It was a few days later that the old court physician
Yu
was summoned, and they left on the business trip.
"Why Yu?"
The ever more finely sculpted
Dr. Li
said.
"Don't ask me."
Senior Wawan tilted his head while sipping his tea.
Dr. Li and Senior Wawan were from the same cohort, and they tended to chat quite a bit whenever they crossed paths. Today they were taking a break and drinking tea together.
Maomao
was preparing the tea, as befitting her lowly station.
"Maomao, do you happen to know anything?"
(I do.)
She considered whether she should say anything about Yu. But both Dr. Li and Senior Wawan were fine physicians in character. More importantly, having been the one to bring Yu along, it would come out sooner or later—so Maomao spoke up.
"Yu has had smallpox before. A few days ago, we received word that a patient with what seemed like smallpox had been brought in from elsewhere, so I believe the physician chose Yu because of that?"
"Smallpox? If that's the case—"
"I've never had it myself, smallpox."
Once you've had smallpox, you're unlikely to catch it again. This was taught as basic knowledge in medical studies.
"But is it really smallpox?"
"If it's just chickenpox, that would be fine. Still, I think they may have brought Yu along just to be safe."
There was no cure for smallpox. It might simply not have been discovered yet, but it would be impossible for Maomao to find one now. So even if she had gone along, she would only have been in the way—and worse, there was a high risk of catching the disease herself.
Maomao brought out steamed sweet potatoes to go with the tea.
"O-oh, sweet potatoes, huh."
"Sweet potatoes!"
The difference in how Doctor Li and Wanwan-senpai react to sweet potatoes comes down to whether or not they've experienced food shortages in the Western Capital.
"
Rahan
's older brother sent the sweet potatoes. Apparently, the producer is Rahan's father."
"So the Rahan family has expanded, huh."
"Hey, who exactly is this Rahan? Does he have a mother or sisters too?"
They each react in their own way while munching on the sweet potatoes.
"Apparently, they get sweeter if you store them in a cool, dark place a little longer, but honestly, so many were sent that they're getting in the way, so please help yourselves."
"Could you process these for me? If you're short on hands,
Tenyu
can do it."
Doctor Li was rummaging through the medicine cabinet for a condiment to go on the steamed sweet potatoes. In the Western Capital, everyone
ate them with yogurt,
so that was the custom he was used to.
"Send us some that are more useful. About the only thing they're any good for is butchering livestock."
If anything, that was the only thing they could do.
"Besides, isn't it unfair that the punishment just ends at a pay cut and some bullying?"
"Oh—you didn't know?"
Wanwan-senpai said while peeling a sweet potato.
"Tenyu's been sentenced to a flogging."
"...Really? I wasn't told about that, and yet she seems perfectly fine despite it."
Maomao furrowed her brow.
"
Liu
"—by the physician's suggestion, they've been splitting the hundred strikes into sets of ten. Apparently, if you deliver a hundred consecutive strikes, the one being punished often dies partway through. So they've adjusted it to ensure the punishment is carried out properly without hindering their work."
"So they're trying to keep the person alive without letting them die."
"Right. But he's no fool. He was recording where the whip landed and how much each strike hurt."
"That's awful, but I'd like to take a look at those records."
"You should go ask Dr. Liu for them."
While they chatted, break time came to an end. Because he properly helped with the tea set cleanup, Maomao liked both Dr. Li and Senior Wanwan.
The physicians' breaks were staggered from the military officers', so just as Maomao's break ended, officers injured in training began to arrive.
"Yes, where are you injured?"
"He hit his head pretty hard during a sparring match, I think."
Answering in place of the collapsed officer was his escort. Well, he was dressed as a military officer, but he was awfully scrawny.
(That face looks familiar somehow...)
As Maomao tilted her head, the other person responded.
"It's been a while, Maomao."
"...Ah."
When she wondered who it was—
it was Usujun,
half-brother to
Risu,
a former senior consort. This man who was perpetually bowing low appeared to still be playing the favorite among the military officers, just as before.
Usujun explained the injured officer's condition, left behind the necessary supplies, and departed.
(Come to think of it, Risu and
Basen
I wonder what happened to them.)
Such thoughts crossed her mind, but they weren't really relevant to Maomao, so she decided to focus on her work.
Her question about Basen was resolved before long.
"Come now, come now, Maomao, Maomao, wake up, please!"
The one who had come to ruin her precious day off from assisting the medical officers was a person with a distinctive voice and manner of speech that, once heard, could never be forgotten.
"What is it—
Suzume
?"
The dark-skinned owner of a dumpling-like nose was perched on top of Maomao.
"Hehehehe, since it is such a rare day off, Suzume was thinking she would like to go for a stroll around town with Maomao, and so here I am!"
"Setting aside for the moment the question of how Suzume knows my schedule, what scheme is behind you suddenly barging in and dragging me out?"
"Oh my, no no. Suzume is not such a schemer. It is simply that I am the bride of the Basen clan… and I cannot defy the matriarch of the Basen clan, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law,
Asami
."
Maomao thought about it. What could possibly be going on that involved her mother-in-law,
Momomi
, and Asami, yet had Suzume coming along so eagerly?
"Did something happen around
Basen
?"
"H-h-how did you know?!"
Suzume feigned shock in an exaggerated manner.
Maomao felt a slight twinge of sympathy for Basen, a man she could not exactly say she got along with.
"As for what Basen was—"
"No, it is about my brother-in-law, actually. He was acting rather restless, and it turns out he is heading to the temple where Lady Risu is today. He claims it is for work, but I sensed some kind of heart-skipping energy coming from him, and I just could not sit still—so I came to invite Maomao, who looked like she was about to waste the day away in slumber."
"It is not slumber. It is necessary sleep."
Maomao pushed herself up with a sour expression and began to change.
"It is a bit chilly, so please take this outer garment."
"Whose is this?"
"Too bad. It's not from the Moon Princess — it's from Amami's wardrobe."
It wasn't really a disappointment, but the garment was fine enough that she was actually pleased.
"It's a nice piece, but Suzutsuki, yellow suits you better. Anything in the blue family is a bit… It makes your face look dull, you know."
Maomao yawned as she ate her breakfast. It was nothing more than last night's leftover
vegetables
and
bread—
stuffed together. That's all it was.
"That looks delicious. Can I have a bite?"
"You're already eating properly, Suzutsuki. Hold back. Anyway—"
Maomao chewed her way out of the dormitory and groaned. "Hmm…"
"We're not going by carriage?"
"A carriage would be too slow, so today we ride."
Suzutsuki led a magnificent horse by its reins. No wonder she had prepared an outer garment to keep warm — Maomao finally understood.