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Her time as a prisoner of the bandits and energy spent over Miss Cheu's treatment caught up to Maomao two days after returning home.
A sniffle at first, and then a sore throat. For once, the quack's tendency to make tea was useful.
She kept working, though, as requests for medicine for the clinic were still coming in and Tianyu still spent most days there. There was no way in hell she could leave the quack alone, in case someone came in requiring assistance.
Despite his lack of ability, even he could tell when she came in the next day, slightly flushed and with a dry cough.
"Little lady! There's no need to push yourself. I'll make a soothing cup of tea with the cold medicine you made yesterday, and then you can go rest."
"I'm perfectly capable of working. And I'll wear a mask to avoid getting the two of you sick too." She brought up the fabric she had tied around her neck. Wearing it in the hallway would have been too conspicuous, so she had waited until she got to her destination.
"That's not what I'm worried about, little miss," Lihaku said. He was already scanning her over, most likely to gather details for a report to a certain someone. She glared at him. "Or at least, alternate between working and napping here."
"Fine. Master Lihaku, would you be so kind as to help brew the tea?" In other words, don't go running to Jinshi just yet!
The soldier agreed with his usual, cheerful attitude and got to work. Before long, the three of them were enjoying a hot cup of tea. Maomao was discontent with the fact that she was using up medical supplies that could be put to much better use at the clinic, but it would have been more work to resist the quack and Lihaku.
She went about her work as normal, trying to give Lihaku tasks to stay in the room. There was little she could do, though, and before long he stepped out of the room to send a message via a passing guard.
Well, there goes my peaceful day.
It wouldn't be long before Master Jinshi would come to waste his time to needlessly worry over her, insisting she rest or have Dr. Lee look her over or any other exceedingly annoying thing. Perhaps she could hide.
"I'm going to get some fresh air and work in the greenhouse," Maomao announced.
"What happened to resting?" Lihaku asked pointedly.
"Master Lihaku is quite right, little lady. Gardening is strenuous work."
"I'll be sure not to do anything too strenuous," Maomao assured them. This was really annoying. "I mostly want to check on my herbs."
She walked out the door. Lihaku sighed behind her and made some hurried arrangements before following her.
Maomao felt a pang in her chest. Normally, Miss Chue would act as her bodyguard if she left the medical office, since Lihaku's official assignment was to protect the quack. She hoped Miss Chue was surviving her mother-in-law's care.
When they got to the greenhouse, Maomao put Lihaku to work with weeding the garden while she knelt to examine how everything was growing. Since they were far apart from one another, Maomao let down her mask.
The lemongrass was doing well and the chamomile needed more time, but the mint--she inhaled, wanting to evaluate its potency. The strong fragrance irritated her lungs and threw her into a coughing fit at the exact moment, of course, that footsteps approached her.
"Maomao?" Jinshi knelt down next to her and placed a hand gently on her back.
She fumbled to put her mask back on, but failed with the tie. Instead, she turned away and held the fabric up to her face.
"Master Jinshi," she croaked after a moment. Still turned away, she tried to tie the mask back on with unsteady hands.
"Allow me," he said quietly, swiftly placing his hands over hers to deftly tie the knot. "Is that alright?"
"Forgive me for not being presentable, sir," she said, ignoring his question and the fact that his presence was actually sort of comforting. Maomao faced him again and met Jinshi's worried eyes.
"It's fine. How do you feel?" He reached out, intending to take Maomao's temperature. She recoiled.
"Sir, I am unclean. It would not do anyone any good if you were to take ill."
Jinshi pouted at that but put his hand down. "Come with me."
He rose, and she followed. At some point, Lihaku had been replaced with Gaoshun, who followed them back to the Moon Prince's chambers.
"Since you can't be trusted to take care of yourself," Jinshi said, pointing at the couch. "You will rest here while I work."
Uh-oh
Taomei was already giving her a look to be on her best behavior. "Sir, I would not want to distract you."
"Oh, so you're distracting?" He raised a somewhat salacious eyebrow at her, earning himself a reproving look from Taomei. "I'd much rather know how you're doing than not."
