Several days had passed since the old court physician's outrageous request.
Maomao
had been doing her work without doing anything in particular.
(What else is new.)
As usual, there were plenty of injured people. Four or five serious injuries a day, and one or two among them were hard to call training accidents. Generally, whenever she tried to ask for details about how the injuries happened, they'd hem and haw—so she could guess well enough.
She'd thought things would return to normal once the predator came back, but speaking of that predator—
"I don't wannaaa, I don't wanna go back to work!"
"No, Lord Rakan! You have to go back!"
The eccentric strategist who clung to the pillar and refused to leave—his aide,
Onosou,
was trying to drag him away.
Maomao cheered Onosou on in her mind as she prepared ointment. Wound medicine and poultices were in high demand, so she had to make sure the stock didn't run out. But she also had to assist the court physician during procedures, so she could hardly make much in advance.
By the time the man who'd been clinging to the pillar like a cicada finally disappeared, Doctor Li returned, drenched in sweat. Beside him was the young military officer who'd been stabbed in the stomach with a wooden sword the other day.
"Aren't you off duty today?"
"I am off duty, so I was training at the training grounds."
The question of what he was doing there when he wasn't even a military officer didn't leave her lips.
"And the one beside you?"
"He was at the training grounds, so I brought him along. I told him to come every day so I could check on his stomach, but he never showed up."
"I see."
Maomao and Doctor Li looked at the young officer.
"They stitched up the wound, so I'm fine now. No need to worry."
"Is that so?"
"Is it, though?"
Doctor Li put the young officer in a headlock. Maomao untied the young officer's belt and checked the bandage on his stomach.
"Ugh, it reeks!"
"What did you say?!"
"This isn't just a matter of changing the bandage — it smells like you haven't even bathed."
"That's young men for you! Needlessly good metabolisms, and the body odor to match! At least wipe yourself down with a wet cloth!"
"Wh-what's with the sudden attack! A headlock, and now you're stripping me?!"
The young officer thrashed about, but Doctor Li — who had trained his body to no good purpose — was the stronger man.
"Maomao, go fetch another doctor from the next room. We're changing this bandage right now."
"Right away!"
Maomao dragged in the doctor who'd been in the adjacent room.
The bandages had been wrapped tight to stanch the bleeding, but when removed, a nauseating stench came wafting out.
"It's a bit infected. Did you overexert yourself? The stitches have snapped."
"Did you at least take the anti-infection medicine?"
"I'd really rather you not blame us if the wound doesn't heal. Now then, shall I re-stitch it?"
The doctor called in for backup grumbled. He was in his thirties, with an unkempt beard.
Unlike the inner palace doctors, the outer court physicians were generally competent to begin with. What's more, since the infirmary near the training grounds treated a huge number of patients every day, they worked with efficiency as their top priority.
"Disinfection of the wound is complete. Here are the needles."
Maomao prepared the tools, and the two doctors set about stitching the wound.
The young officer had been forced to bite on a rolled bandage. Bruises covered his body here and there — some from training, some from other injuries, impossible to tell apart.
Only one spot needed restitching, so it was over in no time.
"If you don't change your bandages properly, the wound won't heal no matter how long you wait."
"And actually take your medicine. That's what it's there for."
"Please return the underclothes and smallclothes I lent you the other day."
Perhaps Maomao's words had struck a nerve, for the young officer's face flushed crimson.
"Well, I hate to ask after we just stitched you up, but could you tell me who did this to you? You vanished on me earlier without a word, and I was in quite a panic."
Doctor Li pressed close, demanding answers from the officer.
"It was an accident during training. It doesn't matter who the opponent was."
"No, no, it looks absolutely like attempted murder! You've got a broken wooden sword stabbed in your stomach. The fact that your insides aren't damaged is a miracle!"
Both Maomao and the bearded doctor nod in agreement at Doctor Li's words.
"Based on your accent, you're from Shussei Province."
"..."
