The Apothecary Diaries Book 9

Kada's Book (Part One)

The next day, Maomao was awoken by a shout from the woman who ran the dormitory. "You've got a visitor!" she called.

Maomao got changed, rubbing her eyes all the while, then went to the front door to see who it was. She found a gentle but perpetually worried-looking old man—her adoptive father.

"Wh—" She was about to ask what was wrong, but then she remembered. She'd spoken to Jinshi about contacting Luomen the night before.

He works fast!

Judging by Luomen's expression, Jinshi's letter had explained exactly what Maomao wanted to know.

"Um, so, Pops..." She wasn't quite sure how to explain, but her father narrowed his eyes and let out a small sigh.

"Perhaps we should have this conversation somewhere else." He plopped a hand on Maomao's head.

A carriage stood ready outside. With his bad knee, even walking around town was almost more than Luomen could manage. But where did he intend for them to go?

As they bounced along in the carriage, Maomao talked, but she felt ill at ease the whole time, having to keep secrets. "Are you on vacation too, Pops?"

"For today, yes. I have to work tomorrow. There are no extended breaks for medical staff."

True, nor for pretty much anyone at the court. A minimum number of medical personnel had to be present at all times. Certainly there would be trouble if there wasn't at least one qualified doctor to attend all the high muckety-mucks.

Wish I could have been part of that, Maomao thought, even though she knew there were limits to what court ladies like her would be allowed to do. Never mind the fact that she was pretty sure she was working harder than some of the less committed young physicians.

After a bit more being rattled and bumped by the carriage, they reached a mansion that inspired a nameless but unpleasant feeling in Maomao. They were on the eastern edge of the capital, not quite where the nicest houses were, but still, this one was quite large. It must have been a striking building in its time, but it was old now.

The first thing she noticed was a strange monument near the gate. It looked like a giant Go board, and there were big, round, black and white stones nearby. You could have used them to play an ordinary game, except for their massive size.

In addition to the black and white stones, she saw what looked like Shogi pieces. These were made of wood rather than stone, and the color of the ink used to inscribe their names was faded. If the characters hadn't been carved into the wood, it might have been impossible to know which piece was which.

The board had carefully wrought lines, and appeared to be intended for both Go and Shogi. Its size suggested it was a single hunk of rock. She couldn't imagine what it had cost to get it there. A waste of money if there ever was one.

Had the owner of the house commissioned it himself, or had someone given it to him? Whatever the case, the way it stuck out into the road made it an obstacle and nothing but.

At this point, surely we need not explain further whose house they had come to.

Maomao and her father passed through the ruined gate, whereupon he emerged with a vile grin on his face.

"Granduncle! Maomao! Welcome home!" It was Lahan, his already narrow eyes narrowing further with his unctuous smile.

Yes: they were at the house of the freak strategist.

"This is a stranger's house," Maomao said.

"And I was chased out," Luomen said, each of them rebuffing Lahan's welcome in their own way.