The Apothecary Diaries (Light Novel): Volume 3 (2024)

"The frog or the testicl*s" scene: it's like Romeo and Juliet's "the lark or the nightingale" scene, but 100% more uncomfortable.

So right on course for a book whose last quarter can be summed up by "poor Jinshi."

Positives:
- the former emperor gets out right called a pedo instead of how they merely alluded to it in previous books. While framed complexly it is in no way sympathetic and as the majority of the details (which are not graphically described) come from one of the survivors, it feels more cathartic than forgiving.

- the "mystery" that is Jinshi is solved for the audience

- for a brief glorious moment this almost became a very different kind of book. I'm just saying Jinshi can show me how his frog is more than decent any time.

Negatives:
- the vignette style before was engaging because each mini mystery built up to the meta mystery, this time is was more disconnected. It did feel like it was filling in gaps and building up the series though so it didn't feel like a waste.

Unlike the previous two volumes, the third book of The Apothecary Diaries is mainly building up tension for political movements. There are envoys from foreign lands who seem to have their eyes on the emperor, and the objective of Consort Loulan's father remains a mystery. Maomao is still working for Gyokuyou, who is currently pregnant… but she's not the only one, and it opens up the way for all sorts of trouble in the rear palace. There's a lot of small incidents and peculiar things happening, including a school built inside the rear palace and also the introduction of Shisui, a serving woman who seems to spend her days chasing bugs.

Where these seemingly small things lead, however, does not lie in this volume. Instead, the highlight of the book is given to Maomao and Jinshi's relationship. It's clear enough that he's interested in her, but she finally gives him a reaction that isn't disgust or indifference. Maomao spends a good portion of the book away from Jinshi as she deals with various issues in the real palace, so it's nice to see them having some development despite not getting too many scenes together. Jinshi's real identity is also revealed, answering some of the questions from the previous books.

Oh, and Maomao touched the frog.

Jinshi's frog.

While I really enjoy Maomao's detective work and medicine analysis, I'm also looking forward to see how the main plot is going to unfold from here on out.

At last all the foreshadowing about Jinshi comes to light! I’m highly satisfied and excited to see where things go now that this knowledge is out.

For some reason, to me, it seems like the vignette story style moved the pace along quickly but also very little happened in the middle concerning the 2 big plot points hinted at in the blurb.

I still can’t get enough of Maomao skilfully solving riddles and mysteries.

There was a scene towards the end that kind of confused me. I think I was getting what NH was putting down but it was all very vague.

Also that frog scene towards the very very end with Maomao and Jinshi in the cave? BAYBAY!!!

I already have volume 4 loaded on my Kobo, it’s not about “if” I’ll read the next volume it’s about “when”.

I think this might be the best manga I’ve read in quite a while.

Le passage de la grenouille je m'en remet pas, les illustrations à la fin c'est pour m'achever je pense.

Je suis fan de cette histoire, sous toutes ses formes, et j’ai été conquise par ce deuxième tome (qui est le 3e en version japonaise) et qui amène très bien le côté intrigue de cour et politique. Si vous lisez la version manga de chez Ki-oon, sachez que cette suite va jusqu’au tome 12. Du coup, hormis quelques détails, je connaissais déjà l’histoire. Mais, autant le dire, ça reste un grand plaisir de pouvoir lire la version en roman. En plus le livre est tellement beau !

Mao Mao est toujours aussi attachante, rigolote et passionnante à suivre dans ses différentes enquêtes à la Cour Intérieure et elle a aussi un petit côté naïf. Elle est devenue une figure importante dans le Hougong du fait de ses incroyables capacités d’apothicaire, mais aussi pour son esprit de déduction… enfin presque !

J’ai adoré sa relation toujours aussi hilarante avec ce pauvre Jinshi ! D’ailleurs un truc qui m’a fait sourire, c’est la redondance du terme, sublime eunuque pour le désigner dans l’histoire. Si ce personnage reste un mystère pour Mao Mao, et pour nous, le dernier tiers du roman ainsi que la conclusion de ce tome ne laissent plus trop de doute sur qui il est vraiment ! Ça fait très cliffhanger, je trouve.

