Chapter 4 lonely flower

The "Peacock Hall" at Xianglinfang, Main Street, Kanazawa City, did not come to an end until the morning shipment. Although Kaga Million Stone is the great feudal lord of Hokuriku, but because he is a collateral vassal, in order to avoid the suspicion of the shogunate, he specially created an atmosphere of singing and dancing.Thanks to government incentives, tea ceremony and flower arrangement have been popular here since ancient times, and even the development of Noh and arts and crafts has been widely spread in every part of Kanazawa. With the popularity of the tea ceremony, the snacks eaten while drinking tea are also very developed.There are many long-established pastry shops in Kanazawa, such as Peacock Hall, which claims to have a history of nearly 180 years since its establishment during the Kansei period.

The famous product of Peacock Hall is a biscuit called "Peacock", which is famous for its shape and pattern similar to peacock feathers.Later, in order to meet the needs of consumers, "peacock yokan" and "peacock glutinous rice bean cake" were launched.There are also walnuts on the surface of the yokan, which represent the round eyes on the peacock's feathers, that is, the appearance of the peacock spreading its tail. After checking whether the quantity of goods to be sent to the souvenir shop matches the delivery note, Tachibana Yasuko went to the lounge and ordered the maid to bring tea.

"Eiji, the numbers should be written more clearly. You see, these 0s and 6s are indistinguishable at all." She handed the paper-filled delivery note to Eiji Hirokawa, who was working as an accountant. Eiji Hirokawa, who just graduated from business for a year, answered with his head down: "Yes." He is a distant relative of the owner of Peacock Hall.Father Shanji has worked in this store all his life. Although he is ordinary, he has great dreams for his son. The former owner of Peacock Hall had two daughters. His elder sister, Jiu Zi, ran away from home when he was young, and his younger sister, Yasuko, married, but had no heirs.

Yasuko, who is one year younger than Jiuzi, is also over fifty in a blink of an eye, and must find an heir as soon as possible. Eiji's father and the former shopkeeper are distant cousins. Although the relationship is shallow, they are relatives after all.Therefore, Eiji, who originally wanted to be an office worker, was forced by his father to enter the Peacock Hall as a successor candidate. When Eiji was reprimanded by Yasuko, Shanji who was in the same office was also frightened into a cold sweat.He wanted to train Eiji to be his successor. ——It seems that this painstaking effort may be in vain.

Eiji, who had kept his head down, suddenly turned around and glanced at his father. (This stupid guy! Don't lose your temper.) Shanji's irritated mood involuntarily showed on his face. While waiting for the maid to bring the tea, Yasuko opened the newspaper, and when he turned to the third page, he suddenly exclaimed: "Ah! This is..." With trembling hands, he brought the newspaper close to his eyes. ——The French woman who lived alone was brutally murdered! This murder incident that took place in a high-end apartment on the outskirts of Kobe did not arouse Yasuko's interest at all.

It wasn't until she saw the name of the person who first discovered the body that she suddenly became excited. Rose Gilmore. Her older sister Hisako has severed ties with Peacock Hall since she ran away from home at the age of nineteen.At that time, both the husband and wife of the former owner of Peacock Hall died. Before the daughter grew up and got married, the uncle was temporarily in charge of the business.The meticulous and face-saving uncle was furious when Jiuzi ran away from home, and expressed that he would never forgive him. Although the relationship was severed, news of Hisako still spread to the ears of Tachibana's family from time to time—for example, she married a British antique surnamed Gilmore in Kobe, and gave birth to a daughter when the Pacific War broke out. The girl's name is Call Rose and wait...

"Rose? Gilmore...will it be my sister's child?" Yasuko repeatedly read the newspaper reports, talking to himself. The maid who brought the tea heard this and asked curiously: "What did you say?" "It's none of your business anyway." Kang Zi answered coldly and angrily. "Oh..." The maid hurriedly withdrew. Yasuko closed his eyes—— Yasuko didn't know about his sister being burned to death after the war until several years later.I heard that the British brother-in-law later moved to Tokyo. Yasuko recalled her aunt who passed away the year before last, and once described how she went to Tokyo to see her sister and daughter.

