7-4 Kantai made his report as they returned to the Inner Palace. "A total of eleven were involved in the rebellion, all from the Ministry of Heaven, and the Naisai was in charge. It seems confined just to them. Three captured with injuries. The remaining five who tried to flee were apprehended."
Koshou was waiting for them, looking as if he was trying to squeeze his body into a little ball. As soon as Youko looked at him, he bowed deeply.
"I'm really sorry."
"For what?" Youko blinked, and Kantai couldn't help grinning at her reaction.
"I must apologize. It was a mistake for you to be there unaccompanied by the Daiboku or any of his retainers."
"But I threw everybody out."
"That doesn't excuse letting you out of our sight like that," Koshou said, raising his head.
"It's not your fault. Besides, it wasn't your responsibility in the first place."
p. 224
It was the duty of the Shajin within the Ministry of Summer, specifically the responsibility of the Shiyuu. In public, the job of the Kofun-shi. In private, the job of the Daiboku. "Private" meant the Inner Palace. The Inner Palace included the most secluded parts of the Imperial Palace, the Eastern and Western Palaces, the Imperial residences and sleeping quarters, Jinjuu Manor and the Roshin up to the Forbidden Gate, including the Naiden and the Gaiden.
Everything else constituted the Outer Palace. Strictly speaking, the Naiden and the Gaiden were part of the Outer Palace. Under normal circumstances, the Empress only traveled as far in the Inner Palace to where it abutted the Gaiden. And as a general rule, government officials only ventured as far in the Outer Palace to where it abutted the Naiden.
"The Daiboku is responsible for my personal protection within the Inner Palace. The West Gardens are part of the Guest Palace. And that's in the Outer Palace."
"Well, that may be true, but--"
Kantai gave the dejected Koshou a friendly pat on the back. "By not accepting his apologies, you're kind of putting Koshou here in a tough spot. The West Gardens are definitely in the Outer Palace, outside his jurisdiction. Normally the Empress wouldn't leave the Inner Palace except to conduct official business. In that case, the Kofun-shi would accompany her. On this occasion, though, Her Highness was in the West Gardens on other than official business."
"That is true. I wasn't there according to law or ritual, and no official royal guests are installed in the Guest Palace. Ever since I brought Risai into the Imperial Palace, I've been rather capricious in flaunting custom and precedent in that regard. I consider this my fault."
p. 225
Kantai scowled rather fiercely in response to Youko's apology. "Yes, empresses can be capricious creatures. Otherwise, there'd be no reason for a kingdom ever to falter and fall. Because that wasn't official business, it wasn't the province of the Kofun-shi. Your personal protection can't fall between the cracks. If there's a question about whether the Daiboku and the Kofun-shi should be handling your security detail, the duty should go to the Daiboku."
Koshou hung his head. "That is indeed the case. What with Kings and Taiho from other kingdoms, the air gets pretty rarified in there. It just didn't seem to me I should be hanging around, privy to what people were saying and doing and such. In the Inner Palace, Youko's always sallying off to see her friends. That's why I let down my guard."
Koshou and his retainers escorted her up to the West Gardens, and then kept their distance after that. He couldn't deny that he would have preferred sticking by her the whole time to and from the West Gardens.
"That was an error on Koshou's part. The notion that it is acceptable to maintain a relaxed security detail within the Inner Palace arose only because no dangerous threats had yet made it that far. The Naiden and Gaiden are considered 'in the public eye,' and all the buildings have their own guards assigned. That is not the case with the West Gardens. As in this case, no official royal guests were present, so neither was the customary security detail. Anybody with access to the Imperial residences can also access the West Gardens, and that seems to be what happened here."
p. 226
Koshou nodded. Kantai smiled wryly. "As the Daiboku, Koshou must apologize for his failings in this regard. In addition, an official report will be submitted by his retainers to Her Highness."
"What sort of report?"
"To the effect that the Empress has erred as well in ways that must be rectified. While her unwillingness to toe a hard line and her generosity with others are admirable characteristics, when the rules are flaunted, this is the sort of harm that can result. The ministers and officials have their duties to tend to, and unlike Her Highness, they are not at liberty to ignore them at their own discretion. A ruler who disregards rules, customs and precedents will likely attract ministers and retainers who do the same. Hence, the Daiboku should not be asked to shoulder all the blame for this incident."