D’un côté, j’étais contente qu’un pan du voile entourant Jinshi se relève, mais de l’autre, j’étais également frustrée par la réaction de Mao Mao. J’admets aussi que le moment épique avec LA grenouille, je l’ai préféré dans le manga, je la trouvais bien plus drôle. Ici, même si c’est relaté avec force détails, ça reste assez… convenu. Enfin à mes yeux !

Dans l’ensemble, j’ai passé un super moment avec ce light novel ! Parce qu’en plus d’avoir une histoire bien amenée et prenante, elle est sublimée par de très jolies illustrations noir et blanc… Et que dire des quelques couleurs en fin du livre ?

Bref, je suis conquise, mais avec cette série, ce n’est pas compliqué ! Vivement la suite qui du coup, devrait être inédite.

Interesanti vai attiecību dinamika tagad mainīsīs starp Jinshi un Maomao pēc notikuma, kas notika grāmatas beigās. Varbūt arī Maomao turpinās izlikties neko neredzot un nesaprotot.

5/5!!
Jak na razie ta część podobała mi się najbardziej. Wiele niewiadomych zostało wyjaśnionych i cała akcja była intrygująca. Nie muszę chyba dodawać, że scena z ,,żabą" jest moją ulubioną😭😭

This one better than second volume for me

La scène de la grenouille je hurle

3.5

Si mantiene sullo stesso livello del precedente, c'è un miglioramento a livello narrativo ma un intreccio più debole.
Sa più di volume "di passaggio", infatti troviamo molto spazio per il worldbuilding - sia per quanto riguarda la Corte Interna che per l'Impero e stati confinanti - e complotti politici, oltre che un approfondimento dei personaggi già presentati prima.
Ne escono più scarsi i casi, che restano abbastanza slegati tra loro ed episodici ma che, visto il precedente, potrebbero (e sono abbastanza certa lo saranno) essere tasselli di uno schema che capiremo più avanti.

Un paio di capitoli hanno un narratore diverso da Maomao e Jinshi, in particolare mi ha colpito quella di Shin - molto caratterizzata e distinta pure per poche pagine.
Anche se peccato che per quel caso si sia "tagliato corto" con Maomao che praticamente inciampa sulla conclusione, dopo un lungo set-up iniziale.

Ci sono ancora misteri aperti al volume prima Suirei tra tutti e altri aperti proprio sul finale, quindi la curiosità per il prossimo resta al massimo.

The frog scene was just *chef's kiss*. Can't wait so see it animated; sadly it's going to be a while. I love to see what Maomao is going to do with the new information she has. *opens next volume*

Solo puedo decir una cosa, la escena de la rana me ha matado 😂😂😂

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. This was such a good addition to the story.

The girlies will lose it when this is animated

I've been waiting for the reveal of who Jinshi is. It finally happens!!!!

This series has quickly become one of my favorites - I'm a sucker for whodunit type mysteries which The Apothecary Diaries is full of. The Jinshi and Maomao push and pull dynamic is really fun to watch... Jinshi gets absolutely destroyed by Maomao over and over (but likes it? I can practically hear Gaoshun's heavy sigh in the background)

Lots of politics in this volume which is welcome just for the overall worldbuilding. Yes it's fun and games between Jinshi and Maomao, but there still is the whole emperor's brother / will there be a next prince / struggle for power happening here as well. Looking forward to see where things go from here now that Jinshi's secret is slightly more out in the open.

But really...
How big is a frog?

Poor Jinshi.

It keeps getting better and better and betterrrr

And obviously the famous frog 🐸 scene was 🤣🤣🤣

Poor Jinshi. His ahem, turned to a decent sized frog🤪🤣

Maomao is both curious and detached at the same time. It's hard to decide if that's the author being inconsistent, or if she's an unreliable narrator. She seems to have inherited her father’s indifference toward people in many ways - while at the same time being observant. But weirdly unobservant in that there are so many major clues or oddities that she just ignores. Like the obvious fact that the scary story telling session was probably intended to result in her death…though maybe she wasn’t the target, since I’m not sure anyone knew she’d be there.

