Jinshi
had just finished his morning meal when a boar-like man—no,
Bashen
came striding in.
"What's with all the stomping around?"
Tomei
scolded her son.
"Mother! I can't just stand by in silence when things are like this!"
"Who are you calling Mother! This is a workplace!"
Bashen got slapped by Tomei. It was thoroughly unfair, but this was just everyday life in Gaoshun's household, so there was no helping it. Even Jinshi was used to it. Used to it, but worn out. It made him want to go for a refill.
"My, my,"
Suiren
held a hand to her cheek and laughed amiably,
while Suzume
was being unusually well-behaved, careful not to get caught in the crossfire. As always,
Baryou
had shut himself away behind the ledgers in the back. The sound of turning pages could be heard, so he was probably preparing Jinshi's paperwork.
"Bashen, you need to show more awareness as a member of the close guard. When your subordinates panic, it reflects poorly on their master."
"But how can I just stand here and watch this situation, Lady Tomei?!"
Having been told "Mother" was off-limits, Bashen rephrased. Suzume was struggling to hold back her laughter.
"Officials from the central government are one thing. But what about the officials from the Western Capital! The Moon Prince is nothing but a figurehead who doesn't do a thing.
I told them they should try learning from
Gyokuei—and had a good laugh about it!"
Tomei's hand flew again. This time it was a backfist. Suzume squealed and puffed out her cheeks, pinching them with both hands. Baryou, perhaps growing curious, peered through a gap in the ledgers.
"Use proper honorifics. No matter what kind of fellow he is, his rank is above yours. If you end up on his bad side, it'll only smear mud on the Moon Prince."
Hearing Tomei say "what kind of fellow" like that, Jinshi could tell she was reaching her limit too.
Unfortunately, Jinshi had grown accustomed to that sort of language during his days as a eunuch, so it didn't particularly bother him.
This mother-daughter bickering was going nowhere, so he had no choice but to step forward. There was always the option of Suiren putting a stop to it, but since Suiren was staring intently at Jinshi, he had no choice.
"Can't the two of you stop?"
"But—"
Only at times like this did their voices match in unison.
"So my reputation in the Western Capital is poor. I already knew that. What's the point of bringing it up now?"
"But even what the Moon Prince accomplished is being credited to Lord Gyokuyou's account. Shouldn't that be properly brought to light?"
"…Is there ever anything I can bring to light?"
"…"
Everyone fell silent.
First, Jinshi looked at Suiren.
"We'll need to add extra guards."
Next, Tomei.
"Given the circumstances, perhaps we should request permission from Lord Gyokuyou?"
For Tomei as well, it seemed, Gyokuyou was "Lord" rather than "My Lady."
"Perhaps we should also attach a medical officer to the party, under the pretext of visiting the sick and injured?"
Basen, of all people, saying something sensible for a change.
"I know we've all forgotten about it lately, but how many people can actually tolerate looking at the Moon Prince's"
"face"
"— I wonder?"
At Suzume's words, everyone groaned.
"…I really don't want to end up handling complaints from men whose wives or lovers have had a change of heart."
From deep within the curtains, Baryou's voice came faintly.
'...'
Everyone fell silent.
The noise from outside began to filter in. Somewhere, another quarrel was probably breaking out today.
"How about something like this?"
The first to speak was Suzume. She pulled an obi from Jinshi's wardrobe trunk and held it out before Basen.
"Oh, so that's what you mean."
Suiren seemed to grasp the idea.
"Wait, what's going on?"
Basen tilted his head, unable to follow the situation.
Suzume grinned.
"Simple, really. Even if Lord Moon doesn't appear in public, as long as people can see that Lord Moon is working, there's no problem, right?"
Jinshi, too, understood what Suzume was getting at.
"Basen."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Take that obi. Put it on right away and go do the work in my stead."
"Huh?"
Basen stared at the obi with a blank expression.
◯●◯
Near the square of the western capital, a converted vacant building had been turned into a makeshift clinic. It hadn't opened yet, but a line had already formed.
They were offering free treatment for injuries and illnesses stemming from the locust plague scare. With the soup kitchen nearby as well, the clinic was bustling.
"
The Lady
is helping?"
The one who said this was Medical Officer Li. A mid-ranking physician, earnest to a fault and an unbending man. But he had the wrong name for her.
(I'd wondered what it would be like going to the western capital, but...)
