26話 皇子の呪いの正体
今までのことをざっと語られたのを聞いた太子は、納得顔で頷く。
の方が逆に驚いてしまっていると、太子が話しかけてきた。
「雨妹、話の前にお茶でも飲もうか。
「では、すぐに準備をします」
この言葉に女官がすぐにお茶の手配をしようとするのに、雨妹は少々遠慮がちに尋ねる。
「あの、お饅頭食べてもいいですか?」
懐から饅頭の包みを出した雨妹に、その女官がニコリと笑う。
「では、温め直しましょうか?
「はい、お願いします!」
というわけでホカホカになった饅頭と、花の香りのする高そうなお茶で、おやつタイムとなった。
――うーん、美味しい!
雨妹は饅頭に齧り付きながら、幸せをかみしめる。
電子レンジなんてない世界では、温かいおやつは最高の贅沢だろう。
その様子を微笑みながら眺める太子も、お茶と葉っぱの形をした綺麗な焼き菓子をつまみながら、しばし休憩である。
立彬
この場では、どうやら雨妹が客の立場であるらしい。
一番下っ端の宮女なのに、変な感じである。
雨妹が饅頭を食べ終えてひと心地ついたところで、太子が切り出した。
まったりとした気分だった雨妹は、慌てて頷く。
そんなこちらの心境が透けて見えたのだろうか、立彬がジトリと見ているのがわかるが、すまし顔でスルーする。
そんな静かな攻防を見ないふりをしてくれる出来た太子は、友仁皇子について語ってくれた。
「私が最初にその光景を見たのは、父上主催の宴の席だった」
昭儀に連れられた幼い友仁皇子は、父に挨拶をした後、女官に連れられ席について、食事を始めたという。
「けれど食事を始めてすぐに、異常に苦しみ出してね」
皆と同じ食事を口にしたはずなのに、一人だけもがき苦しむ友仁皇子に、会場は騒然としたらしい。
当然毒を疑われたが、毒見役はなんともないし、同じ料理を食べた他の者も同様。調べても毒は検出されず。
その時はたまたま体調が悪かったのだろう、という結論で終わったそうだ。
「しかし、同様のことが集まりの度に続いてね」
それが繰り返されると悪い印象がついてしまう。
とうとう我慢できなくなった皇太后が、
「その子は呪い憑きゆえ、我の前に出すな!」
――なるほど、痩せているのは摂食障害か。
食事をした際に辛い思いをした人が、食事という行為自体を忌避するようになる症状だ。
皇子という食事に恵まれているはずの身分で、見た目にわかるくらいに痩せている理由としては納得できる。
ともかく、友仁皇子が問題を起こした状況はわかった。
「宴の食事の内容って、陛下の好みに合わせるんですか?」
雨妹の質問に、太子は首を横に振る。
「いや、父上はなんでも召し上がるし、そのあたりに無頓着だ。
雨妹は「なるほど」と呟く。
「皇太后陛下は、お食事はさぞかし豪勢なものを召し上がられるのでしょうね」
「まあ、贅沢好きなのは間違いないね。
雨妹の言葉に、太子は肩を竦める。
後宮という場所はとにかく大金が一瞬にして消えてなくなる場所だ。
太子は財政問題で頭を痛めているのかもしれない。
「もう一つ聞きたいんですが、友仁皇子殿下は饅頭なんか召し上がるんですかね?」
宴のことから急に話しが飛んだので、一瞬きょとんとした太子だったが、ちゃんと答えてくれる。
「食べるんじゃないかな?
納得顔の雨妹に、太子は目を瞬かせる。
「雨妹、もしや『呪い』の正体がわかったのかい?」
太子の問いかけに、雨妹はハッキリと頷いてみせた。
「まあ......」
立彬や女官までも驚く中、雨妹は告げる。
「今聞いたお話で浮かぶ原因は一つ。
食物アレルギー、つまり過敏症ですね」
この言葉に、一同が沈黙する。
「......あれるぎ? 過敏症?」
太子は聞き慣れない言葉なのか、立彬や女官を見るも、二人も首を横に振るばかり。
Chapter 26
After listening to the brief explanation of what had transpired until now, the crown prince was convinced, and he nodded.
