Maomao
peeks outside the window. Behind the narrow window, more and more ships were piling up. They were merchant vessels that had tagged along at every port of call during the voyage. Since they were all heading to the Western Capital as well, it was probably an anti-piracy measure.
"This ship voyage that felt so long is finally nearing its destination."
"
Suzume,
what are you talking about?"
The quack doctor asked, addressing Suzume, who was lounging in the ship's infirmary as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Oh, I thought we might be entering this area soon, so I thought I'd try."
"I have no idea what you mean."
The quack tilted his head. Suzume really was bewildering about what she meant at times, but there were a certain number of such creatures in the world.
Maomao stepped away from the window and decided to check the remaining medicine stock. As Suzume had explained, they would be arriving at the Western Capital soon. She needed to think about restocking, but the quack doctor was, as always, just chattering away.
On top of Li Bai, Suzume had also taken to loitering in the infirmary. According to her, it was "part of the job."
"Doctor,
could you at least
keep an inventory of the medicine stock?"
Maomao handed over the ledger and writing implements. It wasn't a difficult task, and she could handle it alone, but she believed the quack doctor shouldn't be coddled.
"Shall I help as well?"
"No. If someone outside the medical staff gets involved, there'll be all sorts of complaints afterward."
"That's a shame. Suzume knows quite a bit about poisons, too."
She really was the type to sell herself.
"Well, I've done enough poison tasting to qualify."
Maomao recalled the events in the Anan Kingdom. She had attended to Jinshi's poison tasting, and Suzume had attended to the eccentric strategist's poison tasting.
As for what happened, I'll leave that to your imagination.
No incidents occurred, but let me just say there was quite the commotion. You could say it was a miracle it didn't turn into a diplomatic incident.
I'm truly exhausted.
"Aah, it was fun in Annan, wasn't it? I'm looking forward to Seito too."
Suzume, her small eyes sparkling. Little flowers, flags, and for some reason doves kept emerging from her fingertips, but Yabu and Li Bai had already finished taking their jabs at her tricks. There was no need for Maomao to chime in now, but what caught her interest was—
"How does that work, exactly?"
"Oh my. So you've taken an interest in Suzume's magic tricks?"
Suzume proudly stuck up her small button nose.
"Yes. Tricks like these seem like they'd require real skill."
She had once gone to see Pai Nyannyan's stage performance, but that had been more of a setup relying on knowledge than actual technique.
"What are you planning to do with it?"
"I thought it might be just the thing for when an elder tells you to perform something to pass the time."
Maomao's brothel jokes always fell flat, so she wanted something small she could pull out.
"Unfortunately, I already showed it to Lady Tsuki during the voyage, and as for His Majesty, I demonstrated it from the very start and consulted with him about future direction."
(Wait—future direction?!)
She almost blurted out a retort but held herself back.
What an audaciously impudent woman.
Maomao lined up the medicinal packets in the box, had Yabu write them down, then returned them to the box, repeating the cycle over and over.
"Come to think of it, we haven't discussed the schedule going forward, have we?"
"So you actually do have proper work to do, then?"
"Yes. Suzume, I work so my mother-in-law won't bully me."
She straightened her back crisply and pulled a wooden tablet from her robes.
"My, how old-fashioned, Suzume. You should use paper that's easier to handle."
Yabu spoke while wagging her finger. Coming from a family that produced paper, she carried a certain air of superiority about it.
"Indeed. I am a refined soul who cherishes the old ways. I love the feel of wood beneath my fingers, and its fragrance."
Paper was convenient, but there were plenty of connoisseurs like this. Honestly, Maomao didn't really understand, but there was no reason to stop her. The only thing she wondered about was how Suzume had managed to fit that long wooden tablet inside her robes.
"Once we arrive at the port, we'll load the luggage and board a carriage. It's about a quarter hour to Seito, but—"
Scorpion
"...and please be careful of scorpions and such."
While wondering whether it might indeed be scorpion, Maomao gave her acknowledgment.
"Yabu— I mean, doctors, once we arrive in Seito, please join up with the other doctors. Maomao will be with you as well. You'll be led to the rooms we'll use as our base. The location is"
Gyoen
"'s villa. Not everyone can fit in one place, so you'll be split among three. The senior staff will all be staying together, so please understand."
(He said "yabu," didn't he?)
It was a terribly clumsy cover-up, but Yabu was holding his writing materials in one hand and didn't seem to notice.
"Maomao, you'll generally be moving about with the other doctors. In special situations like poison tasting, we'll call for you. Li Bai and I will likely be with you quite often."
Li Bai was Yabu's guard, so was Suzume the liaison? It somewhat looked like she was slacking off by slipping past the watchful eyes of her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, but Maomao decided to pretend she didn't notice. In exchange—
Suiren
—showing up would be truly terrifying.
"Also, at night, I have"
free time
"—so please don't summon me."
"Even in an emergency?"
Yabu said, rolling the brush between his thick fingers.
"Yes. My mother-in-law is pressuring me to produce a second child quickly, so I need to use my supreme techniques."
She said it with a stern expression.
Yabu initially tilted his head in confusion, but when Maomao said "Suzume is a married woman," he seemed to grasp the implication. His face turned beet red and he dropped the brush he was holding. It was remarkable he could serve as a rear palace doctor at all.
However, her husband was apparently the man behind that ledger. Could he really be relied on?
"Haaaah. Focus your energy in your dantian~"
"Suzume, enough with the strange exercises. Please continue."
Maomao cut short Suzume, who was half-crouching with her hands moving in strange motions. Honestly, it wouldn't ever end if she didn't intervene.
"I expect life in Seito will proceed the same as on the ship until it's all over. However, the one in command will be the senior doctor's"
"Dr. Yang."
"He's the physician."
Suzume straightened up and continued with a blank expression.
Apparently, that senior physician with the tanned skin was called Yang. It wasn't a rare name — it was supposed to be especially common in the western regions. She should probably remember it, just in case.
"Well, we should be together for the most part, so you can ask Suzume here anytime, or ask Dr. Yang — whichever you prefer. But please don't bother me at night. I'm not sure if the second son of the Ma clan can sire children yet, so there's a lot of"
"pressure"
"on me. The Ma clan would die out — well, there are collateral branches, but my mother-in-law..."
Her eyes were dead serious. Even Suzume had things she feared, apparently.
(The eldest son's wife has it rough.)
Thinking it was none of her business, Maomao organized the last of the medicine. Once she finished tidying up, Suzume stood as well.
"Well, we'll be arriving soon, so I should head back."
"See you later, Suzume."
The quack doctor said it as though she were inviting her to come visit again.
Suzume waved as she turned to leave the room, then looked back once more.
"Maomao."
"What is it?"
Did she have something else to say?
"Whether it's the pleasure quarters, the imperial palace, or the western capital, people lie everywhere. There are plenty of liars in the western capital too, so please be careful."
Suzume grinned. Her dark complexion looked even darker in the dimly lit interior of the ship.
"Well then."
With the sound of the door closing, the ship lurched.