Kusuriya no Hitorigoto Episode 13 Recap & Characters (Spoiler-Free)

Episode Summary

Serving in the Outer Court

Maomao recalls her previous service and accepts a new post, being assigned to Jinshi's residence in the outer court. Suiren introduces the household.

Female officials in the outer court challenge her position, and she is later defeated on the examination and becomes a maid attending Jinshi's rooms. The episode closes with her trespassing into an area belonging to the military.

• Return to employment

  Having given in to the lure of the caterpillar fungus Jinshi brought, Maomao packs to return to palace service as Meimei, Joka, and Pairin send her off with gifts and advice.

• Arrival at Jinshi's residence

  She learns her workplace is Jinshi's residence, meets Suiren, and is shown her room and the household routine.

• Outer court orientation

  Gaoshun guides her through the outer court and warns her to avoid the eastern area frequented by military officers.

• Confrontation with female officials

  Several female officials question her role; Maomao deflects with the claim that Jinshi merely pitied her, and Jinshi later questions her treatment.

• Examination failure and trespass

  Maomao fails the examination and becomes a maid for Jinshi's rooms, then is struck after entering a military-owned area.

Recent Timeline

• Bullying exposed through tea and archive records (Episode 10)

  Gyokuyo hosted Riishu for tea, and Riishu's aversion to honey, together with an attendant's complaint about her pickiness, confirmed the bullying was real. Maomao then learned Riishu had been told as an infant that honey nearly killed her, and that her attendants kept her isolated from outsiders. Searching court archives, Maomao found Aaduo had borne the future emperor a son seventeen years earlier, and that Aaduo and the emperor shared a wet nurse. An infant's death sixteen years earlier led her to examine who attended that birth.

• Fengming's confession and Aaduo's departure (Episode 11)

  Fengming surrendered to Jinshi, claiming she acted to preserve Aaduo's rank, and was executed afterward. Her confession closed the matter of the poisoned soup. Aaduo left for a southern detached palace on the previously decided schedule, unconnected to the poisoning, and returned her consort's crown for a later-arriving consort.

• Fallout for Fengming's kin and Maomao's dismissal (Episode 12)

  Fengming's relatives lost their property and received corporal punishment, while Aaduo escaped punishment since Fengming alone was held responsible. Maomao was caught in the mass dismissal because her purchasers were tied to Fengming's family business. Jinshi took her reply as a wish to leave and dismissed her with generous compensation, and she returned to the pleasure district the following week. At a banquet hosted by a high court official, Maomao recognized Jinshi's voice; he offered to buy out her debt, and she agreed only to fingertip contact.

• Reassignment to Jinshi's residence (Episode 13)

  Maomao was assigned to Jinshi's residence rather than the rear palace, since her dismissal prevented an easy return. Suiren explained the division between the office wing and Jinshi's private quarters. Several female officials in the outer court challenged her direct service to Jinshi, and after her blunt remark worsened the dispute, she claimed Jinshi employed her out of compassion, and they left.

• Failed examination and assignment as maid (Episode 13)

  Maomao failed the examination for female officials. She was instead assigned as a maid to Jinshi's rooms, ending the plan for her to serve as an official.

Character Graph

Gyokuyo

Rear palace

Consort favored by the emperor, mother of a surviving princess (Lingli); received a warning about face powder and appointed Maomao as a lady-in-waiting.

• Role

  Mother of the surviving princess Lingli, favored by the emperor

• Maomao (Hierarchy, Affinity)

  Thanks Maomao for saving Lingli and appoints her as a lady-in-waiting

Hongniang

head attendant

Gyokuyo's head attendant who showed Maomao around the Jade Pavilion.

• Staged pottery test

  Revealed that pottery had deliberately been used instead of silver at Jinshi's suggestion to test Maomao.

• Gyokuyo (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Head attendant to Gyokuyo at the Jade Pavilion.

• Maomao (Hierarchy, Mixed)

  Introduced herself and granted Maomao hazard pay, while having staged the pottery test on her.

Emperor

The emperor, who favors Gyokuyo and once, on a visit to the Jade Pavilion, asked Maomao to tend Rifa's worsening condition at the Crystal Pavilion. He has since reminded Jinshi that his task is to tend the emperor's "flower garden", the rear palace, and Jinshi bowed to his will.

• Maomao (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Maomao accepted his request as an order to cure Rifa and feared the consequences of refusing.

Maomao

Rear palace

Apothecary raised in the pleasure district who was sold into the rear palace, rose to be Gyokuyo's food taster and lady-in-waiting, and was dismissed in the purge. Jinshi has brought her back to work in the outer court, and after failing the female officials' exam she serves as the maid of his own rooms.

• Start in the rear palace

  Began as a lowly servant in the rear palace before Gyokuyo appointed her lady-in-waiting

• After dismissal

  Worked part-time in the pleasure district after her dismissal and told Jinshi that serving in the rear palace again would not be bad.

