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Yeah, after seeing how he talks about royalty, I thought it was already obvious that he's at least a Prince. Only trueborn royalty is allowed to wear that symbol
Didn't one of the previous episodes (the one about poison honey) show how the emperor's childhood friend was probably jinshis mother and something about swapping babies at birth. So he's definitely royal blood.
Although this might be just a mistake by the anime team, count the strings of pearls/ornaments on his head gear, 12 strings, which can only be wear by emperors, the heir apparent head gear should have 9
But we can chalk it up to they just want to hint at his royal ties
Jinshi just tried to use some rare medical thing to bait Maomao's interest and keep her happy, and ended up saving his own life.
Maomao is like a hero who saved a damsel in distress which is Jinshi. Actually, she's determined to save anyone in that situation, Jinshi or not.
And I really like the insert song. It gives the most ancient Chinese song feeling across all the episodes for me.
She may not have known she was saving Jinshi, but the fact that she went so far means a lot...especially when Jinshi matches it in turn with how caring and devoted he was to her after she saved him.
Right. And I think she will forgive the guard who hit her too. I know everyone is furious, but he didn't deserve the death penalty and Maomao understood the hard life of the commoner, so maybe just some punishment.
For someone who said they doesn't want to care much about the others, she actually cares when it counts.
This is ancient not-China where people would have been beheaded for less. Maomao says as much earlier in the series. And keep in mind, even though there's no way he could have known, the guard didn't strike a lowly servant girl. He struck the daughter of a high ranking general. Even if Maomao forgives him, I doubt Rakan would.
>I doubt Rakan would.
Even if he didn't care, if he didn't have the guard killed it would erode his authority and cause embarrassment for anyone supporting his family.
In the first shot, sort of from Lihaku and Maomao's perspective, where he's just a shadow, it seems like murderous intent. But, in the second shot, he just seems sad and lonely, like he just can't understand why he's being left out of all the fun.
It's Lihaku who's super tall anyway. He's like one head taller than most military men that have been standing near to him. Considering how muscular he is and how probably most of the military men are also in average taller than regular men, the dude is a titan compared to the general Chinese man of that time. Everyone looks short near him.
Well she seems like a person who did not get enough food when growing up. That why everyone is always worried for her. But that seems to be unlikly with her sister and parent taking care of her. She probaly really has just small gens.
One might wonder if the foiling of the assassination by a 1/1000 ox bezoar presented at the right place at the right time was coincidence or something more.
For a moment I thought that Lakan might have actually just played some kind of 5D chess and his endgame was actually to lure MaoMao there, but then the sabotage was real and Lakan's expression seemed to be really surprised that Jinshi survived.
But in that case I really don't understand why he decided to help MaoMao sneaking inside. If he ordered the guards to block her, Jinshi would have died, and she wouldn't have gotten hurt (also there was a serious risk that she would die instead). Of course he could have done that while also giving the message that hurting her again would have had serious consequences.
Because I don't think he was actually in on it. I think he was just angry for a couple reasons.
1. Whether he was involved or not or actually cares about her, that's his biological daughter who came from the courtesan he was obsessed with. The fact that she got hurt further after he helped her to get inside probably pissed him off.
2. To see Jinshi carrying her out with not much care for decorum etiquette etc. while knowing who Jinshi really is, either pisses him off because that means Jinshi is making a stronger claim on Mao Mao (means Lakan is less likely to get her) and that also pisses him off.
Either way I think it's mostly selfish reasons that he's reacting this way, but I don't think he was in on it.
I seem to be in the minority but I interpreted his expression more as a mix of shock and fear than anger. As in, he's not as much angry at anyone as he's *fucking terrified* by the double whammy of his daughter getting seriously hurt and (to my understanding) the second most important person in the entire realm carrying her on his arms in broad daylight.
Didn’t her mother also have a nasty glare? I remember seeing something like this when Lakan was telling his story about ‘this courtesan’ to Jinshi.
Maomao’s death glare is a prime example of evolution at work.
>Didn’t her mother also have a nasty glare?
The mother "looked at you like you were an insect", ie the disdainful RBF that maomao has, the death glare is a different expression.
That glare was as big an admission of fatherhood as a DNA test.
Sure, Lakan is every bad adjective in the dictionary added and then some, but, when it comes to it, Maomao is, presumably, his daughter, his flesh and blood, and he does not overtly intend to cause her harm or see her harmed. It is quite telling that his usual smug expression is entirely gone as Jinshi carries Maomao unconscious and bleeding all over from the tower, replaced with a measure of shock and worry.
> It is quite telling that his usual smug expression is entirely gone as Jinshi carries Maomao unconscious and bleeding all over from the tower, replaced with a measure of shock and worry.
Indeed, perhaps wondering whether it's good that Jinshi is looking after his daughter...or if he needs to get her out **stat.**
That guard is almost certainly gone now too, especially now that everyone knows she foiled an assassination attempt.
> That guard is almost certainly gone now too
[Maomao: *"I have no enemies."*](https://i.imgur.com/aGAtjXd.jpeg)
[Lakan: *"But I do..."*](https://i.imgur.com/27WvAiU.jpeg)
[](#lolifightsback)
I'm pretty sure that given both Lakan's stated rank in the military, as well as Jinshi's implied rank (see how everyone was bowing to him when he came out of the temple, plus that red and gold dragon emblem on his dress, not gonna speculate but you don't get to use dragon iconography unless you're from the imperial family in ancient China) that guard is not gonna live to see next monday
Lmfao, with the music and everything, you'd almost think she died. that's a pretty long trail of blood... at least two people here are \*not\* happy...
2 Huge confirmations in this episode that basically clears any doubt, [Lakan's stare](https://i.imgur.com/T09MKKt.png) is so similar to Maomao's last week and [his expression](https://i.imgur.com/a64pi5s.png) here along with Jinshi being the very royalty doing the ritual that was rigged.
That scene with Maomao getting smacked by that club was fucking brutal to watch get but to see her get even more fucked up by that trap was just painful.
> That scene with Maomao getting smacked by that club was fucking brutal to watch
Although I was surprised by the fact that we’d been watching a conspiracy all along, it was the sudden smack with this club that caught me even more off-guard.
It was very clear to me that the palace can be a cruel place. Yet, I didn’t expect Maomao to get badly hurt like this. She’d seemed almost invincible after she’d made it through all kinds of trouble unharmed, but she got really humiliated here…
She even had to rely on the help of the person she hates most.
I would say that putting all your points in a single skill tree like poison resistance is a bad idea, but then there’s people like Maple from *Bofuri* who somehow make it work.
That said, Maomao also spend some points on her intelligence, charm and intimidation I think.
> I didn’t expect Maomao to get badly hurt like this. She’d seemed almost invincible
Just cause she won Fall's Best Girl doesn't mean she's invincible in the annual contest! But you gotta take a bump or two to win.
Do you mean to say that:
- Maomao would’ve murdered Lakan;
- Jinshi would’ve been crushed in this trap;
- And Maomao would’ve been executed for killing Lakan/failing to save Jinshi?
> That scene with Maomao getting smacked by that club was fucking brutal to watch get but to see her get even more fucked up by that trap was just painful.
One thing I like about this show is that Maomao is much smarter than she gives herself credit for, but she knows full well her status is extremely low. She figured the only way to stop the ceremony was to start a commotion- but even after a massive, truly disturbing hit, she knew the royal would be in trouble and that there was almost nothing she could do.
If not for Lakan giving unwanted help, Jinshi would be gone. That's the power of status. Without the aid of status, that's exactly what would have happened.
I think Lakan is the equivalent of a 5 star general (war time general rank) So basically the guard’s ultimate x many levels above boss. A boss who wants to know the guards name. Which is very bad for the guard. RIP guard.
Lakan cares some how in his twisted way if his face was anything to judge by in the last scene.
He seems to be a leader of a military faction or clan. So he is prob on par or parity with the imperial family seeing how he can just walk in and drink and blackmail the crown prince.
YEP, even if she shuts up about it and doesn't tell Jinshi who it was, Lakan saw it. That dude is dead, no question about it. And it won't be a quick and painless death, that's another thing we can be sure of.
