Across the first four volumes of Hyūga Natsu’s The Apothecary Diaries, multiple small, mysterious pieces line up. Seemingly unrelated to each other, the mysteries begin stacking up until it becomes undeniable. Everything Master Jinshi asks Maomao to help him with is connected. Even more astonishing is that it all stretches back to the day Maomao realizes the consorts’ face powder is poison.
The Apothecary Diaries Volume 4 answers questions that have been brewing for hundreds of pages. And it’s not just the reader getting answers this time. Mysteries Maomao has either been unable to solve, or simply refusing to see, unfurl at last, and everything makes sense. So, let’s take a look at the volume that finally catches up to the evens in The Apothecary Diaries anime Season 2.
Everything In The Apothecary Diaries Builds Toward Volume 4
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One thing can be said for Hyūga sensei. She knows how to scatter the dots and reconnect them with flawless precision. Because I went into reading the light novels after watching the anime and reading the manga, I knew what to expect. However, that doesn’t detract from the light novel’s brilliance. The Apothecary Diaries is a rich, flawlessly constructed mystery that ticks off all the boxes.
So, why read material I already know pretty intimately? The answers are simple. Firstly, I fell in love with Maomao the moment I met her. Secondly, the stories collected across each volume are brilliant. Each one of them could easily stand alone, and yet, they all click together like the pieces of a glorious puzzle.
Only the most meticulous sleuth could put them all together to see the greater image. Using logic, reason, and determination, Maomao is that sleuth. Her general detachment and intense focus gives her the edge needed to untangle knotted threads. Her humanity, which she doesn’t really think about often, blinds her to facing certain truths about the people around her. Volume 4 of The Apothecary Diaries is an undeniable lesson in humanity for Maomao, and it tests her in ways even she never imagines possible.
The Apothecary Diaries Unveils Its Greatest Mysteries to Date
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For a girl like Maomao, who quietly prides herself in her quick wit, there are a lot of things that become obvious to the reader that Maomao doesn’t see. It is easy to say these so-called obvious things do an intelligent girl like her a disservice, but it’s the opposite. All her life, Maomao puts a barrier between herself and the people around her.
Raised in a brothel, Maomao was often cast aside to ensure business was taken care of before her emotional needs were met. She loves the courtesans and thinks of them as her big sisters. Even the old hag running Verdigris House plays her role as Maomao’s grandmother in the only way she knows how. Add into the fact that her adoptive father, exiled palace physician and eunuch, Luomen, is the center of her world, and it’s no wonder that her emotional intelligence is a little stunted.
Maomao comes into the rear palace not knowing how to be friends with other people. She idolizes and loves Luomen deeply, that much is obvious, but she doesn’t understand the nature of friendship at all. In Volume 4, she’s forced to really look at the bonds she’s built with the other servants of the rear palace, namely, Xioalan and Shisui.
Shisui Was Always a Wild Card, but Maomao Still Loved Her
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Watching the friendship deepen between the three girls across these first four volumes is game-changing for Maomao. Even she realizes this, as she comes to recognize that she began her relationship with Xioalan as a means to exchange information. She never expected to care about the other girl. Caring about other people on that level is something foreign to her, but Xioalan has a way about her that makes it impossible not to adore her.
When Shisui comes into the picture in The Apothecary Diaries Vol. 3, she explodes onto the scene in ways that make it impossible to ignore her. With Maomao almost discovering her near the hidden Shrine that later becomes their escape route, Shisui quickly becomes a fixture in her life.
Shisui is exasperating to Maomao in ways the other court ladies find Maomao herself to be. Her love of insects and outrageous personality make her impossible to ignore. There are even some who mistake her and Maomao for each other because of their odd behaviors. Even as Maomao finds this revelation appalling, it sets her up for the unexpected compassion she will later need when the truth is revealed.
