Summoned

April 18 1620

It was still dark out, the dark sky stretched endlessly above them. Maomao was brought to Jinshis office, where she let out a sigh of relief. She knew she had her ways with him. The guard harshly threw her on the ground.

(Geez, first I get dangled around like a ragdoll then get practically thrown on the ground, let me live, please)

She got up, brushing dirt off her robes. Glaring at the guard that harshly man handled her.

(Thats gonna leave a bruise...)

"Piece of shit..." She mumbled.

"What was that?"The guard snapped.

"Maybe next time try to not throw people around recklessly...asswipe" She mumbled the last word.

The guard's eyes widen in surprise. A beat of silence passed his shocked face was replaced with anger. He lifted up his arm, about to attack her, Maomao braced herself when the door in-front of them slams open.

Both Maomao and the guard look over to see none other than Jinshi, who was bathed in warm lamp light, in front of them. Gaoshun standing behind him with a tired look on his face.

"I asked of you to bring the Apothecary" Jinshi said coldly. "not to attack her"

Jinshi had a look of worry on his face, but not just with authority, something else Maomao couldn't quite place, concern?

The guard quickly composes himself and bows, begging for his apology to be accepted.

"Master Jinshi! Please forgive me, it seems the girl managed to make me lose my control! She was being disrespectful!"

Jinshi raises an eyebrow at the guard. He knew Maomao, and he was aware that she knew better than to snap at any palace official for no reason at all. His gaze shift to Maomao, who was also bowing. His eyebrow still raised.

"A word slipped out my mouth, didn't mean anything I said."

Jinshis eyes stood there, silent for a moment, trying to process what happened a few seconds ago.

"Right then, can we all just please forget this happened?" Jinshis pleaded.

Jinshi also looks like he has a tired look on his face, it's clear he dosent wanna deal with anymore conflicts.

"Maomao, please come inside, and the guards, protect my office from the outside"

Maomao and the guards all nod and follow Jinshis orders. Maomao walks in his office and Jinshi closes and locks the door behind her. His office was bright compared to the dark atmosphere outside and smelled like similar to Jinshi. It was warm and felt cozy which helped calm Maomaos nerves.

He sits at his usual spot, his desk and Maomao approaches his desk, bowing.

"You summoned me, Master Jinshi?"

"Yes, I want to know why you weren't at the concubine's room today, when I personally assigned you there?"

He had a look of annoyance, and so did Gaoshun, who was quietly standing behind Jinshi.

Maomao quickly grabbed the hem of the sleeve of her left arm, and pulled it back, exposing a blue ribbon tied around her wrist.

"I was forced to clean the hallways"

"Did you atleast try telling them I was the one who assigned you?"

"I did, but was cut off and forced to clean, but the Eunuch did mention how someone of high power assigned me to clean the hallways."

"Someone of high power...huh...any ideas on who could've assigned you to hallways?"

"At the moment, I have no one in mind"

Jinshi starts to think, Maomao looking at his serious expression.

(He seems so serious, he's acting more mature)

Jinshi sighs and rests his forehead on the palm of his hand.

"I'll make sure you're assigned to bedroom tomorrow alright? I'll accompany you to your quarters."

"It's fine, I can walk over there myself"

"I know that but it's dark out and cold...it'd make me feel better if I just walked with you"

(Creepy)

Jinshi dosent know why but, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep if she went out by herself at this hour.

Maomao sighs and gives up.

"Alright then"

Jinshis eyes widen in excitement, and Gaoshun just face palms, along with a sigh.

(He's acting like a kid...he's easier to talk to when he's like this)

Jinshi eagerly stands up and walks over to her side.Maomao nods and excuses herself before exiting his office, with Jinshi following behind her.

Maomao and Jinshi Walk out into the cold night and through the tense guards, to which she felt their unsettling gaze linger on her as she walked away.

The air carried the smell of wet dirt, which brought a sense to comfort to both Jinshi and Maomao.

(If someone did sabotage the order, it means they knew I had business, and they also knew Jinshi assigned me...but that must mean they're of high rank)

Maomao has a quick flashback of Meifen's cold glare. She shakes her head along with her thoughts.

(No, it can't be her, she's working as a maid, she can't possibly be of high rank)

"Is...something wrong, Maomao?"

"Huh? Uh, no, just thinking"

A look of subtle concern paint Jinshis face. But he decides to not push it. They continue walking through the night, until they reach Maomaos quarter.

She faces her back to Jisnhi to unlock and open her door.

Jinshi stared at her from behind. His eyes drifting to her neck. He gets the sudden urge to get close to her. A little bit of drool slips out his mouth.

"Right then, I'll see you tommorow, Master Jinshi."

"Sure, but one thing before you go..."

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Maomao felt something warm and wet touch her neck. Then, she felt a gently a bite.

She stiffened and shivers ran down her spine. (WHAT THE-!)

Her heart skipped a beat in surprise.

