Kusuriya no Hitorigoto - Vol. 8 Ch. 38 - Balsam and Wood Sorrel (Part 2)

[Nep]

@Official229 Hmm. I dont remember there being a famine at that point in time. Thanks for the info.

 

[Irze]

Too much onion

 

[MurakamiChiaki]

@Neko-min

Lmao it was not hinted Mao Mao is a princess, it was hinted that the emperor's brother(mentioned many times to be sick) is actually the emperor's son, thus the crown prince. In the chapter Mao Mao theorizes about the baby swap it's strongly hinted at another character being the swapped baby.

About Fao Shen and Rakan: they made a plan so Rakan would be able to buy her aka take her virginity and get her pregnant(her price was inflated because there was 2 rich guys bidding on her).
Alas Rakan's family were not happy he was involved with a courtesan, so they sent him to the war and blocked his letters he sent to Fao Shen and vice versa. He thought he would be back in 1 year but actually it took him 3 years to come back. He didn't make the connection of what would happen to Fao Shen now she didn't have what made her a high-sought courtesan, not until it was too late.
By the time he came back Fao Shen was already sick, granny wouldn't let him enter(Rankan started thinking Fao Shen was dead) and Mao Mao was already with her foster father/Rakan's uncle.
Now this part is not clear to me but I guess before he could take Mao Mao in he had to be the head of his family(he did this also as revenge for what happened) but when he went to get Mao Mao, she already didn't like him/hate him I guess.

 

[sodiumnitride]

oh dang ! Usually I'm not caught off guard with the whole "psyche they aren't dead !" trick but this time I legitimately thought she had died! Esp with Mao Mao being with her foster dad. But I see now that Fao Shen was just in no mental or physical state to care for her child. I was ready for an angsty conclusion to this arc but I am pleasantly surprised.

 

[Ironclad]

Mei Mei has a heart of gold.

 

[APSINTHOS]

actually good sike they didnt die moment

it's so satisfying considering how sad they were separated

 

[newboi]

 

[Midoriha]

I'm absolutely amazed at how many people didn't connect the dots long ago and realize syphilis woman was Mao Mao's mom aka Fao Shen.

 

[dahhv2]

Oh my God

 

[azuryo]

Every time I encounter this scene I cry my eyes out. Rakan isn't a perfect man but he's definitely a great character.

 

[xpsox]

Heartwarming

 

[TheGodEmperor]

Oh man, the feels.....

 

[moozooh]

@Lightbrand
Yeah, I mean, it's probably a good idea to reread first and then confirm if you've missed anything because you've evidently missed quite a bit. I'd suggest rereading everything from at least chapter 29 onwards. I doubt it's very enjoyable to follow a story with a lot of unintentional blank spots and being confused as to whether you're supposed to know some details.

Then again it feels like half the commenters are speedreading the series considering the amount of questions and theories directly explained in the manga just some chapters prior.

 

[Reignva]

What an end to this arc...!

 

[Binary10011]

Is there anyone to blame for not letting them meet before she got syphyllis? Why the huge delay? I blame granny. She's a businessperson but doesn't let him buy the courtesan when he came with the money (in previous chapters he complained it took a long while to be allowed back in).
After all, we know rakan kept looking for her.

 

[TheodoreAnan]

right in the feels

 

[Kardelune]

@Binary10011 I think she may have caught syphilis before Rakan returned, and certainly before he had the money. In granny's eyes he'd already broken a promise by first destroying the value of the top courtesan, and then disappearing right after. The thing is, a courtesan could gain money by using her skills and beauty but not sleeping with men. But only because they're playing a game of seduction, playing hard to get as it were. Once it was known that someone did "get" her, pregnancy being hard to hide, and for "free" as it were, men would not play that game anymore and would likely demand to be next at the very least (usually a courtesan's "first time" would be highly advertised and sold at a high price so her just giving it to whoever she pleased would be seen as an insult to all her other customers).
Her shame in having to stoop to sleeping with others for survival probably made her ask granny not to tell him she was still there, and once the sickness set in her pride probably stopped her even more. Granny is a business woman, but she also respects the wishes of her courtesans to a certain extent. Mao Mao mentioned in previous chapters that when redeeming a courtesan she might ask for a high price, but she wouldn't sell to anyone that wasn't approved by the redeemed woman herself. I'd say there's blame all around, Granny, Rakan, Mao Mao's mother, the adoptive dad who surely figured it out, Mei Mei who was probably ordered not to tell but could have slipped a word hint in... it's simply a very sad story.

 

[mothaiba]

@himi-cat For me it is very clear that the mother insisted on getting pregnant and keeping the child. Although this is the ancient China settings, it is not hard to have make shift contraceptive. And not to mention so many way to fail an early pregnancy. Horrible words from me I know but please see it as a highlight as the mother has bet everything she has at that time to Rakan words. She trusted him with her life. Rakan knows or not is another matter but hear me out. If he is a decent human being, even at that time, he would not have sex and release inside her in such a manner to deliberately devaluate her. Yes he loves her even now but that in and of itself is a hideous plan and he failed to deliver his part. The stage was set to be a manipulation of both side getting into sex with the full intention of she getting out of the brothel with Rakan. Only one actor showed up on time and solo it and it became a tragic instead of a love story.

Rakan has a plan. Rakan always has a plan. A slightly wild, unhinged plan. And as a young bubbling boy, he used his only love as a main actor with himself on that plan. Staking the actor everything the person has while he, in all honesty, will not loose anything socially. A cruel plan with the intention of a happy ending. Look where he is now. Top up on the social ladder while his love is in a tragic state. Sure he can regret all he want but he can never amend it. He put his love one in a dangerous situation for his very selfish reason. He wanted her. He wants her now. She also wanted him. She barely alive now.

 

[Elilla]

@karanga Syphilis. From the lesions, she's in the tertiary stage and may also be suffering from neurosyphilis as seen by the depression and delirium.

 

[Kagenashi]

I insta cried my heart out, fuk!