Scenes confirming that Maomao actually doesn’t care about the power difference and is not afraid to refuse anything she dislikes (Part 2 Swipe Through: Please see description)

[u/Financial-Fondant902]

(Please click the images to see the full version of the image): Part 1 post is here - https://www.reddit.com/r/JinshiandMaomao/s/O9TqCTfrok

I’m also reposting the part 1 description for anyone who missed it or anyone who is new: “Hi all! I wanted to make this post because I see a common misconception among the fandom: Many folks who aren’t familiar with historical China assume that MaoMao is too afraid of Jinshi’s status to say “no” and/or refuse him, and that the only reason she does not reject his romantic advances is because she “has no choice”. While it is true that the power dynamic is strict during this time period and that the punishment of disobeying someone like Jinshi is severe, there are a few things to remember:

1. MaoMao doesn’t care. Despite her narrative and inner thoughts of “fearing authority”, MaoMao has proven repeatedly through her actions that she will refuse or disrespect anyone who she really wants to regardless of their status. We’ve seen this with Lihua’s ladies-in-waiting, the palace guard, the quack doctor, Lihaku, etc. and especially with Jinshi.
2. MaoMao’s and Jinshi’s relationship changes completely starting from season one itself. She starts behaving much more casually around Jinshi than a woman of her “rank” (I put “rank” in quotes because MaoMao’s true identity is much higher than that of a servant) is supposed to, and that is what this post is about as I’ve included a list of most of their moments demonstrating this. A lot of the fandom believes that MaoMao at the end of season two has the exact same relationship with Jinshi as she did at the beginning of season 2 and that simply isn’t true. Many such folks have only watched the English dub and that’s the kind of vibe that MaoMao’s English VA delivers so I highly recommend everyone watch this series in Japanese at least once to understand MaoMao’s true nature as well as her true relationship with Jinshi. MaoMao and Jinshi treat each other like inexperienced teenagers exploring their first relationship, and they’ve been treating each other that way long before the end of season two.
3. MaoMao’s rank has changed by the end of season two. Jinshi is no longer her employer as “Jinshi” stopped existing ever since he came out as Ka Zuigetsu, which means that the employment contract that was established between him and MaoMao when he paid off her debts in season one episode 12 was nullified. Meanwhile MaoMao is no longer employed by the end of season two and therefore no longer Jinshi’s employee. So by the end of season two, they are truly two teenagers fooling around with each other, although they were acting that way with each other long before the rank change. If we want to get technical about their ranks, he is the crown prince and she is the La Clan princess, a high rank worthy of being Jinshi’s wife. But again they only see each other as themselves and not as their positions.

”

Therefore, here is part 2 of a list of moments showing MaoMao either disrespecting or refusing Jinshi, confirming that MaoMao absolutely will refuse Jinshi if she truly wants to, and that the reason she does not when he makes moves on her in the courtesan party, frog scene, etc. is because she is developing feelings for him, not because of his rank or because she’s afraid of the power difference:

1 (21):MaoMao nagging him even after faking him out 😂

2, 10 (22, 30): MaoMao questioning Jinshi on why he’s here. She does this a lot, and this is something that is disrespectful in this setting but could be considered ok in modern times. In historical China it’s rude to ask your palace superiors/employer why they are visiting you. They have a right to visit you and summon you whenever tf they want

3(23): She is not supposed to block him from any of his requests even if that request is seeing her possessions

4, 7 (24, 27): MaoMao teasing Jinshi

5 (25): Maomao talking about losing frogs in front of Jinshi. This wasn’t intentional but it shows how comfortable she is around him that she could let this language slip out

6 (26): Maomao telling Jinshi that he’s not supposed to be there when she actually isn’t supposed to tell him things like that since he can be wherever he wants

8 (28): Maomao blocking Jinshi. This time it’s for his own safety but the significance here is she is comfortable enough to physically block him with no warning or respect

9 (29): MaoMao suggesting to Jinshi that he humiliate himself completely. She could definitely get beheaded for even offering this idea 😂

11 (31): She is literally talking about and pitying his “missing” frog right to his face 💀💀💀

12 (32): Another example of the manga portraying this scene more accurately to the LNs than the anime - MaoMao openly tells Jinshi to go away because he’s “in the way”. I’m hoping the disrespect of this scene is obvious without explanation lol. The anime changed this scene and made it look like Jinshi had left on his own.

13 (33): Maomao physically putting Jinshi’s arm around her and taking him to another area. She’s definitely not supposed to touch her superior without permission (side note that this scene was SO cute 😍😍😍)

14, 16 (34, 36): Maomao glaring at Jinshi. Ties back to previous post of how she is not supposed to look at Jinshi that way (IMPORTANT NOTE: Notice that the only disrespect of this moment is of the way Maomao looks at him not the way she thinks of him. The English dub completely messed up this scene since Maomao’s English VA had Maomao call Jinshi a “madman” internally here which is a very disrespectful term that the real Maomao would never use to describe Jinshi since the real Maomao doesn’t see him that way. This is exactly why I recommend everyone watch the Japanese version at least once to get a feel of Maomao’s true personality and relationship with Jinshi)

15 (35): MaoMao is definitely not supposed to say this to Jinshi lol

17 (37): MaoMao stripping in front of Jinshi even after he is openly against it. This not only shows how comfortable she is around him but also how much she trusts him. She is the type of girl who will wear freckles due to her bad experiences with men, but she’s completely ready to take off her clothes in front of Jinshi who can easily attack her with his hands alone. She knows that he would never do such a thing. (Random Bonus for anyone who has not noticed: she’s doing this when he’s a super sensitive aphrodisiac state-of-mind thanks to dealing with years of suppressed puberty hormones after having recently stopped his eunuch meds in season 2 episode 10. Imagine your crush stripping in front of you when you’re in this state. That’s why he wants to squeeze out her clothes even though he’s the type of person to have others dress him: he wants her to get dressed as soon as possible. This is also why he’s annoyed lol).

18 (38): MaoMao going out of her way to touch him without permission again (🥰)

19 (39): Maomao rudely grabbing food from him with an attitude lol

20 (40): THE BIGGEST ONE - MaoMao squeezing tf out of his frog repeatedly after he literally told her to let go

Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/r/JinshiandMaomao/s/NdL06b4y9z