Chapter Text
The morning air was quite cool and humid when Maomao awoke. Surprisingly, she had rested well with no dreams. Her refreshed state was dampened when she realized what her day had planned. She groaned and got up to start herself breakfast and get ready to head out. She knew Miss Chue would arrive at the dorms sooner rather than later to come collect her.
After a simple breakfast, she dressed in the robes she had laid out the night before. She gathered into her robes her usual baubles of medicine pouches, needle and thread, and writing utensils. Just as she was smoothing the fabric down, a curt knock came from her door. A loud drawled voice called through the wood,
"Miss Maomao, Miss Maomao! Miss Chue is here to collect you! Are you ready to go?"
Maomao walked to the door and opened it. Miss Chue stood with her good hand against the doorframe and leaned, posing like a flirtatious cad. Mockingly greeting Maomao.
"Miss Chue, Miss Chue. Don't you think it's too early for such inciting gibes first in the morning?"
"Depends on who it's for, no?"
The two chortled and gathered themselves and headed out, leaving the quiet dormitory. The rain had let up, but the sky was still overcast, promising more rainfall. Foreboding.
Maomao turned towards the clinic and walked at a brisk pace with Miss Chue at her heels. They still had to pick up the requests and papers at the office from Dr. Liu. Maomao realized she had not received them when she left the office, simply forgetting to ask the older man yesterday.
Void of morning small talk, they both arrived at the clinic. Maomao expected Dr. Liu to still be there, since he was usually the first one to arrive every day, no matter the weather. He was seated, enjoying a cup of tea in the morning quiet to himself. He was looking out the window, captured by the dewy dimness past the clinic's walls. At the sound of entry, he turned to them.
"Morning, Maomao. Morning, Miss Chue. I assume you're here to pick up the papers and be on your way to see Kokuyou. Here you go."
"Dr. Liu. Morning. Yes, I've come to take them."
"Good morning to you, too, doctor!" Miss Chue chirped. Anyone could feel the hum of her body shaking a little dance, her usual trait of never standing still.
Staying seated, Dr. Liu grabbed a small stack of papers rolled into scrolls in front of him and held them out to Maomao.
"Remember to answer any questions Kokuyou may have, Maomao. This matter is urgent, but it is not something you cannot handle. You will find out soon enough."
"Yes, sir."
Maomao grabbed the papers, deciding to wrap them in cloth and deposit them into a small basket with a cover. This should prevent them from getting too wet from any drizzle. She was worried about what to do when it actually started to rain.
"Do not fret, Miss Maomao! I have just the thing for your troubles in the carriage!"
Maomao nodded, a little skeptical, but accepted her companion's answer.
"We'll be leaving now, Dr. Liu. I hope your meetings go on with little trouble."
"And Miss Chue will be sure to take good care of Miss Maomao. Yup! I will make sure you have your token staff back!"
Dr. Liu let out a gruff murmur that implied small talk was over and turned back to his tea. Now dismissed, Maomao and Miss Chue exited the clinic. Miss Chue led the way to where a carriage was indeed waiting for them.
They climbed into the confined space and settled into their seats, placing the basket of papers into an allotted seat. Miss Chue produced a medium-sized box that looked to be lined in leather on the outside. Its make and material screamed expensive, arousing a familiar knot in Maomao's stomach. The purpose had to be to hold the papers they carried in a drier transit if the weather betrayed the basket.
"Miss Chue. Where did you even get such a fine thing like that?"
"Ho ho ho! Let's just say a certain personage wanted your errand today to be as manageable as possible for you, Miss Maomao! They were very insistent on this wonderful care package once they understood the details of what you would be carrying."
Maomao reached out to touch the box, but found the box pushed into her hands and lap. The box seemed to have two parts to the angular thing, similar to a wooden crate. There were no holes on the top or bottom. Its surface had animal leather stretched across every corner and well-polished. Any chance of wetness didn't seem possible to enter unless it was to be submerged, which Maomao hoped wouldn't happen on a day like this. Lest it cause her to repeat the day.
Lifting the tight lid, she noticed the inside was also covered in leather. That was impressive. Such a fine case had to cost more than the carriage they rode, horse and all.
"This is impressive. I've never seen such a box designed this way."
"Yes! Miss Chue was proud of herself to haggle- er- be gifted a box from a very important royal personage for you!"
Lifting an eyebrow at the fault in that sentence, Maomao stayed quiet. She kept the box in her lap and reached toward the basket of papers. She lifted the cover and placed the cloth-wrapped papers into the box. They fit perfectly. There was even room for another scroll or two if needed. The lid was snugly placed back in its place, safe from any rainfall that threatened its contents.
With the papers secured, the two debated what they should eat for dinner as the carriage rolled towards the pleasure district.
Maomao carried on the conversation like normal, but her nerves were beginning to prickle on her neck, and her grip on the box tightened ever so slightly. She would have to see Kokuyou again. How would she react? It was not typical for her to be so worried about keeping her composure. Their conversation left her uneasy, yet she'd been in weirder situations that called for this reaction more. Miss Chue seemed to notice her ongoing inner turmoil even if it wasn't entirely obvious to most passersby.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head, Miss Maomao! Miss Chue will jump in any moment to save the day! Any chance of a reward for such acts will be much welcomed!"
Somewhat brisked at the comment, Maomao said,
"I do not think there would be any need for heroic acts today. It's a simple errand."
She paused and added, "But thank you, Miss Chue."
Her companion was there during the last visit with Kokuyou. She knew the effect it had on Maomao. How that encounter pushed her to seek comfort in the presence of a particular noble. On Miss Chue's end, she hoped the young woman didn't push herself too much. That would make Miss Chue's job harder and easier at the same time.
