The Incense Game Read Online Free PDF

apologies, Your Excellency, but—but I’m afraid … there isn’t anything else.”
    Food had been scarce and limited in variety since the earthquake, even in the castle, Masahiro knew. But the shogun either didn’t know or didn’t care.
    “There has to be something else for me to eat! I’m the shogun!” He picked up a bowl and hurled it. The servant ducked. Soup sprayed from the bowl as it flew. It hit the wall, then broke on the floor. The boys gasped. Masahiro couldn’t help thinking that if he’d acted like that when he was little, his nurse would have spanked him.
    The shogun flapped his hand at the servants. “Take this slop away and bring something new, or I’ll, ahh, have you and the cooks put to death!”
    Lugging the trays, the servants hurried off. Masahiro and the other boys gazed longingly after the food. The shogun said to them, “Clean up the mess!”
    The two other pages jumped to obey. They, like Masahiro, were sons of government officials. They were in competition to show who could best serve the shogun. If they impressed him favorably, they would get high positions when they grew up. They raced each other to pick up the broken bowl.
    “Pour me some tea—I’m thirsty,” the shogun said. One of the twins lifted the teapot from a table. He poured tea into a cup held by his brother, who handed it to the shogun. The shogun drank, and grunted. “This is cold!”
    The twins set the pot on a brazier, then discovered that the fire inside had gone out. The pages stepped on the spilled soup and tracked it across the tatami.
    “You’re making things worse!” the shogun cried. Other concubines removed the grate from the brazier and fanned the coals. Ash billowed into the air. “Stop, stop!” He waved his hand and coughed. The pages rushed to open the window. “No! I’ll freeze to death!”
    Masahiro had witnessed many scenes like this since the earthquake, since the shogun’s concubines and youngest retainers had been given charge of the private chambers. Incompetence and chaos reigned. Masahiro slipped quietly from the chamber and fetched a broom and dustpan. Unlike other samurai boys, he’d learned from his family’s servants how to make fires, clean house, and even cook simple foods when he was little; he’d thought it was fun. Every day he resisted the urge to put his skills to use lest he attract too much attention from the shogun. His parents had warned him against that, when he’d first become a page last year.
    “This is a great opportunity,” Sano had said. “Do well, and you’ll bring honor to the family as well as secure yourself a good place in the regime. But it’s also dangerous, because the shogun likes boys.”
    As his father awkwardly explained what the shogun did with them, Masahiro wasn’t surprised. He’d happened upon similar goings-on among the retainers in his own household. Manly love was considered normal, acceptable. And Masahiro had heard the gossip about the shogun and the boys at the palace.
    “Your mother and I don’t want that for you,” Sano said. “We’d rather you get a lesser post than become the shogun’s plaything.”
    Masahiro had learned that their attitude was unusual. Most parents in their position would willingly, if not happily, sacrifice their children to advance the family.
    “We can’t keep you away from the shogun, and even if we could, we wouldn’t deny you the opportunity to make good for yourself.” Regret showed on Sano’s face. “All we can do is tell you to be careful.”
    “How?” Masahiro asked. Even though he felt no disapproval toward people who practiced manly love, he didn’t have any urge to do it himself—especially not with the shogun, who was a cranky old man.
    “Be obedient, but don’t volunteer for anything,” Sano said. “Do the best work you can, but quietly. Only speak if you’re spoken to.” His conflicted expression said he knew his advice ran counter to what a courtier should do if he wanted