# List of The Apothecary Diaries episodes

The Apothecary Diaries is a Japanese anime television series based on the light novel series of the same name written by Natsu Hyūga [ja] and illustrated by Touko Shino. Produced by Toho Animation Studio and OLM, the anime series is directed and written by Norihiro Naganuma, with Akinori Fudesaka serving as assistant director for the first season and later replacing Norihiro as director of the second season. Yukiko Nakatani [ja] designed the characters, while Satoru Kōsaki, Kevin Penkin, and Alisa Okehazama [ja] all composed the music. The two consecutive-cours first season ran from October 22, 2023, to March 24, 2024, on Nippon TV and its affiliates. The first opening theme song is "Hana ni Natte" (花になって, lit. 'Become a Flower') performed by Ryokuoushoku Shakai, while the first ending theme song is "Aikotoba" (アイコトバ, lit. 'The Spell') performed by Aina the End. The second opening theme song is "Ambivalent" (アンビバレント) performed by Uru, while the second ending theme song is "Ai wa Kusuri" (愛は薬, lit. 'Love Is Medicine') performed by Wacci [ja].
Following the conclusion of the first season's broadcast, a second season was announced. It premiered on January 10, 2025, on the Friday Anime Night programming block of Nippon TV and its affiliates. The first opening theme song is "Hyakkaryōran" (百花繚乱, lit. 'Splendid Bounty') performed by Lilas Ikuta, while the first ending theme song is "Shiawase no Recipe" (幸せのレシピ, lit. 'The Recipe for Happiness') performed by Dai Hirai [ja].
Crunchyroll streams the series worldwide outside Asia, in addition to the Middle East, the CIS, and South Asia. The first season's first cours released on Blu-ray on January 28, 2025, while the second cours is set to be released on March 25, 2025. Netflix streams the series in select regions of Asia.

## Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 24 | 24 | October 22, 2023 (2023-10-22) | March 24, 2024 (2024-3-24) |
| 2 | 24 | 24 | January 10, 2025 (2025-1-10) | TBA |

## Episodes
### Season 1 (2023–24)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original release date | Viewership rating |
| 1 | 1 | "Maomao" (Japanese: 猫猫) | Akinori Fudesaka | Yūko Kakihara [ja] | Norihiro Naganuma | October 22, 2023 (2023-10-22) | N/A |
| Maomao, the daughter of an apothecary on the outskirts of the city, is kidnapped by bandits and sold to the Imperial Palace as a laundry woman, serving the Emperor's concubines, eunuchs, and respective staff in the Rear Palace. Three months later, Maomao notices a fight between two of the Emperor's concubines, Lihua and Gyokuyou, as rumors swirl around that both of their children are getting sick and dying from a curse. Maomao deduces the cause from the alleged symptoms, and leaves an anonymous message on the windowsill of each concubine to stop using their lead-based face-powder. Lihua's lady-in-waiting ignores the message, and Lihua's son later dies. Gyokuyou reads and heeds the message, and her daughter lives. Jinshi, an attractive eunuch, finds out that Maomao was the savior, as she is the only one of the servant girls who is able to read his writing. Jinshi introduces Maomao to Gyokuyou to explain how the face powder was linked to why her daughter became sick, and Gyokuyou thanks her by making her a lady-in-waiting. ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Chilly Apothecary" Transliteration: "Buaisō na Kusushi" (Japanese: 無愛想な薬師) | Kentarō Fujita | Misuzu Chiba [ja] | Norihiro Naganuma | October 22, 2023 (2023-10-22) | N/A |
| Soldiers trying to pacify an outside village get poisoned while they eat and Jinshi is asked to help decide the fate of the village leader suspected of poisoning them. Maomao begins her new role as lady-in-waiting by meeting the others currently working for Gyokuyou, who take extra pity on Maomao for her bandaged arm and for being given the job of Poison Food Tester. Maomao takes to the task quickly but gets bored after the other ladies pity her and do her share of the chores. Jinshi later asks Maomao to solve the question of the poisoned soldiers, and from the context, Maomao deduces that the type of wood the soldiers burned for kindling gave off poisonous fumes, not the food. Later, Maomao is tasked by Jinshi with designing an aphrodisiac, gaining access to the court doctor's stock of medicines and ingredients. Maomao creates cocoa-based aphrodisiacs but gets distracted collecting medicinal herbs in the garden only to find that three of Gyokuyou's ladies-in-waiting have eaten some of the chocolates she made out of the excess cocoa mixture ahead of time. According to Maomao, the aphrodisiac has three times the power of the usual tonic, making Gyokuyou tremble in fear when she tried asking her for some for the emperor. ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Unsettling Matter of the Spirit" Transliteration: "Yūrei Sōdō" (Japanese: 幽霊騒動) | Kyohei Yamamoto | Hitomi Ogawa | Norihiro Naganuma | October 22, 2023 (2023-10-22) | N/A |
| Rumors swirl of a ghostly woman dancing in the Outer Palace. Jinshi's attendant, Gaoshun, shows Maomao a mid-level concubine named Fuyou who appears to be dancing on the Eastern wall in the moonlight. She was originally brought before the Emperor, but then failed to impress him and lost his favor and she was then pledged to a General in the Emperor's army. Afterwards, she went mad and began dancing in the moonlight. The next day, Maomao relates a similar story to Gyokuyou and Jinshi, of a courtesan she knew who was about to be purchased by a wealthy client, leading to the woman becoming so stressed she began sleepwalking and having no memory of her actions the following day, the deal falling through. The day Fuyou is to be sold off to the General, Maomao tells Gyokuyou the rest of the story: the courtesan pretended to be mentally ill so she could lower her own price and be sold to a different man who she actually wanted to marry. Fuyou discovered that the General she was pledged to was a man she loved from her hometown, so she did something similar to fall out of favor with the Emperor and was given to the General as his reward instead. ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Threat" Transliteration: "Dōkatsu" (Japanese: 恫喝) | China [ja] | Yūko Kakihara | China | October 29, 2023 (2023-10-29) | N/A |
| The Emperor made a direct request for Maomao to take care of Lady Lihua, but repeated attempts to treat her are thwarted by her ladies-in-waiting, who kick her out of her room repeatedly. Jinshi notices Maomao's problem and decides to intervene, charming the ladies into allowing Maomao to treat Lihua without any interferences, starting with a special diet which aims to purge her body of the poison caused by the beauty powder her lady-in-waiting was secretly using. Maomao punishes the lady-in-waiting by slapping her and pouring the powder on her for carelessly using it, forgetting that it was banned for being poison and that is what killed Lihua's son. The lady-in-waiting is able to return to her post after being detained for awhile (Maomao took over Lihua's care for the duration), declaring she will not repeat her mistakes, while the eunuch who was ordered to recover the banned powder got whipped as punishment. Maomao asks Jinshi to build a sauna, as she adds regular steam baths to Lihua's treatment regimen. Lihua fully recovers in two months. When Maomao is set to return to Lady Gyokuyou, she teaches Lihua a technique her brothel sisters taught her to gain back the Emperor's favors, as she has the "assets" to do it. As a result, the Emperor began to less frequently visit Gyokuyou, allowing her to take it easy. ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Covert Operations" Transliteration: "Anyaku" (Japanese: 暗躍) | Gaku Shiga | Misuzu Chiba | Akinori Fudesaka | November 6, 2023 (2023-11-6) | N/A |
| As Maomao and the court doctor enjoy some grilled matsutake mushrooms, someone comes into the clinic asking for a cure to a "curse". Maomao gives the patient some ointment to heal the rashes on the patient's arms. Jinshi calls her to ask her opinion on a few substances, as he is also on the hunt for what caused the "curse". The day of the garden party is fast approaching, and, this time, all of the Emperor's top-tier consorts will be attending, including Concubines Lihua and Gyokuyou. That also means Maomao has to attend as Gyokuyou's lady-in-waiting. When applying her makeup, which is something she tried to avoid, the other ladies-in-waiting reveal a secret, and Jinshi finds out: her freckles are her makeup, which acts as a camouflage and deterrent against would-be rapists, since she did live in the brothel district. He is also able to find more about Maomao's background. Feeling bad about her hardships, Jinshi gives her one of his hairpins, which made Gyokuyou, who "marked" her earlier with a necklace, a bit jealous as "she is no longer hers alone". The garden party begins, but, unknown to everyone, a sinister force is lurking in the background. ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Garden Party" Transliteration: "Enyūkai" (Japanese: 園遊会) | Wataru Nakagawa | Hitomi Ogawa | Wataru Nakagawa | November 12, 2023 (2023-11-12) | N/A |
