The flower garden within the palace was extensive, filled with dozens of different kinds blooming brightly in the summer heat. Reds, blues, whites, all arranged in attractive combinations around large ponds with koi and stone bridges. Stone lanterns jutted up near the walkways, and markers labeled the various flowers in the beds. It stretched across the length of several large buildings and expanded outwards towards the far walls. The selection of flowers was as vast as the garden itself, but the medicine seller was looking for specific ones.
"I don't think I've ever seen a garden like this before," Kayo marveled. "It almost feels like we shouldn't be plucking flowers from here."
"Lord Ii's grandfather did often request teas made from local flowers," the medicine seller crouched down, inspecting the lotus bloom floating on the pond.
"It sounds like they're a lot alike," Kayo peered over his shoulder. "Lord Ii and his grandfather."
"They are very alike," he replied, reaching forward and plucking the lotus blossom from the pond. He shook the water off before placing it into the basket. "Their kindness, their concern for people, their paranoia that something lurks within the shadows. But there has been a history of mononoke in this location. It is only natural."
She squinted at him. "A history? Just how many mononoke have you fought here?"
"Who knows." He stood up, turning towards the brilliant pink flowers.
She huffed. The answer wasn't two so there were more than that. There were certainly times in recent months where she saw him as mostly human then statements like that made her question exactly who and what the medicine seller actually was. He certainly wasn't completely human, given what he could do, but there was also the possibility he wasn't human at all. He could be a yokai or divine or something entirely unknown.
She stared at his back as he crouched down to look at the mums.
He turned, peering at her over his shoulder and wondering what had occupied her mind. Perhaps questions that were best left unanswered. "The flowers will not pick themselves, Miss Kayo."
"R-right." She knelt down next to the flowers, looking over the brilliant hues of mums. "Which ones are the best for teas?"
"The most brilliant in color and do not show any signs of withering," he replied. He wrapped his fingers around a particularly bright yellow mum. "This one, for example."
Kayo surveyed the patch of mums. There seemed to be a lot of really brilliant mums though a few had begun to show signs of withering and browning.
"Find some large ones," the medicine seller added. "They can be used in a blooming tea."
"I don't think I've ever seen blooming tea before," Kayo admitted, searching for the largest and brightest mums she could find. "Does the flower bloom in the tea or something?"
"It does," he confirmed. "The flowers are dried and bundled in with tea. When set in water, the bundle opens like a blooming flower. It is quite impressive, certain to entertain his esteemed guests."
"Then I'll find the best flowers for this blooming tea!" Kayo said with determination. "He'll attract the perfect wife and they'll be happy together! I'm certain of it."
Marriages were a formality of status, but he wasn't going to crush her enthusiasm this time. She had wanted to be married and have a family, and she was instead traveling with him. It was by choice, but there was still a part of him that wondered if she still had that desire to settle down somewhere.
Hearing rustling, he looked down the pathway. At the far edge of the garden was a high class lady in a long formal kimono. Her hair was pulled up in the stylish updo and decorated with expensive ornaments. She leaned over, sniffing the flowers of a large white oleander bush.
Kayo paused in her picking, noticing that the medicine seller was staring at something. She squinted at the noblewoman who didn't seem to notice them yet. "I thought all of Lord Ii's guests were elsewhere for lunch. Does he have a sister?"
"He does not."
Kayo frowned a bit. Lord Ii didn't seem to be the type to have a courtesan, nor did she actually look like one. She looked much more like Lady Mao but increasingly formal, if that was even possible. She had never met a regional lady before. That was the term right? She wasn't sure. "Mother?"
"Doubtful." He had never met Lord Ii's mother, but the woman appeared to be closer to Ii's age than his parents'. He watched her walk away from the oleander bush and head down the pathway. Perhaps she simply was late to the lunch or was doing her best to avoid it.
He returned his focus to the flowers, feeling the supernatural sense clawing at the back of his mind. He dropped a few more mums in the basket before hearing sandals slapping against the walkway.
The samurai stopped next to them, sucking in a deep breath. "Mr. Medicine Seller. Miss Kayo. I need you to come with me immediately. One of the ladies has suddenly fallen ill after smelling a scent no one else did."
"Peculiar," he said.
"That sums it up," Akinobu agreed.
It could be a yokai or it could be that the lady had fallen from sickness and was hallucinating. The medicine seller hadn't quite shaken off the supernatural sense as he stood up with the basket of mums and lotus in hand. He and Kayo quickly followed Akinobu, dropping off the flowers and fetching the large medicine chest. As they approached the quarters, there were a number of voices shouting inside.
