Maomao
She let out a deep breath.
"Then, if you'll permit me, I have a few questions I'd like to ask."
As for what had caught her attention in the earlier discussion—
"Could you describe the specific shape of the dragon ornament that serves as your family heirloom?"
"The specific shape? As for its size... it would be faster to draw it."
The assisting man handed paper and writing implements to the eldest wife. She drew a magnificent dragon with smooth, effortless strokes.
"That's quite skillful."
Maomao expressed her admiration with genuine sincerity.
"Just a hobbyist's calligraphy practice."
The dragon depicted was the sort Maomao had always imagined. A long serpentine body like a great snake, two horns, forelegs with curved claws clutching a jewel,
and a flowing mane.
Assuming it was drawn to scale, the dragon sat enthroned atop a pedestal roughly three inches tall.
Nothing particularly unusual seemed to be present — with one exception. And if Maomao noticed it, there was no way the sharp-eyed
Raohan
would fail to take notice.
"Does it have four fingers?"
Just as Raohan had said, the dragon gripping the jewel appeared to have only four fingers.
"Yes, that's right. Originally, this was a privilege reserved for the imperial family alone. But the Emperor of that era loved the Crown Prince so deeply that even after being demoted to the rank of subject, he was still the Emperor's son — that was the proof. The jewel too was granted in purple."
Purple was considered the most noble color after yellow.
The most revered color of all was
kōtan,
a particular shade of yellow that no one other than the Emperor was permitted to wear.
"Is the statue made of pure gold?"
「No, I don't believe it was pure gold — I think it was mixed with silver.」
Gold is soft. Easy to work with, but equally easy to crush. There was nothing strange about mixing in silver to increase its strength.
Maomao closed her eyes.
(Some alloys made by mixing different metals can have a lower melting point. But with gold and silver, I wouldn't think it would drop that much.)
If what the First Lady said was true, then she believed the family treasure had been completely destroyed in the fire.
「Could you describe the fire for me once more, in detail?」
「Enough already! Grandmother, there's no need for explanations — we simply need to corner the U clan. Let's go!」
The assisting man rapped his knuckles on the head of the granddaughter who was tugging at her grandmother's hand.
(Wow, I feel like I've seen this scene before.)
Were all athletic families the sort to communicate through physical language?
「What caused the fire?」
「…A lamp in the archive caught fire.」
「I see… Oof!」
Maomao hurriedly clutched her side. The eccentric strategist had suddenly poked her with his finger.
The oddball with the monocle had a peculiar gleam in his eye — like a dog who had fetched something and was waiting to be praised.
(Wait — is he saying the First Lady just lied?)
The eccentric strategist narrowed his narrow eyes even further.
He was welcome to share the lie with her, but being poked with a finger was unpleasant, so she clapped her hands to acknowledge it.
(What does it mean to cover up the cause of the fire?)
Maomao filed the thought away and moved on to the next question.
「You mentioned the archive didn't burn down completely. How much of it was destroyed, specifically?」
The First Lady lowered her head as if tracing through her memories.
「The archive didn't collapse. However, the inside was charred black, and since it held so many documents, almost nothing survived.」
「So the documents are gone. Then the furniture must be as well. If there were vases, were any of them spared? No — even if they were art pieces, their value would have been lost. Were there no swords or armor?」
「There were a few swords and armor kept in the archive as art pieces. And the wedding dowries passed down through the generations — I recall they survived, as they were stored far from the source of the fire.」
The eccentric strategist showed no reaction to this.
"Then, final question. You mentioned the Rabbit Clan extinguished the fire — was that visit originally scheduled? Or did they simply happen to pass by?"
"The Rabbit Clan had a planned visit to our household."
"Then, were you aware of that visit?"
"......"
Maomao's question caused the Great Inner Lady to pause.
"......No. It was a sudden visit."
Perhaps deciding there was no point in lying about this matter, she answered honestly.
"Why did they visit so suddenly?"
"......It was likely because of the Empress's orders. As I mentioned earlier, the Rabbit Clan served the Empress. The Dragon Clan at that time had just undergone a leadership transition — my husband had become head, and he was still young and hot-blooded. Even though we weren't royalty, we held a status nearly equivalent to it, so the anti-Empress faction around us grew quite vocal. And if the Rabbit Clan was coming to visit on top of that, you can see the implication, can't you?"
"They came to secure evidence of treason?"
"Most likely."
The vague manner of her response was likely because everything had been lost in the fire.
"Our many family treasures turned to charcoal, but I believe that was for the best. Considering the Empress's momentum at the time, our clan would have long since been wiped out if things had continued as they were. My only regret, perhaps, is that my husband was never able to reconcile with his best friend before the end."
The Great Inner Lady shed a few quiet tears and dabbed them away with a handkerchief.
"Are you finished with your questions?"
The grandson addressed Maomao using barely polite language.
"Yes."
