The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 13

薬屋のひとりごと [Kusuriya no Hitorigoto] (Light Novel) #13

by Natsu Hyuuga, Kevin Steinbach (translator), Touco Shino (illustrator)

Maomao, Jinshi, and the others finally return to the royal capital to discover that life went on while they were Lahan is still working his abacus, Maamei is still pondering the future of both the Ma clan and her little brother Basen, and Yao and En’en are still pursuing their dreams (to become a doctor and to geek out over Yao, respectively). Maomao might have hoped that things would quiet down now that she no longer has to deal with locust swarms and succession crises, but it turns out things are livelier than ever as she reconnects with people and places she hasn’t seen in almost a year. Meanwhile, the seeds of a new mystery are being planted...

Genres: Light Novel, Romance, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Manga, Historical, Fiction

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 25, 2023

About the author

See: 日向夏

Reviews

[Imane · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

I'm not against filler books/chapters that sow the seeds for the future big arcs/mysteries but some of these chapters were downright annoying like if En'en could just stfu and move on that'd be amazing... BUT seeing Maomao from other people's perspectives was definitely eye-opening. I particularly liked Joka's POV

[aamna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Junj—Lahan’s brother, Rikuson and Miss Chue are the MVPs of this arc 🤩The last 3 LNs were pretty heavy on plot so I understand why Hyuuga took a simple storyline with this novel. Removing one star because En’en and Yao’s POV pissed me off

[toointofiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

i missed Maomao's POV in this one but other than that it was as amazing as the rest of the series 😍

[Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Yes, the members of the royal family lacked freedom from the time of their birth—yet they could also steal the liberty of anyone they chose.”

The first ten chapters or so felt a little slow, almost as if to pad the gaps between what was to come after. I didn’t mind too much, as the content was still somewhat interesting, but I was getting a little bored at times. Especially with Lahan’s brother’s diary. The ending was funny, and I guess it gave a quick summary to volumes 11 and 12, but only of the less interesting parts..

I particularly enjoyed the chapters about Joka. I honestly wish we had more chapters on the courtesans at Verdigris house. I’d be very happy to hear more of them in future volumes!

The final three chapters were excellent. I think if they had been less impactful, I wouldn’t have been as fond of this volume, however, these short chapters alone made it a memorable one. Of course, we’ve all seen Ah-duo’s truth coming, but being told the truth explicitly is a good feeling. I truly felt so bad for Ah-duo in that chapter. The earlier volumes seemed to toy with the idea that Ah-duo and the Emperor were childhood sweethearts of sorts, and that he still loves her dearly. However, in Ah-duo’s eyes, he was the very man who took her freedom away. Now, she has to watch the son she was never able to mother go on to repeat the actions of his father. Of course, we know Maomao is more flexible than Ah-duo initially thought, but in the end I think we also understand that Maomao’s life will be impacted by choosing to accept Jinshi whether she allows it or not. You could really feel the defeat and disappointment Ah-duo felt, even the tender resentment she holds towards the Emperor for confining her to this life. It makes you realise further how truly tragic a woman’s life is in the time period The Apothecary Diaries is set in.

Along with Lady Ah-duo, I will also hope that Zuigetsu doesn’t walk the same path as the Emperor.

“Don’t let Yue walk the same path as Yoh.”

[Amalea · Rating 5 out of 5]

My ship has sailed amen

[Momo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars out of 5.

This one has me a bit conflicted. I love being with old characters but I am the type of reader who likes having balanced POV's or just one singular character's point of view and we barely got anything from Mao Mao this volume which disappointed me. Also, just the whole ending situation. Of course I am rooting for the ship, but I hate how everyone around them is forcing the pace to be faster than either of them is ready for, even though they're all aware that stuff needs to happen before it's safest for them to even be outwardly a thing.

The book was also just very short for this series. My copy was 270 pages (about 15-20 of those are images/contents/ the character list), and usually, the volumes are at least around 400 pages if not more and that did put a small bump in my mood. Meaning, that I only got one beloved day of reading this when ordinarily a book from this series would take me 2-3 days unless I was too engrossed in it and didn't do much else that day. This is also the last volume I have the ebook of (totally didn't buy the ebook/PDF volumes 1-13 on ETSY for like $5 collectively and def do not encourage others to do that even if they're already collecting the books physically, wink wink), so I am in a bit of a mood that this is the last one I will get to read for a while, but my coursework is definitely thanking that.

On a side note, I am so surprised that still only four English volumes are out at the moment physically. I suppose maybe they want to release it not too far ahead of the manga but I don't know if that is false information because I heard the mangaka was in jail for tax evasion?? Reading it digitally was definitely a good choice because of how much I could consume and didn't have to wait for. Ok, I'm done yapping.

[yane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful way to wrap up the stuff left from the Western Capital arc looking towards a new arc. Very excited to see what is coming in the volume 14.
One thing I really love in this series is thats, besides Maomao and Jinshi as the protagonists, most of the characters are very charismatic and interesting to follow, so to be able to read other people's POV's was a delight. Joka's chapters were really interesting and I'm really looking foward to see more of her.
Other thing, I really enjoy how this series treats sex as something kind of, almost banal, as something common either for birthing children or for pleasure of the parts. It's such a nice take in something that's a part of people's lives but sometimes fiction tends to portray as something sacred,idk.
I laughed a lot with people either teasing Maomao or Jinshi and Suirei preparations' regarding their supposed night together. Loving the way that their relationship keeps developing in a way that's very characteristic of them.
Wonderful volume. Looking forward to the next!

