T/N: I'm not evil enough to make an April Fools joke. So here's a side story. This was written back in 2012, as a sequel to the story when it ended at the second arc before it got rewritten and expanded to arc two and arc three. So timeline-wise, it should be around this arc 4. Before the rewrite, Rouran was a bona fide villainess….

April Fools Joke.

Please take note that this is a story by female perverts.

"Oh, is there that kind of day?"

Jinshi responded to the Western guest,

"That's right. There is that kind of day."

The man replied.

This season, of warm winds and the spreading buddings of spring, was just tomorrow. It seems to be that day. And speaking of day—

"To think that there's a day where it's good to lie. The ancestors thought of amusing things."

Jinshi passed his arms into his sleeves and grinned.

He was unaffected by the habitual worrier of an attendant who let out an amazed sigh behind him.

"You know of the bird that's called Zhen?"

He visited the pharmacy in his usual ten-day cycle. Recently, his fingers were stiff to the first joint. Normally there would be no meaning for him to visit any more than that, but-

"Take responsibility. Look after me until I can stretch it all out."

He had told her.

The female owner of the pharmacy, as soon as she heard the name "Zhen", widened her eyes. Is this the saying to sink one's teeth into it?

"Yes. What about it?"

Curiosity engulfed her face. Even though she was unmotivated and was cleaning the water pipe until just then. The pipe wasn't something Maomao used habitually; she was maintaining it for her older sister from the brothel. The person in question didn't seem to have a hobby on smoking.

She set down the cleaning cloth and faced Jinshi. Even though she was speaking at odd intervals until just then.

Jinshi crossed his legs. And as he braced his hands on his chin,

"Yeah. It turns out the people who were dealing with trade goods from the south had encountered it yesterday. It seems to have wings of verdigris and a bill of rose gold. And it pecks at venomous snakes."

The Zhen is a bird that possesses deadly poison. It is said that you can poison wine by merely steeping its feathers into it, and that it withers the crops by simply flying over the fields. Well, although it's fake, it's a legend, so there is no way of knowing whether it exists or not.

However, even if it's a little suspicious, if it's this touched woman, wouldn't she would bite at it - so he had tried talking about it, and it was as he had anticipated.

Her eyes were bleary, lips slightly gapped. Her cheeks were flushed pale crimson.
A woman who craves poison, the heavens seems to have made some mistake by producing her.

Since the matter had proceeded so well in his way, Jinshi got amused,

"Unfortunately, they couldn't catch it, but it seems they picked up this thing instead."

He said and took out a plain wooden box from his breast pocket.

"Even if it's just a feather, it seems to be a terrifyingly deadly poi…."

Before Jinshi could finish speaking, Maomao's face was at the tip of his nose.
Jinshi drew back in surprise, and Maomao, as if to chase after him, drew closer.

"Jinshi-sama, please open it quickly."

"No, this has a deadly poison so…"

Jinshi faltered.
There was a feather inside. However, it had no poison. It was a plain peacock feather.

He wanted to open it and disclose the secret, but for some reason, he was left with the atmosphere where he couldn't say it out.

"Is that so. Since it's a poison."

Maomao shut the door of the pharmacy completely.

"Why did you close it?"

"It'll be dangerous to have the feather get blown away by the wind."

I've done the preparations, so open it quickly, please.

Saying that, Maomao speedily drove Jinshi to the wall. This here is quite bad.

Jinshi inadvertently put the wooden box into his collar. If she were to see the contents, if the joke was to get exposed, he didn't know what kind of reaction she would make.

"Don't hide it. Please show me."

It seems, Maomao, who always frowned at immodest behaviour, didn't do that kind of thing this time. She leaned against Jinshi had been cornered to the wall, barred from escape, and slid her slender fingers down the fold of his clothes. Her cool fingers contacted his bare skin. The sight of her licking her lips was strangely alluring.

Jinshi, who had never been on the side of the receiver like this, was in chaos. Impulsively, he took out the wooden box he hid and flung it away.

"A, aahn."

Maomao raised a somewhat sweet echoey voice. She stopped leaning against Jinshi and went for the wooden box.

His heart beating like an alarm, Jinshi, while also feeling half-wasteful for some reason, gave a sigh of relief.

"What is this?"

Maomao, who had opened the box in haste, asked Jinshi as she bent her brows.

"….yeah, that is. …the thing is…."

"Please speak clearly."

Maomao picked up the thing that was called the feather of a poisonous bird with her fingers. It was that in other words. She had found out.

"…I had intended to make a light joke."

I never expected you to eat it up to this point.

Maomao, who was taken back by surprise, gapped her mouth. She then gradually returned to her original complexion. The lips that had fascinating smile changed into an image of scorn.

It's been a long time. The gaze was like she was gazing at a blocked drain.
He had felt lonely that it had decreased lately, but to be looked at in this kind of place-

Maomao sat down with one leg up, not caring that her shins were showing. She started to hold the water pipe she had been maintaining some time ago in her mouth.
She made exhausted eyes and sighed.

"I thought you didn't smoke?"

"I feel like smoking."

Jinshi, without fixing up his dishevelled collar, watched her.
And then he belatedly realised that he did something he shouldn't have done.

He covered his face with both hands and turned his back to Maomao.

"Have they finally done it?"

In response to the madam who was puffing a pipe with a smirk, Gaoshun was looking at the pharmacy that has its door shut with a look of unease.

Up until a moment ago, there seemed to be a loud commotion inside the room.
Well, if there were a man and a woman of tender years alone inside a cramped room, it wasn't that he didn't know what that loud sound denoted. The problem was, the partner.

Could it be that he was somehow forced his way?
She was a woman that knew about the difference in social position, but the impossible could also be there.

Supposedly, in that case, it would be the man was using force who would be in danger. The possibility of being served a dose of medicine was entirely existent. No, it'll be fine if it was medicine, if it were to be poison-.

Restlessly, Gaoshun paced about at the front of the closed door.

He wanted to quickly break inside, but if they were in the middle of what the madam was saying, Gaoshun's master would probably resent him for life.

Apart from the discord that was unfolding in Gaoshun's mind, the loud noise subsided.

"Oh my, they're quite fast. How youthful."

The hag said vulgarly.

Gaoshun's own heart was pounding past its limit, he couldn't endure anymore. In order to know the well-being of his master, he decide to behave quite tackily.

Taking care not to be noticed, he secretly slid the door of the pharmacy, and peered inside.

When he did so.

Maomao was cross-legged, smoking a water pipe, sulking.

Jinshi was behind her, hands covering his face, his collar dishevelled. It also looked like he could be crying. It was as if he was a girl who got his virginity stolen.

The two were like that.

As Gaoshun's mind was in turmoil, he took a deep breath, and returned to his seat as if nothing happened.

He had no idea what happened, but it would be kind to pretend as if he knew nothing - the experienced attendant knew that very well.

T/N: Happy Easter too, I guess.