Conversely, Yui Mei was the one surprised, but the crown prince started talking again.
"Yui Mei, do you want to drink some tea before we talk? I also want to take a break. "
"Then, I will prepare immediately."
At his words, the lady-in-waiting was about to begin preparing the tea, when Yui Mei shyly asked.
"Ahm, would it be alright if I ate some manju?"
The lady-in-waiting smiled when Yui Mei took out the bundle of manju from her bosom.
"Then, let us reheat it? I just lit the fire to boil water."
"Yes, please!"
With this, it became a snack time with warm manju and luxurious, flower-scented tea.
'Hmm, so delicious!'
Yui Mei savored happiness as she bit into the manju.
In a world with no microwave oven, eating warm snacks was the highest form of luxury.
The crown prince watched her with a smile as he had his tea. He held a beautiful, leaf-shaped baked sweet while he relaxed for a moment.
Libin did not take a break, and remained on standby.
It seemed as if Yui Mei was a guest in this place.
It was a strange feeling since she was a court lady with the lowest status.
After Yui Mei finished her manju and was feeling relaxed, the crown prince got down to business.
Yui Mei who had completely relaxed, nodded in a fluster.
Libin glared at her, seemingly seeing through her thoughts, but she ignored him and maintained a smooth expression.
The crown prince pretended he didn't see their silent attack-defense interaction, and he began talking about the imperial prince.
"The first time I saw that spectacle was at the banquet hosted by Father."
The young prince Youren was taken by his mother, Consort Hu, to greet his father, and afterward they were guided by the lady-in-waiting to their seat, then they started the meal.
"However, right after the meal started, he started to struggle abnormally."
Imperial Prince Youren supposedly ate the same food as everybody else, but he was the only one suffering, so the venue was in an uproar.
Naturally, it was suspected to be poison, but the tester for poison did not have any abnormalities, and the other people who ate the same food were also the same. No poison was detected even after examination.
The matter was concluded with the explanation that his body must have been unwell at that time.
"However, the same thing happened at every gathering."
It would leave a bad impression if the occurrence was repeated frequently.
Eventually, the empress dowager could not take it anymore.
'That child is possessed by a curse, get him out of my sight!', she yelled.
'I see. So he lost weight because of an eating disorder.'
A person who had a hard time during mealtimes would then shirk at the very thought of eating.
It would be in line with the reason why an imperial prince who was supposedly blessed with food, became so thin to the point that it was very obvious.
Anyway, the circumstances behind the imperial prince's problem became clear.
"Were the dishes served at the banquet made to suit the taste of His Majesty?"
The crown prince shook his head at Yui Mei's question.
"No, Father was not picky about his food, in fact, he is indifferent about that. That's why most of the time, the dishes served would be according to the preference of the empress dowager."
"I see," mumbled Yui Mei.
"The empress dowager will eat lavish dishes for sure, right?"
"Well, she loves luxury, so that is for certain. She would always have them use high-grade ingredients, after all."
The crown prince shrugged at Yui Mei's words.
In any case, the Inner Palace was a place where a huge amount of money would be gone in a blink of an eye. If the empress dowager who was at its pinnacle preferred extravagance, then her followers would also imitate her.
Perhaps, the crown prince was experiencing headaches due to financial problems.
"I would like to ask one more thing, does His Highness the Imperial Prince Youren eat manju?"
The crown prince was stupefied for a moment due to the sudden change of topic from the banquet, but he then answered properly.
"He can eat it, I think? He supposedly loved manju."
The crown prince's eyes shone at Yui Mei's convinced expression.
"Yui Mei, perhaps you know the truth about the 'curse'?"
Yui mei nodded her head distinctly at the crown prince's query.
"Well..."
Libin and the lady-in-waiting were also taken aback, so she replied.
"After hearing the explanation just now, there was one reason that came to my mind.
Food allergy, in other words, it is hypersensitivity."
Everyone fell silent at her words.
"... Alerji? Hypersensitivity?"
Hearing these unfamiliar words, the crown prince looked at Libin and the lady-in-waiting, but both of them could only shake their heads.
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