[liv · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m mad there was only one chapter in Maomao’s pov it’s called the apothecary diaries??? Also why is this so short?? This is a filler NOVELLA, no plot progression at all, I only really liked Joka’s pov. I didn’t even like Jinshi’s because that whole situation was weird! WHY DID MAOMAO GET 1 CHAPTER THAT WAS LIKE 3 PAGES??? I am so sad. I was really looking forward to this and I even had a Countdown. I guess we have to wait till May now…

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different kind of volume but honestly? Kind of perfect after the huge Western Province Saga. I loved this, I loved catching up with everyone, I loved seeing through the eyes of a big group of characters that we normally only see through Maomao. This was a slice of life delight and a much needed breather.

[Romane Vaillant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this volume had different povs but I felt the story didn’t progress much. I’m glad we could learn more about Joka and Lahan’s brother which were the best povs in my opinion

[airany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor silly Jinshi, he finally got the chance to DO IT with Maomao but he chickened out at the last moment because he was blinded by his wants and didn’t consider who he was and the fact that his frog can create new life lol

LET MY VIRGIN BOY ENJOY SEX 😩

And the fact that he was so lost in thought trying to figure it out how the fuck get banned from the imperial family for real so he can have his girl that he didn’t hear when maomao said that she was considering a direction without “the actual performance”,,, my man is just that unlucky

I’M SO HAPPY to be back at the central capital, I kind of hated what is happening with Yao and her interests but beside that I liked this volumen a lot, AND I REALLY WANT TO SEE WHAT MEIMEI IS PLANNING FOR BASEN AND LISHU!!!

AND I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THAT JOKA’S CHAPTER AND THE WAY MAOMAO’S OLDER SISTERS REALIZED THAT SHE IS IN LOVEEEEE

CAN’T WAIT TO READ THE NEXT VOLUME, I HATE NOT KNOWING JAPANESE 😭

[4f1fa0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was pretty cool to see other people's POVs, especially Yao and Joka's
Yao is a pretty interesting character, and though not the greatest, it's pretty cool how she's trying to secure her own future and her goals and become a better person.
En'en PLEASE LEAVE!!! You're obsession with Yao is destroying her ability to become the independent lady she wants to be. Not to mention she's insanely annoying 😒😒
JUSTICE FOR LAHAN'S BROTHER ✊🏼✊🏼✊🏼
How many volumes do I have to read for Jinmao to get together this is insane (politics doesn't let them)
Jinshi by far has the BEST character redemption arc in his position in this whole series!!!
I apologize for my yapter

[Erika · Rating 2 out of 5]

「外伝だったっけ」と思うレベルで、まさに「Filler」という感じのエピソードが一つにまとめられた巻。
物語がずっと西の方で起きてたので、読者が忘れたかもしれない、中央に残ったキャラ達と、西都に行ってたメンバーの絡みや関係性をわざとらしく描き、今まで読んでこなかったキャラ達の視点で描かれる物語が多い。
その為、主役2人はほとんど登場せず、やっと出てきても一切物語に進展がない。
やはり、オンラインで公開されている物語なだけあって、ダラダラとしたイメージが強い。つまり、出版時の本の区切りを意識せずに書かれているので、パキッと物語が引き締まらずにグダグダで始まり、グダグダで終わる感じが強くなった。

…というわけで、一瞬で読み終えてしまったし、別に途中でDNFしようとは思わない本だったけど、中身が一切なかったので、当初の星3つから星2つに下げる。
売れたからってダラダラと物語を引き伸ばす、ジャンプの少年漫画の様相を呈してきたな、このシリーズ。

[nero · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this cast of characters so much that this whole book could very well be just a connection to the next arc where nothing substantial happens except the readers catching up with characters and its still a 5*

[dianavrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omggggg, por finnnnnn, maomao acepto sus sentimientos totalmente.
Pero me duele saber que todavía no pueden estar totalmente juntos, mis niños los quiero mucho, jaja

[Jesica · Rating 5 out of 5]

CLASIFICATION: 5.0 ESTRELLAS

SINCERAMENTE CREO QUE CONTIENE VARIOS SPOILERS ASI QUE NO RECOMIENDO LEER SI NO HAS TERMINADO ESTE LIBRO.

Esta novela comienza ya todos llegando a la capital y haciéndose cargo de los puestos que tenían ahí y nos enteramos qué en ese año que estuvieron fuera pasaron algunas cositas interesantes.

