Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ The Apothecary's Other Diary ❯ Rose Oil Perfume ( Chapter 11 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

 

ELEVEN Rose Oil Perfume

 

 

Finding the chain of events from turning all those roses into rose oil to make perfume and then connecting that to the perfumes worn by courtesans and their ladies in waiting all the way to the attempted assassination of Lihua’s unborn child by her jealous cousin… I can only reflect I was never jealous of my older brother. And he was kind enough to never admit to being jealous of the affection our parents gave me. I know I was the favored child, mainly because I was cute and giggly and sociable. Not at all like I am now, stoic and resigned and hiding my looks from all these jealous bi.. well, the trouble with gardens is they sprout weeds, and flowers only bloom a short time, before they shrivel up and get disposed of. Or turned into perfume.

 

This lead to me creating nail polish and starting that entire fad, which distracted the ladies from gossiping about Lihua’s cousin and why she’d been beheaded. A sad fate, but jealousy and greed are sins in most cultures, and Lihua is a remarkably gentle woman, different from Gyoukuyou, but still kind in her way. And very loyal to the emperor. I have no doubt she truly loves him. Father turned up, bragging about life with mother, and murmuring one of the song’s I’d taught her. He was less insufferable with mother’s life to share as his wife.

 

“Maomao, I am formally adopting you as my daughter into the La clan. This is my heir, your cousin Lahan. He is being trained to take over the clan when I retire,” her father explained.

 

“Greetings sister,” Lahan said, bowing slightly. I noted he carried an abacus on his belt, the current equivalent of the nerd with the calculator watch from my prior life in Japan.

 

“Greetings, brother,” I answered formally. Father extended a box in his hand, opening it. On a soft dark cloth were jewelry, the kind I dread.

 

“You will be required to wear this hairpin for public events, and this tiara as well,” Lakan explained. I sighed, gathering my patience.

 

“I’m not a princess, father. I have work to do,” I insisted. Nobody was stopping me from my apothecary research. Now that I no longer needed to regrow mother’s nose or heal her skin, I was moving onto more common ailments, like treatments for venereal diseases and wrinkle creams.

 

“Of course you’re not a princess. That’s Lin Li. You’re a duchess. I’m a war leader, a duke of the empire. That’s why your tiara is spiky,” he corrected. “Now, we’ll have to find you a suitable husband, someone high ranking and doesn’t prance around all day pretending to be something he is not.” Jinshi appeared from my right and glared at father who smiled widely back at the secret prince.

 

I wonder if they’re going to tease each other like this often? And will they still do it when I’m not here? I humphed disagreeably, but shut the box and accepted its delivery. The next big party is going to be a problem.

 

Ghosts and Mirrors

 

 

Shisui appeared while I was hunting mushrooms in the back orchard, where the ground smells bad. This was the area where a corpse was discovered, and the nasty mushrooms that rose from it were the clue. I would not be shocked to learn other corpses were buried here. We only found one. So far. Getting a grasshopper mashed into my head was not very nice, even though she apologized immediately. This required a trip to the baths, some massages given for small coins in payment, and Shisui vanishing at some point. Maybe she got called away?

 

I found nervous gestures of concubine Lishu and her taster using our baths, despite having her own. Assistance with a massage and hair removal via threads eventually lead me to solving a rotten floor mystery, and getting a servant beaten for being cruel to an abused child. To be fair, Lishu is the survivor of sexual assault at a young age, and brother had healed her body, but her mind was damaged and fearful. And she still has allergies. The servant isn’t the last bad-girl in her employ, but no one really has the right to fire them, other than Jinshi, and he has rules he has to follow regarding their treatment. Lishu, what is worse, has an obvious crush on Jinshi, and I may be someday put in a position of allowing him to bed her as a mistress one day. I don’t hate the girl. I just wish she’d calm down. Maybe expecting that of a fifteen year old is being unreasonable?

 

Eunuch Games

 

 

I am unhappy with my situation at present. I’ve been kidnapped, thanks to turning up at just the wrong time to realize that the handsome eunuch was actually the assassin Suirei who’d left my leg scarred in her attempt to kill Jinshi. Yes, brother had healed my scar so it no longer tore open, but even still, she’d have been caught if she hadn’t threatened to kill Shisui. I don’t know what happened to the traitorous nurse in the medical clinic, but I hope it isn’t good. She was probably behind all the poisonings. Killing babies is wrong. Plotting murder is wrong. Killing a bunch of people to get close to your target to murder them with falling logs that weigh a ton is wrong. Do I have to go on? And it still bothers me that she’s a better apothecary than I am.

 

A long journey of days via several boats, under guard, below decks, and eventually I realized that Shisui is Loulan. And if my hands weren’t tied I’d slap my own forehead. Later, after offloading and walking through the forest I tossed a snake at Suirei which resulted in her screaming and Loulan flipping the snake back into the brush, much like I would. Interesting to say the least.

 

The village where I was kept exposed me to too many soldiers, not enough food, and worried children missing their parents who had “gone to the castle” to be with the lady. It bodes, and not well. After a week in the rooms reading medical texts written in German and English, both of which I can read from prior lives, I had learned a fair bit more about chemical reactions and dosage calculations. I also found a viable cure or treatment for syphilis, which is what had afflicted mother. Not having magic to heal people like my brother, and what I admit is probably the first time I’ve ever felt jealous of him, I had to work with science and chemistry. I also found the formula for quinine, the treatment for malaria, and a good recipe for the herbs for decent gin. And I already know about getting bubbles into cold water. A slice of lime and the future will be brighter for many people.