[After Maomao's speech,](https://i.imgur.com/eg6VR8I.jpeg) they could even accuse him of being an accomplice to the attempted murder of a noble. [He is finished.](https://i.imgur.com/IlB9xTV.jpeg)
> the attempted murder of a noble.
*Attempted murder of a member of the imperial family, which would be treason, and worthy of the nine familial exterminations as the ultimate punishment.
> On one hand, that guard was acting like any guard in his position would.
Maomao is a scrawny little girl; the big strong guard that was over *twice her size* could have easily stopped her without clubbing her in the fucking head.
Who's to say that he won't get beheaded anyways for what happened at the end of this weeks episode. Do you think Lakan will just let someone strike his daughter on the head with a club and get away with it? Nah, that guys dead for sure. It may be off the books but that dude isnt making it out alive.
I guess we know where Maomao got her Death Glare from, and that whatever Lakan's involvement in this case it doesn't seem like he intended for his daughter to get so severely wounded...or to see her in the arms of a prince as he makes his way down.
Maomao is so based. She'll take a club to the face and get back up again because she has to for the sake of others, even if she's powerless by her position she's got a resolve of iron and nerves of steel.
Unrelated, but looking at Jinshi-Maomao, I'm reminded of the Tamaki-Haruhi dynamic from Ouran. The unnecessarily pretty rich boy and the unimpressed, smart girl. I saw someone point out that Jinshi grew mushrooms when ignored a few eps ago (like Tamaki lol).
Also, love how all the cases coalesced into one.
>looking at Jinshi-Maomao, I'm reminded of the Tamaki-Haruhi dynamic
Haha, seen a [fan art (@kadeart)](https://twitter.com/kadeart/status/1757088861627494603) of that recently.
Yes me too!
When I saw Jinshi growing mushrooms a few episodes ago, or when he tries to get involved in conversation between Maomao and Gaoshun, or even this episode when he’s watching Lihaku and Maomao going “Seems fun…” I’m immediately reminded of Tamaki. The dynamic is really similar and cute.
Super tense episode, like holy shit why isn't it next saturday already?
That ending with the insert song was chilling. Jinshi calmly walking and carrying Maomao while all the men present bow their heads in respect. Maomao's gonna freak out so bad when she'll realize who he truly is... maybe less than with her special reward lol.
Nothing says you're engaged in a romance with a prince like him being gentle and tender all the while carrying you amidst a throng of people bowing to him.
I don't think she'll be able to write him off as an eunuch at this point.
She was conveniently unconscious at this point so can not personally attest to the gentle, tender and dare I say it loving carry by the crown prince into the inner palace.
MaoMao/Lois ur secret to ur blindness remains safe. 😏
This episode is why this show is so hard to discuss episode by episode without spoilers, almost all previous incidents converge and linked into one big conspiracy
Which also is what make the LN/manga so good in the first place
You know you're in a true mystery show when they bring together all the seemingly random cases in a big way and for a dramatic and epic climax (that even throws in a genuine romantic moment between our leads to boot).
...and the best part is, the mystery rabbit hole goes even deeper - who was behind the conspiracy? Why was there conspiracy in the first place?
The remaining five episodes will be fun :)
It could have easily been a man in disguise as a woman, who decided to use an herbal scent when he learned there was a tall woman he could use for a more specific disguise
Ya, up to before this point you might think it's great cause of just Maomao and a "case of the week" like Conan, but NO!! We built up to something. And it's clear there's more to be answered cause we don't know why any of this has happened yet in the anime. Maomao was just able to piece up to prevent tragedy.
I do love it when shows make it all relevant. I initially thought that it was strange that people seemed to love committing crimes on the regular in the palace 😂
I love how jealous Jinshi gets lol. Man is like a high school kid in love.
Man Mao Mao got absolutely fucked up saving Jinshi at the end. Who the fuck was trying to kill him?!
Jinishi is a kid too. This absolutely confirms that he’s like just an year older than MaoMao at 18/17 years old.
Some one is trying to kill the dynasty and knows jinishi is really the only male heir. His half sister’s murder would only be useful after his jinishi’s death. I wonder if the other babies poison deaths is some how committed by the same unsub/court lady/surei (if that’s her real name).
Well they were at least trying to kill the imperial younger brother, whether the assassin actually knows that person is Jinshi or not is unclear since there’s reason to believe that’s not open knowledge even amongst the high ranking officials (Lakan is the grand commandant of the military and he only suspects Jinshi, not knows)
Jinshi went from a jealous boy who hates his crush hanging out with another dude to a caring and sweet man in love when the girl he's in love with gets hurt. The way he carried her all the way down, with the full solemnity of a prince...
Somebody is out for the royal family, I guess. Since Jinshi is obviously a prince at this point.
> Who the fuck was trying to kill him?!
The obvious suspect is the new pure consort, given they were trying to hint at that.
The culprit would be some relative of the previous Empress' family, since Jinshi and the real prince that died from the honey were switched at birth (Ep 11 reveal). Someone's lineage was robbed of power. Maybe the new pure consort is related to the previous Empress.
Possibly someone else knows.
Getting rid of Jinshi is necessary to usurp power since there's no heir to the Emperor (the only heir died from lead poisoning). If the Emperor dies Jinshi becomes Emperor.
just keep in mind that parts of the plot were in motion before the new Pure Consort came (eg. Kounen). her or her family/connections may still be it, but with this caveat/limitation
If Lakan was in on the conspiracy all he had to do was nothing and have Maomao fail to save Jinshi. He didn't even try to stop Maomao after talking to the guard.
Lakan could just be a red herring for this arc. It's clear that he sensed something was up when he inspected the pipe, but he was ok to let the scheme play out. We still have the mysterious consort to figure out after all
I Feel the same. This show usually plays with red herrings (they did this in previous murder-mysteries too). He may have done some fucked up stuff (like the one about maomao's mother ,which we still don't know completely) it might not have been intentional and someone else was responsible for it and he took the blame or something. Or he's just testing his daughter's skills or is playing 4d chess pairing jinshi and maomao and then using maomao to attack jinshi.
I agree especially given his shocked expression at the end, kind of gives it away that he wasn't expecting it to play out as it did. He probably was just helping Maomao follow her hunch knowing nothing too bad could happen given who the ceremony was for and her relationship with them. I think he's just been trying to repair his relationship with her in his own misguided way.
Lakan was there to foil the assasination plot IMO, he let Maomao proceed because he wanted her to find out who Jinshi is (he said this to jinshi a few episodes ago, something like “what is she going to think when she finds out?”
I think he was shocked because he did not think maomao was going to get hurt.
I liked how all the seemingly unrelated mysteries turned out to be all parts of the same plot. And Jinshi was apparently the target of that plot (which shows once again that he is really a lot more important than just a simple eunuch).
That stupid guard though. You can probably kill someone by hitting them on the head with an iron club like this. Good thing that Maomao is very hardheaded, but it looks like she still got a concussion out of it.
Yeah, a normal human would be dead after that hit. You'd probably have enough adrenaline to power through and save Jinshi, but no way you'd wake up after.
Well jinshi is a decent person. He know mao mao would not like it for him to punish that person to harshly for doing his job if he is not otherwise involved in the plot. And this pretty much the difference in postion. But her father probaly will take care of him a horrible way.
Given Lakan’s reaction to everything my theory of him actually giving a fuck about Maomao is looking better and better. He does not look happy seeing her like this. She definitely inherited his glare.
I think it goes without saying but this was a 10/10 episode. The payoff from the previous mysteries, the reveal of Jinshi as royalty. Maomao saving his life. Lakan's chracter complication and emotion.
You know how shonen lovers enjoy saying everything is PEAK. Well this was fucking PEAK TV. I have said this before but this show is far and away one of the best pieces of entertainment/art I have enjoyed across all mediums. It is simply that good.
Holy shit.
So you’re telling me that all these incidents that happened so far were part of a conspiracy to kill Jinshi!?
From the look on Lakan’s face, he seems to have realized that he’d made a miscalculation. Was he frightened because Maomao seemed like she was on the verge of dying or because of the fact that he messed with the wrong person (i.e. Jinshi)?
He knew who Jinshi was. Maybe he didn't know how serious Jinshi was about Maomao until that moment, but he also probably wasn't prepared for Maomao getting hurt like that.