The story is inconsistent IMO. There are a lot of things that sound very clever but don’t entirely make sense or get contradicted shortly after. For example, seizing all the perfumed oils even though they previously said the amounts needed to affect pregnancy were unlikely to work unless ingested in large amounts. The scent itself should be fine, especially if you generally ban it around the pregnant concubines. Maomao is perpetually poor, but in theory she gets paid, and probably decently since Jinshi is generous. Why did the madam get paid for Maomao when she wasn’t under contract to her? That kind of thing. Then there's Jinshi playing the part of the moon goddess, despite being told before that he couldn’t or disaster would happen (perhaps that’s why they added the vanishing bit?). I didn’t understand why the envoy was so subdued after seeing the beautiful "woman" either. It feels like the author is trying to weave a complex plot underlying all the odd incidents, but it’s too clumsy and not consistent. Much of the possible plot is pure speculation from Maomao putting together incidents that don't seem all that related.

The story of the previous emperor…it sounds as if he were actually developmentally challenged and under strict control of his mother. That doesn’t exactly add up with what we know, that he periodically emptied villages of women (was it only super young ones?) and was a pedophile - here he is portrayed as being terrified of adult women, but that shouldn’t necessarily translate to being attracted to young ones...and somehow the current dowager empress got him to sleep with her again as an adult (why? Because she was angry at him for passing her up for little girls??) by playing on his guilt…? If he’s terrified of her, I don’t know how that could work. It's a little baffling why they didn't just find women that appeared very young, but were physically adults. As long as they didn't scare him, that would be a better solution if you want more children that are successfully brought to term. The empress regnant was said to have "died old and full of years" and then it said "the former emperor hadn't quite reached the same age" - of course not, he died right after her and was her youngest son, so presumably at least 20-30 years younger. This whole vignette was a little odd, because the current dowager empress randomly asked Maomao if the former emperor had cursed her, but it gave no reason why she thought so, besides his preserved body from years ago. There's a mute servant that is still too terrified to confirm that the former emperor painted (why was that a problem???) and the dowager empress is reflecting on how he once painted her, and how she cherished it (why??) and how cruel she was to Jinshi, who supposedly has a child's heart (they keep saying this, but I don't really see it). There's just a lot going on that I found confusing or out of place.

There’s also quite a lot of Maomao showing off her eccentricities very inappropriately (she’d probably be beheaded with her attitude) like tearing clothes off of the ladies to sniff them. Could she not simply sniff the clothes at the laundry? Shin should have been severely punished, as it was clear she was attempting to cause a miscarriage/murder of an imperial member. Being from a noble family doesn’t get you out of that. I don’t know if it’s a translation issue, but there were a couple of incorrect words as well.

Now that the *frog* is out of the bag, it will be interesting to see how things develop.

這集比我預料之外的有趣太多了，可能是因為這集終於解開很多謎了吧，根本就是謎底大放送，雖然知道很多壬氏們隱瞞的事情之後，馬上又有冒出了許多新的疑問，現在在這裡打感想的時間我都好想快點讀下一集。

這幾整體來說跟前兩集比起來事件的密度高上許多，並沒有一個主要的事件，而是由各種發生在貓貓周圍，或是被壬氏帶來的不同事件組合而成，有些事件甚至是以一種平淡的方式收尾，並沒有一個真正的結束，既沒有說明為什麼會發生，也沒有點出背後的陰謀，感覺上會在後面幾集才揭開真相。

然後來談談本集的感想，老實說我覺得這個系列有趣的地方很多，但其中有一點就是明明整體來說內容算是滿正經的，除了描寫後宮中的勾心鬥角之外，因為牽扯到貓貓最擅長的「毒」，所以貓貓解決的事件之中常常會牽扯到人心的黑暗面，但是這個故事卻常常會出現一些和劇情相反的輕鬆設定，像是貓貓幫皇帝進貨小薄本到底是什麼劇情ｗｗ我讀到這段真的大爆笑。

當然這集大爆笑的不只這點。

雖然說貓貓本來設定就不是什麼出身高貴，再加上又是被花街的姊姊們養大的，所以比人家懂男女之事也是正常的，但是這集真的很過分還讓貓貓講了黃色笑話。好說歹說貓貓也是妙齡少女，好歹給她留點形象，雖然讀的時候覺得說者跟聽眾的反應差異真的很好笑，但仔細想想這在現代，壬氏跟高順他們應該算是被貓貓性騷擾了吧ｗｗｗ