The young officer falls silent.
For Doctor Li, who had been stationed in the western capital for about a year, pinpointing someone's origin from their accent was easy.
"If that's the case, then your opponent is a military officer from the central capital."
The bearded doctor strokes his chin as he confirms this.
"Seriously, if you're going to fight proxy wars, do it somewhere else. You must be pissed off yourself, getting beaten up like this all the time! You need to file a proper report with your superiors."
"Even if I wanted to report it, it'd just get crushed."
The young officer spat out the words.
"A weak officer is at fault. Just get stronger, and that'll be that."
Maomao understood the logic, but if getting stronger meant ending up seriously injured like this, she wished they'd just solve the problem properly. This wasn't just an issue for the officers; it increased the doctors' workload.
The young officer seemed surprisingly stubborn, so Maomao knew she had to at least tell him to keep changing the poultices and finish his medicine properly. He wasn't much trouble, but she couldn't afford for his condition to worsen because of it.
(Speaking of being a nuisance)
Maomao thought of
Jinshi
and couldn't help but feel she probably wouldn't be summoned for a while.
(If something important comes up, I'll be called)
Thinking this, she prepared the antibiotic ointment to give to the officer.
Maomao didn't particularly love gossip, but she didn't hate it either. As she half-listened to the officers' squabbles, she pieced the story together.
The power dynamics within the military had been straightforward from the start. At the apex was the Empress Dowager's faction, and the eccentric strategist in second place was neutral.
Maomao didn't know the detailed specifics, nor did she particularly want to know, but there was someone who obligingly explained it all to her.
"Well, you see. Up until now, the military was completely dominated by the Empress Dowager's faction. But in the last few years, thanks to the rise of the remarkably talented Consort Gyokuyou, people from Shussei Province have started to rise in prominence."
While Maomao was re-wrapping the bandage, the one chattering away was—
Suzume.
Perhaps because Maomao had been reassigned, Suzume had taken to visiting the medical office where Maomao worked. Given Suzume's sex, the medical officials left her treatment to Maomao. Whether it was to avoid having to look at a married woman's skin, or simply because having just the two of them for treatment made it all too easy to chat.
"That said, the Empress Dowager's faction isn't sitting idle either. While Lord Rakan was around, the neutral faction served as a brake, so no major problems arose. But—while Lord Rakan was absent, that balance crumbled, you see."
"Ahh, is that so."
Maomao lifted and felt Suzume's right arm. The fingertips could only move in a trembling fashion.
"Lord Rakan's camp is having a hard time too, you know. What's frightening is that some people have apparently defected to the Empress Dowager's faction and the Empress's faction."
"About that—"
Maomao held Suzume's arm and
massaged
it.
"It bugs me, you know. The way people say 'Empress Dowager faction' and 'Empress faction.'"
"Well, you're on familiar terms with both of them, Maomao."
"Yes. Neither of them is the type to actively attack anyone, is she?"
The Empress Dowager was the sort of person who would carry out
slave emancipation
and the like, and even build a clinic inside the rear palace for female attendants who had nowhere else to go. As for the Empress, Consort Gyokuyou was not the type to take things lying down if attacked, but that didn't make her a warmonger either.
"To be precise, the Empress Dowager's faction refers to the faction including the Empress Dowager's maiden family and the current Grand General."
"The Grand General?"
"Yes. The pinnacle of the current military. Lord Rakan is more conspicuous, but in reality he holds the second seat. The Grand General was originally the person who served as the Empress Dowager's bodyguard. The Empress Dowager was apparently the target of various schemes around the time she became pregnant with His Majesty. At that time, the one who made a name for herself alongside the Empress Dowager was the woman said to be both a legendary lady-in-waiting and a wet nurse—"
Suiren.
"—Lady Suiren."
"That name sort of rings a bell, but also sort of doesn't."
Maomao nodded to herself, thinking that if it was Suiren, it would be no surprise if there were one or two anecdotes about her.
