Jinshi and Maomao Short Stories Collection

You are really here, Part 1

Summary:

Jinshi was sure that there was no better medicine than his apothecary in the world. Just knowing that she was with him calmed him down and made him believe that everything would be alright. He really needed her.

And eventually he realized that, from time to time, he needed to be there for her as well.

I'm back, dear readers! Back with another story full of fluff! :)This is supposed to be a longer one this time as well and is more or less vaguely planned out, but I can't say yet how many chapters it will have nor how long these will be, because new sudden ideas or changes in the plot can happen anytime. :)Ah, yes: if the chapters get longer than expected, I might need more than a week for them.

You are really here, Part 1

It was autumn. Although the air was still fairly warm, an increasingly cold wind was already blowing here and there through the Imperial Palace of Li and carrying away the beautiful, colorful leaves that had fallen down from the trees. Announcing the approaching arrival of winter that would be begging for entrance before people knew it.

And one such a cool, fresh breeze was currently blowing through the Outer Palace and making the sleeves and the hemline of a certain apothecary's skirt flutter, while she was walking outside with an unusually cheerful expression on her face and carrying a basket on her back.

Said basket contained — how could it be any different? — medicinal herbs Maomao had managed to find with quite some effort and plucked with tremendous joy, using the free time she had kindly been granted.

Sadly it wasn't a very large amount, since medicinal herbs were quite rare in the Outer Palace (compared to the Inner one where her father had done a really good job planting them in the past), resulting in her to only having been able to fill her basket half-way, but it was still way better than nothing. As a maid employed directly under Jinshi, she had currently no business entering the Inner Palace, after all, thus she had no other choice than to be satisfied with what she had managed to get her hands on.

But satisfied she was. Oh, how she was! So satisfied, she could start humming a song any moment now!

She took a deep breath, inhaling the faint but still absolutely wonderful fragrance of the herbs in her basket.

So much time had already passed since her last occasion to dig in the earth and pull out plants, that her heart had been about to be ripped into shreds from longing! But luckily she had finally been able to discover some.

Maybe one day, she should follow her father's example and go discreetly plant a few herself, in order to increase their variety at least a bit. After all, she never knew when she would be in need of some fresh ones.

With that phenomenal idea in mind, she resumed her way through the court.

Oh, and perhaps it would be great to look out for some mushrooms! There should be plenty at that time of year. A trail of drool left our apothecary's mouth at the mere thought of them.

Hm, well, but unfortunately, that time there wasn't any quack she could make into her mushroom-"partner in crime", as she stated with quite a lot of regret. That realization made her hang her head in disappointment, just like a sad kitten.

Jinshi wouldn't be a major obstacle in that matter, he would surely look the other way again if she shared the mushrooms with him. But if Suiren should get wind of it...

...then Maomao could brace herself for a scolding of an intensity she didn't even want to picture.

A huge shiver ran down the apothecary's spine and made her shake her head. No, that brief enjoyment certainly wasn't worth such a risk.