What about Lihau

[neilkamen]

Quote

 

Hey, dudes and dudettes (and all others in between)

I was putzing around YouTube and saw several clips about the Apothecary Diaries after the series (so far) and in them Gyoukyou wanted to retain Maomao's services

as lady-in-waiting/food taster, yet the Emperor refused on account of Lakan not being in favor of it. So I was wondering why not Lihau? Maomao did save her a few

times and Maomao did tell her a few secrets to spice up her time with the Emperor. In all the two of them have a good rapport so here's a thought. Why doesn't the

Emperor assign Maomao to Lihau? I suppose Lakan may not be thrilled and the other Consorts/ladies-in-waiting may not be as tolerant of Maomao's quirks (i.e.

enjoying tasting for poison and experimenting on herself Not to mention she is rather forward and risks getting punished for her actions. Any other thoughts?

Take care and stay classy.

[PolyTrackk]

On 8/9/2026 at 5:22 AM, neilkamen said:

Hey, dudes and dudettes (and all others in between)

I was putzing around YouTube and saw several clips about the Apothecary Diaries after the series (so far) and in them Gyoukyou wanted to retain Maomao's services

as lady-in-waiting/food taster, yet the Emperor refused on account of Lakan not being in favor of it. So I was wondering why not Lihau? Maomao did save her a few

times and Maomao did tell her a few secrets to spice up her time with the Emperor. In all the two of them have a good rapport so here's a thought. Why doesn't the

Emperor assign Maomao to Lihau? I suppose Lakan may not be thrilled and the other Consorts/ladies-in-waiting may not be as tolerant of Maomao's quirks (i.e.

enjoying tasting for poison and experimenting on herself Not to mention she is rather forward and risks getting punished for her actions. Any other thoughts?

Take care and stay classy.

I’ve wondered about this too, especially since Lihua already trusts Maomao and has firsthand experience with how useful she can be. I think the court politics—and Lakan’s influence—make assigning Maomao to Lihua far more complicated than it seems.

[teheavenly]

street view

On 8/9/2026 at 5:22 AM, neilkamen said:

I was putzing around YouTube and saw several clips about the Apothecary Diaries after the series (so far) and in them Gyoukyou wanted to retain Maomao's services

as lady-in-waiting/food taster, yet the Emperor refused on account of Lakan not being in favor of it. So I was wondering why not Lihau? Maomao did save her a few

times and Maomao did tell her a few secrets to spice up her time with the Emperor. In all the two of them have a good rapport so here's a thought. Why doesn't the

Emperor assign Maomao to Lihau? I suppose Lakan may not be thrilled and the other Consorts/ladies-in-waiting may not be as tolerant of Maomao's quirks (i.e.

enjoying tasting for poison and experimenting on herself Not to mention she is rather forward and risks getting punished for her actions. Any other thoughts?

Personally, I don't think Lihua is a bad option at all. If anything, she's probably one of the safer choices from Maomao's perspective. But in the Inner Palace, the “sensible” choice isn't always the politically safest one.

The bigger problem is probably politics rather than compatibility. Assigning Maomao to Lihua would still put her directly inside the inner palace, where her connection to Lakan and her unusual background could create problems. The Emperor also has to consider how the other consorts might interpret the appointment.

There is also the question of whether Maomao would even be happy with the arrangement. She tends to value freedom and interesting problems more than status, and being permanently attached to one consort would put more restrictions on her.