Made by: xuongrongl
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Shi Seiran 
Li Kouyuu 
Ran Shuuei
"...After Sougen's death, the eight Coloured Celestials disappeared. However, it is said that they continue to live in the human world. It's possible that even now they still exist among us..." - In the temple, Kou Shuurei was telling the story for the children after the day's lesson had ended.
Kou Shuurei"Hey, hey, Shuurei-sensei."
"What is it Touka?"
"I heard that the temple where the Celestials stayed is now a part of the Imperial Palace , is that true?" - asked a cute, young girl with her hair done up in two buns on her head, her eyes shining brightly as she looked up, with her hands on Shuurei's knees.
"Yes, now it's known as the Celestial Chamber (Sentoushou) and it remains in a corner of the palatial grounds...Well, that's what Seiran says."
"You havent seen it, Sensei(1)?"
"I cant go into the Imperial Palace ...because girls cant become Court Officials"
"Then wait till I become a Court Official; I'll make Sensei my bride! That way I'll be able to bring you into the Imperial Palace , right?"
Shuurei smiled at the young boy who'd spoken so confidently: "If you want to do that, you'll have to study harder, Ryuushin"
"Eh, Ryuushin would be better suited to being a military officer" - The young girl with buns smiled at the boy.
At that moment, there was a knock at the temple's door.
"Seiran" -Shuurei looked happy at the tall figure with silver hair who entered.
"Ojou-sama (2), It's almost time."
"Yes"- Shuurei picked up her Ehur with eager "Right! Today's work awaits! Let's go, Seiran!"
--------
"The daughter of the Kou family?"
"Yes. Her father, Kou Shouka, is the caretaker of the Imperial Archives."
"If she is of the Kou, they are one of this country's most highly esteemed noble families. Her lineage is not a problem."
"But the caretaker of the Archives would only be earning a meagre wage."
"Indeed. I've heard they have fallen on hard times. His daughter has had to work here and there to make ends meet."
"Can this girl really resolve such an important matter, Shou?"
"I'm certain."
"It has alreary been half a year since the Emperor succeeded the throne. I thought things would have sorted themselves out by now"
"If things continue like this, it's only a matter of time before some usurper will set their greedy eyes on the throne."
"That's certainly true."
"In any case, leave this to me. Is it not commonly said, "A wife is a man's adversary?"
Shou Taishi, the Prime Minister (Grand Advisor), Sou Taifu , a war hero (Grand Guardian), and Sa Enjun (Sa Taiho) (Grand Mentor) - The three chief court advisors - were devising a plan to marry the emperor to a strong young woman - Shuurei - and had her do the job for them.
Sou Taifu, Shou Taishi and Sa Enjun respectively. ----------
In a Tavern, everyone stopped drinking and all looked at a corner from which a beautiful sound of an erhu that was played by Shuurei. Seiran was chopping the woods outside and sometimes stopped for a second to look up to the corner where the beautiful sound of the erhu came and smiled happily.
"Seiran!"
"Ryuushin, what's the matter?"
"It's Shouka-san..."
"What is it? Why must I go home all of a sudden!" - Shuurei was quite annoyed when being called back in the middle of her job.
"That's because an important guest has arrived" - Seiran tried to keep her cool.
"Who is it?"
"I wonder...but Danna-sama (3) said that you are to go home immediately"
Shuurei latched on to him and cried "It's not that easy to find work. I only played one song, so I probably wont get paid! I thought we'd definitely be able to have rice this month! What again! Wheat!! That line down the middle of a grain of wheat. That line that distinguishes the real difference between itself and rice. It's going to laugh at me and say "I'm not rice!"..Ah I cant believe it! I cant believe it!!!"
"Ojou-sama, wheat cant talk"- Seiran still smiled calmly - " It'll be alright. I'll go and find more part-time work myself"
"I'm sorry Seiran. As an experienced officer of the Imperial Army, things would be easy for you if you only had yourself to support"
"That's not something you should worry yourself about." - Seiran smiled gently - "The truth is, having this opportunity to repay you makes me truly happy"
"Repay?"
"13 years ago" - Seiran, remembering the past, got a far-away look in his eyes - "you and your family took me in without knowing who I was and allowed me to stay in your home. I've decided to spend the rest of my life repaying that kindness" - his eyes were full of determination when he utters those words.
