Arima stared blankly at Qingteng. He was so surprised that he forgot to speak for a moment.
At this time, a childish voice came from a distance:
"Father, who are you talking to?"
Arima and Aoto both glanced at each other.
"Mr. Arima."
Qingdeng put his bamboo hat back on and said seriously.
"I'll be waiting for you in your study. I have something very important to talk to you about."
After saying that, Qingdeng's waist dwarfed and his entire body disappeared into the darkness.
As soon as Aoshito walked away, Arima's second son, Torojumaru, who was only 9 years old this year, walked up to the corridor of the yard and came to Arima's side, holding a cuju.
In ancient Japan, all boys from samurai families would basically have a nickname.
Qingneng is no exception. Qingneng's nickname is "Kuro". It's a pity that after Tachibana's death, the people who are qualified to call Qingnong's nickname no longer exist.
And Toshoumaru is the nickname of Arimajiko.
Some families even have hereditary nicknames. For example, the eldest son of the Tokugawa family all has the nickname "Takechiyo".
After you enter the Yuan Dynasty, your baby name can be changed to a formal name.
"Father, I seemed to hear you talking to someone just now?"
Torosumaru stretched his neck and looked into the yard.
Arima had already recovered from his shock.
He smiled at his son:
"Did you hear me wrong? I have been cleaning my knife quietly here just now. Where can I talk to anyone? What's more, look, apart from you and me, there are no outsiders here?"
"But, but..."
Torojumaru still wanted to argue a point or two.
But Arima blocked the conversation one step ahead:
"Okay, Torojumaru, my father has important things to do now, so you can go and have fun by yourself first."
After dismissing Zouhushouwan with a few words, Arima couldn't stand it for a moment. He hurriedly gathered the knife powder, knife oil, powder stick and other care tools, and then ran in the direction of the study in three steps at a time.
…
Arima's mansion, study room——
Youma's study room seems to have the word "serious" posted on it.
The books in the bookshelf are all neatly arranged according to categories.
The four treasures of the study on the table seem to have been carefully adjusted with a ruler. They are neatly arranged and visually pleasing to the viewer.
At a glance, you can tell that this is the kind of study room that a person with "severe obsessive-compulsive disorder" like Arima would have.
Arima pushed open the paper sliding door of the study room.
As the light leaked into the room through the crack in the door, he saw Qingden, who had taken off his bamboo hat and sword, kneeling on the tatami in the study in an orderly manner, waiting for his arrival.
"Sorry, Tachibana-kun, for keeping you waiting."
Qingden shook his head gently.
"No, Mr. Arima, I am the one who should apologize. I'm sorry for breaking into your home without saying hello."
Arima sat directly opposite Aisho, his sword casually placed on his right side.
"Mr. Ju, where have you been for so many days? Do you know how hard it was for us to find you?"
"Feel sorry."
Qingdeng apologized softly again.
"I've made you worry. Because of some complicated reasons that are a long story, I had to deliberately conceal my whereabouts."
"When I have the opportunity and time in the future, I will come back to you... no, I will explain to you in detail where I have been and what I have done these days."
Qingdeng paused for a moment, then changed the subject.
"Mr. Arima, as I just said in the courtyard, the reason why I took the liberty of visiting you tonight is because I have something very important to ask you."
Time is running out.
Maybe at some point, Arima's wife and heirs would suddenly come over and disturb them, just like what happened to Torojumaru just now.
Therefore, Qingdeng decided to "quick victory" and get straight to the point without making all the twists and turns.
If you want to chat and reminisce about old times, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.
"Something quite important? Please tell me?"
Arima looked confused.
Looking at Aishoto's eyes that contained some kind of strong determination, Arima immediately understood: What Aoto wanted to discuss with him was no small matter!
"……Um."
Arima nodded vigorously several times.
"go ahead."
As soon as Arima finished speaking, Qingden couldn't help but asked quickly:
"Mr. Arima, please tell me everything you know about my father."
"Your father?"
Although it was almost invisible, Qingdeng still noticed it keenly: for a moment, Arima's penis shrank to the size of a pinhole.
"...Tachibana-kun, why do you suddenly ask about this?"
