Culinary Chronicles of the Court Flower: Volume 6

This volume is all about tax drama involving a certain prefectural administrator, a charmingly sullen man named Kan Cho'un. Due to what happened at the end of volume 5, things have gone out of control for Shohi and so the majority of this book is spent on politics along with some history. The four consorts get some action this time around, and they 100% deliver. The main conflict wouldn't get resolved as fast if it weren't for them.

Sadly, the same can't be said for Rimi. She really feels like a side character in this book. She does get her own spotlight when she cooks a meal by the end of the book, but until then, her role is rather small. Except maybe when she convinces Cho'un to talk to Shohi. Aside from that, she spends a lot of time lamenting over Shusei's decision... though not as much as Shohi does. The man is so forlorn over Shusei leaving his side that it makes me wonder which relationship is the main romance here.

Speaking of which, I'm really not sure how to feel about the romance at this point. Or rather, about the two love interests. Shusei is being shady as hell right now, and as a reader I feel so left behind when Rimi and Jotetsu are starting to realize his true intentions LOL. It looks like Shusei and Rimi have finally decided to part ways at the end of this book, but due to the number of times they vowed to kill their feelings for each other and doing an absolutely terrible job at it... I'm honestly skeptical. Really wouldn't be surprised if they keep circling around each other in the future. That being said, I still find it hard to warm to Shohi too. He has grown a lot since the beginning, but his fuse is as short as ever and he snaps at everyone and everything.

Maybe Rimi should abandon both ships and go back to her sister in Wakoku, who she still mentions randomly in her mind. I know I said I'm giving up cause she'll never drop it, but it feels as out of place as always. Still, I'm quite fond of this series despite having many complaints about it. Looks like volume 7 has even more political drama, so I'm already excited.