The Apothecary Diaries - Volume 10 - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: The Short Straw

Lahan’s Brother soon returned to the annex, just as Basen had reported he would.

“Hoo! That was not an easy trip!” he said as he set down his tools outside the medical office. He had a lot of stuff—potatoes and farming implements and who knew what else—so he was using a storehouse behind the medical office. He’d arrived yesterday but had immediately collapsed into bed, and was only just now getting around to cleaning up his tools.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Maomao said. Since there were no patients to speak of, she was there to greet him. For some reason, so was the quack—maybe he had time on his hands. Tianyu was allegedly watching the office, but it was really just an excuse for an afternoon nap. Lahan’s Brother was probably too ordinary to attract Tianyu’s attention.

“Yes, it must have been so hard for you. Look, you’re positively tanned!” said the quack, sounding like a solicitous uncle or something. He looked like at any moment he might decide to invite Lahan’s Brother to snack time.

“You’re telling me. There’s damn near no rain, it’s just beating sunshine all the time. At least it’s not humid.” Lahan’s Brother leaned a hoe against the wall.

“Ah, yes, of course. Would you like some nice, cold juice? We use water specially stored underground. Oh, it’s wonderful!”

Isn’t that water, uh, valuable? Maomao wasn’t sure the quack was supposed to be helping himself. Just like that, though, Lahan’s Brother had been asked to tea.

“I would love to—” Lahan’s Brother said, but then he stopped. Or more appropriately, froze.

Maomao gave him a nudge, wondering what was wrong. From up close, she could see Lahan’s Brother trembling. She followed his gaze to discover a gorgeous and most noble nobleman.

“Eep! Moon P-P-P—” the quack yelped.

Jinshi was standing there, smiling as if rose petals should be scattering behind him. “Would you, good sir, be the brother of Lahan?”

Even scarred jade was still jade. Jinshi approached Lahan’s Brother, his lustrous hair rippling like silk.

“Er, um, yes. Yes, I am,” Lahan’s Brother said, obviously struggling to respond. He didn’t look like he was going to be answering any questions more complicated than that.

Oh yeah. I guess that is the normal reaction.

Maomao had rather forgotten how inhumanly beautiful Jinshi was. He was possessed of a loveliness like that of a female immortal, the sort of thing that could capture the hearts of the serving women in the rear palace and make its eunuchs go weak at the knees. His very presence would naturally prove intoxicating to an ordinary person like Lahan’s Brother.

“I must apologize to you,” Jinshi said. “Here I’ve obliged you to accompany us on this journey, yet I haven’t properly introduced myself. Perhaps you would recognize me as the Imperial younger brother? People call me the Moon Prince or the Prince of the Night.”

Only a very few people, principally the Emperor, could call Jinshi by his personal name. As such, Maomao had discovered, he didn’t use it even when introducing himself. That was a kindness in itself: if he gave someone his name and they inadvertently used it, they might well be punished for disrespect.

I guess it’s not easy being in the Imperial family, she thought, and she really meant it.

“O-O-Of course. It’s an h-honor to accompany you on this...this trip, sir...”

Funny. Just the other day he was complaining he’d been tricked into it.

Lahan’s Brother, certified Ordinary Person, was as nervous as the next guy in Jinshi’s presence. Incidentally, the quack hadn’t taken his eyes off Jinshi. Said eyes sparkled brightly. Rose petals drifted behind him.

Jinshi said, “Lahan has told me a lot about you. He says that his biological father, being a member of the La clan, has no small talent for farming, and that as his father’s assistant, his older brother possesses a knowledge of agriculture unrivaled by any average farmer.”

In other words, he’s a professional.

Lahan’s Brother looked very, very conflicted, distinctly unhappy despite Jinshi’s heaps of praise. No ordinary person, however, could resist Jinshi’s shimmery aura.

In other words, Lahan’s Brother was swept right along. Jinshi had him in the palm of his hand.

Ah, now this is worth seeing, Maomao thought as she observed the spectacle of Jinshi wielding his sparkliness like an expert swordsman against a person who, through sheer ordinariness, simply couldn’t resist.

“You’ve been doing something called fall plowing to reduce the number of pest insects, isn’t that right? I’d never heard of it before. I had one of my subordinates look into it, and learned that sometime in the past, the rulers of this area ensured the farmers performed this task. Unfortunately, people now see fattening up livestock as more important than turning over the earth in the autumn, and the practice has disappeared. Politics is indeed a difficult business.”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

“I’m also given to understand that you’re as versed in the cultivation of wheat as you are in the raising of potatoes. Who would have imagined that stepping on the wheat makes it stronger? Another fact that was new to me. Indeed, every day I’m reminded of how much I do not know. It’s my sincere hope that you will continue to help me redress my ignorance.”

“O-Only by your gracious leave, sir,” said Lahan’s Brother, who was by turns flushing red and going pale. The quack, meanwhile, still looked fluttery, and regarded Lahan’s Brother, with whom Jinshi had conversed exclusively thus far, with some envy. In fact, he appeared to have surpassed envy and gone directly to jealousy.

“Much as it pains me, there’s something I wish to ask you about right away. If I might?” Jinshi said, expertly mixing the slightest touch of grief into his expression.

Lahan’s Brother’s cheeks went bright red, and even the quack was bowled over—collateral damage. In fact, he literally swooned, and Maomao caught him, setting him gently on the ground.

