The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 4 (Light Novel)

“This will be my pillow”—and put his head smack on Maomao’s knees. The crown of his head was pressed up into her stomach, and his arms were wrapped around her back.
“Master Jinshi...”

After a long moment, it was Maomao who spoke first: “I’m sorry, but might I ask you to protect me, Master Jinshi?”

Jinshi gazed at Maomao’s face. There was blood on it, and her left ear was swollen, although it had been smeared with ointment. None of this would have happened to Maomao if she had never gotten involved with him. The thought made his heart ache.

There was no way a man who had taken command of an army—and had the scar on his face to prove it—could continue pretending to be a eunuch in the rear palace. Jinshi must have finally gone back to being whoever he really was. Maomao didn’t know his real name; she couldn’t have used it even if she did. The worlds they lived in were simply too different.

As for his injury, there were plenty of perfectly competent doctors around; he didn’t need Maomao. Hell, her old man was there at the palace. Maomao couldn’t have done anything to help even if she’d been present.

Anyway, now that Jinshi was no longer a eunuch, he couldn’t get away with keeping some lowborn girl around him. He wouldn’t have to sneak and spy anymore, anyway. So it was best, really, that Maomao had come back to the apothecary’s shop in the pleasure district. At least with her father no longer there, the madam would probably stop trying to sell her off.

Ugh... So tired...

She’d been up all night the night before making medicines. Creating new drugs was a challenging endeavor. Y

Jinshi was just reaching out for Maomao’s chin when:

“And are you poisonous as well?”

Jinshi kept getting closer and closer, and when their noses were almost touching...there was a clatter.

“When I looked at your injury, I meant to act as calm as I could,” he said.

He pulled on her wrist again, and when she sat down facing him, he grabbed the upper part of her other arm.

“You were attacked,” Jinshi said, his voice icy.