Akinobu stopped at the door, offering a polite bow at it to announce their arrival. "Lord Ii. I've brought them as requested."
The door slid open and Lord Ii slipped out, shutting the door behind him. He leaned against it with a sigh. This was supposed to be formalities over a stuffy lunch, not absolute and utter chaos. Yet somehow he found himself caught amidst it again and surrounded by bizarre circumstances that made his skin crawl. He rubbed his hand on his face, hearing the shouting continue inside. "How well can you handle formal chaos?"
"I have encountered my fair share," the medicine seller replied. "Perhaps you should wait out here, Miss Kayo."
Kayo quickly nodded. While much of her life she'd been a servant, he tended to handle nobility a lot better than she did, even with his sharp tongue. She was more used to noble households but not regional lords. It felt like a different situation.
As Lord Ii opened the door, the medicine seller offered the polite, respectful bow proper of his class.
"You can't be serious, Lord Ii," one of the men in the room scoffed. He was taller, wiry with a large collection of wrinkles gathering at his eyes. He wore a formal green kimono and folded his arms, absolutely irritated. "You brought a merchant?! This lowlife can't help my daughter!"
"Let us not be so hasty, Lord Goh," Lord Ii said. "He has served my family for some time and is the most knowledgeable person I know with medicines. He also happens to be the easiest to fetch. Given Lady Chou's worsening condition, I felt it best to act fast."
"I can't believe this," Lord Goh scowled. "Are you going to stand for this, Lord Oku?"
The lord in red sighed a bit. "Given the sudden sickness, I would say yes. I'd like to see what a trusted merchant of the Ii family actually can do."
Lord Ii motioned forward. The medicine seller set the chest down on the floor, kneeling next to Lady Chou. Grasping her chest, excessive sweating, drool. This wasn't some random sickness. It looked more like a poisoning. He reached for her wrist, feeling the two men and two ladies in the room suddenly stare at him. Dealing with mononoke was easier than dealing with a room full of high-ranking nobles, but he had work to do. They could watch all they wanted.
He took her wrist, feeling her pulse race then suddenly plummet. There was only one thing he knew that could cause these sorts of symptoms. Oleander. Setting her arm back down, he quickly pulled the ingredients from the chest. Oleander was quick, but he'd simply have to be faster.
"What are you doing?" Lord Goh demanded. "What is that you're giving her?"
"Let the man work," Lord Oku insisted.
"It is charcoal," the medicine seller replied, carefully sitting Chou up a bit. The poison had already acted fast enough that she was barely able to move, her heart rate rapidly dropping. "Drink this. It will counter the effects. Unfortunately, it tastes terrible."
She didn't have the strength to hold the bowl but sipped from it as he held it. She wrinkled her nose, feeling the thick remedy drip down her throat. She felt like she could breathe again, though she still felt weakened. She leaned against his arm, breathing deeply.
"She'll be alright, right?" one of the ladies in a rich pink kimono questioned.
The medicine seller nodded. "It will take a day or two to feel normal, but she will live."
Lord Ii tried not to look rattled. "What caused this? She mentioned it was a scent."
The medicine seller pushed the drawer in the chest shut. "It was-" He was interrupted by a loud clamor of noise just outside the door and a sharp supernatural sense clawing at him. He stood up, flinging open the door. Outside just past the balcony was the lady from the garden, a smile spanning ear to ear with hauntingly sharp teeth as she grinned with murderous intent.
"Sh-sh-she came out of nowhere!" Kayo yelped, pressing against the wall. "It's the lady from the garden who sniffed the oleander!"
"That's not human!" Akinobu stared, drawing his sword. "Is it- no don't tell me it's that!"
The medicine seller pulled his hand back, ofuda between his fingers, as he smelled something sickly sweet coming from the garden woman. Oleander. He quickly clamped a hand over Kayo's mouth, dragging her inside. "Inside, now! Don't breathe that!"
Akinobu didn't question it, nearly leaping inside the room and shutting the door behind him.
Lord Ii stared at the closed door, shaking his head just slightly in worry and fear. "Please… please don't tell me…"
The medicine seller leaned against the door, plastering the door with ofuda as he felt his heart begin to race and his vision begin to blur. His stomach churned. "I'm afraid so, Lord Ii. You have on your hands another mononoke."
….
Author's notes
Blooming teas are originally Chinese and look really damn cool. I couldn't quite find when they were created as the history of things in China seem to "just happen" sometimes (believe me. This happens for a lot of things I've looked up), perhaps there were blooming teas during the Edo Era in Japan.
I do wonder how many times the medicine seller had made teas and fight mononoke for the Ii family. Hm.