At a Gallop A brief ride— the destination was right there.
"Is this it?"
"This is the place."
The gate was grand — grand in scale, at least — though somewhat weathered.
The gates and pillars, which must once have been painted in brighter colors, now retained only faint traces of their former hues.
The large horizontal plaque had weathered so much from sun and rain that the brushstrokes once inscribed upon it were barely legible — one could just make out the characters for "Koumeikan."
(There was probably no need to memorize it.)
Maomao trailed after Suzume.
"Suzume! Suzume!"
"What is it, Maomao?"
As they exchanged their usual banter, Maomao looked around.
"Is this really a temple? The name didn't sound very temple-like."
"It's more like a ranch than a temple, I'd say."
Suzume was right. Horses, cows, and chickens surrounded them. The whole place reeked of livestock.
What's more, perhaps because they were self-sufficient, there were vast fields with all manner of vegetables planted in abundance.
"Oh! Oooh!"
"Yes, yes, Maomao. You mustn't take any medicinal herbs you find, now. You'll get in trouble."
Maomao was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and dragged along by Suzume. Suzume's dominant hand was supposed to be nearly useless, yet she could still ride a horse and haul Maomao along one-handed like this.
Maomao took in the pastoral scenery as she observed her surroundings.
"Vegetables, medicinal herbs, and plenty of livestock that looks nutritious."
"Indeed."
"They say this is a temple, but isn't it really some rich person's leisure village?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Everyone looks so healthy with glowing skin. It seems modest, but their nutritional state must be quite good. The buildings look old at first glance, but the repairs are thorough."
Suzume nodded in complete agreement.
"There are people like that every so often, aren't there — those who've grown tired of worldly life and want to live simply in the countryside."
"I can't really argue with that, but it's something similar yet different."
"The people here are gathered in a facility funded by those with that kind of money. Well, in a sense, you could call it a gathering of Daoists seeking to master the Way."
"Daoists?"
When Maomao asked to confirm, Suzume made a large circle with her hands.
"Yes — a group of people who logically examine how long humans can live through diet. It's the pipe dream of immortality and ascending to become immortals. I think you'd enjoy it, Maomao."
"...I don't dislike it."
Though Maomao regarded her with half-doubtful eyes, she was already grinning.
Just as the saying goes that medicine and food share the same origin, what you eat plays a crucial role in how long you live.
The livestock smell was strong, but it wasn't unsanitary. The manure wasn't left to run off but collected in one place. It appeared to be fermenting inside, as white steam rose from it.
There were cows as well, many with large udders. It was clear they were making use of cow's milk as food.
There were trapping baskets in the ponds and streams too, so they probably caught shrimp, loaches, and eels as well.
(The food here might be insanely good?)
Maomao found herself harboring a faint expectation.
There was no guarantee, of course, that she'd actually be treated to a feast. After all — "Ah, there they are! Look, over there, over there."
A man and a woman stood in front of what looked like a large aviary.
One of them was Ma Kisen and the other was a graceful young woman.
(She's grown.)
She seemed to have grown considerably taller since they last met. Maomao thought Risu had been shorter than her before, but she had probably surpassed her by now. Her slender build likely hadn't changed. Her fair skin and rosy cheeks were slightly tanned. Her plain clothes couldn't be called elegant—durability was their only merit. Still, at least they weren't patched together, so they could pass for decent clothing.
Hard to believe this was the girl who had once been a Senior Consort, one of the four great powers of the rear palace.
Risu stood there.
"Come now, Maomao. Right this way."
Sparrow was conspicuously holding a small branch. Maomao couldn't be bothered to point out the question of whether there was any point in holding it while hiding in the shadows of a tree.
"Please explain the situation."
"Didn't you once say to His Majesty something along the lines of, 'Why not bestow a consort upon your brother-in-law as a reward for his achievements'?"
"I don't really remember, and at any rate, I don't think Sparrow was there at the time."
Maomao delved into distant memories.
"Actually, there really aren't that many people who would object to Lady Risu marrying someone. Plenty of people in society might grumble, but His Majesty thinks of Lady Risu as his own daughter. U no Nagao also doesn't think it's right for his adorable granddaughter to remain a nun forever, and I don't think he minds receiving such overtures from the Ma clan. Otherwise, they wouldn't be arranging for your brother-in-law to meet Lady Risu under the guise of work."
Sparrow deliberately winked one eye shut.
