Book 16 Chapter 5

High and low, as clear as a lake surface, the beautiful sound of the erhu wistfully shook the atmosphere.
Shuurei had returned to the ‘Room of Tranquility’ and was playing the erhu. Perhaps reacting to ‘Kanshou,’ ‘Bakuya,’ which Jin had, was also slightly shaking. Hearing Shuurei’s playing for the first time, Jin had no words.
“…….O-jou-chan has this amazing special talent….. Riou, is it going to be useful?”
“Probably. She did this for Li Kouyuu also. The sound acts as a guide. People will come here if they can hear the music. ‘Kanshou’ and ‘Bakuya’ are linked, and also….. the erhu is the ‘divine instrument’ [note: 'kagura' See later notes] of the Hyou clan. But with this sound…. even without the twin swords, it might reach them.”
Riou had also heard Shuurei’s erhu playing countless times before, but he felt that she had become far better than she was before.
He had a sense that the depth of her playing had increased. Also, the unstable Hyou clan itself, he felt, had righted itself rather since the sound of that erhu had begun to echo.
“….By the way, Riou. That nee-san with the red umbrella…… Was she a human?”
“No, a ghost. From her form, I think she’s one of our high ranking priestesses, from long ago. With us, that’s not very rare. Normally transforming foxes come and go here, talk to us, also eat food if they want to.”
“How free…. Isn’t exorcising spirits your work?”
“That’s for the guys who do bad things. Spirits who are pursued by humans and run off to here are also, to the Hyou clan, weak beings. Because ghosts, unlike humans, don’t like, I think what that woman said was true.”
After telling them what the original purpose of the ‘Prison of Time’ was, the priestess with the red umbrella had handed the erhu to Shuurei.
“Please play the erhu for ‘Shusui.’ If you play the erhu, then it should be a sufficient guiding sound. It should help her….. What I can do, ends here, though.”
Smiling sadly, the priestess had left with elegant footsteps, as if she were a real human.
(…….she was that human-like, and since, more importantly, she ‘had’ the erhu, in life she must have been a fairly high-ranking priestess…..Perhaps, she could have been a High Priestess of some era?)
While he was thinking about this at length, quietly, someone came near Riou and sat down elegantly.
When Riou casually looked beside him, his jaw dropped. That silver hair, and that face, sitting on a chair, resting his chin on his hand, with relaxed movements, as if he were in his own room, as he began to listen to the erhu.
(Fa–Father——?! What, it’s even called out my father, who’s so hard-core anti-social he’s spent fifty years shutting himself up?)
Then, it would definitely reach Shusui, though Riou. Also, his father had sat down next to Riou without any hesitation. That felt strange somehow.
Riou [Sr] closed his eyes, and listened to Shuurei’s erhu playing. The sound of the erhu that long ago he had played for ‘Bara-hime.’
…….Though he had thought that she had run away, leaving everything behind.
It seemed that she had brought only the sound of the erhu with her. Riou smiled slightly, sadly, and secretly.
Only the erhu, which he had learned for her sake.
That called forth a mysterious feeling from Riou’s heart.
“Father.”
When he slightly opened one eye at his son’s voice, Riou spoke with an anxious face, still facing forward.
“….Thank you for telling me about Shusui.”
Riou [Sr] did not respond, and lowered his eyelashes. As if his mood were better than normal.

…..Finally, Jin’s ‘Bakuya’ rang out.
Along with a gentle wind, two people appeared. One of them was Ran Shuuei. The other one was—–
Shusui smiled, and looked at Shuurei, who was playing the erhu. A familiar sound. Madame’s sound.
When she saw Shuurei’s face, she felt everything had blown away. Warm feelings welled up within her.
“……….It’s been a long time, Shuurei-sama.”
Shuurei let go the erhu, and ran towards her. Her face crumpled up.
“Shusui!!”
Shusui burst out grinning at Shuurei, who had flown at her while crying.

