Chapter 226 About taking Qingto to meet Kinoshitas dance parents
Things【7200】
Edo, Chishiya——
"..."
Kiryu was sitting behind the counter, looking at the letter in his hand seriously.
This letter is written in Juanxiu handwriting, and the signature at the end is "Lin".
"Oh...this is really..."
After reading the last word of the letter, Kiryu, who always looked quite calm, raised his eyebrows in a rare move, with an intriguing look of surprise on his face.
suddenly--
Poof, poof...
There was a sound like something heavy falling to the ground from the second floor.
Kiryu, who was attracted by the strange noise, put away the letter in his hand and looked up at the ceiling above his head.
"What's the sound...? What is the young master doing..."
After whispering these words, Kiryu stood up and turned into the back corridor of Qianshiya, climbed the stairs, and reached the second floor.
Kinoshita Mai's boudoir was not closed.
So when Kiryu walked to Kinoshita Mai's boudoir with a wide open door, he had an unobstructed view of the scene inside the room.
In the past, the room, which was always spotless and everything was arranged in an orderly manner, now became a mess.
Clothes, toys, strange items that I can't name... everything big and small are everywhere.
The tatami mat looked messy because it was filled with all kinds of messy things, and there were not even a few places left to stay.
In this "garbage dump"-like space, Kiryu found his young master—Mai Kinoshita, who was wearing her favorite red dress as usual. She was sitting on her knees with her two little feet folded under her buttocks.
In front of a Western glass mirror as big as a palm.
Her whole body was tense, and while she was staring at the mirror in front of her with all her concentration, she carefully moved the short makeup brush held by her right finger, and carefully applied the bright "red" on the tip of the brush.
Smeared it on my lips.
I was so focused that I almost forgot to breathe, and almost forgot to blink my eyes.
Next to Mai Kinoshita's knees was a jar of lip balm that was the size of an adult's thumb, with the lid already open.
The so-called "lipstick" can be understood as the lipstick of the Edo period.
The lipstick that Mai Kinoshita is applying to her lips is the most popular style nowadays and most sought after by young girls: "Sasa-colored red".
Kiryu took a closer look and found that in addition to this jar of lipstick, Kinoshita Mai's knees also contained various types of cosmetics such as light powder and eye gloss.
Kiryu recognized all these cosmetics - they were gifts given to her by Kinoshita's grandmother on the eve of Kinoshita leaving Osaka and going to Edo to experience in the Senshiya he opened.
Since it was a farewell gift to my granddaughter, I couldn't be stingy and fill it up with bargains.
Take the jar of lip gloss as an example - a valuable but unmarketable treasure that Nokinoshita Mai's grandmother commissioned someone to help make.
According to Kiryu's estimate, if this jar of lipstick, which was no bigger than his thumb, was sold in the market, it would fetch at least ten taels of gold.
10 taels of gold...a sky-high price that can make everyone who knows the lipstick market take a breath.
You know, even the expensive lipstick used by Yoshihara's courtesan only fluctuates around 1 tael of gold.
Although Kinoshita Mai was so dedicated to applying makeup, her seriousness and the results of her makeup formed a sharp contrast...
The hand holding the pen was shaking as if she was shivering.
The lips are as "pitted" as the mud after rain.
Either the color is too heavy; then the color is too light; or the lipstick is accidentally applied to places other than the lips...
The sky-high price of lipstick, which is more than ten times more expensive than the special cosmetics of Yoshiwara oirans, is now being used as cheap paint by an "employment agency agent"... Such a strange sight, if anyone can see it
Go, I don’t know how many people’s jaws will be shocked.
Kinoshita Mai's level of makeup is so terrible...it's only natural.
Because she doesn't like makeup, she usually stays bare-faced.
Without relevant experience, it is impossible to draw beautiful makeup.
In a messy room, he used the lipstick given by his grandma that he had never used before to apply makeup... After integrating the information that his eyes had seen one by one, Kiryu finally understood what had happened.
It's over.
"……Little Lord."
"Um?"
It was only when Kiryu spoke that Kinoshita Mai realized that Kiryu was standing outside her boudoir.
She subconsciously turned her face away quickly... She turned around, but the hand holding the makeup pencil still stayed in place.
The face moved, but the pen didn't move... And so - starting from the corner of the mouth, the makeup pen drew a straight red line on Kinoshita Mai's delicate right face.
His face, which was already extremely funny due to his poor makeup skills, became even funnier.
Kinoshita Mai accidentally got into a big embarrassment, and her face suddenly became the same color as the "sasa-colored red" that was applied to her lips.
"Tong, Mr. Kiryu, why are you here?"
