BTW, according to some Japanese bloggers, “kohaku” can take on the meaning of “ripe/matured plum,” therefore an obvious allusion. Anyway, onto the summary.

The book opens, like so many other volumes of Saiunkoku, with a rather grim scene. In a mountain village, the village association has decided to sacrifice a child to the mountain god because too much snow has been falling, thus meaning that there’s a risk of flooding in the spring. They don’t need to think about whose child to sacrifice, because there’s an outsider child there. So, they take him up to the mountain and tie him to a sacred tree. The child does not resist because he believes he must be useful or be thrown away. Later, a magnificently dressed man appears before him, and asks if he is waiting for anyone.

The child, who has lived a miserable life as a slave, being continually sold off and moved around the place, realizes that he has been waiting for someone, but he can’t remember who, and then he begins to cry, being saddened by this. The man then asks for the child’s name: Kou.

Then, we move to the present: although it’s near the end of summer, Kouyuu is shut up in his office, sleeplessly doing the massive amounts of work that Reishin has been leaving undone. Then, You Shuu comes into the office. For those of you who don’t recall who You Shuu is, he’s the foremost of the “masked officials,” Civil Admin bureau officials who work undercover to investigate personnel. Read the summary of volume 10 to find out more about him. You Shuu is a master of disguise, but when he’s being himself, he has an extremely refined and noble bearing, though this time he’s sporting an unusual hairstyle: hair cut short, and with the dye obviously growing out. Kouyuu knows that You Shuu has come to take the seal from him. You Shuu tells him the job of the Undersecretary is not to cover for Reishin and protect him, and says that Kouyuu knew what he should have done, he just didn’t want to think about it.

Kouyuu takes the seal and is about throw it to You Shuu, but as he does, he remembers that You Shuu supported him, but now You Shuu has completed his evaluation of Kouyuu and found him wanting. Seiga appears and says he is taking Kouyuu into custody to question him about the state of the Civil Administration department. You Shuu is disappointed that Kouyuu doesn’t try to fight this.

Cut to Kou Province, where Yuri-hime has just learned of Kouyuu’s imprisonment. Kurou is there with her and is also worried about the entire situation. Yuri thinks that Kurou would have been a great official, if he had taken the exam. As Yuri sets out for the capital, she thinks about Reishin and Kouyuu: they both hate to be alone, and although she had thought that leaving them together was a good idea, in fact, even when they are together, perhaps they are still alone. She rather makes then sound deeply dysfunctional, unable to have trust in the love of others, and so developing a deep dependence on them.

Back to the capital: Ryuuki apologizes in front of the council for going off to Ran province. Ou Ki questions him on whether he has managed to accomplish anything, and is unimpressed that all he has come back with is a disinherited Shuuei. Riou tells him he can’t just restore Shuuei to his previous position, as it would be favoritism. Uu Uu asks him whether anything happened in Ran Province, but Ryuuki does not say anything about what happened with Ruka, because she is Riou’s aunt, and Uu Uu’s clan is one of the families who are retainers of the Hyou clan. At this Uu Uu is deeply moved and says that Ryuuki is truly kind.

After the meeting, Ou Ki goes back to his office and calls for Kouki. He knows what happened in book 12 because he’s received Jin’s report (so this confirms that Jin was acting on Ou Ki’s orders), and mutters that Ryuuki is truly naive. Ruka’s treason is a valuable chip, and Ryuuki could have used it to distract from the charges against Kouyuu, and Riou and Uu Uu would have lost their heads. However, in the end the Ran clan has become even more distant from Ryuuki, and next is the Kou clan. He recalls Ryuuki’s father, who told Ou Ki to follow him, and if he didn’t like that, to try and take the throne. He then tells Kouki to get rid of Kouyuu, and then tells him he knows what he must do. However, Kouki doesn’t leave, and instead insists that Ou Ki eat the preseved goose eggs Shuuei brought back from Ran Province, saying he won’t leave until he does. It seems Ryouou told Kouki that Ou Ki was looking tired, and that he should eat the eggs. Ou Ki is irritated, but eats them anyway, and as he does, he recalls how the Hyou clan used to put inconvenient people into trances and such in the past.

Somewhere else, Uu Uu and Riou are talking. Ryuuki returned faster than their information gathering network could send a report, so they don’t know what really happened there. Riou is somewhat relieved, though, because the Hyou clan shouldn’t be able to do anything in Kiyou. However, Uu Uu is worried about Kouyuu, and worries she might do something to him.