****

The head of the Hyou clan returned to his room without incident when Shuurei had tossed aside the erhu.
While Shusui was treating her wounds, bathing, and eating, Shuurei suddenly noticed some changes, and opened the latticed shutters. Then her eyes widened. The snow which had been falling so much was now at the level of a light snowfall.
“The snow….. has mostly stopped. Also, the warmth has also returned a bit. This—”
“I’ve heard that things stabilize when there are many magicians and priestesses in the main clan…..”
It was too drastic. Riou looked at Shusui. Could it be? Shusui nodded, as if putting her chin down.
“……it seems that it’s half already like that because I’ve left the Prison of Time.”
“Then, as we thought, the ‘Prison of Time’—”
“……Yes. Originally, it looks like it was a place used for that purpose. However, because it’s been used in a strange way for some hundreds of years, it’s become fairly twisted…”
She thought of Ruka, who had come only once to the Prison of Time.
It had been as if those cold eyes were asking her how much resolve she had.
She now understood the meaning of that.
Seeing that Shusui had calmed, Shuurei gave a summary of what had happened. As well as the locust plague, and how maybe there was a way to exterminate them in the temples on the other side of the sealed ‘passages.’ After Shusui had finished listening to this, she nodded.
“Then first of all, we’ll confirm with the temples whether there is an extermination method or not. Shuurei-sama, I will open some ‘passages.’ Opening all of them is impossibly….. but probably, with a few, we can do something.”
“…..Can you do it?”
Riou asked this, surprised. In normal times, many magicians and priestesses used the ‘passages.’ However, since that was like opening an unlocked door, they didn’t need much power to do it. However, now Ruka had locked them strongly. With a strength such that even Uu Uu had his hands full opening one.
“Yes. Probably…. Now I can do it, I think. However, since only the High Priestess can open all of the ‘passages,’ next I must see Ruka-sama.”
Shuurei reacted with surprised. Then, she righted her posture, and turned once again to Shusui.
“Shusui—-regarding that, I have a request.”
“I know. Ruka-sama’s location is—”
“No, I don’t want you only to see Ruka-hime’s location with your ‘clairvoyance.’ If you can, I wish for you to immediately take the place of Ruka-hime on the throne of the High Priestess. Though this might be convenient circumstances for us, if the High Priestess is replaced, we can talk directly to you, not to Ruka0hime. About the locusts, and the ‘passages’ as well.— We can get by without having the final decision making authority controlled by Ruka-hime’s judgments.”
In the Hyou clan, whatever they tried to do was in the end, blocked by ‘Hyou Ruka.’ Probably, Ruka would not easily accept Shuurei and Riou’s words. —Then, it would be better for them to change High Priestesses. From the time she had heard that Ruka’s power was waning, Shuurei had thought about this. If it was Shusui…
“But, that’s not why I had General Ran go. Supernatural powers, the High Priestess, all of that is second place. I’m not bargaining. Even if you refuse, I won’t mind. But, I’d like you to think about it.”
“….Shuurei-sama….I also returned intending to see Ruka-sama one more time.”
Shusui answered this, with eyes full of determination, while looking down on her arms, which had become somewhat thin.
Shuurei realized that even she hadn’t said anything, Shusui had already had that determination.
It was heavy, but if she endured it, she could change something, in that place.
…..However, something was bothering her. Perhaps it was because Shusui had not clearly said yes or no. When that happened, most of the time, it was because Shusui was hiding something from Shuurei.—
“…Shusui, Riou-kun.when does the High Priestess change? Is there retirement?”
Riou averted his eyes with a startled face. Shusui conveyed her the facts.
“There are not two High Priestesses at once. The change…… happens only when the High Priestess dies.”
When she realized this, Shuurei grabbed Shusui’s arms. Shusui’s face, which was hiding something from Shuurei, and seemed decided.
“Shusui, I said that thinking that it would be easier to change High Priestesses than change Ruka-hime, wit hthe excuse that we don’t have any time, but if you would be burdened by something because of that, I don’t wish for that to happen. Then, I’ll choose stubbornly persuading Ruka-hime and changing her, no matter what.”
Riou lowered his eyes, sensing that she had seen that he had been wondering earlier whether killing his aunt would be the fastest way. Even now, that idea was still somewhat there in a corner, and that was why he kept silent. However, so that was Shuurei’s response to that, even though she had been with Riou.
Shusui’s face was happy, and like she had lost. Shuurei truly wouldn’t allow the easy way out. However.
“…Shuurei-sama, I cannot answer you. This time alone, allow me to do as I wish.”
Shuurei and Shusui looked at each other. Suddenly, they realized, Shiba Jin had abruptly disappeared.
Shusui had not yet used her ‘clairvoyance,’ so she had not ‘seen’ where Ruka was either. But—-
“…..Riou-kun, it can’t be that no one in the Hyou clan knows where Ruka-hime is. People very close to her know. It can’t be that she does everything herself, so there are definitely some people waiting on her.”
“Eh? Yes. But, I don’t know where they are….”
Jin was extremely well-versed in the matters of the Hyou clan. They did not know whether Hien-hime had sent detailed writings regarding the Hyou clan, in addition to about the locusts. However, there was a possibility that Jin already—-No, possibly from the beginning, had known where Ruka was. He had only been biding his time up till now.
Shuurei bit her lips. If her suspicions were correct.
“–Shusui, I have one more request. After you open the ‘passages’ to the temples which possibly have information about extermination, there’s a place where I’d like you to go to with General Ran. Riou-kun and I will handle things here.”

After Shuurei and Riou had seen Shusui and Shuuei off, they stood before the magic circle traced in geometric patterns of light which was beginning to open, in the room known as the ‘passage room.’
This was the duty of the Director of the Department of the Cave of the Immortals, and that of the a Censorate Inspector.
Riou touched one of the circles of the ‘passages’ and spoke softly.
“This is Hyou Riou, the Director. I have some questions for the head of the Great Temple concerning the locust plague.”
Even among the shrines and temples associated with the Hyou clan, this Great Temple put a fair amount of effort into measures against the locusts. They also frequently came to the research center and conducted research there. —He and Shuurei had thoroughly compared the handwriting in that pamphlet with the index, and the result was……. as expected it was the Grand Temple.
After awhile, he heard a voice from the ‘passage.’ The calm, hoarse voice of an elderly man.
“….Well, well, have I heard something at last from the ‘passage?’ What in the world has happened at the main house…? Or so I’d like to ask,—— But first I’ll answer your question. What is it?”
“It is about the extermination of the locusts. I would like to ask whether it is possible to artificially drive locusts which have already broken out in large numbers, and have begun to fly in groups into a state of destruction. —-For example, through a contagious disease, like on Kage Island.”
A silence feel, as if the man had been surprised. It was as if he had not expected them to know this.
The answer was concise.
“—There is.”
‘However,’ he continued.
“Currently, we cannot act. —As long as there are no orders from Ruka-sama.”

