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Maomao sat in a back room, carefully grinding ingredients down during a late shift. Most of the doctors had gone home for the evening, leaving their juniors on what was universally understood to be the less than ideal detail. In general, it was a quiet shift, with very few patients to be seen, which made it a good time to take inventory, compound medicines, disinfect and do other cleaning tasks that needed to be done before the hustle and bustle of the day.

However, generally any cases that came in were understood to be urgent. Therefore, it was considered good training for the junior physicians. Given that they didn 't want to risk patient health, however, the senior physicians would rotate supervisory duty. Tonight it was Doctor You, who Maomao knew passing well from their time in the Western capital. In general, he was genial and easy to work with, so she was pleased enough, even if Tianyu was also on duty with her.

She yawned, even as she ground the herbs down, working from a new recipe they had just acquired from the ship. She had pulled another double shift today, which meant that the few hours of sleep she would be able to catch would be in her dorm room instead of her chamber in the La estate. There was a certain amount of time she absolutely had to spend there - and as much of that as possible was spent in the annex with Luomen 's medical library - but the days when she could sleep in her tiny dorm room were the days she slept much better. Nobody would think to look for the La Clan 's princess there, especially when she wore her freckles, and although she was known to work in the medical offices, Doctor Liu had quickly put a stop to young men inventing reasons to drop by to catch a glimpse of her.

He had also glared at her for disrupting the peace of the medical office with her romantic shenanigans, but at least Tianyu thought it was hilarious to treat the idiots with some of the most violent emetics she could compound.

None of them even used an interesting poison!

As she fell into the steady, meditative rhythm of grinding the herbs into a fine paste, she heard a commotion in the hallway - shouting voices, the slap of footsteps against floors, the medical office door banging open to the shouts of 'Doctor! We need a doctor! '

She opened the side door to reveal a young man being hastily moved to an infirmary bed, covered in blood and bruises, his fine robes quite ruined. Doctor You was pulling on his medical apron, while asking for details about what had happened. 'Niangniang, get me an assessment! '

She didn 't even bother to mutter a correction about her name - she simply began to cut the man 's robes off of him methodically, arching her brows as she began to evaluate the patient.

He might have been handsome under his injuries, with a long, clever face. His nose was most definitely broken and one eye was also swelling shut. She quickly pried it open before it could fully close to check his pupils - they were dilating at different rates. 'Definite concussion! ' she called, while continuing to check her patient over.

She had seen a lot of injuries over her career, but this man had been beaten within an inch of his life. He was covered in bruises, blooming black and purple and occasionally graced with splits and scrapes where he had either hit or been thrown to the ground. No clean cuts, though, which meant a weapon hadn 't been used as far as she could tell. Only fists and kicks.

Speaking of which, she frowned as she heard a dry, hacking cough from the patient. He was pale and struggling to breathe, so she moved her assessment to his chest, prodding along the ribs with sure fingers to feel the ribs. 'Suspected punctured lung! ' she called, frowning. 'Three broken ribs, two on the lower right side, one on the lower left! '

She continued to catalog wounds - as she moved on from the head and torso, she found multiple broken fingers and defensive injuries on the arms where he had attempted to shield himself. She was no stranger to violence, or beatings for that matter. The military and the pleasure district alike had certainly brought plenty of those to her doorstep, although fewer in the last few months since the old fart had finally started doing his job.

Whoever had done this had been in an absolute fury. The injuries were bad, but it didn 't have the precision of a professional beating. Those had always been some of the worst cases she and her dad had treated back in the pleasure district - more often than not, those who had run afoul of the shadowy underworld of the pleasure district didn 't survive. The biggest danger she could see to this man was the concussion and the broken ribs that might be pushing on his lungs. She just needed to check his belly - if he was bleeding inside, then they might lose him after all '

'Niangniang, step away from him. ' Tianyu 's voice came over her shoulder as he gently pulled her away.

'Hold on, I need to see if the belly is distended - '

'

Maomao

, ' Tianyu repeated, his grip firming and pulling her forcibly away from the patient. 'Let me handle this bastard. ' His normal, slightly manic tone had gone glacially cold.

