Light Novel Volume 06

Volume 6

Japanese
English

Japanese

薬屋のひとりごと６

Romaji

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 6

Trans. Title

Apothecary's Monologue 6

English

The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 6

Cover Character(s)
Basen, Lishu

Release Info

Format

Light Novel

Release (JP)

November 30, 2016 (Hero Bunko)

ISBN (JP)

ISBN-13：ISBN 978-4-07-420788-6
ISBN-10：ISBN 4-074-20788-5

Pages (JP)

376

Release (EN)

Digital：October 10, 2022 (J-Novel Club)
Print：Expected August 5, 2025 (Square Enix Manga & Books)

ISBN (EN)

ISBN-13：ISBN 978-1-71-836128-7
ISBN-10：ISBN 1-718-36128-9

Pages (EN)

214

Volumes
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Volume 5	Volume 7

"The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 6" ( 薬屋のひとりごと６, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 6 ) is the 6th volume of the The Apothecary Diaries light novel series written by Natsu Hyūga and illustrated by Touko Shino. It was first published in Japan on November 30, 2016. The translated digital English version was published via J-Novel Club on October 10, 2022. The translated print English version is expected to be published on August 5, 2025.

Blurb[]

The events in the Western Capital threaten to shake not only the political order, but Maomao’s personal relationships as well, and she departs the city uncertain what her future holds. A detour on the way home, however, gives her an unexpected insight into her own family. Meanwhile, Consort Lishu finds herself at the center of an ugly scandal. Might the truth of the matter help explain everything that’s happened recently?

Chapters[]

Prologue
Chapter 1: The Western Capital – Day Four (西都四日目, Saito Yokka-me^?)
Chapter 2: The Floating Bride (Part One) (浮かぶ花嫁　前編, Ukabu Hanayome Zenpen^?)
Chapter 3: The Floating Bride (Part Two) (浮かぶ花嫁　後編, Ukabu Hanayome Kōhen^?)
Chapter 4: Homeward Bound (帰路, Kiro^?)
Chapter 5: Wrapping Up in the Western Capital (西都の後始末, Saito no Atoshimatsu^?)
Chapter 6: The La Clan (Part One) (羅の一族　前編, Ra no Ichizoku Zenpen^?)
Chapter 7: The La Clan (Part Two) (羅の一族　後編, Ra no Ichizoku Kōhen^?)
Chapter 8: The Conclusion of Lishu’s Journey (里樹妃の旅の終わり, Rishu-hi no Tabi no Owari^?)
Chapter 9: Homecoming (帰宅, Kitaku^?)
Chapter 10: The Bad Dumplings (傷んだ餡餅, Itanda Oyaki^?)
Chapter 11: The Dancing Water Sprite (踊る水精, Odoru Suishō^?)
Chapter 12: The Trials of Consort Lishu (里樹妃の受難, Rishu-hi no Junan^?)
Chapter 13: Scandal (Part One) (醜聞　前編, Sukandaru Zenpen^?)
Chapter 14: Scandal (Part Two) (醜聞　中編, Sukandaru Chūhen^?)
Chapter 15: Scandal (Part Three) (醜聞　後編, Sukandaru Kōhen^?)
Chapter 16: Basen and Lishu (馬閃と里樹, Basen to Rishu^?)
Epilogue

Synopsis[]

Jinshi and Maomao investigate if the lion attack in the previous night was malicious. Maomao surmises that the perfume spilled on Consort Lishu at the Western Capital banquet was staged to look like an accident. Following a lead on the woman who sold it, they attend her wedding banquet, but she commits suicide. At her funeral, Maomao realizes her family helped her fake her death so she wouldn’t have to marry a foreign groom. The same groom had also brought the lion as a gift, so they had sold the lion-agitating perfume to various people and set the lion free to ruin his public reputation. They reveal that they were advised to do these things by a mysterious fortune teller who Maomao speculates is the White Lady.

Maomao, Lahan, Rikuson, Ah-Duo, Suirei, and Consort Lishu take a boat back home. Jinshi and Basen stay in the Western Capital a bit longer to finish wrapping up. Jinshi advises Gyokuen to go to the capital to receive a family name officially.

On the way back, their boat stalls because a man named Kokuyou begs to be let on. The sailors are wary of his smallpox scars, but Maomao intervenes to allow him on the boat. She learns that he wants to go to the capital to make medicine because he was outcast from the village following an insect plague.

Lahan visits his dad, with Maomao accompanying him. When they arrive at the estate, Lahan's Older Brother insists that they get out of the house for their own good. Lahan’s grandfather and mother then arrive and apprehend them, as they consider Lahan a traitor. Maomao notes that they seem to have come into contact with the White Lady.

Later, Lahan’s father who is on more amicable terms with Lahan arrives. He helps rescue Lakan, who had been kidnapped and imprisoned by Lahan's grandfather in the estate after becoming depressed by his wife's death. Lahan makes a deal to buy sweet potatoes from his father’s surplus and plans to teach people to farm them, which will prevent insect plague and help meet Aylin's demand for crop exports to Shaoh.

Maomao goes to Golden Lake Village to collect medicinal plants where she visits an old physician living near the village shrine. She finds out that Kokuyou has been working as his assistant in exchange for food and housing. While investigating the village’s rituals of the past, she learns that the White Lady has been using pigeons to communicate and execute her schemes across the country. Thanks to this information, Jinshi is able to quickly apprehend the White Lady.

After coming back from foreign travels, consorts are verified to be menstruating, which clears them of any suspicion of being unfaithful to the Emperor. Consort Lishu is in trouble because her period is late, but Maomao is able to verify she is a virgin. However, her ladies-in-waiting take advantage of this situation to harass her, by using copied lines from a romance novel in Lishu's handwriting to "prove" her infidelity. As a result, Lishu is put in solitary confinement. Due to her distressed mental condition she ends up being unknowingly lured upstairs by the White Lady, who is being detained in the same location. The White Lady then tries to manipulate Lishu into committing suicide.

Maomao realizes that the foreign envoys and the White Lady were working together to manipulate Lishu’s former head lady-in-waiting, who wanted Lishu to die so that she could gain more power for herself working underneath a different consort.

Jinshi and Maomao try to coax Lishu away from the decaying balcony, but she backs into it and falls off. As she is falling, Basen runs alongside the building and jumps to catch her in midair.

Following this incident, the Emperor orders for Lishu to re-enter the nunnery for a year as punishment. After this, she will return to her family stripped of her title of consort. Given the opportunity, Maomao puts in a good word for Basen with the Emperor. Aylin asks to be given custody of the White Lady, and requests to enter the rear palace as a middle consort.