After breaking a ''curse'' on the imperial heirs, a palace servant with training in herbal medicine is promoted up the ranks to food taster... and right into the thick of palace intrigue in this lushly illustrated period mystery series! The truth of Maomao''s identity revealed?! After losing to Maomao at elephant chess and passing out from the ''poison'' he drank as his punishment, La Kan dreams of a long-lost past and his affair with a certain courtesan, as well as the events leading up to meeting his daughter for the very first time. Upon waking, he finds himself at Verdigris, where he is pressed to buy the freedom of a courtesan of his choosing and take her home as his wife! Who will he pick?!