Chapter Text
Maomao had already forgotten about Jinshi once she saw the delicate blue flower in front of her. She ran back home immediately while having only one thing on her mind. At home she filled the cattle with water and put it on the fire and searched for a tea pot while she waited for the water to boil. Once the tea pot was found and the water hot, she took the flower and ripped the petals off. That’s then she had the realization. The flower had only six petals and she needed to think of how she wanted to tackle this. She could make a full teapot full with diluted tea or she could make a tea cup full with concentrated tea.
Maomao decided to make the diluted tea since she didn’t know how potent a single flower was or if in high concentrations it could have some side effects.
The flower itself was vibrant blue and seemed to weakly glow in the dark but the tea itself was a nice indigo. Both smell and taste were weak but this was probably due to the fact that it was extremely watered down tea. Maybe she could mix in some green tea for flavor.
About the effects Maomao couldn’t say anything since she didn’t suffer from any illness herself and she was also still young so she couldn’t say anything about it granting youthfulness.
“Maomao. You’re up early.”
The apothecary looked up and saw Luomen standing beside her. She also could see that the sun was rising behind him. Looks like she pulled an allnighter.
“Actually I haven’t slept tonight,” she admitted.
Luomen just gave out a sigh and looked at the tea pot. “A new experiment?”
Maomao beamed with excitement and offered him a tea cup. “I found the flower that could heal many illnesses!”
He took the cup and smelled the liquid inside it. “What flower?”
“The moon halo flower!”
Luomen looked at her in surprise which shortly turned into a warm smile. “So that is what you’ve been doing all night.” He drank the tea and returned the cup back to Maomao.
“Did you have much trouble finding it?”
Excitedly, Maomao was about to tell him how she found it until she remembered a certain someone.
“Well, the moon was covered by clouds and it was completely dark and there weren’t any flowers by the lake. Instead I helped a young noble man who tripped and fell.”
“A young noble?”
Moamoa nodded. “He wasn’t really hurt. I just cleaned the mud off his face and hands and shared my mooncakes with him.” She pulled out the hair stick out of her hair and presented it to him. “He gave me this hair stick as payment and later I guided him out of the forest and that's where I found the flower.”
His face was unreadable when he looked at the hair stick but smiled again when giving it back to Maomao. “This is a great and valuable gift. You should keep it safe.”
“I wanted to sell it later at the market.”
Luomen shaked his head. “This would be rude. You need to wear it with pride and good things will come to you.”
She looked at the hair stick in her hand and gave out a sigh of defeat.
“Whatever you say old man…”
+++
The morning was peaceful. Luomen went on preparing herbs while Maomao took a nap to catch up on lost sleep.
She dreamed of blue flowers and dancing fairies and a pretty noble but thankfully nobody had to know about that. It was high noon when she woke up. It was also the time Lihaku appeared at her doorstep.
“Looks like someone slept in today!”
His voice was bright and had the same energy as a giant bell. There aren’t many people Moamao really liked but Lihaku was one of few people she was genuinely happy to see. They usually meet at the Verdegis House or in the fields but sometimes he would show up at her house to deliver sweets and presents from her sisters.
“I assume my sisters are sending you?”
Lihaku smiled and showed her small bag he was holding. “It’s dragon beard candy from Joka. It was a gift from a customer but she thought you would enjoy it more.”
Maomao smiled. Her sisters loved giving her the sweets they received from customers but she wished they would share their booze more often instead.
“Thank you, Lihaku.”
He gave her the bag and wanted to leave but something shiny caught his eye.
“Where did you find that thing?” he asked while pointing at the hair stick. Maomao reached out and felt the cold silver in her hair. She should try to hide it somehow since it is catching so much attention.
“It was given to me by a noble as payment for helping him after he tripped and fell and for guiding out of the forest.”
“The forest? What was he doing there?”
Maomao shrugged. “Maybe he wanted to see the moon fairy? It was a full moon after all.”
Jinshi had said that he was looking for his hair stick but he never said why he lost it there in the first place. The moon fairy was a good guess and honestly Maomao didn’t really want to know.
