Chapter Text
As it turns out, if a woman dressed as a eunuch breaks into a run following a commotion by the entrance to the rear palace, the guards will assume that she is running away because she is a concubine. Maomao didn’t exactly have the leeway to start saying “You’ve got the wrong person, I’m not a concubine!” because saying so would reveal her voice… that of the La Princess. And if there was one thing worse than being sent to the rear palace wrongfully, it would be for the world to find out that the La Princess cross-dresses on her days off.
Maomao couldn’t run particularly fast, and she wasn’t tall enough to have any shot at outrunning the guards, so this plan of hers really wasn’t going to end well. But then she saw a tall beauty—a sign from the heavens, surely, given the angelic halo around them—and knew exactly what to do. If the guards were looking for a woman dressed as a eunuch, Maomao simply had to deliver one to them.
Maomao barely had time to look into the beauty—no, the celestial nymph’s eyes before she pushed them in front of her and into the arms of the guards chasing her.
Thankfully, Maomao’s change of clothes wasn’t too far from the entrance to the rear palace. She washed her face to erase the fake freckles dotting her cheeks and quickly added pink to her eyes and cheeks. Even without a mirror, Maomao knew exactly how to apply what little makeup she always carried with her. As a young noble lady, and the daughter of a courtesan no less, Maomao had been taught from a young age how much power a well-powdered face could wield—according to her much more naturally beautiful mother, at least.
Her hair was even easier to deal with; she tied the two locks who were permanently braided into an intricate-looking bun—which only looked intricate thanks to the braids—and inserted a metallic hairpin into it. It had a light pink gem embedded into the edge and three chains, each with a small glistening pink gemstone at the end. They sparkled whenever she moved her head.
Then, as she was about to walk out, she nearly cried out from shock at the sight of a young woman dropping from above (where? Who knows…) right in front of her eyes!
Maomao put a hand to her chest to steady herself.
The figure that jumped out smiled brightly at her, bowing slightly to greet her.
She’s weird... or perhaps unsettling would be the right word. In any case, Maomao didn’t let her thoughts disturb her blank stare.
“Kan La-”
“Maomao,” Maomao cut her off. “My name is Maomao. If you’re looking for someone from the La clan, you’ve got the wrong person.”
She was about to push the strange woman out of the way to leave, but she extended an arm to block her.
“Oh, come on now, Miss Maomao, I just need a few minutes of your time.”
Maomao sighed. “I told you, you’ve got the wrong person.”
The lady chuckled. “No, I don’t. I’m Miss Chue.” She did a quick bow, almost as though she was mocking Maomao. Then she hooked her left arm in Maomao’s right as if they were two good friends, and she began walking with her, guiding her somewhere. Maomao begrudgingly let herself be guided out, if only to avoid brining any more attention to the spot where she left her change of clothes behind.
Maomao often accompanied her father to important meetings, meaning she was quite well-connected to the higher-ups of Li. Why was she at these meetings? Because her uxorious father never took his work seriously when Maomao herself or her mother were absent, and it’s not like an ex-courtesan could accompany him to these meetings. That’s how, under the guise of being the heir of the La clan, Maomao was able to accompany him and keep him in check.
In any case, Maomao’s eyes darted around for a familiar face as this “Chue” escorted her.
Maomao didn’t know if Chue picked up on her wandering gaze, but soon enough, Chue spoke to her again.
“So, Miss Maomao, what brings you to the palace today?”
She hesitated before answering. “Work.”
“What kind of work?”
“My old man sent me on an errand. I was on my way to meet a court physician.”
“Oh? What does your old man do? Or is he injured?”
“He’s an apothecary in the city.”
When Maomao was born, her mother and other courtesans had taken care of her for the first few years of her life, but thankfully, her granduncle Luomen found out about them and brought her father back just in time. Maomao liked going back, not only to visit Luomen who had stayed behind to open an apothecary shop, but also to escape her life as a young noble lady. She wouldn’t say that she’s particularly compassionate towards commoners’ difficulties or anything, but she was sometimes reminded that she herself may have grown up in the pleasure district had her father not come back for them. Plenty of men never come back, after all. Speaking to the courtesans who had taken care of her as a baby probably shaped Maomao’s mindset today. After all, they weren’t so different from the young noble ladies that Maomao had grown up with who ended up going to the rear palace.
“Are you an apothecary too, then?” Chue inquired, snapping Maomao out of her reverie.
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Certainly, Maomao had some knowledge from books she’d read and from her granduncle’s teachings, but she had never done any practical work. It was quite unbecoming of a noble lady to dirty her own hands like so. That said, Maomao couldn’t deny her peculiar interest in poisons, but that’s not something she could say out loud.
“I see,” Chue sighed. Was she disappointed? “For a moment there, I thought you were sneaking into the rear palace to help with Lady Lihua’s baby.
“Excuse me?”
No, Maomao had not been trying to sneak into the rear palace. Why? Because it was the very same place that had cost her granduncle his career. To Maomao, the rear palace was the agora of modern-day slavery, inhabited by people whose freedom was sacrificed for a sliver of a chance to improve their future. Her granduncle was one such person, and Maomao would never follow in his footsteps.
She wasn’t entirely sure how she got there anyway; sure, she had pretended to be a eunuch for other purposes, but...
