Ritual utensils in The Apothecary Diaries have gotten many fans wondering following the latest episode. After all, this seemingly small line by Lakan seems to have a hidden meaning based on his interaction with Jinshi.
The show’s 16th episode focused mainly on Maomao as she solved yet another intriguing mystery, though it also featured more of Lakan and Jinshi, hinting at some potential big developments in the following episodes.
Spoiler Warning: There are anime spoilers for The Apothecary Diaries in this article.
Lakan’s Goal in The Apothecary Diaries
Part 2 of The Apothecary Diaries Season 1 saw Maomao return to the palace. Instead of serving under Lady Gyokuyou again, Maomao is now a servant directly under Jinshi.
This hasn’t changed much of what she does, as Maomao continues to solve mysteries that plague the court. What is adding some wrinkles to the story is the appearance of Lakan.
As mentioned by Jinshi, Lakan is a tactician in the military, and he is a person of high standing. He hasn’t made big moves yet, but it’s fair to say that he has quite a lot of interest in Maomao.
This fact can be inferred based on Lakan and Jinshi’s interactions. After all, it was Lakan who asked for Jinshi’s servant to solve the mystery of the metalworker’s will.
After Maomao solved the will, Lakan told Jinshi what happened to the metalworker’s sons. He also made an offhand comment about how the metalworker’s works would look great in a ritual utensil.
This seemed like a throwaway line, but it annoyed Jinshi, indicating that there’s more to this than it seems.
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The Apothecary Diaries: Ritual Utensils, Explained
Without getting into deep manga spoiler territory, ritual utensils will definitely come up in The Apothecary Diaries’ next episodes, as is hinted at in the second cour’s opening.
For now, it's clear based on Jinshi’s reaction that ritual utensils are only known among higher-ups in the court. Jinshi even said that as a eunuch, ritual utensils don’t mean anything to him.
The fact that he knows about them is another indication that Jinshi is no ordinary eunuch. This lines up with what Maomao and the previous Pure Consort thought in previous episodes.
With this, it’s also fair to say that Lakan knows that there’s more to Jinshi than just a eunuch. This makes Lakan a character to watch out for as the second cour continues.
New episodes of The Apothecary Diaries are streamed every week on Crunchyroll.
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