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History
Gossip swirled around La Mao like a creeping vine, tales and stories obscuring her past like the green leaves of a thorny thicket. Daughter of the perverse tyrant of the La can and a common prostitute, worldly and innocent, healer and assassin, she was said to be as beautiful and as deadly as the flowers in her infamous garden of poisonous plants.
Mao Mao was three months old when word reached Lakan of the fall of Fengxian of Verdigris House, that the once proud, pure beauty had been brought low by her pregnancy. Swiftly deducing what had occurred, and the consequences for his beloved, he immediately dispatched his uncle, the eunuch doctor Luomen, to redeem her and the child. Fortunately, this was soon enough to treat the syphilis and other diseases Fengxian had contracted from the unclean customers she had been obliged to accept during her disgrace. Unfortunately, it was not quite quickly enough to repair the fragile relationship between them.
Yet, in an astonishing rise, it took less than three years for Lakan to return to the capital in triumph, having accomplished a complete takeover of his clan. With no thought but to take revenge on those who had caused him to harm his wife and their child, however indirectly, he ruthlessly dispatched the father who had rejected him and the brother who had replaced him. Adopting his young nephew Lahan as heir due to his mathematical brilliance, Lakan began to grow wealth and gather influence at the imperial court. Using his knowledge of strategy and ability to control and manipulate others, he built an organisation unmatched in its capacity to gather, evaluate and utilise information. If some his methods bordered on the criminal, well, it was not as though he considered his victims or sacrifices as people, after all. They were simply pawns on the chessboard.
Brought to the rambling and ramshackle estate at the edge of the city, Fengxian remained in seclusion, a disdainful wife and distant mother, concerned only with go and the games of strategy that were her passion. The estate soon filled with questionable “associates” of Lakan – diplomats and foreigners, scholars and spies, courtesans and thieves. Growing up amidst a motley assortment of eccentrics and criminals, it was fortunate for the girl Mao Mao that she came under the care of Luomen, who was both mother and father to her. He also became her teacher, at least until La Mao discovered her own calling and true love – poison.
Oh, it was true that her initial training was in the arts of medicine, but upon learning that any substance could be fatal, and “the dose makes the poison”, Mao Mao began expanding her research to an ever wider range of medicines and drugs. With unlimited time and all her family’s resources to hand, she obtained many rare and expensive ingredients, cultivating a locked garden of medicinal and poisonous plants on the La estate, where none by she and Luomen were permitted entry. Whispers said that she performed experiments on animals, people and even corpses in pursuit of forbidden knowledge.
By her seventeenth birthday, her knowledge was unparallelled. Doctors with patients who did not recover, families who suspected foul play, all would come to her seeking advice and a cure - if it was not too late. Even those with nefarious intention sometimes sought her out, and if they were clever enough in disguising it, or in making their case, she might still help them. Like her family, La Mao did not seem to scruple overmuch regarding human lives. Moreover, she rarely charged a fee and would often ask for only “a small favour” (a service, information, perhaps an item to be delivered at some point in the future) in return.
With this, the rumours about the mysterious La daughter spread throughout the capital. It was such talk which first brought her to the attention of the Chief Eunuch.
Mystery
The Emperor’s children were dying. The mysterious disease caused pain and fatigue, deteriorating to seizures and eventually, death. Worse, it was now spreading to his concubines. First the young Princess Lingli and her mother, the Precious Consort Gyokuyou became gravely ill, and although they eventually recovered, his newborn son by the Wise Consort Lihua soon died, and the consort herself eventually succumbed. Since both the leading consorts were harmed, neither was an immediate suspect. As the condition began spreading to some of the Middle Consorts and Ladies-in-Waiting, however, some wondered if it was no ordinary illness, recalling that the then Crown Prince’s first son by the Pure Consort Ah-Duo also died as a baby, nearly twenty years ago. Murmurs began that it was a curse on the Imperial family, such that the Emperor would never have a living son. As word of the “Harem’s Curse” spread, it fell to the Chief Eunuch, Jinshi, to act.
“It is for this reason, Lady, that we seek your assistance.” Despite the dreary surroundings of the La mansion, Jinshi flashed her a dazzling smile over his teacup. “Your expertise in such matters is widely renowned.”
“Tch. That rotten old man has been talking about me again, hasn’t he?” Beneath her veil, Maomao bit her lip in frustration. She usually declined to consult when in the middle of an experiment, but this was not a client she could refuse.
“The noble Lakan always speaks highly of his beloved daughter.” And it was true that he had been bragging about her brilliance within the outer palace, and among the court for many, many years now.
“Typical.” La Mao sighed. She would have to abandon the latest batch of antivenom and ask Luomen to look after the garden. “Well, there’s no help for it. Take me to see them.”
“The consorts? Or the children?”
“The *corpses,* Master Jinshi” Mao Mao stood, and disregarding her visitor started walking towards her workshop to begin gathering her instruments and testing kit. “How else am I to do an autopsy?”