There were gasps from the small collection of young men who had brought the patient in. She blinked and glanced at them - she certainly wasn 't dressed up, although since she was on a night shift, she hadn 't bothered to apply her freckles. 'I 'm not done treating him! '

A familiar, deep voice broke in. 'By order of the Moon Prince, this man is not to receive care from Lady Kan Maomao. Doctor You, do you have this situation in hand? ' Gaoshun stood in the doorway, looking as deadly serious as Maomao had ever seen him.

Jinshi ordered me not to treat him?

Maomao was astonished, even as Tianyu finished pulling her away from the man on the bed and took her place, a hard look in his eyes, his hands less than gentle as he picked up the assessment where she had left off.

The normally genial, Western doctor nodded, grim. 'Yes. Lady Maomao, would you kindly go with Master Gaoshun? I believe there is another situation that requires your attention. '

She stared at Gaoshun, who gestured for her to follow him, while also stepping between her and their impromptu audience. She wanted to pepper him with questions, but instead she simply nodded and allowed herself to be escorted from the medical office.

If there was one lesson that she considered even more valuable as a lady than she had as a servant, it was that sometimes, silence was golden.

Gaoshun led her to a large but modest home close to the boundary between the Inner Palace and the Outer Court that she had never been to before, about a fifteen minute silent walk away. 'Come on in, Xiaomao. I apologize I can 't offer any hot tea - we don 't keep full time staff, Taomei is away and Maamei and the children are asleep. '

She glanced around in surprise. The furniture and rugs were all well-made, but worn and comfortable, contributing to an air of lived-in welcome. 'Is this your home, sir? ' she asked.

'It is. We 're waiting on Basen to report and he knows to come here. ' Gaoshun 's brow was deeply furrowed as he gestured for Maomao to take a seat, even as he paced.

'Forgive me, but can you tell me what 's happened? Who beat that man and why did Jin- the Moon Prince order me not to treat him? '

Gaoshun took a deep breath. 'I do not know all the details, Xiaomao. I arrived after almost everything had happened. But I do know that the man in the infirmary offered a grievous insult to you and that the Moon Prince is the one who punished him for it. '

Maomao 's jaw dropped.

Jinshi

had beaten that man?

She didn 't realize she 'd asked the question out loud until Gaoshun responded, looking more worried that Maomao had ever seen him before the entire time she had known him. 'Yes. '

'What

happened?! '

she cried, utterly astonished.

When Jinshi was angry, he could act either petulant or cold in turn, that beautiful voice snapping with the bite of a whip. His weapon of choice was words - and as a prince of the nation, even those were dangerous enough to others. But with one, memorable exception, she had never seen him turn physically violent - and that incident appeared to have left an indelible impression on him. So much so that, even over a year later, he was nervous to touch her, even in the face of her agreement and preparations.

In retrospect, perhaps I should have led with pleasure that could be indulged without penetration. He seemed a bit overwhelmed by the standard preparations.

Other than that, the only other time she had ever seen Jinshi in any type of violent situation, had been when the Forbidden Army stormed the Shi Clan 's fortress. Then, she had caught glimpses of him in the fighting - he had seemed calm in the midst of the chaos, leading the attack forward even as he had defended himself and his men.

She looked at Gaoshun. 'What could that man have possibly said that would have gotten Master Jinshi to lose his composure like that? '

Gaoshun pressed his lips together in a grim line. 'Perhaps we should wait for Basen to tell us when he gets here. '

She inhaled sharply. 'Was Master Jinshi hurt? For that matter, if he is, then why was the other man brought to a doctor at all? ' She was fairly certain that if the man in the infirmary had laid a hand on the Moon Prince, they wouldn 't have bothered to haul him to a doctor, but instead left him to die and called it mercy if he was the only member of his family to do so.

'From what I understand, the Moon Prince officially challenged him to a duel, so the normal rules about striking a member of the Imperial family would not have applied. But he didn 't appear to be overly injured from what I saw. ' Gaoshun began to pace. 'A split lip and his knuckles were bloodied, but whether that blood was his own or the other man 's, I couldn 't tell you for sure. '

Maomao snorted. 'From what I saw of the injuries, I think it 's fairly safe to say that there was splatter. Is it a duel if they keep it to fists? '

'It is, ' a tired voice came from the doorway. 'The lack of a weapon looked like admirable restraint on the Moon Prince 's behalf - until it was clear he was going to beat the fool to death with his bare hands. ' Basen stood there looking more serious than Maomao had ever seen him before, shaking his head.