除此之外本集的壬氏的宦官哏也被玩的很嚴重。雖然前兩集就滿嚴重的，但是這集實在是很嚴重。每次看到貓貓三不五時就在內心裡對壬氏的身分發出不必要的同情就很想笑，像是說什麼就算必須去招待特使，晚上也沒有可以用的東西（？）還有依壬氏的年紀推敲，應該是在宦官的手術被禁止之前成為宦官的，然後想到這，貓貓還同情地看向對方的兩腿之間，雙手合十……..妳是在同情什麼啦ｗｗｗ

雖然貓貓應該是沒有任何惡意，然後讀者的我們都知道壬氏一定不是宦官，但這個同情真的頻繁的好機車。

當然更不用說本集最精華的劇情，貓貓終於知道壬氏不是宦官，而且不想被捲進麻煩事情貓貓堅持自己摸到的東西只是青蛙。被壬氏反問：青蛙更小一點吧？（這算是開黃腔了吧？）結果被貓貓說這種季節，這種還算大（そこそこ大きい）的青蛙有一大堆，結果壬氏馬上就因為被講還算大而受到打擊，甚至後來還推倒貓貓。

這段真的好笑到我還飆淚，還是要再說一次「這到底是什麼劇情啦！」。

明明不是喜劇，但是壬氏被發現不是宦官的劇情卻非常搞笑，雖然在我心中這個系列是少女小說，但仔細想想哪個少女小說會有女主角摸到男主角○○，兩個人還展開了黃腔大開的辯論呢？

當然這些搞笑的橋段只占一小部分而已。從這集的事件看起來，目前可以知道包括第一集的白粉在內，有人意圖在後宮中散布讓人無法懷孕，或是懷孕後孩子也不容易長大的東西，到底是誰又是為了什麼目的呢？再來上一集被盯上，差點性命不保的壬氏在這集又被襲擊，而且這次還是以自己真正的身分出席活動時被襲擊，所以實際上知道壬氏＝壬氏表面上身分，而且不希望他活著的勢力是存在的。不過這集也終於知道為什麼壬氏可以用這個宦官身分到處亂走，原來他真正的身分有這麼多設定啊。

再來就是從國外的特使來訪時，有意成為這個國家的妃子這點來看，其他國家似乎也對這個國家有所企圖。再加上本集襲擊壬氏所用的武器也是從國外進口的，看��之後的劇情除了國內政治之外，應該還包括他國的介入吧。除此之外，這集皇太后也登場，也提到先帝，這兩個人之間看起來也非常多故事，雖然提到先帝是懼怕成年女性，所以只會對小女孩出手的戀童癖，但感覺上先帝之所以會懼怕女性好像也有什麼重大的理由。

接著條列一下我個人在意跟疑惑的點：

1. 從壬氏的夢境跟OS來看，這個人應該從小是真的作為皇弟身分被養大的，但是他自己本人似乎並不知道自己其實是被調換身分的皇太子。但皇太后跟阿多妃似乎都知道的樣子。

2. 子翠這個角色到底什麼身分？書裡一直強調子翠長得高大但是臉卻長的很年幼，皇太后年輕的時候也是說初潮很早就來了，但是臉長的很年幼，覺得這兩個人應該有點關係……是我想太多嗎？

3. 先帝畫中的女人到底是誰？？？話說先帝害怕女性的原因是不是有受到女帝的虐待啊？雖然目前並沒也看到這方面的伏筆，單純因為母親太過強勢而導致害怕女性之類的，總覺得有點牽強。

4. 樓蘭妃到目前完全沒有任何的動作，但故事裡卻一直提到他背後的勢力（父親），總覺得讓人很在意。

5. 高順看起來似乎也不是宦官的樣子，而是表面上被視為因為得罪女帝而被去勢懲罰的人，但到底是為了什麼目的，讓壬氏跟高順去管理後宮呢？

6. 咦？原來壬氏完全沒叫過貓貓名字嗎？（回想）

7. 不管是市集還是辦學校，這個後宮感覺比我想像中的自由很多耶。

總之這集雖然解開了很多謎，尤其是壬氏的真實身分跟名字我沒有想到會那麼早就公布，我還以為至少要等到第五集左右才會告訴讀者，但卻出現更多謎團。不過除了謎團之外，我個人更加在意的貓貓與壬氏之間的關係進展也……其實沒什麼進展啦，畢竟貓貓實在是太躲球了，如果貓貓去參加躲避球比賽應該可以順利的活到最後吧。