| Amidst the hubbub of the garden party, Maomao is caught in the proxy wars between the concubines' ladies-in-waiting, with one of Lihua's ladies talking smack about her, not knowing she is just in front of her. She also experiences getting two more hairpins, one of them from Lady Lihua herself. She also learns of the supposed rift between the consorts Ah-Duo and Lishu, where, due to politics, the very young Virtuous Consort becomes mother-in-law to the much-older Pure Consort. Things rear its ugly head when Maomao finds Gyokuyou's soup poisoned, and a minister later collapses after trying the dish, incredulous. Jinshi sees her throwing up the poison and takes her to the infirmary. Asking about the poisoning, Maomao asks Jinshi for Lishu and her food taster, where she finds that she is allergic to mackerel. Knowing that the rear palace prepared the food, the vinegar used in Lishu's dish may have gotten swapped with that of Gyokuyou's by accident. Maomao knows Lishu's food taster may have had a hand, but preferred not to accuse her, giving her a list of the foods Lishu cannot eat instead. Jinshi notices it, though, and asks Maomao if Lishu is the target of the poisoning. ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Homecoming" Transliteration: "Satogaeri" (Japanese: 里帰り) | Tadao Ōkubo | Yūko Kakihara | Norihiro Naganuma | November 19, 2023 (2023-11-19) | N/A |
| With the events following the garden party, namely the poisoned minister, Maomao had to rest (because she had some of the poison herself) until she gets bored and asks Gyokuyou if she could use the parlor. Gaoshun, on Jinshi's request, came by and brought that same silver bowl containing the poisoned soup, wrapped in cloth, taking care not to hold the bowl itself. Using a similar technique she used in her former workplace, Maomao dusted the bowl for fingerprints using powder, a cotton ball, and a brush. She finds four fingerprints, one of them on the bowl's edge, which belongs to an outsider who may have poisoned the soup. This, adding to the fact about Lishu's clothes clashing with that of Gyokuyou, leads her to think Lishu is the victim of bullying, and by her own ladies-in-waiting, knowing that the rear palace is full of enemies. The poisoned soup was aimed at her, but Lishu's taster swapped her bowl for that of Gyokuyou's to force to eat the mackerel she's allergic to, saving her from getting poisoned. Later, Maomao learns from Xiaolan about the significance of the hairpins—as a "ticket" to getting favors. She asks Lihaku, the soldier who gave Maomao a hairpin during the party, for an escort outside. Lihaku, not able to recognize her, is dismissive of Maomao, but he cannot resist her offer of meeting anyone of "The Three Princesses", the best courtesans at the Rokushoukan brothel, where Maomao grew up, not to mention seeing that she has two more higher-ranking contacts, so he agrees. Maomao is then able to visit her father, who thinks her being employed at the rear palace is a twist of fate. ||||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Wheat Stalks" Transliteration: "Mugiwara" (Japanese: 麦稈) | Kentarō Fujita | Yuniko Ayana | Kentarō Fujita | November 26, 2023 (2023-11-26) | N/A |
| Coming from a walk in their medicinal herb fields, Maomao sees a servant girl banging at their door who grabs her the moment she sees her and asks for her help. She is taken to a brothel where she arrives at the scene of a double poisoning incident involving a courtesan and a well-dressed customer. Maomao manages to rid both victims of the poison. Maomao asks the girl for her father, and, after decoding the scene, Maomao learned that it was tobacco poisoning that almost killed the victims in what appears to be a double suicide. Stepping out of the room where the brothel's madam met both her and her father, Maomao later sees the servant girl trying to stab the well-dressed customer's chest, which she prevents as the girl is desperate to kill him. Maomao later finds out from another courtesan that the customer, the son of a wealthy merchant, is a sweet-talking liar who seduces and later jilts women in the brothel, emotionally abusing them. One of them was the girl's older sister, and the courtesan who was with the customer and who poisoned him is a close friend of hers. Maomao pieces everything together even after the fact is done: it was an attempted murder, as the courtesan had the customer drink a poisonous infusion made with tobacco leaves, using a trick with a straw and different beverages in the same glass. What Maomao did that day actually saved the brothel from humiliation after preventing the death of the influential merchant's son, hence the hush money and the luxurious snacks the madam gave them. After some "pampering" by Meimei at the Rokushoukan baths, Maomao visits a room at the annex of the brothel, where an unconscious woman is in bed. She heads back to the rear palace after three days, where a very agitated Jinshi welcomed her aside from Lady Gyokuyou and her ladies-in-waiting. Misunderstandings and Maomao's choice of words concerning Lihaku shocked Jinshi, much to Gyokuyou's amusement. ||||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Suicide or Murder?" Transliteration: "Jisatsu ka Tasatsu ka" (Japanese: 自殺か他殺か) | Akira Koremoto | Misuzu Chiba | Norihiro Naganuma | December 3, 2023 (2023-12-3) | N/A |
| Jinshi is still sulking from the shock after Maomao's homecoming, though slowly recovering after knowing the truth from Gyokuyou, when a eunuch barged into his office reporting of Kounen, a high-ranking official, dying after a heavy drinking session during a party. After investigation, and after reading Kounen's lifestyle history, Maomao concluded that the excessive salt added to his drink, Kounen being mostly a serious sweet tooth, killed him. Salt that could have been placed by someone at the party out of pranking him or because they hated him. She dropped hints as to his killer, but does not want to hold responsibility for naming that person. Jinshi also scores payback on Maomao by teasing her about passing a law on underage drinking, which shocked the liquor-loving apothecary. Later, the doctor asked Maomao to perform an autopsy on the body of a servant woman found drowned in the palace moat, but refused because it is taboo for her as an apothecary, as humans can become medicinal ingredients, too. She finds herself middling whether it was a suicide, given the bloody fingers on the victim (out of probably trying to scale the wall surrounding the moat); or a murder, given circumstances surrounding the wall, as it is impossible for a servant woman with wooden shoes and bound foot to scale the wall without tools. It is later ruled out as a suicide due a discovered will, the woman being at the garden party where the poisoning took place. Here, as she collected her thoughts on how easy it was for the victims to pass away, combined with thoughts of her past, Maomao thought about what poison she would use when she dies, which put Jinshi off, and the more when she requests him that if he were to execute her for some reason, it would be by poison. Meanwhile, Jinshi gets a report on whoever else had burns on their arms, relating to the "curse" from two months ago. It was Fengming, Lady Ah-Duo's head lady-in-waiting. ||||||||
| 10 | 10 | "Honey" Transliteration: "Hachimitsu" (Japanese: 蜂蜜) | Erkin Kawabata | Hitomi Ogawa | Kazuya Nomura [ja] | December 10, 2023 (2023-12-10) | N/A |
