The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 13

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

by Natsu Hyuuga, Touco Shino (Illustrator)

Maomao, Jinshi, and the others finally return to the royal capital to discover that life went on while they were away: 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, Mystery, Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Manga

186 pages, ebook

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…

[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。

[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.

[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 😍😍.

[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.

[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

[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

[thueternity · Rating 4 out of 5]

AHHHHHH

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is just delightful! Sort of a return to form in that it brings us back to the capital and the palace. A bit shocking, but I did not even realize it is told completely from the perspectives of others (no Maomao pov chapters!) when I read it the first time (I think in part because I was reading it on J-Novel)

There are lots of episodic shenanigans, each one providing insight into side characters, that plant seeds for a larger story/mystery. Yet, each one is also so enjoyable on its own.

Some highlights are the focus on Lahan's Brother (Junjie, my farming potato king) and Joka. I have missed the pleasure district/Verdigris House and we are due for more information on Joka and the other Three Princesses! There is lots of touching on important and/or fun plotlines we had to sort of set aside for a while, like Yao and En'en and Lahan, Basan and Lishu, and Jinshi's true true identity.

It feels like something is definitely brewing, not just from the seeds being planted but also taking into consideration the imperial lineage aspect and well, Jinshi. It definitely is telling about problems he may have to face soon or at the very least, possible paths regarding his future.

The perspectives of others on Maomao and Jinshi offers great insight into their development as individuals and a couple and makes it obvious that their relationship and feelings are obvious, despite Maomao's unique way of expressing it.

The last chapters with Ah-Duo and then Maomao and Jinshi are simply put: AH. Again, delightful to read, offering humor, depth, insight, and development.

But Kevin! Another mistranslation in Chapter 15, sir you are robbing the masses.

This is kind of a short and sweet transitional story that still does a lot of great work and exemplifies some of the best of what the series has to offer.

[kkomorebi౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

⋆.˚✮ 5/5 ✮˚.⋆

⋆˚࿔ 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 ࿔˚⋆

It was a very quick read, honestly. I think it's the shortest of all the books. The chapters were super short, or at least that's how I felt. I'm surprised by the ending, but pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect it, though, but Jinshi did something very mature and reasonable. Regarding Joka, one of the three princesses of Verdigris House, I hope the next book talks more about her and her past because it seems like an interesting lore. Some might not like it, but I personally liked reading the "POV" of other characters.


ᵎᵎ ˚. ୭ 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ

I spent the entire book screaming like a crazy waiting for even the slightest interaction between Jinshi and Maomao, or when Maomao was told about Jinshi (because the poor girl was constantly harassed with him LOL). I love seeing how she has already accepted her feelings for him and is aware of what that entails; she's no fool. I don't want to go on and on because I'll be here for ten years, but it's nice to see how their relationship is improving, and there's love and respect on both sides. Jinshi is no longer the impulsive person he used to be and thinks twice before acting. And Maomao, well... it's Maomao, hahaha, just kidding. It's clear she's gradually becoming more confident, and he's the only person she feels this way with. Give her one more book, and I think she will drive him crazy. They left her paying, so... bear the consequences.

When they return from the Western Capital, finally, that trip seemed endless. Jinshi has a conversation with Gyokuyou, and says something I found so, SO sweet that I couldn't help but mention it. It's clear how much he loves Maomao, even finding it unfair how the reign works, and he points out one of his many reasons for not wanting to be the next emperor:

«𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚», 𝙅𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙.
«𝙉𝙤, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚.» 𝘼 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙂𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙪𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚.

Something I forgot to mention: notice how Jinshi respected her in that moment of near-intimacy. Do you understand that they were going to do that? He must be really excited, we all know that, but he respect her. He kind of could have spoken to her better, but I understand the situation and that he's looking out for her safety and future. Although... I hope Maomao is more alert and teaches him a couple of those "more refined techniques from the pleasure district."

Finally, the two conversations Maomao had with her sisters and Ah-Duo, they were too much for me, I FELT BUTTERFLIES. It's been a while since a book gave me this feeling, that feeling of nervousness, happiness, and kind of excitement is so unique. I was smiling from ear to ear. AHHH, you can tell Maomao loves him, god, she was embarrassed, she blushed, and she had the courage to talk to her mother-in-law and accept her future. I'm so proud of her.

"«��𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕, 𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕. 𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆.»"

"𝑱𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒐. 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒐. 𝑯𝒆'𝒅 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆, 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒉𝒆𝒓."

────────── ·𖥸· ──────────

⋆.˚✮ 5/5 ✮˚.⋆

⋆˚࿔ 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏̃𝒂 ࿔˚⋆

Fue una lectura muy rápida la verdad, creo q es el más corto de todos los libros, los capítulos eran súper breves, o por lo menos así lo sentí. Estoy sorprendida por el final, pero sorprendida para bien, no me lo esperaba eso si, pero Jinshi hizo algo muy maduro y razonable. El tema de Joka, una de las tres princesas de la Casa Verdigris, espero en el próximo libro se hable mas al respecto de ella y su pasado porque parece un lore interesante. Algunos puede no gustarles, pero a mi en lo personal haber leído el "pov" de otros personajes me gustó.


