The Apothecary Diaries might focus on Maomao's medical mysteries, but her parentage complicates her story. Find out who Maomao's father is, along with other interesting facts about the loveable heroine's identity.
Spoiler Warning: This article includes spoilers for The Apothecary Diaries light novel, so proceed with caution.
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The Apothecary Diaries Reveals that Maomao Is Adopted
In The Apothecary Diaries' anime adaptation, Maomao's father, Luomen, doesn't initially get much screen time because Maomao is kidnapped and taken to the imperial court early on.
Maomao's career progression and knack for making alliances allow her to start visiting him more often in later episodes.
Luomen is an elderly apothecary in a pleasure district. He's a knowledgeable and skilled pharmacist who has passed on his art to his daughter.
He's very humble, to the point of being passive, which could explain why Maomao had to be the pragmatic one and look out for them both.
Maomao cares deeply about her father, thinking about him before anything else when she's kidnapped.
She rarely shows affection to others, but Luomen is an exception. However, the series later reveals that Luomen adopted Maomao and isn't her biological father.
The True Identity of Maomao's Father, Revealed
Later manga and light novel chapters reveal that Maomao's real father is Lakan, a tactician in the Rii military, and head of the La clan.
Luomen turns out to be Maomao's great-uncle, who helped her mother – a courtesan at the time – give birth. He then adopted the baby girl.
Lakan is a very eccentric individual who dotes on his daughter when their relationship is finally revealed.
For her part, Maomao refuses to acknowledge him. She goes on considering Luomen, who raised her and taught her all about medicines, to be her real father.
She remains indifferent to her noble background and doesn't care to benefit from it.
Jinshi welcomes the revelation of Maomao's noble birth as he wishes to marry her. However, she is not interested.
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How Did Maomao's Father Meet her Mother?
Lakan met Fengxian, Maomao's mother, when she was a high-ranking courtesan in Rokushoukan. They cared about each other, but her price was too high for him to afford.
They chose to pursue their relationship anyway, but becoming pregnant with Maomao ruined Fengxian's courtesan career.
While Fengxian had hoped for this outcome, which would allow her to live with Lakan, she hadn't expected him to be away on a military campaign during her pregnancy.
In his absence, she ended up in the streets as a prostitute.
The self-published web novel and the light novel diverge when it comes to the end of the story of Maomao's parents in The Apothecary Diaries.
In the former, Fengxian died during Lakan's military absence. In the latter, they manage to get married, but she dies of syphilis, which she contracted during her time as a prostitute.
Maomao grew up without either of her biological parents, although many of the prostitutes in the pleasure district where she grew up were motherly or sisterly to her.
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