Chapter 32 Section five

In the spring of the first year of Yinghe (961 AD), Yuan Boya came to Seimei's mansion in order to solve the problem of Mibu Tadami ghost. In other words, it was about a year after the court waka competition banquet in the fourth year of Tiande. As in previous years, Boya and Qingming sat on the narrow corridor facing the courtyard. It is still early for the Yae Sakura to bloom. However, the ancient wild cherry tree deep in the courtyard is full of cherry blossoms that make the branches droop. Although there is no wind, the petals of the pale peach-colored cherry blossoms are still falling here and there.

A petal fell, and before it hit the ground, another petal left the branch. Boya came here suddenly, without any entourage, and came here alone on foot.This man, whose identity is His Majesty, occasionally acts so rashly. It was not until noon.The morning dew condensed on the grass in the garden has not yet evaporated completely. "Didn't bother you?" Boya asked Qingming. "There's a visitor coming at noon. Anyway, there's still time." Qingming looked at Boya, leaning against the pillar, "Is there anything wrong? Let's hear it." "Did you know that the ghost of Lord Zhongjian appeared in the palace?" Boya asked.

"It's the ghost of Mibu Tadami-sama." Seimei nodded. "yes." Mibu Tadami was the son of Mibu Tadami, who was one of the editors of the famous "Kojin Waka Collection" and was selected as one of the thirty-six poets after his death. In the seventh year of Tianli (AD 953), seven years before the waka competition in the fourth year of Tiande, a waka competition was also held in the palace, and Tadami used many pseudonyms to participate in the competition at that time.After that, until the fourth year of Tiande, he participated in every waka competition held in the palace.

It may be too ugly to say that he is proficient in waka competitions, but he should be regarded as a well-known waka competition talent at that time. In his early thirties, he became a magistrate of Settsu Document Recording, which was a humble job.In terms of official position, it is from the eighth rank. Due to financial constraints, every time he went to Beijing to participate in waka competitions, he lived in the Suzaku Gate Music Hall.Qu Dian is the place where guards and civil servants stay. In simple terms, it is the changing room of guards. Zhong Jian always rents a room in Qu Dian and lives there.

It can be seen that Mibu Tadami not only has no friends in the capital, but also has no contacts who can help him introduce suitable accommodation. Must be really financially strapped. Zhong Jian heard about waka competitions in Settsu, and he would save money all the way to the capital to sell his waka. For people with humble official positions like Tadami, the waka competition is a rare opportunity to recommend themselves to the hall and earn extra money. Last spring, the ghost of Tadami Mibu began to appear in the palace some time after the waka competition in the palace. Tadami has been bedridden since the day after the waka competition.He suffered from food refusal, could not swallow anything, and became thin and weak day by day.If forced to swallow food, he would vomit.

Even if he managed to swallow the porridge, he would vomit it immediately.His whole body was so thin that only his eyes were shining brightly. People have speculated that he suffered from food refusal probably because Zhong Jian's "Infatuated with Iraqis" and the song lost to Kanesheng's "Selfish Heart Hidden Meaning". Kanemori and Tadami are about the same age, both in their early thirties.When Zhongjian was sick in bed, Jiansheng went to visit him specially.At this time, Zhongjian was as thin as skin and bones. When Kanesei went to visit the doctor, Tadami was sleeping on a hospital bed covered only with straw mats.When he saw Kanemori, he got up weakly and whispered his waka:

"I'm obsessed with Yiren... I just walk around as usual, and the rumor spreads thousands of miles, and this love just sprouted in my heart, but I hope everyone doesn't know..." Tadami's face turned towards Kanemori, but his eyes turned a blind eye.Not only did he not change his clothes, he didn't seem to have taken a shower, and he smelled like a beast. After Jiansheng came back from his illness, he once sighed to the people around him, "It looks like a ghost." Half a month after the waka competition, Chumi passed away. It is said that when Zhong Jian died, he was as thin as a ghost. When people picked up the body, they found that his weight was less than half of his original weight.