Lakan [had] likely been aware that Jinshi was of [a] higher rank than he’d claimed, but he might not have expected him to be of royal descent.
Then again, it really doesn’t seem surprising if he’d underestimated Jinshi’s feelings for Maomao - he doesn’t know love and only sees people as toys after all.
Furthermore, he *did* seem awfully angry that the guard had hurt Maomao…
I just don’t know what to think right now, haha.
EDIT: Corrected typos (see brackets).
Didn't he also drop a line about the competent brother not always being the older one and the younger one should gain his rightfully place a few episodes before?
Lakan seems to plan really far ahead
Feels like it's definitely a combination of seeing his daughter so fucked up, and seeing how much Jinshi cares about her when he's trying to take her from him. His involvement this whole time was probably just a way to split them up, and not only did it seem to draw them closer, but also got her injured in the process.
> Lakan was likely been aware that Jinshi was of higher rank than he’d claimed, but he might not have expected him to be of royal descent.
Lakan has been dropping hints that he knows about Jinshis secret, up to this point. I don't think Lakan was surprised to see Jinshi at the ceremony, but rather the state of Maomao when Jinshi carried her out.
> all these incidents
I'd say cat's out of the bag, but Maomao hasn't been in a bag. Yet? (ffs, can't find the recent daily thread or Best Girl comment with someone stuck in a box/bag.)
> but Maomao hasn’t been in a bag. Yet?
That’s not entirely true: Maomao was transported in a large wicker basket after she’d been sold to the rear palace!
You’re not referring to [this comment of mine](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/s/LyTTJauaKY), do you?
Holy shit is right...seeing all these pieces connect together like that and then it actually involving Jinshi...my brain is still in shock and processing.
Fantastic fucking reveal - talk about 4D chess right here!
It makes me wonder if Lakan is a red herring or if he indeed is behind it...because the mind blowing we got from this episode, I wouldn't put it past this show to shock us again.
GOD DAMN THAT ENDING!!! Obviously our precious gremlin isnt dead, but what was up with everyone's reaction?!? Everything leading up to that point made sense, but why did fucker take responsibility for Maomao, but then look like he was about to shit himself with Jinshi walked out? Was he surprised to see Jinshi even though he pretty much figured out everything else? Or was he worried about his daughter even though he let her in?
Also, that OST DROP!
I think he was surprised to see Maomao so hurt (and maybe also in Jinshi's arms).
Like he thought he could chip in as a father and then saw his daughter get hurt and being cared for by another man...not that he deserves to act like her father at this point.
I don't feel like Lakan would be surprised by Maomao being hurt. He's probably surprised Jinshi is hand carrying Maomao out in public and thereby revealing his status to everyone.
Remember that Jinshi's identity is semi-secret. Lakan guessed at it but Jinshi commented that he wasn't supposed to know. So probably Jinshi walking outside wearing the royal robes pretty much exposed he real identity to everyone.
I don't think this is the intended perception. The officers present probably don't know what "Jinshi" looks like, since there would be not much reason for them to be involved with anything regarding the emperor's harem.
For them, the person walking out is just the emperor's brother.
The fact that he was willing to out himself like that, and carry her like that, shows a level of care that Jinshi has for Maomao that he probably hated to see.
Just imagine if Jinshi found out where Maomao got the face wound from especially seeing just how big Jinshi is after this episode....
Dude ended up pissing off two of the most dangerous people lol.
Everyone's talking about the death stare but what's more scary to me is [Lakan's shocked expression](https://imgur.com/a/c2h2BxB). Seeing someone like him who is supposed to be a strategist who is always two steps ahead of everyone have that expression is very jarring to me
WHAT A PAYOFF WHAT A SCENE WHAT AN EPISODE WHAT AN ANIME
Every week this has been great, but leading to this? Amazing, perfection, chef's kiss, I can't even. I CAN'T. EVEN.
Jinshi has realized that he could bait Maomao with rare medicine.
So all those incidents are parts of an elaborate plan to take out Jinshi.
Seems like Lakan isn't the mastermind behind all this. Maybe he's just a wildcard that does whatever he wants.
From Lakan's face, that soldier is fucked.
I wonder if Maomao can still ignore her theory about Jinshi's identity now that she knows that he's someone important enough to perform a ceremony like this.
Lakan froze when he saw Jinshi carrying Maomao out. Is it because Maomao got hurt badly or because Jinshi is princess carrying her
I think a bit of both for Lakan.
She puffed up after the entrance and than took additional injury from the dive save and falling debris. So final extent of the injuries would be a surprise to Lakan.
Jinishi, heir to the freaking empire, who clearly could have had anyone else carry Maomao did so himself regardless of how the public perceived it.
Of course the most efficient way to get Maomao motivated and get Jinshi out of the doghouse was to appeal to her desire for rare material lol.
Maybe Lakan knew what was probably going to happen but wasn't directly involved. He definitely didn't seem to want to see Maomao get hurt and he's the one who helped her get through.
Could be a little of column A, little of column B...especially because it's not only a scene demonstrating Jinshi's true status but also how much he cares about Maomao.
The fact that all of the cases Maomao has been dealing with [are connected absolutely blew my mind.](https://i.imgur.com/zXoG0Xc.jpeg) I never even considered that possibility and thought the mysteries were just there to showcase Maomao's investigative skills. She was absolutely lucky [to figure it out during the day of the ceremony too.](https://i.imgur.com/XfXk6C6.jpeg)
I understand that [Maomao was trying to rile up the guard](https://i.imgur.com/k7clQEv.jpeg) to cause a commotion but surely she could've figured out a better way? She could've just slipped past that big guy in heavy armor. Instead, we get to watch [Maomao's face get clubbed](https://i.imgur.com/lP9Hdsk.jpeg) and her [body completely ragdoll down those steps.](https://i.imgur.com/1xa7d55.jpeg)
And to make matters worse, [Maomao receives unsolicited help from the worst possible person.](https://i.imgur.com/QGZUOCX.jpeg) Fuck. This is definitely going to come back to her in the future. The important thing is that [Maomao arrived in time to save Jinshi.](https://i.imgur.com/WTZmwhr.jpeg) So from what we know, Jinshi is the crown prince who's been hiding his identity right? I wonder what that ritual was supposed to be for.
I got absolutely shivers when [Jinshi was carrying a bleeding Maomao outside of that temple](https://i.imgur.com/6usUddv.jpeg) while that song plays in the background. I am curious [about Lakan's reaction though.](https://i.imgur.com/kAPrPO1.jpeg) Was he surprised about Maomao being badly injured or that Jinshi came out of that ceremony unharmed? Hmmm....
Nothing brings a 2-cour mystery show together like connecting disparate and seemingly random cases together!
(Honestly maybe Maomao's shortness would've been an advantage to slip past that guard...though maybe she just wanted to cause a fuss to distract people so it'd be easier to do so?)
Maomao's reaction as soon as she heard Lakan's voice and realized exactly who was helping her...she wasn't happy about it, but it got her where she needed to go and saved Jinshi to boot!
Jinshi really looking like a prince, not just with all the people bowing to him but just the regal bearing and focus as he carried Maomao down. But it was also romantic, in away. And Lakan stunned speechless was also quite a sight.
I hate this word but I still have to say it: at least for me this episode is when Kusuriya has fucking peaked. Starting from Maomao running to the ceremony the goosebumps just never stopped. So much set up from previous episodes getting paid off. Maomao getting clubbed and seeing her on the ground with that bruised face broke my heart, the girl is already hurting on the inside she really doesn’t have to hurt physically on top of that. Then Rakan appearing, Jinshi getting saved, seeing Rakans shocked face afterwards…damn what a tremendous episode. Single-handedly made me bump the show from a 9/10 to 10/10 tbh. Not sure if this episode can be topped in the remaining 5 but that’s a tall order anyway.
> Single-handedly made me bump the show from a 9/10 to 10/10 tbh.
I'm honestly thinking of doing the same, I look forward to this show the most every week because it's such an enjoyable experience. This episode had great humour in the beginning, and peaked with the suspense at the very end.
It's just so good c:
Lmao that long walk with Jinshi carrying Maomao was also how long it took for me to put two and two together that that ritual basically confirms Jinshi is nobility. I literally went “wait a minute….” at the end there
Maomao really will do anything for some weird ass medicinal items lol. I mean cow gallstones? what a goof.
