The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 16

薬屋のひとりごと [Kusuriya no Hitorigoto] (Light Novel) #16

by Natsu Hyuuga, Kevin Steinbach (Translator), Touko Shino (Illustrator)

Weeks have passed since the successful surgery on the Emperor, and winter is coming on. Now that the upper physicians have taken over postsurgical care, Maomao’s daily life is both getting back to normal and getting busier.

One day, a letter arrives for Dr. Lao that makes Yo go pale. It reports a rise in patients with pustules... Maomao has a bad feeling about this, and as ever, it proves correct—there’s been a smallpox outbreak. Contagious and often deadly, survivors of smallpox are often left scarred for life. There is no known cure, and even Maomao can’t invent one out of thin air. An entire village has already been quarantined to contain the outbreak. Yet in these desperate circumstances, there’s one ray of hope...

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

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 30, 2025

About the author

See: 日向夏

Reviews

[d · Rating 5 out of 5]

there hasn’t been a wedding yet but maomao jinshi and are married as fuck

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time a new book comes out i read it so fast that i feel like a dog begging for food at the dinner table. Can't wait for the next novel.

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Need a palette cleanser every once in a while and Apothecary Diaries V16 released just in time <3

- I liked the few mysteries that Maomao got to solve, which is reminiscent of the more earlier volumes. I think the author had said she was going to revert back to those instead of the longer arcs that dragged on a tad.
- Changsha is a MVP. Thank you for calling out bullshit when you see it.
- That last chapter with Kokuyou was just... damn. I still like him, he's very interesting. I'd love to see him meet Tianyu.
- Basen and Lishu are adorable. Just get together already.
- So little Maomao/Jinshi interaction but their moment in the epliogue was cute at least.

V17 Release when? I do adore this series but I'll admit not much seemed to happen in this book other than the introduction of smallpox which may or may not become an issue. I am wondering when the series will end. I'm worried it's going to be stretched out though I will always love Maomao and her direct nature.

[JG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah so I said I’d only read Devotions by Mary Oliver this month, but the English translation of this came out, so what was a girl to do?

Anyway, the mystery is as good as always, love to see Maomao’s character development in terms of her relationships with certain characters (Her father: a little progress; Lahan: zero progress), the inevitable marriage talks regarding the Moon Prince keep on coming up (Chue and Maamei are my fellow Jinmaoers for life), and the epilogue! One thing about Natsu Hyuuga is she knows how to write an epilogue.

To think that Maomao has allowed herself some moment of vulnerability in front of Jinshi, and he admits to her his heart’s true desire…And to see how Maomao always refuses to eat first when they’re together, but was either too exhausted or too comfortable around him to drop formalities and eat ahead of him this time…Need them to end up as commoners because I cannot see another ending where they end up happy.

[Taam · Rating 4 out of 5]

VIVAN LOS NOVIOOOOS!!!!

[RoroReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need season 3 immediately 🥹🥹 I can't believe I'm done I swear I've been reading these light novels for ages 😭

[yane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once more digging how the author solved everything by the end of the book.
Again, more than any poison or sickness, the story keeps showing us that what can be dangerous and problematic are people, their malice and relationship.

There was a lot of characters again, but I was never bored by any of them. And as always its great to see how Maomao shows us how human she is through her relationships and decisions.
Her relationship wirh Jinshi is evolving!! Please get married already!!! What are you doing screaming this at Lishu and Basen when you two are the same!!!!

Sadly it will probably take a while to the next entry in the series since this volume was the Last one released in Japan, but I will be waiting patiently!!!

[stunningpages · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending means everything to me. How far one can come even with the smallest of steps but with centaincy and continuation.

[Mollie McMullan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give a book more than 5⭐️ but alas.

My only (small) gripe was that there was no Lihaku. I missed him.

Everything else was perfection. It felt like coming home in the best ways. The thru lines that have been there all the way since books 1-4 were so apparent and the evolutions of each character between then and now was just astounding. I feel like Maomao is really finally coming into herself in a way that she’s ready to share with those around her and *chefs kiss*.


Two quick small things that made me happy (everything made me happy but to limit myself hehe):
1. When Maomao grabbed Jinshi’s arm at the Red Plum Village to stop him from talking to Lishu. 1. She doesn’t hesitate to touch him, even in front of others. Oh, the pride I felt!!!! 2. When Maomao realizes that he doesn’t know what to do with her having grabbed his arm, she simply continues to hold it and drags him along. It’s giving “you are my boyfriend, get over it,” oh. my. god.
2. Jinshi protecting Maomao from “the attacker.” The pulling his sword and pushing her behind him? THAT gave “NOT MY WIFE!”


