CHAPTER FORTY SIX

"I understand." Princess Toyomike said. "And I know that you having been with those women long enough you must know which ones are their strengths and weaknesses." She added.

"Yes Your Highness." Concubine Unako replied.

"It's not that I distrust you but I wish to ask you one question." Princess Toyomike said.

"Please do so Your Highness, I am listening." Concubine Unako replied with a smile.

"How can you prove your Loyalty to me dear?" Princess Toyomike asked.

"Your Highness, you should understand that like you I also have an infant daughter, I am however deprived of an Imperial title I am only a concubine.

Consort Kasuga is on the other hand another to harass me for we were mother's on the same day while you had my husband's affection I delivered alone." Concubine Unako said.

"I understand what you are going through." Princess Toyomike said, "All I ask is that let me make of your two daughters Futohime and Nukatehime my people." She added.

"I am more than grateful your Highness." Concubine Unako said.

"Very well then, please rise." Princess Toyomike said.

"I'll take my leave Your Highness." Concubine Umako said as she bowed her head and then she walked out of the chamber with her maid.

Sina and Kabane walked up to Princess Toyomike.

"Your Highness." They said as they bowed their heads.

"Was she the one that you were waiting for all along?" Kabane asked.

"Yes." Princess Toyomike replied with a smile on her face.

"Why?" Sina asked.

"She was the last person that we all expected." Kabane said.

"Perhaps the one that rifted the Inner court did me a favour because naturally when independent antagonistic powers isolate one another, smaller ones take sides." Princess Toyomike replied.

"Where two Queens rule one give, the workers take sides." Sina said.

"Exactly." Princess Toyomike replied. "I knew beforehand that something of the sort was likely to happen and when I suspected the Empress to conjure such a move I knew that it could be to my advantage except that she herself would know better than anyone else she would lose so much while I gained more from this." She added.

"So the Empress made a suicide move?" Kabane Asked.

"No." Princess Toyomike replied.

"Perhaps she made a sacrifice." Sina said.

"No." Princess Toyomike replied.

"Then what did she do Your Highness?" Sina asked.

"She wasn't the one who caused the tumult in the Inner Court." Princess Toyomike replied.

The two looked puzzled.

"One would think that with trouble in the Inner Court, if I were to establish a faction within it she would later use it as an excuse to counter me and in fact it was what I thought before but with the looks of it we have more than two able and smart enemies." Princess Toyomike said.

"Why would someone do that Your Highness, what are they even up to?" Sina asked.

"The Imperial wives to rival with one another is an intended move and whoever orchestrated it might have desired to hit two birds with one stone because if Her Highness and me were both weakened, the blame of the inner Court's instability is upon the both of us." Princess Toyomike said.

"But as you said before, your gain from this is greater than the Empress', isn't that a very good thing?" Kabane asked.

"Great minds think alike, if there is a power that is equal to you in thought word and deed, once favourable on one hand the other it is strong enough to contend with you when the tables turn." Princess Toyomike replied.

"Who could it be?" Sina asked.

"It could be anyone, even Consort Kasuga." Princess Toyomike replied.

Darkness had fallen over the Palace and Princess Toyomike happened to be heading towards her palace when she halted halfway there.

Ahead of her, she found the Prince Anahobe who was waiting at the entrance to her residence and along with a few of his maids he was carrying with him a number of things.

"Your Highness." Prince Anahobe said as he bowed his head.

"Greetings." Princess Toyomike replied as she smiled at him.

"You must be wondering why I am here at this very late hour." Prince Anahobe said.

"It's alright." Princess Toyomike replied, "Though I am curious about what it is that you wish to say to me." She said.

"I happened to be passing by and it has been a while since you got married, I never had the opportunity to congratulate you formally like everyone else because I was tied up so I brought the gifts today except I waited quite long for you to return.

"You must be tired." Princess Toyomike said.

"I am fine." Prince Anahobe replied as he turned around and the Princess noticed how he was limping while walking slightly.

"I insist." Princess Toyomike said, "You have waited for so long that I feel burdened because of what has happened to you.

"Come in for a cup of tea at least." Princess Toyomike said.

