Betwixt a Hill and the Deep Blue Mountains High

by rosethornli

Summary:

Back in the Inner Palace, Maomao investigates a series of incidents rumored to be a curse in the servant’s quarters. Jinshi makes the most of her time away… to seek her out and bother her further, culminating in time together with unintended consequences.

Notes:

• For patchy.

Set in Volume 3 of the light novels & Volume 7 of the manga, post-Chapter 35. Potential spoilers for anime-only.

The case fic has an Easter egg for later in the ln.

Happy Yuletide, Patchy! May your holiday be merry and your new year joyous.

Maomao trudged towards the laundry yard with a hand on her uneasy stomach. She’d forgotten how rich the food was in the inner palace. With the return to taste-testing and the enthusiasm of the handmaidens plying her with snacks, she could barely keep up.

Luckily, she’d managed to sneak some sweets to share with her friend Xianlan. Even when she wasn’t hungry, watching Xianle happily enjoy food was endearing.

Frantic footsteps drew her attention back to the present; a messenger rushed past her from the direction of the laundry yard. Up ahead, a large crowd gathered around the courtyard entrance.

This usually meant one of two things: a punishment or a spectacle. In this case, it was both.

Shouting carried through the murmur of the spectators as she approached. “... is the second time!” a supervisor pointed out accusingly at a cowering servant girl.

Through the throng, Maomao watched the girl flinch back as an empty whisker basket was shaken in her face, signable plaque clacking dangerously close to her eyes. Maomao was too far away to read the characters, but the quality of the basket looked like one for a higher ranking consort..

The supervisor continued to berate the servant at ear splitting volume, who stood stock still, eyes lowered, hands trembling.

A woman in laundress robes whispered to another beside her, “Did you hear that, a second time? How can you lose them twice?”

Maomao didn’t stay to hear the answer, stepping into the crowd’s fringes. Whatever was going on was none of her business. 

Broadly sweeping the crowd to look for her friend, Maomao felt her eyes drawn back to the scene in the middle of the courtyard. The pair were harder to make out through the wall of people, but the confused look of the servant stayed with her.

‘ She looked perplexed, ’ Maomao thought with a hand under her chin, back on the path, ‘ And she didn’t look guilty. The situation will resolve itself, but...’

An excited squeal interrupted her thoughts. It was Xialan, bouncing excitedly, and would no doubt be waving her arms if she wasn’t coming from the direction of the washing tubs with a heavy basket of wet clothes to be hung to dry.

“Oh! Maomao!” She greeted her with a bright grin. “Welcome back!”

“Xianlan. Thanks.” Maomao smirked as she pulled out a cloth parcel from her sleeve. “I brought snacks.”

“Hurray! I’ll be right back!” Xianlan’s eyes sparkled over her determined grin.

She took off to finish her work in the adjacent courtyard in record time.

---

Later, sitting on their usual bench, Xianlan filled Maomao in on all the court gossip. Nothing was too new to her as far as the activities of court ladies went; Jinshi was thorough in briefing her for a return back to inner palance politics. But it was good to confirm that no one had heard of Lady Gyokuyou’s pregnancy.

“That’s all, really. Oh, but now the servant’s dorms are definitely cursed,” Xianlan said nonchalantly around a mouthful of dumpling.

Maomao paused. “Cursed?”

“Cursed!” Xianlan rocked forwards into Maomao’s space with a mischievous smile. “It started a few weeks ago. Someone heard scratching in the walls. No one believed her until the rest of us started to hear it ourselves!”

“Scratching, huh,” Maomao echoed.

“One of the new girls laughed it off and the next day, her clothes were gone!”

“Taken?”

Xianlan shrugged. “We searched really hard, but no one was able to find them.

“I heard she lost another pair today. I bet the curse is getting her back because she didn’t take it seriously.”

Maomao snorted. ‘ Or someone stole them to get back at her.’

“That’s not all!” Her friend brandished a snack at Maomao. “The girl who slept next to you, do you remember, the one who always snores? Well… she’s been sneaking out early in the morning!”

Maomao raised a skeptical eyebrow. ‘ The curse is telling gossip too? ’

“She just about told us herself,” Xianlan giggled. “She woke all of us up screaming a few days ago. Something cold landed on her neck; she swears it was a ghostly hand, but I don’t buy it.”

“Just the curse?”

“The curse isn’t a ghost!” Xianlan protested. “At least, we haven’t seen anything like that.”

Maomao watched her friend shrink into herself, abruptly quiet and withdrawn. As cheerful as Xianlan usually was, she was pushing herself today.  “You’re worried about something.”

She laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, um. You’re really observant, Maomao.” Her gaze dropped to her hands. “More stuff keeps happening and everyone’s worried. I don’t mind it so much, but newer girls are really nervous. It’s making it hard to sleep. Everyone’s tired, and we’re starting to make mistakes.” Xianlan turned beseeching eyes to Maomao. “I’m worried they’ll get in trouble!”

Maomao held her gaze steadily. Xianlan really was a kind hearted girl.

“Maomao, you’re really smart. Can I, um. Can you help us?”

Xianlan’s pleading tore a sigh of resignation out of Maomao.

“I’ll ask Lady Gyokuyou.”

---

When Lady Gyokuyou heard Maomao’s request, she laughed in delight and granted permission on the condition that she hear all about what happened after. This found Maomao temporarily scheduled for washing duty, followed by a night in the servant’s dorms.

