"As promised."
The world was a strange place.
Maomao mused.
Why was she sitting seiza right now? And before her, Jinshi was staring at her with those cold, icy eyes.
The one who had been in the same room until just moments ago— Li Bai —had swaggered off half-naked.
She thought it was unfair of him, but at the same time, having him there might have made things even more complicated, so perhaps it was for the best.
"What were you doing?"
Maomao looked up, thinking that beautiful people were truly frightening when angry.
Jinshi stood with his arms crossed in an intimidating manner. Behind him, Gaoshun stood with his palms pressed together, wearing the face of a monk who had achieved a state of complete enlightenment.
Before the two entrances, a pair of eunuchs looked exhausted yet kept stealing glances at the magnificent Chief Eunuch.
Beyond the tightly shut doors, the ladies-in-waiting were surely buzzing with gossip. Maomao fretted about what she would do when it came time to leave.
"If you're asking what I was doing, I was providing a consultation."
She had properly reported to Hongniang back at the Jade Palace. Laundry was done that morning, and since there was no tea ceremony scheduled today, there was no need for poison testing. As long as she returned before supper, there should be no problem with her duties.
"Then why was that man dressed like that?"
Ah, that, Maomao thought.
True, even with guards present, a man from outside the inner court being dressed in something barely better than naked was certainly too problematic.
She would have to clear up this misunderstanding properly, Maomao decided.
"I have nothing to hide. I didn't touch a thing — I was merely observing closely."
She emphasized the observing part. She hadn't so much as touched a single finger. That much she wanted understood.
But Jinshi's eyes widened, and his posture tilted slightly backward.
Gaoshun's face seemed to shift from enlightenment toward some kind of transcendence. Why was he looking at her with the face of a Bodhisattva?
"You were... watching closely, you say?"
"Yes, I was just watching."
"Why?"
"Well, it's hard to say there was a particular reason. After our discussion, I thought I'd take a look at the real thing and see whether it could actually work out."
She had been mulling over various aspects of buying out Shiritsu's contract, but as Maomao, she also wanted to factor in Shiritsu's own feelings. Shiritsu had been with many lovers, but Maomao felt it would be preferable for her to go to the man she was most fond of.
So, knowing Shiritsu's tastes as she did, Maomao wanted to gauge to what extent Li Bai fell within Shiritsu's range of interest.
Even for Maomao, if Li Bai was too far removed from what Shiritsu liked, she wouldn't have agreed to consult on the matter in the first place. She wasn't generous enough to meddle in other people's affairs to that extent.
Until her father took her in, Maomao had been raised at the Rokuseikan. The ones who looked after her there were the three courtesans—Shiritsu, Meimei, and Joka—along with the madam.
Shiritsu had never given birth, but she possessed a rare constitution that allowed her to produce breast milk, and Maomao was raised on it. At the time Maomao was born, Shiritsu had only just completed her apprenticeship, but her body was apparently already fully mature.
She always called Shiritsu "Miss,"
but in truth she was closer to a "mother"
figure. Incidentally, she said "Miss" rather than "Big Sister" because Meimei and Joka would have gotten angry.
There were offers to buy out their contracts, but neither would likely lead to the life Shiritsu wanted.
That said, Maomao wasn't keen on letting Shiritsu end up like the madam.
Many women gave up on having children simply because they had been courtesans. Constant exposure to contraceptive drugs and abortifacients could also destroy their womb's ability to bear children.
Maomao didn't know whether that was the case with Shiritsu or not. Still, when she remembered those days of being cradled in those arms and rocked gently to sleep as a small child, she felt it would be such a waste.
She was a woman of strong carnal desire, but she was equally a woman possessed of deep maternal instinct.
Li Bai was smitten with Shiritsu, a courtesan. He fully understood that she was a courtesan and that she provided such services to other clients besides himself.
He had something of a stray-dog quality about him, but at heart he seemed earnest, and there was something endearingly foolish about his resolve to advance in the world for the sake of a woman.
This kind of personality was quite devoted, so she probably wouldn't lose interest easily. And even if she did, Maomao would probably be able to handle the arrangements when parting ways.
