Chapter Text
It was autumn. Although the air was still fairly warm, an increasingly cold wind was already blowing here and there through the Imperial Palace of Li and carrying away the beautiful, colorful leaves that had fallen down from the trees. Announcing the approaching arrival of winter that would be begging for entrance before people knew it.
And one such a cool, fresh breeze was currently blowing through the Outer Palace and making the sleeves and the hemline of a certain apothecary's skirt flutter, while she was walking outside with an unusually cheerful expression on her face and carrying a basket on her back.
Said basket contained — how could it be any different? — medicinal herbs Maomao had managed to find with quite some effort and plucked with tremendous joy, using the free time she had kindly been granted.
Sadly it wasn't a very large amount, since medicinal herbs were quite rare in the Outer Palace (compared to the Inner one where her father had done a really good job planting them in the past), resulting in her to only having been able to fill her basket half-way, but it was still way better than nothing. As a maid employed directly under Jinshi, she had currently no business entering the Inner Palace, after all, thus she had no other choice than to be satisfied with what she had managed to get her hands on.
But satisfied she was. Oh, how she was! So satisfied, she could start humming a song any moment now!
She took a deep breath, inhaling the faint but still absolutely wonderful fragrance of the herbs in her basket.
So much time had already passed since her last occasion to dig in the earth and pull out plants, that her heart had been about to be ripped into shreds from longing! But luckily she had finally been able to discover some.
Maybe one day, she should follow her father's example and go discreetly plant a few herself, in order to increase their variety at least a bit. After all, she never knew when she would be in need of some fresh ones.
With that phenomenal idea in mind, she resumed her way through the court.
Oh, and perhaps it would be great to look out for some mushrooms! There should be plenty at that time of year. A trail of drool left our apothecary's mouth at the mere thought of them.
Hm, well, but unfortunately, that time there wasn't any quack she could make into her mushroom-"partner in crime", as she stated with quite a lot of regret. That realization made her hang her head in disappointment, just like a sad kitten.
Jinshi wouldn't be a major obstacle in that matter, he would surely look the other way again if she shared the mushrooms with him. But if Suiren should get wind of it...
...then Maomao could brace herself for a scolding of an intensity she didn't even want to picture.
A huge shiver ran down the apothecary's spine and made her shake her head. No, that brief enjoyment certainly wasn't worth such a risk.
But at least she had her herbs and these were a lot better than mushrooms, anyway.
A wide grin appeared on her lips as she already started to imagine what she would do with her newly-acquired treasure after having finished all her tasks as a lady-in-waiting that day and returned to her room late in the evening.
First, tie them into bundles and hang them up to dry. Yes, exactly! But if possible, so that they wouldn't be hanging throughout the entire room in order to avoid getting into trouble.
Hah, if she only had been allowed to move into the stable! Then there wouldn't have been any need to worry about such things.
But life wasn't always fair. Although she had to admit that it had been treating her pretty well, recently.
***
And while pondering like that on her path, Maomao eventually spotted the figure of a way too familiar "heavenly nymph" a few dozen meters in front of her.
At first, she thought nothing of it, since she was currently living in his residence and had already gotten more than used to his presence, but coming a bit closer, she witnessed a scene that made her frown a little:
Jinshi was standing with his back to her, in the company of three palace ladies. A company he didn't exactly seem to enjoy, as it looked like, since, according to his facial expression and gestures, he was very obviously trying to get away from them. But the pushy women just didn't let him go. One was even brazen enough to try to cling to his arm.
Maomao stopped in order to watch them for a bit.
“It’s truly not easy to be so beautiful, huh?” she thought and let out a sigh. "But, jeez, can they really not see how fake his smile is? He most definitely wants them to leave him in peace. How can you be so blind?"
Yes, she was certainly the right one to talk. No doubt about that.
During her inner complaints, Maomao conveniently "forgot" the fact that, frequently enough, she wasn't the brightest one herself when it came to understanding the young noble. To put it mildly. But then again, from time to time, she was surprisingly sharp at guessing his thoughts and feelings. Just like now.
“Hm, well, but that’s not my problem.”
