Second part of the Gaiden. (covering the third story). Thanks to everyone for your comments. I’m glad that we’re getting some discussion in.

Jijoku no Sata mo Kimi Shidai (This is based on a Japanese saying, and basically means something like “even the affairs of hell change at your command” <--crappy translation. Instead of kimi (you), it's usually money; basically it means that you can do anything as long as you have cash, that even the lord of hell will be moved by money; basically the translation of the idiom would be 'money makes the world go 'round.' )

The story opens with the first meeting between Yuri-hime and Reishin. Reishin one day comes across a young girl sitting beneath a flowering plum tree playing the biwa. He knows that this girl is Yuri, and he swears that he will never accept her as his brother's fiancee. In age, BTW, Yuri is older than Reishin, but younger than Shouka. Shouka is around five years older than Reishin, IIRC. Even now, Reishin can recall her face, at that moment, and how there was something mysteriously attractive about it. The girl simply replies that it was not her who decided it, and that he won't be meeting 'Yuri' much anymore. Later, Gyokukan brings a boy to Reishin, 'Yuzuriha,' and says that from now on, he will be Reishin's aide. Reishin immediately perceives this is in fact Yuri, and asks about it, but Gyokukan says that Yuri is Shouka's, and Yuzuriha will be supporting Reishin. She puts out the story that Yuri and Yuzuriha are siblings. From then on, Reishin does not see Yuri again.

Skipping forward in time, Yuzuriha grows up as a boy (except with Kurou, where she becomes Yuri again; she sort of raises Kurou). Obviously, all three of the brothers know about her imposture. The reason Gyokukan did this was to a) let Yuri learn about how to rule, and b) to make it harder for her existence to be known. Gyokukan killed all of the attendants who knew about Yuri's birth, and ran off with her to Kou Province, so that she could scheme to use her daughter to increase the power of the Kou clan. BTW, Gyokukan's name is also the real personal ("first," but in Chinese it ain't first) name of Yang Gui Fei. I guess we might come up with more references in the names, besides the Water Margin ones, if we bothered to research, but I don't know enough about Chinese history. Anyway, Yuri uses the personal pronoun 'boku,' which is typically used by men, although in anime/manga, it's not unprecedented to have it be used by women, even those who don't cross-dress. The phenomenon even has a Japanese wikipedia article. Gyokukan tells Yuri that she should live and die for the sake of the Kou family. All that she receives from Gyokukan is the sound of her biwa, and her name(s). After Gyokukan dies, her schemes come to naught, but Yuri stays on with the family as Yuzuriha. She grows to understand Reishin well, because she has always at his side, and she's one of the few who dares speak her mind to him. She understands there's only one thing in the world he cares about, Shouka.

So, when Kurou is in his teens, he and Yuzuriha go traveling around the province for two years, in order to learn about the business of running the clan. When they return, they meet Reishin again. Apparently the head of the clan has died, and since Reishin didn't show up at the meeting, Kurou had Reishin instated as the leader. Reishin, angered, says he'll just destroy the clan, but he can't do that unless Yuzuriha gives him the official seal. Yuzuriha tells him that he (well, she) doesn't think that Reishin is at all suitable, but she says that the elder two brothers have been too selfish and pushed all the responsibility onto Kurou, and if Reishin continues to do that, she'll always despise him. After that Reishin goes off to speak to Shouka, and it seems that Shouka convinces him to accept being the head. Then, Yuzuriha goes and sits below the plum tree again, playing the biwa, and reflects that if Kurou is Reishin's aide, she no longer has any role to play. Reishin comes up and informs her that he's decided to be the leader, and she says that she sees him in a new light now that he's accepted this responsibility despite hating the Kou clan. He then demands that she cut his hair. Reishin won't let anyone cut his hair except for Yuzuriha, so for two years, he just let it grow. Reishin then begins to play the biwa: it is a cold, perfect sound, expressing the solitude of his world etc. The biwa is the musical speciality of the Kou clan, and Reishin has grown as expert as Gyokukan. Reishin informs Yuri of his plan to take the national exam, because Shouka told him that if he wanted to follow him to the capital, he would need to take it. This is part of Shouka's secret plan to get Reishin to acknowledge other people.

Yuri sees Shouka accurately, as being even more, at times, high-handed than Reishin, as well as clever. She recalls his words, in which he entrusted his brothers and the Kou clan to her, saying that as long as she was there, he could leave with his mind at ease. His kindness is at times cruel, which is why she prefers Reishin to Shouka. [Hmm, she's probably one of the few people who does...]