****

When Ou Ki had finally finished looking over all of the documents, he put is brush aside. When he looked outside, it was already the middle of the night. Ouyou Gyoku had already set out for Heki Province before Ou Ki, leading the elite of the Plume Forest Army. Now that he had cleared up all of his work, Ou Ki could also set out tomorrow morning.
(…..Now then, what shall I do?….)
Ou Ki looked in the direction of the Department of the Cave of the Immortals. Before, Uu Uu-dono had requested that if he had time, to play the guqin. [See notes for more info] When the opportunity had come, he had played it in his mansion several times, but recently it had been not at all the occasion for that. However, he hadn’t been diverting himself from his work; in a corner of his mind, something was bothering him. Uu Uu-dono was not a person who said things on a whim, and most importantly….. Since then he had not seen Uu Uu-dono.
The atmosphere was strange. He couldn’t say how, but it wasn’t a very good feeling.
At times like this, he felt an urge to play the guqin, even if he had not been asked to. Ou Ki went out into the garden in the middle of the night, and made the preparations himself. However, having said that, there were only three things. A small table for the guqin, a chair, and after that, the guqin. Unlike the zheng [note: another Chinese zither; also known as the guzhen], it was better for the guqin to be of a size that could be easily carried.
He did not add a candlestick. The lanterns in the garden were lit, and there was also the light of the moon and the stars. With Ou Ki’s skill, it wasn’t necessary for him to see his hands. The preparations were at and end with that. After he carefully tuned the guqin, he first began to play a short piece to practice. Then, when he had finished the second piece, he suddenly stopped his fingers.
“I cannot approve of you walking out in the small hours of the night alone like this, your highness.”

