Since they were in a hurry, they set out right away. It was already pitch dark, but the mansion was within the capital.
Inside the carriage,
Jinshi
began his explanation. He mixed in some familiar-sounding details, which was probably meant as a refresher
for Maomao,
who was so forgetful.
Mami
and Suzume
had taken a separate carriage,
while Basen
followed on horseback. Needless to say, that was Suzume's doing.
Unfortunately, both Maomao and Jinshi had fully switched their minds to work mode, so things wouldn't go the way Suzume had hoped.
"The relationship between the Empress Dowager and her birth family is complicated."
The Empress Dowager was the daughter of a concubine of the previous head, and the current head was her half-brother.
His name was Gō, but
while listening, Maomao thought she would probably forget it right away.
They had originally been a merchant house dealing broadly in dyed goods. About a hundred years ago, they became purveyors to the court, and through those connections, some of the men in the family had become officials. The
safflower dye
for the forbidden imperial robes was apparently also produced by the Empress Dowager's family.
They were nouveau riche, to be sure, but given enough time, that becomes history. By the previous emperor's reign, they had been firmly established as a mid-ranking family.
They dealt in clothing as well, and through that line of business, they eventually became involved in ventures related to the Rear Palace. It was also through their information network that they arranged for the young
Lady An,
who would later give birth to the current emperor,
to be sent into the palace.
Having now established a firm position
in
the world — or so it should be.
"The empress dowager was wary of the previous head of the house. Even when given a role befitting a relative by marriage of the imperial family, he was never granted a personal name."
"Yes."
In other words, they were not a named clan.
"The current head, Gō, does not get along well with the empress dowager. Quite the opposite, in fact. Most of their correspondence is apparently exchanged not directly with Gō, but with his wife."
"Yes."
They were a family that should have wielded far more influence, but there was a reason they had not held as much power as one might expect.
(And yet, they still had enough power to stir up trouble within the court.)
"If they don't get along, couldn't the empress dowager simply have chosen not to meddle?"
"Don't say that. More importantly, if she turns a blind eye, the ones who will suffer are the concubine's child and his mother. It must hit too close to home for her, no matter what."
Come to think of it, the empress dowager herself had also been born to a concubine.
"You can ask me to help, but there are limits. If it were a false accusation, perhaps, but when there is clearly murderous intent, there is nothing I can do."
Honestly, she herself was the most suspicious suspect.
"In that case, it can't be helped. All I need you to do is confirm what the truth actually is."
"I wish it were that simple. By the way, what role am I supposed to play this time?"
"Ah, yes. I've only told them you're knowledgeable about insect toxins, but I suppose it's about time — keeping up the charade is becoming pointless."
"...?"
"Also, I know you hate it, but honestly, having the military strategist's name mentioned here and there makes things much more convenient."
"I'm well aware."
She knew that all too well.
Maomao gazed out the window, thinking what a hassle this was going to be.
The mansion was not far enough to warrant a carriage ride. The trouble was, it was located not too far from the eccentric strategist's own estate.
The capital was vast, but where one could live was inherently limited. Mansions of high-ranking officials were clustered together, so proximity was unavoidable. Due to land constraints, mansions built later tended to be smaller in comparison.
The Gao mansion they were brought to was by no means small. It was just that, given its connection as the Empress Dowager's maiden home, it seemed rather ordinary.
The gate bore a crest combining safflower and gardenia.
Both were sometimes used as medicinal herbs, but they left a stronger impression as dyes. Orander was a reddish-yellow color, so the hue was likely produced by mixing red from safflower with yellow from gardenia.
Since the Emperor's own brother was visiting, a neat line of greeters stood arrayed at the gate.
(He did say something about a male lineage.)
Sure enough, there were no young women in sight. Any females present were clearly dressed as servants. What expressions the women wore upon seeing Jinshi, Maomao would leave to the reader's imagination.
A gaunt woman around fifty stood among them. Her complexion was pallid, yet only her nose was flushed red, as though painted with rouge. She wore the finest garments of the group, which meant she was likely the lady of the house.
There was also a beautiful woman of about thirty-five. She stood modestly behind the first, but her robes were second only to those of the lady — far too fine for a mere servant. She was remarkably refined.
"Forgive the late hour."
The man Jinshi addressed appeared to be forty — no, perhaps closer to fifty. From his attire and his standing position he was clearly the most authoritative, and therefore the head of the household, Gao, yet something about him lacked dignity. The reason was probably that his face looked youthful. Growing a beard might have aged him somewhat, but his body hair seemed sparse and he had none.