“I guess. Still a little strange.” Lihaku gave Maomao a pet on the head. “Well, time for me to get going. I still have a lot of work to do.”
“Just don’t over do it like last time!”
“Don’t worry about me. And even if something happens I still have you and Luomen to take care of anything serious!”
+++
The rest of the day remained uneventful. Maomao did try selling the hair stick off but for some reason no one wanted to take it. Everyone who took a look at it admired the beauty and craftsmanship but every time she mentioned that it was for sale they acted like it was cursed and didn’t want to have anything to do with it.
The tea also went nowhere. It seemed to work well as a hangover cure but it was too weak for anything else. She needed more flowers but she had to wait another month until the next full moon.
It was now early evening. The sun was setting and the sky was painted in pink and orange.
Maomao was sitting on a small hill facing the setting sun. Mentally she was already planning all the experiments she wanted to make once she had more moon halo flowers so she didn’t notice that someone was approaching her.
“Good evening, Apothecary!”
Maomao flinched in surprise before acknowledging Jinshi's presence with a face you would only give to an unwashed pig.
“Good evening.”
“No need to make that face.”
“Do you need something?”
Jinshi looked at her confused like she was some kind of strange being. “I just wanted to see how you’re doing and if you are wearing the hair stick I gave you.”
Maomao rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the sunset. “I’m fine. And yes I’m obviously wearing it as you can see. Pops said it would bring good things my way if I did.”
Jinshi chuckled. “He sounds like a wise man.”
“He is.”
The young man looked at Maomao. He saw her for the first time in the dark forest with nothing but a small lantern for light. Now he could actually see all the details of her face. He was especially fascinated by her freckles.
After a few moments he decided to sit down next to her and watch the sunset with her. It was surprisingly calming and he somehow felt at peace. Just sitting here in silence and watching nature's beauty.
He stayed silent until the sun disappeared and the waning moon was the dominant light source in the sky.
“And did you like my other gift?”
Maomao looked at him in confusion. “What other gift?”
“The flower I left you.”
Her eyes grew wide in surprise. “You left it for me?”
“Of course I left it there! They only grow by the lake and nowhere else!”
As if to make a point, Jinshi pulled out another flower from his sleeve and presented it to Maomao. She on the other hand looked at him as if he was holding precious jewels.
“You have more of these flowers?”
Her sudden excitement hit him like a boar.
“Yes, I have countless more of these.”
Suddenly she was very close to him and was holding him by his sleeve. “What do you want for them? Name me your price!”
The wheels in Jinshi's head started to turn. He would have given her the flowers for free but now a special opportunity presented itself to him. An opportunity that could solve many of his problems.
“Well, there is something you could do…”
“Yes?”
Jinshi cleared his throat and shifted into a sitting position that was a little more dignifying.
“There is a high ranking lady who recently lost her child. He was only three months old and had been suffering from a mysterious illness. The doctor was unable to find the cause and whatever he tried didn’t seemed to make it better. To make things worse his mother also suffered from the same illness and after his death she became bed ridden."
“It’s only logical that the loss of a child would worsen a mothers health…what symptoms did they have?”
Jinshi crossed his arms and looked up, trying to remember what the doctor had said.
“Headaches…stomach pain and…nausea if I remember correctly. Do you have an idea what it could be?”
Maomao shaked her head. “The symptoms could have been part of any illness. I can’t really give a proper diagnosis without seeing the patient…why don’t you use the flowers?” she pointed at the blue flower he was still holding. “You said you had countless of these.”
Jinshi looked at the flower like it was a traitor. “As powerful as they are, they have no effect on Lady Lihua or anyone of her bloodline.”
Both anger and sadness painted the young man's face and he gripped the flower so hard it seemed as if he was trying to strangle it. Suddenly his demeanor shifted completely and a wide smile bloomed on his face.
“I can bring you to Lady Lihua!”
He sprang up, dragging Maomao to her feet as well. “I will bring you to her right now and you can make a proper diagnosis!”
“What do you mean right now? I can’t just leave!”
“Don’t worry about that. If things go smoothly I can bring you back home before the sun rises!” He smiled at her and waved the moon halo flower in front of her face. “And you will receive a full bouquet of these as payment.”