The Apothecary Diaries 13 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well, the ghost stories group doesn't seem to be a puzzle to solve just yet, but we do have a new ghost mystery that comes up and is solved with the crystal palace. Maomao steps in to save one of her friends in court and whips up some ice cream, earning some new orders to follow from Jinshi in exchange for some last minute aid and access to his kitchen. It'll be interesting to see if she can actually follow through and not tune out the things she thinks she doesn't want to hear.... and just what that means she'll learn given all of this talk about how she might be involved in things and what Jinshi wants her to know. Too bad she probably still only has the faintest idea regarding the tip of that iceberg.
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Showing posts with label author: nekokurage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label author: nekokurage. Show all posts
August 16, 2024
August 15, 2024
The Apothecary Diaries 12
The Apothecary Diaries 12 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Oh, goodness, just what has Maomao gotten involved in now. The ghost stories are an interesting start, but it seems Maomao is needed back at Jinshi's side. Jinshi apparently is finally wanting to reveal a few truths, but Maomao has it in her head being in the dark is the safest place to be. That doesn't seem to be sitting well with her employer, especially after the frog comparison. At least it seems like they have a few allies in this hunt adventure. Hopefully they can survive without any more assassination attempts.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Oh, goodness, just what has Maomao gotten involved in now. The ghost stories are an interesting start, but it seems Maomao is needed back at Jinshi's side. Jinshi apparently is finally wanting to reveal a few truths, but Maomao has it in her head being in the dark is the safest place to be. That doesn't seem to be sitting well with her employer, especially after the frog comparison. At least it seems like they have a few allies in this hunt adventure. Hopefully they can survive without any more assassination attempts.
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March 5, 2024
The Apothecary Diaries 11
The Apothecary Diaries 11 by Nekokurage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It seems Maomao is gaining even more attention now, including from the emperor and the dowager empress herself. Fortunately the emperor does not have any interest in her as a concubine despite others encouraging him to claim her due to her intelligence. Unlikely that Maomao would appreciate being labeled as Jinshi's favorite, but at the same time it really is true. With this new painting bit and the memories from Jinshi's childhood, curious if the paper that was taken away earlier might have also been that long ago painting of the dowager empress that has gone missing. Now camping is coming up of all things? So far Maomao keeps disregarding Jinshi's oddities and connections as irrelevant, but as he himself thinks, it may not be long before she figures him out, even if she is not actively working on the puzzle he unintentionally has given her.
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My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It seems Maomao is gaining even more attention now, including from the emperor and the dowager empress herself. Fortunately the emperor does not have any interest in her as a concubine despite others encouraging him to claim her due to her intelligence. Unlikely that Maomao would appreciate being labeled as Jinshi's favorite, but at the same time it really is true. With this new painting bit and the memories from Jinshi's childhood, curious if the paper that was taken away earlier might have also been that long ago painting of the dowager empress that has gone missing. Now camping is coming up of all things? So far Maomao keeps disregarding Jinshi's oddities and connections as irrelevant, but as he himself thinks, it may not be long before she figures him out, even if she is not actively working on the puzzle he unintentionally has given her.