(Who would have thought I'd sense the Empress Dowager's bloodline in a place like this.)
The Empress Dowager, too, had a childlike face.
"Not at all — it is I who should apologize. This is something that ought to have been settled quietly, yet we have troubled you to come in person. My, the Anshi family has always been worrywarts."
He spoke as though he were on excellent terms with the Empress Dowager. Presumably, he wanted to project an image of harmony.
"Please, come inside. I've had warm food prepared, as the night air is quite chilly."
"I've already eaten supper. More to the point, let us settle this quickly."
Gao's face twisted for just an instant.
Maomao judged him to be an easy-to-read man, for better or worse. The previous head of the household, who had sent the Empress Dowager into the Rear Palace, must have been sharp-witted. But his son showed none of that razor-sharp edge. Otherwise, he would not have been so nonchalant about the Emperor's own brother coming to his home in person.
(Parents really can mess up their children's upbringing.)
It was said that those who built a fortune in one generation would burn through it by the third. Perhaps this fellow would prove no exception.
Among those she had seen recently, the jade family from the west were much the same, though at least they still had a number of talented sons and daughters.
Gao glanced at Maomao for a moment, sending her an unpleasant look, but made no further reaction. As Jinshi had noted, the label of "eccentric strategist" was useful for keeping people at arm's length.
"Then I shall show you the way, but since the patient is in a separate wing, might Lady Moon please wait here?"
"You brought a cursed vase along — and now you're telling me this?"
"That was the doing of the Anshi family."
(Fine, fine.)
Maomao thought the man named Go had his own kind of strength. His features were youthful and well-formed, but his skin was thick enough. She could already see it plainly — in a few days, he'd spread the word while conveniently leaving out the word "curse," making it sound as if the imperial brother had simply paid a visit.
(The Empress Dowager is a troublesome one too.)
Maomao couldn't help thinking they could have simply avoided sending Jinshi.
"See to it that the guest is shown around without any discourtesy."
It seemed Go didn't want to go anywhere near a place said to be cursed, so he assigned a different guide. The guide was a young man in his mid-twenties who looked like a younger version of Go himself. Given the family's child-faced bloodline, he was probably a bit older than he appeared.
"
Rai
is my name. I will be guiding you in my father's stead."
The son, at least, seemed to have a decent sense of propriety and no desire to show off.
(I'm going to forget his name.)
"At the very least, try to remember my name while I'm here, would you?"
Suzume whispered in her ear. She'd seen right through her.
Maomao fell into her usual habit and began observing the estate. In the moonlight, it was hard to make things out, but she caught a sudden, sharp smell.
(That's the smell of farmland.)
Maomao wrinkled her nose and looked toward the source. There stood a fine-looking cattle barn.
"What might that be?"
Suzume asked on Maomao's behalf.
"It's a cattle barn. The late Emperor granted me the oxen that were used for transport within the inner palace. There are a couple of generations here now."
The current Emperor was too slow to bother with ox carts and the like. Maomao did not voice her thought that Go had been nicely saddled with something nobody else wanted.
After that, Rai didn't have much to say. Normally, a host would introduce his prized garden or the history of his estate. Perhaps he simply didn't talk because it was too dark to see anything properly, but even so, the silence was conspicuous. Suzume was practically bursting to chat, and Asami kept nudging her with an elbow to shut her up.
The father was an over-sharer, but the son only answered what was asked. His features resembled his father's, but perhaps his temperament came from his mother.
For Maomao, the silence was a blessing, but she couldn't help worrying about whether he'd survive as Go's heir without being devoured by those around him. Then again, perhaps there were other siblings.
(The golden mean is such a difficult thing.)
As she let her thoughts drift to idle worries about whether a family might crumble within three generations, they arrived at their destination.
「This way.」
She guided him to the underside of the eaves, angling the light so they could see more clearly. Along the damp northern wall, there appeared to be a hole roughly a foot wide dug into the earth — the soil had changed colour. Scrape marks in a rough square surrounded it, suggesting something had been sitting there.
「There was a jar here.」
Maomao glanced at Jinshi. He waved his palm in a go-ahead gesture, signalling for her to explain however she pleased.