Hay dos cosas que me dejaron con la boca abierta, la primera es que Ah dúo le confiesa a MaoMao que ella es la verdadera mamá de Jinshi y que lo protege con ayuda de un personaje que me parece muy interesante y ya nos contaron su historia en el libro pasado; además tb sabemos que Ah duo se ve reflejada en MaoMao y no quiere que le pase lo mismo así que le dice que si quiere una salida para no terminar como todos queremos que termine (en los brazos de Jinshi), ella le puede ayudar pero MaoMao nos sorprende diciendo que ya acepto los sentimientos de Jinshi y va a darlo todo (bueno no así, pero casi).

Y la segunda es ese final, Jinshi Te Amo, y me emocionaron un montón ese momento Jinshi-MaoMao. Ya no veo la hora de que esos dos se casen y sean felices juntos 😍😍.

[Ludivine · Rating 5 out of 5]

yass

[Karina Catellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que delícia esse volume!!!!!
Só atualizações de como anda a vida de todos e como muita coisa mudou na vida deles nesse um ano na capital oeste.
Alguns capítulos me fizeram rir demais.
Agora a conversa da Ah-Duo com a Maomao *-* eu não estava esperando e ela foi maravilhosa.
E veio aí nosso casal que se gosta mas anda a passos de tartaruga porque o mundo deles é um tanto quanto complicado T.T

[clementine · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one exceeded my expectations. i must say it was a pleasant surprise 🥰 more please 😌

[nobody · Rating 4 out of 5]

بعد از تمام بدبختی‌هایی که توی جلدهای قبلی داشتیم، یه جلد نسبتا فیلر/زندگی روزمره/تمرکز روی احساسات و روابط شخصیت‌ها واقعا لازم بود. به نسبت جلدهای قبلی هم خیلی کمتر بود.
اصلا انتظار نداشتم که آدو همچین احساساتی نسبت به امپراتور داشته باشه. غم‌انگیزه. و با اتفاقی که آخر جلد افتاد... فکر می‌کنم یه نشونه‌ی کوچیک از طرف نویسنده بود که "برادر کوچیک‌تر امپراتور" بود‌ن واقعا دردسرهای خیلی بیشتری داره. (بگذریم که اگه هویت واقعیش لو بره دردسرها هزار برابر می‌شه) واقعیت مثل داستان‌های عاشقانه که نقش اصلی مرد شاهزاده/ ولیعهده و همه‌چیز خیلی رنگی‌رنگی و درخشانه نیست. جینشی بزرگ شده. بیشتر به مائومائو فکر می‌کنه. اولویتشه. یه... دوست‌داشتن یا خواستن ساده نیست. می‌تونه خودش رو کنترل کنه. و حالا که تمام این قضایا دوطرفه‌ست... بازم نمی‌شه. واقعا آخر شبی نشستم غصه می‌خورم. به این فکر می‌کنم که شاید همچین داستانی اصلا نمی‌تونه پایان خوش داشته باشه. مثل دنیای واقعی. نه یه رمان شوجوی آبکی.


پ.ن: خواهرهای مائومائو واقعا حرفه‌این. تا بچه رو بعد از یک سال دیدن فهمیدن یه‌خبراییه:)))) بهشون افتخار می‌کنم.
پ.ن۲: سوی‌رن هم واقعا نازنینه. با-چان بامزه‌. شیپر سفت‌وسخت این دوتاست.
پ.ن۳: ولی بامزه‌ترین و کیوت‌ترین بخش کل کتاب اونجاهاییه که مائومائو به جینشی اشاره می‌کنه. یا بخاطرش خجالت می‌کشه. خیلی نازه. دقیقا عین گربه می‌مونه.
پ.ن۴: فقط یک جلد دیگه با ترجمه‌ی انگلیسی موجوده. بخاطر اون هم می‌خوام یکم غصه بخورم.

[mudslug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes the most romantic thing that can happen is not a spicy scene but actually a scene where the characters acknowledge the repercussions of their power differences and hold off. Crazy ™

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beach episode + seeds of discontent being sowed. Oh, and frogs :)

[bakugo glazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was going to rate it a 3, but then the 2nd to last chapter popped up and changed my mind.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

i gather that this book was a bit polarizing, but i think it's exactly what the series needed at this point. a deep breath is certainly called for after quite so many consequential events in the past few books. and it's the sort of moment a lot of other recent serialized storytelling forgets to include, imo to its detriment.

anyway, don't take me too seriously. i'm just going to continue enjoying my blorbos and giving them their five stars, like always.

[Cheska Colombo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I both loved that there was so much side character perspective and was frustrated that there wasn’t enough Mao Mao - but really I think this installment was just rather short and that’s par for the course. A lot of fun development in this one. The diary was wild. I love Ah Duo forever. I will say once again that Mao Mao is THAT GIRL tho

[javiera · Rating 3 out of 5]

este volumen se siente como el episodio en la playa de un anime, fue un volumen super corto y piola pero se entiende pq los últimos tres han sido ultra brigidos con la trama

fue super chori ver el pov de los otros personajes y sobretodo como ellos ven a la maomao

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Jinshi. 🥹

[roibean · Rating 4 out of 5]

super cute little novella, loved the diff povs (minus en’en’s sorry idgaf abt her and yao anymore) and also the end?????? hello jinmao gawtdamn

[dians · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yo sigo viviendo por jinmao al chile

[Trudie Earle · Rating 4 out of 5]

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH