The Apothecary Diaries – Season 1 Episode 15 Recap & Review

Raw Fish

Episode 15 of The Apothecary Diaries begins with a few men gossiping about Lihaku’s investigation involving the burned warehouse. Lakan overhears their conversation and wants them to share intel with him about it. Elsewhere, Gaoshun presents Maomao with a scroll detailing a former case involving a raw pufferfish dish. He says a former colleague (Lakan) told him that a similar incident occurred recently, which involved a bureaucrat eating a raw pufferfish and entering a coma. 

Gaoshun explains the cook who served the individuals involved in these cases didn’t use pufferfish in the dish. However, Gaoshun finds it odd that both gentlemen were negatively infected by the pufferfish (in general) because they both loved eating exotic meals. He notes pufferfish as being a favorite of the two’s. Additionally, both cooks claimed their innocence and argued they used a different type of fish in both meals. 

Gaoshun tells Maomao what happened to both men. Maomao asks Gaoshun if he can secure more information for her so she can solve this case. Jinshi arrives and interrupts Maomao’s train of thought. Before the two have a deeper conversation about the incident, Maomao leaves, to Jinshi’s disappointment. The following day, Gaoshun hands Maomao the cook’s notebook. He says it should contain details about all the meals the victim received. 

Jinshi interrupts Maomao’s thinking process again, so she decides to let him in on the case she’s attempting to unravel. While Suiren pampers Jinshi, Maomao asks Gaoshun to let her know when the case happened. Since it happened a week ago, Maomao assumes the cook used winter vegetables and Gaoshun mentions the cook likes using seaweed. With this intel, Maomao asks Gaoshun if she can visit the cook’s kitchen. 

Before she arrives at the kitchen, Maomao meets a man named Basen, and the two head to the Bureaucrat’s mansion. Basen tells Maomao to follow his orders. The two head into the kitchen and before Maomao starts investigating, a man arrives, asking them why they’re here. Basen convinces the man to let them continue their investigation. We learn from one of the workers that this is his master’s younger brother. 

Maomao examines the area and finds a seaweed-filled pot. The servant ensures Maomao that the seaweed isn’t poisonous and that it’s his master’s favorite dish. The younger brother asks Maomao and Basen to leave. Maomao and Basen depart and Basen wonders why Maomao backed down. Maomao reveals she wasn’t backing down and shows Basen that she swiped some seaweed. She believes the seaweed was imported from the South but feels it’d be best to pinpoint where it came from. 

Maomao meets with several men including Jinshi in a room somewhere. She presents them with two seaweed dishes and Basen confirms the seaweed is the servant’s master Southern-grown seaweed but not during the winter times. Maomao speculates it’s possible the master’s seaweed isn’t eaten often in the South. Additionally, she believes the merchant learned that seaweed was the bureaucrat’s favorite meal, so to profit off that knowledge, he had locals make a dish using salted seaweed.  

Maomao tells Jinshi and co. that the big issue they should be concerned with is who suggested the trader bring the salted seaweed. Maomao presents Jinshi and the others with various possibilities. The following day, we learn from Gaoshun that the master’s younger brother was responsible for the pufferfish incident, why he did it, and how he learned about the seaweed’s poison. In her quarters, Maomao’s upset she didn’t get to try the poisonous seaweed. 

However, her mood changes when she remembers the gift Jinshi gave to her at the Verdigris House. Maomao’s enlightened attitude startles Jinshi, resulting in him banging his head on the wall. Suiren tends to Jinshi’s wound and Jinshi shares his grievances concerning a high military official that’s been a family friend for years now. Maomao feels he should stop dwelling on these matters. While sweeping, Maomao senses something bad is about to happen soon. 

We cut to Lakan arriving in Jinshi’s office. Jinshi argues that Lakan’s angry with him because he chose Maomao as his servant. Lakan reveals he had a great connection with a former Verdigris House courtesan. He reveals he had ideas on purchasing this courtesan but chose not to. Lakan discusses the courtesan further and wishes he could’ve forced himself upon her. Lakan alludes to performing a nefarious stunt but holds back on discussing it further. 

Instead, Lakan asks Jinshi if Maomao can look into uncovering a mystery surrounding a secret technique his former metalworker colleague developed. For Maomao to take part in this new endeavor, Jinshi wants Lakan to give him more details about this case. The episode closes with Maomao realizing it’s raining a lot more than normal. 

The Episode Review

While many adore The Apothecary Diaries for its romantic and comedic affairs, others cherish it for Maomao’s daily detective-like activities. This time, Maomao dealt with a pufferfish poisoning case that’s similar to a crime that occurred in the past. Through minor investigating and critical discussions, Maomao successfully provides Gaoshun and the others with a lead to go by. 

Unfortunately, like other cases, this one gets solved quickly, with Gaoshun highlighting the 5 W’s of it all. While some won’t mind how fast our protagonist solved the case, others would’ve preferred if the episode dragged it out a bit more to make matters feel less abrupt. While Maomao’s pufferfish case may not be to fans’ liking, this episode gives Lakan some needed development. 

From Lakan’s frightening courtesan tale to Jinshi’s suspicions of him, he’s certainly a figure worth keeping an eye on. From the way he speaks to the way he’s animated, it wouldn’t shock audiences if it’s revealed he committed a heinous act in the past. Only time will tell if that ends up being the case though. Overall, this was an enjoyable episode of The Apothecary Diaries. While it had its dull moments, it provided fans with something fun to look forward to in the future.