Shishou
The 'Old Tanuki' prime minister who played the villain to the end.
Shishou is the Prime Minister of Li and the last head of the Shi Clan in The Apothecary Diaries, presented as an antagonist plotting against the Imperial Family. He is the father of Suirei, by the Former Emperor's banished illegitimate daughter, and of Loulan, by his wife Shenmei.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Prime Minister
- Clan
- Shi Clan
- Nickname
- Old Tanuki
- Daughters
- Suirei, Loulan
- Voiced by
- Cho (Japanese), Jason Douglas (English)
Facts from the source article.
Background
Born into a branch family, he was adopted into the clan's main family for his intelligence and given the name Shishou. Favoured by the Empress Regnant, he helped her abolish the slave trade by proposing that the Inner Court be expanded to take in those who were to be sold. He took in the Former Emperor's banished daughter and a physician, married her at the emperor's request and had Suirei, and later asked for the release of Shenmei, his betrothed, from the Inner Court; they had Loulan.
As Prime Minister after the Former Emperor's death he was so influential that he forced Ah-Duo out of the Garnet Pavilion to install Loulan as Pure Consort. In truth he was loyal to the country, but his love for Shenmei and his guilt at having married another woman left him unable to stand up to her. When Loulan fled the Inner Court he was accused of rebellion and killed; his real plan had been to draw together and eliminate the country's corruption and disrupt Shenmei's plans. At the fortress he was full of shame for letting his daughters be mistreated, calling himself a terrible father.
Source
Text adapted from Shishou on The Apothecary Diaries Wiki (Fandom, CC BY-SA 3.0). Page history: contributors. Codexery summarised the page, and this entry is shared under the same licence.
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