The season had turned to one where even the scorching sun began to lose some of its intensity.
"Work's been getting easier lately, hasn't it?"
"It has."
Maomao was cleaning the rest room together with Doctor Li. It wasn't the sort of work he normally did, but he was game for anything that required physical strength. All it really took was moving the beds to clean underneath them.
The reason work had gotten easier was that the petty squabbles among the military officers had died down lately.
Had the eccentric strategist been recognized as a common enemy once more, or had upper management put its foot down?
Either way, it was a blessing as far as Maomao was concerned.
Jinshi must have been the one to crack down on them.
Still, the rest room got filthy in no time. Besides being used to temporarily house the injured and sick, it also served as a place for the doctors to catch a nap.
Napping was fine, but they could at least stop leaving behind the skewer sticks from their midnight snacks.
Once Maomao and Doctor Li got absorbed in their work, they went about it in silence.
That was why they hadn't noticed the calls coming from the next room.
"...yan! Niangniang, come on!"
Only one person called out like that, and even if addressed, there was no intention of answering.
"Whoa!"
"Whoa? What do you mean, whoa?"
Ten'you found Doctor Li and Maomao there, and his face twisted up.
"What is it? What happened to your work?"
"I did my work! Anyway, I came here on business today, so stop raising your fist at me."
Ten'you had his own reasons for finding Doctor Li unpleasant.
Even someone who seemed as untouchable as the wind through the willows had a natural predator—and that was a fortunate thing.
"So, what did you come here for?"
Maomao settled onto the freshly made bed, crossed her legs, and scratched her ear.
"The way you talk, it's like you're barely managing to be polite."
Maomao ignored Tenyu's words and lightly blew on her little finger.
"Maomao, you can mostly ignore what Tenyu says, but this might be an order from above, so you should at least hear him out."
"Understood."
"Maomao, you really do draw a clear line between who you'll listen to and who you won't."
"You're imagining things."
Maomao left the resting room. The old court physician was in the medical office, checking the records.
"I received a summons from Tsukikimi. Apparently there's some special business."
Tenyu, for his part, used a polite tone with the old court physician.
Jinshi When she heard the summons was from Jinshi, Maomao tilted her head. "Hm?" If someone were to summon Maomao, Suzume or someone like her would be the one to come. Even if someone else showed up, there was no reason they'd pick Tenyu.
"Is this about what happened in Seito?"
Court Physician Li asked.
That, at least, would make sense.
"Yes. But it would be a bit troublesome to bring both of you along."
"No, Maomao alone would be fine."
(She only plays nice at times like these.)
"Is that so? Then that works."
The old court physician handed the records over to Court Physician Li.
"Just me and Court Physician Tenyu?"
Maomao directed her question to the old court physician rather than Tenyu.
"Because it's medicine-related, they said they want the lady doctor."
"Then Court Physician Li would be a better choice than Court Physician Tenyu."
Maomao asked to swap places with Court Physician Li instead of Tenyu.
"I don't need Tenyu either. I'd like it if Court Physician Li could come instead."
The old court physician chimed in as well.
"Hahaha, Court Physician Li sure is popular."
"Tenyu, you're despised everywhere you go, aren't you?"
Even Court Physician Li showed no mercy toward Tenyu.
And so, it was decided that Tenyu would accompany Maomao to Jinshi's location.
"So, what's the real reason I was summoned?"
Maomao asked after they had been walking for a while, having left the infirmary.
"What do you mean, 'real reason'?"
"If it were about the medicine from the Western Capital, I alone should have been sufficient. But if Court Physician Tenyu was also summoned, there must be some other reason, right?"
"Sharp one, aren't you? Well, I'll let Tsukikimi give you the full explanation, but I'll give you a little preview."
The condescending tone was irksome, but Maomao kept quiet and listened.
"Tsukikimi had been investigating various things, and it turned out to be connected to my family's roots. Somehow, something absolutely absurd turned up."
"I have no idea what you mean."
"Yeah, figured as much. Okay, just one more thing."
Tenyu theatrically held his thumbs and index fingers apart to form a rectangular shape about three inches long.
"This."
"I still have no idea what that means."
"A jade tablet."
"Huh!?"
Maomao hurriedly tried to press Tenyu for more details. But Tenyu suddenly quickened his pace and took off running, leaving her in the dust.
As a result, Maomao had no choice but to sprint at full speed.
The place she was summoned to was not Jinshi's personal quarters, but rather his office.
(For some reason, this feels nostalgic.)
The windows and corridors had been polished to a shine. There were fewer officials burdened with documents than before. Perhaps the workload had eased somewhat.
"Huff... huff..."
Maomao came to a stop in front of the office, gasping for breath. There was no way she could keep up with a man sprinting at full speed on foot.
