The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 3 (Light Novel)

Jinshi’s grip finally relaxed, and Maomao slithered out and tried to stand up—only to find herself pushed to the ground. She hadn’t been expecting it, and she collapsed, falling on her back. She looked down, and there was Jinshi. He shifted, crawling on top of her. A faint light, like a candle flame, danced in his eyes. “Very well.” He slowly set his hands behind her knees and lifted them up, putting the two of them in an even more compromising position than before. “Want to find out for yourself?” Jinshi was scowling.

Maomao got goosebumps all over and started sweating profusely. She realized belatedly that she’d pushed Jinshi too far.

And such a fine frog, no doubt.

Decently sized didn’t cover it, but that would do for now. Yes, “decently sized” would be enough.

“Hey, are you wiping your hand?”

see you’ve found yourself quite an interesting palace woman,” Anshi said in an attempt to change the subject.

“Someone who’s quite useful.”

It was true; she could hear it in his voice—but she could also tell it wasn’t everything. She’d fought and survived on this battlefield far longer than he. How many years did he think she had been watching him?

“I see.” She half-closed her eyes, feeling she had to communicate this much at least: “But if you don’t take care to hide your favorites, someone might hide them from you.”

And with that, Anshi returned to her own room.

“Very well.” He slowly set his hands behind her knees and lifted them up, putting the two of them in an even more compromising position than before. “Want to find out for yourself?” Jinshi was scowling.

“Hngh?!” Jinshi grunted. His heart rate shot up. Maomao looked up to find herself staring at Jinshi’s chin—she could see him biting his lip, hard. He seemed to be struggling, fighting with something.
The frog in his robe shifted as if it were alive.

“Who are you calling a frog?”

recalled he was an important official—Consort Loulan’s father. Was it just Maomao, or did this smell like trouble? She wanted to tell Jinshi not to drag her into anything that was going to be a huge headache. But then again, she wondered if a hunt might mean she got to eat some fresh meat. Maybe they would be hunting deer or rabbit. If I had the choice, I wouldn’t want rabbit meat as much as I’d want a rice cake made by a rabbit. An old fairy tale held that the rabbit in the moon produced medicine with a mallet.
“That sounds taxing. For both you and whoever accompanies you.”
“There’s a great deal at work here, you see.”
“And you wish to borrow my Maomao for this?”
“Yes. Borrow her back.”
Gyokuyou’s eyes glinted the way they always did when she’d latched onto something that amused her. “Does it really have to be Maomao? We have plenty of perfectly nice girls here.”
“No, I’ve told you I’d like her back, and that’s all.”
Maybe Maomao was just imagining the sparks that seemed to fly between Jinshi and Gyokuyou—or maybe not. In any event, Maomao took over fanning from Hongniang, who was getting tired.
“Hmmm,” Gyokuyou said. “Well, now, I wonder which girl I should lend you.”
“I’ve already told you which girl I want. All you need to do is give her back to me!”
Gyokuyou chortled merrily. “You keep calling her ‘her’ and ‘that girl.’”
“Yes? What about it?” Jinshi said, a bit peeved.
“Say, Gaoshun. What is it you call Maomao, again?” Gyokuyou inquired of the reticent attendant, unabashedly enjoying herself.
“Me, ma’am? ‘Xiaomao.’” Despite his serious demeanor, he called Maomao by quite a sweet nickname, “Little Cat.” In fact, he was such a soft touch that she’d sometimes known him to stop by the medical office just to play with the kitten.

had such confidence in his appearance, after all. And such a fine frog, no doubt.
Maomao was at a loss for the right thing to do, but if nothing else, she had to star

It would be sometime later before he learned. The man was his father, he was told, and the old woman his grandmother.

The man he had always believed was his father, he found out, was his own older brother.