Though Kōyū thought that Yuri was an ideal partner for Reishin, he worried that Yuri was unhappy with Reishin, who rarely showed what he liked or disliked. In response, Yuri said that she was happy and would never leave them. Reishin has told her that she is the only person for whom he will play the biwa, and that since they already had a son (Kōyū), they needn't have more children. She often travels away from their home to perform Reishin's duties as head of the Hong clan; consequently, she does not appear in the story until the 13th novel, when the news of Kōyū's imprisonment makes her return to Kiyo and meet Shūrei and Ensei. During this time, she reveals her identity to Shūrei as her aunt when visiting Kōyū in jail. She plays biwa to Kōyū, dissolving the trance cast by the Hyō clan. After her husband and child are stripped from their positions, many officials from the Hong clan decide to withdraw in sympathy. While Reishin wants to return to Hong province, he is dismayed that Yuri-hime has decided to remain in Kiyou with her son.