Definitely, he was hesitating about what to do.
When he had come out from the balcony, he had thought to call out, but had failed to. After that, he had ended up drawing back, and then he was even more at a loss for what to do next. However, before he could think about it, Ou Ki had come out into the garden. After he begun to steadily prepare for something, he took out the qin. He had not known that Ou Ki played the qin—not only that, the rare guqin. While he was still hesitating, the sound of the qin began to flow.
Serene, though not variegated, the sound was entirely clear and pure.
Why did Ryuuki find this sound familiar? He sensed that in the distant past, he had heard it somewhere.
Ryuuki realized that when the second piece was halfway through, his feet had led him to the sound of the qin. At being flatly told of Ou Ki’s disapproval, Ryuuki ducked his head. Even so, he hung on.
“Could….we listen a bit?”
One of Ou Ki’s brows leaped, though it might have been closer to an expression of shock.
After awhile, Ou Ki told him it was fine.
“If it pleases you. The chair is necessary to my playing, so I cannot offer it to you, though.”
“……..aren’t you angry? …… And are you free now?”
“It was I who said that I would not mind if anyone came to see me anytime, as long as they had some business. Even your highness. If you have some business, then you may stay. If not, you should return.”
After a beat of silence, Ryuuki nodded and approached Ou Ki. Since there was no chair, he sat down directly on the earth nearby. At this time, Ou Ki did not get angry about etiquette.
Once again, the sounds of the tuning of the qin began to waver, high and low.
A mysterious sound, which his ears were accustomed to. Ryuuki closed his eyes, as if her were being tempted by the sound.
A strange feeling took hold of him. Familiar. Within his heart, there was a ripple.
Long ago, he had heard this sound. Someone had let Ryuuki hear it.
(…..That can’t be)
The only one who had been at Ryuuki’s side was his brother Seien. There had been no one else.
…..That should have been correct. Even so, that sound had quietly soothed Ryuuki’s heart.
While he was still half-dreaming, the piece ended. The echoes of the sound spread, but the next piece didn’t begin.
When he looked, he saw that he was conscientiously tuning it.
“…..You tune it every piece?”
“Yes. Because the sound goes more or less out of tune.”
Ryuuki’s inborn curiosity was piqued, and he got up and went around the qin table.
“Is that the guqin used in ancient music? Maybe it’s because there are hardly any players, but this is the first time we’ve seen one up close. It’s rather different from the zheng. It doesn’t have any bridges. Does it also have seven strings?”
For some reason, Ou Ki was silent. Ryuuki clapped his hand over his mouth.
“……Was that unkingly?!”
“It’s not that, it’s because you said exactly the same thing you did long ago.”
Ryuuki was surprised by this unexpected answer. Long ago?
“Ehhh? We’ve heard your guqin playing before?”
Ou Ki’s hand, which had been tuning the guqin, stopped. Then, he did not answer the question.
“…..Would you like to try playing it?”
“Is it alright?”
“I’ll teach you. Beginning with tuning.”
Ryuuki flinched. —Beginning from the tuning?!
(He’s not only going to make me pluck the strings properly, but starting from the tuning?!)
However, shot through by Ou Ki’s piercing gaze, like a hawk whose prey was running away, he gave up easily.
“………Thank you.”
Ou Ki made him sit in the chair he had been sitting in.
“Actually, I will start from how to put the strings on— No, I’d like to show you beginning from how to make the guqin.”
“…..Wha? How to make it?”
“Yes. If there were time, I would then like to go and find a good paulownia tree. The qin is something one must carve oneself. I, too, make this qin. That is the true way of playing the qin. Up until a little in the past, it was normal for qin players to construct their qins according to their preferences. Using a qin made by someone else was heresy.”
He had begun with a lecture of the history of qin playing, not tuning. What was that all about?
However, he could not imagine at all Ou Ki himself going into the wilds to find a paulownia tree, then finely carving it and making a qin. However, certainly the small palownia qin sitting prominently before his eyes had been carefully maintained. It was a beautiful, well used qin.
“First, correct the sound of the seventh position on the fifth string [note: there's something I was unable to find the translation of here. Help appreciated], and next, the tuning of the seventh string–”
He listened carefully, and in the order that Ou Ki said, tuned the pitch, from the first string to the seventh.
“That is the tuning for playing traditional qin pieces. Now, for playing, there are thirteen marks lined up here. Those are the markers known as ‘ki.’ From the first ki to the thirteenth ki. When you press on the strings with your left hand, they will become a reference. The guqin is played with the left hand pressing on the strings, and the right hand plucking them.”
Since the qin had no bridges like the zheng did, in place of that, on it were thirteen dotlike marks.
“The resting position is between the fourth and fifth ki. Normally, you only look at your left hand. The right hand plucks the strings by sense.”
“Sense?!”
“You don’t pluck the strings while seeing with your eyes, you know the position by touch. That’s why you don’t look at the plucking right hand. Only look at the pressing left hand. Since there is no score, please also remember the music by ear and sense.”
Intuition again. He sensed that long ago, Sou Taifu had also said something like that to him. ‘Don’t watch your opponent’s movements with your eyes. Remember it somehow with your body and sense.’….. He now felt that Ou Ki also actually had a haphazard personality.
Since Ryuuki was quick on the uptake, and his sense of sound wasn’t bad either, when he had gotten used to using fingers he usually didn’t use, he was quick to get the knack of it. Although he was awkward, when he had slowly finished playing an easy piece, Ou Ki clapped.
Ryuuki was happy that he had been clapped for even though he knew it was bad.
“….Ou Ki-dono.”
Ryuuki’s hands closed tightly into fists. Within his mind, thoughts which he had not felt up till now suddenly came welling up.
Before he realized it, Ryuuki had let spill the words.
“……are we no good for this, Ou Ki-dono? No matter what?”
In the midst of the moonlight and the faint light of the lanterns, Ou Ki looked at Ryuuki. It was a quiet gaze. Then, he did nothing more or less than this.
Ryuuki realized that with such words, Ou Ki’s heart would not be moved even a tiny bit.
After a long, long silence, Ou Ki closed his eyes.
“…..Is there anything that you hate? Your highness.”
“……Something we hate…..?”
“I’ll say it in another way. I believe that you must have been sitting on the throne for the sake of what you like.”
While standing right in front of Ryuuki with the qin table between them, Ou Ki once again tuned the qin.
