Time!【4200】
In the second year of Wanyan (1861), early morning on January 1st——
Edo, Koishikawa Kohinagayanagicho, Imperial Guard Hall, Garden——
The pale yellow morning sun rises slowly from behind the mountains in the east, and the bright dawn penetrates the layers of haze.
The dark sky first slowly turned blue, with a bit of purple, then gradually changed to gray, then the gray deepened, turned into light red, and then gradually turned into a pinkish pink with a hint of gold.
The misty night slowly faded away. The black veil covering the sky was completely lifted.
A new day...the first day of the new year has arrived.
The sun comes into contact with the morning dew and mist, and the three mix into a scent that makes people feel relaxed and happy after smelling it.
Having such nice weather on the first day of the New Year is indeed a good sign.
When the sky was still dark, Zhou Zhu led Qingdeng and others to line up beside the well in the courtyard.
Seeing that the sun was about to rise, Zhouzhu, who was dressed in formal clothes, quickly drew a bucket of cold water from the well with his own hands.
This is a samurai custom in the Edo period.
Near dawn on New Year's Day, the head of the family will put on formal clothes, go to the well in person, and use a new bucket to draw water. This ceremony is called "Ruoshui".
In addition to using this bucket of water to wash your face and clean your hands, you will also use it to make lucky tea and cook a traditional dish that Japanese people often eat during the New Year: zizhi, which symbolizes the beginning of the year.
Zazoi: A dish in which the main ingredient mochi and vegetables such as carrots, daikon, and green onions are added to a soup seasoned with miso or miso.
The history of mixed cooking is very long, generally dating back to the Heian period (794-1192). The Japanese have believed that mochi is an auspicious food since ancient times and is often eaten during celebrations, happy events or special days.
The time to draw water coincides with the sunrise. Houses with good views will be in the courtyard, while houses with limited views will go up to a nearby high platform. The whole family will pray to the great sun on New Year's Day for good luck throughout the year.
The Trial Guard Hall is now considered a big family, with a permanent population of more than ten people.
Logically speaking, for a large-scale event like this that "requires the whole family to come together", Shuzuke should have a large group of talented people standing behind him.
As a result, at this moment, Zhouzhu's backside was extremely deserted.
Only Aoto, Saito, Abi, Kubei, and Matsui Tsune stood respectfully behind him.
The rest of the people, including the Director-General, without exception, were all drunk and unconscious last night. They were so hungover that they were unable to get up.
Qingdeng was far from the only one who overplayed his game last night.
Except for "reliable brother" Saito, who still refuses to change his principle of "never getting drunk" even during the annual carnival, all the young people in the trial hall drank too much last night.
Or almost drank the tablet.
Since possessing the god-level talent "God of Sleep", Qingdeng slept for such a long time for the first time.
If it weren't for the extraordinary sleep quality granted by the "Sleep God", it's really unknown whether Qingto could stand behind Shusuke like he is now.
However, even so, Qingdeng's consciousness was still in a trance, his body was swaying, his steps were weak, and he was top-heavy.
It felt like a large amount of water had been stuffed into my head. When I shook my head, I could vaguely hear a "gu-dong-gu-dong" sound.
The blood vessels in the temples on both sides kept beating, and there was a constant swelling and pain.
——Hangover is really uncomfortable... It would be great if there was a talent that could strengthen liver function... or directly enhance metabolism and detoxification ability...
Qingden yawned vigorously, then lowered his head again, looking at his nose, nose and heart.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Qingdeng is completely absent-minded now, as if he has something on his mind.
In fact, Qingdeng did have something on his mind - but it was something full of sweetness.
Qingto quietly looked at his left and right sides with the corner of his eyes. After confirming that Saito and others beside him were not paying attention to him, he secretly rolled his eyes and glanced around.
No matter which direction he looked, he could not see that petite and cute figure.
A hint of regret suddenly appeared in Qingdeng's eyes.
——Miss Okita still hasn’t gotten up yet...
Compared to the sun on New Year's Day, he looked forward to seeing that energetic smile as bright as the sun on New Year's Day morning.
Although several hours had passed, the scene he spent with the General Secretary on New Year's Eve last night...the scene full of peachy flavor was still vivid in Qingdeng's mind.
Last night...or rather early this morning, Qingneng and Souji hugged each other for a long, long time on the veranda of the courtyard of the Imperial Guard Hall...
