After breaking a curse on the imperial heirs, a palace servant with training in herbal medicine is promoted up the ranks to food taster...and right into the thick of palace intrigue in this lushly illustrated historical mystery series! Maomao is missing! But she's not the only one, as it turns out. While her fate plays upon his mind, Jinshi searches for the handsome new eunuch, who is also nowhere to be found. When a lead about the vanished man unearths a connection with someone at the Inner Court, Jinshi stumbles upon yet another disappearance-this time, that of a principal consort! As the threads begin to intertwine, Jinshi may at last be on Maomao's trail... Meanwhile, as an unwilling guest at the hidden village Shisui calls home, Maomao herself indulges her insatiable curiosity, only for her zeal to lead her into trouble again! Entangled in treacherous schemes, the quirky apothecary starts to grasp that the events transpiring at the hidden village are tied to the recent happenings at the Inner Court. To get to the bottom of the conspiracy, Maomao must keep her wits about her if she wants to return to the Inner Court to tell the tale!

• Format: Paperback / softback
• Publication Date: 13/03/2026
• Publisher: Square Enix
• Illustrations: 176 Illustrations
• Country of Origin: United States
• Pages: 176