Volume 1, Chapter 10: Ghost Panic (1) (1/2)

Today as well, Infa(桜花, Ying Hua), ;a maid serving the Favoured Consort, Gyokuyou, will work with whole-hearted devotion. The other day, she committed the disgrace of sleeping in the middle of work, but Consort Gyokuyou, ;her master, did not even reprimand her. If that’s the case, she has no other option than to personally serve – she will thoroughly clean every single window frame down to the handrails.

Originally, this sort of act is unworthy for a maid, but even so, Infa will conduct herself as a maidservant. After all, Consort Gyokuyou had said that she loves hard workers.

She entered the kitchen to organise the tea utensils. The new maid was making something. Her name is Maomao. But since she rarely spoke, Infa wasn’t sure what kind of person she was. Only that, hearing that the girl had scars on her arm from abuse, sold and was now employed as the poison expert was unbelievably unbearable.

Infa had increased the girl’s meals to fatten up her skinny body and didn’t allow her to sweep, seeing how pitiful it was to see her exposed scars. The other two maids also thought the same way. As a result, Maomao didn’t have many jobs to do. ;This is fine, Infa thought.

The head maid Honnyan said that this wasn’t enough, and assigned Maomao to do the washing. As washing only required her to carry the basket, the scars on her arms won’t stand out. It seems she was also entrusted to do other small tasks.

“What are you making?” Infa asked.

There were herb-like things boiling in the pot.

“Cold medicine,” the new maid replied.

She stated the absolute minimum of what she needed to say. ;Surely, she is probably not good at socialising due to the after-effects of abuse, Infa thought to the point of tears.

As the new maid’s knowledge of medicine was deep, she made it this way sometimes. Infa had nothing to say about that as the girl cleans after herself perfectly, and Infa had recently received medicine for dry skin that was useful. Occasionally, it seems that Honnyan requests her to makes medicines as well.

Infa took out the silver teacups and meticulously polished them with a dry cloth.

Maomao didn’t speak much, but she’s a good listener; someone worth talking to. Infa told her about the strange rumour that had been going around recently.

The rumours of a white woman who danced in mid-air.

○●○

Maomao headed for the medical office, bringing along the laundry basket and the cold medicine she finished making with her. Just in case, she wanted to get the doctor’s judgement, even merely for form’s sake.

(An incident from a month ago?)

Maomao tilted her head at the conventional bizarre tale. This was yet another rumour she has never heard of before coming here. Shaoran had told her everything she had known as far as rumours went, so Maomao knew that this was a recent one.

The inner palace was surrounded by a wall. There was a deep moat on the other side of the wall and the only way to traverse the place was through the four directional gates. It was impossible to escape or raid the palace. It was said that the consort who had attempted to break out of the inner palace was still sleeping under the deep moat even now.

(Near the castle gate huh.)

There should be no buildings close by, only a pine forest.

(It was from the end of summer yeah.)

It was the harvest time for seasonal items.

As bad thoughts came to her head, she heard a detestable voice as if she was being targeted.

“Good work.”

Maomao maintained an expressionless face at the gorgeous peony-like smile. “No, not really,” she replied.

The medical office was close to the central gate in the south. The parlours of the three departments that govern the inner palace were also set up here. Jinshi usually appears there. As he is a eunuch, he should be in the Department of Inner Servants. But this man was not attached to any room. Rather, he looked over everything like an overseer.

(His position is higher than Palace Official Chief huh.)

It was possible he was the guardian of the current emperor, but it was hard to imagine that for a young man who looks around twenty. There’s no reason for him to specially become a eunuch if he was the emperor’s son either. It was also thinkable he was the guardian of Consort Gyokuyou, seeing as they are close. Rather….