In such circumstances, unambiguous statements limit plausible deniability.

At this rate, it shouldn’t take more than thirty or forty more books for the pair to become awkwardly inarticulate bride and groom 2.Īside from the author’s desire to string the courtship out, the fault is in Li’s no-holds-barred political system, in which entire families can suffer for one person’s transgressions. The Maomao/Jinshu romance makes infinitesimal progress, although at least Maomao bullies Jinshu into a frank, unambiguous declaration of intent. Now, not only does Maomao have to work out what is going on, she has to do so fast enough to prevent an innocent woman from hanging. Diagnosis is complicated when someone poisons the shrine maiden’s food. Said reasons may or may not be related to the shrine maiden’s current issues. There are many reasons a person might never have periods. Currently she is in Li, seeking assistance for a medical issue whose nature is unclear. The current shrine maiden is in her forties, a lengthy tenure that has allowed her to accrue considerable influence. Shine maidens serve until their first menses. Shaoh has a curious government structure, the power of the monarch balanced by the power of the shrine maiden. Maomao’s investigatory prowess makes Maomao a potentially useful catspaw for Aylin. Once an emissary from sometimes troublesome Shaoh, Aylin fled to Li, finding refuge in the rear palace. The issue must therefore be lack of motivation to study, which leads Maomao to an unwelcome reunion with a former instructor: Madam, the grim old woman who runs the Verdigris House brothel that was Maomao’s childhood home.Įnforced academic achievement brings a new position - medical assistant in the rear palace, where the Emperor’s small army of concubines live - and new mysteries.Īmong the women in the rear palace, foreign bride Aylin.

She has demonstrated her keen mind time after time. Maomao’s failure to pass the Court Ladies’ Service Exam presents an impediment to her superiors’ plans for the young apothecary. In this volume, Maomao struggles with school work, international intrigue, and of course the glacial progress of the romance between her and attractive (but incapable of straight-forward declaration) Jinshu, revealed as a prince of Li a few volumes ago. The 2023 English translation is by Kevin Steinbach. 2018’s The Apothecary Diaries, Volume Seven is the seventh volume in Natsu Hyuuga’s secondary-universe light novel series.

The apothecary diaries 7