Shuurei was really touched by Seiran's words...for a second, and then her face fell again "I cant take it anymore. Why is our family's income so meagre? What's the use in being an aristocrat in the name alone? I hate being poor!!"
The fact of their status was obvious, since the family name was Kou - one of the eight noble names in the empire. The use of the eight lords' new family names was forbidden to the common people, as bearing the name of one of those eight colours had become an indication of belonging to the high nobility.
Kou Shuurei was from one of these families; moreover, she was the princess of the direct line. The Kou family was, along with the Ran family, one of the most distinguished of the seven families. The Emperor's family name, Shi (purple), came from mixing Kou (crimson) and Ran (indigo) together, and so--it was said that at the time of the families' names being changed--the Emperor gave those names to the two most influential families.
So Shuurei shouldn't have been crying over such problems as only being able to eat wheat again this month?
The story began when the eldest child of the Kou household, Shuurei's father Shouka, turned down the position of the head of the clan and went to live in the capital instead. He should have been living in luxury in Kou District. He was given a job at the palace with a respectable (though considered by most to be useless) title--Imperial Archivist--and a salary fitting for his rank. However, he did nothing but spend all day reading in the archives, oblivious to pretty much everything. The Registry Minister in charge of payroll began gradually reducing his salary, yet Shouka never uttered a word of complaint. Eventually he and his daughter plunged into such poverty that Shuurei and Seiran had to go into town and search for odd jobs to supplement the family income so they wouldn't starve.
"O...Ojou-sama, people are watching" - Seiran tried to stop her from being embarrassed in the middle of the street.
"Being poor, I hate it so much!!!" - she cried out loud.
"Arhhhh. The wall is collapsing again and the roof is broken...Even just maintaining this old estate takes a lot of money. As soon as one thing over here is fixed, something over there will need attention. I really cant stand it anymore." - said Shuurei when they were just in front of their house.
"Well then, I'll repair the walls. As for the tiles, I'll get some from the Imperial Palace to replace the broken ones... It seems that the guest has already arrived."
Shuurei suddenly remembered something important "On NO! I have to go and prepare some tea!" - she rushed to the kitchen.
"Well then, I'll go and let them know that Ojou-sama has returned." - Seiran calmly went into the drawing room.
The kitchen was in a mess. Plates and chopsticks were strewn all over the place as though a thief had gone through there. However, the tea set itself was neatly left in its place. ......Apparently, Shouka did try hard to find the tea set, but that effort didn't bear fruit. It was no use counting on the master's ability regarding household matters.
"It seems that Father tried his best to prepare tea" - Shuurei didnt seem to surprise at all looking at the mess.
"Ojou-sama, this is serious" - Seiran rushed into the kitchen.
"What is it Seriran?"
"That...guest is.. Grand Advisor Shou!"
"Gr....Grand Advisor Shou...of the Imperial Court 's Three Grand Masters?" Shuurei was shocked with sweats all over her face. She'd almost ended up throwing tea leaves in surprise. That was close, tea leaves aren't that cheap.
"Why would such an eminent person come to our home?" - Shuurei started to wonder while bring the tea to the drawing room.
"It seems that there is something he wishes to discuss with you, Ojou-sama."
"Eh...Why? In any case, we cant be impolite!" - Her movements instantly changed. She straightened her back and her walk changed to a gliding step. It wasn't often that one could see such perfect manners from Shuurei.
"I've found that since being appointed as caretaker, I've immensely enjoyed..." The conversation within the drawing room was interrupted by the knock on the door.
"Shuurei-sama has arrived."
"Oh, come in!" - the man with a gentle smile on his face, was this residence's master - Kou Shouka.
Kou Shouka "Please excuse my intrusion" - Shuurei brought the tea to the guest very politely.
"Oh, Shuurei, this is Grand Advisor Shou."
"This person is Grand Advisor Shou? Second only to the Emperor in power, and the leader of hundreds of officials" - Shuurei talked to herself while carefully looking at the guest.
Shuurei firmed her expression and then drew back three steps and knelt "Grand Advisor Shou, I cant apologise enough for having kept you waiting. Though my humble service is not fit for you, please make yourself comfortable."
