by Fuyumi Ono
"Yes. I see," Youko muttered.
Koukan came into the room. "Oh, there you are." He turned to Koshou. "The Daiboku will take responsibility and serve three months of house arrest."
Wait a minute-- Youko was about to say.
Koukan continued in a calm and collected tone of voice, "However, the Taiho has asked us to recognize that the manner in which Her Highness has made hay of the rules and regulations made it difficult for the Daiboku to carry out his duties properly. The Daiboku distinguished himself capturing the traitors and so the one should be sufficient to offset the other. I think that would be a good way to put it. That should preserve the integrity of the civil service, don't you think?"
He said to Youko, "Is there any part of this you can't go along with?"
"I'm making hay of the rules and regulations? Geez, and I just got the same tongue-lashing from Kantai."
"And so?"
"Fine," Youko said with a self-deprecating grin.
Kantai smiled as well. After telling Koukan that the suspects had been handed over to the Ministry of Fall, he clapped Koshou on the back and the two of them left.
Koukan watched them leave and handed Youko a document.
"Apparently, the Naisai has been nursing deeply-felt disagreements with the current state of affairs for some time now. He was previously an undersecretary in the same department, serving below the Naisai as a personal assistant to the Empress and Saiho. He ran a tight ship and was promoted to Naisai. Lately, though, your ladies-in-waiting in the Roshin have pretty much squeezed him out. Since his time as an undersecretary, he took great pride serving in the Roshin. But apparently, his pride and patience reached its limits."
"Oh," said Youko. She sighed.
"To make matters worse, you took on retainers from outside the aristocracy, liberally flaunted the rules, and brought in complete strangers as your closest confidants. Well, you get the idea. He had one pretty big chip on his shoulder."
The participants in the coup d'etat were all from the Ministry of Heaven. The Ministry of Heaven was not directly involved with the administration of the kingdom. Its portfolio was the palace itself, and serving the Empress and Saiho there. Those who couldn't take pride in working in such close proximity to the Empress probably weren't fit for the job.
"And if you're harboring any sympathies with such sentiments, then you should rid yourself of them."
Koukan wasn't one to sugarcoat anything, but his firm tone of voice surprised her a bit. She looked at him and he raised an eyebrow. "General Ryuu and the Tai Taiho filled me in about what went on after the Naisai and his underlings invaded the West Gardens."
"You show up as well prepared as always."
"A situation as grave as this demands it. I'd like to ask you again, just to make certain, but you didn't give credence to their grievances, did you?"
Youko looked away. "They did have a point. They didn't know the whole story, and after observing my actions without knowing the context, it wouldn't be unreasonable to jump to those conclusions. Call me the wrong Empress for the job, and my answer is if that's what you think, then I'm not going to bother arguing with you. I'm certainly not going to go around declaring that only I can save Kei. That's not for me to judge or decide."
"Then let me explain it to you," Koukan answered her at once. He set the document on the desk. "To start with, making any judgments about what kind of Empress you are all depends on who is doing the observing and when. In any case, what kind of Empress you are is quite unrelated to this particular incident. The minute they picked up those swords and decided to attack, they lost any right to claim the high moral ground and pass judgments on other people."
"You are correct there."
"The reason we maneuvered the Naisai and his clique out of the Roshin in the first place was because we feared developments of this nature. All the ministers agree that no untrustworthy individuals should be elevated to positions of trust that place them in your immediate proximity, and they did not warrant such trust. That's what it comes down to. The decision was based on an examination of their characters and temperaments. I see no errors in that judgment. First and foremost were intimations about hanjuu and rebels, wasn't it?"
Koukan looked at Youko. "People who think that way are the ones likely to act on authoritarian impulses. Not the kind of people you want to give any authority to in the first place. Nobody should put weapons in the hands of people like that. Second, people who have shown no shame in saying such things can't be expected to know the right Way from the wrong, and certainly are not qualified to contribute in any way to the political process. Third, those who don't know the whole situation are not in the position to judge. Forth, those who, based on such speculations, concoct sins about which they know nothing, and then hand down judgments based on those speculations, and harbor no doubts the entire time--should in no form be given jurisdiction over anything. Fifth, no trust should be placed in those incapable of seeing their own faults and failings, and instead blame others for their own bad fortunes. Lastly, I should not need to add that those who go against the law and the Way in order to accomplish their purposes are a dangerous lot. And we cannot tolerate such risks in the presence of Your Highness. These are the reasons we felt it imprudent to advance them in their positions. Do you disagree on any of these points?"
Youko looked back at him, a bit stunned.
"Observing them in their day-to-day activities, they did not strike us as worthy of being elevated to serve directly at your side. Consequently, they were barred from the Roshin. I believe they have quite unexpectedly demonstrated the correctness of that decision."
Youko rested her elbows on the desk and laced her fingers together. "Well, then, let me pose you this question. Don't you think that perhaps, if they had been promoted, they wouldn't have resorted to such actions?"
"Let me answer with a question of my own, then. Could you really trust someone who would only hew to the straight and narrow when rewarded, but stray whenever frustrated?"
