Qingdeng!【5000】
Edo, a certain commercial street——
After noon, the weather became increasingly sunny.
The warm sunshine, which is extremely rare in winter, slants down from the cloudless sky. It casts the figures of Qingdeng and his party on the red soil road that is pressed tightly by countless feet, countless hooves, and countless wheels.
.
Looking from the perspective carved by Qingdeng and his party, the shops on the right are bathed in shining sunlight, while the shops on the left are immersed in relative shadows.
The strong contrast between light and shadow brings a distinct texture like an oil painting to this popular downtown area in Edo.
Men and women of different classes, different identities, and different clothes came and went, driving to and from the place.
From time to time, the cold wind carrying snow particles tightened the clothes of every pedestrian.
The numerous shops are filled with a dazzling array of goods. Izakayas, teahouses, and confectionery houses are lined up in rows. The tempting aroma of tea-scented snacks lingers in your nose.
To Edo people, these were just ordinary sights they saw every day, and they had long since grown tired of seeing them.
But for a certain boy who is walking in front of the Aoto side... For this boy who is like a canary and has been imprisoned in the "big iron cage" of Edo Castle for many years, these street scenes are all...
So fresh and interesting.
"Is this the Sujibashi Mikamon Uchihirokoji...it's better to see it than to hear it a hundred times."
Tokugawa Iemo was like Grandma Liu when he entered the Grand View Garden, looking left and right with bright eyes, stopping from time to time to look at something or someone intently.
"Mom...ah, no, sister, what is that? It smells so good."
"Oh, that one."
Tenzouin, who was walking side by side with Tokugawa Iemo, smiled and replied:
"That is Kanto's specialty food: Monja Yaki. It is made by mixing batter with various ingredients, pouring it on a hot iron plate and baking it. When eating, use a special small spoon to scoop a little bit, and then put it on the iron plate.
Press it until it becomes crispy before eating."
"Oh! It turns out that that is Monjayaki! It feels quite similar to the okonomiyaki in Osaka. I have heard about the name Monjayaki for a long time, and today I finally got to see its true form! Onee-sama, why don't we go and taste it together?
"
Tianzhangyuan nodded lightly without thinking:
"Why not? Tachibana-kun, Saege, Yae. Do you want to come and eat together? I'll treat you~~"
Tenzouin turned her head back and asked the second sister, Aito, who was standing in a row behind her and Tokugawa Iemo.
At this time, Qingdeng was no longer wearing the new clothes he had purchased specially for the New Year, but had changed into very simple clothes.
A brown cotton coat made of rough linen; an ordinary black long hakama; and a low-brimmed bamboo hat with raw edges that can cover most of Qingden's face.
In addition, the sword on Qingden's waist has also been changed.
The wakizashi is still the same wakizashi, but the Dingikigami has been replaced by an ordinary sword of a popular shape.
The knife has been changed, the dressing style has changed, and most of the face is covered. From head to toe, there is a "simple" atmosphere of the country people... Not to mention anyone else, even Kinoshita Mai, Sanako and Souji are here
, most likely they wouldn’t be able to recognize this “old hater” as Qingdeng at the first time.
"Master Yu Du, thank you for your kindness."
Shazhong took the lead.
"But I'm not hungry yet, so I won't eat yet."
Yae stammered in agreement:
"Me, me too."
"You two won't eat...what about you?"
Tianzhangyuan focused his attention on Qingdeng, who stood in the middle of the two sisters.
"Tangerine-kun, do you want to eat?"
Qingdeng thought for a while, nodded and said:
"Then... I would rather be respectful than obey your orders."
Although Seito's stomach is not yet hungry, God knows how long the mother and son plan to stay in Edo incognito for their visit.
Therefore, to be cautious, it is better to eat more and conserve more energy.
"You're welcome, just eat it with all your heart!"
Tianzhangyuan smiled and then joked:
"I still have the money to treat you to all-you-can-eat Monmoniyaki."
Tokugawa Iemo took the lead in person and led everyone towards the Monja Yaki stall not far away, which was constantly exuding an alluring aroma and so there was no need to queue at the moment.