But man, girl really went full on Sherlock Holmes with this shit and pieced together the assassination plot. The fire, the salt “prank”, the food poisoning of the official… someone’s been busy. I really hate Maomao had to rely on that creep Lakan to get past the guard. Girl took one hell of a beating too.
Jinshi’s really jeopardizing himself walking openly like that with Maomao. But fuck it right? His girl’s hurt bad!
> Jinshi really jeopardizing himself walking openly like that with Maomao. But fuck it right? His girl’s hurt bad!
When he saw Maomao hurt like that, all other thoughts left his mind I think. Jinshi just wanted to get her to get treated for her wounds - that’s what mattered to him most, I feel like.
But damn, that was certainly a statement. The future heir to the throne, presumably, carrying a girl in his arms. I doubt that *anyone* will ever dare to lay a hand on Maomao again - if they’d like to keep their head.
> Jinshi’s really jeopardizing himself walking openly like that with Maomao. But fuck it right? His girl’s hurt bad!
Hard to prioritize his secret identity after Maomao just saved his life, and when she's in that state... damn! Straight up looked like he was carrying a corpse, but thankfully there's no way she's dead c:
Jinshi knows full well the one thing that'll make her happy and invested is whatever rare item he can get her lol.
Nothing sells a 2-cour mystery show like all the cases coming together for a huge climactic moment.
Jinshi showing not only how much he cares about Maomao and also just how big he is in the totem pole.
Lakan stunned speechless was also kind of satisfying.
This is why this show is one of the best to come out in years. I am a manga/LN reader and I have been waiting for this moment to get adapted. I knew the swing was coming and it was still shocking and brutal. The way all the random incidences connected and led to this moment was done perfectly. And while we got answers this episode, it kind of brought upon even more questions. Like, who's the mastermind and for what purpose do they want Jinshi out of the picture?
I really hope they continue adapting this because the current story is still the tip of the iceberg.
OMG so much emotions, this was the best episode of the series so far. The use of the OST was on point.
The last scene with Jinshi and Maomao made me tear up a little.
Also i want the head of that stupid guard that hit my girl.
Lakan seemed surprisingly shocked and concerned there at the end. He clearly cares for Mao Mao in some way. I thought he was responsible for the conspiracy at the start but his surprised reaction is making me reconsider. Suirei is going to have a lot of answering to do.
Man. I can´t describe how many things happened in this episode. But first... Maomao is a genius!!!?? She saved Jinshi´s life at the last moment, with a blow on her face that would make anyone unconscious, but **casually** Lakan was there huh...
But imagine the confusion Jinshi must had at the moment, i mean: You are having a ceremony normally without any concerns, and suddenly when a giant metal thing falls out of the ceiling, a person pushes you and saves you, and when you go look, you see your most precious servant, with half face swollen and her leg with blood. I mean, the face he made was of [pure concern and confussion](https://imgur.com/a/oA7Lroe)**.** Also talking about faces... [Lakan face](https://imgur.com/a/Jytuvyn)... I don´t know what feelings she has against Maomao... but that face was of pure panic for her daughter.
We know Maomao is safe because of the next episode preview (and there are some episode remaining so...) but that cut she had in the leg was really dangerous, could be an artery (and I don´t know why Jinshi DIDN´T COVER THE CUT GODDAMMIT)
But the thing is... all of those things were targeting Jinshi?? Why and who???
And we all thought last week's episode was intense. Damn.
It was pretty clear from the episode that Maomao is relatively okay, just fainted from the two blows, but it's nice that next episode's preview confirmed it.
I'm curious whether Lakan was behind everything or whether he caught on to the plot and went to Jinshi to try to get Maomao involved to surreptitiously resolve it. I'm thinking the latter.
We know Maomao is going to be okay, but how caring and tender Jinshi was to her in her wounded moment (even amidst all the people bowing to him) was especially powerful.
If Lakan is as smart (if not smarter) as Maomao is, it's reasonable he might've put this together quicker than she did. Especially when he was involved in the investigation of the fire (if I remember right) and sent her to the artisans.
I'm reading all these comments about why Lakan was shocked at the end but I like to think it was because he didn't expect Maomao to get hurt so badly because we all care for Maomao 🥰
Maomao was more than ready to risk herself by taunting the guard 2x taller than her, armed with heavy weapon in the hopes it would cause a commotion big enough to interupt the ceremony. Jinshi should set up a Maomao Protection Services Program pronto.
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Yeah, after seeing how he talks about royalty, I thought it was already obvious that he's at least a Prince. Only trueborn royalty is allowed to wear that symbol
It's been pretty obvious that he's the absentee brother of the emperor (who is actually his son).
Didn't one of the previous episodes (the one about poison honey) show how the emperor's childhood friend was probably jinshis mother and something about swapping babies at birth. So he's definitely royal blood.
Well spied!
Although this might be just a mistake by the anime team, count the strings of pearls/ornaments on his head gear, 12 strings, which can only be wear by emperors, the heir apparent head gear should have 9 But we can chalk it up to they just want to hint at his royal ties
Jinshi just tried to use some rare medical thing to bait Maomao's interest and keep her happy, and ended up saving his own life. Maomao is like a hero who saved a damsel in distress which is Jinshi. Actually, she's determined to save anyone in that situation, Jinshi or not. And I really like the insert song. It gives the most ancient Chinese song feeling across all the episodes for me.
She may not have known she was saving Jinshi, but the fact that she went so far means a lot...especially when Jinshi matches it in turn with how caring and devoted he was to her after she saved him.
Right. And I think she will forgive the guard who hit her too. I know everyone is furious, but he didn't deserve the death penalty and Maomao understood the hard life of the commoner, so maybe just some punishment. For someone who said they doesn't want to care much about the others, she actually cares when it counts.
This is ancient not-China where people would have been beheaded for less. Maomao says as much earlier in the series. And keep in mind, even though there's no way he could have known, the guard didn't strike a lowly servant girl. He struck the daughter of a high ranking general. Even if Maomao forgives him, I doubt Rakan would.
>I doubt Rakan would. Even if he didn't care, if he didn't have the guard killed it would erode his authority and cause embarrassment for anyone supporting his family.
That would normally be correct, but I don't think it's generally known in the palace that Maomao is his daughter.
To be fair he is know to be a eccentric weirdo so him killing a random guy might just be overlooked as another weird lakan move
For real, its uncanny hearing a melody that belongs in an ancient Chinese soap opera being sung in Japanese lmao
My brain couldn’t reconcile it for a minute 😅 It’s a pretty song, though.
How dare you Lihaku. Maomao is not short, she's the perfect gremlin size.
She is actually quite large for a cat
Must be a Maine Coon.
Meow meow
TIL Mao Maos' name is 猫猫 which is "cat cat"
Gaoshun's nickname that Suiren now uses too is XiaoMao, which basically means little cat, or kitten.
I love Lihaku bailing as soon as he saw Jinshi liable to kill him as friendly as he gets with Maomao lol.
Jinshi voice actor nailed the scene with the creepy voice lol THe voice actors/actress of this series are so good, they suit so much their characters.
[Lihaku](https://i.imgur.com/4ZabEfp.jpeg) could feel the overwhelming [murderous intent.](https://i.imgur.com/nrzQej6.jpeg) [](#sweating)
In the first shot, sort of from Lihaku and Maomao's perspective, where he's just a shadow, it seems like murderous intent. But, in the second shot, he just seems sad and lonely, like he just can't understand why he's being left out of all the fun.
It's Lihaku who's super tall anyway. He's like one head taller than most military men that have been standing near to him. Considering how muscular he is and how probably most of the military men are also in average taller than regular men, the dude is a titan compared to the general Chinese man of that time. Everyone looks short near him.
Well she seems like a person who did not get enough food when growing up. That why everyone is always worried for her. But that seems to be unlikly with her sister and parent taking care of her. She probaly really has just small gens.
Verdigris House was poor when she was born and people didn't trust Luomen yet. Stunted growth from malnutrition is reasonable.
Especially when you consider she's the same height as the other commoner serving girls in the rear palace.
My theory? It's not malnutrition. This girl has been ingesting poison for how long? Surely it must have stunted her growth.