The apothecary shrugged and was already about to resume her path and leave the young lord to his fate. But on the other hand...
On the other hand, the successful herb harvest had improved her mood to such a point that she considered being generous for a change and helping Jinshi to get rid of these leeches. As a little thank-you for being such a good employer, so to say.
Very well! Said and done!
Thus, she approached them, trying to be as quiet as possible, and finally stopped a couple of steps behind Jinshi. A few moments later, the ladies already seemed to have noticed her and started to frown.
One was intending to open her mouth, surely, in order to ask what that scrawny plain thing wanted there.
But she couldn't. Before she managed to emit even one sound, Maomao presented to them one of her infamous "evil glares", giving the three of them to understand more than clearly that their presence was not welcome there.
All color drained from the palace women's faces. They froze on the spot and then instantly fled, shrieking with fear.
"Huh?" Jinshi let out in confusion. He turned around, only to find Maomao standing there, who had put on her usual neutral expression once again and briefly bowed to greet him. "Oh, apothecary. Do you know why they ran away so suddenly? They looked as if they saw a monster.” He slightly scratched his head.
Maomao shrugged.
"Beats me."
“A monster? My, how rude,” she thought. “But I achieved what I wanted, so whatever.”
Jinshi tucked his hands into his sleeves and gave her a smile. One that was sincere without any doubt and would have made every palace woman except Maomao faint on the spot.
"Oh well, whatever. In any case, I am glad that they finally left. Say, where are you heading to?"
"I picked medicinal herbs, Master Jinshi, and wanted to bring them to my room before going back to my chores."
His face lit up even more.
"Oh, good timing. I was on my way home as well, there's a lot of work waiting for me in my office." He briefly grimaced at these words. "Would you mind if I accompanied you for a bit?"
"No, sir."
Great. Just great. That was what her generosity and willingness to help had gotten her into. Maomao wanted to delve into her daydreams about her herbs once again, she absolutely wasn't in the mood for company! But she obviously couldn't tell him that. And besides, she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something unusual about the way he behaved.
And thus, the two of them started to walk together.
***
On the way, Jinshi, who was visibly happy to be able to spend some time with his apothecary, was trying to chat with her, but every single one of his questions was acknowledged with a monosyllabic answer or a mere "Hm" by Maomao. She seemed to be deep in thought and not even properly listening to him, instead casting him sideways glances every so often with a frown on her face.
At long last, he couldn't take it anymore and decided to inquire, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"What's the matter with you today? You're even more taciturn than usual. Is there maybe something on your mind you'd like to share with me?" The last question was followed by a chuckle, since he was more than sure that he wouldn't get a serious answer for it.
That was why hearing the following words baffled him all the more:
"There is."
"What, really!? There is!?"
Jinshi was so dumbfounded he even stopped walking. Maomao immediately took advantage of that to step in front of him and carefully examine his face for a while, as if something was bothering her there. He started to get nervous and gulped.
"Apothecary? W-What..."
But she paid no attention to his doubts.
"Would you please bend down a little, sir? I can't reach," she asked instead, out of the blue. A certain suspicion had entered her mind, and she absolutely had to verify it.
“Eh?” Jinshi looked as if he understood less and less of what was going on right now. “What do you want to reach?”
"Please, Master Jinshi."
"Fine, as you wish."
Still hesitating a bit, he nonetheless obeyed and did as told, and Maomao quickly raised her hand and placed it on his forehead, putting her other hand on her own. The young noble blushed in an instant, but didn't dare to move.
"W-What are you doing?"
Maomao gritted her teeth, ignoring his question. So her gut instinct and experience as an apothecary hadn't deceived her yet again. Her stomach tightened a bit.
"Just as I suspected," she thought, removing her hand from his forehead and looking into his still slightly widened eyes. "Normally, he would have been able to deal with even ten palace ladies on his own without any issue at all."
"Master Jinshi," she spoke again. "Could it be that you're not feeling well? Your forehead is a bit too warm."
"Well," he replied, still a bit taken aback from her behavior and her touch. "I do have a slight headache, indeed, but other than that, I feel wonderful. Really."
