The palace hosted all manner of ceremonies. Today was no different — people dressed in monkish robes filed through the palace grounds in small groups.
"There seem to be quite a few more than usual."
Maomao gave the freshly laundered paper strip a brisk shake to wring it dry.
"I hear Lady Getsuki is overseeing the ceremony today. At the temple nearby, apparently."
With some irritation,
En'en
said.
"You certainly know your way around."
"Yes. The excitable court ladies have been chattering about nothing else."
"I see," Maomao nodded.
En'en stole a cautious glance at Maomao.
"What is it?"
"Well, I have a question..."
"What about?"
She beckoned Maomao closer with little gestures, clearly wanting to keep things between them.
"Do all women inevitably fall for a man like that?"
"Huh?"
Maomao let out an inadvertent, idiotic sound. It was as though En'en were speaking like a young woman of marriageable age — and a troubled one at that.
(Oh, so that's what this is about.)
Maomao understood why En'en had asked such a question. "That man" could only mean Jinshi.
Now it was Maomao's turn to lean in and whisper.
"
Yao,
she's still buried in work. I don't think she has any interest in that sort of thing."
En'en's face brightened instantly.
(Predictable.)
At the very least, Yao had seen Jinshi's face on several occasions.
"Even when Yao sees Lord Moon, there's no blushing, no palpitations, shortness of breath, or any signs of going weak in the knees. She seems to be thinking only about what she needs to do next."
"...Then there shouldn't be a problem."
"However—"
Maomao knew. The chances of Yao falling for Jinshi were slim right now. Slim, but who knew what the future held? Yao was still a young woman. It wasn't out of the question that she could, at some point, succumb to that sickeningly sweet face.
Especially dangerous was the moment the tension of work lifted.
"If they were to meet in a private setting rather than at work, her reaction might be quite differe—"
A splash echoed through the room. En'en had overturned the bucket where she'd been soaking muslin cloth, and her face was deathly pale.
"En'en?"
"...O-Our lady would never do something like that."
"Calm down. Opportunities to meet in private don't exactly come along often."
Maomao rubbed En'en's trembling back while she stared blankly ahead, her face ashen and her teeth chattering.
"Hey, is something wrong?"
A young physician nearby noticed En'en's strange behaviour and came over. Fast reaction time was good and all for a medical officer, but it wasn't needed right now.
"It's nothing. She's fine. I'm just going to let her rest for a bit."
Maomao supported En'en and decided to take her back to the medical office.
"Sure, go ahead."
Maomao laid En'en down on a cot and handed her some tea.
It was a relief that today happened to be Yao's day off. Even dependable En'en couldn't take every single break together with Yao.
Doctor Liu was in the medical office. Maomao thought she might get chewed out for slacking off, but one look at En'en and Liu said only, "Rest," before leaving it at that.
"I wasn't sure whether to bring this up, but when it comes to Yao, don't you think you're getting a little too worked up? That could be dangerous."
Maomao remarked to En'en with a sigh as the latter sipped her tea.
"...I know that, but..."
"What about when Yao gets married someday?"
"..."
I thought she might go pale again, but she was perfectly calm.
"The young lady will also have to marry someday. When that time comes, I've made my peace with it. However, I will thoroughly vet whether the man worthy of becoming her husband is truly suitable for the young lady. In fact, I already have."
Past tense.
"Could it be that your uncle brought up the marriage proposal?"
I'd heard something about it in passing. Yao's father had passed away, and her uncle was currently managing the household.
"Yes, that old geezer... I mean, the head of the household has been bringing marriage proposals one after another, taking advantage of the fact that the young lady is beautiful and well-developed. Even now that she's started working, he keeps sending letters asking why she won't go on a blind date!"
Three years ago, Yao was only twelve. Naturally, she was on guard against suitors with a disturbing preference for young girls.
"En'en. I get it, so put the teacup down. It's going to break."
Maomao took the teacup that was starting to crack and set it aside. She couldn't help but panic.
"...But if it's an arranged proposal someone else decided on, that's one thing. If Yao herself has made up her mind, is there really any need to meddle?"
At that question, En'en lowered her head. She was muttering something under her breath. It sounded like she was cursing, but uttering such things in the palace was not permitted. She covered her mouth so no one would overhear.
(Yao has it rough too.)
Maomao sympathized with Yao for having such a troublesome attendant.
"Well then, I'll be getting back to my work—"
She was just about to say "Please take it easy for a while" when—
The door to the medical office was thrown open violently.