"Thank you so much Your Highness." Prince Anahobe said, "I am afraid that it is already very late and if I stay over everyone at my residence might be worried." He added.

"You don't look fine and consider this the best gift you can give to me." Princess Toyomike insisted.

"Alright Your Highness, if you insist." Prince Anahobe said and the walked inside the manor.

Reaching inside, the two entered Princess Toyomike's Chambers along with Sina and Kabane and they sat down.

Princess Toyomike opened some of the gifts and it was all jewelry.

"It seems to me that ornaments are in deed common as gifts amongst us Imperials." Princess Toyomike said.

"Every woman's pride is her beauty, what better gift to give a newly wedded bride than jewelry and other ornament sets?" Prince Anahobe said.

"One can tell that when I dress it is to charm the whole world." Princess Toyomike said.

"Yes Your Highness." Prince Anahobe replied as the two sipped at their tea.

"You seem to be very carefree amongst all the Imperial Princes I have seen." Princess Toyomike said.

"We can only be governors on top of the our Wa (NIPPON) has long been peaceful to be military Generals isn't that much of an occupation right now." Prince Anahobe replied.

"At least for You men it is natural to show an interest in politics." Princess Toyomike said.

"How many sons has our father and how many of those old ones have they?" Prince Anahobe asked.

"Power goes to only those that deserve it and those that deserve it are those that are willing to possess it not because it's in their blood or it is natural but because it is the foundation of the grandiose dreams they have for their country." Princess Toyomike said.

"You seem to be more politically enlightened than I am." Prince Anahobe said.

"It's just something that I admire about the Crown Prince, if I too could help him be a very good ruler in future there is nothing more that could give me the pleasure of staying by his side." Princess Toyomike said.

"He must be very lucky." Prince Anahobe said.

"Why?" Princess Toyomike asked.

"If all women in the world were like you, every man would truly find pleasure in marriage and every Emperor would find pleasure in ruling." Prince Anahobe replied.

"Thank you." Princess Toyomike said.

The two had been talking for nearly an hour and it was almost time for Prince Anahobe to go.

Prince Anahobe lifted up a cup of tea and as he brought it closer to his mouth, he spilled some of it on his clothes.

He mildly cried out.

Princess Toyomike stood up while Sina rushed over with a cloth and tried to clean up the tea.

"I am so sorry." Princess Toyomike said.

"It's nothing." Prince Anahobe replied. "I was the one who was clumsy." He added.

"I feel awful if you had to walk out of here looking like that." Princess Toyomike said.

"But there is nothing I can do." Prince Anahobe said.

"Sina." Princess Toyomike summoned.

"Yes Your Highness." Sina replied.

"Get His Highness some of the Crown Prince's clothes, I am sure that he won't mind." Princess Toyomike said.

"Yes Your Highness." Sina replied as she bowed her head and she walked over to the closet.

"You go and change." Princess Toyomike told her guest.

"Forgive me for imposing on you." Prince Anahobe said.

"Not at all." Princess Toyomike replied.

The Imperial Prince went and changed his clothes and then he stepped out in the Crown Prince's attire.

"I'll have another exactly the same made for the Crown Prince and brought back here." Prince Anahobe said.

"It's alright." Princess Toyomike said, "You needn't go through all that trouble." She added.

"Your welcome." Prince Anahobe said.

"I am grateful to have at least talked for a while with you." Princess Toyomike said.

"The pleasure is all mine Your Highness." Prince Anahobe said as he bowed his head and then he turned around to walk out of the room as Sina and Kabane saw him out.

He set his foot outside and made his clothing proper in front of the servants and those that had come along with him.

Descending the stairs of the Imperial Princess Toyomike's Quarters, he was escorted by his own attendants out of the Palace.

The Crown Prince was walking about the streets of Nara himself being disguised as an ordinary scholar while he inspected the market areas.

Miwa no Sakau was walking behind him and as his eyes moved from corner to corner, he stopped at a restaurant and then he entered.

"How may I help you Sir?" one of the waiters asked.

"I'm looking for a table." The Crown Prince replied.

