Namida-bashi: The Written Oath (3)

The scheme to obtain joint signatures for the written oath was carried out with great caution so as not to be discovered by the Sukagawa faction. Minonokami, the head of the Four Heavenly Kings, fully agreed with this plan proposed by Yabe Awano-kami and began laying the groundwork with the Suda clan, starting with his younger brothers. From there, the word spread to the hatamoto serving each of the hereditary vassals, and the originator, Yabe Awano-kami, also began persuading Nikaido Yamashiro-no-kami and Yatano Samanosuke.
Naturally, it would be problematic if word leaked to the Sukagawa faction. Discussions regarding this matter were held repeatedly in secret, centered around the Wada mansion, which the Sukagawa faction and the Tameuji couple did not frequent.
"Zushoryo. Since when did you become a master of conspiracy?"
Shinobu Tobei, who had known Zushoryo since he was a child, said this with an air of exasperation.
Although he did not think Tobei would betray them, he did not like the way he said it.
"Didn't you say you wanted to make a name for yourself here?"
Offended, Zushoryo instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword.
"No. That is true, but..."
As if to appease Zushoryo, who had made a show of threatening him, Tobei replied calmly.
"It is true that we have grown closer to the Wada side. However, Jibu-dono asked us to wait three years, and we accepted that before taking our wives. I am merely concerned about how Heaven will view us if we create a written oath in a way that betrays that promise."
When put that way, Zushoryo had no rebuttal. However, having married Yabe's daughter, neutrality was not an option for Zushoryo.
"Don't worry. I will swear to the deity of Iwase Shirakata just as well."
Tobei smiled faintly.
The small quarrel with Tobei remained as a thorn in Zushoryo's heart for a while. However, everyone must have been unable to bear the rumors of Jibu-taifu's evil deeds any longer. It was said that Jibu had promised the shogunate in the capital to impose a "chishi" (equivalent to modern real estate tax), a levy not even imposed in Kamakura. If that were being paid to the shogunate, it might be one thing, but hearing the sounds of revelry coming from Sukagawa Castle day and night, it was clear whose pockets it was flowing into.
The various shoji were not just sitting idly by, either. However, Jibu's subordinates would snatch the annual tribute from the territory before the shoji's men could. If they tried to collect more, they naturally incurred the resentment of the commoners. Because of this, the Sukagawa shoji were finding their finances strained, regardless of the region.
Zushoryo's persuasion went smoothly after that, and the date for the dedication of the written oath was set for the auspicious day of March 20th. Toki Ukon-dayu, who secretly prided himself on being from a "noble family" no less than Zushoryo, readily agreed, saying, "This is the perfect opportunity to raise the name of Toki in Michinoku." The Toki clan, which originated in Mino, was treated as "traitors" in the beginning of the currently popular Taiheiki. It seemed Ukon-dayu did not like that. He was eager to "overturn that impression."
"Zushoryo-sama. You look very tired."
Riku gently comforted Zushoryo, who had returned from another secret meeting at the Wada mansion today.
"The skin under your eyes has turned dark."
It seemed he was mentally exhausted as well. Outside, there was the faint sound of snow falling softly. It rarely snowed in Kamakura, but this was Mutsu, after all. Unlike the temperate Kamakura, it seemed it would really pile up.
"It's getting cold."
To Zushoryo, who muttered this without meaning, Riku softly invited him to bed. It was a thin futon, but it would be just right if they warmed each other.
Entwining her smooth legs and pressing her body against Zushoryo's chest and stomach, the warmth of his wife's skin soothed Zushoryo's heart, which had been growing rough from the unfamiliar conspiracies he was caught up in lately.
"Being a married couple isn't bad, is it?"
It seemed Riku was also being affectionate toward Zushoryo in her own way.
"Since Tobei and Hannai haven't settled down yet, this cold must be hard on them while sleeping alone."
Feeling a slight sense of superiority, Zushoryo wrapped his arm around Riku's back.
"I wonder if the Lord and his Lady are spending time together lovingly at the Iwama mansion right now."
As someone who served at the Iwama mansion more often than Zushoryo as an attendant to the Lady, Riku seemed to have seen the two of them being affectionate.
"But aren't they both still pure?"
He remembered the impression he had at the wedding ceremony, where they looked just like hina dolls. Princess Michiyo, in particular, was lovely, but he could not yet feel the kind of allure that the adult Riku exuded.
"Zushoryo-sama. That is rude to the Lord and his Lady."
Zushoryo pulled Riku's waist, causing her to smile bitterly, and brought her closer. A nice atmosphere naturally developed, and they intertwined their fingers.
"Tobei gave me a sarcastic remark, asking since when I became a master of conspiracy."
After they had finished being intimate, he said this, and Riku's brow clouded slightly.
"But in the first place, if the Lady's father had promptly handed over the Sukagawa castle, everyone would have been spared the suffering, wouldn't they?"
Riku was right. The responsibility for the root of the matter lay in Jibu-taifu's perversity.
"My uncle has also been looking scary quite often lately... He didn't use to be like that."
Riku sighed softly. The warmth of that breath brushed against his earlobe, and Zushoryo pulled his wife close once again.

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> Continuing to "The Written Oath (4)" <Magazine>


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