Gaoshun turned to his son. 'Is he injured? '

'Not enough to mention. Mostly his hands are a mess. Split lip, a few bruises where Qiang landed a couple of hits. '

'What the hell happened! ' Maomao turned her questions to Basen.

He sat heavily in a chair, ignoring etiquette. 'He lost his temper. Hell, he lost his fucking mind. I 've never seen him like that, ever. '

Gaoshun frowned, his brow furrowing with concern, completely dismissing Basen 's profanity in the presence of a lady. A breach in etiquette he would normally have taken his son to task for. 'I heard a little bit about what was said to provoke the duel. Start from the beginning and take us through what happened. '

Basen scrubbed his hands over his face. 'He was invited to a party - a gathering for young noblemen. Not the kind of thing he would normally attend, but, well ' '

'I understand, ' Gaoshun said, his tone steady.

Maomao frowned. 'I remember he was being encouraged to socialize with the young nobles of the court. '

Basen nodded. 'Yes, but if he had known what kind of gathering this was, I don 't think he 'd have gone at all. '

Both Maomao and Gaoshun waited for Basen to elaborate, Gaoshun raising an eyebrow while Maomao crossed her arms.

Basen sighed, somehow managing to turn a delicate pink. 'It seemed respectable enough when we first arrived, but we could tell there was a

lot

of wine going around. '

Gaoshun sighed. 'And women? '

Basen started to turn bright red. 'Not just women. Some of the men were dressed 'well. Like I said, not the kind of thing he 'd normally attend. It also smelled strange once we were inside. '

Maomao cocked her head to the side, intrigued despite herself. 'Strange how? '

'Like they were roasting sweet nuts over a grass fire, but had gone too long? It hit you like a punch to the face, though. ' Basen screwed up his nose, remembering it.

Maomao and Gaoshun glanced at each other. Gaoshun 's face was grim. 'I see, ' he said.

Basen looked at the two of them. 'Do you know what it was? '

'Opium, ' Maomao answered, curtly. 'You 'd know the smell if you ever deviated from your route to the Verdigris House. '

Indeed, opium dens were one of the darker attractions of the pleasure district and one that neither Maomao or the government approved of. Treating those who were opium sick was dicey - more often than not, they 'd just go right back to the drug that had sickened them, begging for more. It was especially infuriating when the Verdigris House occasionally bought a girl who had been transported under the influence and they had to attempt to detox her.

Luomen had always shaken his head and warned Maomao that opium was a perfect example of what happened when medicine 's power was abused. It was one of the few drugs Maomao had never tried and never intended to unless the circumstances were dire enough to warrant its use. She remembered warning Jinshi about how powerful the stuff was during their first trip West. He wouldn 't '

'Did he eat or drink anything there? ' she asked, feeling her stomach clench.

Basen shook his head. 'Not with what 's going on with the suspected poisoning. I 've been keeping a canteen of water on me, in case he needs something to drink, but other than that, nothing that isn 't going through Suiren 's kitchen goes into his mouth. '

Maomao breathed a sigh of relief.

'Suspected poisoning? ' Gaoshun broke in, eyes wide. 'What?! '

It was Maomao and Basen 's turn to glance at each other before Basen stood up and turned to his father to offer a report. 'He started getting sick about a month before we got back. Headache, nausea. We thought he 'd picked up a cold that wasn 't getting better because he was pushing himself with all the travel and, well ' '

'Finding out that your older brother is actually your father is rather stressful, ' Maomao offered in her very driest tone.

Gaoshun sighed. 'It hasn 't been easy on the other end either, but I understand. Go on, ' he looked at Basen again.

'He basically spent that week off he got from the Emperor just sleeping and recovering - and he was getting better, so we thought that was it. But once he started attending court events, the symptoms came back. '

'If it was a sickness, it would either have gotten better with rest or started getting worse, depending on the type of illness. The fact that it 's coming and going suggests that something in his environment is contaminated. ' Maomao elaborated.

'Chue said to check his food taster, and I did, but it 's not her. ' Basen shook his head.

Maomao blinked. 'She 's also showing symptoms? '

Basen nodded. 'Nausea, headache, fatigue. But when I asked her about why she hadn 't reported the symptoms she 'well ' ' Basen flushed, but soldiered on. 'She said she thought it was because she lost a pregnancy. Apparently she became 'involved with one of the guards during the tour. '

Maomao sighed. 'It could be. Has she been examined? '

'Suiren escorted her to a clinic to be seen by a midwife. They confirmed that she had, in fact, lost a pregnancy. ' Basen sighed. 'So we still don 't know how he 's being exposed. '

Maomao rubbed a finger along her bottom lip, thinking.

