Jinshi’s search for Maomao uncovers a missing identity, but her captors may be tied to a scheme far bigger than he fears.
Tensions are definitely ramping up, as conspiracies threaten to unfold and come into the light in Episode 16 of The Apothecary Diaries anime's second season.
Episode 41, titled “Fox Village”, shows Jinshi on a frantic search for Maomao, who hasn’t returned to Jade Pavilion and has been missing for a while now. Maomao, on the other hand, discovers that the enemy has been right under her nose, and she has just started to realise the farces she has played into all along.
Warning: Spoilers ahead
It’s always a pleasure to watch an episode rich with emotional expression, especially when the tension is palpable. So, it’s a relief that Episode 41 broke away from the beautifully drawn monotony of the previous one. The facial expressions and even body language were well-animated: we saw Jinshi completely "down bad" and enraged, shaking with anger, worry, and frustration as he fretted over Maomao; Suirei experienced a panic attack in a strikingly realistic portrayal; and more (though, to be honest, her recovery from it was a bit too swift).
The voice acting was excellent, though it’s hard to ignore how 90% of Suirei’s lines came across as if she were reading from a script, as though asked to recite a passage at random. For some reason, anything involving Suirei (except her panic attack) felt lacklustre; she maintained just one expression and sounded almost like an awkward robot. Thankfully, the other characters’ expressions didn’t suffer the same fate, so it was hardly noticeable.
Like father, like daughter
We barely get to see Luomen in action, so although he wasn’t the main focus in this episode, it was nice to witness his similarities with Maomao. We certainly didn’t miss Maomao’s detective skills, since Luomen is just as sharp, and it’s clear that she takes after him. The way Maomao used catnip (who knew you could drink catnip? A word of warning though, too much of it is poisonous to humans) to lure out the other Maomao, while relying on her adoptive father’s keen senses and sleuthing skills, was a genius move.
Even the use of alcohol to write invisible letters was clever, and thankfully, Luomen picked up on it exactly as Maomao expected. Maomao and Jinshi were lucky that Luomen had been brought into the rear palace just before the kidnapping happened. The timing could not have been better. If he had arrived any later or not at all, Jinshi and Gaoshun might have taken much longer to figure out where Maomao was, and they may have been too late to save her. Not that Jinshi isn’t smart enough, but he likely doesn’t have Luomen’s medical expertise or his familiarity with Maomao’s childhood habit of writing invisible letters. So having Luomen around was definitely a good omen.
Jinshi’s concern for Maomao surfaces
Throughout the episode, one of the most obvious things was Jinshi's concern for Maomao.
But was it even “concern”? He was raging, and throughout the episode, he couldn’t hold back his anger and frustration, to the point where even the ladies he smiled at while walking around the rear palace tiptoed around him.
Our boy Jinshi is down bad because if anyone remembers, when he was a child, he would throw a tantrum and cry nonstop every time his favourite toy was taken away from him. This time, now fully grown, everyone (both the audience and the people around him) knows that Maomao isn’t just his favourite, and those closest to him, like Gaoshun, know he likes her and has feelings for her.
He also knew how Maomao made enemies while helping him investigate matters in the rear palace, and how she may also have a huge target on her back because she was close to him. So, it only made sense that he curled his fists and shook with anger and frustration. For the first time since knowing her, he couldn’t find where she was, and then there were so many dangers she could get into because of all that was mentioned: from kidnapping to torture, and even murder.
Jinshi even had to restrain himself in front of others because he is a noble and a person of high status, which must have felt bad. However, this is also the first time we’ve seen Jinshi both this mad and this worried, and it only means that he is laser-focused on finding Maomao and getting her back.
For now, it looks like Seki-yu hanging out with Maomao at the baths did everyone good, since she was the only one who was able to decipher what the second character Maomao wrote was. Seki-yu was able to provide Jinshi the most important clue: Shisui.
Shisui’s perfect betrayal
The pain of betrayal in this episode was portrayed with such subtlety, yet so devastatingly effectively, that it makes you stop and question who your true friends really are. It’s not the loud, explosive kind of betrayal that ends in gaping mouths, screaming matches, and an epic showdown. Instead, it’s the quiet kind that seeps into your bones like a cold wind; the kind that rudely reminds you of the friends you picked up along the way who turned around and sank a knife into your back, despite being the ones you trusted with your secrets, your hopes, your life.
I already knew from the manga that Shisui was going to betray Maomao, but knowing didn’t dull the sting. Watching it unfold in the anime still hit like a gut punch. It didn’t lessen the betrayal’s cruelty; it only made it more real, more personal.
