History Literature / TheApothecaryDiaries

** Following on from that, Consort Lishu is held in distain and bullied by her ladies in waiting because she was a consort of the late previous emperor and is now a consort of the current one, having not only married her 'son-in-law' (which ''is'' admittedly odd to modern viewers) but also ''having married again after being widowed.'' Never mind the fact that in ''both'' cases Lishu had no say in the matter, but still gets hate for it.

* FamilyExtermination: High crimes, especially those against the imperial family, will almost definitely result in this punishment for the offender and their families, even the children. Many clans throughout the history of Li have fallen this way if treasonous actions were ever uncovered.

** The Yi clan

* UnequalPairing: What Maomao and Jinshi are eventually teased as, to Jinshi's frustration. Him being a noble, [[spoiler:let alone the crown prince]] makes whatever relationship he wants to have with Maomao infinitely more difficult, and Maomao's all too happy to point this out. [[spoiler:She does say later on that she would accept a proposal from him, but just as easily admits that she knows how to handle herself so he won't have any [[RoyalBastard royal complications]]--when all he wants with her is a baby.]]

* AltarDiplomacy: Frequently seen, given the type of setting this is. Most people in this story get married for for strategic reasons over love, and that becomes truer the higher status someone is. For those of nobility, Marrying someone because they're in love with them is a luxury few have the option of.

* CPRCleanPrettyReliable: Mostly subverted in Volume 1 of the Light Novel/Episode 8 of the anime. Maomao and a courtesan recuscitate two victims of poisoning in this manner and apart from the fact both patients are revived with little other assistance, it's played pretty realistically in showing how messy the process can be.
** Played straight in Volume 3 of the novel where Maomao [[spoiler: gets revived by Jinshi via mouth-to-mouth in a KissOfLife manner after nearly drowning]].

** Played straight in Volume 3 of the novel where Maomao [[gets revived by Jinshi via mouth-to-mouth in a KissOfLife manner after nearly drowning]].

** Maomao and Jinshi's relationship is rife with this, as they frequently fail to tell each other things properly or misread each other. One of the more dire examples happens in volume 5 when [[spoiler: Jinshi in a fit of jealousy over someone kissing her hand nearly forces himself onto Maomao while failing to listen to her explanation that it had been a formality. Maomao being ConditionedToAcceptHorror and all too aware that Jinshi both outranks her and is stronger than her, decides it's better to submit to him and kisses him instead of trying to reason with him. Her upbringing made her very skilled at romantic acts like kissing, resulting in Jinshi finding himself stunned and feeling inferior to her, not comprehending the reality that she was responding in terror rather than trying to look down on him]].

** Episode 24 features "Omoi Saku Toki" by Aoiema, which plays as Maomao dances on top of the castle wall.

* KarmaHoudini: For all she had done, [[spoiler:Suirei is getting away scot-free due to being blood-related to the imperial family]]. Although to be fair she is merely a pawn of her stepmother.

* NoAntagonist: The story doesn't have a clear antagonist or villain. Many of the terrible deeds that some of the characters did, such as [[spoiler:Fengming]] or Lihua's servants, were unconsciously or accidental rather than true malice. The story is simply a running plotline of following the lives of Maomao and the people she encounters as she gets swept up in various mysteries and political drama and using her skills in to navigate these situations, even as those situations increasingly complicate her life far more than she ever wanted.

* NoAntagonist: The story doesn't have a clear antagonist or villain. Many of the terrible deeds that some of the characters did, such as [[spoiler:Fengming]] or Lihua's servants, were unconsciously or accidental rather than true malice. The conflict of the plot revolves Maomao grappling with her past, her abilities, and her desire for a quiet life while in her quest of investigating numerous toxins and interacting with the rest of the characters such as Jinshi and the concubines.