Nausea, headache, fatigue, bruising 'emotional volatility.

'What are you thinking, Xiaomao? ' Gaoshun asked, watching her.

She let out a sigh. 'There 's similarities to the makeup powder that was made with lead, but the symptoms don 't quite fit. Is there anything else? '

'The food taster mentioned she was itchy and the Moon Prince said it was something he 'd also noticed, ' Basen supplied.

She pressed her lips together. 'Certain metals are extremely toxic when exposed to them for long periods of time. Lead, as we 've seen before, but also quicksilver which was used with the White Immortal 's act. Arsenic, of course. They build up in the body, so the first thing to do is simply stop the exposure, but after that it takes time to work its way out and the body to heal. '

'Are you suggesting that the Moon Prince may have already purified his environment, but we 're simply seeing the effects of long term exposure? ' Gaoshun asked.

Maomao shook her head. 'Until we know how he 's been exposed, we can 't assume he 's not still being poisoned. '

Basen clenched his fists. 'This would have been solved by now if it was the food taster. '

'More to the immediate point, Xiaomao, would any of this explain the Moon Prince 's behavior tonight? ' Gaoshun brought them back around to their original topic of discussion.

She nodded. 'When Consort Lihua was suffering from exposure to the makeup powder, you recall she had a confrontation with then-Consort Gyokuyou? '

Gaoshun sighed. 'All right. That, combined with the fact that there was opium at that gathering should blunt the damage to the Moon Prince in the eyes of His Majesty. '

Maomao furrowed her own brow. 'Forgive me, but he 's an imperial. I know the rules are different for commoners and nobles, but how much trouble is he actually in? '

'Officially, none. As you said, he 's a member of the imperial family. ' Gaoshun pinched the bridge of his nose. 'Unofficially, however, it 's still a scandal - the loss of control does not reflect well on the prince, for one. For another, the young man 's father is an influential minister, which could cause a great deal of trouble for the Emperor and the Moon Prince in the future, regardless of how the succession shakes out. '

'What on earth could this man have said that would have made Master Jinshi lose control like that, though? ' Maomao asked, looking at Basen and Gaoshun in turn. 'This wasn 't just a few punches, he almost killed him. '

Gaoshun looked at Basen. 'I was told the general gist of it, but not what was said. '

'Um, perhaps ' ' Basen squirmed, looking uncomfortable.

'Spit it out, already! ' Maomao fixed Basen with a glare she usually reserved for the old fart.

Basen paled, then mumbled, 'Um, well. Qiang apparently doesn 't think much of the La Clan 's daughter - or any woman, for that matter. I believe he thought the Moon Prince shared certain proclivities, because my master has not taken a wife and has no mistresses. '

'Meaning he prefers men? ' Maomao asked. Still, if it were that kind of party, why had there been women there, according to Basen 's report?

Basen shook his head. 'No. I mean that he appears to feel that women - all women - are ' ' he trailed off, apparently not entirely sure how to phrase what he had seen and heard.

'Harlots? Sluts? Whores? ' she prompted, when Basen seemed stuck for a word.

Basen winced in response while Gaoshun sighed and said, 'Well, that 's unpleasant. '

'Yes. Um. Well, he went into detail about what he thought of the La Princess. Father, perhaps this shouldn 't be repeated in front of the lady, however ' ' Basen pleaded.

'I highly doubt he had anything to say that I have not heard before. ' Maomao folded her arms.

Gaoshun glanced between Maomao and Basen. 'Yes, but perhaps you have not heard it directed toward yourself. '

Maomao turned her glare on both of them.

Gaoshun sighed. 'Basen, continue. '

Basen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'It seems that your connection to the pleasure district is becoming a topic of discussion in these circles. He commented that, '

Verdigris House is known for producing top notch whores, but the one they 're pimping out to the Imperial Family is a real bitch.

' Then he said something about the Emperor and Empress - '

'Basen, ' Gaoshun interrupted him. 'Repeat exactly what was said. '

Maomao just arched her brows at him - so far, she hadn 't heard anything particularly unusual.