What made it all the more painful was how gradually it unfolded. The episode didn’t rely on dramatic reveals but instead planted quiet moments of doubt throughout. Little by little, each scene added weight, until the sense of unease became impossible to ignore. It wasn’t sudden or loud, but the kind of slow realisation that something is off, that the trust you thought was mutual may not have been real to begin with. It leaves you unsettled, not because it shocks you, but because it feels far too familiar.
I’ve always adored how light and warm Maomao’s friendship with Xiaolan and Shisui felt. They were the perfect trio: Maomao, the sharp and serious one; Xiaolan, the soft, innocent heart; and Shisui, the boisterous, street-smart spark that kept things lively. Seeing that warm light begin to dim, watching it flicker and threaten to go out, drags you harshly back to reality and serves as a cruel reminder that even in the tightest circles, snakes can slither in unnoticed.
In this episode, while tied up on the boat, Shisui seemed genuinely affected by the kidnapping. Her sadness looked real. There was a tender moment when she leaned against Maomao, something so human and unguarded that it chipped away at my own defences. Even though I knew what was coming, that single, quiet gesture lulled me into thinking, just for a heartbeat, that maybe, somehow, things would be different.
But once they reached dry land, everything began to unravel.
Maomao threw a snake toward Suirei, her kidnapper, and Shisui rushed in to protect Suirei. She didn’t hesitate. She picked the snake up and flung it away as if it meant nothing. That single act said everything. Maomao, standing there with an unreadable expression and her lips barely tugged into a downward frown, revealed more than any words could. That sliver of pain, almost too small to catch, spoke volumes, because that was the moment she knew. She realised that from the very beginning, Shisui had played a part in this, and suddenly, even their first meeting could have felt like a carefully crafted illusion.
It must have felt like everything was built on shaky ground. Maybe, at the start, Shisui genuinely did want friends and truly found something real with Maomao and Xiaolan. But now that Maomao stood in the way of something bigger, something that Shisui had already committed to, that bond was no longer enough.
It wasn’t a loud betrayal, nor did Shisui seem proud of it. But the way she deflected, smiled lightly, and tried to brush past the tension cut deeper than any dramatic outburst could have. That quiet dismissal, paired with a joke that landed far too cold, made the moment feel worse, as if she couldn’t even acknowledge the pain she caused, only soften it with false levity. It leaves you with a heavy feeling, not just of betrayal, but of being discarded without ceremony.
There’s only one more thing, though, that Maomao has yet to uncover about who Shisui really is, and any keen-eyed viewer would already have a hint as to who she is by now, since this has been hinted since the first cour of Season 2.
Another thing viewers would need to understand is why she is doing all these. Shisui didn’t seem to be the type to be power-hungry nor ambitious. And even if the way she met Maomao may have come with an ulterior motive, it seemed like she developed a genuine friendship with her and Xiaolan. Why is she throwing all of that away? Then there's the curious change of treatment as soon as Maomao helps Suirei: she was treated like a guest and not a captive. What is their actual goal of kidnapping Maomao, then? Most likely, all these will be uncovered in the upcoming episode.
The Fox Village
Then there’s the mysterious village that both Suirei and Shisui seem to come from. Their privileged upbringing was on full display as they moved through a gated community, calmly greeting a young child and several servants. What kind of family do these women belong to? How are they connected to the foreign envoys from the Caravan? And perhaps most importantly, why did they need to bring Maomao to the Fox Village?
From this point onward, it’s unlikely the anime will slow down. The quiet, almost cosy tone of the first cour, along with the small hints scattered throughout, is now giving way to something far more urgent. The preview for the next episode makes that clear. How does Lakan discover that Maomao is missing, and how will he respond? What will Jinshi do to rescue her? Just how deep did Shisui and Suirei's influence run in both the rear and outer palaces?
Just as Jinshi continues his search for Maomao, a eunuch rushes in with urgent news about Lady Gyokuyou. The high-ranking consort appears to be in distress and may be going into labour. This development suggests that Maomao's kidnapping was part of a larger plot—removing the palace's most knowledgeable medic while the Jade Pavilion and Jinshi are distracted. With Maomao gone, Gyokuyou faces greater risk during childbirth. However, the enemy may not have accounted for the unexpected return of Luomen.
With each episode, more answers are bound to surface. And perhaps the most intriguing question of all is: where does Jinshi and Maomao’s relationship stand amidst everything that is about to unfold?
If you want to revisit insights and theories from previous episodes, here's a compilation of every review so far for The Apothecary Diaries Season 2.
