Cho'u was
originally
a
survivor of the Child clan.
She was someone who should not have been alive, but
Jinshi
reportedly promised that "the sins of one who has died once will not be questioned."
(Whoever got him to make such a promise...)
Maomao
thought of the girl who loved insects.
Still, all the children's families had been executed. The survivors of the Child clan were raised in secret with their identities concealed — both to ensure the Emperor's judgment would not appear lenient, and to keep watch so they would never think of avenging their parents.
Of all the surviving children, only Cho'u had lost her memories as a side effect of the resurrection medicine. Half her body was also paralyzed.
That was why Cho'u lived alone, apart from the others, in the pleasure district.
Maomao opened
the book she had borrowed from
Zilin.
"The villainess of the North, is it?"
Maomao flipped through
the
pages.
It was the story of the northern villainess "Loulan," a tale common as dirt in the streets.
A former consort cast aside by the late Emperor who manipulated her daughter in an attempt to bring the kingdom to its knees.
(The broad strokes aren't wrong.)
But the villainess Loulan's portrayal and dialogue felt completely off. Or perhaps Maomao simply didn't know better — maybe Loulan really was the arrogant, overbearing consort the book described. The rumors seemed to have been considerably exaggerated.
The late emperor reportedly saw through the true nature of Loulan's mother,
Shinbi,
and chose not to take her as a concubine. The reason may have differed regardless of Shinbi's personality, and it could even be read as somewhat glorifying the late emperor.
Since the names Loulan and Shinbi are used directly, the content may have been written with censorship in mind.
(Normally, if a friend were portrayed in such an unflattering way, one would be angry.)
But Loulan had been playing that very role. In fact, the more villainous the story's Loulan was, the more it felt like she had accomplished her aims. If Loulan found out, she would probably be pleased.
For Maomao, the truly irredeemable villainess was Shinbi, but in both the rumors and this book, it was Loulan who was thoroughly cast as the villainess.
After a grand confrontation, she scarred the imperial brother's face.
(That much was transparently
fiction
)
Since she had marred a face beautiful as a celestial maiden's, she was naturally the worst kind of woman. The reason given was the trite one: "because she was more beautiful than me."
That said, it had been passed around so often it was practically falling apart, and it made for a genuinely engaging read. If Maomao had encountered it as a complete outsider, she would have found it entertaining.
Maomao closed the book, changed out of her field-stained clothes, and headed for the pleasure quarter.
The brothel was bustling with women scurrying about, preparing to open for the evening.
Maomao called out to
Sazen,
who was closing up shop.
"Where's Zhao Yu?"
"He went home a little while ago."
"No, I mean after that."
Sazen looked at Maomao's expression and seemed to sense something.
"Something happen?"
"...Is this book popular?"
Sazen's face darkened. He was one of the few who knew the circumstances surrounding Zhao Yu.
"Shall we talk while we close up?"
"Sure."
Maomao and Sazen entered the apothecary. The interior was in the midst of being tidied up and looked cluttered.
(He is meticulous with his medicine-making, at least.)
He lacked creativity, but he followed instructions to the letter. That was both Sazen's strength and his weakness. Since he hadn't changed his methods, Maomao could help with the tidying.
"Has Zhao Yu's memory returned?"
Maomao said while checking the remaining stock of medicines.
"Hmm, that's what I can't figure out. He normally hates studying, but he was reading this one book carefully."
If his memory returned, it would become troublesome. The special measures had been taken on the premise that he had lost his memory. You could even call it an act of mercy.
"He's not going to open up just because you press him, is he? Is he defying you too, Sazen?"
"He doesn't push back that hard against me. But he's at that difficult age, and I'm starting to worry I'll be outgrown and overpowered before long."
"You won't lose to him."
Even if his height increased, the paralysis still lingered in his body.
"I'll have
Ukkyou
increase the surveillance on Zhao Yu as well. Any objections?"
"Don't ask me. More importantly, if he does anything suspicious, I'll report it right away. So—"
"So?"
"Don't make Zhao Yu into a national traitor."
Sazen was watching Maomao's expression. She was a cheeky little brat, but she was still a child to whom Sazen felt some attachment.
Maomao too felt that simply abandoning him would be irresponsible.
"I have no desire for such a troublesome affair either. More importantly, it would break a promise."
"A promise, is it. I see."
Sazen spoke in a voice of peculiar acceptance.
Maomao had never told Sazen who she had made the promise with. Yet Sazen sounded oddly as though he already knew.
Maomao decided to let it slide, figuring he'd just happened to overhear that much.
"Mind if I say one more thing about this book?"
"What is it?"
Sazen flipped through the pages.
"This author is clearly writing to appeal to the masses, isn't he?"
"Yep, just like the rumors say."
"But around here—"
Sazen pointed to a particular passage.
It described how a series of tortures were carried out to brand 'Roulan' a villainess.
"But it was the mother who actually did it… Hm?"
Maomao tilted her head.
"See? Something's off."
"It is."
All of 'Shenbi's' deeds had been attributed to 'Roulan.'
"Actually, every one of these tortures took place inside the fortress."
"Really?"
"You probably wouldn't know this, but the descriptions of the fortress match down to the smallest details."
"So you're saying the author of this book is connected to the Zi clan?"
Sazen nodded.
That would explain why they went to such clever lengths to avoid censorship — to keep their identity from being exposed.
"With Sazen here, it wouldn't be strange if several others had escaped too."
Above all, it was none other than the villainess herself who had scattered money about, detonated the gunpowder, and helped the servants flee the fortress.
That said, could any of the servants who'd been manufacturing gunpowder really be literate enough to write a story like this?
"Most importantly, is there really a reason to risk being exposed just to write this tale?"
Maomao groaned, resting her hand on the medicine chest.
The Drawer
She opened it. The stock of brown sugar had considerably dwindled.
"You haven't been giving Zhao Yu any brown sugar as a snack, have you?"
"I haven't. He just swipes a bit now and then."
Just as she suspected, Maomao closed the drawer.
"No wonder he was reading this book so carefully.
There were several other similar ones, but he only skimmed through those."
Maomao turned to the last page of the book.
The author's name was something far more ordinary than "Han Junjie" — it read "Zhang San."
She doubted that was his real name.
Since it was handwritten, there was no publisher's mark.
(He's really thorough with his censorship precautions.)
"Any idea who the author might be?"
"How should I know? There were hundreds of people in that fortress."
"Fair point."
"In any case, let me know right away if anything seems off with Zhao Yu."
"Count on me."
Maomao took the book and left the apothecary.
She would have to ask the old hand where the book had come from.
Then she would need to head back to the dormitory.
(It would be nice if she could take time off whenever she wanted.)
But that was the curse of being employed.