Chapter 13: Volume 1 - CH 4.1

14-19 minutes 24.07.2022

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A nightingale was singing. It was able to sing peacefully because the inner palace detested owls and didn’t keep them. It was said that Wulian Niangniang disliked them, so they would die even if they were set free. Jusetsu opened the latticed windows. The lanterns on the palace’s eaves were unlit as usual, so it was completely dark outside. The gentle spring night air glided over her skin. She felt like she was going to melt into the night and become one with it.

“I wonder if His Highness will visit tonight,” Jiujiu said as she arranged the pillows.

“He need not come.”

Koushun always came suddenly. There was no warning beforehand. It was bothersome to entertain him, so it would save her the trouble if he didn’t come.

“You’re saying that again. And yet you’re opening the windows and waiting for him impatiently.”

“…” Jusetsu closed the windows. Jiujiu was misunderstanding things. She thought Koushun was coming here to lavish money on her.

“Listen to me, Jiujiu. I am the Raven Consort who does not serve the emperor.”

“Yes, I understand that.”

Jusetsu had a feeling she didn’t understand. She had Jiujiu retire for the night and opened the windows again. She sat on the edge and exposed herself to the night air.

On the streets, people were discouraged from walking around at night. That was why when the sun set, the gates were closed and everyone was confined to their own residences. That was because it was believed that the night-wandering gods would appear. It was customary for parents to force children back home, saying, “The night-wandering gods will kidnap you.” The same was true in the imperial palace, where the more than a hundred gates, large and small, would be shut, and no one was allowed to come and go. However, there were always exceptions to this rule, and the inner palace and the pleasure quarters were the exceptions. Taking advantage of the custom of avoiding nighttime outings, secret meetings and shady business deals took place.

“Kidnapped by the night-wandering gods, huh…”

Jusetsu muttered as she stared into the darkness. She spotted a single dot of light in the distance and got down from the edge of the window. ——Incorrigibly, he was visiting her again.

Jusetsu closed the windows, walked past a frenzied Xingxing, and went inside the curtains. She sat down on her bed and stared at the doors. After a while, they opened. Koushun and Ei Sei had arrived. Ei Sei blew out the fire of the candlestick in his hand.

Jusetsu stepped out of the curtains. Koushun sat down in a chair by himself.

“What is your business here today?”

“The only time I came to see you because I had some sort of business was at the very beginning.”

She turned upon him. “If you have nothing to do here, leave.”

“What did you do with the sipaotang from before?”

“I gave them to Jiujiu and the others.”

“I see. Then, what about these?”

Koushun took out a wrapped bundle from his pocket and placed it on the table. A faint sweet scent drifted out from it. Jusetsu sat across from Koushun and opened the bundle. There was another paper-wrapped bundle inside, and when she opened that up, she found fuliubing inside. It was a sweet made by kneading flour and baking it, and then dipping it in white honey.

“You assume that all will be fine as long as you bring food.”

“You don’t want them?”

“If I did not, I would have driven you two out long ago.”

“As long as you like them.”

“I did not say I like them.”

“I did have some business with you when I came here today.”

Koushun advanced the conversation of his own accord. You should have said that from the start, Jusetsu thought.

“It seems that a ghost has appeared in the inner palace.”

Jusetsu frowned.

“I tire of hearing that sort of talk. Why now?”

“It is a little late for that, I know, but listen anyways. Apparently, this ghost doesn’t always appear. Do you know that there’s a willow tree to the south of Enou Palace? It’s said that the ghost appears in the shadow of the tree night after night when the flowers are in bloom, and it no longer appears after the willow fluff fly away.”

“…Might it not be a willow spirit?”

“No—” Koushun hesitated a little and glanced at Jusetsu.

“Apparently, it’s a silver-haired ghost.”

Jusetsu stared back into Koushun’s eyes. He didn’t say anything more than that. –He means that this was a Ran clan ghost.

“…’Tis a pointless rumor with unclear veracity.”

“I haven’t seen it with my own eyes either. But, it seems that the rumor about the ghosts of the Ran emperor and his family appearing in the Flame Emperor’s bedroom was true.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“Apparently, they were exorcized by the previous Raven Consort. Have you heard about it?”

“…I have not.”

Reijou hadn’t told her about anything like that. Jusetsu hadn’t been born yet during the Flame Emperor’s lifetime. She wondered if she hadn’t told her about it on purpose.

“If the willow ghost is a member of the Ran clan, it would be a ghost that didn’t appear to the Flame Emperor. I wonder what it’s doing under the willow tree if it didn’t appear in front of the person who killed it.”

Jusetsu was deep in thought.

“…Is that ghost male or female?”

“I don’t know. It seems to have long disheveled silver hair and red garments, but no one has seen it any clearer than that. ——What are you thinking about?”

“I wonder if the ghost is Hyougetsu.”

He was the ghost who appeared before Jusetsu and threatened her, saying that he had a request. In the end, she didn’t find out what his request was.

“Do you know any more about Hyougetsu?”

She had asked Koushun about him before. He nodded lightly.