Maomao’s Observational Skills Did Not Fail Her
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Maomao comes to several major revelations in the fourth volume of The Apothecary Diaries. Two of the most important revelations had been hiding in plain sight for a long time. Jinshi and Shisui were both pretending to be something they were not. So, how did Maomao miss all the clues? The obvious answer: She doesn’t want to see them.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the truth about Jinshi. During the ceremony at the temple, Maomao saves Jinshi, not knowing it is him until after the fact. But why is he there? No… she doesn’t want to know. So, she tucks it away and doesn’t let herself think about it. The incident with the feifa at the hunt is chock full of clues. All she needs to do is listen to the people around her and the way they address him, and she will understand who he is, but she doesn’t.
Even when they land in the cave, and she feels the evidence that he is definitely not a eunuch, Maomao chooses to hide from the truth. She’s afraid that his deception will drag her down just as much as she fears her own feelings for him. Running away from that is her only way to deal with it.
The Apothecary Diaries Hides Shisui’s Identity Even from the Reader
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For us as readers, Jinshi’s real identity is always right there. It’s obvious, even before Gaoshun confirms it under the moonlight in Vol. 3. He is the Moon Prince, but he’s playing at hiding his identity in the rear-palace because he doesn’t want to be the heir. Shisui, on the other hand, isn’t introduced until long after Loulan’s first introduction in Vol. 1. First appearing in the early chapters of Vol. 3, no one is thinking about Loulan at all, so the connection is never really made.
Even on the rare occasions that Maomao finds herself studying the other girl, thinking there’s something familiar about her, we as readers don’t really dig beyond the surface. When it becomes known that Shisui is involved in Suirei’s abduction plot, even Maomao is shocked.
She never put two and two together because Loulan was never really a part of her, or anyone else’s, big picture. She is an unknown quantity the moment she’s introduced to the story. When we think about her, it’s only to think there’s something not right about that girl. I bet she’s up to something evil.
Even the way The Apothecary Diaries Vol. 4 confirms that Shisui is Loulan is a shock to the senses. But it’s the real exposure of just how tragic a character Loulan is that breaks my heart as a reader. A little girl with a cruel, vindictive mother caught in the power struggle between her parents and their dark plots, Loulan has no choice but to play pretend. She’s been doing it all her life.
It All Comes to Light In The Apothecary Diaries Vol. 4’s Explosive Conclusion
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Watching all of the pieces come together to reveal what’s been going on behind the scenes the entire times is breathtaking. Not only do we get to see a plot in-the-making for years unravel, but Maomao finally gets her hands on the resurrection potion. It’s been gleaming in her mind since Suirei first came back from the dead, and it plays an important role in the survival of the Shi Clan’s most precious treasures: their children.
During her final moments with Shisui/Loulan, Maomao is torn between feeling betrayed and heartbroken. It’s the first time she truly realizes just how much she cares about the two girls who made life in the rear palace more than work and duty. They are her friends, and she knows she’s about to lose the bond they all share as she lets Shisui go.
Add to that the revelation that Consort Gyokuyou has given birth to a healthy baby boy, and Jinshi is free. No longer is he beholden to responsibilities he’s been running from. But the weight of his own final confrontation with Loulan will rest on his shoulders for years. He can finally be himself with Maomao, but what does that mean for their future? Can they even have one together? Only time will tell.
It’s all epically done, every chapter of it. The fact that the anime sticks so closely to the original source material is glorious. And now, I’m all caught up, which means I can go into the next anime season and movie well-read.
The Apothecary Diaries Vol. 4 On a Scale of 1 to 10
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It feels like it took forever to get through these first four volumes, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. Reliving Maomao’s mysterious adventures in this format made the anime that much more rewarding. Now, I’m probably going to watch through all 48 episodes again. And, of course, I’ll be starting Vol. 5 immediately. I can’t wait.
All that being said, The Apothecary Diaries Volume 4 is a 10/10, no notes! Not a single one. Well, unless calling Hyūga sensei an absolute genius counts as notes. In which case, so many notes of praise!
