Basen

Basen (馬閃 (バセン) , Basen^?) is a secondary character in The Apothecary Diaries. He is the second son of Gaoshun and an attendant of Jinshi.

Appearance

Basen is a handsome young man standing tall in height who possesses a toned but muscular build. He has short black hair and sharp brown eyes. He is typically seen with a curt expression most of the time, given his serious disposition. He resembles his father, especially when he furrows his brows.^[2]

Personality

Basen exudes a sense of inexperience typical of his age, easily becoming frustrated when things go awry, and lacks subtlety. Despite that, he is quick to follow his instincts. As the youngest in his family, he often submits to his overbearing mother and sister.

Due to breaking his sister's arm at a young age, Basen generally thought of women as fragile and afraid of him, so he avoided them and put off his family's requests for marriage.^[3] He later fell in love with Consort Lishu.

He is also sympathetic to those who have to handle difficult people, such as Lakan's attendant and Dr. Liu.^[4][5]

Abilities

Physical Prowess: Basen is extremely strong and physically skilled. He was able to defeat four armed men without a weapon, and survived being run over by a horse without harsh injuries. Because of this, Maomao refers to him as a "bear in human skin."

Diligent: Basen dutifully follows any orders that Jinshi or Gaoshun give him.

Relationships

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Jofu

A duck who hatched and imprinted on Basen in Red Plum Village,^[6] and later followed him to the Western Capital.

Background

The third child of Gaoshun and Taomei, Basen grew up as Jinshi's milk sibling. When he was six years old, he accidentally broke his sister's arm during a tantrum, leading to him living separately from his siblings. Basen soon met Jinshi afterwards, and the two began learning sword fighting together.^[3]

On Gaoshun's request, Basen accompanied Maomao to the residence of a poisoned minister, where they investigated the kitchen. He was also present when Maomao explained how the minister was poisoned back at the imperial palace.^[7] Later, Basen went with Maomao to help decipher a will left by a metal craftsman for his sons.^[8]

After Maomao was injured while pushing Jinshi away from a falling ritual implement, Basen angrily demanded to know what was going on.^[9]

When Jinshi was invited to a hunt in the Northern Province by Shishou, Basen attended as his Ma clan guard. He gave Maomao a brief overview of their destination while en route. At dinnertime, Basen attempted to finish the aphrodisiac-laced meal that Maomao tasted but passed out after one sip.^[10]

At the post-hunt feast, Basen stood behind Jinshi (dressed as Kousen). After the latter left to relieve himself but disappeared for over an hour, Basen sent soldiers to search for him, while enduring comments from the guests. When a soldier returned with a cloth scrap from the basin of the waterfall, a new search was established in that area. Unbeknownst to anyone, the cloth scrap contained a note written by Jinshi to speak with the soldier for details.^[2] Basen later fell victim to more aphrodisiacs in the evening banquet.^[11]

When it was determined that the Shi clan was plotting a rebellion, Basen joined Jinshi in charging into the fortress. Inside the innermost room, Basen searched for the passageway Jinshi disappeared into. He burst into the hidden room just as Loulan finished her conversation with Jinshi, but was too late to prevent her from scarring Jinshi's face and getting away.^[12]

Gallery

Trivia

• He is highly sensitive to aphrodisiacs.^[10][12][3]

References