| The Paulownia Court |  |
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The months passed and the young prince returned to the palace. At the age of seven, an embassy came from Korea. Hearing that among the emissaries was a skilled physiognomist, the emperor would have liked to summon him for consultation.
He decided, however, to send Genji to the Koro mansion, where the party was lodged.
The boy was disguised as the son of the grand moderator, his guardian at court. Korean cocked his head in astonishment.
"It is the face of one who should ascend to the highest place and be father to the nation," he said quietly, as if to himself. "But to take it for such would no doubt be to predict trouble. Yet it is not the face of the minister, the deputy, who sets about ordering public affairs."
The moderator was a man of considerable learning. There was much of interest in his exchanges with the Korean. There were also exchanges of Chinese poetry among the three of them. The boy offered a verse that was received with high praise. The emperor summoned the new lady, Fujitsubo who resembled the dead lady. Gradually his affections shifted to this new lady who consoled him a lot. People began calling Genji "the shining one" and the lady "the lady of the radiant sun". The emperor wanted the two of them to be close to each other.
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