The Twelve Kingdoms: The Shore in Twilight

Royal En had been received and that they would spare no effort, he had a request to make. He wished to arrange a meeting with the general from Tai residing at the palace.
    "Seems to be requesting a meeting with Risai. Is he asking to send a servant to the manse, or asking to meet with the envoy in the manse?"
    Youko showed the letter to Shoukei. Shoukei glanced over it and blinked. "No. He wishes for the general to be sent to the manse. The meeting is for personal reasons only, so we shouldn't read anything of a life or death nature into it." Shoukei added, the surprised evident on her face, "That must mean the Royal Han himself is residing at a manse in Gyouten!"
    "Unbelievable," Youko muttered to herself. "Sounds damned forward of him to me."
    "Business as usual. But if he says this involves nothing of a life or death nature, the meeting with the general probably does concern a private matter."
    "Which is?"
    "The letter doesn't say. I'm only guessing, but the implication is that as far as his visit here is concerned, he wishes us to look the other way. The letter also asks us not to inform the general of the writer's identity. It concludes on that note."
    "So it says, but Risai is hardly in a condition to traipsing off to a manse in Gyouten."
    "Then our only option is to send a messenger to explain the situation. We should discuss it with the Taiho and Chousai and see what develops."
    Youko nodded. A quick meeting with Keiki and Koukan was arranged. The circumstances would be spelled out, and the only option was for the Royal Han to come to Kinpa Palace. Shoukei was dispatched to the manse with a private communiqué in hand: Risai was still too indisposed to move, and as waiting until she healed sufficient was out of the question, would he please come to Kinpa Palace instead?
    The composition of the letter, however, was the cause of much consternation.
    "It can't be some run-of-the-mill bit of correspondence," Shoukei firmly declared, holding up the letter from the Royal Han. "Look at this. It should be obvious. This is a person with exquisite tastes. We can't treat him like a commoner."
    "Even if you're right, my penmanship still stinks." Youko still hadn't gotten used to writing with a brush. She was quite self-conscious about the rough look of her characters.
    "That's why this must be handled with all due consideration. Dash off a note on whatever piece of paper happens to be lying around and it'll look like something destined for the trash bin, no?"
    "It's that important?"
    "It is. That's why if you use overly pretentious paper, it'll come across as rather undignified instead. It must be unaffected and in good taste. I'll hunt something up while you practice your handwriting with this."
    Youko sighed and set to copying the mockup Shoukei had prepared. And then, after quite a number of attempts, finally produced a clean version on the paper Shoukei had come up with. The letter in hand, Shoukei ventured down to the city at dusk. When she got back it was night. She wore a curious expression on her face.
    "What's up?"
    "Ah, well. Tomorrow they shall be visiting the palace. If they came as official guests of honor, the protocols would demand a lot of time and bother. So they repeatedly stressed that this be treated as a personal visit."
    "Oh. So what kind of person is the Royal Han?"
    The Royal Han had reigned for three hundred years, the longest dynasty after the southern kingdom of Sou and the northeast kingdom of En.
    Shoukei gazed up at the ceiling, a somewhat perplexed expression on her face. "An individual of complete refinement. As far as I can tell."
    "Huh," Youko replied.
    Shoukei answered with a clever smile. "You'll understand once you meet."

    The next day, as promised, word came from the Ministry of State that visitors had arrived from Han. Youko was taking care of business that had piled up during her trip to Mt. Hou. With a minimum of formalities, she left for the Outer Palace.
    One of the manors adjoining the Outer Palace was reserved for welcoming guests. Entering the hall, Youko saw two people waiting for her. One was a tall and stately lady who appeared to be in her late twenties. The other was a girl perhaps fifteen or sixteen. Glancing at the young woman, whose countenance showed no particularly unique features, Youko briefly paused. She looked familiar.
    She resembled a girl Youko knew . Of course they couldn't be the same person. That girl Youko knew was dead. Still, the similarity in their