Stay with me!

Maomao was absolutely sick and tired. Completely fed up. There were just no better expressions to describe her current mood.  With a deep frown on her face and a dangerous look in her eyes that were sparkling with irritation, she was stomping outside, carrying an empty laundry basket on her back in order to collect the dried laundry from the clotheslines. Letting out snorts from time to time and generally giving off a menacing aura that kept most other people away from her. It almost seemed as if there was a little thundercloud floating just above her head. Almost a week had already passed since her awakening after having passed out during the incident with the ritual. And yes, she felt absolutely fine and perfectly capable of carrying out most of her usual tasks without any issue at all. However, a certain someone didn't seem to share that opinion of hers… The apothecary let out an exasperated sigh and looked around. He was nowhere to be seen. What a blessing! Ever since that fateful day, Jinshi had been watching her like a hawk, and no matter what it was about, be it work or whatever that required being on your feet, he was always there to remind her of her wound and not to overdo it. Always! Almost as if he had developed a sixth sense for it and was just waiting for another opportunity to scold her. In fact, Maomao was wondering whether his own work suffered from it. But whatever, that wasn't her problem. Every single day, it was the same old story: “Apothecary! Why are you running?! Your wound will reopen! ” when he had caught her walking a little faster than usual through the hallway. ”Apothecary! No!” when she intended to sweep the floor in one of the rooms, snatching the broom straight out of her hands. “Apothecary! Don’t !”, pulling her away from a herb she had wanted to pluck.  It was so suffocating! Pha! As if she didn’t know how to watch out for herself! After all, she wasn't a toddler anymore, thank you very much! Well, yes, it was true that her wound had opened up a few times during the last days, but it had always been quickly stitched up anew and was now healing rather nicely. She was certainly already limping less than in the beginning. In other words: it was really nothing to make such a big fuss about! But no matter how much she was glaring at Jinshi as if he was a mud stain on a recently washed garment, he just kept buzzing around her like an annoying mosquito, sucking her dry of all her patience. Maybe that guy was already immune to her glares, who knew. Now, perhaps it should be mentioned that it took a lot to make the stoic Maomao truly angry. And Jinshi had completed that task rather successfully, to the point of awakening the desire in her to shout some... uhm, highly inappropriate words at him. That was really an accomplishment in itself. However, despite everything, Maomao still couldn't claim that she hated the young lord, in fact, she never had, and of course, didn't pronounce any words dedicated to him that she would regret later, either, but… ...but today was the day she had done something else, which might be considered equally bad. Maybe. Maomao gritted her teeth at the mere memory. It had happened barely an hour ago: The apothecary was in her room, getting changed. "Hah, what a stupid mishap," she thought, looking at the clothes she had just taken off and that were now lying on the floor, completely drenched in dirty water. Well, but that was bound to happen when you were daydreaming too much! It was that, while putting away some dishes she had polished, Maomao had been so lost in thought and incredibly busy imagining what she was going to do with the precious bezoar she would (hopefully) receive soon, that she had accidentally tripped over a full water bucket Suiren had been using to clean the floor. And before she knew it, there was a loud clang and both Maomao and the bucket were on the ground. What luck that she had at least managed to store the dishes away before that, so nothing broke. The startled Suiren had immediately rushed over to help her up and to ask whether she was alright. Maomao had apologized profusely and offered to mop it all up, but the chief lady-in-waiting assured her that she would do it herself just fine and sent her off to her room to change her soaked-through clothes before she caught a cold.  Thus, Maomao had no other choice than to do as told and trot away, cursing herself for her inattention. She could almost imagine the huge pile of dishes Suiren would have ready to polish for her later, as a punishment. But oh well, there was nothing you could do. And that was the reason she was now standing there in her underwear and rummaging for some clean clothes to put on. Suddenly, she perked up her ears in suspicion and froze. Was she just imagining it or was there really a voice coming from the hallway, just by her room? A painfully familiar voice that didn't sound happy at all. And a few seconds later, the door opened and a "heavenly nymph" barged into her room, looking quite upset. Oh, damn! “Apothecary! Suiren told me you tripped over her water bucket! Just how many times do I have to tell you to watch-” The scolding abruptly came to a halt, and the two of them stared at each other, wide-eyed. Jinshi didn't say anything. Maomao didn't say anything. But she did feel her blood beginning to boil. "Master Jinshi!” That was it, she definitely had enough! As it seemed, she couldn't even change her clothes in peace anymore! That really took the cake! Jinshi stood there as if paralyzed, with his mouth wide open and a face whose color could match Lady Gyokuyou's hair. After a few moments, though, he seemed to come back to life and started to frantically wave both of his hands and to retreat a few steps. "A-Apothecary, I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't know you were…” But Maomao didn't let him finish his sentence. Beside herself with fury and forgetting their difference in status for a minute, she bent down and picked up her soaked skirt. And tossed it right