The Emperor's Woman (Akitada Mysteries)

by I. J. Parker

  Genba told him. “I know it’s too much. We thought we’d wait and save some more, but now that Tokuzo’s dead, she’ll be sold again.”

  Akitada looked outside at his garden, saw that the sun was already high, and got up. “Find out who the heir is. Then arrange to buy her out. I’ll give you the money. As for Saburo, I’m sure he’ll show up. He knows how to handle himself. Now I must go to work.”

  Genba was on his knees again, knocking his head against the floor. “Thank you, sir. I’ll pay the money back, I promise. If you have extra work, I’ll do it gladly. Or, if you permit it, I could find some work outside after I have done the chores here. And Ohiro is a hard worker, too.”

  Akitada headed out the door. “Nonsense, Genba. You’re family.”

  After taking care of some urgent ministry paperwork, Akitada went in search of the minister.

  Fujiwara Kaneie had just arrived and stood at the open door overlooking his private courtyard, hands clasped behind his back. He was watching a pair of swallows building a nest under the eaves.

  When he heard Akitada, he turned. “Oh, there you are. How are things going for your friend Kosehira?”

  “Very kind of you to ask, sir.” Akitada hesitated a moment, then said, “I’m in a quandary. In this situation, taking sides will surely affect a person’s career. I’m not concerned on my own behalf but on yours, sir. Had you not better remain in ignorance of the matter?”

  The minister chuckled. “I’m quite safe, but it’s nice of you to be concerned. No, speak freely … unless you’re afraid I’ll carry tales.”

  There was always that danger, even though Kaneie was not particularly close to the regent and his brothers and was, in any case, an honorable man. “It’s not that, sir, though there are some confidences I cannot divulge. Very well, then. The prince is under house arrest. He will not make any effort to defend himself. He says he doesn’t care and will take the tonsure soon. Surely those words should satisfy his enemies?”

  The minister pursed his lips. “He still has his supporters, and many a retired emperor has ruled from his monastery. No, in Atsuhira’s case I don’t think they’d be satisfied.”

  “Ah. That is difficult indeed.”

  “But you’re only concerned about your friend Kosehira. Can’t you clear him and leave Atsuhira alone?”

  “No, sir. There were letters. They had no relation to the plot, but Kosehira has destroyed them. Since it was known they had corresponded recently and he would not produce them, it looks very suspicious.”

  “But why did he destroy them if they were harmless?”

  Good question. Akitada could not reveal the affair with Lady Masako to Kaneie. He said, “Why keep them? Surely you and I live with too much paperwork all day long to keep our private correspondence also.”

  Kaneie nodded. “Yes, I see. Awkward. What are your plans?”

  “I want to speak to people who can clear either Kosehira or the prince. A large task, but perhaps I’ll find the right person quickly.”

  “If you don’t stay away too long, I can spare you. A few days won’t matter. And, Akitada, keep me informed.”

  “Of course, sir. Thank you.”

  Akitada returned to his office where he took some time to clear pending matters and write out precise instructions for his clerk and those who were working on current cases. Then he left the ministry.

  His next stop was to look in on a friend. Nakatoshi worked in the Ministry of Ceremonial. He had once been Akitada’s clerk and was a most able and loyal young man, who had deservedly risen in the government and now occupied the same position in the Ministry of Ceremonial as the one Akitada held in the Ministry of Justice. They had become friends over the years, and occasionally visited each other.

  Nakatoshi greeted him with a cheerful, “Working on something new?”

  Akitada sat down and accepted a cup of wine. “I suppose I’ve troubled you so often in the past that you no longer expect just a friendly visit. You’re quite right, as it happens. The problem concerns my friend Kosehira. You’ve met, I think?”

  Nakatoshi’s smile faded. “Yes. Don’t tell me you’re meddling in the affairs of Prince Atsuhira again?”

  The word “affair” could denote all sorts of complications in a man’s life. Akitada said, “In a manner of speaking. This is in confidence, Nakatoshi. It concerns a young woman the prince had been meeting secretly.”

