The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 8 [Parts 1 to 12] by Natsu Hyuuga

Author:Natsu Hyuuga
Language: eng
Format: epub

The pork buns En’en had been making were burned to a crisp. She’d prepared a multiple of three, which made Maomao think (or at least hope) that En’en had been including her, but it was impossible to work up any desire to eat the blackened food.

“I’ll clean up later,” En’en said, deflated. She seemed less upset about wasting food than the prospect of having to scrape up the charred bits.

That’s going to be a chore, all right, Maomao thought.

Congee and soup made for a somewhat simpler meal than usual, but En’en’s baitang was exquisite, as Maomao reaffirmed to herself with every sip. She’d asked for the recipe once, but En’en wouldn’t tell her—she’d only looked at Yao and grinned. Maomao had decided it seemed wise not to press the subject.

I do wonder what’s in it, though. Unlike Yao, Maomao didn’t mind lowbrow ingredients, so it didn’t really matter to her what was involved.

Yao looked somewhat disappointed by the dearth of side dishes, but she thoughtfully held her tongue when she saw how despondent En’en already was. As mistress-servant relationships went, this one was highly functional—in Maomao’s view, because Yao was there to be the object of En-en’s intense if not necessarily requited affections..

She picked up a scallop with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth. It was still full of flavor. “By the way, Yao, did you want something with me?” she asked. The entire chain of events that had led to the burned food had, after all, begun with Yao coming to Maomao’s room. She was too timid to visit Maomao without a good reason, or at least a good excuse.

“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Yao said, setting down her chopsticks, which still had some pork between them. She took a piece of paper from the folds of her robes. “I’ve got a schedule here.”

“What kind of schedule?”

The physicians from the medical office often had to be on-site when there was a festival or ritual occasion, so each month the office produced a schedule showing if and when any doctors would be required for anything. As Yao unfolded the paper, Maomao saw two very familiar words:

“A garden party!”

Indeed. The bane of all the consorts in the rear palace in these days when winter was approaching.

“It looks like it’s mainly that and the end-of-year observances,” En’en said, peeking over their shoulders.

“But isn’t it a little late for a garden party?” Maomao asked. She felt like the year before, the party had taken place at least a month earlier. There wouldn’t be any flowers left to admire in the garden by now.

“It is,” En’en confirmed. “But if I had to guess, I would say this party is just a cover.” Her fingers brushed the words on the page. She always seemed very in-the-know about what was going on. “I think it’s a chance for them to present the new ‘name-holder.’ The one they’ve kept putting off.”

“You mean the ‘Jade’?”

The jade, that was to say, gyoku: as in Gyokuen, father of Empress Gyokuyou.

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