As night fell, on the roof of a private house near the Flower Palace, a man wearing a night ninja uniform was sitting there, chewing on soldiers' grain pills and observing what was going on in the palace.
The man's name is Xiaomei Feiyuan.
At this time, about ten hours had passed since Xiaomei and Shuangxie parted ways.
On this morning, the three of them had originally agreed to "split their troops into two groups to investigate around the Imperial Palace, looking for opportunities to get involved." Unexpectedly... Shuanghe was just walking normally on the street when he was attacked by the alert Mitsuhide.
He noticed it and was questioned as a suspicious person. What he didn't expect was that their "Central Plains artist" story happened to be of interest to the other party.
So, due to a strange combination of circumstances, the two of them unexpectedly and easily achieved their goal.
After Xiaomei walked around the Imperial Palace, she found that Shuang Xie did not come to meet up, so she asked around and found out that the two of them had been "invited" to the Imperial Palace.
Xiaomei thought about it: With the abilities of these two people, if they really encountered any danger, they would definitely make a big noise. By then, he would definitely be able to detect it as long as he was still near the imperial palace, so he simply found a field of view
Not a bad place to stay.
This stay lasted until dark. During this period, except for going to the toilet not far from here twice, he kept his eyes on the courtyard of the imperial palace.
So he indeed saw that twice in the afternoon, Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai passed by a corridor in the courtyard, and the people around them seemed very polite to them.
Seeing this, Xiaomei became even more confident. He speculated that Shuangxie must have deceived Nobunaga in some way, gained the trust of the other party, and was treated as a distinguished guest. If this matter continues like this, Xiaomei may
As long as he hangs up here, his "mission" will be completed.
By the way, I have to mention here that the mission Xiaomei received this time was to "help Shuangxie meet the person who knows the whereabouts of the Xunlong Bi", and according to his intelligence, this person is the Flower Palace in Kyoto
The "internal leader" is named Hosokawa Kisuke.
Therefore, after the three of them entered Kyoto, they went straight here.
Let’s talk about Hosokawa Kisuke. He was a descendant of a famous family a generation ago. However, his family had fallen into decline and he was a commoner. So now he can only manage this person who is similar to the "Butler of the National Luxury Guest House" internally.
position.
In the eyes of those famous families, this "internal management leader" is almost a humiliating position. Although it is considered to be within the establishment, the status is very low. After taking this position, even his children will have no future, so many
A declining famous family would rather become a monk than do this.
As for Hosokawa Kisuke... he also understands this, but he thinks that he is very well-dressed - anyway, he has no ability to compete with the legitimate sons in the family, so what's wrong with working a comfortable job?
He now lives in the luxurious palace in Kyoto for a long time. He does not have to go to the battlefield or engage in political struggles. He only needs to be responsible for receiving guests and managing the workers and maids under him; he does not have to do any of those heavy physical jobs.
, all kinds of rewards and favors have to go through his hands. Isn't this more comfortable than the life of his clan's current life of being a bloated face and pretending to be fat?
Of course, in recent days, Hosokawa has discovered that this position also has stressful times... because after Oda Nobunaga came to Kyoto, Ashikaga Yoshiaki ordered that the Flower Palace can only receive Nobunaga and others in the near future.
All subordinates and others are not allowed to come in and out at will. All visitors summoned by Nobunaga must be reported secretly, and no mistakes can be made. If there is any problem, he will be asked.
Hosokawa himself has experienced internal strife within his family. How could he not know what Ashikaga Yoshiaki was planning? He knew with his ass that the shogun was going to attack Oda.
It doesn't matter to him whether Nobunaga dies or not, but what if something happens to him, or his murder certificate is wiped out?
But Hosokawa can't run away, because if he runs away, he will definitely alert the snake, and no matter what happens to Nobunaga in the future... Even if Ashikaga Yoshiaki just "suspects" him of informing him, he will not let him live. After all, killing
It is much easier to identify him than to identify him.
Therefore, Hosokawa was under greater pressure than Nobunaga in the past few days. He was worried every day because he didn't know when Ashikaga Yoshiaki would take action and whether he could survive that day.
Tension and depression, and the same old days passed day by day, until today, something changed...
In the morning, Akechi Mitsuhide invited two weird and mysterious men to have a drink and chat with Nobunaga. They chatted noisily until the afternoon. Then the two men asked to take a bath, as if they wanted to stay for dinner in the evening.
posture.
Nobunaga also treated these two people as honored guests and asked Hosokawa to entertain them.
Although Hosokawa was confused, Nobunaga said so and he complied with it.
So, in the afternoon, Hosokawa personally led the two people to the bathhouse and ordered his servants to prepare bath water for them.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished making arrangements and everyone around him ran away, one of the two people suddenly started talking to him.
"Uncle, just now I heard Mr. Nobunaga call you 'Mr. Hosokawa'..." Sun Yixie said unexpectedly, "Are you Kisuke Hosokawa?"
"Huh?" Hosokawa was stunned for a moment when he heard this. Two seconds later, he was kneeling on the ground with his head slightly lowered. Then he raised his eyes slightly, met the other person's eyes evasively, and said doubtfully, "Uh...
Yes, I am Hosokawa, I wonder if Sun Sang has any advice?"
When Sun Huang heard this, he felt happy. It really took no effort at all.
But just as they were about to say something, two patrolling soldiers strolled by on the corridor outside the bathhouse. Before the two men could get far, another maid passed by with a rag and bucket...
