Life of a Court Lady Page #2

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have her second baby.

But the baby that she bore

was not that of the Lords.

Before Shijo had become

the lover of the lord

there was another man who

devoted himself to Shijo.

The baby she was to have was the child of this

man who she met in secret, away from the Lord.

Shijo's maidens called him the chief

councilor of Fogs before sunrise.

It was a pure coincience.

Shijo, lying to the Lord,

was at the child bearing place

of this Fog before sunrise.

It was the God's will

For each long night

with beasts fi lled with milk

she must mourn her baby's lonely trip.

I have an idea

Everybody, do not say a word

about how the baby passed away

From the monks who prayed for a healthy birth

to the girls who took care of things,

you must not tell anybody outside of this.

Alright.

Let's prepare for the celebrations.

The long awaited baby has been born

into the Saienji family.

A baby?

A baby was born?

A baby was born into the Saienji family

A crime...

this body is for the lord himself...

You must not fall asleep

You must not fall asleep!

You musn't! Put strength into your stomach.

Breath deeply!

Ms. Shiho, a girl!

How is the water?

Tell the messanger in the back to be ready to

leave at any moment.

Bring a warm blanket.

The baby...

to the palace?

It is for the baby.

As a mother, one must wish only for

the best for their child.

Once the Lord sees this child,

what would he say?

To even try to say that a child so round and

grown was born premature,

He would see through such a lie.

Yes,

I am aware we can't do such a thing.

Even without that,

I do not know what to say to the Lord.

It is a curse of brutal punishment.

But,

Instead of holding onto compassion and

causing a scene which can't be dealt with,

a swift and quick farewell to the baby is...

It's been about twenty days.

Why don't you brush off the filth of birth

and take a walk around the garden?

We have already sent word to the Lord that the

Princess has passed away.

If you remain so gloomy, I will not know

what to do if the Lord comes to visit.

A messanger from the mansion has

just arrived with sad news.

The Prince...

The Prince has just passed away.

The Prince?

From the day before he had a cough and his

young body didn't stop shivering,

and today in the morning his eyes turned

hollow, and by the afternoon he passed away.

Oh, even the Prince, suffered from

what his mother deserved.

Such painful words.

child, forgive me.

Your mother was the one who should

have gone to the heavens.

When the wind blows,

the bandits of flowers pour over the boulders

and painfully cross rivers of the mountain.

Shijo often thought how nice it would be

to abandon the ways of the world

Iike Priest Seigyou did.

The mother of our Lord hardly

looks like she turned 60.

I'll say. She still looks so young.

Oh, it was a fun celebration.

I am completely drunk.

Of course you are.

Your lover the Lieutenant General

with his marvelous singing.

Even our masterful Lord was surprised.

Anyway, Ms.Shijo was so beautifully decorated.

What did you think?

Showing off the devoted love

she gets from the Lord.

When they went to see Omiyain she

accompanied the Lord in his cart.

There were people saying,

"Here comes the Empress,"

but Ms.Shijo pretended like she didn't hear.

It's understandable that doing such things

makes the Empress jealous

and causes her to treat her harshly.

I kept Shijo close by my side

since she was four years old,

and since I raised her like my own she

understands all my feelings

and can act upon them before I even ask.

Because of that I frequently

have her accompany me,

but the gossipy folks who told

the empress of about this

have recently begun to harshly criticize her.

Is that so?

Her mother was the late Sukenodai.

As I am sure you know.

Oh, her daughter.

I do remember.

She was a beautiful person.

I do recall you had a strong liking for

her when you were young.

Now that you mention it,

she does look a lot like her.

Her father the chief councilor Masatada

had recently passed away,

so now I am like her father in many ways.

So, Shijo

this saintly man is a brother of mine,

though our mothers are different.

Sir Ajari, please keep Shijo

in mind from here on.

By the Lords whim I have to deliver this

letter to Sir Masano ltsukinomiya,

and at first I thought it would be a dreary errand,

but once I left, for no reason my feelings

brightened and I feel lifted.

Who is Sir ltsukinomiya?

Mei, you don't even know that?

She is an imperial princess who

served at lse Shrine.

Very pure hearted. I met her once when I was

very young, so I feel really nostalgic.

They're the Monks of the Dancing Nembutsu.

They've just arrived from the capital.

Monks of the Dancing Nembutsu?

It's their teaching, that regardless of

whether one has a strong belief,

as long as you keep chanting Lord Amida's

name you are guaranteed a passage to heaven.

So it's different from the teachings

of the monks on Mt. Ei?

I would not know much about that,

but the Tendai sect and the Shingen sect's

teachings are both for a respectable class

people such as you and our Lord.

The Dancing chanters sect teaches that even

beggars can also achieve passage to heaven.

You seem to know quite a bit, Mei.

What is the matter?

That monk looks unnaturally similar to Sir Ajari.

And maybe my eyes are mistaken,

but it seems his eyes are red.

"Though it is unknown the moment one sees a

visage, it flings the heart up"

I just returned from a long service at lse Shrine.

I know nothing of society.

How should I respond to such a song?

Furthermore, though our mothers are different,

I share the same father with my Lord.

The fi rst response ought

to be words that compliment.

But I was told the lord loves you

more dearly than anything else.

You have some wonderful scrolls.

Your Father had helped a lot with my

preparations when I was going to lse.

Though only vaguely I do remember

the time when you were born as well.

I was about five or six.

Your father got drunk and was happily dancing

after being spoken to by the lords.

It has been alreadythree years since

he has passed away.

Even at lse such news was hard to come by.

It must have been nice to play and catch sun

bathed crabs by the beautiful cove.

Such times were only sparse

But we did travel the sutra's by boat to the cove

of Futami, Toushino island, Gosenno island, and

Toru islands.

We picked the codium in Gosenno to give as

gifts to the gods,

and at Toru we passed under rocks

that spread above like roofs,

watching the fish dancing about

under the shimmering waves,

and enjoyed such plays that are different from

those one finds in the city.

It is also a place that Priest Seigyou has a

connection with too.

I have always kept it in my heart

to visit there someday.

Mother, you are looking well.

Today you seem even brighter than usual,

which fills me with delight.

My Lord also seems well.

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