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CHAPTER 18 - SWORDS
From that day on, Sango, Konkon, and Reimi started practicing together.
The song the three of them chose was “Flower Red Willow Green”
It was a song that played and sang the beauty of spring.
Playing it was not that difficult, but singing was hard.
Konkon was in charge of the high notes and Reimi took charge of the low notes.
It wasn't a long song. With Hongyu's guidance, Sango was able to play it all the way through.
The problem was Konkon and Reimi.
“Konkon-san, you have a weak voice!”
"Uh, s-sorry."
Konkon's voice was low, and Reimi's was loud.
Although both of them sang beautifully and skillfully, their breathing didn't match and the song didn't sound beautiful.
"Konkon, Reimi, you're not getting along well..."
Sango stopped every time. Yet it did not solve the fundamental problem.
Reimi had a completely opposite temperament to the weak-willed Konkon. Then there's the laid-back Sango.
Everyone was so scattered that they couldn't breathe together. There was no harmony
Today, they had decided to disband.
It was already late at night. Sango trudged down the dark hallway.
When she returned to her room, the raccoon dog greeted her.
"Kuun"
Sango lifted the small raccoon dog's body and kissed it on the cheek. It's fluffy and warm. She felt relieved. Just as she was about to say that the raccoon was cute, Hongyu, who was sitting on the window sill of his room, reading a book, called out to her.
"I'm really tired."
"Hongyu, you're tired?”
After stretching her back, she bowed her head and greeted him. As usual, he replied curtly, “I'll know when I see it.''
Even though he had a boring attitude, his words kept giving her worries.
"You don't look well, what's wrong?"
“I'm practicing my performance, but I just can't get my breath together.''
Everything fell silent. Hongyu went to the bedroom next to him and came back with something.
A long, thin object wrapped in cloth was thrown to Sango, which she accepted.
"Th-This is--"
When she untied the cloth, a wooden sword fell out from inside.
Hongyu was also holding the same thing.
“You're worried about a lot of things because you don't get enough exercise. Come, I'll make arrangements for you."
"Oh, yes!"
Sango was brought out into the courtyard by Hongyu.
Under the moonlight, they turned to face each other.
A gentle breeze kept blowing. It was a quiet night.
Hongyu held his wooden sword below his waist. He was in a defensive position. That was probably because he didn't know how Sango would fight.
As he expected, Sango raised his wooden sword above her head and took an attacking stance.
The exchange of glances was the signal for the battle to begin.
Sango stepped straight ahead and swung his wooden sword down towards Hongyu.
She swung sharply down towards his shoulder, but the wooden sword rose like the wind.
Sango's wooden sword was repelled. It was followed by a quick thrust. Sango twisted her body to avoid it.
While fighting, Sango's heart was dancing. Hongyu was quite strong. He was better than anyone she had ever fought with.
Although he was young, it was clear that he was dedicated to martial arts.
It was the first time she would be fighting an opponent that made her feel so excited.
At the same time, she remembered that when she came to the inner palace, he was speaking with his words full of regret.
Hongyu said that he was a former military officer, so it would be very painful for him to be forced to live in the inner palace with no future in sight, unable to utilize his abilities. His heart would ache.
As she was thinking about that, she received a strong blow from the wooden sword. Her arm went numb from his fingers, and her wooden sword fell from her hand.
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“--I won, right?”
“Eh, yeah.”
Hongyu skillfully spun the wooden sword that had fallen to the ground with the tip of his wooden sword and picked it up.
"We were in the middle of a battle and you were thinking."
"Ah, no, uh... yes, I was."
"Hmph. That's a lot of leeway. But you have good skill."
"Thank you very much. I am happy"
It was the first time Hongyu noticed that Sango made him happy too.
“So, what were you thinking?”
"Hmmm"
Sango answered honestly while receiving the wooden sword.
"I think that you are an amazing swordsman. So..."
She felt it was a waste to be here. She couldn't say that out, but it seemed like Hongyu understood more than she let out.
Hongyu sat down on the grass under the moonlight. Sango also sat down next to him.
