Volume 6, Chapter 5: Nepotism (1/2)

With Maomao included, the five court ladies who were assistant to the court physicians will be training for the job at the medical office near the military training grounds for the first month give or take. Speaking of why the one in the military grounds, it was the place with most work.

Maomao might have gotten Jinshi’s recommendation, but she was told that doesn’t mean that she would be getting special treatment. So, she had to land herself the job properly for the first time since entering and leaving the inner palace.

Warriors would be carried in every day. Scratches and cuts were commonplace, and the occasional injuries that required stitching weren’t few either.

It was the perfect place for them to get used to the job.

(It’s unexpectantly serious, huh.)

Maomao had thought that the post was made just for show. She had thought that the other newcomer court ladies were all working here to find a husband, but–

(The ones who are trying unexpectantly hard are those two.)

Out of the other four people, those two worked briskly. The court lady who appeared to be the leader of the clique and a quiet court lady. The remaining two were unmotivated; they had fainted at the first sight of blood last time. Though they got used to it after a couple of days, they still made faces. It would be better if they just stopped, seeing how they grimaced whenever they saw sweaty and grimy military officials.

“En’en, pass me the bandages please.” “Yes, Yao-sama.”

(En’en: 燕燕, yan yan in Chinese. Swallow2 as in the bird) (Yao: 姚, yao in Chinese)

The one called En’en seemed to be the attendant of the court lady called Yao. Everyone was taken as colleagues here, but as far as Maomao could see with their behaviour, their hierarchical relationship was clear.

As usual, their treatment towards Maomao was harsh. Since they only spoke as little as possible to her, Maomao didn’t chat much. As long as they didn’t speak to her, Maomao won’t speak to them, so could this be something that goes both ways?

The court physicians also worked the court ladies hard, but Maomao was used to this kind of work, so she didn’t need to ask anyone to help her.

As a result, Maomao finished her job without getting close to anyone.

“Can I ask a question?” a court physician asked.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Isn’t the work and all hard?”

When work ended today, a court physician came to speak to her while she was cleaning and drying the used bandages. She felt that she had seen him before—she had gone to the medical office when she was working at Jinshi’s place; it was the court physician that was often there. He was still young and wore glasses.

“Not really,” she replied.

“You look like you eat alone during meals though.”

“The food here is delicious.”

Lunch was served to them. Maomao, who didn’t eat much, also went for seconds. They could have seconds here, unlike the inner palace.

“No, that’s not what I mean. Isn’t it painful to be blatantly ignored?” he said.

“Even if you say that, when the others ask me, it’ll get easy for them, and it is rare to have it go the opposite way.”

It was the others who have it harder. Occasionally, she wasn’t given word about important messages, but since there was a weirdo who would glare at the court physician who was scolding Maomao from the window outside, there was nothing they could say. Multiple times he appeared in the day, and every time he continued to be hauled back by his subordinates.

Rather, the ones who have it the hardest would have to be court physicians who were teaching them.

“It’s hard for me to get along, but I more or less know a way to handle the weirdo,” Maomao said.

“…please tell me,” the court physician said.

For the time being, she put out Ruomen’s name. She was sorry for her dad, but Maomao was annoyed by the fact that that old man was clinging to her.

“Can I ask a question?” the court physician said, while troubled by the monocle old man who was peering at them from the shades of the trees. It seems he’d turned up without them realising again. The old man’s eyes were stabbing into the court physician who was talking to Maomao. “What’s your relationship with Tactician-sama?”

“He’s a stranger.”

“No, then…”

“He’s a stranger,” Maomao stated and continued with her washing.

Ever since she started working at the medical office, she stayed in the lodgings near the imperial court. In terms of distance, it wasn’t an issue to commute from the pleasure district, but it was about avoiding strange rumours from spreading about the place she was living in.

(I feel it’s a bit late for that, though.)

Still, people want to preserve their reputations.

Her dad also lived in the same lodging as Maomao. Naturally, court physicians also work night shifts, so there weren’t few people who just stay in the nap room near the medical office. It appears her dad rarely returned to the lodgings.

The sizes of the rooms weren’t large or small. It was large enough to have a bed and a cabinet, as well as a desk, so Maomao had no complaints. It was also furnished with a bookshelf. Books were valuables so they couldn’t buy so much, but she was told that if you get permission, you can borrow the books in the medical office.

This lifestyle wasn’t that bad for Maomao. However, the meals needed to be individually prepared. There was also an eating house nearby, but she often borrowed the stove to cook congee.

While sitting on the bed, she opened the letters she had received at noon. There were two letters—one was from the pleasure district, so it was a report about the happenings at the pharmacy. The madam was keeping a close eye on Kokuyou, but he hadn’t shown any strange actions lately. Sazen seemed to be doing well too.