“….I am not especially saying this sarcastically. To rise to the throne for the sake of someone or something is not all a bad thing. Indeed……it is far better than becoming king for one’s own sake.”
He tuned the strings, and a beautiful sound rang out. For some reason, Ryuuki suddenly wondered whether the person those last words had been about had been his late father—King Senka.
Ou Ki, still standing like that, slowly began to play the qin.
“Probably, for the sake of the people important to you, not only Kou Shuurei, but Kou Shouka, who has watched over you, Ran Shuuei, Li Kouyuu, Officer Shi…. I think at your core are probably the feelings of wishing to exist for the sake of protecting those important to you, who you don’t want to lose, and for the sake of the wishes of the people you like.”
It was as he said. And, Ryuuki did not think that that he was wrong to do so.
However, now he definitely was mistaken about something. Since the more he advanced, the more mistaken he would be, and he would be criticized by someone for something, he had entirely stopped his own movement. That was why, even if Ryuuki did not think he was mistaken, he could not speak. Ryuuki’s chin slightly shook.
Ou Ki pretended not to see this, and continued to pluck at the qin. It was a gentle sound, with the calm of a forest night.
“……However, your highness, I am different.”
The night breeze murmured through the trees, and the flames of the far lanterns wavered.
“I have come this far for the sake of that which I hate.”
“…..The things you hate?”
Ou Ki plucked the qin hard, making it give out a large twang.
“—–I hated your father.”
That sound descended at those final words, which could not fail to be noticed, as if to erase them. However, they were carried unmistakably to the ears of Ryuuki, who was skilled in the martial arts, and Ou Ki also knew this. Yes, he had done this so they would reach Ryuuki’s ears alone.
Ryuuki’s eyes widened. He realized, that now and in the past, there had been no one who had said they hated his father.
The previous king, Senka. Called the bloody hegemon, a hero praised as the second coming of King Sou Gen. The father his elder brother Seien had also revered.
Ou Ki’s fingers plucked the strings. Those sounds, one after the other, rode away on the night wind and were carried off somewhere.
“I hated him. Without turning a glance to the weak, he massacred each and every person in his way, and made all kneel before his absolute power. I could not acknowledge that person…… I did not want to acknowledge him. I have come this far, not, like you, to protect the people I love, but to do battle with what I hate, and to change it.”
He had heard something from General Sou. That one of the generals who had fought against his father up till the end, had been Ou Ki. It was as he had said.
“There is a mountain of things that I hate. War and famine and disease…..wherever I would go, there would be piles of corpses, and as that was ‘normal,’ I hated that kind of ‘normal.’ I wanted to change it. On my estates, I hired many people, even if it was not much, and had them create crops that were strong against bad harvests, and ran around helping the impoverished. The national exam system was not yet in place as well, so many nobles and officials were uneducated. They would every day only write strange, meaningless poems, and indulge in decadent banquets…… Perhaps they knew. That soon something terrible would come. The day of their destruction was coming. Even though they knew this, they continued to turn their eyes from all that was real and destroyed themselves.”
Like fruit before it fell rotting. The bizarrely sweet smell of decay, though it was about to fall already.
“….At that time, I was younger than you, powerless…. Even so, I was pained by how nothing would happen unless the nobles and officials above changed. It is because of that that I guide the youth of the provincial nobility, and send them into the official world….. However, at that time, I was powerless, so I could changed nothing. Finally, Prince Senka stood up. He expected nothing from the nobles or the officials. He decided to massacre the vassals of his clan. He did not change his father, but chose to mercilessly make a clean sweep of him….. Even after he ascended to the throne, he did not change his way of doing things. You, too, know that well.”
Ryuuki averted his eyes. That was correct. Out of his five elder brothers, leaving out Seien, who had been exiled, Ryuuki now had no blood relatives. Some had been assassinated during the struggle between the princes, and finally, in the end they had all been executed on his father’s orders. The remaining princes, the consorts, the clan members as well. The nobles and officials who participated as well. Not a single one was left.
At that time, although Ryuuki had known about that, he had not really felt anything. From the beginning, he had not liked his elder brothers or the consorts, so he did not think of going to plead for them either. Even when he heard that they had been executed, he could only think those events like things happening in a far off world, unrelated to himself. He had not thought, either, that his father’s way of doing things was mistaken. Probably that was all he had done. He had not even felt pity.
Suddenly, Ryuuki felt chilled by the thought of his past self. For the first time, he could see that his teenage self, which had felt nothing at all, despite the fact that his father had executed his elder brothers and step-mothers one after the other, was unusual.
“…….you’re saying, that…..father….was mistaken?”
He knew that even if he asked such a thing at such a late date, there was no meaning to it. It was a meaningless conversation.
The fingers, which had been plucking Ou Ki’s qin, stopped. The fragments of the piece disappeared into the shadows of the night.
“…..What I could not do, was accomplished by that person and Prime Minister Shou. A tremendous amount of blood flowed, many people died. Everyone said ‘there’s no other way.’ That there wasn’t any other way to end the war. However, it’s strange, but King Senka and Prime Minister Shou themselves where the only ones who did not say those words, even once…… If they had said them, even once, I would have been able to say they were wrong fairly and squarely.”
He would have been able to denounce him, saying that there were different methods, no matter how much whitewashing there was.
However, up till the very end, he had made no excuses. Don’t expect things of me. [note: sort of quoting Senka here.] He always laughed sarcastically, lived as he liked, and then died. After, you do as you like. Such were the words he left behind.
He was not a commendable man who thought himself mistaken. However, he didn’t really think he was correct either. He had only chosen that way of doing things out of many. And then, what about the result of that?
