Why would she say it like that… Jinshi is shaken and flustered by Maomao’s “One Night’s Dream” remark in “The Apothecary Diaries”!

In episode 8 of the anime “The Apothecary Diaries,” Jinshi (voiced by Takeo Ōtsuka) lets his imagination run wild because of Maomao’s (voiced by Aoi Yūki) use of the phrase “one night’s dream,” leading to a flustered reaction that had viewers laughing and commenting things like, “Is this a classic comedy of misunderstanding?” and “That’s such a misleading way to say it, I can’t stop laughing.”

Maomao returns home using a decorative hairpin she received from Lihaku (voiced by Kenji Akabane), a military official, at the garden party. Hairpins exchanged at the garden party can symbolize someone’s affection or even be an expression of courtship. The hairpin Maomao received from Lihaku was just a gesture of obligation, but Jinshi, unaware of this, seemed to be overcome with jealousy.

When Maomao returned to the inner palace, Jinshi sullenly asked her, “What kind of man is this Lihaku?” For Maomao, her connection to Lihaku was simply that she provided him with a courtesan in exchange for having him act as her guarantor for the trip home. However, Maomao’s words—“He was delighted with his one night’s dream” and “He seemed very satisfied, so I felt my efforts were worthwhile!”—only deepened Jinshi’s misunderstanding, leaving him shocked and frozen.