Kusuriya no Hitorigoto

Chapter 13

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There were the sounds of something falling with a crash.
The tuber and grain porridge, tea and pureed fruit went everywhere.

"Did you think to serve Rifa-sama this kind of peasant food? Make it all over again."

The corners of the court lady"s eyes were raised. She is one of the lady"s maid attached to Consort Rifa, a young woman with a face of gaudy make-up.

(Ahh, what a pain.)

She cleaned up the fallen food and picked up the plates while heaving a sigh.

Maomao was at the Crystal Palace.
Consort Rifa"s residence.

She was surrounded by a great number of glares.
There were looks of ridicule, scorn, and bare animosity.

As a maid who served Consort Gyokuyou, this place was just like enemy territory.
She was standing on a bed of nails.

It was when the emperor appeared at Consort Gyokuyou"s place last night.
She had tasted for poison as usual and was planning to leave the room.

"I have a request for the doctor from the rumours."

She was called for the first time.

(What is this rumour you"re speaking of?)

The emperor"s age was somewhere around the mid-thirties, a great man growing a beautiful moustache. The one who holds the highest authority in the country, it was no wonder and couldn"t be helped that Maomao was glared at by the court ladies. She just thought, "I want to try touching his long moustache".

"What will it be?"

She respectfully lowered her head. It was just as she wanted to leave before taking a humble correspondence with a maidservant"s social position.

"Consort Rifa"s condition is bad. Will you look at her for me for a while?"

That.

The emperor"s words were the heaven"s word.
Maomao, who wanted her head and body to remain close with each other, had no choice but to reply with "Your pleasure."

"Look after her" had the same meaning as "Cure her".

Be that as it may that his favour for her was gone, it could either be that affection remained to some extent, or it could also be that he couldn"t disregard the daughter of an influential person.
If Maomao can"t cure her, her head will fly.
Their lives were linked.

As he is entrusting this to a young girl, it is at best due to the reason that the inner palace medical officers were usually unreliable, or that there was no issue with her dying. Either way, it was an irresponsible request.

(At any rate, it"s not something you talk about in front of another consort.)

Maomao, taking up such a request, ate her dinner leisurely and deeply thought that the emperor was as she thought what an emperor would be like, to perform friendly things with Consort Gyokuyou.

The first thing she should do when she sees Consort Rifa is to improve her eating habits.

At present within the Inner Palace, due to Jis.h.i.+n"s words, the poisonous face powder was not allowed to be used. If merchants were found to sell it, they would be thoroughly punished cruelly.

If that"s the case, then getting rid of the poison that is left in her body was the first priority.

Although the meal was served with porridge, it was an extravagant affair with fried fish with ankake broth, stewed pork, red and white manjuu with shark fin and crab. It was nutritious, but overly heavy for a sick person with a weak stomach.

She ordered the cook to redo it while trying not to drool herself. With the imperial command, Maomao, who gave off the air of a humble maidservant, was able to maintain authority.

The meal consisted of porridge high in fibre, tea with diuretic effect, and easily digestible fruit.

It was regrettable that she threw up on the bed some time ago.

Other than criticising the imperial command, the maids wasn"t pleased with the bad looking maidservant who serves Consort Gyokuyou.
Maomao had a lot of things she wanted to say, but she firmly put up with it and cleaned up.

A lady"s maid bought in another luxurious and gorgeous meal, and carried it towards Consort Rifa, but a short time later most hands left without cleaning up. The remainders became the reward for the lowly maidservants.

Just as she wanted to perform palpation, the lady"s maids shadowed her around the canopied bed, and so she nursed her, completely failing to be respectful. When the powder on the sleeping place was slapped, she only coughed once,

"Because there"s a peasant here. The air is bad."

And was driven out of the room.
The chances of her getting cured is low.

(She will certainly waste away if it keeps up like that.)

It could either be that her body couldn"t eject the over-acc.u.mulated poison in time, or that she will not have enough vitality.
If you take away food, a person will die. They lose the energy to live.

She leaned against the wall in front of the room. Until the day her head separates from her body, she will count the days with her fingers. As she thought that, she heard a lovely voice from her surroundings.

