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Saiunkoku Monogatari Secret Story: Flower of Winter (The Third Journey through the Darkness of Snow)

Yet another part of Flower of Winter for you guys!

I gotta say, this is, without a doubt my FAVORITE section so far.

Big shout out to @abrownfeminist for checking this over to make sure my brain vomit is coherent. <3

As always: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE END OF THE SAIUNKOKU MONOGATARI LIGHT NOVELS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

For previous parts of Flower of Winter, please see my master list here.

Alright, let`s do this!

The Third Journey through the

Darkness of Snow

There was

something that Ryuuki expected to happen before Chouka`s sixteenth birthday.

“Your

Majesty, they`ll be coming soon…”

Ryuuki

opened his eyes at the sound of Shuuei`s voice. Shuuei and Seiran`s faces

showed their amazement.

It seemed as

though he had dozed off while he was waiting. Was he still half asleep? He

couldn`t remember what he had just been doing very well. He had gotten dressed,

wandered around at night, and came here…yes, that was right.

Ryuuki

leaned against the wall in the dark corridor of the sixth palace, which had not been used in many

years. His breath was visible in the cold air.

According to

the astronomers at the Enlightened Ones Ministry, it would snow heavily on Chouka`s

birthday tomorrow. The snowfall had stopped as of now, and throughout the

palace the sound of snow falling from the roofs and trees could be heard. [1]

If he

strained his ears, he could hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching, just

as Shuuei had predicted. Soon after, the small shadow of a person dressed for

snow came running through the passageway, their profile full of purpose.

Ryuuki

straightened from the frozen wall, and followed after them with long strides.

Shuuei and Seiran accompanied him from behind.

Dawn had not

yet broken, and the world was lost in darkness.

On the way,

the figure fell down countless times, plunging their face into the snow. Every

time they would rise and continue running. They had carefully considered the

time, their escape route, and had taken the bet that this was the best chance

at success. They managed to squeeze through a small gap in the guard`s patrol,

and grabbed some hidden luggage. They must have chosen today knowing that the

heavy snowfall tomorrow would make pursuit difficult.

To be so easily caught despite all of this planning, Chouka really reminded Ryuuki of his younger self.

As for high

walls that she normally wouldn`t have been able to climb, Chouka found footholds in the snowless

spots in fences and trees and climbed her way past them. She acted

wholeheartedly, with no hesitation.

“Just like

Ojousama,” Seiran smiled wryly.[2]

“She might

have had too much training in the art of self defense,” Shuuei grumbled. “It`s

just as Your Majesty predicted in spring…could it be that the reason

Chouka-sama has been so obedient was to make her ladies in waiting more

careless?”

“Probably,”

Ryuuki laughed while following her. “That`s the only thing she was serious

about.”

Over the

past year, before and after death anniversaries, Ryuuki had seen her carrying

flowers and incense to the mausoleum. It was almost as if she was saying her

farewells to each one. On the anniversary of Shuurei`s death last year, someone

had come even before Ryuuki, and left flowers. How they had found them, he

didn`t know, but in the darkness of the early hours, someone had left two

camellias tied with a silk string.

Red and

white.

When he saw

them, he had a vague premonition, that by the end of next winter, Chouka would

no longer be in the palace.

At this

point, Chouka was about to go through an apparently unmanned gate.

“Come on,

why don`t my troops do something already…Kou Kanshou, your grades are dropping,” Shuuei

spoke, too soon.[3]

On the path

forward for Chouka, in the darkness, the torches on the wall began to light,

one by one. The Shogun of the Left Plume Army, Kou Kanshou, with bow in hand,

stood directly facing Chouka, blocking her path.

Ryuuki and

Seiran glared at Shuuei.

“According

to reports, a suspicious horse has been seen in this area. Just where do you

plan to go in this snow? Please stop.”

Chouka

pulled her hood down over her eyes, and looked to the left and right. All of

her paths were blocked.When Ryuuki had abandoned his throne in the past, through the back gate, he had seen Kou Kanshou with his back turned to him. The gate had been open.