"Hey, what's going on?!"
Doctor Liu, who had been on standby, asked the officials who had burst in. There were three of them; one was completely drained and being carried on a makeshift stretcher.
None of them were civil or military officials—they were dressed in elaborate ceremonial garb. The person being carried on the stretcher was breathing heavily, with vomit clinging to the corners of his lips.
"He was shot with an arrow."
The man in ceremonial dress who had been brought in had a bandage wrapped around his arm, blood seeping through. His complexion was poor as well.
Maomao hurriedly fetched the medicine pot from the stove.
Doctor Liu peeled back the bandage from the emergency treatment. The arrow wound had discolored.
Maomao brought hot water along with a knife. She heated the blade over a flame, cooled it, and handed it to Doctor Liu.
"Wh-what are you going to do with that!"
"What do you mean, what? I'm just going to cut. The emergency treatment wasn't bad, but poison is still lingering like this. You haven't had diarrhea, have you?"
"N-no, I don't think so."
His lower body was clean, so at least there was no humiliation involved.
She needed to drain the blood and wash out the remaining toxin.
"Maomao?"
Enen, who had been making a fuss nearby, woke up.
"I'm fine. I have enough hands."
After making the incision, all that remained was to stitch it with a needle and prepare the medicine.
She had the guards who brought the unruly official hold him down, and proceeded to drain the blood.
"The arrow was poisoned with aconite?"
"Based on the symptoms, most likely."
In that case, there was no specific antidote. She would prepare a salve to prevent infection and something to help replenish his blood.
While Maomao was preparing, a new visitor entered.
He wore the same ceremonial robes as the previous guests, no—his were even finer, and he wore a crown with dangling beads.
It was Jinshi.
As everyone bowed their heads, Doctor Liu had finished draining the blood. Maomao quickly handed him the threaded needle.
(He's got some nerve, this doctor.)
Even in the presence of the Imperial Brother, he prioritized treating the wound. He wasn't at her father's level, but there was much to learn from such a capable physician.
"How is it?"
"We are fortunate. The arrow only pierced the muscle, so there was no need to scrape the bone. The initial treatment to draw out the poison was also timely, which helped."
"Is that so? It seems it went rather well for a first attempt."
Jinshi said this with a hint of pride. For some reason, the injured man, who had been pale, flushed red.
(He was the one who did the treatment?)
Maomao's body moved before her exasperation could catch up. She grabbed Jinshi by the collar, pulled his face close, cupped his startled face in both hands, and peered into his mouth.
"How rude!"
Jinshi raised a hand to stop the officials who scrambled to hold Maomao back.
"You don't seem to have any cavities."
His teeth were lined up so neatly it was almost off-putting. The pearly white teeth were probably the result of Nanny Suiren making him brush diligently every day.
"No cuts on your lips, and no mouth ulcers either?"
"None."
They ended up facing each other intently, and Maomao gently let go. She prepared a mixture of boiled water from the medicine pot, diluted half-and-half with regular water.
"Did you rinse your mouth thoroughly? If you swallowed the venom along with your saliva, the detoxification would be pointless."
"I did rinse my mouth. If you're worried, prepare an antidote."
"Unfortunately, there's no antidote for aconite poisoning."
Making him vomit out the poison was the top priority.
"This man will survive, then?"
"Yes. Thanks to your prompt treatment, sir."
Official Liu answered in Maomao's place. He had finished stitching and was wiping the wound with a cloth soaked in alcohol.
"He put his body on the line to protect me. Make sure you treat him properly."
The official who had been thrashing moments ago from the pain of having the blood drawn now wore a dazed expression. Simply having had Jinshi suck the poison directly from his lips with his own mouth had been enough to send this man's face into a look of bliss, as if he'd already crossed over into paradise.
"Lord Moon, please leave the rest to us. It's problematic for you to remain in a place like this."
One of Jinshi's attendant officials said this. He was no doubt saying that a blood-soaked place was beneath Jinshi.
"No, I'm staying here. It would be better to remain than to move around carelessly. At the very least, there are no gaps here for arrows to slip through."
Most medicinal herbs prefer cool, dark places. As long as the windows were sealed, no poisoned arrows would come flying in.
"More importantly, if the treatment is finished, take him to a bed. And then,
give my message to
Mami."
Jinshi waved his right hand airily. Maomao, looking thoroughly annoyed, prepared writing tools and paper.