She had an extremely unpleasant sensation and looking up with an extremely serious face, she saw an extremely lovely face smiling extremely cheerfully. [T/N: lol]

"You looked troubled by something."

"Do I look like that?"

She replied monotonously with her eyes half-closed.

"You do look like that."

He was staring intently at her, so her gaze gradually strayed. His long eyelashes neared as he attempted to follow.
If their eyes met, she would look at him as though she was touching garbage, a conditioned reflex.

"What"s with that girl?"

She heard malicious whispering. It was the maidservant who dismissed the meals.
Maomao really felt like running away. The air around her became terrible.

A sweet, honey voice spoke close to her ears.

"Let"s enter for the time being."

Before she nodded, they shut themselves into the room.

As she entered, the followers in the room glared at her even more grimly than just then.
But when they gazed at the one with the look of a celestial maiden next to her, those looks subsided into light smiles.

Women are really scary.

"Taking out the person the emperor arranged is not becoming of beautiful, talented women."

She bit her lip at Jis.h.i.+n"s words, and softly retreated from the front of the bed.

"Now, go."

With a push from her back, Maomao pitched forward.

With a bow, she stood in front of the bed, and took hold of the pale hand with light veins.
She also had experience in things to do with being a doctor, not just medicine.

Consort Rifa"s eyes were closed, she did not resist. Maomao didn"t know if she was sleeping or awake. Half her soul had already flowed to the other world.

To look under the eyelids, she hung her fingers on the consort"s face.
Her fingers slipped at the feel of the smoothness.
Her skin was pure white, not different from before.

(The same skin colour as before?)

Maomao"s face stiffened. She turned towards the maids.
Standing amid the group, she heard a low voice, as if to crush her to death. It was the girl who slapped the powder some time ago.

"The one who put on the make-up on the consort, was it you?"

"Yes, that"s right. It is the duty worthy of a lady"s maid after all."

As Maomao stared into her, the lady"s maid answered while panicking in some way. She was bluffing with all her might.

"I want Rifa-sama to be always beautiful."

As if to say she was right.

"I see."

There was a loud slap.

The lady"s maid collapsed, her strength leaving her, having no idea what just happened.
Maomao"s cheeks and ears were strangely hot.

"What are you doing!"

Amid the dumbfounded group, one person flared up on Maomao.

"Hah? I"m just disciplining a fool."

Speaking in that disdainful way, she grabbed the collapsed maid by the hair and dragged her along.
She stopped the front of the dressing table, emptying her hands and reached for the engraved container.
Opened the lid, covered the maids with its contents.

They coughed violently. Their eyes teared up.

"Isn"t that great. With this you"ll be pretty like the consort."

Pulling up the maid"s hair, she smiled like a beast that hunted its game.

"The poisonous essence pa.s.ses through the whole body, from the pores, the mouth, the nose. You will acquire hands like withered branches, sunken eye sockets, skin that has lost its complexion, just like the Rifa-sama you adore."

"N, no way…."

"Why? Didn"t you know it was forbidden? They even told you it was poison!!"

"B,but. It"s the most beautiful. We thought Rifa-sama would be happy."

"Who would be happy with a poison that gives them a revenant’s death."

Like she was speaking to children, Maomao clicked her tongue and released her hold from the maid"s hair. Several strands of long hair remained on her fingers.

"Hurry up, go rinse your mouths. Go wash your faces too."

After she saw off the court ladies who scrambled out of the room in haste, she then looked at the other frightened maids.

"Oi, at this rate, you"ll touch a sick person. Hurry up and clean."

She pointed up to the shelves she scattered and the powder covered bed.
The lady"s maids trembled in fright and came back with cleaning equipment.

She crossed her arms and let out a huff.

"Women are really scary."

Both hands in his sleeves, Jis.h.i.+n muttered to himself.
She forgot about his existence.

"Ah."

Maomao suddenly felt her blood rus.h.i.+ng from her head, and crouched down at that spot.

T/N: No chapter tomorrow. See you guys the day after o/

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