Gyokuō She had various thoughts about that man.
But considering one thing separately from another was what adults did, Maomao thought.
"From everyone else's perspective, he's awfully capable, you know."
She'd come wandering into the physicians' quarters to chat now and then, Suzume said. She didn't seem to have free time, but she made a point of stopping by. Right now, she was helping grind herbs in the mortar. The locust plague had depleted their wound medicine and anti-infection salves, so they were restocking.
(He's like someone from his eunuch days.)
She'd always assumed he was just someone with too much time on his hands, but now that she knew his true nature, that wasn't really the case, she thought.
"It's as if he'd already predicted how the food shortages would need to be distributed — his response has been remarkably quick."
(That means) Rikuson had consulted Rahan, doesn't it? Even if Rikuson had reported various things to Gyokuō, could she assume he'd put that information to use?
(Well, if Rikuson had been reporting to him) Without clinging to needless pride, perhaps she should see it as simply making use of whatever was available.
The fact that she hadn't ordered Rikuson to return immediately from the village might have been related to that as well.
Considering the incident with Jinshi, she couldn't view Gyokuō's actions in a positive light.
What did Jinshi think about how Gyokuō treated him?
(Though she had a feeling that she herself wasn't as bothered by the sloppiness of his treatment as those around him.)
Being treated as a guest when he wanted to take action must have been frustrating. But he had done what he could—sending Li Bai to Maomao, guiding the eccentric strategist. What he was doing beneath the surface was substantial.
As a person, Jinshi honestly didn't seem particularly attached to power. He would play the part when the situation called for it, but the times he had seriously wielded his authority as the Imperial Brother were— (Pretty much only during the Zi clan's rebellion, wasn't it?)
At that time, Jinshi had acted as a member of the imperial family. In a sense, the cause of it all traced back to Maomao, so she couldn't say much, but his role as Imperial Brother had been most visible to the public during the suppression of the uprising.
She knew that afterward, Jinshi had been working hard as the Imperial Brother. No less busy than during his time as a eunuch—if anything, more so. But most of those were tasks imposed on him, and when it came to things Jinshi himself had set in motion— (There were the countermeasures for the locust plague, I suppose.)
Even though everyone around him called it needless anxiety, told him he was raising taxes for nothing, and both the common folk and the bureaucrats looked at him askance.
(If only he would step more into the open, like he did when he was a eunuch.)
Since returning to his position as Imperial Brother, he had tried as much as possible not to use his face as a weapon, it seemed.
(Maybe he stopped because it would attract more suitors.)
With the breakwater of his eunuch persona gone and the authority of the Imperial Brother attached to him, there would surely be no shortage of women vying to become his consort.
(Suitors, huh.)
Maomao recalled Rikuson's joke. She figured Suzume or someone must have reported it to Jinshi, and how tedious that would be.
"Miss Suzume, did you report it?"
Maomao mixed the herbs Suzume had crushed together with the other ingredients.
"Report it? Don't worry. It's top secret from the strategist."
"..."
So she had told Jinshi after all.
"If it was just a joke, I suppose there's no harm in that."
"It was just a joke, after all."
"There are people who don't keep things as jokes, though."
Suzume had done it on purpose.
Maomao imagined the tedious scene that would play out with Jinshi. The next time they met was going to be such a hassle—would it be all right?
"Young lady, it's done."
The quack doctor laid out the pills in a large flat basket to show her. To keep the doses uniform, they were made using wooden molds. It brought back the memory of being startled the first time she saw him rolling them by hand.
"Thank you. Could you do this one next?"
"You got it! I'm on it!"
The quack doctor was enthusiastic about it, but at this rate, you couldn't tell which one of them was the assistant.
Incidentally, Tenyū had been dragged along by Physician Yang with a "come help if you've got nothing to do." The pill-making work was something Physician Yang had brought in as well.
The personnel borrowing the villa were considered Jinshi's subordinates, but those stationed elsewhere apparently weren't under the same arrangement. In particular, the eccentric military strategist's subordinates seemed to be swamped, taking anyone they could get as backup to fill their staffing gaps. As a result, the villa had fewer people than usual.
With the quack doctor and Sparrow around, it wasn't too noticeable, but even the sound of voices was sparse.
(I'd like to see a bit more of the town…)
In the current situation, wanting to go outside would be selfish, wouldn't it?
And speaking of selfish— "It's almost…"
"…snack…"
"…time, you know."
The quack doctor pressed down on the wooden molds with a squeak while gazing out the window. He was checking the position of the sun.
When it was time for snacks, the quack doctor would dash off to the kitchen or what have you and come back with food.
"Hmm, I don't think today's gonna work out either, huh?"
Sparrow twitched his nose, sniffing the air.
"We're restocking the pantry with staples as the priority, so luxuries like that will have to wait, I'm afraid."
"Yeah, I figured."
For the past several days, the quack doctor had been suffering through life without his afternoon treats.
(If he can still manage without snacks…)
…then it's probably still fine, Maomao thought as she mixed the medicine.