She scribbled something down and handed it to one of Jinshi's attendants.
"
Maosen —
you don't need his help?"
"Even if word gets out immediately, there's no need to deliberately blow things out of proportion."
Considering Maosen's personality, that was hard to argue with. His loyalty was unwavering, but at heart, he was a brute.
She glanced at the attendant she had asked to deliver the message. To Maomao, it looked like he was clearing the room of people.
"You all should get back to work. Understood? The ceremony has concluded safely. This is something after the ceremony is over."
"Y-yes."
That way, nothing would remain in the records.
It seemed this was something Jinshi didn't want made public either.
The only ones remaining were two of Jinshi's attendants. Maomao didn't know their names, but they were familiar faces—and it was precisely because of that that she could see the trust involved.
Maomao glanced toward the adjacent room.
"If you'll excuse me, I'd like to take my leave—"
"Stay."
"En'en is in the next room—"
"En'en shouldn't be a problem."
Jinshi quietly pulled a cloth-wrapped bundle from inside his robe. Inside was a broken arrowhead.
"I'd like you to take a look at this."
At this point, Doctor Liu raised his hand.
"I'm a physician. Wouldn't it be better to show the arrowhead to a military officer?"
"Yes, I'm well aware that Doctor Liu possesses exceptional medical expertise. But when it comes to a particular specialty, others may know more."
Maomao was staring intently at the arrowhead.
The arrowhead, about the size of a thumb's tip, was a clean triangular shape—stained with blood, yet its surface appeared smooth.
"May I touch it?"
"Don't damage it."
Holding it with a handkerchief, I gently wiped away the blood. The surface was indeed smooth, just as I expected.
"Who do you think fired the arrow?"
"..."
She was testing him again, same as always.
"If the arrowhead had been coated with poison, there would be grooves to hold the toxin in place. If I were a professional assassin, I would carve notches or grooves into the arrowhead to retain more poison."
Coating it with a sticky pine-resin paste, or simply smearing pine resin directly onto it to act as an adhesive—either way, on such a slick arrowhead, any applied poison would simply fall off during transport.
"The poison was likely applied just moments before the arrow was loosed."
"So we can assume the perpetrator may still have the poison on hand."
"That is merely a possibility."
"Oh, come now."
Official Liu wore an exasperated expression.
"I'd really rather not hear any more of this conversation. Would you permit me to leave the room? This girl as well, of course."
If both of them left, there would be no medical officer left in the infirmary.
Jinshi was discussing these grim matters right in front of Official Liu because he trusted the man not to betray his confidence.
"Official Liu, lives hang in the balance here. I want this resolved quickly."
"..."
A life of the imperial family, and other lives besides. The medical officer's expression was conflicted as he raised his hand.
"Is the poison aconite?"
"I cannot say for certain. Oleander-derived poison is sometimes used as an arrow toxin as well, but in that case, symptoms typically include severe diarrhea, which doesn't match what we observed earlier. In the southern regions, poison frogs are used, but those produce yet different symptoms."
"Official Liu, what is your professional opinion?"
"If I find any error, I will raise my objection. I am a medical officer—not a poison taster, nor an assassin."
(A poison taster, but not an assassin, mind you.)
As it happened, Official Liu had no objections to Maomao's analysis so far.
"Then let us move on. What sort of person would have fired this arrow?"
It was a mean-spirited question.
For an assassin, the weapon lacked sufficient killing intent.
Even if it were a hunter, they would have been more particular about using poisoned arrowheads.
So, by process of elimination, the likely candidate was...
A skilled archer with no notion of using poison. Moreover, someone who would carry it out near the military's turf.
"A military official who's good with a bow, I'd say."
He had gone ahead and read the answer out of her.
"And they were probably being forced to do it, made to use a poison they weren't familiar with?"
(...How pitiful.)
Jinshi surely understood as well. The moment the man was caught, his life was forfeit. Even if he had been coerced, the sentence would still be death.
(At least hold the ceremony somewhere less dangerous.)
She nearly let those words slip before catching herself.
(No.)
That wasn't it.
If he had deliberately chosen a location where he could be targeted...
Jinshi was well aware that he himself was an eyesore to his political enemies. To capture them quickly, he would think it best to use himself as bait.
Maomao felt her heart go cold.
This man was royalty, a player in the game of politics, and at the same time, someone who did not value his own life.
(I find this unpleasant.)
She could not help but feel repulsed by a man who was in such a hurry to die.