「It was buried in the ground?」
「Yes. The jar was buried in the earth, and over it sat that shelf over there.」
The shelf had been moved a short distance away. It was an outdoor type, the sort that held gardening tools and the like.
(So she was helping herself to the digging tools from there.)
The damp underside of the detached wing. Not the sort of place people normally came by. If anyone did show up, it would likely be the gardener leaving equipment behind.
「How did you find it?」
「By chance. The cat came back caked in mud, and when I wondered what she'd been up to, it turned out she'd been digging a hole right here.」
「The cat?」
「Yes. My cousin's daughter entered the imperial household, so we took the cat in.」
Anyone who kept an eye on the gardener's comings and goings could have buried the jar — it was perfectly feasible.
「I was told someone lives in this detached wing. Would it be possible to meet them?」
「…I have a younger sister, quite frail, a fair bit younger than myself. She's only fourteen — sharp girl, but she eats very little and hardly ever leaves the house.」
「Would you mind if I checked on her condition, just once?」
Lai glanced at Jinshi for just a moment.
「If you're willing, it would be a shame not to have her examined.」
「Very well.」
She could hardly refuse a request from a member of the imperial family.
「I'll wait out here, then. It wouldn't be proper for a man to—」
to enter a woman's room, now would it?"
Jinshi stopped in front of the room. As far as appearances went, it was a considerate gesture from a man who knew how to treat a lady. In truth, of course, his reasoning was entirely Jinshi — he didn't want to pop his head in, have the girl take a fancy to him, and end up in a tiresome situation.
(Ugh, nothing but bitter grapes.)
"Then please wait in the adjacent room."
Jinshi remained in the next room while Sparrow accompanied Maomao.
"I'm heading in."
When Rai opened the door, there were two women inside.
One was a pale girl whose face still bore a childlike softness.
The other was the same woman who had greeted them at the gate earlier — a beauty who appeared to be in her thirties.
(So she really was a concubine after all.)
Mother and daughter had strikingly similar features. If the girl weren't sickly, Haku would have wanted to push her into the rear palace.
The room was dim. With a light lit, the pale face even seemed to float there.
Perhaps because there was so little to see, Maomao's nose responded with greater sensitivity. She caught the sweet scent of honey from the candles and the smell of medicinal broth from the teapot. The ingredients were likely meant to induce sleep.
She also felt a sense of familiarity about the beautiful woman.
(From the pleasure quarters, ransomed — that's about the gist of it.)
Her attire was simple now, but one's way of carrying oneself and one's air were not so easily changed. In the dimness, there was an allure that recalled the boudoir of a courtesan. There was no need to call attention to it, so she kept quiet.
"The person accompanying Lady Tsuki will
have a look at
Jushi, apparently."
(Jushi!)
What a lovely name. Jushi meant gardenia — used as a dye, but also employed as a medicinal herb.
(Come to think of it, I wonder if I could get some kind of souvenir.)
Safflower or gardenia — either would do.
"That person?"
The beautiful concubine studied Maomao intently.
"She's a pharmacist with the Imperial Prince's personal seal of approval. Surely you don't have any objections?"
Sparrrow smiled sweetly while delivering her threat.
"I don't mean any offense. But this child's illness has resisted every doctor we've seen so far…"
The concubine held her daughter close, stifling a sob.
Her daughter gripped her mother's arms with lifeless eyes.
"Please, let me have a look anyway."
Maomao took Shikisu's hand. She checked her pulse, then examined her eyes and tongue.
"…"
When she checked her tongue, Maomao caught a faint scent of breast milk from Shikisu.
"…I'm sorry, but could I have a cup of tea?"
Maomao pointed at the teapot from which the medicinal bath's aroma was wafting.
"Then I'll brew a fresh pot."
"No, this is fine as is. It has a wonderful scent—very soothing, almost sleep-inducing."
Maomao sniffed the air.
"Oh, but this is just the dregs. The water is already boiled, so I can prepare a fresh pot."
"Thank you very much."
Maomao was given the medicinal tea.
(Just as I thought.)
She drained the cup in one gulp.
"I'll prepare medicine suited to your daughter's condition. Would it be all right if I came here again another day?"
Maomao turned toward Rai and spoke.
"On my end, nothing could make me happier… But, um—"
Rai looked at the concubine and her daughter.
It was as though he were asking whether the main topic wasn't supposed to be the cursed jar.
"I'd like to discuss that matter at another time."
Maomao said, swirling the tea leaves that had settled at the bottom of her cup.