Even Jinshi Couldn't Predict This!? In "The Apothecary Diaries," Maomao Fails the Court Lady Exam as a Matter of Course

The protagonist of the anime "The Apothecary Diaries," Maomao (voiced by Aoi Yūki), is a young woman with a wealth of medical knowledge regarding drugs and poisons. While one would expect Maomao, who also possesses deep insight, to breeze through her studies, it's amusing to see her fail the exam so easily.

One day, Jinshi (voiced by Takeo Ōtsuka), a eunuch, orders Maomao to take the exam to become a court lady. Jinshi appreciates Maomao's talents so much that he selected her to serve as the handmaiden to Lady Gyokuyō (voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki), the emperor's favored consort. Naturally, Jinshi assumed Maomao would pass the exam without any problems.

However, Maomao herself admits that she is "worse than average at remembering things she's not interested in," and her abilities are extremely uneven. Even when Gaoshun (voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi), a military official, gave her a tour of the inner palace to help her prepare for the exam, she quickly lost focus, thinking, "As I thought, there were more things in the rear palace that could be used as medicinal ingredients..."

As a result, Maomao unsurprisingly failed the exam. Jinshi had an expression of disbelief and exasperation, as if to say, "Why did you fail...?"