Jinshi

A high-ranking court official whose beauty and mystery draw the attention of the Rear Palace.

Jinshi (Japanese: 壬氏) is a deuteragonist and love interest in Hyūganatsu's light novel series The Apothecary Diaries. He is a high-ranking court official who disguises himself as a eunuch, serving the Emperor's concubines and their staff in the Rear Palace. After noticing the skills of the protagonist, Maomao—a young apothecary already working in the Rear Palace—he assigns her to Consort Gyokuyou. As the plot progresses, Jinshi's true identity is revealed: he is the current Emperor's younger brother, swapped at birth with a concubine's son to protect him from political danger. He becomes attracted to Maomao, wanting her to remain by his side. He is often accompanied by Gaoshun, who has taken care of him since childhood.

Quick Facts

Series: The Apothecary Diaries
First: Chapter 1: "Maomao" (2011 webnovel); Chapter 3: "Jinshi" (2012 novel, 2014 light novel)
Creator: Hyūganatsu
Full name: Ka Zuigetsu (華瑞月, かずいげつ, Huá Ruì Yuè)

Lore & Background

In the light novels, Jinshi was originally mostly a narrative accent, but his popularity with readers led the author to make him an active character with his own personality and relationship with Maomao. His relationship with Gaoshun was meant to be darker resulting in an attempted assassin arc and Jinshi being a more vulnerable individual. When creating the character, Hyūganatsu made him with light-hearted feelings similar to characters explored in shōjo manga.

She initially planned for Jinshi to die but scrapped that idea alongside other personality traits. In the original concept, Jinshi was going to be a more vulnerable figure with Gaoshun having orders to kill him; these ideas were scrapped and Jinshi became 'an elegant and seemingly untouchable figure.' Later it is revealed that Jinshi is not a eunuch — he merely uses suppressants (anaphrodisiacs) to appear as one, in order to hide his identity as the current Emperor's younger brother, swapped at birth with a concubine's son to ensure his safety.

Reader's Guide

Jinshi is a eunuch from the Imperial Palace who serves the Emperor's concubines, eunuchs, and respective staff in the Rear Palace. He finds the protagonist, Maomao, and introduces her to Consort Gyokuyou due to her notable skills. Behind his beautiful face lies a shrewd mind that tries to balance his duties to the Emperor while improving life within the Imperial Palace. His true identity is that of the Emperor's son, swapped with the Emperor's brother in infancy to ensure his safety; he uses anaphrodisiacs to appear as a eunuch. In the animated adaptations, multiple voice actors provided their talents for Jinshi: in Japanese, Takeo Ōtsuka voices him as an adult and Megumi Han as a child; in English, Kaiji Tang voices him as an adult and Mikaela Krantz when young. In the drama CD, Jinshi was voiced by Takahiro Sakurai.