Kanan

Kanan (河南 (カナン) , Kanan^?) is a recurring character in the The Apothecary Diaries series. She worked as a food taster for Lady Lishu, and was eventually promoted to chief lady-in-waiting.

Appearance

Kanan is implied to be a somewhat tall young woman, with long wavy black hair and brown eyes. As a lady-in-waiting of the Virtuous Consort, she wears predominantly white.

Personality

While Kanan initially participated in bullying Lady Lishu, her behavior took an abrupt turn after the garden party. Having realized the error of her ways, she became Lishu's closest ally and her only true supporter amongst her staff.

Kanan is generally seen as anxious, although it's unclear whether it's her natural personality or her unease around Maomao.

Background

Kanan was first introduced at the spring garden party, serving as Lishu's food taster. Like the rest of Lishu's staff, she participated in passive-aggressively bullying Lishu, wearing the appropriate white and allowing Lishu to humiliate herself in a bright pink dress. As another act of bullying, Kanan swapped out Lishu's meal with that of Lady Gyokuyou's. Among the dishes swapped were a chilled dish of pickled vegetables and mackerel (Lishu's portion swapped the jellyfish for mackerel) and a bowl of broth.

Though her actions inadvertently allowed Lishu to avoid being poisoned, she was ignorant to the fact that Lishu was allergic to mackerel and abalone. Later, after Maomao warned Kanan that knowingly serving food that someone was allergic to was equivalent to poisoning them, she resolved to change her behavior for the better.

After Lishu's banishment from the Inner Court, she released Kanan from her service, and requested the Emperor to arrange a good match for her.^[2]

References