They like to be a little vague in regards to information in this anime it seems. Like with the suicide of the little girls sister in the previous episode. MaoMao mentions that there were rumors that the girl who commited suicde was at the garden party where MaoMao drank the poisoned soup. After that they found a will with relevant information. I just took that as them hinting that the girl who commited suicide wrote in her will that she was resposible for the poisoning and then decide to drown herself. Which is why they closed the case as suicde. But as you said one can interpret what was said multiple ways.
It’s both sad and sweet in a way that Jinshi never considered that he could have Maomao killed on a whim. Sad because she’s clearly aware of it and it rightfully scares her, but sweet that he’s so straitlaced that the idea would never occur to him.
When Maomao started talking about death, and how she rather die by poison, I was like…..was that a joke?….. because it seems random but the sad thing she wasn’t joking. She really sees herself as no value and disposable. It’s like her emotions are so suppressed by the reality of that time. That’s depressing to the point I can’t comprehend especially with how much rights we now have as women in western society.
It was really like that - she's a mere maidservant and during this era she's extremely disposable. Especially as a woman - general sexism aside, the Confucian ideal of sons>>>>>daughters is an additional negative. Maomao could be executed if she slightly offended anyone too far above her station, and most people are. But the setting of the palace in the Apothecary Diaries is surprisingly merciful (this is implied to be thanks to actual policy changes in canon though).
This is exactly how it was like back in the days. Hell, less than 200 years ago, we had witch burnings which shows us how easily disposable your life was in the past lmao. People on the internet complain about current times, but we honestly have it good even with current economical conditions. We are both free and have the time to complain about anything without consequence.
I remember my dad telling me that when my grandma passed away, my grandfather had to take care of my dad and his 3 brothers and soon after lost his sense of taste, apparently he had problems trying to smell food as well. Never recovered from that.
Taste is associated with tongue, but actually smell glands in the nose play a huge part in the whole sense of taste. There are nazal medicine that for some ppl has side effects of taste (and smell) loss. For example whenver I take Actifed for runny nose I somewhat loose sense of taste, it returns after I stop taking it. Its kind of funny when everything tastes like chalk unless you extremely spice it up.
The whole will thing is more of a suicide note/her living will (as in what she will leave behind for her family) so it’s implying there might have been information in there that implicates her involvement in the poisoning and that’s why the authorities are ruling it out as suicide rather than murder (though we all know that can be faked by a clever killer😅)
Roshi was on it, the "will" they talk about is what we would call a "self deleting letter", a "Last Will" explaining why, in the novels it is explained a little better. They are tryong not to use modern vocabulary unless it is necessary, that sometimes cause some confussion.
Oh snap! Featured comment! Thanks! This episode is a pretty sobering reminder, to both the audience and Jinshi, that it doesn't take much for a commoner such as Maomao to die. The power imbalance between Jinshi and Maomao, owing to their different stations in life, is definitely an obstacle between them, something I don't think Jinshi was really fully aware of until this episode.
Yeah, Jinshi has been having fun with his favorite "toy" and has kinda forgot her station in life but, Maomao is still fully aware of the reality and just brought it crashing back down on his head. Not only that, he's directly responsible for her promotions and being put in a position that greatly increases the chance she'll make a small mistake that could get her executed.
re: the will, the word choice of the English translation was unfortunately a bit ambiguous. what they meant was that they found her last words (specifically 遺書, a note that one leaves behind knowing they will die/with the intention to die/a suicide note), which is why her death was ruled as a self-termination rather than foul-play, with the implication that she might have confessed to the poison attempt or implicated herself in the note.
If I understood it correctly, the will they found was the one from the lady that drowned and they said it contained pertinent information about the poisoning attempt at the garden party, the one aimed at one of the four concubines. So it is implied that they found a suicide note from the girl saying that she was involved in the attempt to poison one of the four concubines and killed herself out of guilt.
The way to interpret that is that she was scapegoated by leaving "her" will/note since she was in the garden party poisoning as if she's guilty of that and was afraid to get caught so offed her self.
it was rather common for the times, suicide was a way to "cleanse" shame or other stuff, and leaving a will, your belongings are taken care of, otherwise its up for grabbing. So it was common knowledge that if someone leave a will, then it was suicide. obviously plenty of bad people abused such belief.
12:00 A will is not always about distributing your assets. That is why it is called a last will and Testament. It is simply your last words instructions confessions or statements. Suicide notes are a real thing, Which is why they are useful to cover up a murder if needed.
Maomao out here keeping the drinking age free for the whole country just so she can enjoy her booze lmao --Still recommending you watch Mo Dao Zu Shi--
I believe the will/note left behind by the lady who drowned was actually her indicating that she poisoned Lady Lishu - that's why they just ruled it as a suicide
Have they started blue eye samurai? I thought Netflix original anime ceiling couldn't get higher than Castlevania but that shit operates in another dimension
in a lot of harem dramas, when someone is bestowed with suicide as punishment, they always seem to give people: a dagger, a white cloth, or poison. basically, choose a method to send you on your way... that's what maomao made me think of
This anime is so good, but it's crazy, im pretty sure the story isn't unique, there are anime with this kind of plot and it's truly a blessing that this manga/ln got a top tier anime production ❤
That women who died might possibly have connections with poisoning during the Garden Party, as to shut her up... then Instead of related to Emperor, idk.... next arc will open up your discussion
Sheera was asking about Jinshi marrying Maomao. Yeah I'll just tell you know that isn't possible. Maomao best chance is to become a Princess of a nation or become someone's concubine. But she'd never be a noble's wife. Let alone a first wife.
Unfortunately having small feet was considered beautiful in those times. Families had their daughters practice foot binding so they are more desirable. The reality is it’s a cruel and inhumane practice.
Yeah, Jinshi is sus in more ways than one, but I gave up figuring out familial trees in this show 'cause them royals be acting up on their own set of rules
Love the whole “it’s not about intent, it’s about ability”. It’s a common thread in feminism- sure, most men wouldn’t want to hurt women, but if it’s legal for them to hurt women that’s an issue. Women, especially servants, are considered property and therefore disposable…