"This way." The man said as he led him past a series of men who already having a conversation with one another he sat not so far from them.

"What should I get you?" The waiter asked.

"The Usual." The Crown Prince Nunakakura replied.

"Aye." The waiter said as he bowed his head and he walked away.

Miwa no Sakau was se"I understand." Princess Toyomike said. "And I know that you having been with those women long enough you must know which ones are their strengths and weaknesses." She added.

"Yes Your Highness." Concubine Unako replied.

"It's not that I distrust you but I wish to ask you one question." Princess Toyomike said.

"Please do so Your Highness, I am listening." Concubine Unako replied with a smile.

"How can you prove your Loyalty to me dear?" Princess Toyomike asked.ated right opposite him.

"Did you hear the news?" One of the men asked his fellows and The Crown Prince and Miwa no Sakau interested in what the men were saying alerted their ears.

"What is it?" One of the men asked.

"Her Imperial Highness the Princess Toyomike is being rendezvous with the Crown Prince's half-brother." The other replied.

"Where did you hear all this nonsense?" One of the others asked.

"The news is spreading about the streets all the way from the Palace and allegedly the Imperial Prince Anahobe no Miko a couple of nights ago walked into the Imperial Princess Toyomike's Chambers and spent more than an hour with her.

He walked out with a set of new clothes which belonged to the Crown Prince and he remarked that he had a great time with her in the comfort and embrace of one another when he returned to his residence." The other replied.

"As if it is a possibility, she was married to the Crown Prince only recently, why would she be rendezvous with his brother a few days later?" Another asked.

"It doesn't make sense." The other seconded.

"Apparently they saw each other before the Crown Prince came along and had it not been for her pregnancy with the Crown Prince then she wouldn't have married him because even on the day she passed out during her birthday, it was the Imperial Prince Anahobe who carried her to her Chambers." One said.

"They could be quite intimate." One agreed.

"Princess Toyomike is but a saintly figure to us here in Nara, it's possible that everyone got the wrong idea if everything." One defended.

"Who is going to believe that, the Crown Prince has been quite busy these days he rarely visited the Princess at her Palace.

Naturally the Imperial Prince Anahobe is said to even be more handsome than he is and a little bit younger than the Crown Prince and as if that is not enough the two were rumoured to have been exchanging letters for a while." The man said.

"She must have been so desperate with her husband away that she couldn't control her desire." Another seconded.

"Her Highness is considered the most Virtuous and surpassingly graceful woman in the Imperial family, she would no better than anyone what is right and what us wrong." The other still continued to defend her.

"You speak like you know her very well." One reprimanded.

The Crown Prince who was already angry clenched his fists when the food was brought bit he didn't seem to mind it after all as the conversation nearby had won his attention.

Miwa no Sakau seeing that his Master was furious he held his hand and the Crown Prince looking him in the eye he nodded.

"No." The other man refuted, "Rumours spread by women shouldn't be trusted that easily and on top of that I trust that the Imperial Princess Toyomike can mind her manners best." He added.

"You never know who people really are, what if under that graceful mask that she wears on her face and that charade of the perfect wife she puts on is false when in reality she is nothing but a lustful seductress." The other man said.

The Crown Prince was about to explode but Miwa no Sakau tightened his grip on the Crown Prince's hand and looked at him again.

The Crown Prince still managed to stand up and trying to conceal his anger, he marched out of the restaurant at once without even eating anything.

The Crown Princess was seated in her room when Hotaru walked in.

"Your Highness." She said as she bowed her head.

The Crown Princess took hold of a small brown chest and she placed it at her table.

"Hotaru." She said.

"How may I help you Your Highness?" Hotaru asked.

"I want you to get this chest by all means into the Imperial Princess Toyomike's Chambers." The Crown Princess replied.

"Your Highness." Hotaru replied, "Her Palace security is very tight, it shall be a little bit too difficult for us to get the box inside." She added.

"Don't worry, I already made preparations." The Crown Princess replied, "When you get there you shall find someone called Oshiwa and give it to her, she'll know best what to do with it." The Crown Princess added.

"Yes Your Highness." Hotaru replied as she took the chest and bowed her head as she walked out.