Shuurei is visiting the grave of her mother with Ensei and Seiran, and she remembers the time two years ago when she visited it with them. She resolves to do all she can to help Kouyuu, as he was her teacher.

Ryuuki and Yuushun are talking in Yuushun’s office. Ryuuki regrets that he hadn’t come back faster, but Yuushun asks whether that would have changed anything? The Civil Administration Department will have difficulty functioning without Kouyuu, but Yuushun says that’s exactly why the Censorate acted. Ryuuki realizes that he has made a huge error in ignoring the state of the Civil Admin Dept, and says that things must change. Yuushun says he agrees, and in response to Ryuuki’s question, confirms that he’ll do something even if it’s his friend Reishin they’re talking about. Ryuuki is upset, though, because for a second, Yuushun seems sad, and apologizes for it. However, Yuushun says it’s okay, and that he’s not as nice as Ryuuki thinks he is. Someone who’s only kind cannot be a politician. The only person who can directly act to save Kouyuu is Shuurei, because she is a Censorate official. Ryuuki is depressed at this, because it just shows how much he’s failed to cultivate officials. Also, the more useful Shuurei is as an official, the more vital it becomes that she remains one.

After Ryuuki leaves the office, he runs into Anju. Anju says that since Yuushun allowed Ryuuki to go to Ran Province, he’s also responsible for the decision, but Ryuuki denies this and says it’s all his fault. However, Anju sighs and asks Ryuuki if he knows anything about Yuushun’s past, which confuses Ryuuki. Anju says that Yuushun is extremely talented, enough so that it’s easy for him to outfox villains, and that it’s not enough for one to be just smart and kind for that, one must also be like a villain. Anju urges Ryuuki to be careful about Yuushun, and also says that since the previous system is crumbling, things are now running on a merit system, and you can’t gain loyal followers just by being king alone. And anyone now can fall in an instant, just as Kouyuu has. He also warns Ryuuki that if he wishes to gain loyal followers, he must watch over them, and if not, only rogues like Anju will be left at court. Anju then says that he’s said something quite uncharacteristic of himself, and that his words now were those of the person he loves most in the world, but he won’t say them again.

In another part of the palace, Shuuei visits Son Ryouou. Ryouou mocks Shuuei for having lost his position, and Shuuei remembers the days when Ryouou was governor of Ran province. There, he stood up to the Ran clan. Ryouou sort of hints that he knows about what happened in Ran Province, but in an ambiguous and joking way. After a lot of verbal sparring, eventually Ryouou gives Shuuei a position working under Seiran. Shuuei is not exactly overjoyed by this, but accepts it. He further attempts to quiz Ryouou about Jin, who had deeply admired him when he was governor, but Ryouou gives nothing away. In the end, though, Ryouou says that he likes Shuuei personally, and praises his decision to choose Ryuuki, who in a bad situation, rather than being like the rest of the Ran clan and not helping anyone. But as Shuuei leaves, Ryouou reflects that it’s good that Ryuuki finally met someone who was willing to die with him, because no matter what happens, he won’t be lonely. He doesn’t hate Ryuuki, and thinks that if he had been prepared well, he might have made a good king. But Ryouou believes completely in Ou Ki’s dream.

Shuuei goes to the Censorate and meets both Seiga and Ou Ki. We have a passage about how Shuurei has matured since book 12: she has no intention of say offering to resign in Kouyuu’s place or something like that, because that would be meaningless. She asks Kouki if she can take over Kouyuu’s case.Eventually Kouki decides to let her be on the case with Seiga, gathering evidence that Kouyuu is necessary to the government. Then at the trial, he will judge Kouyuu. However, Kouki also says that no matter what Shuurei does, there is no way she will be able to overturn his judgement, that Kouyuu is unworthy. And, if Shuurei attempts to plead for Kouyuu up till the day of the judgement, Kouki will fire her. He also tells Shuurei to think about the difference between a politician and a bureaucrat.