"boss!"
Tianzhangyuan raised three green-white jade fingers.
"Three copies of Monmonji!"
Tenjoin, who has the dual identity of Odaisho and the commander-in-chief of the new Oteiban, and frequently travels between Edo Castle and Tsukinomiya Shrine, is naturally far more familiar with the customs and customs of Edo than Tokugawa Iemo, and understands it better. How to deal with the common people of Edo.
"Okay!" the stall owner responded enthusiastically.
For a moment, Aoden, Tenzouin and Tokugawa Iemo, each holding a steaming portion of monji-yaki, sat in a row on a bench next to the stall, eating monji-yaki.
Monjamoniyaki is just an ordinary folk snack that can be seen everywhere on the streets and alleys of Edo.
To Aoto, the monjayaki sold at this stall tasted good, but it was just that-but Tokugawa Iemo ate it with gusto.
I saw him holding the freshly baked monjiyaki, looking at it here, smelling it there, looking at it like appreciating art for a long time, and then picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.
While chewing, he nodded, his eyes shining with surprise and joy.
"boss!"
Tokugawa Iemo raised his head and spoke loudly to the stall owner in an extremely standard Kishu accent:
"Your craftsmanship is really good!"
"Thanks for the compliment!"
The stall owner laughed a few times.
"Sir, judging from your accent, you must be from Jishu, right?"
"oh?"
Tokugawa Iemo raised his eyebrows.
"Your ears are really amazing! Yes, I'm from Kishu!"
Tokugawa Iemo sat up slightly and straightened his clothes.
"I am the lord of the Kishu domain: Shigemo Asano. This is my sister, these two are my servants, and this is my bodyguard."
Tokugawa Iemo's fingers pointed at Tenzōin, the two sisters and Aoto.
"Hahaha, I have been selling monjayaki in Edo for more than 30 years! People everywhere have seen it, so I naturally have a good ear!"
"Kishu is great! It's rich and well-located. Not only is it close to the holy land of Mount Koya, but it's also not far from Kyoto and Osaka. It's easy to go shopping in big cities or to pray to gods and Buddhas!"
Mount Koya: The main mountain of the Shingon sect of Japanese esoteric Buddhism. This sacred place of Japanese Buddhism with a history of thousands of years is located in the territory of Kishu Domain.
"Look at what you're wearing...are you travelers?"
"Well, yes."
Tokugawa Iemo replied.
"To be honest, I have had the ambition to visit all the places of interest in the world since I was a child. Edo is the largest city in Japan. Wouldn't it be a pity not to come and see it in person?"
Speaking of this, Tokugawa Iemo moved his eyes and scanned the street scene around him, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
"This trip to Edo is truly a worthwhile trip. Edo's size and prosperity are truly worthy of its reputation."
Tokugawa Iemo, a "foreigner", praised Edo highly, which seemed to make the stall owner, an "old Edo native", very happy.
"Of course!"
The stall owner put his hands on his hips and looked proud.
"This is the residence of the shogun! How could it not be big enough or prosperous enough?"
"..." Tokugawa Iemo remained silent and glanced meaningfully at the stall owner.
After a while, I heard him say quietly:
"Well... I really hope this city can continue to be prosperous like this..."
Tokugawa Iemo closed his eyes and exhaled.
When he opened his eyes again, he ate all the monjiyaki in his hand in three strokes.
"Boss, thank you for your hospitality. Goodbye. If there is another chance, I will definitely come back."
"Okay! Sir, I wish you a smooth and successful trip!"
"Hahaha! Okay! I accept your good advice!"
Under the leadership of Tokugawa Iemo, Aomori and his party left the Monja Yaki stall in a swaggering manner.
"Tangerine-kun."
Abruptly, Dejia turned around and asked Qingdeng, who was walking behind him.
"Besides Sujibashi Mikamonaihirokoji, are there any other well-known downtown areas around here?"
Qingdeng pondered for a while and replied:
"If there's any other downtown area around here...it's definitely Nipponbashi."