"Please stand up Shuurei-dono...Seiran-dono, please come over as well. There's something I'd like to discuss with you both."
Shuurei and Seiran looked at each other with surprise and straightened their backs.
"But before we get to that, I'm sorry, but could please pour me some tea? Drinking this water alone will unsettle my stomach."
Shuurei was shocked to see a bucket of water on the table: "A bucket. Dont tell me he's letting a guest drink water straight from the well" - she talked to herself and for a moment, she fell her face "Father"
Shouka gently smiled and nodded his head proudly "The water from our well is excellent, is it not?"
"How can he still act so proud?!" - talked to herself, she pulled her hair.
"I'm terribly sorry! I'll pour you some tea right away!"
"Oh, this steamed bun was made by Shuurei-dono, was it?"
"Yes."
"Shuurei's steamed buns are really quite delectable" - talked proudly Shouka.
"If I may" - Shou Taishi slowly enjoyed the bun- "Oh! It really is!"
"I reduced the sweetness by adding ground sesame seeds to the red bean paste, that way you can eat as many as you like" - Shuurei talked with joy on her face.
"Such a splendid thing. Shouka-dono, you must be very pleased to have such a wonderful daughter."
"Yes" - smiled pleasedly Shouka.
"Well...there remains the matter which you wanted to discuss" - asked Seiran with anxiety.
"Oh, that's right. Shuurei-dono, Seiran-dono, there is something which I need to ask for your help with. If you choose to accept, your reward will be in this amount." He thrust out his wrinkled right hand.
Three of them are surprised by the amount "5".
"That...how much are you implying? 50 copper ryou? 500 ryou?"
"Hmmm"
"This could be...an amazing opportunity!" - she talked to herself and quickly continued - "Could you possibly mean...5 silver ryou..50 silver ryou..perhaps"
"..." - Shou Taishi still remained silent.
The three of them were nervous looking at Advisor Shou.
"Gold! 500 ryou!!!" - shouted Advisor Shou.
Shocked by the amount, Shuurei suddenly stood up pushing her chair fall on the ground "Gold? 500ryou?"
"Uhm"
"I accept! NO matter what it is, please leave it to me!" - she replied loudly with joy and sparkles in her eyes
"Ojou-sama, should you be accepting without knowing anything about the job?"
"What are you talking about Seiran? We are talking about 500 gold ryou! With that much money, we can have rice everyday and even after repairing the walls and tiles, there'll still be some left over!"
"Furthermore, Seiran-dono will be temporarily promoted within the Imperial Army to serve as the Emperor's personal guard." -added Advisor Shou and didnt let them have time to be shocked, he continued - "and Shuurei-dono, you will enter the Imperial Harem and become the Emperor's concubine."
"Me...the Emperor's concubine?" - Shuurei was completely pale when she realized what it meant.
-----------
Shuurei and Seiran were walking slowly into the gate of the Imperial Palace .
"This is the Imperial Palace ...Amazing. How many times bigger is this place than ours? I'm going to be living in an amazing place like this from now on...What am I going to do Seiran?"
"It cant be help."
"Aaah!!! What kind of job have I accepted!" - she pulled her hair.
"It's because you accepted right away."
"Ah! What am I supposed to do! Seiran, do something!
"We've been awaiting your arrival, Royal Consort Kou." - The three Grand Advisor greeted Shuurei - "From now on, the ladies-in-waiting will serve you." - They refered to a beautiful lady who knelt before Shuurei right away.
"My name is Shusui."
Shusui.Looked at the lady with very good manner, Shuurei knew that she had to behave like a Royal Consort. She straightened her body "I am Kou Shuurei. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shusui", then she whispered to Seiran who was smiling "How's that Seiran? Like that?". Seiran then nodded his head quitely.
"Right! Let's go"
-------
In a big room, Shuurei was reviewing some information that she had tried to gather about the Emperor of Saiunkoku, Shi Ryuuki.
Record of Emperor of Saiunkoku - Shi Ryuuki (Male, 19 years old) (written by Shuurei):
1. Family Situation - Though he's the 6th and youngest prince, four of his five elder brothers were filled in the battle for the throne 8 years ago. The one other remaining brother was banished some time ago, unexpectedly leaving him the sole heir to the throne. (Oh, so it simply fell in his lap, hun?)