It took so long that the moon was far away from its highest point.
After a long time, the General Secretary fell asleep in Qingteng's arms.
Qingden was deeply fascinated by the warmth transmitted from Souji's delicate body.
Therefore, it was not until he heard even and steady breathing coming from his chest that he belatedly realized that Souji had fallen asleep at some point.
She slept peacefully and sweetly, her red lips slightly curved.
She must be dreaming of some particularly beautiful dream - Qingdeng was strongly convinced of this.
Afterwards, the person who escorted the general manager back to his room to sleep was naturally Qingto.
In order not to wake Souji up, Aomori gently carried Souji back to her bedroom like a princess, as if he were holding something fragile.
The process went quite smoothly, until Qingteng tucked him into the bed, the general manager fell into a deep sleep - and so he did until now.
"General Secretary! General Secretary! Wake up! Wake up!"
Just now, Abi personally went to wake up the chief executive.
While shouting loudly, he was assisted by slaps - slapping the Souji on the face like a ball.
Her elastic and delicate face crackled when she was photographed.
Souji, whose cheeks were even slightly red from being patted, said "um", chewed something in his mouth, and murmured slowly:
"Hey...why is this Jinping candy so salty..."
Abi gave up on the spot and asked the chief executive to get up and participate in the activity of collecting water and praying to the sun.
Qingdeng felt very sorry for this.
He originally wanted to discuss the relationship between the two of them in depth with the Director-General this morning and how to deal with it in a qualitative way.
The Edo period is no better than the 21st century.
Influenced by feudal ethics, Japanese people in this era were very conservative and reserved in their treatment of the relationship between men and women.
Whether it is the warrior class or the civilian class, the most mainstream way of communication between men and women is "the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers."
Getting married first and falling in love later, and not knowing what your future husband and future wife look like until the wedding ceremony - this kind of thing was not uncommon in the Edo period.
Natural love between men and women... although it exists, it is rare.
Single men and women who are not engaged talk to each other and confess their feelings to each other - this is a very bold and unrestrained behavior in the values of the current era.
However... there is a small problem - Aomori and Souji do like each other, but they have not yet settled on a relationship.
To put it in easy-to-understand modern terms, the director-general didn’t ask Ayoto, “Will you be my boyfriend?”
And Qingteng was too excited and excited after confessing his love to the director, and forgot to ask the director, "Will you be my girlfriend?" When he came to his senses, the director had already fallen asleep.
Missed the best opportunity to ask questions.
This makes Qingdeng a little difficult to handle.
Without any certainty, he could not determine the current and future "distance" between himself and the General Secretary.
Just pretend that nothing happened and continue to be good friends?
Or... just become a couple?
For Qingdeng, he is naturally happy to see the latter.
It's just that...this leads to a new, more serious question.
Qingteng's love for the general secretary is real and not mixed with any false emotions.
If conditions permit, he wouldn't even mind marrying Souji now - anyway, he and Souji are both adults who have reached the "marriageable age".
Qingdeng is devoted to the General Secretary.
But he was also devoted to the other two girls... to Mai Kinoshita and Sanako!
At the beginning, after confessing his love to Kinoshita Mai and Sanako and threatening to marry them both, Qingden was ready to embark on the "Way of Shura" full of thorns and never look back.
Qingdeng loved them and didn't want to be separated from any of them.
Since the era he was currently living in was an era without the crime of bigamy, Qingdeng did not want to give up his wish to "be with them forever" until everything came to an end.
Now, Qingdeng's wish has become more ambitious.
The number of girls he wanted to marry increased from two to three.
Marrying two is a marriage, and marrying three is also a marriage! Qingden has made up his mind to work hard to "marry Kinoshita Mai, Sanako and Souji" from now on!
How should I explain my "ambition" to the General Manager?
How should we deepen and maintain our friendship with Souji on the premise of "never alienating Kinoshita Mai and Sanako"?
These are big questions and big dilemmas that require great effort and careful study.
Judging from Souji's current situation, don't expect her to wake up before afternoon - from another perspective, this is actually a good thing.
Thanks to this, Qingdeng had enough time to slowly consider how to solve this problem.
——Miss Okita’s matter... let’s put it aside for now.
Qingden took a breath.
——Now... let’s focus on this afternoon’s secret mission...!
Ever since he acquired the talent of "photographic memory", Qingden has found it difficult to forget things.