Chouka

stopped and turned towards Kou Kanshou. The Shogun lifted his bow, surprised. A

soldier on patrol quickly trotted over to Kou Kanshou, who quietly asked the

soldier what was wrong. He grimaced, and confirmed many times. After looking at

the paper he was handed, he dismissed all of the soldiers.

“My

apologies, I had not been informed that you were an emissary of Prime Minister

Li. Please forgive my rudeness… As far as I can see, it appears that you are

without an escort. If you wish, shall I accompany you…?”

Chouka was

puzzled, and shook her head. She gave a small bow, keeping her hood pulled

tight, remembering Kou Kanshou`s words. After thinking hard, she kept her face

down and walked away.

Before long,

it was calm and quiet. In the early morning hour, the stars were still burning

in the sky. What had just happened was incomprehensible to her. Chouka turned

her head.

As she did,

she saw Ryuuki leaning against an oak tree. She froze.

Ryuuki

walked through the snow, approaching his daughter.

“Chouka, do

you want to leave the palace?”

Chouka

dropped all of her pretenses, as if she had already been prepared for such a

thing. The determination in her eyes burned as bright as the stars above.

No matter

how difficult things became, Ryuuki didn`t know of a time when Chouka had given

up. She had never asked him to grant any of her wishes. No…there was one time.

She had asked for a birdcage. Only that.

Her only

wish was to bet her remaining freedom on a possibility, and run away. Likely,

just like the time when sixteen year old Shuurei took the leap to accomplish

her long held desire to become an official.

Not `I want to leave`, but rather “I am leaving,” Chouka whispered in a clear voice.

“Is the

freedom I`ve given you not enough, Chouka?”

After a

moment of silence, from across the shining snow, her bell like voice rang out.

“Yes.”

Ryuuki did

not understand all of the feelings of Chouka, who spoke so little. No matter

how often he recommended that she take the Imperial Exams, she never nodded in

agreement. Although she had lost her freedom day by day, she had remained in

the palace until now. She never said what her reasons were. But while she

didn`t speak, she clearly had her own desires and will. It was the same will

she had displayed countless times when she had been forbidden to leave the

inner palace, but still left and came to Ryuuki`s office.

Even if I do not speak, even if I do not take the Imperial Exams, even if I refuse all of the marriage proposals…Father has forgiven all of these things,” Chouka suddenly spoke in a

miserable voice.“…by my

actions, Father`s reputation has been tarnished over time. This time…I decided

in my heart that I would do it alone. I will accept all responsibility. Because it`s something I wish to do.”

Ryuuki

raised his eyebrows. His reputation wasn`t particularly Chouka`s fault. Rather

than just letting her do whatever she wished…it was more that whenever he saw

her he was reminded of Shuurei.

If Shouka

had not allowed Shuurei the freedom to do as she wished, it was likely that

Ryuuki would never have been able to meet the sixteen year old her in such a manner. Whenever he

thought of that, he could never find the heart to tell Chouka what she should

do.

What is it that you truly want to do? Ryuuki had been suddenly asked by Ouki. The young Ryuuki had been unable to

answer that question.

But his

daughter`s breathtaking black eyes, burned so bright under the night sky.

“Ever since

you were young, you`ve been looking for someone. You couldn`t find them in the

palace, or in the suitors` portraits.”

Chouka

looked troubled, and crossed her cold arms.

“…it is not

that I have been particularly searching…it`s just that…since long ago…I have

been concerned…before I even knew it…they disappeared…”

“So it was

true. Wait. So it was someone from the palace, and on top of that had access to

the royal family`s residence?”

Chouka

answered in a quiet voice. “I was worried he might have tottered off and

collapsed somewhere…”

At those

last words, Ryuuki sighed, his breath a mist in the cold winter air.

“Wait, he`s

an old man? You`ve rejected all of the young men selected, but you`re okay with

that?

“Those men

have no shortcomings, so even if it is not me, surely other marriage partners

will approach them…but that person, since long ago he wanders around alone. No

one comes near him, and he sleeps in a tree. I do not even know if he eats

meals…”

Hmm.