The work was repetitive and familiar, with starkly less chatter than company usually kept up in the washing area. There was only so much you could distract yourself with while pounding away at cloth or hanging dripping garments. Xianlan made pointed eye contact a few times, smile strained.

Anyone could see something was going on.

When Maomao parted with the laundresses briefly to take care of her poison tasting duties for Lady Gyokuyou and Princess Lingyi, she found herself taking the longer return route through the back gardens.

Eyes sparkling, Maomao nearly skipped and inhaled deeply. Medical herbs, her beloved! 

She crouched down to see how those beauties were growing: big and healthy and ready to harvest. Sadly, none were poisonous, mostly useful for treating nauseous or aches and pains.

Resisting the temptation to gather all the medical herbs she could carry, Maomao wilted. No one was around, but she also had nowhere to put them.

Well, a few couldn’t hurt, right?

She and Xianlan had agreed to meet up directly after dinner at the dorm, forgoing what was usually kept as leisure time. Maomao arrived with laden sleeves and a shuffled walk.

The dorm was in a different building; older, but in the same wing as the previous one. Xianlan had said it was used as a scholar hall before this part of the palace grounds was integrated into the inner court generations ago. With the purge of servants connected to that suspicious business several months ago, there were less bodies to house; the decision was made to centralize several dorms into one.

Sandwiched between a long inner hall on the north side and an outer deck to the south were a row of three large rooms. Past the former lecture halls was a section of offices now used as storage; transforming the building quickly hadn’t given much time to move furniture and decor.

Maomao took in the front entrance, from the sweeping eaves to the solid columns and sturdy sliding doors.

It didn’t give off an eerie feeling.

The wait wasn’t long before Xianlan poked her head out and waved Maomao inside.

It was just the two of them in the large front room; no one else would be back until nightfall, giving them a couple hours to investigate.

Maomao took stock of the room. Two sleeping mats were laid out, with bedding and sleeping robes.  ‘Xianlan is being considerate.’  she observed.

She started with the obvious: taking a sweep of the parameter and testing the walls. Maomao slid open doors, checked the storage closet, peered around window sills and tested shutters. She stopped and started in places, going at her own pace to cover all areas.

When she turned back to her friend to ask a question, Xianlan was watching her with wide, sparkling eyes.

Maomao stopped, nonplussed. “What?”

“You’re so thorough, Maoamo!” Xianlan exclaimed. “I knew I could count on you!”

“Uh-huh.” Maomao decided to get to the point, not the type to bask in praise. “Where did you first hear the scratching?”

“In that wall over there,” Xialan said, pointing to the interior wall that separated the front room from the middle sleeping area.

Unlike the last dorm building, which had a series of sliding paper doors between sleeping areas, this one had solid walls between rooms. An enclosed central hall on the far side and an open walkway on the opposite were the only way to move around.

‘ I thought so,’  Maomao thought, confirming her suspicions.

Maomao ran her finger along the wall until she got to a point about a meter from where it met the exterior wall. “Who usually sleeps here?”

“Yingying likes that spot. She says the sun helps wake her up.”

“Do you ever share snacks with Yingying?”

“Mmm, no, she doesn’t really eat that much,” said Xianlan in disappointment. “We started at the same time, but she’s better friends with the newer girls.”

“I see.” Maomao cupped her chin, observing the wall with deep focus.

“Maomao?”

“We can stop the scratching for a little while, but I can’t promise it won’t come back.”

“Oh!”

First mystery solved, at least for Maomao, she turned back to her friend to address the next one.

“The girl whose clothes disappeared. Where did she sleep?”

“She’s in the back room. Here, I’ll show you!”

Xianlan and Maomao walked through the hall to the back room; this side shared a wall with the storage rooms and what would have been a second entrance. There was so much furniture, storing it basically built a barricade. 

When Xianlan opened the sliding door, Maomao frowned. This room felt dark and cramped; the far wall had the same row of shuttered windows and sliding doors to the outer walkway as the first room but there was less sun.

“Lingli usually sleeps in here,” Xianlan said, stepping into the empty room.

Unlike the time she took exploring the first room, Maomao strode directly across and opened the outer sliding door. It made a chilling screech.

“Eek!” Xianlan flinched.

“This needs to be replaced,” Maomao observed. Now open to the outside, they could see a long row of trees shading out the setting sun.

“We’ll have to remind the supervisor,” Xianlan agreed.

Maomao turned back to her friend. “You’ve reported this?”

“Yes. Lingli complained about it all the time. It bothered her enough that she sleeps on the other side of the room now.” Xianlan’s listening ability was truly a blessing.

“So she sleeps…” Maomao moved back towards the door to the hallway, “over here somewhere?”

“Yes! This is where her uniform went missing too.”

Maomao had assumed that, but nodded at the confirmation.

“Tell me what happened.”

Xianlan recounted when Lingli’s clothes went missing. She was the type to always fold her uniform and place it on the bottom of her sleeping mat for the next day. A week or so ago, it wasn’t there in the morning even though she swore she’d put it down like usual. No one in the dorm could find it or any other missing uniform; they’d sent for one from the supply stock and deducted the cost from her wages. The whole thing made her late and was a headache for everyone involved.

“The supervisor was really upset with her today; she lost a concubine’s clothes too.”

‘ No one could have come in from the outside walkway without waking everyone in the room.’  Maomao thought the evidence through.  ‘So it must have been from this side. If she slept on the end of the row, by the door or near it, someone could have taken the pile from this end.’