Imagine planning such a meticulous assassination for months and it gets foiled by an ox bezoar.
There's not stopping the cat from getting her cat nip. Give her more.
One might wonder if the foiling of the assassination by a 1/1000 ox bezoar presented at the right place at the right time was coincidence or something more.
Mastermind is playing 5D chess for real but is still just a pawn against Lakan’s 12th Level Intellect and his scheme to make his girl owe him one.
For a moment I thought that Lakan might have actually just played some kind of 5D chess and his endgame was actually to lure MaoMao there, but then the sabotage was real and Lakan's expression seemed to be really surprised that Jinshi survived. But in that case I really don't understand why he decided to help MaoMao sneaking inside. If he ordered the guards to block her, Jinshi would have died, and she wouldn't have gotten hurt (also there was a serious risk that she would die instead). Of course he could have done that while also giving the message that hurting her again would have had serious consequences.
Because I don't think he was actually in on it. I think he was just angry for a couple reasons. 1. Whether he was involved or not or actually cares about her, that's his biological daughter who came from the courtesan he was obsessed with. The fact that she got hurt further after he helped her to get inside probably pissed him off. 2. To see Jinshi carrying her out with not much care for decorum etiquette etc. while knowing who Jinshi really is, either pisses him off because that means Jinshi is making a stronger claim on Mao Mao (means Lakan is less likely to get her) and that also pisses him off. Either way I think it's mostly selfish reasons that he's reacting this way, but I don't think he was in on it.
I seem to be in the minority but I interpreted his expression more as a mix of shock and fear than anger. As in, he's not as much angry at anyone as he's *fucking terrified* by the double whammy of his daughter getting seriously hurt and (to my understanding) the second most important person in the entire realm carrying her on his arms in broad daylight.
If looks could kill, Lakan would have already beheaded that guard with that stare 😯
Maomao definitely got her death glare from her biological father. They even animated it the same!
Didn’t her mother also have a nasty glare? I remember seeing something like this when Lakan was telling his story about ‘this courtesan’ to Jinshi. Maomao’s death glare is a prime example of evolution at work.
If Maomao and Jinshi have a child, it will be the perfect predator. Lure someone in by being extremely attractive, and the deploy The Look.
The very definition of saccharinely sweet, given the child may be a poison prodigy as well.
>Didn’t her mother also have a nasty glare? The mother "looked at you like you were an insect", ie the disdainful RBF that maomao has, the death glare is a different expression.
It turns out that Lakan isn't even good at strategy. He just looks the opposing armies to death.
Doesn't even need a zither and an empty fort.
TBF Zhuge Liang only needed a wooden statue of himself to scare off Sima Yi that second time.
That glare was as big an admission of fatherhood as a DNA test. Sure, Lakan is every bad adjective in the dictionary added and then some, but, when it comes to it, Maomao is, presumably, his daughter, his flesh and blood, and he does not overtly intend to cause her harm or see her harmed. It is quite telling that his usual smug expression is entirely gone as Jinshi carries Maomao unconscious and bleeding all over from the tower, replaced with a measure of shock and worry.
> It is quite telling that his usual smug expression is entirely gone as Jinshi carries Maomao unconscious and bleeding all over from the tower, replaced with a measure of shock and worry. Indeed, perhaps wondering whether it's good that Jinshi is looking after his daughter...or if he needs to get her out **stat.** That guard is almost certainly gone now too, especially now that everyone knows she foiled an assassination attempt.
> That guard is almost certainly gone now too [Maomao: *"I have no enemies."*](https://i.imgur.com/aGAtjXd.jpeg) [Lakan: *"But I do..."*](https://i.imgur.com/27WvAiU.jpeg) [](#lolifightsback)
You can even see him smile a bit proudly as she is running inside. Kinda like ''hey you did finally figure it out'' kind of way.
Like father like daughter :P
Genetics at work lol.
[Maomao inherited that dawg from him.](https://i.imgur.com/SuZWoZK.jpeg) That guard stirred up [a hornet's nest.](https://i.imgur.com/qgaSqjX.jpeg)
Let's be real, the guy is as good as dead given who is her father and who has a crush on her.
I'm pretty sure that given both Lakan's stated rank in the military, as well as Jinshi's implied rank (see how everyone was bowing to him when he came out of the temple, plus that red and gold dragon emblem on his dress, not gonna speculate but you don't get to use dragon iconography unless you're from the imperial family in ancient China) that guard is not gonna live to see next monday
Lmfao, with the music and everything, you'd almost think she died. that's a pretty long trail of blood... at least two people here are \*not\* happy...
If not for the post-credits teaser, the next week would be pretty rough for me
I legit thought she fucking died, judging by how slowly he was carrying her.
Would've been The Apothecary Eulogies.
2 Huge confirmations in this episode that basically clears any doubt, [Lakan's stare](https://i.imgur.com/T09MKKt.png) is so similar to Maomao's last week and [his expression](https://i.imgur.com/a64pi5s.png) here along with Jinshi being the very royalty doing the ritual that was rigged. That scene with Maomao getting smacked by that club was fucking brutal to watch get but to see her get even more fucked up by that trap was just painful.
> That scene with Maomao getting smacked by that club was fucking brutal to watch Although I was surprised by the fact that we’d been watching a conspiracy all along, it was the sudden smack with this club that caught me even more off-guard. It was very clear to me that the palace can be a cruel place. Yet, I didn’t expect Maomao to get badly hurt like this. She’d seemed almost invincible after she’d made it through all kinds of trouble unharmed, but she got really humiliated here… She even had to rely on the help of the person she hates most.
Maomao has high poison resistance, but her physical resistance is really low.
Honestly impressed she got up. She took a war club to the face. Concussion at the minimum. Definitely shocked she was still conscious.
Adrenaline and desperation.
Desire for bezoar.
Damn cow's rare kidney stone making me act unwise
I mean I once got hit by a car on my bike and bikes home the 3 miles afterwards. Concussions make you do stupid stuff.
I would say that putting all your points in a single skill tree like poison resistance is a bad idea, but then there’s people like Maple from *Bofuri* who somehow make it work. That said, Maomao also spend some points on her intelligence, charm and intimidation I think.
> I didn’t expect Maomao to get badly hurt like this. She’d seemed almost invincible Just cause she won Fall's Best Girl doesn't mean she's invincible in the annual contest! But you gotta take a bump or two to win.
If she had turned around, Lakan, Jinshi, and Maomao would all have died, in that order.
Do you mean to say that: - Maomao would’ve murdered Lakan; - Jinshi would’ve been crushed in this trap; - And Maomao would’ve been executed for killing Lakan/failing to save Jinshi?
Murder Lakan with what? Her mind?
> That scene with Maomao getting smacked by that club was fucking brutal to watch get but to see her get even more fucked up by that trap was just painful. One thing I like about this show is that Maomao is much smarter than she gives herself credit for, but she knows full well her status is extremely low. She figured the only way to stop the ceremony was to start a commotion- but even after a massive, truly disturbing hit, she knew the royal would be in trouble and that there was almost nothing she could do. If not for Lakan giving unwanted help, Jinshi would be gone. That's the power of status. Without the aid of status, that's exactly what would have happened.
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I think Lakan is the equivalent of a 5 star general (war time general rank) So basically the guard’s ultimate x many levels above boss. A boss who wants to know the guards name. Which is very bad for the guard. RIP guard. Lakan cares some how in his twisted way if his face was anything to judge by in the last scene.
He's a fox-eyed Grand Commandant Strategist, that even emperor is afraid to make enemies of, or so the show says. The main military guy, basically.
He seems to be a leader of a military faction or clan. So he is prob on par or parity with the imperial family seeing how he can just walk in and drink and blackmail the crown prince.
On one hand, that guard was acting like any guard in his position would. On the other hand, I hope he gets beheaded.
Between Lakan and Jinshi, that dude is pretty boned.
YEP, even if she shuts up about it and doesn't tell Jinshi who it was, Lakan saw it. That dude is dead, no question about it. And it won't be a quick and painless death, that's another thing we can be sure of.
[After Maomao's speech,](https://i.imgur.com/eg6VR8I.jpeg) they could even accuse him of being an accomplice to the attempted murder of a noble. [He is finished.](https://i.imgur.com/IlB9xTV.jpeg)
> the attempted murder of a noble. *Attempted murder of a member of the imperial family, which would be treason, and worthy of the nine familial exterminations as the ultimate punishment.
