Initially this was supposed to be a triple post, but with how long episode 18 entry had become, I decided to give it a separate post which you can read here.
Episode 16
This episode was about solving a puzzle left behind for the three brothers was really boiled down to the deceased father hoping his sons would put their heads together. Unfortunately with the exception of the youngest, they were too caught up with their egos and frustration over what was left behind for them that it had to be Maomao to solve the case. At the very least thanks to the youngest brother’s last ditch effort to keep them together, he pointed out that their father recognized where their strengths lied, and sought to have them fill in those positions where they shined the most. The youngest was the best when it comes to the crafting, one was good at networking and finding clients, and the other was good at book-keeping, making them the perfect team to carry on the family business. But Maomao was able to learn something crucial out of this event however: The metal melts in heat. It should also be noted that Lakan has mentioned of the former craftsman having been responsible for crafting the metals used in the ritual ceremony.
Lakan has been really pushing on Jinshi to uncover Maomao’s origins, but he is sure beating around the bush about it, which leads us to Episode 17, after he “suggested” that Jinshi should ask his questions regarding how one’s courtesan value plummets to the one who know the district like the back of her hand.
Episode 17
Episode 17 was very entertaining with how enthusiastic Maomao was with her job to create Jinshi’s disguise. The task excited her, and she was committed to going all out with makeup, making a disgusting drink to temporarily alter his voice, make him smelly and oil up his hair was not a small one. She was having so much fun with it, she even mischievously experimented out of pure curiosity what it’d look like if she applied makeup to his lips– only to realize this is how Kingdoms would fall if anyone saw the light of day of it. Truly, Jinshi is too beautiful for his own good. Gaoshun and Suiren wholeheartedly agree. Nobody is to speak of what they saw in that room that day.
The trip to the district was very cute, with the way Jinshi took on the role as Jinka, Maomao’s retainer as Shuiren jumped on the opportunity to doll her up after Gaoshun suggested Maomao to escort Jinshi to his destination. Shuiren did a lovely job because Maomao was exceptionally pretty, I’d argue even prettier than the way they dolled her up when she left Verdigris. Sometimes less is more, right?
Poor Maomao really wanted to do some shopping, but as she was in the role of a “noble lady” she couldn’t really do so. Jinshi on the other-hand was having a blast, though had some trouble breaking some of his habits like walking ahead of her instead of behind her considering their roles. He really enjoyed the Chicken Skewers Maomao picked up for them— inadvertently dropping his second clue to Maomao (the first being how unbelievably ripped he is whens he was inspecting him HAHAHA), when he remarked how the chicken was much better than what he had when he was at the camp. While it perplexed Maomao for a hot second there, as per usual she decided to shrug it off and not think anything more of it.
It ended on heavy note however, Maomao was also left under the wrong impression that he had come to the district to visit a courtesan, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who knows better that’s definitely not the case. Further more there’s a reason why he had to show up in a disguise, so it begs the question of who he is meeting and why in the first place. Needless to say, she was feeling pretty disappointed in him, probably more than she expected herself to feel about it. But her mood soured even more when Jinshi asked the question he honestly didn’t really want to ask but wanted to know anyways— but it sure left him distressed seeing Maomao’s dark expression. As one would expect: A courtesan’s value comes from purity. The longer they are chaste, the higher the value, where as pregnancy would reduce their value to nothing.