into his face. Trying to peel the wet cloth from his gorgeous face and stuttering more apologies, he clumsily stumbled out of the room, almost colliding with the door in the process. And then finally ran off, as if Maomao was going to chase after him. “Has he never seen a woman in her underwear before?” But, of course, she didn't. Instead, the apothecary snorted loudly and then went to grab the skirt he had left behind on the floor. "That guy's driving me insane, I swear!” Well, to be honest, she wasn't really embarrassed that Jinshi had seen her half-naked, since her body didn't have a lot to show anyway, her issue was rather the fact that she couldn't even take a step without him knowing about it and appearing out of the blue. Even a simple maid like her needed at least a bit of privacy from time to time. "Oh, Lady Suiren, why did you have to tell him?..." Knowing Jinshi pretty well by now, Maomao had a feeling that she wouldn't get punished for what she had done (well, at least not lose her head), but even if she would, she didn't regret it one bit. He totally deserved it! Still fuming, she quickly dressed herself, put the drenched clothes with the dirty laundry and went outside to do her next chore: bringing in the clean laundry. “I take everything back: he does have too much time! Way too much! If he really needs a new hobby so badly, he should just look for it elsewhere!” But yeah, judging by the way he had fled head over heels, Maomao assumed that she would get now at least a few hours of peace and quiet from him or maybe even a whole day if she was lucky. Thank goodness. *** Approaching the clotheslines located behind the residence, Maomao could see that Gaoshun was already standing there and waiting for her. Jinshi had ordered him to help her with some household tasks that required being on your feet, hence the aide had come to take the dried laundry from the lines for her. He didn't seem to mind, but Maomao still felt a bit sorry for him. She put the empty basket next to him on the ground. "Greetings, Master Gaoshun." "Xiaomao…” Upon spotting her and seeing the face she was making, Gaoshun shot her a look that seemed to say: "That was our lord's doing again, wasn't it?". Maomao confirmed his suspicion with a scowl. Then they both let out a sigh. Not a single word was needed. But when he started to take down the laundry and hand it to her so that she could fold it and put it into the basket, Maomao did feel a certain desire to voice her discontentment.  "'Apothecary' here, 'apothecary' there! He's treating me as if I were a small child or a naughty pet! I can’t do almost anything without him breathing down my neck! It's so annoying!” Maomao tossed the poor laundry into her basket with all her might, as if it was to blame for everything.  Gaoshun turned his head into her direction. “Please don’t be so harsh on him, Xiaomao. I know he’s not always easy to deal with." His face showed exactly how well he knew. "But he only means well. He was deeply concerned about you after the incident and still is. You were the only one on his mind that day.” “Huh?” Maomao was a bit taken aback. "Yes. Not to mention that you got that wound saving him, after all, so he feels guilty. Remember that he let you sleep in his bed.” The apothecary pondered over it for a moment. Indeed, Jinshi had. A memory of their conversation in her room flashed through her head. She had been the only one... on his mind? "I see," she said finally. "But still, he doesn't need to go through all this trouble. I am just a maid.” “Not for him,” Gaoshun muttered. He looked as if he was considering telling her more, but then decided against it, shaking his head. Maomao was somehow thankful. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to hear it. Instead, he said: "And he's also very grateful to you. So grateful, he even intends to go to His Majesty and ask him to grant you a wish. As a reward for all the lives you have saved until now, not only his.” Maomao had to admit that she was honestly baffled, not having expected that in the slightest. She looked up at the aide, with her eyes wide open. But then relaxed again. "No need for that, I don't want to attract any unnecessary attention. It's not always advantageous to be known as someone having His Majesty's favor. I'd prefer to just continue being a maid and an apothecary. And besides, there is only one thing I desire at the moment, and I already know that I will get it.” “Really? Which one?” “My bezoar!” Her eyes began sparkling again at the thought of that rare medicinal ingredient. She could almost feel it in her hands. Gaoshun let out a deep sigh. But then something else suddenly occurred to Maomao.  "Ah, Master Gaoshun, there's one thing I've been wondering about all this time.” Without even realizing it, the conversation with the composed Gaoshun had managed to help diffuse her anger and return her to her usual self. “Yes?” “If Master Jinshi let me sleep in his bed that night, then where did he sleep?” “Well… you see, as I said, he was really worried about you and…” It was unusual to see the aide getting flustered. Maomao arched an eyebrow and looked up at him questioningly, silently asking him to get to the point. In the end, Gaoshun sighed again.  "Are you sure you want to know?" "Eh?"  