The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 16 by Hyuganatsu

Author:Hyuganatsu [HYUGANATSU]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J-Novel Club
Published: 2026-05-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14: Yao’s Growth

Maomao was at the freak strategist’s house. She didn’t want to be, but she’d had no choice.

“You’re the one who dragged us into this,” said Yao, who had come out to greet her.

“I sort of got dragged into it, myself,” Maomao replied.

“Don’t you always?” Yao said with a sigh.

Yao and En’en were off today, and Maomao had received special dispensation to miss work. Some might look askance at three medical assistants missing work on the same day, but it was what it was. Dr. Liu had acceded with a “Gah!” when he heard the orders came directly from the Moon Prince. The old doctor, a.k.a. Doctor Old, a.k.a. Dr. Lao, was back at the village on the front lines of the smallpox outbreak, so Maomao and the others had to run many of their requests by Dr. Liu instead. That could be a bit intimidating, but at least they had safely obtained their time off.

I hope Dr. Lao hurries back...

And that Yo would come with him.

“Anyway, come on in. Mostly, En’en and I have been keeping an eye on her. But I hear Master Luomen will be coming soon.”

“Do you know when?”

Maomao herself didn’t get to see Luomen much anymore, since he was technically assigned to the rear palace. Eunuchs were allowed more freedom to come and go than the palace ladies were, but considering the recent arrival of a new high consort and the general unreliability of the quack doctor, Luomen didn’t get out much.

“I’m not sure. Sometime in the next few days, I think.”

Maomao scowled. She wanted to see Luomen, but she did not want to see the freak strategist. What to do, what to do?

“First things first. Where’s the patient?”

“In an annex near ours. En’en’s getting her meal ready now. But Maomao...”

“What?”

“Does this girl really come from a noble household?” Yao asked, openly perplexed.

“Well, hmm. She’s supposed to be fourteen years old and suffering from malnutrition.”

“She certainly is that.” Yao’s eyes went to the other annex.

“No! Don’t do that!” they heard En’en shout. Maomao blinked; it was very unusual for En’en to raise her voice.

The two of them rushed over to the patient’s room. There they found En’en, looking panicked and holding a stewpot over her head. Someone was stretching a desperate hand toward the pot.

“What the—?” Maomao said, her eyes going wide in spite of herself.

Zhizi clung to En’en, trying to get her hands on the stewpot. Her mouth was smeared with congee.

“She looks less like a proper young lady and more like a starving animal,” Yao said.

“I would agree,” Maomao said.

Come to think of it... She’d heard that Zhizi had been so hungry that she’d tried to eat frogs from the garden.

“I have to say, she struck me as somewhat more...demure,” Maomao said.

“How do you figure?”

When Maomao had met Zhizi, she had been wracked with malnutrition and poison, leaving her too weak to do anything. But those had been the only factors holding her back.

“Why, she’s so spirited I almost didn’t recognize her,” Maomao said.

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