Prologue
IT WAS THE NIGHT of the Double Sevens Festival. Inside a pagoda tucked away in the inner court, the well-dressed court ladies let admiring sighs escape from behind their fans.
“Take a look at Lady Reirin’s most splendid embroidery! Do you see how the moonlight reflects off the bright threads of her stars? Why, it’s almost like a real night sky!”
“So it is! Even the Weaver Girl herself would envy her skill.”
These girls were captivated by a delicately embroidered length of silk and the highborn lady who had hung it over the balustrade. Her soft shades of black hair were pulled back into a gorgeous style, and her large, round eyes held a smile as vibrant as a flower coming into bloom. Together with her porcelain skin, she possessed a fragile sort of beauty. This fifteen-year-old girl was called Reirin.
Beside Reirin, four more ladies of noble birth held their embroidery for all to see. On the night of the Double Sevens Festival—the sole day of the year when the Cowherder and the Weaver Girl were reunited—these girls were to offer their handiwork up to the starry heavens in hopes of improving their sewing skills. This tradition also happened to serve as a contest of their needlework, but it was easy to see that Reirin’s work far outshined the rest.
The women went on whispering among themselves.
“Her skill with a needle is on par with the Weaver Girl’s, and with a brush in her hand, she can string together the most elegant of verses. If I recall, the dance she performed for the Lantern Festival even moved one of the court ladies to tears. She’s truly a girl of many talents.”
“And she has the looks to match! If all that wasn’t enough, can you believe how compassionate she is? I heard from one of her court ladies that she wouldn’t crush an insect under her heel! Oh, what I wouldn’t give to serve under her!”
“Shh! Not so loud. You wouldn’t want your mistress to overhear. Though being a retainer of the magnanimous Ran clan, I doubt you’d be in for too harsh a reprimand.”
“You’re right. Our lady is our master. If we break the laws of the Maiden Court, the Eagle Eyes will have us put to death. We’d better watch what we say.”
The Maiden Court was the very place where those five well-born ladies and their attendants were gathered.
Nearly a hundred years ago, a bloody power struggle that had broken out during the reign of Emperor Kousou saw the reorganization of the bloated inner court, and consorts were now selected from a mere five clans.
The Ran clan, who ruled over the lands to the east.
The Kin clan, who ruled over the lands to the west.
The Gen clan, who ruled over the lands to the north.
The Shu clan, who ruled over the lands to the south.
And the Kou clan, the rulers of the central territory.
The five aristocrats sent from each clan were to be divided up into one empress and four consorts. They spent their days in their respective palaces, which were arranged in a pentagon around the inner court, taking care to uphold the established order all the while.
But of course, these five clans were perpetually in competition with one another; it wouldn’t have been any fun for one family to monopolize all the glory. Moreover, the fact that the emperor—who until that point had possessed thousands of concubines—was forced to find an heir from only five women raised concerns over the dynasty’s longevity. Given what vast lands the Kingdom of Ei boasted, the country needed a firm hand to guide it.
So it was that the five clans worked together to build a cloister leading from each palace, converging on the “Maiden Court” erected at their center. It was purported to be a place of study for unmarried girls, where they would receive etiquette training from the emperor’s consorts, the finest women of their time. These students—referred to as fledgling “Maidens”—would grow as close to their teachers as their own mothers. In addition to the guarantee of a stable livelihood in the Maiden Court, each girl was granted a room within her respective consort’s palace.
In practice, however, the only girls permitted entry to the Maiden Court were those with ties to one of the five clans. In other words, this was a training program for the consorts’ successors under the guise of an etiquette school. The consorts put their skills to the test to see who could raise their Maiden the best, aiming to make their protégé into the next empress and bring prestige to their clan.
The current emperor, Genyou, was past the age of forty. The Maiden Court had been opened to a new generation, and Reirin and the other four girls had been assembled to fill its ranks. Until the crown prince, Gyoumei, ascended the throne, these girls were to spend every daylight hour in the Maiden Court, competing to determine who possessed the highest value as a woman.
However, when it came to this particular generation of the Maiden Court, it was safe to say that the winner had been decided long before the day of appointment arrived. Anyone could see that Reirin was the clear choice to become the next empress.
Reirin was the niece of the current empress, Kou Kenshuu, as well as cousin to Prince Gyoumei. It’s said that names and natures do often agree, and Reirin—her name meaning “the chime of jewelry”—boasted a graceful bearing and features as refined as a gem. Add to this the fact that she was erudite, talented, and good-hearted besides, and it was little wonder that all those she knew couldn’t help but adore her.
After she had lost her mother in nearly the same moment she was born, her father, brothers, and the rest of the Kou clan had taken great pity on the beautiful young girl and loved her unconditionally. Taken by the affection she had shown him from a young age, Gyoumei seemed to have settled on her as his empress already.
Reirin had but one shortcoming: She had a weak constitution and was often laid up with fever. However, in the present Genyou Era, delicacy and grace were prized above all else. Her snow-white skin and slender, frail figure were hailed as the pinnacle of beauty, and her unwavering virtue in the face of her ailing health inspired even greater compassion in those around her. Even within the Maiden Court, where it was the way of things to look down upon the Maidens of the other clans, Reirin was widely beloved and respected.
“Did you catch the subtle way His Highness placed a hand on her shoulder as she leaned over the balustrade? Oh, how perfectly matched they are in their beauty! It’s no wonder she’s called the prince’s ‘butterfly.’”
“Indeed. See how proud her retainers look? For all her poise, even her head court lady can’t help but crack a smile. Honestly, if everyone knows the outcome, I don’t see why we shouldn’t close the Maiden—”
“Shh! The captain of the Eagle Eyes will hear you!”
The prince was only allowed to set foot inside the Maiden Court for the observance of each seasonal festival. Much like the Cowherder anxiously awaited his reunion with the Weaver Girl, the gorgeous Gyoumei had been delighted to descend upon the court and take every opportunity to connect with Reirin. The court ladies had been watching the pair in rapt fascination, but with a backward glance, they hurried to school their expressions.