Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower: Volume 11 [Parts 1 to 7] by Miri Mikawa

Author:Miri Mikawa
Language: eng
Format: epub

II

Guard stations tightly hugged the southern palace wall that held the main gate. Tucked away amidst the reddish-brown buildings were the palace’s holding cells.

Through a wooden door and down a cramped corridor, the path split. To the left, there was housing for guards and a simple kitchen. To the right, three cells with iron-barred doors lined each side of the hall. At the end of the hall, a stone staircase led underground. There, a short hallway led to five more cells, two on each side and one at the end of the hall. The cells were furnished with a simple bed, a table, and a chair.

The prison was currently occupied by two prisoners. The first was Jin Keiyu, former Minister of Rites. He was held in one of the inner cells in the aboveground area. The second was Ho Shusei, lord of the Ho House. He was held in the farthest cell in the underground area.

With a chilly, dry gust of wind and a billow of dust, Shin Jotetsu barreled through the prison entrance with hunched shoulders, shivering from the cold. It was even colder inside than it was outside. The guard stations were equipped with braziers, but the prison obviously had no signs of fire.

“I’m heading in for a minute,” Jotetsu called to the guards before going down the cell-lined passage.

Jotetsu stole a glance through the bars of a cell and saw Jin Keiyu lying on his bed with his back to the door. The disgraced minister was surely aware of his presence but appeared to be ignoring him.

That guy turns my stomach.

More than the knowledge that Keiyu had been working in secret as Mars, it was the man’s incomprehensible motives that made him so disgusting and unnerving.

As Jotetsu reached the bottom of the stone steps, he noticed a faint light at the end of the hallway. A slender candle flickered within the far cell. Shusei was within, sitting on his chair and reading at the table. He looked up at the sound of Jotetsu’s footsteps.

The prison was always cold as prisoners were given nothing to warm themselves with, but they were allowed a few minor concessions like bedding, candles, and books upon request. While Shusei was a prisoner, he was also lord of the Ho House. Providing him with the bare necessities needed to maintain his dignity was a matter of recognizing his position. Failing to do so would make his captors seem like the indecent ones.

Jotetsu locked eyes with Shusei through the bars as he approached.

“Hey, Shusei. Still have your nose stuck in a book, eh?”

It was the first time the spy had visited in ten days. The last time he’d come, he had simply waited silently with the emperor.

During that same visit, Shohi had met with Shusei for the first time since the end of the insurrection. Other matters had been so pressing that he hadn’t had the time before then. The emperor had come ready to shout and hurl insults, but the moment he saw the state of Shusei, he seemed demoralized.

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