Jinshi didn't head straight back to his own rooms.
He slowed his steps in the outer corridor, the one where sunlight slanted through tall paper windows and made long patterns on the polished wood floor. The air here was cooler, carrying only a faint hint of steam from the baths far behind. A young attendant was passing with a stack of clean towels balanced on her arm.
Jinshi lifted a hand gently. "You there."
The girl stopped at once, straightened up, and bowed low. "Yes, my lord?"
"Madam Hui-lan," he said, voice calm and kind. "Where is she working today?"
"She serves in the western service wing, my lord," the girl answered quickly. "Under Lord Gaoshun's household."
Jinshi paused.
His fingers tightened just a little around his folded fan.
Gaoshun's household.
That changed things.
Gaoshun was careful. Always checked everything twice. He would never let unknown medicine reach a consort unless he trusted it completely.
So... Gaoshun must know something about this.
Jinshi let out a quiet breath.
But Gaoshun wasn't here.
He had left the palace early that morning for important work outside the inner court. The kind of job that took time—meetings with officials, checking supplies, things that couldn't be rushed.
Asking Gaoshun's servants questions while he was away would look strange. It might make people talk. Or worse, make someone worry that something was wrong.
Jinshi didn't like causing unnecessary worry.
"Thank you," he told the attendant with a small nod. "That's all."
The girl bowed again and hurried off.
Jinshi stayed where he was for a moment, alone in the quiet hall.
He didn't like waiting.
It made him feel like things were moving without him.
But right now, waiting was the only choice.
He slipped his hand into his sleeve and touched the small bottle hidden there. It was light. Nothing special to look at.
Such a simple little thing, he thought. Just oil with a nice smell. And it fixed a consort's pain faster than most real medicine.
His mind went back to what happened.
Hui-lanhad sounded so sure when she gave it to the maid.
Maomao had looked interested—almost impressed—when she smelled it. She said it was smart, careful, not too strong.
Someone had made it just right.
And then—without meaning to—his thoughts drifted somewhere else.
Not to the oil anymore.
Not to the palace rules.
To a face.
That girl.
He almost smiled at himself, a little annoyed. He hadn't planned to think about her again.
But the picture came clear anyway.
The way she walked next to Hui-lan—slow, calm, not rushing.
Her sleeves hanging neat.
Her back straight, but not stiff.
Her hair tied simply, no pretty pins or flowers, just dark and smooth, catching the light for a second as she passed.
Her eyes—looking ahead, quiet, lashes dark against her light skin.
I have never seen her before.
That fact bothered him more than it should.
It wasn't that she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.
No—he told himself it definitely wasn't that.
It was just... strange.
New faces didn't just appear in the Inner Palace. Everyone was known. Maids, cooks, cleaners—someone always knew who they were and where they came from.
But she had walked right past him.
No bow.
No quick look of surprise.
No nervous glance at the most important man in these halls.
She acted like he was just another person in the corridor.
Or like she didn't know who he was.
Or... like she didn't care.
Jinshi frowned for a second, then smoothed his face back to normal.
I'm thinking too much about this, he told himself.
He snapped his fan open with a soft click and started walking again, steps light and even.
Gaoshun would be back soon.
Then he would ask.
Then he would get answers.
For now, he carried two things with him.
One was the small bottle that shouldn't have worked so well.
The other was the clear memory of a girl who didn't belong in his thoughts...
but wouldn't leave them.
The corridor stretched ahead, quiet and sunlit.
Jinshi walked on, fan moving slow in his hand, the morning still young and full of questions waiting to be answered.
Disclaimer
This work is a fan-made story inspired by The Apothecary Diaries. The world, its canon characters, and original setting belong to their creators.
Moon, her journey, and all new scenes written here are entirely my own creations. This story is shared purely for love of the universe and for personal enjoyment. No copyright infringement is intended.