The Apothecary Diaries Book 9

The Villa

The messenger didn't take her to Jinshi's usual palace, but to a villa outside the court proper.

How many villas does the Emperor have?

Admittedly, it was probably easier to get Maomao into a place like this, given all the stuff she was bringing. Just here in the capital, the Emperor had another villa, the one where Ah-Duo lived. Nobility like him could probably construct a new building or two just to kill some time.

The guard was lighter than usual, and Maomao was brought to a room where Jinshi, Suiren, and Gaoshun all waited.

Not Basen? she wondered, but then she realized this was His Majesty's doing. Basen was smart enough, but he was stubborn. Gaoshun was much more likely to keep his thoughts to himself if she and Jinshi ended up alone together. He might guess something he wasn't supposed to know, but he wouldn't pursue it.

And what's the old lady think of this?

Suiren was smiling like she always did, but her smile could be frightening—precisely because Maomao didn't always know what was behind it.

There seemed to be someone else there too. Maomao could hear the clattering of dishes from within. Had they found someone who could endure Jinshi's beauty and Suiren's severity?

"Is there anything you need, Xiaomao?" Gaoshun asked.

"No, thank you." She'd prepared all her tools herself, along with most of the medical components she might need. She thought it would be best not to give Gaoshun too many clues as to what she would be using. Then, however, she realized there was one thing she did want. "If you happen to have any ice..."

"Certainly." It was not Gaoshun, but Suiren, who answered. "Chue, bring us some ice, please."

There was a name Maomao didn't recognize. Shortly, accompanied by distinctive footsteps, a woman emerged holding a large bucket. Her face was tan and her nose low. She was roughly Maomao's age, perhaps a year or two older. Many of the servants of the Imperial family were physically beautiful, but when it came to serving Jinshi, looks were less important than job skills.

Like her namesake, the sparrow, Chue almost looked like she was hopping as she moved; her footsteps made a squeaking sound as she walked.

"I could only find a big block of it. Do you want me to break it up?"

In the bucket was a huge chunk of ice wrapped in reeds. It had probably come from some distant mountain, kept frozen in order to make the long journey to the capital. It was still the cold season, and they could have gotten ice from some local lake, but they would have gone out of their way to get it from somewhere far away.

It's not like I'm going to drink it... She felt a little bad, using something so rich for this purpose, but it was all that she had. "Do you think you could smash it into quarters?" she said.

"Understood!" Chue produced a mallet from the folds of her robe, rolled back the reeds, and cracked the ice. Maomao rubbed her eyes. She doubted what she had just seen; it seemed like it should have been impossible to do so casually. "Will that do?" Chue asked.

"Thank you. It will," Maomao said with a respectful bow of her head, which Chue returned. She set the bucket of ice in front of Maomao, then wiped the mallet with a handkerchief and returned it to its hiding place. Afterward, she hop-hopped back the way she had come.

"Her name might mean sparrow, but you could take her for a squirrel," Suiren said, looking right at Maomao. She seemed to mean that there was no way a person should have been able to hide a mallet that large in her robe. Then she asked, "Is there anything else you need?"