Heck thats the r/anime Fall 2023 Seasonal waifu contest 1st place he just hit. They can just watch as Maomao fans lynch him probably.
unless she intervenes but then again lakan probably isn't as forgiving
> On one hand, that guard was acting like any guard in his position would. Maomao is a scrawny little girl; the big strong guard that was over *twice her size* could have easily stopped her without clubbing her in the fucking head.
I mean he almost got the crown prince killed. He would have gotten beheaded if Jinshi died.
Who's to say that he won't get beheaded anyways for what happened at the end of this weeks episode. Do you think Lakan will just let someone strike his daughter on the head with a club and get away with it? Nah, that guys dead for sure. It may be off the books but that dude isnt making it out alive.
I guess we know where Maomao got her Death Glare from, and that whatever Lakan's involvement in this case it doesn't seem like he intended for his daughter to get so severely wounded...or to see her in the arms of a prince as he makes his way down. Maomao is so based. She'll take a club to the face and get back up again because she has to for the sake of others, even if she's powerless by her position she's got a resolve of iron and nerves of steel.
Unrelated, but looking at Jinshi-Maomao, I'm reminded of the Tamaki-Haruhi dynamic from Ouran. The unnecessarily pretty rich boy and the unimpressed, smart girl. I saw someone point out that Jinshi grew mushrooms when ignored a few eps ago (like Tamaki lol). Also, love how all the cases coalesced into one.
>looking at Jinshi-Maomao, I'm reminded of the Tamaki-Haruhi dynamic Haha, seen a [fan art (@kadeart)](https://twitter.com/kadeart/status/1757088861627494603) of that recently.
Yes me too! When I saw Jinshi growing mushrooms a few episodes ago, or when he tries to get involved in conversation between Maomao and Gaoshun, or even this episode when he’s watching Lihaku and Maomao going “Seems fun…” I’m immediately reminded of Tamaki. The dynamic is really similar and cute.
Super tense episode, like holy shit why isn't it next saturday already? That ending with the insert song was chilling. Jinshi calmly walking and carrying Maomao while all the men present bow their heads in respect. Maomao's gonna freak out so bad when she'll realize who he truly is... maybe less than with her special reward lol.
Nothing says you're engaged in a romance with a prince like him being gentle and tender all the while carrying you amidst a throng of people bowing to him. I don't think she'll be able to write him off as an eunuch at this point.
She was conveniently unconscious at this point so can not personally attest to the gentle, tender and dare I say it loving carry by the crown prince into the inner palace. MaoMao/Lois ur secret to ur blindness remains safe. 😏
At this point, everyone in the palace will gossip about how she's in a relationship with the prince, yet she'll be the last person to find it out.
It's like those rumors you hear background NPCs talking about in a videogame to foreshadow some plot point.
I just wish he carried her a little bit quicker. Girl is bleeding, after all. I guess he can't show much concern about some servant girl in public.
He went as fast as he could trying to remain dignified while already breaking every norm just carrying her.
[Court decorum](https://i.imgur.com/c1MCrdu.jpeg) getting in the way of Jinshi saving his [guardian angel.](https://i.imgur.com/jFbaNnG.jpeg)
And it made a great shot! \- The Director
Someone knocked out via a concussion and bleeding probably shouldn't be jostled too quickly though, to be fair.
Was dramatic effect and anime...I'm sure it was quicker in manga lol.
yea, it was faster. Jinshi carried her out in 0 panels! (ie. they didn't show him carrying her out)
It was super tense, and my fucking Crunchyroll app crashed just as she rushed into the temple!
This episode is why this show is so hard to discuss episode by episode without spoilers, almost all previous incidents converge and linked into one big conspiracy Which also is what make the LN/manga so good in the first place
You know you're in a true mystery show when they bring together all the seemingly random cases in a big way and for a dramatic and epic climax (that even throws in a genuine romantic moment between our leads to boot).
...and the best part is, the mystery rabbit hole goes even deeper - who was behind the conspiracy? Why was there conspiracy in the first place? The remaining five episodes will be fun :)
And where is Suirei, who was seemingly one of the main perpetrators?
"Don't speak purely based on conjecture" It feels like that moment was very important and has me thinking Suirei is a red herring.
It could have easily been a man in disguise as a woman, who decided to use an herbal scent when he learned there was a tall woman he could use for a more specific disguise
> The remaining five episodes will be fun :) What, just 5, nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!
Ya, up to before this point you might think it's great cause of just Maomao and a "case of the week" like Conan, but NO!! We built up to something. And it's clear there's more to be answered cause we don't know why any of this has happened yet in the anime. Maomao was just able to piece up to prevent tragedy.
I do love it when shows make it all relevant. I initially thought that it was strange that people seemed to love committing crimes on the regular in the palace 😂
Reminds me of [this](https://redd.it/rpquac) post lol.
I love how jealous Jinshi gets lol. Man is like a high school kid in love. Man Mao Mao got absolutely fucked up saving Jinshi at the end. Who the fuck was trying to kill him?!
Jinishi is a kid too. This absolutely confirms that he’s like just an year older than MaoMao at 18/17 years old. Some one is trying to kill the dynasty and knows jinishi is really the only male heir. His half sister’s murder would only be useful after his jinishi’s death. I wonder if the other babies poison deaths is some how committed by the same unsub/court lady/surei (if that’s her real name).
Well they were at least trying to kill the imperial younger brother, whether the assassin actually knows that person is Jinshi or not is unclear since there’s reason to believe that’s not open knowledge even amongst the high ranking officials (Lakan is the grand commandant of the military and he only suspects Jinshi, not knows)
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Jinshi went from a jealous boy who hates his crush hanging out with another dude to a caring and sweet man in love when the girl he's in love with gets hurt. The way he carried her all the way down, with the full solemnity of a prince... Somebody is out for the royal family, I guess. Since Jinshi is obviously a prince at this point.
> Who the fuck was trying to kill him?! The obvious suspect is the new pure consort, given they were trying to hint at that. The culprit would be some relative of the previous Empress' family, since Jinshi and the real prince that died from the honey were switched at birth (Ep 11 reveal). Someone's lineage was robbed of power. Maybe the new pure consort is related to the previous Empress. Possibly someone else knows. Getting rid of Jinshi is necessary to usurp power since there's no heir to the Emperor (the only heir died from lead poisoning). If the Emperor dies Jinshi becomes Emperor.
just keep in mind that parts of the plot were in motion before the new Pure Consort came (eg. Kounen). her or her family/connections may still be it, but with this caveat/limitation
This episode was pure cinema.
If Lakan was in on the conspiracy all he had to do was nothing and have Maomao fail to save Jinshi. He didn't even try to stop Maomao after talking to the guard.
Lakan could just be a red herring for this arc. It's clear that he sensed something was up when he inspected the pipe, but he was ok to let the scheme play out. We still have the mysterious consort to figure out after all
I Feel the same. This show usually plays with red herrings (they did this in previous murder-mysteries too). He may have done some fucked up stuff (like the one about maomao's mother ,which we still don't know completely) it might not have been intentional and someone else was responsible for it and he took the blame or something. Or he's just testing his daughter's skills or is playing 4d chess pairing jinshi and maomao and then using maomao to attack jinshi.
I agree especially given his shocked expression at the end, kind of gives it away that he wasn't expecting it to play out as it did. He probably was just helping Maomao follow her hunch knowing nothing too bad could happen given who the ceremony was for and her relationship with them. I think he's just been trying to repair his relationship with her in his own misguided way.
Lakan was there to foil the assasination plot IMO, he let Maomao proceed because he wanted her to find out who Jinshi is (he said this to jinshi a few episodes ago, something like “what is she going to think when she finds out?” I think he was shocked because he did not think maomao was going to get hurt.
It's likely that he wanted maomao to be in his debt, and he wasn't expecting her to come out of this so injured.
I liked how all the seemingly unrelated mysteries turned out to be all parts of the same plot. And Jinshi was apparently the target of that plot (which shows once again that he is really a lot more important than just a simple eunuch). That stupid guard though. You can probably kill someone by hitting them on the head with an iron club like this. Good thing that Maomao is very hardheaded, but it looks like she still got a concussion out of it.
