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Chapter Text

A young man of an extraordinary beauty, with purple strands falling from his tight bun, amethyst eyes and an androgynous face named Jinshi, was at that very moment selling makeup to some ladies in the pleasure district.

The image could look somewhat comical; the man of overflowing beauty in a, not too ugly, but yet, commoner suit, surrounded by blushing women who seemed to be more interested in the seller than in the product itself, without any shame nor discomfort in hiding such a fact. He, as always, with his perfect smile, recommending his products while complimenting the woman beauty. An old trick that never failed.

The reason of him being there was because of his mother, Ah-Duo, and he himself, being merchants.

Both mother and son travel around Li buying, reselling, and creating varied merchandise.

She recently bought very good quality makeup at a really low price in a place far away from the capital. And what better place to sell makeup than in the district where pretentious women and beautiful courtesans abound? So that's where they have been lately, for around 4 days.

Obviously the products had to be tested before being sold to the public, and so, Ah-Duo chose both Jinshi and Basen as her victims, while the spectators of such a spectacle were left speechless by the results of her work on Jinshi's face. Nobody made any comment related to that day after, which Jinshi mentally thanked.

Though they don't live really far away from the district, just a 30 minute carriage ride, traveling by carriage was not a luxury they could afford every day. They weren't poor but saving some money does no harm, said Ah-Duo while waving a goodbye to Suiren, Jinshi's grandmother who lived with them, before leaving to the  famous district. It wasn't that the woman was stingy, not at all, but she always left a little extra money each month to save, that then she would usually just gave it away to children begging in the street; her poor heart couldn't handle it.  

That's why, in these past 4 days, they had been sleeping in empty brothels at the district, renting rooms at low prices and without the courtesan service, obviously.

"Shall we get going?" said Ah-Duo watching the sun set while picking up the small amount of makeup that was left over from that day sale "We will sell this tomorrow and then finally go back home" she patted the bag of makeup. Without waiting for the boy's response, she continued with her out loud monologue "I'm actually really surprised on how well this went, considering that there are several makeup stores here with even more prestige than a simple street stall. We may have to dedicate our bussines to selling makeup specifically for a while if we want to get a little break" she winked at the boy playfully. Jinshi smiled back affectionately, but he wasn't a big fan of the idea of continuing to sell to voluptuous girls who constantly made advances or insinuations towards him.

He has always known that he's beautiful, and since a really young age he has been always surrounded by lustful glances and young ladies (or even men, in some cases) confessing their love. Luckily for him, Ah-Duo always knew how to scare away his admirers. But in the short period of his stay in the pleasure district those looks had intensified quite a bit, and his mother couldn't scare away her clientele. Therefore, he quickly learned to adapt and take advantage of that.

Her mother kept telling him that it was not necessary for them to continue staying in brothels, and that they could actually look for an hotel at a slightly higher price. Or, well, actually rent a carriage. But Jinshi, not wanting to cause any inconvenience, said it was not necessary and that in the end it wasn't that bad.

"hmmm" Ah-Duo set her sights on the different places, while the bag where they carried the remaining makeup hung on her back and on Jinshi's, choosing the brothel where they were gonna spend the night. Jinshi covered his face with his bangs, hoping no one would recognize him and think the wrong thing about him being there;  he didn't want his popularity with the girls to be affected by such a thing. It wasn't that he cared about his suitors, but he couldn't deny that they were useful to him in a certain way, no matter how ugly it sounded.

She then spent a long time looking at one in particular, and still asked Jinshi "What about this one?" knowing that the boy would accept and trust anything she chose. He still looked where the woman said.

"Verdigris House" 

The sign was in reddish and yellowish tones, and to be honest, a little worn.

"I guess it's okay. It looks like every other one we've been in. I'm not an expert, so, unlike you, I don't know much" He glanced at her sideways.

"What are you implying with 'unlike me', young man?" The woman glanced at him sideways, raising an eyebrow in feigned pain. Jinshi wanted to debunk but she continued  with a soft laugh and shooking her finger at him "This one looks quite empty, they probably dont have much customers today, and that's exactly what we search for" she smiled proudly to her deduction.

"I don't think the owner would be too happy to see thats how other view her place" the boy looked at the sign with pity.

"Let's head in, then" said Jinshi and Ah duo took his hand and guided him into the brothel.

The reception room was spacious, and it was clear enough that this was no ordinary brothel, judging by the jewelry and elegant patterns that adorned the furniture and walls. Why would it be empty then? The boy wondered.

"Ah" An old woman stood at the reception desk, frowning as she smoked on a pipe. She took a quick look at the new people that arrived, and when she realized they weren't her usual customers, she looked away and said

"The courtesans are on their day of rest today" The smoke escaped through her mouth. They both knew that the woman was lying, some lights and shadows were seen in the upper rooms "And we don't serve women either" Jinshi wondered if she was referring to him or to Ah-Duo.

"Oh, no, we aren't here for these services actually" Ah-Duo smiled. The old woman raised an eyebrow and finally looked at the clients more closely. She then noticed that Jinshi was, apparently, a man, and looked quite confused seeing a mother and her son in such a place; but who was she to judge? She mentally shrugged.

"We just wanted to know if we could rent a room to spend the night" The younger woman continued.

"A room to sleep? There are other places you could go for that. The verdigris house is a brothel of status, not just a simple farm to sleep in" The words came out in a dry, sharp manner. No response was received.

The old woman looked at them confused while seeming a bit skeptical about the fact that they only wanted to sleep; how many thieves hadn't used the same technique, sneaking out in the dead of night with their hands full of luxury jewelry. However, this did not seem to be the case with the people in front of her. After all, she knew how to distinguish good customers from bad ones; she was the Madame for a reason.

"How much...?" She looked them up and down "...How much would you pay for a room then?" She raised a curious eyebrow.

"I think 5 silver coins for a night only is a fair enough price" Ah-Duo said smiling, hoping the old woman wouldn't bargain.

The woman remained silent for a while longer, analyzing them, the boy assumed, and then she finally looked at their faces and said  "7 silver coins each and a free tea"

Ah-Duo stared directly at her, but the old woman seemed determined. 

"Fine" The woman sighed; she had to admit that the Verdigris house was well-known in the country after all.

"14 silver coins is it then" The brothel hasn't been doing very well with customers lately, beside the weekly ones who visited the three princesses. This, because of a certain someone who had left an experiment near the window that was, apparently, flammable to the sun. And so as a result, an explosion occurred that affected most of the rooms on the third floor, which was where the cheapest, and most visited courtesans worked. It was going to take some time before they were fully rebuilt. She couldn't help but get angry when she thought about it again. damn brat.

Even though, she didn't accept new random people as a client either; those times had already changed. Seven extra silver coins for no service at all was almost like a gift.

The woman rummaged through the drawers and took out a key "This is the room further away from the others, so you won't hear any unwanted sound, or most likely, almost nothing" Then she added, almost (not really) timidly  "Unless you want to listen," There were people with strange tastes indeed "in which case I could change your room to the upper floors, who are more expensive and you would have to pay extra mo..."

"NO!" Jinshi shouted nervously, remembering the unique sounds he had heard in the past nights. He wasn't a saint, he was 19 years old, but knowing was very different from witnessing. The old woman looked at him like as if he was a weirdo, and realizing that he had screamed, he cleared his throat and said in his usual flirtatious tone, but a tone more low and shy "No, thank you, we're okay just like that"

 Ah Duo handed the coins to the woman and walked first guiding Jinshi as they walked through the place.

In the course of finding the room, some courtesans gossiped among themselves, looking at Jinshi, laughing and blushing, eager to know which courtesan the boy had chosen. Unfortunately for them, he hadn't chosen any.

They managed to get to the room without any incident, but as they opened the door a small green spot crashed into them.

It was actually a skinny, freckled and small green haired girl that crashed into Jinshi.

"I'm so sorry, are you ok?"  Ah-Duo hurried to say while she gave Jinshi a look as if to say be a gentleman and help the girl get up "Did we get the wrong room?" She looked at her with the eyes of a worried mother, that the girl did not care to reciprocate. 

Jinshi raised his hand towards the girl, with the perfectly practiced smile he used to serve female customers with. But to his surprise, she just refused his help and got up by herself, while bowing in apology. Her big blue eyes looking at him as if they were looking into his soul. Jinshi swallowed.

"I'm sorry, and don't worry, I'm okay. It's my fault, I was cleaning and didn't look where I was going" said in a monotonous voice switching from looking at Jinshi to looking at the woman in the face "This is the right room I'm sorry for the inconvenience"

"There's no need to apologize that much, don't worry. Nobody and nothing was hurt" The woman shook her head gently.

The girl stared with her stupidly large eyes and then said "Thank you very much, please feel free to ask for anything, enjoy your evening. she bowed again and left immediately.

"poor girls..." Ah-Duo murmured with a sad expression as she watched the girl leave.

Ah-Duo then returned to her usual expression and entered the room, while Jinshi could just look in confusion at shadow of the girl who quickly disappeared down the hall. 

She didn't blush nor did she sutter as girls always does around him, instead she just refused his help. When was the last time someone had rejected him so flatly? He had to admit that felt interested.

"Yue?" Ah Duo looked at him from behind the door with a mischievous smile "Ah, I see. Are you looking for some courtesans? Maybe that was the reason why you rejected my offer to sleep elsewhere"

"What?" His mom laughed at his genuine surprised face, entering the room, and he did too, not laughing though, while closing the door.

...

The next morning Ah-Duo woke up with a terrible stomach ache, vomiting everywhere.

They didn't know what was the reason, but then Jinshi remembered the weird looking chicken skewers his mom had tried yesterday, that he refused to eat and gave them back to her instead, and thought he had found the culprit.

The granny, owner of the brothel, was clearly angry at the debacle of her guests, but as soon as Jinshi gave her 15 silver coins her frown turned into a big smile and said with a voice supposed to be sweet.

"Oh I can't let you leave leave like this!, What kind of host would I be if I did that?" She snapped her fingers calling the kamuro's to clean the room while Ah-Duo waved them away wanting to take care of her own mess. They seemed confused, not knowing what to do, alternating between looking at the granny or the woman. Indifferent to this, the old woman continued  "There's an apothecary in the brothel actually, but his services aren't free. Say I sent you there and he will give you a, most likely, discount." 

"I'll accompany yo-..." The youngest interrupted the conversation between the two only to be interrupted back by his mother.

"No, Jinshi. You should better sell the rest of the makeup so we can leave. I'll go by myself, I'm a grown woman as you can see" she smiled despite the tremors from trying to stand and not vomit.

So now Jinshi was alone on the district streets. 

A young man with a pretty face and a lot of money on the district streets. And so, a perfect victim for a robbery.

"Damn it" breathing heavily Jinshi leaned his back against the wall of a dark, dirty and remote alley.

Everything was going well; he was about to finish selling everything until a man came out of nowhere, took all the makeup and coins from the improvised stand, and ran away with them.

Jinshi, with his good built, ran after him and managed to reach the thief after a long persecution. What he didn't expect was the robber to have a knife and stab him with it. He wasn't fast enough to dodge it, so now he was holding his shoulder with a handful of cloth to stop the bleeding. Sadly he couldn't get back neither the makeup or the money.

In the unknown city he didn't know where were the doctors, or if there were any in general. He couldn't ask for help either with his current appearance; The filthy face and hands, messy hair and a large blood stain on his shoulder and chest. Anyone who saw him, without looking at his face, could've assume that he was just a homeless man who got into a fight. Then going through his thought remembered the supposed brothel apothecary, and thought a visit wouldn't hurt.

So, enduring the pain, he went back the way he came, avoiding the people who were looking at his back and messy hair, and finally arrived to the brothel where supposedly was his mother and the apothecary. He knocked softly on the door.

At the door he was surprised to find the green-haired girl from yesterday. She looked at him with confusion and disgust, for some weird reason he couldn't tell, but the moment she saw the blood on his shoulder she immediately changed her expression to a clinic and confused one, urgently opening the door for him to come in.

The house wasn't very different from inside than outside. It consisted of a single room with a lot of herbs hanging around and a small space with some sagging mattresses that, Jinshi assumed, is where the girl sleeps in. He saw no trace of his mother in the room which made him worry a bit.

"I gave her some medicine and forced her to rest, but she insisted that she had to go somewhere for some potatoes offers she heard about" The girl said in the same stoic and calm tone as the day before after noticing that the boy was searching for someone in the room. She took a bottle out of a drawer which had a strong smell of alcohol that made him sneeze a little "Now my question is, how did this happen?" she pointed at his shoulder and Jinshi saw a thread and needle on her hand.

His senses were still a little impaired after the attack, so he simply asked  "Are you the apothecary?"

The girl stopped her movements for a moment and looked at him as if he were stupid. And to be honest, after that look, he did feel like one.

"What am I if not? My dad is the one that's actually in charge of the apothecary, but he's not in the city right now"

"I thought you were...you know, a courtesan because of yesterday..."

"Do I look like a courtesan?" The girl moved her hands, with the needle still in hand, emphasizing her small chest.

"I-i guess not, im sorry" he blushed looking away from her face "why were you there yesterday then? Do you personally attend to the courtesans?"

The girl looked at him for a while "I was making up for a mistake of mine by cleaning the rooms..." She returned to her work of disinfecting the needle "You didn't answer my question though. How am I going to treat you if I don't know the reason of your injury?"

Jinshi explained what had happened to the girl who, in the course of his story, removed his top clothes and the cloth around his shoulder, staring at the wound. Jisnhi felt a little uncomfortable so exposed, but the girl didn't seem to have ulterior motives or be interested in him either, so he stayed still. After all, between the two of them, she was the only one who could prevent the cut from getting infected.

"So you aren't from here" she sighed "Why did you think it was a good idea to go after him?, you were lucky enough that he didn't stab you too deep or in vital places" she applied a little of the strong-smelling liquid from before onto a handkerchief "At least you were smart enough to put on the makeshift bandage, you managed to stop the bleeding. Prepare yourself, this might hurt" She said the last part as the cloth with the strong liquid went towards hidshoulder. Jinshi got a little shy after the clinic compliment, until he felt like his wound was ablaze.

"What's this?!" The boy looked at her confused and a bit of angry. Could it be that he made a mistake trusting the girl and she was actually trying to hurt him to get something in return?

"I warned you before. Don't move" With her small, banded hand she tried to immobilize the man's good shoulder and looked at him straight into the eyes, making him a little shy after realizing the girl was actually really pretty "It's dilated alcohol from some roses I had left over, i use it to clean surfaces but it also can disinfects wounds. Although the one I normally use is softer, I ran out of it" and so she continued cleaning the wound more gently than before, which Jinshi thanked in his mind.

It took only a few seconds for the girl to gently wipe him with the cloth until the boy got used to the sensation. When she finished, she left the cloth, now bloody, in a bucket of water that was further away, to clean it, the boy supposed, and then she seemed to study the wound for a while before mumbling.

"If only my dad was here right now..." she sighed again, muttering apparently loud enough for Jinshi to hear, although he doubted she had done it on purpose.

"What's the problem?" He asked curiously.

The girl looked at him again "My specialty is medicine, not working with injured skin. I can still do it, but its not as good as my father, and your wound its big enough to get worse if I dont fix it right now"

"Its okay, do it"

She stood there for a moment and then went to work disinfecting the needle and the and thread. When everything was ready she said "My services are not free by the way"

Surprised by the similarity of the girl and the old woman, her comment managed to bring a small smile to his face. 

"Its okay, I'll pay when I can"

"Good, okay. Here I go" said more to herself than to the pacient, and Jinshi swallowed and closed his eyes trying to ignore the pain. 

After a few minutes of having a needle entering and exiting his body, the wound was completely sealed and the girl stretched like a cat, releasing the sigh she had been holding back for these minutes.

"Everything is good, right?" She stared at him intently and expectantly.

Jinshi gently patted the wound, despite the girl's reproachful look because of him doing so, and felt no more pain than necessary. 

The door opened, with the light from outside slightly blinding Jinshi's eyes, and an old man, who looked more of a grandma, entered the house with the sound of his cane striking the flimsy floor.

"Dad" the girl greeted getting up to do so.

"Oh, hello Mao Mao" so that was the girl name, Jinshi wrote it down in his head "I thought you were gonna be in the field at this hour"

"Thats what I was going to do until he came in" The man after noticing Jinshi's presence, gave him a small bow of greeting, which Jinshi reciprocated. 

"Dont move your arms, the stitches could come out"

"Stitches?" The old man asked looking at Maomao clnfused again. How many things had happened since he went out?

"I had to, The wound could have become infected if not" Changing her serene expression, now an abyss of happiness was seen on her face as she continued "But look!! I think this has been my best work!" She said, hoping the old man would come closer to evaluate better her work, as if Jinshi were her dummy. The boy felt a little embarrassed having two people staring at his bare chest.

"It's a good job for someone with no experience in it" The old man implicitly praised, while Maomao stood upright with her chest puffed out with pride "Although I think it was a bit risky in a place like this without many hygiene measures. You could have infected the wound" Maomao's inflated chest returned to its original shape, while a chasm of disappointment appeared on the girl's face. However, there was also great determination, because she quickly murmured "...not at the apothecary..." as if she were writing it down in her head so as not to make such a mistake again.

Choosing the worst moment, the door was knocked on with his mother also entering the house.

"Oh, yue?" The woman was confused to see her son again so early "What are you doing here? And why you dont have clothes on...?" She saw the girl and closed her mouth. After a bit she asked "Am I interrupting?" She didn't think her son was that kind of man, but she wasn't someone who would put her own hands in fire for him either.

Jinshi blushed and Maomao shook her head sharply. "I was just doing my apothecary work, ma'am" The girl frowned at the lady, but her dad put a hand on her shoulder telling her to relax her expression. 

"Apothecary work...?" Ah duo finally noticed the old man in the room and the wound on Jinshi's shoulder "Jinshi, what happened?" Se knelt down, looking better at the now healed wound with a worried expression.

