Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season Episode 9 Discussion

Im a bit confused now since its pretty obvious the late emperor was Jinshis dad,but Ah Duo is his mother?I might be misremembering but i thought Ah Duo was only brought in after by the current emperor/his brother.

I'm actually at lost of this royal family tree, but I also think that this anime intentionally make it complicated, so it's like "I don't know because I'm not suppose to know" situation. May be everything will be clear at the very end of the story, which is probably several years away.

This episode give an impression that caesarean delivery and adolescent pregnancy are highly correlated, which is not true. In fact, there's a research that record that caesarean delivery rate in adolescent pregnancy is actually lower than general population.

The former Emperor was really messed up what with being into young girls and being nothing more than a puppet leader no wonder people don't remember him fondly.

Loved the episode. We finally got some background of the Late Emperor. Up until recently, i've had such a bad impression of him, due to his pedophelia.

Nonetheless, now that i'm aware of what he actually went through, his personality seems somewhat understandable. One would pity such a being. Such a beautiful episode though, seriously.

Another great episode, the only thing I would say that´s annoying is the complicated blood lines and politics behind them. I had to spend a good 30 minutes researching to know who is who´s child, since it´s been a while since I watched S1 and I´ve forgotten a couple of things.

If anyone is having the same issue I made a couple of bullet points explaining in detail (This is a recopilation of whats known so far in the events up to this episode):

- So "Anshi" (empress dowager) was the legal wife of the "late emperor" and gave birth to two children. Child one is the "current emperor" and child two is "name unknown" (Deceased due to the honey incident).
- The "current emperor" got concubine "Ah-duo" pregnant and gave birth to "Jinshi" which is the emperor´s first and eldest child.
- Both "Ah-duo" and "Anshi" decided to swap babies thinking their respective child´s would live a better life with the other. Very few individuals know the truth.
- Ah-duo´s reason to swap her son "Jinshi" was to ensure he wouldn´t be in danger from political plots, therefore allowing "Anshi" to raise him, he would receive a more secure status and better protection.
- Anshi´s reason was that she feared her son wouldn´t be treated well and the care needed, given his lower status compared to the "current emperor", therefore by placing him with "Ah-duo" he would have a better chance at life.
- Due to the "honey incident" back in S1, "Anshi´s" biological child under the care of "Ah-duo" died, while "Ah-duo´s" child (Jinshi) under the care of "Anshi" was unaffected.
- During this time several servants and doctors were either executed or exiled, which was the case of maomao´s adoptive father.
- Something important to note is that "Suiren" (Jinshi´s attendant) is actually "Ah-duo´s" mother therefore "Jinshi´s" maternal grandmother.


I hope this helps :-)

Wish even half the people would understand this like you did. Btw was Suiren being Ah Duo's mother ever mentioned in the anime?

Well this got dark as expected. Lot of lore for Jinshi and his family in this one. Maomao solving the case in almost record time was funny, but it let us get to learn about Anshi’s mental state and the full story with the previous emperor.

I can’t say I blame Anshi at all for hating the previous emperor. First of all, her dad sold her off as a little girl, then she has to sleep with a pedophile and bear his kid only for said pedophile to forget about her when she aged out of his tastes. She never got to have a normal life or do the things she wanted to do. I’m a bit confused on her “tormenting” the emperor tho did she end up raping him that night to pay him back for what he did to her or did she just tease him into a mind break?

After seeing the flashbacks I’m definitely convinced the previous emperor was severely autistic and liked little girls because he was mentally a child himself. Doesn’t make it right or ok, but just a psychological explanation. He never should’ve been in a leadership position from the start with his mental problems. Unfortunate situation all around.

Love the little mother-son esque bonding moment at the end. Anshi peeping that Jinshi clearly has a thing for Maomao.. maybe this’ll make him a bit more aggressive with her going forward. 😋 good on Anshi not letting the fucked up shit in her past make her give up on life. Even with all its ups and downs it’s still worth it.

Great episode, good job Maomao!

EDIT: thanks to the folks on the kusuriya sub for confirming it was rape, thought so but you can never be too sure with all the twists they throw in this show

It’s not obvious that’s why I asked dawg if you can’t be a normal person and respond plainly just don’t lmao. It’s a simple question. Goddamn anime fans weird af.

His identity has been out in the open since last season lol.

No officially they are mother and son. But in reality Jinshi is Ah Duo and current emperor's son but he got baby swapped with Anshi's son at birth due to reasons yet unknown. Jinshi just plays the role of a beautiful eunach by the request/order of current emperor. He called Jinshi the manager of his flower garden or something last season.

Stopping to analyze this episode, I have one of the craziest theories, but it makes sense, which is the following: Jinshi is the son of the current emperor and Ah Duo, okay, but could Maomao be the daughter of the current Empress Dowager? Considering the story of the abandoned baby, this could make sense, because the Empress Dowager of the former emperor, possibly upon seeing a girl, chose to abandon her with Maomao's adoptive father and usurp Ah Duo's baby, who is Jinshi.

What a twisted story. Anshi went through absolute hell, all because, in her childlike innocence, she cared for the weak and pathetic emperor. No doubt, the former emperor was responsible, directly or indirectly, for multiple tragedies: Anshi suffered an early pregnancy, Luomen was made a eunuch, Ah-Duo paid the price when Anshi sought revenge on the former emperor, leading to the birth of an immoral child. Then there's Jinshi and all the young girls who fell into the hands of that disgusting man. Thank goodness he's dead.

That said, the scene of Anshi and Jinshi together as mother and son was truly touching.

Depends on how you define "official," I guess. I meant "official" as "publicly-known common knowledge," which I don't think is the case. Of course, the few people who actually matter acknowledge his true identity, but I wouldn't call that "official."

Most people think Jinshi is just a eunuch, as I understand it? Even Maomao, who suspects that he is someone really important, but has no idea he is of royal blood.

Which is why the interaction between Jinshi and Anshi was interesting to me. They're family, but they have to pretend that they're just acquaintances and keep up boundaries. It also feels like they're not particularly close to begin with, even if they're not outright hostile. It's easy to imagine what Jinshi's childhood was like, as a mostly unwanted child that neither parents particularly cared about.

Wish even half the people would understand this like you did. Btw was Suiren being Ah Duo's mother ever mentioned in the anime?

@MegamiRem no it isn't, it was said Suiren was Anshi lady in waiting.

Stopping to analyze this episode, I have one of the craziest theories, but it makes sense, which is the following: Jinshi is the son of the current emperor and Ah Duo, okay, but could Maomao be the daughter of the current Empress Dowager? Considering the story of the abandoned baby, this could make sense, because the Empress Dowager of the former emperor, possibly upon seeing a girl, chose to abandon her with Maomao's adoptive father and usurp Ah Duo's baby, who is Jinshi.

@WaterMage I was asking about the anime as a whole not just this episode. Also Suiren is

@MegamiRem yes I don't think it was said before but if it is that, then wow what a complicated family tree.

@Builder45
Jinshi is the son of Anshi and the pedo emperor, at least officially.
It's speculated (by Maomao) that Jinshi is actually the son of the current emperor and Ah Duo and was baby swapped.
You're right that Ah Duo was only the concubine of the current emperor.


Pretty interesting that Jinshi (or the child he was potentially swapped with) is the product of Anshi revenge raping the pedo emperor.
Also shout out to he pedo emperor's mother, who held all the power and let him do the things he did. May they both rot in hell.

@Skuvan Atleast someone got the message, hilarious how everyone here is still shitting on him for being a lolicon as if they didn't watch this episode.