Shuurei considers Kouki’s words. However, Shuurei can’t possibly think of why Kouki is so certain that Kouyuu must be fired, considering that Kouyuu is not corrupt and very hard-working. She mentions to Kouki that Ryuuki gave Kouyuu the flower, but Kouki says that it just shows that the king is incompetent. In the court there’s a split between the noble and exam factions, but the exam faction is not Ryuuki’s ally, and they are very unimpressed that Ryuuki gave the flowers to two people identified with the Ran and Kou clans. While the exam faction needs a king, they don’t need Ryuuki. Kouki also thinks that Shou Taishi placed Kouyuu, Shuuei, and Shuurei near Ryuuki, and wonders what the old man was thinking. We also learn that Ensei is going to become Shuurei’s new assistant. Kouki is very happy about this, because he has great esteem for Ensei. She realizes that she’s jealous of Ensei for being praised by Kouki, and that deep down, she wishes to be acknowledged by Kouki.

Later, Anju pops up and talks to Kouki. He perceives that Shuurei desires Kouki’s respect, and teases Kouki by saying that he’s jealous that Shuurei likes Kouki so much, causing Kouki to become irritated (as usual) with him. Anju then talks about how he’s into cute, but bad girls (kind of like a “queen” type, but different), and was wishing that when Shuurei grew up, she’d play with him. Kouki, reacting to this TMI, tells him to stop with the pervert declarations. Then Anju gets serious and says that far from him ignoring Kouki, Kouki is ignoring what he has to say: he wonders why it is that Shuurei has chosen Kouki, not Reishin, Kijin, Kouyuu, or even Yuushun.

Shuurei comes flying to meet Ensei, who is staying at her house. Ensei has made a giant onigiri, which they eat together. Shuurei is concerned that by working under her, Ensei is not accomplishing whatever he came to Kiyou to do, but Ensei sets her mind at ease by revealing that he desires to work for her not for her sake, like Seiran, but for his own sake. He wants to work for Shuurei the official because he wants to see what she will create, and if she ceases to be an official, he will stop. Shuurei, though, insists that Ensei must study for the exam.

In the jail, Kouyuu is very depressed. He’s not being mistreated or anything, but he’s very unhappy. All that he has left to him in jail is the orb with the iris carved on it. He thinks he must return it to Ryuuki, and that he should be happy because he was useful to Reishin, but he is still unhappy. Also, Reishin hasn’t come to visit him or done anything to help him. He reflects, tearfully, that he has made a mistake, and chosen the wrong path, and that he now understands that he was necessary to Ryuuki. Suddenly, Ryuuki and Shuuei come to visit him. Ryuuki apologizes to him (….Ryuuki is such a nice guy), but Kouyuu thinks about how he should be the one apologizing, for making Ryuuki grow even more isolated, and for choosing Reishin over him. However, at this point, Kouyuu falls unconscious.

Shuuei goes to get Shuurei. Only Censorate officials are allowed to enter the cells. Since Seiga has the keys, she must go and get him to bring them. Seiga appears exhausted, as he trusts no one and won’t hire an assistant to help him with his work. At the jail, (on the way Shuurei accidentally is about to fall off the stairs and Seiga grabs her… why are there random fanservicy moments with Seiga?) they find that Kouyuu is out cold, and won’t wake up even when Seiga slaps him. No one else has met Kouyuu but Ryuuki and Shuuei, and Kouyuu was normal until they came. Seiga is unconcerned with Kouyuu’s condition, and says that it’s a job for a doctor, and that his work is something else. In the end Seiga allows Shuurei to take the key. Afterwards, Shuurei lets Ryuuki and the others into the cell. They want to get a doctor, but Seiran says that instead, they should consult Uu Uu and Riou.

When Riou and Uu Uu examine him, they say that rather than magic, it’s closer to a “suggestion” (I guess hypnosis?). Kouyuu is lost inside of a dream (and we all know how well Kouyuu deals with being lost). Uu Uu and Riou will try to guide him inside his dream to the exit, but this depends on Kouyuu’s own mental strength. Riou is concerned about Uu Uu’s health and wants to take the lead. Ryuuki is worried about Kouyuu, and wondering if he was mistaken to give him the flower, but Shuuei says that while Kouyuu is certainly lost, the fact that he’s still, even unconscious, grasping the orb, shows that he doesn’t want to return the flower.