Later, Reishin drags Yuri along with him to the capital; although Yuri knows that this is sort of a risky move, she also wants to go, secretly, because she wishes to meet her brother. However, on the way she becomes ill (oddly to the reader, Reishin gives her a fan, even if it's winter), and as they arrive, she faints. When she wakes up in the Kou manor in Shi Province, Reishin is playing the biwa, and there's a small child in bed with her, Kou (written in katakana), who Reishin picked up and had look after her while she was sick. Apparently, when she was ill, she deliriously demanded that Reishin play the biwa for her, which he has been doing. She also recalls the time she met Shouka when she was a child: Shouka said that he would give her freedom, and free her from the birdcage of the Kou house... But afterwards, Shouka only left her the memory of his biwa playing, and the breaking of the engagement. Yuri didn't want this kind of freedom, so she was angry at Shouka. (I gather that she was in love with Shouka, to some extent). Now that she's awake, Reishin leaves.

Yuri (no longer Yuzuriha) talks to Kou: Reishin just picked him up in his carriage and told him if he tried to leave, he'd feed him to the tanukis. Kou wants to escape with Yuri, because he mistakenly believes that Reishin is a kidnapper and will sell them into slavery (his language here is rather lurid... Yuri is somewhat shocked). While she was sleeping, she yelled out all sorts of negative things at Reishin (although the one she was really angry at was Shouka), so Kou formed the idea he was a bad person. Kou then thinks she's Reishin's wife (clearly Kou has flipped to the end of the book), because in the carriage, it seemed as though Reishin was worried about her. Yuri tells him that she is Reishin's retainer. We also learn that Kou has no place to return to, so Yuri thinks that there must have some reason why Reishin was interested in picking him up. Thusly, she thinks that this child might stay at Reishin's side, in place of her when she leaves. So, to get him to stay, she tells Kou that Reishin is a fearsome person, so Kou shouldn't even dream of trying to leave, ever, so he should begin the second life now. To make this even more effective, she tells him that the mansion is haunted, and has the servants move the furniture around to confuse him, which later leads to Kou losing all sense of direction.

Reishin goes to live in the dorms in preparation for the exams, but Yuri only finds this out after some research. She also receives a letter, which got wet in the snow, addressed to Yuri rather than Yuzuriha, saying 'Please (illegible) Reishin's bride.' Yuri believes that Kurou wants her to find a bride for Reishin. (Of course, the whole point in having it addressed to Yuri is that the missing word is become.) Yuri decides to go to the Kogarou, where you can meet many people, to find more information about suitable ladies. Kou is completely confused, and believes now that Reishin is actually a kind, nice person. Yuri decides to let him continue in this delusion. He also thinks that since he was rejected by Yuri, Reishin is living with a lover, rather than in the dorms. Kou schemes to make Reishin return to Yuri by having her make him a meal.

Yuri goes to the dorms in the palace, where she finds that Reishin has been making all kinds of mischief, but he seems to be helping out the other examinees with domestic tasks, surprisingly, and he even seems to have made some friends. Reishin isn't there, so she converses with Yuushun, who surprisingly asks whether she is Yuri-hime, and leaves the onigiri with him. Yuri tells Yuushun that she's surprised that Reishin is acknowledging other people, something that, despite her scolding of Reishin, she was unable to help him do. Yuri gives a rather negative (has no common sense, acts like a kid, does whatever he wants) description of Reishin's personality, and says that even if she's not around, it makes no difference to Reishin, which surprises Yuushun. After Yuri leaves, Reishin enters, and goes off to find her.

