"What shall we do?"
The taciturn servant handed documents to his master.
It was a case that made him want to bury his head in his hands no matter how he looked at it.
"Regarding the incident the other day with"
"Fuumei—"
"here is a list of her family and their associates."
Fuumei was executed as she was; while a full clan extermination was not carried out, all her relatives had their property confiscated and were sentenced to various forms of corporal punishment.
The fact that there were no repercussions for her mistress,"
"Ada—"
"was fortunate."
Among the associates were business partners from her family's trade. They had seemed like mere beekeepers, but apparently they ran quite an extensive operation.
"There are approximately eighty of their children within the inner palace."
"What, eighty out of two thousand? That's quite the hit rate."
"Indeed."
"Gaoshun—"
asked his master with a furrowed brow.
"Shall we cover it up?"
"Can you?"
"If that is your wish."
If that is your wish.
Gaoshun would follow"
"Jinshi's—"
"instructions to the letter."
Whether it was the right thing to do was irrelevant—he would do as Jinshi said.
She let out a deep sigh.
Among the persons of interest, there was a familiar name.
She had been abducted and sold off — and the buyer turned out to be that very person involved.
"So what should I do?"
It would be so simple to just make a decision and be done with it.
The thought of what expression her daughter would wear because of the choice she made was utterly terrifying.
○●○ "Mass layoffs?"
"That's right."
While snacking on dried persimmons, Xiaolan said. The dried persimmons were something Maomao had pilfered from the orchard and secretly strung up under the eaves to make.
"Apparently they're doing something like wiping out the entire clan — daughters of merchant families they've had dealings with and the like all have to be let go."
(That gives me a really bad feeling.)
Maomao's premonitions were usually accurate.
On paper, Maomao's family was a merchant house engaged in trade.
(Losing my job right now would be seriously problematic.)
She was rather enjoying her current life.
Sure, returning to the pleasure district would be nice enough, but the likely outcome would be getting caught by some shrewd madam scheming for money.
Since Rihaku, she hadn't yet managed to send a single high-paying customer his way.
That was the problem.
(I'll definitely be sold off.)
After parting ways with Xiaolan, Maomao went to find a person she normally wouldn't think to visit.
"What's rare. You're out of breath."
At the rear palace's main gate, the beautiful eunuch remarked lightly.
Maomao had just left the Jade Pavilion after making the rounds of all four consorts' mansions.
"...!"
"Calm down. Your face is completely red."
Jinshi showed a hint of alarm looking at the heavenly maiden's face.
"I... have something... to talk about."
Maomao managed to string the words together between gasps.
Jinshi narrowed his eyes. For some reason, his face held a trace of worry.
"I see. Let's talk inside."
She was led to the Chief Palace Official's office. She felt a bit sorry for Gaoshun, who was as usual left waiting outside. She gave a small bow before entering.
"You want to ask about the mass dismissal, I presume."
"Yes. What will happen to me?"
Instead of answering, Jinshi showed her a document. Among the text written on high-quality paper, Maomao's name was present.
"So, I'm being dismissed, then."
(What should I do?)
Being told she was dismissed, it wasn't as if she could ask them to reconsider. She was well aware that she was merely a court lady.
Without expression, she held back any flattering look. The result was her usual expression, as if she were gazing at a caterpillar.
"What do you want to do?"
The voice asking this lacked its usual sweetness. Rather, it was a slightly childish voice, almost as if *it* were the one being pampered. Unlike the tone, his face was set in a serious, stern expression.
"I am just a court lady. If ordered, I will perform menial tasks, serve as a food taster, or act as the poison tester."
(Because, dismissal) Don't do this to me.)
He had meant to hire her with every bit of effort he could muster.
The young man's expression remained frozen; he glanced away and let out a quiet sigh.
"Fine. I'll pay out your severance."
The young man's voice was cold, and with his head bowed, his expression was unreadable.
The negotiation had failed.
○●○ How many days in a row now had he been seeing his lord looking like this?
Work had not been affected so far, but he wished the man would stop retreating to his office, slumping in a corner of the room, and radiating gloom.
He looked like he was about to launch spores at someone.
The young man with the beauty of a heavenly maiden's smile and a voice sweet as honey was nowhere to be found.
Maomao had moved out the week after receiving her dismissal notice. She wasn't warm about it, but she was polite, apparently going from house to house to thank everyone who had helped her.
Gyokuyou had been reluctant, but when she heard it was Jinshi's decision, she backed down for the time being. She left behind the parting shot, "Don't come crying to me when you regret it."
"Maybe you should have tried to keep her after all."
"Don't say a word."
Gaoshun folded his arms and deepened the frown between his brows.
When he had lost his favorite toy, what had it been like?
How much trouble had it taken to give him a newer, more novel toy in its place?
Perhaps one shouldn't get too close to a toy.
Jinshi didn't want to treat his daughter as a mere tool, so he stopped trying to keep her. After all, what good would it do to simply substitute in another daughter with a different coat color?
What an incredible nuisance.
"If a substitute won't do, I suppose I'll have to provide the real thing."
He muttered this in a voice too quiet for Jinshi to hear, and then a certain person suddenly came to mind.
A military official who knew the daughter's family well.
"What a handful."
Gaoshun, the man who had seen his fair share of troubles, scratched the back of his neck.