"How much Princess Toyomike?" She asked herself, "How much more will the Crown Prince trust you?" She added as she smiled ghastly.

"Your Highness." Sakae said as she bowed her head to the Empress.

"What is it?" Empress Ishi Hime asked.

"Rumours have already spread about the entire capital concerning the Imperial Princess Toyomike's extra marital affair with the Crown Prince." Sakae replied.

"That's good." Empress Ishi Hime replied.

"I am certain Your Highness that by now the word has already reached the Emperor's ears." Sakae said.

"Then it is time that we acted." Empress Ishi Hime said.

"What should I do Your Highness?" Sakae asked as the Empress got hold of a small brown wooden trunk and then she placed it on the table.

"That." Empress Ishi Hime replied as Sakae picked up the box and she looked at it.

"What shall I do with it Your Highness?" Sakae asked.

"Make sure that you personally see to it that it appears in Imperial Prince Anahobe's private Chambers when the time is right." Empress Ishi Hime replied.

"Yes Your Highness." Sakae said as she bowed her head.

"We have already provoked the person that we want, it is high time we took one final blow to spark off an even bigger reaction the Princess herself won't see it coming." Empress Ishi Hime said as she smiled ghastly.

"Yes Your Highness." Sakae agreed as she smiled ghastly while she withdrew from her Mistress' presence happy as well.

The Crown Prince returned to his office and furiously he walked up to his table and he picked up one of the tea cups and he threw it down.

"Contain your anger Your Highness." Miwa no Sakau said as she fell onto his knees and bowed his head onto the ground.

"How dare they speak I'll about her Highness, how come I have only heard it now?" The Crown Prince asked as he turned and looked at Miwa no Sakau who looked down.

"Miwa?" He called.

"Yes Your Highness?" Miwa no Sakau replied.

"Why am I only finding this out right now?" The Crown Prince asked and Miwa no Sakau was still silent.

"Did you know about this?" The Crown Prince asked.

"Pardon me Your Highness." Miwa no Sakau replied.

"I asked you did you know about this?" The Crown Prince asked again loudly.

"Yes Your Highness." Miwa no Sakau replied.

"You..." The Crown Prince said as he pointed his finger at Miwa no Sakau.

"You can hit me if you want Your Highness, after all my life is all yours, I am only your retainer but I overstepped the line and pried into your family and personal matters.

I don't regret it though Your Highness because I was concerned, you already had a lot on your mind and so many things on your shoulders to bear that hearing this news your heart would only shatter.

I know that I have angered you and I am at fault for that but I still hold no regrets in what I have done because first I thought they were baseless rumours and I know that you can tolerate so much more except the feeling of being betrayed." Miwa no Sakau said.

"You know me." The Crown Prince said as his anger seemed to cool and he turned around.

"Do you really think that I'd distrust my wife up to that point?" The Crown Prince asked.

"Your Highness." Miwa no Sakau said, "Actions speak louder than words, what to you weighs less a burden of yours, to me as long as you are beariny it and it can become bothersome I devote my all to make it vanish even if I must bury other people along with it." Miwa no Sakau said.

"You have your reasons and I have mine." The Crown Prince said.

"As a servant I look out for my master even if I have to stake my life, would rumours such as that spread so seriously when if traced back to an individual they could be killed for defamation of the Imperial family without any proof?" Miwa no Sakau asked.

"Are you asking me to doubt the woman that I love?" The Crown Prince asked.

"I am saying your Highness that nothing happens without a cause, someone could perhaps be trying to defame the Imperial Princess and I know that a blog on her reputation is a blot on yours as well so for Your Highness to think that I would rather sit here and watch as they tarnish your popularity and fame then you are mistaken." Miwa no Sakau replied.

"Rise up." The Crown Prince said and at once Miwa no Sakau complied.

"Find out what is happening and let me know." The Crown Prince said.

"Yes Your Highness." Miwa no Sakau replied and bowing his head he walked out of the office leaving the Crown Prince alone and lost in his own thoughts.

Princess Toyomike walked across the Imperial guardens in the palace and as she mounted one of the small bridges that led past the Imperial pond, she halted when she stood face to face with the Prince Anahobe.

