Apothocary Diaries 2x9-10

Regarding caffeine from tea if you want to get the most from it then it's stronger when hot but still doesn't have as much as coffee or other drinks with caffeine

Yeah the previous emperors mother abused him horribly and beat him down mentally/emotionally until he became a compliant puppet. There is um, some unfortunate real world precedent that as one of the few intact men permitted in the rear palace that the other court ladies there may have contributed to the abuse prior to Anshi arriving (there is some suggestion from the records that remain of the time that this same sort of treatment of boys contributed to Pol Pots psychology). As a result of his childhood he was terrified of adult women. Anshi was actually the first person to show any concern for him, and while he avoided her as and adult because of his instincts it's a good bet she did stay in his thoughts since she's the woman he painted in the yellow robe.

Tea episode? Time to mention our lord and savior Yorkshire gold with a shot of milk (or even better: condensed sweetened milk)

OK since you guys are still having trouble here is the family tree based on what the audience is supposed to have figured out at this point . Previous Empress Dowager . I . Previous Emperor ----- Lady Anshi Suiren(the old lady who serves Jinshi) . I I . ------------------------------- I . I I I . Younger Brother Current Emperor ------------ Lady Ah-Duo . (Dead killed by Fengming) I . Jinshi . (Switched at birth with his uncle) . These last 4 episodes (7-10) are supposed to be the final pieces of the Jinshi puzzle for us the audience. During the Honey investigation we learn that Ah-Duo who is one year older than the current emperor, was raised alongside him as a foster/milk sibling, we also learn that while a concubine is recovering after giving birth it's the head lady in waiting who's responsible for looking after and raising the baby. In Season 1 Episode 17 when Jinshi and Maomao go into town in disguise Maomao mentions that the dress she's wearing once belonged to Lady Suiren's daughter, finally in Season 2 Episode 8 we learn that Suiren was originally Lady Anshi's head lady in waiting, making her Lady Ah-Duo's mother and Jinshi's Grandmother. Another important thing we learn in Episode 8 is that Lady Anshi was the one who gathered all the previous Emperor's victims together and created the Clinic run by women. Episodes 9 and 10 reveal the truth, Lady Anshi used to use her authority to lash out in rage at the previous emperor, this included making it so that the previous emperor's victims could never leave the rear palace and raping the previous emperor in an attempt to break and scar him mentally. However, Lady Anshi later came to regret these actions as her second pregnancy caused the delivery of her grandson to be delayed and her daughter in law to lose her womb. Creating the Clinic was Lady Anshi's attempt at making amends with the Previous Emperor's other victims by giving them better work since they could never leave. This also explains why Lady Anshi agreed to switch babies with Lady Ah-Duo, not only did it mean she would get to raise her grandson, but the second son she regretted having and would struggle to love would be raised in a more loving environment than she could provide. The reason Jinshi was forced to grow up so fast is because he was being raised as the current Emperor's younger brother, a position that makes him next in line for the throne until the current Emperor has a son, except since Jinshi is really the current Emperor's eldest son and if the truth ever became public Jinshi would be forced to become the next emperor, putting Jinshi in a very delicate position that he himself isn't even fully aware of because he's been gas lit his entire life into believing his father is his older brother despite instinctively recognizing the current Emperor as his father when he was younger . Seperate to the Jinshi Lore, Lady Anshi mentions that during the Previous Emperor's reign one of the Lady's in waiting got pregnant and claimed the baby was the Previous Emperor's, however the Previous Emperor denied being the father and instead claimed it must have been the palace doctor as they were exempt from needing to have their dick and balls removed. The doctor at the time delivered the baby and then both the doctor and the baby were banished. The mother's story picks up as the final ghost story where we learn she tried petitioning the Previous Emperor to allow her to leave but was denied and spent the remainder of her life trapped in the rear palace separated from her daughter and telling ghost stories before passing away a few months ago. This incident caused them to change the rules so when Luomen was brought in as a replacement years later the Previous Empress Dowager had them cut of his dick and balls first, then when the previous Empress Dowager found out about the baby switch and that Luomen had missed it she punished Luomen by having one of his kneecaps surgically removed and then banishing him . That's everything we the audience are supposed to know from all the clues and lore dumps at the end of Episode 10

i do like how the show touches on how the old emperor was also abused, society has a weird puratist view of victims which means they dont get the actual support they need which is how so many victims become abusers

I think that scary story host lady was a ghost. 😬

Just sharing some thoughts, remember the child swap between the Lady Anshin(Empress Dowager) and Ah-duo ?(Pure -Consort later on). The child (old emps son)she raised after the swap died from consuming Honey? Jinshi was the other child if i remember. I think that because of that info, that Jinshi is Ah-duo's child therefore he is the current emperors son, not his brother. I hope i did go too far in sharing my ideas. I really enjoy the Intrigue and emotional aspects in this show. 🙂😁

regarding Tea one of my favourite blends is a Green Tea mixed with lemongrass It's called Asia Sun, made by Eilles (no idea if available in US). You have the choice between getting bags or loose tea.

So Anshi realizes that Maomao is important to Jinshi and is warning him that others may find out about this and use Maomao perhaps hurting her to give pain to Jinshi.

Next two episodes. I cannot wait.

hey the jinshi and maomao colors were better imo. looked more cool! also crazy mic upgrade you got going there!