A little frown appeared on Maomao's face. "You might not like the answer." The apothecary had a bad feeling about this, but this time, her curiosity got the better of her. "I am sure.” "As you wish. He slept in your bed, Xiaomao, in your bed..." "Oh.” Maomao frowned even more. Gaoshun already looked as if he had started to regret it a bit, surely expecting to hear more complaints directed at his lord. However… "Isn't it a bit too small for him?" was everything she had to say to this. “THIS is what you’re worried about?” *** A few hours later, Maomao was back in her room and sitting at the table with her cheek resting on her palm, bathed in the light of the setting sun that shone through the window. It was already evening and still no trace of Jinshi… And surprisingly, that fact didn't make her as happy as she thought it would. Not after what Gaoshun had told her. The apothecary couldn't help thinking about the conversation with him earlier. So Jinshi had spent that night in her bed, eh? Come to think of it, Maomao did remember that her sheets, blanket, and pillow had smelled of sandalwood for a few days, but she hadn't understood the reason back then, because Jinshi had only been near the bed when he had hugged her that time, never actually on it. In the end, she had assumed that it was not the bed, but rather herself, who had smelled of that incense after having slept in his bed, and decided to just leave it at that. Thinking that she was still a bit confused after that blow to her head. Well, but if he had actually slept here, then that explained everything. Maomao's mouth twitched a bit. To claim that the idea of Jinshi sleeping in her bed didn't stir up any emotions at all inside of her, would have been a lie, but she had to admit that it was somehow logical: with her occupying his chambers, he had needed another place to sleep that night, hadn't he? Not to mention that she had not the faintest clue how to name these aforementioned emotions: Was she happy about it? Definitely not. Was she disgusted? Strangely enough, also no. Was she angry? Neither. But there was still something, there definitely was. How confusing…  The rational and science-loving Maomao wasn't used to thinking about feelings, so it was quite difficult for her to analyze them, be it her own or others'. So how was she supposed to understand Jinshi if she even failed to properly understand herself? Yes, they misunderstood each other quite often. But on the other hand... there were times when they didn't, occasions where Maomao understood him better than anyone, sometimes even without words. It was quite rare, but it happened. The apothecary had never experienced that with anyone else. At least not to such an extent. The two of them were so different, but maybe still more similar than she thought. Her gaze wandered towards the bed.  Jinshi had been really worried about her, huh? Thinking back of the words he had said while hugging her, she realized it now, too. And perhaps... she had already known it all that time, but decided to deceive herself and think of it as him being agitated after almost having lost his own life.  No. There was no use denying it anymore. Deep down, she knew exactly that he had been concerned for her, not for himself. After all, despite being a bit dense regarding feelings, she wasn't blind. It was just that she still didn't get the "why", since no matter how you looked at it, she WAS still a maid, hence, a noble like Jinshi shouldn't care about her life like that. If she lost it, then so be it. There were plenty of other maids. She didn't want to die, of course, but she understood that much. It was just reality, nothing else. He shouldn't care, but yet he did. Maomao raised her right hand and examined it. That same hand had been pressed to Jinshi's heart just a few days ago, and she still remembered the feeling of it throbbing against her palm, as if it wanted to jump out of his chest. To be honest, she had been quite baffled by how violently his heart had been pounding. Had it been really… because of her? Maomao truly had no clue what to make of it. It was all so new to her. Well, perhaps… The apothecary flinched when she noticed that her thoughts had wandered off into a direction she didn't like in the slightest, and effusively shook her head. No, no, no! Better not delve into it further than she should and cause herself unnecessary headaches. Alright, so she accepted the fact that he had been and was still worried about her. That was enough! There was no reason for her to rack her brains over the “why”! Exactly. She had accepted it. And with that acceptance, more and more things had started to come back to her memory, one after the other: The look full of pain in his eyes on the day of the incident right after having been saved and seen her beaten-up face. His hand, gently stroking her swollen cheek. The fact that he had still been wearing the same attire when he had come to question her together with Gaoshun and Basen the next morning. The dried blood on these very clothes, that had probably been hers, since he hadn't been injured during the incident. How desperately he had hugged her in her room… his voice breaking, as though he had been about to start crying any moment... and yes, that heartbeat once again… She realized now that he clearly hadn't been his usual self, obviously traumatized. But of course! After all, he HAD almost died that day and also seen her bleed all over the place and then lose consciousness in his arms. Most people couldn't forget such shocking events that easily, and he wasn't like Maomao who dealt with things like that by immediately trying to block out any thought of them. Considering it all, she felt now… a bit guilty for having treated Jinshi like that. Perhaps, she had really been too harsh. Too unfair to him. He was very annoying and tended to exaggerate a lot, all right, but was not a bad person at all. “I’m also reprimanding him quite often for overworking himself, so I’m probably not the right one to complain in the first place…" she thought. "But... well… I guess I’m not used to this.” That was right. She wasn’t. After all, it was the first time in her life that somebody was that concerned for her. Sure, people did care and also worry about her from time to time: her adoptive father, her sisters at the brothel, Lady Gyokuyou’s ladies-in-waiting, Suiren...  But never like that. And frankly, she had not the tiniest clue how to deal with it. That was why she had just let him hug her that day in her room without saying a word. Because she had been at a complete loss and didn’t know what else to do. Maomao covered her face with both hands and let out a loud sigh. She had to apologize to him, or she wouldn't be able to sleep properly at night.