The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4: Maomao and Jinshi search for the Moon Spirit

Modified Jan 31, 2025 22:30 GMT

The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4: Maomao and Jinshi search for the Moon Spirit (Image via TOHO Animation Studio and OLM)

The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4 was released on January 31, 2025. The episode saw the Envoy party from the West arrive at the Imperial Palace. Moreover, they also brought gifts, one of which was an expensive mirror which was distributed among the Four Consorts. This also brought an ambiguous mystery from Gaoshun, which Maomao tried to solve.

While Maomao was solving Gaoshun's mystery, Jinshi brought a request from the Envoy party who wanted to see a 'beautiful woman who shed pearl tears.' This woman was compared to the Moon Spirit and, unfortunately, this title belonged to the old lady of Maomao's Consort House. As she had lost all of her beauty, presenting her before the Envoy Party was a no-go.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from The Apothecary Diaries season 3 episode 4.

The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4: The Mystery of the pregnancy and the reality of the Moon Spirit

Everyone enjoying the sight of the mirror (Image via Toho Animation Studio and OLM)

The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4, titled Mirror, commenced with a focus on the Envoy Party that was sitting inside a luxury room. The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4 then shifted to Lady Gyokuyou's house where the maids were looking at a mirror. As the series took place in ancient times, mirrors were treated as luxury.

The mirrors were distributed among the Four Consorts, and breaking them would cost a lot. As expected, Maomao was intrigued by them and wanted to look for a way to mass-produce them. While everyone was admiring the mirrors, The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4 saw Gaoshun arrive at Lady Gyokuyou's house, requesting the company of Maomao.

The mystery of the two daughters (Image via TOHO Animation Studio and OLM)

Hongniagng accompanied Maomao to a private room where Gaoshun asked Maomao's views on a mystery. The mystery surrounded a pair of twin sisters who were locked inside their house due to their parents' overprotectiveness. However, the house's maid tried her best to take the daughters outside so that they could breathe the fresh air.

Eventually, as the parents caught wind of this, they placed servants outside the house to make sure no one could leave. So, the daughters then sat near the house's window, doing their embroidery. However, one day, one of these daughters became pregnant, thus raising suspicion. As claimed by Maomao, the girl might be faking her pregnancy, but the case was left on hold.

Jinshi as seen in the anime (Image via Toho Animation Studio and OLM)

The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4 then shifted to the next day when Jinshi arrived at Lady Gyokuyou's house with another request for Maomao. This time, he wanted to know the whereabouts of the 'beautiful lady who shed tears of pearls,' comparable to the Moon Spirit. As expected, Maomao considered this ridiculous and only thought of Jinshi as a beautiful lady (due to his girlish appearance).

As explained by Jinshi in The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4, this beautiful lady belonged to a Consort House, which the Envoy Party visited in the past. Her performance enticed them to the depths of their hearts and this had them requesting her performance (presumably in exchange for the luxury mirrors).

After a lot of thinking, Maomao remembered who this beautiful lady was but to everyone's despair, this 'beautiful lady' had lost all her lackluster. As explained by Maomao in The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4, this 'beautiful lady' was the owner (old lady) of Maomao's consort house in the red-light district. When the owner was young, she was known for her beauty and grace.

The old lady during her prime (Image via TOHO Animation Studio and OLM)

The performance, during which the Envoy Party witnessed her glory, took place 50 years ago. However, even though they wanted to see her again, it wouldn't amount to much as the old lady could hardly dance.

Maomao called the old lady to the Imperial Palace to get more information about her appearance and why she was compared to the Moon Spirit by the Envoy Party. The old lady shared the portrait of her young self in The Apothecary Diaries season 2 episode 4, and this gave Maomao an idea about who could replace her for the Envoy Party's pleasure.

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Edited by Sreerupa Das