"So that's the version you want to end up with?"
"Yes, but keeping in mind that not having Koshou apologize and letting him off the hook are not the same thing. Your Highness has been too lax in making such distinctions. Forgoing the apology will be taken as negating the mistake. By the same token, Your Highness should not be seen as letting herself off the hook. Those around you will take note. If perceived to be sliding by thanks to your patronage, Koshou will loose face as well."
p. 227
"Yes. I see," Youko muttered.
Koukan came into the room. "Oh, there you are." He turned to Koshou. "The Daiboku will take responsibility and serve three months of house arrest."
Wait a minute-- Youko was about to say.
Koukan continued in a calm and collected tone of voice, "However, the Taiho has asked us to recognize that the manner in which Her Highness has made hay of the rules and regulations made it difficult for the Daiboku to carry out his duties properly. The Daiboku distinguished himself capturing the traitors and so the one should be sufficient to offset the other. I think that would be a good way to put it. That should preserve the integrity of the civil service, don't you think?"
He said to Youko, "Is there any part of this you can't go along with?"
"I'm making hay of the rules and regulations? Geez, and I just got the same tongue-lashing from Kantai."
"And so?"
"Fine," Youko said with a self-deprecating grin.
Kantai smiled as well. After telling Koukan that the suspects had been handed over to the Ministry of Fall, he clapped Koshou on the back and the two of them left.
p. 228
Koukan watched them leave and handed Youko a document.
"Apparently, the Naisai has been nursing deeply-felt disagreements with the current state of affairs for some time now. He was previously an undersecretary in the same department, serving below the Naisai as a personal assistant to the Empress and Saiho. He ran a tight ship and was promoted to Naisai. Lately, though, your ladies-in-waiting in the Roshin have pretty much squeezed him out. Since his time as an undersecretary, he took great pride serving in the Roshin. But apparently, his pride and patience reached its limits."
"Oh," said Youko. She sighed.
"To make matters worse, you took on retainers from outside the aristocracy, liberally flaunted the rules, and brought in complete strangers as your closest confidants. Well, you get the idea. He had one pretty big chip on his shoulder."
The participants in the coup d'etat were all from the Ministry of Heaven. The Ministry of Heaven was not directly involved with the administration of the kingdom. Its portfolio was the palace itself, and serving the Empress and Saiho there. Those who couldn't take pride in working in such close proximity to the Empress probably weren't fit for the job.
"And if you're harboring any sympathies with such sentiments, then you should rid yourself of them."
Koukan wasn't one to sugarcoat anything, but his firm tone of voice surprised her a bit. She looked at him and he raised an eyebrow. "General Ryuu and the Tai Taiho filled me in about what went on after the Naisai and his underlings invaded the West Gardens."
p. 229
"You show up as well prepared as always."
"A situation as grave as this demands it. I'd like to ask you again, just to make certain, but you didn't give credence to their grievances, did you?"
Youko looked away. "They did have a point. They didn't know the whole story, and after observing my actions without knowing the context, it wouldn't be unreasonable to jump to those conclusions. Call me the wrong Empress for the job, and my answer is if that's what you think, then I'm not going to bother arguing with you. I'm certainly not going to go around declaring that only I can save Kei. That's not for me to judge or decide."
"Then let me explain it to you," Koukan answered her at once. He set the document on the desk. "To start with, making any judgments about what kind of Empress you are all depends on who is doing the observing and when. In any case, what kind of Empress you are is quite unrelated to this particular incident. The minute they picked up those swords and decided to attack, they lost any right to claim the high moral ground and pass judgments on other people."
"You are correct there."
p. 230
"The reason we maneuvered the Naisai and his clique out of the Roshin in the first place was because we feared developments of this nature. All the ministers agree that no untrustworthy individuals should be elevated to positions of trust that place them in your immediate proximity, and they did not warrant such trust. That's what it comes down to. The decision was based on an examination of their characters and temperaments. I see no errors in that judgment. First and foremost were intimations about hanjuu and rebels, wasn't it?"
