The Twelve Kingdoms: Dreaming of Paradise

nothing to interfere.
    "Shuka—" said the surprised Eishuku when she slipped into the room.
    With him were the Shoushikou, the Daishiba of the Ministry of Summer, the Taisai and Shousai—both were also under house arrest—and the Daishikou, who had been sacked.
    "His Highness?"
    "No sign of him." Eishuku walked up to Shuka. "No matter what, the two of us can't be seen leaving the house whenever we feel like it."
    "Eishuku, I need to talk to you about something."
    Eishuku raised an eyebrow. He glanced over his shoulder at the other ministers and nodded. "This way." He gestured to Shuka and Seiki and headed to one of the smaller rooms on either side of the hall. Shuka entered first, Eishuku after her. Seiki remained outside and closed the door behind them.
    "What's going on? Did something happen?"
    Shuka wrung her hands together. "Eishuku, where is Shishou?"
    "I don't know. His kijuu is gone. Some think he went to see the Taiho. We dispatched a carrier pigeon to Mount Samei requesting a return message if Shishou showed up. No word yet."
    "You really don't know where Shishou has gone?"
    "Why should I?" Eishuku replied, clearly surprised.
    "Yes, you're right," Shuka said. "I need to ask you something. When did you first find out that Junkou might be antagonistic toward Shishou?"
    Eishuku's expression hardened a bit. "Hard to say. Why?"
    "It's really important. Try to remember."
    Eishuku looked away. "I must have stumbled across it at some point. Chanced upon some undersecretaries talking about it or the like."
    Not true, Shuka thought, the intuition she'd gained from interacting with people over a long period of time. "You need to find out how those rumors arose. No, this is something I need to do."
    "What's this, all of a sudden? Yes, if you want to, then go ahead. But once Shishou turns up, we'll pretty much be out of options."
    "Or perhaps you were the one who started the ball rolling?"
    Eishuku faltered for a brief moment. "Nonsense," he said. He put on a brave face, but Shuka could tell he was rattled. She knew him well enough to sense things like that.
    "How did you go about recommending to Junkou that he give the Kasho Kada to Shishou?"
    "What's that supposed to mean?"
    "You recommended that he do so, right? I was with you at the time."
    This time, the consternation clearly showed. "To be sure, I was the one who recommended it."
    "Even knowing what the Kasho Kada actually did?"
    "Shuka," he said, looking at her, and there was urgency in his eyes. "What are you trying to say? Why do I get the feeling you think I've done something wrong?"
    "Why?" Shuka's eyes brimmed with tears. Eishuku had been at the bottom of everything. "Why drive Shishou toward the Shitsudou? Why lay those stumbling blocks before him?"
    Eishuku turned away, and then resolutely looked back at her. "I didn't tell anybody to do anything wrong. Whatever stumbling blocks Shishou tripped over were the ones of his own making."
    "But you were the one who pushed him in that direction!"
    "You're free to believe that, but you can't prove it."
    "I can't and I don't want to. I know what you've done. That is enough."
    "None of this was my fault," Eishuku shot back. "It was always Shishou." He grabbed her by the shoulders. "It all comes down to his pathetic kingship, you got that?"
    "Eishuku—"
    "Where did we ever go wrong? When did we ever stray from the Way? We did our level best, and things only got worse. Explain that."
    "That's—"
    "I've thought this through a hundred times. I don't think our ministerial colleagues have done anything wrong. They've carried out their duties with integrity, burning the midnight oil over and again. They've put their careers and lives on the line and kept their noses clean. And yet Sai falters. Why is that?"
    "The same could be said of Shishou."
    "Shishou is the king. He's not like us. We're responsible for our ministerial portfolios. Shishou is responsible for the kingdom. We have to believe that he's worthy of the Mandate of Heaven. Heaven made him king, but now that Mandate is all used up. He's no longer worthy of the calling. Can you think of any other explanation?"
    Eishuku lowered his voice, "In fact, when it came to Junkou harboring any ill will toward Shishou, he swallowed the thing whole, without any kind of follow-up. Okay? I didn't make a stand on the issue one way or the other. I only hazarded that it might be possible. But Shishou didn't dismiss it out of hand. He didn't press Junkou personally. He