"Nihonbashi..." Tokugawa Iemo nodded, "Okay, then let's go to Nipponbashi!"
The group of people made an emergency turn to the right and walked quickly towards Nihonbashi.
"Whirring whirring……"
Although it was very subtle, with the innate ability of the "wind perceiver", Qingden could clearly hear the rapid breathing full of tension coming from his side.
Looking sideways - his lovely senior, Miss Yae, was repeatedly opening her red lips and taking deep breaths. She was using her chest to inflate rapidly and loudly to soothe the uneasiness in her heart.
Sha Zhong is calmer than her sister.
However, if you look carefully, you can see that the lines of Shazhong's facial features are tight and her expression is slightly unnatural.
It can be seen that her inner state is not as breezy as it appears on the surface.
"...Ms. Sa Shige, senior."
Qingdeng, with a hint of a faint smile on his cheeks, leaned his upper body towards the two sisters, lowered his voice, and whispered at a volume that only the three of them could hear clearly:
"I heard that writing the word '人' on the palm of your hand and then chewing on it like 'ahhhhhh' can effectively relieve tension."
After Sha Zhong heard this, he gave Qing Deng an annoyed look.
"Mr. Tachibana, although Yae and I look like children, don't really tease us like children..."
"Ahhhhhh..."
"Hey! Don't eat your hands! Are you stupid? Spit out your hands!"
Qingden smiled happily as he looked at the elder sister who slapped her on the back of the head and chewed her sister in the hand with a "Ahhhhhh" sound; and the younger sister who had been hit hard on the head and had tears in her eyes in aggrieved manner.
Qingdeng didn't know whether the tension between the sisters had been relieved.
Anyway, after seeing such an interesting interaction between the sisters, he relieved a lot of his own pressure.
From the content point of view, the task Aonto and the two sisters have today is very simple. They only need to protect the personal safety of Tokugawa Iemo and Tenzouin when they visit incognito.
However... at the same time, this task is very difficult - if something goes wrong, Qingdeng and the Erzhong sisters may not be able to chop off even ten heads...
Protect the General Zhengyi and the Imperial Palace—this sentence is enough to scare a large number of people to the point of paralysis even if they are just read out.
Why did Tokugawa Iemo choose to visit Edo incognito today?
The reason is not difficult to explain.
In the fifth year of Ansei (1858), Tokugawa Iemoge, who was originally the head of Kishu Domain, succeeded to the position of General of the Conquering Barbarians and took control of Edo with the support of Naomisei Ii and other Nanki factions.
Therefore, by rough calculation, Tokugawa Iemo has been in power in the Edo shogunate for nearly three years - he wanted to see with his own eyes how the country's public sentiment has changed under his more than two years of governance.
A nationwide tour—this kind of thing doesn’t have the conditions to be implemented.
But there is nothing wrong with walking around Edo, which is "at the feet of the Emperor".
As early as the end of autumn last year, Tokugawa Iemo had planned to visit Edo incognito. However, due to the busy schedule of government affairs and the endless variety of important matters that must be resolved immediately, he could not squeeze out the time that could be allocated freely.
It was not until New Year's Day this year that I finally managed to get out of the mountain of work, and finally put the long-awaited "visit to Edo" on the agenda.
Therefore, there is today's scene of "Tenjoin mother and son walking incognito, side by side on the streets of Edo".
After making a small joke with the two sisters, Qingden turned his gaze back to the front of himself and refocused his energy on the escort mission in front of him.
Looking at the backs of Tokugawa Iemo and Tenzouin in front of him, Aomori couldn't help but thought to himself:
——This mother and son really appreciate me...
Since we have to leave the impregnable Edo Castle and come to the crowded market to observe the people's sentiments, it is impossible not to bring bodyguards.
The best candidates for bodyguards are naturally the new imperial warriors who were trained by Tokugawa Iemo as direct subordinates.
Tokugawa Iemo and Tianzhangin selected two sisters to accompany them on this trip - Aonto was not surprised at all.