"The Empress Dowager's maiden family was quite greedy, you see. The fact that the young Empress Dowager was placed into the rear palace tells you everything you need to know about that, doesn't it?"
"How scary, how scary."
Maomao pressed Suzume's hand acupoints while wondering whether the needle treatment was having any effect.
Meanwhile, she took notes on how much Suzume's arm movement had changed compared to the previous session.
"So, is Lady Gyokuyou part of Lord Gyokuen's faction?"
"Well, yes, that's about right. It's mostly people from the provinces who've gathered there, I'd say. Anyone who wants to advance really needs connections in the capital, you see. So Lord Gyokuen, who hails from the provinces and is a meritocrat, is seen as something of a rising star."
"But Lord Gyokuen is advanced in years, and the succession issue must be quite complicated too, right?"
She seemed to recall that even though his eldest son, Gyokuyou, had died, he still hadn't returned to the western capital — presumably because of his age and the difficulty of building a base there.
"Yes. That's exactly what they're aiming for — throwing punches at the Empress's faction."
"That's the current situation."
"Ah, I see."
"It doesn't really matter what the underlings fight about, though."
Maomao thought it was all pointless and let go of Suzume's hand.
"Ugh, my old wound aches."
Suzume seemed to have wanted a bit more massage.
She conspicuously rubbed her hand.
"I have other work to do, so that's all for today."
"You're so mean!"
When Maomao stepped out of the room, a tall court lady was standing there holding a basket.
(Um, let me think...)
She was the new court lady with the shorter name.
Perhaps to avoid exposing skin, she was bundled up quite heavily.
"Um, I've come to deliver the medicinal herbs that were requested."
"Ah."
The basket held medicinal herbs. The other one —
Chōsha —
But as a newcomer, you get sent running errands for all sorts of departments.
"Um, just a moment please."
Maomao checked against the ledger to confirm these were the crude herbs she had ordered.
"Hmm, let me see —
rhubarb,
boneset,
cassia bark,
and that should —
yes,
that's the lot."
These were the ingredients for a bruise salve.
"Everything's here. No problems."
Maomao took the basket and was about to put it away on the medicine shelf, but the new court lady showed no sign of leaving.
"Maomao, Maomao — she keeps looking at you like she wants to say something."
Suzume nudged Maomao.
"Did you need something else?"
"I heard from Yao and the others — you used to run an apothecary in the merchant quarter?"
The new court lady looked at Maomao with a serious expression.
"I did, yes."
"Then I was wondering — do you happen to know anyone in the trade? A man who started an apothecary within the last few years."
"A man who started an apothecary? Well, I suppose there is one."
Maomao had one disciple.
"Th-there is?!"
"Yeah,
a fellow named Sazen"
"—a man by that name, who runs a pharmacy in the pleasure district."
"Sazen... the pleasure district... Could it be a fake name? He certainly looks like he's got some kind of story, doesn't he!?"
"..."
Maomao fell silent. Something about this felt off. Maybe it had been a mistake to say so much.
(Come to think of it, that guy fled from the Clan Rebellion, didn't he?)
If his involvement in the rebellion came to light, it would cause all sorts of trouble. He wasn't a bad person, and more importantly, after all the effort he'd put into building up his craft, the idea of having to find another pharmacy to take him in was just too much of a hassle.
"Please! Take me to meet this person called Sazen!"
She grabbed Maomao by the collar and shook her back and forth.
"No, but—"
"If you won't take me, I'll find him myself! A pharmacy in the pleasure district, right!"
(I shouldn't have said that.)
There couldn't be that many pharmacies in the pleasure district. She'd track down Sazen before long.
"Maomao, Maomao, why not just show her the way?"
"Suzume, Suzume, that's easy for you to say."
"Hee hee hee. Suzume will be coming along too, you know."
Suzume laughed cheerfully.
Maomao groaned, still caught in the new court lady's grip on her collar.