我個人非常非常喜歡聽到貓貓亂聞人，亂扒別人衣服的時候而生氣的壬氏，還有我個人覺得壬氏腦內一定因為間接接吻而心花朵朵開那段偷喝貓貓的茉莉花茶的場景，兩個人的對話跟壬氏採取的行動我覺得非常萌。還有皇帝開玩笑說要納貓貓為妃，結果壬氏比貓貓還要快有反應（話說這集不管是皇帝還是皇太后根本都發現壬氏喜歡貓貓了吧）。仔細回想這集其實貓貓跟壬氏間的互動意外地多，至少是我這個喜歡這對CP的人讀喜歡會發出呼呼呼的笑聲的程度，雖然壬氏明明想跟貓貓坦白一切，最後卻完全被無視這點實在是很可憐。

總之我要愉快地向第四集邁進了！（還有得買齊剩下的集數）

Strinse gli occhi, doveva dirgli almeno questo.
«Se non nascondi le tue favorite, qualcun altro te le nasconderà.»
Decise di tornare nelle sue stanze.

Maomao, suo malgrado, questa volta viene coinvolta in diversi grattacapi politici del presente e del passato legati allo stesso Imperatore e all'Imperatrice Vedova. Gli attentati ai regnanti sono dietro l'angolo, e chi detiene il potere, o si trova molto in alto, è consapevole di essere costantemente in pericolo.

Capisco la reticenza della nostra speziale, non sapere a volte è molto meglio che sapere, ma negare in questo modo l'evidenza dei fatti sotto i suoi occhi (anzi, mani) non impedirà che le venga fatta saltare via la testa in caso di complicazioni o scandali. Ormai ci è dentro con tutte le scarpe.

Menzione d'onore alla rana, vera e indiscussa protagonista di questo volume. Durante la lettura degli ultimi capitoli, ho sudato freddo tanto e forse più di Maomao. Far finire il volume così è da criminali! Meno male che il quarto volume esce a fine gennaio, stringerò i denti per un mese.

I just finished this and you guys remember my review for The Kings Beast Vol.7,

Yeah that review also applies to this book. Like word for word.

I just. I just.

The hints in this series are so good. Like I think I know where things are going but at the same time I keep being surprised by how complex things are.

I am still holding out for one thing to be true and it being an even bigger revelation later on.

I’ll add more to this review tomorrow. It is super late and I need to collect my thoughts.

It's tomorrow.

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

You guys, you guys, YOU GUYS! This volume. This volume was just the most AHHH thing. I loved it! Like I was not expecting any of that. Like so much happened in here. No one warned me that so many emotional things, would happen within like 10 pages. I just need the next volume asap.

La scena della rana è sempre spassosa, in qualsiasi versione la si legga 😂 povero Renshi. Questo terzo volume della novel, peraltro, ci regala parecchie informazioni sul conto del nostro eunuco preferito. A partire dal fatto che NON è un eunuco, come scoprirà con sua somma sorpresa Maomao. Né lui, né Gaoshun. Il poverino è anche pronto a raccontarle tutto, il problema è che lei si rifiuta di starlo a sentire, un po' perché a) ha paura di rimetterci la testa nel caso in cui la cosa dovesse arrivare alle orecchie dell'imperatore (imperatore che probabilmente sa tutto e ha approvato la cosa, visto che si sta parlando del fratello minore, ma questo Maomao non può saperlo) e perché b) si è presa via per i fantomatici bezoar che Renshi le aveva promesso in precedenza. Insomma, da un lato è puro e semplice istinto di sopravvivenza, dall'altro è esaltazione per aver ricevuto un oggetto molto prezioso. In mezzo a tutto questo delirio, c'è una cosa certa: qualcuno vuole proprio vedere il nostro male lead morto. Infatti, lui e Maomao si trovano in pericolo durante una battuta di caccia organizzato dal padre di una delle consorti - battuta di caccia a cui Renshi partecipa sotto "mentite spoglie", in quanto fratello minore dell'imperatore, tutto mascherato e bardato in modo da non rivelare che il principe e l'eunuco sono in realtà la stessa persona. Qui le cose da capire sono due: chi lo vuole morto e perché sta fingendo di essere una persona diversa. Tanto più che, al momento, vista l'assenza di un principe ereditario, è lui l'erede al trono.

