(CR) Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries)

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by fukarming

Let's put the timeline together

Lakan and Fengxian have sex.
Lakan was away for 3 years
Fengxian was pregnant - and started sending many letters to Lakan during the pregnancy
Get despaired when no reply from the letter, thinking Lakan has betrayed her.
Sent the cutoff fingers to Lakan
Fengxian became the lowest level of prostitute - either because of economic pressure or her hate of Lakan, or both.
Fengxian got syphilis

The above is quite clear, but I am not sure about the timeline of the following

Lakan returns after 3 years
Fengxian lost her mind
Fengxian returns to the brothel and lived there as a patient

I guess my question is Fengxian made her conscious choice not talking to Lakan after he returns, or by that time she already lost her mind?

How come in 10 years no one did what MeiMei does in this episode?
Is it the Mama-san "thinks she knows what is best for Fengxian"?

Just thinking everyone will be much happier if what happened in this episode happens 10 years before:

Lakan can spend more time with Fengxian. Now he only has a limited amount time left as Fengxian is dying.
Fengxian may be angry with Lakan when MaoMao is born. But Lakan was never given the opportunity to explain himself. After she lost her mind, Lakan can obviously take better care of Fengxian - both in a material and emotional standpoint.
MeiMei falls in love with Lakan in the 10 years, after realizing his deep devotion to Fengxian. Now her heart is broken
Mama-san - she can get the money off Lakan much earlier and not take care of Fengxian for 10 years

First you have to understand that Fengxian almost destroyed the Verdigris house. As in all businesses, trust is paramount. Two dudes were in talks (having a bidding war) to buy a refined, virginal courtesan... and she got pregnant by an unknown guy. That tanked the brothel's reputation, putting into doubt the values of all the courtesans.

That's why I think keeping Fengxian in the annex was both a mercy (the hag would have been justified in letting Fengxian and her daughter die in a ditch) and punishment. It was too late for her health and sanity by the time Lakan came back, but yes, he could have made her more comfortable, and Maomao at least wouldn't have had to worry about starving because of how bad Luomen is with money.

[Alchemist007]

Honestly this was almost my AOTS/AOTY but the last arc brought it down, both for the misdirection heading into it and the unclear answers regarding those involved.

[Nachtwandler]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

First you have to understand that Fengxian almost destroyed the Verdigris house. As in all businesses, trust is paramount. Two dudes were in talks (having a bidding war) to buy a refined, virginal courtesan... and she got pregnant by an unknown guy. That tanked the brothel's reputation, putting into doubt the values of all the courtesans.

That's why I think keeping Fengxian in the annex was both a mercy (the hag would have been justified in letting Fengxian and her daughter die in a ditch) and punishment. It was too late for her health and sanity by the time Lakan came back, but yes, he could have made her more comfortable, and Maomao at least wouldn't have had to worry about starving because of how bad Luomen is with money.

There are also two other points:

1. At that time Fengxian was the only Princess of the brothel. There were girls with skills and looks good enough not to restore tob sex to keep cuistomers but noone of her level. While today it has 3 of them so no need to train the spre immediatelly.

2. The anime omitted it for some reason but famine happened in the empire that year so it was even worse for extablishment.

[Twi]

It's a shame because these things didn't need to happen. Poor communication was the root of a lot of it. If word had gotten to him he would have bought her in a hurry and saved the reputation of the brothel. If the brothel owner trusted Loumen when he arrived in the district he could have treated the syphilis before it got to a stage where it was incurable. Things didn't have to end this way, but they did.

This is the closest thing to a happy ending they can get.

[ryllharu]

Originally Posted by Xiyon

Meimei, for her part, might've also wanted to get bought out by Lakan, hence her silence until now.

Overall, I think the whole thing was just a series of misunderstandings that escalated.
...
Overall, at least there's a satisfying conclusion, or as satisfying as we can get, to Fengxian's and Lakan's tale.

Now if only daddy Lakan can win Maomao's affection, one day.

Really rooting for the dude to turn his life around

My takeaway is that Meimei isn't really interested in Lakan that way, she was hoping the most for the exact outcome we got.

It is Maomao who knew that even if Lakan didn't understand her message with the withered flower (and of course he did, he's clever), he would fall back to Meimei, becasue she's the only other courtesan he feels any connection with even though he can't recognize her face at all. Maomao wants to see all three Princesses happily married off in the way they'd each fantasize about, hence entertaining Lihaku's ambitions toward Pairin if he's able to satisfy her tastes. Meimei has seemed especially focused on loyalty to Fengxian as her former kamuro.

Meimei's interests are seeing her Big Sister get the happy ending that misfortune and miscommunication held off for so long. Why did she keep it a secret this long? Maybe she didn't realize how bad Lakan's face blindness is because he's still been able to recognize her for many years, maybe she thought he would reject an infected woman, who knows for sure, but her breaking down leads me to believe that she really never understood the depth of how much he loved Fengxian back.

I also don't think reconciliation with Maomao is possible. She fully views Loumen as her father figure, and the three princesses as her older sisters/mother figures. She's so clinically detached from both her biological mother and father, that it's just not likely for any reason.

[nojay]

Originally Posted by Twi

If the brothel owner trusted Loumen when he arrived in the district he could have treated the syphilis before it got to a stage where it was incurable.

There aren't any herbal remedies or folk medicines that can cure syphilis or most of the other sexually-transmitted diseases. There were some treatments that could reduce the symptoms before penicillin was developed but they weren't very effective or they could make things worse -- some involved mercury compounds based on cinnabar.