Although the two sisters are young, they are blameless in terms of loyalty and force. They are the close confidants of Tianzhangyuan mother and son.
In addition to the two sisters, there are many people in the New Royal Court who are very suitable for being deployed as guards.
For example, Qingdeng's "indoor fighting method" teacher: Tiancang Xiao.
As a result, none of them were selected - only Qingden was the exception.
This surprised Qingdeng.
He joined the New Imperial Court not long ago, less than half a year at most.
As far as Qingdeng knows, there is currently no newcomer who is more pink and tender than him in the new Yuting series.
Logically speaking, Lai Yue should not entrust a newcomer like him with such an arduous task that requires extremely high levels of loyalty and force.
But the truth is so dramatic.
It should be easy for anyone with a little discernment to see the political signal: Tianzhangyuan mother and son really trust Qingdeng very much and value Qingdeng! They really regard Qingdeng as someone who can trust him with their back.
Confidant!
Thinking of this, Qingdeng couldn't help but shrink his shoulders and his expression became weird and unspeakable.
Being able to be relied upon as a confidant by the current monarch, Tokugawa Iemo... This is a great thing that many people can't even dream of!
Presumably, in the eyes of many people, the opportunity Qingdeng encountered should not cause the ancestral graves to emit smoke, but should cause the ancestral graves to emit fire!
However, for Qingdeng... he feels that becoming a member of the "Jia Mao Tianzhang Yuan" camp is not necessarily a good thing...
According to Aonto's superficial knowledge of Japanese history, there is no doubt that the Edo shogunate will be destroyed in a certain year or day in the future.
But when exactly it was destroyed, and whether the ministers and the Tokugawa family headed by Tokugawa Iemo had a happy ending... Aonto's eyes darkened.
To be honest, Qingden doesn't really want to be associated with politics.
He is only good at killing people, and he doesn't think he has any political acumen.
But his current status and popularity have destined him to be unable to escape from this whirlpool called politics.
Even if Qingdeng does not pay attention to politics, politics will pay attention to Qingdeng.
At present, Tokugawa Iemo takes advantage of his position to draw Aoden into his pro-army, the New Imperial Guard Ban.
From now on, Aoshito's body will have the brand of "having played for Tokugawa Iemo and Tenshouin".
Judging from the current situation, the degree of "fitness" between Qingdeng and Tianzhangyuan's mother and son has been increasing, so there are signs that this mark is getting deeper and deeper.
The current Qingdeng, even if he wanted to cut off Tianzhangyuan's mother and son, could not find a chance - at least not yet.
——We still can only take one step at a time and see one step at a time...
Qingdeng raised his hand and scratched his hair with a helpless expression.
…
…
In a short time, Aomori and his party successfully arrived at Nihonbashi.
As the starting point of the "Five Streets" connecting important places across the country, Nihonbashi has naturally become the most popular and lively place in Edo.
With Nihonbashi, a huge wooden bridge, as the center, there are a large number of shops and vendors in the surrounding area. People from all walks of life gather here.
Even the New Year's Day has not completely lost its vitality in this "Edo's No. 1 business district" where every inch of land is precious.
"Later, junior, cheer up."
Yae swallowed hard, stood on tiptoes, and put his small mouth to Qingden's ear.
"There is such a large flow of people in Nihonbashi... We have to be extra careful! Beware of any suspicious people approaching the General and Lord Yu Du."
Qingdeng laughed dumbly and said:
"Senior, don't worry. Although the current public security in Edo is by no means very good, it is not so bad that you will encounter an accident just by going out. There is a huge flow of people in Nihonbashi, so it is indeed necessary to be vigilant, but there is no need to It’s so tight…”
Qingdeng hasn’t finished speaking yet——
"Hey! You bitch! You touched my scabbard!"
13 disheveled ronin, in a fan-shaped formation, surrounded Tenzouin...and Tokugawa Iemomo next to Tenzouin.
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Finally, I finished writing today’s chapter before 24:00 (Leopard Head Cries.jpg)
This chapter has been completed!