III. 交渉 Negotiations
The Five Mountains (五山) of the Yellow Sea (黄海) stand tall at the centre of the twelve kingdoms. Of these mountains, the one to the east, Mt. Hou (蓬山), bears the Self-Sacrifice Tree (捨身木), the only tree in the world which yields the ranka (卵果) of kirins (麒麟). Once a kirin is born, they become masters of Mt. Hou, known as Houzanko (蓬山公), until they select a ruler and return to their kingdoms. When a kirin dies, the next ranka will bud within a year. That is perhaps the gravest flaw to the Taiho's fabricated death; an illusion that undoes itself in a year's time.
However, the façade withstood inquires from Hou and neighbouring kingdoms as the nyosen, female sages that care for the Houzanko, held their usual mysterious silence. Envoys persistent enough received the vague reply of "There is no Houki (峯麒) upon Mt. Hou"; an ambiguous statement, deliberately misleading while contending a literal truth: the nonexistence of a Houki. I do not intend to judge the validity of Mt. Hou's actions but that such a ploy was necessary once again attests to the people's hatred at the time.
So it was assumed that the next kirin of Hou was male, a ki (麒). To explain 'his' absence, many believed that the series of shoku (蝕) along the Ken Seas (乾海) that year had affected Mt. Hou as well, sending Houki (峯麒) to the world beyond the Sea of Emptiness (虚海), Hourai (蓬莱).
When the Taiho revealed herself five years later, the deception appalled the people of Hou. Seven of the twelve kingdoms denounced Mt. Hou of interfering with another kingdom's affairs, a grave violation of Heaven's Mandate.
The leader of the nyosen, Hekikagenkun Gyokuyou (碧霞玄君 玉葉) countered the accusation like so: "There is no Houki for such a creature does not exist. Secondly, Hou Taiho was relieved of her position as Saiho (宰補) the moment Retsu-ou passed away. Those upon Mt. Hou did nothing more than carry out their sacred duty of protecting and caring for the Houzanko Hourin until the next ruler of Hou was found. That all is well at Mt. Hou is indisputable proof of Heaven's sanction."
However, Hekikagenkun's explanation failed to stop the flood of indignant anger and vicious rumours. Mt. Hou was even suspected of taking part in the Eight Province Rebellion itself. Of course, once Shu-ou proved herself a competent empress, the outrage subsided though it did set a precedent to the extent of Mt. Hou's influence over a kingdom's kirin.
For the next five years, official history records the Taiho disguising herself as Chinshi's second apprentice, aiding the healer in her research and noble cause. Many historians dispute this claim as propaganda to better the Taiho's poor reputation at the time. Exposure to blood would have also been likely and frequent given Chinshi's profession, challenging the Taiho's ability to endure those conditions on top of the hardships of common life. In the end, most concluded that Gekkei had sent loyal subjects to escort the Taiho on her search for the next ruler. However, this assumption is without witness or evidence. Moreover, the absence of Gekkei's most trusted would have raised suspicion.
On the other hand, we have Chinshi's journals which support official history with day-to-day accounts, detailing the Taiho's disguise and struggles up until Shu-ou was found. I wish I could have included all those entries but the topic of Shu-ou will go unaddressed for at least another five volumes. Important as they all are, I've chosen a few key entries to represent those quiet missing years while providing a little bit of humour on such a grave topic.
The following excerpt is dated thirty three days after the Eight Province Rebellion:
"I have had just about enough of that whiny spoiled troublesome kirin. How she manages to be self-important and self-loathing at the same time is beyond me. I've already relented on the monk disguise, the least she could do is let me cut off a little hair. It's not as if I'm shaving her bald, but she had to go on that rant about how 'a kirin never cuts her mane' and 'I will not suffer this indignity' in that snooty accent of hers. I tried completing the deed while she slept last night but her kyuuki (窮奇) youma pounced out of nowhere and nearly ate me alive. Ungrateful ingrate. And they say kirin are compassionate creatures. Lies. Tis fortunate that I already took a sample while she was unconscious. See notes on 'Kirin comparison – Hair'.
Note II: the kirin has healed well but her colour remains sickly. Pulse is steady but shows signs of poisoning. I asked the kirin about this and she said it was because of her exposure to blood and that it'll go away given time."
This next entry was written a day after the one above:
"Curse it all Tofu ratted me to Gekkei. The stupid girl seriously thought I was going to get eaten by the kirin's youma. It got embarrassing very quickly with the kirin on one end of the room, me with a pair of big scissors on the other and Gekkei walking in on us like that. In the end, we 'compromised' and decided to dye the kirin's hair brown with ground jincha (儿茶) root. With hair that could mop the floor clean, she needs 4 portions, more than enough for 7-10 patients depending on their condition. To make things worse, the kirin baths herself every damn day and the colour comes off the moment it touches water.
