"Ah! Could this be... the Yasakani no Magatama!" Chiyo cried out despite herself, then quickly glanced around. If anyone else discovered it, the shrine would probably face another upheaval...
"Yes." It was not Han who answered Chiyo, but Tomoko.
As she gazed at the ancient, finely crafted magatama, her memories seemed to return to the time when she had first returned to court. Back then, the Guji of the Ise Grand Shrine had accused her of stealing the Yasakani no Magatama, one of the three Sacred Treasures, and had even fabricated a great deal of evidence. Although she had indeed possessed the divine jewel, the Guji had given it to her in secret, claiming that it could protect her. In reality, he had used it to perform a ritual that had nearly killed her and almost tainted the jewel itself. Had Han not appeared then, the conspiracy of the Guji and those behind him would likely have succeeded. The Nijo House had exhausted almost every resource at its disposal to clear her name.
After that, they had begun their counterattack against the Guji. How should he be punished for failing to safeguard the divine jewel? Merely stripping him of his position was not enough... Under their threats, the old Guji had turned the accusation around and shifted the blame onto the Uchijima family. The Nijo House had seized the opportunity to press its advantage, and finally, Rura-in, of the Uchijima faction, had been deposed. Tomoko's younger brother had also happened to fall ill and died without recovering. Thus, Harukata, the Nijo House's second son, who had ended up living among commoners years earlier, had become the new Guji of the Ise Grand Shrine... And Tomoko, then the Emperor's only remaining child, had formally been named Crown Princess...
This struggle for