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January 22, 2024
The Apothecary Diaries 10
The Apothecary Diaries 10 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The dance scene is even more hilarious than expected after the lead up in the previous volume. Jinshi really pulls it off though. Maomao ends up back at the crystal palace again as well for another investigation, this time with the "quack" along to find an ailing and missing maid until she also finds yet more banned items in the palace and Jinshi comes into play. Xing may be consort Lihua's cousin, but it seems she has a bit of a warped and power hungry personality that may have lead to even more problems at the crystal palace than it should have. Fortunately Lihua seems to truly be the better person and has had some level of trust with Maomao ever since she helped nurse her back to health in the early chapters. It seems even more people at the inner palace knew Maomao's pa, and though he was let go and injured as a result, no one seems to have thought anything bad about him. The emperor himself continues to take a strange interest in Maomao even, wanting both her and Jinshi with him as he attempts a shrine trial for at least the second time. It would seem Maomao may have an idea for how to solve the shrine riddle, not that we see it in this volume. Will have to wait a bit for the next volume to come out.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The dance scene is even more hilarious than expected after the lead up in the previous volume. Jinshi really pulls it off though. Maomao ends up back at the crystal palace again as well for another investigation, this time with the "quack" along to find an ailing and missing maid until she also finds yet more banned items in the palace and Jinshi comes into play. Xing may be consort Lihua's cousin, but it seems she has a bit of a warped and power hungry personality that may have lead to even more problems at the crystal palace than it should have. Fortunately Lihua seems to truly be the better person and has had some level of trust with Maomao ever since she helped nurse her back to health in the early chapters. It seems even more people at the inner palace knew Maomao's pa, and though he was let go and injured as a result, no one seems to have thought anything bad about him. The emperor himself continues to take a strange interest in Maomao even, wanting both her and Jinshi with him as he attempts a shrine trial for at least the second time. It would seem Maomao may have an idea for how to solve the shrine riddle, not that we see it in this volume. Will have to wait a bit for the next volume to come out.
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The Apothecary Diaries 9
The Apothecary Diaries 9 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It would seem the main poison of the day is mushrooms, not that Maomao is allowed to keep any. Curious that there are so many materials that are considered poisonous specifically when it comes to miscarriage and pregnancy when the caravan comes through. This with the clothing styles is indeed curious. What are the odds of another family having such a large and fancy clear mirror at the same time as 4 are imported specifically for the courtesans as well? Can also see where Maomao is going with looking for this "tall courtesan" to please the envoy and it's going to be hilarious. Poor Jinshi never knows what is going to come out of a case when Maomao is helping him find the answers.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It would seem the main poison of the day is mushrooms, not that Maomao is allowed to keep any. Curious that there are so many materials that are considered poisonous specifically when it comes to miscarriage and pregnancy when the caravan comes through. This with the clothing styles is indeed curious. What are the odds of another family having such a large and fancy clear mirror at the same time as 4 are imported specifically for the courtesans as well? Can also see where Maomao is going with looking for this "tall courtesan" to please the envoy and it's going to be hilarious. Poor Jinshi never knows what is going to come out of a case when Maomao is helping him find the answers.
The Apothecary Diaries 8
The Apothecary Diaries 8 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well now we officially know Maomao's origin story. It seems her game with her father didn't go exactly as she planed since Meimei remains with the brothel, but without her opening those doors, no one would have known her mother was in the sick room either. At this rate, her leg may never heal either the way she keeps reopening the wound and needing to redo the stitches. There's no mention of her leg during the adventures with the books, the little princess, or the kitten however, so perhaps it's finally healing. Jinshi was definitely drawing parallels between Maomao and her new namesake that were pretty funny, too.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well now we officially know Maomao's origin story. It seems her game with her father didn't go exactly as she planed since Meimei remains with the brothel, but without her opening those doors, no one would have known her mother was in the sick room either. At this rate, her leg may never heal either the way she keeps reopening the wound and needing to redo the stitches. There's no mention of her leg during the adventures with the books, the little princess, or the kitten however, so perhaps it's finally healing. Jinshi was definitely drawing parallels between Maomao and her new namesake that were pretty funny, too.
