The Apothecary Diaries - Volume 10 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Return to the Western Capital

Maomao wiped her brow as she looked out of the carriage. The sun pounded down, baking the earth. The people who followed behind the vehicle on foot wore conical traveling hats, but it wouldn’t save them from the reflected light, which would still be strong enough to tan the skin.

So, a year later, and I'm back, Maomao thought. The last time she’d come, it had been a little earlier in the year, and not quite so hot. At least there was no humidity—the sweat she wiped at dried quickly—but it was still blazing.

The quack doctor had promptly succumbed to the heat and was curled up in a corner of the carriage.

“What this place needs is a little greenery! That would make things better,” Chue observed. She held out a leather pouch of water flavored with the rind of some sort of citrus fruit. Even the lukewarm drink was better than nothing on Maomao’s parched throat. “You’ve been here before, right, Miss Maomao?”

“Yes, last year.”

She certainly hadn’t expected to be back again this year. Most commoners never took a trip this long in their entire lives.

“But you weren’t here very long, right? Let Miss Chue show you around this time! You can see the sights! Enjoy yourself]” There was a gleam in her eyes. The less something had to do with work, the more eager she was to do it.

“No, thank you, I have a job to do.” Maomao would have loved to go sightseeing, to finally see the entire city and sample all the medicinal herbs and other plant life for sale at this nexus of trade. But there was one person she had to keep an eye on at all times. Jinshi.

That son of a...!

Even now, the memory made her blood boil, and she suspected it always would.

“Miss Maomao! Miss Maomao! You look tense,” Chue said and began massaging Maomao’s cheeks. It seemed like somehow, someone always ended up doing that.

“O-Oh, do I?”

“I’m sure they’d be perfectly happy for you to go out all day if you told them it was to inspect your surroundings. Just make sure you call me when you do!”

She just wants me to be her excuse!

Chue was easy to talk to, and better than any of the other potential minders who might be assigned to her, but still...

“Oh me, oh my! We’ve been talking so much that we’ve arrived!”

A town of stone and brick came into view. It was dotted with green trees, and a lake sparkled in the distance. Awnings fluttered here and there to keep off the sun. The carriage rolled right on, toward a great mansion. For a moment, Maomao thought they were going to the same house she’d been to last year, but then she realized it was the one next door to that.

“So this is the administrative office!” Chue said, looking at a stone plaque on the front of the building.

The carriage stopped at the gate. The other physicians were already waiting inside.

“Ah, is that everybody?” said the dark-skinned Dr. You, waving to them.

“Okay, Miss Maomao, Miss Chue has other things to do. So!”

“Right. Thank you very much.”

“Don’t mention it!” Chue pitter-pattered away, into the administrative building.

“Over here!” Dr. You called. He was standing with Tianvu and one of the other physicians. Maomao and the quack went over to him, with Lihaku following at an unobtrusive distance.

“Have you been here before, Dr. You?” Tianvu drawled.

“Yes, plenty of times. That was back before this was a bureaucratic office, though. I’m from the western capital myself, you know. A native son of I-sei Province. I know where the eastern villa is, more or less”

“Huh!” said Tianyu, who didn’t sound very interested in the answer despite having asked the question.

Before it was an office, huh? Maomao thought. As they walked inside, she pondered what it might have been used for before. It did indeed feel more like a rich person’s house than a proper administrative building. Maybe its a mansion they confiscated from someone who wasn't paying their taxes?

That was entirely her imagination, but it was enough to pass the time until they arrived at the villa. The medical supplies were already there.

“What should we do next?” the serious-looking physician asked Dr. You.

“Let’s see. The plan is for us to split into three groups, just like we did on the ships. The Moon Prince will be at Lord Gvoku-ou’s annex, Grand Commandant Kan will be here in the administrative office, and our man Lu from the Board of Rites will be in the Lord Gvoku-ou’s main house.”

The good doctor seemed to refer to one of those men very differently from the others. Maybe they were close personally, or perhaps in rank?

“Should we split up into the same groups we did on the boats, then?” the other doctor asked.

