Due to being dominated by his mother throughout his life, the Previous Emperor developed a crippling fear of adult women. As a result, he began sleeping with young girls, ruining many lives in the process and causing many others to resent the Imperial Family. While he died before he could lay a hand on Consort Lishu (who was only eight when she first became a consort), many others weren't so lucky, such as the Empress Dowager who was impregnated at the age of ten as well as Shenlü and Taihou.
The effects of the lead face powder. Not only did it kill several of the Emperor's children but it also left Lihua in a sickly condition. As Maomao has to angrily describe to a handmaid who was still using the powder on Lihua despite it being banned, the effects of using it for a prolonged period of time include: pale, bloodless skin, sunken eye sockets and a body too weak to even eat.
The fact that Lishu's maids (who are all adults, by the way) have no problems bullying their mistress who hasn't even reached adulthood yet, all because of her timid personality, being the previous Emperor's consort, and not getting any night visits from the current Emperor (which isn't Lishu's fault, since she's still very young). While her food taster Kanan eventually stops with the bullying, it still took Maomao consuming poison as well as warning her that giving someone food that they're allergic to is akin to poisoning them (as well as implying that Lishu could have her executed for a stunt like that) to get her to stop. This also doubles as a Tear Jerker.
Speaking of Fengxian and syphilis, she contracted the disease after sleeping with an unclean customer as her price as a courtesan dropped due to her pregnancy with Maomao. Due to Luomen being turned away because of his stint in the Rear Palace, Fengxian was unable to get the medical treatment she needed and eventually the disease rotted away at her both physically and mentally until she became a senile shell of herself.
Maomao, Yinghua, and Shisui attend a scary stories club with some other palace ladies. However as the final story is being told, Maomao begins to feel sleepy and lightheaded. Eventually she realizes that the cause of this is due to each member throwing their light into the brazier after finishing their story which must have caught fire by the charcoal and that burning a fire inside of a cramped room will produce a harmful air which would have suffocated everyone to death had she not noticed. After opening a window and helping a palace lady breathe again, Maomao hears the lady hosting the club ominously say that she was so close but when Maomao turns around, there's no one there. When she and Yinghua return to the Jade Pavilion, they come across Hongniang who mentions that the lady in charge of the gathering died last year and was one of the Previous Emperor's bedmates.
As for the stories themselves, there's the one that Shisui told. A monk had been traveling back to his temple from a memorial service but the journey back was taking longer than he expected and he soon felt his feet growing heavy. Eventually he found a hut where a young couple lived. The couple gave the monk some food and offered to let him stay for the night but the husband kept looking at him with suspicion. Nonetheless, a room was prepared for the monk and feeling grateful for the couple's hospitality, he decided chant a sutra for them. However, in the middle of his chanting, the monk began to hear strange noises which he soon figured out were the couple arguing. Despite feeling a shiver down his spine the monk continued chanting. Eventually he heard the door to his room open and he looked over to see the wife holding a cleaver and with a deranged look on her face but still he kept on chanting the sutra. When he looked to down to see her shadow, it looked like it didn't belong to a human but to an insect instead. The wife then began looking for the monk but for some reason she could not find him and kept telling her husband that they had to find the monk or else. After looking for the monk for a while and failing to see him, the wife eventually left the room. The monk then began chanting his sutra over and over again not stopping until the strange noises finally ceased. When the noises finally stopped, the monk stepped outside only to find insect wings lying on the ground.
In the Web Novel version of Light Novel vol. 4, someone attempted to rape Maomao and she only managed to get away by pretending to be ill (she used her make up skills to have 'rashes' in her skin). Thankfully this scene is deleted in the Light Novel version.
In Episode 18 when Jinshi brings to Maomao that Lakan is looking for her, the ambience slowly cuts off and then she gives a Death Glare covered in shadow for just two frames, before cutting back like nothing happened. Jinshi with no further comments tells her he'll turn him away.
In an effort to prevent an assassination attempt, Maomao ends up confronting one of the palace guards to let her through, who sees someone trying to step out of her station and cause trouble. So he proceeds to beat her bloody, abusing his authority to try to ensure she won't get anywhere near her destination. Then Lakan steps in and sees what has happened, and despite his inability to see people's faces, he knows Maomao is brutally injured for petty reasons, and he was technically the indirect cause of the incident yet is horrified with the consequences. The guard's fate is a brutal treatment by Lakan himself as punishment.