—I got the address of Gilmore's house from another antique dealer.Although Hisako is dead and has severed ties with Tachibana's family, I still care about what Hisako's daughter looks like... I found her home while asking for directions.I rang the doorbell, and it happened that Hisako's daughter came out to answer the door... This little girl was named Rose, she was wearing a Japanese middle school uniform, she was quite cute, and she was also very kind... Aunt narrowed her eyes and praised. Later, Kangzi heard people say that Rose went back to England with her father. Unexpectedly, the child's name turned into typeface and appeared in the newspaper.

It can be seen from the report that she came to Japan from the UK a few days before the incident, and she was going to Fuso Women's University Dun English... The newspaper also gave an introduction to the person who found the body.Probably the scene of the murder was in Kobe, the victim was French, and the person who found the body was British, full of rich international flavors, it is more interesting than ordinary murders.So even the person who found the body gave a detailed introduction to his background. "Has that child returned to Japan?..." Yasuko said to himself again.

Maybe it was because he was getting old, but Kang Zi often muttered to himself. Hirokawa Zenkichi walked from the account room to the lounge, and leaned over to read the newspaper in Yasuko's hand. "You said she was your sister's daughter...has she returned to Japan?" The voice was a little terrified. Yasuko turned his head, as if he was giving the newspaper to Shanji, "The English female teacher Rose Gilmore mentioned in this news must be my sister's daughter." Eiji who was standing aside suddenly interjected: "Huh? Did she come back from England to inherit the Peacock Hall?"

