I’ve seen some refer to this turn in The Apothecary Diaries as a “side quest”, but to be honest I don’t see it that way at all. More like the main plot for the season – or at least the cour – kicking in. Whatever this journey is about, it’s surely connected to the locust plague thread the first five episodes have relentlessly teased out. Rather than a side quest, it’s more like those five eps have been the prologue and this is the start of the main story.

This all starts with mysterious letters – one to Maomao, and one to Guen. The “quack doctor” is clearly enjoying having Luomen at his side, and why wouldn’t he? Oyaji is a much more accomplished doctor and takes the pressure off Guen, who just wants to play with Miaomiao and  gossip. Maomao meanwhile seems to take the letter as a sign she’s going to be gone for a while, and with Chuo-u and Zulin waltzing in with a basket of wolfsbane (thinking it’s mugwort) planning to make dumplings out of it, that poses some obvious problems on the domestic front.

Sazen is definitely part of the solution. Granny can be tasked with making sure the kids are looked after, but Maomao’s absence would leave a big hole on the apothecary side. Sazen’s cleverness was already obvious but it turns it he also possesses quite a knowledge about herbs – he was already aware of the children’s mistake and planning to correct it. Chuo is obviously a gifted child but has zero interest in medicine or herbs, so training up Sazen is really a win-win. He resists at first but in the end this will surely lead to a better life for him – these skills are a lot more marketable than sweeping up and babysitting.

The letters find everyone meeting up at Verdigris House – Guen and Miaomiao, and Basen with Jinshi (disguised as his servant) in tow. Guen is on his way to his sister’s village and has been tasked with taking the others with him. He plans to ask her to take Miamiao in, quite a sacrifice on his part. Presumably the plan is for him to remain there while the other three continue their mysterious journey, but there’s some drama to play out at the village first. It seems fertile and green but the farmers in the field look strangely haggard. And there’s obvious tension in Guen’s family, where his oldest nephew is openly hostile towards him and generally an obnoxious prick.

I’m not crazy about Maomao sneaking off for what seems to be a long journey without even saying goodbye to Chuo-u. But the village stuff is really interesting, and it points out some things Kusuriya no Hitorigoto does really well. “Restraint” is so often a key to whether this show is at its best or not. This is all very low-key but it really respects the audience. The stuff with the taxation issues is quite complicated but extremely realistic. There are valid reasons why the Emperor might lower taxes on paper making and raise them on grains, but moves like that have myriad impacts.

The tension between the farmers and the paper crafters makes perfect sense in that context. But there are other factors at play here, too. The landlord – the son of the much-liked one who recently passed away – seems to have a particular grudge against Guen’s family and their trade. And the nephew apparently sides with him against his own family, for reasons possibly connected to what seems to be a secret lover his family is unaware of. With Meitantei Maomao on the scene these issues are surely going to get an airing next week, and once they’re sorted she and Jinshi will likely be free to move on the main event and main dish, those pesky locusts.