Maomao stepped into the hallway,  ‘They’d have to enter from the front and pass by two rooms of sleeping people. The chance to get caught is high. What’s their motivation? ’

“Xianli, what type of person is Lingli?”

“She’s friendly and outspoken when it’s just us,” her friend answered automatically. “She doesn’t talk a lot outside, though. Oh, and she’s best friends with Yingying! They’re from the same part of the city.”

“They’re from the capital?” Maomao asked.

“Yes, they talk a lot about the outside. You know, what they’ll go back to once their terms are up. How good the food is, that sort of thing.”

“I see,” Maomao trailed off. There was still enough she didn’t know that she needed to investigate further.

“Alright. What about the girl who was sneaking out?”

“Kaiyan sleeps in the middle room next door. Want to take a look?”

Maomao nodded.

Xianlan closed the door behind them, and they moved on.

The middle room looked identical to the other two. Not as much light came into this room as the front room, but it wasn’t as dark as the back room either. Slotted between, Maomao guessed this must be the noisiest and hardest to sleep in.

First, Maomao took a thorough look at the inner wall shared with the front room. She couldn’t find anything unexpected, even in the place that would be where Yingying slept on the opposite side.

“Do they ever hear a scratching noise in here?” Maomao asked, rising from a crouch.

“Hmmm, no one’s said anything,” said Xianlan. “If they have, maybe they haven’t noticed?”

“Haven’t noticed?” echoed Maomao.

Xianlan made a vague hand gesture. “Well, you know… Some people sleep more soundly than others, right?”

‘ So Kaiyan still snores like a roaring waterfall,’  Maomao picked up. ‘ Or there are others. ’

Maomao moved on to investigate the outer walkway. The sliding door opened smoothly, and the windows had the appropriate shutters for nighttime or bad weather. Stepping outside, there was no drip or excessively cold wind on the outer walkway.

“She exited here?”

“Mhm! She didn’t get far! Everyone heard her; she was still around there when she screamed.”

Maomao reenacted the assumed path of escape from doorway to outer walkway, looking in all directions. She took a look at the floor and the outer railing; nothing stood out. Looking up, she paused. There were small twigs sticking out of the eaves above her head.

“Around here?”

“Yes!” Xianlan confirmed, delighted to help.

“That makes sense.”

Xianlan tilted her head like an inquisitive bird.

“It does. I’ll tell you about it, well. This part won’t bother anyone unnecessarily.” Maomao thought, ‘ Kaiyan didn’t feel a ghostly hand. She must have been embarrassed and used the curse as an excuse.’

They wrapped up their investigation as the sun set, moving back towards the front room, Maomao deep in thought.

‘ Three different incidents in three separate rooms, but the same dorm. It’s not a curse, that much is clear. I can’t find a connection between them, though. Could it be a coincidence?’

Once was happenstance, twice was coincidence, but three times was a pattern. There must be something she’s missing.

Maybe she would get her answers soon; the sound of footsteps and chatter filled the dorm as their fellow servants came back to sleep.

Maomao and Xianlan were already changed into their sleeping robes and sitting on their sleep mats. It was early, but not too strange. No one questioned Maomao’s presence; some remembered her and others were too tired to care.

It took a while until everyone had set out their mats and gotten ready for bed. It was a bustling atmosphere, very different from Jinshi’s small and intimate house.

Maomao had a good vantage point to watch the room from her bedding: the last row, closest to the outer wall, and in the opposite corner from the door to the hallway.

Xianlan pointed out Yingying as soon as she got back, one of the last to finish with her nightly routine. She was middlingly attractive with a willowy dancer’s build and long hair in twin tails. She reminded Maomao of a tree.

Yingying set up her space in the predicted spot against the inner wall. Maomao observed her closely, but nothing strange happened. She stayed long enough to set up her mat before ducking out again.

There was a constant flow of young ladies now, but Maomao saw her turn to go further into the building.

“Yinging and Lingli are best friends?” Maomao confirmed with Xianlan, who made a noise of agreement.

“Mhm! They’re together a lot!”

‘ That’s probably where she went, then. ’ thought Maomao with a yawn. Yingying wasn’t doing anything suspicious, but with great effort, Maomao rose from her comfortable position and followed her anyway.

Maomao was lucky to be small in stature; navigating around the mass of bodies and bedclothes was a mess of dodging and quick sidestepping.

Each series of sliding doors to a dorm room was left fully open. Maomao walked past the middle room, catching a brief glimpse of Kaiyan laying down to bed. They had shared a dorm previously and was the reason for many of Maomao’s sleepless nights. Maomao admired the hair ribbon that trailed against her pillow; it looked expensive.

Near the back room, Maomao leaned against a pile of furniture, close enough to hear conversation but out of sight from the doorway.

It took a moment to pick out individual conversations, but betting on Lingli sleeping close to the door, she could hear them clearly enough.

“...so sorry, Lingli,” apologized what must have been Yingying.

There was a period of tense silence, followed by, “I’m not feeling well after today.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” her friend reassured her.

“I’m the one it happened to,” Lingli pointed out softly. “I didn’t keep track of the basket.”

Yingying inhaled sharply, and made an aborted attempt to defend her friend again. She was cut off by shushing from someone else in the dorm. A girl hoovering in the doorway, contemplating whether to go in or not and pass that conversation, flinched back.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Lingli said in a clear dismissal.

Yingying didn’t say anything for a minute, then let out a noise of affirmation. She abruptly left the room, shoulder checking the girl in the doorway.

