The Apothecary Diaries Volume 4

Title: The Apothecary Diaries 薬屋のひとりごと Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, “Apothecary’s Soliloquy”

Volume: 4

Mangaka: by Natsu Hyuuga (Author), Nekokurage (Author), Itsuki Nanao (Compiler), Touco Shino (Designer)

Translator: Julie Goniwich

US Publisher: Square Enix Manga

Age Relevance: High School & Up

How Essential Is It?: Essential

Curricular Connections?: Medicine, Critical Thinking

Reader’s Advisory Tags: Mystery, Romance, Based on Imperial China, Seinen

Anime: Crunchyroll (Second Season Confirmed!)

Content Warnings: Allusions to sex, mentions of suicide, murder, attempted murder, poison

Publisher Synopsis: Though Maomao has left the palace behind and returned to her home in the pleasure district, it seems the Inner Court can’t do without her! Jinshi comes to the erstwhile food taster with a request involving the attempted poisoning of the Virtuous Consort during the garden banquet and the identity of the mastermind behind it!

Cover for volume 4 of The Apothecary Diaries

Review:

The publisher synopsis for this volume is a little off- Maomao starts off this volume still at the Inner Court. The ultimate unmasking of the culprit of the attempted poisoning is what leads to Maomao’s leaving the court.. and her return.

The volume begins with the reveal of the culprit, but the elaborate machinations that led to the attempted poisoning are unveiled throughout the volume. At the onset, Maomao and the court physician have been called to examine the corpse of a maid who seems to have completed suicide. A few key clues are revealed- the maid has bound feet, and has scratches on her fingers from struggling as she drowned. The suspicious nature of her death means Maomao is called upon to investigate by Jinshi. Going to the Garnet Palace, home to Consort Aduo, Maomao soon unravels the tragic history of the Pure Consort. Having once been incredibly close to the current Emperor, Aduo had been raised alongside him and bore him a son. But the traumatic nature of the birth left her infertile, and the son died. The culprit of the attempted poisoning of Consort Lishu was the head lady-in-waiting of the Garnet Palace, Fengming, who didn’t want her lady to realize through Lisha’s allergy to honey that Aduo’s son had died the same way at Fengming’s hands. We also find out that Maomao’s father was the physician who took the fall for the death of the infant, giving readers hints towards Maomao’s origin, which will be revealed in a later volume. To continue to hide her fatal mistake, Fengming turns herself in and takes her secret to the grave upon her execution.

In the fallout, it turns out that Fengming’s family are the ones who captured and sold Maomao. Because of Fengming’s crimes, all girls in the Inner Palace from that family must be sent away. Jinshi and Maomao have an incredible failure in communication, and Maomao is sent home. This is very much against Maomao’s wishes- she owes money back home from the previous volume and had been hoping to continue working in the palace to send more clients to the brothel madam to make up for it. It also was obviously very much against Jinshi’s wishes, as he has very obvious feelings for Maomao and is also utilizing her constantly in schemes. The misunderstanding is quickly cleared up, though, and Jinshi pays off Maomao’s debt and employs her again, with a rare poison in hand to seal the deal.

This is effectively the end of the first volume, and the world has now been adequately built to allow for mysteries to truly breathe and for the palace intrigues to deepen. This volume also depicts an important conversation between Jinshi and Maomao, where she asks him to make certain that if she is ever executed, it’s done with poison. When Jinshi protests, Maomao points out that this is merely her position in their world of stark class divide- if she displeases the emperor or makes a mistake, not even Jinshi could save her. The conversation unsettles Jinshi, but Maomao displays her ever pragmatic sensibility. This is also the volume where romantic tension seems to build between Maomao and Jinshi. In prior volumes, it was mostly Jinshi’s goofy fixation on a girl who wasn’t obsessed with him, but this is where there is a bit more sincerity and understanding between the pair.

If you’re going to only have a few volumes of this series to start out or to be your physical collection, this volume is the best concluding point. It represents the end of an arc and a complete mystery, making it a good pause point. It does leave enough questions where readers who wish to keep reading will be clear to you about their desire, and you’ll know whether to keep collecting.