Chapter Text
Lishu let herself enjoy the warm breeze drifting softly across her skin as she walked back to her pavilion with her lady in waiting, Kanan.
She was on her way back from having tea with Empress Dowager Anshi. It was expected of her to pay respects regularly, but Lishu didn’t mind as the Empress Dowager was always kind, and one of the only people she could converse with on a regular basis. If only Lady Ah Duo was still here. I miss her… She was brought out of her thoughts by Kanan. “Ah, it’s Master Jinshi!”
She looked up, and sure enough, the handsome Rear Palace manager was standing a short distance away. As usual, he looked like he had stepped out of a painting.
“Should we go greet him, milady?” Kanan asked.
Lishu nodded and mentally prepared herself. Master Jinshi was always so polite and charming, but she found herself often intimidated and flustered in the face of his heavenly visage. As she made her way over, she noticed that he was talking to someone--- the girl who had helped her out a few times. He called her “Apothecary,” but Lishu eventually learned that her name was Maomao. Maomao seemed more animated than usual (which was not saying much). She was practically bouncing on her toes as she pointed excitedly at some berries on the shrubs.
Lishu was about to call out to them when she saw Master Jinshi reply to Maomao with a smile. Master Jinshi smiling was nothing out of the ordinary; Lishu herself had also been a recipient of his smiles, but this time she stopped in her tracks. She had never seen that smile on him before. It was an unguarded smile that made him look boyish and radiant at the same time. And somehow, it made him infinitely more attractive. Lishu may not always grasp the situation, but at that moment, she realized that this was a side of himself he only showed to his Apothecary. The version of himself that he presented to Lishu and the masses, was just that, a façade for the masses.
Turning around, she dejectedly said to Kanan, “Actually, let’s just head back.”
She put her head down and turned around, lost in her feelings of inadequacy. It’s not like she thought she was special to Master Jinshi, but she still couldn’t help feeling disappointed, envious and a torrent of emotions she couldn’t even articulate. If she had looked up, she would have noticed the normally unflappable apothecary blushing in response.
If only someone would smile like that for me, and only me…
She thought maybe she finally found that someone nearly two years later, when a young man from her past showed up at Red Plum Village.