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Maomao
A seventeen-year-old girl working as an apothecary in the pleasure district.
After being abducted and sold off, she ends up as a servant in the rear palace.
She is thin and petite, with a neat but unremarkable face, and she normally uses makeup to give herself freckles.
She has an insatiable curiosity and an unusual fixation on medicine and poison, but she has little interest in other people.
Her left arm bears scars from self-inflicted wounds made during experiments, and her face has marks from tattoos.
·
Jinshi
A young man who oversees the rear palace.
A man of unearthly beauty, with the serene smile of a celestial maiden and a voice as sweet as honey.
He appears to be in his early twenties, but is actually seventeen or eighteen.
He considers everything—including his own looks—as tools to be used as he sees fit.
Clingy.
·
Gyokuyou
Consort
The emperor's favored consort. Her rank is Noble Consort. Nineteen years old.
A foreign-born consort with red hair and jade-green eyes.
She has a daughter,
Lingli,
a princess.
She resides in the Jade Chamber of the rear palace.
A happy drunk.
・
Gaoshun
Jinshi's attendant.
A middle-aged man with a stern face that suggests a military officer.
A hard worker and diligent.
・
Hongniang
Head lady-in-waiting to Consort Gyokuyou. Over thirty.
The ideal of ladies-in-waiting, and likewise a hard worker.
・
Yinghua
One of the three ladies-in-waiting of the Jade Chamber.
Lively.
・
Guien
One of the three ladies-in-waiting of the Jade Chamber.
Gentle.
・
Airan
One of the three ladies-in-waiting of the Jade Chamber.
Tall.
・
Lingli
Princess
The daughter of the Emperor and Consort Gyokuyou. An infant.
· The Emperor
A dignified man with a magnificent beard.
According to Maomao, a lecherous old man.
·
Xiaolan
A low-ranking court lady.
A sweet tooth and a gossipmonger.
·
Rifa
Consort
One of the Emperor's consorts, holding the rank of Xianfei (Worthy Consort).
She lost her son, the Crown Prince, and had fallen gravely ill.
The possessor of a truly spectacular bosom.
Her residence is the Crystal Palace.
·
Risu
Consort
One of the Emperor's consorts, holding the rank of Defei (Virtuous Consort). Fourteen years old.
She was originally a consort of the previous Emperor, then became a nun before re-entering the rear palace.
She appears to be bullied on account of her unusual background.
Has a seafood allergy.
· The Quack Doctor
A eunuch with a catfish-whisker mustache.
A nice fellow, but hopelessly incompetent at his job.
Maomao's tea-drinking buddy.
・
Li Bai
A young military officer. A rising star.
Hakurei
He gets completely smitten by her.
Basically a pushover.
・
Hakurei
Ryokuseikan
One of the three top courtesans, and Maomao's elder sister figure.
A first-class courtesan who excels at dancing.
Has a thing for muscles.
The Shrewd Madam
The penny-pinching manager of Ryokuseikan.
Apparently she was a popular courtesan back in the day.
The Old Man
A man who looks like an old woman.
Maomao's medicine teacher.
A man who's had a hard life.
His real name is
Luomen
A former palace doctor and eunuch, he was exiled and subjected to corporal punishment, leaving him without the bone in one knee.