『It's been getting colder. How are you feeling?』
『I'm fine. I've gotten used to the work too.』
Sparrow was reading the lips of Ma Kisen and Risu.
"Sparrow, you really can do everything, can't you?"
"Not at all—it's just a basic skill for a married woman."
Maomao couldn't think of any other married woman besides Sparrow who could lip-read.
『What brings you here today?』
『My sister told me to bring another duck. We already have one at home.』
Come to think of it, Maomao did seem to recall there being ducks around Ma Kisen.
The duck thing is just an excuse, no matter how you look at it.
If she's an older sister, then it must be Mami.
She's the type who won't stop at anything to get her younger brother married off.
"Oh my, your hands—so delicate, like little whitebait fish—and they've turned so red!"
"Heavens, whitebait fish? You're making me blush all the way to my cheeks. It's already bad enough that Ma Kisen's broad chest keeps making my heart skip a beat."
"No, I feel the same. This blood that burns like—"
"Suzume."
"Yes?"
"Are you tired of this yet?"
Suzume had started improvising her lines midway through for her own entertainment.
"Well, the conversation is just too tedious and full of nothing. You can only talk about the weather for so long, you know."
It did seem dull, but getting two socially awkward people to liven up a conversation through fun topics had to be a harder challenge than passing the civil service examinations.
What a pain.
"You're thinking it would be simpler if you could just pair them off with a superior's order, right?"
"Yes."
"Everyone around you thinks the same about you too, Maomao."
"......"
Maomao looked away.
"So that's why our job—Suzume's and Maomao's—is to support from the shadows, to devise a roundabout but convincing approach."
"What specifically do you want us to do?"
"As long as the younger brother can accomplish something, it'll be easy. He's not on the level of Getsubi, but his self-esteem is far too low."
Maomao had to admit she could see that.
"He thinks he needs to build confidence in himself first and come up with a good enough reason before he can propose to Lady Risu."
"If only he'd just gather his courage and kiss her already. This roundabout younger brother is quite the handful."
As they continued that conversation, the two of them began tending to the ducks.
"Isn't there some case where he could pull off a feat that would give him confidence?"
"Back in the western capital, I feel like he was somewhat active here and there, but was it not enough?"
"It's not that it wasn't enough—it's just that he himself doesn't think he accomplished anything."
Finding it all incredibly tiresome, Maomao glanced around.
Off at a distance from the duck house, she could see another stable.
*(There were so many cows earlier—surely at least one of them would have ox bezoar?)* Maomao let her mind wander to such thoughts.
"How utterly frustrating. Look, over there—stumble as if by accident and it would fall right on him. Oh, if only Suzuki could play the part of a mischievous breeze and go flutter Lady Risu's robes!"
"So does keeping watch like this today actually serve some purpose?"
"It's one of Suzuki's hobbies."
"I'm heading home."
Maomao stood up and started back the way she'd come.
"You won't find a carriage out in such a remote place, you know?"
Suzuki grinned broadly. Maomao eyed him with suspicion, wondering if that was why he'd come on horseback.
"Well, we can hardly sit here observing those two brooding lovebirds forever, so how about we head back for now?"
"......"
"If things were up to me, I'd treat myself to a feast fit for achieving transcendence, but the authorization doesn't extend that far."
Maomao pouted her lips but headed toward the stable where she had left her horse.
At the stable, a man with a sour expression was carefully combing a horse's mane. The stable was spacious—there must have been several dozen animals. They were all stocky, muscular horses, clearly used for farm work.
"Excuse me! We'd like our horse returned, please!"
When Suzuki spoke, the sour-faced man silently brought over the horse they had ridden in on.
"Here you are."
"Yes, yes."
The man was earnest and silent, and he began combing another horse's mane once more.
"You've been at this job a long time, haven't you, sir?"
"About ten years."
"What do you think of the young lady named Risu who came here about two years ago?"
"I've heard she's not someone a guy like me should be talking to."
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."
He does seem to understand that she's a young lady from a good family.
"Don't get in the way of my work."
"Oh, my apologies."
Suzume stuck out her tongue and bowed apologetically.
If she were in the inner palace, she'd be considered a beauty, but Risu was like a crane among the refuse. It wouldn't be surprising if one or two men had tried to make a move on her.
"At least it's good that the people around her seem to be keeping watch."
Suzume narrowed her eyes and set the horse running.