Lastly, Jinshi, this is your opportunity to find Xiaolan anyways and maybe even go so far as to give her a non-pleasure-district address for her to send letters to Maomao. Maybe even go so far as to give her YOUR address so you can give your WIFE her letters.

[Paula (lovebookscl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantó el misterio de este vol, se va a uno de mis favoritos. Y no puede faltar también el plot más general y que involucra a todos los personajes secundarios que rodean a Maomao. Sumamente entretenido.

Además amo ver como ha avanzado la relación entre Jinshi y Maomao, ver su madurez, confianza y momentos juntos. Maomao ya no se puede hacer la indiferente jajaja se pone feliz cada que ve a Jinshi (la carta fue muy linda). Y la escena del epílogo: la guinda en la torta.

[mudslug · Rating 4 out of 5]

love kokuyou. big steps for maomao too.

[Imane · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

The diet of JinMao crumbs has officially been upgraded to a single piece of stale yet surprisingly nutritious bread... We're getting somewhere!! FINALLY!

[Jesica · Rating 5 out of 5]

CLASIFICATION: 4.5 ESTRELLAS

SPOILERS ASI QUE NO LEER... O HACERLO BAJO SU PROPIO RIESGO. DEJO ESTA INFORMATION AQUI PARA SABER SI ADAPTAN TODA LA INFO EN EL ANIME (SI ES QUE LO ADAPTAN CLARO ESTA).

Bueno ahora pasamos de la apendicitis a unas aldeas incubando viruela.
A lo largo de la novela nos comienzan a dar datos sobre estos casos y al final del libro se sabe todo lo que y porque paso.
Además de que nos enteramos de algunos secretos de la vida de kokuyo.
Haciendo que gracias a esto nos demos cuenta como MaoMao ha ido madurando a lo largo de la historia. Porque ya no es un personaje que ve, especula y no se involucra. Ahora inconscientemente esta involucrada activamente en la historia de las personas que la rodean, haciendo que las acciones de esas personas sean malas o buenas la hagan sentir emociones qué al comienzo de la historia no pasaba, haciendo que creyera qué MaoMao era demasiado hermética para mi gusto.
Sabemos cositas de otros personajes.
Y el epilogo, simplemente hace que se nos esponje el corazón con un momento Jinshi/MaoMao hermoso, donde nos hace entender que oficialmente MaoMao esta involucrada en esa relación, la acepta y también la espera.
Además la relación de Basen con Linshi ya está avanzando por buen camino, creo que dentro de poco nos contarán qué están comprometidos.
Ps: Me sorprendió bastante la personalidad espejo de Kokuyou.
Ps2: me encanta como MaoMao se preocupa cada vez más y abiertamente por Jinshi sin negarselo a ella misma o a los demás.
Ps3: Necesito el volumen 17 para ayer y tambien el anime.

[Jade A · Rating 5 out of 5]

ended too soon (maybe spoiler)

I’m always a little sad when I finish these books but the cliffhangers make me so eager for where the next installment will go.
This installment is focused on an outbreak of smallpox with little bits of loooove in between. I’m so glad the story of Jinshi and Maomao is unfolding the way it is (same with Basen and Lady Lishu, I can’t wait to see how they unfold), as slowly as it is. It makes it more realistic in the way of their respected places in their world. The ending? Swoon. Maomao may act and believe she has no romantic feeling for the man, but Jinshi has become an important person to her. They have both to each other.
I honestly never want this series to end, I’ll recommend this book and this whole series 10x over. Natsu Hyuuga has done it again and I’m so happy to read his work.

[Femke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally finished the last novel! I think this series is far from finished but I’ve really enjoyed reading it so far. It’s a lighter read but still well written with interesting topics.

I also really enjoy Maomao as a main character and I’m glad the books are taking a more medical turn instead of just focusing on smaller mysteries. I don’t think we’re done with the whole smallpox plague arc yet so I’m interested to see where they go next with this.

Anyways now it’s time to wait for the next book and translation to come out, and figure out what i'm going to read next :)

[Zlatka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if to put 4 or 5 stars. First, it was nice to be with Maomao again, but... I thought the last book was a filler. This one is nice read as always, there are two mysteries to solve (yay).