"Mr. Arima, I can't explain the specifics. In short...I am now eager to know what my father did during his lifetime. Why did he suddenly become addicted to gambling? Did he really die of illness?"
Speaking of this, Qingdou carefully observed the changes in Arima's facial expressions.
I saw a horse looking at his nose and heart. I don't know what he is thinking about now. His waist, which was extremely straight at all times, was actually slightly bent at this moment.
Seeing this, Qingdeng pursed his lips thoughtfully, and then said softly:
"Before his death, my father...had been secretly investigating something serious. Am I right?"
Youma's hands on his knees trembled momentarily.
The study was surrounded by silence.
The surrounding air seemed to have weight at this moment, and it felt like the sounds were gradually moving away from the surroundings.
Although the two did not draw swords at each other, there is no doubt that Aoto and Arima are "confronting" - anyone would think so, right? When seeing this scene of two people facing each other, feeling this
When there is a tense atmosphere.
In this silent "confrontation", the person who produced the first words was Arima.
"Alas...this day has finally arrived..."
The faint sigh mixed with a bit of self-mockery made Arima's figure suddenly feel a bit more erratic.
"Tachibana-kun, although I don't know how you discovered Takazhi's secret, I respect your opinion and won't ask any more questions."
"Okay...then I'll tell you everything I know about Longzhi..."
Having said this, he took a deep breath to adjust his breath and emotions.
"However, Mr. Tachibana, I'm the one who said something ugly before. Even I, Inoya and Ushiyama, know very little about Takayuki."
"If my answer later does not satisfy you, please forgive me. I have tried my best."
As Arima spoke, he slowly raised his head and stared at the ceiling above his head, as if reminiscing.
"The beginning of everything... must start with a report three years ago."
"I remember... It was March of the fifth year of the Ansei period (1858). A teacher who was teaching in a private school came to the Beiban Institute to report that his wife had been killed by an adulterer and asked us to provide him with justice.
"
"Tachibana-kun, you used to be a member of the Beifan Institute, so you should know that if it is an ordinary case, it will be fine, but if it is a murder, the Institute cannot ignore it."
"Therefore, we quickly accepted the teacher's request and quickly dispatched manpower to investigate the case."
"And the person responsible for handling this case...is none other than Takashi!"
"Looking back now, it really echoes the old saying: All big events often begin with small events that can be seen everywhere in daily life."
"At that time, no one thought that the situation would turn out like that..."
"After taking over the murder case, Takahi started to act a little weird."
"I live in seclusion every day, keep silent, and have fewer interactions with people."
"When I asked him what he was busy with, he didn't answer."
"At first, we thought it was because the investigation of the murder case was too difficult, and that's why Takahiro was forced to look so depressed."
"Then... one day after that, we suddenly learned that Takayuki appeared in the casino run by the 'Qingshui Clan'..."
"At first, I didn't know what other people thought about this matter. Anyway, I couldn't believe it at all."
"Takazhi has always been a very law-abiding person and has never had any bad habits."
"It's really hard for me to equate the words 'gambling' with Takashi."
"Both I, Zhu Gu, Niushan, and some of Longzhi's other friends have all rushed to dissuade Longzhi, hoping that Longzhi will not go astray. If your family encounters any difficulties, you can ask us for help."
"As a result... Longzhi politely declined our kindness."
"When asked why he wanted to gamble, he only replied: There is no reason, he just suddenly discovered the fun of gambling."
"To be honest, when I heard Longzhi's answer... my heart really dropped."
"After serving in the monastery for so many years, I have seen too many people who fell into the abyss due to temporary obsession."
"At that time, I already regarded Longzhi as an irredeemable person who surrendered to self-destruction."
"But no matter what, Longzhi is my good friend and old subordinate. I can't just sit idly by and ignore him."
"I joined forces with Inoya and Ushiyama to work together to think of ways to bring Takayuki back on the right path."
"However... before we could figure out the reason, we suddenly received the news that Long Zhi was seriously ill."
"I don't need to elaborate on what happens next."
"Longzhi's fever persisted, he couldn't even speak clearly, he vomited and had diarrhea, and frequently had feces that looked like rice juice."
"The doctor said this is 'tiger-wolf diarrhea'... there is no cure..."
