Chapter 23 To be Chief of the Inner Compound “Please . . . please don’t hurt my lady.”
So, Yae was begging her to forgive them? Sakura took back her knives and saw the maid kneeling on the ground, kowtowing to beg her pardon. The madam was hiding behind the screen, with her face pale, like she’d just recovered from a disease. Her make-up was washed away by sweat and her whole face was messed up.
“Since you know who is more powerful, don’t bother me again. Let me tell you, I don’t need to survive by being a spy. It was you who wanted my life first today, or I wouldn’t have shown you my martial arts. Remember this: I hate to be framed. If you want a peaceful life in the future, keep your mouth shut. If the master knows that we’ve had this fight, I can leave here easily, but you . . . my madam . . . ”
“I know. I agree to everything you require. And I won’t bother you anymore. But . . . please don’t hurt him—our master.” The madam was begging, trembling, and puzzled.
Sakura sneered at her request. “Don’t use your logic to guess my movements. I don’t have any plans of hurting any of them. You have treated me badly, and I just tolerated it. Even the knives were in my hand, and I wouldn’t use them to kill. Or your underlings would already be dead.”
When she went to the main house of Lady Ooi, it was already noon. Sakura made some Chinese food for her herself.
“Sakura, I didn’t know you can even cook the dishes of the Ming Country. You are so talented.”
“Thanks for the praise, my Lady! My family has been doing business with the Ming Country for some time. So, I know how to cook their food.”
“Why not cook this for Harun.o.bu? He will enjoy these flavors.”
Sakura lifted her head, only to find some loneliness on Lady Ooi’s face, which was under the deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, and could not be covered by her smile.
Lady Ooi was holding her Buddha beads, looking out from the door. “Harun.o.bu has become the master of the family. I know Madam Sanjō dreamed of moving into this main house. My son felt guilty in his heart for sending his father away. So he won’t make a move and not allow her. I think, this is a correct time for me to move to the mountains, and spend the rest of my life in the temple. Only in this way, can Harun.o.bu manage the family as he wants, and move on without any scruples.”
So . . . she wanted to leave them all? Sakura was trying to say something, but ultimately, her trembling lips could not open. Her eyes became wet.
“No need to tell Harun.o.bu. I will leave before he comes back tonight. Yukina will follow me to the temple.”
“My Lady . . .”
“Sakura, I know Madam Sanjō dislikes you. But she is also a poor woman. If Harun.o.bu marries you in the future, please tolerate her and forgive her. She served us well before, marrying far away in Kai—such a remote and poor place—for the alliance of the Imagawa family and us. Besides, Harun.o.bu has no feelings for her. It was her own fate.”
“Yes, Ma’am. I won’t be measured against her, nor will I be a wife of the master. My Lady, would you agree with me on something?” Sakura sat upon her knees on the ground and bowed with tears. This was the first time she begged her, and maybe the last time.
“What? Mother appointed you to be the chief of the inner compound?”
The truth of the old lady going to the temple made Harun.o.bu very sad. But the next piece of news was hard to react to. Asking her to be in charge of the inner compound? Was this her trick due to not being his woman?
“What did you say to her?” Harun.o.bu was knocking the table with his folding fan. Though his voice was low, his att.i.tude was serious.
“I just mentioned it and she agreed. I don’t know why she agreed so easy.”
Sakura felt like she was being doubted again and that bothered her. Suddenly, she thought of her clothing being changed last night by him and remembered that at first she was trying to blame him in the morning.
“I didn’t get even with you and now you’re doubting me! What did you do last night? Who changed my bathrobe?”
“Do you think there was someone else in the room last night?” He didn’t care about her question at all.
“Then what did you do to me?! You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!” She stood up with her fists clenched tightly.
“I asked Kaji to change your bathrobe. And she threw away the one that was contaminated by wine. It was smelled awful.” He arched an eyebrow, giving her a teasing smile.
“So . . . you didn’t touch me after drinking?” Though she was still angry with his comment on her stature, she put down her fists.
“Do you remember the order of all the things that happened last night? It was I who became drunk first, and I didn’t ask you to be my sleep companion. But when I woke up this morning, I found you sleeping in my bosom.”
“So . . . so . . . I also drank too much last night?” Sakura felt incredibly helpless, so she sat down again. At first, she was going to tell him that he called her name while he was dreaming. But his sudden change back to being a master again made her unwilling to mention that issue to him, and the little good impression he’d given her last night disappeared.
Anyway, she was about to become chief of the inner compound. This position was appointed by the eldest lady. And the family rule was that, a chief of the inner compound could not be the master’s wife. He had no chance to look down on her with the words “sleep companion.”