The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 10 (Light Novel)

“Yes, sir. In that case, I—”
Jinshi interrupted her, patting the bed beside him.
Maomao didn’t say anything.
“It would be tiring for you to stand there the whole time we’re talking. Have a seat.”
“Certainly. I’ll go get a chair...”
She was about to do just that, but Jinshi grabbed her wrist. He was giving her his bring-the-country-to-its-knees smile. “Have a seat.” Just when she’d thought he was behaving himself today

“Most people who ruin themselves beyond repair do it at work, while continually swearing they can keep going.”

That left Jinshi quiet for a moment, but his face darkened. “Isn’t that what an apothecary is for? To make them better?”

“Yes, sir. More or less. Shall I prepare an herbal bath for you?”

“No...” Jinshi held out his hand.

Huh?

Maomao stared at it, trying to decide if it had some significance. His hand was large, the fingers long. The nails were neatly clipped and filed.

The large hand stretched a little farther and placed itself on Maomao’s head.

Yikes!

He mussed her hair as if he were petting a dog. She tried to slap him away, but he dodged her nimbly.

“What the hell, sir?” she asked, patting her disheveled hair back into place. She hadn’t had a chance to bathe for several days, so it felt thick and greasy.

“I simply made myself better. So I wouldn’t reach my limit so soon.” Jinshi held his head high, as if to say he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“There must be better ways to do that, sir.”

“Is that an invitation to utilize these...ways?”

Neither of them said anything.

Maomao backed away a half step and crossed her arms in an X.

“Tell me about these ‘better’—”

“Okay, I’ve reported everything I have to report! If you’ll excuse me!” And then, with an artful dodge, Maomao ducked out of the room.

Outside, she let out a long breath. He’s been so indirect lately that I’d forgotten.

Jinshi’s true personality was to charge ahead. His methods could be brutal. If he had been showing restraint with Maomao, it was only because of the ridiculous way he’d decided to go about this.

Rikuson smiled again. “I feel like you and I get along quite well, Maomao. Do you think I could seek your hand in marriage?”
“Surely you jest,” she said. She wasn’t about to take his polite banter seriously.
“Yes, of course. Surely,” Rikuson said, and chuckled

“Her last words to me were ‘When you most want to break down, that’s when you must be most calm.’”

you think I could seek your hand in marriage?”

“Surely you jest,” she said. She wasn’t about to take his polite banter seriously.

“Yes, of course. Surely,” Rikuson said, and chuckled.

I’d say it’s just about better. The scar would likely never heal completely—it would fade from red to pink, but probably not much more than that. Man. I wish I could take some skin from his butt and stick it on this thing. She spared a glance at Jinshi’s haunches.

“You know, I can’t help thinking you seem to look as much at my back as my front during our exams lately,” Jinshi said.

“It’s your imagination, sir.”

Do you think I could seek your hand in marriage?”

“Yes, sir. I’ve come almost straight from my trip, myself, and I’m very tired. I wish you would let me get some sleep.”

“In that case...” Jinshi started, but then he shook his head.

“What is it, sir?”

Maomao had a very good guess what it was, but she pretended not to know.

“No, better not. After a major violation of the rules, even a small transgression is looked upon harshly.”

A violation of the rules, huh? Maomao looked at Jinshi’s side. Maybe I’m not being very fair.

Jinshi was a man who could have had anything and everything he desired. And yet, he was such a straight shooter that it caused him to beat around the bush like this. He didn’t want to take the shortest route to what he wanted, but the one that would be best for the other person.

Too bad that doesn’t exist here.

So it was that Maomao pretended not to know, even though she did. Not fair of her at all.

“In that case, I’ll be going, sir.”

She tried to make herself smile a little, to take the edge off her unfairness.

Every time he met his brother-in-law, Basen felt like a failure.

Maamei pointed squarely at him. “You and I are the same. We could never consent to political marriages.”

“I-I’d like to think—”

“If you agreed to such a match, it would always remain a sham. Mother and Father gradually learned to love each other, and Baryou and Chue have found their places in their relationship, but you wouldn’t be able to do either of those things. Even if you could accept the situation, I tell you, your wife would never be happy.”

“I... I think...”

He found he couldn’t contradict her outright. He was sure that whomever his family might choose as his wife, she wouldn’t be a bad person. Likewise, he was confident that he would come to care for her.

-Oh, I see,” Onsou said, paling to be so suddenly addressed by Gyoku-ou himself. No doubt he hadn’t expected the great man’s conversation to turn to him.