| Rumors circulate around the rear palace about the drowned servant at the Garnet Pavilion, who is accused of poisoning Concubine Lishu's food. Additional gossip suggests that Concubine Ah-Duo may lose her title to a younger concubine. Ah-Duo's complex history is unveiled, revealing her previous connection with the former emperor and her son. During a tea party between Concubines Gyokuyou and Lishu, Maomao observes subtle hints of bullying towards Lishu by her own ladies-in-waiting, seeing her reaction to the honey beverage served to her. Maomao later discovers that Jinshi is behind the tea party, which serves a purpose. Jinshi then sends Maomao to assist Ah-Duo without any specific instructions. After investigating, Maomao reports back to him, linking the events to Fengming's possible ability to send coded messages using colored text plates. Jinshi pranks Maomao with honey, triggering a realization connecting the recent incidents, including Lishu's allergies and the servant's suicide, and even Lishu cautiously walking around the Garnet Pavilion, until Gyokuyou steps in to intervene. Maomao questions Lishu about her allergies and notices her fear when mentioning Fengming, who, during Maomao's stint at her pavilion, seemed approachable and kind and an example to all. Lishu's ladies-in-waiting resist Maomao's probing, but she invokes Jinshi's authority to shut them down and continue. Maomao tasks Gaoshun with checking past records, uncovering information about the emperor's deceased son with Ah-Duo, delivered by a doctor, who is revealed to have been expelled: Maomao's father. ||||||||
| 11 | 11 | "Reducing Two to One" Transliteration: "Futatsu o Hitotsu ni" (Japanese: 二つを一つに) | Yukihiko Asaki | Yūko Kakihara | Norihiro Naganuma | December 17, 2023 (2023-12-17) | 2.4% |
| Maomao confronts Fengming about past events involving Ah-Duo's baby and the empress dowager's child. She discovers that Ah-Duo lost the ability to give birth after her first child partially due to the doctor attending another royal birth. Later, Fengming unknowingly killed Ah-Duo's son by feeding him poisonous honey. The death was treated as a mystery, but this and the previous infertility incident led to Maomao's father's expulsion. Lishu, who was nearly poisoned by honey as an infant, reveals this fact to Fengming, which sets the other events in motion. Fengming's loyalty to Ah-Duo and fear that Ah-Duo discovers the truth about her son's death drives her actions, including driving Lishu away from Ah-Duo, and attempting to poison her during the garden party. Lishu's return and her closeness with Ah-Duo cause tension, but Fengming's motives are revealed out of guilt. Maomao helps Fengming reconcile her two motives, hoping to maintain Ah-Duo's status without revealing the truth about her son's death. However, Ah-Duo is already set to leave the rear palace, on the decision of the emperor. The night after Fengming's execution, Maomao, unable to sleep, encounters Ah-Duo atop the wall where the suicidal servant jumped, and a drunken Jinshi below. Ah-Duo hints at her son's identity, and Maomao inadvertently comforts a crying Jinshi. The next day, Ah-Duo surrenders her title before departing for the detached palace in the south, and, as Lishu bids her a teary goodbye, Maomao realizes that, seeing Ah-Duo and Jinshi face to face, her baby might have been swapped at birth, possibly leading to her father's expulsion for not noticing it. Later, as Jinshi obtains more information about Fengming and her family, his thoughts were also on the circumstances surrounding Maomao's arrival at the rear palace. ||||||||
| 12 | 12 | "The Eunuch and the Courtesan" Transliteration: "Kangan to Gijo" (Japanese: 宦官と妓女) | Mitsuyo Yokono | Misuzu Chiba | Norihiro Naganuma | December 24, 2023 (2023-12-24) | N/A |
| With Fengming's execution, all of her assets were confiscated, and family members, relatives and connections were meted varying degrees of corporal punishment. Meanwhile, Maomao is also included in the resulting mass layoffs as a victim of Fengming's and her family side business of human trafficking. Jinshi is torn between keeping her and fearing it might tear them apart even more because he thinks she hated working at the rear palace. Maomao tried negotiating with Jinshi, since she has not fully paid the madam of the Rokushoukan of her debts (and might turn her into a courtesan) but to no avail. Jinshi came to regret his decision a week later, as all it required to keep her was his order (and he is guilt-tripped further by Gyokuyou), as Maomao returned to the brothel, working part-time as a courtesan. It is during a party thrown by a very rich person outside of the brothel where her sisters Meimei, Joka, and Pairin were requested—a rarity given that it is ludicrously expensive to hire even just one of them—that she meets Jinshi again, where their interaction is noticed by, and became the envy of, her three sisters. There he thought of buying her out of the brothel, which Jinshi did a few days later. Maomao has no idea of the events after also seeing Gaoshun in the same party, but it is implied that it is Gaoshun himself who helped throw the party, after asking Lihaku for help in contacting the Rokushoukan. ||||||||
| 13 | 13 | "Serving in the Outer Court" Transliteration: "Gaitei Kinmu" (Japanese: 外廷勤務) | Wataru Nakagawa | Yuniko Ayana | Wataru Nakagawa | January 7, 2024 (2024-1-7) | 2.4% |
| Maomao returns to the palace, but this time to work in the outer palace, much to her surprise, as she thought she is returning to the rear palace. Gaoshun explained that, because of her being fired, they cannot just restore her former position. Jinshi asks her to keep using her freckle make-up. Gaoshun introduces her to Suiren, one of Jinshi's personal assistants. Suiren later shows her around Jinshi's residence, while Gaoshun later shows her the rest of the outer palace and the public and government offices. Jinshi intends to have her become a court lady, but she fails the required exams despite studying, making her Jinshi's personal assistant. She also has to contend with the jealous court ladies, which she is able to brush off. She still longs for her practice of apothecary, wanting a more suitable, more spartan quarters and workplace (for as long as she has access to a stove and water), which was denied. Later, as she wanders into the military wing for medicinal herbs and getting scolded by a court lady with the scent of sandalwood mixed with another, distinctively bitter smell for entering a place she should not enter, someone rather mysterious has her in his watchful eye. ||||||||
| 14 | 14 | "The New Pure Consort" Transliteration: "Atarashī Yoshihi" (Japanese: 新しい淑妃) | Akira Shimizu & Jun Ōwada | Hitomi Ogawa | Wataru Nakagawa | January 14, 2024 (2024-1-14) | 2.7% |
| Maomao, on Gyokuyou's and Lihua's recommendation, is tasked with educating the new Pure Consort Loulan on "serving" the Emperor. Jinshi formally assigns her the responsibility. The teaching sessions, attended by all the high-rank concubines, focus on subject matter featuring materials from the Old Lady at the Rokushoukan. While Gyokuyou and Lihua handle the content well, Lishu (and Hongniang) are overwhelmed, and Loulan remains nonchalant and snobbish. That night, a fire breaks out in a palace building, and Lakan is at the scene to investigate. The next day, Maomao, wandering near the scene of the incident while being sidelined with getting medicinal herbs, impromptu investigates and suspects arson. She discovers an ivory pipe at the site and concludes that a smoldering ember from it caused the explosion in the food warehouse by igniting the floating wheat dust. She tells Lihaku, who is investigating the incident, to tell personnel not to smoke in the food warehouses. The expensive pipe, however, raises suspicions about the perpetrator's identity. ||||||||
| 15 | 15 | "Raw Fish" Transliteration: "Namasu" (Japanese: 鱠) | Kentarō Fujita | Yūko Kakihara | Kentarō Fujita | January 21, 2024 (2024-1-21) | N/A |
| Gaoshun enlists Maomao's help in investigating a case involving a bureaucrat who falls into a coma after consuming raw fugu seasoned with vinegar, similar to an incident ten years ago. Every detail checks out, save for one, leading her to Gaoshun referring him to a man named Basen, who shows her the kitchen where the food was prepared. Despite interference from the bureaucrat's younger brother, Maomao finds the detail that interested her: the seaweed used in the dish, which was imported from the south. She concludes that it was not properly prepared to rid it of its poisons, causing the bureaucrat's coma. The focus shifts to the seaweed's importer, revealed to be the younger brother seeking revenge for ill-treatment in their household. Meanwhile, Jinshi reveals that the high military official Lakan comes complaining to his office about him appointing someone connected to the Rokushoukan as his servant. Lakan mentioned having an acquaintance at the Rokushoukan who, according to him, is a courtesan "who would sell her skills but never herself"; and whose attitude is similar to Maomao's attitude towards Jinshi. And before he goes on, Lakan seeks Jinshi's help in a matter involving Maomao and her problem-solving skills. ||||||||