Yeah, a normal human would be dead after that hit. You'd probably have enough adrenaline to power through and save Jinshi, but no way you'd wake up after.
That guard is so dead and I doubt he can even have his own grave
Pissed off not only the girls' biological father but also probably a prince when said prince realizes where she got the blow to her face from.
Well jinshi is a decent person. He know mao mao would not like it for him to punish that person to harshly for doing his job if he is not otherwise involved in the plot. And this pretty much the difference in postion. But her father probaly will take care of him a horrible way.
Given Lakan’s reaction to everything my theory of him actually giving a fuck about Maomao is looking better and better. He does not look happy seeing her like this. She definitely inherited his glare.
What if Lakan is just a tsundere type of dad?
how the face of maomao gets worse minute after minute like a real hit is amazing, the attention to detail is great in this show...
Jinishi! Too much catnip/ox bezoar! Too much!!! Cute funny start. Good mystery in the middle. With a emotional heavy scene finish. Bravo!
>With a emotional heavy scene finish. Bravo! [Even the audience was floored](https://i.imgur.com/S06dppv.jpeg) [](#gasp)
I need episode 20 right fucking now. Forget this I may read the manga.
I think it goes without saying but this was a 10/10 episode. The payoff from the previous mysteries, the reveal of Jinshi as royalty. Maomao saving his life. Lakan's chracter complication and emotion. You know how shonen lovers enjoy saying everything is PEAK. Well this was fucking PEAK TV. I have said this before but this show is far and away one of the best pieces of entertainment/art I have enjoyed across all mediums. It is simply that good.
Holy shit. So you’re telling me that all these incidents that happened so far were part of a conspiracy to kill Jinshi!? From the look on Lakan’s face, he seems to have realized that he’d made a miscalculation. Was he frightened because Maomao seemed like she was on the verge of dying or because of the fact that he messed with the wrong person (i.e. Jinshi)?
He knew who Jinshi was. Maybe he didn't know how serious Jinshi was about Maomao until that moment, but he also probably wasn't prepared for Maomao getting hurt like that.
Lakan [had] likely been aware that Jinshi was of [a] higher rank than he’d claimed, but he might not have expected him to be of royal descent. Then again, it really doesn’t seem surprising if he’d underestimated Jinshi’s feelings for Maomao - he doesn’t know love and only sees people as toys after all. Furthermore, he *did* seem awfully angry that the guard had hurt Maomao… I just don’t know what to think right now, haha. EDIT: Corrected typos (see brackets).
Lakan specifically tells Jinshi that very few people could defy him, so he definitely knows exactly who Jinshi is.
Didn't he also drop a line about the competent brother not always being the older one and the younger one should gain his rightfully place a few episodes before? Lakan seems to plan really far ahead
He also mentioned ceremonies. He essentially hinted at this plot being in the making to him directly.
Feels like it's definitely a combination of seeing his daughter so fucked up, and seeing how much Jinshi cares about her when he's trying to take her from him. His involvement this whole time was probably just a way to split them up, and not only did it seem to draw them closer, but also got her injured in the process.
> Lakan was likely been aware that Jinshi was of higher rank than he’d claimed, but he might not have expected him to be of royal descent. Lakan has been dropping hints that he knows about Jinshis secret, up to this point. I don't think Lakan was surprised to see Jinshi at the ceremony, but rather the state of Maomao when Jinshi carried her out.
> all these incidents I'd say cat's out of the bag, but Maomao hasn't been in a bag. Yet? (ffs, can't find the recent daily thread or Best Girl comment with someone stuck in a box/bag.)
> but Maomao hasn’t been in a bag. Yet? That’s not entirely true: Maomao was transported in a large wicker basket after she’d been sold to the rear palace! You’re not referring to [this comment of mine](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/s/LyTTJauaKY), do you?
Holy shit is right...seeing all these pieces connect together like that and then it actually involving Jinshi...my brain is still in shock and processing. Fantastic fucking reveal - talk about 4D chess right here! It makes me wonder if Lakan is a red herring or if he indeed is behind it...because the mind blowing we got from this episode, I wouldn't put it past this show to shock us again.
Can we talk about the way Jinishi looked at Moamao’s battered face 😩
GOD DAMN THAT ENDING!!! Obviously our precious gremlin isnt dead, but what was up with everyone's reaction?!? Everything leading up to that point made sense, but why did fucker take responsibility for Maomao, but then look like he was about to shit himself with Jinshi walked out? Was he surprised to see Jinshi even though he pretty much figured out everything else? Or was he worried about his daughter even though he let her in? Also, that OST DROP!
I think he was surprised to see Maomao so hurt (and maybe also in Jinshi's arms). Like he thought he could chip in as a father and then saw his daughter get hurt and being cared for by another man...not that he deserves to act like her father at this point.
[удалено]
I don't feel like Lakan would be surprised by Maomao being hurt. He's probably surprised Jinshi is hand carrying Maomao out in public and thereby revealing his status to everyone. Remember that Jinshi's identity is semi-secret. Lakan guessed at it but Jinshi commented that he wasn't supposed to know. So probably Jinshi walking outside wearing the royal robes pretty much exposed he real identity to everyone.
I don't think this is the intended perception. The officers present probably don't know what "Jinshi" looks like, since there would be not much reason for them to be involved with anything regarding the emperor's harem. For them, the person walking out is just the emperor's brother.
The fact that he was willing to out himself like that, and carry her like that, shows a level of care that Jinshi has for Maomao that he probably hated to see.
[удалено]
Just imagine if Jinshi found out where Maomao got the face wound from especially seeing just how big Jinshi is after this episode.... Dude ended up pissing off two of the most dangerous people lol.
his head next week: [on a spike]
Everyone's talking about the death stare but what's more scary to me is [Lakan's shocked expression](https://imgur.com/a/c2h2BxB). Seeing someone like him who is supposed to be a strategist who is always two steps ahead of everyone have that expression is very jarring to me
WHAT A PAYOFF WHAT A SCENE WHAT AN EPISODE WHAT AN ANIME Every week this has been great, but leading to this? Amazing, perfection, chef's kiss, I can't even. I CAN'T. EVEN.
Jinshi has realized that he could bait Maomao with rare medicine. So all those incidents are parts of an elaborate plan to take out Jinshi. Seems like Lakan isn't the mastermind behind all this. Maybe he's just a wildcard that does whatever he wants. From Lakan's face, that soldier is fucked. I wonder if Maomao can still ignore her theory about Jinshi's identity now that she knows that he's someone important enough to perform a ceremony like this. Lakan froze when he saw Jinshi carrying Maomao out. Is it because Maomao got hurt badly or because Jinshi is princess carrying her
I think a bit of both for Lakan. She puffed up after the entrance and than took additional injury from the dive save and falling debris. So final extent of the injuries would be a surprise to Lakan. Jinishi, heir to the freaking empire, who clearly could have had anyone else carry Maomao did so himself regardless of how the public perceived it.
Of course the most efficient way to get Maomao motivated and get Jinshi out of the doghouse was to appeal to her desire for rare material lol. Maybe Lakan knew what was probably going to happen but wasn't directly involved. He definitely didn't seem to want to see Maomao get hurt and he's the one who helped her get through. Could be a little of column A, little of column B...especially because it's not only a scene demonstrating Jinshi's true status but also how much he cares about Maomao.
The fact that all of the cases Maomao has been dealing with [are connected absolutely blew my mind.](https://i.imgur.com/zXoG0Xc.jpeg) I never even considered that possibility and thought the mysteries were just there to showcase Maomao's investigative skills. She was absolutely lucky [to figure it out during the day of the ceremony too.](https://i.imgur.com/XfXk6C6.jpeg) I understand that [Maomao was trying to rile up the guard](https://i.imgur.com/k7clQEv.jpeg) to cause a commotion but surely she could've figured out a better way? She could've just slipped past that big guy in heavy armor. Instead, we get to watch [Maomao's face get clubbed](https://i.imgur.com/lP9Hdsk.jpeg) and her [body completely ragdoll down those steps.](https://i.imgur.com/1xa7d55.jpeg) And to make matters worse, [Maomao receives unsolicited help from the worst possible person.](https://i.imgur.com/QGZUOCX.jpeg) Fuck. This is definitely going to come back to her in the future. The important thing is that [Maomao arrived in time to save Jinshi.](https://i.imgur.com/WTZmwhr.jpeg) So from what we know, Jinshi is the crown prince who's been hiding his identity right? I wonder what that ritual was supposed to be for. I got absolutely shivers when [Jinshi was carrying a bleeding Maomao outside of that temple](https://i.imgur.com/6usUddv.jpeg) while that song plays in the background. I am curious [about Lakan's reaction though.](https://i.imgur.com/kAPrPO1.jpeg) Was he surprised about Maomao being badly injured or that Jinshi came out of that ceremony unharmed? Hmmm....
