As the rather tasteless conversation seemed poised to continue, the author has lightly rewritten the previous episode.
The next day, Jinshi and the others mounted horses and set off for the hunting grounds.
Jinshi wore a mask with an exasperated air, introducing himself as "
Kosen ".
The mask was understandable. A man with Jinshi's looks wandering around would cause nothing but trouble. This was not the imperial court — the people here knew nothing of eunuchs.
The previous night, there had been a commotion in Jinshi's guest room. Though it was called Jinshi's room, it was actually Bashen who was sleeping there. It was Bashen's screams that had been heard.
When they went to investigate, they found him surrounded by women who had sneaked in — he was having what looked like an enviable time, no, a living hell. After drinking that pre-dinner liquor, maintaining his self-control could be considered quite an effort in its own right.
Of course, his drink had been heavily laced at dinner. There were plenty of girls in the estate who dreamed of becoming mistresses to high officials.
Who knew what might have happened had Jinshi walked around with his face exposed. It seemed the windows had been kept shut tight specifically to hide his features.
(If that was the case, the reason for the mask made sense.)
But what about the false name?
Not that it was any business of Maomao's to quibble over. A lady-in-waiting who could read the room would simply stay quiet and go along with it.
And so Maomao followed the falconry party in a carriage. Inside the carriage were servants from the estate, along with firewood, cooking pots, and other culinary equipment.
The idea was presumably to cook whatever game they caught on the spot.
After bumping along in the carriage for about a quarter of an hour, with kōryan fields passing on either side, a forest and meadow came into view.
The servants were well-practiced — they set about preparing a bonfire in front of the forest with brisk efficiency. Several of them headed into the woods with bottles, apparently to fetch water from a spring.
Maomao considered lending a hand, but the companions of the other officials were doing nothing. They were chatting idly inside a tent that the servants who had arrived earlier had set up.
(Doing nothing was probably the safer bet.)
Offering help inappropriately and getting entangled in some dispute was a common occurrence.
The servants would surely prefer it that way as well.
Maomao gazed up at the sky. Against the vast blue, she spotted a single black speck gliding through the air.
After watching this repeat several times, Maomao's gaze drifted toward the forest.
(A forest, huh.)
It seemed like quite a nice forest, she thought.
All sorts of trees grew there. Places like that tended to have medicinal herbs and mushrooms sprouting up just right.
(I probably shouldn't go in.)
She itched to go. Maomao glanced around.
Would anyone around her notice? Probably not—but still.
Before she knew it, the sun had reached its zenith.
The savory smell of roasting meat drifted through the air.
Inside the tent, wine cups were being passed around. Women distributed the grilled meat. About ten officials sat on chairs, and on the tables, various side dishes had been prepared as well.
Though it was a tent, they had arranged for wind to pass through, and tubs filled with water sat at their feet. Servants wielding large fans were also present, making efforts to keep the sweltering summer hunt comfortable.
The servants bustled about, carrying dish after dish inside.
The game from the hawk hunt alone wasn't enough, so other meat was being grilled as well. Besides, unlike fish, meat wasn't the sort of thing that tasted better fresh.
Maomao stood behind Gaoshun, idly watching the banquet scene. Gaoshun had been given a seat too.
(Come to think of it,) she realized that aside from when they were in the room, Gaoshun was rarely together with Jinshi. Instead, Mahan handled various things, and Maomao had naturally ended up following Gaoshun.
In the seat of honor among the row of chairs, a peculiar man sat.
His face was hidden behind a mask, and he hadn't touched any of the food. The wine either.
Behind him, Mahan watched with a concerned expression.
(He must be exhausted having to wear that here too.)
Maomao observed the scene as though it were someone else's problem. The women serving wine kept glancing at the masked noble—Jinshi.
Masked or not, he was the most important guest in the room. Becoming the concubine of a high official was far more stable than marrying some low-ranking nobody. It seemed this was a gathering of precisely such shrewd women.
It wasn't only women trying to get close to him. A plump man sitting beside Jinshi was whispering to him. The man's manner of address was polite enough, but was it just her imagination, or did it come across as slightly insolent?
Jinshi could only give tiny, trembling nods in response.
(So that's the man called Koshō?)
She'd heard the name before but didn't really know his face. Based on his seat, she was almost certainly right.
(What are they talking about?)
Koshō stopped talking and turned his face away from Jinshi.
Jinshi's hands continued to tremble.
Maosen's expression turned grim.
(Did he say something to him?)
No, Maomao whispered to Gaoshun.
Something's wrong with him, she said.
But Gaoshun merely gave a slight shake of his head, signaling her to do nothing.
Jinshi rose from his seat, claiming he needed to step away for a moment.
Gaoshun tugged at Maomao's sleeve.
"It's about time for you to take over."
Maomao nodded and called to the other attendants outside the tent. Then she set off after Jinshi, who was staggering unsteadily.
But before that— "May I have this?"
Maomao held up a water flask and asked the attendant who was busy preparing the meal.
"Sure, go ahead."
The busy attendant didn't even glance back before leaving. Maomao used a spoon to mix seasoning into the flask of water.
Carrying it with her, she headed into the woods.