The main characters don't move at all... So the question is, does the author have some overarching storyline in mind?

[✿ Axa ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least fav volume😭 the premise is just so so nothing special. Ngga ada storyline yang bikin Maomao’s knowledge on full display. Apaan yang jade elder ga jelas banget sebel!!!

Cuma ketolong sama endingnya🪓

[Loles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kevin when i get uuuuyuuu WHATTAHELL IS THIS TRANSLATION !!!!!!!!

Horror porque ahora ya he atrapado a Japón y me tocará esperar... Quién sabe cuánto😭😭😭

[⋆˚꩜｡cinnamon ˚꩜｡⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

the epilogue has fed me for another few months. I am no longer starving. Natsu Hyuuga knows exactly how to feed my delulu 😭

i think we all can collectively agree that lishu and basen's dynamic is just so perfect <3 but maomao CANNOT be complaining about them moving too slow, because she and jinshi are currently participating in the LONGEST SLOW-BURN IN HISTORY.

so happy the mysteries came back too!!! I missed them sm. I did feel like the beginning of the book was a bit slow, hence why I gave it only four stars. Still, rating any apothecary diaries light novel below a 3 is impossible.

jokes aside, I really wish I read this light novel one page a day. How the heck am I supposed to wait for LN 17 now? i fear i'll be starving again by the time it comes out, which is prob in late 2027 😔

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such good characters, can't wait for the next volume!

[Sergio · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first entry in the series I had to wait for and reading it felt like coming back to the surface to breathe; the wait for the next one will be excruciating. I love everything going on, it's just a great time to hang out with the gang again. The current status quo feels a bit too comfortable though, the major threat in this one feels like it's being given second-hand to the reader, every character is in relative comfort, and even the romantic tension feels like it has resolved for the most part. I'm guessing we're due for a big shakeup soon. Still, it's nice to see everyone be mostly successful and not in major peril. The letters chapter was absolutely a standout.

[Lizaveta Zhuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Я хочу еще 16*10 томов этого шедевра… 😭

[niezrównany ogórek]

joł

[Alhelí de Vaslez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sinceramente no entiendo muy bien hacia dónde estamos yendo en esta historia, porque hay muchas cosas ocurriendo al mismo tiempo en un mismo espacio que a veces parece que solo están ahí para hacer bulto. Y antes de que me odien daré mis razones del porqué lo digo.
Desde ya hace mucho sé que este tipo de volúmenes que tratan muchos temas son así porque nos están preparando para un arco de trama brutal, como en su momento lo fue el arco del clan Shi, o el arco de la capital del oeste (si no mal recuerdo); pero en verdad que no sé hacia donde quiere llegar este volumen. Porque por un lado tenemos la trama de la prima de Jinshi, por otro la trama de Lahan, por otro la trama de En'en y Yao (no recuerdo bien si así se escribe pues nunca he ocultado mi desagrado a este personaje y su trama), por otro el de Basen y Lishu y por otro el de la viruela (el más interesante de todos). En verdad es mucho, y muy pocos realmente se llegan a desarrollarse bien y aportar algo nuevo o relevante a la trama, yo esperaría que en los siguientes se den más razones de existir.
Las cosas a favor que encuentro y que aplaudo mucho de la obra y la autora es que nos dejan ver que Maomao ha evolucionado mucho emocional y mentalmente porque se ha vuelto más compleja en varios aspectos de su vida, sobre todo en el aspecto que respecta a sus sentimientos por Jinshi, en donde pudimos ver por fin un gran avance y muestra de afecto genuino por parte de ella. Además de que uno de mis personajes favoritos y que considero es clave en estos volúmenes, Chue, nos ayuda a entender y avanzar en la trama de una manera única.
Espero que el siguiente volumen me calle la boca y me haga enamorarme nuevamente de la historia

[Mimi Parraguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

#nomáshatehaciabasen

[yt · Rating 3 out of 5]

took me a while to finish reading this as there were a few new events in this book and was quite dry to me. I hope I still remember the lore by the time the next book comes out.

[Yoniyon star · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm obsessed and it's not even funny at this point!! I never want this series to end! And every single character is soo well written that you can't help but love them all.