Ryuuki

stroked his chin. Just as he and Kouyuu had thought, there was a man that

Chouka had stubbornly decided on in her heart…but they hadn`t thought it would

be some some, aloof and difficult to approach old man.

If he was inside the palace I

thought his social status would be quite high….but he sleeps in a tree…???

If she had

been going to elope, he had even prepared a fatherly speech, but he didn`t feel like saying it

to some old man.

“Because I

am concerned…if he is collapsed somewhere, I want to go pick him up. I will

search for him, and if I cannot find him anywhere, I will give up.”

“Across the

country?”

“Yes.”

The winter

wind blew, knocking back Chouka`s hood. Both her black hair and whispered voice

spiraled under the night sky.

“Because I

have never seen that person look happy…”

At those

words, Ryuuki`s heart pounded in his chest.

`The

Imperial Princess is leaving on a journey to care for some mysterious, strange,

old man`, it was definitely unexpected. But, it sounded more much compassionate

that `The Imperial Princess is leaving to search for a young man she fell in

love with at first sight`.

Ryuuki sighed, his breath white in the frozen air. He took a piece of paper out of

his inside pocket, and offered it to Chouka. It was something he had searched

for in Shuurei`s old chambers last night. The only ones besides himself that

were allowed to enter those rooms were Chouka and his three close associates.

“Even if I

am unable to return to the palace again, I will surely return to Father`s side

someday…”

After a

moment of hesitation, she accepted the paper from her father, grasping it in

her frozen hands. She placed it inside her luggage.

Chouka bowed

her head deeply to Ryuuki, in farewell.

Ryuuki

gently laid his hand on his daughter`s flowing black hair.

“When it`s important, you do speak properly. If other want to hear your voice, all they would have to do is speak to you enough…but it seems that there`s no one who will do so…”

Shuuei and

Seiran appeared from the dark forest, each leading a horse by its reins in the

snow. One was the chestnut brown horse

Chouka had hidden by the back gate. The other one was Ryuuki`s favorite horse.

“Chouka, I`m

just about to leave myself. If you insist on going, shall we go together?”

Chouka

raised her face, puzzled. She finally realized that her father was in traveling

clothes, and wearing a sword. She looked next at Shuuei and Seiran, leading the

horses. In that moment, she paled, feeling both fear and anxiety.

“…Father,

you are leaving at daybreak? Where to? Is there some large problem?”

“No. I just

remembered something, so I`m going to visit an acquaintance. By the way, I also

don`t know where the person I`m looking for is, so I can`t tell you where I`m

going. Just like you, I`m going to try looking all over the country. It will be

my first long vacation.”

“L…long…that,

saying it so suddenly….and what about your attendants…?”

When he

pointed at Shuuei and Seiran, Chouka`s face fell. Ryuuki supposed that the two

of them might be hurt to see that expression on her face. Well, after all,

Ryuuki himself would soon be fifty. The pair`s age was better left unsaid.

“Unlike the

Imperial Princess who is escaping by herself, I`m doing it rather properly, am

I not?”

“Saying such

a thing…”

His daughter

put thoughts of her own escape aside, and started to fidget.

“Please…w…wait.

What about Kouyuu ojisan? Would it be alright to go call him?” [4]

“It`s okay,

but I`m not bringing Kouyuu with me. If I did, rather than going to visit my acquaintance, it would become a trip to find Kouyuu. Also, he already knows that I`m

leaving the palace.”

Chouka, who

appeared to have completely forgotten about running away, held her fist tightly

against her chest.

“Are you…abdicating…?”

“No”, Ryuuki

said. His daughter’s eyes showed her relief.

It was a

strange feeling. His reign had not gone smoothly, there had been countless

blunders, and he had many regrets. If anything, Riou was more popular than

himself. If he was to transfer his authority, and abdicate the throne, there

shouldn`t be any problem. But when he looked at his retainers` faces, he couldn`t bring himself

to say the words. Particularly when he looked at Kouyuu.