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The Apothecary Diaries 7
The Apothecary Diaries 7 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao makes her way back to the inner palace, but is also still working in an odd way for Jinshi at the same time. Her wounds from the last book have not yet healed either, resulting in extra aid being called in both to help with her tasks and also to watch her so she doesn't reopen them again as they kept having to redo the stitches. As usual, her cleverness comes into play in rather unusual ways finding the perfect solution for the time being. She even manages to best her own father when she decides to no longer run from him and get him to play her game instead. Rather funny how everyone thought she'd actually killed him for a moment there.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao makes her way back to the inner palace, but is also still working in an odd way for Jinshi at the same time. Her wounds from the last book have not yet healed either, resulting in extra aid being called in both to help with her tasks and also to watch her so she doesn't reopen them again as they kept having to redo the stitches. As usual, her cleverness comes into play in rather unusual ways finding the perfect solution for the time being. She even manages to best her own father when she decides to no longer run from him and get him to play her game instead. Rather funny how everyone thought she'd actually killed him for a moment there.
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January 21, 2024
The Apothecary Diaries 6
The Apothecary Diaries 6 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Turns out "Pa" is Maomao's adoptive father and her real father is part of the military. This individual also seems to "know" Jinshi is royalty, which further points to him being the unseen second prince. Regardless, both men seem very keen on Maomao's whereabouts and want to own her contract. Given her clear dislike for her real father, it may be to her benefit in this case that she's with Jinshi. Expect some chaos in the beginning of the next book given the lead up to this major accident and her injuries to save Jinshi in time. Lucky she did put the pieces together or it would likely have been much worse.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Turns out "Pa" is Maomao's adoptive father and her real father is part of the military. This individual also seems to "know" Jinshi is royalty, which further points to him being the unseen second prince. Regardless, both men seem very keen on Maomao's whereabouts and want to own her contract. Given her clear dislike for her real father, it may be to her benefit in this case that she's with Jinshi. Expect some chaos in the beginning of the next book given the lead up to this major accident and her injuries to save Jinshi in time. Lucky she did put the pieces together or it would likely have been much worse.
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The Apothecary Diaries 5
The Apothecary Diaries 5 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Outside of the elite concubines who interacted with Maomao previously and their handmaids, it seems that most don't realize that Jinshi's new employee is the same girl. As usual, she's getting into odd puzzles and running strange experiments or thought processes to find answers to things. Even some of the military personal are now seeking her aid, though they don't seem to even know her name. This new concubine also seems to be an enigma, though we only see her very briefly. Somewhat surprised there haven't been more bids to bring her back into the inner palace yet, especially after all of those recommendations to bring her in for tutoring.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Outside of the elite concubines who interacted with Maomao previously and their handmaids, it seems that most don't realize that Jinshi's new employee is the same girl. As usual, she's getting into odd puzzles and running strange experiments or thought processes to find answers to things. Even some of the military personal are now seeking her aid, though they don't seem to even know her name. This new concubine also seems to be an enigma, though we only see her very briefly. Somewhat surprised there haven't been more bids to bring her back into the inner palace yet, especially after all of those recommendations to bring her in for tutoring.
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The Apothecary Diaries 4
The Apothecary Diaries 4 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao is uncovering secrets in the inner palace left and right, and some of them even seem to tie back to her family. Curious if we'll ever learn if the concubine's and empress' babies were indeed switched - that would potentially make a rather big difference in the interaction with the other son. Due to those ties though, Maomao is among those who are let go from their service at the palace, even though Jinshi is clearly overly distraught by this turn of events and did have the power to change that particular outcome. Now that he's bought out her current contract though, curious to see how her new work will be similar or different from what she was doing before.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao is uncovering secrets in the inner palace left and right, and some of them even seem to tie back to her family. Curious if we'll ever learn if the concubine's and empress' babies were indeed switched - that would potentially make a rather big difference in the interaction with the other son. Due to those ties though, Maomao is among those who are let go from their service at the palace, even though Jinshi is clearly overly distraught by this turn of events and did have the power to change that particular outcome. Now that he's bought out her current contract though, curious to see how her new work will be similar or different from what she was doing before.
