200話 記憶
「しっかりしろ!」
の演奏を止めるわけにはいかないので、雨妹たちは演奏が聴こえる範囲で離れた場所へ移動する。
「なにがあった?」
が短く問うのに、明がまるで上司に対面しているかのように背筋を伸ばした。
「は、この東が琵琶師を見たいというので、見える位置に移動したところでこのようになったのです」
雨妹はこの報告を聞きながら、東の様子を診る。
「ヒュッ、ヒュッ!」
東は上手く呼吸ができないようで、息苦しそうに蹲っていた。
「過呼吸を起こしているみたいですね。
雨妹が深呼吸を誘導すると、東はすぐには出来ずに咳き込む。
「焦らなくてもいいですからね、吐いて吐いてぇ~吸ってぇ~」
それでも雨妹は急かさないように気を付けて、根気強く語りかけていると、東は次第に呼吸がちゃんとできるようになってくる。
雨妹は誘導しなくても東がきちんと呼吸できるようになったのを見計らい、語りかける。
「落ち着きましたか?
こう問われて、東は改めて呼吸をする以外のことに意識が行ったようだ。
「あの、ここは、どうして、私は......」
東は混乱するように切れ切れに言葉を紡ぐと、青い顔をしてキョロキョロと周囲を見回す。
なにかを訴えたいようだが、考えていることに口が追い付いてないらしい。
――これは、一旦落ち着かないと話は無理っぽいな。
東の心になんらかの変化があったのは確かなようだが、情報過多のせいで混乱しているように見えた。
「東さん、大丈夫ですから、ほら、今はあの琵琶の音だけを聴いていましょう」
雨妹はそう告げると、持っている頭巾用の布で東の目のあたりを覆って視界を遮る。
一旦目から入る情報を遮断して、落ち着かせようと思ったのだ。
「ああ、この琵琶の音だ......」
東の身体から、ふっと力が抜けた。
杜と明もこちらのやり取りを聞いていたらしく、東と同じように黙って琵琶の演奏に耳を傾ける。
そしてしばらくして、杜が口を開いた。
あの琵琶師が一番会いたいと願う者のことを、たとえ幽鬼になり果てていたとしても会わせてほしいと」
杜の東に語りかけるようでもあり、独り言のようでもあるその言葉に、東の肩がビクリと跳ねる。
雨妹は思う。
記憶を失った東が徐の恋人であるならば、この心を震わせる琵琶の音が、記憶の奥底で眠っている心に響かないなんてことが、あるはずがない。
雨妹はそんな確信と、願いを込めて東に問いかけた。
そう呟いた東の目元にあてられた布が、じわっと濡れ出す。
雨妹がそうっと布を外すと、東は泣いていた。
「今なら答えられるだろう、お前は誰だ?」
杜の質問に、東は泣き顔のままじっと廟がある方を見つめたまま、答を紡いだ。
、商家に婿に入るはずだった男です」
東――いや、朱の答えに、雨妹は杜と目を合わせて頷き合う。
――やっぱり、そうだった!
朱仁とは、徐の実家に婿入りをするとされていた男の名である。
謎がひとつ明らかになってひそかに興奮する雨妹だが、杜による朱への問いは続く。
「朱とやらよ、そなたはこれまでなにをしておったのだ?」
そう己に発せられる杜の声になにかを感じたのか、朱が涙を乱雑に拭って姿勢を正す。
Chapter 200: Memories
"Get a grip!"
They couldn't make a fuss and stop Xu's performance, so they moved towards a place far from the area of the performance.
"What happened?"
Du curtly asked, and Ming straightened up as if he's facing his boss.
"Yes, Dong wanted to watch the lute musician perform, so we moved to a place where he could see her better, then this happened."
Yui Mei listened to the report while checking Dong's condition.
"Haah, haah!"
Dong crouched while painfully gasping for breath.
"He's hyperventilating. We have to calm Dong and make him breathe easier."
Yui Mei instructed him to take a deep breath, but Dong soon coughed, unable to do so.
"No need to hurry, exhale, exhale~ inhale~ inhale."
Even so, Yui Mei patiently talked to Dong and cautioned him not to hurry, and finally, the man's breathing gradually eased up.
Once Dong could breathe on his own even without Yui Mei's guidance, she spoke to him.
"Did you calm down? Why did you suddenly feel sick, Mr. Dong?"
Dong seemed to have regained his senses, aside from properly breathing.
"Ah, this is... why am I..."
Dong was still confused. The words tumbled out of his mouth with difficulty, his face ashen as he looked around him.
It seemed as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't put his thoughts into words.
'Looks like we won't be able to talk unless he completely calms down.'
It was obvious that something changed within Dong, but he must be disoriented because of information overload.
"Mr. Dong, it's alright, don't worry, just listen to the sound of the lute."
Yui Mei said while covering Dong's eyes with the head scarf that she always bring with her.
She wanted to calm him down by reducing the information he got from the things he saw around him.
"Ahh, this is it... This is the lute's sound..."
Dong's body flopped down, as if all energy just drained out of him.
Du and Ming were listening to their exchange, and they also quietly listened to the lute.
After a while, Du broke his silence.
"Doesn't it seem like the lute's music is beckoning? Sounds like that lute musician wants to summon the most important person to her, even if he is already a ghost."
Du sounded like he was mumbling to himself, but Dong's shoulders flinched when he heard those words.
Yui Mei fell into thought.
If Dong, the guy who had amnesia, turned out to be the Xu's lover, then there's no way the sound of lute wouldn't resonate within him, triggering the memories sleeping deep within him.
With such wishful thinking mixed with conviction, Yui Mei tried to ask Dong.
Dong muttered in response to Yui Mei, and as he spoke, the cloth fell off from his eyes.
Yui Mei pulled it gently, only to see that Dong was crying underneath.
"You can probably answer this now. Who are you?"
Du asked, and in response, Dong, with tears still streaming down his face, answered.
"I am Zhu Ren, the man who was supposed to marry into the merchant's family."
Yui Mei and Du exchanged glances and nodded when they heard Dong -- no, Zhu's answer.
'Right, we're right all along!'
Zhu Ren was the name of the man who was supposed to become the son-in-law of the Xu family.
Yui Mei was inwardly hyped up with the revelation to one of the mysteries that puzzled her. Meanwhile, Du interrogated the man.
"You who are called Zhu, what have you been doing until now?"
Perhaps he sensed something from the powerful way that Du addressed him, Zhu's tears and confusion were wiped away from his face as he straightened his back.
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