“Miss Yinging - “ the girl called out, reaching a hand out in an attempt to reassure or diffuse.

‘Miss  Yingying?’  Maomao wondered. Servants usually talked casually to one another.

Yingying whirled around, face pinched in a turbulent emotion. She looked ready to rage or cry, with no inbetween.

“Not now,” she hissed. At that moment she noticed Maomao and froze.

Maomao had an easy, visual excuse prepared: sorting through the herbs collected from the back garden into neatly tied piles. The light wasn’t good, but it kept her hands busy and attention off of her.

“I’ll talk to you later,” Yingying said stiffly and walked away. The girl trailed after her like a lamb following its flock.

Giving herself a few minutes to finish up her work as a buffer, the apothecary returned to the front room several herb bundles richer. They were laid beside her pillow to dry as Maomao leaned back into her mat and got comfortable.

Xianlan gave her a curious look, but Maomao shook her head.

“Can I ask you to look into something for me tomorrow?” Maomao asked.

Xianlan nodded, “Of course!”

Silence stretched between them and the lanterns were extinguished. Maomao was on the edge of sleep when she heard shifting next to her.

“Hehe.” Her friend giggled as she rolled over, the covers pulled up to her chin hiding a smile. “I’m glad you’re here, Maomao.”

Maomao’s mouth twitched up into a small smile of her own. “Me too.”

---

Maomao returned, bleary eyed, to Lady Gyokuyou’s palace the following morning. There had been no disturbance that night besides the usual noises of many people in the same room. She was so used to a bed and privacy, it had been too unfamiliar for her to sleep comfortably.

 Just her luck; an unpleasant surprise arrived at the same time she approached the palace entrance.

“Well hello, young lady,” Jinshi greeted her with a flirtatious smile.

Maomao gave the minimum necessary courtesies due to his rank with a flat expression. Glancing behind him at his aid, the man failed to meet her gaze.

So he was out of control as usual, huh?

Jinshi loomed in the open doorway with an arm propped to bar her entry, his long sleeve dangling directly in her face.

“Aren’t you glad to be back in the inner palace?” he mused. It wasn’t a question; he didn’t expect her to answer. Serving as his maidservant for several months, and before that, subject to his personal curiosity, gave her a lexicon of his tones of voice.

She looked at him with undisguised disgust. His smile only broadened, gaining an extra sparkle.

“Oh, now. Aren’t you glad to see me, at least? It’s been so long.”

It had been three days.

Fed up with humoring him, Maomao ducked easily under his arm, moving his sleeve aside like a curtain to enter the room.

She could imagine his pouting expression at her back, but her attention was taken up by more important things. Such as, greeting the head handmaiden, Hongniang, with genuine respect.

“Good morning, Maomao,” the woman smiled kindly at her. “Good timing. Breakfast just arrived.”

Maomao nodded and made her way further into the building. She had responsibilities to see to.

“Ah, Lord Jinshi,” Hongniang greeted. Maomao froze halfway like a startled cat. “Are you joining us this morning?”

From experience, Maomao knew this was much earlier than he usually visited the inner palace. At this time of day, he was usually half-asleep being cosseted into dressing by his maid, Suiren, or being hand fed a hearty breakfast.

“Yes, I believe I will,” Jinshi purred, self satisfied.

Hongniang twitched nervously; clearly this went against her morning plans. “We’ll receive you. Just a moment.” She walked as fast as was polite back towards the receiving room.

Maomao sent a glare back at Jinshi, whose eyes crinkled in delight behind the privacy of his raised sleeve. His attendant, Gaoshun, had his head in his hands.

---

After food tasting, a hastily put together but plentiful breakfast was served for their uninvited guest. Technically Lady Gyokuyou’s guest, as Maomao took her place standing with the other maids.

Jinshi glanced at her pointedly. If they weren’t in the inner palace, he’d be kicking up a fuss. As it was, he kept his polite facade in place and asked after the Precious Consort’s health.

Lady Gyokuyou returned his concern with an amused smile, observing Jinshi and Maomao’s little dance with delight. “Very well, thank you.”

In truth, Maomao observed, she did look well. Her face had color and she was gaining weight back, a constant battle against the morning sickness.

“What brings you here this morning?”

“Oh, well.” Jinshi stalled. “I thought it pertinent to look in on you early, given the situation.”

“Hmm.” Lady Gyokuyou took a sip of her tea, savoring it at length with her eyes closed. “Maomao,” she addressed the servant, who startled to attention, “please join us, won’t you?”

Biting back a sigh, Maoamo bowed in acknowledgement and moved to stand in the open space at the farther end of the seating arrangement, closer to her lady and further from Jinshi.

“How was it?” Lady Gyokuyou addressed her directly again, turning a blind eye to Jinshi’s curious gaze.

All eyes were on Maomao.

“My apologies, my lady,” Maomao said formally. “May I have leave to stay another night?”

Lady Gyokuyou handed her tea to a handmaiden, leaning forwards in interest. “There’s that much to it, then?”

“There is nothing sinister at work,” Maomao reported. “A few small coincidences have gotten out of hand.”

Lady Gyokuyou tapped her chin in thought. “Well, then. You must see this through.”

That was all the permission Maomao needed.

Jinshi cleared his throat before she, with no more details to share, could ask to be excused. “What’s this, then?”

“Our dear Maomao is investigating an occurrence in the servant’s quarters for a friend of hers,” the lady of the house supplied easily. She was not so crass as to call it a curse without evidence.