Much to her disappointment, no autopsy was in fact required, as a superficial examination soon identified and resolved the matter of the lead-based face powder, leading to its being banned within the rear palace, and soon, throughout the capital. Unfortunately for La Mao, however, requests for consultation began to arrive from the Palace with increasing frequency, for a variety of matters from the grave to the trivial.
With her other clients refused and her precious time for experiments endangered, she set a new rule – if it was important enough to require her personal involvement, the Chief Eunuch would have to come and make the request himself. Unless there was an actual victim or patient, however, La Mao herself declined to emerge from her family manor and beloved garden.
“Send a messenger, preferably one who is reasonably observant, reasonably intelligent and who can *follow my orders,* exactly.” And so, Ma Basen (sometimes assisted by his sister-in-law Mi Chue) was assigned to be her eyes, ears, and hands, asking prepared questions, recording details, and gathering snips of hair or bits of dust. It was often frustrating work, as La Mao was an exacting taskmistress, with the questions asked, and information she required seemingly strange or irrelevant.
Nonetheless, her methods were resoundingly vindicated when she dispatched her own father to stop a ceremony conducted by the royal Imperial brother, Ka Zuigetsu. With some grumbling, the ritual was duly halted moments before a supporting cable snapped, causing the ceiling beam to fall. A beam which would have crushed and killed the Emperor’s last living heir.
Victory
“I believe I have you to thank for saving my life.” The Imperial brother in his ornate silver mask inclined his head to her.
“I could have done so much more easily if you’d simply listened the last time I gave you advice, Master Jinshi.” La Mao responded tartly. She disliked having to leave the mansion, and veiled as she was, she couldn’t even enjoy the tea and crackers that had been served.
The eyes behind the silver mask widened with surprise.
“Oh, come now, it’s not much of a disguise, is it? Aside from your theatrics with the mask at every public appearance, you have a characteristic way you hold your teacup when it is empty. It’s quite obvious to anyone with the wits to notice it.” She tugged irritably at the heavy green silks. The sooner this interview was over, the better.
“But clearly none are as observant as you, Lady.” Seeing as it was no longer necessary, Jinshi carefully removed his mask and set it aside. Rather than the reputed scarred visage of Ka Zuigetsu, the dazzling face of the Chief Eunuch was on full display.
Giving in, Mao Mao likewise flipped back her veil. She was as beautiful as the gossips suggested, although the diffident way in which she tucked her hair back behind her ear suggested she did not take much time to think on her appearance. “I will say this, though. You’d best be careful about whatever decoction you are taking to supress your virility and ensure your temporary chemical castration.” Jinshi visibly winced. The potion was an unpleasant one. “In the wrong proportions it might permanently affect your ability to father children.”
“Given the circumstances, it might be an issue for you to consider yourself, Lady. More to the point, this meeting was not simply to offer my thanks, but also because my brother the Emperor has proposed a marriage alliance between our two clans.”
“I respectfully decline. I have no wish to be Crown Princess. Moreover, I have no desire to be married. It would interfere with my work.” Free of her wrappings at last, Mao Mao reached for the rice crackers and popped a few into her mouth.
“As far the throne, you need have no concerns. I will ensure that I do not inherit. As to the other matter, you wish to continue your work as an apothecary?” Unconsciously, Jinshi set down his cup in precisely the characteristic way she’d observed.
“Also, my experiments, and my practice - not of medicine, but of problem solving. You may have noticed that despite your monopolizing my time of late, the good citizens of the capital still bring me their problems, some of which are most interesting puzzles. Married to you, shut up in the inner palace, I would be wholly bored.”
“Well, then perhaps I can persuade you with an offer?” For a moment, Jinshi turned to her, his charm at full force. He was practically twinkling, she thought.
“One I can’t refuse?”
“One that I hope you will have no wish to refuse. It cannot have escaped your attention, narrowly focused though it may be at times, that there is a clear and immediate threat to the Imperial household and the Ka dynasty. We have many enemies, both internal and external – and they are powerful, intelligent, and devious. We need allies. My brother takes an interest in your clan because of Lakan’s noted impartiality – he is aligned with no faction.” Jinshi had turned serious again, with all hint of charm dropped away like his mask.
“But I, my Lady, have an interest in you, and your abilities. I intend to preserve the safety and peace of the empire, by *whatever means necessary.* I need a partner, one with the unique skills, capabilities, and experience to take this fight to our enemies. Marry me, and I can promise you will not languish in the inner palace. Instead, I would offer you puzzles aplenty, but also the world to explore, challenges to meet, opponents to defeat, and all the rarest medicines you desire.” Jinshi handed her a small carved wood box.
Opening it, Mao Mao exclaimed in delight. It was a perfectly formed bezoar, set into a silver ring.
“Will you help me?” He held out his hand to her.
Taking his hand, her smile was brilliant, but also vaguely foreboding, like the reflection of a candle in a dark mirror. “Yes. That is an offer I can accept.”