The Apothecary Diaries: Volume 4 (Light Novel)

“This will be my pillow”—and put his head smack on Maomao’s knees. The crown of his head was pressed up into her stomach, and his arms were wrapped around her back.
“Master Jinshi...”

After a long moment, it was Maomao who spoke first: “I’m sorry, but might I ask you to protect me, Master Jinshi?”

She was going to be the adult here. Interestingly, though, the little shit received a knock on the head anyway, without Maomao’s having to do anything.

Jinshi gazed at Maomao’s face. There was blood on it, and her left ear was swollen, although it had been smeared with ointment. None of this would have happened to Maomao if she had never gotten involved with him. The thought made his heart ache.

was angry at Father.

That meant she should frown like Mother was doing. She’d learned that much.

Mother was disciplining one of the ladies-in-waiting.

That meant she should

ther was smiling brightly.

That

of a scar might do you good,” she said, more honestly than she had meant to. Jinshi was too beautiful; he could only put those who saw him out of sorts. And those around him focused too much on his looks. Even though he wasn’t as flowery and delicate as he appeared, Maomao thought; he was made of sterner stuff. In her opinion, only a small handful of people around him understood that.
“Don’t you think it makes you look more manly than before?” she said. She noticed his lips tighten when she said that. He looked around uneasily, blinked, and shook his head.
“What’s the matter, sir?”
Jinshi scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. “Considering the circumstances, I thought maybe I’d simply grin and bear it...”
“No need to bear anything. If you’re tired, hurry up and—”
—and get out of here and rest, she had been about to say. But it seemed sleepiness was not what Jinshi was trying to endure. He pulled on her wrist again, and when she sat down facing him, he grabbed the upper part of her other arm.
“When I looked at your injury, I meant to act as calm as I could,” he said. His unsettling face got closer and closer to hers; she could feel the heat of his breath on her skin. “I’m surprised... I mean, I think I seemed calmer than I expected.”
“Huh?”
At that moment, she remembered: they’d been in a situation much like this one before, hadn’t they? And hadn’t it been really rather compromising? Her back was pressed to one of the carriage’s support posts; she had nowhere to run.
“Master Jinshi, hadn’t you better get some sleep?”
“I’m still all right.”

the spectacle of everyone selling out everyone else to save themselves.

Basen could only clutch his head in his hands. It made him fear for his hairline

H-Honored Uncle! I meant nothing of the sort. I wasn’t talking about you!”