Yuri is wandering around the palace (Gyokukan forced her to remember the layout), and meets Ryuuki near the pond near the Palace of the Immortals (not sure how I should translate this), and he planitively asks her if she can see him, since after Seiran was exiled, he's been treated like a ghost. He stays by this pond praying he can meet Prince Seien again. Yuri knows that Shouka has taken Seiran in, but he isn't saying anything to Ryuuki, for safety reasons. She tells Ryuuki that she also has an elder brother, but she's never seen him. When she was younger, she dreamed of traveling to see him, so she secretly saved up money, marked travel expenses, but one day, someone found it and smashed it, so that she wouldn't run way. However, thanks to Reishin, the cage is now open. Yuri tells Ryuuki that he should take care of his health and wait for his brother. Ryuuki says that she resembles that man who onced helped him by the pond (Senka... yes, Ryuuki doesn't even know the face of his own father). Yuri reassures Ryuuki, and tells him what neither Shouka or Reishin would ever say: that he will one day meet Seien again, and kisses him lightly on the cheek. Then suddenly Reishin pops out of nowhere and KO's Ryuuki by throwing an orange at him. Yuri is angered and argues with Reishin heatedly. She also mentions Kou (Reishin doesn't know who it is), and says that she hopes Reishin learns more common sense, so that Kou won't be as horrified when he mets him. Reishin also learns that Yuri made the onigiri to be shared among everyone, but Yuushun, who has also come along, informs Reishin that unfortunately Kan Hishou ate them all, even though Yuushun told him not to. Reishin is angry, but Yuri just laughs and says that she doesn't mind because she made them for everyone. Reishin snaps and asks who would want to eat anything she made. At this, Yuushun also snaps, slaps Reishin across the face, and tells him to apologize. Reishin tells him to shut up, because he can say whatever he wants to Yuri. Yuri thinks that he may be able to say whatever to her, but not to Yuushun; Yuushun tries to slap Reishin again, but Yuri steps in front of him, so he ends up slapping her (thus the illustration). She says that as Reishin's servant, she can't just stand by and let him get smacked again. Houju witnesses all of this. Later, after Reishin has left, Yuri says that this in fact an advance for Reishin, because he realized that he couldn't take it out on Yuushun without losing his friendship, so he took it out on Yuri. Yuushun says that Reishin hasn't behaved that badly to any of them, and Houju silently hands her his handkerchief, and although she notices how beautiful Houju is, she doesn't faint.

After Yuri leaves, back at the dorms, Yuushun is getting out the first aid box with Reishin, because he got into a fight with Kan Hishou. On Kan Hishou's background: The stereotypical civil official is supposed to be quiet, calm, and refined, not some guy who drinks a lot of booze and speaks in a rough kind of way. So, maybe it comes as no surprise to learn that Kan Hishou is the first son of a crime syndicate family. His clan operates in both Koku and Haku provinces. So Reishin is pretty badly beaten up, although it seems he did also manage to injure Hishou, who has now promised he won't just eat up gifts other people's familes have sent. Yuushun also apologizes, because he shouldn't have just given the food to Hishou, but he won't forgive Reishin for what he said to Yuri-hime. Finally, Reishin apologizes to Yuushun, but Yuushun tells him he should apologize to Yuri-hime. Anyway, Reishin is mysteriously watering a potted plant, which was the only thing he brought with him. Yuushun, seeing that Houju has an interest in Yuri, attempts to sound Reishin out about his intentions, but Reishin continues to say they only have a master-servant relationship. Yuushun, persevering, attempts to ask if someone were to get involved with Yuri-hime, would that really be okay? Reishin asks if this person would be a man or woman... Yuushun is somewhat shocked and says he meant a man, but Reishin says that if it were a woman, it would be okay (no yuri jokes plz), but if it were a man, due to her situation, it would be difficult. [One can only imagine what Yuushun thinks of this.] Later, Hishou tells everyone that there's a beautiful woman at the Kogarou who plays the biwa, who won't give her favors to anyone, no matter how much money they offer. Intrigued, Reishin drags Yuushun and Houju along, and they sneak in.

At the Kogarou, Yuri ends up meeting Houju, who tells her of his troubles. Houju feels great guilt for causing the other examinees to fail in the provincial exam. (He even caused Kei Yuuri to fail, although now it seems he's used to his face, but Yuuri said that he would certainly take the exam next year and join him at the capital). Houju wished for his inner self to be recognized, not just his good looks; since the Ran officials left the capital, there's been a labor shortage, so he wanted to come and be useful. Yuri consoles him, and says that through her investigations looking for Reishin, she learned that he goes in the middle of the night to buy ink (showing his great diligence), and also he once gave the blanket he had wrapped around his head to a woman collapsed in the street, so Yuri think he's a good person and respects him a lot. Houju is greatly moved. Yuushun and Reishin overhear this; Yuushun is worried, but Reishin continues to say that he doesn't mind if Houju wanted to marry Yuri, because he doesn't care if she goes away.

