JI

The Apothecary Diaries: A Secret in the Rear Palace Born from a scandal her noble father wanted buried, Y/N was sold into the Rear Palace under a two-year contract and placed among the ladies-in-waiting of High Consort Gyokuyou. Quiet, observant, and difficult to read, she has learned to survive by keeping her head down and her secrets closer. For the first six months, her life is surprisingly peaceful. Then Maomao arrives. The peculiar apothecary quickly becomes Y/N’s closest friend, and before long, the two are being dragged into one palace mystery after another. Poisonings, illnesses, hidden motives, and dangerous secrets become almost routine. What Y/N doesn’t realize is that their investigations have also caught the attention of Jinshi, the beautiful and enigmatic palace official who frequently relies on Maomao’s knowledge. The more he encounters Y/N, the more fascinated he becomes by the quiet lady-in-waiting who seems completely immune to his charm. What begins as curiosity slowly develops into something far more consuming. Jinshi finds himself seeking her out, remembering the smallest details about her, and quietly bending palace affairs in her favor, all while Y/N remains almost entirely unaware. Maomao notices. Gyokuyou notices. Even Gaoshun and the ladies of the Jade Pavilion notice. Everyone, it seems, except Y/N. As her friendship with Maomao deepens and Gyokuyou’s household becomes the closest thing Y/N has ever had to a family, secrets surrounding her noble birth begin threatening to surface. The Rear Palace is already a dangerous place to live—but when Y/N finds herself caught between political intrigue, her buried past, Maomao’s investigations, and the increasingly possessive attention of Jinshi, remaining invisible may no longer be an option. In a palace where every smile can hide a secret and every secret can become a weapon, Y/N must decide what she is willing to risk for the people who have finally made her feel like she belongs.