Above all, his stamina was exceptional.
That was one reason Maomao had accepted Li Bai's consultation. Though at the beginning he had hinted at a different errand, so she'd been curious about that too—and whatever became of it?
(In the end, it still hasn't been returned.)
She was referring to the ivory pipe. If nobody was using it, she'd been thinking of pawning it.
It was while she was appraising such items that Jinshi had arrived.
As the one managing the rear palace, he probably didn't like that a lady-in-waiting was so casually meeting with a man from outside. Oddly conscientious about his work in certain respects.
"W-What do you mean, it'll work out!?"
"Yes. Appearance is only one element of a person, but there's no harm in having it."
Li Bai's physique was more or less satisfactory. For the final check of the most important part, she was considering how to present Li Bai to Hakurei going forward.
Maomao had quoted the buyout price at ten thousand silver, but depending on how things were handled, she could bring it down by half. That would also depend on how Hakurei felt about Li Bai.
"Does appearance really matter that much?"
Jinshi finally stopped standing with his arms akimbo and sat down in his chair. His irritation continued, and he kept tapping his shoe against the floor.
"To a corresponding degree."
When Jinshi said that, Maomao felt a vague sense of unease.
"That's surprising, coming from you. So—what did that man look like?"
Nothing but questions, Maomao thought. But having to answer every one of them was the burden of being a lowly underling.
"He had a truly well-proportioned physique. His foundational training was solid, with no wasted muscle in his upper or lower body. He appeared to be the diligent sort who never missed a day of training, and among the military officers, I'd say his skills were quite formidable."
At Maomao's response, Jinshi's eyes widened slightly. His expression suggested he found what she'd said surprising. Then his face turned incredibly sour.
"You can tell what kind of person someone is just by their physique?"
"More or less. Lifestyle habits show quite clearly on the body."
When dispensing medicine to clients who wouldn't talk about themselves, being able to read them like this was essential. Running a pharmacy, you picked up these skills whether you wanted to or not.
"If you looked at my body, could you tell the same things?"
"…Huh?"
Maomao had inadvertently let out a stupid sound.
Looking at Jinshi's face, she couldn't deny that he wore a somewhat sullen expression.
(Could it be) She found herself wondering whether this man was jealous of Li Bai.
That was probably why his expression had grown even more unforgiving earlier—because Maomao had openly praised Li Bai's physical beauty.
(What kind of man) Maomao wanted to sigh.
(He wants to show off that he's more beautiful?)
Jinshi's face was gorgeous—truly, if he were a woman, his beauty alone would be enough to topple nations one after another, and even as a man, she felt it wasn't entirely impossible.
A face so beautiful it bordered on excess— face —and now he wanted to boast about his body too?
(Well, fine, go ahead and show it) She had caught a glimpse of Jinshi's body once, and it was surprisingly well-toned. Even without staring, she could tell he had a beautiful physique.
But what good would seeing it do? If his body was more refined than Li Bai's, was he going to tell her to recommend him to Bai Ling instead? No—come to think of it, had she even mentioned Bai Ling to Jinshi?
Jinshi leaned his elbow on the table, his lips slightly pursed, and stared intently at Maomao.
Behind him, the eunuch on lookout duty was trembling with fear, yet somehow seemed to be relishing Jinshi's furious expression.
Gaoshun watched Maomao with a serene expression like that of a Nirvana painting.
She felt bad for Jinshi, but she needed to make one thing clear: the part of the body that Bai Ling valued above all else was not something Jinshi had.
No matter how superior his other features were, without that, it meant nothing.
"Even if I were to look at Lord Jinshi's body, it would serve no purpose whatsoever."
Maomao said timidly.
The air around them froze in an instant.
Gaoshun went from his Nirvana-painting serenity to the face of a condemned sinner whose spider-silk rope had been cut.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think Lord Jinshi is a suitable match for my young lady."
"Huh?"
An idiotic voice escaped Jinshi's lips.
Gaoshun had his face pressed against the wall.