Least Kan Lakan be Forgotten: April Fools Edition 3 of 3

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#Wss366 Fool / #AprilFools #MastoPrompt Cruel #WordWeavers April Fools.

Mao took a sip under Lakan's watchful gaze.

“What’s that?” he asked.

Clack!

“Is it good?”

Mao shot En'en a piercing look. “Come on, woman,” she thought. “Tell him.”

Clack!

Onsou leaned down and whispered, “It’s a scholar’s elixir.”

The relief Mao felt didn’t reach her face. Her ally had failed her, but the enemy had come to her rescue.

Lakan watched as she took another drink. “Can I try some?” he asked.

Mao hesitated, then pushed the juice toward her father, and finally beckoned to En’en.

When En’en leaned down, Mao said in a stage whisper, "Tell him he shouldn't drink that."

“That should placate Grams,” she thought. “I tried to warn him, as if the Freak would ever listen.”

En’en repeated, “She says not to drink that.”

“Anything my daughter can drink, I can,” Lakan said, taking a swallow. “Ahg! What’s in there?”

“Sweet flag, polygala, and ginseng,” Onsou said.

Lord Kan took another sip and made a sour face. “One more,” he said, taking a gulp, then stuffed a large handful of sugared walnuts into his mouth.

Clack… Clack… Clack…

“Lord?” Onsou said, frowning at his lord’s last move.

Clack!. Mao captured Lakan’s pieces, breaking his formation.

Lord Kan blinked, picked up a piece, and then set it down again. “I need to take a nap,” he said, his head sinking to the table.

“Then I am no longer needed,” Mao announced, rising.

Once they were out of the room, Yoa asked, “What happened?”

Mao smiled. “Onsou forgot to mention the alcohol from the ginseng tincture.”

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Least Kan Lakan be Forgotten: April Fools Edition 2 of 3

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#Wss366 Fool / #AprilFools #MastoPrompt Cruel #WordWeavers April Fools.

The room looked much as it had in her recent dream. Courtesans lounged on pillows while Joka played the erhu, looking bored. The air was thick with the scent of high-quality incense. While not as expensive as the frankincense and myrrh in her dream, it was still too costly to waste on this guest. He probably didn't even notice it. There was no wine present either. At Verdigris House, it was well known that Lord Kan was allergic to alcohol; the slightest amount would render him comatose.

Mao wordlessly sat down at the Go board across from Lord Kan. Her father had already placed nine black stones on the board. Mao studied them as if they would reveal her opponent’s strategy rather than merely representing the handicap he had given her.

“Evening, daughter. I'm pleased you joined me,” Kan began.

.…

"As you can see, I have given you a full handicap. If you want more, you can rearrange them.”

With a sharp clack, Mao placed a black stone on the board.

Kan nibbled on a lotus seed cake, crumbs dropping onto the Go board. He silently placed a white piece on the board.

"The cakes are excellent. Would you like one?" Lakan offered.

Clack!

“Or some sugared walnuts?”

Clack!

This went on for minutes on end, with Lakan placing his stones and chattering at Mao. The only response he received was the irritable sound of Mao placing her pieces.

This went on until the lord captured his first group of Mao’s pieces.

“This won’t do,” Mao muttered. She looked at En’en. “My drink.”

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Least Kan Lakan be Forgotten: April Fools Edition 1 of 3

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#Wss366 Fool / #AprilFools #MastoPrompt Cruel #WordWeavers April Fools.

As soon as Mao and her party were out of the madam's earshot, Mao said, "I need to stop by the apothecary for a moment. There's something I need."

Onsou raised an eyebrow, so Mao hurried on. "If I am to play Go with that goblin, I need every advantage. I wish to fetch a 'Scholar's Tonic.'”

Onsou nodded.

“And I need fruit juice, not wine. We’ll need to stop by the kitchen.”

“I’ll see to it,” Onsou said, summoning a girl to fetch it.

Once in the apothecary, Mao announced what she was getting, making sure Onsou heard.

“Scholar’s tonic: sweet flag to clear the mind and polygala to open it. And a vial of ginseng tincture for clarity.”

“And juice,” Mao said as a girl entered with it. “Not wine, which would cloud the mind.”

She took the bottle, added the Scholar’s Tonic and the ginseng tincture, then said to En’en. “Give this to me when I ask for it.”

En’en glared but took it. Ignoring the look, Mao said, “It’s a mental stimulant. If the Freak complains, just tell him that.”

She turned to Onsou. “Since I'm forced to, I’ll play Go with the Freak, but I won’t talk to him.”

He nodded, looking troubled, but turned and led the way to the main guest room where Kan Lakan waited. No one heard him mutter, “#Cruel, cruel woman.”

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Least Kan Lakan be Forgotten: Father’s Day Edition (2 of 2)

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#Wss366 Father #FathersDay #MastoPrompt #Rocky

[Continued from previous post]

Mao’s eyes narrowed when her former bodyguard Steele met her, En’en, and Yao at the medical room’s door.

The mercenary addressing Mao said, “I have orders to guard you.”

Mao assessed her: “Brigandine, recently cleaned; no bow, but she still carries a short, curved scimitar; and new boots. She’s doing well for herself.”

The skirmisher still had the tan and tousled look of someone more accustomed to riding a horse than being a bodyguard, though.

Mao grimaced; "healthy too." She would have loved to dose the woman, but there wasn’t the slightest sign of ill-health.

“This way, Lady Maomao. Dr. Liu’s orders are that you are not to bother him.” The gleam in Steele’s eye did nothing to diminish Mao’s resentment toward her.

“These are for you,” her guard said, handing Mao a bundle of sky-blue clothes. At least she attempted to hand them to her.

“Are these from ‘him?’” Mao asked, refusing them.

“They are from Lord Kan.”

“Then you may have them. Sell them if you can’t wear them.”

“And if they say I stole them?” the mercenary said.

“Then burn them! I don’t care.”

“Very well. I'll tell them to talk to you if there are any concerns.”

Mao's brows puckered with annoyance, but she said nothing, while the other two women watched with both sympathy and amusement.

[Continued on #AprilFools]

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