The two bowed their heads to one another nearly ten feet between them and they mounted the bridge altogether as they approached one another.

They stopped and faced the pond at the same time.

"Has Her Highness heard it all?" Prince Anahobe asked.

"Very well." Princess Toyomike replied.

Prince Anahobe smiled so innocently.

"I am so sorry that I caused you trouble." Prince Anahobe said.

"After this point let us not see each other again." Princess Toyomike said.

"Yes." Prince Anahobe replied.

"Don't take it in bad faith but my marriage is so precious that I must do whatever I can to keep it together." Princess Toyomike said.

"Do you distrust that your husband shall believe the words of the others.

"No." Princess Toyomike replied, "I trust him so much more than anyone." She added.

"Then tell me sincerely what you are afraid of?" Prince Anahobe asked.

"Nothing." Princess Toyomike replied, "I am merely my husband's pride and joy, when I am hurt he is hurt and when people suspect me he becomes a joke in their sight." She said.

"If all perhaps we're just like you?" Prince Anahobe asked.

"None can match up to my Devotion and in my success there are a number of people who hate me.

When the eyes that look at me give a wrong impression to others, they are glad because as my popularity starts to crumble there's has a chance to stand." Princess Toyomike said as she turned around and then she looked at the Imperial Prince.

"You don't have to stake your love life just so that you can maintain a friendship with me that shall be questionable in the eyes of the others." Princess Toyomike said.

"I'd understand you much better than anyone else The Imperial Prince Anahobe said and Princess Toyomike content she turned around and walked away from the scene.

It was already dark and Miwa no Sakau who was hiding in the nearby bushes watched everything until they vanished from the scene.

The Crown Prince paced around his room as he walked from one end if it to the other.

It had been hours and he was anxiously waiting for Miwa no Sakau to report back to him as the memories from the cafe came back to his mind.

"The news is spreading about the streets all the way from the Palace and allegedly the Imperial Prince Anahobe no Miko a couple of nights ago walked into the Imperial Princess Toyomike's Chambers and spent more than an hour with her." He recalled.

"He walked out with a set of new clothes which belonged to the Crown Prince and he remarked that he had a great time with her in the comfort and embrace of one another." They lingered in his head.

"You never know who people really are, what if under that graceful mask that she wears on her face and that charade of the perfect wife she puts on is false when in reality she is nothing but a lustful seductress." That man had gone ahead to say.

"Impossible the Crown Prince said. "Princess Toyomike loves me so dearly she wouldn't do that to me." He added to himself when the doors of the room were flung open.

Miwa no Sakau walked in and the Crown Prince rushed over to him.

"Your Highness." He said as he bowed his head.

"What happened?" The Crown Prince asked, "Did you see anything?" He said.

Miwa no Sakau temporarily halted as recalled what he had seen before he could speak up.

He might have understood that his master was still doubtful but he wasn't going to watch him waver far from the path of goodness and rifting himself and his dearest wife, his favourite and the woman that he loved.

"I told you Your Highness that it is possible that people misunderstood the incident.

I was able to investigate that the only reason that the Imperial Prince went up to the Imperial Princess' Chambers was that he had brought over wedding gifts to congratulate her for having married you.

He'd stood for a long time and he wasn't walking so well she invited him in for a cup of tea.

Accidentally though, the tea spilled on his clothes and the Imperial Princess offered him yours, since that day the two have never really come to meet one another and the Imperial Princess is calm on the matter which suggests that she isn't guilty.

In deed people only misinterpreted it." Miwa no Sakau said.

The Crown Prince sighed as he walked over to a nearby chair and there he sat down.

"Calm down Your Highness." Miwa no Sakau said.

"I am calm but still I am furious because someone out there is tarnishing the image of my wife." The Crown Prince said.

"As long as there is not a single meeting between the Imperial Princess and the Imperial Prince Anahobe then naturally these rumours shall die out." Miwa no Sakau said.

"I hope so." The Crown Prince said.

"I am most confident in Her Highness' love for you." Miwa no Sakau said.

