why is this popular and high rated? people nowadays don't even have good taste. the FL is so cringe and toxic. fuck that girl and the characters in this manga talks about cutting genitals like nothing tf.

... Last updated on March 3rd, 2024, 1:57pm

Its very good until you realize you have no reason to read it, yeah the characters can be charming, but there’s really nothing going on below that, MC has literally no reason to get into half of the trouble she does, it is never explained why she does more then ‘girl likes plants and medicine’

I don’t read mysteries for their own sake, less so if the protagonist has other stuff she wants to do. It’s an ok read, but for me? Boring after the novelty passes and you get their shtick

Aside from mystery solving and stuff characters are bland and inconsistent.
Take ML for example for the start he was seen as someone calculating and a reason but as after chapter one he is litrel mush a dog who keeps wagging his tail for FL yuckk.
FL at first being from the poor family was introduced as humble but after some chapters she turn in some arrogant and irritating b*txh who treats ML as annoyance and always orders him around meddling in others affairs this is a cringe troupe for sure. The development is downhill and inconsistent with settings idk why this LN is popular but even trash has a fan base so I guess people can digest anything.

... Last updated on December 5th, 2023, 11:02am

Plot was good. Only thing that made me drop my rating to a 6, was the ml. The ML is extremely annoying and is basically those kids in elementary who NEVER stop talking to you, even after you made it clear you dislike them.

It's one of the most amazing mangas I've read so far.
If you're looking for serious romance, then this ain't your cup of tea. However, there's some very very slow burn romance going on here.
The main focus of the manga seems to be solving mysteries and politics. Therefore, the story is amazing in that aspect.
Definitely worth a shot!

I've been following the novel for so long (the terrible unofficial translation, and then the much-better official) so I was overjoyed to see that KnH had a manga adaptation too! And it's fantastic. This story translates beautifully to a manga format -- it's really lovely to see this many women drawn so diversely and sensitively. In general I think the tone is tasteful and sophisticated -- what other story can take subjects like rape, sex work, ageing, and childbirth, and NOT insult a woman through it? In fact, KnH takes pains to make sure to emphasise that Maomao's opinion is just her opinion, and that doesn't mean it's right, and that she sits as a small fish in a big sea with some very powerful decision-makers. As a character, she's very aware of what it means to make a judgement, and the implications and outcomes from saying anything, which is why she is always so confident and assured when she makes her move; as a story, the repercussions of making judgements and acting on opinions have a ripple-effect throughout the plot.

This manga is pretty easy reading, which is nice considering how serious some of the subject matter is. I think that shows a lot of respect for the characters/women involved (for example and it gets addressed with appropriate tones of quiet horror but isn't the focal point of her story. She's allowed to be more than what other people did/made of her). Rakan's story is also much stronger here than it is in the novel, which I was pleasantly surprised by. The episodic nature of KnH works really well in keeping the pace up and matches the plot as well as Maomao's "well this isn't my problem" attitude. Lovely, lovely story, and I highly recommend!

... Last updated on August 31st, 2022, 3:31am

I love it. Maomao is simply the best heroine of all time, full stop. Jinshi is great too. One of the few manga that I have purchased. Definitely worth your time to read.

To be frank I did not expect this manga to be what is effectively a series of detective stories layered on top of one another. However, after getting it I was very satisfied.

The crimes or problems posed are all reasonable, and you can often figure things out before the characters due to the information supplied and some prior knowledge. But little is so trivial that its insulting to read through.
Characters are well made, while most are fairly shallow or only have bits and pieces revealed many chapters apart, they're all generally entertaining and fit together well. The main duo, of a tradition pharmacist girl, and a faux-enuch man, are nicely made and information about them is drip fed with good enough pacing to keep you asking for more, and their assumptions or choices in the series are all rational for who they are.

The politics of the Harem and the ministers are kept fairly vague, despite the setting.
Most of it only comes in at important moments and otherwise things are fairly light-hearted and casual. That most of the mysteries aren't that huge in the grand scheme of things helps, but the tone can get dark and heavy fast.

The humor can be very funny when it wants to be.
The character writing is also good, the MC, a young genius girl, is able to tread between juvenile immaturity and lack of forethought and hyper-rational fluidly and without betraying the writing.

A sort of mix of detective short stories, slice of life, court intrigue and medical story mixed in an old Chinese Empire setting. Its a light and easy going comedy.
It's well done for the most part, the story is basically of a young herbalist trying to survive in classic China period where a woman's lot is uncertain and even more so for those living in the red district and in the palace harem. MC is quite interesting, intelligent, knowledgeable, tough and somewhat aloof, and when she explodes its a sight to see, love the character, reminds me a bit or the MC of saving 80.000 gold coins.
On the other hand there are things I find a bit hard to grasp like her views on gender, position in society and so on. She acts, expresses and accepts in a matter of fact way or maybe a resigned to the situation way, how the system of that era works. But her way of thinking is more avant garde for that age, for example, she's not all that polite to her superiors (this might be for comedy's sake actually), she has a very pragmatic view on many things, like not believing in the supernatural, she also has knowledge that is or feels off, the notion of doctor-patient confidentiality which I have no clue if this was something that existed in that era (doubt it) but CPR for sure didn't exist, and so on. I guess it's very hard for an author not to insert some modern ideas or points of view since they are so ingrained in our thinking we don't notice, or maybe it's one of those stories where the MC is transmigrated or has past lives memories and the fact is not told till much later, I read such stories twice before so it's not unheard of, still it's unlikely, posible doesn't mean probable.
I also like how the imperial court is portrayed in a more amiable fashion, there are a few poison events and so on but there isn't a conspiracy or scheme at every turn, something I loath of other court intrigue stories.
Overall, it's an interesting read, the mix of genres go along with each other and the episodic nature of it but plot continuity is also pleasing. Recommended.