133話 宮妓の事情
そんな話はともかくとして。
がそう問うと、しかし楊は首を横に振る。
「宮妓は教坊の管轄だからねぇ」
雨妹の華流ドラマ知識だと、教坊とは宮妓に歌舞を教えたり、管理したりする組織である。
ここでも宮妓はそこで統率されているようだ。
――なら、また偶然会うことを待つしかないのかぁ。
雨妹がそう考えていると。
「けれど、その宮妓とやらに心当たりがないこともないね」
楊がそんなことを言った。「そうなんですか?」
雨妹が目を丸くするのに、楊が頷きながら近くから椅子を引っ張ってきて隣に座る。
「それが、皇帝陛下がお気に入りの琵琶の弾き手がいるんだけれどね。
楊はそう語ると、卓に置いてある白湯を自分で茶器に注いで飲む。
「琵琶、ですか」
雨妹はそう呟くと「ふむ」と顎に手を当てる。
琵琶とは前世のギターに似た弦楽器である。
琵琶の弾き手であれば、あの皮の厚い指も説明がつくというものだ。
「へぇ、陛下のお気に入りってことは、なかなかの立場じゃないか。
これまたごもっともな指摘である。
「その噂の人は体調が前々から悪くて休みがちだったのが、とかじゃなくて、急にぱったり見なくなったんですか?」
雨妹の質問に、楊が頷く。
「そうさね。その宮妓が小妹が言う風湿病とやらだとしたら、これも納得だ。
楊がそう言って「ほう」と息を吐く。
――む~ん、そういうことかぁ。
なんとなく見えてきた状況に、雨妹は「それにしても」と考える。
皇帝もお気に入りの楽師となれば、普通に考えればかなりの美貌の持ち主か、かなりの名手かであろう。
けれどこう言っては失礼というか、雨妹に言われたくはないだろうが、あの宮妓は上等な美貌の主ではない人だった。
一方で皇帝好みの地味顔とも、微妙に路線が違う。
地味顔にも種類があるのだ。
――あの人、そんなにすごい楽師なのかぁ。
前世から音楽の素養のない雨妹には、その良し悪しはさっぱりわからないのだが、その音を聞いてみたくはある。
なにせ音楽とは、前世みたいにスピーカーからいつでも流れてくるものではなく、目の前に楽師を呼ばないと聴けない貴重な経験なのだから。
そんなに風湿病が酷いのだろうか?
もし軽度ならば、治療に励んで再び琵琶をとってもらいたいものだ。
そんな会話をした、翌日。
雨妹はその日も同じ場所を掃除していた。
というか、しばらくここの掃除担当である。
そして、今日もこんもりと集まった落ち葉を処分するためにごみを捨てに行く。
「あ!」
雨妹は思わず声を上げる。
ごみ捨て場には、昨日と同じようにあの女がいたのだ。
ボーッと宙を見ていた彼女は、雨妹の姿に気付くと立ち上がった。
「待っていたよ、アンタをさ」
昨日は不機嫌にさせて別れたので、雨妹とは会いたくないだろうと思っていた。
「芋の礼を言おうと思って。
この女の話に、雨妹は眉をひそめる。
言い方としては「おやつとして美味しかった」という響きではないように聞こえる。
「なにせここのところ、ロクなものを食べていなかったから」
今、とうてい聞き過ごせないことを耳にしたのだが。
「......あなたは聞くところによると、皇帝陛下お気に入りの琵琶師ではないのですか?」
「弾けない楽師は、ただの役立たずさ」
Chapter 133
That topic should be set aside for now.
Yang shook her head at Yui Mei's query.
"The court courtesans are under the jurisdiction of the Jiaofang, after all."
Based on what she knew about Chinese dramas, Jiaofang referred to the institution of ancient Chinese dance and music in charge of teaching and managing the courtesans.
The courtesans in this place were also governed by them, apparently.
'In that case, there's nothing I can do but wait, maybe we can meet again coincidentally, I guess.'
That was what Yui Mei thought.
"Still, I don't really have any idea who that court courtesan is."
"Is that so?"
Yang said those words, and Yui Mei's eyes widened at her response. Yang nodded before pulling a nearby chair. She sat down next to Yui Mei.
"Well, there's a pipa player that is favored by the emperor. She never appeared in banquets again, so people are speculating about what happened to her, and it has become a rumor."
Yang poured herself some hot water from the kettle on top of the table and drank it.
"Pipa, huh."
Yui Mei muttered, before putting her hand on her chin in contemplation.
The pipa was a stringed instrument similar to the guitar of her previous world.
If she's a pipa player then that would explain the calluses on her fingers.
"Heh, she must be good if the emperor likes her. So, you said she's alone in the dumping site? How odd."
What she pointed out was quite reasonable.
"Maybe the rumored person wasn't sick for a long time, requiring her to be absent, but she just suddenly disappeared?"
Yang nodded at Yui Mei's question.
"I suppose so. If that courtesan had that feng shi bing sickness that Xiao Mei mentioned, then it'll be understandable. A first-class performer will never want to expose her wretched state."
Yang sighed after saying those words.
'Mmm, so that's how it is...'
The situation finally made some sense, but Yui Mei didn't feel settled.
If she was the emperor's favorite musician, she must have been quite a beauty, or else excellent at her job.
However -- Yui Mei knew this was such a rude thing, and of course it didn't seem appropriate for her to even think about it -- that girl wasn't even that beautiful.
It was even different from the plain faces that the emperor preferred.
There were also different kinds of being homely.
'Is that person really an excellent musician?'
Yui Mei wasn't talented in music even in her previous life, so she wouldn't be able to distinguish what's great and what's not. Nevertheless, she still wanted to hear her play.
It's because listening to music here was considered to be a precious experience that one could only have by inviting a musician, unlike in her previous world where speakers blared all kinds of music any time.
She wondered whether her arthritis was that bad.
If it was mild, she hoped that she would try her best to recover so she could play the pipa once again.
It was the day after their conversation.
Yui Mei was also cleaning the same spot for today.
Maybe it was more appropriate to say that she was assigned to this place for the meantime.
And just like that day, she also gathered the leaves, and she went to the dumping site in order to dispose them.
"Ah!"
Yui Mei unwittingly raised her voice in alarm.
The woman from yesterday was there again.
She was staring blankly into space, but she stood up when Yui Mei's figure caught her eye.
"Hey, I was waiting for you."
Yui Mei had angered her yesterday, prompting her to leave in a huff. Yui Mei thought she didn't want to see her again.
"I came here to give thanks for the sweet potato. I felt full thanks to that."
Yui Mei scrunched her brows at the woman's words.
It didn't seem like the woman was thanking her for a tasty snack.
"There's no decent food around here after all."
Yui Mei heard something that she couldn't ignore by all means.
"...I asked around about you... are you perhaps the emperor's favorite musician they were talking about?"
"A musician who can't play is just a worthless thing."
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