2. Government Administration - He doesn't go to the Imperial Court , and lets his ministers do all the work. (An emperor has no motivation or interest in governing.
3. Private Life - Until now he has had no concubine (except for me) Rumor has it he is attracted to men. He spends every night with a different man.
Shuurei started to sigh "......Seems he's got through half a year of doing nothing without anything going wrong on luch alone. If it continues like this, the country will be finished. I finally understand why Grand Advisor Shou was so desperate"
She remembered Advisor Shou's attitude when she had accepted the job. He held her hands and knelt before her "No matter what, no matter what.Please make the Emperor a real emperor within this next half year!"
“No wonder they're prepared to pay 500 gold ryou…It's as they say…”sweet words always hide a catch”.”
“Excuse me”
“Yes” – Shuurei changed her attitude right away.
“I've brought your tea, Royal Consort Kou”
“Uhm…I believe this lady-in-waiting's name is Kourin” - talked to herself – “Thank you Kourin”
A young girl seemed to be around 13 years old, so innocent and sweet. The girl suddenly fell onto Shuurei when she tried to bring tea for Shuurei.
Kourin. “I'm so sorry!” – Kourin seemed to be very scared.
“Are you alright?” – Shuurei smiled very gently.
“Wh…What have I done to the Royal Consort Kou?” – Kourin started to cry.
“Kourin, please calm yourself.” – Shuurei tried to comfort her.
“What's going on?” – Shusui comed in.
Shusui noticed that the tea cup was on the ground and knew the situation right away.
“Royal Consort Kou…”
“I'm fine. Don't scold Kourin, Please allow her to calm herself” – Shuurei quickly stopped Shusui.
“I understand. Kourin, come along now.”
“Kourin, when you've stopped crying, could you please bring me another cup of tea?” – Shuurei smiled gently.
“Yes.” – Kourin was quite surprised and touched by Shuurei's consideration.
Shuurei picked and the cup and cleaned the floor. Looked at tea cup, she thought “This tea cup looks very expensive. Just one of these would pay for enough food for a month. This would buy a lot of refreshments for all the children at the temple school. Even if he is the Emperor, doing nothing but living this luxurious life, it's unforgivable!...Since I've accepted, I must accomplish it! That useless Emperor must be educated! Well, it's temporary, and there are rewards: housing, food, and clothing are all covered. He likes men so I wont have to worry about the nights. It's not really so bad. Wait and see: that hopeless attitude of yours. I'll fix it alright.”
--------
Shuurei had already been in the palace for 5 days but she still did not have any chance to meet the Emperor.
“Ah, boring isn't it…Kouyuu? I was originally one of the Emperor's guards, so it's not so bad for me, but Grand Advisor Shou went to a lot of effort to have you transferred here to watch over the Emperor, and you haven't even met the Emperor yet, right? NO matter how talented the officer, if he isn't given any opportunities, he becomes nothing more than a showpiece. We're the best young civil and military officials respectively, we should have been well on our way to the top by now, don't you think?” – In the library, Ran Shuuei, a high-ranking noble of the Ran family and a skilled swordsman in the Imperial Guard, was mocking Li Kouyuu, who worked for and was the adopted son of the History Minister and held the record be being the youngest person ever to have made the top score on the qualifying exam, as usual.
“Stop spouting that garbage and get lost, Ran Shuuei!” – Kouyuu, as always, was easily tempted by Shuuei's teasing.
“Oh? What a way to talk to your good friend?” – Shuuei enjoyed his teasing of Kouyuu.
“Who's your good friend?! A guard should behave like a guard. Go and look after that stupid Emperor!”
“But the fact is, our care-free Emperor goes wandering around every day. I have no idea where he is”
“Good lord! Is it really ok for the country if he continues like this?!”
“As expected, Grand Advisor Shou seems to have a plan for dealing with this.”
“A plan?”
“A wife for the Emperor.”
“A wife?? You think a woman can change the Emperor?”
“Your aversion towards women is the same as always.”
“If it involves women, it definitely wont be any good.”