“He is the son of the emperor’s youngest child, and he was an imperial family member who stayed away from politics, there aren’t many records about him. However, there are several anecdotes about his eccentricities as a shaman. He was said to have seen through a curse placed on the empress, transformed disrespectful eunuchs into fish in the inner palace’s pond, and found a lost item for the princess. Also, it was said that he was one of the most, if not the most, beautiful people in the imperial family.”

He seemed to be a man who left his name more in the realm of romances than official history.

“And there are also stories that said that, for whatever reason, he was going to be adopted by his shaman master as his successor, or he was already adopted by him.”

“Adopted—”

In other words, he was removed or about to be removed from the imperial family. Being a shaman was largely a matter of personal talent, so lineage had nothing to do with it. Therefore, there was no need to carry on family names. So what was the reason for this?

“…You said that ghost appears when the willow flowers bloom.”

That occurred during this season. Rather than thinking about this and that, it was quicker to confirm with her own eyes. Even if it wasn’t Hyougetsu, if it was a ghost, she had to send it to paradise. Jusetsu stood up.

“Take me there.”

“Alright.”

Koushun made no complaints but assented without expression and headed towards the doors. In his place, Ei Sei looked like he wanted to voice a hundred complaints.

The candlestick was lit, and they went into the night with Ei Sei leading the way. The moon was out tonight, so their surroundings had a faint tinge of blue when their eyes became accustomed to the dark.

“I heard that the night-wandering gods can’t roam about on nights with a bright moon. Is that true?”

“Indeed. They despise bright light.”

“Is that why the pleasure district and the inner palace are brightly lit?”

Koushun glanced at the neighboring palace that was some distance away. The lanterns hanging from the eaves of the walkway and palaces cast a bright light. It was completely different from the perpetually dark Yamei Palace.

“You would not know anything about the pleasure district.”

“I’ve heard stories about it.”

“The pleasure district is bright on the outside, but there are not many lights inside.”

“Is it to prevent fires?”

“It is so that faces cannot be seen clearly. The inelegant reason is that thick makeup and wrinkles cannot be concealed by bright lights.”

“Oh ho,” Jusetsu couldn’t tell if Koushun was impressed or amazed. “I’ve learned something new today.”

“The night-wandering gods hide among the people from time to time. Even when you walk in the inner palace, you might find them mixed in with your accompanying eunuchs. Be careful.”

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“Is that so? I will.”

He spoke seriously, but not knowing if he was only humoring her, Jusetsu knitted her brows.

“I am not jesting.”

“I didn’t think it was a joke, though.”

It seemed that he wanted to say he found it regrettable, but it was difficult to tell because neither his expression or tone changed. I cannot grasp his mood no matter what when it comes to this man, Jusetsu thought bitterly.

“You have never threatened people with jokes, and you don’t say things that aren’t for the sake of others. I know I can trust you to say what you mean.”

He answered plainly. Jusetsu felt strange. She felt the same way when Koushun called her by her name.

Jusetsu fell into silence, and Koushun said nothing more either. They walked quietly to Enou Palace, and then further south. The scent of rugosa roses hung in the air. Koushun removed the knife hanging from his sash and cut off a rugosa rose branch. He removed the thorns with the tip of his knife and wordlessly offered it to Jusetsu. Enticed by the flower’s scent, Jusetsu accepted it.

“Is it true that flowers don’t grow at Yamei Palace?”

Koushun asked Jusetsu, who was sniffing the flower. “’Tis true.”

“What’s the reason?”

“Because Wulian Niangniang loathes them,” She didn’t know why she was answering honestly right now. As expected, she was knocked off balance when she was dealing with Koushun. “She only likes the peonies I make.”

“…I’ve heard that Yamei Palace was originally a temple dedicated to Wulian Niangniang,” Koushun said, sounding doubtful. “Is it still dedicated to her even now?”

Thinking that she spoke too much, Jusetsu closed her mouth. Hesitating over whether or not she should toss the flower away, she tucked it in her sash.

“Dajia,” Ei Sei stopped walking. “The tree is just ahead.”

At the end of the rugosa rose hedges, there was a forest. It seemed to be a peach grove. As they walked on, they saw a row of willow trees in front of the peach grove. They were just in bloom, and their ears were hanging down. They seemed to glow faintly in the moonlight.

Jusetsu exhaled slightly. There was a single shadow between the hanging willow flowers. Its silver color swayed and gleamed. The moonlight made that silver-clad figure stand out, as though it was sprinkling it with scales.

A woman with long flowing silver hair was standing there. Her pale face, tinged with melancholy, was slightly hanging down, but they could tell with a single glance that she was beautiful. She was dressed in a crimson ruqun and skirt—no, they weren’t crimson. It was blood. Her clothes were dyed in blood. Looking at her closely, there was a gaping wound across her slender neck with blood gushing from it.

Ei Sei muffled a cry and covered his mouth. Jusetsu had noticed this before, but he seemed to not be good with this type of thing. Koushun was calm.