Tiger and wolf dysentery—that is, cholera.
From 1817 to 1826, there was a worldwide cholera epidemic. In 1822, it first landed in Japan via the Korean Peninsula or Java and Tsushima Island.
The Japanese call this disease "tiger and wolf dysentery".
The reason for this name is firstly because the symptoms of cholera are as ferocious as those of tigers and wolves, and secondly because it is rumored that the disease is related to foxes, wolves, and raccoons, and the pronunciation of the three together is "korori".
It is homophonic to "tiger and wolf diarrhea".
To be fair, although cholera is extremely contagious, it is not incurable.
Even in the Edo period when medical standards were still very backward, there were ways to treat cholera.
The human body can excrete Vibrio cholerae on its own, so it is only necessary to strictly isolate the patient and quickly replenish the patient with water and electrolytes until the day when the patient excretes Vibrio cholerae on its own.
However, because people in this era lack a correct understanding of cholera, cholera is now recognized in Japan as an incurable disease that cannot be cured by medicine or stone. People talk about tiger and wolf diarrhea.
Cholera is a disease that, if not treated quickly and reliably, can cause severe dehydration and kill in just a few hours...
In other words, after contracting cholera, it does not take half a day from onset to death...
In the fifth year of Ansei (1858), there was a cholera epidemic in Edo. As many as 30,000 to 40,000 people died of cholera in the Edo area alone. Throughout Edo, every household was covered with linen and every household wore mourning.
In the next two years, namely the sixth year of Anzheng (1859) and the seventh year of Anzheng/the first year of Wanyan (1860), cholera recurred again.
Tachibana died of illness in the sixth year of Ansei (1859)...it was absolutely normal to get cholera in this year.
Not only did Tachibana Takayuki's symptoms match those of cholera, but his time of death also matched the characteristics of cholera - less than a day passed between the onset of illness and his death...
On the last day of his life, Tachibana Takayuki was so weak that he could hardly speak or even move his fingers.
In this way, Tachibana Takayuki didn't even leave a last word until he took his last breath...
"At that time, getting tiger-wolf's diarrhea was not a strange thing. Every day you could hear that someone in a certain family had tiger-wolf's diarrhea."
"But I never thought... I would actually see my relatives and friends trapped by this terminal illness."
Arima's words gradually took on a sad tone.
"Longzhi died of illness - I thought that was the end of everything."
"However, one day, just half a month after Longzhi passed away, a letter was stuffed under the door of my house."
Qingdeng's thick eyebrows were raised at the corners of his raised eyes.
"……letter?"
Arima nodded slightly, then stood up and walked to the bookshelf behind him.
He rummaged through the sea of books for a moment, and finally found a yellowed envelope.
Arima handed the envelope to Aoto and motioned for Aoto to take it and read it.
Ayoto said softly, "I'm sorry," and then took the envelope from Arima's hand more respectfully than as ordered.
The envelope only contained a piece of clean, new letter paper.
After taking out the letter and unfolding it, Qingdeng's eyes suddenly widened.
"This is……!"
I saw only one simple sentence written on the huge piece of paper——
(Takayuki Takayuki did not die of illness, he was killed by a secret society called the "Fazhu Party")
Execute the party!
Long lost vocabulary...
After the battle with Kamaitachi, Aomori has never interacted with this organization...
Just as Qingden was stunned, Arima's voice sounded again.
"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the contents of this letter."
"'The law punishes the party'...this is such an old term..."
When Qingdeng heard this, he couldn't help but frown heavily, and he quickly raised his eyes from the letter in his hand.
"Mr. Arima, before you received this letter, had you ever heard of the name 'Fazun Party'?"
Arima shook his head.
"I don't know much. I've only heard that 60 years ago, a political association called the 'Fazhu Group' emerged in the Keihan area. The members of the organization included scholars, farmers, businessmen, men, women, and children."
"They raised the banner of 'following the laws of heaven and earth and punishing traitors and traitors' and called on the world's righteous men to come together to overthrow the Tokugawa family. They were soon suppressed by the Edo shogunate, and their deeds were never heard of again."
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Still recovering from illness, please forgive Leopard for being short today! (Leopard's head cries.jpg)
This chapter has been completed!