"Excuse me—"
Ten'yū went inside the moment Maomao arrived. She didn't even have a moment to catch her breath.
And the instant she stepped inside and saw who was there, Maomao's breathing grew even more ragged.
"It has been quite some time."
The one bowing with perfectly courteous deference was a young man, barely past boyhood. His gentle features might fool you, but his name was— Korou .
He was the man responsible for what had nearly gotten Maomao killed by bandits in the Western Province.
"..."
Maomao immediately wanted to deliver a flying kick, but she held herself back. More than anything, why on earth was this man in Jinshi's office?
"You're here."
Jinshi was sitting in his chair, waiting. At his side, serving as guard, was— Basen.
In the corner of the office, there was an oddly partitioned-off space, shielded by a peculiar— curtain— —and in there was, presumably— Baryou .
"Good day, my lord of the moon. By the way, it seems there's someone here who doesn't quite belong—won't you throw them out at once?"
"Huh?"
Ten'yū immediately pointed at himself. Regrettably, there was someone more undeserving of being here than he was.
"I understand the urge to say something, but Korou works here as a civil official. Bear with it."
"Me?"
Jinshi gave her a somewhat distant look. On the surface, he was the younger brother of the lord of the western capital, so she probably couldn't afford to treat him dismissively.
"So, what business brings you here?"
"Judging by your expression, Ten'yū hasn't explained anything, has he?"
"Did you really think he would?"
Maomao said, practically spitting the words out.
"I simply believed there was a duty of confidentiality and refrained from speaking of it outside. No offense intended."
Ten'yū said this with an easy, nonchalant air.
"Well, never mind. Let's get down to business, shall we?"
"Please do."
In place of the court ladies, Korou was pouring the tea. Maomao sat with her legs crossed in an imperious manner, putting on an irritated demeanor. She glared at the tea being offered, sniffing it for any trace of poison.
"Your Ladyship, your attitude is rather poor."
"Oh my, that simply won't do~" Ten'yū said in an exaggerated tone.
"I'm merely adopting an attitude befitting my audience."
Maomao declared flatly. Ten'yū, for his part, was also taking quite a casual tone in front of Jinshi. Like Maomao, he probably had his own sense of where the line was — how far he could go before it wouldn't be forgiven.
"Before we proceed, there's something I want to say to Maomao."
Jinshi's expression turned solemn.
"What is it?"
"First, calm yourself."
"I am calm."
"Don't get flustered."
"I'm not flustered."
"Keep your composure."
"My composure is perfectly intact."
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
Maomao thought it was unnecessarily roundabout. What on earth could be in there?
Jinshi took out a paulownia wood box. When he lifted the lid, shabby, tattered old books were inside.
"What is this?"
The covers were blank — it looked as if written pages had simply been bound together with string.
"
Hua Tuo 's writings."
"Hua... Tuo...?"
Maomao froze for an instant, then let out a shrill cry.
"Ohhhhhhhhh!"
"You're not calm at all~"
Tenyū said.
Maomao tried to immediately flip through the tattered writings, and Jinshi slapped her hand.
"Wh-what are you—"
"It's this tattered. Touch it carelessly and it'll tear. Repair comes first."
"Yes, please repair it right away."
Maomao straightened her back.
"By the way, how did you get your hands on such a valuable text?"
"That is — even you must be wondering about it. Why Tenyū is here beside me."
"Yes, let me throw her out right away."
First of all, there was no reason for Tenyū to be here.
"Isn't that really mean?"
Tenyū deliberately pouted her lips.
"Tenyū's family had this book."
"What?!"
Maomao looked at Tenyū. Tenyū scratched her head, wishing not to look embarrassed.
"Why?"
"Well, how should I put this — it's quite an incredible coincidence."
Jinshi placed the broken jade token on the table. It was the one Maomao had received from Joka and entrusted to Jinshi. But the problem was, there were two jade tokens.
"Why are there two?"
Moreover, when combined with the other piece, they fit together perfectly into a single token.
"This jade token originally belonged to a collateral member of the imperial family. However, they incurred the wrath of the reigning emperor and were executed. The person who entrusted the jade token to Tenyū and you is a descendant of that imperial family member."
"Huh?!"
Maomao clutched her head at the sudden turn of events.
"This jade token — well, it originally belonged to my grandfather. My father's older brother, that is, my uncle, split it in two and took it away. Must've been over thirty years ago."
(That also matches up with Lady Joka's age.)
The person who had come as a guest was none other than that uncle of Tenyū's. In other words, Tenyū and Joka were cousins.
"And also, what on earth does Hua Tuo's book have to do with any of this?"
"The punished imperial family member was once such a gifted physician that they were called Hua Tuo. The reason they were executed was because they dissected the body of a prince the reigning emperor deeply doted on, or so the story goes."
