’s sister is not impossible and in fact would be quite a fascinating twist, but could a top concubine disappear from the Rear Palace for days at a time without causing a stir? The trio wind up at some sort of onsen resort, with a very impressive inn (which may be a palace). There we meet Kyou-u (Fujiwara Natsumi), who calls both Sui Nee-sama, whether it’s meant literally or not.

The village is getting ready for some sort of festival, and given the prevalence of Japanese lantern plants (hoozuki), it seems very likely to be connected to Obon. As for Kyou-u he’s clearly a noble or at least very rich, and he knows Suirei and Shisui well enough to treat them like sisters whether they are or not. Maomao notices the presence of the foreign envoy, which certainly seems to tie that earlier thread back into the story. It’s not certain what all this means but I still feel sure Shishou is connected directly to it. If there weren’t enough going on, it seems Gyokuyou is in labor – which will be occupying Loumen’s time and may make it impossible for Jinshi to leave the Rear Palace to personally search for Maomao.