Jinshi, embarrassed that everyone in the room were looking at him shirtless, asked his mom for his shirt or something to cover himself. When he finally had clothes on his chest he told what happened once again to the two new members of the room.

"Ahh" the old man looked at him with a hint of sadness and gave him a loving smile "Yes, you have to be careful with thieves here. They probably noticed that you were not from around here"

Ah-duo sighed and gave Jinshi a hug "Why are you so unlucky lately? At least nothing more happened. He can walk, right?" she asked the apothecary.

She nodded at the same time as she frowned "If I remember correctly the injury was on his shoulder, not his foot. Just don't apply more force than necessary to that area for a while and you'll prevent the stitches from opening "

Now asking her son, Ah-Duo asked "Does it hurt?"

"I mean, of course it does" he said in a somewhat mocking tone "but it's a pain I can bear"

The two stood up and Ah-uo handed a few bronze coins to maomao

"you helped me and my son, I know this Isn't a lot, but it's everything I've got right now, because of a certain person" Now that the woman knew her son was in no danger, it seemed that anger had reached her brain "We're gonna come back soon and pay you what actually corresponds" 

"Oh, no its ok-" Maomao interrupted her dad and gave Ah-duo a bottle.

"This is an ointment that you should apply to the wound for it to heal faster. If possible once in the morning and then at night"

Then she took out a piece of paper and a brush. She scribbled something and said to Jinshi " So Jinshi, this is a written pledge, sign" then she added "Oh well, I mean your mother can also do so"

"Maomao this is too-..." But Jinshi, captivated by the girl's personality, had already signed before the old man spoke.

Chapter Text

After the whole incident with the thief and the apothecary, Jinshi and Ah-Duo, with zero coins due to giving them to Maomao, had to go walking home with a heavy bag of potatoes that the woman bought before everything that happened.

When 2 hours of walking passed, affecting their legs making them as wobbly as fresh noodles,  they took a break at a river, sitting on rocks, while Jinshi, who was looking at the bag of potatoes on his lap, asked

"Were all the potatoes necessary?” Although potatoes did not rot as quickly at other vegetables, it was not very viable since they could be planted practically anywhere, and there were really few people who wanted to buy these intead of plant them themselves.

Ah-Duo gathering her hair in a ponytail while looking at her reflection on the river said “Well, now that we lost a lot of money selling them in the village will help. Single women are too pretentious to get their hands dirty growing things on their own” she sighed arranging the small locks that stuck out  “Im glad I listened to Suiren and didn't bring too much” she said, referring to the money.

“I'm sorry” Jinshi looked down in shame. He couldn't even help the woman by carrying the potatoes because of his shoulder injury. According to Maomao, he had to keep it completely still for at least a month if he didn't want to break up his skin even more.

“Oh no Yue, it's not your fault. Thief's are everywhere, we just were unclucky enough to meet one” She turned around to look at his face, and the sweet tone was replaced by a scolding one “But going after him was completely stupid, if you allow me to say so, something worse could've happened. Be grateful that that young lady was there to help you”

“And even though she helped me you still managed to make fun of me in front of her” Jinshi said with a pout, remembering the countless times that, before leaving, Ah Duo told the girl that Jinshi was single and at the age of marriage, while Maomao could just watch and nod as her face contorted more and more by each comment. Jinshi experienced a new feeling upon seeing that expression, And Ah-Duo was not unaware of that detail either.

“A silly joke doesn't harm anyone, and she didn't look interested either by what I could tell with her expression” she smiled with the tip of her tongue out, reminding him of Chue, the sister-in-law of his friend Basen, that monthly goes to their house and has tea with his mother. Although Ah-Duo was already in her thirties, she was still playful and joking around. 

Jinshi did not have a father while growing up, that personality was the one who helped and taught him to not care about that, nor the rumors the women in their old village made about them for the same reason.

When he was younger he used to ask a lot about him, and Ah-Duo used to tell him stories about how he was a traveler that got stuck in another country defeating monsters. And thanks to his bravery, he had to stay there to protect the people.

But as he grew up he, obviously, found out that the whole story was fake, and, watching Ah-Duo cold expressions every time they talked about it, he learned to not ask about the topic and to also don't care at all. He had a loving gradma and mom, he needed nothing more.

They later move on to their actual village, with their neighbors also accompanying them, Jinshi happily accepted, since he could continue to be close to his friend Basen. Ah-Duo just told everyone in that village that her husband died making her a widow, and although the rumors keep existing, they weren't as hard or mean as before, which allowed them to live a peaceful life.

Remembering his childhood while watching her mom pick up the bag of potatoes to continue with the way back home humming a song, he couldn't help but feel happy and grateful, a little nostalgic even, and hugged her from behind while kissing her on the cheek.

“What's with this?, Aren't you a little too old to do so?” she chuckled ruffling his hair like a dog.

“Shut up” And after a few more jokes they both kept walking back home while talking about the days in the district.

By the hour they arrived it was already dark outside, and their legs trembled from the amount of hours they had walked. Suiren, waiting for them outside with a lamp in hand, rushed, as fast as she could, to greet them and pick up their cloaks.

“You had me worried Ah-Duo, why on earth did you decide to go walking?” she said as a greeting with the cloaks on her arm, without losing the sweet tone that characterized her.

Looking at Jinshi the purple haired woman said “it was not a choice and it's a long story” she dropped the bag on the floor while massaging her shoulders “let's head inside and I'll tell you everything”

“I politely ask both of you to take a bath before sitting at the table” Jinshi sniffed his sleeve and noticed that there was no trace left of his distinctive sandalwood scent, and the old woman rushed to push them into the residence towards the bathroom.

...

Maomao stretched as she finished sorting the medicines and cleaning the bands she used with the purple haired guy, with a shiver running down her spine as she remembered the smile he gave her before leaving.

She couldn't lie that the boy wasn't beautiful, extremely beautiful to be more exact, with that fake smile which was obviously to attract young women. Another grimace returned to her face.

“You have to control your facial expressions” Luomen said behind her with a calm voice while crushing some herbs in the mortar. Maomao was startled for a moment.

“I try my best, but I can't stand that kind of men” said the girl turning to look at his face.

Luomen sighed with a small smile “You don't even know him”

“I can identify these people” The old man just gently shook his head, Maomao was very stubborn “I just hope he actually pays”

“Maomao…” had a hint of scolding in his expression.

“Can we afford the rent?” Luomen responded with silence "They're merchant, they have enough money”

“I will not continue arguing…”

“I'm not arguing!” She said, somewhat confused in why Luomen was even more docile with these new customers.

“Why won't you better go to the verdigris house and deliver these medicines” Maomao just couldn't get angry at her father, so she took the medicines and headed to the compound.

“Oh, Maomao!” A slender courtesan greeted her at the entrance, leaning toward her for a hug.

“Hello Pairin” she said, with her arms hanging awkwardly at her sides, tightly in the hug.

“I haven't seen you in a long time!” The last three times Maomao went to the brothel Pairin and her sisters were outside at high-ranking officials' parties, or attending clients.

“I have to give this to the granny” she showed her the little bag with medicine “I thought you were gonna be busy tonight”

Pairin yawning said “I'm actually really tired tonight” maomao raised an eyebrow “there was this weird official talking stuff about the emperor and I almost got in trouble because they thought I was also conspiring with him” she sighed “poor guy, he was good looking, with a good built and money, but drank too much and probably forgot where he was and with who”

As they climbed the stairs in search of the madame Maomao asked.

“What was the official talking about?”

“Something about the emperor having a curse because all his heirs have died, even his younger brother” Maomao remembered the kneeless eunuch who was waiting for her at home “If he happens to die there's going to be a big problem about who's left in charge of the throne”

“Hmmm…”

“Are you trying to solve the case” Pairin smiled.

Maomao shook her head “Even if I knew anything, which I obviously don't, I couldn't say anything. I'm just a low birth apothecary"

“Well if you actually accepted that offer…” Maomao pretended not to hear.

and as soon as she handed the medicine to the old woman, she left the place.

Chapter Text

A week had passed in which Jinsh had daily applied the ointment on the now scar of the cut. He didn't forget about the “promise” he made to the green-haired girl, and so, he begged Ah-Duo to let him be the one to hand Maomao the money he owed, which she allowed, not without affectionately mocking him. But with the condition that it was in the company of his friend Basen, a young man with a formidable physique who would not allow another robbery to Jinshi.

“Oh my” Suiren placed her hands on her cheeks as she watched the two friends ride off “Why was he so excited to go there?” she smiled at Ah-Duo waiting for her to reveal the secrets.

“surprisly it's because of a girl” said Ah-Duo helping her mom with the food, while a smile appeared on her face “we don't have to worry about he not being interested in women at least” She remembered the compromising situation she had once found Basen and Jinshi in, about which she had not said a single word.

...

As the two boys were riding along the road on their way to the pleasure district, Basen started the conversation.

“I still think you should've let your mom do this” Basen said, looking at him out of the corner of his eye, observing his happy and excited expression “we could've been training” he sighed.

Basen belonged to a military family. He and his father would usually accompany Jinshi when he left the village without Ah-duo.

“I'm the one who signed so I'm the one who must pay” was his poor excuse that the other boy knew was fake.

Basen looked at him with a hint of annoyance “what's so interesting about this girl anyways, there are plenty of them in the village in love with you”

“That's exactly why; Im interested because she's different than the girls in the village” Jinshi closed his eyes as the wind swirled through his hair, fantasizing about the girl, with the sound of the 30 silver coins in a small bag that resounded with each gallop “maybe we can at least become friends”

“You've only met her once!!” The boy looked at him in exasperation, and with a hint of envy when thinking about his foster brother with another friend who wasn't him.

“Well, now it's gonna be twice!” Jinshi said with a big smile of sufficiency as they glimpsed the city in the distance.

“And to think that the girls of the village would die for you…” murmured Basen a little jealous.

When they finally entered the district they were greeted with indiscreet glances from the ladies as they noticed two well-dressed young men in the place. Basen, uncomfortable, clung to his horse as he looked at the women, from the other side, Jinshi was trying to remember the road to the verdigris house used to these glances.

They had to go deeper and deeper into the district until they reached the brothel, and so, the pharmacy, but not before stopping at a chicken skewer stand (not the same one as the one his mom ate) because of Basen not being able to hold his hunger, and looking at the stall and at Jinshi successively with puppy eyes.

Basen though the place where the girl attended jinshi was inside the brothel so, with his face completely red imagining the courtesans, he tied up the horse outside and rushed in to finish the errand quickly. Jinshi stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Its not here” Basen looked at him confused for the fourth time that day, Jinshi was starting to lose his patience “your mom clearly said ‘verdigris house’”

“It's behind the brothel” Jinshi walked towards his destination and there Basen observed the small hut with an indecipherable expression.

“You got your skin sewed... here?” He had a look of horror on his face. He looked contemptuously at the worn door where Jinshi knocked.

The door opened and standing in front of the door was Maomao with her usual serious expression, but as soon as she noticed Jinshi her eyebrows raised in surprise; she didn't really think he would actually come back and pay after waiting a whole week.

Basen had a surprised face too, the image of the girl was nothing as he imagined based on how Jinshi described her. But the least thing Basen is was disrespectful, so he bowed in greeting.

“Nice to meet you, im Basen”

“Oh..yeah” Maomao noticing the unknown boy glared at him and bowed too “I'm Maomao”

“And I'm Jinshi” Said the purple haired guy smiling 

Maomao looked at him contemptuously and said "I know, do you have the money?”

Basen made a sound of surprise at the lack of manners the new acquaintance showed towards Jinshi. “Aren't you gonna at least let us in?” he said with a frown. 

The girl looked at him for a moment a little irritated, and then opened the door letting them enter the messy room. It was the same as when Jinshi came, only that the old man wasn't here today either.

“Is your dad outside again?” Jinshi asked with curiosity, hoping to have a little talk with the girl before leaving.

She looked at him studying his expression, but after seeing the small bag of cloth in his hand, remembering the money, she softened and said “he's in the field right now” then she reached out her hand towards Jinshi “my pay” Basen frowned and looked confused, again, wondering how Jinshi could have been interested in this disrespectful young woman.

“I brought it, don't worry” He smiled at her again, enjoying the feeling of the disgusted look she gave him “but you never told me how much i was in debt actually, so i only brought this” He turned the purse over on the small table revealing the 30 silver coins watching the girls eyes opening and shining as her hands opened and closed with emotion of having much money in front of her.

Basen knew his friend didn't know much about money although being a merchant, it was usually his mother the one in charge of managing profits. But giving 30 silver coins to a simple apothecary was excessive, fortunately for him, Maomao had the same thought, the voices in her head were telling her to just accept the money, but she had still acquired a bit of the humility from the old Luomen. So shaking her head she said

“30 silver coins is a lot, I can't accept that much” It seemed that saying those words hurt her

Jinshi tilted his head “then how much was the treat?”

Looking at Basen across the room she knew she couldn't scam the pretty-faced boy, so she simply said “Lets keep it in 10 coins” 

Jinshi picked up the 10 silver coins from the table and placed them on the palm of her small hand.

The girl rummaged through her drawers and finally found the worn paper with their agreement. When it was finally in her hand she threw it away in the brazier, with the fire almost extinguished, terminating their contract.

Jinshi, seeing that soon he would have no more excuses to stay there, and so no more time to talk with the girl (even though she wasn't really talkative) tried to win her over with money.

“Im also here for a check-up!!” Maomao turned around looking at him, again, with a frown “M-me and my friend actually!!” Basen looked at him reprimandingly for the misuse of money, reminding Jinshi of when Gaoshun used to punish them when they were little.

“Well…” Maomao put her hand on her chin, thinking “I actually want to see how's the wound healing and try another ointment I made for scars in specific…” Jinshi looked at her like an excited puppy nodding his head while Basen's expression turned more and more terrified.

“You mean to experiment on him!!!??” He shouted 

“I'm just trying a new cream. Why are you so exasperated anyways? Are you his guardian perhaps?” Maomao looked at him, arms crossed and annoyed. Although she tests the medicine she makes on herself, knowing how it would work on others would definitely help to improve the production of them. What better way to gain money while doing what she likes? She thanked the, false, gods for giving her such an opportunity. Although she was still a little suspicious of the boy's interest in her.

“N-no i'm only his friend…” His voice trailed off as he blushed in embarrassment while thinking that the girl had a Maamei-like air, just a few centimeters smaller. The girl nodded as she turned back to Jinshi pointing at the small pillow in the corner.

“it's two coins for each check-up”

Basen crossed his arms and said “I'll pass” Maomao looked at him as if to say "i wasn't talking to you"

“Then go watch the horses” Jinshi said, hoping to finally get his moment to be alone with the girl without the interruptions of his friend. Basen reluctantly left the enclosure to see the horses as Jinshi said, not without having hesitated for a few good seconds.

“Is he always so nosy?” The girl murmured as she saw the boy leave the house scraping the ground with his boots.

“He’s a little overprotective” Jinshi said,embarrassed while sitting on the cushion.

“Would you really let me try this new experiment on you then!?” her eyes shone with emotion while an invisible cat's tail moved from side to side.

“Is the least i can do after how u trusted and helped me a week ago” Jinshi's flirtatious personality reappeared after his embarrassment faded.

Ignoring the syrupy tone of his voice, Maomao continued with the conversation “Take off your top clothes then!!” Realizing the emotion in her own voice, she cleared his throat and said “please" And as she said he did it, remaining simply in his pants while Maomao looked at his bare shoulder admiring her job, passing her fingers over the scar, causing small electric shocks to the boy below her.

“This is really my best job yet…” she said with admiration.

“What do you mean?” 

“hold on” Maomao took out a mirror, placing it at an angle where Jinshi could see the scar better “The stitches are barely noticeable and when you touch it” she touched him again “you can barely feel the scar” 

“I added the omnipotent three times per day” He gave her a smile after the implicit praise of her work.

Ignoring his attempts at flirting, again, she continued “The one I told you about is supposed to heal it completely, you are gonna almost not see it unless you really squint your eyes” She said, beating her chest proudly, then, looking at him again, she noticed the small wounds and bruises that adorned his chest “Do you get in trouble a lot?” she pointed out his bruises from afar, thinking that maybe Jinshi had as bad luck as Luomen.

“Ah, no, they're simply training bruises” Maomao tilted her head.

“I thought you were a merchant? Do you get robbed a lot?”

He blushed in embarrassment; he didn't need to be reminded of that mistake again.“I am a merchant indeed, but i also give some sword classes for the littles in my village. And I train with Basen a lot too”

“Huh…” It was her sound of approval, with the bottle in hand, she prepared to apply the cream, with a strong mint smell, on the important scar.

“What about you?”

“Excuse me?” The girl stopped the circular movements on his chest and looked at his face.

“I mean, do you do something else than your job here?” 

The girl watched him, studying his face, as if she wanted to know if he was someone she could trust.

After thinking about it for a while she said “ I actually have a part-time job as a courtesan” Jinshi looked at her with horror, thinking the worst. “not in that way” she sighed “...i was born there, so I'm practically the old lady's property” The last thing came out in a somewhat irritated and low tone. Then, taking advantage of Jinshi's brief moment of dizziness, she continued with her work.

“Is your mom a courtesan?” Maomao stopped her movements for a second, almost not noticeable and then continued them “my progenitor, i have no mother” she corrected him back to her monotone.

“Ohhh…” Picking up the tone, Jinshi understood the hint and the room fell silent again.

Too silent.

He couldn't resist, he wanted more.

“Then your dad's is…?” he looked at her surreptitiously.

“Hes my adoptive father” she answered and softened her expression a little, thinking fondly about the old man that was suspiciously taking too long in the field.

and silence reigned again, until Maomao moved her fingers away from his chest and, with a clean bandage, rewrapped the area. Quickly, she took a piece of wood and asked Jinshi 

“Does it burn?, Does it hurt?, Do you feel anything?”

“No,no and no” He smiled at her irritated expression.

“If you notice anything, would you be so kind as to let me know by letter?” 

Jinshi acted as if he thought about it, with his index finger on his chin “Wouldn't it be easier to come and have you check it in person?”