“It seems that you`re about to refuse me in this cold. As for the throne, Riou shall be

acting in my stead. Kouyuu will do everything else well. Just like you, I`ve

been preparing since spring for this, you see.”

“A

vacation…if it is a vacation…then I think it is alright…” with her head down,

Chouka whispered the same words that Kouyuu had spoken.

Is it really alright? Ryuuki wondered.

Riou, to

whom this would all come as a big surprise, would probably yell out something

different this morning.

“Your escort is someone chosen by Kouyuu, and

he`s young, so there`s no need to worry. He should assist you on your journey,

so it`s alright for you to go off without me.”

All Kouyuu

had said was, “I`ve already asked him”. Where he would meet with Chouka, or

whether he would just shadow her on her path and help her when necessary,

Ryuuki didn`t have the slightest clue. He hadn`t even thought about it.

“While I`m

looking for my acquaintance, I`m going to visit Shouka and Ouki`s graves….and

I`ve never been to Mount Kou or Brown Province before, so I thought I`d make an

excursion out of it. I`ve been to Nine Colored Cove before

though.” [5]

When he went

to grab his horse’s reins, Chouka quickly grabbed Ryuuki`s sleeve.

“I…I will

come with you.”

“Is that so?

Do as you wish. I`ll be leaving the palace, and leaving the imperial city

henceforth. If Shuuei and Seiran get hungry, I`ll teach them which grasses are edible, so it should be alright.”

Shuuei and Seiran peevishly grabbed

their own military horses.

“If this parent child combo who know

nothing about the world were to leave the palace on their own, they`d never

come back!”, Shuuei smiled slightly.

“These two

would be so unaware of their surroundings that they`d take a stroll to a

bandit`s campfire,” Seiran added.

Ryuuki

frowned at the mean comments. Revenge wasn`t gentlemanly.

“Shuuei, it

seems that girls won`t just give us money if we stand on the side of the road any more. We have to find some other way to

earn it.”

“No, I`m definitely

opposed to that!”

And thus a

fight started between the two, while Ryuuki and Chouka carried on with their

conversation.

Chouka`s

luggage was tied to the chestnut brown horse, and in the middle of it was her

erhu.

“Are you

bringing your erhu?…You won`t earn any traveling expenses with your playing,

you know,” Ryuuki said.

Seiran got

hit with a snowball.

“…I do not

think Father`s koto would receive any money from anyone either…,” Chouka

impertinently replied. “….I may play poorly, but you once told me that it would

be sad if you could never hear it again…Father`s koto may be extremely poor as

well, but I also believe it would be sad to never hear it again…”

Ryuuki had

not thought about such things, as there was no koto in his luggage. He had

cared for Ouki`s timeworn koto, and left in his chambers.

“…moreover,

the person I am searching for….I wonder if he was unskilled in the past as

well. He once told me that I should go play for Father…so matter what, I will

bring it…”

“…exactly

who is this man? You don`t even know his name?”

“In the

past…when I spoke to Sou ojiisan , he broke into laughter and told me his name.

However, he told me not to tell anyone….so I will not tell Father.” [6]

“If he`s Sou

Taifu`s acquaintance, he must be a pretty old man. I was at least expecting my son-in-law to be younger than me…He must be senile…wait a second, is he even still alive???”

An icicle hit the side of his head. Seiran, Shuuei, Ryuuki and Chouka looked around, trying to find who had thrown it. The icicle had been tossed from right near them.

Chouka

grabbed the reins of her horse.

“Father…who

is it that you are going to meet?”

“Let`s see,

who is it, I wonder. I can`t recall, but he definitely existed. If I`m getting

up from my chair, I thought I would take the opportunity to try to find him.”

Ryuuki

turned his head, catching a view of the imperial court. The Sentoukyuu shone under

the moonlight. He had forgotten for a long time. The person who had sneered and

called him a discarded pawn, the person whose face he had forgotten. He had

begun preparations for the journey to accompany Chouka, when he had suddenly

remember that person`s existence. That `someone` who had disappeared from the

palace, Ryuuki genuinely felt that he wanted to go meet them.