“Hmm. I think something a little different today,” Dr. You said. He grabbed Tianyu and pushed him toward Maomao and the quack.

“Huh? I’m with them, sir?” Tianyu asked. “I was sure I would be with Dr. Li again.”

Maomao agreed. Li was evidently the remaining physician; the name was also extremely common. So much so that it was no help in telling people apart, and those surnamed Li often found themselves called by their full names. Lihaku was a handy example of that phenomenon.

“We tried to take all possible factors into account when we made that decision. You can be with Dr. Li—provided that you can mind your mouth. I heard about your little gaffes on the ship.” Evidently Tianyu had given lip to some high officials.

“But I might be just as rude anywhere else! Um... Where am I going?”

“To the annex. I’m going to be in the administrative office here, and Dr. Li will be at the main residence.”

“That would mean I’m in the same building as the Imperial younger brother, wouldn’t it? Wouldn’t that only have the potential to make things worse?”

That implied Maomao would also be in Jinshi’s building. She might have guessed as much.

“Hah! Hoping to get a chance to do an exam on the Moon Prince? Good luck. I doubt you’ll even see him much.” Dr. You smacked Tianyu on the shoulder. Tianyu rubbed it painfully.

Dr. You continued, “You’ll make the perfect group. Niangniang is good at mixing up medicines, which is precisely what you aren’t, Tianyu. But you’re the best surgeon among the new crop. This will be the perfect opportunity for you to learn from each other.”

That would be great, if Niangniang were here, Maomao thought, but she didn’t bother correcting him. She’d decided that if it didn’t actively harm her, she could live with it. She glanced at the quack doctor. He doesn't even seem to be on the list And he didn’t seem to realize it either.

“I only hope I can be a good teacher,” the quack said, fidgeting. Maomao looked away from him.

“Lookin’ forward to it, partner!” Tianyu said, slapping Maomao on the back.

“We are not partners.”

Maomao stood before the quack doctor, who flushed with embarrassment and hid behind her.

“I look forward to working with you, big guy!” Tianyu said.

“Y-Yes, it’ll be my pleasure,” the quack said. Tianyu evidently didn’t take him very seriously.

“You may be with a new group, but your job hasn’t changed. Doctors look after their patients—and nothing else! Each group will have a junior official assigned to it to act as a messenger in case anything comes up. Don’t hesitate to use them.”

It was nice working with Dr. You; he made things simple. Maomao knew7 the personnel on this trip had been selected for their ability to adapt to a rapidly changing situation, but he had a special ease that must have come from being on his home soil.

“You heard him. Shall we get going?” Tianyu asked, picking up his stuff.

Administrative office, main building, and annex: two of the three of them belonged to Gyoku-ou outright, which served to demonstrate how powerful he was. The office and the main house were right next to each other; the annex was a five-minute walk away. Each of them fronted the main street, but inside the administrative building the hubbub outside was hardly audible. It was just that big. The walls and the trees outside probably also helped block out the noise.

Maomao and her three companions w7ere joined by the junior official who would serve as their messenger, the five of them shown to their building by a man who looked to be a local. As they stepped out the gate, they got a good view of the town.

Lihaku once again maintained a respectful distance, but Tianyu kept glancing back at him. I guess it does seem soil of odd, thought Maomao—a few ordinary physicians being given a bodyguard? To say nothing of the fact that the quack himself was personally in charge of Jinshi’s care. Tianyu was too sharp not to wonder why Maomao and the quack w7ere being entrusted with the Imperial younger brother. She worried about when he might start asking questions, but for the time being she tried to act like everything was normal. She could at least play innocent until he specifically pressed her about it.

“My! Isn’t this exciting?” If the quack had still had his mustache, it would have been all a-quiver. He wasn’t a particularly brave eunuch, but at the moment his timidity seemed to be outweighed by his excitement at seeing the western capital.

Tianyu, too, was looking everywhere at once. His expression never changed, though, and he seemed less like he was having fun and more like he was taking careful stock of everything.