Maomao looked irritated, Jinsbi wondered if he was really that annoying. “What do you want?” 

“What do you mean?” Jinshi said with genuine confusion. 

Maomao pinched the bridge of her freckled nose “Why do you insist so much on coming?” she looked at him, waiting for his confession.

“Is getting to know you better a good answer?” He looked at her with an innocent expression.

she sighed, “come here next week” and Jinshi couldn't be happier.

Chapter Text

For the past ten weeks, Jinshi had been visiting Maomao's place weekly, every Thursday to be more precise. At first, Jinshi kept going with the excuse of medical checkups, and Maomao simply applied ointments and creams on the small scratches and bruises around his body, answering the things he asked and nothing else, with complete disinterest. Jinshi took advantage of staying a little longer, but the girl always kicked him out when clients arrived, so his visits didn't last long. But now that his wounds were healed, he didn't have any new excuses to visit her, so on his return from his visit in the fourth week, after being humiliatingly expelled from the house again, he went straight to Basen's house who opened the door and Jinshi directly said

“Hit me” While Basen looked at him in horror and ,after a lot of insistence, he did.

It was on his fifth visit that Jinshi did not find her in the hut nor in the brothel, and searched for her until he found the girl in a courtyard a little further away than where he would usually find her, kneeling in front of a strange mushroom.

“Hi!” He bent down so that his face was at the same height as hers. Maomao jumped slightly, ready to defend herself against the intruder, but upon seeing the young man, she returned to her neutral expression and sighed in resignation.

“Greetings” she said in a tired tone while tilting her head, continuing to admiring the mushroom, writing things down on a small wooden board. Jinshi noticed the improvised gloves of cloth bags that she was wearing.

“What are you looking at?” He asked, not finding the mushroom appealing. Of course, it had a brighter color than the one he was used to, but other than that, it was the same, and even smaller, as a common mushroom.

Maomao turned to look at him with an expression he hadn't seen before: her eyes were shining and her features were distorted by the smile on her face. Jinshi gulped as he felt his face blush.

“This,” Maomao cleared her throat and her expression, although still happy, was a little more neutral “it's a poisonous mushroom. Its venom is so potent that just touching it can numb an entire limb. That's why im wearing these improvised gloves” she raised her hands so that they were visible to Jinshi and he noticed how big they were on her

"Your gloves are...cut-up potato sacks?" He couldn't hide the amused expression on his face.

"Yes, well, they serve the purpose of preventing my hand from touching the fungus" SHe looked at him with spite.

“Why are you studying a poisonous mushroom?” Jinshi changed the subject to the fungus back again, while he looked at her confused.

“How do you expect me to learn about the cure of a poison if I don't know the root of it?” Jinshi tilted his head again and Maomao sighed “You were here when the other day a client came asking about his father who had accidentally ate this exact same mushroom, whos now bedridden and unconscious. I want to see how to make him at least wake up, although I doubt I can make him regain movement since its already been weeks since such a strong poison entered his body”

“I thought you were only interested in money,” Jinshi smiled mockingly at her, raising his eyebrows exaggeratedly as an expression of fake surprise.

Maomao looked back at her mushroom with a slightly more timid expression and tone “I can't allow someone to die knowing there may be a cure, I'm not a demon. They payed me though, enough money for a month, and theyre gonna pay even more if i happen to find a cure” Jinshi looked at her without saying anything, just smiling in his pretty face, which annoyed Maomao and made her ask “Why are you here anyways? Did you get another wound? Seriously how can someone be so absent-minded enough to always be hurting himself...” Her voice gradually lowered in volume as she said the last part.

Jinshi looked at her with a pout, deciding not to show her the bruise he asked Basen to give him for that exact very reason  “No, I've already told you, I just want to talk with you” Maomao ignored the puppy dog look.

“Then go, I'm busy as you can see” she said, resuming the work of writing on her wooden board.

“Why do you insist so much on ignoring me?” Jinshi was still lying next to her, his legs beginning to ache from the effort, and his hands on his cheeks admiring the girl's side face, thinking there was something different about her. After processing it, he realized that, in fact, she didn't have freckles!! He was surprised, was she wearing makeup for him? He dismissed that thought immediately seeing her disgusted expression. 

“Because I have no interest in talking to you, so you can leave” She looked at him frustrated; he always asked her the same question.

Jinshi placed his hand on his heart with exaggerated surprise and pain, closing his eyes in a sad expression, deciding not to comment on the absence  of her freckles “what can i do to be more interesting, then?”

Maomao continued to ignore him, but after a few minutes, seeing that the boy wasn't going to leave until she answered him, she left the board on the ground turning her head towards him thoughtfully, with her hand on her chin. Looking at him out of the corner of her eye an idea came to her “There's one thing that I want the most…” she replied, studying his reaction. Jinshi gestured with his hand for her to continue “it's called Ox Beozar…” 

“Ox beozar…” Jinshi muttered, writing it down in his head, trying to remember if he had heard that word before.

Maomao smiled virtuously; if the boy was going to continue bothering her and interfering in her work, why couldn't she take advantage of him a little? It was obvious that he wasn't going to give such an expensive item to a simple village girl, that would keep him busy a bit, enough to make him lose interest.

Imagine her surprise when, after two weeks without a visit, Maomao already resigned to the fact that she would not have her beozar but at least she would not have any more visits from the merchant as a result, Jinshi appeared at the entrance with a small bag with something round inside of it. in his hand. for her.

Maomao jumped and danced with joy, she finally had her beloved bezoar in her hands, and for free!!! Well not free at all, she would now have to endure Jinshi's presence and be friendlier to him, just enough, to compensate for his gift. So now when he visited her, she would keep up with the conversation, realizing with his last visit that she actually, in fact, wasn't bothered with Jinshi's presence at all. 

Since she has always lived surrounded by adults and the elderly, talking to someone her age was something new, maybe they didn't have much in common, but it was better than talking about taxes and politics. So she would usually just rant to Jinshi about her herbs and medicine, as he nodded and listened, startled when he discovered Maomao's fascination with poisons. Maomao would also sometimes just hear Jinshi ranting about how tired he was by the girls that harassed him daily, joking about how it was impossible for that not to happen due of his beautiful face, while Jinshi was pouting so much that Maomao was afraid his lip would fall off.

At the tenth week Jinshi left his house happily with his horse on the way to the Maomao’s house. He wasn't surprised when he didn't find her inside the house (Luomen always disappeared on Thursdays at that exact time lately) but he was a little worried not to find her in the yard either. So he sat down on the old cushion and waited...and waited...and waited. When 3 hours had passed and Maomao hadn't returned, Jinshi gave up and started to leave, worried that he might have done something to offend Maomao on his previous visit and thinking that was the reason for her absence at that moment. 

Upon opening the door he found a very upset Maomao with her hand on the handle, Jinshi's face immediately lit up upon seeing her

“Maomao! Did something happen that took you so long?” 

he realized that Luomen was coming behind her with his cane and his slow step. Maomao was a little startled to see him there.

“How long have you been here?” Jinshi realized that it was a little disrespectful to wait at someone else's house until they arrived without anyone inside, blushing a little at his lack of manners.

“Uhmm, for around three hours maybe…?” He gave her a nervous smile.

Maomao sighed “why?”

“I wanted to see you?” He felt a little nervous with Luomen's presence.

“Maomao, why don't we go in? Its kinda cold here” Luomen said with his soft voice and smile. Maomao noticed that they were still outside, so she hurried to go in and boil some water for tea.

Jinshi sat watching the homey sight of Maomao helping his father sit down while making tea and taking out a few old snacks which Jinshi gladly accepted, like every other thing Maomao gave him.

She sat down next to Luomen, opposite him, and an awkward silence reigned, interrupted by the sounds of sipping tea.

Jinshi didn't know what to say, so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind “how was your week?”

“It was fine, nothing of mention happened” She shrugged.

alternating between looking at Maomao or the old man he continued asking:

“Oh!! The man that ate the mushroom that you told me, how's he?”

“He died” Maomao took a sip of tea without flinching.

“Oh” Jinshi was speechless, a little uncomfortable. Maomao hadn't been as sharp as they first met lately 

Luomen gave her a small, almost powerless elbow, and Maomao relaxed her expression a little more, Jinshi noticing that she had been frowning all this time.

“We tried our best” she said, referring to her and the old man Jinshi supposed “But from the time he came it had already been a few weeks since he had consumed the poison. If he had come immediately after consumption, we could have avoided his dead”

“It's not your fault tho” Maomao looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Who said it was?” 

“N-no, I just assumed you felt guilty…”

“I didn't kill him, why should i feel guilty?”

“My bad…” He took the last sip of tea and thought it was already time to leave. With a bow he stood up from the improvised dining room on the floor and said “Thank you for the tea and food” Maomao escorted him to the door like a good hostess, But Jinshi was surprised to find the outside rather dark, when did it get so late??? Clearly he couldn't ride if he couldn't see anything at all, so, embarrassed, he turned around and asked the girl. 

“"Do you have a place where I can spend the night at?”

So he ended up back at the verdigris house spending the night, with Maomao paying because he, still scared from the robbery, hadn't brought any money. Obviously he had to return that money later. 

Three courtesans watched them intently as Maomao guided the boy to his room. 

“This is it” Jinshi didn't realize that they were already in front of the room's door “If you'll excuse me” she said with a bow, turning around to go back home.

Jinshi, before she left, grabbed her wrist with enough force to stop her, but not enough to hurt her.

“Whats it?” Maomao asked sharply.

“Did I do something?” 

“Huh?” Maomao looked at him with genuine confusion. 

“You've been distant today, is it my fault?" He looked at her with a pout. Maomao felt like hitting him in the face; she was a little fed up with that expression.

“Ahh” Maomao's expression softened slightly as she assimilated the words and sighed while gently shook her head “Don't worry, it's not your fault”

“Then what's it” Maomao scrutinized him with her eyes for a moment and then she answered 

“Its just…Theres this weird man who comes here often because of me, and today he was quite insistent.He left me a little exhausted and I had to turn to my father”

“Is he a stalker?” Jinshi asked alarmed for Maomao's safety

“You could call him that, yes” but seeing the boy's expression she quickly added “He can't do anything to me, it's ok, nothing to worry about. The old woman wouldn't let anything happen to me either, I still have to pay what I owe her” she said with a sarcastic smile, returning to her usual mood.

More calm knowing that Maomao's behavior was not his fault nor that she was in danger, Jinshi smiled at her.

“Well, it's late, go to sleep so you can leave early in the morning, I'm not going to pay for overtime” she turned this time to leave, before turning around again and say “And you better pay me next week” and now yes, she left.

Jinshi watched her leave with a silly smile on his face, maybe they were actually getting closer.

Chapter Text

Jinshi woke up in the comfortable bed of the Verdigris house with the sound of the courtesans getting up to be ready and so, to start the day.

The boy put on the same clothes he had worn the day before, since he had not planned to stay overnight in the big city.

He had left the horse tied up near Maomao's house, so he hurried to go and look for it, so that his mother would not worry about his absence waking up and not seeing him in the house.

Jinshi found her next to the horse, collecting some medicinal herbs, according to his little knowledge.

Again, there were no freckles on her face, and, putting on makeup in the early hours of the morning to gather herbs in a hidden spot in the yard, made no sense at all. So, he approached to greet her, pick up his horse and at the same time take the opportunity to ask about the freckles.

The girl glimpsed him out of the corner of her eye, impossible not to notice the presence of such a beauty, and greeted him first, maybe as an apology for her behavior the day before.

“Good morning, Did you have a good sleep?” she asked, placing the basket with herbs on her back.

“I did indeed, thank you again for paying it for me” He answered her with a smile “I know I have to pay you back, don't worry” He added when he saw Maomao opening her mouth to contradict.

“Good, The old lady will not hesitate to add it to my debt” she nodded, wincing slightly from the cold. Jinshi noticed that her layers of clothing were quite thin and made a mental note to give her a thick coat for the upcoming winter. He would think about how he would give it to her later “Your horse is very obedient” she stroked the silver horse's snout, which Jinshi found very tender “He made no noise at night and stood guard without sleeping”

“I'll have to make sure he eats and drinks a lot before going home so that there are no accidents on the road” Jinshi in turn gave him a small pat on the back with pride; he had raised and trained that horse since it was a colt.

Maomao simply nodded with the intention of entering her house to shelter from the cold, although the truth is that there was not much difference between it and the outside because of the thin walls of the last thing. Jinshi stopped her with a question

“I must say I'm kinda intrigued about why you do makeup such early in the morning” The girl tilted her head in doubt and an expression of pure bewilderment.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Although Maomao refrained from using rude things in front of strangers, she would always let one slip out from time to time, especially with Jinshi's stupidity.

“I mean, your freckles” The boy pointed at his own nose to emphasize.

Maomao gave a little start and touched her nose too.

“I hadn't noticed that they were already missing.” She murmured. Now it was Jinshi's turn to be confused.

“What do you mean they went missing?” He tilted his head “ Is this a new ointment to remove them?” A product that would remove facial imperfections was definitely something that could sell a lot, and with his merchant's mind, he couldn't help but feel a little excited at that idea.

Maomao gently shook her head. Jinshi began to notice her resemblance to Luomen, He was her great-uncle after all according to what she had told him “It's just that I never had freckles” Noticing Jinshi's confusion again, she added “i paint them on”

“Why??” Jinshi knew that Maomao wasn't pretentious, but he, as a man, found it a bit illogical for a girl to purposely make herself ugly.

“So I look less appealing”  Maomao said was he was thinking . Jinshi tilted his head “You've seen the men who pass by here, they’re not always satisfied with their sexual desires, with my height and weight it's not difficult for one of them to simply take me and do anything he wants to” The words sounded cruel, but Jinshi knew the kind of people who inhabited the world, unfortunately.

“Im sorry” He said while petting his horse suddenly extremely angry.

“Its okay” Maomao simply shrugged her shoulders.

After a few minutes of awkward silence in which neither of them said anything, Maomao was about to go home again, so, in order to continue talking to the girl, Jinshi asked

“The man…of the mushroom…did he really die as you said yesterday? Or did you say that so I'd get the vibe and leave?” he smiled.

“Both are true” Maomao nodded

Jinshi frowned with a pout “so you wanted me to leave”

Maomao shrugged her shoulders as if to say i have no idea what you're talking about

“Did he die because of the mushroom or was it something else?” Jinshi continued the conversation

“Its actually really strange,” Maomao stroked her chin thoughtfully, with a lost gaze "I'm not rlly sure because none of the family members know too much about what really happened. Apparently the man had either touched or ate the mushroom months ago, it's impossible to survive that long without having been given any medicine as the son said. It think its also a bit weird that he ate the mushroom, it has a disgusting taste according to what they say, and to end up prostrate he would have to have eaten it completely.” The last thing she said it was with a frown "Unless you've also had a taste bud problem, I don't know how much to believe in that theory. Well” she crossed her arms relaxing her face with a carefree expression "It's none of my business” But the tone of her voice and the fact that she spoke so much on her own revealed her curiosity and excitement about the subject.

“Could it be that something happened in the midst of all this that prolonged the date of his death?” Jinshi asked, also curious; if such a thing existed, it could be sold for a really good price.

Maomao, sensing the boy's shared excitement on the subject, looked at him with shining eyes

“Would you be interested in researching the topic, perhaps?”

“Are you?” Jinshi smiled back.

“Is it too obvious?” Maomao took her face in her hands, noticing the big smile on her face.

“A little” He giggled, receiving a frown in return.

“Anyways, don't you have to go home? She must be worried that you haven't come back yet” she said referring to Ah-duo, while she took the basket with plants, which she had left on the floor in the middle of the conversation, and placed it back on her back

Jinshi leaned against the wood post where his horse was tied up, with his arms crossed and the smile that he, specifically, dedicated only to her.

"Maybe the one who cares about me is you" He watched as the smallest one wriggled strangely.

“Don't you want me to help you?” He pointed at the basket, which, because Maomao had filled it to the top, made the girl wobble a little.

Maomao looked at him sideways with a frown, but resigned herself and handed the basket to the boy who put it on his back. Jinshi untied the horse who moved his legs as if he were stretching.

“Wouldn't you like to take a short ride from here to your house?” He patted the horse's thigh affectionately.

“Didn't you say he was tired?” Maomao raised an eyebrow.

“5 minutes of a leisurely walk is nothing to him” He exclaimed proudly. Maomao shook her hand as she led the way “No, thanks, I don't know how to ride a horse” Jinshi pouted at her back.

“Well then tell me more about the mushroom case” He walked slowly so that his steps were in step with hers.

“I have nothing more to say, I already told you everything I knew “

“Weren't we going to investigate?”

Maomao stopped her steps and looked at his face, confused “right now?”

“If you want to then I have no problem” Maomao shook her head and resumed walking

“you have to go home, the longer you delay, the more they will worry. And if something happens to you, I don't want to be implicated as the reason you came here” Jinshi smiled at her, already noticing the hut in the distance.

When they arrived, Jinshi left the basket of plants on the floor, shaking the dirt off his hands. Maomao bowed, thanking him for the gesture.

Jinshi was about to get on his horse, say goodbye and go home when he abruptly turned around looking at Maomao.

“Whats wrong?” she asked.

“Don't have ink and paper handy?” Maomao glared at him.

“Paper is not cheap, you know” Jinshi sighed amusedly.

“I'll pay you back along with the money from the room rent” He smiled as Maomao took the basket and, with it, went into the house to get some paper and ink. When he handed it to her, Jinshi quickly tore the paper in two, horrifying Maomao, writing his address on one half and handing the other to Maomao.

“Write your address here so we can ask you when we can meet to investigate and also send you the money” He said with a smile, worrying Maomao about the visible expression lines she would have if she continued smiling like that usually.

The girl took the ink brush and scribbled her address. When she handed him the paper she said

“I prefer you give me the money directly, someone could intercept the letters and steal the money”

“admit that you just want to see me as soon as possible” Maomao gave him a grimace of disgust, causing that strange feeling in Jinshi again.

