Read it through once

It was only known to the members of Shōni’s family that the little girl was Tō no Chūjō’s daughter. To the other government clerks and to the world in general she was a grand-daughter of Shōni’s whose parents were in trouble of some kind and had left her in his charge. But in the family she continued to be treated as ‘the young lady’, and every sacrifice was made that she might have, so far as possible, the upbringing to which her birth entitled her. Shōni’s sudden illness and death naturally threw his wife into a piteous state of distraction; but in the midst of her grief, one thought obsessed her; would they ever be able to secure a passage back to the City and restore the little girl to her relations? Unfortunately Shōni had been unpopular with the local people and none of them would give any assistance. Thus the time dragged on, wretched years full of anxiety and discouragement; and still there seemed no prospect of return.