After Maomao’s heroic save, Jinshi certainly gave her the best of the best by choosing to have her recover in his room, in his comfy bed instead of being stuck in the infirmary. That leg injury resulted fifteen stitches, and a battered face had her head wrapped. After she woke up they went on to discuss how she was able to piece together the attempted assassination on him. The officials who overseen the Ceremonial affairs were targeted deliberately (one dead, another in a coma), the tools to manage the ceremony were stolen, so they had to be replaced, only this time with inferior pieces. The metal pieces were designed with the intention to break, suggesting the culprit knew about the craftsman’s technique of melting metals, which was used for the puzzle he had left behind for his sons to solve. Maomao made a point that the youngest son, who had been tasked with creating the replacement pieces was likely unaware of what he had been tasked with, and merely remade the tools as instructed, and thus exploited.
But that wasn’t the last of the exploitation. The doctor that works in the Royal Infirmary was also exploited by Suirei, who took advantage of the fact he was in love with her. She knew he wouldn’t cut her open to run a proper diagnosis to verify the cause of death after she had staged it with her “Resurrection” medicine. The Morning Glories she told Maomao about was really a hint to point to Thorn-apple, a plant that bears resemblance to Morning Glories. Suirei used this medicine to fake her “suicide”, and then with the inside help, she was able to simply walk right out after taking on a new disguise, with her body replaced with another corpse.
It is said that it was created in the West, and Thorn-apple and Puffer-fish are part of the ingredients. Unfortunately for Maomao, she doesn’t know anything more about it beyond than that, which is why she let out that freaking maniacal laugh over being bested by Shurei. Oh Maomao, you crazy girl. She’s determined to meet Suirei once more so that she can learn how to make it herself.
Never change Maomao.
It was funny though how the moment Maomao assumed it had nothing to do with her anymore, her darn curiosity got the better of her and she couldn’t contain her excitement to investigate whether Suirei was actually dead or not. That freaking smile man.
With Suirei on the loose, not much can be done until they are able to trace her down, so it has been decided to be addressed with quietly. In the mean time, Maomao has found herself returning to the Inner-Palace, as Lady Gyokuyou appears to be pregnant once again. So she’s back to her usual routine of poison testing and keeping an eye on her condition until she can official declare that she in-fact is.
Next we’ve finally gotten to the point where we’re starting to pull away the layers mysteries that surrounds Jinshi. Today we got to see part of the process that has gone into forging this ‘Mask’ as “Jinshi, the twenty-four years old eunuch”. In reality, he’s actually nineteen, and a Prince too boot. So we actually don’t know his true name yet.
In order to maintain his role as an eunuch, Jinshi takes medicine that suppresses his masculinity, which includes altering his voice. There’s a reason why Jinshi is doing this, the bet with the Emperor is part of it, and the fact he’s desperately and impatiently wishing for the Emperor to have a baby boy already. This points to two things: The first is that he really hates being royalty, and should the Emperor fail to have any sons, he has zero interest in inheriting the throne.
The second, and the saddest part was when Jinshi was speculating what it could’ve been had Lady Ah-Do’s child not died. Despite his uncanny resemblance to her, it appears it has never crossed his mind of the possibility of a baby-swap, and he was her son. So Jinshi doesn’t regard the Emperor as his father, but rather his brother– as he believes the current Empress Dowager is his birth-mother. Actually, it does begs the question: Does even the Emperor know this? Has he been able to connect the dots and decided to stay silent on the matter because it needs to be? Honestly it makes you wonder just how many people are actually aware of this unbelievable secret, and how would Jinshi react should he ever come to learn of it.
Finally, the last point to address is Lady Louran. She has earned a reputation for how she constantly changes her style and makeup, making it even difficult for the Emperor himself to identify her. That said, it’s also worth pointing out the Emperor isn’t particularly interested in her either, as he only makes his obligated visits every ten days due to Lady Louran’s father holding an important and high-ranking position as an official, which means the Emperor has to be cautious around her. She has been pretty much under the radar since she has arrived to the Inner Palace, however these suspicious incidents started to get more frequent upon her arrival, which does beg the question whether she has anything to do with it.
Even though Jinshi appears to be unaware of the circumstances around his real birth mother, I believe there’s a reasonable chance that the Emperor knows given Luomen was speculated to have been fired for not catching that error.
I personally believe Loulan was informed that Suirei was discovered to not be dead and that even her father is dirty and against the Emperor for whatever reason given how highly suspicious things started happening after Loulan became one of the high-ranking concubines.
The sad part is that if the Emperor already knew about the switch, that would mean that the bet he has with Jinshi already been decided. One way or another, Jinshi will still be his heir since he is still the Emperor first born and is already an adult so his claim to the throne is still the strongest.