“Just...just go away soon” she said snorting irritably, shaking her head as she closed the door of the shack in his face with the paper and his address in hand. Jinshi smiled at the door and, after buying water and food for his horse, he set off for home.

                                             …

A man with dark hair and beard, along with piercing red eyes, played with the wine glass in his hand as he sat on his large throne. His imposing presence as always.

If someone had to describe his state in one word, it definitely wouldn't be calm.

The man was actually the emperor, who was currently in a small meeting with high officials and distant relatives, who didn't matter much to him but since he was the emperor there was no problem with it. The reason of the meeting?, obviously, the lack of heirs.

It had been about 18 years since he had assumed the throne, and yet all his heirs had died..in theory. He frowned unintentionally at that thought.

He also had no brothers who could take responsibility in case something happened to him. Everything had been tried: rituals, multiple sexual encounters with various concubines, even doctors from various parts of the country could find no problem with neither the emperor or their respective concubines. All of this, coupled with a large and strange number of deaths of low-ranking courtesans, plus at his last medical check-up, they had found an abnormality in his liver, had resulted in the emperor being at his limit with stress.

The older man came out of his trance seeing that the generals were staring at him, nervous and had been talking to him without getting a response.

He massaged his brow, obviously furrowed, and said in an authoritarian and tired tone “we postponed the meeting” And the generals, without doubting the mandate of heaven, withdrew from the room without saying a word.

When everyone had left and only he was left with his thoughts, another man of a similar age entered the room standing at the door frame

“Gaoshun, what happened” The emperor granted him permission to speak.

The newly appointed one cleared his throat and said as he raised his head from his bow “Sir, some officers informed me that they had spotted a wealthy young man riding through the pleasure district on horseback” For some reason that gentleman seemed nervous.

The man tilted his head in confusion “What's the important thing about that?”

Gaoshun took out a roll of paper from his sleeve and unrolled it in front of him, the colorful drawing standing face to face with him. Automatically the man's eyes widened as he took the image in his hands.

Chapter Text

It took them two weeks, via letter, to agree on a date to meet and investigate the case, to Maomao's surprise; she was almost completely sure that Jinshi had all the free time in the world, because of him visiting her so often, but she had forgotten that the boy did, in fact, work as a merchant. After all, it was because of a work-related incident that they met. 

In the letters they exchanged during those two weeks, Jinshi described the places in the capital that he had visited, while apparently, selling potatoes, with total precision so that Maomao could imagine. Maomao, on the other hand, only answered with a “hurry up or I'll go to investigate on my own"

And so the meeting day arrived, with a more “fancy” dressed maomao than the usual, waiting jinshi at the door with her arms crossed and a little impatient

 “just the day when there is something exciting to do he's delayed” and let a small, almost imperceptible pout appear on her face, maybe the boy had given her such a habit. 

In the letters they had agreed that Jinshi would pick her up at approximately 2 in the afternoon, and that they would go from her house to the place where the relatives of the deceased lived, starting their investigation there.

When 30 extra minutes passed and she was about to give up and think that Jinshi might have forgotten, she heard the gallop of a horse approaching with a purple stain on top of it waving.

“You're late” was the first thing she said, while a slightly hyperventilated jinshi got off his horse with two packages in his hands.

“Im also happy to see you” He smiled ironically in greeting “the streets were very crowded, you never told me that there was gonna be a festival today” 

“What does the festival have to do with your delay?” 

Jinshi frowned a little with his usual pout. ‘I have to admit that I already got used to his expression’ Maomao thought, rolling her eyes in her mind.

“I'm not justifying my delay, but things happened and I left my house later than I intended. By the festival I meant that instead of doing the investigation today, we could have walked the streets together” He looked at her with his puppy eyes while Maomao shook in disgust.

“I would never have accepted that anyway” Maomao crossed her arms in a cross emphasizing her point. 

Jinshi sighed a little depressed and said “i know” His expression changed when he remembered the packages in his hand. Maomao realizing that the boy wanted her to ask about them, said

“What's with those packages anyways” she pointed at the bags in his hands. Jinshi smiled and cleared his throat.

“Wouldn't you allow me to show them to you inside the cabin?”

“We're already late” Maomao said sharply. Jinshi pouted again ‘no, i lied, i still find his expression annoying’

Resigned, he gently shook his head and hair and placed the packages on his horse who seemed to understand his task by staying completely still.

“Well, what I wanted to say is that I brought you souvenirs from where i was. Even though it wasn't really far away from here” He said, looking away, a little shy now.

Maomao blinked in surprise “really? it was not necessary”

“I wanted to, since you didn't really answer my letters” Maomao became a little more conscious of her lack of manners. She was so excited by the mushroom that she kinda acted a little mean towards the boy, which made her feel embarrassed, that projected onto her ears blushing, who, fortunately, were covered by her bangs.

Seeing that Maomao had no intention of answering, he continued “Anyways, choose one and I'll let you open it first” Maomao thought that both packages looked the same and so, she randomly pointed to the red bag package. Jinshi took the package in his hands and, after removing the tie, handed it to Maomao smiling. She glanced at him before opening the package and letting out a small 'oh'

The gift consisted of a rather thick pale blue coat with white pompoms hanging from where, Maomao guessed, it was supposed to be tied. Unconsciously she began to caress the coat, surprised by the good quality of the fabric and thinking about how much money Jinshi really had for this to be a simple souvenir.

Jinshi looked anxious waiting for an answer and seeing that Maomao was just stroking the coat like a cat he said with a slightly trembling voice due to his nerves.

“Do you like it?” he smiled at her.

“It's made of such good quality…” she answered more like a murmur.

“Oh yes, its made by one of the best weavers in the area, according to what the villagers told us. She is highly sought after”

“I dress so badly that you give me something so expensive?” she said with a sarcastic tone and an ironic smile, which was the closest thing to a genuine smile that he could get out of her (except for the one she makes when talking about the mushroom or poison) 

“No!!, of course not, you always look so good in everything i just noticed that your coats weren't warm enough and…” He trailed off when he realized what he was saying. 

“I'm joking” Maomao said sharply, a little uncomfortable with the compliments.

“Oh” his cheeks blushed a little and looked away in shame.

“I like it, it's cute and comfy” she looked into his eyes again, still with a neutral expression “thank you” she said as she put it on over her current coat and tied it at her shoulders.

“It suits you well, it also matches your eyes” Jinshi said genuinely.

“I guess” maomao looked down to the cloth again.

An awkward silence fell over the place so Jinshi hurried to hand her the other significantly smaller package.

“I really don't know how much you'll like this because I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject as you” he said, playing with a lock of hair and a pout

Maomao opened the package quickly since they were already late with their visit and she didn't want to delay it any further, so her surprise was even greater when she saw what was inside the bag

“A CORDYCEP MUSHROOM???!!!” Maomao couldn't help but smile like a maniac while her eyes shone as she looked at the gift, thinking about the multiple things she could do with that and the ox bezoar that she hasn't used yet.

“Well, since we were going to investigate a fungus today I thought it was related” He smiled softly looking at her smile “the person who sold it to me said it could be used as a medicine so i thought of you…” His voice became shy again when he saw that Maomao was directing that huge smile at him in particular. 

“Thank you so much Jinshi !” Then she looked back at the gift, murmuring happily about what she could do with it. Hearing her say his name so happily made him even more nervous and blush.

A few seconds passed like this, with the girl admiring her gift.

“Aren't we late with our visit?” He said, nervous about interrupting the girl's internal dialogue, while his horse snorted as if emphasizing the point. Maomao gave a small start, as if she had forgotten the real reason why Jinshi came and fixed her gaze again, more neutral, on him.

“You're right” she put the mushroom back in the bag with a smile and patted it as if it were the most precious thing in the world “I'll leave this inside and we'll go” she nodded, turning around and quickly entering the house, leaving the bag on the table and announcing that she was already leaving to Luomen that, upon hearing Jinshi arrive, had gone to the courtyard to collect herbs.

“I left a bag on the table, when I come back I'll show you what it is” She said excitedly 

Luomen quickly noticed the new luxury coat, and maomao, feeling his gaze, rushed to explain.

“It's a gift, a simple gift for having helped him”

“Oh, he sure likes to give you gifts, What was that big favor you did for him that he still can't fully repay you for, i wonder” He had a subtle, barely perceptible smile, which Maomao nevertheless noticed and without really meaning to, she gave him a frown. 

Luomen nodded “Don't come back too late, take care “

Maomao tried to say something else, however she simply nodded in response and hurried to fix her coat and leave.

She came out and Jinshi had already put his coat back on, which, suspiciously, was very similar to hers. Feeling Maomao scrutinizing his clothes, he looked away and asked 

“Well, are we going?” He patted the horse beside him and Maomao's face contorted

“What are you insinuating?” Jinshi tilted his head

“What do you mean?” Maomao pointed at the horse

“I'm not riding a horse” Jinshi smiled maliciously and Maomao felt a chill run down her spine.

“If so, who's going to take you there?” 

Maomao looked at him angrily.

“I'll go on my own then” 

“You yourself have said that the streets are dangerous, even worse today when it is more crowded than usual.” he smirked.

Maomao snorted in resignation and approached Jinshi to get on the horse.

“Do you want to go ahead so that you can learn to ride?” Maomao shook her head and Jinshi sighed “Okay, I'll help you up, put your foot here” He knelt one leg and patted his knee. Maomao, seeking a bit of revenge, put more weight than necessary on his knee, but due to her weight Jinshi probably didn't notice. Then she placed both hands on the side of the horse, afraid of slipping; she had never ridden a horse, however, the horse beneath her did not seem like it was going to move without his master on board, so she calmed down a little.

Jinshi got on after untying the horse and stood in front of Maomao, turning to tell her

“You can hold on to me if you're afraid of falling”

“No thank you”

However, five minutes after leaving, she clung to his waist, resting her face on his chest to avoid the strong gusts. Jinshi, on the other hand, seemed like the happiest man at that very moment, humming happily.

As they were strolling through the streets, that Maomao always passed by to buy her medicine or food, there were several familiar faces who were surprised and smiled mischievously upon seeing Maomao in that situation, so Maomao mentally prepared herself to explain everything to her sisters when, in the future yes or yes, they found out.

After about 20 minutes of riding and awkward silence, except for the shouts and murmurs of the fairgoers and tourists, they arrived at a place more like a forest, closer to their destination where silence reigned. 

“I think where we are going is relatively close to my house, maybe i know the people of there”

Maomao rubbed her chin, she had already let go of Jinshi after they had slowed down.

“In fact, it is a family of farmers” she tried to look over Jinshi's broad back, deciphering his expression. 

“Ahhh” he looked back in shame “my grandma is the one who buys food” Maomao returned to her position with disappointment “sorry”

“it's ok” but she crossed her arms a little angrily anyway.

After another 20 minutes Maomao's butt was starting to hurt, so when she saw in the distance the house that had been described to her, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, while she surreptitiously massaged her back and rear as she dismounted the horse while Jinshi tied him to a nearby post.

“Well, you're the one in charge now, miss detective” said Jinshi smiling at the entrance of the house. At least they could see that there were people there because of the smoke escaping through the chimney.

Ignoring Jinshi's comment, she hurried to knock on the door, surprised that just an inch from knocking someone had also come out. Well, more specifically a woman, who, according to her dull clothes and the black handkerchief on her wrist, must be the wife of the deceased.

The woman was, obviously, a little surprised, but then she seemed to recognize Maomao because she said

“Oh, you are the girl from last time”

Maomao bowed and, as she didn't have much talent in remembering names or people, she said

“Hello ma'am, hope we're not bothering you” The lady seemed a little confused upon hearing Maomao address her in the plural, until she noticed the young man behind her and it was impossible for her face not to blush a bit. 

‘so this is the effect he has…” 

Jinshi also bowed and greeted “Nice to meet you, my name is Jinshi”

“Ah, nice to meet you too, I'm Mingzhu. No, don't worry, I was actually free today, I was just going for a walk. I don't know if you heard, but my husband passed away recently if its him who you search for…” she said turning to Maomao

“In fact” she answered “its exactly because of that that I'm here. Wouldn't you mind if I did a little interview with you?” Jinshi coughed forcefully, implying that Maomao's approach to the topic was rude, but the girl couldn't care less.

“Oh, sure, please come in, I'll heat some water for tea” she opened the door so they could enter, so that's what they did.

The dining room in which she received them was quite spacious although a little messy. The young fos took a seat in the nearest armchair while the water could be heard boiling. After a few minutes the lady brought three cups of tea which she placed on the table, sitting on the other side of it.

Maomao, who didn't trust strangers very much, sniffed and examined the cup for poison, but didn't notice anything strange so she took a sip before starting.

“If I'm not mistaken, your family makes a living from farming, right?”

Mingzhu seemed confused but she answered anyways “yes, we do” 

“Who lives here?”

“huh?, my youngest daughter is 15 and still lives with me. The other two come from time to time to help with jobs that require strength, you will understand that I am not a very athletic person” she said with a crooked smile.

Maomao nodded, regretting not having brought anything to write down and having to rely on her memory.

“Could you tell me, again, what happened when your husband fell ill?

“He had gone to the market to buy some seeds we had run out, and when he came back home he had brought with him an extra thing, which, I later discovered, was the aforementioned mushroom. I angrily asked him why he had bought something extra knowing that we hadn't done very well last season, and he angrily replied that I shouldn't get involved if I didn't know about those issues. At that time our relationship was not going very well, to be honest, and…” Maomao lost the thread of the conversation when Mingzhu moved on to another topic, and she seemed to realize it because she quickly resumed the thread of the conversation clearing her throat “... Anyways, when I was going to cook dinner one of my cats started meowing really loud because she was starting to giving birth, so I left the food for later and went to take care of the kitten”

“How is the cat now?” Jinshi asked, interrupting the conversation. 

“Ah!” the woman's melancholic expression turned into something more cheerful “Shes okay and, surprisingly, all the kittens survived. We still have a few left to give away”

Jinshi seemed to want to ask about the kittens, but he noticed Maomao's gaze and stopped. 

“when you came back to the food…” Maomao gestured for the woman to continue.

“Oh right. When i came back the food hadn't burned yet, despite the time it had been on the fire, which seemed strange to me but I letted it go”

“Did you smell any strange smell?”

“Well, i did, but I attributed it to the fact that it was cooked more than it should have been” she shook her head solemnly “I should have paid more attention because it was in this same dish that the mushroom dissolved. As I went to take care of the newborns, I left the food for my husband thinking that later that night i would eat it, but then I heard a loud bang and when I went to the dining room my husband was on the floor with foam at the mouth. I thought he was dead, but he was still breathing, although he couldn't move any part of his body, according to the doctor” 

“hmm” Maomao stroked her chin. The story sounded incredibly suspicious, but it didn't seem like the woman was lying “So you assume the fungus poisoned the food?”

The woman nodded in response “exactly”

“And how did it 'fall' there i wonder?”

“My daughter confessed to me through tears that she had seen her father add it to the mixture and, as she thought it was suspicious, she didn't say anything or even taste the food”

“sounds like a suicide”

Mingzhu sighed “That's what all the doctors have told me, but I'm sure it wasn't like that, He wouldn't have gone to such extremes, I've known him for years”

“How did they confirm that it was this specific fungus?”

“thanks to my daughter's vague description. They said there were few mushrooms with such distinctive characteristics that had such severe effects as those my husband suffered”

‘That still doesn't answer my question of how he survived for so long’ Maomao thought in her head

“Can I ask if they gave him a specific food during the months he was bedridden?”

“The truth is that since he couldn't move or chew, I gave him the same food that we ate with my daughter, only that I ground them up like porridge so that he could swallow without choking. With luck he could open or close his mouth and make one or another sound”

Maomao crossed her arms, how could she ask what she wanted without appearing to blame the woman in front of her?

Jinshi seemed to notice her doubt, so he continued with the conversation 

“I'll be honest with you” he started talking with the smile he used to bribe his clients to buy his products “That mushroom is incredibly poisonous, and it is very difficult for someone to survive that long after consuming it, so we were very surprised to learn the story of her, may he rest in peace, husband, who was in bed for 3 months after that still breathing”

“Ah!” The woman smiled blushing furiously ‘I guess she wasn't that devoted to her husband’ Maomao thought, watching silently “I really can't remember anything specific I've done on purpose for that reason, But lately I have been implementing this ingredient in my meals” She rummaged through the pockets of her robes and took out a folded piece of paper.

‘Huang Lian’

“It's a little bitter but the person who sold it to me said it helped to stay healthy” Maomao opened her eyes in surprise upon hearing that, of course, how did she not think of that?

“Excuse me” Maomao raised her hand, wanting to ask something “My question may sound a little disgusting, but did your husband defecate a lot?”

“uhm, he did, indeed” the woman nodded uncomfortably.

“Hmmm, how strange” Maomao murmured and Jinshi looked at her with his head tilted while the girl whispered that she would tell him later. 

Since they had already finished their tea and what they wanted to discuss, Maomao smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt and stood up with Jinshi following her.

“Thank you very much for giving us some of your time” Maomao said as she bowed in thanks.

“Are you sure that the information I gave you is enough?, you know, my daughter makes amazing cookies and she's a very good housewife…” She said with bright eyes addressing Jinshi.

‘Ahhh, I see, she wants to marry her daughter’ The green-haired girl thought while nodding, which earned her a strange and nervous look from her companion.

“We really have to go home now” Jinshi said, smiling nervously "It's going to get dark soon"

The woman blew a lock of hair in resignation.

“Thank you so much” Jinshi also bowed and left the house with Maomao, But when they were about to leave Maomao turned abruptly and asked 

“By chance, do you know where your husband bought or got that mushroom? It is not easy to grow in wet lands like the ones farms harvest , so I rule out that he would have found it here on his own”

“I have no idea whatsoever”

Maomao nodded resignedly and, now, left the house.