Shortly after entering, she spotted a figure.
The unsteady person was leaning against a tree.
"Jin—"
She almost called him Lord Jinshi, but caught herself. For some reason, he'd been using a false name here. What was it he'd been called by again? She quickened her pace toward him.
"...Is that you?"
A hoarse voice came from behind the mask.
"Please take this off."
When Maomao tried to rip the mask away, Jinshi desperately held it down.
"No."
"There's no reason not to. There's nobody here."
"No, someone might come."
*(Ugh, what a pain!)* Maomao slung the swaying man's arm over her shoulder and started dragging him along.
"If you're so worried about being seen, we should just go somewhere no one can see us."
She pressed deeper into the woods. The forest sat atop a gentle rise. A cliff came into view, and beside it, a beautiful waterfall. This must be where they drew water, Maomao surmised, and she wet a cloth in the stream.
*(Over there should be fine.)* Near the cliff, there was a cave just at the right angle to be hidden from view. Once inside, Maomao pulled down the hanging vines to form a curtain.
An old tree grew beside the entrance, and something umbrella-shaped was attached to its trunk.
*(A monkey seat, maybe?)* She'd grab it on the way back, Maomao decided. It was a hard fungus with a bark-like surface — useful as a medicinal ingredient.
Inside the cave lay scattered fragments of old jars. It seemed to have once served as a storeroom for the watering station, but it clearly hadn't been used in a long time.
"This should do."
Maomao stacked the tattered mats she found there and laid a dry cloth on top. She then carefully lowered Jinshi onto it.
Removing his mask revealed a striking face flushed crimson red.
"Please drink this."
She held the flask she'd brought to Jinshi's lips, letting him sip slowly, then passed the rest into his hand.
"Now then, pardon me."
"...!?"
Maomao loosened Jinshi's sash and stripped off his robe. Jinshi was visibly taken aback, but he lacked the energy to resist. She wiped his exposed skin with the cloth she'd dampened earlier, moistening his entire body before tucking the cloth under his arms.
"You don't just strip women of their clothes — you strip men off too?"
"It's not like I enjoy doing it."
At Jinshi's half-delirious words, Maomao pouted in reply.
There was nothing entertaining about stripping a man's clothes.
Jinshi's body was running a fever. Had cooling him down with the dampened cloth helped at all?
He still looked miserable, but drinking water seemed to have improved his color somewhat. Maomao rested Jinshi's head on her lap and angled the water jug so he could drink from it more easily.
"This tastes weird."
Jinshi said between small sips from the jug.
"That's what it is.
Soy sauce mixed with sugar. I couldn't recognize salt, so I used substitutes instead. Apparently, a mixture like this is good for replenishing the body's fluids."
Maomao fanned Jinshi's face with her veil as she spoke.
"On such a nice day, wearing something like that over your face, you'll lose to the sun."
"...Can't be helped."
"Having such an unnecessarily beautiful face must be quite the burden."
Maomao said, exasperated.
In response, Jinshi stared fixedly at Maomao.
*(Oh no. Did I anger him?)* She had let a sarcastic tone slip into her words. Maomao glanced at Jinshi awkwardly, but his face didn't seem angry.
Relieved, Maomao took the hand towel tucked at Jinshi's side. She gently set his head down and began to stand.
"Where are you going?"
"To wet the towel again."
"You don't need to."
That's easy for you to say, Maomao thought. Jinshi's temperature was still high, and she wanted to cool him down further.
But Jinshi wouldn't let her go.
"There's something I want to talk to you about."
Jinshi spoke in a hoarse yet earnest voice. His eyes, fixed intently on Maomao, were like polished obsidian.
Maomao's gaze naturally drifted away in resistance. Her eyes happened to land on an ancient tree outside the cave.
"That's exactly why I brought you here this time."
A sincere voice, yet tinged with a hint of bewilderment.
Even so, Maomao felt her heartbeat growing louder. Thud, thud — her heart pumped blood, and her entire body grew flushed.
"Lord Jinshi, please let go."
Maomao narrowed her eyes and spoke to Jinshi. She didn't look at his eyes, gazing outward instead.
"I won't."
"Let me go!"
Maomao shook Jinshi off and tried to leave the cave. She stretched her right hand far out, reaching for something beyond it.
However, her left hand was pulled hard, throwing her off balance. She nearly stumbled to the ground when she was pushed face-first against his damp chest.
What am I even doing, Maomao thought.
She looked at what lay beyond her outstretched hand. About three shaku ahead, she could see an ancient plum tree. At its base, something was sprouting upward.
With just a cap growing from the tree trunk, it resembled a monkey seat mushroom, but differed in that its surface had a glossy sheen, as if coated in candy. It wasn't rough and coarse like a monkey seat mushroom.
The thumping of her heart grew ever louder.
The fungus recorded in texts since antiquity as a divine medicine — Lingzhi, or the Ten-Thousand-Year Mushroom, was right there before her.
And yet, her outstretched right hand couldn't reach it.
Instead, she was pulled into Jinshi's embrace, and then — And then, her remaining left hand found itself gripping something soft and squishy.
The Apothecary Diaries will be published in paperback format. Details can be found in the activity report.