[Twi]

Originally Posted by nojay

There aren't any herbal remedies or folk medicines that can cure syphilis or most of the other sexually-transmitted diseases. There were some treatments that could reduce the symptoms before penicillin was developed but they weren't very effective or they could make things worse -- some involved mercury compounds based on cinnabar.

While that's probably true normally, in the manga (Ch.29) she stated it could have been cured if treated early but no one trusted her adoptive father since he just arrived and they didn't disclose the symptoms before it was too late. It might just be that Maomao has that much faith in his skills though, or the manga added something not included in the source materials.

Tragedy is tragedy in the end.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Xiyon

Now if only daddy Lakan can win Maomao's affection, one day.

Really rooting for the dude to turn his life around

The one thing Lakan and Jinshi have in common, trying to make Maomao care about them .

Originally Posted by Twi

It's a shame because these things didn't need to happen. Poor communication was the root of a lot of it. If word had gotten to him he would have bought her in a hurry and saved the reputation of the brothel. If the brothel owner trusted Loumen when he arrived in the district he could have treated the syphilis before it got to a stage where it was incurable. Things didn't have to end this way, but they did.

This is the closest thing to a happy ending they can get.

That's pretty much summed up by Meimei saying Fengxian should've just been honest with her feelings from the get-go.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Twi

It's a shame because these things didn't need to happen. Poor communication was the root of a lot of it. If word had gotten to him he would have bought her in a hurry and saved the reputation of the brothel. If the brothel owner trusted Loumen when he arrived in the district he could have treated the syphilis before it got to a stage where it was incurable. Things didn't have to end this way, but they did.

This is the closest thing to a happy ending they can get.

Poor communication is part of it, but there's also the La's family's enmity towards Lakan. If Fengxian had told Lakan what she wanted, he'd certainly have made more of an effort to dodge the assignment, or at least to come back earlier, but whether he could have succeeded in time is another story.

[deadite]

Really interested in seeing an alternate universe where MaoMao is raised as a noble girl but still mentored by her great uncle. How would she get in the rear palace? How would she get Jinshi's attention.

[Nachtwandler]

Originally Posted by deadite

Really interested in seeing an alternate universe where MaoMao is raised as a noble girl but still mentored by her great uncle. How would she get in the rear palace? How would she get Jinshi's attention.

Way later in the series a certain character appeares who sort of plays this scenario (not bin terms of ralation with Jinshi, though).

[scififan]

Originally Posted by deadite

Really interested in seeing an alternate universe where MaoMao is raised as a noble girl but still mentored by her great uncle. How would she get in the rear palace? How would she get Jinshi's attention.

https://twitter.com/NaMelanza/status...36463405395968

パラレルで考えたら、薬のかわりに権力にきょうみがいくようになって、後宮をハチャメチャにして、笑いなが ら処刑される悪女になった。

The author's idea on the parallel universe suggests that Maomao's parents have happy ending. She doesn't have chance to learn with medicine. She becomes addicted in political power struggle and causes havoc in inner place. Her ending is executed as a villainess while laughing.

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[Frontier]

Dang, now I'm imagining Aoi Yuki as noblewoman Maomao .

[nojay]

Originally Posted by Twi

While that's probably true normally, in the manga (Ch.29) she stated it could have been cured if treated early

There's a difference between "cure" which would eradicate the disease and suppressing the symptoms. There is nothing in the herbal or medical catalogue that can cure syphilis other than antibiotics. There are drugs and maybe some herbal treatments that might reduce the effects of the disease and make life a bit better for the sufferer.

It's a fictional story, in the end. We can't be sure that MaoMao really knows that the disease can actually be cured in some manner but given her omnipotence and omniscience in matters medical and plant lore (thanks to the writer) if the story required it then of course she could cure this disease totally. For good story reasons the disease can't be cured so of course she can't cure it.

In-story, a reliable cure for syphilis would be worth a lot of money in that historical milieu. Curing just a few rich nobles would set MaoMao and Luomen up for life. In our world we do have actual cures for syphilis and they cost a few pennies a dose.

[Huh...?]

Originally Posted by nojay

There's a difference between "cure" which would eradicate the disease and suppressing the symptoms. There is nothing in the herbal or medical catalogue that can cure syphilis other than antibiotics. There are drugs and maybe some herbal treatments that might reduce the effects of the disease and make life a bit better for the sufferer.

It's a fictional story, in the end. We can't be sure that MaoMao really knows that the disease can actually be cured in some manner but given her omnipotence and omniscience in matters medical and plant lore (thanks to the writer) if the story required it then of course she could cure this disease totally. For good story reasons the disease can't be cured so of course she can't cure it.

In-story, a reliable cure for syphilis would be worth a lot of money in that historical milieu. Curing just a few rich nobles would set MaoMao and Luomen up for life. In our world we do have actual cures for syphilis and they cost a few pennies a dose.

There are a few things you forget.
- Syphilis is curable if it's diagnosed in the early stage.
- Luomen, also studied western medicine as well, so it's possible that he might know about non-herbal alternatives as well (he knew about Lead being toxic, which i doubt Chinese Herbal Medicine teaches about).
- Nobles wouldn't want to get treatment from a Doctor who was a Eunuch and was banished from the Palace (so there is no chance of them earning money by providing the cure to rich people). Plus, apparently Syphilis is only present in the poor and unprivileged (rich people have their set of STD's to worry about).