That statement was accompanied by a loud sneeze that promptly belied his words.
Maomao looked at him as if he were a moth fluttering directly in front of her face and whose wings she would gladly rip out.
“A fever is no laughing matter, sir,” she objected in a firm tone as if she was talking to an unreasonable child. “I would strongly advise you to lie down and rest as soon as possible, otherwise you risk getting sick for real.”
The apothecary assumed that Jinshi's immune system was weakened due to all his overworking and lack of sleep, hence making him more prone to illness. She had already asked him several times to take better care of his health, but the young lord just refused to listen to her. And this time, too, he would probably give her another excuse.
Jinshi crossed his arms and laughed quietly, making it seem to Maomao as if he was making fun of her. Or not understanding the gravity of the situation. In any case, it was hurting her pride as an apothecary.
“I cannot afford to do that, apothecary, I still have important work waiting for me.”
Maomao felt her blood beginning to boil in her veins. There, what did she say?
“How many times do I have to tell you that your health is more important than work, Master Jinshi!?” she hissed between clenched teeth.
“Just as many times as I have to tell you to not put things in your mouth that are not for human consumption, I suppose,” he countered, starting to lose his patience now as well.
Maomao didn't really know what to answer to that, so instead, she pressed her lips into a thin line and glared at him as angrily as she could.
Jinshi held her gaze and glared back at her.
Both of them were as stubborn as can be. But unfortunately, Jinshi also possessed an advantage over her: he was Maomao's employer and also a noble, hence she couldn't just order him around as she pleased.
Thus, she let out a snort and finally lowered her gaze, staring at the ground in order to not have to see his triumphant smile.
“Alright. You have won.”
After a while, however, she did look up once again.
“But I will at least bring you a cold remedy before going to sleep. If you don't mind, sir, that is.”
Jinshi nodded with a smile.
“I don’t. I’m sure you already know that you are allowed to enter my chambers anytime and will always be welcome there.”
Indeed, Maomao did know that. Though she found it a bit careless of him to trust her, a maid he didn't even know for really long, that unconditionally. After all, she could very well poison him if she really wanted to (not that she actually wanted to, of course!), but fine. That was his own decision.
Having arrived at his residence, the two of them ended up parting ways.
“Well then, see you later, apothecary,” said the young noble to her. “And stop making that face, there is really nothing to worry about.”
He gently patted her head and left for his office.
While Maomao kept standing there for another while and following him with her gaze, bringing her own hand to her head where his had been lying just now.
“Nothing to worry about, my ass,” she thought, annoyed, balling her hands into fists. “You will eventually reap what you sow, Master Jinshi, I just know it.”
Why did she even bother? Why did she struggle with him like that? If he didn't give a shit about his own health, then she couldn't do anything about it, anyway, so why was she even trying?
Well, the truth was that, despite all her harsh words and her behavior, Maomao just didn't have the heart to turn her back to someone who needed help. Especially if it was medical help.
And so she swore to at least make Jinshi take her medicine, even if she had to force it down his throat with her own two hands.
But of course she very much hoped that such drastic measures wouldn't be necessary.
***
As soon as all her tasks for that day were done, Maomao returned to her room and started to prepare the ingredients for her cold remedy.
The basket with the freshly harvested herbs was currently standing in a corner. Well, no other choice than to let them wait for her just a little bit longer. Maomao intended to focus on them once she would have come back from visiting Jinshi in his chambers. Judging by the time, he should be taking his evening bath now and then prepare himself for going to bed. The apothecary sincerely hoped that he would at least refrain from working overtime in his current state and not go to sleep very late.
But with that guy, you never knew.
And regrettably, everything certainly turned out differently than expected:
While the apothecary was sitting at her table and being busy making medicine, she suddenly heard fast footsteps outside her room and looked up in surprise. And soon, her door was pushed open, and an agitated Suiren came in.
“Xiaomao! Please come quick! The young master has suddenly collapsed!”
Maomao gritted her teeth in anger while she was hurrying after Suiren to Jinshi's chambers.
“I knew it! I knew something like this was bound to happen!” she ranted mentally. “That idiot… that damn idiot…”