ᵎᵎ ˚. ୭ 𝑺𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 ୭ ˚. ᵎᵎ

Estuvo todo el libro gritando como una loca esperando una mínima interacción de Jinshi y Maomao, o cuando a Maomao le hablaban sobre Jinshi (porq a la pobre se la pasaron hostigándola con el JAJAJAJ). Adoro ver como ya acepto sus sentimientos hacia el y es consciente de lo que eso conlleva, no es ninguna tonta. No quiero explayarme porque voy a estar diez años, pero es lindo ver como la relación de ambos va mejorando, y hay amor y respeto de ambas partes. Jinshi ya no es el impulsivo de antes y piensa dos veces antes de actuar. Y Maomao, bueno...es ella, jajaja, mentira, se nota que de a poco tiene mas confianza y es con la única persona con quien se siente así, denle un libro mas y para mi ya lo va a sacar de quicio, la dejaron pagando así que...absténgase a las consecuencias.

Cuando vuelven de la capital occidental, por fin, fue eterno ese viaje, Jinshi tiene una conversación con Gyokuyou, y dice algo que me pareció tan pero TAN lindo que no podía no mencionarlo. Se nota lo mucho que ama a Maomao que hasta le parece injusto como funciona el reinado y hace notar el porque de uno de sus tantos motivos de no querer ser el próximo emperador:

«𝙉𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙚𝙙𝙖 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙖 𝙢𝙞 𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙤» 𝙖𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙤́ 𝙅𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞
«𝙉𝙤, 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙙𝙚 𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙜𝙤» 𝙐𝙣𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙖 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙯𝙤́ 𝙚𝙡 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤 𝙙𝙚 𝙂𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙪𝙮𝙤𝙪

Algo que me olvide de mencionar, nótese como Jinshi la respeto en ese momento de casi intimidad, entienden que iban a hacerlo??!! El debe de estar con unas ganas, no me doy una idea, pero la respeto, medio que pudo habérselo hablado mejor, pero entiendo la situación y que vele por su seguridad y futuro. Aunque...espero Maomao sea más viva y le enseñe un par de esas "técnicas mas refinadas del barrio del placer".

Por ultimo, las dos conversación que tuvo Maomao con sus hermanas y con Ah-Duo, nono, MARIPOSAS SENTÍ. Hace rato que un libro no me generaba esto, esa sensación de nerviosísimo, felicidad y como de emoción es tan única. Estaba con una sonrisa de oreja a oreja. AHHH, se nota que Maomao lo ama, dios, se avergonzó, se sonrojo y tuvo la valentía de hablar con su suegrita y aceptar su futuro. Estoy tan orgullosa de ella.

"«𝑵𝒐 𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒓. 𝑷𝒖𝒆𝒅𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒂́ 𝒍𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂, 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒐 𝒏𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖́𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒐 𝒔𝒊 𝒆𝒔𝒐 𝒇𝒖𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒆𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍. 𝑻𝒐𝒎𝒂 𝒍𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒆́𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐. 𝑺𝒊 𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒓, 𝒏𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒂́𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂 𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒊́𝒂»"

"𝑱𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊́𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆 𝒆𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒍𝒈𝒐 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐 𝒂 𝒖𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒐 𝒂 𝒖𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒋𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒐. 𝑷𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒔𝒐 𝒏𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒓𝒊́𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒋𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓. 𝑯𝒂𝒃𝒊́𝒂 𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒅𝒐 𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐 𝒅𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒂 𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒖 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒅𝒐, 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂"

[Alejandra Bran (Blue Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im still all upon my feelings. I’m so excited to see where this sloooooow burn of a romance is heading to but also a bit sad to have catch up with all the volumes.

I think this volume was the one planting the seeds of the themes that would move the new arc. New possible romances and maybe, the forgotten branch of the royal family. The clans reunion.

My favorite chapter was definitely Lahan brother’s one. I was laughing so hard!

I think I’ve reach a place where I’m not Maomao’s Stan as much. There’s also things that annoyed me even though I love her. I wish we can see a change in her, like she is more of a La than she wants to recognize and her perspective on both Lakan and Lahan upsets me, when they are always trying to help her or protect her in some way or another. She should realize she is not so different from them, she is selfish and obsessive. Just as her father and brother, do not care much if her actions would affect others but they are also not bad people, they can be kind and helpful but we refuses to see that.

Also I felt it was so unfair that Maomao went and put all of that on Jinsi knowing full well that he has a hard time dealing with his position and birthright. I’m not saying I wanted for them to do the deed but I felt it was insensitive of her putting more pressure on him than what he already feels! Like I get we are rooting for Empress Gyokuyou but damn girl he is your man now so don’t put more pressure on him.

Idk that’s my take, sometimes I don’t feel like she deserves him, but I get it he is love.