Shanji was reading the newspaper at first, when he heard this sentence, he raised his head and scolded his son severely: "Idiot!" In Kanazawa's dialect, it is customary to use the word idiot when calling someone a fool.Eiji was so scolded that she shrank her neck and stuck out her tongue. (Don't I forgive my sister yet?) Kang Zi asked himself. Kangzi hated his biological sister who was burned to death twenty-two years ago so deeply that he sometimes wondered whether the fire that burned his sister to death was the flame of hatred in his heart? —she couldn't stop herself from thinking otherwise. In the year just after the September 18th Incident, a high school student named Keisuke Imamura came to board near Peacock Hall.Recalling the scene of Imamura talking to her, it was as vivid as yesterday, and it immediately came to her mind vividly. (Already getting old...) Yasuko is still shy about memories.Looking back on her life, only that day is the most proud, and it is because of that day that her life has become so fulfilling. In adolescence, she blushed impatiently and told her sister about the conversation with Imamura. —Would you like to go for a walk in Kenrokuen... that's all?you like him don't you?Then why refuse?Fool! Hisuko said, giggling. ——But I'm sorry. Kangzi regretted telling her sister, but she couldn't hold back from telling anyone. I still remember that a shadow suddenly passed over her heart at that time, and it was later confirmed that her premonition came true. In less than a month, she saw her sister walking with Imamura in Mahayana Temple... When she was a girl, she would blush whenever she saw the walls of Kanazawa Castle.Because she immediately thought that the school building of No. 4 High School was inside, and felt that a certain part of her body seemed to be taken away. Her love for Imamura Keisuke was probably too obvious.Not only her sister noticed it, but the other party also felt it a little bit.That's why Imamura talked to her. The sister's smile made Yasuko's heart shudder—for her, her sister has always been a destroyer and a predator.Since she was a child, all her beloved dolls and toys were taken away by her sister. Although the two are only one year apart, once Kang Zi is targeted by his sister, he will be helpless.So from elementary school, she came up with a method of self-defense, that is, deliberately pretending not to care about the things she likes, in order to avoid her sister's attention. It's a pity that this strategy didn't succeed for long, and my sister immediately saw through Kang Zi's poor acting skills.Now her sister has learned of her admiration for Imamura. Based on her past experience, she naturally has an ominous premonition that her relationship will not be guaranteed. Anything she likes, no matter people or things, will be snatched by her sister. It didn't take long for Yasuko's love for Imamura to spread around, and the culprit for spreading rumors was probably her sister. After graduating from high school, Imamura went to study economics at Kyoto University.In the second year, Hisako left a book and left—she said she was going to find Imamura. Kangzi's uncle thought that Jiuzi's behavior was contemptuous of himself as a guardian, so he said angrily: ——Knowing that the other party is the man my sister loves, it is too much to want to steal love.The inheritance right of Peacock Hall was handed over to Yasuko, and Jiuzi severed ties with our family! Later, through the alumni of the Fourth High School who lived in Kanazawa, they successively inquired about Imamura.I heard that he was accused of participating in the left-wing movement, imprisoned, and seriously ill... ——It’s really unexpected! ...In fact, this is also good.This kid Imamura knew he was restless at the first glance.Jiuzi followed him to endure hardships, and you, Kangzi, escaped unharmed. Uncle said comfortingly. But at that time, Yasuko was slightly envious of her sister's ability to help Imamura as much as possible. A few years later, the news of Jiuzi marrying a foreigner reached Yasuko's ears. ——In our time, only the worst women married foreign devils! Uncle said contemptuously. However, Yasuko felt that her sister's fate was like a beautifully wrapped bouquet. And one of the flowers in my sister's gorgeous bouquet was—Rose?kilmore. Kang Zi kept repeating the name in his mouth. "That person has nothing to do with Peacock Hall! She's not from Lihua's family, right? Didn't the old master tell me earlier that she was not allowed to step into Lihua's house!" Hirokawa Zenkichi said with his cheeks twitching. Koko felt himself being sucked into a filthy vortex of wondrous relationships and desires. "What the hell are you trying to say, Sunji?" she asked coldly. "No, this... this girl named Rose has nothing to do with our family..." Sunji swallowed his saliva and replied. "It doesn't matter." Kang Zi said with a bit of abandonment. She stared at a picture on the wall of a peacock spreading its tail.This painting has been hanging in the store since before Yasuko was born.The painter Yoshizawa Saizan is not a famous artist, and the value is not high from the perspective of art, but it is regarded as a family heirloom because it shows the origin of the name of the Kyokudo.Kang Zi liked this painting since he was a child. (Among the things I like, my sister only left this painting to me.) Whenever