I’m never sure what to make of this guy. Maomao could never tell what he was thinking. She had figured out, though, that he was quick to latch onto anything that piqued his curiosity. If she knew what that was, she might be able to anticipate how7 he’d react—but she still didn’t know7 what he found interesting.

“Hm?” Tianyu said, tilting his head quizzically as they left the office. Maomao wondered what was up—and then she saw a familiar face. The owner of the face seemed to recognize them too, because he trotted over.

“It’s been much too long,” he said with a respectful bow of the head and a gentle smile. It was the pretty-boy, Rikuson. The freak strategist’s former aide.

That's right. I heard he transferred to the western capital

He was more tanned than the last time Maomao had seen him, no doubt from the strong sunlight in these parts. Two attendants walked behind him.

“It has, sir,” said Maomao.

“Yeah, haven’t seen you in a bit,” said Tianyu at almost the same time. Only the quack was left out of the loop. He looked at Maomao as if to ask who this person was.

“Do you two know each other?” Maomao asked, looking from Rikuson to Tianyu and back.

“Yes, in that I never forget someone I’ve met,” Rikuson smiled. Maomao sensed something tired in the expression. She also noticed that his clothes were dusty and there was mud all over his shoes.

“The first thing they told us when we started at court was to learn what the strategist’s aide looked like,” Tianyu said.

“Ahh. I see,” Maomao said. Tianyu may have greeted Rikuson familiarly, but he didn’t actually know or care that much about him. The quack, meanwhile, shifted uncomfortably, feeling shy around this stranger. For once, Maomao couldn’t just let everyone else do the talking.

“This is the master physician. I’ve come to the western capital to assist him,” she said.

“Master physician?” Rikuson asked with a puzzled look at the quack.

Oh!His name. His name is...uh...

Damn! She’d almost forgotten it again. She thought it was Gu... Guen? But she decided not to say it aloud. Instead she said, “If I tell you he’s the physician who served many years at the rear palace, would you know who I mean?”

Ah. Neatly done.

Rikuson clapped his hands. “Yes! This is him?”

That was a close one. I almost forgot

The quack was a body double for her own father, Luomen, and he was being treated as if he were his more august counterpart. Rikuson, for his part, would surely be familiar with Luomen, who was the freak strategist’s uncle. He would probably also grasp that the quack was the only physician in the rear palace.

Never know if the walls might have eyes or ears.

They were still technically in Li, but the western capital was as good as foreign territory. More to the point, both of Rikuson’s attendants appeared to be locals—Maomao couldn’t afford to say anything careless. She would have to watch how she spoke.

Maomao didn’t have anything particular to talk about with Rikuson, and she was keen to get out of there before anyone gave the game away. “I’m sure you’re busy, Master Rikuson. I apologize for taking up your time,” she said.

“Not at all. I’m just now back from traveling for work. It took me quite a ways out, but I knew you all must be arriving soon, so I hurried back. I never expected my timing to be so perfect.” He smiled broadly, but it couldn’t hide the mud on the hem of his robe. It was dry now, but it was obvious that it had originally been quite dark, rich soil.

Was he out in the fields for some reason?

The western capital was a dry place; puddles were not a common sight on the roads here. Even if they had been, the dust would have been whiter, lacking in nutrients. The only place he could have picked up fertile earth like what was clinging to his outfit was in a field that had been watered. Maybe he was coming back from whatever village was closest to the water. Hurrying to get back, he hadn’t had time to worry about how he looked.

So nobody told him when exactly we were going to arrive? Lengthy trip or no, she would have expected Rikuson to know at least that much.

“I must be on my way. I’m afraid if I stand and chat for too long, my former boss might notice me. I’ll see you again,” said Rikuson. He looked like there was something more he would have wished to say, but he must have been too busy. Tianyu, who knew whom he was referring to by his “former boss,” snickered. Only the quack doctor was left entirely in the dark, and he spent the entire conversation looking sad. Maomao would have to explain to him who Rikuson was while they were on their way to their destination.

She found herself with a lot to think about, but she also remembered what Dr. You had said to them.

Doctors look after their patients—and nothing else.

Maomao was an apothecary. So she would do an apothecary’s job—and nothing else.