“….I acknowledge this. He employed many talented personnel, not taking their rank into consideration, started the national exam system, opened wide the gates, fostered people…… the country became much more prosperous than it was before. Most importantly—-he put an end to the long, muddy war. I cannot say that how those two, who did what I could not, did things….was mistaken. Not yet.”
He couldn’t say they were wrong. But, he could not acknowledge them. There were other methods. Perhaps, that was why he had flown here up till now, to stake his life on proving that. That was what Ou Ki thought from time to time.
“…..I have come this far because of the things I hated. I have not thought at all that it was for the things I ‘like,’ unlike you. I have also not even once thought of trying to make the people’s, or someone else’s wishes come true, or that that is the role of the government. That would simply be gratification of my ego.”
“….Eh?”
“…….Your highness, please think of this as the last and only time I will speak of these things to you. —-At the very leat, I have come here thinking that government means not fulfilling the ‘wishes’ of the ministers and people one after the other, but rather decreasing ‘the things the people hate.’ Preparing measures against starvation, drought, flooding, epidemics, and other natural disasters; getting rid of prejudice, discrimination, corruption, and baseless superstitions…..Since there is a mountain of ‘hateful things’ which must be lessened, I am not at all at a loss as for what I should do. Whether it be correct or mistaken, governing must be carried out. If one doesn’t concern oneself about the judgments of others, then there will be no fretting over whether one is hated or loved by the ministers and people for one’s deeds.”
Ryuuki’s bangs faintly shook.
The first thing Ou Ki had asked was whether he had anything he hated.
That was what he meant.
“I do not do this work because I ‘like’ governance. That is true of Ki Kouki and Son Ryouou as well….. And probably, Official Kou as well.”
Ryuuki started. Ou Ki had said Official Kou. He sensed it had been the first time he had heard Shuurei called that.
“She also probably did not set out to become an official out of a vague ‘liking’ for being one. Since liking is a feeling which changes easily, she would not have made it this far on that. That is true of all work. Being able to continue, even when it’s painful, can only happen if there is a reason beyond that. Even for the sake of being able to eat, or to support a family suffices. There being a sight which one doesn’t wish to see twice, or feelings which one doesn’t wish to have again. A world one wants to see….. Such things as that.”
Shuurei had said to Ryuuki, the first time they had met. That she didn’t want to feel that way again twice.
“There are lots of things that can be done somehow, with the power of humans.”
That’s why I wanted to become an official, she said.
That ‘wish’ which Ryuuki himself had given to her, as easily as throwing feed, then all to easily taken away.
His words were strong, but in contrast, mysteriously they did not seem to be said in a severe way. They were only quiet. Ou Ki plucked the qin with his nails. For some reason, what he had chosen was a gentle melody, like a soothing children’s lullaby. Though, he felt that somewhere, sometime he had heard it. He couldn’t recall.
“…..I do not think that you have been blessed by fortune, your highness, and I cannot say that it is a mistake to sit upon the throne for the sake of the people you love. That is also one way of doing things…. At the very least, unlike me, you will avoid committing the folly of finding that you are losing the ones you love, one by one, while locked in mortal combat against what you hate.”
When he raised his head, as if to listen again, surprised by those last words, he ran into Ou Ki’s deep gaze.
“…..However, I do not regret it. Though I am plagued by doubts, even so, it is the path I have decided to walk. I do not think I am wrong. That is exactly why, your highness, I cannot believe.”
Ou Ki’s eyes looked straight at Ryuuki.
“I, who have come this this far for the sake of what I hate, cannot believe in you, who is on the the throne for the sake of what you love, or your way of doing things. You put off dealing with what you do not like, neglect it. As you have done always with us at the Chancellery. …..Your highness, during the time when you ignored us, we were there. I was at your side, as one of your ministers, to serve you. …. Always.”
Although he existed, although he spoke, he was treated as if he were not there. Hal of the world.
How dangerous was that?
“When the ones who you love change, then you also change, and if you lose them, you fall into a deep despair. Though tomorrow, and and the day after that, the world will continue on, at those times, you cannot be the same self you were yesterday. Like that time with Prince Seien. You do not have the strength, unlike your father, to attend court calmly, with the same face he wore the day before. Because of your gentleness.”
Ryuuki could not say a single word in reply.
His reason for saying he didn’t want to be king and shutting himself up in the Inner Palace had really been because of his brother. Come to think of it, it was as if he hadn’t changed at all from that time. The allowing of women to be officials, and him avoiding marriage as well, had been for the sake of the girl he loved. When he had gone to Ran Province, also, his reason had been ‘to bring Shuuei back.’
Ou Ki had always criticized all of that, and opposed it. However, Ryuuki had not listened to him on a single one of those things.
Yes, Ryuuki was bad at dealing with Ou Ki. Perhaps it was because he had known that his strictness had nothing at all of love in it really. He conveyed to Ryuuki that it was simply only one of his duties, and he did not think it pleasant to see Ryuuki. So Ryuuki also came to wish to avoid Ou Ki, and ended up not properly listening to what he said.
“You are the king. You reign over this vast country, you carry the weight of the people upon your shoulders. Even one of your mistakes may invite disaster….. At that time, it will be too late for regrets.” [note: this is a quote from the past. Who was this anyhow? Shuurei?]
However, Ou Ki was different. Even if he did not like Ryuuki, he always, leaving out personal feelings, faced him head-on, and at necessary times gave him necessary advice. He carried out his own ‘work’ sincerely. It was Ryuuki who chose people based on his likes and dislikes, and had ruined it all. Now, all of that had simply rebounded on him.
“I do not think that you, or your way of thinking is evil. It is only because I am completely incompatible with them. If you live for the sake of those you love, then the world will always be comfortable. It is only natural, also, that you do not want to think about what you hate as much as possible. However, this court, and the king cannot be like that. Those are my principles, my way of living. In the future, also, I do not intend to deviate from that….. That is my answer, to your question of whether it is hopeless with you.”
Ryuuki’s face twisted.
It is no good with you. There could be no expression of thought clearer than that.