Altro elemento interessante di questo volume, così come dei precedenti, sono i capitoli dedicati agli intrighi della Corte Interna. Ci sono due consorti in stato interessante (evidentemente le lezioni di Maomao hanno dato i loro frutti), quindi il livello di allerta è massimo: nella corte c'è gente pronta a tutto pur di infilarsi nel letto dell'imperatore, ergo non è proprio il caso di andare in giro a sbandierare le proprie gravidanze. Anche perché, come nota Maomao, all'interno della corte sono comparsi diverse sostanze che, se usate in maniera errata, possono causare diversi problemi, aborto incluso.
Non mancano poi diverse riflessioni sulle condizioni di vita delle donne di corte: le consorti, soprattutto quelle di alto rango, possono godere di uno stile di vita lussuoso (che poi dipende dal tipo di imperatore che ti capita, vedi il padre pedofilo di quello attualmente sul trono), ma in realtà basta un attimo per cambiare le cose - un capriccio dell'imperatore, gelosie, l'età che avanza, problemi di salute - e ritrovarsi senza niente. Da questo punto di vista, merita una menzione il piano di Renshi di creare una sorta di scuola per dare alle serve e cameriere di basso livello l'opportunità di imparare a leggere e a scrivere, così da poter mirare a un futuro migliore sia all'interno della corte che al di fuori.

Con questo terzo volume, sono arrivata allo stesso punto del manga, ergo, d'ora in avanti, sarà tutta una novità. Spero che Maomao decida di stare a sentire la confessione del povero Renshi, giusto per capire perché diamine si stia facendo passare per un eunuco. Lui e pure il povero Gaoshun. La lettura è sempre molto piacevole: ci sono diversi momenti spassosi, ma spesso bisogna fare molta attenzione per cogliere tutti gli indizi sparsi nei vari capitoli. Non vedo l'ora di lanciarmi sul prossimo volume 😎

Such drama! So many layers! All the seeds being planted!

I am very invested.

Sometimes the episodic nature of the storytelling feels like a disservice to the overarching story and how it all comes together (it can feel a little discombobulated and like it is lacking flow at times), but I love the more mundane day-to-day mixed with the more dramatic. There were some fun developments in regards to both in this volume, and I wonder if they will all come together eventually.

That's another thing–I'm not sure if I'm experiencing expertly laid pieces or random plot lines that will go nowhere and not tie in to the overarching story. Without knowing where the story is going, some stuff in this volume came off a little random. Like a "filler" episode. Yet everything at least feels meaningful and purposeful, like it is being written and translated with careful intention to the point of making me want to go back and revisit small, individual moments and analyze them to perhaps the point of over-reading. So much about a character is contained within a single line! I want to keep reading to find out what happens, but I don't want to miss any meaning! I truly continue to appreciate how subtle the writing can be and how it gives you room to think and fill in the blanks yourself. It is leading you where you need to go, but it's not finishing the thought for you or spelling it out in explicit terms. There should be enough information there for you to figure it out but also enough room to leave you sometimes second guessing.

Something else I really appreciate is how messy and real these characters are–things are rarely black and white and the story never really feels like it is moralizing. It is refreshing compared to how literature is often viewed and "consumed" these days.

The slower, simmering pace of developments fits my preference as well. Though, weirdly, I'd also go for some more time spent on individual events. Sometimes they can pass rather quickly when it feels like the story and characters could be getting more out of them. Small moments go fast. but the overarching story is going slow.

Now I just have to slow down so that I don't finish all of these light novels in one go!