"Did you figure anything out?"
"Yes."
"What!?"
Not just the grandson — the Great Inner Lady and the assistant man both widened their eyes.
"You're saying you figured it out from just that?"
"Not everything. But I did identify a few suspicious points."
Rahan also seemed to have noticed something, as he nodded in agreement. The eccentric strategist had been watching the Great Inner Lady closely the entire time, observing whether she was lying.
"So what exactly are these suspicious points?"
"You said that the books burned, but the swords, armor, and bridal goods survived. Bridal goods include copper mirrors, correct?"
"Yes."
"Then something doesn't add up."
"Something doesn't add up."
Maomao and Rahan exchange a glance.
"What doesn't add up?"
The assistant man spoke up, which was rare for him.
"Well, you see—"
Since Rahan began explaining, Maomao decided to leave the matter to him.
"Earlier, you mentioned that a golden family heirloom statue had melted and vanished. However, it's unlikely that the fire at the time reached temperatures high enough to melt gold."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"A copper mirror—its material is copper, yes? Copper and gold have roughly the same melting point."
Rahan's glasses gleamed.
"If the copper mirror didn't melt, then it's highly probable the gold didn't melt either. More importantly, even if gold melts, it doesn't simply disappear. The melted lump should have been found somewhere. Gold is valuable in its raw form, so it's hard to imagine that a melted lump would go unused."
"Is that so?"
The Great Inner Lady's eyes went wide. Normally, a woman of a noble household would have no idea what temperature metals melt at. It wasn't common knowledge. In Maomao's and Rahan's case, they had picked up such information from their fathers and business-related experience, which made them the unusual ones.
"Th-then, where did the family heirloom go?"
"Before that, there are two more things I'd like to confirm."
"What would they be?"
"The U no clan suddenly paid a visit to the Tatsu no clan's estate. It happened right in the middle of the fire, and they helped put it out. That's correct, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"After extinguishing the fire, they thoroughly searched the charred storehouse looking for evidence of treason, correct?"
"Presumably."
Since no evidence was found there, it meant the Empress had been unable to take any action against the Tatsu no clan.
So, had there truly been no evidence of treason?
Maomao pulled out a hairpin of peculiar taste from her kimono. She tugged off the purple crystal skull adorning it.
"Sister. Surely, destroying a gift right in front of the person who gave it—
—a tribute, no less—
—is rather poor form, wouldn't you say?"
"Maomao, did you only want the skull? Then next time, let's make a rosary of crystal skulls."
"Please don't."
Maomao and Ranhan's voices overlapped in unison.
Maomao showed the skull to the Old Lady.
"The jewel the dragon was clutching— it was a purple amethyst like this, wasn't it?"
"Yes. I believe the color was the same."
"Then—"
Maomao looked toward the brazier in the corner of the room. Having a brazier in this season was stifling, but it was necessary for brewing tea.
"Would you be so kind as to bring me the brazier?"
Maomao
turned to Niban.
Even if she had asked Ranhan or the eccentric strategist, they were too frail and would surely just tip the thing over, so she couldn't bring herself to ask them.
"As you wish."
Niban lifted the brazier with ease.
Maomao picked up the metal chopsticks and placed the amethyst skull atop the charcoal. She rolled the crystal back and forth.
"Oh my?"
The color of the ash-covered skull transformed before their eyes. The magnificent wisteria purple faded, and just when it seemed to turn whitish, it began taking on a yellowish hue.
"All done."
Maomao pinched the skull with the metal chopsticks and gave it a light puff of breath. The ash fell away, revealing a deep yellow skull.
"The color changed?"
The grandson's eyes widened.
"Just as metals melt under high heat, gems change color too. Amethyst discolors easily — even prolonged exposure to sunlight will drain its purple hue."
And when gems are exposed to high temperatures such as in a fire, they crack or discolor.
"Was the dragon figurine — the family heirloom — ever shown to outsiders?"
"No. We rarely let anyone see it. We would show it to guests during succession ceremonies and such unveilings, but the fire happened before that."
"Then no one would have known, would they? That a family not of royal blood possessed a four-fingered dragon figurine. And if it were clutching a gem of an even deeper yellow — a color reminiscent of yellow-red —"
"Th-that kind of coincidence is impossible!"
The grandson turned pale.
"Th-then, if the heirloom had survived the fire, wouldn't our family have long since been disposed of by the empress?"
Maomao thought that was exactly right. But since that hadn't happened, it meant someone had taken the heirloom.
Maomao looked at the retired concubine.
"You seem to have a fairly good idea of who took the family heirloom."
"Yes."
"More than anything, was it that person who told you — that the U-no clan would be paying a visit?"
"You seem to see through everything. That's correct."
Maomao paused for a breath.
"Was it the retired concubine who set fire to the storehouse after hearing the news?"
At Maomao's question, the retired concubine nodded deeply.