Koukan looked at Youko. "People who think that way are the ones likely to act on authoritarian impulses. Not the kind of people you want to give any authority to in the first place. Nobody should put weapons in the hands of people like that. Second, people who have shown no shame in saying such things can't be expected to know the right Way from the wrong, and certainly are not qualified to contribute in any way to the political process. Third, those who don't know the whole situation are not in the position to judge. Forth, those who, based on such speculations, concoct sins about which they know nothing, and then hand down judgments based on those speculations, and harbor no doubts the entire time--should in no form be given jurisdiction over anything. Fifth, no trust should be placed in those incapable of seeing their own faults and failings, and instead blame others for their own bad fortunes. Lastly, I should not need to add that those who go against the law and the Way in order to accomplish their purposes are a dangerous lot. And we cannot tolerate such risks in the presence of Your Highness. These are the reasons we felt it imprudent to advance them in their positions. Do you disagree on any of these points?"
p. 231
Youko looked back at him, a bit stunned.
"Observing them in their day-to-day activities, they did not strike us as worthy of being elevated to serve directly at your side. Consequently, they were barred from the Roshin. I believe they have quite unexpectedly demonstrated the correctness of that decision."
Youko rested her elbows on the desk and laced her fingers together. "Well, then, let me pose you this question. Don't you think that perhaps, if they had been promoted, they wouldn't have resorted to such actions?"
"Let me answer with a question of my own, then. Could you really trust someone who would only hew to the straight and narrow when rewarded, but stray whenever frustrated?"
Youko examined Koukan with uplifted eyes. She tented her fingers together. "Would you apply the same rule to yourself? If, perchance, your successes were overlooked, and attention paid only to your sins?"
Koukan responded with a flinty gaze. "Should I take that as a personal criticism? As Your Highness well knows, while elevating those persons of trust to serve as the kingdom's principal ministers, I must also make sure the middle-ranked civil servants and junior officers are toeing the line and doing their duty."
p. 232
"Yeah, sorry."
In response to Youko's apology, Koukan sighed and smiled. "In the final analysis, the problem was one of temperament and character. That is the true reflection of how they lived and how they behaved. It is there that attention should be paid. Anybody should be able to look and see. If they prove worthy of your faith, then happily their actions will be rewarded. An examination of Risai-dono's example should prove the point."
"Risai?"
"Why did Your Highness reach out to her in the first place?"
"I'm not exactly sure myself."
"She came barging into Kinpa Palace, and you took one look at the atrocious state she was in. Wasn't that it? Risai-dono was so injured flying through the hornets nest of youma that Sui Province had become in order to get here. And didn't her willingness to go to such measures constitute sufficient proof of her desire to save Tai?"
"Yes. Of course."
p. 233
"Risai-dono begged you to save Tai. Except that becoming so involved in the internal affairs of another kingdom is a grievous sin. Risai-dono was likely aware of that from the start."
"Koukan--"
"She may have come here to appeal to your sympathies and tempt you with a full knowledge of the consequences. It is also possible that she did not have a full knowledge of the consequences, or had put it out of her mind. And even if she knew exactly what she was doing, it may have been that she was driven by the desperation of her situation. As long as things turned out well for Tai in the end, she simply didn't care what might happen to Kei. There's no way that we can ever know for certain what was on her mind. Nevertheless, Your Highness devoted an extraordinary amount of time to her cause, and I, for one, did not object."
"Ah--"
"That that was because we could observe her words and actions. The way she related to you, and to us, and even to Koshou. Based on everything she said and did, she did not strike me as the kind of person who would happily see Tai saved at the expense of Kei. I still lack any ability to read her mind, but if she did indeed come here with the intent of leading you into sin, I have to believe that was the product of her desperate straits, and not something whose implications she had considered fully."
p. 234
"Yes," said Youko, with a nod.
"In any case, that's what it comes down to in the end. How others treat you is largely the result of how you treat them. Approach me in a manner that says your words and actions value me, and I may well move Heaven and Earth to accommodate you. Whether the world will reward you in turn all depends on the person and the circumstances. But these fellows carried on ignorant of that simple equation, cursed their luck, and attacked their liege instead. I believe they merely turned their own self-loathing outwards."
"I've heard the same thing said in Yamato."
"Except that when such spiteful people pick up swords to make their case, it is not the reason of their arguments that people are listening to. This is yet another example of a man being rewarded according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."