The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 3 (Light Novel)

Jinshi’s grip finally relaxed, and Maomao slithered out and tried to stand up—only to find herself pushed to the ground. She hadn’t been expecting it, and she collapsed, falling on her back. She looked down, and there was Jinshi. He shifted, crawling on top of her. A faint light, like a candle flame, danced in his eyes. “Very well.” He slowly set his hands behind her knees and lifted them up, putting the two of them in an even more compromising position than before. “Want to find out for yourself?” Jinshi was scowling.

Maomao got goosebumps all over and started sweating profusely. She realized belatedly that she’d pushed Jinshi too far.

And such a fine frog, no doubt.

Decently sized didn’t cover it, but that would do for now. Yes, “decently sized” would be enough.

“Hey, are you wiping your hand?”

see you’ve found yourself quite an interesting palace woman,” Anshi said in an attempt to change the subject.

“Someone who’s quite useful.”

It was true; she could hear it in his voice—but she could also tell it wasn’t everything. She’d fought and survived on this battlefield far longer than he. How many years did he think she had been watching him?

“I see.” She half-closed her eyes, feeling she had to communicate this much at least: “But if you don’t take care to hide your favorites, someone might hide them from you.”

And with that, Anshi returned to her own room.

“Very well.” He slowly set his hands behind her knees and lifted them up, putting the two of them in an even more compromising position than before. “Want to find out for yourself?” Jinshi was scowling.

“Hngh?!” Jinshi grunted. His heart rate shot up. Maomao looked up to find herself staring at Jinshi’s chin—she could see him biting his lip, hard. He seemed to be struggling, fighting with something.
The frog in his robe shifted as if it were alive.

“Who are you calling a frog?”

thought she heard pounding on the door, but it sounded distant, trivial, compared to the bezoars. They made her so happy they almost carried away Jinshi’s behavior that afternoon like a breeze. Maomao’s heart was pounding so hard she could hardly hear anything else. She nuzzled her cheek against the stones as she dove into bed.
Kicking her legs heedlessly, she rolled among the sheets, stroking the bezoars with her finger. Just looking at them made her feel like she had the energy to work for a month without rest or sleep. (It was just a feeling, though. If she really did that, she would die.)
She couldn’t have cared less whether Jinshi was a eunuch or not. Whichever it was—or wasn’t—Maomao had nothing to say about the matter. However, she wasn’t so fickle as to be unmoved by a gift like this. She decided that if Jinshi should ever find himself cornered, his secret about to come out, then she would do the very best she could to help him:
If and when that moment comes...
...she would make him a real eunuch.
Quite apart from Maomao’s private resolution, the pounding on the door continued, but in her ears it seemed only a faint drumming in the background.
○●○
With the guest of honor safely returned, the afternoon banquet broke up in short order. The various officials made sure everyone knew how relieved they were, transparently toadying. One would never have guessed that a few hours before, they’d been making lewd jokes and snickering about having a little fun with a palace woman.
Gaoshun was worried about Jinshi’s obvious fatigue, but he knew he wasn’t in a position to do anything about it at the moment. There was no reason for “Gaoshun,” who was the attendant of the eunuch “Jinshi,” to pay any special attention to the

thought she heard pounding on the door, but it sounded distant, trivial, compared to the bezoars. They made her so happy they almost carried away Jinshi’s behavior that afternoon like a breeze. Maomao’s heart was pounding so hard she could hardly hear anything else. She nuzzled her cheek against the stones as she dove into bed.
Kicking her legs heedlessly, she rolled among the sheets, stroking the bezoars with her finger. Just looking at them made her feel like she had the energy to work for a month without rest or sleep. (It was just a feeling, though. If she really did that, she would die.)
She couldn’t have cared less whether Jinshi was a eunuch or not. Whichever it was—or wasn’t—Maomao had nothing to say about the matter. However, she wasn’t so fickle as to be unmoved by a gift like this. She decided that if Jinshi should ever find himself cornered, his secret about to come out, then she would do the very best she could to help him:
If and when that moment comes...
...she would make him a real eunuch.
Quite apart from Maomao’s private resolution, the pounding on the door continued, but in her ears it seemed only a faint drumming in the background.
○●○
With the guest of honor safely returned, the afternoon banquet broke up in short order. The various officials made sure everyone knew how relieved they were, transparently toadying. One would never have guessed that a few hours before, they’d been making lewd jokes and snickering about having a little fun with a palace woman.
Gaoshun was worried about Jinshi’s obvious fatigue, but he knew he wasn’t in a position to do anything about it at the moment. There was no reason for “Gaoshun,” who was the attendant of the eunuch “Jinshi,” to pay any special attention to th

She thought she heard pounding on the door, but it sounded distant, trivial, compared to the bezoars. They made her so happy they almost carried away Jinshi’s behavior that afternoon like a breeze. Maomao’s heart was pounding so hard she could hardly hear anything else. She nuzzled her cheek against the stones as she dove into bed.
Kicking her legs heedlessly, she rolled among the sheets, stroking the bezoars with her finger. Just looking at them made her feel like she had the energy to work for a month without rest or sleep. (It was just a feeling, though. If she really did that, she would die.)
She couldn’t have cared less whether Jinshi was a eunuch or not. Whichever it was—or wasn’t—Maomao had nothing to say about the matter. However, she wasn’t so fickle as to be unmoved by a gift like this. She decided that if Jinshi should ever find himself cornered, his secret about to come out, then she would do the very best she could to help him:
If and when that moment comes...
...she would make him a real eunuch.
Quite apart from Maomao’s private resolution, the pounding on the door continued, but in her ears it seemed only a faint drumming in the background.
○●○
With the guest of honor safely returned, the afternoon banquet broke up in short order. The various officials made sure everyone knew how relieved they were, transparently toadying. One would never have guessed that a few hours before, they’d been making lewd jokes and snickering about having a little fun with a palace woman.
Gaoshun was worried about Jinshi’s obvious fatigue, but he knew he wasn’t in a position to do anything about it at the moment. There was no reason for “Gaoshun,” who was the attendant of the eunuch “Jinshi,” to pay any special attention to the