At the Court of an Emperor (he lived it matters not when) there wasamong the many gentlewomen of the Wardrobe and Chamber one, who thoughshe was not of very high rank was favoured far beyond all the rest; sothat the great ladies of the Palace, each of whom had secretly hopedthat she herself would be chosen, looked with scorn and hatred uponthe upstart who had dispelled their dreams. Still less were her formercompanions, the minor ladies of the Wardrobe, content to see herraised so far above them. Thus her position at Court, preponderantthough it was, exposed her to constant jealousy and ill will; andsoon, worn out with petty vexations, she fell into a decline, growingvery melancholy and retiring frequently to her home. But the Emperor,so far from wearying of her now that she was no longer well or gay,grew every day more tender, and paid not the smallest heed to thosewho reproved him, till his conduct became the talk of all the land;and even his own barons and courtiers began to look askance at anattachment so ill-advised. They whispered among themselves that in theLand Beyond the Sea such happenings had led to riot and disaster.The people of the country did indeed soon have many grievances toshow: and some likened her to Yang Kuei-fei, the mistress of MingHuang.[2] Yet, for all this discontent, so great was the shelteringpower of her master’s love that none dared openly molest her.Her father, who had been a Councillor, was dead. Her mother, who neverforgot that the father was in his day a man of some consequence,managed despite all difficulties to give her as good an upbringing asgenerally falls to the lot of young ladies whose parents are alive andat the height of fortune. It would have helped matters greatly ifthere had been some influential guardian to busy himself on thechild’s behalf. Unfortunately, the mother was entirely alone in theworld and sometimes, when troubles came, she felt very bitterly thelack of anyone to whom she could turn for comfort and advice. But toreturn to the daughter. In due time she bore him a little Prince who,perhaps because in some previous life a close bond had joined them,turned out as fine and likely a man-child as well might be in all theland. The Emperor could hardly contain himself during the days ofwaiting.[3] But when, at the earliest possible moment, the child waspresented at Court, he saw that rumour had not exaggerated its beauty.His eldest born prince was the son of Lady Kōkiden, the daughter ofthe Minister of the Right, and this child was treated by all with therespect due to an undoubted Heir Apparent. But he was not so fine achild as the new prince; moreover the Emperor’s great affection forthe new child’s mother made him feel the boy to be in a peculiar sensehis own possession. Unfortunately she was not of the same rank as thecourtiers who waited upon him in the Upper Palace, so that despitehis love for her, and though she wore all the airs of a great lady, itwas not without considerable qualms that he now made it his practiceto have her by him not only when there was to be some entertainment,but even when any business of importance was afoot. Sometimes indeedhe would keep her when he woke in the morning, not letting her go backto her lodging, so that willy-nilly she acted the part of aLady-in-Perpetual-Attendance.Seeing all this, Lady Kōkiden began to fear that the new prince, forwhom the Emperor seemed to have so marked a preference, would if shedid not take care soon be promoted to the Eastern Palace.[4] But shehad, after all, priority over her rival; the Emperor had loved herdevotedly and she had born him princes. It was even now chiefly thefear of her reproaches that made him uneasy about his new way of life.Thus, though his mistress could be sure of his protection, there weremany who sought to humiliate her, and she felt so weak in herself thatit seemed to her at last as though all the honours heaped upon her hadbrought with them terror rather than joy.
Nyaa!
