Kusuriya no Hitorigoto – Episode 42 Review

「鬼灯」 (Hoozuki)
“Lantern Plant”

With Mao Mao missing, I was expecting her to be the center of this episode, but instead Jinshi takes center stage, which I’m not complaining about- it was an engrossing 24 minutes.

In short, we have the internal conflict between Jinshi’s two identities as the eunuch and the emperor’s brother, cool-headed shrewdness and searing hot passion for Mao Mao. I’m so used to seeing the placid, ikemen exterior covering the gears turning in his head, that it was quite the change to see what’s inside come spilling out repeatedly when Jinshi lost his temper multiple times in panic over Mao Mao, or lost his composure over his identity being outed.

Genes don’t lie- you can change your name and occupation, but you can’t change your inherited features (unless you undergo plastic surgery). In pursuing a lead on the mysterious eunuch, Jinshi heads to the graveyard of the palace ladies who were raped by the emperor, which said eunuch visited. As a side note- the hoozuki that he finds there despite being out of season (it blooms in late summer, around August) is an important plant in Asian traditions, associated with carrying the souls of the dead, similar to how Jack O’Lanterns were viewed in ancient Celtic culture. What or rather, who Jinshi finds there is Shenlu. The sight of Jinshi triggers unpleasant memories with the former emperor, having been assaulted by him as a child. Recognizing the striking likeness between the two men, Shenlu immediately sees through Jinshi’s disguise and calls him out on it. This visibly shakes Jinshi up. This is honestly the first time, I think, that I’ve seen Jinshi lose himself like this, and even freeze up, pointing to a deep wound that everything we’ve seen about him- the cunningness, the cool beauty, is like a heavy layer of makeup on top. One question that bothers me is- if Shenlu sees through his disguise due to the imperial resemblance, why hasn’t anybody else? Surely, she’s not the only person in the rear palace who remembers the emperor.

Jinshi’s been largely a mystery, so the glimpse into his childhood is a significant reveal, though it pretty much confirms what we already know- that he’s the emperor’s brother. What was new was that his looks caused a lot of twitter around the palace about being an “illegitimate child”- yeah, that for sure would cause insecurity in a small child. Strangely enough, that was a comfort to him, because he didn’t want to be related to the emperor. I’m not sure if I missed something- for him to distance himself at such a young age. I mean, the emperor was a shitty man who violated a lot of young girls, so that’s plenty good reason to want to remove oneself. But surely, that’s something he wouldn’t have found out about until he was an adult, since that is a heavy topic for a child to hear- was there something else in Jinshi’s history that caused that reaction from him?

As regards Jinshi’s eunuch disguise, I kind of assumed the emperor encouraged him to do that, as a spy for him or as a secret ace up his sleeve in hiding his brother’s identity. Surprisingly, it was the other way around, Jinshi begged the emperor to let him pretend to be a eunuch. Why? Also- the emperor must be an unbelievably trusting person to let his brother freely wander the rear palace, where he could easily impregnate one of the emperor’s concubines and use the child to establish his own claim to the throne. Jinshi is clearly not one to do that, with his trauma over royalty, but if I were the emperor, I would still have fears over that- it’s practically giving the keys to the kingdom to someone who has as much legitimate claim to the throne as you.

Things get super dramatic when Shenlu tries to poison herself with Mao Mao’s alcohol when Jinshi orders her arrest. That’s a huge emotional blow to Jinshi, as someone with a huge mental hang up over his connection to the creep (former emperor), to have one of his victims try to poison herself after having PTSD triggered by his appearance. Shenlu herself is also holding secrets- and not just her role in Mao Mao’s disappearance (which Jinshi immediately susses out due to the alcohol smell). She apparently had a baby with a doctor and served- you guessed it- Luolan’s mother, who was married off to Luolan’s father after the former emperor’s death. Everything ties back to Luolan and by extent Shishou. It makes me wonder- was it Shenlu who had the baby, or was it Shenlu’s mistress, the concubine, who had the baby and Shenlu covered for her, so that became the official story? It wouldn’t be the first time someone in the palace took the fall for someone else. That Shisui (who is probably Luolan, see below) calls Suirei “sister” could be a clue that Suirei is that illegitimate child. As for the doctor- who was he? Is there any chance he could be Luomen- it would be awfully convenient if the same doctor who got exiled to that, was the same doctor who was exiled after the birthing fiasco with the two concubines. We do know how much this series loves a good coincidence. If it was Luomen, is that his child, or did the child have a different father, but it was easier to make him take the blame? There’s still a lot here that needs to be uncovered.

There have been speculations for a while on Shisui’s identity and one of the theories being floated around was that she is Luolan. That theory is practically confirmed when Jinshi barges into her palace to get some answers about Shenlu, only to find that one of her maids has taken her place. Fascinatingly- much the same thing as what Ah Duo was doing for Jinshi earlier. Luolan’s whole penchant for strange costuming and tons of maids now becomes crystal clear- it’s not some noblewoman’s whim, but rather, a clever ploy planned long in advance to try to cover up her absence. Which clearly doesn’t fool someone as observant as Jinshi, who’s increasingly shortening fuse blows up on the maid. The concubine probably wasn’t acting on her own with Shenlu- Shishou has also disappeared. While the other ladies didn’t know the plot, they willingly helped, due to resentment against mistreatment by the former emperor- I feel like Jinshi’s got an uphill battle here. If everyone (with good reason) bears such ill feeling towards the royalty (a resentment which Jinshi himself shares), I imagine getting cooperation might be hard. This is not just a fight against the past, but a fight within Jinshi, against himself and his blood, which he has no control over. After all, you can’t choose your family, much as you may wish you could.

The next puzzle piece that clicks into place is the financing for the feifas/plot. Sadly, we didn’t get a whole lot of Lakan screen time, but he does blow his fuse big time (as expected), when he learns the news of his daughter’s disappearance. He even destroys a gate in the process lol. Who leaked the news to Lakan, and why? Is it someone connected with the plot to try and push things towards an advantageous deal? Regardless, the fuse has been lit, and there’s no stopping it now. I was actually expecting Jinshi’s late night visitor to be Lakan himself, but it turns out to be his adopted son, prompted to investigate the national treasure. This is the first I’ve heard of Lakan having an adopted son, not that it’s a surprise, since someone in his position has to have an heir. The kid looks a lot like him, from the glasses to cunning negotiation to get his father’s gate repair bill reduced.

The news Lakan Jr. brings to Jinshi’s attention is big indeed. Someone’s been covering up (and pocketing) an inexplicable increase in grain prices, accompanied by a spike in iron prices. The immediate conclusion from that is that some building project is in place, but there are no building plans to be found. What else uses metal and needs funds to back it? Weapons…. Hmmm…. Funds, iron, an escaped concubine, weapons. Things are smelling ever more strongly like rebellion, and Mao Mao has gotten herself mixed up, right in the center of things, which ironically, is what she wanted to avoid the whole time.

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