AN: Not sure how this came about, but I wrote this a while back and recently uncovered it. May morph into a multi-chapter, but no promises, seeing how I am almost out of Saiunkoku fandom. We'll see.
The court was in pandemonium.
It was an unprecedented occurrence; never before had someone so young topped the imperial examinations. The youngest candidates to place within the top ten had been eighteen years of age, and that had been the year of the Nightmare Examinations; Kou Reishin and Kou Kijin (then Houju) had placed second and third respectively.
The Bougen this year was nineteen; Ran Shuuei of the Ran clan, which was notorious for keeping to themselves but always power-hungry. A dark-haired, handsome youth of well-built proportions, the sly intelligence that gleamed in his eyes and manifested itself in the wry twist of his lips were characteristic of the cunning clan. It was none too surprising that they would produce a son skilled in both the martial and intellectual arts, especially given the prodigious triplet brothers that had helmed one of the most powerful clans at only twenty.
It was the Jougen that had the court in an uproar.
This boy was sixteen.
A mere stripling, with looks too delicate to take seriously: fine aquamarine hair that glimmered like the most expensive of silks; straight nose that seemed almost haughty in its tilt; and eyes that would not have been out of place on Kochou's famed courtesans were the most beguiling shade of green-gold.
A pretty boy, were the not-so-soft whispers that abounded, and more sinister yet, were the speculations that favours had been passed under the table – or more likely between the sheets – for this particular event to have come to pass. There was undoubted brilliance, yes, but unlike the Frightening Duo (Reishin and now-Kijin), this Ri boy was clearly not of the Coloured Clans or the wealthier merchant class, and likely had neither fortune nor noble blood.
Who his sponsor was remained a mystery, something that further fuelled the gossip that maliciously passed through almost every ear in court save that of the throne's – not that the Emperor ever cared enough to appear in court.
Nevertheless, in spite of the unsavory rumours, the court moved fast when it benefited its individuals: the marriage proposals flooded the office where he was training as an intern, each matchmaking mama (and papa) intent on making a husband of the most promising official in all the dynasties.
As it so happened, Ri Kouyuu had been assigned to both the Emperor's education and the Civil Administration department; little could be done with the Emperor when he refused to turn up to lessons, and most of Kouyuu's time was spent in Civil Affairs. No one knew where Official Ri lived, and Kou Reishin, now the head of the department, kept his staff so busy they might as well have lived in the office.
Of course, this meant that marriage proposal scrolls, of varying lengths, thickness and quality, inundated the offices of Civil Administration; a spectacular Kou Reishin blowup threatened on the approaching horizon.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the tidal wave of marriage scrolls ebbed about a fortnight into Kouyuu's internship, for a reason that left many aspiring brides in despairing tears.
Ri Kouyuu had been seen going into Kou Reishin's house at sundown, and had only left the next morning for the palace.
While homosexual activity was not exactly unusual (but not flaunted), especially given the current regent's apparent predilection for men, it was groundbreaking news when it involved Kou Reishin, the cold, heartless and snobbish iceman.
The rumours flew faster than ever, but in more hushed tones – one never knew where the creepy Ministers of Finance and Civil Administration (Reishin and Kijin) might be, and they were not to be crossed, never mind Reishin's sexual inclinations.
But the more curious (and there were quite a few) always had their ways; some sent servant boys to trail Official Ri after he left the palace, while others managed to bribe Civil Admin underlings to uncover the paperwork submitted for Official Ri's examination application. (None dared to have someone stalk Kou Reishin; that man was far too sharp, and it was said that Kou ninja were always within ten feet of any main family member.)
In light of the discovery that Ri Kouyuu, invariably, returned to Kou Reishin's house every night (in fact, almost certainly lived there), it was unsurprising that his paperwork, too, revealed that Kou Reishin had been the one to sponsor Li Kouyuu's examination fees.
Curiousity and idle speculation morphed into outrage; who was to say that the examination system was uncorrupted, if the Civil Administration Minister could buy his boytoy a way into officialdom – as the top scholar, no less. Detractors of Kou Reishin were many, and they were out for blood.