A month later, the exams finish, and the results are: Yuushun, Jougen, with Reishin and Houju as 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Reishin returns to the Kou manor. He has Yuri cut his hair once again, and she congratulates him on his results. If someone like Reishin, who has no interest in becoming an official, and who hardly put any effort in, had taken the top spot, that would really be the end of the country. She also supposes that Reishin had left the question 'what kind of official do you want to be, how will you guide the country?' blank, because as bad as Reishin is in other ways, at least he won't pretend about these things. She notices that Reishin is staring at where Yuushun hit her, and is sort of internally struggling to apologize, so she takes pity on him and says that he doesn't have to, because she knows he wants to, and that's enough. Also, Reishin has brought a letter for Yuri from Houju (which he read): Houju has asked Yuri to go to a shiruko (this is like a sweet red bean soup) shop with him. Reishin tells her that Houju has fallen in love with her and wants to marry her; Yuri says she can't, because of her situation. In fact, it's only due to the fan Reishin gave her (it has the Kou family seal embossed on it, and it entitles the person holding it to protection by 'Kage' (Shadow), the Kou family's assassin group), that she can walk around freely. The power of Houju's clan can't compare. Yuri says she's a person that shouldn't exist, but Reishin encourages her to go on the date. Also, Yuri tells him that Kou has been waiting to meet him, and that he persists in his delusion that Reishin is a good person.

The next day, in the evening, Yuri finds a dejected Kou has locked himself in his room. Once he met Reishin again (scene not shown) Kou was disabused of his mistaken notion that Reishin is a good person. Apparently Reishin said he picked him up because Shouka adopted a kid, so that he could undertand the hard work of Shouka, although Reishin so far hasn't worked at all. Yuri apologizes to Kou (as well she should, IMHO. Really... ), and says she'll find someone else to take care of him (Shouka, actually. The narrator said that this is the start of 'Li Kouyuu, the man who is always making mistaken life choices'). However, even if his second life is over, Kou is ready to start his third life, and still wants to help Reishin at his side, especially if him being around will keep Yuri there. (Internally, Kou thinks that Reishin will be done for if he loses Yuri, so he needs to stick around so that he can bring them together). He says that if Yuri can stand being around Reishin, so can he. Yuri realizes that to Kou, it doesn't matter what sort of person Reishin is, because from the moment he picked him up, Reishin became an absolute existence to him, just as Shouka is to Reishin, which is why he hasn't run off. She thinks, Reishin, do you know what you hve done? Can you become to this child what you are to Shouka? So Kou will stay at Reishin's side forever, and in return, will continue to always be hurt; Yuri doesn't mind if Reishin says all kinds of horrible things to her thoughtlessly, but Kou, who looks up to him, will be hurt by his words, yet continue to stay there. [.........] Thinking about this, Yuri thinks the only way that Kou's burden will be lessened is..... if she finds Reishin a bride who will be a good mother for Kou! (Hearing this, Kou is once again disappointed by the failure of his schemes). [The balance of tragic to comic in this story is weird.]

The next day, Kou is shocked to find that Yuri is preparing to go and meet Houju. Reishin, of course, wants to go and spy on them. Kou intends to do something, but after he's finished watering Reishin's plant, he gets lost in the mansion. Reishin meets Yuushun near the shiruko shop, and they spy on Houju, who is wearing a bird of paradise mask; he and Yuri enter the shop, and are followed by two more masked men, Reishin, wearing an orange mask, and Yuushun, wearing a panda mask. Yuushun feels somewhat embarassed, but takes the mask (the narrator said that as he participates in the weirdness, perhaps at that moment Yuushun can truly have been said to have become Reishin's friend). Everyone in the shop is weirded out by all of these masked people. Houju and Yuri are embarassed and make small talk. Reishin is bored, but Yuushun is all like 'aw.' He tells Reishin rather than be concerned about Houju, he should worry about himself; but Reishin says he doesn't care, and he'll just borrow Yuri from Houju any time he needs his hair cut. But Yuushun tells him that if Houju marries her, she won't be free to do that anymore. At this, Reishin looks disturbed. Anyway, Houju asks Yuri (Yuri of course knows who the masked men are... as for Houju, he seems not to notice) if Reishin is really an impossible, incorrigible person, and Yuri loudly agrees. Houju then resolves that he will ransom Yuri from the Kogarou, believing that Reishin made her work there, and leaves. It seems that Houju's Kou clan (don't confuse this with the other Kou clan) specializes in commerce and finance. Their province is where the All Merchants Alliance started, so Houju can probably raise a vast amount of cash in a short period of time.

