180話 徐の吐露
それにしても泣き笑いとはいえ、
「教えておくれよ、どうすればこの指がもっとマシに動くようになるんだい?」
やっと徐からこの言葉を聞けて、雨妹は微笑を浮かべると彼女の前に跪き、その手を己の手で包む。
「徐さんから『治したい』という意思を示してもらって、とても嬉しいです。
雨妹が徐の手をさすりながら述べるのに、彼女は顔をくしゃりとさせてから頷く。
「アタシは治したい、そして琵琶を弾きたい......!」
声を震わせて「弾きたい」と言った徐に、雨妹は「ああ、やはり」と思う。
――諦めて投げやりになっている演技をしていただけで、本当はずっと琵琶を弾きたかったんだ。
己が情熱を傾けたものを、人はそんな簡単に捨て去ることができるはずない。
きっと徐は琵琶で両親の役に立つとか、恋人のためとかいう理由の前に、琵琶を弾くのが好きなのだろう。
雨妹は徐の目を覗き込むようにして、言葉を紡ぐ。
「ええ、弾けますとも。私が診たところ、徐さんの風湿病はまだ軽度です、きちんと治療すれば完治もあり得ます。
「......わかった」
雨妹の提案を、徐は素直に了承した。
――やっとだよ、困った人だなぁ。
こうまで追い詰められないと治療を受け入れないとは、内面が色々と屈折していると見える。
教坊側もさぞかし困ったことだろう。
彼らとて、きっと徐が風湿病であるのではないかという疑いくらい持っていただろうに。
なにしろこれは手先を酷使する職業の女性によくある病なのだから。
雨妹と徐の話がまとまったところで。
「治療を受けるためには、まず刑部から出る必要があるな」
ここまで静かに見守っていた男が、そう口を挟む。
そう、雨妹の話が済んだのならば、次は刑部の話の番だ。
「徐子よ、本当のことを話すか?」
徐は雨妹が包んだままの手を、ぎゅっと握りしめる。
雨妹もその手を握って励ますように気持ちを込めると、放して立ち上がり立彬の隣に下がる。
「......わかった、話すよ」
そして、教坊での出来事について話し出した。
「どうせ調べていると思うけどね、アンタたちが捕まえた娘は、宮妓としてやって来た頃からアタシが面倒をみていた娘だったんだ」
捕まえた娘というのは雨妹が刑部に来て覗き見をした、徐の妹分だというあの取り調べられていた宮妓女のことだろう。
彼女は徐と違いどこぞの豪族の娘で、家がしくじりをして取り潰しになったことで宮妓として買い取られ、宮城へとやってきたそうだ。
それまで蝶よ花よと大切に育てられていたらしく、非常に気位が高く宮妓である身分をなかなか呑み込めないでいたという。
しかし、そんな立場であるのはなにも彼女だけではない、他の宮妓だって似たり寄ったりの経緯でやってきているのだ。
あまり騒がれると他の宮妓たちに影響が出ることを、教坊側は心配していた。
彼女が頻繁に脱走を図る問題児と化してしまい、他の宮妓に示しがつかなくなっていた時、当時宮妓暮らしがそこそこ長かった徐がその娘の世話を頼まれることとなる。
なんとか改心させなければ宮妓を首になり、その下の奴婢に堕ちることとなってしまう。
奴婢は罪を犯した者の苦役であることが常であり、最底辺の身分になるということなのだ。
徐は不幸な女を増やすのは憐れだということで、その頼みを受け入れた。
Chapter 180: Xu Speaks Her Mind
Nevertheless, he must have been a very precious person for Xu. Even if she was crying and laughing at the same time, reminiscing about her lover drew out a different emotion from her usual snarky attitude.
"So, tell me, how can these fingers of mine move properly again?"
Yui Mei finally heard those long-awaited words from Xu herself, so she strode towards Xu, then wrapped her hands with hers.
"MIss Xu finally expressed her wish to be treated, so I'm really happy. No matter what kind of illness it is, as long as the afflicted person herself wishes to be healed, it is possible to be cured."
Yui Mei stroked Xu's hands. Xu's face crumpled, then she nodded.
"I want to be cured, I want to play the lute...!"
Her voice trembled as she expressed herself, and Yui Mei couldn't help but think that she was right.
'She was acting that she gave up and abandoned her music, but she must've wanted to play the lute all this time.'
It shouldn't be that easy for people to just casually throw something they were so passionate about.
Yui Mei was certain that Xu already liked to play the lute even before it became her reason to help her parents, or to play for her lover.
She peered into Xu's eyes.
"Yes, you can play again. Based on my assessment, your rheumatism -- feng shi -- is still in the mild stages, so if you properly undergo medical treatment, you can be cured completely. First, we need to have you examined at the clinic, then buy you medicine."
"Got it."
Xu obediently agreed to Yui Mei's proposal.
'Finally, such a troublesome person you are.
The fact that she refused treatment until she was driven into a corner like this said a lot about how twisted she had inwardly become.
The Jiaofang must've been worried about her, too.
They must have been suspicious too as to whether she really had rheumatism or not.
At any rate, it was an illness that frequently afflicted women who make heavy use of their fingers for work.
Xu and Yui Mei's conversation had been settled, when --
"You have to get out of the penitentiary first if you want to be treated."
The man who had quietly watched over them all this time suddenly spoke.
Indeed, it was the Ministry of Justice's turn after Yui Mei was done speaking with her.
"Xu Zi, won't you tell us the truth now?"
Xu clenched her hands, which were still held by Yui Mei.
Yui Mei also gripped her tighter as a way to cheer her, before letting her go. She then stood up and went back to Libin's side.
"...I got it, I'll speak."
She then started to talk about the affairs of Jiaofang.
"I'm sure you guys already looked into this, but yeah, the girl you captured is someone I have been looking after since the day she entered the Jiaofang."
The captured girl she was referring to was probably the palace courtesan who was interrogated back when Yui Mei first visited the penitentiary; the person who was said to be Xu's younger sister.
Unlike Xu, she was the daughter of a powerful family that had been exterminated due to failure. She was bought to become a palace courtesan and had been taken into the palace.
It seemed that she had been raised as a princess before that, so she was an insufferable woman that couldn't accept her fate of becoming a courtesan.
However, she wasn't the only one with those circumstances; the other courtesans also had pretty much the same background story before.
The Jiaofang people were worried that it would influence the other courtesans if they were to make a big fuss over her.
She became a problem child who would periodically attempt to ran away from the palace, and had become too much to handle for the other courtesans. Thus, she was assigned to be under Xu's care since she had stayed for quite a long time in the palace already.
If she wasn't reformed, she would be fired from being a courtesan, and would fall to become a lower-ranking servant.
Usually, slaves would do hard labor because they were people who committed crimes, and they were at the very bottom of the caste.
Xu thought it would be a pity to increase the number of unfortunate women once again, so she decided to agree to the request.
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