| 16 | 16 | "Lead" Transliteration: "Namari" (Japanese: 鉛) | So Toyama [ja] | Misuzu Chiba | So Toyama | January 28, 2024 (2024-1-28) | N/A |
| Jinshi tasks Maomao with solving a case involving the will of a metalworker acquainted with Lakan who died unexpectedly, willing specific items to his three sons. The will states that the eldest received the metalworking shack, the second a chest with an inaccessible central drawer, and the youngest a glass fishbowl; and with a note about "continuing to do tea parties as usual". Maomao, accompanied by Basen, takes a look at the metalworking shack and, upon inspecting the inaccessible chest, discovers solder blocking the central drawer's keyhole. Using sunlight concentrated with the youngest's inherited fishbowl, she melts the solder and, after opening it with the key the second oldest has, finds another key inside, opening all the drawers to reveal items, including a bluish chunk of crystal. Initially dismissing it as a bad prank their father played on them, the siblings unite upon the youngest's plea. News later reveals that they continued running their father's metalworking business, with the youngest becoming the father's successor, the eldest handling bookkeeping and the second finding clients. Additionally, Maomao links the bluish crystal to the cause of their father's death, as he works with solder all the time, so, after asking a few more questions about their father's condition before his death, she advises the youngest to seek the help of a doctor, namely her father, just in case. That night, Jinshi asks Maomao if she can do makeup for him. ||||||||
| 17 | 17 | "A Jaunt Around Town" Transliteration: "Machiaruki" (Japanese: 街歩き) | Kurabu Kadomatsu | Yuniko Ayana | Kurabu Kadomatsu | February 4, 2024 (2024-2-4) | N/A |
| Jinshi requests Maomao's help in disguising him to appear less attractive for an incognito stroll through town. Maomao employs various methods, including altering his appearance, scent, and voice, even dulling his hair and clothing to mask his muscular physique and overall identity, because he is too beautiful to hide his identity in a simple disguise. During their walk, with Basen acting as security from a distance, Jinshi, going by "Jinka", observes Maomao's silence, leading to a conversation about her adoptive father, Luomen. Maomao reveals that Luomen studied abroad, suggesting privilege, revealing his eunuch status, made so due to the previous empress dowager. Jinshi, asking if she knows the regulars at the Rokushoukan, also asks how a courtesan's value decreases. Maomao, bound by confidentiality, hints at the brothel's workings and discloses two ways courtesans lose their value: losing purity halves their worth, while pregnancy reduces it to nothing, shocking Jinshi. ||||||||
| 18 | 18 | "Lakan" (Japanese: 羅漢) | Mayu Tanimoto & Jun Ōwada | Hitomi Ogawa | Mayu Tanimoto & Norihiro Naganuma | February 11, 2024 (2024-2-11) | N/A |
| Maomao refuses to fully accompany Jinshi to his destination because she, as she is dressed fancily, refuses to blow his cover; and heads home instead for a few days off. Back home, she later awakens from a nightmare, which is actually a memory from her infancy. Her adoptive father, Luomen, sends her on an errand to the Rokushoukan, actually to tend to a woman at its annex. The woman is revealed to be Maomao's mother suffering from syphilis, and Luomen's medicines are their only treatment. It is revealed that the Rokushoukan faced shame in the past due to this situation. Luomen appeared out of nowhere at the time the disease was incubating, but got worse because the brothel hesitated to let him treat her. Lakan, a longtime customer, visits, and Maomao is told to stay hidden in the room while Meimei distracts him. Back at the palace, Suiren tells Maomao that they will be on a vegetarian meal for dinner, and gives her an errand to fetch what was a bag of potato flour from the inner palace pharmacy, where she encounters Suirei, a court lady and the one who caught her wandering around the military wing. Maomao wonders why is Jinshi performing purification rituals (part of it is the vegetarian dinner Suiren mentioned) everytime before being assigned to work for long periods, him "being a eunuch". Later, Lakan expresses interest in Maomao to Jinshi, causing tension as Lakan is out to get her, so as far as him issuing a veiled threat to Jinshi. He tells Maomao that an official named Lakan is to meet her sometime soon. He retracts his statement when Maomao shoots him the angriest stare she has ever given him. Later, she wanders around the military wing again and gathering medicinal herbs when Suirei catches her. She claims that she planted the medicinal plants, allegedly for a resurrection medicine, something Maomao desperately desires. ||||||||
| 19 | 19 | "Chance or Something More" Transliteration: "Gūzen ka Hitsuzen ka" (Japanese: 偶然か必然か) | Wataru Nakagawa | Yūko Kakihara | Wataru Nakagawa | February 18, 2024 (2024-2-18) | N/A |
| Gaoshun informs Jinshi of this afternoon's activities, as he reflects on his recent interaction with Maomao. Meanwhile, Lihaku informs Maomao about a theft of ceremonial tools around the time of the explosion at the warehouse. She finds out that the warehouse manager, the official fond of rare food, is ill from poisoning; and Master Kounen, who died from excessive salt intake, was the former warehouse manager. Maomao senses a connection along with the ivory pipe she found at the burned warehouse. Lihaku mentions that a court lady, tall and smelled like medicine, gave the pipe as a reward to the guard. Maomao has a person in mind which matches that description, but she follows her father's advice not to speculate based on conjecture alone, and seeks more information. She shared her findings with Jinshi, thus directing her to investigate further, in exchange for a reward—an ox bezoar, which just arrived at the pharmacy. Maomao finds out that the food poisoning victim is from the Board of Rites, linking it and the ivory pipe to the ceremonial tools theft. Connecting the tools to Jinshi's purification ceremonies, she rushes to the Altar of the Sapphire Sky for that ceremony, which, according to the archivist who is helping her, is happening at that moment. Hindered by guards, she accuses one of them of being part of the conspiracy, hoping his retaliation would be enough of a commotion to halt the ceremony, but only gets a club strike to the head which almost knocks her unconscious. Lakan vouches for her, surprising everyone present, including Maomao. Despite her anger at him, she rushes inside the building and pushes the person underneath the heavy ornament away from its trajectory as it falls, as it would have killed him. Injured and losing consciousness, Maomao finds out that it is Jinshi that she pushed away, and wonders what he is doing in there as she fell unconscious in his arms. Jinshi then carries the injured Maomao to his house, past by a shocked Lakan. ||||||||
| 20 | 20 | "Thornapple" Transliteration: "Mandarage" (Japanese: 曼荼羅華) | Akira Koremoto | Misuzu Chiba | Norihiro Naganuma | February 25, 2024 (2024-2-25) | N/A |
| Maomao wakes up in Jinshi's bedroom to the scent of sandalwood incense and Suiren tending to her. Suiren later asks Maomao to go meet Jinshi, Gaoshun, and Basen to explain the previous events leading to Jinshi's attempted assassination, which involves Master Kounen's death, the warehouse fire, the theft of ceremonial tools, and the warehouse manager's food poisoning. One of the stolen tools, a fixture that holds a heavy ornament, had been remade by the late metalworker on orders from someone, but with a lead alloy, which easily melts near an open flame, and was installed in place around the time of the failed assassination. Lihaku later informs Maomao of Suirei's death by poisoning. She asked the coroner, though, if the poison happens to contain thornapple—a drug which, when mixed with pufferfish toxin, is able to stop breathing and heartbeats; and thornapple is plentiful at the court pharmacy, not to mention Suirei growing them at that hill where she first met her. The coroner was certain it was Suirei that he tended to, with no pulse or breathing. Confirming her suspicions, they find another corpse in Suirei's coffin, which was stored in the morgue ready for cremation. Maomao, intrigued and ticked off by Suirei's brains and daring, even the ability to fake her death, seeks to learn the recipe to the "resurrection medicine" she used from her. After dealing with Suirei's case in secret, Jinshi worries about new problems, in addition to potential conflicts with Maomao's biological father, Lakan. Jinshi takes a concoction to suppress his manhood, which started when entered the rear palace as the emperor's favorite; also faking his true age. The situations of Concubines Loulan and Lishu are explored, and Gyokuyou seeks Maomao's help due to her stopped lunar cycle, which Maomao suspects as Gyokuyou being pregnant, given that the emperor still visits her. With her return to the rear palace to help Gyokuyou, Maomao faces new challenges at the palace with Ah-Duo gone and a quirky new concubine in Loulan as her replacement. Meanwhile, news circulates about one of the Rokushoukan's Three Princesses being bought out. ||||||||