Later, Reishin and Yuri talk: Reishin has figured out that Yuri wishes to meet Senka, but he thinks that he will kill her, so it will be better for her to just marry Houju instead. He says that in six days time he'll pretend to be an evil master for Houju, so that he can ransom her. Yuri says that if he's going to pretend to be something he's not, he would end up playing a good person (ooh, burn). She goes on to tell them that with other girls, he can't just say whatever he wants, because they'll hate him, and that she heard he made Shuurei cry. She says that in thanks for giving her freedom, she'll give him a hint. Since he's good at playing the biwa, when he makes Shuurei cry, he should play it for her. As Yuri leaves, she thinks that it's impossible for her to go to Houju, no matter how much Reishin fabricates backgrounds for her. If it were possible to fool others that way, Gyokukan wouldn't have shut her up or forced her to pretend to be a boy. Thinking on Gyokukan's words, that she should live and die for the Kou clan, and that there is no life for her outside of that, she feels tired of it all.

Kou is concerned about Reishin and Yuri's relationship. When he says that Reishin's bride should be someone like Yuri, she doesn't seem to get the hint. So one day Kou decides to follow Reishin. Reishin goes to a house and bribes the watchman for some reason, then spies through a hole in the wall. Kou sees a happy family, a little girl, an older boy, a beautiful woman, and a man... suddenly Kou jumps to the conclusion that Reishin is conspiring to commit adultery with the lady of the house! So he goes to the lady and tells her that adultery is wrong, and that Reishin can't marry anyone but Yuri, so please reject him! Bara-hime is rather confused by his words. Later, he gets lost on the way home and bumps into Yuri, and finally makes a direct appeal to her to stay with Reishin and be his mother, but suddenly some thugs come out and attack them. Yuri knocks out Kou, to protect him, and runs off, with the thugs following, to the palace. When Kou comes to, he finds Reishin has arrived, and he also finds that Yuri has left the fan with him. Seeing this, Reishin makes an extremely scary face.

Yuri escapes to the palace, and as she knows the secret corridors, manages to meet Ryuuki again. She asks to be taken to the king. Finally, she meets Senka, and tells him him that his own son doesn't know his face, and reveals her own identity to him. We learn that perhaps Gyokukan gave her the alias Yuzuriha, because the yuzuriha is a plant where the old leaves are supplanted by the new, in other words, Gyoukukan intended to overthrow Senka, and place Yuri on the throne as a queen, which was why she took Yuri and left for Kou Province. Usually the princesses of the royal family are sent to the Hyou clan, where if they have talent, they become priestesses and spend their lives with the Hyou clan, and if not, they're married off to suitable families. Apparently in certain times, a woman may become the ruler, so knowing this, to prevent her from becoming a priestess, Gyokukan shut her up in the Kou house. Gyokukan was a master politician, and mostly because of her talent, the Kou clan continued to flourish, and had she not been killed, her dream might have become reality. However, Yuri has come here not because she wants revenge, bu simply because she wished to meet her brother for once in her life. The Kou clan would have protected her from Senka and the Hyou clan for her entire life, but she didn't wish to merely live as a useless bird in a cage, which was why she came to Senka, even if he might kill her. Knowing she might die, she touches her brother's hair, which resembles her (to which Senka asks if she's a pervert....), but he touches her cheek as she cries, and Yuri asks him as, as she suspected, if in return for killing Gyoukukan, Shouka asked Senka to leave both his brothers and Yuri alone. Senka confirms her suspicions. Senka asks if Yuri wants to kill him. Yuri says that she can't forgive Senka or Shouka, because that would just be too sad for her mother, but she has no desire to take revenge, nor does she hate them, since her mother entered a battle and lost. She buries her face in her brother's neck and cries. Senka realizes that Yuri was in love with Shouka, and calls him an idiot. Yuri recalls that after he killed Gyokukan, Shouka dissolved the engagement, and ran off, totally not realizing her feelings, and then came back, years later, with a beautiful wife and a little daughter.

Finally, Senka asks Yuri if she'd like to live in the Inner Palace and take care of Ryuuki, since he's lonely. He doesn't want to kill her, and tells her that after he dies, she can try and see if she can become queen. The assassins were sent by the Hyou clan, actually, and the Temple of the Immortals is sort of a tripline, which was why Kou Reishin came running there. Yuri says that probably Reishin would be glad to receive money from the Hyou clan in exchange for her, but Senka says both she and Shouka are idiots. Suddenly, Reishin bursts in. Yuri then says to him that she's cut her ties with the Kou house and will stay in the Inner Palace, and that she's left him a list of bridal candidates. There are only three places where she can be safe from the Hyou clan, the Inner Palace, the Ran clan, and the Kou clan. She has no way of marrying into the Ran clan, Kurou already has someone (or will find someone?), so there's only the Inner Palace. Then Reishin declares that rather hand her over to Senka, he'll take her! Yuri refuses, and they argue. Reishin asks Senka how many of his things he shall continue to make use of? and declares war. Senka tiredly waves them off and tells Yuri to see if she really doesn't have a place, and if she really doesn't, she can always come back. Finally Senka tells Yuri the meaning of her name, the flower that is 'beautiful because it is strong,' which was the title that Gyokukan was given when she was in the palace, and that she was truly worthy of the name, so much so, that he wished to kill her.