Ryuuki, Seiran, and Shuuei go to see Yuushun. We then learn of Shuuei’s new job; Ryuuki’s feelings are complex, as he knows that while Seiran is kind to him, he’s rather harder on others. Shuuei thinks that he wants to kick the past him who wanted to work under Prince Seien. We learn that Ou Ki has been helping Yuushun with his work, which surprises Ryuuki, but Seiran doesn’t seem to be shocked. When Yuushun learns of Kouyuu’s condition, he remarks that things like this used to happen during the previous king’s reign, which surprises Seiran, because this information should be known only by high-level people. Yuushun advises them to keep the truth about this matter secret, but the real problem is that Kouyuu still has the flower, and if he’s dismissed while still possessing it, this will be a tremendous blow to Ryuuki. This was why Shuuei made such a show out of returning his sword. If Kouyuu doesn’t wake up, Ryuuki must take back the flower. Then Seiran says that Reishin must resign. Shuuei is shocked at his directness, but Yuushun agrees and says that either Reishin or Kouyuu must go. Then Ryuuki reveals that Ruka said the Hyou clan refused to recognize him, and that there was someone more suitable for the throne. But, Ryuuki says he is resolved to be king, but he wants to find out more on this situation. They suggest consulting the Hyou clan later.

Riou and Uu Uu discuss Kouyuu’s case. Basically he has fallen into a deep part of his memory, and they must enter his mind to get him out. He is in the “genfuukei,” which am not sure how to translate (maybe something like “first memory,” or “primal field”?), the site of his happy first memories. Until he leaves there of his own volition, Uu Uu can’t do anything.

In Kouyuu’s dream, he sees two finches, a white one, and a pied one, and they begin to peck at him, painfully. Then, he realizes that he’s in the middle of some field in the mountains. His heart is filled with peace, as if he were in the womb, but the birds continue to attack him. He thinks that if he leaves, many sad things will happen. He sees a small house, and wants to go there, but suddenly he remembers Reishin saying he’s decided his name is Li Kouyuu. He remembers that when he was a kid, he used to ask both Reishin and Yuri whether they wanted anything. Reishin became irritated at being asked this over and over again, and eventually said that Kouyuu was the most useless person in the house and that if he wanted to be useful he should go somewhere else and get a job. [Way to go, Reishin! If this were in modern times Kouyuu's psychotherapist would be thanking you for his Mercedes!] Yuri used to give Kouyuu small tasks to do, but eventually she said that there was nothing she needed. However this only caused Kouyuu to become more unhappy, because in his experience, useless people were gotten rid of. He wanted them to wish for something from him. He felt that he needed to do something for them. So, he decided to becom an official to help Reishin, but in the end, this was useless… and he ended up in jail.

Kouyuu now remembers he’s in jail, and then suddenly one of the finches begins to speak in Uu Uu’s voice. [The finches are entities that already existed within Kouyuu. This will be explained later, but other people can speak through them and thus be heard by Kouyuu in his dream.] Uu Uu explains the situation, and Kouyuu resolves to escape the dream. However, Ruka has put obstacles, like a rope bridge over a valley, in front of him.

Afterwards, Uu Uu returns to his quarters. He’s tired and in pain, and reflects that the end of his life is near. (Using the magical techniques shortens one’s life) He recalls Ruka in her youth, beautiful, strong-willed, intelligent. She told Uu Uu, as a member of the Uu clan serving the Hyou clan, that he must act to help the people, and do what he thinks is right. But in that shut off place, something went wrong. From the time when they obtained Bara-hime, the entire Hyou clan had become strange. Later Ruka had told him that he had betrayed her, as he had chosen Senka, as he believed that Ruka was wrong. He wished that she would go back to to her old self, and that’s why he told the Black Wolf about the secrets of the Hyou clan, to get rid of Bara-hime. At that time, he had known he could be killed, but nothing had changed. Kai Yu was upset and said that this was natural that nothing did change. Now Uu Uu realizes that if he had wanted to change things, he should have gone to Ruka and tried to change her mind. But now, unlike for the king and the others, it’s too late for Uu Uu to do anything about Ruka.

The next day, Shuurei goes to borrow some materials from Seiga. He’s come down with a fever due to overwork, and since no one else works for him, no one came to help him. Shuurei helps Seiga take some medicine, and then Seiga allows her to read his notes on Kouyuu. However, he insists on tying her wrist to his bracelet while he naps, to prevent her from going and reading his other material. Shuurei is shocked to learn, reading the report, that the Civil Administration secretary is her uncle.

