Luohan
At the estate, there was the sound of earth being turned with a satisfying crunch.
At first it had been startling, but now it was a sight he had grown used to—
Junjie
thought.
Luoban's
older brother was tilling the field. Luoban's brother had farmed continuously in the Western Capital, and now he farmed in the Royal Capital too. And not just anywhere—he was tilling the garden of a prime estate right in the heart of the Royal Capital.
Junjie also had his reservations about farming in
Yu Yuan's
estate back in the Western Capital. But in this emergency, with food shortages brought on by the locust plague, the aesthetics of a garden hardly mattered. He had admired how Luoban's brother simply grew crops for the people without a second thought, but—
Wasn't this going too far? Junjie was beginning to wonder.
Luoban's brother was apparently not actually named Luoban. He was Luoban's older brother, and "Luoban" was the name of this estate owner's son. When Junjie asked whether that made Luoban's brother a son as well, he was told no, and the commoner Junjie could only tilt his head at the complicated tangle of kinship.
And when it came to complicated, the relationships among the people in this estate were complicated too.
"Hey, Junjie!"
The one who called out in a friendly manner
was Sifan.
An orphan picked up by the estate's master, Sifan was relatively close to Junjie in age. In truth a few years younger, but smart enough that the age gap wasn't very noticeable. Always at Sifan's side were
Wufan
and
Liufan.
The strange names were apparently chosen by the master who found them so they'd be easy to remember, but Junjie thought they sounded like something you'd give to criminals.
Still, the three of them seemed to rather like them.
All three carried cleaning tools—brooms, buckets, and the like.
"What is it?"
"Apparently there's going to be more freeloaders staying over, so they told me to get some rooms ready. Help me out."
Since Number Four always gave him work, Junjie never had any free time.
"Got it. Did Lord Luohan bring someone back?"
"No, this time it's Lord Luoban. Apparently Tsukino Kimi asked him to come look at a patient."
"Huh."
Junjie followed along behind Number Four and the others. The Luohan residence had more unused rooms than its size would suggest. It was a mansion that had been around since around the time of the capital's relocation—built large on purpose—but the Luo clan was small and they didn't have many servants, so most of the rooms sat empty.
The room Number Four headed for was one of the detached wings.
"This place…"
There was another detached wing nearby.
"Hey,
Yao,
isn't this close to where you guys are staying?"
"Yep."
"It's a patient, though—is it fine being this close to the guests' rooms?"
"Yao and the others are medical assistants, right? They've got to put them to work when the time comes. Besides, they do get paid and all, but I still don't really get why those people are here."
"Yeah, I've been wondering the same thing."
"Anyway, what us underlings have to do is simple enough. Let's just knock out what we're told and be done with it."
Under Number Four's direction, they began cleaning the detached wing. It was a small building, but it had a nearby latrine and got plenty of sunlight.
"Number Four, there's a hole in the wall!"
Number Five pointed at the hole.
"Then go check every spot that needs fixing. Later we'll report to
Number Three
and have her get it repaired."
"Got it!"
"Jeez."
Number Six mimics Number Five.
"If we just plug the holes, it won't be cold, right?"
"If we've got patients, we should probably have a brazier or something ready too."
Shunketsu said while sweeping the floor. There were a few spots that caught his eye here and there, but the inside was surprisingly tidy.
"Yeah,
a heated floor
would be nice, but we're not in the capital."
"A heated floor?"
"Rich folks up north have them."
"The floor is, like, super warm!"
"Super warm!"
Number Six is at it again.
Number Six's speech was surprisingly clumsy for his age. Apparently, along with Number Four, Numbers Five and Six had also been taken in by Luomen, so Shunketsu thought that without Number Four, these two would have long since died in the streets.
Shunketsu opened the window. A vivid red spread before his eyes.
"Whoa!"
Shunketsu couldn't help but cry out in surprise. The garish red made him think, for an instant, that it was a chunk of flesh or blood, but looking closer, they were fruits.
"Oh, those are—"
"The things Brother Rahan was roasting."
"Roasting."
Shunketsu knew about them too. Back in the summer, Brother Rahan had planted and raised seedlings of some funny-looking red fruit. Brother Rahan called them a vegetable, but
jujubes—
they looked more like jujubes to Shunketsu.
Originally, Brother Rahan's father had ordered them as ornamental plants, but they turned out to be edible, so they were now being cultivated as food. They were watery and slightly tart, and could be eaten raw, boiled, or roasted. And Brother Rahan had continued his research—now he was apparently experimenting with drying them into preserved fruit.
Shunketsu marveled that a farmer recognized by the Moon Lord was truly a cut above.
"Oy!"
Just then, Luoban came over with a hoe in hand.
"Sorry, I left them out to dry. Are you using the annex?"
Luoban had just finished a job and was drenched in sweat. It was the season for frost, yet he wore thin clothes, his skin flushed.
When he was in the western capital, he would sometimes work wearing nothing but a loincloth, but since coming to the royal capital, he no longer dressed that way. The reason, apparently, was that he couldn't very well dress like that in front of young women.
Maomao
and
Suzaku
— did they not count as young women? Junchet wondered.
