Free The Ronin's Mistress by Laura Joh Rowland Page B

had defied the shogun’s orders, and Sano must uphold the law. And they’d killed many innocent people who hadn’t deserved to die for whatever Kira had done to Lord Asano—if in fact Kira had done anything to Lord Asano. To complicate matters, Sano had a personal code of honor that often conflicted with Bushido, that compelled him to seek the truth before he took action, that valued justice above blind obedience. There were too many questions in this case, and he needed answers before he made up his mind about the forty-seven r ō nin.
    The shogun sighed. “Ahh, this is a complicated issue.”
    “Yes, it is complicated.” Yanagisawa refrained from declaring his position. “If you set the forty-seven r ō nin free, you’ll look weak because you let them get away with disregarding your orders. If you put them to death, you’ll send a message that loyalty doesn’t matter, and thousands of other samurai may decide that they have better things to do than serving you.”
    Those were good points, but Sano figured that Yanagisawa wanted to see which way the wind blew hardest before he took a stand. Although Yanagisawa didn’t like rogues who disrupted order, and he would probably like to see the forty-seven r ō nin dead before sundown, an example to anyone else who was thinking of misbehaving, he had to consider the effect that the case would have on his quest for power.
    “There will be trouble, mark my words,” Yanagisawa said, “and Your Excellency has Sano- san to thank for it.”
    “You!” the shogun exclaimed, recoiling as if Sano had hit him.
    Incredulity struck Sano. “This isn’t my fault, Your Excellency,” he said, then turned to Yanagisawa. “What are you talking about?”
    “You arrested the forty-seven r ō nin, ” Yanagisawa said. “You dumped them in His Excellency’s lap.”
    “I was following orders to capture Kira’s killers,” Sano defended himself.
    “I ordered you to, ahh, get to the bottom of things,” the shogun retorted. “I didn’t say, ‘Cause more problems for me.’ But that’s ahh, exactly what you’ve done.”
    “There you go.” Yanagisawa shrugged at Sano. Yoritomo smiled triumphantly.
    Trust Yanagisawa to twist things around so that I look bad, Sano thought. Everyone else looked impressed with Yanagisawa’s deft play.
    “Since Sano- san created this situation, he should be the one to settle it,” Yanagisawa said.
    “A good idea,” the shogun said. The physician began pulling the cups off his stomach. Each made a loud, sucking sound as it came up, leaving a bright red circle on his skin, like a comical rash. “Well, Sano- san ? Shall we rule that the forty-seven r ō nin are innocent according to Bushido and pardon them? Or that they’re guilty of, ahh, treason and murder, and order them to commit seppuku ?”
    “This needs to be settled quickly,” Yanagisawa added.
    Sano was aware that peremptory action for the sake of action would be a dire mistake. This was such a sensitive issue that any decision was bound to create discord. It could even ignite a civil war. Yanagisawa wanted to force Sano to decide now. Later he would make sure it turned out to be the wrong choice and that Sano suffered the consequences.
    Two could play that game.
    Sano said, “Chamberlain Yanagisawa is second-in-command. He’s the man who should advise Your Excellency.”
    “Ahh, you’re right.” The shogun turned to Yanagisawa. “What do you suggest?”
    Yanagisawa couldn’t hide his annoyance that Sano had deflected the responsibility onto him. The case of the forty-seven r ō nin was like a hot coal that would burn whoever held it, and he was quick to toss it to someone else. “I suggest that the Council of Elders should decide.”
    The elders didn’t flinch. They’d been in politics for so long that they recognized a fatal game of catch and they were prepared. Ohgami said, “We should create a special supreme court to rule on the fate of the forty-seven r ō nin.