“Haven’t you heard? The rumours say that Consort Gyokuyou poisoned Consort Lihua’s baby. The Inner Court’s physician has been completely useless in this whole affair, though. Man, I wonder how all these palace ladies get so knowledgeable in poisons that even palace physicians can’t keep up!” Chue laughed at that.
Maomao found the information interesting, but not particularly humorous. “How do you know it’s poison?”
Chue stopped walking and stared at Maomao with a wide grin. She immediately regretted asking. “Miss Maomao,” she whispered, “Would you like to investigate yourself?”
Maomao looked away. She didn’t particularly care about the rumours of the rear palace, so even if she accepted Chue’s offer, it would just be to satisfy her curiosity. But Chue probably wasn’t being serious! Who even was this girl?
“That’s not my place,” Maomao demurred after a brief pause.
Chue laughed some more, smacking Maomao’s shoulder in the process. And then she continued walking as if nothing happened.
“As if we could even enter the Inner Court. You know, they don’t even let eunuchs in without feeling them up by multiple people. It’s quite the ordeal. Impossible for a man to fake his way in, at least.”
Right. It’s not as if Maomao had eunuch clothes stashed away or anything, so she bit her tongue. “So, uhm, Miss Chue? Where are you bringing me?”
“Why, to apologize to the eunuch you pushed earlier! It’s quite rude to push others, you know?”
Maomao kept quiet.
Chue chuckled. Does she ever stop laughing? “Don’t worry, he’s not mad.”
And with that, Chue guided her to an office space. It was quite spacious. At the desk, Maomao noticed that it was the tall beauty from earlier.
“There she is, Master Jinshi, the girl who stole Eunuch Lan’s spare robes.”
I didn’t steal them! They were being thrown away!
Maomao bowed politely. When she stole a glance at this “Master Jinshi,” she was immediately taken aback by the delicate features of the man before her.
No wonder I thought he was a woman! He really looks like some kind of celestial nymph!
“I’m sorry, but there seems to be a misunderstanding,” Maomao tentatively raised her head.
Jinshi motioned to a seat next to Maomao, and she took it. He moved to sit across from her. An older woman poured them some tea, and Maomao quickly realized that Chue seemed to have disappeared into thin air.
“Grand Commandant Kan’s daughter,” he began, and Maomao forced her lips shut before she could protest. She didn’t recognize this man, and chances were that she ranked higher than him, but she didn’t want to chance it. Her father was neutral, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t cause fractional strife with one wrong move. “I’m the Overseer of the Inner Court. It was brought to my attention that you tried to sneak into the Inner Court after stealing a eunuch’s attire. I’d like to hear your explanation for these events.”
He brought a teacup to his lips, smiling so peacefully that Maomao could almost see an angelic halo around him again. An unpleasant shiver flitted through her body.
“Master Jinshi, please do enlighten me, what ever misled you to believe that the La Princess, of all people, would resort to petty theft, and for what? To trespass into the very rear palace that I refused several invitations to join?” Maomao took a haughty tone, unwilling to show even a hint of weakness.
Maomao didn’t enjoy having to hide behind the mask of her noble title; it was cowardly, and above all, such a condescending facade disgusted her. Even so, most officials left her alone once they realized who she was. The Overseer of the Inner Court shouldn’t be any different.
Master Jinshi smiled faintly. Why didn’t he react to “La Princess?” Did I miscalculate?
“What were you planning to do in the Inner Court? Depending on your answer, then I will forget all about today’s incident.” His words were both polite and sharp.
Members of the nobility were rarely so direct with their words. Jinshi’s frankness made Maomao hesitate. Based on the fact that Chue worked for him... Before Maomao said anything, she looked at the older lady standing in the corner. Jinshi understood her glance and dismissed her. Maomao knew that there were still good chances that she would be listening in—no conversation was ever fully private. Still, it was a show of good faith.
“I’m not a physician,” she answered, feeling him out. If he was expecting something from her, then she wanted to force him to show a little more of his hand.
“I do not wish to invoke the wrath of the Grand Commandant.” In other words: You won’t be held responsible if you’re unable to help, because I want to keep this a secret.
He sounded desperate. His tone wasn’t what betrayed him, but rather the concessions he was willing to make.
“The Overseer of the Inner Court could not possibly prompt my esteemed father to be involved.” In other words: How much authority do you really have? How can you guarantee that I won’t be held liable for breaking the rules for your sake?
He chuckled with a far off look in his eyes. “It is as you say. As long as the sun never sets on Li, we all stand to gain.” He paused. Was he struggling to keep up with the noble euphemisms? His eyes found Maomao’s again, and with an enchanting smile, he inquired, “La Princess, would you dare to oppose the sun?”
Huh? You can’t just casually accuse me of treason for stealing a eunuch robe! This guy...
“I didn’t mean to enter the rear palace. That’s why I was running away,” Maomao finally conceded, and Jinshi seemed to beam. Maomao could only hope she was keeping her irritation to a minimum on her face.
“That may be so, but with so many eyewitnesses, it may prove difficult for you to refute such a claim in an official capacity.”
Is he blackmailing me? The nerve!
Maomao leaned back in her seat crossing her arms and frowning, forfeiting any pretence of decorum.
She sighed. “What do you need me to do?”
And so began Maomao’s undercover adventure as a serving girl in the Inner Court, the first chapter in what would be a lengthy relationship between her and this strange eunuch.