Soon, the ghost of Zhongjian appeared in the palace.In the middle of the night, the ghost of Zhongjian will appear near Qingliang Temple, where the waka competition is held, muttering to himself, and reciting his own waka in tears. He recited his own waka, passed through the Xianhua Gate, passed through the South Court, came to Zichen Hall, and disappeared. He doesn't do anything bad, he just appears, recites his waka, walks around the palace, and finally disappears, that's all. Not many people have seen his ghost, only those on duty occasionally bump into him.It's scary, but if he doesn't show up, people in the palace will still make fun of him:

"Master Zhongjian, why didn't you show up tonight?" "Maybe I'm painstakingly reciting a new work." Those who knew about the appearance of Zhongjian ghost thought that as long as it didn't reach the emperor's ears, it would be fine with each other's tacit understanding. "But, the emperor finally found out about this." Boya said. "I guess." Qingming nodded with his right hand resting on his chin. "You already knew?" "Is it the craftsman who saw the ghost?" "Exactly, Seimei..." Currently, there are many artisans working in Qingliangdian.Last autumn, Qingliang Hall was destroyed by fire due to lightning strikes.In order to rebuild Cheongnyangjeon, the palace has been carrying out civil works since last year.Craftsmen work from morning to evening.

"However, because the emperor urged..." Therefore, since ten days ago, several craftsmen will stay in the palace until night in order to work overtime.Craftsmen lit bonfires on site to catch up with work, sometimes working late into the night.As a result, about six nights ago, three craftsmen happened to stay behind to catch up with work, and they ran into the ghost of Zhongjian. That night, the craftsman heard a certain sound coming from a distance. At first, he thought he had heard it wrong, but after listening carefully, there was indeed a sound coming.It was a man's voice.The man is chanting waka mournfully.

As the sound came, a pale phosphorescent figure appeared in the dark of Qingliang Hall, which was halfway through the project. That figure, chanting waka, walked forward in the darkness.The figure seemed unaware of the three men standing at the scene, walking past the Qingliang Hall... The man turned left while chanting. After turning the corner, when he came to Zichen Palace, the man suddenly disappeared.There was only deep darkness all around. The same thing happened two nights in a row. In short, Mibu Tadami's wronged soul turned into a ghost, appeared in the palace every night, murmured his waka every time, and finally disappeared in the direction of Zichen Palace... This gossip reached the ears of the emperor. "And then?" Seimei asked. "The emperor is very concerned, and ordered someone to find a solution..." Boya lowered his head, squinting up from the corner of his eyes, peeking at Qingming's expression. "Do you want me to find a way?" "Exactly." "I have also seen the ghost of Master Zhongjian a few times. It is a silent ghost. He doesn't care about other people at all, he only cares about himself. Now that the ghost is actually a necessary existence." "How do you say that?" "To put it simply, because the current Qi channels in the palace as a whole, including the ghost of Lord Zhongjian, are very stable. If we insist on getting rid of harmless things and disturb the stable Qi channels, other strange things may happen, maybe Invite even worse ghosts." "Qingming, since you said so, it should be the truth. The problem is that the emperor doesn't think so..." "That man..." "Hey, didn't I say that you can't address the emperor like that..." "Let Shikigami come to that man's dormitory every night and whisper in his ear, telling him to ignore Mr. Tadami, is that okay?" "In case the emperor finds out that Shikigami is causing trouble, Qingming, your life may be very difficult to save." Before Boya could finish speaking, a charming woman wrapped in twelve single clothes appeared at the other end of the narrow corridor, walking towards this side. The woman came to Qingming, nodded her head slightly and reported, "The visitor you have met with is here." "Bring him here." After Qingming finished speaking, the woman nodded slightly again, and retreated in the direction she came and went. "Then, let me retire first..." Boya wanted to get up. "You don't need to leave the table, Boya, just sit where you are. The purpose of this visitor coming to me is not completely unrelated to what you just said." "What's the meaning?" "Because the visitor is Mibu Tadami-sama's father, Mibu Tadami-sama." Seimei said.