"I'll go over to the Imperial Princess Toyomike's Palace tomorrow and there I shall spend the night with her." The Crown Prince said.

"Yes Your Highness." Miwa no Sakau replied.

The Emperor was seated inside his study and Sato stood right next to him.

"What's it?" The Emperor asked when he notice that his Eunuch was lost in his thoughts.

"Nothing much Your Majesty." Sato replied.

"There is no need for you to lie to me." The Emperor said, "If you tell me nothing then finding out from someone else is also an alternative." He added.

"Alright Your Majesty." Sato replied.

"Tell me now." The Emperor said.

"Her Imperial Highness Princess Toyomike has been accused recently of being rendezvous with the Imperial Prince Anahobe no Miko." Sato replied.

"Upon what grounds?" The Emperor asked.

"Apparently, the Imperial Prince Anahobe visited the Imperial Princess a couple of days ago and she welcomed him into her Chambers.

There was an accident which caused the Imperial Prince to wear the Crown Prince's attire and now ever since it happened it has become the talk of the Town." Sato replied.

"This is a matter of the Inner Court, for it to spread like that to the rest of the country shows a weakness in the Empress' governance.

What was she doing at that time to prevent such an occurrence or at least she would have tried to come up with a way of curbing it." The Emperor said.

"I heard reliably from the people in the Empress' Palace, her Highness having heard the news she fainted and was a little bit sickly." Sato said.

"It must have broken her heart." The Emperor replied, "I now see why no one was able to stop this." He added.

"Her Highness the Imperial Princess Toyomike is still young and naive, marriage was new to her and not an institution that she had prepared for in her life before.

It's natural that she could be used to letting in any visitors into her residence and perhaps after everything that has happened I believe she will naturally groom herself and adjust." Sato said.

"I hope so." The Emperor said, "Since young she wasn't the person to disappoint in her conduct as an Imperial Princess she won't make the same mistake as a wife either." He added.

"Yes Your Majesty." Sato replied as he bowed his head.

It was dark when the Crown Prince walked into Princess Toyomike's bedroom and it was empty.

He looked around at that moment and there and then as he stared in one corner of the bed he noticed that there was something unusual about it.

He walked closer and closer until eventually, he squatted down and stretching his hands underneath he pulled out a box.

It was nearly open and the lock was hanging loose so he was curious naturally to know what exactly had been kept inside it.

He carried the box and then he placed it on the table in the Princess' room and there opening it he saw a series of papers falling out of it.

He picked out one of them and unfolding it he read the contents inside.

"My dearest if there were a woman as fair as yourself, she hasn't been born yet, your eyes glow with so much magnificence and I miss to have you by my side every moment that goes by." The Crown Prince read.

He let go of that paper and picked another one.

"It wasn't as radiant and audacious as it should be, my day was sombre because I was deprived of seeing you, my heart aches so greatly that I can not be consoled, if I would rewind the time I'd go back and get the courage to ask you to be my wife." He read.

He got a hold of another.

"Sweet as the scents of the flowers possessing the fields, bright as the petals there are on the roses and plum blossoms, my feelings for you are forever unchanged like the direction of a flowing river is never altered and like the rain doesn't rain upward towards the sky." He read.

"My dearest, the heart of mine, to marry another but you I'd remain chaste for the rest of my mortal life hoping that if the Kami could not let us be then in the embrace of Shinigami could we find our eternal union." He was already angry.

They were all love letters addressed to his wife, he had every reason to believe it, they were in her room, she'd hidden them under her bed.

He held the box and he threw it down as the papers scattered across the floor.

"No " The Crown Prince said, "It can not be." He added as he slowly withdrew and walked backwards.

Sina and Kabane were standing outside with Miwa no Sakau when the Crown Prince flung open the doors of Princess Toyomike's Chambers furiously and they sky darkened lightning had started to streak across it which indicated that it was bound to rain.

"Your Highness." Miwa no Sakau said as he noticed how uneasy his master had become.

"Get me the Imperial guards." The Crown Prince said.

"What for Your Highness?" Miwa no Sakau asked.

"That's not a request but a command." The Crown Prince angrily replied.