When Maomao wakes up on her first morning home, it takes her a beat to remember she actually is home; the chickens certainly leave no doubt. Before she’s fully awake, she’s being led briskly to a brothel by a serving girl to a medical emergency.
A courtesan and her client appear to have been poisoned. I love how Maomao slaps her cheeks, puts up her hair to get into Apothecary Mode, which in this case is a role more akin to a paramedic. I also love how she is in complete control of the situation, and no one there doubts her authority.
With chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth, she’s able to stabilize both patients. But then there’s the matter of the crime scene, which is like catnip to a detective like Maomao, and the serving girl, whose glare we noticed last week and again here courts suspicion.
We learn that Maomao’s decuctive skills come from her far more experienced father. She also happens to see the door to the recovering client ajar, and finds the serving girl there trying to finish the job with a dagger.
When a courtesan interrupts their scuffle, she tells the story of how the client is a troublesome jerk who dangles buyouts over girls before dumping them at the last minute. It’s implied that the serving girl’s big sister took her life when she was dumped the day she was to be bought out.
This gives Maomao context, but something in the case is still missing, for the client was on guard after previous attempts to off him. Her father tells her “it’s over”, meaning the case, but not for Detective Maomao.
Maomao eventually determines that the courtesan attempted to murder her client by making use of the different viscosity of poison and non-poisoned drink, and the tendency for courtesans to use wheat stalk straws to avoid staining cups with their lipstick.
The courtesan drank first to gain the clients trust, then drank a little after he collapsed in order to make it look like a double suicide. The madame paid her and her father well, including hush money, because a wealthy merchant’s son’s death would have hurt their business.
As she walks through the red-light district, she regards it as really not much different from the inner palace: a garden and a cage, seething with poison taken and administered for varying purposes.
She also acknowledges she’s probably overthinking things, and has a relaxing bath and later joined by her nee-san Meimei. What the “annex” is and why Meimei tells Maomao to stop by, I have no idea.
Speaking of sweet poison, Pairin has a thoroughly satisfied Lihaku’s arm firmly lodged in her bosom when Maomao arrives to meet with him so they can return home. No doubt despite the exorbitant costs, he’ll be a returning customer and source of profits for the Verdigris House.
Jinshi’s demeanor is as you’d expect of someone who not only heard nothing of Maomao’s trip home until she was already gone, but how she facilitated that trip. He has her meet with him privately, and asks about Lihaku. It’s at this point I remind everyone who isn’t sure what the hairpins are really about to take comfort in knowing that Maomao doesn’t either!
While Maomao was pragmatic in spending the hairpin of the lower-ranked Lihaku, Jinshi is clearly miffed that she didn’t rely on him, even though Maomao notes it would have meant more trouble for him. Jinshi also gets the impression that Lihaku stole a march on him in the romantic/physical sense.
Maomao does nothing to disabuse him of this by saying, in these exact words, she “granted him a night of blissful dreams,” and is “proud of herself” for “working hard.” Mind you, she’s not trying to mess with him or make him jealous; from her perspective she’s describing her slick brokering job with Verdigris.
Of course, Jinshi gets the impression she slept with Lihaku, resulting in him freezing in shock and shattering his tea cup. After helping him clean up Maomao exits his office to find Gaoshun, a pissed Honnyan, and most importantly Gyokuyou, who is belly laughing her ass off at Jinshi’s misunderstanding. And whenever Gyokuyou is laughing, I’m happy.
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