Dream of a Spring Night (Hollow Reed series) (19 page)

The emperor studied him for a moment.
 
“You can keep a confidence?”

The doctor blinked.
 
“Of course, sire.”

“It is nothing of great import, but gossip would be very unpleasant.
 
You are to mention to no one what we discuss.”

Yamada bowed.
 
He was slightly offended and said stiffly, “Certainly not, sire.”
 
His nervousness faded as his curiosity grew.

“I am told,” the emperor said, “
that
you are of good birth, that your studies at the imperial university are recent, and that you excelled at them.”

The doctor bowed again.
 
He had done well at the university, but most of what he knew about medicine had come to him later, in the slum dwellings of the capital.
 
He was tempted to say so, but Otori would not like it, so he was quiet.

“These studies have included matters of a sexual nature?”

Well, hardly in the slums.
 
People who were starving did not worry much about procreation.
 
It seemed to take place all too often and too easily for the poor.
 
He said, “Yes, sire,” and became nervous again.
 
The only time powerful men of the emperor’s age consulted their physicians about sexual problems was when they worried about dysfunction or a wife’s inability to conceive.
 
The retired emperor already had a large number of children, so he was probably not desperate for more.
 
Why the sudden concern about his sexual performance?
 

And then he remembered Toshiko and was filled with a sudden hatred for the other man.

The emperor pursued his subject, unaware of Yamada’s clenched hands and grinding teeth.
 
“Then you are familiar with all the methods and medicines that enhance the pleasures of the bedchamber?”

The doctor raised his eyes briefly.
 
The emperor’s face had an earnest, almost pleading expression.
 
Yamada reminded himself that this was the emperor, but that he was also a man and a patient and apparently very worried.
 
Private feelings must be put aside when treating a patient.
 
He said cautiously, “Yes, sire.
 
There are various substances and activities that are said to help the male performance.
 
I am not myself very familiar with their efficacy but —”

The emperor smiled and said quickly, “You are too young.”

Yamada blushed in spite of himself.
 
“Yes, sire, that may be so, but many men my age have such concerns.
 
I meant only that I could not attest to these prescriptions from my observation.
 
A great deal of our knowledge is based on what people report, and they may not always understand their bodies or tell the truth.”

The emperor considered this and nodded.
 
“Yes, I see.
 
Well, I cannot say I have ever experienced any problems maintaining my stamina before now.”

The doctor said, “In that case, surely it may be a temporary affliction, sire.”

The emperor rubbed his chin and looked uncomfortable.
 
“Perhaps, but there are reasons why I wish to be absolutely certain.
 
You understand?”

Yamada gulped but met the Emperor’s eyes and asked, “How can I help, sire?”

“You may answer some questions, and then perhaps you may wish to ask some.
 
When we are done, I am sure you will feel able to prescribe.”

The doctor bowed.
 
Dear heaven, he thought, I want to like this man and help him, but what if my advice loses me Toshiko forever?
 
He twisted his hands in irresolution.

The emperor said gently, “Do not be afraid, Doctor.
 
I shall not blame you for my weakness.”

Yamada managed a pale smile at this misunderstanding of his fears and reminded himself that there had never been any hope for him and that, as a physician, he had a duty to help to the best of his ability.
 
“Please ask, sire,” he said.
 

“Thank you.
 
Then my first question is this:
 
May a sudden weakness in a man
be
caused by a decrease in the female’s life-giving force?”

Surely that could not refer to Toshiko.
 
Suppressing surprise, the
doctor
 
said
cautiously, “Ancient medical texts state that women over thirty and those who have given birth are not beneficial to the male’s stamina, but I have not seen any evidence of this and I doubt it is true.”
 
Indeed, in his practice, poor women produced children far too readily and repeatedly to suggest that their men had such problems.

“Good,” said the emperor.
 
“Then would you say that the opposite is equally untrue?
 
That a man cannot gain stamina from lying with virgins?”

Yamada’s ears started to burn again.
 
It was warm in the room from the braziers, and the air was scented with the oil of the many lamps, but he was hot for other reasons.
 
“I don’t believe it helps, sire,” he managed.

“Hmm.
 
Then an inability experienced by a man is purely his own fault or due to age or disease?”

“I believe so, sire.
 
But a temporary weakness is not a serious or permanent impairment.
 
It may be caused merely by distractions or tiredness.”

“Distractions.”
 
The emperor pursed his lips and nodded slowly.
 
“Yes, I think you are quite right.
 
That may well be so.
 
Good.
 
It is your turn now.”

Nothing in his studies and the years of his practice of medicine had prepared the doctor for the difficulty of this particular consultation.
 
He felt the sweat trickle down his back under his robe and was afraid.
 
