The world was made up of many farces.
Maomao,
casting a sidelong glance at Luo Ban's
oddly flustered older brother,
headed toward the Ma siblings. Luo Ban was busy talking with the Dragon clan's senior consort, trying to earn back the trust he had lost after the eccentric strategist sent it all crashing down.
"It's been a while."
"It certainly has."
"Has it really been that long?"
Perhaps displeased with Ma Shan's
attitude,
Ma Mei
cracked a backfist into her brother with a smile. Ma Shan, whose core was rock-solid, barely swayed—if it had been Luo Ban, he would have been sent flying backward.
"By the way, I saw you leave the room with the head of the Rabbit clan earlier. Did something happen?"
(Sharp as ever.)
The fact that she made no mention of the Dragon clan also coming out suggested that Ma Mei was, at least nominally, on Ma Shan's side.
"I served as something of a mediator. That said, I don't exactly have sway with the Rabbit clan, so don't get your hopes up."
"Do you have absolutely nothing to show for it?"
"If I told you that eccentric was the one who ended up in the mediator's seat, you could probably imagine how it went."
Maomao indirectly conveyed that the eccentric strategist had ruined everything.
"Ah... so that's what happened. But it didn't seem all that hostile?"
"I suppose you could call it"
"a wash—"
"neither positive nor negative."
"Even so, it's better than not knowing each other at all."
Azami smiled sweetly and grabbed Maomao's hand.
"Could you come along with me for a moment?"
Maomao wanted to point out that it was more like "be taken away" than "come along."
"Sister, are you going somewhere?"
Rahan noticed the Ma siblings talking with Maomao.
"Would it be all right if I borrowed your sister for a little while?"
"As long as she's someone from the Ma clan, there's no problem at all."
Rahan had apparently started running the numbers in his head right away.
Jinshi
had ties with Bashan and the others, so doing them a favor wouldn't be a loss.
Maomao had intended to go along with Bashan's request given how things were unfolding, but it really ticked her off that Rahan was acting like he was the one doing everyone a favor. At the very least, she pointed toward the eccentric strategist and sent him the instruction: "Handle that one on your end."
"Then, Maomao. Right this way."
Maomao followed Azami, who was smiling warmly.
Where Azami led Maomao was the inner courtyard. Besides Bashan, a middle-aged man had come along as well — the same man who had refereed the match between Rahan's brother and that clingy fellow earlier.
"This is my husband."
"Azami's husband."
"My brother-in-law."
One person saying it would have sufficed, but all three of them politely provided the explanation. None of them introduced themselves by name, but Maomao couldn't be bothered to commit them to memory either, so she didn't particularly care. He was probably someone named "Ma So-and-so."
Azami's husband had a solid build, but there was something
plain
about the atmosphere he gave off.
Gaoshun
had a similar quality to him. She found herself wondering whether every man in the Ma clan ended up henpecked by his wife.
"Sorry for the trouble."
"Not at all, not at all."
She had the same courteous manner toward her subordinates as Gaoshun. Gaoshun had said his own daughter hated him, but Maomao found herself wondering what the truth of that really was.
"By the way, aren't you going to ask about our business with the Mao clan?"
Asami belatedly sought confirmation.
"You'd like me to mediate between Risu and Bashen, who is head over heels for her, correct?"
"W-w-w-w-wait!"
Bashen visibly panicked. His face was redder than a boiled shrimp.
"That's right. He's always been so shy that I figured he'd never manage to get married at this rate, so I went and forced
Baryou
into helping him produce an heir — and now the person he's gone and fallen for turns out to be a former consort?"
"I-I never said I liked her, sis."
"Do you hate her, then?"
"O-of course not!"
Bashen's voice was booming. Even in a private room, there was no telling whether this was really a secret conversation.
"You know about Risu, don't you, Maomao?"
"Yes. She is, by all accounts, a woman blessed with very little good fortune — especially in matters of family."
From what Maomao could tell, Risu's father and half-sister were both worthless. Her grandfather was different, but it was precisely because he had trusted his daughter's husband that his granddaughter had ended up unhappy.
"She's only eighteen. Even if we assume a lifespan of fifty years, wouldn't a grandfather with any heart feel that spending so many more years in a temple is simply too much?"
Asami spoke as though posing the question to Maomao.
"I believe he is a man of deep affection. If there are no political motives behind it, then I think it would be worth appealing to his compassion."
"Precisely."
Maomao had apparently given the answer Asami wanted to hear. Even Bashen, despite himself, was looking at her with gleaming eyes. Asami's husband simply sat in silence. Maomao still couldn't quite figure out why he had come along.
"But she has married into the imperial family twice and left for a temple twice. Without the Emperor's express approval, wouldn't Risu's future be nonexistent?"
"On that point, please don't worry. The Emperor thinks of Risu as a daughter. As long as there is a proper pretext, I don't think the persuasion would be all that difficult. In fact, precisely because they share no blood, she should be more flexible than a real daughter."
