His suave tone barely concealed a massive hostility. From Sano’s first days as sōsakan, Chamberlain Yanagisawa had viewed him as a rival for Tokugawa Tsunayoshi’s favor, for power over the weak lord and thus the entire nation. He’d tried to sabotage Sano’s investigation of the Bundori Murders, and have Sano beaten to death. Sano had survived, and succeeded anyway. Unfortunately he’d also caught Chamberlain Yanagisawa in a trap he’d set for the killer, who had taken Yanagisawa hostage, terrifying and brutalizing him before Sano could come to the rescue. Chamberlain Yanagisawa would never forgive this unintentional offense.

“His Excellency ordered me to report directly to him upon my return to Edo Castle,” Sano said. He knew Yanagisawa was deliberately blocking his access to Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. Long ago he’d abandoned the submissive manner that demeaned him without appeasing the chamberlain. Now he refused to back down. “I will speak to him.”

Sano understood Yanagisawa’s anger, but all sympathy had fled when the chamberlain’s retaliation campaign began. For the past year, Yanagisawa had spread vicious rumors about Sano, ranging from alleged drunkenness, sexual perversion, and embezzlement to violent abuse of citizens and disloyalty toward the regime. Sano had been forced to waste much time and money battling the slander and bribing cooperation from people whom Yanagisawa had ordered not to help him. Yanagisawa’s spies dogged him constantly.

Yet so far, the chamberlain’s efforts to discredit Sano had failed, as had the covert assassination attempts: a horseman nearly running him down in the street; arrows fired at him while he was in the woods on the shōgun’s ghost hunts. Sano continued to enjoy the favor of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, who had latched on to him with uncharacteristic steadfastness, requiring his constant service and company.

But now he experienced a sinking feeling as Yanagisawa said, “His Excellency has a fever that requires a strict regimen of rest and quiet. He can see no one now—except myself, of course.” Yanagisawa’s finely modeled mouth turned up in a malevolent smile. “I shall relay to him the news of sword tester Miochin’s death: According to official sources, he and his thieves were captured and slain by special troops sent by me.”

Anger flared inside Sano, but seeing the elders waiting in veiled anticipation for him to make a scene, he controlled his temper. “You can’t hide the truth forever, Honorable Chamberlain,” he said evenly. “When the shōgun recovers, I’ll tell him what really happened.”

Chamberlain Yanagisawa dipped his brush into the ink. Across the fresh paper that the servant had placed before him, he quickly wrote three characters. Sano read them upside down: success, wind, and tree.