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The Apothecary Diaries 3
The Apothecary Diaries 3 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao is innocent enough she clearly does not truly understand the meaning behind the hairpins. Meanwhile, it seems the other ladies at the jade palace are finding her innocence and the reactions of those around her outright hilarious. Even a trip back home isn't free of yet more excitement as we start off with a possible attempted double suicide.... or is that actually what happened? Seems to be a lot of possibilities but not really a good way to confirm any of her suspicions. On the other hand, it would seem that the alcohol poisoning (or salt poisoning might be the better phrase?) is not as likely to be ignored returning to the inner palace.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao is innocent enough she clearly does not truly understand the meaning behind the hairpins. Meanwhile, it seems the other ladies at the jade palace are finding her innocence and the reactions of those around her outright hilarious. Even a trip back home isn't free of yet more excitement as we start off with a possible attempted double suicide.... or is that actually what happened? Seems to be a lot of possibilities but not really a good way to confirm any of her suspicions. On the other hand, it would seem that the alcohol poisoning (or salt poisoning might be the better phrase?) is not as likely to be ignored returning to the inner palace.
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The Apothecary Diaries 2
The Apothecary Diaries 2 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao is tasked not just with being a food taster now, but also a healer actually using her apothecary skills to assist one of the other concubines. Not that the other ladies in waiting seem to eager to let her anywhere near their mistress up until she puts her foot down and proves there's a reason she's there. The other concubines ladies now seem to be scared of her, while her own coworkers adore her. We also see her find poison in the food for the first time, and yet more education comes about when it's discovered one of the top 4 concubines has an allergy to specific seafood/shellfish. For wanting to stay low key, she's proving to be very knowledgeable and resourceful.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao is tasked not just with being a food taster now, but also a healer actually using her apothecary skills to assist one of the other concubines. Not that the other ladies in waiting seem to eager to let her anywhere near their mistress up until she puts her foot down and proves there's a reason she's there. The other concubines ladies now seem to be scared of her, while her own coworkers adore her. We also see her find poison in the food for the first time, and yet more education comes about when it's discovered one of the top 4 concubines has an allergy to specific seafood/shellfish. For wanting to stay low key, she's proving to be very knowledgeable and resourceful.
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The Apothecary Diaries 1
The Apothecary Diaries 1 by Nekokurage
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao was kidnapped by traders and sold to the inner palace where she works as a maid. Realistically, being able to read at all, let alone her education as an apothecary, hold far more value than the maid life she has settled for - not that she wants to draw attention to it because her slave traders get a portion of her wages and she refuses to give them the satisfaction of earning any more off her. That goes a bit sideways when the royal heirs keep dying and she manages to identify how. Now she's putting her apothecary skills to use once more, though unless she's asked to make something, most of the time that's just as a food taster for the current favorite concubine, who also happens to have the only surviving child of the emperor's at the moment (a princess). The other ladies in waiting mostly seem to feel sorry for her due to the expectation of being poisoned and the bandage she keeps wrapped around her arm to hide her past experiments with tolerance and creating various creams. The one who seems to keep tabs and run operations though seems to agree with Maomao's thoughts on not giving the slave traders any more and is rather cunning in creating a solution for it.
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My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maomao was kidnapped by traders and sold to the inner palace where she works as a maid. Realistically, being able to read at all, let alone her education as an apothecary, hold far more value than the maid life she has settled for - not that she wants to draw attention to it because her slave traders get a portion of her wages and she refuses to give them the satisfaction of earning any more off her. That goes a bit sideways when the royal heirs keep dying and she manages to identify how. Now she's putting her apothecary skills to use once more, though unless she's asked to make something, most of the time that's just as a food taster for the current favorite concubine, who also happens to have the only surviving child of the emperor's at the moment (a princess). The other ladies in waiting mostly seem to feel sorry for her due to the expectation of being poisoned and the bandage she keeps wrapped around her arm to hide her past experiments with tolerance and creating various creams. The one who seems to keep tabs and run operations though seems to agree with Maomao's thoughts on not giving the slave traders any more and is rather cunning in creating a solution for it.
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