| 21 | 21 | "How to Buy Out a Contract" Transliteration: "Miuke Sakusen" (Japanese: 身請け作戦) | Yūshi Ibe | Yuniko Ayana | Masako Sato [ja] | March 3, 2024 (2024-3-3) | 2.8% |
| Maomao personally takes charge of cleaning up the rear palace pharmacy to make sure it will not be sabotaged, after the doctor in charge of the inner court pharmacy was punished with a pay cut for mismanaging it. The rear palace doctor reveals that his family is the official purveyor of paper to the palace, but ever since the empress dowager banned the cutting of trees, their business went downward as their new formulation resulted in a poor quality paper. The doctor became an eunuch to avoid a second sister coming to the rear palace as a consequence, their family at risk of losing purveyor status. Maomao helps him improve the paper quality by finding the cause of the poor quality of the paper, which involves the water trough used by the oxen in the paper making process. Later, Lihaku seeks Maomao's advice on buying out a courtesan, particularly Pairin, who is revealed to have been Maomao's wet nurse as a baby, owing to her unusual condition. Maomao evaluates Lihaku's physique, which causes a misunderstanding with Jinshi when he barged in unexpectedly. Jinshi offers double the price to help him, but Lihaku declines, as he disapproves of buying out Pairin's contract with someone else's money, and later opting for a more traditional approach to pursuing her love. Meanwhile, as Pairin reveals in her letter to Maomao that she is waiting for her prince charming, and clarifies that Lakan asking about buying someone out gave rise to the recent rumors, ticking Maomao off. ||||||||
| 22 | 22 | "Blue Roses" Transliteration: "Aoi Soubi" (Japanese: 青い薔薇) | Erkin Kawabata | Hitomi Ogawa | Erkin Kawabata | March 10, 2024 (2024-3-10) | N/A |
| As Maomao continues to work for the pregnant Gyokuyou, and tending to her daughter, Princess Lingli, Lakan egged on Jinshi again, this time wanting to see blue roses by the time of the next spring party. Jinshi gives in for the sake of not crossing him, so he asks, of all people, Maomao. She accepts the task at hand, because she wanted to rub it in Lakan's face. Using Lady Lihua's sauna as a greenhouse, she attempts to accelerate the flowering of a hundred rose bushes procured and put into place with Xiaolan's help (as her leg stitches reopen). Her tending to the roses includes all-nighters, and is worrying Xiaolan, even Gyokuyou's ladies-in-waiting. Her efforts, though, were not in vain, as she is able to produce them in time for the spring party that would formally introduce Consort Loulan. Jinshi sees the roses as his opportunity to stand his ground in front of the emperor as he is surrounded by tricky, envious rivals, and Shishou, Loulan's father, surfaces as a new rival—and he has also Lakan to contend with. Maomao later revealed to Jinshi the secret to the multicolored roses (she also produced roses colored other than blue): by letting the blooms suck in dyed water. It's a secret she revealed to the Emperor beforehand to avoid officials picking a quarrel over it. But she is not done yet, as she is up to catching Lakan off-guard. The episode also shows Lakan's view of people: as go and Chinese chess pieces, with most of them as pawns. As he ponders on his failed provocation, and as he remembers the red, manicured nails of the courtesan he used to play go with, when he is surprised to see Maomao, with painted fingernails, with Jinshi and Gaoshun. ||||||||
| 23 | 23 | "Balsam and Wood Sorrel" Transliteration: "Hōsenka to Katakumi" (Japanese: 鳳仙花と片喰) | Jun Ōwada | Misuzu Chiba | Kazuya Nomura | March 17, 2024 (2024-3-17) | N/A |
| Lakan is challenged by Maomao to a game of Chinese chess, with her living with him should he win, much to Jinshi's shock; but him buying out an aging courtesan from the Rokushoukan should he lose. A stipulation that the winner takes one of the cups of hard liquor spiked with a drug that turns into poison after three sips and lets the loser drink its contents is added, with abandonment being considered as a defeat. Maomao lost twice in a row, meaning she could have drunk two of the three poisoned cups; but won on the third, which Jinshi thinks was Lakan losing on purpose. He falls after drinking the contents of the cup. Jinshi, thinking he has been poisoned, hears from Maomao that Lakan abstains from alcohol, "the king of medicines", thus making him easily drunk. That made him easier to be taken to the Rokushoukan. Lakan finds himself awake inside the Rokushoukan and tended to by Meimei, Fengxian's former attendant... with something bitter Maomao made for him. She also left him a dried blue rose in a wooden box. More into Lakan's past is revealed. His inability to distinguish people from each other caused his father to consider him useless, running away to his mistress in disgust. This led him to a carefree life, learning chess and Go in his spare time. Only his clumsy but intelligent uncle understood him, teaching him to see people as go and chess pieces. He used that knowledge to lead a squadron of men despite no actual combat experience, treating them as chess pieces. On a lossless roll, he challenged Fengxian, the Rokushoukan's undefeated go player. He finally recognized a human face—hers—for the first time, as he lost to her. He continued to play with her until the time he hears that she is being bought out due to her popularity. It is then that she gave herself to him. Around that time, his uncle was ousted from his position (whose description sounded like one for Luomen) and Lakan was sent abroad to study for awhile. Around the same time, Fengxian wrote to him that the buyout was cancelled. He thought he'd be away for six months, but it took him three years to return. When he returned, he found all of Fengxian's unanswered letters, including her mummified severed finger—a form of cursing someone. Horrified, Lakan rushed to the brothel to see her, but, by then, it was too late—Fengxian is gone, as she became pregnant, something he never noticed on the last time they met, and the reason the buyout fell through, soiling her value, forcing her to work like any ordinary courtesan. ||||||||
| 24 | 24 | "Jinshi and Maomao" Transliteration: "Jinshi to Maomao" (Japanese: 壬氏と猫猫) | Wataru Nakagawa | Yūko Kakihara | Norihiro Naganuma | March 24, 2024 (2024-3-24) | 2.4% |
| Lakan yearns for Maomao's affection, though "he plans revenge on Jinshi for laying his hands on her daughter thrice". Just then, the Old Lady of the Rokushoukan calls him to pick one courtesan from her brothel's lineup. He considers Meimei, but she opens a door, allowing him to hear a lullaby from the annex. He rushes towards the door, interpreting the withered blue rose as a message from Maomao, and selects Fengxian, willing to pay any price. Meanwhile, as Maomao and Basen (who helped her bring the drunken Lakan to the Rokushoukan) encounter Loulan and her father on the way back, he tells her to go see Jinshi. She reveals to him that she did that to Lakan out of gratitude, since Fengxian had the option to abort her (using medicine), but she seemed to have wanted her pregnancy. She even deduces that Lakan may have been tricked, with the timing of her letter-sending to Lakan may be a means of controlling his visits—the probable reason why she lost her mind when things did not work out, to a point of harming herself, hence sending her severed finger, as well as the tip of her baby's little finger. She also knows his inability to recognize faces, which was explained to her by Luomen; though he can recognize her face, hence Lakan's strange attachment to her. She also reveals her dislike, but not hatred, for him, as, after all, he helped her save Jinshi during that purification ceremony, recognizing his ability to make a prediction without gathering information. She envies her father's talent, though she does not like his laziness, which is what she considers the reason why she does not have the formula