Kinoshita Mai quickly grabbed a few pieces of paper lying beside her knees, wiped her right face and lips clean, and tried her best to talk to Kiryu in a calm tone, trying to cover up her embarrassment.
"I heard a strange noise coming from upstairs, so I came over to take a look."
Kiryu walked quickly to Kinoshita Mai's side with a light movement like stepping on a rocky reef protruding from the river to cross the river, and then sat down with his knees bent.
"Young Master, you have worked really hard to be able to look your best tonight and travel with Mr. Ju."
After saying this, Kiryu let out a laugh full of ridicule.
Tonight, Aoto and Kinoshita Mai will go to the fireworks display to watch the fireworks - as long as we analyze this information, it is not difficult to guess why Kinoshita Mai's boudoir suddenly became a mess, and how she herself suddenly started to
Put on makeup.
Kiryu speculated that Kinoshita Mai planned to meet Aoto tonight with the best and most beautiful face she could achieve at present.
Having made up her mind like this, she decided to dress herself up well.
However, because I don’t wear much makeup on weekdays, I don’t know where to put the cosmetics that grandma gave me before, so I rummaged around and made the room a mess.
There is no need to elaborate on what happens next.
After rummaging through the room like a thief, I finally found the cosmetics given by my grandma, and tried on the makeup in front of the mirror. Before I could finish painting my lips, Kiryu came.
Although the above are Kiryu's personal speculations, he believes that the facts should not be much different from his speculations.
Facts have proved that Kiryu's guess was right.
As soon as Kiryu's teasing laugh came out, Kinoshita Mai's pretty face immediately turned extremely red, and the red glow spread to the roots of her ears, and it seemed like wisps of "steam" were floating out from her forehead and cheeks.
Her expression silently told Kiryu that his guess was correct.
Kiryu, who found Kinoshita Mai's reaction quite interesting, grinned wider:
"Young Master, you really like Mr. Ju."
"I……"
Hearing Kiryu's sigh, Kinoshita Mai immediately raised her head as if she had been scalded by hot water.
However, as soon as she shouted "I", Kiryu had already anticipated what she wanted to say and interrupted her words.
"Young Master, there is no need to defend."
"Look at my age."
Kiryu raised his hand and pointed at his wrinkled old face and silver hair.
"I have walked on more bridges than you have walked on."
"I still can't understand the behavior and thoughts of you young children, can't I understand them?"
"It is not a shameful thing to have a secret affection for someone."
"Young Master, you don't need to hide your feelings for Mr. Ju... at least in front of me, you don't need to hide it."
Kinoshita Mai seemed to be touched by Kiryu's words, her expression was dazed.
After a moment, she silently tightened her shoulders, lowered her face that was still flushed, and her eyes were blurred.
Kinoshita Mai is not an idiot with insufficient IQ.
In fact, she had already vaguely felt that Kiryu must have known about her feelings for Qingto.
However, even though she knew this in her heart, she still felt uncontrollably ashamed after hearing Kiryu say, "You really like Tachibana-kun."
Kiryu looked at Kinoshita Mai with a dumbfounded smile, and glanced at Kinoshita Mai who had curled up her body like an ostrich. Then she squinted her eyes and looked at the pile of bottles and cans beside Kinoshita Mai's knees.
"...Young Master, let me help you put on makeup."
"Eh?"
Kinoshita Mai raised her face in surprise.
"Mr. Kiryu, can you put on makeup?"
"I once learned how to do women's makeup in Kyoto."
If Aoden were here at this moment, he might have sighed in astonishment, "Boss Kiryu, how come you don't even know how to put makeup on a girl?"
Unlike Aoto who hasn't been with Kiryu long enough, Kinoshita Mai looks like she has become accustomed to this situation.
She pursed her lips thoughtfully, a look of hesitation appearing on her face.
After a while, she took a deep breath and nodded vigorously with a hopeful expression.
"Then, I'd like to trouble you, Mr. Kiryu!"
"Okay. Young Master, please close your eyes first."
"Would you like to close your eyes?"
"Only when I close my eyes can I put on makeup easily."
"All right……"
Kinoshita Mai nodded slightly, and then closed her eyes in accordance with Kiryu's order.
The moment her vision was covered by a black screen due to closing her eyes, she felt an itching sensation on her lips - this was Kiryu picking up the makeup pen and applying lipstick to her.
In the "garbage dump"-like room, from this moment on, there was only the sound of a makeup pen brushing against Mai Kinoshita's red lips and pretty face.
In anticipation of what kind of makeup Kiryu would give her, the corners of Mai Kinoshita's mouth slowly curved into a longing and nervous arc.