The earnest Medical Officer Li had grown tanned and dark from the sun, his cheeks slightly sunken from the days upon days of hard labor. But rather than looking gaunt, he gave the impression of having been toughened and firmed up—the earnest, boyish air Maomao had initially sensed about him now tempered with something more rugged.
"Yes. I have received my orders from the Lady of the Moon.
Lord Yuyuan
cannot leave the Lady of the Moon's side, so I have come in his place."
Even Maomao could learn a thing or two. She had committed the quack doctor's name to memory.
(Not that the quack realized he was playing the part of someone's body double.)
There were only four other people in the room—the guards Li Bai and Suzume, Ma Sen, and Medical Officer Li—so it shouldn't matter if she spoke freely. It was only a greeting, but she felt apologetic about putting the patient off.
As it happened, the reason Maomao was running the show was that Ma Sen had finished his greetings long ago. He was looking around the clinic with a restless air. Two more guards stood outside the room to protect Ma Sen, but honestly, the atmosphere was such that you couldn't say they weren't needed.
(He does look unsettled.)
Ma Sen was not wearing his usual military uniform but rather a somewhat stylish outfit. At his waist he wore a sash that had been bestowed upon him by Jinshi. The vivid purple, dyed with shellfish, was not something a commoner could hope to obtain. It was just the thing for clearly signaling one's rank.
In other words, he had come on an official visit as Jinshi's proxy.
(A visit,)
Maomao thought, even as she recognized that there were people cut out for such tasks and people who weren't. Still, in this situation, Jinshi could hardly show his face in person.
"I heard from Tenyū that you have been the one taking the initiative to prepare the medicines."
"Is that so?"
Maomao had braced herself to be complained to about the shortage of proper medicine.
"The medicines that were sent were adequate. Not bad, for substitutes."
He appeared to be giving her something of a compliment.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"There's no shortage of work—washing cloth bandages, boiling water for sterilization, and treating the injuries from the endless brawls."
"Understood. Should I prioritize treating the injured?"
"Then I'll handle the laundry,"
Suzume piped up.
"What about me? What should I do?"
"Just sit quietly. That would be the greatest help."
Dr. Li replied with an oddly fixed stare.
"Understood."
Li Bai stood at the entrance.
"U-Um, what about me..."
Maosen felt uncomfortable because his position was different from usual. He looked at Dr. Li, thinking it would be simpler if someone just told him what to do.
"Um, Lord Maosen, perhaps..."
Originally a top student, Dr. Li seemed reluctant to answer. She was nervous, worried that it might be rude to give him any kind of order.
"Lord Maosen, would you mind sitting here and handing out the medicine? I'll prepare it, so please just take the bags and give them out."
"Understood."
Having him do something overly complicated wasn't ideal, and having him do heavy labor was out of the question, so this was the compromise they reached.
"Oh, and please add a few words of encouragement as well."
"What should I say?"
"Hmm, something like 'I hope the people of Lychee can live healthy lives,' perhaps. 'Take care' might sound a bit odd coming from you, Lord Maosen."
Suzaku chimed in. She did honor her brother-in-law with the "-sama" suffix, at least.
"That's right. I'd like them to remember the words 'the people of Lychee.'"
Dr. Li's remark tugged at something in Maomao's mind.
"Where is Dr. Yang?"
"He's out visiting patients who can't make it to the clinic. Being from the Western Capital originally, he knows the area well."
"I see."
Dr. Li's tone when speaking about Dr. Yang carried a slight edge.
"Has something happened with Dr. Yang?"
She could have probed further, but patients were waiting. Best to wrap this up quickly.
"Dr. Yang is not a relative of Lady Yuying. However, the patients likely think of him as family. Dr. Yang is an excellent physician, but he's unsavvy when it comes to politics. That's all there is to it."
Maomao clapped her hands together in understanding.
The better Dr. Yang did his work, the more Yuying — rather than Jinshi — ended up receiving the credit.
(Were they the wrong choice?)
No, they had been the best choice at the time. The timing just happened to be poor.
That thought about personnel led her to recall another.
"And Tenyu?"
"He's accompanying Physician Yang today. He's really skilled at suturing wounds, after all."
Maomao did recall that he was skilled. Being the youngest in several different fields seemed to mean he got worked to the bone.
"Well then, the patients are probably waiting, so would it be alright to open the clinic?" asked Physician Li.
Maomao and the others nodded.