Youko examined Koukan with uplifted eyes. She tented her fingers together. "Would you apply the same rule to yourself? If, perchance, your successes were overlooked, and attention paid only to your sins?"
Koukan responded with a flinty gaze. "Should I take that as a personal criticism? As Your Highness well knows, while elevating those persons of trust to serve as the kingdom's principal ministers, I must also make sure the middle-ranked civil servants and junior officers are toeing the line and doing their duty."
"Yeah, sorry."
In response to Youko's apology, Koukan sighed and smiled. "In the final analysis, the problem was one of temperament and character. That is the true reflection of how they lived and how they behaved. It is there that attention should be paid. Anybody should be able to look and see. If they prove worthy of your faith, then happily their actions will be rewarded. An examination of Risai-dono's example should prove the point."
"Risai?"
"Why did Your Highness reach out to her in the first place?"
"I'm not exactly sure myself."
"She came barging into Kinpa Palace, and you took one look at the atrocious state she was in. Wasn't that it? Risai-dono was so injured flying through the hornets nest of youma that Sui Province had become in order to get here. And didn't her willingness to go to such measures constitute sufficient proof of her desire to save Tai?"
"Yes. Of course."
"Risai-dono begged you to save Tai. Except that becoming so involved in the internal affairs of another kingdom is a grievous sin. Risai-dono was likely aware of that from the start."
"Koukan--"
"She may have come here to appeal to your sympathies and tempt you with a full knowledge of the consequences. It is also possible that she did not have a full knowledge of the consequences, or had put it out of her mind. And even if she knew exactly what she was doing, it may have been that she was driven by the desperation of her situation. As long as things turned out well for Tai in the end,
she simply didn't care what might happen to Kei. There's no way that we can ever know for certain what was on her mind. Nevertheless, Your Highness devoted an extraordinary amount of time to her cause, and I, for one, did not object."
"Ah--"
"That that was because we could observe her words and actions. The way she related to you, and to us, and even to Koshou. Based on everything she said and did, she did not strike me as the kind of person who would happily see Tai saved at the expense of Kei. I still lack any ability to read her mind, but if she did indeed come here with the intent of leading you into sin, I have to believe that was the product of her desperate straits, and not something whose implications she had considered fully."
"Yes," said Youko, with a nod.
"In any case, that's what it comes down to in the end. How others treat you is largely the result of how you treat them. Approach me in a manner that says your words and actions value me, and I may well move Heaven and Earth to accommodate you. Whether the world will reward you in turn all depends on the person and the circumstances. But these fellows carried on ignorant of that simple equation, cursed their luck, and attacked their liege instead. I believe they merely turned their own self-loathing outwards."
"I've heard the same thing said in Yamato."
"Except that when such spiteful people pick up swords to make their case, it is not the reason of their arguments that people are listening to. This is yet another example of a man being rewarded according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."
Chapter 49
Risai came into the room with the evening meal. "How are you feeling?"
Taiki was up and gazing out the window. They were in the parlor of the Taishi's manor where Risai was living. "I am doing fine," he said, glancing over his shoulder.
Though he was putting a brave face on things, he still looked a bit drawn. Risai smiled, as if to dispel her misgivings. "Recently, when you were asleep, the Royal Kei graciously came by to see you. She wanted to apologize for causing any more contamination to your environment."
"It was not her fault."
"No, it wasn't," Risai agreed as she set the table. "The Royal Kei concerns herself with her subjects so, and then something like that happens. It really brought home to me what a tough job being Empress must be."
"Indeed." Taiki remained mum for a while. Then he said, "Will you be returning to Tai, Risai?"
"What?" At first, Risai didn't comprehend what he was asking. She tilted her head to one side as if to double-check her hearing.
Taiki looked at her, a look of great earnestness in his eyes. "We cannot continue to impose ourselves on Kei like this."
Risai took in these words with no small measure of surprise. When she finally grasped what Taiki was saying, she felt her countenance grow pale. "Just a minute, Taiho--"
"We cannot allow ourselves to become the seed of greater calamities in Kei. We have tested their patience and disrupted their lives more than enough. After this, I believe we must take ourselves to a place where we can fend for ourselves."
"But, Taiho, that is quite untenable. Not only your constitution, but--if you would pardon my saying so--your horn and your shirei--"
The rush of anxiety left Risai flushed. She felt it was necessary to nip this inclination in the bud. She had thought in vague terms about returning to Tai when and if she found him. With Taiki by her side, they could look for Gyousou using his "royal sense." But Taiki had lost his horn and his essential nature as a kirin. He no longer had his shirei. And Tai remained an infested nest of youma. And she had lost her good arm.
The incident with the Naisai had forced her to again confront the severity of her injuries. A bunch of armed ruffians had charged into the room and threatened the life of Taiki and the Royal Kei, and she could barely lift a finger to help them. She was easily overpowered and held down by men who didn't look like they'd had a day of military training in their lives.