When they were both next to the horse, who was peacefully eating grass, Jinshi asked 

“Do you think she's saying the truth? It sounds like the typical story of a wife killing his husband” 

Maomao nodded “she had already told me the exact same story before when I came to check on her husband, only without as much detail as now. It doesn't seem like she was lying neither that time nor today”

“Then how did he survive for so long? Could it be that maybe he didn't eat the fungus you were investigating?”

“It could be that, yes, but i doubt so since that, after all, he still died. I have an idea of what was maybe the reason of his long life spawn”

Jinshi looked at her interested and curiously.

“The Huang Lian" the girl began recapitulating " I usually prescribe the root she mentioned for laxatives because it cleanses the stomach and intestines very well, if u know what i mean. My theory is that, since she prepared meals with that ingredient for so long, these roots took effect and eliminated most of the poison from his body. That added to the fact that he didn't consume the mushroom alone, but rather it fell into a meal with more ingredients that, as I assume, was boiling. There are several medicines and poisons that lose their properties when exposed to heat, and if what i investigated before hand was right, this mushroom is one of these”

Jinshi looked at her surprised by how much information the girl knew on the subject.

“So it is not a product to prolong life” he said disappointedly with a pout 

“No, I'm sorry your research wasn't worth it” 

“I had a good time anyway” He smiled, this time with a sincere one "This is a closed case then"

“There is still something I would like to know” The girl looked around thoughtfully.

“What is it?”

“Where did the man buy the fungus, and that they must have told him so that he, on his own without suicidal motives as her wife says, wanted to eat it secretly from her"

Jinshi was silent for a moment as well, and then an idea seemed to occur to him out of nowhere when he opened his eyes and said playfully

“Let's find out now that we have the information fresh” 

“Huh?” Maomao turned around confused.

“Let's go to the pleasure district and stroll through the stalls. However have the fungus should be the possible culprit”

"Do you really think someone would sell a poisonous and lethal product in broad daylight in a public place? ".Maomao looked at him confused, she thought the boy was smart.

"No, well. But maybe there is someone who knows about that.

Maomao glared at him for a while before finally saying “Is this an excuse to walk around the festival?”

“Maybe”

Maomao looked at him again thinking for a while, and then with a sigh, replied 

“Okay”

her curiosity had won her over.

Chapter Text

Immediately after Maomao accepted his offer he hurried to get on the horse, not before helping Maomao to get on the same. It had been about three hours since he picked her up at her house and about four since he left his, so there was still time before it got dark and for Ah Duo to worry about his delay and Jinshi to sleep in a brothel alone. 

“she got so mad when i told her that I did that” Jinshi thought as he rode back to the district.

Sure, he had slept in a brothel before but only with Ah-Duo's company, but the aforementioned one was a little reluctant to have Jinshi roaming the streets of the capital on his own, accepting only when she noticed Jinshi's tone of voice and realized how much the boy wanted to see Maomao.

“Sometimes I feel like she's very overprotective” Jinshi said to Basen the day after being reprimanded “I'm already 20, im old enough to even marry” He leaned against the trunk of the tree inthe place where they escaped after training.

Basen shrugged as he nibbled on a mooncake “Since you are her only son, I guess she doesn't want anything bad happening to you”

Jinshi sighed “I guess so. I had no problems with that rule until now” he said, pouting. Fortunately, his friend was immune to his charms.

“Well” Basen brushed the cake crumbs off his lap and stood up “It's your fault though. Let's just say the capital, and more specifically the pleasure district, isn't the safest place in the country” he said in a mocking tone while unconsciously frowning slightly "Also don't forget that you were literally stabbed there" The boy shook his head at thinking about it, trying not to blame himself for not being there when that happened "I think she has every right to be worried"

Jinshi looked at him out of the corner of his eye, frowning slightly “Shut up, at least I do talk to the girl I'm interested in” At this comment Basen blushed furiously, he thought he had concealed it enough so that no one would notice. Apparently his friend could see beyond what he was showing, or maybe Basen was just very obvious without realizing it.

“J-just give me more time she just arrived…” was what came out of his mouth in a nervous stutter.

A girl arrived two weeks ago in the village who, it was rumored, had been the emperor's concubine. However, he never laid a hand on her and, therefore, sent her to this little village. She lived with a couple of spinsters, who would always wake up early to go feed the chickens from those who they took out eggs.

“I must admit I'm a little curious to know why they sent her here specifically. It is also rare for a concubine to be able to leave the palace so freely ” The boy changed the subject without wanting to completely humiliate his friend, which the aforementioned appreciated. 

“I guess because of my family” Jinshi tilted his head looking at Basen in confusion. 

“The ma clan?” Basen said again as if explaining something that was obvious.

 “I don't get it” Jinshi said genuinely. 

“Ah!” Basen seemed to realize something “You're right no one has ever told you" He cleared his throat to continue "The ma clan is specifically tasked with supporting royals, my father is the emperor's guardian since he was the emperor's foster brother at one time and since he is no longer at his best age to continue with military matters. I was also supposed to be the crown prince foster brother and his guardian consequently, but you know what happened..." Royal gossip spread quickly in the outskirts of the palace "Perhaps the emperor thought she would be safe and secure here because of that”

At that very moment they heard a loud “BASEN!” from behind where they were. Maamei, who appeared out of nowhere, looked at Basen with wide eyes, as if what he had just said should not have been told. Basen looked confused and embarrassed thinking that her sister had heard Jinshi say that Basen was interested in a girl for the first time in years.

“H-how much did you hear??!!!” He said blushing and frightened by her sudden appearance.

“Everything” Jinshi also blushed a bit remembering that he had also confessed being interested in a girl “Now come here and help me with the chores. I'm sorry to take your friend away, Jinshi” She said this last with a smile as she grabbed her younger brother by the ear.

“U-uh, yeah, don't worry…” He said watching them leave, surprised as to why his friend was being scolded for no apparent reason. 

When he heard the bustle of the pleasure district he came out of his reverie and remembered where he was when he felt Maomao's warmth behind him.

“Thank goodness I left with extra money” He applauded himself in his mind thinking that with the money he could buy something nice for the newly scheduled non-date.

“Where do you prefer to start?” He turned to look at her.

The girl touched her chin repeatedly, thoughtfully “I know some places where they sell medicinal herbs, but I don't know if we can find many since the festival is on” she said looking at him with a frown, as if she blamed him for the festival happening that day. 

“Well, we have nothing to lose by trying, don't you think? You already agreed anyway, you can't back out” He said playfully. 

Maomao seemed to glare at him for a moment, then resignedly sighed“I guess you're right, well” she gestured with her hand to let the boy know she wanted to get off. Jinshi fulfilled her command, getting off the horse helping Maomao with that too.

“If you get tired you can get on him and I'll guide you while I walk” He smiled while the girl looked at the animal with suspicion, as if she were afraid of it

“I think I prefer to walk, thank you” she said respectfully "Anyway, I guess at this time the streets will be packed with people so there wouldn't even be room to do that"

“As you wish” The comment earned him a frown from her.

And the girl was right. As the long-awaited festival was happening in the pleasure district, the narrow streets were even narrower due to the number of street vendors selling candy, dresses or games themed to the holiday. This made Maomao, Jinshi and the horse have to squeeze to fit in the corridor full of people and couples. However, all that effort seemed to be in vain since no herbs or medicines were seen there. 

“How strange,” Maomao said in a low voice without expecting Jinshi to actually listen “These old men who sell herbs at high prices are not here, I assumed they would take advantage to sell their things at even more extreme prices”

“Well, I think that the usual thing to do when going to a festival is not buying medicinal herbs, if you allow me to say so” said Jinshi while giving Maomao a mocking smile 

“Should I remind you that you were the one who proposed the idea?” Maomao replied angrily as they continued to be squeezed by the crowd “also, since it's already afternoon, there are even more people than in the morning, I'm suffocating” Jinshi answered that with silence admitting that what she had just said was indeed true, trying to hide the hint of embarrassment at their proximity visible on his face.

Jinshi, resigned to the fact that his plan had failed, decided that he would go and fix Maomao at her house and then return.

“How far are we from the verdigris house?” 

“Not too far, I think. We just have to walk in this exact direction for a bit more” she said, ignoring Jinshi's intense glaze, as if he was waiting for Maomao to change her mind and say something else.

After at least two more minutes of walking, fewer people could be seen and Jinshi couldn't help but interrupt the silence again. He had already been encouraged, he was not going to back down now.

“Wouldn't you like to, perhaps, just stroll around the place for a bit? I know that right now it is very crowded but if we keep walking I'm sure we'll get to a less crowded street”

“What are you implying?”

“Can't two friends enjoy a holiday together?” he blinked innocently.

“Friends?” Maomao turned around to look at his face.

“What are we if not?”

“acquaintances” She nodded to herself and resumed her route, turning her back on Jinshi and his puppy face that attracted the young women who saw it.

“Come on” He walked faster to be in front of her.

“I don't have any money on” Maomao walked faster, continuing to turn her back on him in a somewhat haughty manner.

“You don't need to, i brought enough” Free stuff seemed to catch her eye, but it was only for a second why she kept rejecting him.

The girl kept looking for excuses “You and your horse attract a lot of attention, we'll attract more thieves. I don't want to sew up another wound” she said.

“That's not completely my fault, mind you”

“You still do” 

“How can I bribe you to agree to come with me then?”

“Excuse me, bribe me? What am I, a cat?” Jinshi decided not to say the comment in his mind “I have to help my dad at the pharmacy, I've been out for several hours now” The truth is that I also want to go and better analyze the mushroom that he gave me she said to herself.

“It's only been three hours!!! You always say the same thing, but I don't see many people hanging around your business, to be honest”

Because of the boy visiting her and the small pharmacy very often, Maomao couldn't simply not cover clients when he was there, so the boy would sometimes just sit behind her watching her work and treat patients. Some patients seemed confused by Jinshi's presence there at first, because seeing Maomao alongside a handsome young man was a very strange image for those who knew the woman. Maomao had just told them he was an assistant and had taken advantage of that by using him as an assistant, which he was happy to do. Little by little his regular customers got used to his presence and began to like the boy and his personality. Maomao also realized that she was gradually receiving more female clients, all with the same excuses about illnesses.

“Are you trying to make me angry?”

“I didn't mean for it to sound like that, sorry…” He quickly covered his mouth, looking at her again with his puppy eyes, only this time she did look at his face and sighed in response.

“You're as insistent as a child, has anyone told you?”

“Perhaps”

Maomao crossed her arms for a moment, analyzing the surroundings; How the main attraction, which was the parade, was more in the center where they were at that moment, it was not so crowded, and it did not look dangerous either. After a full minute she resigned herself, thinking about the gifts the boy had brought her, and said to Jinshi

“Okay, let's walk for a while, but no more than an hour” Jinshi's eyes shone like pearls, nodding enthusiastically.

while they walked, less crowded because there were fewer people, Jinshi asked

“What do you wanna do?”

“I don't know, you were the one who dragged me to this”

“True” Jinshi, still holding his horse's leash, scanned the stalls with his eyes “Ah!, wouldn't you be interested in a hair accessory?” He said, pointing to a lady with several hair accessories on the counter.

“When have you seen me with a hair accessory?” Maomao asked, genuinely confused.

“Never, that's why I ask” He smiled softly at her, as they approached the lady

“Good afternoon” she greeted “I have hair sticks to share as a couple, if you guys are interested” she winked at them.

Maomao made a disgusted expression and Jinshi's heart broke a little. He gently shook his head viewing the different accessories on display, noticing that Maomao was looking at one in particular with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Excuse me” said the girl “Where did you get this?” she asked with a silver hair stick in his hand.

“Uh?” the woman looked confused “I don't know, probably someone exchanged it for another product”

“Hmmm” 

“Is there something wrong with it? If its so i can give u a discount”

“i'll pay” Jinshi said taking coins out of his pocket.

When he had already given the money to the woman, he asked Maomao, who was still studying the stick as they walked.

“What 's wrong?”

“It's just that this stick is definitely really expensive to be sold in a place like this, without even having a premises”

“How do you know it is expensive? i thought u werent interested in these things” he smirked

On the other hand Maomao seemed very serious and pensative "I live in a brothel, I'm always surrounded by pretentious courtesans who receive expensive gifts like this from clients" Jinshi nodded "Look really close,” she said, placing the hair stick in front of his eyes so he could see it more closely. “At first it just looks like a normal and ordinary stick, obviously made of a better metal than the cheap ones. But if you look at the small and almost imperceptible patterns you can tell it was a skilled blacksmith who made it. Nothing to worry about, but i found it weird since, at first, i thought the woman stole it, but she seemed like she really didn't know where it came from”

“How much do you think it actually costs?”

“Definietly way more than the 15 silver coins u paid”

“Aren’t you gonna thank me for the gift?” Jinshi noticed that the sky was starting to dusk

“I never really asked for you to buy it for me, but i guess i’ll thank you for the opportunity to re-sell this and gain a bit more money”

“Did you really just tell me you are gonna sell my gift” 

“I don't know what you are talking about” she said looking away with an innocent expression. Seeing how Jinshi frowned, she clarified “It’s a joke. But, continuing with the hair stick theme, i must say that it’s really weird for the owner of it to just sell or trade it, even less likely that they lost it”

“Maybe they or their family went bankrupt and had to sell all their valuable things”

“Maybe” She said and they both continued walking for a bit, stopping twice to eat some sewers.

 Even though the thick jacket Maomao was starting to feel the icy breeze characteristic of winter nights, unable to avoid shivering a little.

 "Isn't it time for you to leave? it's going to get dark soon”

“Ah, you're right. Time flies when I'm with you” he said flirtatiously.

Maomao felt her body bristle by that comment “Make sure it doesn't happen again”

“I’ll drop you off at home first tho” He ignored her comment while patting his horse again, and Maomao, resignedly climbed back to it.

…

After thanking Jinshi for bringing her back home, she entered the house eager to play with her gift that was waiting for her at the table near a Luomen who was brushing his hair ready to go to sleep.

“Ah, Maomao, you're back” She nodded, taking off her coat and hanging it gently on a nail attached to the wall “How was the festival?”

“Very crowded, were you too busy? Sorry for not coming back sooner”

Putting the comb aside he smiled diligently “Don’t worry, don't need to apologize you are always helping me. There were several small accidents at the festival and, surprisingly, many came here. Someone must have promoted our place…” 

“I don't even wanna hear that name” Maomao interrupted him, knowing who he was referring to “Did that come here?”

Luomen nodded again “Yes, It seems that he was given the day off today for the festival…”

“as if he did something at his job…” Maomao interrupted with a murmur that Luomen ignored, continuing with the thread of the conversation. 

“...And came here asking if you would like to walk with him. You can imagine what madame's response was”

“And deserved” Luomen's tender smile turned into something sadder

“Maomao…”

“I know what you are gonna say, father, but I have no intention of associating with that man”

The old man sighed.

“I hope you charged those who came today, right?” Maomao changed the conversation

“Some”

Maomao sighed a little annoyed “better than nothing” she thought 

“Well, it's still early, go take a bath at the brothel and then you come here to sleep” Maomao, who was already putting on her nightclothes, nodded and hurried out to the place so as not to catch a cold.

The brothel was lively with festival-themed decorations and drunken men talking to each other. Most courtesans with their respective clients in their respective rooms, so the bathroom would be more likely unoccupied.

Upon arrival, she was greeted by the heat and steam of the bathtub and took off her clothes, quickly getting into the water that immediately relaxed her muscles, closing her eyes enjoying the heat.

“Look who we have here” a pair of arms grabbed her from behind in a hug, taking her by surprise.

“Meimei” she turned to look at the newcomer “I thought you'd be busy” 

“I just finished my last appointment, It was a long game of go”

“Was it..?”

“No, don't worry it was another person”

“okay” she said, sinking into the hug while Meimei caressed her collarbones in a massage.

“Tell me,” Meimei interrupted the comfortable silence that surrounded them “I was told that you were seen hugging a very handsome young man while riding a horse at the festival, is that true by any chance?”

"gossipy women"  she thought 

Maomao stood completely still for a moment, then turned around and shook her head exaggeratedly.

“Is not like that, at all”

The eldest responded with a soft giggle "You're right, I imagined. What happened then?”

“We were investigating…”

“Of course” Meimei interrupted her pulling away from the hug to untie her hair and let it soak in the tub before the water got cold.

“...the thing with the man and the mushroom I told you a long time ago” the minor continued “this boy and i met, by pure coincidence, a while ago and we were both interested in the mystery around the fungus, so he offered to help me investigate. That's all, nothing else"

“Hmmm, nothing else you say” Meimei repeatedly touched her chin with her finger "I guess I'll have to believe you. But could I know more?" She smiled at hee affectionately, but Maomao knew what was hidden behind that smile.

"I suppose so"

"What is this boy's name then?”

“Jinshi”

“Hmmm” Meimei kept smiling at her with false malicious tone. It seemed as if she was about to open her mouth to say something else, but Maomao interrupted her.

“It's too late” Maomao got out of the bathtub with Meimei looking at her out of the corner of her eye “I'm going to sleep already”

“awww, It's been so long since we last saw each other. But good night to you, Maomao” her playful gaze softened.

Now, with clothes on, she turned back and muttered a “Good night, Meimei” while trotting towards where luomen.

...

The first time he saw him he was able to hide his surprise, he assumed it was pure coincidence and nothing to worry about. But when he saw the very former pure consort arrive, he knew he was, in a certain way, in trouble.

He had been fired from his job as a doctor two decades ago because of a supposed dead person, who was now standing in front of him, being cared for by Maomao. Perhaps at his first glance at the boy he didn't notice it, but, studying his face a little more, he could notice the similarities with his father; deep, imposing reddish eyes, well-defined jaw and dark, shiny hair. Nor can he deny the immense resemblance to the consort reflected in his androgynous look, almond shaped eyes and the ‘V’ shape of his face which made him look even more feminine.

He decided to remain silent, after all, he wasn’t fully sure that these people were actually the ones he was thinking of, and it would be the only and last time he would see that scene. He would later (force himself to) forget and continue with his life as he always has done. He thought mistakenly.

