159話 取り調べ初体験
「これからとる調書は刑部の外に出ることはなく、お前の話は誰にも伝わらないと約束しよう」
最初に、男がまるで宣誓のように告げる。
――っていうか、早速調書取りを始めるのか。
は「せっかちだなぁ」と思うものの、だからといってこれからこの男と世間話をしろと言われても、話す内容に困るかもしれない。
彼は果たして医療談義と食べ物談義に付き合ってくれるだろうか?
そんなことを考える雨妹に、男が早速問う。
「お前の名は?」
いつもは偉い人に名乗るのをためらう雨妹だが、ここで黙ったり嘘をついたりするのは余計ないざこざを招くので、素直に名乗る。
雨妹の名を聞いて男は一瞬眉を上げたものの、それだけだ。
どうやら男は「張雨妹」の名前に憶えがありそうである。
そして男の方は名乗らず、もしかしてそのあたりも機密事項なのかもしれない。
――潜入捜査とかのために、名前をたくさん持っていたりして。
妄想が止まらない雨妹であったが、すぐに次に質問に移った。
「では、あの臭い物体を見つけた経緯は?」
これにも素直に答えるつもりではあるものの、気になったことを先に尋ねる。
「あの、報告された先から聞かされたのではないのですか?」
そう、臭いについて知っていたということは、太子側からの情報提供があったはずなのだ。
ではあちらから一通りの話を聞いているはずであろう。
この疑問に、男はジロッと睨んできたものの、答えてくれた。
「人からの伝聞ほど疑わしいものはないので、情報としての価値がない」
バッサリとそう断じた男に、今度は雨妹が「なるほど」と頷く。
――録音とか録画なんて技術はないから、情報伝達には伝言ゲームをするしかないんだもんねぇ。
それはさぞかし正しい情報の入手には苦労しそうである。
そして男は、伝言ゲームの参加者を極力減らしたいわけだ。
納得したところで、雨妹はここでも太子や楊に話したのと同じ内容を再び繰り返す。
「......それで、危ないことになりそうだと思って、知り合いを頼りに太子宮へ行ったんです」
雨妹があの日の一連の流れを話し終える。
知識の出所については、例のように「辺境で旅人から聞いたことがある」で押し通した。
辺境の旅人は、博識な人が多いという事にしてほしい。
この点に、男は「そうか」とだけ言って特に追及せず、筆を持って紙に視線を落とす。
「掃除が丁寧にされているかどうかで、臭いの道がわかると。
男は紙に筆を走らせながら、ブツブツと呟いて思考を整理しているようだ。
――なんか、刑事ドラマの捜査会議みたい!
雨妹のミーハー気分がひっそりと爆発していると、廊下をバタバタと歩く足音がしたかと思ったら。
バァン!
聞き覚えのある声と共に、部屋の戸が音を立てて開く。
その戸の前に立っていたのは、
どうやら彼は、近衛に変身してこなかったらしい。
「こら雨妹、なにをやらかして刑部行きになったのだお前は!?」
そして何故だか叱られた。
どうも雨妹が刑部に捕まったと思われているようなので、そこを修正しておく。
「立彬様、ここへ連行されるのが決まっていたのは徐さんで、私はその付き添いです」
これを聞いて立彬は「付き添い?」と呟き眉をひそめた。
「そのような理由で刑部に来たがる輩がいるのか?」
そう声を漏らしつつ心底謎であるといった様子の立彬だが、生憎とそんな輩がここにいるのである。
Chapter 159
"Alright, I promise now that the report we're about to take will never leave the Ministry of Justice, and that your story will never be leaked."
The man's first words were something akin to swearing an oath.
'Or should I say, you're going to interview me right away? How impatient!'
Yui Mei inwardly thought; nevertheless, she still felt troubled about the topic they're going to talk to now that she had to engage in gossip with the man.
She wasn't sure whether this guy was willing to discuss medicine and food with her?
Those were her thoughts, when the man immediately posed a question.
"What's your name?"
Yui Mei normally refrained from naming herself when talking to VIP's, but she knew that things might get complicated if she were to lie or remain silent. Thus, she decided to just tell the truth.
The man raised a brow when he heard Yui Mei's name, but that was it.
Apparently, the man was familiar with the name "Chan Yui Mei".
The man didn't name himself, so maybe that was also confidential information.
'He probably used a lot of alias during infiltration missions or investigations.'
Yui Mei couldn't stop her wild thoughts, when the man promptly moved to the next question.
"Then, how did you discover that stinky thing?"
It was a query that she had to answer truthfully, but she couldn't help ask something that bothered her.
"Ahm, haven't you heard about it from where you got the information?"
Indeed, he should have come to know about this stinky object from the crown prince's side.
Then, he must've heard about the general story from them.
The man glared at her when she asked this, but he still answered.
"There's nothing more dubious than hearsay from other people, so there's no merit in it as information."
The man bluntly retorted. Yui Mei nodded her head in agreement.
'They don't have audio and video recordings, so they could only do it by info relay, I guess.'
In that case, it must've been very hard to obtain information that was certainly true.
The man wanted to lessen the participants in the info relay to the best of his ability, apparently.
Yui Mei understood, so she proceeded to repeat what she said to the crown prince and Yang.
"..And so, I think it might turn into something dangerous, so I relied on my acquaintance and went to the crown prince's palace."
Yui Mei finally finished talking about the matters that had transpired that day.
As for the source of her information, she tried to gloss over it by saying "I heard it from a traveling man in the borderland" as usual.
She just wanted to let it pass by making the impression that there were many traveling people with extensive knowledge in the borderland.
The man said "really" and didn't pursue it any further. He wrote with a brush, his eyes focused on the paper.
"She was properly cleaning, so she knew the way to the stench. We discovered several objects similar to that thing, but they were either thrown near the rooms, or else far away."
The man's brush glided over the paper as he mumbled while organizing his thoughts..
'Ooh, sounds like we're in an investigation meeting of a cop drama!'
Yui Mei's fangirl mood was quietly exploding, when they heard the sound of footsteps pattering down the hallway.
Bang!
A familiar voice resounded, and at the same time, the door opened with a bang.
The person standing in front of the door was no other than Libin.
He didn't change into his imperial guard uniform, apparently.
"Oy Yui Mei, what did you do to be taken into the penitentiary, huh!?"
Then she was scolded for some reason.
It seemed that he thought she had been captured and taken to the Ministry of Justice, so she corrected him.
"Lord Libin, it was decided that Miss Xu will be taken here, and I'm just here to accompany her."
Libin scrunched his brows when he heard that, then he muttered 'accompany?'
"Would anyone be willing to come to the penitentiary for such a reason?"
Libin muttered, thoroughly perplexed, but unfortunately for him, such a person did exist, and she was right in front of him.
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