She turns around to see Jinshi standing there, sheepishly with a smirk on his face before he bolted into the dark with a mischievous spirit.

She gently applies a light pressure on where her neck had been bit softly.

(THIS GUY! Did he just bite my neck?!)

She felt deeply embarrassed, which may be the wrong use of words, she felt rather cringe.

She does her best to ignore it and walks nside her quarters, locking the door behind her.

She quickly dresses into her night clothes and jumps into her bed, trying to sleep as fast as she can to move on from what happened. Before she knew it, she quickly fell asleep.———————April 19 1620

The rays of the sun peered between the crevices on her thick curtains, her room casted with a gently glow from the sun. Her eyes fluttered open and she forced herself to sit up, stretching.

She got herself ready. Brushing her hair in her typical hairstyle, adding on her fake freckles and dressing into her servant clothes, getting ready to start the day. She eats a sandwich before exiting her quarter and heading off to her shift.———————-

Walking around the inner palace during the morning always brought her a sense of comfort and happiness. She loved the delicate and feminine aura the inner palace had, she felt so at home there.

She met up with Lianhua and entered the late concubine's palace, where they all received new color ribbons.

Maomao was finally given a purple ribbon, along with Lianhua, which she didn't mind, in fact she would've chose her over any other girl to work with. Meigen, Xioloing and Yue were still assigned hallways, but it just so happened that the hallway they were assigned to clean is right outside the late concubine's quarters.

"YAY! I'm so excited we get to spend the whole day together! And we're on the same team again!"

(Maomao can't deny it, she is also very relieved that she's working with Lianhua)

Maomao agreed with her.

They heard the bell and quickly got to work. Maomao and Lianhua walked over to the late concubine's room. Lianhua was there to clean, while Maomao was there to gather as many detailes/clues she could find. To see if she can find out anything about how she died or if she even knew she was gonna pass. Lianhua, wasn't in on this, obviously.

On their way to her room.

"Maomao, you seem very quiet today..."

"Hm? I'm just thinking"

"About???"

"Its nothing, look where here"

Lianhua's eyes widens as she sees the entrance to the late concubine's room, as they entered, she was only more amazed on how elegant her room looked. It carried the scent of flowers and had a drawer of many hair pins, which were very valuable.

"Wow! She was rich rich!"Exclaimed Lianhua.

Maomao quickly got to investigating the room. She found a cup which consisted of a blue liquid. Maomao, like the expert she is, was quick to realize that this drink had been laced. It had a sweet, strong smell, fruity, like blueberries.

(She didnt willingly take it herself, she had to have been tricked! She didn't seem like-)

She quickly stoped herself form thinking about people on base how they looked like, since her adoptive father always told her to never go based on stereotypes, but this time she had a really strong feeling that this girl was murdered. She remembered how the slits on her wrist were framed after her death which only supported her theory more.

She looked more deeply in the room, she eventually reached her closet.

(Expensive garments, of good quality and color...wait...what's this?)

She looks down at the floor where she says a loose tile. She looks back at Lianhua who seems too entertained dusting the vases to pay attention to Maomao.

Maomao carefully lifts the floor board to reveal a tiny box hidden under it. She carefully picked it up and opened it. Inside were many notes, but one stood out to her. It read,

"I feel like someone's coming for me...Consort Ruyue perhaps? I'm not sure but...I feel like I'm being watched"

(Consort Ruyue? There isn't a consort by the name Ruyue! Or so I don't think so...no, I'm sure of it! As of today there are not consorts that go by the name Ruyue...If she did, she didn't exist publicly!)

"AHHHH!!! MAOMAO!! A SPIDER!"

Maomao snaps back and quickly hides the box where it was originally and got up quickly.

"What? Where?"

"RIGHT THERE!"Lianhua says, pointing at a daddy long leg the was minding its business in the corner of the ceiling.

"Lianhua, it's alright, it's a Daddy long leg, they're harmless, actually, they benefit you more than then they hurt you"

"Promise?"

"Promise"

Lianhua sighs in relief, she keeps her distance away from the spider. Meanwhile Maomao has an another case on her hands.

(It's best if she doesn't know about the note)

Maomao stole a quick glance outside the room through the door, to the hallways where she saw Yue, more timid than usual. Maifen is as also with her, sweeping the floors when she suddenly shot a quick glare at Maomao.

Maomao felt chills run down her spine.

(Who is this woman? To beautiful to be a maid, so why is she working here. She's watching me...but why?)

Maomao cautiously resumes cleaning the room. Looking for any more details that might help her. The Concubie had a vanity where she got ready. It had a really high quality and well polished mirror which was rare to see around the inner palace. She opens the drawers one by one, closely inspecting them and whats inside, until she got to the last one. The last drawer was messy, unlike the others which were well organized. She found many scented oils, that were used as fragrances.

She smelled each one separately until she reached the bottom of the drawer. The scented oil was different. It had a thicker consistency with a dark blue color. 

