Before entering the rear palace, everyone—whether eunuch or lady-in-waiting—underwent a physical examination. Maomao and her father were used to it, but for Yao and En'en, it was apparently quite humiliating. They clearly found it deeply unpleasant to be touched by a eunuch; their faces showed open displeasure at being handled. Her father, wearing a resigned expression, called over a lady-in-waiting instead.
"This is just for today, you know."
"Understood."
It seemed she had no intention of defying her father. Still, once she heard he was a eunuch, her attitude seemed to sour a little.
(Not that it's anything unusual.)
Eunuchs being looked down upon was nothing new. Her father was used to it and probably didn't think much of it, but it irritated Maomao to no end.
Once inside the rear palace, a familiar atmosphere washed over her. A garden of women—the only men around were eunuchs. In a place where such a peculiar space had become everyday, the people living there became a bit peculiar themselves.
They glanced over at Maomao and the others as they arrived. In this place where no one could come and go freely, they were sensitive to people arriving from the outside world. Their eyes lit up, wondering whether these newcomers brought anything entertaining or any fresh gossip.
Among them were several familiar faces. They weren't exactly close, but these were the servant girls who had occasionally joined their idle chats at the laundry. They wore puzzled expressions—Maomao kept leaving the rear palace and coming back, over and over again.
Her father headed straight for the rear palace's medical office. The two court ladies walked along, looking around with mild curiosity, but he and Maomao paid no particular attention to their surroundings. Perhaps their indifference rubbed her the wrong way—Yao, in an unusual move, spoke to Maomao directly.
"Why do you move as though you're accustomed to this place?"
"Because I worked here for nearly two years."
She answered the question. It had been in stints, but she had been there until last autumn.
"The term of service for a rear palace lady-in-waiting is two years."
Explaining everything would be tedious, so she figured this would be enough to satisfy her.
That was the end of their conversation, and they arrived at the medical office in silence. Inside, the familiar face with the loach-whisker mustache was fast asleep.
"Hello."
When her father called out apologetically, he startled awake with a snort, scrambling to his feet in a fluster.
"Oh! If it isn't Luomen! And young lady! It's been a while!"
The quack doctor came waddling over, clutching his heavy belly. Though he said it had been a while, Maomao had actually accompanied him to his hometown—a papermaking village—so it had only been a few months.
The fact that Maomao was already on familiar terms with the quack doctor seemed to further irk Yao.
(Nepotism, huh.)
She had technically taken the examination, but she couldn't blame others for seeing it that way. She chewed over the words the military physician had said earlier. Let them think what they wanted—it wasn't worth worrying about.
"And who are the young ladies behind you?"
The Quack Physician Looks at Yao and the Others and Speaks Up
The two of them wore complicated expressions. The man was a eunuch, but he was technically a court physician. They understood that much in their heads, but they seemed a little unsure of how to behave around him. The Quack either couldn't read those expressions—or simply didn't bother—as he began rummaging through a cabinet. "Now then, what kind of tea snacks would you like?"
In a way, his carefree personality was something to envy.
"These three are court ladies who have been assigned to assist the physician on his rounds. We were told it would be difficult for us to tour the inner palace on our own, so we arranged to tag along on a trial basis. Didn't you receive word about this?"
At her father's words, the Quack Physician perked up. He glanced briefly toward a desk. Maomao could see an unopened letter sitting there, but she decided not to push the matter.
"Ah, right, right. So what shall we do about it?"
The Quack Physician spoke with an air that practically screamed "I knew that already." Maomao thought it was just like him, and her father managed a wry smile.
Yao and Enen, meanwhile, were already eyeing the physician with suspicion—there was definitely something off about this man. It wouldn't be long before the Quack's cover was blown.
"Today we'll be visiting Consort Rifa first, and after that, we'll move on to one of the mid-rank consorts."
Of the high-rank consorts in the rear palace, Consort Rouran was gone following her involvement in the treason, and Gyokuyou had been elevated to Empress and left the palace. Risu was essentially in a state of retirement. In practice, only Rifa remained.
(She had heard that Rifa had borne a son, but how was she doing now?)
It had truly been a long time since Maomao last saw Rifa. She had once nursed the consort through illness day and night, so the woman held a special place in her memories.
