155話 掃除の続き
そんな話し合いを繰り返した、翌日。
は再び教坊に来ていた。
なにしろ雨妹に教坊の掃除を指示されているのは続行中で、昨日やり損ねた掃除の続きをやらねばならないのだ。
ここが掃除困難案件になりかけている事実は変わりないのだから。
――なんか、ここに来たばっかりの頃を思い出すよね。
百花宮に入ったばかりでは、先輩宮女である
梅
――まあ、あの人はあの人で必死なんだろうけどねぇ。
ただ、今まで妃嬪になれていないのだから、やり方を変えて頑張ってみればいいのに、梅にはそうした考えがないらしい。
妃嬪になりたいけれど、努力はしたくない。
それが梅であるようだ。
そんな昔話はともかくとして。
雨妹は今日は掃除を進めようと、「よし!」と気合を入れる。
掃除の邪魔になる例の臭いだが、臭い対策はバッチリしてきた。
鼻に布を小さく裂いたものを詰めて、その上からマスク布をしているのである。
というわけで、雨妹は自分が任された敷地の端からはたきで埃を落とし、それを掃き集めていっていると、ふとどこからかざわざわと騒ぐ声がしたので動きを止める。
「なんだろう?」
気になった雨妹が声のする方を窺っていると、離れた場所にある回廊を黒っぽい格好をした複数の男たちがぞろぞろと歩いている姿が見えた。
――教坊に宦官がなんの用かなぁ?
それに見慣れない服装である彼らを見て、雨妹が「はて、どこの誰だろう?」と観察していると、彼らは通りざまに教坊の部屋の戸や扉を次々に開けていく。
「きゃあ!?」
「なんなの!?」
開けたのは宮妓の部屋だったらしく、中から女の悲鳴が聞こえてくる。
「抵抗をするな、抵抗をする者は罪を犯した者とみなす」
その騒ぎの中、黒い男たちの内の一人がそう告げた。
声は決して大きく怒鳴るようではないのに、妙に耳に響く声である。
「我々は刑部である。
――あの人たち、刑部の人なの!?
刑部とは宮城の組織で、前世で言うところの警察組織である。
こう言うと、では突然教坊へ現れた彼らは捜査を行いにきたのかと考えてしまうが、そこは少々事情が異なる。
雨妹の華流ドラマ知識だと、現場の調査などは兵士や近衛、百花宮内ならば敷地を警邏する宦官などがやるべき仕事であり、刑部はそこで捕えられた犯罪者の身柄を引き受けた後で取り調べることが仕事であったはずなのだ。
つまり、刑部自らがこうして現場に出て捜査をするなんてことは、あまりないことではないだろうか?
事実、雨妹はこれまで刑部の所属という人を見たことがなかった。
先程「抵抗をするな」と呼びかけた男である。
彼はまだ年若く、
Chapter 155
It was the day after Yang and Yui Mei's conversation.
Yui Mei returned to Jiaofang once again.
In any case, she was still in the midst of her job order, and she had to continue the work she left yesterday and clean the place.
There was still the matter of difficulties experienced when having this place cleaned.
'Kinda reminds me of when I first came here.'
She recalled how she had to clean all the mansions that Mei, her superior court lady, had abandoned even though she just entered the Hundred Blossom Palace.
By the way, the frequency of her encountering Mei had decreased recently.
'That girl's desperate, after all.'
She could've just done her best with her job since she still hadn't become a concubine until now, but Mei didn't have that kind of thought, apparently.
She wanted to be a concubine, but she didn't want to exert effort.
That's the kind of person Mei was.
Anyway, let's just set aside this talk of the past.
Yui Mei cheered herself, determined to make progress with cleaning.
She came prepared to deal with the stinky smell that hindered her cleaning before.
She placed a cloth that she ripped over her nose before putting the mask on it.
Suddenly, she heard a buzzing noise, as if somebody was kicking up a fuss from somewhere, so she stopped what she was doing.
'What is that?'
Yui Mei was bothered by the noise, so she decided to take a peep. A few guys clad in black were moving in groups in the corridor a short distance away from where she was.
'What are these eunuchs doing in Jiaofang?'
She quietly observed, when they suddenly began opening the doors of the Jiaofang rooms as they passed by.
"Kyaahh!?"
"What!?"
Apparently, they opened the rooms of the courtesans, and women's shrieks resounded.
"Do not resist, anyone who resists will be considered as criminals."
One of the men in black said so.
He didn't even yell, but for some reason, his voice resounded throughout the place.
"We are from the Ministry of Justice. Be quiet, we will leave once we are done with the investigation."
'Eh, so those guys are from the Ministry of Justice!?'
The Ministry of Justice was an organizational branch of the imperial palace, and it could be compared to the police organization of her previous life.
In that case, it might be natural to think that these guys suddenly came to Jiaofang in order to conduct an investigation, but this situation might be a little weird.
Based on Yui Mei's knowledge of Chinese dramas, investigation of the crime scene should be done by the soldiers and imperial guards, and if the crime occured within the Hundred Blossom Palace, it should be the eunuchs who do this job. The Ministry of Justice was supposed to be in charge of taking custody of the criminals that were caught and interrogating them.
In short, wasn't it unusual for the Ministry of Justice to appear at the crime scene and conduct an investigation?
Actually, Yui Mei had never seen anyone affiliated with the Ministry of Justice until now.
It was the person who called out earlier, saying 'Do not resist'.
He was young, probably around the same age as Libin.
Housekeeper of the Hundred Blossom Palace
百花宮のお掃除係～転生した新米宮女、後宮のお悩み解決します。
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/housekeeper-of-the-hundred-blossom-palace/
Fantasy Romance Shoujo Slice of Life
Adapted to Manga Ancient China Complex Family Relationships Different Social Status Female Protagonist Imperial Harem Love Interest Falls in Love First Reincarnated in Another World Royalty
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4104ev/
黒辺あゆみ