“You still don't know the pleasure of spending the night with a woman. What a pity! You've wasted half of your life.”
“Enough about that! What could a wife possibly..”
“Oh? Speaking of the devil…” – The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Shuurei.
Shuurei was still amazed by the amount of books in the library, so she had not noticed the presence of Shuuei and Kouyuu.
“You like to read?” – asked Shuuei.
“Yes..Uhm..”
“Please excuse my impoliteness. I am General of the Left Imperial Army, Ran Shuuei, and this is..”
“I'm in personnel; the Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Li Kouyuu”
“I'm Kou Shuurei.”
“Kou?” – Kouyuu was surprised by her surname because his godfather, Kou Reishin, was the head of the Kou clan.
“Do you think it would be alright for me to borrow this book? I have to study hard from now on.”
“What for?”
“For the sake of this country.”
Shuuei and Kouyuu were quite shocked by Shuurei's answer.
“Oh, please have one of these. I made these steamed buns myself…Well then, I'll be borrowing this book.”
Shuurei left the room and also left behind a good impression for Shuuei and Kouyuu.
“So that is….”
“…The stupid Emperor's wife. She is also the daughter of Shouka-sama whom you respect so much.” – said Shuuei.
“Shouka-sama's daughter huh? I wonder if the Emperor will change.”
“Who knows… From now on things are going to get interesting.”
-------
In the garden, Shuurei was delighted by how beautiful the cherry blossom was.
'I-I can't reach it...,' Shuurei hopped up and down like a frog trying to reach a branch of one of the nearby cherry trees. However, even though it seemed close, she couldn't reach it. Having the flowers just outside of hand's reach made it all the more frustrating.
"—Is this what you want?"
A young man's voice asked her from behind. Since Shuurei had thought no one else was around, she felt like her heart jump into her throat in surprise. And just as she turned around to face him, a strong gust of wind blew past. Shuurei automatically closed her eyes at the sudden gust of wind. She heard the leaves rustling in the wind.
“What a strong wind.”
“Oh. You broke it!”
“Oh. I didn't intend to break it, but the wind startled me ….Do you want it.”
Shuurei laughed when looking at the young man's face. He felt sad because he broke the cherry branch.
“You know. I just wanted some petals to put in the tea. Why don't you join me and have some steamed buns…Here you are. The cherry blossoms are so beautiful, so I wanted to sit outside and drink tea while reading.”
The young man stopped for a second after he ate a first bite of the bun: “Are you Shouka's daughter?”
“How do you know that?”
“Shouka brings me home-made steamed buns which taste exactly like this. They are my favourite steamed buns.”
“Thank you.” – Shuurei started to wonder whether he was one of her father's friends – “I'm Kou Shuurei… and you name is?”
“My name?”
“Well I cant address you without a name.”
“R….Ran….. I am Ran Shuuei.”
Shuurei started to remember the person she just met in the library - Ran Shuuei.
“That aside, why would Shouka's daughter be here?” – the man changed his voice.
“Me?, Well, Uh, I'm serving in the Imperial Harem, but I still haven't met the Emperor yet. How can I meet him, Ran Shuuei- san? – she tried to emphasize on the word Ran Shuuei.
“The Emperor, you want to meet him?”
“Yes.”
“And then what will you do? What will you do once you meet him?”
“It's about time I was going back.” – Shuurei seemed to want to hurry back.
The man caught her hand: “About that…. I still haven't heard your answer. I know the Emperor. If there is anything you want to tell him, I can pass on your words.”
Shuurei changed her voice: “I've come here to help the Emperor… Of course there is more I'd like to tell him but unless I tell him directly, it wont have any meaning.” - she picked up the cherry branch – “Well, until next time, Ran Shuuei-san.”
At the opposite of the garden, the three Grand Advisors were looking at them.
“So they meet at last.”
“What will happen from now on?”
“Now then, we'll see how you perform, Shuurei-dono.
The young man still stood by the cherry tree looking at Shuurei's back with sadness in his eyes.
Note:
(1) - is a term to call a teacher
(2) - is a respectful term meaning "Young Mistress"
(3) - is a respectful term meaning "Master"
1 comment:
i don't like cliffhanger endings..better b a 3rd season
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