Scene I especially loved -
-Maamei being a girl's girl, I knew I loved her.
-Maomao written letters to Jinshi and ending with paw print!
Maomao being treated like the lady of the house at la clan house as she should!
-Xiaolan update from letters finalllyyy!!
-Chue and maomao being besties (they are even if she won't admit it).
-Maomao hanging out with her girl friends/ colleagues on day off.
- Jinshi finding excuses to meet with Maomao😖😍
- And I love how just author let's us know if we have to remember a name or if there's to need through Maomao pov😭


“Where was the poison discovered?” Maomao asked. She wanted to know every detail of the situation.
“It was buried under the eaves of the house right near the daughter’s room.
Her pet cat found it, or so I’m told.”
“A very clever cat.”
“Just like mine.”
Maomao chose to ignore that.
Ahhhh!!😖

She worked away at the meal, intending to eat every last bite.
Somewhere in the middle of it, she said, “Master Jinshi?”
“Yes?”
“You can have your meal too. It’s hard to eat with you staring at m“Oh, er, of course,” Jinshi said, but he never did take his eyes off Maomao
Believe me when I say that this slow burn is gonna be the end of me but at the same time I can't get enough!!

[jiji · Rating 3 out of 5]

I missed Maomao so much. It was nice to read about her after a few months lol and also it was so nice to see the way she is starting to depend on Jinshi for comfort too. The epilogue was so darn sweet. As well as the dinner they shared in the guise of giving Jinshi a medical exam lmao. I do wonder how much her superiors know of her relationship with Jinshi hahah.

The smallpox incident was interesting to read. Kokuyou is a surprisingly interesting character, I did not expect that. Also I was glad to see Changsha delivering some TRUTHS to Yao and En’en cause those two have been kinda stuck in a loop for a few novels now. I hated the jade guy subplot. Waste of ink for real. I think this novel kinda breezed through several stories like I forgot we even had the Zhizhi poison thing by the end of it. A bit disjointed but in a way that is reminiscent of the first novels when you had several mysteries. I just don’t see how any of these connect.

I am hoping they wrap things up soon dude. Or at least head towards something with more political tension, I feel like the political side of these novels has been too quiet lately if it doesn’t concern Jinshi and maomao’s relationship. I kinda miss the western capital arc. I wanna be hooked again, Natsu-nee! I’m aware there’s several plot points and characters to explore but it’s beginning to drag a little ma’am please

Also Chue is so right Basen and Lisha need to be pushed together now this is sooooo…..

[Ji Mei · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a few months since I last read the previous books and I have to say, I've forgotten some things already! It was a bit difficult to get back into the swing of things and I still don't quite remember what happened in the last book, but still, it's Apothecary Diaries! I'm happy to keep reading!

It felt like we're back to the usual formula with a couple mysteries to solve and it looks like we're starting a new overarching crisis plot, this time: smallpox. I've been fascinated by the progress of vaccination and the historic research of diseases ever since I read Ooku Inner Chambers, so it was interesting to see it here. Though I did not expect such a chilling reveal for that character. It makes sense, in a twisted way, but it's still scary to think about the dark side of medical progress and discovery. I know there's a lot of unethical practices around medical research in the past but you sometimes forget it when you focus on the good outcomes from that research.

Anyways, I was a tad disappointed that we got so little of Jinshi and so the JinMao moments were very small. But I did notice the character summaries at the beginning seem to imply Maomao is definitely reciprocating Jinshi's feelings and the epilogue was really sweet. I'm glad that we see now that JinMao view each other as their safe havens. Maomao needing that recharge was really cute. I hope we get more moments like that in the future.

Looking forward to the next book!

[symik.x · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I loved this book soooo much. The epilogue means everything to meeeee. The way Maomao stole Jinshi’s phrase of “I need to recharge” as an excuse for a hug made me scream and their relationship is developing sooo well. They rely on each other but not in a sensual way, which makes it even sweeter. Also how could I forget how Maomao was mentally drained after speaking to Kokuyou and Jinshi was the first person she ran too…

Also Lishu and Basen, once again I love them so much😂. I lowkey thought Basen was gonna die when he got smallpox but I’m glad he didn’t😂.

I did feel like the plot of this book was a bit lacking compared to the rest. I wasn’t drawn to the whole “cursed object” thing at the start of the book but it kind of grew on me. However, unboxing Kokuyou’s backstory in the second half made this book feel more complete. I have a feeling the next light novel is gonna be even better and can’t wait for it.