he saw this painting, Kangzi always felt something in his heart. "I'll go out for a while." She stood up. "Where are you going?" Sunji asked. "I'll be back in an hour." She deliberately went out without telling her where she was going. Hirokawa Zenkichi looked at Yasuko's back, with a look of worry in his eyes.His eldest son is currently working in Osaka, and he doesn't seem to be doing very well.Therefore, letting the second son Eiji take over the Peacock Hall can be said to be Shanji's only life goal today. Rose?Gilmore's appearance is nothing less than a threat to Shanji.As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water, and Yasuko, who has a capricious personality, might want to meet Rose.The newspaper said that Rose was twenty-seven years old, but she might be very rich in the city, and it was not certain that she would find a way to win over Aunt Koko. ——Sunji was very worried about this. (This little bastard must never be allowed near Peacock Hall.) Sunji gripped the newspaper even harder. Eiji on the side was humming leisurely while arranging the wrapping paper, saying: "The boss probably went to Mrs. Izzy's place again." In Sugiura Town, near the Muro Saisei Literature Monument, lived a classmate and confidant of Yasuko's school days.Her husband is Izawa Yukizo, who used to be the high school principal and is now retired.Since Izawa Kozo and Imamura Keisuke were in the same class in high school, they can occasionally inquire about Imamura's news from Izawa's house. As Eiji expected, Yasuko walked towards Sugiura Town. "I just finished my work, so I came to see you." Yasuko said as he walked into the tea room of Ize's house. "Forgive me the polite words!" Mrs. Izzy said with a smile, "What happened this morning?" For friends who are too familiar, there is no room for concealment, which is actually quite scary.Mrs. Yi Ze could detect the ups and downs of Yasuko's emotions just by looking at Yasuko's face. "When I read the newspaper in the morning, there was news about my sister and daughter. I was shocked." Kangzi replied honestly. "Newspaper? I haven't read it yet." As Mrs. Eize spoke, she glanced at her husband who was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the tea room.Yukzo Izawa was reading a newspaper. "What news?" Izzy pushed the reading glasses on his forehead. "Isn't there a French woman killed in Kobe?" Yasuko said to her friend's husband. "Well, there is indeed such news." "The one who found the body seems to be my sister's daughter." "Ah, it's Hisako's..." Izawa Yukizo hurriedly put on his reading glasses and read the newspaper again. "Is this Miss Rose Gilmore?" he asked after rereading. "That's right." Koko nodded.Mrs. Izzy also moved closer to her husband's lap, reading the newspaper together. "Really? Could it be the same name and surname?" "The age matches too." "You want to see her?" "Still considering." "Think about it..." "But I'm all alone." "Isn't that unfair to your husband?" Tachibana Jin, the son-in-law of Peacock Hall, may still be making pastries in the factory.Although he is enthusiastic about his work, he is very boring, which often arouses Yasuko's dissatisfaction. "Actually, it's human nature to reunite with my sister's daughter. No matter what, you are always blood relatives." Izawa Yukizo expressed his opinion. "Hmph! It's not as simple as you said." In this way, the Yi Ze couple began to argue. Yasuko remembered another purpose of her coming here - to know the current situation of Keisuke Imamura. See Rose this morning?When she heard the news from Gilmore, she suddenly had the urge to miss Imamura. In the past, every time she went to Izawa's house to inquire about Imamura, she could only get a few words and phrases. Maybe they had some concerns about Yasuko. "Let's change the subject." Yasuko pretended to be a peacemaker, "By the way, how is Mr. Imamura? Do you know any news about him?" "Imamura?" Izawa Yukizo coughed dryly before speaking. This is his habit, and it has been cultivated invisibly for most of his life in education. Whenever he encounters a situation where he has to think about how to speak, he will involuntarily cough a few times first. "His illness probably won't get better, and I heard that he won't have many days to come." The retired principal replied cautiously. "That person has been yelling about his death for several years. When he was young, he often said that he only had a lifespan of one year at most...but in a blink of an eye, he is almost sixty." Kang Zi said without emotion. "It was true when he was studying at Kyoto University. But he was still young at that time, and he was taken care of... If it wasn't for the sacrifice of that person, maybe he would have..." Izzy chooses every word carefully. "My sister must have thought he would die." Kang Zi said in a low voice.She didn't know whether to hate or praise her sister who dedicated herself wholeheartedly to Imamura. "After going to university, Imamura began to have bad luck. First, his father owed a lot of debts and then died, so that the house and fields were all handed over to others. Maybe his father's failure in business was hidden from his family. In short, everything was exposed after his death, and his mother suffered. He fell down in a blow, and died soon after... As a college student, it was really embarrassing. I guess the main reason why he joined the