Does no one other than myself sense how impractical and foolish this is? Just imagine if it rained. You'd think that a suicidal creature would be more concerned about her angst than her appearance. Curse you, kirin. May you trip and fall into a lake and get chased by an angry mob. And you too, Gekkei. May you go poor from buying jincha.(experiment: try using the kirin's jincha bath water. If it works, the jincha won't go to waste.)
Then she had to fight me on names too. Tis just a name! What's wrong with Satofu (炸豆腐)?! Deep fried tofu is delicious and nutritious and makes her sound like a real apprentice of mine. Tis good fortune that she knows not of my first choice,"stinky tofu" (臭豆腐). (note: buy shutoufu (臭豆腐). Been craving those.)
Anyways, I suggested other names but she complained that they were men's names. If people were looking, it would be a female kirin so I thought it made perfect sense for her to have a man's name. Besides, she has one of those boy-girl faces. Given the right attire and if she kept her mouth shut, the kirin would make a convincing pretty boy. I said that and she locked herself in her room for the rest of the day. In the end, Tofu threatened to call Gekkei so we 'compromised'. Again. I hate that word.
And might I mention how picky the kirin was even with girls' names. Gyokuyou (玉葉) was too common. Aren (亜連) was too crude. But if I asked what she wanted, she'd say nothing. In the end, the kirin settled on Toumou (冬蒙), the name of Tofu's sister. Think she was a soldier. Can't remember. Good thing she didn't fuss about clothing. I'd have slapped her around good. Think it's 'cause it was plain enough that she couldn't tell they were men's robes. Now, we just have to work on the accent and a few survival skills. I swear if I had known that it'd be this troublesome, I would have never said anything. But alas, the kirin has no where else to go.
Gekkei said he was going to keep her. And I called him a stupid ox. That man would dote on her until the guilt drove her insane. Left to her own vices, the kirin will drive herself insane. Either way, she'll be dead in a matter of days, promise or no promise. With me, at least I'll work her until she'd be too tired to sulk. And if I'm dragging her around everywhere, it'll have the same effect of a search which I know she isn't very keen on doing. Heaven knows why I keep sticking my nose where it doesn't belong. I swear I've been cursed since that damned rebellion.
And I still stand by my monk choice. No hair, no giveaway. Though the brows would need to go too then. (note: remember to dye the kirin's eyebrows and other body hair)
Notice Chinshi's word choice: 'Self-loathing', 'suicidal', 'insane'. These all indicate the Taiho's fragility and guilt-ridden conscience, a factor most historians neglect to include, proving Chinshi's necessity, or at least a guardian who could handle this delicate situation.
Note: in these following entries, the Taiho is referred to as "Satofu" (炸豆腐).
Second day of the Eleventh month of Eiwa Year 6.
Cold. Some snow.
Arrived at Kouron (徨崙) of Ou Province (黄州). Will be staying here for the winter months. Started to organize notes. Went to buy supplies for experiments. No lessons today; had Tofu take Satofu around the city and teach her the art of frugality. Also told her to buy something with her first salary. No surprise but Satofu did not pass her haggling test. Just gave it all to some beggar before getting swarmed. People say kirin are compassionate and merciful. Looked like plain ol' stupidity to me. I didn't want to get mobbed so I waited at the inn. Some lessons are best learned through experience. The two of them didn't make it back until midday. Satofu even had her outer robes and shoes stolen. Haven't laughed so hard in quite a while.
It was for her own good but the stupid girl thought I did it out of spite. Still thinks this whole apprentice thing is some sort of revenge plot. The only reason she has yet to complain is because she takes this as her punishment. She may be older but she most certainly doesn't act like it. Has she any idea how many people would kill themselves for the honour of being my apprentice? Ungrateful beast. Nonetheless, she is my apprentice and I'll treat her as such. I do like her stubbornness. What she doesn't learn the first time, she'll persist until it's etched into her bones. A lot of broken pride."
Twentieth day of the fifth month of Eiwa Year 7.
Mild rain.
Arrived at Banhoku (曼濮) of Haku Province (珀州). Yet another big city. I hate big cities. Interesting diseases tend to gather in little villages in the middle of nowhere. Especially up in the mountains. Alas, Satofu needs more time before we could move away from those with her cleanly habits.
(skipped over patient records and other notes)
Tofu: Gave her a few patients. Got 5 of 10 diagnoses correct. Kept turning colds and coughs into something much more serious than it is. A woman was so spooked, she ran away thinking that she was going to die of some unknown disease. Satofu had to chase her down three streets to tell her she was just dehydrated. Who knew that scrawny body had such fast legs.
