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first one interrupted.
    “But if he did, ” said the second one.
    “Stop it!” Seikei shouted. His voice sent echoes around the vast hall.
    They stared at him.
    “You’re not allowed to shout in here,” the Minister of the Right said.
    “Unless you have good reason,” his colleague added.
    “But you don’t,” said the first minister.
    Seikei replied before the other minister could. “Yes, I do. I am on official business for the shogun, and on his authority I request to see the scroll. I can bring samurai to enforce his orders, if necessary.”
    “Oh, the shogun,” the Minister of the Right said in a mocking voice.
    “The emperor is superior to the shogun,” the Minister of the Left informed Seikei.
    “In all things,” said the other minister. Together, they gave Seikei smug looks. On this point, apparently, they were not going to contradict each other.
    Seikei felt angry. “The emperor is not here,” he said. “What if he orders you to show me the scroll?” Seikei knew this was highly unlikely, but he wanted to jolt the ministers out of their feelings of superiority.
    He didn’t succeed. “The emperor is young,” said the Minister of the Right.
    “Young people,” said the second one with a meaningful look at Seikei, “need guidance.”
    “He may not be able to exercise good judgment,” said the first minister. “That is why we are here to advise him.”
    “Or he may exercise good judgment,” pointed out the second one.
    “In either case, we will decide.”
    “If we agree.”
    And of course, thought Seikei, the two ministers would never agree on anything.

6
    DEATH VISITS THE MONASTERY
    S eikei left the palace with a feeling of helplessness. Very likely the governor would not go so far as to send samurai to compel the ministers to give up the scroll. And Seikei’s threat to ask the emperor to issue an order was an empty one. Who could tell if the emperor would even speak to him again?
    Kushi showed him the way back to the governor’s residence. There, Seikei was given a guesthouse separate from the main building. He could order anything he liked for his evening meal, but failure had robbed him of hunger. After picking at a tray of tea and plain rice, he sat trying to think of a plan until sleep overcame him.
    When he awakened, someone was rapping at his door. Annoyed, he wanted to ignore it until he heard Kushi’s voice. When Seikei slid the door open, he saw not only Kushi but two other samurai. The looks on their faces were considerably less friendly than the ones Seikei had encountered yesterday. “Get dressed,” Kushi said. It was not a request. “The governor wants to see you immediately.” No one asked if Seikei would like tea.
    Neither did the governor. He was finding many wrinkles in his clothing this morning, and the look he gave Seikei seemed to suggest who was to blame.
    “There has been an unfortunate development,” said the governor.
    Seikei had guessed that much.
    “The emperor has disappeared again.”
    Seikei blinked. He would not have guessed that. “I thought the monks were guarding him.”
    “Yes, the monks.” The governor pulled fiercely at one of his sleeves. “Some of them were killed.”
    Killed? “How did this happen?”
    “You do not know?”
    “How could I know? Have you sent a magistrate to investigate? My father Judge Ooka—”
    The governor’s angry look cut him off. “I am aware of your foster father’s reputation. However, another of the shogun’s officials is already investigating the case. He is at the monastery. My men will take you there.” The governor smoothed out a few more of the distracting wrinkles. “My advice,” he told Seikei, “is to tell him the truth, because he will have you tortured if you don’t.”
    Seikei could do nothing but stare.
     
     
    On the way to the monastery, Seikei realized that the three samurai were there to keep him from fleeing. But how could the governor think he had anything to do with these new