The Apothecary Diaries Book 9

Preparations

Now she looked at Maomao, her gaze sorrowful.

"Meimei," said Maomao. "I'm going to keep this indirect, but I'm more worried about him than anyone."

The freak strategist was going with them. Maomao didn't know why, but if the people in the western capital had understood who they were dealing with, they would have asked for him to stay home.

Or maybe they weren't in a position to refuse? Don't tell me they actually invited him.

His absence wouldn't be an issue in the capital, as his subordinates could keep his office running smoothly for months without him. Maomao's real fear was about what kind of trouble he might cause on the road. Just picturing it was enough to make her head hurt.

Is this what they're really using me for? She ground her teeth. She'd always known he could and would use anyone available to him—it was her fault for forgetting. In fact, oddly, she felt some small sense of relief to realize that the way he handled people hadn't changed since the rear palace.

Those who stood at the top couldn't afford to be swept away by sentiment. Jinshi's behavior could be emotional at times, but Maomao believed there was still some trace of rationality at work in those moments. At least, she wanted to believe.

No... Not possible, she thought, immediately dismissing the idea. Otherwise, he would never have burned a brand into his own skin.

Having said all that, maybe this wasn't really Jinshi's fault. His hands might have been tied in his selection of personnel. It didn't really matter. In the end, it meant trouble for Maomao, and nothing but.

She was putting away the cream Meimei had given her when a smart-alecky voice said from behind her, "Hey, Freckles!"

"Yeah? What, Chou-u?" Maomao turned, annoyed.

"You're dumb!" he shouted, and with that the smart-mouthed brat ran off. He still dragged one partially paralyzed leg, but it obviously didn't dampen his spirits. His lackey Zulin likewise stuck out her tongue at Maomao, then ran after Chou-u.

"What was that about?" Maomao muttered.

"Chou-u misses you, Maomao," Meimei said.

"Hrm. And it looks like Zulin is still following him around?"

"That just started again recently." Meimei looked troubled.

"Started again?"

"She's got an older sister, you remember? The girl you brought in with her. She was training as an apprentice, and this year she began taking customers."

"She did, huh?" So many women came and went in the Verdigris House, Maomao didn't really keep track of them all. "Isn't that a bit early?" She recalled the young woman being awfully thin.

"She's fifteen. A decent diet went a long way toward putting some meat on her bones, and our customers started taking notice. She had everything she needed. She must really have been eating poorly where she came from."

Moreover, the girl herself was full of ambition; she'd been eager to make her "debut." It all must have inspired conflicting feelings in her younger sister.

"She's not very cultured yet, but I think she'll grow into it, that girl."

"You think so? I think she's a bit too prickly," Joka said.

Pairin laughed openly at that. "That's the last thing I want to hear from a woman who took the name 'Joka'!"

It was not the name her parents had given her. The madam had been known to rename girls in order to encourage them to forget their past lives, but Joka had given herself a name that was a parody of the name of the goddess who had created the world—and it audaciously included the supposedly forbidden character ka.