I’m not being friendly with you!
Outwardly, Hulan was the younger brother of Shikyou, the chieftain of the western capital and Gyokuen’s grandson. He served Jinshi at the moment, but it was in some ways a form of banishment from his home city. He had believed that Jinshi would be a better leader of the western capital than his own brother—why, she couldn’t fathom—and it had led him to attempt to assassinate Shikyou. He was not someone to take lightly.
“I’ve come to greet you on the Moon Prince’s orders,” he said.
“Yeah. Great.” Maomao didn’t hide her annoyance. If there had been anyone else around, it might have been one thing, but she didn’t feel any special politeness was warranted when dealing with Hulan alone.
Apparently, they had called the physicians out here specifically to summon Maomao. She’d been requested by name, and the other two were essentially collateral damage—so it was sheer, strange coincidence that Tianyu was with them.
“Hmm? I might have expected you to be surprised, but you seem quite cool about this. Has someone already told you what’s going on?”
“Let’s just say I can take a guess.” Maomao’s sour mood was only partly because she had to deal with Hulan. There was another reason. “Don’t tell me...that stuff about the zhen was a lie?”
“Lady Maomao, you’re making a scarier face than my own sister. Please, fear not. The tale of the legendary poisonous bird was brought to us by the ones who invited us on this hunt.”
“Oh, really?”
“You’re close! You’re way too close to me!” said Hulan, whom Maomao had all but cornered. “In any case, shall we go?”
He led the way, and Maomao followed.
Hulan led her to a clearing where several tents had been pitched—one very large, and three relatively smaller ones. They were living-tents of the kind often seen in I-sei Province.
She could also see a large building nearby. “Is that where the Moon Prince is?” she asked.
“No, ma’am. He was offered a room in the annex, but he refused.”
“Why?” The tents were certainly of excellent construction, but the freestanding house would have been more sumptuous still.
“These tents have only one entrance each. No unwanted insects can get in. Much better than a house, where you never know what might be crawling about, said the Moon Prince.”
“Unwanted insects. Ah.” Maomao once again thought back to the time when Jinshi had habitually hidden his face. Even then, he’d frequently found his food spiked with vitality drugs—it had been a nightmare. “But wasn’t it hard to refuse the accommodations?”
“Indeed it was. We had to tell them that in addition to hunting, the Moon Prince enjoys camping out. It’s tough being from the central region, you know? He doesn’t own a single tent.”
Maomao looked around. In the distance she could see what looked to be a group of people setting up and taking down tents. Why? Well, if the bigwig on the trip was going to camp out, his subordinates could hardly stay in the annex. So they were trying to put up tents as best they could.
“And which grand official invited him this time?” Maomao asked.
“This is a gathering of prominent figures from among the named clans. It’s important for even members of the Imperial family to get some rest and relaxation—but it’s also necessary to meet and greet potential candidates for high office. Yet the Moon Prince is such a serious man that he keeps refusing these meetings.”
“And eventually it gets harder and harder?”
“Precisely. Personal relationships are so crucial to politics, you see. And there were some...qualms about this particular gathering as well.”
Qualms, huh?
Hulan flipped open the entrance to a tent. “I’m back, Moon Prince,” he said.
“Took you long enou—Huh?!”
Jinshi was openly shocked.
“Your food taster is here,” Hulan said. Maomao bowed her head politely.
In addition to the startled Jinshi, Suiren and Taomei were there, looking very conspiratorial. Basen was present as Jinshi’s bodyguard, but he looked uncomfortable to be in the same workplace as his mother.
The closed space of the tent was surprisingly cool. Several buckets filled with chunks of ice sat around, and guards moved the air with fans. A skylight provided a change of air.
“Wh-What are you doing here?” Jinshi asked, out of sorts. Basen was likewise agog, but the two ladies-in-waiting were smiling.
“Was I not summoned on your orders, Moon Prince?” Maomao looked at Suiren.
“I took the liberty of calling Xiaomao here. I thought she would be perfect for the job,” the old lady-in-waiting said.
Maomao didn’t know whether she was perfect, but she certainly got the impression she’d been played.
Then again, he used to summon me for all kinds of annoying chores.
The more Maomao accepted Jinshi’s feelings, however, the more he seemed to want to keep his distance. Maomao continually felt that Jinshi was too loyal for his own good.
“I didn’t hear anything about this, Suiren,” Jinshi said.
“You must pardon me. Did I let myself go overboard?” Suiren snickered, a strikingly girlish sound for the older woman.
And she’s Jinshi’s real grandmother, huh? Maomao thought. How many other people in the tent knew that? One thing she was sure of: Basen certainly didn’t.
“Well, anyway, have a seat,” Jinshi said, and Maomao found an empty chair and sat down. Suiren prepared tea, as always.
“It’s unusual for you to be part of a hunting expedition with other young people, Moon Prince,” Maomao said, not using the name Jinshi in front of Taomei.
“I suppose. Things happen.”
“Troublesome things, sir?”
Jinshi grimaced. Maomao thought she saw him hesitate for a second, then evidently decide that it would be better to tell her. He straightened up and folded his hands. “You know there’s been a good deal of skirmishing among the soldiers lately, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir, and I can honestly say it’s been a real pain in the neck.”
It just meant more work for her.
“The troublemakers may refer to themselves as the Empress’s faction or the Empress Dowager’s faction, but it’s mostly the young people who are stirring things up. They seem to want to find any excuse for a fight.”
You’re a young person too, remember!
Maomao stayed quiet and let Jinshi talk.
“One group that’s been particularly prone to violence is on this hunt. They belong to the Empress Dowager’s faction. Supposedly they all hit it off at the meeting of the named and decided to go hunting together, but I can’t shake the feeling there’s something else going on.”
“And you’re here to find out what, sir?”
“That’s right. We have to stamp out the sparks before they can start a fire.”
Maomao acknowledged the necessity, but also worried. “Don’t you think that’s dangerous?”
“I doubt people claiming to belong to the Empress Dowager’s faction would do me harm, even if it is a pretense on their part. If there’s any danger, it’s only that they might try to involve me in some unsavory plan.”
Regardless of how Jinshi himself might feel, those looking in from the outside probably assumed he was aligned with the Empress Dowager. These youngsters would never imagine that the man they considered to be their ally had joined them specifically to find out what they were up to.