 

The Lady, and that’s what people fearfully called her, appeared after the festival, demanding youth potion, slapped Loulan and Suirei, which cooled my anger somewhat. She left cuts and bruises, deliberately, on her own children.

 

There was an escape attempt, more threats by the increasingly insane woman, and I got brought into a pit with a box full of snakes. It was cold, so the snakes were slow, and the torch helped me cook them, which was doubly satisfying. I stomped the inedible creatures and stabbed and roasted what I could eat. It wasn’t a sumptuous feast, by any means, but it was a meal to tide me over. The guard that released me revealled Loulan, who directed me to a room, and I waited a while until noticing sulphur and pig dung. I found a hatch and followed it finding a factory in the basement grinding charcoal and salt peter with sulphur into gun powder. This is a bad thing. Then Loulan showed up with a bag of money and a torch and proceeded to throw down one and then the other. The men gathered coins until she dropped the torch, at which point there was a loud explosion, but not as bad as I’d feared. Loulan was stunned but unhurt, and I dragged her out of the dungeon. She lead me to another room, where a number of children lay sleeping… oh no. Dead. Poisoned to death.

 

She told me why and left me a clue, so I promised to guard them, gave her the silver pin Jinshi had gifted me last year, and waited for my hero to rescue me. As it happens there was shouting, gun fire, screams, pounding feet, and Lihaku showed up.

 

“What are you doing here, Maomao? Wait… you’re General Lakan’s daughter?” he realized all at once. I could see this was hitting him hard, but he recovered his wits. “Stay here. I was told to find you.” He blew his dog whistle and I heard barks outside. A little later Jinshi showed up, dressed in royal armor, with several royal guards.

 

We exchanged pleasantries and I could see he was relieved. He gave orders for me to be guarded and the bodies of the children carried out of the burning castle, while he went to attend to the troubles elsewhere. I assume there were deaths. I never saw Loulan again.

 

 

Education

 

I’ve been accepted to medical school, and I’m now studying the undergraduate courses for the medical track. I am not permitted to remain if I get a bad grade in any subject, so I am completely devoted to my studies. The school meets in Chiba City teaching hospital, and I get direct and frequent shifts learning from working doctors in the various wards. A lot of hands-on experience, though nobody knows I can heal with magic. For years I thought I could only do that when I was THERE, in China, in the past, but one day I’d found a crying child next to a fallen bicycle. The kid had a close call with one of those speeding box trucks and just missed being isekaied, no doubt. I healed his skinned knee by reflex and he stopped crying in amazement, then thanked me and went home to his parents without a second thought. A good thing too. I hear that they will hang you on a cross if you get caught healing the sick.

 

I still dream of China, of the poor and stricken. I heal the sick and cure them when I can. I rarely see my sister in the palace. I managed to meet one of the courtesans, a young girl, far too young, who bore considerable damage in her lady parts, which I healed, and various scars from hives. I can’t cure allergies. You are stuck with those. It is part of the immune system response. I’d learned so much of medical basics during high school that I was mostly on refreshers and interesting diseases, like the TV doctor House. He’s funny for being a fraud. Most of the cures and treatments wouldn’t work, and some of the diseases were psychosomatic, make believe for attention. In the real world, a lot more patients die and all you can do is make the passing easier. Sometimes just for the family.

 

I woke that morning to a rustling noise from Komachi’s room. It was left as a shrine to her. Though after so many years much of the pain was gone, though she is still sorely missed. I drink sake with Taishi every month, on a weekend. He’s become a crane operator at the port, loading and unloading container ships. He’s good at it. Makes money like a doctor but with a fraction of the education. He says its the only thing that gets his mind of the memories.

 

I opened the door expecting mother or father to be praying and instead discover one of the concubines from China. It was Loulan. I know this because I read the history books. She was painted, but I’d also seen her in the palace grounds. She blinked up at me.

 

“Hachiman? Is it breakfast?” she asked in Chinese. Her huge eyes were yellow, a very rare color.

 

“How do you know my name?” I asked her. She blinked.

 

“You told me yesterday when I fell into your living room. Where is Komachi? I was just talking to her before bed,” she asked, looking around.

 

“My sister died six years ago,” I answered. “How are you here?”

 

“I went to bed on Komachi’s floor. Did you know she sounds just like Maomao?”

 

“Yes, I am aware. My sister reincarnated as Maomao four centuries ago. In many ways they are the same person.”

 

“Wait. But I met her yesterday. She isn’t dead. She was cheerful and healthy. We had pork cutlets and rice together,” she insisted. I blinked. I could see she wasn’t lying, but this also isn’t possible. Neither is a 400 year old concubine likely to sneak into my house. Magic exists. Magic must be the answer.

 

“Did you cut your hair?” she asked me. “It looks… longer. How?” she asked in confusion.

 

“I think it is possible that one of the great questions about reality has just been answered,” I announced. “You should get dressed and wash your face. I’m going to make breakfast. It has been a while since I cooked for someone else. Please forgive me in advance.”