The powerful are unpredictable.
 
He did not trust the kind and reasonable manner with which the emperor had invited him to probe.

After some thought, he ventured, “From what I have heard so far, I take it that Your Majesty has been blessed with unusual vigor until very recently?”

“Unusual?
 
I don’t know.
 
Is it unusual?”

“Yes, indeed, sire.”
 

So far, so good.
 
The emperor looked quite pleased, proving that emperors were just men after all.
 
Except, of course, when they lusted after the woman one loved.
 
The doctor said, “A healthy man may experience temporary failure at any time, though more frequently in old age.”

The emperor frowned.
 
“I am in my thirty-ninth year, doctor.
 
Is it old age then?”

“No.
 
I don’t think so, sire.
 
I believe both Your Majesty’s August Father and Grandfather enjoyed great vigor far beyond that age.”

The emperor nodded.
 
“Quite right.
 
Go on.”

“May I ask if there is a physical impediment?
 
Some discomfort for example?”

“None at all.”

“May we leave aside that the fault may lie with the female?”

The emperor raised his brows in astonishment.
 
“What do you mean?”

Oh, dear.
 
Yamada felt he was groping along an abyss in the dark.
 
Was the emperor talking about the consort?
 
The snowy courtyard had been full of palm leaf carriages and merchants carrying stacks of silks and boxes of cosmetics.
 
Apparently Her Majesty was in residence.
 
Yes, that must be the answer and it presented new dangers.
 
He said, “Sometimes there may be an impediment, and access becomes difficult or unpleasant for the male.”

The emperor stared at him,
then
shook his head.
 
“No.
 
Nothing like that.
 
Besides, it was over too quickly.
 
But you raise an interesting problem.
 
I suppose greater stamina is needed for bedding a virgin than for a woman who has borne a child?”

Yamada panicked again and wiped the moisture from his forehead.
 
The emperor noticed his discomfiture and chuckled.
 
“Do not be embarrassed to speak your mind, Doctor.
 
You have my confidence.”

Yamada took a deep breath.
 
“I feel, sire, that the problem may lie with you, but that it is one that may easily be overcome with careful preparation.
 
I believe what you refer to is the first of the seven sexual impediments.
 
It is called “stopped air.”
 
This prevents a sufficient erection because the male is exhausted from excess or lacks the desire to continue.”
 
He saw that the emperor began to frown and hurried on, “The art of the bedchamber is not a business that should be hurried.
 
Perhaps taking counsel from one of the helpful little texts that most young men are given may suggest an approach?”
 
He let his voice trail off.

“Dear me.”
 
The Emperor burst into laughter.
 
“I haven’t thought of those little books for years.
 
When I was very young, I studied them with the greatest interest.
 
They contain fascinating but often quite useless suggestions.”
 
He laughed again.
 
“‘Joined mandarin ducks’ was nothing at all like what ducks do, though it was one of the easier positions, but ‘the soaring seagull’ was impossible to achieve and, heaven knows, I tried.”
 
He shook his head with another laugh.
 
“Thank you, Doctor, for making me
feel
quite young again for a moment.”
 
Becoming serious and businesslike again, he said, “I suppose all will be well, but if you have some medicine that you have found efficacious, may I have it?
 
Just in case?”

Yamada bowed.
 
“Yes, sire.”

“Today?
 
And I will call you again if the problem persists.”

“Of course, sire.”
 

The audience was over.
 
The doctor bowed and took his leave.

Outside again, he was grateful for the chill air on his perspiring skin.
 
He blinked against the blinding light, his mind in turmoil.
 
Suddenly, he felt a powerful urge to rescue Toshiko before it was too late, and he did a very foolish and dangerous thing.
 
Returning into the waiting area, he asked one of the servants for a piece of paper and writing utensils.
 
Then, kneeling on the cold flooring, he rubbed a little ink and wrote the directions to his house.
 
Instead of a signature, he drew a cat’s face with one eye closed.
 
This note he folded into a small square.
 

Then he made his way to the northern precincts of the palace and found the walled garden of the women’s quarters.
 
It was deserted this time of year, lying undisturbed and featureless under the soft blanket of new snow.
 
The rocks seemed merely larger hummocks of snow, and the bamboo drooped under its burden and rustled dryly as a sparrow flew up, sending a dusting of snow to the white ground.
 
The heavy shutters of the building were closed.
 
The doctor walked quickly to the veranda, and left his note under a small stone just outside the shutter where they used to meet.

A part of him hoped fervently that she was inside and, hearing him, would open the shutter a little, but in this he was disappointed.
 
All remained silent except for the sound of melting snow dripping from the end of the eaves.
 

Back at the gate, he turned for a last look and saw his tracks leading to her door and away again.
 
Too late!