Although she resented Han Du extremely, Xiaosong Lingzi would come as promised every time she received a famous invitation from Han Du, and she never failed to make an appointment.
As time passed, Komatsu Reiko's resentment towards Han Du changed and gradually turned into a feeling.
From the beginning, Noriyuki Hosokawa watched Reiko Komatsu's expression gradually change, and an unpleasant feeling suddenly emerged from the bottom of his heart.
Something's wrong, something's very wrong
"Owner." ??
One day, when Reiko Komatsu had just returned from an appointment, Noriyuki Hosokawa quickly stepped forward to block her way.
"Hmm? What's the matter?" It can be seen that Xiaosong Lingzi, who just met Han Du, is in a very good mood.
These days, Han Du took her to visit almost all the fun places in the capital. Although Han Du always brought his wife, she was still happy in her heart.
Seeing the expression on his master's face, Hosokawa Mokiyuki's heart sank even more. He immediately knelt down and said in a solemn tone, "Master, Han Du is full of tricks. He must have some agenda when he gets so close to the master. Please think twice, master."
Hosokawa Noriyuki's actions startled Komatsu Reiko. After hearing this, she thought about it for a moment and didn't notice anything wrong.
He asked doubtfully, "What plans could he have? He has been with me these days and has never talked to me about court matters."
The two of them did not talk about family and country affairs, but instead made Reiko Komatsu feel unspeakably relaxed. She had never had such an idyllic experience since she was a child.
After hearing this, Hosokawa Mochizuki's expression became even more solemn, and he couldn't help but said, "Master, Han Du is not only the Duke of the Ming Dynasty, but also the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty. He has to deal with many things every day, does he have so much time to spend on the master?"
"Presumptuous!" Komatsu Reiko shouted angrily, stared at Hosokawa Mochiyuki and said solemnly, "Do you mean to say that I am not worthy?"
Hosokawa Mochiyuki did not dare to continue the direct confrontation, so he softened his tone and said tactfully, "Master, in the hearts of my subordinates, the master is naturally a person in the sky, and no one is worthy of him. But this matter mainly depends on Han Du, master."
Ask yourself, if Han Du had no other purpose, would he treat his master like this?"
Komatsu Reiko is not stupid. In the past, she just fell into the sweetness of being with Han Du and deceived herself and others without wanting to expose it. Now that Hosokawa Mochizhi has exposed it, Komatsu Reiko has to admit that when she first came to Daming,
Han Du's attitude towards her has indeed taken a completely opposite turn now.
If Han Du did this without any purpose, Xiaosong Lingzi himself wouldn't believe it.
After pondering for a moment, Komatsu Reiko sighed and asked, "What news did you hear, or what evidence do you have in the future?"
Hosokawa Mokiyuki was stunned when he heard this.
, then shook his head slightly: "No. But my subordinates always feel that this matter is a bit strange."
"You are just suspicious." Xiaosong Lingzi breathed a sigh of relief and interrupted with a wave of his hand, "Even if Han Du has some purpose, we are envoys now, and he can't do anything to us."
"But" seeing that his master didn't take this matter to heart, Hosokawa Mokiyuki couldn't help but speak.
Komatsu Reiko was the first to say, "If you have any concerns, then go and check it out."
"Okay, I obey." Having said this, Hosokawa Noriyuki had no choice but to agree. He also felt that the master was right, and it would be good for him to check first. If Han Du really has something
It would not be too late for him to find out the purpose and report it to his master.
However, after eight months of continuous investigation, Hosokawa Noriyuki found no information that Han Du had any intention to harm them. However, Hosokawa Mokiyuki's sense of crisis became more and more urgent, which not only made him puzzled.
.
He even once wondered if he had wronged Han Du. Did the uneasiness in his heart come from Han Du?
Just when Hosokawa Mokiyuki was about to give up, he was drinking with his subordinate officials. The fine wines of the Ming Dynasty far surpassed those of the Japanese. After the people from the mission came to the Ming Dynasty, their favorite thing was to buy all kinds of fine Ming Dynasty wines to drink.
When everyone was tipsy, one of the officials suddenly started crying. The people around him were confused by his actions. Why did he suddenly start crying when they were eating and drinking so happily just now?
Hosokawa Mokiyuki was also a little unhappy. If he cried at this time, wouldn't this be a disservice to him, the head of the mission?
Putting down the glass, he looked at the man and asked slowly, "Ueno-kun, are you encountering any difficulties? Tell me, and maybe I can help you."
The others showed a strange smile when they heard this. Everyone knew that the chief officer was just asking a polite question. If they really thought that the chief officer wanted to help them, then they would be too stupid, as stupid as a pig!
Ueno was not stupid. He immediately noticed the boss's displeasure and quickly explained, "I just have been away from my hometown for too long, and I miss the wilderness a little bit."
Hosokawa Mokiyuki was very satisfied with Ueno's answer. Even if he guessed that this was just an excuse that Ueno came up with, he didn't care. He laughed to lighten the atmosphere. "Ah, it's understandable that Ueno-kun misses his hometown wilderness."