During this tense waiting, the silence of the room was suddenly broken.
"...I feel like I'm in a very subtle mood."
Because Kinoshita Mai had her eyes closed, she couldn't see it: a lonely, bitter smile flashed across Kiryu's eyes.
"That little girl, who was no taller than my waist, has turned into a big girl who can talk about marriage in the blink of an eye."
"Hahaha, I haven't experienced the feeling of whiteness so strongly in a long time."
"Ah, speaking of this..."
Kiryu paused as he seemed to recall something.
"Young Master, I have some good news to tell you."
"Just now came my lord...a letter from your grandma."
"The letter said: She plans to come to Edo to see you during the Spring Festival next year."
As soon as Kiryu finished speaking, Kinoshita Mai opened her eyes suddenly.
"Mr. Kiryu, is this true? Grandma is coming to see me?"
A dazzling light of excitement burst out from Kinoshita Mai's beautiful eyes.
"Well, it's true. I'll show you the letter later. Ah, don't open your eyes. If you open your eyes, it will easily smear the makeup."
"Ah, no, I'm sorry..."
Kinoshita Mai hurriedly closed her eyes again.
"Young Master, this is a good opportunity."
"Huh? What's a good opportunity?"
Kiryu smiled meaningfully.
"An opportunity for Mr. Tachibana and your grandma to meet."
"?!"
Kinoshita Mai almost opened her eyes subconsciously again. Fortunately, she reacted quickly enough. She just raised her eyelids a little and then quickly pressed them back down.
At this time, Kiryu continued:
"Young Master, I don't need to elaborate. You should also know that if you want to develop that kind of relationship with Lord Ju, you must first obtain the Lord's permission."
"..."
"My lord will never allow her precious granddaughter to be with a loser who she despises."
"..."
"So if you don't want your relationship with Jun Tachibana to remain at the level of 'friends', then it is necessary for Jun Tachibana and the lord to meet each other, so that the lord can see with her own eyes this man named 'Ju Qing'
Is the young samurai Den' qualified to be her grandson-in-law?"
"..."
Kinoshita Mai has been silent since just now.
Although there was still a look of makeup on her face that looked forward to her meeting, and a smile that made her feel excited because she knew her grandma was coming to see her, Kiryu could clearly feel that Kinoshita Mai's mood had changed.
Somewhat down.
Kiryu stopped talking just in time.
After a moment of silence, he smiled lightly and said in a relaxed tone:
"Young Master, there is no need for you to feel heavy."
"Is it possible that you don't have confidence in the man you admire?"
"My lord likes the kind of young people who are talented but not arrogant...and Tachibana-kun happens to be a talented person with this kind of personality."
"Based on what I know about my master, she only hates three kinds of people."
"A person with a bad mind."
"Those who covet the ways."
"And the kind of lustful, philandering man who only wants to marry many wives."
"So, relax."
"Although I don't dare to pat my chest and assure you that the lord will definitely favor Jun Tachibana, but I dare to say that the lord will never hate Jun Tachibana too much."
Hearing Kiryu say this, the faint "black mist" lingering in Kinoshita's eyebrows immediately dissipated a lot.
But suddenly, Kinoshita Wu's features froze.
"Public path"... The word Kiryu mentioned just now brought back a memory in Kinoshita Mai's mind.
An extremely "fresh" memory - the scene of the intimate interaction between Aonto and Souji at the celebration banquet three days ago, flashed through Kinoshita Mai's mind.
"...Speaking of the ways..." Mai Kinoshita hesitated, "Mr. Kiryu, when I was walking on the street a while ago, I saw two warriors who were as strong as bears, making love to each other while swaggering across the street.
.”
"It's a common thing." Kiryu responded casually.
"Speaking of it, it's really amazing. Some men have faces that are very popular with girls, but they are unexpectedly greedy."
"I heard that some Taoists have particularly bad temperaments. They clearly have no interest in women at all, but in order to successfully carry on the family line, they deliberately coax women who don't know that they are from the Tao to marry them."
When Kinoshita Mai said this, she paused for a moment, then pretended to be casual and asked softly to the elder in front of her who had "crossed more bridges than she had walked":
"I don't know if there is any way to effectively identify people who are members of the Taoist community."
"There are ways...there are still ways."
Hearing Kiryu take over the conversation, Kinoshita Mai's hands that were placed on her legs immediately clenched with excitement.
Kiryu, who didn't notice Kinoshita Mai's little move, said slowly and casually in the tone of chatting with Kinoshita Mai:
"To put it bluntly, the biggest difference between Taoists and ordinary people is that they are only interested in people of the same sex."