AMAN YARABBİ.
SNFJSNGJSKDH ALLAHİM SEN KURTAR BENİ. kafayi yedimmmmkg kafayi sakasiz yedim bunu okurken. evet son uc bolumden bahsediyorum baska neyden bahsedicem. tipik bir kusuriya no hitorigoto okuyucusuyum tabii ki seriyi co*k seviyorum fakat maalesef ayni zamanda deranged bir maomao ve jinshi asigiyim bu yuzden son bolum beni cildirtti,,, mangasini gecen ay okumustum aslinda ne olacagini biliyordum fakat kitapta okumak ve maomao'nun ic dusuncelerini daha detayli ogrenmek ve daha detayli replikler okumak.... anlatamiyorum on saniyede bir okudugum her yeni cumleyle birlikte NKSFNFKJGJF olup kafayi yedim HER satirin altini cizdim . HEPSİNİN. koca kitabi okuyup sadece spesifik bir bolumu hakkinda review verdigim icin uzgunum fakat kitabi bir saat once bitirdim ve dusunebildigim tek sey bu suan. bi de YETMİYOMUS gibi sanki biz kafamizda hayal edemiyomusuz gibi bazi sahnelerin kocaman depictionlarini cizmisler artik kindleimi butunden agzima sokup yok edicektim. oyle iste... oyle yani... guzeldi (had an entire breakdown) fena degildi (heyecandan yastigi isirdim)
burasini (bir sekilde) kenara koyarsak (koymicam) kitaptaki genel bolumler guzeldi ve bir tik daha eglenceliydi sanki. korku hikayeleri bolumu falan baya ilgi cekiciydi. baska ilgimi ceken iki uc kisim daha vardi ama kafam suan duzgun calismadigi icin aklima o bolumler gelmiyo kusura bakma lutfen. manga dorduncu cildin baslarinda kaldigi icin bir an once dorduncu cildi okumak ve neler oldugunu ogrenmeye devam etmek istiyorum. hazi kacar

Maomao is finding all sorts of distractions to her normal work. From the kitten that's invaded the palace grounds, to the arrival of foreign merchants, to the little mysteries of life within the rear palace.

It's hard for me to really summarize a lot of the events here, because so much of it is little slice of life things, or smaller mysteries, or fragments of intrigue that haven't yet built into their full form.

Maomao continues to carry the story, though. Her quirky personality--so curious and quick to learn those things that catch her interest, and so blind to anything outside it--does a lot to elevate the material. It's fun just watching her putter around since it's clear this will turn amusing sooner or later.

Jinshi has a fair amount of his secrets uncovered here too, though he's not about to explain most of his behavior to Maomao. And Maomao may intensely dislike politics, but she knows enough about it to realize there are things she's better off not knowing.

Overall if you liked the second volume, this is more of the same. Despite some of the larger revelations near the end, Maomao's personality ensures it has less impact than Jinshi might hope. I rate this book Recommended.

See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....

🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

Maomao returns to the rear palace, taking care of Consort Gyokuyou now that she is pregnant. Once again, Maomao continues to solve various mysteries, some which are harmless while others are darker, threatening to harm the palace. Jinshi, as always, is burdened with politics, this time with foreign ambassadors and their wild demands.

The volume's mysteries are as always excellently written and are clever. Much of this volume are slice of life moments, so there isn't much to say, other than it's rather relaxing to read this, until the ending.

The romance is very slow burn and the plot takes priority in the series, but in this volume, Maomao and Jinshi's relationship deepens, with Jinshi wanting to take action on his one sided attraction. Maomao begins to have suspicions of Jinshi's true identity, but goes in denial, out of courtesy towards her generous employer, or is there another reason why she's clinging on to her denial...? This volume delivers for fans craving more of the relationship, with multiple scenes guaranteed to make fans scream.

We have more concrete answers about who Jinshi is! 😁 At least... We know who he is supposedly...

Asides from that info, we of course have more cases that Maomao solves. I love how she prefaces investigations with the fact that she is only helpful because the case happens to be about something in her field. So often we get books where the main protag is randomly brought in as a consultant or sticks their nose into some business that isn't at all related to their expertise, but I find that this story is quite good at making sure the cases that Maomao helps solve actually have something to do with medicine, health, or science/experiments.

Some cases are quite gruesome and one in particular, centering around the previous emperor, is quite dark. I find that more of the cases in volume 3 are related to the ongoing secrets in the palace than those in the previous two novels, which is interesting.

Maomao, too, is getting deeper and deeper into the plots. I'm looking forward to the next one.