It turns out that the young man, who he later discovered,was named Jinshi, started visiting the district really often, at least once every week, and to be more precise, he started to come to his house to spend time with Maomao. It was because of these visits that he confirmed that Jinshi was indeed the emperor's son when he recognized a boy from the Ma clan due to his great resemblance to his father that happened to be the emperor’s milk brother and personal guardian.

Deep down, he was a bit happy that Maomao finally had someone her age to spend time with. And even if the girl herself denied it, he could perceive that she was happy too, if it were not so, why would she keep allowing him to enter?

But that happiness quickly faded when he remembered the boy’s origins and all the trouble they could get into if someone were to discover Jinshi’s true identity and that he visited them, later recognizing him as the one who gave birth to him, they would, most likely, get executed for complicity.

Likewise, it didn’t seem like Jinshi knew anything about it, he had once overheard a conversation between him and Maomao, in which Jinshi seemed to imply that he had never met his biological father, but he, his mother and grandma lived perfectly without him, so he never had a problem about that, except for the rumors that spread among neighbors about her mother.

The old man simply sighed looking at Maomao’s new present and he let sleep take over his mind so he could forget, reminding himself that everything was most likely all paranoia and not entirely confirmed.

Chapter Text

A few days had passed, and surprisingly, several people had visited the small pharmacy, enough to pay rent and a small part of Maomao debt with the old woman. Adding to that the weekly check-ups on the courtesans had caused Maomao to be somewhat more busy than she was used to, which made her forget a little about everything that involved the mystery she was researching about. Then, in one of her latest check ups, she heard a conversation between some low ranking courtesans from another brothel which made her remember and renew her curiosity about the subject.

“Did you hear the rumor?” The voluptuous girl said as she leaned towards the other one in front of her, while Luomen was kneeling next to her knees checking her reflexes.

“Which one?” The courtesan on whom Maomao was making the medical report replied, also leaning towards the other. That left the two apothecaries in the room between their big bodies, but being so used to it, none of them seemed to even flinch.  

“You know, the latest one” The girl made a gesture that Maomao couldn't see due to her angle and the girl covering the view.

“Ah!!” a smile appeared on the other girl's face “Of course i did, what a stupid woman. At least we don't have as much competition now if you think about it in a positive light” 

“Given how ugly she was, I don't think there was any competition from the start” Malicious giggles filled the small room.

Maomao ignored the rest of the conversation, assuming it was the usual simple gossip and toxic relationships between courtesans. That, until she heard a key work that sparked her curiosity

“...An aphrodisiac mushroom, who on earth would believe that?” The woman, whom Luomen had already checked and was now writing about, said in a dismissive and mocking manner, summarizing the whole conversation.

Maomao almost automatically raised her head, staring intently at Luomen in search of answers. The old man didn't even deign to look at her, focused on his report, and the girl knew anyways that, even if he did know something, he wouldn't tell her anything about it so she wouldn't get her hands into it. Maomao grumbled a bit about it, so she decided to ask about it herself.

“Excuse me for intruding” The women looked at her haughtily for having interrupted them “I heard a bit of your conversation and I wanted to ask if you could tell me what you know about that aphrodisiac mushroom?” 

“Why do you listen to other people's conversations? Has no one taught you that's wrong?” The slimmer one spoke, as the other nodded in agreement. They rose from their seats since the check-up was now complete, having to lower their heads towards Maomao's short stature.

“Look at her clothes” The smaller one continued without waiting for Maomao to answer “You can't expect a poor woman to have had any education at all”

“Perhaps I heard because we are in the same room and your heads were literally above mine” She shook her head, trying to be as friendly as possible with these two. She was used to arrogant people; there was no point in arguing with them. 

“I work at that brothel you were talking about; I need the information to inform the girl clients and family” She lied blatantly. Luomen frowned from across the room, but made no comment about it. 

The courtesans looked at each other, perhaps hesitating to say something or confused that a courtesan could even have a family, but seemed to reach an agreement because the smaller one said

“The girl is known to have died from suspected food poisoning,” so i was right, a courtesan died “but no one believes it was the madam of the house since the girl lately had been getting many new and wealthy clients. So you know it wouldn't make any sense that she wanted to get rid of her” Maomao frowned at this; sometimes she forgot how cruel other brothels were so that the idea that a madam could poison a courtesan was considered normal. She was grateful that the old woman from the verdigris house was simply stingy.

The courtesan seemed to organize certain events in her mind and then continued speaking “But they said that lately she hasn't had as much energy for her clients, if you know what I mean” Maomao nodded, urging her to continue “It seems that recently a weird stall had been set up selling aphrodisiac things, and that among them was a supposed fungus that was quite potent which had become very popular among the men from here, apparently. So her colleagues told her to go and buy one so she could attend to clients better and save enough money to retire. Most likely they told her that on purpose to hurt her, because all of us who work in this field know that such a thing doesn't exist,and that it could most likely be a hoax” She ended, and the other girl nodded in agreement. 

“Just rumors for now,” she added specifically for the last part “Don't say that none of us said anything. The last thing I want is to get us in trouble with these whores”  The last thing cane out like a murmur. It seemed that those two girls were only selling their art for now, judging by how contemptuously they spoke of those other courtesans. 

Maomao listened to everything in silence, frowning unintentionally. Then, she remembered the story of the widowed woman that Jinshi and her had visited, and her mind connected the gears; The woman had told them that the things with her husband weren't going too well lately, or something like that. She regretted not having paid more attention to the woman when she spoke about it. Could have it been that the husband found the supposed aphrodisiac mushroom and decided to add it to the food because of the same reasons? Perhaps he believed that one night of passion would alleviate everything, and since that poisonous mushroom wasn't very popular or common, he shouldn't have been able to recognize it. This made the issue far more worrying than just an ignorant man, poison shouldn't be so easy to obtain. 

Maomao had to write a letter to Jinshi immediately, well, as fast as she could after she finished all her tasks from that day. 

She thanked the girls for the information with a discounted check-up in the future (not free; Maomao didn't like to give away her services unless it was absolutely necessary) and left the place next to the lame Luomen with his makeshift stick. She should buy him one that was actually a walking stick, and not just some old piece of wood the old lady found lying around, Maomao thought, trying to remember if she had any extra money that the old woman hadn't yet stolen to pay off her debt. Did she really cost the madam that much? Obviously not, given how malnourished she has been her whole life, the lady was simply greedy.

Getting back to the topic, she knew her father wasn't upset, but perhaps a little disappointed by her audacity at lying just to get some information, even more so by lying about the memory of a dead woman. His father wasn't what you'd call devout, but he did have a certain respect for the gods, that's why he forbade the girl from hunting poisonous animals that had albinism. That's why, he said, we had to stop talking about death so that it could depart in peace. 

But whether he was mad at her or not, she couldn't tell due to his usual calm expression still there. She ignored that small feeling of guilt, her curiosity had won over.

They visited a few more brothels and then, with the sun setting behind them and the few coins they had earned in a cloth bag, they walked back home.

“Ah!” When they were in front of the brothel and about to reach the small hut, Maomao seemed to remember something.

“Dad, go ahead. I'll go get some paper and ink from Joka, Your legs don't hurt too much, do they?” 

“No, it's okay, I'm fine. Don't come back too late” 

“Don't worry, I won't be off by more than 5 minutes" She said as she walked among the customers who were beginning to arrive.

The madam, as always, was at the reception desk smoking her pipe while checking that the coins she was getting were not counterfeit. She didn't even look at her face when Maomao asked

“Is Joka free?” 

“No, what do you want?” She glanced at her out of the corner of her wrinkled eye, as she assigned a random courtesan to the man who had brought only 50 silver coins, claiming that it was all he had.

“Could you spare me two sheets of paper and some ink? It's all gone at the pharmacy”

“For free you mean?” she raised an eyebrow

“It is necessary for the reports” Maomao looked at her defiantly, and after a long silence, the Madam resigned herself.

“Okay, only one bottle of ink tho, there isn't much. Ah, and when we need to buy more, you'll be the one who goes to the market to” She added, almost screaming, as Maomao was already sneaking into the room with the materials in her hands. She took advantage of the luxurious table to write the letter right there.

She wrote something concise and direct “I've learned some new information. Come when you can” She put the pen aside and made an envelope with the other piece of paper; it wasn't the prettiest, but that was the least of what mattered. She struggled a bit trying to remember the boys direction, but in the end, she remembered it and left the result letter in the small mailbox of the brothel, getting ready to go to bed.

…

“I'd love to go, but I'm forbidden from leaving the house. Don't ask me why, I have no idea either. But I'd be more than happy to take you in here if you can come….” That, and other things not related to the research that Maomao didn't bother to remember, was the response she received two days after sending the letter. What on earth was going on in his environment to the point that they sent him with a henchman (well, his friend Basen, but they were almost the same thing) on his first visit and forbade him from leaving the house? Perhaps they were simply very overprotective, a bit extreme if you asked the girl.

Maomao was simply going to send a letter back saying that she would investigate on her own then, or at least until they let Jinshi get out. But for some reason she felt she needed very involved in the matter and she was thinking that the topic was actually something deeper than what they had discovered before; someone was selling poisonous mushrooms under the flimsy excuse that they were aphrodisiacs; clearly, they were doing it for whatever purpose they were pursuing, and she wanted to know what was it.

Perhaps she actually trusted Jinshi, or she was genuinely obsessed with the subject, because she sent him a letter back asking when she could go to his house. Her former self would be horrified to hear that she would be going to the house of a stranger, not so strange, without even knowing where it was located. But she wasn't her past self so she was going to go anyway.

The guy was very surprised to see a positive response; he had said it as a joke, not expecting the girl to actually accept. But who was he to deny Maomao a visit? So after asking a very happy Suiren and a playful Ah-Duo, he sent her a letter with exact instructions on where to arrive and a date they both agreed on.

His confinement wasn't going to be so bad anyway.

Luomen wasn't entirely sure to let Maomao go there alone, but she was a 19 year old, grown woman, in theory, so he let her do whatever she wanted. Regardless of what his response would have been, Maomao would have done it anyway, so why stress? In any case, he made sure to ask the madam if he could steal Ukyou away for a while to accompany Maomao to where the carriages were rented, to which the old woman reluctantly agreed for free. 

So after giving the instructions, Maomao left to the boy's house. She was surprised to arrive in a high-status village filled with small farms everywhere. Jinshi was right when he said it was close to his house, they were practically next door!

She got out, thanking the driver and giving him the corresponding coins.

“Ah!!!, Maomao!!!” She turned around to see Jinshi trotting happily towards her. He was wearing gray clothes, less expensive than what he usually wore; she assumed he had been doing some work or something since his face and clothes were covered in dirt. “How are you?!” Following behind him was Basen, who seemed to be fed up with Jinshi. Maomao understood him.

“Hi, I'm good" was her curt greeting "I came to talk to you about what I  needed to and told you in the letter. It's about the fungus” clarified.

“Ohh, so that was it. I thought we were done with that” He said, tilting his head in confusion. Maomao was about to open her mouth to tell him what she had heard from the courtesans, but Jinshi interrupted her. “Why don't we enter my house first? They don't let me stay out for too long, and my grandma just baked some mooncakes” He smiled from ear to ear, and who was Maomao to deny free cakes? Basen, who was still following behind like an escort, made no comment, but had an unreadable expression on his face. Seriously, what was wrong with that guy? She couldn't help the expression of displeasure on her face, and for some reason, Jinshi seemed sad that it wasn't directed at him this time. Perhaps everyone in this village was peculiar.

She followed Jinshi, who led the way, while young women peered out of the window of their writing office and stared intently at him. However, he seemed to be used to it since he made no comment or expression about it.

The house was large, not exorbitantly so, but it was a wealthy home. Jinshi shook his hand at Basen's, giving the message that he should leave, and Basen seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally sighing and heading back to his house, Maomao guessed. Well, it made sense anyway, two young single people alone in the house. Another shiver ran through her spine at the thought.

She felt a little uncomfortable at that moment in a stranger's house waiting still at the entrance, without wanting to sit down before the owner of the house did the same, while Jinshi went to look for his grandmother to introduce them. The smell of freshly baked cakes filled the house and calmed Maomao's anxiety a little. It's not like an old woman could hurt her…She remembered the brothel owner and made that last thought vanish. 

“Ah…” From behind a room that, she assumed, was the kitchen, Jinshi emerged with a short, elderly woman with a tray of pastries in her wrinkled hands. The woman looked her up and down, as if she were analyzing her. “You must be Maomao.” She greeted while bowing as best as she could. 

Maomao returned the greeting and bowed, “Yes ma'am, it's a pleasure. Sorry for entering without permission” Jinshi seemed surprised to see that Maomao had manners, and he did not bother to hide that expression.

“Oh!! No, no. It's nothing sweetie, Jinshi let you in, it's also his house after all” She smiled sweetly.

“Ah, thank you so much then” she looked a bit rough.

“Don't be so formal, darling. My name is Suiren, call me like that”

“Well, It's nice to meet you then, Suiren-sama” she bowed again.

“What a lovely girl you brought, Jinshi” The aforementioned man blushed furiously at the comment. The old woman looked at them one after the other, and a soft giggle escaped her lips. “Well, don't just stand there like fools. You had things to talk about, didn't you? Have a seat, I'll bring you tea and cakes. You prefer savory, don't you?” She said, addressing Maomao, before returning back to the kitchen.

The girl wondered how she knew that; had Jinshi mentioned it to her at some point? What other things had he said to her? She felt a chill run down her spine as the woman continued to look at her, smiling creepily.

“Yes ma'am, but anything you offer me I'll be more than happy to eat” Suiren giggled again and left, leaving the teens alone.

Jinshi took a seat in an armchair and Maomao followed him, sitting down as well in the front one, thus ending with the two of them up face to face.

“Well,” Jinshi began, “What were you so desperate to talk about that you came all the way here to do so? I didn't think you missed me so much ” He smiled ironically.

Maomao explained the story she had heard about the poisoned courtesan, and how the poor girl had been tricked into believing that a poisonous mushroom was an aphrodisiac, in turn connecting it to the story of the widowed woman they had visited. 

Jinshi listened thoughtfully, stroking his chin, which was characterized by the absence of any facial hair or even pores. Maomao felt a bit jealous. What was his trick?

“You know, I also heard something but I didn't realize it could be related to this until now” Now it was Maomao's turn to be surprised “Do you remember when we last met?”

“At the festival you mean?”

“Exactly” He nodded “Do you still have the hairpin I bought you, right?” He looked at her expectantly, both of his eyes wide open.

“At this rate I'm actually going to sell it just to annoy him” She thought, as she crossed her arms while looking at him irritably.

“Yes, I still have it, sir” Jinshi frowned at the honorific, wanting to make a comment about it, Maomao interrupted him before he was able to, continuing with the conversation “What does it have to do with the topic?

“Well, the other day my mom and I went to meet with other merchants, think about it as a small reunion. The thing is that, I heard a conversation between some ladies who sell clothes in the pleasure district, who were really interested and deep in a conversation about hairpins, which I found a bit weird at that moment since none of them sold these or anything related to hair actually. Until one of them started talking about how she bought some aphrodisiacs for, uhm, to use with her husband…” The boy seemed uncomfortable having to admit hearing such a private conversation “I swear I never tried to actually hear, they just were really close from where I was..!” He, for some reason, tried to excuse himself and apologize to Maomao; the last thing he wanted was for her to think he was a pervert.

Maomao, who already knew the boy well enough, knew he wasn’t a complete pervert, at least it was only like that with her (not really), and nodded, indicating that she believed that while urging him to continue with what he was saying.

“Well, she was talking about that topic, because she said she had been scammed by the guy who she bought the aphrodisiac from. It ended up to be just a food condiment that made the body feel hotter, quite literally, which was mostly used to cure or prevent colds in winter. But since she didn't really know about the topic, she trusted what the seller told her and spent money on It”

"A food condiment to heat the body...? Could it be ginger then?"

"Ginger..." Jinshi repeated, his gaze distant, trying to remember "Yeah...I think it is so, yes"

Maomao placed both hands on the table with an audible sound, standing up from her seat to look at Jinshi's face more closely, emphasizing her surprise “It's definitely the same person as the one of the poisonous fungus, or at least it's most likely to be" she sat down again like a civilized person "I don't understand what the hair stick has to do with it anyway…”

“I was getting to that point” He stopped her out loud monologue with a gesture of his hand, thus allowing him to continue “The woman said that the person who sold it to her was a man, but that he was wearing a hair stick which looked expensive from afar. When I started to figure it out, I thought I'd seen it or heard about something similar somewhere before, and then I remembered that the woman's description matched exactly the hairpin I gave you at that time”

“A man using a hairstick? I think that's what surprises me the most” she frowned

“Well, everyone is free to use what they want, but yes, it is quite strange actually”

“Do you think that with my hair stick we could find the whereabouts of the famous seller?”

“Maybe. We could ask around to see if someone has seen anyone using that”

“But if I have it, and we found it in a random street in the pleasure district at the stall of someone who didn't know how or by who they got it from, I don't think we'll get very far”

“What if the person has more than one?” The boy said shrewdly.

“Hmmm” Maomao looked at the floor, which was extremely clean, analyzing the situation “I suppose it could be a possibility, yes. But if they don't let you leave your house, I'd have to go alone”

Jinshi leaned back on the sofa with his head tilted back, staring at the ceiling with a lost gaze, sighing audibly “I don't know. If the guy is actually dangerous that would put you in danger too in case of going alone. No offense, but you don't look very athletic” He said, smiling.

Maomao sighed back “You don't offend me, I know that I'm not. Why are you being punished anyway?”

“It is not a punishment! They just told me to not do it for a while and I don't know why” He pouted looking at her.

At that moment Suiren finally entered the room, carrying mooncakes and hot tea which she placed on the table. They both fell silent abruptly, and the woman just let out another giggle and went back outside.

Maomao took a sip of the freshly brewed tea and was surprised to find that it was a very good quality one, So she continued sipping while Jinshi just watched her with a soft smile on his face. The mooncakes were also very good, so she couldn't resist snacking on them.

