Tokugawa Iemo's smile is calm, gentle and contagious.

Qingden unconsciously smiled along with him.

If Qing Deng has gained anything during this visit in private, besides opening his eyes and gaining more knowledge, it must be that he has gained a deeper understanding of the young monarch in front of him.

He understood a little bit why Tenshouin admired him so much and supported Tokugawa Iemoge so unconditionally.

Just because this young man dared to leave the safe and comfortable Edo City in a simple car and witnessed with his own eyes the suffering of the people today, he was already more responsible than most feudal rulers in the past and present, both east and west.

To be honest, at first Aoshinobu doubted whether Tokugawa Iemo was actually doing "outing for fun" in the name of "visiting incognito".

It wasn't until he saw that Tokugawa Iemo had indeed visited Kanda, Koishikawa Health Center and other areas and facilities related to people's livelihood that Aonto's doubts were gradually dispelled.

Whether Tokugawa Iemo was a good king or not... This is not known, but what is certain is: he should be a good person... Qingto thought firmly.

…

…

Tokugawa Iemo and Tenshoin, escorted by the two sisters, headed towards Edo Castle.

Qingdeng stood there and watched their figures go away.

Before Tianzhangyuan left, he did not forget to look at Qingdeng with charming eyes and mouthed: You must make me happy~~

Qingdeng had to admit: this great succubus's ability to enchant was indeed extremely strong.

The moment he understood Tianzhangyuan's mouth shape, his heart beat hard several times.

Even Qingdeng, who is considered well-informed, can hardly figure out which of Tianzhangyuan's words and actions are joking and which of his words and actions are sincere.

Maybe there really is a so-called conflict of attributes in this world, where one thing subdues the other.

And Tianzhangyuan happens to be the person who can conquer Qingdeng.

Her behavior, her every frown and every smile could always tug at Qingdeng's heartstrings just right.

In front of Tianzhangyuan, Qingden was really like a little boy who was inexperienced in the world, letting his elder sister, who was 6 years older than him, manipulate him at will.

In a moment, the figures of Tianzhangyuan and others completely disappeared from Qingdeng's field of vision.

Qingdeng turned around and prepared to go home.

As a result, before taking a few steps, his feet suddenly stopped.

He stared blankly at the scenery unfolding in front of him.

The smoke from dinner rises from the rooftops of the row upon row of mansions, drifting into the sky filled with the afterglow of sunset.

Town residents who had finished their day's work flocked to the izakaya in small groups; children ran away laughing and shouting; a young vendor dragged a cart full of goods for sale past Ainoto.

Looking at this scene, Qingdeng couldn't help but recall the scenes and vivid lives he had seen today.

The ronin of Nihonbashi, the farmers of Kanda, the poor and filthy people of Koishikawa Health Center...

——Even in England, the most developed and powerful country at present, there must be many poor people living on the edge of hell...

Thinking of this, Qingdeng felt an unknown heat rising in his chest.

This heat seemed to have a life of its own. In just the blink of an eye, it expanded and spread all over Qingdeng's body.

Qingdeng calmly raised his hand and pressed his chest, and continued to stare at the street scene ahead with a calm expression.

Slowly, the streets became quieter.

The afterglow of the remaining sun gradually recedes.

The surroundings were swallowed up bit by bit by night.

Nearby teahouses and izakayas have hung up lanterns with dim yellow light.

At this moment, Qingdeng took steps to return home again.

The tall body and the thoughtful young face are immersed in the dim street corner...

…

…

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Imperial Guard Hall——

When Qingdeng returned to the Trial Guard Hall, it was already very late at night.

I don’t know why, but up until now, Aoto had not felt physically tired, but after climbing up the steep slope in Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, and seeing the shadow of the tall building of the Imperial Guard Hall coming into view, Aoto suddenly felt tired.

Feelings increase dramatically.

There was only one thought left in Qingdeng's mind: go to bed quickly.

——This is the best thing about winter. Even if you don’t take a shower for a day or two, you won’t have any peculiar smell on your body.

Qingdeng thought to himself as he slowly climbed up the stairs.

At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly heard light footsteps coming from above his head.

Then, the light in front of him dimmed.

"ah……"

Familiar neutral voice.

"ah……"

Qingdeng couldn't help but blurted out "ah".

The owner of Footnote...the person standing on the steps above Aodeng at this time is none other than the Souji.

I saw Souji looking like he had just taken a shower.

Wet black hair was hanging down, a warm air lingered around her body, and her pink and white feet flickered in and out of the hem of her kimono.

"Tangerine-kun..."

It was clear that Qingteng had been discovered, but the general manager still didn't look towards Qingteng.

Even if their eyes met for an instant, she immediately looked away timidly.

"Ji Jun, you, are you back?"

"Well, yes, I just came back. Okita-kun, did you just take a shower?"

"Well... yes... I drank too much last night, and I slept until late in the evening before getting up. When I woke up, I was covered in sticky sweat, so I just felt comfortable in Qianxun's house.

I took a shower..."

"That's it..."

"..."

"..."

Silence fell between Qingto and Souji.

——That's right... I almost forgot, there is also Miss Okita's matter that needs to be resolved urgently...

Last night, the young man and woman hugging each other talked about their hearts to each other... Such a romantic scene came to an end because Souji suddenly fell asleep.

The two parties said they liked each other, but did not further discuss what they should do next.

To continue the relationship?

Or... will the friendship between the two parties deteriorate?

Judging from Souji's current shy reaction, not even daring to look at Qingto... she must have remembered the beautiful scenery last night.

This made Qingden secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, Souji was very drunk last night, so we cannot rule out the possibility that her memory would be wiped out when she woke up.

If this is the case, then Qingdeng will really want to cry without tears.

Fortunately, this did not happen.

Qingdeng, who had always hated grinding and only liked to act decisively, could not stand the fact that his relationship with someone...especially the girl he liked was in an unresolved state.

Therefore, he wanted to have a long talk with the Director-General as soon as possible to have a good chat about each other's... future.

Ever since, Qingdeng cleared his throat:

"Okita-kun, that..."

"Tachibana-kun, that..."

At almost the same time as Qingteng spoke, the director-general also spoke.

The two voices collided together.

The two people were stunned, and after looking at each other awkwardly——

"You say it first."*2

The voices clashed together again.

The embarrassment on their faces became even more intense.
To be continued...