The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

think I should do at a time like this?"
    "When judging one's subjects, I would counsel compassion."
    "And have the same thing happen all over again?"
    Keiki had nothing to add to that.
    Youko averted her gaze and looked out the window instead. "You and the ministers, you have a pretty low regard for me. Because I'm a woman, because I'm a taika, it's in every damned sigh I hear."
    "Empress, I swear that is not the case."
    Youko shook her head. "Chousai will say, see, I told you so. And he'll tell me to come down hard on Koukan and the Sankou. If I agree, you're not going to be happy with me. If I reject their advice, Chousai and his people won't be happy. So, what to do?"
    "Empress . . . . "
    Youko took a breath, exhaled, and said, "Koukan and the Sankou will be disciplined. The Sankou will be dismissed from their positions and exiled along with Koukan. This cannot go unpunished. You do not condone execution, so they will not be executed. Is that okay with you?"
    Keiki opened and closed his mouth without speaking.
    "I understand," he answered shortly, followed by a long sigh, a sigh that spoke volumes.
    Meaning, Keiki is not happy.
    Youko stared out at the dawn breaking over the Sea of Clouds. She laughed. "Shall I issue an Imperial Rescript banning sighing?"
    "Empress?"
    "You may get tired of breathing your little sighs, but I am really getting tired of hearing them." With that, Youko waved her hand. "You may leave. I need to rest. All these meetings have left me at wit's end."

    As expected, Chousai Seikyou and his faction insisted that Koukan and the Sankou be sentenced to death. "You must understand that in Koukan's case, if you show leniency now, it will only be paid back with disloyalty later on."
    She could hear the dissatisfaction in Seikyou's voice. Some people were saying that Taisai's attempted insurrection itself was a misunderstanding. Some people were saying he had his reasons and that these reasons should be ferreted out, that in order to prevent more grief down the road the source of the problem should be addressed. And some people were saying that when it came to sentencing, she should show compassion first.
    What all these people had in common was their opposition to Seikyou. The Imperial Court was divided into a pro-Seikyou faction and an anti-Seikyou faction. If Seikyou had recommended amnesty, his opponents would just as surely have asked for the sword.
    Youko had never imagined that governing a country would be an easy thing. But she had never imagined difficulties like these. No matter what she said, her supposed subordinates would sigh their implicit criticisms. And now she had retainers for whom sighing wasn't enough and were compelled to take up arms. Youko understood nothing of this world, had no other recourse than to pay close attention to what her advisors said and scrutinize their explanations the best she could. She didn't want to hear any more sighs. But no matter what opinion she adopted, the opposing side would be the one sighing. In the end, with both sides fighting for authority, she wasn't going to please anyone.
    Well, then, she thought, permitting herself a private sigh. She suddenly looked up. Without really being aware of it, she had been trying to win them over. So phobic had she become of the murmurs of discontent, that wasn't she now trying to read a book into every glancing expression, curry their favor and generally kiss up?
    She was overcome with the urge to cast aside this cloying creature she had become.
    She said to Chousai, "What should I make of the fact that you were completely unaware of Taisai's scheming in the first place?"
    "Taisai was not happy with me and let his temper get the best of him."
    "Bearing arms against the king is treason. What more do you need to know about him?"
    "I would like to inquire more of the officials who left Koukan to his own devices."
    "And where is Koukan? The Minister of Fall has a lot to answer for, letting him get away like that."
    While being escorted from Baku Province to Gyouten, Koukan had escaped. Officials from the ministry had pursued him but had not yet found him.
    Enough already. Youko smiled sardonically to herself. "I understand," she said aloud. "I order that the Sankou be dismissed and along with Koukan exiled from the kingdom."
    Too lenient, came the response from Seikyou's faction. Too severe, came the response from the opposing faction.
    "And if the same thing happens again, what will Your Highness do?" queried