The Apothecary Diaries Book 9

The Quack Vanishes

In other words, she had been ready and eager to make herself scarce all along.

Hey, if they'll let me go, I might as well.

Chue's eagerness turned out to be rather helpful.

"If it's all right, I think I'll start by going back to the ship," Maomao said, looking to Lihaku for confirmation.

"Sure. I thought you would, miss; that's why I told you. As far as I'm concerned, there's no problem, but..." He looked away.

"But what?"

"Er, well, when I was talking with the messenger, I was spotted by...someone I would rather not have been spotted by."

"Someone you would rather..."

With mounting dread, Maomao looked toward the entrance to the room. Chue pattered

over to the door and opened it.

"Yikes!" said an eavesdropping monocled freak.

"Good morning, sir," Miss Chue said, although her greeting was purely for form's sake.

"Good morning! Maomaoooo! What lovely weather we're having, eh?"

She didn't say a word, only gave him her most scathing possible look.

"So! I hear you're going out! Maybe Daddy should come with you!"

"Please don't." Maomao's expression was like ice, but it failed to dampen the freak strategist's spirits.

"All those stores! Oh, what shall I buy you? Some clothes? A hair ornament? Oh! Or maybe you'd like some nice medicine!"

He was, as ever, not listening to her.

"Miss Maomao," Chue said, nudging her. "It doesn't look like we can keep him from coming with us. Why not give in and let the nice wallet come along?"

"Wallet? I think we'd be lucky if he had two coins on him to rub together." Maomao had the distinct impression that it was typically Lahan or the like who handled any money matters for the strategist.

"Well, then I'll go grab the aide. He must have the purse." With that, Lihaku was off to go call the man.

"Master Lihaku! Wait!" Maomao called after him.

"Maomaaaooooo! Ooh, I hope they have lots of medicines! We have to find a souvenir for my honored uncle too." The fox eyes arched excitedly.

"The purse! We need money. It'll cost time to leave him here," Chue said. "If the master physician might be in trouble, we haven't a moment to lose. Also, I want a hair stick with Ananese coral."

"You're always ready to mooch, aren't you, Miss Chue?"

Chue was a very friendly person, let it be said.

"I have to be! My husband's income isn't stable enough for anything else. By the time we'd gotten married and even had a child, he was still studying for the civil service exams. Once he passed them, I thought we were set, but then he didn't get along with his colleagues and retired. At least his connections finally got him a new job. But it all meant Miss Chue had to go to work almost as soon as the baby was born."

Chue waved a string of small flags as she spoke. She certainly didn't look like someone who had it as rough as all that, but, well, who knew?

"Incidentally, ever since my husband got his new job, I've been under pressure to pop out the next kid. Sure, goes the logic, maybe my brother-in-law will end up head of the family, but who knows if he'll produce a child? I think the big lady's just bullying her daughter-in-law."