"You have work. Go."
At the madam's pestering, she was forced to ride a rather magnificent horse carriage.
Apparently, tonight's job was a certain nobleman's banquet.
The sighing Maomao was led to a large residence in the north of the capital.
There were her older sisters and several others. Everyone was dressed in beautiful clothes, faces applied with bewitching make-up. Thinking that even she looked just like the others, she felt a little ill at ease for some strange reason.
They traversed the long hallway, climbed the spiral staircase, and were shown into a spacious room.
Lanterns hung down from the ceiling, red tassels swinging.
There were layers of beast furs piled on the red carpeted floor. That was where tonight's customers were sitting.
The five people, who were lined up side by side, were younger than she thought.
Seeing the young men who were illuminated with the wavering flame, Pairin-neechan licked her lips. Joga-neechan, who was beside her, poked her side.
(Hurry up and introduce us.)
They were high officials who work in the Imperial Court.
Apparently, the referrer was Rihaku.
If Maomao had an affinity with Rihaku, her debt should decrease slowly.
Well, her severance payment she received paid more than she expected. She didn't need to go as far as selling her body, and it was good this way that she is living with a part-time job.
(The hag clicked her tongue.)
Apparently, the madam really wanted Maomao to be a prostitute.
For these couple of years, those actions had been obvious.
She had been told many times to stop playing pharmacist, but that was impossible. As her own interest lay in pharmacy, she had nothing towards singing and dancing.
(At any rate, they're filthy rich.)
It was priced even higher to summon prostitutes to the residence than to have the banquet at the brothel. On top of that, the ones they called were the popular prostitutes who could make one year's worth of silver disappear with a single night of alcohol pouring.
To think that they called the Rokushoukan's Three Princesses: Meimei, Pairin, and Joga, altogether.
Maomao was one of the several people who were brought along to support the Three Princesses.
Though she had done most of the training, she couldn't recite poetry, couldn't play the erhu, and dancing was just unreasonable.
At least she would keep the customer's cups from emptying. She didn't think she could just keep a close eye.
With a smile plastered on her face, she slowly poured alcohol into the empty vessel.
Everyone was in a daze at her older sisters' poetry and dancing. It was a relief that no one was looking her way.
(Oh? Is he bored?)
Even though everyone was lit up with smiles, drunk with alcohol and enjoying the dance performance. There was just one person who was looking down below.
The young man, who was clad in first-class cotton clothes, with one knee up, was pouring his own drink and gulping down alcohol.
Only there was the atmosphere was clouded in grey.
(Did he lose his job?)
Maomao, who was in a strangely solemn place, held a full bottle of alcohol and sat down beside the gloomy man.
His glossy bangs concealed the upper half of his face.
"Leave me alone."
(?)
Well. It sounded like a voice she heard before.
As she was thinking, her hands moved at the same time.
All questions of impoliteness and rudeness were gone from her mind.
Taking care to not touch the forehead of the man who was looking down, she gently raised his front bangs.
A beautiful face was exposed.
Irritation instantly changed into surprise.
"Jinshi-sama?"
Though there wasn't that glittering smile, and his voice wasn't sweet like honey, it was surely the eunuch she was familiar with.
Jinshi blinked several times. She couldn't calm down at all from being stared at somewhat steadily.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I get that often."
"Don't tell me you're disguised with make-up?"
"I get that often."
She had a feeling that she had a similar conversation some time ago.
She returned the bangs she was holding on back to their original position.
And in doing so, Jinshi stretched out his hand and held onto Maomao's.
"Why did you run away?"
He looked at her with a sulky face.
"Please don't touch the prostitute."
Those were the rules. She couldn't do anything about it. It will cost extra fees.
"Before that, what's with your get up?"
"I'm in the middle of part time work."
"At the brothel? …you don't mean, you?"
Understanding what Jinshi wanted to say, Maomao scowled at him with her eyes half-closed.
It was simply his character to suspect people's sense of virtue, apparently.
"Not really. I haven't snagged a customer. Not yet."
"Not yet…."
"…."
She couldn't answer back. Before repaying her remaining debt, there is certainly a chance of the madam forcing her to bring in guests.
With her dad and her older sisters' keeping that at bay, that was not an issue at present.
"Shall I buy you?" [T/N: ore again.]
"Hah?"
"Don't joke–" she stopped mid-sentence as an idea suddenly crossed her.
"That might be good."
"!?"
Jinshi gave a shocked expression.
Somehow, because he wasn't sparkling today, he was rich in expressions. The celestial maiden's smile was beautiful, but it was an expression that couldn't be deemed as human.
She even occasionally wondered if he has two souls settled in one spirit.
"It wouldn't be bad for me to work at the Inner Palace one more time."
Jinshi's shoulders slumped.
What's wrong?
"Didn't you quit because you hated that place?"
"When did I say such things?"
Even though she requested to continue working for the sake of repaying her debt, the one who dismissed her was this guy.
Although there were a lot of troublesome things, she was in quite favourable terms with Consort Gyokuyou's maids. She didn't think she would get used to thinking that she would do a rare post like food tasting.
"If I don't like it, it'll be to the point of not being able to do poison experiments."
"You should really put a stop to that."
Jinshi placed his chin on his raised knee. He made a bitter smile.
"That's right. You are that kind of person huh"
"What is it? That."
"Do people tell you that you don't say enough?"
"…I get that often."
His bitter smile gradually changed into an innocent one.
This time Maomao hung her head in sullenness. There, Jinshi reached out his hand.
"So why did you run away?"
"Those were the rules."
Even though she said it, Jinshi wasn't drawing back his extended hand.
He stared at Maomao in a clammy manner.
"Isn't it fine if it's just for a little bit?"
"You can't."
"It wouldn't hurt."
"It'll hurt my spirit."
"Just one hand. It'll be fine if it's just fingers."
"…."
Persistent. Come to think of this, this man was sticky.
She closed her eyes in surrender, and sighed deeply.
"Just your fingers then."
Something pressed down on her lips.
She opened her eyes. There was red rouge on Jinshi's long fingers.
As Maomao was caught dumbfounded, Jinshi drew back his fingers. And then, of all things, he gently placed it on his own lips.
(This jerk.)
He separated his two fingers, slightly transferring the rouge on his nicely shaped lips.
Jinshi crinkled his eyes, making an even more innocent smile. His cheeks were a light shade of sakura colour, like they were also spread with rouge.
Maomao's shoulders shook, but Jinshi was facing her with his excessively innocent smile. She said nothing, hung her head, averting her eyes.
(Don't we match.) [T/N: idk, there's a pun here on utsuru. It's got multiple meanings. I tl'ed it as 'transfer' and "spread' for Jinshi, 'match' for Maomao. But if anyone has a better idea….]
Maomao, who was bound with her mouth jagged, her cheeks were becoming sakura coloured. She wasn't even wearing cheek rouge.
When she thought she could hear giggling, everyone around them was watching her way.
Her older sisters were looking her way, grinning.
She feared what comes after.
She was extremely ill at ease.
Gaoshun, who appeared unnoticed, folded his arms in relief.
As if to say that one task was finished.
Because she was already embarrassed about something or other at something, she couldn't really remember what happened after that.
Just that, she remembered that her older sisters' questioning was very persistent.
○●○
A few days later, a beautiful nobleman appeared in the capital's prostitution quarter.
Carrying money that even dazzled the madam, and for some reason, a strange plant that grew from a bug, that man requested for one girl.