“Your highness, there is a world that I wish to see. There are things I must do, while the relics of King Senka and Shou Taishi’s age still remain. There is something left, which can only be done now….. However, for you, it is completely impossible. Though you are now making a face as though this is the worst time in your life, of what I have known, this is now the most decent, good age. Even so, it is too heavy for you. It can’t be helped. The throne is a cold, merciless, solitary place. Despite this, you are the one most unable to withstand such solitude. You still have not yet found a reason that would allow you to tolerate it…… Am I wrong?”
“………”
“If it is painful, now it will be alright if you run away.”
Ou Ki said this quietly. Those words which up till now, had not been said even once.
Ryuuki’s eyes opened wide. With a hoarse voice, he blankly repeated.
“…..alright, to run, away….?
“Yes. From here on—-especially when I am absent from court, the time to come shall be the most difficult you have ever faced up till now, and everything shall come down heavily on you. Honestly, I do not think you will be able to bear it, so I will not tell you any longer to endure. If you feel that it is hopeless, that there is nothing to be done, you should run off far away, like that time you went to Ran Province….. Only, that will be the last time. Unlike that time, please know that the day you return to the throne again will not come.”
At this moment, Ryuuki’s chest was filled with violent emotions, which he could not express.
That hot mass welling up within him resembled anger, however, it was also mixed with anguish, sadness, wretchedness, as if they were all swirling within his body like a whirlpool. It hurt even more than whatever criticisms, denunciations, or harsh words which he had been met with before. He had not thought that such feelings, strong enough to darken his vision, would come bursting up within him when he was told he could run away, that he didn’t need to try hard anymore. Truly, Ou Ki had realized that he was done for. No matter what he said, it would be useless, he would not go back. He had said that he would not expect anything from Ryuuki ever again.
At that second, he understood, in the depths of his heart, that there not even a million-to-one chance of holding back Ou Ki.
He realized that he was crying. One after another, hot tears spilled, as if being squeezed out, and he could not stop them. Even if he tried to suppress it, he gradually began to sob, as though he were a child.
Suddenly, he realized something. Could Shuurei, also, have had such thoughts? That night, when Ryuuki had asked her to stop being an official—which was the same as telling her ‘you don’t need to be an official, with what thoughts had she said ‘alright’? With what feelings had she smiled at Ryuuki?
After a stunned silence, before his eyes a white handkerchief had been proffered.
When he took the handkerchief, it wasn’t made of silk or anything like that, but out of white cotton, the sort which could be bought anywhere. Ryuuki realized that although Ou Ki was dressed properly and neatly, the material of his official robes, the jewelry on his ears and fingers, was not of a high price. It was only at this late date that he had come to pay attention to Ou Ki. Yes, because he had only looked at the people he liked.
Always, Ryuuki had been too late. For everything, when he realized it.
“………A person such as yourself…..is weeping before me. I am even more impressed.”
“So,sorry….. we didn’t intend to cry like this.”
Ryuuki swallowed his next words. Even if he was so lost that he didn’t know what mistakes he was making, he knew this alone. Saying that he would listen to him from now on would not change Ou Ki’s heart a bit. That would only mean that the person he listened to would have changed from Shuurei, to Kouyuu, to Yuushun, and then to Ou Ki. That attitude itself had probably been the biggest reason that he had turned his back on Ryuuki. Then, Ryuuki now had no words other than that. Ou Ki probably knew that as well. That was exactly why he had quietly told him ‘it’s no good with you anymore.’ As the simple truth. That time had run out.
He sensed that Ou Ki was taking care of the qin which Ryuuki’s tears had splattered. He sighed.
“…..You truly haven’t changed. Excuse me for saying this, but even now I find it mysterious how from those two parents, a prince like you could have been born.”
While he was wiping his face with the handkerchief, there came the beautiful sound of the quin. Though it was a tune he did not know at all, for some reason he felt as though he had heard it sometime, somewhere. In the distant past. When his brother had suddenly disappeared from the palace, and he had not yet met Shouka. A blank space of a year, when he had roamed the Inner Palace alone.
There had been a time when he had slept alone, hearing from somewhere, a lullaby played on the qin.
(That was…)
Could that qin playing have been….?
When Ryuuki’s sobs stopped, the piece stopped as well. It was not a proper composition, but piece akin to an improvisation, made so that it could be stopped at any point.
“…….Please return soon, your highness. The night has already begun to lighten. In some time, when it becomes light, I will set off for Kou Province. Since time is short, I will go without any formalities….. This will probably be the last time. Farewell, your highness. The next time we meet—-”
Ou Ki cut off his words there, and did not continue to speak. However, Ryuuki also had a premonition. The next time they met, everything would have probably changed entirely, for both of them. For both Ryuuki and Ou Ki, something that which had continued in form alone would come to an end. Perhaps this was the last time that they would meet and talk like this.
He wanted to sit in that chair for eternity. However, Ryuuki got up from it heavily.
The night had very vaguely become thinner. The eastern sky was lightening from darkness into indigo. When he saw that, his final words spilled from his lips.
“…..Ou Ki-dono, we entrust Kou Province to you. Please save them….”
Finally, he looked one more time at Ou Ki’s face. Straight on. He now realized that the times he had looked at Ou Ki full in the face had been so few they could be countered.
A peculiar silence fell. No, Ou Ki was looking at Ryuuki with a peculiar gaze. Perhaps the king had visited Ou Ki’s manor not for the conversation they had had up till now, but truly only for those two sentences. Kou Shouka had said that if he mended his flaws, that he would be a better king than Ou Ki. Ou Ki closed his eyes, and put his two hands together and bowed his head. A bow to the king.
“—-As you will, your highness.”
Ryuuki nodded, and with his face still blank, he turned around and left.
After watching the king leave until he could no longer see his form, Ou Ki breathed in deeply. The cold, clear, sweet air of the time before daybreak filled his lungs.
The unpleasant, stagnant atmosphere he had felt at the beginning had disappeared off somewhere.

