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「みたび、水晶宮」 (Mi Tabi, Suishōgū)
“The Crystal Pavilion, for the Third Time”
Contrary to what was teased at the end of last week, the clinician, Shenlu, was not seeking to report Mao Mao, but rather, use her, blackmailing her into investigating a case for her. Which, it wouldn’t have made total sense for Shenlu to do that anyway, given that they are in the same field, and it’s not like Mao Mao’s using medicine to hurt people.
The case on Shenlu’s mind is a sick maid who suddenly disappeared. Mao Mao in disguise (in high heels, LOL), accompanied by the Quack pay a visit to the Crystal pavilion where the girl worked. In a confrontation with the head maid, Mao Mao sheds some light on the situation upon noticing, and immediately investigating, an uncharacteristic smell on the woman and a nearby storage house where the patient was being kept. This was all just a front to cover up the contents in the shed- yup, you guessed it, the forbidden oils that pose pregnancy health risks. I was actually expecting Mao Mao to get locked in the shed, so I guess that that didn’t happen was one surprise left in the episode.
What is this, middle school with girl drama fights breaking out? If I’m honest, this is low hanging fruit in terms of villain writing. It’s not the first time a concubine and her child is endangered and won’t be the last. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu watching this episode.
The head maid, Shin, and Linghua go way back, as cousins raised together in competition for the position of emperor’s bedmate. Yeah, I get it, tha is a tough situation to be in. Shin’s frustration over working hard and having brains but getting sidelined for someone with lesser grades is valid. But to carry it out to the point of nursing and acting on a grudge? It sounds like petty family rivalries to me, though that sort of drama was the bread and butter of court politics.
The most intrigiuing part of the episode was Mao Mao in a rare instance where a shard of heart glimmers in her anger over the mistreatment of the maid and the attempt to wrongfully harm Linghua’s pregnancy. Mao Mao so often is cold or just not plain interested in others, but on occasion, times like this are a reminder that she can be concerned for other people. It shades her character a deeper hue.
Mao Mao makes the pointed observation that what Shin loves is status far more than actual people. If she truly cared for the emperor, she wouldn’t be plotting so hard against his bloodline, not to mention destroying what is close to them is definitely not going to help your position in the long wrong. Mao Mao is probably not the only one to see that and answers the question of why Linghua was chosen over Shin. Well, that and Linghua belonging to the main family branch. I don’t know how good a judge Linghua is of character for Shin’s bitterness towards her to only now be a revelation, not to mention all of the untrustworthy ladies in waiting around her. She certainly doesn’t take the news lying down, getting a little slap happy with her cousin.
What I want to know is- who is in charge of staffing decisions? You’d think if it was the emperor or her father, they’d be careful about putting in women who wouldn’t endanger the potential for succession. Though, knowing court politics, hiring is probably done on as a form of political currency in an exchange of favors.
The question is now- who disseminated the knowledge that those oils could cook up an abortifacient, as they seem to doubt it could have been Shin herself who did it. Whoever it is is too smart to get caught so easily, working from the shadows, and is 99.9% guaranteed to be the person behind the other poisoning connections. This is an all roads lead to Rome kind of situation. We may have taken a pause from the caravan and envoys for the week, but that and this all lead to the same place in the end.
Preview
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