  “Ah. That’s better.” Nakatoshi grinned. “I prefer romance to politics. Much safer.”

  “I don’t know about that. She was the Lady Masako.”

  His friend gaped at that. “Atsuhira’s been carrying on an affair with one of His Majesty’s women?”

  “Yes, but His Majesty had shown no interest in her.”

  “It makes no difference.” Nakatoshi frowned. “Didn’t she die a few months back?”

  “Yes. It happened near the prince’s summer villa, though that story was covered up.”

  “Naturally. What a fascinating scandal! But what’s your part in this? Or Kosehira’s?”

  Akitada explained, and Nakatoshi was appalled. Being bright, he immediately said, “So this death and the plot about the succession are tied together after all?”

  “They shouldn’t be, but I’m afraid they are.”

  “You cannot touch it, Akitada. I know you’re Kosehira’s friend, but this is too dangerous for you and your family.”

  “Well, it’s not the first time. I’ve had to decide a long time ago whether to look out for myself and my family or hold on to my convictions. My name and the fact I’ve made enemies will always put me at risk. Since it can’t be helped, it must be managed somehow. But I came, as usual, to get some information. I’d like to know more about Lady Masako’s family.”

  “Ah, yes. Minamoto Masaie. I take it he’s under suspicion also?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Masako is his oldest daughter. Masaie is lord of Sagami, a very powerful provincial overlord. They say he used his influence to have Masako enter the royal apartments, no doubt in hopes of becoming grandfather to an emperor.” Nakatoshi paused. “Yes, it all hangs together. Now that you mention it, I do have some news you may not be aware of. Maseie has been called to court. In view of what you say about Lady Masako and the prince, it may mean that he’s connected with the alleged plot.”

  Akitada said, “I doubt it, but that doesn’t mean much to those who wish to rid themselves of perceived threats.”

  “Well, it would make sense. Perhaps Masaie found that His Majesty wasn’t interested in his daughter and decided to back Atsuhira for crown prince.”

  It opened up new possibilities and confused the issue of Lady Masako’s death. Akitada chewed his lower lip. “It could be revenge, of course.”

  Nakatoshi looked blank. “You mean the court blames Minamoto Masaie for his daughter’s affair?”

  “Not the court. I was thinking of the Lady Kishi.”

  “Kishi? Oh, Prince Atsuhira’s wife. And you think her brothers agreed to ruin the prince and anyone connected with him or Lady Masako? Well, that would be shocking.”

  “From what I hear, Kishi’s perfectly capable of acting on her own. And she’s likely to have taken serious offense.”

  “Ah. Women.” Nakatoshi shook his head. “What a muddle!”

  They both sighed, then chuckled. Thanking his friend, Akitada took his leave.

  The Beggars

  Saburo woke in a ruin, looking up through the broken roof high above him. Blue sky and golden clouds shimmered beyond the age-darkened beams and broken spars. He watched the clouds passing across the blue, and wondered if he was glimpsing a distant paradise.

  Gradually, he became aware of his other senses. Unpleasant odors assailed his nose. He tried to analyze them while watching the pretty clouds. Dirt, he thought. I’m smelling dirt and rotten things. Nothing in particular stands out.

  His arms were laid across his chest. He was quite comfortable except for an ache in the back of his head. H
e moved and hissed at the acute stab of pain that brought tears to his eyes.

  Somewhere close by, someone cleared his throat of phlegm and spat. Saburo swiveled his good eye as far as he could without moving his head. No good. He saw a dark, stained wall with a doorway into deeper darkness. Nothing else.

  The contrast between the golden clouds and this rotten, stinking place where he found himself struck him as ominous. Had he died? And was this his own hell, deserved for a multitude of sins?

  A rattling cough and more sounds of spitting.

  “Who’s there?” he croaked.

  “Me.”

  An old man’s voice.

  “Where am I?”

  A rasping laugh. “Honkoku-ji.”