Therefore, he naturally remembered Tianzhangyuan's solemn instructions a few days ago - to come to Yuegong Shrine at nine o'clock on New Year's Day (2 p.m.)! I have an important secret mission to entrust to you.
…
…
God is in good hands. The good weather this morning allowed Qingdeng and others to successfully complete the process of collecting water and praying to the sun.
Next, it’s time to advance to the next stage of activities——
Qingdeng and his party all put on new clothes and gathered in the master's room, which was Zhouzhu and Abi's bedroom.
Zhou Su, who was sitting in the main seat, delivered a New Year's speech that has almost become a cliché, such as "Happy New Year to everyone."
Then, Jingshang served a lot of butsu and mixed dishes. After pouring wine for a while, everyone began to enjoy the delicious food and wine.
By the way, Japan also has the custom of giving lucky money during the New Year.
After a delicious breakfast of mixed vegetables and Tusu wine, Zhou Zhu and A Bi gave each of the unmarried singles a big red envelope.
There wasn't much money in it, only 100 copper coins in total, but the purpose of the new year's money was to be a good sign.
Qingdeng truly received Zhou Zhu and A Bi's sincerity.
During the Japanese New Year, there is no custom of visiting relatives and friends.
During the New Year festival, most Japanese people spend it lazily.
Or go out with a few friends to play badminton or fly a kite; or you can huddle in the warm kotatsu without leaving the door, eating oranges and wasting your time doing nothing.
In order not to break the contract, Qingnobo set off early and arrived at Tsukinomiya Shrine 15 minutes early.
As soon as he passed through the torii gate, Qingto saw his two lovely seniors.
"Hmm? Miss Sashige, senior."
Qingdeng raised his eyebrows after saying hello to the second sister.
"Why are you... dressed like this?"
It was seen that Sae and Yae were not wearing their daily attire: a white top and red miko uniform, nor were they wearing a black combat uniform. Instead, they were wearing women's kimonos that were quite simple in terms of fabric and style.
Not only the clothes, but also the hairstyle have been changed.
The two of them all changed their hairstyles to the very popular Shimada bun without any decorations such as buns.
With the two girls dressed like this...at a cursory glance, an uninformed person would probably regard them as maids from a wealthy family.
"After, after, after, after, junior, you are here, you, you, you, you came very, very early, well!"
Qingden cast his doubtful eyes on Yae.
The image Yae presented to Qingto was that of a heroic woman who was fearless.
But at this time, she had an expression of obvious panic, even her tongue was tied, and she kept stumbling when she spoke.
Senior, what's wrong with you?
Just when Qingdeng wanted to ask this——
"Mr. Ju, please come with me. Master Yu Du is already waiting for you in the temple."
After saying that, Shazhong took a deep breath without any trace, as if she was adjusting her emotions.
Although Sha Zhong concealed it very well, Qingdeng still found an unnatural look of nervousness between her eyebrows.
Even Shazhong, who was always steady, had a strange look on his face... Qingden's brows frowned unconsciously.
Qingdeng followed closely behind the two sisters and walked around the temple until he finally came to a certain small room.
"Mr. Orange, please come in."
Shazhong pushed open the paper sliding door for Qingdeng.
Qingdeng stepped over the door frame with one foot—and then his expression froze in the next moment.
Directly opposite the door, Tianzhang Yuan, dressed as an ordinary woman, was sitting peacefully on her knees.
Next to her, sat a handsome young man with red lips and white teeth.
The youth remembers this boy - he will never be forgotten forever.
It's not because this person's appearance is so amazing.
Simply because of this young man's identity... it is easier for people to remember him.
"Mr. Ju, long time no see."
Tokugawa Iemo, the 14th generation general of the Edo shogunate who conquered barbarians, smiled and nodded to Aoto.
At this time, Tianzhangyuan interrupted with a smile:
"Tachibana-kun, I'll make this short - Iemo wants to visit Edo incognito today no matter what, so I'm asking you, Saege, and Yae to be our escorts for the day~"
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It’s the end of the month, so I’m struggling to get a monthly ticket! (Leopard Head Pain.jpg)
Please vote for me monthly! Please vote for recommendation!
Under the influence of various debuffs such as the need to take care of my mother + poor writing environment + poor sleep quality, it is really not easy to reach the 4000+ death line... (Leopard Head Cries.jpg)
This chapter has been completed!