to Suirei's "resurrection drug". Maomao then warns Jinshi not to make him his enemy, as he would never become his ally. Later, Meimei sends Maomao a dress which she will use when dancing for her during her wedding. While trying it on atop the wall of the rear palace, Maomao nearly falls off a wall when she is surprised to see Jinshi watching. He is there in response to "a kind guard seeing some weird woman climbing the rear palace walls". Jinshi mentions Lakan buying out a courtesan, and requesting a leave of ten days. Maomao keeps quiet about the identity of the courtesan, her mother, of which she has no memory of her being such. Maomao never got to know her, as the Old Lady asked everyone to keep quiet, though there were leaks about it that almost put the Rokushoukan out of business—except for the times her mother chased her out of the room and the time she cut the tip of her little finger as a baby, things she already gotten over, being happy to be Luomen's daughter. She did mention that the woman Lakan bought out will not last long. When she finds out that her leg wound opened up again and attempted to redo the stitches, Jinshi grabbed her and jumped off the wall to ground level, and carried her back to the palace, which became a tender moment between the two, until Maomao asked for the ox bezoar he owed her. A few days later, Jinshi comes to the Jade Pavilion with another case for Maomao. ||||||||

### Season 2 (2025)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original release date | Viewership rating |
| 25 | 1 | "Maomao and Maomao" Transliteration: "Maomao to Maomao" (Japanese: 猫猫と毛毛) | Jun Ōwada | Yūko Kakihara | Akinori Fudesaka | January 10, 2025 (2025-1-10) | 4.8% |
| As Jinshi visits the palace's concubines, he notes Loulan's unusually large number of ladies-in-waiting, which reflects negatively on the others. He is looking for Maomao at the Jade Pavilion. Gyokuyou points him to the clinic, where Maomao works with the doctor to create scented oils and ethyl alcohol for disinfecting, using a still she found. She keeps this process away from the Jade Pavilion to prevent the fumes from triggering a miscarriage, as Gyokuyou is pregnant. Later, a package of books from the old lady arrive, intended to teach ladies-in-waiting how to please the emperor in case it happens. Jinshi approves her little side hustle but Gaoshun had to take the books for censoring of its very explicit parts. A few days later, a novel starts becoming popular as it circulates among the servants. Noting the seal on one of the books, she remembers Jinshi asking where the books were purchased, and him asking her once on how to improve literacy in the rear palace. Thinking that this is part of the emperor's effort to promote literacy, Maomao then urges Ailan, one of Gyokuyou's ladies who can write, to make copies of the novel, so that the servants could read it too. Indeed, Xiaolan expresses interest in learning to read and write, not just to enjoy the novel, but for her future as well. Later, during a walk with Hongniang and Maomao watching over her, Princess Lingli hears a kitten meowing in an alley. Maomao tries to catch it, but fails, only to be caught by an unfamiliar servant girl. Maomao takes care of the kitten, and the emperor allows the princess to keep it as a pet. Though the kitten is dubbed the "Admonisher of Thieves" for keeping the clinic rodent-free, Maomao is irritated that the kitten was named "Maomao". Later, Maomao hears news about a caravan arriving in town. ||||||||
| 26 | 2 | "Caravan" Transliteration: "Taishō" (Japanese: 隊商) | Mayu Tanimoto & Akira Koremoto | Misuzu Chiba | Mayu Tanimoto & Akira Koremoto | January 17, 2025 (2025-1-17) | 4.0% |
| The palace prepares for the arrival of a diplomatic delegation, part of a trading caravan, and Gyokuyou is expecting three new ladies-in-waiting to assist during her pregnancy and counterbalance Loulan's, as well as the others', excessive staff. Checking Gyokuyou's haul of new dresses from the caravan stalls, Maomao notices looser dress designs that could reveal Gyokuyou's pregnancy and alerts her. Meanwhile, Maomao reflects on the palace's peculiar lack of amenities despite its excellent sanitation system. On the caravan's last day, when discounts abound, Maomao shops with Xiaolan and encounters Shisui, the servant girl who caught her cat. Over tea at medical office, Shisui mentions a strange smell from the north, possibly a clogged waterway, and shares her fascination with insects, intriguing Maomao. Days after the caravan departed, scented oils and perfumes become popular among the court ladies, prompting an alarmed Maomao to investigate at the Crystal Pavilion, where trends spread quickly. Her "panic-sniffing" of clothes leads Shin, Lihua's head lady-in-waiting, to file a complaint. Explaining to Jinshi and Gyokuyou, Maomao mentions that scents such as that of rose, benzoin, frankincense, parasol tree, and cinnamon, which she smelled on the court ladies, along with that of certain spices and teas, could endanger pregnancies (in this case, Gyokuyou's and, as implied, Lihua's), linking them to past poisoning incidents involving lead-based beauty powder. Jinshi warns the concubines, while Gyokuyou orders her staff to inspect the scents and spices they have. It is also appropriate as, after all, Suirei, the court lady who faked her death, remains at large. Tensions heighten as news of a concubine named Jin dying from suspected poisoning raises suspicions of a bigger, far-reaching conspiracy. ||||||||
| 27 | 3 | "Corpse Fungus" Transliteration: "Tōjinkasō" (Japanese: 冬人夏草) | Wataru Nakagawa | Hitomi Ogawa | Wataru Nakagawa | January 24, 2025 (2025-1-24) | 3.5% |
| As Jinshi investigates the cause of Concubine Jin's death, Maomao hears from the doctor about Tao, a palace woman who vanished before her retirement and wedding. Later, Jinshi consulted Maomao on the proposal for a penmanship school for servants, which, to his and Gaoshun's surprise, is met with smiling approval from the often-scowling apothecary, with a few recommendations. He also asks her about her knowledge of poisonous mushrooms, given that court ladies during the humid days of the year would sneak into the northern forest to pick mushrooms (and revealing her eating matsutake mushrooms with the doctor). He ordered her to get rid of those deadly mushrooms that the ladies might accidentally pick. After a preliminary investigation at the neglected forest, she smelled there the stench Shisui mentioned before. Maomao later learns more about Concubine Jin from Hongniang, about her being a difficult person to deal with, sowing discord and violence on those of lower status or rank, and though she does not directly harass the higher-ranked consorts, she is suspected of a poisoning attempt on Gyokuyou when she was pregnant with Princess Lingli. At Jin's funeral, Maomao deduces that Jinshi suspected she was the culprit, wanting to gauge her reaction to the mushroom investigation request outside Gyokuyou's presence. Suddenly, a disgraced concubine, Son, causes a ruckus and accuses Jin of causing her downfall as a consort, displaying similar symptoms of poisoning. Jin's ladies-in-waiting also show similar rashes. Maomao connects clues, including the foul odor in the forest, and finding the culprit fungus. Showing a collected specimen of it to Jinshi with masks and gloves on, she finds out from him that, around two years ago, Son exhibited symptoms of a mysterious illness attributed to poisoning. They suspected Jin but found no concrete proof until Jin herself exhibited similar symptoms, assuming that she accidentally touched the poison in an attempt to use it on someone. He visited her but she said nothing until her servants alleged she committed suicide using the same poison. However, Maomao disagrees, since the symptoms do not match, as she deduces that the death was not suicide but the result of someone applying the poisonous fungus to her skin, and Maomao has her suspicions, but she withheld it until Jinshi urged her to speak up. She agrees, but not until she finds the last piece of the puzzle. Leading a few trusted eunuchs Maomao requested from Jinshi, they dug the soil under the place where the foul stench is to reveal a decomposed body—the source of the foul odor Shisui mentioned before. The body is later identified as that of Jin through the ornaments and emblems found on the body, and Maomao reveals the corpse in the coffin as that of Tao's. It is revealed that Jin died during an abusive, jealousy-triggered incident involving Tao. To cover it up, Tao and Jin's ladies-in-waiting, who also began to hate her, joined forces, leading to them making Tao disguise as Jin. Their similar appearance and obscuring bandages were enough to deceive Jinshi in his infrequent monthly visits. As Tao's marriage talks became more serious, she found it difficult to keep up the farce, and was killed by Jin's ladies-in-waiting, who feared exposure. Jinshi confiscates the toxic mushrooms she collected—the clue to finding Jin's body—to prevent Maomao from experimenting with them on herself, leaving her curious about the properties of "corpse fungi". ||||||||
