I enjoyed this volume more than the last. After months in the Jade Palace, Maomao has finally gained the favor and respect of the other ladies-in-waiting to Lady Gyokuyo, and it is wonderful to see them bonding and becoming friends. Her love of poisons and toxins is a bit bizarre, but it’s nice to actually see Maomao in action successfully performing her duty as the principal consort’s food taster.

I also have to commend the character and outfit design in this volume. The artist mentions in their thank you note that descriptions of the dresses worn during the garden banquet were not given in the original light novel, so they had to design and draw the outfits themselves. They turned out absolutely gorgeous. Nekokurage is insanely talented.