“So that’s where you were coming from,” Jinshi muttered none too quietly. Standing behind him, his aide twitched, signaling to the girl with exaggerated hand gestures that she shouldn’t get his master involved. Jinshi spoke up louder to ask, “What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing so pertinent that it should grace the ears of someone of your status, sir.” Maomao used obnoxiously polite speech to dig at him, hiding her expression behind her sleeves.

Jinshi frowned at her. “If it’s happening in the inner palace, I of course must be informed.”

“Of course, my lord.” Maomao deflected, “However, it’s nothing that needs to be immediately addressed. Isn’t there something here that requires your attention?”

Lady Gyokuyou took the hint, laughing behind her hand. “I do appreciate the early visit, Sir Jinshi. His highness dined with us at his regular schedule and seemed quite taken with how much our little princess has grown fond of his last gift.”

“I see. How fortunate,” Jinshi smiled, dawning his dazzling court mask. His grip tightened on his cup, indicating to those who knew him how miffed he was for his game to be up.

With a nod of acknowledgement from Lady Gyokuyou, Maomao excused herself. Incrementally, throughout the ensuing conversation about the princess’s health and his highness’s visits, she slid closer and closer to the door until she made a stealthy exit.

Maomao busied herself with mundane tasks; there was always upkeep with so few hands to do the work. Between tasks she fathered odds and ends that would help with her investigation. Those serving returned with the breakfast dishes not long after, plates picked clean. Hongniang left the others to clean up and came back from the sleeping quarters with an excited Princess Yingyi.

Jinshi must be gone if it was family time. That meant it was time to leave.

Maomao headed towards the entryway, a cloth bag of supplies to assist in her nightly activities over her shoulder. There was much to do to address the  ‘curse’  between now and bedtime.

“You look like you’re sneaking off with valuables,” said a voice behind her. The owner leaned in; she felt his breath on her ear. “Shall I check?”

A shiver chilled her spine. Maomao spun around, clutching her parcel to her chest protectively.

Gaoshun was no help; he turned a blind eye to his master crowding the girl’s space.

He was so close, her entire vision focused on his handsome face and curtain of dark hair.

Her expression remained unmoved, posture like a hissing cat. “Don’t you have better things to do?”

Jinshi tossed his hair and stepped back with a huff, disappointed in her lack of reaction. “I see you’ve adjusted back to life in the inner palace well.”

“Yes, I’m very comfortable,” she deadpanned. ‘ It would be better if I had some poisons, though.’

He looked down at her with an indeterminate expression, and said at length, “...can you tell me what you’re involved with?”

Maomao blinked and answered without hesitation, “Servant’s rumors and hearsay.”

His face deepened into a frown; she was tempted to remind him about wrinkles like her  sisters back at the brothel often would.

Maomao was someone of few words, but now she offered up freely as both a reassurance and reminder, “My friend’s having trouble sleeping, so I’m helping her. What happens with the servants can be taken care of by the supervisors.”

Jinshi’s eyes widened a fraction and his fist clenched at his side.

“I see. I give my condolences to your friend,” he said stiffly without his usual charm. He stepped around her with the sweep of her robes brushing her shoulder. It felt like a chastisement. 

Gaoshun glanced back and gave her a sympathetic look before following his master.

Watching his outer robe flutter as his back grew further away reminded her of something from the day before. If the  ‘curse’  was a puzzle, she was missing a piece. She had something to ask, and he may be the only one who would answer her.

She followed him out to the entrance landing, calling his name, “Sir Jinshi.”

Midway down the stairs, he stopped and turned back towards her. His aide stood between them, so she couldn’t gauge his expression.

“May I ask you something, Sir Jinshi?” She stepped onto the front step, stopping before she descended further.

Gaoshun stepped to the side so Jinshi could see her clearly. Like this, they were of a height and she could squarely meet his gaze.

He had a complicated expression, before shoring himself up and saying, “Yes, you may.”

“Has anything suspicious happened in the palace recently? Attended illicit entry or unknown persons?”

Jinshi shook his head slowly. “No. The only occurrence is one you are already familiar with.” He meant the case with the coffin, and the person who was still missing. “You’re…” He bit his lip, about to ask for details but clearly remembering her earlier reticence. “Nevermind.”

She held his gaze a moment longer, before bowing with sincere and proper respect. “Thank you for answering my question.”

Jinshi turned and descended the stairs at an even pace without even a parting barb or bait.

Maomao stood after she was sure he was gone and sighed. ‘ Now I’ll have to tell him all about what’s happened when it’s over.’

---

Jinshi swanned into his office, bypassing his couch for his desk only after a pointed look from his long-suffering aid; his overburdened desk, covered in work. He slumped into his chair and collapsed forwards into a pile of scrolls that nearly toppled with a hefty sigh.

Gaoshun stood at attention, staring pointedly out the window.

A pitiful whine left Jinshi’s throat. With just the two of them, he felt comfortable enough to let his real feelings show.

Birds flew up in the distant sky. ‘ How nice that must be, to travel so freely,’  the aide thought.

Jinshi straightened with a groan, leaning back in his chair to follow Gaoshun’s gaze.

“She’s back there to keep her safe,” he grumbled.

‘ And away from  him ,’  he thought pointedly, her haunted expression flashing briefly through his mind.

“Why’s she going and finding more trouble?”

Gaoshun pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Need I remind you of what you should be focused on, my lord?”

The giant piles of paperwork obscured Jinshi’s affronted expression.