Jusetsu gazed at the ghost carefully from top to bottom. The unbound silver hair, the gash that split her neck open, and her luxurious clothes. Her silk ruqun had phoenixes woven into it, her skirt was printed with a pattern of large waves, and her shawl was dyed in seven colors. There was a beautifully polished gemstone affixed to her waist.

The willow flowers swayed without a wind. At that moment, the ghost disappeared like a puff of smoke.

“…So it was a woman,” Koushun said. Jusetsu nodded. It wasn’t Hyougetsu.

“There’s no mistake that she was a member of the Ran clan with that silver hair, but…she was a princess.”

“Her clothes have phoenixes woven into them,” Phoenix garments were the symbol of a princess. “Do you have any inkling as to who she is?”

Jusetsu asked. Koushun stroked his chin.

“There were three princesses at that time. It’s hard to know for sure without investigating it. I heard that when soldiers stormed the inner palace on Grandfather’s orders, there were those among the women of the inner palace who chose to kill themselves rather than suffer disgrace and humiliation.”

Was the gash on the ghost’s neck something she did to herself?

“That ghost from earlier seemed to be wearing an agate stone. I’ve seen it in the treasury at Gyokou Hall.”

“Gyokou Hall’s treasury?”

“Treasures are stored inside. Including the treasures of the Ran clan.”

“Even ornaments torn off from corpses?”

Jusetsu hadn’t known about it and took on an accusing tone. Koushun was silent. It wasn’t something that he did, so there was no point in blaming him for it. Jusetsu turned her attention to the willows.

“If you have it, then you know who that ghost is?”

“There is an offerings book. It will say who it belonged to.”

“I see. Then, show it to me.”

“——The offerings book? To you?”

“The inside of the treasury. That would be the quickest way.”

Koushun had government affairs to look after. If she waited for him to be available, the blooming season might end and the ghost would disappear by that time. Then they would have to wait until next year to send her back to paradise.

“That…would be difficult. The rule is that only me and Ui—the eunuch in charge of managing the treasury—can enter.”

“No one would know if you kept silent about it.”

When she said that, Koushun was silent, his mouth open. Ei Sei glared at Jusetsu, his eyes seeming to say, “What are you saying?”

“——How far does the Raven Consort’s authority extend…in the codes…”

Koushun muttered, folding his arms. “Lady Raven Consort,” Ei Sei whispered to Jusetsu in a suppressed tone.

“Please stop imposing unreasonable demands on Dajia. He is a sober and serious person, so it will only trouble him. To say nothing of instigating him to break a rule like that—”

Jusetsu paid no attention to Ei Sei’s grievances and stared at the willow tree. She wondered why that ghost was loitering there.

“All right. You can do as you please,” Koushun said. Jusetsu turned to him. “I’ll come and get you before dawn. I have a council meeting, but I’ll give you the key so you can investigate it all you like.:

And then, Koushun peered intently into Jusetsu’s face.

“——If the Raven Consort can have everything if she but wished for it, then taking a look at the treasures in the treasury shouldn’t be a great issue.”

So Koushun did receive a report from Onkei. Jusetsu didn’t answer him and simply looked up at him. For a while, the two stared at each other silently.

It was Koushun who looked away first. He looked towards the willows.

“Why does she only appear in the season of the willow flowers?”

He changed the topic. Jusetsu went along with it.

“She could only appear with the help of the willow flower spirits. I know not if she had a connection with that willow before her death.”

“I see. So there are all sorts of ghosts.”

“Dajia,” Ei Sei, who was looking discontented but barely interrupted until now, opened his mouth. “You should discuss that matter with the Lady Raven Consort.”

“Discuss?” Jusetsu looked between Ei Sei and Koushun. “What do you mean by that?”

“I thought that was what you were going to discuss with her tonight.”

“Sei, that’s enough.”

“But, if things remain as they are, your body will—”

“I said that’s enough.”

At his quiet voice that didn’t allow for any retorts, Ei Sei bowed and said, “My apologies.”

“What are you talking about?” Jusetsu asked, but Ei Sei had already closed his mouth tightly like a shell and didn’t answer her. Jusetsu turned her gaze towards Koushun.

“Has a ghost appeared to you as well?”

One of Koushun’s eyebrows twitched up, but he didn’t say anything.

“—So I am right?”

“I don’t need you to do anything about it.”

Koushun turned his face away. Jusetsu stared at his profile.

“…Is it your mother’s ghost, or your friend’s?”

She guessed that if it was a ghost he didn’t want her to do anything about, it would be one of those two ghosts, and it seemed that she was right. Koushun still didn’t say anything, but that was akin to an affirmation.

Jusetsu looked at Ei Sei. He spoke quietly, as though afraid of Koushun hearing him.

“Dajia is not sleeping well recently…”

Now that he mentioned it, Koushun’s complexion was dull. Ei Sei seemed to be incredibly worried about it.

“That’s enough of that talk. We’re leaving, Sei.”

Koushun said and quickly began to walk away. Jusetsu watched his back as he left, deep in thought.

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