Reishin forces Yuri to come back with him, but she's so angry that she even slaps him. When they arrive, Yuushun is there, having been asked by Reishin to bring Kou back home. Reishin's potted plant is flowering. This plant is called a yousenju or a kane no naru ki, and it's supposed to be a lucky plant that will make you rich. (My research says that this tree is a tuberose, and that's what it looks like in the illustration). When Reishin was in the dorms, he mysteriously brought the plant with him. When Kan Hishou got Reishin drunk, he said that the tree was "Yuri's tree" in return for the broken piggy bank. It seems that the true culprit behind the smashing of Yuri's piggy bank was not, as she thought, her mother (damn, that's pretty sad, that she suspected her own mother of doing something like that), but actually Reishin, who didn't want to lose Yuri (rereading the opening passage, then, maybe you can see it as sort of love at first sight...). Yuushun says that in contrast to his words, actually Reishin thinks that Yuri is special to him. Reishin understands that while he can say what he wishes to her, she won't hate him, but that isn't true of others, and she also is willing to get angry, and say what she wishes to him, but in the end, forgive him. Yuushun urges Yuri to stay with Reishin, so that he won't be lonely. But Yuri says she isn't Reishin's mother, and she doesn't want to be with him for the rest of her life. She goes to her room and prepares to leave. Kou comes in and brings her some tea, which is drugged by Reishin, so she falls asleep. When she wakes up, it appears to be a dream, and she's dressed as a princess (well, actually she is a princess, but) the "prince" with her is actually Reishin. Although she thinks it's a dream, the bidding war for her ransom from the Kogarou (recall that Houju had mistakenly believed that he could save her by ransoming her) is beginning. Even Senka has somehow gotten involved. Yuri thinks that she must have an awfully grandiose imagination, to believe that the Kou clan and king are fighting over her. Kochou brings her something to drink, and she then falls asleep again.

Then, she wakes up back in the Kou manor, but thinks this is yet another dream. Reishin is again playing the biwa. She says that Reishin rarely plays the biwa, but he says the same is true of her, but that's because her sound resembles Gyokukan's, so she might get found out. Thinking that it's a dream, she says that if Reishin agrees to play for her when she wishes and only when she wishes, she'll marry him. She also says that although she told Yuushun she hated Reishin, in reality she really doesn't, and when the morning comes, she'll leave, but since this is a dream, she'll tell him he'll stay by her side. She also says she's not his mother, but Reishin says he never thought of her like that. She says that it wouldn't be difficult for her to stay by Reishin's side (my, I am so impressed by the passionate declarations of love here), because she's gotten used to his behavior. She later says that she once loved Shouka, but now prefers Reishin, because she can understand him, and accuses Shouka of entrusting his brothers to her so that she wouldn't leave, and also, as long as she was with his brothers, she knew he would come back. Then Reishin says he agrees to her condition, and will only play the biwa for her. Yuri then says that she can't become his bride because he likes Shouka and Shuurei more than her, and says again that she will leave; Reishin says, though, that although Shouka and Shuurei are special, he really will only play the biwa for her, even Shuurei asks him. Yuri says she's about the only person who would be impressed by that, but she is still leaving. But Reishin reveals that it's not a dream, and besides, he has already entered her into the registry as his wife (and he's also put Kou into there). Kurou advanced Reishin a lot of money, and Houju was discouraged because he thought Yuri was the king's lover, but in the end, Reishin was the one who ransomed her (the mechanics behind this are somehwat unclear). Also, Reishin writes the famous letter purported to be from Yuri, blaming it on her because he wanted to keep Houju's friendship. Anyway, Reishin says that since they already have a kid (Kou), they don't need to have any more children, to which Yuri says that they should then live separately, and she'll raise Kou; Reishin says that there are ways of making children that don't make children. Yuri replies that she doesn't want to know about that kind of thing. Afterwards, she goes to sleep again, as Reishin plays.

