Kounen

Kounen (浩然 (こうねん) , Kōnen^?) was a renowned warrior who became a minister in charge of managing ritual implements. He was a minor character in The Apothecary Diaries.

Appearance

Kounen was a middle-aged man who wore typical civil official robes.

Personality

Kounen was very straitlaced and dedicated to his work. Following the deaths of his wife and child, he became much more stoic and only lived for work. Both Jinshi and Gaoshun enjoyed his company.^[1] According to Lihaku, Kounen was “an old fart” who “always stood on principle”.^[3]

Background

Kounen was a warrior who later became the minister in charge of ritual implements at the Board of Rites. At some point, his wife and child died in a plague. Due to a combination of grief and stress, Kounen lost his ability to taste salt, and his palate switched from eating savory foods to mainly sweet foods.^[1]

Kounen attended a party where he drank copious amounts of wine. Unknown to him, his wine jug had been spiked with a fatal amount of salt. With Kounen unable to taste salt, this led to his death afterward.

Later, Jinshi summoned Maomao to help investigate Kounen’s death. It was later discovered that his death was the first part of an intricate plot by Suirei to kill the imperial brother.^[4]

Trivia

• The timing of Kounen’s death differs in both manga adaptations:
  • In the main manga, he died while Maomao was still in the rear palace. This version follows the light novel’s timeline and matches the anime’s timeline.
  • In the alternate manga, he died after Maomao started working in the outer court.

References