"Are they properly dry? Maybe a little longer. I'll tidy them up for now."
Luoban picked up the red fruits one by one, checking whether they were properly dried.
"I'll help."
"Sure. If this annex won't do, carry them to the warehouse over there."
The reason the annex had been cleared out was that Luoban had been using it as a storehouse. There were farming tools in there as well, so it would take several trips.
"Is someone coming to visit again?"
"Yes. We've been ordered by the Moon Lord to take in a patient."
"A patient, huh? Then I'd better make sure they eat plenty of vegetables. Do you know what the condition is?"
"I didn't ask that far."
When they finished carrying the red fruits to the warehouse and returned, Yao and the others had come back.
Luoban quickly tidied up his appearance and straightened his expression. His features were handsome enough, but his movements somehow looked comical.
"En'en!"
The two had come back to the annex. Yao and En'en often had different schedules, but generally, En'en seemed to wait for Yao.
"Ju... Brother Luoban."
When En'en saw Junchet, she corrected herself.
"Are you done with work? If you're tired, I've prepared some vegetables with fatigue recovery and skin-beautification effects — would you like some?"
Luoban leaned against the pillar of the annex, a smile spreading across his face.
"Thank you very much. If you could leave it beside the kitchen as usual, that would be a great help."
"Of course!"
Shunjie had witnessed this exchange numerous times. He nearly pointed out that this sounded less like a conversation between a cook and a supplier, but held his tongue. Everyone was thinking it — even Number Four, Number Five, and Number Six were on the verge of calling it out — so it wasn't his place as the newcomer to say anything.
"Is there anything you need help with?"
"Well, now that the weather's getting colder, I was wondering if you might have any spices that could warm the body."
"Understood. Maomao asked me for some ginger, so I'll bring that along. Also, I should have some interesting ingredients ready soon, so I'll bring those as well."
He was completely at their beck and call. Shunjie thought they should try to steer things toward everyday conversation from here, but Luomen only ever talked about his recommended vegetables.
"Hello, Luomen! Thank you for always bringing us vegetables."
"Not at all. It's something I do because I enjoy it."
Luomen gave a natural reply to Yao's thanks.
Enen stared fixedly at Luomen, as though trying to discern something about him.
"By the way, have you heard that a patient is going to be staying in the annex?"
"Yes. Maomao has sent various instructions by letter. Most importantly, the patient seems to be in poor nutritional condition, so we'll make sure she eats plenty of your crops."
It might just be his imagination, but she seemed to be holding a more proper conversation than Enen did.
At the very least, she was conversing as a neighbor rather than as a tradesperson.
"The patient is a fourteen-year-old girl, so we'll need to take proper care of her."
"Fourteen, a girl...? We absolutely cannot let that Luomen fellow get anywhere near her!"
Luomen's gaze sharpened.
"That's right. We must make absolutely certain that Lord Luomen does not come anywhere near here."
Enen seemed to be harboring a different resolve.
"Enen, I think there's not much we can say since we're staying here as dependents. But if a patient is coming, she'll be relying on us, won't she?"
Yao spoke in a fidgety, uncertain manner.
Having stayed at the Luohan residence for over half a year, Shunjie had come to certain observations.
Yao, despite appearing mature, was emotionally young. Her good upbringing was part of it, but having Enen as her attendant further limited her access to information from the outside world.
That was probably why she would agonize over her own actions and yet behave impulsively. The reason Shunjie could observe Yao in such detail was Number Four. Number Four was more mature than her actual age, making her adept at reading the subtle emotions of others. He thought she was quite exceptional as a lady-in-waiting.
Yao-related topics couldn't be discussed around the other grown-ups—especially Number Three—and Numbers Five and Six were too young. As a result, Shunjie often ended up being her conversation partner. In the end, he had somehow become rather well-versed in matters of human relationships within the estate.
"Hey, Yao. Thinking about being useful to someone is fine and all, but if Luo Ban says something to pressure you into it, come talk to me. That unruly-haired, cold-blooded, bespectacled oddball may be my brother, but I'll still give him a piece of my mind."
"No, it wasn't exactly forced on me or anything."
"Then ease up a bit more. If you don't, you'll burn out before the next patient even arrives. If it's just out of a sense of duty, we could arrange for another doctor easily enough. If it's a request from Liuli, she'd probably pour however much money is needed into it, and if worst comes to worst, you could just call Maomao. And besides,
Luomen
Great-Uncle comes back every now and then too. Just take it easy."
Brother Luo Ban said this while patting Yao on the shoulder. Yao looked surprised, but showed no displeasure toward him, offering a faint smile.
Enen watched the scene with a troubled expression. It seemed to fall within acceptable limits for her.
"Things never go the way you want, huh."
Number Four murmured as she quietly sidled up next to him.
"What doesn't go the way you want?"
"Well, it's just that the arrows veer off in slightly different directions here and there, but everything else seems like it would flow so smoothly. Number Three would be settled too, and it'd be easier for everyone."
"I see."
Number Four shook her head, muttering "things never go the way you want," as she dumped out the dirty water from the bucket used for wiping down the floors.