Rifa wasn't quite as unfortunate as Risu, but she too had endured more than her share of bad luck. The rotten maidservants who had plagued her had apparently been cleared out, but how were things now?
Speaking of mid-rank consorts, Maomao was also curious about Airin—the woman from Saou who had recently entered the palace. In a sense, the whole reason she had become a court lady assigned to a physician was for this woman's sake.
"Well then, shall we head to the Crystal Palace first?"
And so, they set off to visit Consort Rifa.
When visiting a high-rank consort, a eunuch always accompanied them in addition to the court physician. It served as both protection for the physician and a means of surveillance—to ensure no harm was done to the consort.
The faces rarely changed, so they were all familiar to Maomao as well. They were devoted to their duties and never spoke to Maomao and the others beyond what was strictly necessary, so she didn't even know their names. That was fine by her—as long as they didn't cause trouble for her side, they were probably fine with it too.
Consort Rifa's palace—she held the title of Virtuous Consort—was as opulent as ever.
Before, Maomao had once borrowed space in the Crystal Palace to grow roses. At the time, she had planted the leftovers everywhere she could, which was why the palace grounds now boasted so many roses. Maomao had planted only white ones, but whoever tended the garden now must have found the lack of color dull. The roses now bloomed in vibrant reds, yellows, and even green. It was a pity the flowering season was nearly at an end.
"Hyah!"
The maid who came to greet them at the entrance of the Crystal Palace took one look at Maomao and cried out.
It seemed a few of the veteran maids were still around; some of them visibly contorted their faces upon seeing Maomao. She wished they would stop treating her like some kind of yokai every single time.
She had a feeling Yao and Enen were giving her strange looks again.
What was worse, even her father was looking at her now. His eyes seemed to say, "Did you cause trouble here too?" with a hint of worry.
She was led deeper into the palace. The room was not a bedroom but a reception hall. After a while, accompanied by the rustle of silk, a consort resembling a full-bloomed rose appeared. In her arms was a plump infant, its little mouth working away contentedly. There was a faint scent of milk about her — she had likely been nursing not long before.
Consort Rifa wore no white foundation, only a light touch of rouge on her lips. Since her skin was naturally fair, going without heavy powder was hardly a problem.
Following Yabu and her father's lead, Maomao and the others offered their greetings. Maomao was glad to see the consort looking healthy after so long. The baby in her arms also had a healthy complexion. It had long surpassed the age at which the late Crown Prince had passed away.
The current Crown Prince was a son born to the legitimate consort, Empress Gyokuyou, but the next in the line of succession belonged to this child of Consort Rifa. Thinking about the succession issue brought a twinge of worry about the future, but for now, Maomao felt that as long as the boy grew up healthy, that was enough.
"Keep the greetings brief. More importantly, would you mind looking at how I'm feeling?"
Consort Rifa gently passed the infant to Maomao. Caught off guard by the sudden handover, Maomao faltered for a moment, but the baby showed no shyness toward strangers, simply narrowing his eyes in contentment as he sucked on a finger.
(She wasn't exactly great with children, though.)
This must be what Consort Rifa wanted Maomao to see. After losing her previous child and becoming a hollow shell of her former self, she had now given birth to and was raising a healthy baby boy. Once Maomao thought of it that way, there was no way she could say the child wasn't adorable.
The additional maids assigned to the Crystal Palace were competent. One promptly prepared a chair so Maomao could hold the baby securely.
Her father conducted a consultation with Consort Rifa, taking her wrist to check her pulse. Yabu the quack doctor did nothing in particular, simply standing nearby with a pleasant smile. It was Enen who produced the instruments on Yabu's behalf.
Maomao studied the infant carefully.
Perhaps because it had grown quite warm, the baby had developed a mild case of heat rash on his neck. There was nothing else of concern — he was the picture of health. She whispered her observations to the beaming Yabu, who relayed the message to her father. It seemed to be exactly what he had expected, for he instructed Yabu to fetch a medicinal salve for the rash from the medicine chest he had brought along.
The baby was growing up strong, and that was what mattered most — but the entire time Maomao held him, Yao and the others had been glaring at her.