が言うには、この両州の間に人の通行が困難な険しい山脈が挟まっているために直線での移動はできず、そこを回り道をするとかなりの遠距離となる。
「遠いということは、それだけ情報を得るのが難しいということ。
雨妹の例えに、杜は「そうさなぁ」と首を傾げる。
「結果は同じだろうが、理由が違うな。
「怖っ!」
雨妹はこれを聞いて、思わず腕を摩る。雨妹は前世でギリギリ戦後生まれな平和な日本で育ったし、辺境でもそうした類の命の危機を感じたことはない。
――私、国境じゃなくて辺境で育ってよかった!
雨妹は心底安堵する。自然相手の命の危機だって怖いが、人間相手の命の危機はなんだか嫌だ。
ようやく杜の目的が分かり、雨妹は納得顔になる。
どうもこれは、ただの徐の恋のお助け話では終わらないようだ。
「しかしなぁ、もし東が関係のない他人であれば、徐に期待を持たせるのも忍びない。
雨妹も頷いて「う~ん」と唸る。
東が本当に徐の恋人なのかはわからないので、そのあたりをぼかして徐に話をしなけれなならないのだ。
今現在、相当に気持ちをひねくれさせている徐であるので、ただ「琵琶を弾いてくれ」という願いを聞いてくれる可能性は、限りなく低い気がする。
こうして色々な話を聞いた雨妹だったが、とりあえず徐の風湿病は治る可能性が高い、という事実だけを確認したところで、杜は帰っていった。
徐がやる気になる方法を、なんとか考えてみるそうだ。
「う~ん、臭くないと掃除が捗るなぁ♪」
やっと教坊の掃除を進めることができて、雨妹はご機嫌だった。
教坊の建物は施された彫刻といい佇まいといい、とても美しい建物だった。
音楽家や役者の拠点である故に、彼らの想像力を掻き立て、より良い作品を生み出すようにという考えがあるのかもしれない。
掃除をしていて、たまに風に乗って微かに音楽や歌が聞こえてくるのが、また気持ちを優雅にさせた。
思わず音楽に合わせて床を拭く雑巾を動かしてしまう雨妹である。
――これだよ、音楽がある生活って最高!
欲を言えば、こんなチョイ聴きではなく、目の前に座ってがっつり聴きたいものだ。
教坊の宮妓たちの中で、暴れ出して手が付けられずに連行されるという事件が多発しているという。
ケシ汁の禁断症状が現れたのだろう。
あとは、隠し持っていたケシ汁をコッソリと吸っていた者がいたらしく、教坊を見張っていた刑部によってそうした連中も連れて行かれたそうだ。
これで、宮妓たちは大きく人数を減らしてしまった。
ただでさえ先の冬のインフルエンザで人数が少なかったはずなので、ここでさらに減ってしまうと、宴席を賑わすには足りなくなってしまうのではないだろうか?
―― 近々、宮妓の補充があるのかなぁ?
雨妹はそんなことを考えつつ、拭き掃除をせっせとこなす。
「ここであったか」
背後から声をかけられて、そこには
According to Du, the two provinces were separated by a steep mountain range, and it was difficult for people to pass through. Direct routes were impossible, so they had to go through detours covering long distances.
"The farther it is, the more difficult it is to get information. It's easy to hide crimes, so evildoers abound there", Du said.
Yui Mei agreed and gave an example, to which Du nodded.
"I think so. The results might be the same, but the reason behind should be different. The terrain of the borderlands are quite rough, making it difficult for people to pass through. But for the national borders, it's not only the terrain that's rough, there's the danger of enemy soldiers hiding there, and they can get in the way of  information exchange."
"That's scary!"
Yui Mei couldn't help but rub her arms when she heard what Du said. Yui Mei was born just right after the war, so she grew up in peaceful Japan. Even when she was living in the borderlands, she never felt any threat to her life.
'Uwah, I'm so glad I grew up in the province, and not in the national borders!'
Yui Mei was grateful from the bottom of her heart. Having a threat to one's own life was scary enough, but she also disliked danger to other people's lives.
Yui Mei finally grasped Du's intention, and she nodded in understanding.
It seemed that this situation would not end as a simple matter of helping Xu's lovelife.
"But you see, I can't bear to raise Xu's hopes up if that Dong guy turns out to be somebody else who is unrelated to her. I don't even know how to bring this up to her."
Yui Mei hummed in thought.
They didn't know if Dong was truly Xu's lover, so they had to gloss over this when they talked about it with Xu.
Her feelings were currently twisted and cynical, so the possibility of her agreeing if they were to simply request her to play the lute was extremely low.
Yui Mei learned a lot of things today. Du confirmed that the prognosis of Xu's rheumatism was good, so he went home.
It seemed that he would try to come up with a plan to encourage Xu.
"Hm~ work is going smoothly now that it isn't stinky anymore."
Yui Mei was in a great mood since she could finally proceed with cleaning the Jiaofang.
The building was breathtakingly beautiful, from its very shape down to its engravings.
Perhaps it had been built with the purpose of stirring the imagination of the actors and musicians so that they could produce masterpieces.
Faint music and songs were gently carried by the breeze, further lightening Yui Mei's mood while she cleaned.
Soon enough, she was moving her rug to the rhythm of music while wiping the floor.
'This is it! A life with music really is the best!'
If she could only do as she wished, she would sit right in front of them and listen with all her might from the front row.
On the other hand, there had been an increase in the incidents of Jiaofang's courtesans going on a rampage to the point that they couldn't be handled anymore and had to be taken away.
It seemed the withdrawal symptoms of addiction to poppy juice had finally manifested.
Moreover, there were also people who secretly smoked the poppy juice that they had stashed away. They were also taken into custody by the personnel of the Ministry of Justice.
It was because of these that the number of courtesans had been largely reduced.
The numbers had already dwindled because of the winter influenza. If the number of courtesans was reduced further, wouldn't that mean they would no longer be enough to liven the banquets?
'Will there be replacements for the courtesans soon?'
Yui Mei mulled over this while cleaning earnestly.
"So you were here."
Somebody called out from behind her, and when she turned around, Libin was standing there.
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