Hongyu began to speak while looking up at Gyokuei, who appeared vaguely in the sky within the clouds.
“Here, in Peony Palace, there used to be fifteen internal officials.”
Four concubines were set up in the inner palace, and young men from each peerage were summoned. Hongyu was one of them.
“The men tried all sorts of tricks to please Princess Hoshi like them.''
However, Princess Hoshi was a woman who was not easy to deal with.
“I guess that’s because Princess Hoshi herself isn’t satisfied with the rules of the Inner Palace.”
Everyone was not used to the special environment of the inner palace, and the atmosphere was tense.
Meanwhile, one of the men became unable to keep up with Princess Hoshi, who did not tolerate him, and he committed suicide.
“Another foolish man tricked the ladies-in-waiting into the sleeping quarters and attacked Princess Hoshi.''
“He wasn't very lucky. Princess Hoshi had knowledge of martial arts. Without hesitation, she kicked the man's vitals.”
"The man was put to death. But the incidents continued."
Men with unquenchable ambition kept attacking Princess Hoshi in her sleep in order to impregnate her.
"One, two, three, four, day by day, the men were detained and sentenced to death by cutting their genitals."
In less than half a year, Hongyu was the only official left in Botan Palace.
The horrific incident that occurred in the seemingly peaceful inner palace was a shocking story.
"Yes. So, Princess Hoshi..."
That's what Reimi said. Princess Hoshi hated men.
It's not strange that something like that would happen if such incidents occurred over and over again.
She felt sorry for her.
On the other hand, Hongyu remained calm, believing that it was not a simple matter of having a child.
He did not contact Princess Hoshi, and simply carried out his duties as a private official every day.
That was because he was born as the second son of the Wang family, and he had received a thorough education that prevented him from harboring any evil ambitions. Hongyu talked about himself.
The only way out of the situation was for him to have a child with Princess Hoshi, but he didn't seem to be compatible with the noble Princess Hoshi.
Moreover, as he kept living in the inner palace, Hongyu developed a sense of independence that he never had before.
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Gradually, he began to dislike acting according to the wishes of those around him.
He would be telling stories like this one by one.
“Up until now, I think I had been completely influenced by the Wang family’s ideology.”
Because of this idea, Hongyu never approached Princess Hoshi.
“Hmm, you didn’t approach Hoshikihi?”
"I told you so."
"Never?"
“Then, what do you do at your night job?”
"What do you mean?"
Sango answered in a voice that seemed very weak.
"Is it not about having a baby?"
"Huh!? What are you talking about!"
"I-I mean, you're working late at night."
"That's because I'm doing all the administrative work by myself that should be done by several internal officials, so it takes me until late at night! Did you really think that I was going to see Princess Hoshi every night?"
"I-I'm sorry!"
Hongyu became angry, his face turned bright red.
"I thought I'd hear something strange."
"Because Konkon said he's going to teach you Fuchu Jitsu."
“She didn’t say that!”
“Yes, she did, but you weren't there.”
It was all a misunderstanding on Sango's part.
She was surprised and depressed to be yelled at, but at the same time, somewhere in her heart she thought, ``I'm glad.'' she still didn't know why.
"Um, Hongyu."
"What"
"I'll help you with your work."
“That was my intention from the beginning.”
"Yes"
"But first, you must pass the Miyabi-kai selection meeting. I have taught you much. You will definitely pass."
"Uh... yes"
“What should Konkon and Reimi do?”
It felt like Sango and Hongyu were able to understand each other more by crossing swords.
“There must be a way for the two of them to synchronize their breath.”
"Hmmm"
“Are there any other problems?”
"Yes"
She was at a loss about what to do, but she couldn't think of a solution, so she decided to consult Hongyu.
"I don't know about women."
“Is that the problem?”
"but--"
Hongyu continued speaking.
“Women usually only think about themselves.”
Sango felt insulted.
As a result of rushing forward alone without even trying to get to know Hongyu, she misunderstood him because she was thinking only about herself.
“Then there's only one thing to do.”
"Thank you very much! You helped me a lot."
Sango bowed deeply and thanked Hongyu
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