The ship had completed what seemed to be a departure ceremony and set sail. The dignitaries, mainly
Jinshi,
had been conducting some sort of festival-like proceedings, but
Maomao
had only been watching absentmindedly. Occasionally, the eccentric strategist would glance around restlessly, so she retired to her cabin partway through.
One could hardly call the sea voyage pleasant, but it seemed more tolerable than she had imagined.
(In the past, she had heard that when bugs got into
bread,
people would just gnaw on it anyway.)
As the story went, they would put out raw fish to lure the insects away before eating.
Maomao, who would eat
locusts and snakes alike,
had no intention of willingly eating bug-infested bread.
(Well, it's not that long a journey anyway.)
It was long for Maomao, but she wouldn't be spending months on the ship.
It would take about half a month, with several stops at ports along the way. For the first meal of the voyage,
they were served
zongzi,
fish soup,
and citrus fruit. Perhaps it was somewhat more lavish since it was the first day.
"How nice that they even serve fruit!"
The quack doctor beamed as he peeled one and popped it into his mouth.
Maomao had long since finished eating and
was using a toothpick to clean her teeth.
Maomao had a pretty good idea why they were getting citrus fruits.
"They say vegetables tend to run short on sea voyages."
"Right. They don't keep well."
"Nutritional imbalances can lead to illness."
"Mm-hm, so you've got to eat a balanced diet."
It was unclear whether Yabu understood the reasoning or not.
"Even so, we sure are idle. No patients are showing up."
*(You say that, but it was the same way the whole time back at the rear palace.)*
She muttered this retort in her mind, then swished water around her mouth and spat it out the window. She'd probably get scolded for being vulgar, but with the sea right outside, it was the easiest solution.
"Nobody getting injured or sick is a blessing in itself, I suppose."
Maomao quietly eyed the shelves in the infirmary. The selection was limited, but the quantity of medicine was rather impressive. Plenty of herbal remedies for basic ailments, plus medicines specific to illnesses that plagued ships. The rest consisted of topical ointments and the like for surgical procedures.
Maomao fixed Yabu with a steady gaze.
"May I ask you something?"
It had been nagging at her for a while now.
"Doctor, you once seemed quite uncomfortable around corpses. How did you manage to pass the examination?"
"Examination? Yep, I passed the medical officer's exam fair and square."
Yabu puffed out his chest with a self-satisfied snort.
Maomao gave him a deadpan look.
"When you say examination, you mean the written test?"
"Right, exactly. Since there was no court physician assigned to the rear palace, I was allowed to sit for the medical officer's exam among the eunuchs. And I was the only one who passed."
Yabu beamed with pride. Eunuchs who had resigned themselves to never becoming civil or military officials would take the exam out of desperation. Many had also been castrated by foreign peoples. Honestly, she could understand why the other eunuchs who attempted the exam had failed.
The original court physicians had no desire to work in the rear palace, even at the cost of becoming eunuchs. So they had tried recruiting eunuchs as physicians instead—but that hadn't gone as planned.
"And then, what about the practical exam?"
"Huh? Practical? Hmm, I think there was something... or maybe there wasn't? Oh, now that you mention it, I was made to dissect a chicken."
"And that was it?"
"Yeah, that was quite the predicament. I tried to wring a chicken's neck and took a peck right to the forehead that knocked me out cold."
"..."
I could easily picture it.
"They also asked me to butcher a pig, but the pig kept looking up at me with those big, round eyes, and I just couldn't do it."
Needless to say.
It was terrifying how clearly I could imagine it all.
"...Is that so."
By that point, the higher-ups had probably given up on turning the quack into a real physician. But they still needed someone to treat the consorts in the rear palace, so they'd reluctantly granted the position anyway.
"After that, were there no eunuchs who became physicians?"
I'd thought that if they'd administered the exam a few more times, they might have ended up with someone more competent.
"Well, here's the thing. The Empress Dowager had that building constructed for the rear palace's female attendants, right?"
"Ah, yes, I recall."
It was a place to house the previous emperor's consorts. It had supposedly been built to shelter those women who could never leave the rear palace, but in the end, it was exploited during the rebellion of the Shi clan.
"While there was no physician around, they set up something like a makeshift clinic. When I joined the medical office, they made me their sworn enemy, and they fiercely opposed choosing any new physician from among the eunuchs."
"Ah."
I could see where this was going. They possessed far more medical knowledge than the quack doctor ever did.
"They opposed it, saying there was no need for a new rear palace physician, and in the end, the whole idea of appointing a eunuch as physician just fizzled out."
And that was how the quack ended up being the sole physician of the rear palace.
(This woman is living on nothing but luck.)
I found myself half-tempted to have her try her luck at a lottery sometime.
"
Shinryoku
-san, was it? She was the one at the center of it all..."
The quack's gaze drifted far away.
She was a middle-aged woman who had worked at the clinic where the female attendants gathered. A member of the Shi clan,
Suicui
She had reportedly aided their faction and helped them escape from the rear palace. Moreover, she had attempted suicide when confronted about it, but no follow-up report had reached them.
(Whether dead or alive, the execution is unavoidable regardless.)
They must have decided there was no need to report further.
The quack finished brushing her teeth and began preparing her medical instruments.
"Well then, once a day — house calls. They're supposed to be done after meals."
