The Apothecary Diaries – Season 1 Episode 12 Recap & Review

The Eunuch and the Courtesan

Episode 12 of The Apothecary Diaries begins with Jinshi informing the audience what happened to Fengming’s relatives after she was executed. He explains they were corporally punished and robbed of their wealth. Currently, Jinshi says he has the names of everyone in Fengming’s family, in addition to those who are connected with them. Additionally, the people who kidnapped Maomao have connections with Fengming’s family. Jinshi questions if he should cover this intel up or not.

By hiding this information, Jinshi argues he’ll prevent Maomao from leaving the rear palace. However, he’s conflicted because he’s unsure if that’s what Maomao would want. Then, we cut to Maomao and Xiaolin discussing a mass firing event that happened recently. It involved people with ties to Fengming’s family getting dismissed because of their connections with them. Concerned about her predicament, Maomao leaves and confronts Jinshi about the mass firing incident. 

She asks him what’ll happen to her. Jinshi hands her the document he received from Gaoshun. She asks him if she’ll be fired because of her ties to the Fengming family. Jinshi doesn’t give her a solid answer but he asks her what she wants. Maomao doesn’t want to lose the good life she has at the Jade Pavilion but doesn’t want to look like she’s begging to keep her job. So, Maomao tells Jinshi she’s willing to do whatever he says and asks him not to fire her. 

Unfortunately, Maomao loses her position and returns to Pleasure District. Gaoshun recognizes Jinshi’s upset about this ordeal and realizes he didn’t force Maomao to stay because he didn’t want to use her. Elsewhere, Maomao’s getting pampered by one of the Three Princesses of the Verdigris House. She plans to attend a nobility banquet with them. Additionally, Maomao says she received a lot of money when she left the rear palace, which helped her prevent herself from being sold off. 

Maomao and the others arrive at the nobility banquet. We receive a montage of the Three Princesses performing for the nobles while Maomao is shown assisting the nobles with their needs. Maomao notices a man looking depressed and interacts with him. She learns it’s Jinshi and he asks her why she chose to flee the palace and why she’s dressed like a courtesan. Maomao says she’s earning money and doesn’t take personal customers. 

Jinshi asks Maomao if he can buy her and Maomao thinks it would be a good idea to work there again. Jinshi wonders why she quit, but Maomao reminds him that he’s the one who fired her. Maomao tells Jinshi that the only thing she doesn’t like about her job is her inability to experiment with poison. Jinshi laughs and tells Maomao that experimenting with poison is a ridiculous desire. Then, the two get moderately intimate with each other, resulting in some folks taking note of their situation. 

After the Three Princesses interrogate Maomao about Jinshi, we cut to Maomao working on something for Grams at the Verdigris House. Then, Grams arrives and asks Maomao to look at a patient for her. Afterwards, Maomao bathes in the bathing house and reflects on her experience at the rear palace. Grams arrives and the two discuss Maomao’s debt repayment plans and if she’s interested in returning to the rear palace. 

At night, Maomao heads outside to ponder her experiences at the rear palace. Afterwards, Maomao questions what life has planned for her and heads inside her adoptive father’s home. The following day, Jinshi and Gaoshun arrive at Gram’s workplace. He presents Grams with a briefcase full of money and Maomao with a strange plant. The episode closes with Maomao assuming Jinshi wants to purchase her. 

The Episode Review

Despite Fengming receiving her inevitable punishment in last week’s episode, matters concluded on a suspicious note. Many wondered what would happen to Maomao after Jinshi realized her kidnappers were affiliated with Fengming’s family. Fortunately, this episode addresses the matter swiftly, but the results were shocking, to say the least. 

That said, it was an interesting twist having Maomao get fired from her position at the rear palace. While some viewers won’t mind the idea of Fengming’s family’s connections receiving punishment alongside her family, others will find the idea baffling. Nonetheless, it gave the series a decent excuse to explore the pleasure district’s characters more. 

At the same time, the amusing and intimate bit between Jinshi and Maomao at the banquet will please several viewers, especially those who love the series’s romantic aspects. It’ll make many wonder when Maomao will realize Jinshi has feelings for her.

In addition to having pleasant imagery and grandiose animation, this was a charming and mildly divisive episode of The Apothecary Diaries. Although the series will be going on holiday until January, I’m excited to see what awaits Maomao, Jinshi, and the others.