  Not hell, then. And not death.

  Honkoku-ji was the ruin of an old temple compound. Saburo carefully lifted his head to turn it. This also hurt, but not as much. A strange figure sat near him in a Buddha pose. White-haired and white-bearded, the old man wore a red silk gown, a woman’s gown, with a priest’s stole over it. Many strands of prayer beads hung about his neck. He looked quite feeble. His eyes were dim with age and his hands resembled the claws of a chicken with their long yellow nails.

  Saburo asked, “Who are you?”

  “You can call me Kenko, Saburo.”

  “You know me?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. What’s to know?”

  Did this mad old man expect an answer? “My head hurts,” Saburo said.

  “Put it from your mind.”

  “How did I get here?”

  “Too many questions.” With the help of a staff lying beside him, the old man got up with much groaning and coughing. He spat again, then, leaning on his staff, he limped away.

  Saburo sat up and cautiously felt the back of his head. He encountered a good deal of half-dried blood and a very tender lump. Checking the rest of his body was more reassuring. Memory returned. Some bastard had attacked him inside the brothel.

  Who? Tokuzo’s mother and brother could not have returned. He would have heard them. No, the attacker in the dark hallway had been someone silent and furtive. A thief.

  Or rather, someone like himself, for most thieves would have given themselves away sooner.

  But that made no sense whatsoever.

  Saburo tested his limbs and turned his mind to another puzzle. He was certain his attacker had not been there earlier. Unless it was an accidental encounter, he must have followed him into Tokuzo’s place and waited for him in the hallway. Saburo doubted that their visits had coincided by chance.

  Then why had the other man been there? The obvious answer was the gold that Tokuzo’s brother and mother had carried away earlier. But a good thief, and this man was very good, would have watched the house and known he was too late for the money.

  Perhaps he had wanted something else.

  Or someone else. If the stranger had watched carefully, he would have known Saburo had entered the brothel. But what had he wanted?

  Frustrated, Saburo dropped the matter and wondered instead how he had got to this place. Had his attacker brought him here? Surely not. It didn’t make any sense to knock someone out and then carry him all that far. The distance from the Willow Quarter to the temple was too great.

  Saburo was brushing the dust off his clothes when he realized he was missing something. The thick sheaf of papers, the brothel’s contracts he had tucked inside his shirt, was gone. And that caused him to check his sleeves.

  His tools and the assassin’s needle were also gone!

  So that had been what the stranger wanted.

  The contracts could perhaps be explained. They were valuable. But why take the tools and the needle? And how had the unknown man known where to look for them? They had been inserted into the seams of his shirt. Now those seams were undone and threads hung loose. Unless his attacker had felt them by accident, he must have known where to search.

  It began to look more and more as though he had encountered a colleague. Most likely the professional assassin Genba had tangled with the night before. The assassin had a personal interest in the Sasaya.

  Saburo got to his feet, fought a bout of dizziness, and looked around him.

  In spite of the huge hole in the roof, the floor of the abandoned temple was in partial darkness. It seemed to be strewn with debris and garbage. Fallen columns, leaning walls, piles of broken roof tiles were everywhere. So were broken dishes, rags, and rotting food remnants. He was in a section that still had a partial roof over it and walls on three sides. But here, too, a lot of rubble and garbage had collected. Bundles of rags were piled in corners here and there. A charred section showed someone had made a fire on the wooden floor, perhaps to cook, for an iron pot and some other utensils stood nearby.

  Then Saburo remembered that Honkokuji was the beggars’ den.

  A bout of dizziness seized him, and a sudden retching took him forward to a corner to vomit.

  “Hey!”

  The filthy pile of rags disintegrated into two separate segments that flew to either side. The shock stopped his nausea. He swallowed and stared.

  Curses assaulted his ears from both sides. Other voices sounded from a distance, and here and there piles of garbage took on substance and life as if they had been magically transformed into creatures.

  Saburo apologized to the two old men he had disturbed. They grumbled and sat down again. One of them had lost an arm.