"Except for a few exceptions where both men and women can do it, Taoists will not want to have sex with the opposite sex."
"Anyone who wants to have sex with someone of the opposite sex is not a member of the public."
"This, this is it..."
Kinoshita Mai pursed her lips hard, and then softly repeated the words Kiryu just said at a volume that only she could hear clearly.
"Anyone who wants to have sex with someone of the opposite sex is not a member of the community..."
Fortunately, Kinoshita Mai has her eyes closed now.
Otherwise, Kiryu would be able to see a hint of thoughtfulness emerging from the depths of Kinoshita Mai's pupils.
At this time, Kinoshita Mai suddenly felt that the itchy feeling that had been close to her facial skin after Kiryu helped her put on makeup disappeared.
"Okay, young master, I've put on your makeup. Open your eyes and take a look."
As soon as Kiryu finished speaking, Kinoshita Mai immediately opened her eyes, turned her head and looked at the Western glass mirror beside her.
The moment her eyes touched the mirror, Kinoshita Mai's beautiful eyes suddenly burst into surprise and disbelief.
…
…
That night--
Edo, near Ryogoku Bridge——
"Cold water~! Cool water~! Cold and sweet cold water~!"
"Grilled eel! Freshly grilled grilled eel! Come and smell it! How fragrant the eel is!"
"As long as your sandbag throws anything, that thing becomes yours!"
"Oh~ Sir, your arms are so strong!"
…
Before reaching the boundary where Ryogoku Bridge can be seen, the dense flow of people and noisy voices surrounded Qingdeng with an overwhelming sense of presence.
Aoto had anticipated in advance that as the most popular public event in Edo throughout the year, the fireworks display would attract as many tourists as the sand in the Ganges.
However... even though he had made thorough psychological preparations, Qingdeng couldn't help but be shocked after he came to the Ryogoku Bridge in person and saw the real flow of people at the conference.
You can even see the Ryogoku Bridge, but there are only so many people... Qingto can no longer imagine how terrible the flow of people will be after entering the core area of the conference.
Tonight, God is good.
At this moment, just when the moon has just risen, the white sky is hanging high on the other side of the dark blue night.
The bright moonlight slanting down casts the shadows of the row of houses on the left on the spacious rammed earth road trampled into a solid surface by thousands of pedestrians' feet, and on the heads and shoulders of the tourists.
The storefronts of a row of shops on the right, as well as Qing Deng who was walking on the right side of the street, were bathed in bright colors.
Qingdeng carefully avoided the crowd and pushed forward inch by inch. At the same time, he took out an exquisite Western pocket watch from his arms, pushed the dial open with a click, and checked the current time.
This Western watch is a good watch that Qingtou bought for him some time ago from Rintaro Katsu.
Since getting this pocket watch, Qingdeng's life has become much more convenient. He no longer has to rely on the sky to guess what time it is.
——19:15...
After confirming the time, Qingdeng closed the pocket watch and stuffed it back into his arms.
In order not to be late, Qingdeng went out early tonight.
There are still 15 minutes left before the agreed meeting time with Mai Kinoshita... quite enough time, even if it means climbing, there is enough time to climb to the meeting place.
Qingdeng, who was in a relaxed mood, walked forward at a leisurely pace.
After a while, he arrived at the meeting place agreed with Kinoshita Mai - under a quite conspicuous cherry blossom tree, whose branches were all dry because it was not in bloom yet.
Qingdeng's eyes swept along the tree trunks and found no familiar figures.
Thinking that Mai Kinoshita might not have arrived yet, he stood silently under the tree, arms folded in front of his chest, quietly waiting for the beauty to arrive.
"Hey...look at that person."
"What happened to that man?"
"That person is the 'Nioh'...!"
"Is he the 'Nioh' Tachibana Aoden?"
"Well, I can't possibly admit my mistake."
"My body is much thinner than I thought... I thought that a samurai who could bear the name of 'Nioh' must be tall and thick."
"Why doesn't he shave his head? His current hair style is so ugly and lifeless."
…
While waiting for Kinoshita Mai to arrive, Qingto could hear such small discussions coming from around him from time to time.
These people thought that their voices were very small, but they did not realize that Qingden, who had the "perceiver of wind", heard everything they said.
Qingdeng has long been accustomed to this situation of being recognized when walking on the street and becoming the talk of passers-by.
Just don't disturb him - this is Qingdeng's only request to the passers-by who recognize him outdoors.
Although many people around him had noticed Qingdeng, no one came forward to talk to Qingdeng. They all just stood aside and looked at Qingdeng from a distance, making comments and gossiping about Qingdeng in small voices.