Meriden watched intently, from outside the room, this time, Maomao didn't notice.

She brought the bottle to her nose.

(It smells familiar...wait-)

Maomao widens her eyes as if she had just realized something. She quickly got up and rushed to the nightstand.

"Maomao! Is something wrong?!"

Lianhua said with concern. Maomao didn't answer, instead she picked up the cup that contained the laced drink, brought it to her nose and realized it had the same smell as the fragrance found in the concubines drawer.

(Knew it.)

She looked around the room, Lianhua was already distracted with the view from the window...she gets distracted easily. She was too far away from the door for anyone to see her.

(...no one's looking...IVE NEVER SEEN A TYPE OF POISON LIKE THIS! JUST A LITTLE SIP, IT WOULDN'T HURT! Feeling the poison stream slowly through my body and invade my digestive system...the tingle slowly getting stronger...I need to know how it feels!)

Her face has a very excited expression, Maomao tends to get excited about trying new posisons, really wierd hobby.

She brings the cup to her mouth and seals her lips around the edge of the cup. Just as she is about to tilt her head back, to get a taste, Jinshi entered the room. His eyes widen in surprise at the scene infront of him.

"Maomao! What are you doing?!"He sounded less angry and more concerned, with a mix of annoyance. He was used to Maomao trying new poison so this wasn't new to him.

"Master jinshi! I was just uh..."

"Gaoshun...take it away"

(NO!)

Gaoshun quickly acts and takes the cup away from Maomaos hand. A quick bow before he walks away.

"My poisonnnn"Maomao screams, but quietly, if that makes sense. Her face is visibly disappointed.

"Anyway, I came to check up on the cleaning"Jinshi says, dismissing what just happened.

(How come he always ruins the best moments!)

"It's doing well, Lianhua helps a lot"

Lianhua perks up at the mention of her name and turns around from her previous people watching. She sees Master Jinshi, who was known to be really beautiful among the women in the inner palace.

"Hi master Jinshi..."Lianhua says in a very flirty way. Maomao rolls her eyes at this.

Jinshi nods in greeting.

"I'll let you guys finish up. Maomao can I speak to you for a second?"

(What does this dude want now..)

"Of course"Jinshi leaves Gaoshun and Lianhua behind in the rooms, and takes Maomao outside, making sure he takes her to another room to avoid Meifen, Yue, and Xioling, who were outside of the previous room, cleaning the hallways. He didn't sneak her out, instead, they tried to act as causal as possible, to not raise suspicion among the cleaning crew.

Maomao felt their gaze on her as she walked away.

(Why do people always look at me so intently!)

He took her to a secluded room, which seemed to be a common room, that was used very rarely.

"Found anything so far?"He asked quietly.

"Yes. Her closet had a loose floor bored and when I lifted it, it had a note. Describing her paranoia and fear, specifically from a consort named "Ruyue"?? As far as I remember there isn't a consort that goes by that name."

"I see."

"The last drawer of her vanity also had a scented oil, which smelled and had the same color of the laced drink that was set on her nightstand. I was gonna see if they tasted the same but..."Maomao ends her sentence sheepishly, with a subtle glare at Jinshi.

Jinshi's face turns into one of akwardness, a dismissive smile on his face.

"Right...about that, I'm not just gonna let you take poison just like that! You don't even know how strong it is!"

"We could've found out just how strong it was!"Maomao says defensively, her arms crossed ontop of her chest.

Jinshi sighs before approaching Maomao, placing his hands on her shoulders. This moment was really quiet. So quiet, you were able to hear the subtle wind in the background, and Jinshi's faint heartbeat.

"Look, no more tasting poison from now on, alright?"

(He seems serious..)

"I can't keep promises."

"Can you atleast try to avoid them? For me?"

(So what if it's for you? What's that supposed to mean to me?)

"I'll try my best."

Jinshi sighs, knowing damn well she won't try at all. He backs up and takes his hands off her, which was unusual for these types of interactions.

(Shit! Made him mad...but it was my truth.)

"Is that all?"Maomao said this with a hint of urgency in her voice. She didn't like it when Jinshi was unhappy, well, for a use of better words, 'concerned' for her.

"You can continue cleaning"

Maomao bows at his final words and walks out of the room they were previously in, walking to the concubines room the resume her investigation.

Jinshi stays a while longer, contemplating how he was gonna deal with Maomao. Maomaos recklessness both frustrated and fascinated him. It made him feel a certain way, a feeling he's never felt before. Maybe that's why he always seems different around her, maybe he was actually able to be himself around her.

————————-

"Maomao! Your back! I already finished cleaning her room."Said Lianhua, who was really happy to see Maomao again.

"That's great. We can clock out then."

Liana jumped in contempt and wrapped her arms around Maomao, who was really stiff.

"Say Maomao...wanna go grab a bite?"

Maomao chuckles before answering.

"Sure"