Maomao began writing characters one after another on the paper. Since it was paper she had received from Consort Gyokuyou, it was honestly more than she deserved.
(Though really, the back of any scrap paper would have been fine.)
Only Maomao would have the penny-pinching miserliness to think such a thing.
Everyone gathered around Maomao as she sat at the desk, watching the words she was writing down.
"
Rose
,
benzoin
,
paulownia
,
frankincense
and cassia bark? Hmm, are all of these fragrance oils or something?"
Maomao nodded at Consort Gyokuyou's answer.
"These are merely the names of the spices and essential oils that the ladies-in-waiting were wearing today — just the ones I was able to identify."
"So what about it?"
Jinshi tilted his head, his hand still tucked inside his sleeve.
Maomao stopped writing and set her brush on the inkstone.
"Every single one, though only in small amounts, is harmful to pregnant women."
At Maomao's words, everyone fell silent.
"Furthermore," Maomao continued.
"Besides the fragrance oils, spices and tea leaves were also being sold."
Maomao took out the tea and spices she had purchased. The tea was jasmine, and as for the spice — fitting for Maomao, who loved all things hot —
chili pepper.
and a bit of costly pepper, rock salt, and spice-grade
cassia bark
.
"
Jasmine tea
has the effect of contracting the uterus. A small amount should be fine, but to avoid any possibility of miscarriage, it is a drink best left undrunk."
Maomao set down the flower-shaped craft tea on the
table
.
"And then there are the spices. Chili pepper is a common ingredient in the abortifacients used by courtesans."
Maomao glanced at Consort Gyokuyou. Gyokuyou seemed to realize this was no time for jokes, and with a serious expression, nodded for her to continue. Beside them, Hongniang — who didn't want Gyokuyou hearing such unsettling talk — seemed to respect Gyokuyou's wishes and kept silent.
"So you're saying that using these raises the chance of miscarriage?"
At Jinshi's question, Maomao made an ambiguous face. It was both a hit and a miss.
"They're all things that merely raise the probability — none of them work with certainty. Not unless someone mistakenly drinks fragrant oil, or ingests large amounts."
They were all items that posed almost no problems in normal use, which was precisely why they could be brought into the inner palace. And items could always be repurposed.
If they were on hand and some accident happened, someone might end up consuming them. And if that someone happened to be a pregnant consort...
When fashion dictated that the obi should not be tied too tightly,
designs
promoting that style were recommended, and Maomao thought she should have realized sooner.
"Are there any contractors who come and go?"
"We could investigate, but the goods are unlikely to be recorded in detail."
Apparently, spices were listed simply as "spices," seasonings as "seasonings," and tea leaves as "tea leaves" — the individual varieties within each category were not recorded. Still, all items had been inspected, so she felt the management had fulfilled its role, and yet she couldn't quite let it go.
There was one more thing that nagged at Maomao.
"Doesn't this look similar to that?"
"Similar to what?"
Jinshi reacted to Maomao's vague words.
As a product, it was something that wouldn't be out of place in the rear palace. But it carried a side effect that went undetected.
"Toxic cosmetics."
When Maomao said this, everyone's expression changed.
It had been the previous summer. Princess Lingli had collapsed from an illness of unknown origin. At the same time, Rifa consort's child — the heir to the Eastern Palace at the time — also fell gravely ill and ultimately perished.
Currently, the cosmetics in use employed lead-free ingredients, so lead-based cosmetics did not make their way into the rear palace.
Put another way, perhaps the culprit had believed that other substances would pass through undetected.
"Then what you're saying is that there exists someone who deliberately introduced poison into the rear palace — is that the conclusion I should draw?"
Jinshi said, as though seeking confirmation.
Maomao neither nodded nor shook her head.
Right now, all she had was conjecture, not proof. It was close to certainty, but she couldn't entirely rule out the possibility that it wasn't the case.
"All I've determined is that among the items brought into this place, there are many that could potentially serve as poisons. On their own, none of them would qualify as poisonous products."
It was an ugly way to put it. She didn't want the merchants who came and went to be punished on account of her words. So she stated her views purely as opinions, leaving the judgment to those above.
"However, I do think the other consorts should be warned as well."
That was all she could say.
After finishing her report, Maomao was overcome with exhaustion.
She remembered her father's words.
Don't go making conjectures and stating them as facts — the old man's raspy voice replayed in her mind.