Speaking of her uncle, Reishin is now in his office, doing nothing. Houju flies in, in a rage, asking him what he’s doing. He’s taking no action in Kouyuu’s case, not doing anything, leaving everything to You Shuu. At this rate, he’s going to even cause problems for Yuushun, not to mention Kouyuu and his own position. Reishin is unconcerned. Houju angrily asks him if he remembers how much Yuushun has helped both of them, as he was the first friend either of them had. Then Kei Yuuri enters the room and persuades Houju to calm down, as he was on the brink of striking Reishin, because the Censorate is watching. Houju reflects that it’s useless to yell at Reishin, and You Shuu enters and apologizes for the inconvenience his boss is putting everyone through. Kei Yuuri tells him he should show more respect to his boss, but You Shuu says that even if someone is his superior, if they haven’t earned his respect, he’s not going to show much. You Shuu says that he has given up expecting anything from Reishin.

After Kei Yuuri and Houju leave, Houju removes his mask and reveals that he’s crying. He says that in the past, when Yuushun left for Sa Province at a time when that meant certain death, they made a promise (along with Kan Hishou and Kyou Bunchuu) to wait until he came back, so that they were in positions to help them, and that they would then play go and drink wine together. They told Reishin that even if he didn’t want to be promoted, he should just work properly until Yuushun came back. Reishin agreed to this, for Yuushun’s sake, and eventually he accepted being the post of Civil Administration secretary, and that’s why he had stayed so long at that post, and although he wasn’t perfectly diligent, up until now he wasn’t so negligent as to attract the attention of the Censorate. Houju can’t understand at all why Reishin is acting this way.

Kei Yuuri that in the past, You Shuu might have grumbled about Reishin, but he still respected him, and he even went to Yuuri to ask him to support Kouyuu, because he hoped that he would become a great official. You Shuu is one of the last remaining true nobles, and he feels strongly that people who possess official power must use it for the sake of the less powerful citizens. That’s why he turned against Reishin, who possessed great power but didn’t use it for any serious purpose, making no move to help the people, and in the end pretty much stopped working. You Shuu greatly disapproves of how the Kou clan itself just uses its power and authority for the benefit of themselves and their own fief. Houju knows that You Shuu is not the one who is acting wrongly, but he doesn’t want to acknowledge how badly wrong things have gone. Houju drops a paper, and Yuuri sees that it is a message from his clan telling him to return to Kou (uh… Okay, recall that Houju’s Kou clan is a different Kou (reading yellow, not red)) Province. Houju has chosen to ignore this and stay at court as Yuushun’s ally, even if he faces being disinherited.

After Houju and Yuuri have left, You Shuu speaks with Reishin. He says that Reishin is behaving stupidly, and now he’s got so much work to do, and that Reishin should massage his shoulders. Reishin snorts and says he thought You Shuu no longer expected anything of him, and so You Shuu says that then maybe he should go and massage Yuushun’s shoulders. He borrows Reishin’s stamp, and they discuss the autumn scenery outside. You Shuu recalls that Reishin loves autumn, just as he does plum blossoms and his older brother, and says that he knows this because even though he isn’t Reishin’s friend, he’s been around him long enough to learn his likes/dislikes, but probably the same can’t be said of Reishin. But Reishin proves him wrong and recites a list of the things You Shuu likes: the fruit of the loquat, snow on willows, crickets in autumn, falling ginko leaves, the rainbow in summer, Reishin’s biwa, and Kouyuu. [... This is a lot of things.]

You Shuu is truly surprised. You Shuu has been working with Reishin since before Kouyuu came. He also tells Reishin not to do anything he regrets, but Reishin says regret is not in his dictionary. You Shuu says he’s a liar, and that even though Reishin is a genius, even though he can see what’s ahead with his talent, he still is full of regrets, and even though he has riches, position, and everything necessary in live, what he wants the most, he cannot obtain with his talent, which is to make the people he loves happy. How to do this in the best way possible. But no matter how much he thinks about it, he still doesn’t get it, and even when he does, he’s always a day late and a dollar short. You Shuu says he understands what Reishin’s true motives are. Reishin took the civil exam for the sake of his brother, became Civil Admin Secretary for the sake of his friends, and is now stopping work for his adopted child. Although You Shuu understands Reishin well, it’s exactly because of that he’s given up on him. He can’t acknowledge someone who uses his power only for the people he loves. You Shuu says that Kouyuu thinks only of Reishin, and making him the undersecretary was You Shuu’s only mistake. He tells Reishin to protect what he has left to him, otherwise no one will understand his strange conduct.