Even factoring in the state of her health, she was pretty useless as a military officer. If they returned to Tai, she would be incapable of protecting him. Though she'd been aware of this all along, she hadn't come to grips with how helpless she really was. All her vague notions about the subject had been brought clearly into focus. She still hadn't recovered from the shock.
"We can't do this, Taiho. I understand how you feel, but we can't go back to Tai. You need to take care of yourself while I solicit help from among the refugees. If we can summon even a small band of supporters--"
Taiki shook his head. "It is true that I am powerless. However, the fact remains that we are citizens of Tai."
Risai felt as if she was frozen solid.
"Tai is a kingdom that even the Gods have overlooked. Is that not the truth? Tai has no king. The good will of other kingdoms never reaches her shores. And Heaven will not deign to grant her any miracles. It is the same as Tai not having a kirin. But Tai still has its subjects, such as you and me."
"Even without a horn, the Taiho is still our kingdom's kirin. And my hope. Not something so easily sacrificed. If somebody must return to Tai and search for our liege and rally the people, then that is something that I will do. That was my true intention all along. The Taiho must be secured in a safe location. I beg you to set aside dangerous notions like returning to Tai."
Taiki wasn't the only thing that Risai had lost. One other fear still gripped her. After the disaster in Kouki, Risai had been sent to Jou Province to quell the rebellion there. On her way, she had taken Nisei-shi under her protection. His eyewitness reports had revealed the extent of Asen's treachery.
At the same time, the incident was used as a pretext to sully Risai's honor. But perhaps even worse was that Asen somehow knew she was protecting Nisei-shi. Risai had sent a secret communique to Haboku and Sougen alone. Considering its contents, neither of them would have carelessly leaked the information to a third party. So it was likely that only Gyousou's retainers would have been privy to it. And one of them had passed it on to Asen.
She could not imagine that any of Gyousou's retainers would countenance spies or eavesdroppers. They would have met behind closed doors and taken all necessary precautions. Nevertheless, Asen had been informed, which meant that someone within their group had done the informing.
A wolf in Gyousou's own house was guarding the henhouse.
Risai looked into Taiki's guileless eyes. She didn't want to expose him to such disagreeable realities, but this only doubled the danger to them in Tai. It would become necessary to establish lines of communication with Gyousou's old retainers and rally their troops. And yet a traitor might be lurking in their midst, someone well-known to them, who could appear at any moment as a friend and intimate. Risai would have no way of protecting him from such a person.
All she could do was mumble incoherently what a bad idea this all was. Taiki flashed her a puzzled smile. "You have not changed one bit, Risai."
Risai gave him a puzzled look of her own.
"You are worrying about me and doing your best to shield me from anything unpleasant or frightening. It was the same way when Gyousou disappeared."
"Taiho--"
"I was really worried about Gyousou-sama. But nobody would give me a straight answer. Well, what you told me may have been the truth. But I knew that all the adults around me were hiding anything unpleasant from my eyes. So I had to turn to Asen to find out anything that was not sugar-coated."
Risai caught her breath.
"Asen told me that Gyousou-sama was in danger. That day as well, he said that he had been ambushed and was in dire straits. After saying that he had arrived safely in Bun Province, I found myself no longer able to trust you. I believed Asen when he told me that a fierce attack had been launched before they arrived, and the outcome was uncertain. Desiring to help him, I dispatched my shirei to help Gyousou-sama. I never doubted Asen for a second. In fact, I came to question the veracity of anybody who told me anything other than bad news."
Taiki smiled thinly. "I reall
y was a child, and very hard to please. Whatever I tried to do only caused Risai and everybody else more problems, and now is no different."
"Taiho, don't say such things--"
"But Risai, I am no longer a child. To be sure, speaking in terms of my abilities, I was much more capable then. I could be said to be quite helpless now. Still, I am not so immature that I could be content to bemoan my helpless state and settle for the safe status quo."
"Taiho--"
"Somebody must save Tai. If not we citizens of Tai, then who?"
"But--then--let's go back to Mt. Hou and confer again with Genkun, to see if there is anything we can do to save Tai."
"And what, may I ask, do you think she will do on our behalf?"
Risai didn't know how to reply.
"And can Heaven be so relied upon? Only those under its personal care and protection can rest well knowing that help will come. At what point did the people of Tai become the property of Heaven?"
"But Taiki--"
"I have learned something of the steps you took to seek assistance from Kei. If you had not done so, I most definitely would never have made it back here. I am not so naive as to believe that nothing is beyond our power to accomplish. It may be beyond the power of a horn-less kirin and a one-armed general to save Tai in her current state. But, Risai--"
Taiki grasped Risai's remaining hand. "This was never something we were destined to accomplish through the strength of our own wills alone. If, unable to pull Tai back from the brink from here, we conclude that there is nothing we can ever do and so do nothing, we will forever lose the right to call ourselves citizens of Tai."
p. 242
But of course, Risai thought, looking back at him.
She had never understood why she wanted to save Tai. At the same time, she couldn't help being aware of how quickly she lost that feeling when Taiki was right there in front of her. As far as she was concerned, if Taiki was safe--if she could guarantee his safety--then that was the same as keeping Tai safe as well.