How much of what Maomao had said was conjecture, and how much was certainty?
Thinking about it made her feel a little queasy.
Maomao entered the kitchen and put water on to boil. Once it reached a boil, she let it cool slightly, then poured it into a glass vessel containing jasmine blossoms. It was an expensive glass vessel, but she'd wash it properly afterward, so she figured she'd use it just this once.
The flowers unfurled in the hot water, their buds gradually opening. She sat in a chair to the side, gazing at them in a daze. Fragrance rose up around her.
"Those weren't poisonous?"
A beautiful voice drifted down from above.
She looked up, and there was yet another beautiful face. Outside was already pitch black, and the only light illuminating the kitchen came from a single oil lamp.
The face flickering red in the lamplight was so beautiful it was almost hateful.
"Poison is also medicine in small doses. Besides, it's not the sort of thing a single cup of tea could do any harm with. This is the kitchen. It's no place for you, Lord Jinshi."
"Don't be so fussy."
"What about Lord Gaoshun?"
"He's gone to deliver a message."
Maomao pursed her lips lightly at the imperious eunuch.
Maomao held the fully opened tea up to the oil lamp and gazed at it. Enjoying the flowers swaying in the hot water, she took a sip of the tea.
"Besides, I'm not pregnant."
"That's true too."
For some reason, Jinshi turned his face away. Before she knew it, he had seated himself diagonally in front of Maomao.
"Could you pour me some tea as well?"
Jinshi said this while staring at the flowers floating in the glass cup.
"What kind of tea would you like?"
Thinking what a pain this man was, Maomao stood up from her chair. The shelf held tea leaves for guests. Something safe, like white tea, would probably be best.
Jinshi was still gazing intently at the glass cup.
"I want the same one."
At Jinshi's words, Maomao frowned unhappily.
"That tea is the last of its kind."
Maomao looked at the jar at the far end of the kitchen. It was a jar for discarding used tea leaves and such dregs, and aside from what she was currently drinking, she had thrown everything else away.
(What a waste, when I'd finally found such a good purchase.)
Even so, she figured that as long as she was in the Inner Palace, as long as she served Lady Gyokuyou, she ought to draw a proper line.
That was why she had planned to savor just this one.
"What other effects does this tea have?"
"It calms the mind. It's effective against insomnia, and it also has an awakening effect. I've heard it's not good during pregnancy, but when giving birth, it can help with labor."
"Sounds like it has more good uses than bad."
「Yes, that's precisely why you don't notice the side effects.」
Maomao thought it was a stroke of luck.
Whether so many had come through this time only, or whether similar goods had been coming and going all along, she couldn't really tell.
When the last merchant caravan had come, Maomao had been busy working in Jinshi's rooms, or nursing Rifa in the Crystal Palace, and before she'd been assigned to Gyokuyou's quarters she'd had no money at all, so she'd had no interest and never bought anything.
If the incense oil hadn't become a trend this time, Maomao probably wouldn't have noticed either.
Every single one, viewed from one angle, was truly a fine product.
「White tea will be fine.」
「……」
Jinshi gave her a dissatisfied look, but she couldn't help it if there was nothing else.
Maomao set the medicine pot on the fire once more and put tea leaves into the teapot. Lukewarm water should do, she thought, so before it reached a boil she removed the pot and let the tea leaves in the teapot slowly steam.
She poured into a tea bowl and placed it before Jinshi.
Jinshi picked up the tea bowl with a discontented expression.
Maomao, as if showing off, swirled the glass vessel to display the flower tea.
「There are even more benefits to this one.」
「Like what?」
「For infertility, mainly when the cause is on the male side.」
「……」
A burning gaze drilled into Maomao.
(Oh no.)
Her quip had cut a little too close to the mark, she thought. A slight chill of sweat ran down her spine as she rummaged noisily through the cupboard in search of sweets to improve his mood.
She heard what sounded like bold sipping of tea, and then—
「I'm leaving.」
—Jinshi promptly walked out.
Maomao twisted her lips into a funny shape.
(I really did it this time.)
...she thought.
When she moved to tidy up the tea bowl, the white tea that had been served to Jinshi remained untouched, just as it was.
Instead—
The jasmine tea, which should have still been half full, had been drained to the last drop.
Maomao let out a sigh with a look of exasperation on her face.