left-wing movement was the sudden change in his family. Besides, he has no money to study." Yize looked at Yasuko's face while continuing to speak. It was around this time that Hisako left his hometown in Kanazawa.Maybe they passed a loving letter a while ago.One day, Hisako suddenly received this letter: Once Hisako learned of Imamura's predicament, he immediately rushed to Kyoto to save his beloved man. After that, there are some passing books. For example, Jiuzi worked in a cloth dyeing factory during the day and went on a part-time job at night, working until late at night.She also helped the left-wing movement do some propaganda work. (I'm afraid I can't do it...) Yasuko thought. It seemed preposterous to hate my sister for something I couldn't do.Although my sister will take away her beloved things, she also cherishes those things more than herself... "Imamura is trying to cheer up. Especially after that person... hey, after being abandoned by that person, it must have been a hard time!" Ize didn't know when he started to change into the tone of lecturing students in class. Kang Zi shook his head frequently in his heart. (My sister will never abandon Imamura...) Although there is no evidence, Kang Zi firmly believes that it is not true. Perhaps the rumors were too exaggerated, in short, the cohabitation life of Imamura and Hisako ended in a tragic end. ——This is a punishment from God! Uncle often said this sentence. Maybe this is to comfort Kang Zi, but Kang Zi doesn't appreciate it at all. Except for the day that Imamura invited her out for a trip, Yasuko's youth was ordinary.In contrast, the roads my sister walks include high mountains and deep valleys—Kangzi envies her, because regardless of the top of the mountain or the bottom of the valley, the roadsides are full of brilliant wild flowers. "What a big hit," Izzy continued. "When he was dying of illness, he was actually abandoned by such a person who has been taking care of him... He also wanted to try his best to cheer up and tell himself: What is it! Later, he devoted all his energy to translating the French version of "Manyoshu" .He worked so hard to finish it!" (It's like being in a classroom.) Yasuko thought while listening to Ize's words. Hisako did not abandon Keisuke Imamura. The reason why she married the British surnamed Gilmore was to help Imamura—I don’t know what excuses Hisako made, but she must have asked Gilmore for a lot of money for Imamura.And Imamura lives off that money. Imamura lived more than 20 years longer than her sister. This incident gave Yasuko a strange feeling—has her hatred for her sister faded? "Brother Imamura has fulfilled Tsubaki's wish to finish the French translation of "Manyoshu"... There is no goal of living anymore. That will not work for him... Like me, although I have retired, I still want to study again... I live in Hiroshima in seclusion Brother Imamura heard that his energy is declining day by day, so I'm afraid it really won't work if this continues." Listening to Yi Ze's words, Kang Zi suddenly felt that his career had also come to an end. There are seven twists and turns in Kanazawa, most of which are so tortuous that it is impossible to see the bottom at a glance. There are also many T-shaped roads. Legend has it that they were built to defend against the enemy. Since it was not subjected to air raids, Kanazawa City still retains many old buildings.Often there will be a black-painted wooden house next to a modern building. Koko left Ize's house and walked back to the Peacock Hall in Xianglinfang along the winding path. (Imamura is dying...) Although he just passed by at a certain point in his life, Imamura holds a very important weight in Yasuko's heart. Now is the time to remove him, just as Kanazawa City removed the railroad tracks of the city electricity last year. (I should forgive my sister, too.) Kang Zi stared ahead and walked. My sister is no longer alive, and it would be insulting to say that I forgive her.However, Kang Zi naturally had this thought in his heart. Saw Rose in the newspaper?By the time Gilmore's name was mentioned, Yasuko had quite realized it. (I'm getting older.) The feeling of loneliness and letting go of a big stone echoed in her chest. Rose was her niece, and she wanted to see her very much. As for Rose, because of her action personality, she quickly recovered from the shock of Mrs. Lusen's murder. On the third day after the incident, she decided to travel to Tokyo, so she called Suma Shousunji and told Nakagaki her itinerary. ——I also received an express letter from home telling me to go back no matter what... I plan to leave tomorrow. "I want to stop by Kanazawa when I come back from Tokyo. Well, I also want to visit Shinshu. Maybe take the Shinkoshi Line and get off halfway," she said. Nakagaki said, "Please come and play", and then told Rose the address and phone number of the Shinshu Temple.The temple is near Komoro. After hanging up the phone, Rose was humming country songs while preparing things for the trip. There are many doubts about Mrs. Rusen's death.Since she didn't know her relationship with her father, guessing was useless. Last night she called Mrs. Rimbaud who was staying at the P Hotel in Tokyo, and asked her to book a room and Ms. Yamashita to book a bus ticket. (Japan is about to unfold in front of me...) She took a deep breath, feeling her mind open up.