“You insisted on visiting the inner palace early today despite your schedule,” he continued.

“I had to,” Jinshi justified. The last time he’d gotten caught up in paperwork and hadn’t checked in on Maomao, she’d up and left using another man. She didn’t even have the grace to ask him for help!

“Please, my lord.” Goashun came around to place a hand on Jinshi’s shoulder in support. “I will check in on her circumstances. Get what you can done before the council meeting.”

Gaoshun worried after his master’s health. Jinshi, usually a solid sleeper and lover of lying about, had been staying up late for work and tossing and turning in his sleeping hours. This morning had been less a case of rising early and more not sleeping at all.

Jinshi took a glum look down, then reached for a brush. “Alright.”

Satisfied, Gaoshun turned to begin grinding an ink stone. Behind him, his master let out a massive sneeze.

---

‘ It’s a good thing that lordly beauty didn’t look into my bag,’  Maomao thought an hour later, packing up the supplies after use. ‘ I don’t want to answer too many questions. ’

Clearing out part of the ‘curse’ from the dorm was a job best done with no one around. It’s not like she could ask anyone for help; they’d cause a fuss or faint.

‘ Now what to do with this evidence?’  she mused, carefully handling a wooden incense box that was as long as her forearm and half again as wide.

Maomao was about to exit the dorm when she heard the sound of voices approaching.

Not good. It was too early for anyone to be back.

“I promise, I have enough to share.”

They were right outside the front room’s sliding door.

Maomao thought quickly: her large bag tucked away in the closet, but it wasn’t safe enough to do the same with the box.

Three girls stood in the entry, clearly surprised when they noticed they weren’t alone. One was a familiar face from yesterday - Yingying - whose brow furrowed in displeasure at the sight of Maomao.

“The new girl?” one whispered to the other behind Yingying’s back. She was in the lead, holding a tray of covered dishes.

“I didn’t expect anyone to be back here,” Yingying said stiffly.

Maomao supposed not, if she was sneaking around with high quality food. Not that she saw a marker on the tray indicating who it should go to. It was inconspicuously blank.

“I was just leaving.”

“No, it’s alright,” one of the girls tried to deflect. “It’s nothing! We have enough, right, Miss Yingying?”

Maomao blinked slowly. ‘Miss  Yingying again, oh? A surprising amount of respect for someone of the same rank.’

Yingying gave her a cursory glance, and what she saw (plain face, no chest, dusty clothes) must have been found wanting, because her expression didn’t soften a bit. “Enough for the three of us, yes.”

“That’s a very nice, er, box,” piped up the other girl in an attempt to smooth things over. Nothing good came from fighting amongst themselves; at least, not so outright aggressively or without a purpose.

“Thank you,” said Maomao with a small nod. It wasn’t like she needed to stay here with the job done. She could move on and come back later to collect her things.

“Is that why you’re back here?” asked Yingying with a tone on the edge of accusing. “Hiding something good for nothing in that box?”

Maomao gave her a flat stare; she must have been very flustered to outright ask.

“Can we see what’s inside?” the other girl hastily asked, taking the opening like a hare running straight into a hunter’s trap.

‘ If you show me what’s on that tray ,’ Maomao was tempted to follow up. These girls completely lacked subtlety, which from what she had pieced together about the situation, was quite surprising.

“No, I’m not sure you’ll like what’s in here,” she demurred instead with the honest truth. “I’m needed elsewhere, so I’ll leave this place to you.”

Yingying handed the tray to the girl on her right and blocked Maomao’s path as she attempted to leave.

“If it’s really nothing, you can show us what’s inside,” she blustered, cheeks flushed in anger.

“...very well,  Miss  Yingying.”

Maomao opened the lid slowly.

Yingying paled immediately. One girl looked faint while the other the girl dropped the tray in fright and scrambled back, screaming. Sticky sweets and steamed buns scattered across the floor.

Startled, the rats inside began to squeal in agitation. Maomao carefully closed the box before they could hurt themselves.

“Why - why?” one of the girls stammered out.

“I was cleaning up after someone,” answered Maomao, stepping over the mess. “I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Yingying stood frozen in the doorway.

As Maomao walked passed, she leaned in close and allowed herself a smile that sent chills down the spine of her audience. “You should find a better hiding place. One that doesn’t end up bothering other people.”

The rest of her night in the servant’s dorm was uneventful.

---

Maomao barely had enough time to complete her taste testing duties the next morning before Jinshi’s aide, Gaoshun, burst into Lady Gyokuyou’s palace in a frenzy. He bowed to the lady consort and pulled an unresisting Maomao along with a barely coherent excuse.

They got to the gates exiting the inner palace before Maomao lost her footing and stumbled into his back, finally stopping his crusade against her short stride. 

“What’s going on?” the girl panted out, grateful for the chance to catch her breath.

“Sir Jinshi,” Gaoshun said grimly, “has fallen ill.”

Blood rushed into her ears and her vision narrowed, drowning in the turbulent reality of the information. Gaoshun wouldn’t have come so abruptly if this wasn’t serious.

Maomao drew herself up to her full height and touched the herb bundle she’d kept hidden in her sleeve. “Let’s go.”

Goashun, touched by her seriousness, gave a brisk nod and continued on.

He missed the heinous smile of delight creeping onto Maomao’s face. ‘ Maybe it’s poison. One can only hope!’

---

Jinshi felt a shiver wrack his body and curled into a tighter ball. Gaoshun had been gone so long and his heating stone had cooled; even his nanny, Suiren, had left him in his state. Where was everyone? Couldn’t they hear him calling?