• Gyokuyo (Hierarchy, Affinity)

  Her former mistress, who made her food taster and lady-in-waiting after her anonymous warning saved Lingli; Maomao served her until the purge dismissed her.

• Jinshi (Other, Mentor, Hierarchy, Colleague, Mixed)

  Her employer: he brought her back to his residence instead of the rear palace and pushed her to sit the female officials' exam; after she failed, she became the maid of his rooms, wary of the attention he draws.

• Gaoshun (Colleague, Affinity)

  Asks her to forgive Jinshi's teasing and offers to search the court archives for her investigation.

Gaoshun

attendant to Jinshi

Jinshi's attendant and aide, who has dealt with Maomao since her rear-palace days. He explained that she could not simply return to the rear palace, so she would work in the outer court, and showed her around it, warning her away from the military's eastern quarter.

• Warning on misuse

  Warned that Maomao's medicinal knowledge could also be misused.

• Outer court placement

  Gaoshun explains why Maomao cannot return to her former post and guides her through the outer court, warning her away from the eastern military area.

• Jinshi (Hierarchy, Affinity)

  Attends Jinshi as his attendant and reported where the village meal came from.

• Maomao (Colleague, Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Jinshi's aide who has dealt with her since her rear palace days and once warned her against misusing her knowledge; he explained why she could not return to the rear palace and showed her around the outer court.

Jinshi

Rear palace

Beautiful eunuch who administers the rear palace and first brought Maomao into Gyokuyo's service. After her dismissal he brought her back to work at his own residence in the outer court, where she now serves as the maid of his rooms after failing the exam he wanted her to take.

• Role

  Introduces himself as the rear palace administrator

• Displeasure with Maomao

  Complained that Maomao had not approached him despite his gift, and pressed her on whether she had paid Lihaku instead.

• Stance toward Maomao

  Feared that keeping her somewhere against her wishes would deepen the distance between them, and later offered to buy her out.

• Employment of Maomao

  Pushed Maomao to sit the female officials' exam and pressed her to study; she failed it and became the maid of his rooms.

• Maomao (Other, Hierarchy, Mentor, Colleague, Mixed)

  Brought her to his residence instead of the rear palace and pushed her to study for the female officials' exam; after she failed, he kept her as the maid of his rooms.

Pairin

Pairin prepares Maomao for her departure and hopes she will bring back a wealthy patron.

• Departure preparations

  Pairin assures Jinshi that Maomao was carefully prepared for the occasion and hopes she will return with a vigorous, wealthy patron.

• Maomao (Friend, Affinity)

  Pairin looks out for Maomao's preparations and wishes her success in earning.

Ruomen

Maomao's father, an apothecary in the pleasure district who taught her medicine. Before she left to serve again, he warned her that carrying medical tools into the palace without being a medical officer would invite suspicion, and admitted he would miss her.

• Expulsion

  Driven out of the rear palace after the delivery failures and the child's death.

• Advice before palace entry

  Ruomen warns Maomao that carrying pharmaceutical equipment into the palace without being a medical officer may draw suspicion, and urges her to seek permission gradually.

• Maomao (Family, Friend, Affinity)

  Her father and teacher in medicine. He took her back after her dismissal, and before she returned to palace service he warned her about bringing in medical tools and admitted he would miss her.

Suiren

Jinshi's household staff

Suiren welcomes Maomao to Jinshi's residence and explains the division between the office wing and his private quarters.

• Private quarters duty

  Suiren is the only attendant managing Jinshi's private rooms because previous attendants did not last.

• Jinshi (Hierarchy, Neutral)

  Suiren serves Jinshi as attendant in his private quarters.

• Maomao (Colleague, Affinity)

  Suiren gladly accepts Maomao's offer of help with the private rooms.

World Memo

• Proposed drinking age prohibition

  A proposal is under discussion to prohibit drinking before the age of twenty.

• Craftsman wall projections on rear palace wall

  The rear palace wall has projections apparently used by craftsmen, which would make an unaided climb possible in principle.

Clue Board

• Jinshi may have tested Maomao with drugged food (Episode 2)

  Maomao suspected that Jinshi had knowingly tried to make her eat the drugged bun, a question left unresolved in this episode.

• Maomao's reading of Fuyo's sleepwalking (Episode 3)

  At first Maomao wondered whether distress over being given away had caused Fuyo's sleepwalking. Later she told Gyokuyo her conclusion: like a courtesan she once knew, Fuyo faked it so the emperor would not be tempted to keep her before she was handed to the officer. Maomao stressed it was only conjecture, and Fuyo never confirmed it.

• Swap of Gyokuyo's and Riishu's meals (Episode 7)

  A dish normally made with oily fish contained jellyfish, showing that Gyokuyo's and Riishu's meals had been exchanged. Riishu's food taster had switched them on purpose to bully Riishu, unaware of the poison, and Fengming has now confessed that the poison was meant for Riishu.

