Maomao has recently received a lot of jewelry from two men and two concubines.
Gyokuyou seemed to try to stake a claim with her necklace, making Maomao belong to her.
Lihua probably wanted to thank Maomao, but her hairpin might cause Maomao trouble.
Lihaku was giving out pins just to make ladies-in-waiting happy.
Jinshi might have felt for Maomao after the story about her makeup, but his intention is not clear.
Gifting jewelry is a complicated ritual in the inner palace, it seems. We will try to piece together the reasons behind Maomao’s gifts from the anime and fan suggestions.
Gyokuyou and Lihua
Gyokuyou was clear that when she was giving out jewelry to her maids, she was looking for their loyalty. Maomao received a necklace from her, which was meant to signal to others that she already had a person she served, Gyokuyou.
However, Lihua’s gift is a little more confusing. On the one hand, Lihua owes Maomao her life, which makes expressing gratitude a natural decision. On the other hand, Lihua cannot claim that she does not know who Maomao serves already. Even other Gyokuyou’s maids noted that Gyokuyou would not be happy about Maomao receiving jewelry from a different concubine. Was Lihua just being grateful or looking for trouble? It’s not clear, but her pin came in handy when Maomao was bribing Lihaku.
Lihaku and Jinshi
Lihaku was giving out hairpins just from the kindness of his heart, hoping to cheer up the ladies who didn’t receive pins. He did not seem to have any other motive, and that is very kind of him. He also hoped that none of the girls with his pins would think that he would be helping them further, which is why he was rather displeased at Maomao’s requesting to see him. No good deed ever goes unpunished, we suppose.
Jinshi’s pin is the most mysterious one. Jinshi gave it to Maomao after hearing her explanation for using makeup to give herself freckles. A lot of fans assume that he did it because of that story since he felt for Maomao. It is also possible that the pin was meant to protect Maomao, making fewer people willing to mess with her when she has a silver pin in her hair. However, Jinshi’s reasoning remains a mystery, and we can only speculate.
With four different pieces of jewelry given to her for four different reasons, Maomao has the favor of four people. But all of them meant different things while giving her that jewelry. Jewelry-gifting in the inner palace has a lot of nuance. And that what makes it more interesting to build up some theories.
Gifting jewelry seems to mean something special in the inner palace. Let’s discuss!
Maomao has recently received a lot of jewelry from two men and two concubines.
Gyokuyou seemed to try to stake a claim with her necklace, making Maomao belong to her.
Lihua probably wanted to thank Maomao, but her hairpin might cause Maomao trouble.
Lihaku was giving out pins just to make ladies-in-waiting happy.
Jinshi might have felt for Maomao after the story about her makeup, but his intention is not clear.
Gifting jewelry is a complicated ritual in the inner palace, it seems. We will try to piece together the reasons behind Maomao’s gifts from the anime and fan suggestions.
Gyokuyou and Lihua
Gyokuyou was clear that when she was giving out jewelry to her maids, she was looking for their loyalty. Maomao received a necklace from her, which was meant to signal to others that she already had a person she served, Gyokuyou.
However, Lihua’s gift is a little more confusing. On the one hand, Lihua owes Maomao her life, which makes expressing gratitude a natural decision. On the other hand, Lihua cannot claim that she does not know who Maomao serves already. Even other Gyokuyou’s maids noted that Gyokuyou would not be happy about Maomao receiving jewelry from a different concubine. Was Lihua just being grateful or looking for trouble? It’s not clear, but her pin came in handy when Maomao was bribing Lihaku.
Lihaku and Jinshi
Lihaku was giving out hairpins just from the kindness of his heart, hoping to cheer up the ladies who didn’t receive pins. He did not seem to have any other motive, and that is very kind of him. He also hoped that none of the girls with his pins would think that he would be helping them further, which is why he was rather displeased at Maomao’s requesting to see him. No good deed ever goes unpunished, we suppose.
Jinshi’s pin is the most mysterious one. Jinshi gave it to Maomao after hearing her explanation for using makeup to give herself freckles. A lot of fans assume that he did it because of that story since he felt for Maomao. It is also possible that the pin was meant to protect Maomao, making fewer people willing to mess with her when she has a silver pin in her hair. However, Jinshi’s reasoning remains a mystery, and we can only speculate.
With four different pieces of jewelry given to her for four different reasons, Maomao has the favor of four people. But all of them meant different things while giving her that jewelry. Jewelry-gifting in the inner palace has a lot of nuance. And that what makes it more interesting to build up some theories.