"..."
(If the ancestor was like that, then the descendant would be too.)
Maomao found this entirely convincing.
"When Maomao asked me to look into the jade token, the name Hua Tuo came up. So I went back and retraced their movements during their lifetime."
Hua Tuo had trained in dissection by dissecting livestock and animals, the same way Maomao and the others had been doing.
(To put it bluntly, it seems they became intimate with a hunter's daughter around that time.)
Nobles certainly were a pain. If an illegitimate child was discovered, it was a disaster — but not finding one was equally problematic. They would always leave behind absurdly lavish items with the woman as proof, which led to all sorts of imposture.
What Hua Tuo had handed over was the jade token.
"Then the reason the jade token was damaged—"
"Must have been so the child of an executed royal couldn't be identified."
If the mother and child were found together, they would be executed alongside him. Even without that, it was a grave crime. For a bastard child, their life was worth even less.
"They could have just thrown it away."
"It's not so easy to be that detached about it."
Jinshi said in a strangely subdued tone.
"So, should we inform the owner of the jade token that Maomao had been holding onto?"
"No. The original owner would be satisfied enough knowing their safety is guaranteed. They'd have absolutely no interest in who their father was."
She could picture Lady Nyo'ka kicking the matter aside as though it were utterly unimportant.
"Understood. I agree that would be the better course."
For Jinshi as well, an increase in bastard children of former royalty would only be troublesome. It was far preferable to let it remain as though it had never happened.
Lady Nyo'ka's problem was now resolved. However, a new problem arose.
"By the way, Princess Rishi. What shall we do about the man called Ten'yu sitting beside me?"
"Why?!"
At Maomao's words, Ten'yu interjected while Jinshi let out a wry smile.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"It is. Officer Ten'yu could also end up causing some kind of trouble in the future, just like his ancestors. Wouldn't it be prudent to deal with it preemptively?"
Maomao spoke clearly, decisively, and at a rapid pace.
"Maomao. I didn't call you here today to punish Ten'yu."
"Right, right."
"When I was obtaining Hua Tuo's writings, I also spoke with Ten'yu's father. Hua Tuo's writings are, at the end of the day, merely the records of a single court physician, but there are things in the content that interest me."
Maomao's ears twitched.
"In Hua Tuo's era, a prince who had received the Emperor's favor died young. What if Hua Tuo compiled the writings to investigate that illness?"
"...That is certainly intriguing."
"I don't know when Hua Tuo's writings were handed over, but it's quite possible it's recorded there."
(In other words, if anatomical diagrams had been drawn, Tenyu — who was well-versed in autopsies — would prove useful) As much as it irked Maomao, when it came to Tenyu's autopsy skills — Liu — the medical officer had also given her stamp of approval.
"There's more. Apparently, smallpox was rampant at the time as well. There's a strong chance that's recorded in there too."
What matters most in medicine are clinical cases and the sheer volume of attempted treatments documented. Failing again and again, and arriving at answers closer to the truth — that is what shapes future treatment guidelines.
"So, once the restoration of the texts is complete, the plan is to hand things over to the medical officers. Will you cooperate?"
"Understood."
Maomao and Tenyu both bowed their heads.
The two left the room and were heading back to the infirmary when — "What is it, Your Ladyship?"
"Just forgot something."
"Oh."
Maomao had expected Tenyu to press further, but she backed down surprisingly easily.
Maomao entered Jinshi's office once more.
"What is it?"
Jinshi was continuing his work. Aside from Ma Liang, who was presumably in the innermost partitioned area, no one else was visible nearby. There were guards, but not Ma Shan — Maomao didn't know his name, but he was someone Jinshi placed great trust in.
It was a relief that Korou was not around.
"Nothing in particular."
Maomao studied Jinshi's expression.
She had been bothered by something earlier. Specifically — "Jinshi. I have a question."
"What is it?"
Jinshi noticed that Maomao was glancing around. He cast a quick look himself, checking whether anyone who ought to be ushered out was still present.
"The illness that claimed the young prince's life — did it stem from a hereditary condition?"
"..."
Jinshi's hand stopped.
"Why do you think that?"
"Even with the same illness, what concerns those in power is an epidemic. I was curious about why you emphasized the prince's illness in more detail than smallpox, especially regarding his early death."
Jinshi set down his brush, interlaced his fingers, and pressed them to his forehead.
"...I don't know whether it stems from a hereditary condition. But your guess isn't off the mark."
"Is it you, Jinshi?"
He denied it.
"Is it one of the princes?"
He denied that as well.
Maomao let out a long breath.
An illness that once struck the imperial family. And if it was neither Jinshi nor any of the princes— "Has a similar case surfaced?"
She didn't say who. It went without saying—the Emperor.