• Riishu's outfit as deliberate embarrassment (Episode 7)

  Maomao conjectures that Riishu's attendants deliberately let her wear a bright pink outfit too similar to Gyokuyo's to embarrass her. A flashback of criticism over the clothing, which Maomao reads as Aaduo's attendants rebuking Riishu's attendants, supports the suspicion; it remains unconfirmed.

• Attendant's possible foreknowledge (Episode 8)

  Maomao suspects the young attendant sought an absent apothecary to delay help and may have known the courtesan would survive, though she questions whether she is overthinking it.

• Courtesan as the attempted killer (Episode 8)

  Maomao reasons that the courtesan used tobacco-infused liquor, with two liquors of different densities layered so she drank only the safe lower layer through a straw, then drank a small amount of the poisoned upper layer herself, calculating that the man would die while she survived; Maomao's treatment saved them both. This remains her hypothesis, not a confirmed answer.

• Unknown salter of the drink (Episode 9)

  Maomao did not name who added the salt. She suggested that someone may have changed the sweet wine to suit their taste or repeatedly salted the drink as a malicious prank, and privately admitted she had effectively pointed toward a culprit.

• Burned garment and wooden tablet (Episode 10)

  A worker burned palace refuse and found a woman's garment with a scorched sleeve and a wooden tablet, then threw them into the fire; his hand trouble and the flames were taken as a curse, and Maomao suspects something on the tablet irritated his skin and may carry a secret message.

  Maomao names Fengming as a possible outside communicator, citing the bandage on her left wrist and the colored wooden slips wrapped in a scorched garment; she suspects differently colored flames may be a code, while noting Fengming's gentle manner proves nothing.

• Infant death tied to Maomao's father (Episode 10)

  A record of an infant's death sixteen years earlier led Maomao to her father, a former eunuch with exceptional medical skill. She has now confirmed that her adoptive father Ruomen, then a palace physician, attended Aaduo's delivery and was expelled after a series of failures.

• Drowned servant's uncertain death (Episode 11)

  A kitchen servant was found drowned in the outer moat and the guards believed she jumped from the wall. Maomao could not determine suicide, doubted she could climb the high wall alone, and believed she entered the water alive. The case was later closed as suicide after a farewell note was found, though she had been present at the garden party poisoning incident.

  Maomao concluded the drowned maid killed herself and suspected Fengming helped arrange it to divert suspicion from Aaduo.

• Rumored courtesan buyout (Episode 13)

  A rumor circulated that the rear palace administrator had bought out a courtesan from the Verdigris House; its truth remains unconfirmed.

• Hair-sewn underwear (Episode 13)

  Suiren found unfamiliar underwear sewn with human hair in the private rooms, an unexplained find that compounds the difficulty of keeping attendants.

Deduction Board

Facts

• Maid's death ruled suicide

  Maomao concluded that the drowned maid had killed herself.

• Business connections reach Maomao

  Gaoshun reported that Fengming's family's business connections extended to roughly eighty women in the rear palace, including Maomao through the people who had bought her after her abduction.

• Forbidden area identified as military

  Maomao was struck and warned she had entered a place forbidden to her; she identified the area as belonging to the military from the sandalwood and distinctive bitter smell.

Evidence

• Aaduo lamented suffering in cold water

  Aaduo's lament about suffering in cold water prompted Maomao's conclusion.

• Registered family is a trading household

  Maomao remembered that her registered family was a trading household.

• Sandalwood and bitter smell

  The scent of sandalwood and a distinctive bitter smell led Maomao to identify the area as military.

Inferences

• Possible motive tied to Aaduo

  Xiaolan wondered whether the servant acted for Aaduo, who was rumored to be losing her position to a younger consort.

• Fengming may have arranged the suicide

  Maomao suspected Fengming might have helped arrange the death to divert suspicion from Aaduo.

• Possible dealings with Fengming's beekeeping family

  Maomao suspected her registered family might have dealings with Fengming's beekeeping family.

Suspicions

• Possible murder

  Maomao would not conclude the death was murder, leaving open whether it was suicide or murder.

• Link to garden party poisoning

  The drowned servant had been present during the garden party poisoning incident, and a farewell note led the case to be closed as suicide.

• Aaduo's position as motive

  Maomao reasoned that removing Riishu could protect Aaduo's position before a new consort arrived, since the emperor did not visit Riishu.

Season Summary

Season 1 — Season 1

Episodes 1–13

Maomao, an apothecary raised in the pleasure district, is kidnapped and sold into the rear palace. After her anonymous warning about poisonous face powder saves Gyokuyo's daughter, she is made Gyokuyo's food taster and lady-in-waiting and solves one poisoning after another among the consorts, until Fengming, Aaduo's head lady-in-waiting, confesses and is executed. Caught up in the purge that follows, Maomao is dismissed and returns to the pleasure district.

Jinshi soon brings her back, but to his own residence in the outer court rather than the rear palace. She clashes with jealous female officials, fails the exam Jinshi wanted her to take, and becomes the maid of his rooms under Suiren, and she is struck after straying into a military area.

Music Releases

• Ambivalent (OP)
• Ai wa Kusuri (ED)