"The breath of the person dying on the bed was thin and weak, the expression in the eyes dim and frail, the skin vampire-white, however the resolution in her voice left no room for misinterpretation when Royal Noble Consort Soyong cursed Empress Yū Miko:
"'Yū Miko is a cold blooded monster! May it be that I be reincarnated as a cat and she be reincarnated as a rat, so that I can, for ever and ever, grab her throat and rip her heart out!'"
"Why would the Consort utter such horrific words?" interrupted the novice, rather shocked.
"I can say, like all great and terrible stories, hers started with love:
"A well-known painter received a commission to paint the young Emperor Akishino's portrait. And he came to the palace with his daughter Soyong, eighteen years of age, and she excelled at playing the shamisen. She played and sang to entertain the Emperor while her father painted his portrait.