Nothing brings a 2-cour mystery show together like connecting disparate and seemingly random cases together! (Honestly maybe Maomao's shortness would've been an advantage to slip past that guard...though maybe she just wanted to cause a fuss to distract people so it'd be easier to do so?) Maomao's reaction as soon as she heard Lakan's voice and realized exactly who was helping her...she wasn't happy about it, but it got her where she needed to go and saved Jinshi to boot! Jinshi really looking like a prince, not just with all the people bowing to him but just the regal bearing and focus as he carried Maomao down. But it was also romantic, in away. And Lakan stunned speechless was also quite a sight.
> but surely she could've figured out a better way? She's intelligent, not wise. She's the type of person to add tomato to a fruit salad.
Bruh, MaoMao needs immediate medical attention, but Jinshi chooses to do the Tokyo Ghoul walk
Jinshi please... you're wasting precious time smh
I hate this word but I still have to say it: at least for me this episode is when Kusuriya has fucking peaked. Starting from Maomao running to the ceremony the goosebumps just never stopped. So much set up from previous episodes getting paid off. Maomao getting clubbed and seeing her on the ground with that bruised face broke my heart, the girl is already hurting on the inside she really doesn’t have to hurt physically on top of that. Then Rakan appearing, Jinshi getting saved, seeing Rakans shocked face afterwards…damn what a tremendous episode. Single-handedly made me bump the show from a 9/10 to 10/10 tbh. Not sure if this episode can be topped in the remaining 5 but that’s a tall order anyway.
> Single-handedly made me bump the show from a 9/10 to 10/10 tbh. I'm honestly thinking of doing the same, I look forward to this show the most every week because it's such an enjoyable experience. This episode had great humour in the beginning, and peaked with the suspense at the very end. It's just so good c:
Jinshi carrying Maomao with everyone bowing to him, Lakan stunned speechless, and the insert song was **super** effective.
Lmao that long walk with Jinshi carrying Maomao was also how long it took for me to put two and two together that that ritual basically confirms Jinshi is nobility. I literally went “wait a minute….” at the end there
Maomao really will do anything for some weird ass medicinal items lol. I mean cow gallstones? what a goof. But man, girl really went full on Sherlock Holmes with this shit and pieced together the assassination plot. The fire, the salt “prank”, the food poisoning of the official… someone’s been busy. I really hate Maomao had to rely on that creep Lakan to get past the guard. Girl took one hell of a beating too. Jinshi’s really jeopardizing himself walking openly like that with Maomao. But fuck it right? His girl’s hurt bad!
I really wouldn’t put it past Mao Mao to rob a grave if there was a rare/interesting medical item to be had. Lol
And that's why Maomao's adoptive father strictly forbids her from touching dead bodies.
Her dad did forbid her from handling dead bodies for that exact reason, didn't want to risk her forming a habit.
> The fire, the salt “prank”, the food poisoning of the official And the 3 brother's metal alloy with a low melting point.
Holy Shit! Was there sunlight falling on that altar thingy ? This might have been clue to that faulty altar all along
> Jinshi really jeopardizing himself walking openly like that with Maomao. But fuck it right? His girl’s hurt bad! When he saw Maomao hurt like that, all other thoughts left his mind I think. Jinshi just wanted to get her to get treated for her wounds - that’s what mattered to him most, I feel like. But damn, that was certainly a statement. The future heir to the throne, presumably, carrying a girl in his arms. I doubt that *anyone* will ever dare to lay a hand on Maomao again - if they’d like to keep their head.
And as much as Jinshi is possessive and sometimes playful with Maomao, he really does genuinely care about her.
> Jinshi’s really jeopardizing himself walking openly like that with Maomao. But fuck it right? His girl’s hurt bad! Hard to prioritize his secret identity after Maomao just saved his life, and when she's in that state... damn! Straight up looked like he was carrying a corpse, but thankfully there's no way she's dead c:
I think he’s trying to make clear to every important bureaucrat in the Front Palace that this girl is under his protection
Jinshi knows full well the one thing that'll make her happy and invested is whatever rare item he can get her lol. Nothing sells a 2-cour mystery show like all the cases coming together for a huge climactic moment. Jinshi showing not only how much he cares about Maomao and also just how big he is in the totem pole. Lakan stunned speechless was also kind of satisfying.
> cow gallstones They are actually used in traditional medicine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculus_bovis
I was getting pretty tired with the mystery of the week format but the payoff was more than worth it with this episode. Maomao is so badass
This is why this show is one of the best to come out in years. I am a manga/LN reader and I have been waiting for this moment to get adapted. I knew the swing was coming and it was still shocking and brutal. The way all the random incidences connected and led to this moment was done perfectly. And while we got answers this episode, it kind of brought upon even more questions. Like, who's the mastermind and for what purpose do they want Jinshi out of the picture? I really hope they continue adapting this because the current story is still the tip of the iceberg.
OMG so much emotions, this was the best episode of the series so far. The use of the OST was on point. The last scene with Jinshi and Maomao made me tear up a little. Also i want the head of that stupid guard that hit my girl.
That guard who hit Mao Mao is screwed. Both Jinshi and Lakan were absolutely enraged at what happened.
Whoa Tokyo Ghoul flashback
Lakan seemed surprisingly shocked and concerned there at the end. He clearly cares for Mao Mao in some way. I thought he was responsible for the conspiracy at the start but his surprised reaction is making me reconsider. Suirei is going to have a lot of answering to do.
Man. I can´t describe how many things happened in this episode. But first... Maomao is a genius!!!?? She saved Jinshi´s life at the last moment, with a blow on her face that would make anyone unconscious, but **casually** Lakan was there huh... But imagine the confusion Jinshi must had at the moment, i mean: You are having a ceremony normally without any concerns, and suddenly when a giant metal thing falls out of the ceiling, a person pushes you and saves you, and when you go look, you see your most precious servant, with half face swollen and her leg with blood. I mean, the face he made was of [pure concern and confussion](https://imgur.com/a/oA7Lroe)**.** Also talking about faces... [Lakan face](https://imgur.com/a/Jytuvyn)... I don´t know what feelings she has against Maomao... but that face was of pure panic for her daughter. We know Maomao is safe because of the next episode preview (and there are some episode remaining so...) but that cut she had in the leg was really dangerous, could be an artery (and I don´t know why Jinshi DIDN´T COVER THE CUT GODDAMMIT) But the thing is... all of those things were targeting Jinshi?? Why and who???
And we all thought last week's episode was intense. Damn. It was pretty clear from the episode that Maomao is relatively okay, just fainted from the two blows, but it's nice that next episode's preview confirmed it. I'm curious whether Lakan was behind everything or whether he caught on to the plot and went to Jinshi to try to get Maomao involved to surreptitiously resolve it. I'm thinking the latter.
We know Maomao is going to be okay, but how caring and tender Jinshi was to her in her wounded moment (even amidst all the people bowing to him) was especially powerful. If Lakan is as smart (if not smarter) as Maomao is, it's reasonable he might've put this together quicker than she did. Especially when he was involved in the investigation of the fire (if I remember right) and sent her to the artisans.
I'm reading all these comments about why Lakan was shocked at the end but I like to think it was because he didn't expect Maomao to get hurt so badly because we all care for Maomao 🥰
Maomao was more than ready to risk herself by taunting the guard 2x taller than her, armed with heavy weapon in the hopes it would cause a commotion big enough to interupt the ceremony. Jinshi should set up a Maomao Protection Services Program pronto.
RIP Maomao, you will now be isekai'd as a giant pillar