It appears that Yuri is okay with being married to Reishin, even if he went and entered her into the register without her knowing, although she complains a lot. We then see her visit Shuurei, and play the biwa for her. Seiran is also there, and thinks that her hair resembles that of Ryuuki. She also meets Shouka, who apologizes for not having been able to grant her freedom, and instead having him take care of his brothers (Shouka is again a liar...). Shouka tells her that Reishin never openly shows his likings, and recalls that when he came to persuade Reishin to become the leader, Reishin was concerned that Yuri would despice him... however, Yuri already knows that (unlike Kouyuu). After she leaves, she's joined by Reishin, who was lurking outside. She tells him she shan't leave him behind, and will stay by his side forever, unlike Shouka, and unlike Shouka, who frequently breaks promises, Reishin will keep his. And then Yuzuriha (Yuri's male persona) ceases to exist. We then flash back to the past, where Yuri was crying under the plum tree because someone stole her travel money. However, he's upset that he made Yuri cry (also, he dislikes the existence of Yuzuriha); when he tells all of this to Shouka, he gives him the tree and tells him to raise it and give it to Yuri. He tells him that sometime they must set Yuri free, so until then, he must think of how to convince her to stay with him even when the birdcage is open.

The Form of Happiness

This is a very short story which takes place on the last three pages of the volume. One day (it's not clear when this story is set), Shuuei asks Kouyuu if he can meet Reishin's wife, because he's curious about what kind of person she is (hmm, weren't we all). However, since Yuri is off doing the business of the clan leader, as Reishin doesn't do it, she's frequently absent. When Shuuei hears this, he wonders if Yuri is happy. Afterwards, Kouyuu ponders this, and it disturbs him (...he never considered whether Yuri was happy before?) That day, Yuri has come home, however, so he goes to ask her. However, when he enters the room, he finds that Reishin is there, sleeping with his head in her lap. Kouyuu reflects that while Yuri is ideal for Reishin, the same can't be said in reverse, especially when you consider that it seems like Reishin hardly does anything for her, and recalls how he begged Yuri to marry Reishin. He asks her if she regrets marrying Reishin. Yuri complains about how she has to go everywhere as his representative, etc, but she decided it for herself, because she could have removed herself from the registry anytime. Perhaps Yuri likes it that Reishin is so almost irritatingly attached to her. She asks isn't it the same reason why Kouyuu doesn't run away? But, unlike Yuri, Kouyuu can't really read between the lines with Reishin; because Kouyuu is there wish him, Reishin, who hates being left alone, has suffered Yuri frequently being away (... isn't that Reishin's fault anyway?), but Kouyuu doesn't realize this, that he's become to Reishin, like Yuri and Shouka, an 'absolute, unbetrayable existence,'. Yuri finally says that she herself has chosen to be here, and that she is happy, so she won't leave. Reishin, who has been pretending to be asleep, is also relieved to hear this.

Commentary:

I honestly have to say that reading this story makes me think that Reishin should be really thankful he has his friends, Yuri, and Kou, despite how much trouble he puts them through. I thought this story would make me like Reishin more, but in a weird way, I now mostly feel that his situation is... kind of pitiful? Sort of like he's rather a limited person in a lot of ways, despite his power. Like if you think about from a certain perspective, shouldn't he on some level realize that it's like he takes more than he gives? Yuushun does all this stuff for him, for example, but what has he ever done for Yuushun? Is he so oblivious he can't see how he's always hurting Kouyuu's feelings?

Many of you asked where do Kouyuu's annoying "I hate women" speeches come from. This story gives us no clue on that. Lil' Kouyuu seems to have no sentiments of that sort. However, I recall that somewhere it is stated that this comes after he passed the exams, so perhaps this is to be expected.

I don't know if it really comes out in the summary, but Yuri is really... outspoken? I mean, more so than Jyuusan-hime or Shuurei. I cut out all kinds of scenes where she and Reishin argue back and forth because they're rather repetitive. Yuri-hime is not in awe of Reishin, nor is she emotionally dependent on him (Reishin seems more dependent on her, and I think he really is aware that he's lucky she chose to be with him, although it's not really clear how it all shook down once she woke up and realized that Reishin had entered her into the registry for realz. In a lot of ways, she's remarkably sane for someone who's a mix of the Kou and Shi clans. (Actually, although it's not dwelled upon, the story is darker than it thinks it is. So the main character is pretty much... okay on getting killed, because she believes she no longer has any reason for living?) So actually, I don't feel too bad for her for ending up with Reishin.

