Behind all the glitz, glamour, and grandeur, there are mysteries and mayhem in ‘The Apothecary Diaries.’ The Imperial Court, especially, is full of secrets and enigmas, and so are the characters. One such individual in the series is none other than Loulan.
As one of the high-ranking noble consorts, she carries with her an air of mystique that can be well defined through her introverted persona. She is almost inscrutable, which ties in well with her past, especially her trauma. This significantly shapes her dual nature in the series, and here’s how!
A Childhood Carved By Abuse And Conundrum
Loulan wasn’t born Loulan; she was born as Shisui internally, a name she chose out of love for her stepsister Shisui. But she eventually took on the princess Loulan persona after being indoctrinated, tamed, and abused by her own mother. It was all a ploy to play into her mother Shenmei’s whims and fancies.
The reality is much more complicated, as her life was marked by chaos and conundrums that trace back to her childhood. Both she and Suirei were physically abused by her sadistic mother, who sought to upend the Ka Clan and take revenge on The Imperium, because the late emperor never chose her.
To understand the story, let’s look back at the complicated history these two dynasties share. The previous emperor was afraid of being touched or seen by women of his age or older in nature. He had a very disturbing tale where he could only touch or feel girls who were not even adults.
During his reign, one of the girls claimed she bore the late emperor’s daughter, but was accused of lying. She was driven away from the rear palace by the empress and framed for having an illegitimate relationship with a doctor. But deep down, the late emperor knew he had a child, and indeed that daughter was his own.
The daughter was none other than the biological mother of Shisui. During his final days, he urged Shishou to marry her, and in exchange, he could ask for anything. After Shishou married the late emperor’s daughter and had Shisui, he asked him to give Shenmei to him.
Disgusted by the unfortunate trade offer, Shenmei was filled with rage and hated both Shisui and her biological mother, not knowing she shared royal blood. Shenmei tortured Shisui and her mother to a point where, eventually, the mother dies horribly.
Seeing the condition and understanding the situation at a very young age, Loulan realized the bitter truth: Her mother, Shenmei is a self-obsessed person who does not care about others but herself and her wish to gain the beauty of immortality. She was ruthless and a self-absorbed entity who defiled the clan’s blood in atrocious ways.
So while their father, Shishou, succumbed to Shenmei’s manipulation, both Suirei and Shisui worked in tandem as they made sure to follow her plan over the surface, but eventually saved the innocent from meeting a terrible fate.
It was also the only thing closest to family they ever experienced. Shenmei’s actions took away normalcy for Loulan and especially for Suirei, whom she tortured extensively.
It was as a result that Shisui rebelled against the clan’s uprising in a rather silent manner, by masking her identity, and with Maomao’s help, it all came full circle.
A troubled past, a tainted childhood, and a failed family were what drove them to stamp out completely. It also explains Loulan’s duality, which the story played out brilliantly.
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Loulan’s duality in The Apothecary Diaries
Now you may wonder how a duality plays out in introvertism. Well, Shisui and Loulan are two sides of the same coin. As Shisui, she played out her friendship and the childhood she never had, found her freedom while roaming around, and befriended Maomao and Xiaolan, which made her smile all the time.
She also shared her eccentricities and quirks in front of the Apothecary, such as eating insects, drawing them, and helping Xiaolan make contacts before her contract ends at the rear palace.
It was her way of living out her childhood, the one that was denied to her in every sense under her mother’s manipulation and self-destructive fate.
It is also reflected in her cheery and upbeat persona, which contrasts with her personality as Loulan, the Imperial Consort. She became the perfect daughter to Shenmei, but it was a hollowed-out dynamic.
A bond without love and affection or even kindness, she knew, that even if they are ‘family,’ her loyalty lies in saving the nation and the blood her stepsister shares with The Imperium.
Through her guise as a cocubine, she keeps her real identity hidden, and with that comes the ultimate sacrifice. She pulled the strings and let Jinshi into her world by warning him of the rebellion and whispering to him the atrocious betrayal that may befall the entire imperium, after she revealed the dark truth in front of her own deluded mother and ‘The Moon Prince.’
The only person, ultimately, who could save Shishou’s clan was his own daughter, whom he failed to protect because he waited his entire eternity for the Shenmei he loved so dearly. Loulan used the persona, the makeup, and the farce to play out her tactics well in court. It also allowed everyone to misread her appearance as a snobbish and uppity consort.
In reality, Loulan was far ahead in her game. She even changed her name to Tamamo in the end when she escaped her own death, because of the hairpin given by Maomao.
Her actions saved the children of the clan from being collateral damage of warfare and gave ultimate justice to her sister, Shisui, who now works under Ah-Duo, with all the children who were saved by Loulan’s long-term cold war, but that’s not all.
The name Tamamo is an interesting yet fascinating intertextual reference to the legend of Tamamo no Mae. The term Tamamo translates to jade but also references the historical woman known for her trickery and wit.
It was precisely Loulan’s trickery, wit, and experiences that make her one of the well-written yet complex characters in the series, and in anime history.
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