“Aren't you going to eat?” Maomao snapped Jinshi out of his reverie by looking him straight in the eyes.

“A-ah, yes, you're right” He said this and put the cake in his mouth as the room filled with a comfortable silence, interrupted by the soft sounds of sipping tea.

…

Ah-Duo and Gaoshun were both in a room far away from the others in Ah-Duo's house. Ah-Duo had a conflicted expression as she ruffled her own hair in desperation. Gaoshun, on the other hand, looked conflicted, with a guilty expression, as he watched the woman pace side by side in the small room, sinking into anguish. He didn't know how to calm the woman down, so he just waited for her to calm down a little and start talking to him, which he didn't think was likely to happen soon because of the furious looks she gave him from time to time.

After a few minutes and some pacing on the part of the woman, she turned directly towards him with visible anger in her eyes, which she tried to calm with her neutral expression.

“S-so,” Her words came out in short bursts, perhaps from the effort of not shouting to the poor man in front of her “you're telling me that you showed a drawing of Jinshi to the EMPEROR while also telling him that he has been visiting the pleasure district often…” She sighed repeatedly, calming herself down “Don't you understand what you just did?” She whispered.

The man also sighed before speaking; he had never seen the woman that angry since they were teenagers “I know what this means. But how can I deny an order from the heavens?” He closed his eyes.

“But we're foster brothers for God's sake!!” The woman seemed on the verge of tears, hitting the wall to calm her emotions. After all, she knew that Gaoshun couldn't do what he wanted either. She prayed that neither Suiren nor Jinshi had heard the punch,neither of them knew about the matter. Perhaps Suiren, with her ability to read her like a book, could tell, though she wouldn't make any comment until she felt comfortable and safe enough to tell her, she has always been like that.

“I know. I'm sorry” The man said sadly, looking at the floor. Ah-Duo can't help but see him as his younger brother in such situations. 

“No, Gaoshun. I'm sorry, it's not your fault at all, it's just…” She turned around again, looking at the man face to face “What if Yang comes after him?” 

“He will do it, no matter what. Keep that in mind. He's been wanting to know something for a decade now”

“I know, I'm just scared, for me and for Jinshi. And you're also keeping this secret along with Taomei, I don't want you both to get in trouble either. Perhaps I should have simply accepted my fate there and live as i was suppose to. I was naive and reckless, but what's done is done”

Gaoshun sighed, tired and nervous, without wanting to make any comment. All that secrecy was dangerous enough; he didn't want anyone to overhear and accuse him of treason by speaking ill of the emperor. “I don't know what he's planning either with sending Lishu here” The mention of the young woman seemed to bring back good memories for Ah-Duo, softening her brow slightly.

“That worries me too. If she happens to see Jinshi, it's impossible for her not to connect the wires and unintentionally say something” Now a little calmer, she combed the hair she herself had disheveled with her hands, a few grimaces escaping her as she untied the knots. “I can't even go out whenever I want anymore, the nuns are out all day, Lishu as one of them. I also forbade Jinshi from going out again immediately. I didn't want to, but I'm genuinely scared” After a while she added "Do you think he believes you're involved in all of this too?"

"I doubt so, I think he just brought Lishu because of Basen"

"Has he told you anything about his role?" the woman asked, referring to the young man.

"For now, he told me to simply train him as a soldier, which is why I have these permits to leave the palace. I think he's up to something, but i can't tell for sure"

"There are still no heirs, right?" That was what worried Yang the most; she couldn't help but worry too after so many shared memories.

"Yes ma'am"

"Don't be so formal with us, Gaoshun"

"Well, my wife is a bit of a wildcat, as you know" The comment made the woman laugh, patting him on the shoulder as she laughed.

"Yes, well, I suppose she is"

"How is Jinshi doing with his confinement?" Gaoshun responded playfully as well, realizing that the serious moment had passed, although not entirely.

Ah-Duo let out a small, weak giggle “He is desperate to go to the district to see the famous Maomao. Maybe I should borrow Chue from you to accompany him"

"I think she'd be more than happy to meddle in teenage romances as she now does with Basen" He sighed, remembering all the teasing that happened at home because of the shy Lishu's relationship with the inexperienced Basen "At least Basen keeps him a little company"

"He does. They both love each other, they were practically supposed to be milk brothers either way" Gaoshun nodded, agreeing with her. She smiled at him, and then, raising her arms, she said “Give me a hug, unlike them we are actually milk brothers"

“No, thank you” He said, escaping her grasp, as if they were children fighting again.

Chapter Text

Unlike Jinshi on his late visits to the pleasure district, Maomao knew how to time her trip to get home while the sky was still clear and so that there was no risk of anything bad or dangerous happening. Jinshi said goodbye to her almost reluctantly as she got into a carriage back home, paid for courtesy of the same boy. She was a little surprised not to see the purple-haired woman she met the first time she saw Jinshi, but she supposed that, as Jinshi had rightly told her, she didn't let the boy get out, nor could she delegate merchant duties to him, and therefore she must be busy working on her own. She felt a little bad for the woman, but at the same time she was curious about Jinshi's confinement. Perhaps he wasn't as sweet as he made himself out to be; after all, she had seen countless times how he would use his charm to get what he wanted. Although, honestly, she doubted that was the case.

After the main theme about what Maomao wanted to talk about ended, and that there were no more topics left to conspire about, Jinshi gave her a short tour of the village to take advantage of the fact that the girl was there and that his mother wasn't around to forbid him from going out. Maomao finished the remaining mooncakes before departing for such a tour.

It was a quiet village, but not a poor one, that was for sure.

“How much do you earn just from trading?” Maomao asked curiously, since she had never heard of Jinshi or his mother before, she assumed they weren't status merchants, but since they lived comfortably, well enough to have that big house and nice clothes, she wondered if there was something behind it. 

“Well” The boy seemed delighted that it was Maomao who started the conversation “To be honest I don't know much. Let's just say my mom only takes me to places because of my face, in a certain sense” He looked to the side, somewhat embarrassed by the confession. 

“So you're like a hook” The girl raised an eyebrow as they continued passing by. She felt several murderous stares directed at her and she wasn't surprised to see that they came from the same young women who had stuck their heads out the window when Jinshi left his house to receive her.

“You could call me that, yes” He smiled while nodded gently “I don't really like it that much, but if I can help in that way, then I will continue to”

“Then you don't know anything about the finances” Maomao assumed, since he did not answer her question. 

The boy frowned “I never said that, in fact,” His head lifted slightly with pride “I'm the one that divides the expenses of almost everything” Maomao was a little surprised by that, considering the time he tried to pay her with 30 silver coins, but deep down she knew Jinshi was actually smart. If he weren't, honestly, she would have never involved him in her investigations. “Sometimes even some bureaucrats from around here come to ask for my help. But I guess I'm more known as a pretty face” The last thing seemed to bother him because of the somewhat forced smile on his face and the disappointed tone.

“So why do you only work as a merchant? I mean, if you say that you don't really help much” Maomao asked genuinely.

Jinshi seemed to think about it for a bit.

“I had never really thought about it before” he admitted as he looked at her face again with eyes slightly wide open in surprise at the question “I guess I've gotten so used to this that I haven't even thought about breaking away”

“Hmmmm” Maomao reflected for a while. She too had been introduced to medicine from the early age at which Luomen adopted her, but unlike Jinshi, she had always been fascinated and interested in it. If she had been raised entirely in the brothel then, would she have followed that path or would she have discovered medicine anyway? She was glad that it was Luomen and not someone else who took her in

“Although,” the boy continued “that I'm good with finance and political things, is not really something I like or actually enjoy” 

“What would you like to be then?” The girl asked genuinely.

“Well, I haven't thought of that either” He felt a little shy again; most men the same age as him had already all these things clear enough.

“But that's not what you came here to talk about, so” He continued, clearing his throat.

“Yes, in fact I think I should be going now”

“That's not what I meant” He looked at her with his sad eyes.

“What is it if not” 

“Do you know what's been rumored lately?”

Maomao raised an eyebrow “I didn't think you would be interested in gossip”

“No, well, actually I'm not, but this seems kind of interesting to me. I figured maybe you might know something” Maomao said nothing, forcing him to continue “They say that one of the new nuns is actually a former concubine”

Maomao looked at him, blinking almost humorously 

“A concubine? Well, it's not rare for those who have not been touched by the emperor to be given away as a gift to military officials. Although a concubine becoming a nun is...a bit strange, if I may say so”

“Sure, but the thing is, this is a high-ranking concubine” the boy explained. Now then, Maomao frowned.

“Well, that's different” she admitted as her thumb rested on her chin “Aren't high-ranking concubines supposed to be the most qualified to bear the emperor's children? They are all supposed to have already shared a bed”

Jinshi nodded, agreeing with her “Yes, that's what confuses me a bit. But to be honest, she looks a little way too young. My mom has been acting strange too, perhaps they believe she is a kind of spy for the palace and, therefore, the emperor himself”

“Well, they're just rumors after all. From the information you're telling me I can infer that they must be false” 

“But the thing is, they don't sound fake. I'm used to hearing them, I can tell when they're telling the truth and when they're not”

Maomao frowned at him, again. She needed to relax her expression if she didn't want premature wrinkles. 

“Well, if the rumors about the acclaimed concubine are true, as you say, even though it is strange, I don't understand why you'd even be worried about it. Just don't make any comments about the emperor around her if she really is a spy” she said sarcastically “although since you can't leave the house you can make sure nothing will happen” Finally, she said, after thinking about it for a bit, somewhat confused “To be honest, I'm not interested in the slightest” She added honestly, looking at him with a more relaxed and neutral expression.

“Well, I was feeling a little curious, sorry” He glanced at her sideways, as if waiting for a specific response to his comment. 

The girl also glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, without uttering a word. They remained like that for an awkward while. 

“What do you want?” the girl finally blurted out.

“Help me escape for a little while one of these days” the boy almost begged.

“To see the concubine?” the girl asked innocently.

“Indeed” the boy nodded. The girl raised an eyebrow with a mocking smile at his response, which the boy obviously noticed. 

“It's for research only, nothing else” 

“sure” The girl shrugged

“I swear!” 

“Don't make excuses, I'm not interested in what you do anyway. What do I get in return for this favor then?”

“Well, the information I’ll get with the research of course” he smirked.

“And why would I even care about a castrated concubine?” 

“I think it might be related to this whole mushroom issue” Maomao raised her imaginary cat ears “I did some research on my own because I found the whole scam thing rather intriguing, and also, well, there's not much to do at home either, honestly”

“Why would a high-status concubine be meddling with poisonous mushrooms and con artists?” 

“I've heard things about the palace lately” The girl looked at him expectantly.

“and..?” She said after seeing that he wasn't going to say anything else. 

“They're not confirmed, so I don't want to say anything yet” When did he start hanging out with Luomen? She thought when hearing the similarity in his comment “That's why I want to ask someone who has been in the palace in person”

“How do you intend to escape, and how am I supposed to be of any help?” 

“Actually, I already have the idea of the plan” He admitted “I think of your help more as a companion or leader of the research itself”

“I don't want to get into trouble” The girl said seriously “nor do I want your mom to think I was the mastermind behind it all”

“If she finds out or gets angry, she won't get mad at you directly, don't worry. I think she knows me well enough to know I'm not that easily influenced, and that I really need to get out a bit and stretch my legs”

“How are we doing out here if they won't let you out then?” the girl remembered after audibly stepping in a mud puddle.

“That's why it's not very far from the house here. They won't let me go past that tree, which is right where the nunnery is located” Maomao glimpsed a large apple tree a short distance away.

“Don't you think that if they keep you away from the convent it's for a reason?” she asked “Perhaps with your great beauty they don't want the nuns to succumb to sin” Another malicious small smile adorned her face unwittingly. Jinshi frowned at her.

“It’s almost evening” the boy interrupted “I will pay for your carriage”

“I thought you wanted me here” She said, somewhat confused, at his goodbye as they walked back.

“But the district is dangerous…” he murmured under his breath, embarrassed. Maomao did not respond, following him.

…

“Gaoshun” The voice echoed through the empty room, while another man of the same age left his guard position and approached the throne.

“Yes sir?” He bowed before speaking.

“Do you know what's going on that's keeping the concubines so agitated?” He said, stroking his beard, but not indifferently. 

“Well, the abrupt expulsion of concubine Lishu was unexpected indeed. At least we can be sure that the reason of it remained a secret, sir” 

“Glad to hear it” he said, gesturing to the man to pour him more wine.

“Although,” He continued as he poured the delicious juice into the glass “The mid-level concubines, or those with whom you haven't yet shared a bed, are a little scared that you might be doing a clean out, sir” 

“Hmmm” the man said thoughtfully. “That's all?”

“All from what I've heard, sir, indeed”

“Good” The man played with the wine and the room sank back into silence. 

“On the other subject, now. Has the investigation made any progress?”

“I'm afraid you must specify which one of all the ones you've started” The bearded man let out a loud, hoarse laugh.

“Yes, well, I guess I like to investigate,” he said playfully. Gaoshun did not respond “Zuigetsu I mean” A micro-expression crossed the other man's face at the name being pronounced in front of him. Of course, he had always served and lived among royalty, so he was quite used to it, although he couldn't help but to feel a touch of discomfort when hearing so.

“We haven't seen anything in the district lately yet, sir. We've asked businesses and nobody has recognized anyone”

“And a brothel, perhaps?” He smirked, perhaps to hide his concern about the issue. 

Were they connected, perhaps? He wondered, thinking about Ah-Duo and the man in front of him.

“No sir, we haven't looked into any of them. If you'd like, I can send the order for it” The emperor shook his hand at that.

“There's no need. I don't think he's that kind of guy…” Heavens said with a melancholy expression, looking towards the window to the cold night.

“Do you think he lives with Ah-Duo or…?” He looked at his old friend in the face as if in search of an answer. Gaoshun couldn't help but notice how his wrinkles and dark circles had intensified a lot in the past days.

“I don't know, sir, I hope he does”

“Hmmm. How is Lishu?, getting back to the topic” 

“I haven't been able to watch her much, since they are always busy with the mischievous ducks that escape” A soft giggle threatened to escape his lips when remembering that one time when a duck ran over his house with Lishu chasing it from behind and Basen, with his face completely red, caught it and handed it over to the young woman. That's when they discovered that the boy had been occasionally feeding the duck, and that was the reason why hay and corn were often missing in the kitchen.

“Well, that's comforting in away” Gaoshun simply remained standing “It's late, leave” 

“If that's what you wish, sir. Good night” He said with a final bow as he left the place.

Chapter Text

“Ah!!! You must be the famous Miss Maomao!!!” A small woman with chubby cheeks stood in front of the pharmacy door with a big smile that accentuated her small and slanted eyes. To be able to observe all these features of her, Maomao had to strain her eyes to try to see the woman through the dark night. She blinked in confusion, still in her night clothes. Did this woman not realize what time it was?

With a sleepy and confused voice, she managed to ask still politely “Excuse me, who are you and what do you need? The pharmacy is closed at this hour”

“Oh, of course!! How disrespectful of me, greeting you without introducing myself first! Please, call me Miss Chue”

*Chue…” She murmured aloud; she was sure she had heard that name before. It didn't sound like a common name from the capital 

“Well, Miss Chue” She emphasized the ‘Miss’ “Could you explain what happened that made you come to the pharmacy in the middle of midnight?” She did not hide the irritated tone of her words; after all, today had been a busy day, and all she was looking forward to was to get a bit of sleep.

“I see you have a sharp tongue as they say, haha!” The girl just stared at her in silence “I have been sent on because of the mission you've accepted, Miss Maomao. I came as your private escort!”

“A mission? I haven't accepted anything remotely alike” She visibly frowned “I swear if you're trying to scam me…” said the girl in a threatening tone. It had already happened once that a group of people arrived in the middle of the night, and Luomen, who was still sleepy, answered at the door as the cunning swindlers would take away free remedies, without Luomen doing anything because, what could a skinny old man do against burly young men?They had agreed that from now on Maomao would start opening the door first, although she wasn't someone intimidating nor strong against this type of bandit. 

“What do you mean, no? I'm talking about the young master Jinshi mission!” Chue ignored the somewhat threat, and Maomao's brows softened slightly after hearing the familiar name.

“Jinshi?, Young master…?” She tilted her head, confused.

“The same and incomparable!” confetti seemed to appear out of nowhere, slowly falling to the floor “I'll pick it up later” The woman said, sticking out her tongue playfully.

Maomao, however, remained confused.

“I don't understand anything at all of what's happening right now. Maybe I'm having a lucid dream…” She muttered as she pinched her arm discreetly, without ceasing to stare intently at the woman.

“Ohohohoho, I'm glad you think I have a face worth dreaming about, Maomao san!, but this is the absolute truth!!”

“Would you be so kind as to explain what all this nonsense is about?” Maomao was starting to get fed up.

“Well, if you ask me so politely, I guess I can't deny such a thing” She cleared her throat to begin “The other day I received a letter from the, you may know , Jinshi, in which he asked for my help with a plan. And that to help with it, I had to come and get you from here to there!” That's when Maomao remembered; the concubine. However, they hadn't agreed on any date or anything, since the boy hadn't sent her any letter. Had something unexpected happened?

“The escape plan?” She asked anyway, just to confirm.

“Oh my!” Chue made an exaggerated, almost dramatic, gesture of surprise, while covering her mouth with both hands “I don't think you should tell me that, considering I'm the closest thing to a friend to Miss Ah-Duo,”

“Oh” Maomao abruptly closed her mouth, but her expression held no trace of regret. 

“...,buuuut,” She stretched out the word as long as she could “not a word will come out of my mouth, so don't worry!” She pretended to sew her mouth shut.

 Silence reigned between them once more, with Maomao still in her nightgown standing in the doorway and the smaller woman waiting for an answer.

“I wonder…” Maomao tried to replicate the same theatrical tone of Chue. The brunette listened expectantly “...I wonder if the letter specified that the pickup time was exactly and without any doubt, in the middle of the night” Chue couldn't help but to let out a small giggle.