Basen began to turn red. 'He said 'he said '

She has the figure of a child and a face like a cat, so at least her name fits. But the Emperor and Empress seem to like that kind of thing

. ' He also suggested that the Emperor might need someone less 'womanlike, to - to

prime

him

to bed his consorts. '

Gaoshun 's expression shuttered - whether the reference had been to His Former Majesty or to Jinshi 's time as a eunuch who was assumed to be the Emperor 's lover as well as his favorite, either way it was a direct insult aimed at His Imperial Majesty. Maomao 's blood ran cold just hearing it.

Basen continued quickly, as if he was trying to get this man 's distasteful words out of his mouth as fast as possible. 'Then he said something along the lines of, '

Not that I expect her to last long. Wood sorrel is too delicate - a real man 's dick would split her down the middle

. ' That 's when I think some of the others started to realize that the Moon Prince was not amused. He was just standing there with this look on his face - not calm. Blank. Anyway, they started trying to get Qiang to shut up. '

'They were wiser than this boy, it seems. ' Gaoshun 's tone had gone ice cold.

Basen just swallowed. 'He made it worse. Um, ' he continued, '

And if Imperial dick doesn 't get her on the way in, it will on the way out. You need a proper sow to birth an Imperial heir, not the runt of the litter

. '

Maomao shook her head. 'Boring. '

Gaoshun and Basen just stared at her.

'What? ' She spread her hands. 'Am I supposed to be upset by what he said? '

Gaoshun scrubbed a hand over his face. 'I was told that she was called a whore, but the details are - '

'Still not worth beating a man within an inch of his life for. If he 'd done it on behalf of the Emperor, that 'd be different, ' Maomao interjected. She looked at Basen.

'He just 'snapped. I thought he was in control when he offered the challenge - and I was angry enough that I didn 't object, since our prince can handle himself, especially if weapons weren 't being used - but he just kept beating Qiang once he was down. I had to haul him off and he fought me. It was like he couldn 't hear me at all, until I shouted his given name into his ear. ' Basen just slumped, looking utterly exhausted.

'That was when I arrived. ' Gaoshun asked. He looked at Maomao. 'I told him that you weren't going to thank him for giving you a mess to clean up. That 's when he stopped and gave the order that you weren 't to have anything to do with healing him - that the young lord didn 't deserve your expertise given his opinion of you. '

Basen seemed to deflate. 'Then he just swept out of there while everybody else got out of his way, utterly terrified of him. '

'They should be. ' Gaoshun 's mouth was a firm, grim line. 'You were right to send for me, as well. '

Maomao looked between the two men. 'So, where does that leave us? I was going to examine him at the banquet tomorrow night, but it sounds like his symptoms are escalating. '

Gaoshun nodded. 'And it will be more important than ever that he attends - whether or not tonight was a mistake, the imperial family cannot afford to show weakness. '

'I hate politics, ' she muttered to herself. What she wanted to do was drag Jinshi into a controlled environment so she could start treating him while Basen and the rest of his household tore everything else apart to figure out how he was being poisoned.

Because this behavior was nothing like the man she knew. She wasn 't soft enough to waste her tears on the man currently in the infirmary, but Jinshi would be ashamed of his own conduct once he had a chance to calm down. Not that he had punished him, no. Jinshi did not relish dealing out punishment, but nor had he ever hesitated to do so when it was warranted.

But the loss of control would bother him.

She looked at Basen and Gaoshun. 'Are you sure you don 't want me to go examine him tonight? '

Basen shook his head. 'When I left, he was still furious, if no longer blind with rage. I don 't think he 's in any state of mind to hear anyone else on the subject, much less think rationally. '

Gaoshun nodded. 'He 's going to need time to calm down. Give him a night to sleep on it - you 'll be at the banquet tomorrow evening, right? '

'Yes, ' Maomao nodded. 'The old fart apparently has a meeting with the Shin matriarch over some obscure point of clan business and I 'm going with him. ' She deliberately didn 't say more than that - she had some idea of what they might be going to discuss, but aside from not wanting to put the Shin Clan at risk over what was effectively long-buried history at this point, she didn 't want to get Jinshi 's hopes up.

'Then you 'll look him over there. We 'll see to it that he has a chance to slip out discreetly. ' Gaoshun looked satisfied with the arrangement, if grim about the evening 's actual events.