Miss Chue seemed satisfied by her answer and looked out the small window of the carriage. They finally arrived in the depths of the pleasure district. Maomao let all the sounds of the morning routine outside ring into her ears, familiar and comforting. Being on her turf, her home, did lessen the tension in her hands. Just a little.
They finally arrived at the Verdigris house. The entrance looked lackluster against the cloudy atmosphere in contrast to its normal setting, as esteemed as a brothel could be. Though not nearly as sumptuous as the rear palace, of course.
Maomao and Miss Chue stepped out of the carriage, box of papers in hand. They stepped through the outer entrance of the building. As they reached the main entrance, they saw an old, withered figure of a woman, smoking a pipe. A smoldering gaze fell on Maomao.
"Tsk. Maomao, I hope you at least brought someone we can make a customer on a day like this."
"Hello, Grams. No, I did not bring anyone of the sort. I'm here for work."
"Sounds like an excuse to me!"
"Is anyone in the shop? I need to see Kokuyou and Sazen."
"Yeah, they're inside. You better bring me a customer next visit, Maomao. Such a waste of a gloomy day if you can't bring one in to shelter them from the rain with one of the girls. Kokuyou didn't bother bringing anyone either when came by!"
Maomao grumbled impolitely under her breath. That earned her a knuckle on the head, sharp as a knife. Miss Chue could only whistle with a mock air of innocence as if it had nothing to do with her. The Madame gave the short woman a discretionary once-over, and hmphed her way further into the establishment. The two followed.
"Couldn't your escort at least be a man? Gah!"
Still rubbing her head, Maomao said,
"Let's go to the shop. Hey, Grams. Can you put together a private room? I need to discuss some things with Kokuyou."
"Just him? Don't expect a private meeting room to be free! Especially if it's for work."
"Yes, I know. I brought something along that should suffice your stingi-ahem- rate."
Maomao reached into the folds of her robes and took out a pouch. The pouch was uncharacteristically nicer and bigger than any medicine parcel would look. The Madame snatched the pouch and opened it up, peering inside. Then she guffawed.
"Ho! This doesn't look like money to me! But I would say that it should cover a share of your tab today. Consider it a deposit for the bill."
Inside the pouch held the very thing smoking from the old woman's pipe. Tobacco. Very expensive and rich tobacco. Just the look and smell of the drug showed its value in quality. Maomao had taken pains to get such high quality tobacco in her hands, only to be forced to give it away. Not that she was would smoke it herself. She was hoping to save it for a rainy day, but she had her qualms with it being used on an actual rainy day like this.
Appeased with her bribe, the Madame crooked her finger to follow along to the apothecary shop. The Verdgris House usually had a distinct hum of business, even on a slow day. But the sound of quiet laughter only echoed through the halls of the aligned many rooms. This did no favors for Maomao's growing nerves. At the shop's the entrance, they could hear voices of sprightly murmurs beyond the door.
"Alright, gals. I'll set up one of the smaller parlors. Take your time for now. The room will be ready whenever you need it, Maomao."
"Thanks, Grams."
The old woman just tsked and shuffled to make the preparations.
"Alrighty! Let's get this over with! Miss Chue will start to feel peckish if we don't hurry for a late lunch, Miss Maomao!"
Maomao didn't answer her and pushed the door open. There sat two men, hunched over a mortar and pestle. The smell of herbs and medicine filled her nostrils. Today, the existence of medicine did wonders to calm her stiff posture rather than excite her.
The two men jumped at the sound of the door opening. They turned their bodies and greeted the two women.
"M-m-Maomao! Welcome home! You're finally home, right?"
Sazen immediately stood on his feet with his face scrunched into a mixture of relief and teary-eyed hope. He strode over to Maomao in mere steps. He still had dark rings under his eyes, but she noted that his pallor seemed better and his hair was longer. He seemed to be doing okay.
"Am I glad to see you! Kokuyou here and I were mixing up some stuff here, and I'm having trouble getting the amount right. Please help me!"
"I will help once I take care of the business for why I am here, Sazen. I'm glad to see you're looking alright."
Sazen huffed out a sigh of relief, then he took notice of Miss Chue and greeted her with a dipped bow rather gentleman-like.
"Hello, miss. My name is Sazen. I help Maomao and her father run this shop."
"My! Hello to you too, Mister Sazen! The name's Miss Chue! Sorry to get off on the wrong foot here, but Miss Chue here is married and very much a busy woman. So any interest must be squashed to keep everyone happy!"
Sazen blushed and stammered at the blunt affront. Miss Chue only peeped a giggle and stepped to the side of Sazen and greeted Kokuyou, who was now also standing from where he sat.
"Hello, there! Sorry to barge in like this. Miss Maomao here has business with you, so pay no mind to Miss Chue here. Come now, poor Sazen. Perhaps you can show me where a lady can partake in some refreshments!"
Miss Chue guided a still flustered Sazen out of the shop and into the hall of the brothel. She gave Maomao a discreet wink as if to say, I'm not leaving, don't worry! She was already expertly leading him away and distracting him to fetch some treats of some sort.
With the storm that is Miss Chue now passed, Maomao turned her attention back to the man who was simply standing in the middle of the room. Nothing looked out of the ordinary from his usual getup.
He still had a dark fabric covering half his face, hair still partially swept to the side in an extra effort to cover the pockmark scars. Maomao finally looked into his eye. His face looked downright cheerful. For some reason, she was nervous to see his face again, but now she was irked to see such casualness in his demeanor.
Kokuyou greeted her first,
"Hullo, Maomao!"
"Hello, Kokuyou."
Maomao wanted to hard swallow, but she stepped into the room and closed the shop door behind her as naturally as possible while holding the box she was carrying. She needed to get this over with as soon as possible.