His thoughts turned, as they often did these days, to the little curiosity he’d found in the inner palace. At first she was of passing interest, but the more time he spent with her, the more intrigued he became.

No one had been able to resist his smile before. Her immunity, and outright disgust, was refreshing.

After the encounter with that man, he knew what true despair looked like on her face. He never wanted to see that again. 

He sent her away to protect her, but after only a few days, he noticed every moment of her absence. Jinshi kept seeing her from the corner of his eye, but when he looked back, she wasn’t there.

“Maomao,” he whispered, hugging his pillow tightly. It was missing the warmth he desperately longed for.

Seeing her briefly had been a reprieve. She’d gotten involved in something, though, something she was worried about but wouldn’t tell him about. Wouldn’t even ask for his help after all this time.

He didn’t expect her to stay forever; he was very aware of their difference in status and the limits of his power. She had better places, better options, that he would surely support her towards.

But he didn’t want her to go.

He felt a tear well up in the corner of his eye. “Maomao…”

One of the few people who would see him as a person, and not his mask or his station.

“Sir Jinshi,” came a voice from behind him that sounded just like her. “Please sit up.”

Jinshi sniffled and murmured her name again.

“Yes, Sir Jinshi?”

There was fervent whispering, and then a sigh.

“There, there,” her voice said as someone patted his back soothingly.

“Maomao!” he exclaimed, twisting around. Too fast, though, because he wilted right back into his pillows. He was facing her now; to see that she really was there.

“I’m right here,” she grumbled to Gaoshun, who was standing behind her with a relieved expression.

Jinshi burst into tears.

---

When Gaoshun had pulled her from the inner palace to tend to Jinshi’s illness, a lump in the bed was not what she was expecting.

“Are you sure he’s ill?” she said to the aid, pointing accusingly at the bundle of blankets.

Gaoshun nodded. “Suiren confirmed it. She is unfortunately just as indisposed.”

A double knock out put the whole place to a stand still. Poor Gaoshun.

“Very well,” Maomao sighed, rolling up her sleeves. “I’ll examine him.”

Gaoshun put a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place. She glanced up at him in confusion. “Please, sit with him first. He’s been calling for you.”

‘ Calling for me?’  Maomao wondered, nonplussed. ‘ Well, if he says so. ’

A chair sat empty by his bedside, usually used by Suiren to coax him out of sleep. Now Maomao used it to keep watch over her headache-inducing employer.

It didn’t take long for her to hear her name. She called back to him three times before he sat up and faced her.

“I’m right here.”

His face was flushed from what was likely a fever, eyes wide and glazed. He looked much younger than he usually did, and just as stunningly beautiful.

Jinshi wrinkled his nose like a little kid as tears welled up in the corner of his eyes.

‘ Uh oh.’  Maomao reached for a handkerchief in anticipation.

Jinshi’s tears began in earnest. He tried to stem them with the heels of his hands, but rubbing his eyes just made the flood worse.

Maomao batted his hands away and used her handkerchief to wipe away the tears instead.

‘ He’s even pretty when he’s crying ,’ she observed at a distance. Growing up in the pleasure district, Maomao was no stranger to beauty; it could be captivating, it could be cutting, and it could be sold. She knew what performance looked like in her bones, and Jinshi wielded his beauty like a blade. She had no interest in testing her capacity against his mettle.

The more time they spent together, the more facets of him she was able to see. Getting close to Jinshi the dazzling wasn’t of any interest to her. She much preferred him like this, with a real expression: red faced in embarrassment and pouting like a child, looking half his age.

“Feeling better?” she asked, feeling a little self satisfied.

“My nose hurts,” he grumbled, blowing into the handkerchief.

“Hmmm,” she hummed in reply. “Stay still, alright? I need to check you.”

He was unresisting as she checked his vitals and points just as her father had taught her. When she was done, Jinshi had turned even redder than before. If this were a less serious situation, or he was anyone else, she’d have patted his head at a job well done.

“How does it feel when you swallow?” she asked as a final question; there was no way she was asking him to open his mouth so she could look down his throat.

“It hurts,” he grumbled, hands crumpled in his bedsheets.

Maomao stood abruptly, startling Jinshi into a frantic expression, and addressed the room. “He has a cold brought on by stress and lack of sleep. You can check with a court doctor, but rest will cure what ails him.”

Gaoshun, who had been standing against the far wall by the door, keeping watch, nodded.

“You’ll be looking after him,” he said with finality.

Maomao’s eye twitched, but she bowed in acceptance. “Of course.”

“Maomao,” Jinshi called pleadingly.

Maomao sighed. “Yes, Sir Jinshi?”

He had recovered enough to ooze charm at her again, doing little to hide his flirty expression behind his sleeve. “Tell me about your investigation.”

“Of course, Sir Jinshi.” Maomao bit back a sigh of defeat; she was going to do that anyway.

---

Between the time it took for her to brew tea and confirm the list of medications Gaoshun should request from the palace doctor, Jinshi was pouting again. He barely touched the cup she served him.

“How are you feeling, Sir Jinshi?” Maomao asked at length.

His childish expression was usually endearing but the stubborn silence annoyed her.

She didn’t want to resort to Suiren’s tactics; knowing what he wanted, she could coax him out. It felt like playing into his hands a little too much. If he wasn’t sick, she would have left right away.

“They say there is a curse in the servants' wing.” Jinshi turned his head as Maomao teased the beginning of her story.