| 28 | 4 | "Mirrors" Transliteration: "Kagami" (Japanese: 鏡) | Tsuyoshi Nakano | Yūko Kakihara | Minoru Ōhara [ja] | January 31, 2025 (2025-1-31) | 4.2% |
| Maomao inspects one of the new mirrors gifted to the four high concubines by the foreign envoy. Later, Gaoshun approaches her with a peculiar case: a rich man's overprotected identical twin daughters. They are confined to their room under strict guard, and even their lady-in-waiting was dismissed for allowing them supervised outings. However, the younger twin, is mysteriously pregnant. Maomao, recalling a courtesan who became pregnant through sheer belief, initially considered a psychological cause but, looking at a floor plan of the twins' room Gaoshun showed her, later deduces that the younger twin is able to secretly escape using an optical illusion—strategically placed mirrors, with the twins' embroidery work playing a role in fooling the guards. However, Maomao suspects the pregnancy is hiding an even deeper secret. Meanwhile, Jinshi learns that the special foreign envoy is searching for a woman of "otherworldly beauty who sheds pearls as tears", basing from a story told over and over to them by their grandfather. Maomao recognizes the description and reveals that the woman is the madam at Rokushoukan. When invited, the madam confirms the story and even presents a painting commissioned by the original envoy. However, the challenge now is finding a woman with the same tall, ethereal beauty to impress both envoys. Even the finest beauties were rejected, making the female envoys' request a diplomatic issue due to their control over vital trade routes. As Maomao contemplates the problem, she starts considering Jinshi as a potential candidate, but continues to wonder why the envoys believe this courtesan was a "Moon Fairy" in the first place. ||||||||
| 29 | 5 | "Moon Fairy" Transliteration: "Gessei" (Japanese: 月精) | Shintaro Itoga | Misuzu Chiba | Erkin Kawabata | February 7, 2025 (2025-2-7) | 4.2% |
| Maomao visits the northern garden, where the madam at Rokushoukan once performed for the former envoy. There, she encounters Shisui, who is collecting caterpillars that metamorphose into moths. These moths, when flying under the moonlight, create a sparkling effect, making the scene look otherworldly. Inspired by this, Maomao devises a plan with Shishui and Xiaolan's help. At the banquet, Maomao observes the two envoys, Ayla and Aylin. She suspects their intentions might involve a political marriage or a display of their peerless beauty, especially since their gift of mirrors to the concubines could be seen as a provocation. During the event, Ayla attempts to approach the emperor, shocking the court, but Aylin stops her. The banquet ends without them being impressed. However, as the envoys leave in their carriage, they witness a mesmerizing sight—a figure dancing under the moon, surrounded by glowing lights. When Ayla demands an explanation, Maomao names the figure "Diana", referencing a western moon goddess. As their carriage moves on, Maomao reveals the trick behind the illusion: the lights were actually male moths, drawn in using a scent trick originally meant to sabotage the madam's past performance. The true performer is Jinshi, whose identity was carefully concealed to complete the illusion. Later, Maomao contemplates on who might have conspired to introduce the scented oils that could have endangered Gyokuyou and Lihua's pregnancies. Jinshi considers the possibility that the special envoys were involved, as they had hoped to become concubines but were foiled when they were humiliated by the Moon Fairy act. Maomao believes Gyokuyou is the primary target and suspects Jin of attempting to poison her while pregnant with Lingli. She also theorizes that Suirei was the one who taught Jin about poisons, though her motives remain unclear—especially regarding why she targeted Jinshi. Maomao later discovers the clinic, separate from the doctor's office, where ladies-in-waiting would go to recuperate when ill, staffed only by older women, and is impressed with their professionalism and application of modern practices. When Maomao bumps into Jinshi just outside of the clinic, she suggests that the same should be applied at the doctor's office. However, it's not easy because only men are allowed to become doctors, and only doctors are allowed to perform certain functions such as the making of medicines, something Jinshi advises her to conceal. However, a supervisor at the clinic may have found out when Ailan, who has a cold, takes the medicine Maomao gave her. ||||||||
| 30 | 6 | "The Crystal Pavilion, for the Third Time" Transliteration: "Mi Tabi, Suishōgū" (Japanese: みたび、水晶宮) | Yukihiko Asaki | Hitomi Ogawa | Yukihiko Asaki | February 14, 2025 (2025-2-14) | 3.7% |
| Maomao is summoned by Shenlü, the clinic supervisor she met when she accompanied Ailan to the clinic. Apologizing to her for her attitude towards her the other day, she asks for help with a sick servant from the Wise Consort Lihua's pavilion, whose request for sick leave had been ignored by higher-ups despite showing symptoms of a contagious illness and has gone missing for half a month. As Maomao investigates, she and the doctor discover the missing servant locked in a shed, severely ill. Shin, Lihua's head lady-in-waiting, claims that she quarantined her there to prevent her illness from spreading. Further investigation reveals Shin's deeper schemes—she had been stockpiling banned trade goods, including scented oils that could be mixed into an abortion-inducing drug. When confronted by Jinshi and Lihua, Shin tries to divert the issue, but ultimately exposes her resentment. She had envied Lihua—her cousin—for being chosen as a concubine over her, despite their shared noble background and her superior achievements during their education. Maomao comments on Shin's fixation on the position of empress rather than love for the emperor. Realizing the truth, Lihua finally stands up for herself, slaps Shin for speaking against her, then fires her and bans her from the pavilion forever. Lihua's attempt to punch Shin shocked Jinshi. Asking her about how Maomao found the missing servant, who has left the palace for treatment at Lihua's expense, Maomao credits noticing shrubs with white flowers whose seeds can be turned into an abortion-inducing drug with the proper preparation method by the shed. Maomao then points out that someone in the rear palace is spreading knowledge of the abortifacient properties of the scented oils, suggesting a larger conspiracy. The emperor later hears about Maomao from Lihua, on how she saved her again. ||||||||
| 31 | 7 | "The Shrine of Choosing" Transliteration: "Sentaku no Byō" (Japanese: 選択の廟) | Wazuka Komamiya | Yūko Kakihara | Wazuka Komamiya | February 21, 2025 (2025-2-21) | 4.1% |
| Jinshi dreams of his childhood, recalling an old man being taken away by an angry old woman—later explained to him to be his father and grandmother, respectively. He also learned that the man he believed to be his father was actually his brother. Jinshi knows that Maomao will eventually discover the truth. Meanwhile, while Maomao observes the penmanship school, she hears the teacher telling about the nation's founding myth, focusing on the Mother Royal, a foreigner who birthed the country's first emperor. The capital was built around a shrine—the Shrine of Choosing—where emperors were once selected through a test. The shrine has been abandoned since an epidemic wiped out nearly all of the previous candidates. She also learns that her adoptive father, Luomen, sometimes visited the shrine when he had free time, and became acquainted with the eunuch who maintains it, who is also the penmanship teacher. The emperor takes Jinshi and Maomao to the shrine to attempt the test once more. Following a series of colored doors according to specific instructions, they reach the final stage, only to fail again. The failure note implies the emperor doesn't descend from the Mother Royal. After the eunuch expresses belief Luomen would have uncovered the shrine's secret, Maomao asks the emperor about the previous emperors' eyesight, learning that only the previous emperor had good eyesight; and about the parentage of the previous emperor, whose elder brothers died in an epidemic. The emperor has Jinshi take the test, guided by Maomao, who takes them to the end, a balcony on an upper floor. The shrine's caretaker explains that if none of the candidates succeeded, they were allowed to try again, aided by a concubine of the right lineage. The emperor asks for an explanation, which the eunuch has Maomao give. She deduced that the shrine was built to select for red-green color blindness, a rare trait in the country but more common in the western lands where the Mother Royal was said to have hailed from, which Luomen would know, having studied medicine abroad. However, she withholds that allowing concubines with the trait is a method to ensure that the bloodline of the Mother Royal remains in power despite the prevalent patriarchal succession of rule. The emperor jokes about taking Maomao as a concubine, but is unwilling to anger Lakan, and finds Maomao's breasts as too small. The eunuch, though, warns about suddenly introducing new blood into the imperial family. Maomao continues to wonder about Jinshi, this time no longer seeing him as "just the emperor's favorite eunuch". ||||||||