“Well, those were hasty decisions on my part, given that the letter was sent to me at the last minute!! You can imagine that it's a bit difficult to request a carriage for the following morning at a time when the riders are already returning home. And, the letter I received asked for us to go unnoticed, and so, what a better option than to go by foot!” Maomao could have killed Jinshi at that very moment. Had she done something during her last visit that made him decide to punish her in this way? “So hurry and get dressed so we can leave immediately and arrive right on time!”

“Wouldn't it be simpler to rent a carriage that wouldn't drop us off exactly at the village, but at a remotely closer location?”

“You’re right, indeed. But as I said, most of the riders had already left! And I think you know that a woman can't just go somewhere with anyone. Plus, I'm already here, I don't think you'll leave me waiting until the next morning ride in the cold night” Maomao simply looked her up and down. She didn't seem to be lying and she didn't seem like someone capable of doing anything to her either, considering that she looked even shorter than herself. If Jinshi had sent her, she would have to be someone trustworthy.

She shook her head gently inwardly “Could you give me a few minutes? So I can change myself and get ready”

“I’ll give you all the time you need!!” She stood right by the door, and Maomao went inside to change clothes in the cold night breeze. She decided to put on the vest Jinshi had given her; after all, it kept her warm enough, perfect for a night walk, she thought with distaste. 

She looked at her elderly father sleeping peacefully, and took out a small piece of paper she had managed to pull from the verdigris cupboard, to write a short message summarizing what had happened. She supposed Luomen wouldn't be very interested nor worried; he was already used to her sneaking out in the middle of the night for exotic herbs and other things. Anyway, she omitted the fact that she had gone with a stranger; she didn't want a reprimand later on how she should control her curiosity so as not to put herself at risk.

She glanced again through the small crack in the door to make sure Chue wasn't doing anything suspicious. She wasn't, she could tell, as she was still standing straight in the doorway, like a true escort. Had Jinshi actually hired an escort? She knew he could be somewhat stupid on some occasions, but this was beyond that. 

She gently knocked on the door to let Chue know she was going out so she could move, and that's what she did.

“Are we ready to go?” Chue asked cheerfully

“Going walking isn't a joke, right?” Maomao adjusted her jacket so that it covered her as much as possible.

“It is not!”

“Well, then, I guess I should follow you”

“Haha! Follow the leader!” Maomao wondered how one could be so optimistic in the early hours of the morning. She was also questioned how early Miss Chue had gotten up to arrive in the district at that hour. She felt bad for her and decided to delegate her anger to Jinshi. He would now have to compensate her with a few herbs. 

The streets were completely empty, and only a few brothel rooms seemed to still have a light on. This was the time when most courtesans finished their shifts and took the opportunity to sleep for a few 3 or 4 hours, Therefore, it was understandable that this was the case. 

Chue walked silently ahead of her, occasionally turning back to make sure Maomao was following, or perhaps making sure that no one was following them, but without uttering a word, which Momao appreciated; she wasn't really in the mood to talk. 

About 30 minutes passed, and they finally reached a path that branched off from the district, which was surrounded by a large forest. Maomao wondered how they would see the way in the dark without any aids, but at that precise moment, Chue seemed to pull out a small lamp out of nothing and out of nowhere, and handed it over to Maomao.

“Could you hold it while I look for some stones to make a fire?” She smiled kindly at her.

“Of course…” Maomao looked at her strangely anyway. Where had that fit in? First the confetti and now this. Her only response was that Chue was some kind of a magician.

The woman disappeared into the forest, and Maomao had to confess that, without her presence, she felt a little nervous and unprotected in the dark woods. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait more than five minutes until she saw the girl jogging back to her place with two rocks.

“Could you be so kind as to remove the lighthouse keeper's lid for me, Miss Maomao?” The girl took out the glass case that protected the small candle.

“How do you expect the fire not to go out in the strong breeze?”

“Haha! Well Miss Maomao, people usually say I have an innate talent for starting fires” She smiled at her after lighting a fire with a single snap of the small rocks “Please put the lid on before the wind blows out the flame”

With the small lamp already assembled, one could glimpse at least 5 more sakus beyond.

“I think Miss Maomao should be the one to carry the lamp since she is taller than the two of us!”

“Me? Shouldn't you be the one carrying it? After all, you're the one going ahead and guiding” The younger frowned; it's not as if the object were heavy at all.

“But I already know this path inside and out! Besides, the lamp shines far away, so I'll see the same anyway. Although if you wish, you can walk beside me instead of behind me. Remember that to me you are also a stranger, I don't think anyone would trust that much”

Maomao resigned herself to thinking that Chue was simply a very strange woman, so she agreed to walk by her side instead of behind her. In any case, the road was straight and without deviations, so it seemed difficult to even be able to get lost.

“Since you say you know this road like the back of your hand, do you travel a lot by foot? Aren't there any carriages around the village?” Maomao clearly remembered how Jinshi had quickly obtained a carriage for her during her visit to the place.

“I'm usually sent on errands and things like that, which is why I usually take this route, although I must admit not on foot” She gave her a look that was the closest thing to an apology “But the truth is that there aren't many people who own carriages around there, at most two people, since it's an actual pretty small and peaceful village. Usually those who arrive are carriages from outside or those who come to look for people every so often for work, like my father-in-law”

“Is it expensive to live there? Or why aren't there many people or much transportation?”

“The truth is, I wouldn't say it's expensive. I think it's lack of carriages is more because of a few small clans or some politicians that live there, so I suppose security is being tightened and a record is kept of who enters and leaves. Now you will understand the reason for my decision to take the walk”

“clans” Maomao murmured, thinking of something specific, and seemed to glimpse a quick smile on Chue's face.

The rest of the journey continued without interruption, with only a few 'we're almost there!' from Chue from time to time. When they finally reached their destination, the sky was clear enough to assume it was already morning.

“What happens now?” The young woman said, looking around 

“Master Jinshi did not give me specific instructions” The other one said, shrugging her shoulders “Let's wait here for a while”

Maomao couldn't hide her expression of displeasure. They had been walking for about three or four hours; her legs, unaccustomed to so much physical exertion, were starting to cramp badly.

“Ah!” Chue directed her gaze to a specific part far away “there they are” ‘they?’ Maomao looked in the same direction, and there they were; Basen and, she guessed, Jinshi, because of his long purple hair that now fell softly down his back instead of in his usual bun, along with his bangs covering his face.

“But if it's none other than my dear brother-in-law!” 

“Chue?” The aforementioned man asked his friend beside him.

Jinshi shrugged “Who else would have agree to help me? I doubt Maamei, your dad, nor Taomei”

“What is the costume for?” Finally, Maomao asked, noticing the strange outfits the boys were wearing. Jinshi's clothes were extremely dirty, and his hair was messy and loose. He looked even more androgynous and feminine than usual. Meanwhile, Basen was dressed in the complete opposite way; his hair tied up in a tight bun with fine fabrics. Maomao guessed that they had exchanged clothes, since she had seen that pattern before.

“That was my only condition for agreeing to help him” Chue replied instead.

“You know, I would have preferred a little advance notice about the plan and the meeting of it” Maomao crossed her arms “We had to walk all that way to get there on time and unnoticed”

“Those were last-minute preparations, I'm sorry” His expression seemed sincere. “I found out yesterday morning that my mom would be leaving early today and wouldn't be back until late. I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity”

“Why is he with us though?” She looked at the burly boy.

“That was my only other condition for helping!” Chue said cheerfully while winking at the boy, who immediately turned as red as a tomato. “Well, I suppose you guys can resolve this from now on, right?” She stretched out her arms, accompanying the gesture with a yawn “Miss Chue would like to take a short nap”

“Ah, yeah” Jinshi gave the woman a genuine smile “Thanks for helping me, Chue”

“No problem sir!! Although I suggest you to also inform Miss Chue of whatever plan it is in advance”

“Ah, yeah… I'm sorry again for that”

“So my work it's already done!! Have fun and please, don't get in any trouble. Mrs. Taomei and Suiren can be quite frightening. They didn't notice you were gone, did they?” She looked at Basen again.

“Only maamei was awake when I got out, and when she asked why I was going out so early in the morning I said I just wanted to train”

Chue frowned for a bit and then returned to her happy mood “Hmmm, poor excuse. Well, anyway, I should really be going now. I have to accompany my dear husband to get ready for his work, goodbye!!” She gave them one last smile and skipped away.

The other three watched the woman leave and then were plunged into an awkward silence.

“So what's the plan?” The girl broke the silence.

“Ah, yes” Jinshi cleared his throat before speaking “At this hour the nuns usually wake up and get ready to feed the ducks, with Lishu as one of them”

“Lishu?”

“The concubine's name” Basen interrupted.

Jinshi waited a while to see if either of them would add anything else, and since neither did, he continued with the thread of the conversation “As I said, they take the ducks out for a "walk," and there are often times when they manage to escape. There is one duck in particular who has grown quite fond of Basen, and that fortunately Lishu is almost always responsible for its walks. The plan, in short, is for the duck, seeing Basen's familiar face, to follow him, with Lishu trailing behind. This way, we can exchange a few words with her, and so, ask her about what we are curious about, If we can get her to tell us anything”

“Our plan relays on a duck?” The comment came out in a derogatory tone; they hadn't woken her up early in the morning for that.

“He's a very smart one” Basen frowned at the shorter one.

“Whatever” Maomao nodded slowly as she stroked her chin, analyzing the hasty plan “So what is my purpose here?”

“Asking Lishu about the topic. Since you're a woman and she already knows Basen beforehand, I suppose she'll feel safer and won't maliciously dismiss us” Jinshi looked calm and confident about everything.

“What am I supposed to ask precisely?”

“Ask questions as subtly as possible. Basen will bring up the topic as we already practiced, and you could ask something like, "It's surprising how they let a concubine leave the palace””

“We still don't know 100% if she really is a concubine” Basen frowned again and crossed his arms.

“Well, if she isn't, we'll realize it from her confused expression” He looked towards the empty villa and then turned back to them “I think it would be better to spend the hour near the monastery, in case they happen to leave earlier”

“And what will you do?” Maomao asked as she followed Jinshi along the path.

“Pardon me?”

“In the plan I mean”

“Oh” he smiled gently at her “Well, since Chue said I should keep a low profile, there's not much I can do if I have to follow these rules, so I'll just accompany you both. Besides, I consider myself a key participant in the whole investigation, Am I not?”

Maomao sighed audibly “I suppose that if I got you into all this, you have to come with me until we reach the root of everything”

“I agree with that” Basen simply silently followed them from behind.

It wasn't long before they reached the fence that Jinshi told her he had been told he wasn't allowed to go beyond. The birds had already begun to sing and the sky had already turned orange. Maomao kicked some stones, bored.

“Approximately how much time is left?” The girl asked as she sat down on the roots of the nearest tree, resting her overworked legs.

“If I'm not mistaken, it should be around 5 or 6 in the morning, which means around just one more hour until the nuns go out” Jinshi said while touching his chin in a way suspiciously similar to how Maomao does. The girl simply curled up in a ball and rubbed her eyes against her knees as she tried not to succumb to sleep.

“Or maybe not” Basen said as he looked into the distance and saw small ducks leaving the farm with old women following them.

“I thought you said the concubine looked ridiculously young?” Maomao also followed the old women with her eyes.

“Perhaps we are incredibly unlucky, and today Lishu will not be accompanying the others with this errand. It wouldn't be improbable given that they are doing so earlier than usual today” Jinshi gave her a genuine apologetic look, as the green-haired woman's brow was frowned majestically. Basen tried to locate the young woman by exaggeratedly moving his head.

“Ah!” They turned to look at the boy who was almost completely up the fence “There she is” 

Maomao got up from her makeshift seat and stood by the fence to watch the famous woman. She was quite small and thin, and built pretty similar to Maomao’s. It wasn't a body type you often saw in concubines. And, as Jinshi had correctly predicted, she was chasing a small duck who was approaching them.

Basen went over the fence and the duck quickly snuggled into his arms. It took Lishu a few minutes to run at the same pace as the duck and reach where the duck ran over.

“Phew…” She seemed to be short of breath “Please forgive Jofu… Basen?” She looked up and seemed surprised to recognize Basen, then she blushed immediately.

“H-hello” Maomao could see the red of his ears even from behind. She gave Jinshi a knowing look, which he returned, confirming her doubt.

“Ah...I didn't recognize you at first” She wiped the dust off her clothes trying to hide her nervousness “W-what are you doing here so early in the morning?” Her voice was timid and soft. “Some ceremony?” She mistakenly assumed because of his clothes.

“A-ah, no, not at all. I wanted to train but I also had to leave early, so I just came with these clothes so I wouldn't have to change later…” Basen looked terribly nervous, nothing like how he behaved with Maomao herself. Jinshi had hidden behind them when the girl arrived, and Maomao simply watched the conversation of the two of them in silence.

“Ahh, I see… I've never seen you train here before”

“A-ah…Well, this place is further away than the others, and I didn't want to disturb the neighbors with any noise so early in the morning”

“So they're your trainers?” Basen blinked in confusion before realizing that she was referring to Maomao and Jinshi. He opened his mouth to answer, but Maomao interrupted him. 

“My name is Maomao, I'm an apothecary. This training was supposed to be more intensive than usual, so I was asked to be here in case of any emergencies. Behind me is...Ukyou, who is my companion” Jinshi frowned at the unfamiliar name, but simply bowed to the girl.

“Oh, it's a pleasure, I'm Lishu” She also gave them a small bow. Everyone remained silent. Jinshi seemed to be trying to send telepathic messages to the other boy, but the latter simply looked absurdly nervous. When Maomao saw that he wasn't taking the initiative, she spoke.

“Do you usually do this? Walking the ducks?”

“Ah yeah, almost always, when the weather allows so”

“I see, is it some kind of tradition?”

“I honestly don't know” The girl blushed with embarrassment “I haven't been here long, I just do what I'm told”

“Why did you decide to become a nun so young then?”

“Oh, no, no. It wasn't what you could call a choice. But I've gotten used to it and grown quite fond of ducks” The duck in Basen's arms waddled as if to emphasize her point. 

Maomao honestly didn't know how to get the girl to talk about the palace without asking direct questions, and Basen didn't seem to be of any help either, so she just went along with it.

“Excuse my boldness, but I've heard rumors that there is one of the emperor's high rankin concubine. If I may ask, is that true by any chance? Do you happen to know who she is?”

Lishu seemed to be having a small battle with herself, but she responded anyway “Yes...those rumors are true” She nodded softly “Although I don't know how they manage to spread” She stroked her own arm.

“I didn't know that the concubines could leave the palace” Maomao said with genuine surprise.

“Well, she's not a concubine anymore. Those women who haven't…been deflowered can come out” She blushed at the thought of the implications that could have. The girl decided that if she referred to the concubine in third person instead of admitting she was the one, she wouldn't feel guilty about talking about the topic.

“Ohhh, I see” Maomao nodded as she stared at her intently.

The girl seemed to want to vent, because Maomao didn't have to do anything to make her keep talking.

"Her family guardian was given two options, and it was chosen that she had to stay here until she completed her nun training and care for the monastery. I suppose it's better than the palace”

“Aren’t concubines provided for generously? Forgive me, but it's strange that this is preferred to than a palace with private rooms and services”

“Her ladies-in-waiting weren't the best nor most efficient…” The young woman frowned involuntarily at the thought.

“Was she treated badly?” Basen finally interrupted.

“I wouldn't say she was treated badly, not at all. She had quite a dream life, but the palace is a dangerous and twisted place, where rumors spread quickly and it's impossible to distinguish which are true and which are not. I suppose all these things affect those who work there and they make them act in a certain way” 

"How do you know so much about this concubine?" Maomao raised an eyebrow, knowing the answer, but wanting to see what the girl said anyway.

"W-we've become really close friends, and so she has told me a lot about the palace life"

“That makes sense” said the green-haired “ Do you happen to know why was she sent away then?”

Lishu blushed and looked at her feet while playing with her hands “I suppose she wasn't really fulfilling my duty as a concubine… Or perhaps it was an impromptu measure by His Majesty to protect her in a certain sense. He is a kind-hearted man” she seemed to know the emperor well. She wasn't a very good liar.

“Protect her?” Basen tilted his head, confused. 

“I probably shouldn't be saying this but…” She looked behind her to make sure no one else was listening. “There have been many poisonings among low and mid ranking concubines, which had later led to the death of them, unfortunately. The origin of all these cases is still unknown, as they continue even after the entire kitchen team has been disbanded and replaced with new ones” Jinshi strained his ears from behind.

“Poisonings, you say? What are the symptoms in these cases?” They finally obtained the information they were interested in.

“I don't know, honestly. All I know is that if you happen to get in contact with it, death follows without fail. Things that enter and leave the palace are actively recorded from then on”

“Extremely lethal you say?…” Maomao slowly stroked her chin as she thought. The concubine nodded “And have only concubines been affected?”

“Mostly, although if I didn't misheard what the c-concubine said, there have been cases of high-ranking military personnel” A shiver ran through Maomao that had nothing to do with her current excitement at having discovered new information. She let it go. “Are you interested in the topic?” Lishu asked, seeing her so engrossed in her thoughts. 

“It's because similar things have also been happening in the pleasure district lately. I would like to be able to get to the root of it all” The young woman finally admitted.

“Ah! Well, what I told you is all I know, so I hope it was helpful” The brunette gave hher a smile that reminded Maomao of her pretty face and why she had probably been a concubine in the first place “Although, if you'll excuse me, I have to continue with the ducks walk”

“Of course, we won't take up any more of your time. Thank you very much” Maomao bowed in farewell.

“C-can you lend me Jofu?” The girl's shyness returned when she had to face Basen again.

“Oh, yeah, sure” Basen quickly extended both arms, freeing Jofu.

“Bye bye…” The girl waved goodbye as she walked back to the monastery. When she was far enough away, Maomao turned towards Jinshi

“Do you think…?”

“Definitely” The boy interrupted before Maomao could even finish.