He took his cup and sipped it, wincing at the bitter taste. Medicine was like that.

Maomao sipped a cup from a different brew; this one had no fever reducing qualities. His was a one of a kind treat with all of her care imbued - herbs from the back garden and no honey to soften the bite.

She continued as he took another sip, “There was no such curse, but a series of unfortunate coincidences that resulted in wild rumors.”

“Coincidences, you say?”

“Yes,” Maomao confirmed, holding three fingers, “first, there was scratching in the walls; second, a maid’s uniform went missing followed the same person losing a concubine’s robes; third, someone felt a ghostly chill on the back of their neck when attempting to leave early in the morning.”

Jinshi looked intrigued; his eyes were bright with interest as the light of fever dimmed.

“Quick a few incidents. Are you certain they have no connection?”

“I’m sure. They happened within a week of one another, but there is no direct link between the three.”

Jinshi motioned for her to continue, finishing his cup with a wince. Maomao let him sit in the relief of being done for a moment before filling his tea cup again. He looked at her sourly, but took it like a good patient.

“I’ll start with the third, as it is the most simple. Understand that my interpretation has some speculation; I have only been able to confirm part of this.” Jinshi nodded, leaning forwards like a boy eager for a bedtime story. “The woman who left early timed it as the sun rose and used a door to an outer walkway not often opened. What she did not realize was that a bird had made a nest on the roof above.

“She did not feel a ghostly hand, but the droppings of a bird. This is not easily mistaken; I believe she was embarrassed and used the curse as an excuse.”

Jinshi snorted into his tea, breaking into outright laughter.

“I’m glad you find this so amusing, Sir Jinshi,” Maomao deadpanned.

He flapped his hand at her dismissively. “Why do you believe she was leaving so early?”

“I couldn’t say.” Maomao thought of the new, expensive hair ribbon she’d seen in Kaiyan’s hair and who could have given a laundress that sort of gift in the inner palace. “We don’t often get privacy in the dorm; perhaps she wanted some time alone.”

That made sense and didn’t sound like a deflection, sating Jinshi’s curiosity.

“The first mystery required my involvement to fix,” Maomao continued. At Jinshi’s widened eyes, she reassured him, “There wasn’t a threat to anyone. The scratching in the walls was an uninvited guest in the dorm room.” She briefly described what she went through to capture the rodents that had made a home in the wall.

Jinshi’s pale face reminded her of a maiden, and Maomao couldn’t help but snort.

“What were they doing there?” he asked in consternation.

“There was a loose board on the inner wall where someone had been hiding snacks inside,” Maomao said succinctly, leaving out names for now. “Rodents were an unfortunate side effect.”

“Surely there are better places.”

“Not if you want to keep the offerings secret, or between a small group.” Maomao again thought of the lack of privacy in the dorm.

“Is that how it was?”

“There may be a small connection between this and the second incident,” Maomao said, folding her hands together. “It’s something you should be aware of.”

“Servants being bribed with food? That’s fairly common,” Jinshi mused, and a fairly tame way to show favor.

Maomao shook her head and began to lay out the facts. “Lingli, a laundress, had her uniform go missing at the beginning of the week. Several days later, a courtesan’s clothing was misplaced in the laundry yard. Lingli is rarely assigned delivery duty, as she is new to the inner palace.” Xianlan had confirmed the details for her, as well as the final piece of the puzzle. “That day, another servant was also on delivery duty; her name is Yingying. She is the one who had hidden sweets in the wall.”

Jinshi tilted his head in thought, not seeing the connection. “Was this Yingying girl pulling a trick on the other one?”

Maomao shook her head. “No, they are good friends. That day, Lingli took a basket for the Pure Consort, Lady Loulan, only for the clothing to go missing.”

“I haven’t received any complaints about missing clothes,” Jinshi frowned, trying to untangle the mystery along with her.

“Lady Loulan’s palace did receive clothing that day. However, it was not from Lingli.”

Something clicked into place for her patient. “Yingying delivered it?”

“Yes, she successfully delivered and was rewarded for it,” Maomao confirmed. ‘ I don’t know what a high ranking consort wanted with a servant’s uniform, but she has it now. ’

“So she took her place for food,” Jinshi mused, rubbing his eyes. He was amused by the low states of the outcome; a refreshing change from most mysteries he had her solve.

“It seems so.” Maomao answered noncommittally, putting her tea and his aside.

Jinshi couldn’t fight the yawn that overtook him.

“How are you feeling, Sir Jinshi?”

This time he gave her an honest answer, sinking back into his pillows with a sigh. “Tired.”

She checked his temperature with the back of her hand; he leaned into the touch drowsily. “Your fever’s broken. Please rest, Sir Jinshi.”

“Maomao,” he asked, blinking up at her as she pulled back. “Do you think she shared with her friend?”

Maomao wasn’t sure why he wanted to know and shrugged. “I would assume so; I didn’t see anything to the contrary.”

Servants lived lives at the whims of their superiors. Some fought for the top or special attention, while others wiled away with a bowed head. The fact that two of those types were friends was unusual; the fact that they had stayed close was even more so.

“Must be nice,” Jinshi muttered, clearly on the edge of sleep. He would have had more control otherwise.

He looked like a lost little kid in that moment.

Maomao felt a tightness in her chest; she did her best to dismiss it and bit off what she was tempted to say. ‘ Don’t call for me. I'm already here. ’

“Sleep well, Sir Jinshi.”