Yikes! Noting that Jinshi was as brutal as ever, Maomao nonetheless kept her eyes locked on the scene. She took the rest of the farming implements Lahan’s Brother hadn’t finished putting away and leaned them against the wall for him.

“If—I mean, if I might, sir. If there’s anything I can do for you, just ask.”

“Wonderful!” Jinshi absolutely beamed at that, and even the quack doctor, supposedly not involved in this discussion, sat there with his mouth working open and shut like a carp on a cutting board. “Perhaps we can go inside, then. I’ll explain everything,” Jinshi said. He snapped his fingers, and immediately Basen and Chue appeared, the former carrying a large roll of paper.

Those two actually get along pretty well, don’t they? Behind the pair stood Gaoshun, who obviously knew what was going to happen. His hands were pressed together and he wore an expression like a bodhisattva.

Jinshi walked into the medical office like he owned the place. As he entered, Tianyu sat up groggily from where he had been napping on the couch. Lihaku, standing guard, shot Maomao a What’s this? look.

“Whaz goin’ on?” Tianyu asked.

“Oh, you know. Stuff,” said Maomao, who thought it would be too much work to explain.

“Huh,” was all Tianyu said, although he sounded interested.

The roll of paper Basen carried turned out to be a map, which he unrolled on the office table. “This is a map of I-sei Province,” he said. It contained plains and mountains and desert. It looked rather empty compared to Kaou Province, but there was a road that cut clear through the middle of it, a trade route connecting east and west.

“It’s got a bunch of circles on it,” observed Tianyu, inserting himself into the conversation as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The quack had managed to get to his feet and was preparing tea. Basen, meanwhile, looked distinctly displeased. If Jinshi hadn’t stopped him, he might have chased Tianyu right out of the room.

We’re standing awfully close. Awfully close to a member of the Imperial family. Was that even allowed? Maybe during his time as a “eunuch,” but what about now? Maomao was worried. She suspected, however, that this was all part of Jinshi’s calculations.

“Lahan’s Brother,” Jinshi said.

The other man snapped to attention. “Yes, sir!”

No objections about his name this time?

“The circles mark areas with farming villages. I fondly hope that you might help instruct them in the ways of fall plowing and cultivating potatoes.” Jinshi wore a smile that could kill a man.

“I... What?”

Lahan’s Brother had only just gotten back from a farming village. He hadn’t even put his tools away!

“Yes, as soon as possible. Perhaps you could leave tomorrow.”

Lahan’s Brother closed his eyes, as if Jinshi’s smile was too blinding to look at. There was nothing he could say in response.

Now I get it.

“Perhaps we should proceed faster,” Jinshi had said. Now she knew what he meant. She was the one who had told him to use those he could use, but she couldn’t help feeling a pang of pity for those who became tools in Jinshi’s hands. It was a very large map and depicted a substantial amount of territory.

“How far is it to the village that’s farthest from the western capital on this map?” she asked Chue, who seemed to have nothing special to do. Maybe she’d just come along for fun today. She didn’t seem to be needed here, but she was probably looking for an excuse to get away from her predator of a mother-in-law.

“Oh, about four hundred kilometers, I’d say,” she replied.

“Four hundred...” Lahan’s Brother was white as a sheet.

“I’d like you to start with the nearest village, then go to the next nearest one. If you’re uncomfortable riding that far, I can have a good, comfortable carriage prepared for you.” Jinshi took Lahan’s Brother’s acquiescence as a given. “If at all possible, I’d like you to finish teaching all of the villages about fall plowing within the next two months. The sooner, the better. Potatoes can come after that, in good time.”

This was, in fact, less about agricultural practice and more about preventing insect plague. Since they couldn’t know what would be most effective, they had to do everything they could—and Jinshi intended to use everything and everyone he could. Maomao felt bad for Lahan’s Brother, but he would just have to take this one for the team. As for what she could do...

Maomao went over to the medicine cabinet and took out some herbs, which she mixed with honey. She cut the mixture with water and put it in a glass drinking vessel, which she offered to Lahan’s Brother along with the quack’s tea. “For you,” she said.

“What’s this?”

“A stamina drink. I’ll prepare a solution that should keep for quite a while, so take some whenever you feel too tired on the road.”

“Why are you assuming I’m going to go do this?!”

“Can you say no?” Maomao asked.

“Do you believe you can say no?” Jinshi asked at almost the same moment.

Maomao certainly didn’t believe he could—that’s why she’d made the drink. She would also prepare some poultices to relieve sore muscles.

Lahan’s Brother, ordinary person extraordinaire, found himself confronted at point-blank range with a request from a man whose beauty could have brought a country to its knees. He couldn’t possibly have it in him to refuse. Jinshi had been counting on it.

Gross, Maomao thought.

Lahan’s Brother might have been ordinary, but as far as ordinary people went, he was very good at it.

“Won’t you, please? For me?” Jinshi smiled as if to say how much help this would be to him. Lahan’s Brother could only droop, defeated.

Tianyu, who had no stake here, found he had the freedom to chuckle to himself at this other person’s unhappiness, so Maomao gave him a kick in the heel. Lahan’s Brother was so pitiful, even she had to sympathize with him. In politics, however, to lose the initiative was to lose all. A leader had to stay ahead of what was happening in his country, and eliminate all possible sources of trouble. If he failed to do so, the blame would fall on him—and if he succeeded, so would the indifference, for people would simply assume it was his job.

It’s not easy, huh?

Much as she felt for Lahan’s Brother, Maomao knew Jinshi wasn’t wrong to do what he did.