Notes:
Kagura (神楽): Usually in Japanese the word denotes an ancient style of theater performed in shrines where accompanied by music, dancers re-enact scenes from Japanese mythology, such as the tale of the defeat of Yamato-no-Orochi. Here I’m guessing the author meant ‘divine music’ or something of the sort, but I switched to instrument. (In general there is a confusing synecdoche between instruments, music, a person’s personal style of playing a specific instrument which I might have made hash of in that passage).

The guqin is a Chinese classical instrument, sort of like a zither. See here for more information. The gu in guqin means ‘old,’ and the qin part refers to the instrument. In Japanese, the author refers to it as 琴の琴 (which seems to be a Japanese word for it). 琴 itself in Japanese refers normally to the Japanese instrument known as the koto. In any case, because the text above makes a distinction between Ou Ki’s instrument and the normal 琴, I translate instances of 琴の琴 as guqin and 琴 as qin, when it makes sense to do so.

The guzheng (or zheng) is yet another Chinese instrument. It’s much larger than a qin. As Ryuuki notes, it has bridges.

Just what is 沃音? I am unable to figure this out. Is it a misprint of 泛? Therefore, I leave it as ‘sound.’

Commentary:

Okay, I guess I can stop complaining now about Ou Ki being an underdeveloped character or us having no idea what motivates him. XD More seriously, though, this has my vote for favorite scene in the book. Also, this chapter cured me of any wish I might have to play the guqin. An instrument you have to tune after playing a single song?! And for goodness sakes, Ou Ki sure is thorough about his teaching. Not only how to play it, but how to make it?! I suppose this is like uh an obvious metaphor; Ryuuki is going to have to go out in the woods, cut down his own damn tree to make an instrument, and then carve it himself.

I had never really been ‘waiting’ or anything for someone to tell Ryuuki they hated Senka, but it’s an interesting (and weirdly satisfying) moment. Ryuuki never really seems to think of his father’s reign, or ponder the effects that it might have had upon the nation or upon the psyches of the people. The author before (like in the first book) would tell us that Senka is blah blah blah a bloody tyrant, but we didn’t learn that much about what this really consisted of until post-book 10. Ou Ki comes off as weirdly broad-minded and modest for a man aiming to make himself emperor. (In a way, we can also say that Senka was broad-minded.)

Also interesting is Ou Ki’s interpretation of Senka’s reasons for ruling: for his own sake. This of course is Ou Ki’s interpretation, but it doesn’t jibe with earlier characterizations of Senka becoming apathetic after Ki-hime’s death. We really need to have more exploration of Senka’s true character, I think. I suspect that since most of the stuff with Ruka and the Hyou clan has been cleared up, next volume we’ll be free to explore the government side of the past.

I suppose one of Ou Ki’s strengths is that he’ll keep on going no matter how much he has lost. And how much more will Ou Ki lose? It’s not really obvious from what I’ve translated so far, but Ou Ki does care for Yuushun, and Yuushun is on the ‘top ten most likely to kick the bucket’ list. Ryouou has pretty much stated his willingness to die for Ou Ki. Already because of Ou Ki’s unexplained refusal to reveal himself to Riou, he practically doesn’t have a grandchild.

Senka and Ruka are often compared, but Ruka’s less admirable acts are characterized as her doing it out of necessity, for a greater good, with her highest aim being aiding the weak and those in need of her protection, and Ruka strikes a pathetic figure in some ways, abandoned and rejected by all those she loved. Whereas Senka has many retainers and generals, and at least here is characterized as ruling that way because he wishes to, not because he must. That makes Senka’s deeds harder to stomach. We need more gaidens with Senka.

As for Ryuuki: Ou Ki’s gentle evisceration of his rule, because it lacks rancor, is devastating. It actually really speaks poorly of Ryuuki that he will only listen to someone who likes him, and avoids criticizing him. This is one of the reasons Ryuuki took so readily to Yuushun, because Yuushun declined to ever criticize or oppose his plans, even when they were mistaken.

In a way, this scene kind of represents a realization that the conclusion of volume one was inadequate, that someone cannot be blackmailed into becoming king, or become king simply to please the person they’re in love with. Actually, in dramatic terms, the first volume would have been better if Ryuuki had truly had the option of leaving, and instead chosen to remain king. Now, in the last few volumes, Ryuuki has been given a real choice, first by Ruka, and now by Ou Ki. The first time, he refused Ruka, but probably obvious distrust towards Ruka played a role there, and his failings then seemed mostly inwards, as opposed to concrete instances of misrule. Now, Ryuuki’s inadequacies as king have manifested outwardly, and are obvious to the entire nation, and Ryuuki at this late date probably respects Ou Ki, and has been told that he may leave, the words he longed to hear at the beginning of the series.

Last chapter up next: I’m also going to do it in one shot, although it is sort of long for that. It’s set back in the Hyou clan and cleans up volume 16. Most of your questions will still be…. unanswered. XD