Work Text:
Maomao was bored out of her mind.
Maybe she was being illogical, the less commotion happening would in turn lead to a decrease in the amount of tragedies going on in the palace grounds.
She had to admit though, she didn’t hate solving a mystery or two. The thought of cracking open a new case even enlightened her.
In addition, Lady Gyokuyou’s palace was practically spotless due to her hard work. She finally decided after a while of walking around the elegant palace that she’d go and check out the garden that she’s been taking care of as of late.
She picked up one of the coats gifted to her, and jogged over to the outer courts, her straw bag bouncing on her back with each step she took.
On the way there, her eyes strayed to a small shrub near Master Jinshi’s office.
*Isn’t he too supposedly too busy to take up gardening?* she thought to herself.
She approached the small shrub and picked at one of the flowers, small bits of snow falling into her gloved hands.
Oh, jasmines.
*These aren’t even in season yet…he was probably gifted these then.* she concluded, picking one of the flowers out of the bush and twirling it between her thumb and pointer finger.
It’s no wonder whoever chose these gifted it to him, purple is his colour. It must’ve been a hassle trying to get these though.
She brought the flower closer to her face and sniffed one of the flowers carefully. She closes her eyes, as she releases a small hum. She smiles softly, remembering how her father commonly planted these in his garden. Obviously, they weren’t for decoration like Jinshi’s jasmines, but he would let her keep one or two of them.
She opened her eyes, and stared down at the flowers.
“These must have been gifted by a high ranking individual, with how pricy these flowers can be here… especially off season.” She murmured to herself. She was so engrossed in the beautiful flowers however, she didn’t realize her hands were going numb until she finally snapped out of her thoughts.
She let out a shaky puff of air. Bits of vapor could be seen swirling in the air, before dissipating.
She lifted her head and looked over at the door leading to Jinshi’s office.
*Should i ask him if I could stay there for a bit…?* she pondered.
She shook her head, *Why would I even want to try? This is Jinshi we’re talking about, who knows how long he’d keep her there if she did.*
She stared off at the vase of flowers Jinshi had sitting on a small circular table by his window.
…but then she could ask him if she could take some of his jasmines…
…
*Maybe this one time, I could try it out.* Maomao clambered, before shakily knocking on the door, holding her coat close to her chest.
“Come in” she heard from the other side.
She caught a glimpse of Jinshi scrambling to cover something on what she supposed was a pile of documents before entering.
“Pardon the intrusion, Master Jinshi.”
Jinshi’s back was inclined just the littlest bit and his arms lay awkwardly on his side.
“Apothecary! My, what a surprise!” He simpered the way he always did for the unknowing ladies in the palace.“How can I be of service to you today?”
Maomao’s eyes narrowed down at his odd behavior, biting her bottom lip in thought. She honestly thought he would be better at hiding things from people, considering that’s all he really does.
She took a few steps forward, her eyes scanning Jinshi’s office, before landing on his desks.
Jinshi’s hands were sprawled out, covering a specific piece of paper on the side of his desk.
She lifted her head and finally faced Jinshi’s knitted eyebrows and forced smile. “What are you hiding?” Maomao inquired, her tone harsh with suspicion.
“I fail to see how it involves you.” Jinshi shifted his hands to cover more of the paper he seemed to have scribbled on prior to her barging in.
“It doesn’t, I’m just curious. Why, is it confidential?” Jinshi shook his head no, his smile finally fading.
“Then?” Jinshi sighs, his eyes scanning her face for a moment before finally speaking up,
“It’s just something that I shouldn’t be doing while at work.”
Maomao choked, slapped a hand on her mouth. She didn’t even want to know what that meant-
“No, not in that sort of way.” Jinshi let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose as he slumped over his desk.
“I’m not that weird, Maomao.”
*that’s up for debate.* Maomao thought to herself, looking back at Jinshi.
“if you’re that curious, then just come over here and look for yourself.” Maomao took careful steps forward, her hands clutched from where they were inside her sleeves.
She leaned over, and scanned the paper where Jinshi’s hands rested. Jinshi slowly took off his hand from the paper, and what was underneath was… … A dog?
“You were drawing a dog?” Maomao’s shoulders relaxed.
Jinshi’s eyebrows scrunched up and he put his hand in his chest.
“No? It’s a cow.” Jinshi defended.
As much as Maomao analyzed the picture however, she really only saw a dog with a few spots on it.
The corners of her mouth twitched, before forming into a tight line. She tried to suppress any noise from coming out and it was obvious.
“Why’re you laughing?” Jinshi’s face scrunched up, his face turning redder.
“it’s not funny!” Maomao couldn’t help letting out a snort at his defensiveness of such a stupid drawing of a supposed cow.
“I’m not laughing, I don’t know what you’re talking about” Maomao snickered, covering her smile with her sleeve.
“Yes you are, I can tell.” Jinshi pouted, turning his head away from her.