Description

Chilly Apothecary Soldiers trying to pacify an outside village get poisoned while they eat and Jinshi is asked to help decide the fate of the village headman suspected of poisoning them. Maomao begins her new role as lady-in-waiting by meeting the others currently working for Gyokuyou, who take extra pity on Maomao for her bandaged arm and for being given the job of Taste Tester. Maomao takes to the task quickly, but gets bored after the other ladies pity her and do her share of the chores. Jinshi later asks Maomao to solve the question of the poisoned soldiers, and from the context, Maomao deduces that the type of wood the soldiers burned for kindling gave off poisonous fumes, not the food. Later, Maomao is tasked by Jinshi with designing an aphrodisiac, gaining access to the court doctor's stock of medicines and ingredients. Maomao creates cocoa-based aphrodisiacs, but gets distracted collecting medicinal herbs in the garden only to find that other ladies have eaten the chocolates ahead of time.