Whose house calls, one might ask — it would have to be someone important.
"Hyaa, long time no see, Lord"
Jinshi
"-sama — oh wait, you're the Moon Prince now, so I'm really nervous!"
"I suppose so."
Though she'd gone red in the face even back when she was treating him as a eunuch.
(Hmm.)
For the time being, Maomao was supposed to tag along, but she felt rather mixed about it.
Jinshi's room was far beyond any other cabin in terms of luxury.
(Sheltered from the wind. Plenty of space. Bright.)
Of course, that was with the caveat that they were still on a ship, but seeing the room she was led to, she thought that if it was this impressive, it would certainly be comfortable enough.
"Right this way."
A calm woman's voice.
(Sea voyages must be rough at her age.)
But it was likely a case of there being no one else around — a lady's maid in the first stages of middle age,
Suiran.
That's who it was.
She let the quack doctor into the room with a composed expression, but when her eyes met Maomao's, her mouth twisted ever so slightly for an instant.
(Thanks for all your hard work.)
There were two more ladies-in-waiting besides.
They glanced at the quack doctor for an instant, then studied Maomao as if observing her.
(As expected, they've chosen capable people.)
They were clearly sizing up the situation, trying to get a handle on things. The fact that they didn't bare any hostility right away was quite admirable.
One looked to be in her forties. At her age, she might well have been one of those who served as Jinshi's wet nurse.
The other appeared to be in her early twenties. She didn't look much older than Maomao, but she had a curious composure about her. Honestly, she wasn't what one would call beautiful, but among the abundance of lovelies surrounding Jinshi, her plain features were perhaps more soothing to look at.
(She's probably quite capable.)
For ladies-in-waiting to the Imperial Brother, these were rather plain choices — but that was very much like Jinshi. Maomao wondered whether, if
Yanyan
had continued in her post as Jinshi's attendant, she would have been taken along on the boat journey — and with that thought, she proceeded inside.
"I-I shall perform the examination."
The quack doctor stumbled over his words right away.
On the other side of the screen, Jinshi sat in a chair waiting. He had changed out of his ceremonial attire into something more practical and easy to move in.
"It's been a while, Doctor. I'm in your care."
Jinshi gently extended his arm. The room smelled of incense, but more than anything, it seemed the fragrance was coming strongest from Jinshi himself.
Perhaps because this was in front of the quack doctor, Jinshi's usual dazzling glamour was on full display — just like back in the Rear Palace.
(Even without the quack doctor, this would be enough to make one nervous.)
"Y-yes."
Maomao watched from the side as the quack doctor fumbled about — so flustered that, had he a catfish mustache, it would have been quivering.
Despite calling it a house call, it seemed to amount to little more than taking his pulse and having a chat.
(They don't seem to expect much from the quack.)
Suiren appeared well-versed in all manner of things, so even without the quack's visits, Jinshi's health management seemed to proceed without issue.
Still, Maomao made sure to carefully check that nothing was amiss.
"Th-there appear to be no particular problems."
The quack doctor stumbled over his words right to the very end.
"I'm sorry. I'll be counting on you every day from now on."
"Yes, sir!"
The quack doctor gathered up the tools he had mostly just brought along without using.
Jinshi was still watching the quack doctor. The moment the doctor looked up, he turned up the sparkle even more.
*(What is this?)*
"Doctor, you've shaved your beard, I see — it suits you quite well."
The quack doctor's heart skipped a beat. Something fluffy seemed to float all around him.
"I feel terrible about making you, the court physician of the Inner Palace, travel by ship. However, this is an important role. I would be glad if you stayed with us until the very end."
"O-of course I will."
The quack's eyes glistened with tears. He had the look of someone who completely trusted Jinshi.
To Maomao, it all looked like nothing but a theatrical farce. The attendants around her, including Shuren, were equally unmoved. But what mattered here was that the quack doctor believed it.
"You are a eunuch — the others around you know this as well. If your status as a eunuch ever causes you any disadvantage, I want you to speak up."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Tears were about to spill over. His cheeks flushed red, and on his back he might as well have been carrying a bouquet of roses.
"And also…"
Jinshi cast a gaze tinged with concern toward the quack doctor.
Maomao narrowed her eyes, simply wishing this charade would end quickly.
"The doctor's name is
Gu Yuan
— is that correct?"
"Y-yes, that's right."
*(So that was his name, huh…)*
"You are the only doctor aboard this ship. Out of respect, may I address you not by name but as 'Doctor'?"
"I-I would be honored."
The quack had no objection. If anything, he would have preferred to be called just that.
(There was definitely something hidden behind this.)
"Say, I have a favor to ask."
It was Shisui who called out, just as the quack had finished putting his tools away.
"Could we also be examined every day? There's no need to trouble the doctor — I'd like to ask that helpful girl over there instead."
(Ah, so that's what this is about.)
Maomao glanced briefly at the quack doctor.
"I think the doctor must be quite busy, so please feel free to head home."
"As you wish."
The quack managed those words without stumbling, at least when addressing Shisui.
"Well then, little miss. I'm leaving the rest to you."
"Understood."
Maomao replied in a flat monotone.
She saw the quack off, and when she turned around, there stood Jinshi radiating a thoroughly awkward atmosphere.
Maomao was just about to scoff when Shisui swiftly smacked her.