That's good.
Qingdeng thought that this would be good.
As long as you don't annoy him or disturb him, you can talk about anything and everything.
However, at this moment...
"Huh? Isn't this Mr. Tachibana?"
Suddenly, a young male voice with a hint of surprise came from behind Qingdeng.
Listening to this male voice, Qingdeng's expression suddenly changed slightly.
"..." Qingdeng had a sullen face and slowly turned around without saying a word.
Behind him, three young warriors were seen striding toward him in a "pin"-shaped formation.
The man in charge had a ferocious scar on his face that completely destroyed the original beauty of his face.
The two young warriors walking on the left and right sides of Scar's face had nothing worth mentioning in terms of facial features and appearance. Their appearance and figure were all ordinary, and they were the kind of people who would be hard to find if they were lost in a busy city.
Such people...but their footsteps, swings of their arms, and eyes caught Qingdeng's attention.
His steps are solid and powerful, his arms are swinging vigorously, and his eyes are sharp... You can tell at a glance that he is a diligent practitioner of martial arts.
It was summer, and everyone was dressed very coolly...Scarface and others were no exception.
They all wore thin yukata, and in order to keep their bodies cooler, they even lifted the hem of the yukata and tucked it into their belts.
The way Scarface and others dress directly exposes all the vicious tattoos on their necks, arms, chests and calves.
After the passers-by saw the tattoos on Scarface and others, they quickly ran away towards the street with sudden expressions on their faces.
Wherever Scarface and the others went, people dispersed like waves.
The dense flow of people magically created a vacuum zone with Scarface as the center.
Suddenly, this "vacuum zone" moved in front of Qingdeng.
"Mr. Tachibana! Good evening!"
With a gentle smile on his face, the scarred face greeted Qingdeng warmly.
"Long time no see! How are you doing?"
This Scarface... is an acquaintance of Qingdeng.
This person is none other than Yakuza from the "Shimizu Clan" who was previously responsible for collecting debts owed by Qingto and his family!
Qingdeng never knew this person's name before.
It wasn't until a while ago that Qingto accidentally learned that the scar-faced man's surname was Sasaki.
"...Why are you here?"
Qingteng did not respond to Scarface...that is, Sasaki's greetings.
While asking Sasaki this question in an indifferent tone, Qingden thought to himself:
——Why did these guys show up again...
In the past few months, people from the "Qingshui Clan" were like psoriasis that couldn't be shaken off, appearing in front of Qingdeng from time to time.
Ever since the "Qingshui Clan" suddenly canceled the debts of their Tachibana family, the "Qingshui Clan" people have often sent people to contact Qingteng and get close to Qingteng.
For example, two months ago, when Qingteng was hospitalized in Renyitang to recuperate from injuries sustained after the decisive battle with the anti-barbarian group, the "Qingshui Clan" sent someone to visit him.
Faced with the overtures of the "Qingshui Clan", Qingteng has always adopted a perfunctory and ignoring attitude.
He doesn't want to have anything to do with the people of the "Qingshui Clan"!
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the reason why the "Shimizu Clan" is suddenly so enthusiastic about Aotomo is probably to develop a good relationship with Aotomo, who has become a rising star in Edo politics.
Qingden, who was not blind, knew what the "Qingshui Clan" wanted...but he just didn't want to accept their favor.
Affected by the education he received since childhood and the professional inertia in his previous life, Qingdeng has never been very fond of these evil forces.
What's more, in terms of their bad style, lawlessness, and cruel behavior, Yakuza groups like the "Qingshui Clan" are much more terrifying than those modern extreme forces!
*******
*******
It is definitely impossible to spend the fireworks display in Qingdeng calmly.
The new January is here! Please give me your guaranteed monthly votes! From today on, the author will double the number of words! If you have monthly votes on hand, please be sure to vote for this book!
Please give me monthly votes! Please vote for recommendations! (Leopard Head Cries.jpg)
PS: Ever since the Yakuza forces headed by the "Shimizu Clan" came on the scene, I have always seen comments like this:
[Qingdeng is an official, so when facing these Yakuza, why not attack them with a lower dimension? Just accuse the other party of any crime, and then kill them all. This can not only uphold justice, but also gain credit for himself. 】
What should I say... When I first saw such comments, I was so shocked that I was dumbfounded.
Because this kind of comment is so stupid, I don’t even know how to reply...
I think: People who can make such comments must be little kids who are not deeply involved in the world.
If as an adult you can still say such "innocent" remarks, then to be honest, I am quite worried about your future...