As Ryuuki

climbed in his horse’s saddle, he recalled an old memory. When he was twenty

one years old he had run away from Yuushun and the palace, and Sou Taifu had

stopped the looming Son Ryouou. Jyuusan-hime had sent him off from his

chambers. He had fled the imperial city under the cover of the darkness of snow with Shuuei and a handful of guards…

The snow had

continued to fall until last night. Dawn had yet to break. In the middle of the

silver world, Ryuuki looked towards the night sky above and heaved a deep sigh.

Shuuei was

on horseback behind Ryuuki on his left-side. Seiran was waiting at the back

gate.

Chouka

climbed onto her small chestnut horse. The current Minister of the Ministry of

War, Jyuusan-hime, had taught her horseback riding from a young age. Thanks to

that training, Chouka was an alright rider.

“Shall we

go, Chouka? On my long, long, vacation?”

Ryuuki took

hold of the reins, and his horse, stepping on the snow, began to trot. Shuuei

was following behind him on his left, and after they passed the back gate,

Seiran joined on his right. Chouka followed earnestly between Shuuei and

Seiran.

Ryuuki

looked back once. Below the night sky, watching from above the palace gate, his Prime Minister was kneeling with his feathered fan.

During his

painful youth, when he had fled the palace to the Nine Colored Cove, Yuushun

had seen him off.

Toward his

current Prime Minister, and his friend Kouyuu, he waved his hand.

This time,

Ryuuki smiled.

TRANSLATION NOTES

[1] The Enlightened Ones Ministry is the governmental department associated with the Sentoukyuu. I`ve looked to see what other translators have done this as, and the general consensus is `lol who knows, it`s a made up thing`. Sooo yeah.

[2]

I`ve decided that I want to keep some of the original Japanese in here.

So going forth, Seiran will now address Shuurei as `Ojousama`, which

means mistress/my lady.

[3] Kou Kanshou is not related to either the Kou (red) or Kou (yellow) families. In the novels he is a young man in the miltary that is highly praised for his archery. He is never pictured in the novels, but in the anime I believe the character who goes with Shuuei and Shuurei to Brown Province is intended to be him. I`d need to rewatch to double check that though.

[4] Kouyuu ojisan is yet another term of Japanese address I`m leaving in. Translates to Uncle Kouyuu.

[5] Nine Colored Cove is Kyuusaikou. This is the place where Ryuuki & co go during the later half of the second season.

[6] Sou ojiisan is another term of Japanese address. Translates to Grandfather Sou. Chouka is referring to Sou Taifu, who is now retired.

Not numbered, but @abrownfeminist said I should include:

Chouka`s speech patterns. Chouka didn`t say much until this chapter, so it was difficult to get a grasp on how exactly she should talk. Chouka speaks very hesitantly, and rather formally, compared to Ryuuki and the others. To reflect that, she will not use contracted speech in my translations. (I`ll go back and edit the previous chapter, in case she uses contractions in her like three sentences there.)

WHALIN THOUGHTS

This section is so anime, man. Ryuuki confronting Chouka under the stars, the silver snow, the white breath, the wind in Chouka`s hair….ugh so many feels.

I was so worried about Ryuuki in the beginning of this story, there was no life left in him. But in this chapter more than ever, we can see glimpses of the old Ryuuki. We also get more insight into his parenting, which has me much more reassured than I was during (Chouka). The love between Ryuuki and Chouka is deep, and though he might not express it properly, Ryuuki has clearly put a great deal of thought into how he should raise Chouka.

Part of what makes this series so great to me is how it manages to balance tragedy and comedy, and that was definitely a theme in this section.

The next part of the story will cover about half of the remaining story, so I`m sure that shit is going to go down.

Will Ryuuki and Chouka find the men they`re searching for? Will Shuuei and Seiran still be able to get money from women just from loitering on the side of the road? Will we meet this unknown escort? WILL WE EVER FIND OUT WHAT`S INSIDE SHUUREI`S LETTER?????

Stay tuned for the next part of Flower of Winter to find out ;D