"Aah, cold..."
Maomao sat up, sniffling.
"I should get an extra blanket ready."
She picked up the thin futon. The one she'd brought along had apparently been lent to another girl during the year she'd been away and never returned.
You could fault the one who lent it without asking, but she supposed she should just be grateful they'd left her room untouched for a whole year.
Under the circumstances, it wouldn't have been strange if everything she owned had disappeared.
Maomao didn't dislike her current workplace, but if she had one complaint, it would be the irregular start times.
Unlike the pleasure district, there was no old woman here to bang on the door and drag you out of bed when you overslept.
To avoid being late for work, she needed to wake up at the same time every day.
(It's the late shift today, so I have a little breathing room.)
She wanted to sleep just a little longer, but she held herself back. If she dozed off again, she'd never get up—especially now that the cold had set in.
Maomao draped a slightly thicker jacket over her shoulders and headed to the dining hall.
"Good morning."
The junior court lady Chousha was eating her morning meal. It was rice porridge with medicinal herbs, seasoned with salt and vinegar.
There were no side dishes—plain fare, but this was what commoners ate. Maomao had grown used to wealthy people's breakfasts.
"Good morning."
Maomao ate the same porridge as Chousha. There was a dining hall, but you had to prepare your own meals. So the two of them often cooked together.
Today's porridge had been made by Maomao the night before.
"What kind of porridge is it today?"
"Water celery and carrot. And from the smell, there's water pepper in it too."
"Yep. I steeped some tea in it."
The reason she deliberately included something with a strong odor was to keep the other dormitory residents from sneaking bites.
When Enen had been around, anything she tried to prepare ahead would be gone by morning.
(In Enen's case, she rarely even bothered with leftovers, since she'd usually be making them for You.)
The dormitory housed only clever court ladies, which paradoxically meant many of them were hopeless cooks. There was a dining hall, but no one to prepare the meals — court ladies were partly here to find husbands, after all.
You were supposed to be able to cook your own rice, but some found even that too troublesome.
"Also, it's thick and warming. Is it kudzu starch?"
"Correct."
Chacha had a keen nose and a refined palate. She had more than enough talent to become an apothecary. In terms of pharmaceutical knowledge alone, she probably surpassed even Yao.
"Here, have this."
"Thank you."
Maomao offered her an egg. The day before, as she was leaving,
Suzaku
had given her
century eggs.
Since they were duck-related, they had probably been procured at that place called Koubai-kan. Maomao didn't bother digging into the details.
"Chacha, are you on the late shift today too?"
"Yes. I can take my time."
"Same here."
Honestly, this was the time of day Maomao found most relaxing. That said, it was her habit to let her mind wander through all sorts of thoughts. Century eggs in rice porridge — now that would taste just right.
(Today's work.)
A full day at the medical office. There was a backlog of odd jobs that needed clearing out.
(I wonder how
Bashan
has been since then?)
Probably nothing had progressed.
She would wait for word from Suzaku — there was nothing for Maomao to act on herself.
(And then—)
"Chacha."
"Yes?"
"Has Yu come back yet?"
A few days ago, she had gone with the old physician to the provinces to see patients.
"As of yesterday, she still hadn't returned."
"Why is Yu with him?"
"Maybe it's because Yu has the aptitude for it."
He had discussed it in front of Physician Li and the others,
but he'd keep it from Chousha for now.
"Oh, and how are Yao and the others?"
"They're fine."
"Yesterday a military officer came to propose to Yao, so En'en was scared the whole time."
"I wish they wouldn't do that at the workplace."
Maomao tilted her bowl to scrape together the porridge and ate the last spoonful.
After that, she leisurely made her way to the workplace,
where the medical office had a "temporarily closed" sign posted, with chairs arranged in the back room where everyone was seated.
Several other physicians had gathered around, having a serious discussion.
Physician Liu was among them,
which told her this was no trivial matter.
There was no meeting on the schedule,
but everyone's gaze was directed at the old physician.
(He had returned.)
Yu was also there, looking around uncertainly whether she was supposed to be here.
When her eyes met Maomao's, her face brightened slightly.
As a newcomer, she still wasn't used to being around so many men.
(I wonder what happened.)
Maomao slipped into the group with an unfazed expression. Having outlived Yu by a fair margin, she was somewhat bolder in situations like this. Doctor Liu's face twitched for a moment, but she wasn't turned away, and he began to speak.
"Sorry it took so long. We needed a few days to observe the situation. Ideally I'd have liked to wait ten days or so to confirm, but you'll have to let us off the hook."
In exchange, the elderly doctor was wearing thick clothing with a cloth covering the lower half of his face. Yu was dressed similarly.
"I know all that already—just give me the conclusion."
Doctor Liu looked irritated.
"It's smallpox. The number of infected is still small, but whether we can administer proper treatment is the question."
(Smallpox!)
Her bad premonition had been right.
"If it spreads, people will flee to the capital. That's why proper treatment is essential."
"Will it be all right?"
A young doctor, looking anxious, glanced at the elderly doctor.
"That's exactly what we're here for—to make sure we can say it'll be all right. Don't you understand even that?"
Doctor Liu's words were always sharp at the edges. The young doctor flinched, his body trembling.
"Have the symptomatic patients been gathered?"
"Yes. We've temporarily banned anyone from entering or leaving the village. I left two medical officers here, but we may run short on personnel before long. We also need soldiers who can stand guard. Smallpox has a long incubation period, so we'll need to keep everyone confined for at least half a month."
"New personnel, then?"
"You absolutely cannot go, Doctor Liu. If by some chance it spreads to the Emperor's chopsticks, we'd be done for."
The old doctor shook his head firmly.
"I'd like you to gather medical officers and soldiers who've had smallpox before. Patient ones would be preferred."
"Do we know the route of infection?"
Yu flinched.
"How could we possibly know that? Rather than figuring out who caused it, I need you to focus on handling this as effectively as possible right now."
"Yes. Sorry about that."
"So please make sure to squeeze every last coin out of them for the salaries of the medical officers and soldiers you send. That's about all Doctor Liu can do."
"...I know. You always stick me with the short straw."
"What do you mean?
Luomen
Compared to him, I'm doing just fine. He's the worst. Everywhere he goes, it's like he's cursed."
Maomao, who hadn't expected to hear her adoptive father's name here, couldn't help but make a face like a cat that had smelled something foul.
"So, there's nothing in particular those of you who are worried need to do right now—just carry on with your usual duties. As for those of you coming with me, please do your very best. Apparently Liu is going to double our pay, so let's look forward to that."
(Pretty nice deal.)
Yu looked anxious, but with the old physician nearby, there was nothing to worry about.
"Still, putting the military officers aside—are there any physicians who've actually had smallpox?"
Liu crossed his arms.
"Would there be anyone?"
"There might be some hiding it, but I doubt anyone would volunteer willingly. Besides, you can never have too many doctors. Do any of you know someone?"
Both Liu and the old physician wore troubled expressions.
Maomao hummed thoughtfully and stroked her chin, then raised her hand.
"Would it be all right if the doctors are commoners?"
Yu looked at Maomao. It seemed she had figured out who she meant.
"Commoners? It's not some strange sorcerer, is it?"
"They're strange, but they're not a sorcerer."
"I don't know of anyone else in the Lu family."
Liu kept his doubtful gaze fixed on Maomao, as if to ask whether this was really going to be okay.