(More than a real daughter, that is.)
Maomao thought it was a cruel thing to say. Because she carried imperial blood, even a daughter would become a tool of politics — that was the fate of a princess. Maomao
Lingli
She recalled the emperor doting on his princess.
"I would like to speak with the Usagi clan, but honestly, we don't have many close contacts in our generation, so I've been quite at a loss."
"No, I'm not exactly on familiar terms with them."
If anything, they were people she had only just met moments ago.
"But you've known Risu-sama for some time, haven't you?"
Asami gripped Maomao's hand and strode forward.
In the courtyard's
gazebo,
figures could be seen.
"There they are."
One elderly person, one attendant, and then a young man and a small child. The child was a boy of about ten.
(Who is that young man?)
Come to think of it, he did look familiar — he was Risu's half-brother.
Asami straightened her hair and clothes with a few quick pats, lightly reapplied her rouge, and then approached the gazebo with perfect naturalness.
Her sharp, raptor-like eyes were half-closed and curved into a smile. Even if it was to keep the child from growing wary, it was a masterful performance.
"Pardon the intrusion."
It was Asami's husband who stepped forward.
(So that's why she brought him along.)
Asami held a high position even within the Horse clan, but speaking directly to the head of another clan was another matter entirely. It was better to have someone of higher standing in between. That was why she had brought her husband along — at least in theory.
(Maosen could have handled it too, I suppose.)
But Maosen didn't seem like the type who could greet the Usagi clan without putting his foot in his mouth. She could tell he was stiff as a board.
"Well, well, from the Horse clan—"
"
Bakin
and my name is Jinshi."
(I'll probably forget~)
Maomao thought to herself as she stood behind Mamei.
"This is my wife, Mamei, and my brother-in-law, Bashin. And—"
"My name is Maomao. I apologize for earlier."
Maomao offered a perfectly unremarkable greeting.
U no Motonaga looked at Maomao and narrowed his eyes.
"No, well, earlier there were... various things on my mind, yes, things on my mind, hmm."
It was clear he had quite a lot on his mind. The vague phrasing was deliberate—he didn't want to state anything specific about the treasure of the Dragon house.
"So then, the people of the Horse clan who have brought this lady of the Luo—is there something you need?"
It wasn't just Motonaga; the others were all looking at them with suspicion.
At that point, Mamei took a step forward.
"The Maomao standing here served in the rear palace for two years."
"The rear palace?"
(About two years.)
She had gone in and out during that time, so it was actually shorter. But there was no need to explain every detail.
"During that time, she had the opportunity to deepen her friendship with Lady Risu."
(Deepen? We weren't that close.)
Maomao thought this, but given the flow of conversation, she couldn't say it.
"I believe Lady Risu was exchanging letters with someone. However, Lady Risu must have been putting on a brave face so as not to worry anyone. Maomao wished to hear from you about how Lady Risu had been spending her time."
Mamei spoke demurely with glistening eyes. If you didn't know her true nature, you'd be completely taken in.
"...Hmm. However, if that were the matter, I would have appreciated hearing about it earlier."
Even Maomao had to agree that was a fair point. There was no need for the Horse clan to be involved.
"My father is Gaoshun. He was a milk-sibling of His Majesty."
"Gaoshun... Ah, that boy. I heard he became a eunuch, changed his name, and entered the rear palace."
U no Motonaga apparently knew about Gaoshun.
"Yes. He was serving as Lord Tsuki's bodyguard. And he was worried about Lady Risu, who was in the rear palace. Lady Risu was a princess of the U clan, but she was also the daughter of someone who had been a childhood friend of both His Majesty and my father Gaoshun. If it were not for his duty to protect the imperial family, he would have spoken up about her unfortunate situation."
(Impressive.)
Maomao was genuinely impressed by Asami's performance. She could not tell whether it was true or not, but it could not be called a complete lie, either. When she had told Gaoshun that Risu was being bullied in the rear palace, his expression had been terribly conflicted. It could be chalked up to his worries as the rear palace's administrator, but it would not be strange for there to be some measure of concern for the daughter of a childhood friend mixed in as well.
"More than that, I hear that at one point, a marriage arrangement was discussed between my father and Lady Risu's mother. When I think about Lady Risu, who could have become my sister, my chest feels like it will burst."
A bombshell was dropped as casually as a passing remark.
"Ah, ah ah ah."
Ma Sen's mouth hung half open.
"The marriage arrangement with the Ma clan was merely a topic that came up in passing. There is no need to dwell on it."
"Yes, that's right."
The matter was dismissed without any apparent concern. For people of high standing, marriage arrangements would come up and fall through regularly.
"But. About your granddaughter. Would you tell me about her?"
"Yes."
Asami lowered her head demurely, but it was Maomao who spoke.