  “How did I get here?” Saburo asked them. “Did you see who brought me?”

  The cripple jerked his head toward the left. There sat a giant of a man with bushy black hair and beard. He was watching Saburo with a wide grin.

  Saburo, his head hurting as if it meant to split open, walked over. “Hello,” he said, nodding his head in greeting and flinching at the pain. “I’m Saburo. I hear you brought me here last night. Is that right?”

  The giant mouthed something incomprehensible. Saburo squatted down before him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. I’m very grateful, though. I wondered where you found me.”

  One of the old men joined them. “He can’t talk. They cut out his tongue. Most people don’t know what he’s saying.”

  The giant nodded. His eyes went from Saburo to the old man. He mumbled. Spittle dripped from the corners of his mouth into his beard as he struggled with the words.

  The old man translated, “He says you looked like one of us, so he picked you up and brought you here. He says you were in an alley in the Willow Quarter. He works there.”

  “He works? You mean he isn’t a beggar?” Saburo was still trying to understand why this man had carried him all the way across the city.

  The old man frowned at him. “We all work,” he pointed out. “We got our places, and there we sit or stand every day to pick up a few coppers. Jinsai keeps late hours because the Willow Quarter stays busy till dawn, but he makes good money there. He does odd jobs sometimes.”

  The giant nodded and grinned.

  The old man scowled back. “He needs to,” he said snidely. “Look at the size of the beast. He eats his weight in food every day.”

  The giant smiled more broadly.

  “Would you ask him if he saw anyone near me?”

  “He can hear you well enough,” snapped the old man.

  Saburo made the giant an apologetic bow, groaned, and reached for his head.

  The big man mouthed something and gestured.

  The old-timer nodded. “Nobody near you, but a man was walking away at the end of the alley.”

  “Did you see what he looked like?”

  The giant scratched his head, pointed at Saburo and muttered.

  “He looked like you,” the old man translated with a grin.

  “He looked like me?” Saburo stared at him.

  The giant chuckled, gestured some more, and pointed at Saburo’s clothes. The old man explained, “He was your size and dressed in black from head to toe. What happened to your face?”

  Saburo had to answer this question a
ll the time. He minded, just as he minded the stares, the averted eyes, the expressions of horror and disgust. At least neither the giant nor the old beggar seemed at all bothered by his horrible disfigurement. No doubt they were used to all sorts of horrors. He said, “Some men wanted to know what I couldn’t tell them.”

  “Oh,” said the old man and fell silent. The giant leaned across and patted Saburo’s shoulder with his huge paw, causing him to tumble sideways and cry out at the sudden pain in his head.

  The giant muttered. The old man said, “Jinsai says to let Bashan look at your head. Come, I’ll take you.”

  Saburo protested, but the old man was already limping away. This time, Saburo just waved a hand toward the giant, then followed the old beggar.

  The temple had once been very large, and while it offered only partial shelter against the rain, its inhabitants had found their own means of improving it. Here and there, fallen debris and sections of wood flooring or of interior walls had been salvaged and cobbled together to make small huts and lean-tos. There they lived, singly or as small families. The whole formed a village of sorts. He was in the beggars’ headquarters. This ruined temple was the location of their kakibe, their guild, for they were organized like any other business in the city. And they were untouchable, and therefore outside the jurisdiction of the city. They had their own laws and rules.

  The old man headed for the open courtyard. It was still surrounded by partial walls and the remnants of outbuildings. Even parts of the pagoda remained. Near the well of what must have been the kitchen area when monks still lived there, a small group of people had gathered to watch a bald man at his work.

  Bashan.

  Saburo saw that Bashan was one of the blind masseurs. His head was shaven and he knelt in front of a seated man, probing inside his mouth. Beside him rested an open wooden satchel. Many masseurs were blind men and performed their services by touch only. Some even practiced acupuncture and moxibustion, carrying their tools in a box that could be slung across their shoulder and chest. Such work was possible for the blind, and some became very good at it.