Palace politics are a bitch, no question about it. It seems to transcend time and place, though obviously the stakes were higher when monarchies held a lot of political power (a rarity these days). This is a double-whammy for Maomao, because as the smartest person in the room she inevitably gets drawn into these machinations at one end or the other. And in doing so she invariably draws attention to herself (even from the Emperor, which is a double-edged sword if ever one existed).
At first the concerns with the Emperor’s garden party are mundane ones – cold and boredom. For the ladies-in-waiting there’s generally not much to do, which gives them plenty of time for “proxy wars“. These hardly need much explanation, and the battle lines here seem to be Gyokuyou vs. Lihua and Lishu (the Virtuous Consort) vs. Ah-Duo (the Pure Consort). In the former case it’s more along the lines of petty sniping, with Lihua’s ladies taking potshots at Maomao (despite her having saved their mistress’ life) and not recognizing her without her freckles. Lihua clearly has a broader perspective however (she adds to Maomao’s growing hairpin collection).
The other feud, however, is much more serious. Things are complicated between the two, with Lishu being Ah-Duo’s former mother-in-law (this post may set an LiA record for hyphens) despite their being 14 and 35 respectively. Lishu (much to Maomao’s shock) was married to the deceased former emperor at the age of nine. There’s also mention here of a half-brother of the current Emperor, apparently too sickly to attend the garden party for long (he was there and left before the camera found him). And the Empress Dowager makes an appearance, a very comely and striking one at that.
Maomao receives yet another hairpin, this time from a young courtier (perhaps a soldier) named Lihaku (Akabane Kenji). He may or may not be a eunuch (I’m about 98% sure Jinshi isn’t), but either way he falls hard for Maomao after watching her reactions in her role as food taster. That role is very much at the center of events here. as shenanigans are happening on multiple fronts. Lishu gets a dish containing mackerel, which she’s allergic to (Maomao has observed the phenomenon, though she doesn’t refer to it by its modern name). And because the Emperor is watching, she can’t refuse to eat it.
As for Maomao, she gets a poisoned soup – and being the masochist and science junkie she is, has an almost orgiastic reaction to eating it. She barfs it up, immunity or no, but asks for the rest of the bowl. When Jinshi calls on her to investigate, she asks that Lishu and her taster be brought in. It soon becomes clear that there are two forms of sabotage going on here, because Lishu got the dish intended for Gyokuyou and vice-versa. This happened because Lishu’s taster switched them, apparently some sort of bullying or attack from her own servant (who ironically may have saved her life in the process). It also means that the poison Maomao intercepted was not meant for her own mistress, but for Lishu (which certainly casts suspicion on Ah-Duo or someone in her retinue).
There are many questions raised by this turn of events. Is all this connected to the secret coded messages in the wood blocks from last week’s episode (almost certainly yes)? Lishu isn’t a personable child but she seems pretty isolated and vulnerable if her own ladies are out to get her. But who is actually trying to poison her? And then there’s all those hairpins, which seem certain to cause trouble for Maomao (hooray, the freckles are back in the preview) sooner or later.
Nellie
November 12, 2023 at 6:04 pmThe sickly younger brother isn’t the Emperor’s half-brother. They’re full blood brothers- both sons of the deceased previous emperor and the Empress Dowager.
Dove
November 12, 2023 at 6:43 pmLN reader here metaphorically stuffing socks into my mouth so I don’t spoil.
“Lihua isn’t a personable child but she seems pretty isolated and vulnerable if her own ladies are out to get her.”
I think you meant Lishu
Guardian Enzo
November 12, 2023 at 6:59 pmYup
MFF
November 12, 2023 at 10:06 pmIts a hard existence.
DonkeyWan
November 13, 2023 at 1:00 amI’m a fan of the manga, so really pleased the anime is such a rock solid adaptation. I love historical anime, particularly seinen, so this is just mana from heaven.
Derrick
November 13, 2023 at 1:08 amBoy emperors had such particular tastes
Nicc
November 13, 2023 at 9:18 amThe garden party gets started and it’s an eventful day with music, dancing, martial arts demonstrations and feasting. There isn’t a whole lot for the ladies-in-waiting to do while trying to stay warm. As you said, there are rivalries between the four consorts and with their bored ladies-in-waiting taking potshots at each other. It seems that losing her freckles really did make Maomao unrecognizable to many people, including the ladies-in-waiting for Lihua. We learn that Maomao was at the Crystal Pavillion for two months attending to her. Lihua has no problem identifying Maomao, though, and gives her a hairpin. While walking around, she gets one more from what appears to be a young officer, Lihaku, though in his case he seems to be handing them out like party favors. That said, it seems that there is some meaning not only from getting the hairpins, but also from whom. It was mentioned that it’s partly about recruiting and so Lihua may be showing interest in Maomao should she be let go (Unlikely) or when her 2 years are up.
We also get more background regarding the oldest consort, Ah-Duo and the youngest one, Lishu. I got the same reaction as Maomao when she put together the relationship chart. It seems that the former emperor liked them young. Before that, we saw just how young the Empress Dowager looks. One of her fellow ladies-in-waiting whispered to Maomo that she gave birth the current emperor at the age of… Maomao reaction says it all. The emperor’s brother was in attendance, but as you said, already came and left offscreen.
Then, it gets to Maomao’s time to shine, the food testing. She’s really enjoying it, as seen in the detailed animation of her eating. Things seem normal at first, but then she notices some oddities with the following dishes. First, she sees how Lishu is reacting to the fish dish in front of her and the reaction of her food taster. Then, it’s her turn with the soup. Yes, it can only be described that she’s getting turned on while she’s drinking a poisoned soup. It gets a reaction from a watching Lihaku as well.
I assume that cuts the party short as Maomao goes on expel it from her stomach. She still wants the rest of the soup, though. Jinshi is there too and she likes him better when he’s not in his usual bishie mode. Maomao has an idea what’s going on and Lishu and her food taster are summoned. Maomao figures out that Lishu’s reaction to the fish dish is not of dislike, but it’s a food allergy. Our modern understanding of allergies came much later.
And, then there’s the poisoned soup, which was not meant for Gyokuyou. Maomao already noticed that something was off in the dish that was served before. So, yeah, there was some kind of switch, which may indeed have saved Lishu’s life. However, who tried to poison her? It could be Ah-Duo, who we don’t have a proper introduction to yet. Or considering the nature of palace politics, it also could be some third party we haven’t seen yet.
The next episode preview suggests that she gets to visit her hometown, which I suspect may have something to do with Lunar New Year. And, yes, I’m glad to see the freckles back too.