Maomao is normally timid, but when someone harms her patient, she becomes fierce.
The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) spoilers ahead!
Summary
- In the latest episode, Maomao slaps one of Lihua’s maids, drags her by the hair and pours the powder that proved to be poisonous on her.
- Maomao does it because the maid applied the powder after orders not to use it in the inner palace.
- By showing her character and temper, Maomao managed to save Lihua.
In the latest, fourth, episode of The Apothecary Diaries, Maomao nurses Lihua back to health after she fell ill when her child, the emperor's first son, died as an infant. Lihua seemed to give up on life after that, but Maomao knows that her head would be on the chopping block if she does not help.
The problem? Lihua’s maids oppose each and every solution Maomao offers. It is only with the help of Jinshi, a high-ranking eunuch, that Maomao manages to get into Lihua’s quarters.
The Slap
When Maomao discovered that they were still using the prohibited poisonous powder on dying Lihua, she must have seen red. She slapped the maid responsible for cosmetics to the ground and dragged her by her hair across the floor. Some fans believe it was true rage; others think that Maomao just tried to assert her dominance, seeing how the maids were reluctant to listen to her. Either way, after that outburst, Maomao was accepted by the maids as an authority, which is crucial for a doctor.
Status as a Doctor’s Asset
Maomao is probably not higher in rank than Lihua’s maids, who were also doing their own job: protecting the emperor’s concubine from the potentially dangerous staff of another concubine. However, Maomao had been given an order from the emperor himself, so she did what she could.
As time passed, she discovered more and more things that the maids had done wrong, but she never slapped them again. As a result, it appears that the slap was more of a tool to make the maids listen to Maomao. After all, Maomao is known for her stoic temperament. She could get angry on behalf of her patient, of course, but it still looks more like a way to make the maids obey.
Of course, the slap worked because Jinshi was present and did nothing, which probably hammered it home for the maids that Maomao was in charge of. After all, a physician needs to have a level of control over what happens to a patient, which is difficult to achieve in the context of the inner palace. Maomao’s decision is as good as any other since it got the job done.