So she was served tea and snacks and handed some encyclopedias to browse. She was offered soup too, but since no one else was eating it hardly seemed appropriate to accept.
Work resumed. There was quite a bit of discussion between Jinshi and his aides, so the room was rarely quiet. Maomao tried to muffle her coughs as much as possible to avoid disturbing the discourse, but felt the weight of Jinshi's stare every time despite her efforts.
Eventually, her eyes grew heavy.
One moment, they were closed. In another, they were flying open--a reaction to Taomei's looming presence. Maomao straighted and pinched herself. Falling asleep here would be extremely disrespectful, and she hadn't gotten over the indiscretion of falling asleep on top of Jinshi not three days ago.
But pinching was only a temporary fix.
"Maomao? Maomao?" Jinshi's voice cut through cut through her sleepy haze.
"Yes, sir?"
"If you'd like to lie down, you may use my bed."
That woke her up. "If I may, sir, I'd prefer to rest in my room."
"Mine will be more comfortable."
"It's quite alright, sir. Lady Suiren would have to clean after I leave, and I would hate to give her more work unnecessarily."
Jinshi glanced between Gaoshun and Taomei and Maomao. He frowned at his inability to come up with an excuse to keep her here and acquiesced.
Gaoshun escorted her back and wished her a speedy recovery.
Thankful that she had successfully avoided Jinshi's hospitality again, Maomao settled down for a nice long nap.
***
Jinshi knocked lightly on the door. There was no response.
"She must still be asleep," he whispered to Suiren.
"It's very likely, young master, but we had better wake her. She hasn't eaten enough today." Suiren stepped to the front. "Allow me to enter first and make sure everything is in order."
She slipped in quietly, leaving Jinshi and Gaoshun with a tray of food to wait. A moment later, she opened the door.
"Come, I think it'd be quite alright if you were to wake her, young master."
That was all the excuse Jinshi needed to glide right into the room on silent feet. Maomao was sprawled out on the bed, not even changed into nightwear. Her breathing was even and her complexion had nearly returned to normal.
He brushed hair away from her forehead. "Maomao? Maomao?"
She stirred and coughed a little but did not open her eyes.
Bemused, Jinshi put one knee on the bed to lean over and brush his lips against her forehead.
She stirred again, this time her eyes slowly opening. "Master Jinshi," she greeted him cooly. "To anyone else it would appear that you came to take advantage of me."
Jinshi blushed furiously, frozen in shock and noticing for the first time exactly what kind of position he was in (his hair hanging low enough to brush against her neck, one knee by her hip and one arm by her head holding himself up such that, if he had wanted, he could swing the rest of his body over her).
She smirked. Some other body part, one that he had been trying desperately not to think about, was tired of being ignored, and Jinshi had to make a hurried retreat beforethat accidentally brushed against her too.
He cleared his throat and busied himself with getting Gaoshun and the food settled on Maomao's desk. The apothecary got up and was having her robes neatened by the ever-attentive Suiren.
"I brought you dinner," Jinshi said, gesturing to the bowl of chicken congee and cup of water. "Something easy on your stomach."
"Thank you for your consideration, Master Jinshi," Maomao replied, bowing. Jinshi fought the urge to frown. She tended to revert to formalities when one of them was feeling awkward or embarrassed, but he always preferred her unfiltered self.
"Of course," he acknowledged her obeisance. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better, sir. I expect to be well by tomorrow."
"Good. I can't imagine what state you would be in now if you hadn't taken the time to rest," he lightly chastised. She made no reply, instead showing her feelings, probably quite unknowingly, with a faint scowl.
"Then, if you're feeling up to it, would you care to join me for tea after your meal?"
The faint scowl remained, though her tone was polite. "No, thank you, Master Jinshi. I would prefer to rest and be of full service tomorrow."
Too much of Jinshi today, then. "I understand. Enjoy your meal, Maomao."
"Enjoy your evening, sir." She bowed as he swept out of the room. However, before he and Gaoshun fully closed the door, Jinshi caught a glimpse of Maomao digging into the congee with relish. He smiled.