Satofu: Dealing much better when facing streets full of refugees. Starting to act like a real apprentice. Some much deserved respect for her mentor too. Sent her on an errand to get some supplies and to organize the new herbs. Came back depressed. It's tough when everyone around is cursing your name and blaming you for everything. But at least she now knows I wasn't lying. I don't know what it is that got those six baboons to go through with the rebellion but it can't be anything good. They're quiet now but greed is a beast without patience. From the look of things here, Waton (話通) is already testing Gekkei's bottom-line; locals are saying that many old laws are still around despite the new decree. Notably the high taxes. If Gekkei is to see past a decade, a new ruler must ascend the throne forthwith. In the very least, it'll keep those four wishy-washy cowards at bay. Even Gaiyou (崔曄) wouldn't raise arms against those numbers.
Sixth day of the Eight month of Eiwa Year 8.
Hot and dry.
Tenth day at Kon Province (欽州) with the mountain tribe, Rawari (らわり).
(skipped over patient records and other notes)
Tofu: Worked all day with patients from the rockslide. Showing much improvement with her bone-resetting and tetsu-da (跌打) techniques. Can't believe I'm writing this but she's obsessing over this sweet-talking muscle boy with the broken arm and dislocated shoulder. Little girls.
Satofu: With all the blood around, I stuck her with medicine cooking duties. Lots of practice with herb mixing. Confused a few herbs but passable job. Being away from cities also seems to be doing her some good. Traded her salary for a bamboo dizi (笛子), a side-blown flute, from a villager. Good sign that she did something for herself. During Shi-ou's era, I've heard stories of Satofu's talent in music. Apparently they weren't exaggerating. Three boys proposed to her after her impromptu performance when trying out the dizi. Tofu wasn't too happy that her muscle boy was one of them. But I had to ban Satofu from playing in front of patients. Sad sulky music is not good for a recovering soul. But now that she has an outlet of sort, I won't have to sleep with one eye open in case she decides to off herself. She's a good girl. Just a little hurt and a little lonely.
Sixteenth day of the twelfth month of Eiwa Year 10.
Freezing. Knee-high snow.
Day thirteen at Kichigen (吉原) of Ryuu Province (隆州).
(skipped over research notes)
Tofu: Test. Topic was acupuncture and she did very well. Her diagnoses were also accurate (9 out of 10). Her problem is when prescribing the cure. Kept making these careless mistakes when having to put everything together. They're not wrong, just not the best course of treatment.
Satofu: Tried to teach her wound stitching. Did not go well. I knew there was a reason why I didn't teach her something so basic. Though her tolerance for blood seemed to have increased over the years. Anyways, taught her the finer points of pulse reading and diagnosis instead. Gotten quite proficient at medicine cooking and herb preparation. Patients could now take my scripts to her and she'd handle the rest. Probably because that's what she gets stuck doing most of the time anyways. She'd make a decent healer with more training.
Tonight, we also had a little talk before bed. Don't know what triggered it but probably the most she had said to me thus far. She actually apologized for a spat we had a long time ago. I personally do not recall this incident but apparently she had called me cruel and cold-blooded when I didn't give medicine to a mother of three because of our limited supplies (the herbs the mother needed was enough to save three other patients).
Also, she asked me if I hated her. I said she tried her best and no one could ask for more. It's not a satisfying answer but her burden is not something I could understand. Then, to my surprise, she actually admitted that she didn't want to find the next ruler. A good part of me agrees. She then added that she truly hasn't felt the ruler's presence at all so far like she was worried that I would get the wrong impression.
Hopefully these entries were enough to convey the plausibility of the Taiho's journey with Chinshi. As shown, the Taiho's façade as an apprentice was a gradual process of learning. Chinshi also made adjustments to her route to accommodate the Taiho's needs, starting with cities before moving onto isolated villages like Rawari as mentioned in one of the entries. Notice also how her tone softened as time wore on, from seeing the Taiho as a burden to an asset, from a sacred beast to her apprentice.
I would also like to bring your attention to the names cited in the fourth exert: Gaigensou(崔元綜), courtesy name Gaiyou (崔曄) and Rushitoku (婁師德), courtesy name Waton (話通). Both were provincial lords of that era of Mou and Haku province respectively.
Chinshi's journals rarely mention anything political. That she wrote about this at all is a strong indicator of how serious the situation was. It also brings forward the notion that the Eight Province Rebellion was not a simple triumph of justice as widely believed and that Gekkei's interim rule was not as stable as it appeared to be.
The political rivalries mentioned here also connects with much of the power struggle that marked the beginning of Shu-ou's reign with Gaiyou (崔曄) at its head. It would also be interesting to note that of the provincial lords involved in the Eight Province Rebellion (八州反逆), six of them did not last past thirty years of Shu-ou's Gyokuzui(玉髓)dynasty; three were dismissed, three executed for various crimes including bribery and treason. Of those dismissed, all died mysteriously within a year.