Obviously, this is not the place to talk, and it is not the time to talk at this time, so after Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai exchanged glances, Huang Donglai spoke to Hosokawa again: "Mr. Hosokawa, we have something to ask you, but
This matter can't be explained in a few words, so why don't we make an appointment at another time and place to discuss it in detail."
"This..." Hosokawa was quite surprised by Shuangxie's request. First of all, he didn't understand why the two Central Plains people knew about him. Secondly, he couldn't think of anything the other party wanted to discuss with him. But this
Since the two of them were distinguished guests of Lord Nobunaga, he naturally couldn't afford to offend them. Moreover, the other party just said that he wanted to ask him for advice. It was not an excessive request, and he seemed to have no reason to refuse.
So, after hesitating for a few seconds, Hosokawa replied: "I have been living in this palace for a long time, and it is inconvenient to go out, and I am busy with business during the day, so... for what you two asked for, I can only wait until Lord Nobunaga rests in the evening
After I get off, I will have time to talk to you two."
"Oh, that's easy to say." Sun Yixie added at this time, "Mr. Hosokawa, tell us which room you live in, and we will come find you in the evening."
"No, no, how can I have the nerve to ask guests to come to me? Besides, I don't know when I will be free." Hosokawa nodded and responded with a low eyebrow, "Otherwise, if Nobunaga invites you two to stay here tonight, then
Your rooms must have been arranged by me. I'll see if the time is right later in the evening. How about I come and visit you?"
Hosokawa's words were reasonable and thoughtful, and Shuangxie was not in a hurry when it came to matters, so Shuangxie quickly agreed to the other party's proposal.
Then Sun and Huang took a comfortable bath in the bathhouse of the Flower Palace.
But they didn't know that while they were enjoying a hot bath in the big pool, Nobunaga was secretly discussing with Akechi Mitsuhide and wanted to put on a show at tonight's dinner to test them both.
…
…………
It's evening in a blink of an eye.
At this time, Sun Huang was resting temporarily in a Japanese-style room, waiting for Nobunaga to ask them for dinner.
But while the kitchen was busy preparing dinner, Mitsuhide Akechi suddenly appeared outside their door.
"Boy, I wonder if I could excuse you for a moment?" Mitsuhide was speaking to them in a much more polite tone than during the cross-examination in the morning.
The two people in the room looked at each other and made a few gestures, and then Huang Donglai responded in a deep voice: "Please come in."
"Excuse me." Mitsuhide said as he opened the door.
But then he did not enter the house, but was sitting on the porch outside the door, turning his face slightly to talk to Sun and Huang.
"I wonder if Mr. Mingzhi can give you any advice?" Huang Donglai didn't persuade him to come in, he just asked directly.
Mitsuhide responded with a serious face: "I don't dare to take advice seriously. I came here this time for two reasons. One is to apologize for my rude attitude towards the two gentlemen this morning..." At this point, he
He bowed his upper body, "...I'm really sorry."
"Hey, sir, please get up quickly." At this time, Brother Sun started to argue with the other party almost instinctively, "It's all a misunderstanding. Besides, we don't care about that in the first place."
Then Huang Donglai also helped with a few words, which were just polite words anyway. After saying these words, Guangxiu borrowed the donkey from the slope and got up.
"Thank you both for your magnanimity, then..." Mitsuhide then changed the topic, "I have a second thing to ask for, but I don't know if you two can help."
"Oh? Is there anything else Mr. Mingzhi needs our help with?" Huang Donglai faintly smelled a trap in the other party's words, so he responded in a tentative tone.
"That's it..." Mitsuhide had already prepared his words and answered fluently, "You two should also be able to see that Nobunaga is very obsessed with things in the Central Plains recently. Today, Nobunaga is destined to meet two masters.
I am very happy; as a close confidant of Lord Nobunaga, I am also happy for him... Therefore, I am thinking that this is a rare opportunity, can you please help me tonight... and give Lord Nobunaga another surprise."
"Surprise?" Sun Yixie said in Osaka dialect at that time, "What do you mean by 'surprise'?"
Guangxiu immediately answered: "I would like to ask two kitchen chefs to teach me how to cook a few side dishes from the Central Plains. It doesn't need to be very accurate, as long as the final dishes are presented with Central Plains characteristics; I think... at tonight's dinner
If such dishes appear, Lord Nobunaga will definitely be surprised."
After listening to the two harmonies, I feel that the other party's request is correct and logical.
Just like if a Japanese person comes to ask you how to make some Chinese dishes, even a person who doesn't cook at all on weekdays can still give you a rough idea of how to make some home-cooked dishes. After all, you eat them often - like
Fish-flavored shredded pork, Kung Pao chicken, Mapo tofu... don't you know the extremely detailed production process, don't you know the raw materials? You can also guess the seasonings, right?
The meaning of Mitsuhide's words is this: You don't need to teach too many standards, and it won't even matter if the food you make in the end is not delicious, you just need to make a few so-called "Central Plains dishes" to coax Nobunaga.
Furthermore, the chefs in the Flower Palace are all excellent cooks. The basic principles of many dishes are the same whether they are Chinese or foreign. You tell them the raw materials and the approximate method of making them, and they cook them according to Japanese tastes.
Adjustment, how can it be so unpalatable?
However, what Mitsuhide didn't expect was that one of the two people in front of him had a strong desire to perform when it came to cooking...
As soon as Sun Yixie heard that the other party gave him such a stage to show off, he came to the show. He immediately decided to personally guide the other party to make an authentic Hangzhou specialty dish.
Yes, you may have guessed it, it is the one that no one tries to use - West Lake Vinegar Fish.