This is the new Saiunkoku novel that deals with the aftermath of Volume 18.

DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED

This is really a true ending to Saiunkoku that is both dark and what I honestly expected when I was reading the original novels. (I am glad that the author chose to do it the way she did because at the end of the day Saiunkoku Monogatari was a love romance for girls.

The stories are
"Bones of Snow" (Yuushun)
"Body of Frost" (Ouki)
"Mask of  Northern Wind" (Anju)
"Heart of Ice" (Ryuuki)
"Wind Flower" (Black Sen and Shi Shou)
"The Night of Destiny" (Reishin, Kijin, Hishou)

Bones of Snow
Dealt with Yuushin's beginning and ending.

Yuushin was lying about his illness once again and he was actually very ill at the end of novel 18. 2 Years after Ouki leaves the court,  Kaiyu (super handsome old man) and Shi Shou  (Purple sen) have left the story. (Wind Flower deals with Shi Shou's departure)

Sai Shou becomes a government official.

Youshuu becomes of head of the Brown Providence.

The story deals with why Yuushin's leg ceased to work and about who he was originally and how he met the people who made him who he became (Senka, Ouki, Ensei)

Yuushin's death makes him the first and only person in Ryuuki's reign to hold his position.

Body of Frost 
This dealt with Ouki's ending. He was the main character near the end and he lived a long time but it was sad to see Ryou Ou die before him. 10 years after he left the court and Yuushin died Anju takes care of Ouki as he passes on.

Senka and Ouki's relationship was the highlight in my opinion. It showed just how powerful the relationship of Anju Senka and Ouki.

It also revealed that Senka's death was not from the curse (illness) from Seiran's mother

Mask of  Northern Wind (Anju) 

This deals with Anju and his time before he disappeared after Ouki's death.
It goes about some things like how he was part of Senka and Shi Shou's plot to eliminate the nobles

Anju was also the person who raised Kochou and the reason why she was in love with him (this was revealed in one of the later novels about where the information was leaking from)

Heart of Ice (Ryuuki)
Deals with the happier times of Ryuuki, Shuurei and Riou and Shuurei's final days as a pregnant mother.

Too lazy to write about the last 2 right now.
Wind Flower (Black Sen and Shi Shou)
The Night of Destiny (Reishin, Kijin, Hishou)

Still hoping that she'll do one final full gaiden with the drama CD and cover the other people and their happy ending because this one was so dark.  I don't mind the darkness of this gaiden but honestly I want to see the growth of the people that got left behind as the series went on. At the very least it showed Ryuuki and Shuurei but it felt meh to me.

I want to see the growth and aftermath of Eigetsu, Kourin, Kokujun, Shunki, Seiga, Kouyuu, Seiran,  Sera, and the children. (Reishin's child, Yuushin's child, Shuurei's child)

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wrote at
1:36 PM
on
Jun 16, 2012