| 32 | 8 | "The Empress Dowager" Transliteration: "Kōtaigō" (Japanese: 皇太后) | Jun Ōwada | Misuzu Chiba | Minoru Ōhara | February 28, 2025 (2025-2-28) | 3.8% |
| Hongniang "banishes" Maomao to the storage shed for scaring Yinghua with a lizard's tail she got, which she actually enjoys since she can make as much medicine as she wants. She later hears from Yinghua rumors of a strange court lady catching bugs while laughing. Suspecting Shisui, Maomao searches for her with a lead from Xiaolan and other servant girls obtained in exchange for the silk handkerchief Jinshi gave her. Along the way, she discovers a thicket of white blossoms that can be used to make an abortifacient. She realizes that Shin resorted to caravan goods despite having access to suitable ingredients, showing no knowledge of drugs, deducing that someone inside the palace must have taught Shin how to make poisons. She eventually finds Shisui, who is indeed catching crickets, but their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Empress dowager Anshi. Shisui reveals that Anshi helped establish the unofficial clinic, and had banned slavery and eunuchs, though similar systems still exist. Maomao suspects that Anshi's visit to the clinic is linked to the Crystal Pavilion incident, and expects changes. Later, Anshi visits the Jade Pavilion and meets Maomao. She has heard of her from Suiren, her former lady-in-waiting. Once alone, Anshi tasks Maomao with investigating whether she "cursed" the late emperor, a man Maomao reflects upon as widely despised and known for preferring young concubines. Anshi had given birth via Caesarean section, assisted by Maomao's adoptive father, Luomen, to the current emperor. The thought of the emperor's brother being born when she was a grown woman makes Maomao wonder if he's really the former emperor's son, an idea she notes would be too dangerous to voice. Anshi holds a tea party with the four high-ranking concubines a few days later at the inner court. Hongniang, acting as the taste tester this time knowing that Anshi asked to speak with her, warns her not to do anything that may put Gyokuyou in a bad light. One of Anshi's attendants takes Maomao to the former emperor's residence, where the empress regnant, the previous emperor's mother lived as a court lady, where she and her son spent a lot of time, and where the previous emperor died, shortly after his mother's death. There, Maomao notices a peculiar smell as the attendant reveals Anshi wished for him to leave every night, and his body showing no sign of decay despite a year lying in a mausoleum, and despite dying shortly after her mother, the reason why Anshi suspects she had placed a curse on him. The attendant asks Maomao to investigate quickly before the building is demolished. Maomao agrees but makes a request in return. ||||||||
| 33 | 9 | "The Late Emperor" Transliteration: "Sentei" (Japanese: 先帝) | Akira Koremoto | Hitomi Ogawa | Wataru Nakagawa | March 7, 2025 (2025-3-7) | TBD |
| Maomao requests permission to enter the late emperor’s room. As she stayed with Suiren that night, she reflects on her role in the inner palace and discovers more about Suiren's literary tastes. Maomao finds a poisonous pebble inside a box that contained Jinshi's toys, which Suiren hid to prevent him from becoming fixated on one thing, as his mother intended, leading her to suspect why the late emperor's body did not decompose. Upon inspecting the room with Jinshi, she detects a peculiar odor and inquires if the former emperor did some painting. The mute former caretaker reacts fearfully when asked about a painting on the wall. Maomao peels off the wallpaper, revealing a hidden painting made with orpiment, an arsenic-based mineral, explaining the preservation of the emperor's body. The late emperor's painting hobby was kept secret because it seemed unthinkable in other people's eyes for him to engage in such an activity; and the room and supplies were his late mother's gift to him, meant to protect him after he unexpectedly became emperor. Anshi, angered by the memory of his mother, recalls that she was once a lady-in-waiting to her older half-sister, who the emperor had rejected and favored her instead. She bore him a son, but, over time, as he forgot about her, she tormented him, driving him to isolation. Anshi treasured a painting he once made of her but had instructed Suiren to discard it. Jinshi, having seen the painting before, as Suiren hid it in his toy box, recalls the emperor dropping an orpiment pebble during one of his visits to him. The color in the painting was one Anshi used to wear, making Jinshi question if it was truly his mother that he painted on the wall. Anshi chose not to know. Before leaving, she warns Jinshi to keep his favorites, particularly a girl he is partial to, hidden before someone else takes them away. ||||||||
| 34 | 10 | "A Ghost Story" Transliteration: "Kaidan" (Japanese: 怪談) | Oh Jin Koo | Yūko Kakihara | Yūichi Nihei | March 14, 2025 (2025-3-14) | TBD |
| Gyokuyou introduces Maomao to her new ladies-in-waiting. Later, as Maomao is finally given permission to use the shed by Gyokuyou, Yinghua invites Maomao to a gathering where court ladies tell ghost stories. One story is about a boy and his mother who faced ostracization after entering a "forbidden forest" for food. By the thirteenth story, as told by the organizer, Maomao becomes dizzy from the fumes of the smoldering wood in the firepit but regains alertness and opens a window, telling Yinghua and Shisui, who is also in attendance, to wake the other eight up. Maomao speculates on the backstory of the "forbidden forest" to Shisui, suggesting it may relate to a forest that was deemed "forbidden" when someone from the outside ended up dying after eating something from it, and people forgetting about them when a famine struck. The mother and child in the story may have entered the forest out of hunger, picking up moonlight mushrooms in the process, which resembles a floating spirit when seen in the distance by someone at night. Going to their house, the villagers find the boy dead and the mother trying to trick them by saying "there are good things to eat in the forest" as revenge for abandoning them before dying. Back at the Jade Pavilion, Yinghua learns from Hongniang that the old organizer, who had relations with the old emperor and found gatherings like that as the only fun she had, died a year ago, scaring them both. Whether it is the organizer's own experience or it is just an elaborate ghost prank, Maomao cannot fathom. Either way, a very scared Yinghua sleeps with Maomao that night. ||||||||
| 35 | 11 | "The Hunt" Transliteration: "Kari" (Japanese: 狩り) | TBA | TBA | TBA | March 21, 2025 (2025-3-21) | TBD |

## Home media release
### Japanese

Toho Animation (Japan – Region 2/A) :
| Vol. | Vol. | Episodes | Release date |
| Season 1 |||||
| | 1 | 1–6 | January 24, 2024 |
| | 2 | 7–12 | March 20, 2024 |
| | 3 | 13–18 | May 22, 2024 |
| | 4 | 19–24 | July 17, 2024 |
| Season 2 |||||
| | 1 | 25–30 | April 16, 2025 |
| | 2 | 31–36 | July 16, 2025 |
| | 3 | 37–42 | August 20, 2025 |
| | 4 | 43–48 | October 15, 2025 |

### English

Crunchyroll, LLC (North America – Region 1/A) :
| Part | Part | Discs | Episodes | Release date |
| Season 1 ||||||
| | 1 | 2 | 1–12 | January 28, 2025 |
| | 2 | 2 | 13–24 | March 25, 2025 |