Basen rubbed one hand over his face, looking more and more like a dead ringer for his father. 'I 'd better get back. '

Gaoshun placed his hand on his son 's shoulder, squeezing it. 'You did well, tonight. '

Maomao looked at Basen, struck by how much he had changed from the abrasive, taciturn young man she had met years ago. There was an aura of quiet confidence about him now - as if Jinshi 's identity crisis had given all of that nervous energy a channel and focus. Combined with a natural desire to care for others, plus a dash of additional maturity that meant he had learned how to express himself more clearly, she rather thought that the Ma Clan 's worries for their house 's future were resolving nicely.

The young man flushed under his father 's praise. 'I didn 't do anything, though. I 'm pretty sure I 'm going to need to submit myself for punishment for yelling his personal name in public. '

Gaoshun shook his head. 'You guarded your ward from danger - in this case, he was the biggest danger to himself. Etiquette and propriety are the rule, but there is a reason the Ma Clan raises their children alongside the royal family 's. ' He put both hands on his son 's shoulders, looking Basen in the eye. 'It is so, when danger comes, our love and our duty align. Your milk brother was in trouble and you helped him. If that comes with some punishment, you will bear it gladly - but I suspect that when he finishes coming to his senses, he will not begrudge you his name in your mouth. '

Maomao smiled as Basen flushed harder. 'I 'd better get back to the medical offices as well. My shift isn 't over and someone needs to do all the other tasks while the doctors finish patching their patient up. '

'It 's late - I 'll escort you before reporting to His Majesty, ' Gaoshun said.

She bit back her instinctive reply that she didn 't need an escort and made herself accept Gaoshun 's care. It had been quite some time since she had been able to spend any time in his company. 'Thank you. '

The three of them headed to their respective destinations, Gaoshun allowing Maomao quiet and time to think. As he dropped her off at the medical office, he turned that calm demeanor toward her. 'Will you be all right, Xiaomao? '

'Of course. I 'm worried about Master Jinshi, but I can 't do anything about that right now. '

Gaoshun offered her a small smile. 'I 'm glad what that man said didn 't upset you. '

Maomao waved her hand. 'You hear that kind of witty crudeness in the pleasure district a lot. They always think they 're clever and the courtesans learn to laugh along. The idiots never realize that their behavior gets them charged more to even let them in the door after that. '

'While that may be true, to direct that type of language towards a noble lady was utterly beyond the pale. The Moon Prince 's behavior concerns me because the extremity of his reaction was out of character for him, but he was not wrong to punish the man for speaking so of a lady - any lady. '

'The fool was bold enough to insult the Emperor and Empress directly to the Moon Prince 's face - forget what he said about me, that might have gotten him whipped all by itself. ' Maomao shook her head.

Gaoshun frowned slightly. 'By insulting the La Clan 's daughter to the Moon Prince 's face, a lady whose name is being publicly speculated about for the role of the Pure Consort as well as the Moon Prince 's legal wife, his words were more than just insulting to you - although that was most certainly his main intent. But I suspect he was also probing the Moon Prince 's intentions toward the throne. ' He watched her carefully. 'Insults to your person are no longer a matter of private offense or lack thereof. You must be mindful of your position and know where you stand. '

Maomao paused and then sighed. 'Things were easier when I was just a servant. '

He smiled. 'No doubt. Rank has its responsibilities. But it also has its privileges. '

Maomao offered Gaoshun a bow - not as deep as that she would have given as a servant, but a lady of a noble house acknowledging the personal bodyguard of the Emperor - and a friend. 'I thank you for your care in escorting me. '

Gaoshun returned the gesture with a small smile. 'You 're welcome, my lady. '

He turned and left Maomao standing at the entrance of the medical office, watching him go with a pensive look on her face before she turned away to go inside.

Their patient had been moved to a bed in the corner with a curtain pulled around him for privacy. Maomao deliberately ignored him - the man was none of her concern as she went to report back to Doctor You and find out what tasks they would need her to handle while they were busy providing care to a beaten idiot.

She found him in the physicians ' private office, speaking with a sober-looking Doctor Liu. 'I 've returned, Doctor You. Good evening, Doctor Liu. Is there anything specific you require? '

'Maomao, ' Doctor Liu turned to her. She felt her skin turn to gooseflesh when she saw the look on his face. 'I 'm afraid I need you to come with me. '