The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

Highness well knows, while elevating those persons of trust to serve as the kingdom's principal ministers, I must also make sure the middle-ranked civil servants and junior officers are toeing the line and doing their duty."
    "Yeah, sorry."
    In response to Youko's apology, Koukan sighed and smiled. "In the final analysis, the problem was one of temperament and character. That is the true reflection of how they lived and how they behaved. It is there that attention should be paid. Anybody should be able to look and see. If they prove worthy of your faith, then happily their actions will be rewarded. An examination of Risai-dono's example should prove the point."
    "Risai?"
    "Why did Your Highness reach out to her in the first place?"
    "I'm not exactly sure myself."
    "She came barging into Kinpa Palace, and you took one look at the atrocious state she was in. Wasn't that it? Risai-dono was so injured flying through the hornets nest of youma that Sui Province had become in order to get here. And didn't her willingness to go to such measures constitute sufficient proof of her desire to save Tai?"
    "Yes. Of course."
    "Risai-dono begged you to save Tai. Except that becoming so involved in the internal affairs of another kingdom is a grievous sin. Risai-dono was likely aware of that from the start."
    "Koukan--"
    "She may have come here to appeal to your sympathies and tempt you with a full knowledge of the consequences. It is also possible that she did not have a full knowledge of the consequences, or had put it out of her mind. And even if she knew exactly what she was doing, it may have been that she was driven by the desperation of her situation. As long as things turned out well for Tai in the end, she simply didn't care what might happen to Kei. There's no way that we can ever know for certain what was on her mind. Nevertheless, Your Highness devoted an extraordinary amount of time to her cause, and I, for one, did not object."
    "Ah--"
    "That that was because we could observe her words and actions. The way she related to you, and to us, and even to Koshou. Based on everything she said and did, she did not strike me as the kind of person who would happily see Tai saved at the expense of Kei. I still lack any ability to read her mind, but if she did indeed come here with the intent of leading you into sin, I have to believe that was the product of her desperate straits, and not something whose implications she had considered fully."
    "Yes," said Youko, with a nod.
    "In any case, that's what it comes down to in the end. How others treat you is largely the result of how you treat them. Approach me in a manner that says your words and actions value me, and I may well move Heaven and Earth to accommodate you. Whether the world will reward you in turn all depends on the person and the circumstances. But these fellows carried on ignorant of that simple equation, cursed their luck, and attacked their liege instead. I believe they merely turned their own self-loathing outwards."
    "I've heard the same thing said in Yamato."
    "Except that when such spiteful people pick up swords to make their case, it is not the reason of their arguments that people are listening to. This is yet another example of a man being rewarded according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."

Chapter 49
    R isai came into the room with the evening meal. "How are you feeling?"
    Taiki was up and gazing out the window. They were in the parlor of the Taishi's manor where Risai was living. "I am doing fine," he said, glancing over his shoulder.
    Though he was putting a brave face on things, he still looked a bit drawn. Risai smiled, as if to dispel her misgivings. "Recently, when you were asleep, the Royal Kei graciously came by to see you. She wanted to apologize for causing any more contamination to your environment."
    "It was not her fault."
    "No, it wasn't," Risai agreed as she set the table. "The Royal Kei concerns herself with her subjects so, and then something like that happens. It really brought home to me what a tough job being Empress must be."
    "Indeed." Taiki remained mum for a while. Then he said, "Will you be returning to Tai, Risai?"
    "What?" At first, Risai didn't comprehend what he was asking. She tilted her head to one side as if to double-check her hearing.
    Taiki looked at her, a look of great earnestness in his eyes. "We cannot continue to impose ourselves on Kei like this."
    Risai took in these words with no small measure