The story ends up shedding no light on what Kouyuu was doing before Reishin found him. His life seems to have been fairly rough, however, given that some of his vocab is rather unexpected for a child of his age. The story just makes me feel sorry for Kouyuu, because his feelings are always hurt by Reishin; I hope that the next story will introduce some changes in this relationship between them. -_-

I had hoped that this story would clarify some stuff on Yuushun, but it seems that as ever, he remains a mystery. All that we learn about him is that he is probably from Shi Province, given that he took the exam there. So we still don't know how he injured his leg or why Reishin will be shocked to learn the truth about his past. I also hoped that Kyou Bunchuu would show up, but unfortunately he didn't. Darn it, am jonesing for next volume. >_< However, at least we got more background info on Houju.

As for Houju, can we throw him a pity party? T_T This story makes you feel really bad for him, because it becomes clear that he really is a good person. Shouldn’t Reishin feel more remorse? Or shouldn’t he have let him off more easily with a “it’s not you, it’s me” message? Well, I guess that would be out of character for him, but this also shows that Houju is a really great friend, because most people would not be friends under such circumstances. (Or has Houju figured it out? Reishin thinks he will…) Heck, people have stopped being friends when their friend can’t get along with their spouse. In a way, it does show how important Houju is to him, because he did it to preserve their friendship, by making Yuri out to be the bad guy… but hmm, really, this just comes off as rather selfish, but I suppose the author wants us to forgive Reishin somewhat because he didn’t think the letter would be hurtful? But on the other hand, what if Houju meets Yuri-hime by accident? What in the world are they going to say to one another? (haha maybe this will happen later. I look forward to it. )

Er… Reishin’s line about ways of making children that don’t produce children. XDDD I’m not really sure I want to know what the fans are going to make of this one. You know if you give people a prime opportunity to address questions referring to, shall we say, questionable material, then they probably will take advantage of that. After all, they can say that it’s totally canonical. XD Although, actually, the story is rather chaste. They don’t even hug, let alone kiss.

I wonder if Kouyuu knows that Yuri-hime is none other than Ryuuki’s aunt? It’s not really clear. However, I wonder if Shuuei knows, given that the Ran clan seems to know a lot. On the other hand, Shuuei would have no reason to look into that matter, but it’s never explicitly stated he doesn’t know. Considering that Shuuei is a fairly subtle person, and up to this point, Yuri-hime has played no role in the main plot, it’s not impossible that he does. Hmm, I was hoping also that we would see the Ran triplets show up, but in terms of timeline, they had already left the capital by the time Reishin arrived. So I’m curious as to where their legendary grudge comes from, as well.

I continue to feel sorry for Kurou. Actually, I’m disappointed that this volume didn’t have more Kurou; I hope he’ll play more of a role in later volumes. Jeez, this guy gets the short end of the stick on everything. Made to do all of the work, left out of the great secrets, and now he even gets radically less pagetime. (Amusingly, if you want to be punny, you can write his name in kanji as “苦労” (hard work).) It also makes me wonder about Kurou’s marriage. Did he manage to get married in a normal way (which I am sure Kurou would prefer, none of this nonsense about arguing with the emperor (who wanted the bride dead) and abductions and cross-dressing and repeated rejections and slaughtering hordes of Hyou and assassinations and romantic rivals psychologically scarred for life and the time-honored Kou clan tradition of moving heaven and earth and damn the consequences to get what one wants), or did he also eventually cause scandal? It’s a good thing that Kurou seems to feel no urge to outshine his brothers, because after a sennyo and a princess, I’m not sure what he would do to top those acts.

I now want Shuurei and Ryuuki to meet their aunt. XD I also want to see the moment where Ryuuki realizes he’s also gained an uncle. On the other hand, I think Reishin’s reaction to Ryuuki calling him uncle would be more on the lines of DO NOT WANT.

I really wonder what impact this new information will have on Kouyuu’s current job problems, Reishin’s strike, and Ou Ki’s coup. Who comes first in the order of succession, Ou Ki or Yuri-hime? Yuri-hime is a woman, but Ou Ki doesn’t even seem to be known as part of the imperial clan. Will Ou Ki seek Yuri-hime’s approval or otherwise target her? And what of the Hyou clan? The Hyou clan is so amorphous and confusing. Does this mean Shusui might be related to the imperial family? More and more questions emerge. Once again, awaiting the next volume.

tags>>saiunkoku