"Well"
"Ah~ yes, yes, yes! Mr. Hosokawa is right."
But facing other people
As a compliment, Hosokawa Mochiyuki suddenly froze, and the voices of the people around him seemed to be rapidly moving away from him.
'Yes, we have been away from the Japanese country for so long, how come there is no news about the Japanese country recently? Even if the Japanese country did not send anyone to the Ming Dynasty, there are so many merchants from the Ming Dynasty to Jeolla Province every day, how can there be no news at all?
No? And when I first came to the Ming Dynasty, news about the Japanese Kingdom came intermittently. But how long has it been since the last time I heard news about the Japanese Kingdom? At least more than a month, right? Why is there no news at all?
?'
"Lord Hosokawa, what's wrong?"
The person next to him looked at Mr. Hosokawa holding a wine glass and was stunned. He didn't understand what happened, so he asked cautiously.
Hosokawa Mokiyuki turned around, his eyes were like torches, and he glanced at everyone slowly. He did not explain to everyone present, but directly ordered, "Let's stop here today." .??.
He said and put down the wine glass.
When the others saw it, they also put down their wine glasses and looked at Hosokawa Mochiyuki.
Hosokawa Mochiyuki said in a deep voice, "You should go outside immediately to inquire about news from the country, especially those Ming maritime merchants. You must get the current situation in the country from them at all costs."
"Hosokawa-sama, what's going on?" Someone asked in confusion, why would you want to inquire about news from the country?
"Go quickly!" Hosokawa Mochizuki couldn't help but look gloomy and shouted loudly.
Everyone was so frightened that they all stood up and bowed respectfully, "Subordinates, please obey!"
Only one day later, Hosokawa Noriyuki received a reply from his subordinates.
"No"
"No"
"still none!"
The people of the Japanese mission tried their best, but could not get any news from the country. Now, even those who did not understand why Hosokawa Mokiyuki asked them to inquire about the news from the country at first realized that something was wrong.
Hosokawa Mokiyuki took the results of everyone's inquiries and went to find Komatsu Reiko early in the morning.
Komatsu Reiko is dressing up carefully in front of the dressing mirror. Ever since she moved into this house, she has been attracted by this huge dressing mirror. This dressing mirror can reflect people in every detail, which is better than the water basin and copper in the Japanese country.
The mirror is ten thousand times better!
Every time she looked in the mirror, Komatsu Reiko was very satisfied with the charming face in the mirror.
Dong-dong-dong, three knocks on the door sounded.
"Who is it?" Komatsu Reiko asked casually without turning around.
"I would like to see my master." Hosokawa Noriyuki's voice sounded outside the door.
Hearing that it was Hosokawa Mochiyuki, Komatsu Reiko didn't think much. She focused on dressing up and said calmly, "Come in."
Hosokawa Mokiyuki came in, lowered his head and did not dare to look at the mirror in front of Komatsu Reiko, and said respectfully, "I pay my respects to the master."
Komatsu Reiko kept staring at the mirror, arranging her hair sideways, and asked lightly, "Tell me, what happened?"
"Master, how long has it been since we received news from the country?" Hosokawa Mokiyuki suddenly raised his head and stared at the back of Reiko Komatsu with a solemn expression.
Komatsu Reiko paused while arranging her hair. After a few breaths, she said with some uncertainty, "Maybe it's because there hasn't been any important news recently."
But Komatsu Reiko herself didn’t believe this.
Hosokawa Mokiyuki replied solemnly, "After my subordinates found out yesterday and the day before, they sent everyone to inquire about domestic news, especially those Ming maritime merchants. However, the news they received was that they had not heard anything about domestic news.
According to the news, some maritime merchants have even given up the route from Ming Dynasty to Japan and turned to Nanyang for business. The master should understand what this means."
Komatsu Reiko suddenly turned around, sat on the stool and stared at Hosokawa Mokiyuki from a high position, and asked, "Do you mean that Han Do is causing trouble?"
Hosokawa Mokiyuki looked into Komatsu Reiko's eyes without flinching, and said bluntly, "Master, does he know when we started to have no news from the country? It was just after Han Du took the initiative to find the master."
"That's enough!" Komatsu Reiko's face turned pale. She hoped from the bottom of her heart that all Han Du's recent actions towards her were sincere, but Hosokawa Mokiyuki told her that Han Du's change in attitude contained other motives.
This made Komatsu Reiko's heart suddenly hurt, and her face couldn't help but look ugly.
Hosokawa Mokiyuki looked at the extremely uncomfortable Komatsu Reiko. He didn't want this. He also wanted his master and Han Du to have a happy outcome, but the facts told him that Han Du had an ulterior motive for this move.
"Owner"
"Stop talking!" Komatsu Reiko suddenly waved his hand to interrupt Hosokawa Noriyuki, took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I will see Han Du today, and I want to ask him personally!"
Hosokawa Mochiyuki couldn't bear it, but he still insisted: "Master, whether it is true or not, the best way for us now is to rush back to Japan immediately. As long as the master can return to Japan, I believe that with the master's wisdom, no matter what the current situation of Japan is,
No matter what the situation is, the master can stabilize the situation."