The Apothecary Diaries - Volume 11 - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Mother versus Son

About the time Jinshi was finishing breakfast, a man like a wild boar—er, ahem, that is, Basen—appeared. Jinshi was hardly even bothered by the duck that perched alternately on Basen’s head and shoulders. Sadly, he was used to it by now.

“What’s going on? I could hear you coming all the way down the hall.” Taomei was not pleased with her son. There was at least one other thing she might have chided him for, but sadly, she, too, had grown accustomed.

“Mother! I cannot stay silent with things as they are!” Basen exclaimed. The duck gave a sympathetic quack and flapped her wings.

“Who are you calling Mother? We’re at work, here!” She gave Basen a smack, startling the duck, which flapped away and right out of the room. It might have seemed a bit harsh, but this was how things were done in Gaoshun’s family. Jinshi was used to this too. Although he still found it draining.

“My goodness!” Suiren put her hands to her cheeks and laughed, while Chue was uncharacteristically silent, trying not to draw attention to herself. As usual, Baryou was secreted behind his curtain. Jinshi could hear paper shuffling back there, so he knew the man was getting ready to work.

Gaoshun, as it happened, was out at that moment. If he’d been there, he would have looked more pained than anyone by the behavior of his wife and son.

“You’re the royal bodyguard, Basen—you could stand to act like it!” Taomei said. “A master is shamed when his servants make fools of themselves.”

“But Lady Taomei!” Basen said, knowing better than to make the same mistake twice. (Chue suppressed a smile at the mode of address he chose.) “Tell me—can you stand by and watch this happen?! The officials from the royal capital know to hold their tongues, but the administrators from this city mock the Moon Prince and say the most awful things! ‘He’s a leader in name but not in action!’ they say. ‘He could stand to learn a thing or two from Gyoku-ou!’”

Taomei’s hand rose again, the back this time. Chue yelped and put her hands to her cheeks, smooshing them together. Even Baryou was evidently interested enough to peek out from the gap in his curtain, although he was ultimately just an observer.

“You will refer to the governor with respect! I don’t care how low a piece of humanity he is, he still outranks you. If you give the slightest cause to be upset with you, you’ll only sully the Moon Prince’s name!”

A low piece of humanity—Jinshi could tell Taomei was barely holding back her disgust herself.

For better or worse, Jinshi had become more than used to enduring such mockery during his time as a “eunuch,” so the alleged taunts barely moved him.

It would be counterproductive for mother and child to start fighting, so Jinshi stepped in. He could possibly have instructed Suiren to intercede as well, but she was looking directly at him—so it looked like he had to do it.

“Will you both please contain yourselves?” he said.

“But sir!” they said in unison, for once in harmony.

“Your point is that I’m not viewed favorably in the western capital. Well, I knew that. What exactly is the benefit in getting upset about it?”

“Moon Prince,” Basen said. “You’ve done so much for this city, and Gy...Sir Gyoku-ou is taking the credit. Shouldn’t you make your work more visible?”

“Do you think that would gain me anything?”

Everyone in the room fell silent.

First, Jinshi looked at Suiren.

“We’d have to find you more bodyguards,” she said.

Then he turned to Taomei.

“Shall I obtain Sir Gyoku-ou’s permission? For form’s sake,” she said. Even for her, evidently, respect for Gyoku-ou stopped at “Sir” and didn’t rise to the level of “Master.”

“We could send a doctor with you in the name of visiting the sick and the injured.” An uncommonly sober suggestion from Basen.

“I’d almost completely forgotten to worry about this recently, but how many people do we really have who can endure your countenance, Moon Prince?” Chue asked. “I think the shut-in life might actually be easier for you!” Everyone else groaned audibly.

“I would hate to have to clean up after you when brides and lovers have a change of heart after seeing you, Moon Prince. It does the most terrible things to my stomach,” came Baryou’s mutter from behind his curtain.

Once more, they were all silent. Quiet enough, in fact, that a commotion could be heard outside. Another day, another fight going on somewhere.

At length, Chue ventured, “How about this?” She took a belt out of Jinshi’s chest of clothes and placed it in front of Basen.

“Ah, so that’s what you have in mind,” said Suiren, who seemed to surmise everything Chue was saying from this one article of clothing.

“What? What does she have in mind?” asked Basen, who certainly hadn’t.

Chue grinned. “The Moon Prince doesn’t have to go outside himself. As long as it looks like he’s doing something, everything is fine.”

Jinshi started to get Chue’s drift. “Basen,” he said.

“Yes, sir? What is it?”

“I grant you that belt. Put it on and go to work in my stead.”

“Sir?” Basen said, staring at the belt in amazement.