At this moment, an old man waved his hands and pushed his way forward from the back of the crowd, squeezing all the way to Ogata and others.
"Master Shirobei?" Ogata exclaimed in a low voice, "Why are you here?"
"That's it..." Shirobei wiped the sweat from his face and said with a wry smile, "It's a long story."
Just now, when the club learned that there was a conflict between the soldiers who went to the Bayberry House to support and a group of Hatamoto samurai, Shirobei planned to leave for the Bayberry House immediately, not only to check the details with his own eyes, but also to mediate personally.
After all, a conflict with the ronin and a conflict with the Hatamoto samurai are two different things.
If there is a conflict with the Hatamoto samurai, if it is not handled well, it may lead to a series of bigger troubles in the future.
However, just when Shirobei was about to leave, Matsudaira Sadanobu, who suddenly came to their Yoshiwara tonight, suddenly said coldly: "Master Shirobei, please take me with you. I will also be walking around in Yoshiwara by the way."
Naturally, Shirobei did not have any power or courage to refuse any request made by Matsudaira Sadanobu.
The first level of official rank is overwhelming, let alone Matsudaira Sadanobu, who is higher than Shirobei by who knows how many levels?
The bayberry house was built on the roadside of Nakano-machi, not far from the Shirobei Club.
Shirohei and several of his subordinates, led by Matsudaira Sadanobu, ran down the road quickly and soon arrived in front of the bayberry house.
After arriving at the scene of tonight's dispute, at the request of Matsudaira Sadanobu, they did not immediately step forward to mediate the dispute. Instead, they stood at the back of the crowd and watched quietly for a while. Takigawa and others, Ogata and others
dispute.
Matsudaira Sadanobu made such a request, and Shirohei had no choice but to comply. He followed Matsudaira Sadanobu and stood at the back of the crowd, acting as a bystander.
What happened next does not need to be described in detail.
Matsudaira Sadanobu, who had been watching quietly, suddenly asked Takigawa to put away the knife, and appeared in front of others, revealing his identity.
Matsudaira Sadanobu suddenly appeared and revealed his identity, which not only shocked everyone present, but also Shirobei who brought Matsudaira Sadanobu here.
The person who suddenly came to Yoshiwara without saying hello was Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Arriving at the scene of the incident, Matsudaira Sadanobu was the one who inexplicably expressed that he was not in a hurry to come forward and asked to watch for a while.
The person who suddenly spoke up and showed up, revealing his identity, was Sadanobu Matsudaira.
Shirobei felt that he could no longer keep up with the pace of his immediate boss who was at the top of his head...
After Matsudaira Sadanobu took the lead in revealing his identity, Shirobei, who had been standing at the back of the crowd with Matsudaira Sadanobu just now, also snorted his way out of the crowd and came to Ogata and others.
As the boss of the Shirobei Club, Shirobei also came, but the club servants present did not pay too much attention to their boss who also came here.
As early as when Uesaka called out "Lao Naka-sama", the surroundings instantly fell into silence.
After all, anyone with a little bit of brains knows what the word "Lao Zhong" means.
Takigawa and others caused trouble.
Ogata and others came to mediate the incident.
Onlookers came to join in the fun.
That's right, regardless of gender, the town samurai, regardless of age, all stared at Matsudaira Sadanobu who suddenly appeared after Uesaka called out "Laochu-sama".
And after Matsudaira Sadanobu said the name "Mashima Goro", the scene that was originally so quiet that you could hear a pin drop to the ground, as if the suspended magic began to flow, in a way that was not too extreme.
There was a commotion in the publicity state.
People who were unfamiliar with the name "Mashima Goro" looked puzzled.
And those who knew who was "Mashima Goro" focused their attention on the person with this name.
Guasheng had the strongest reaction.
Gua Sheng opened her mouth slightly, her pretty cheeks were a little stiff, and her eyes looked at Ogata standing next to her in shock.
Compared with Gua Sheng's reaction, there was another person who was even worse.
That is Takigawa.
Takigawa had never met Matsudaira Sadanobu.
So it wasn't until he saw Matsudaira Sadanobu's appearance and shouted out the honorific title "Lao Naka-sama" that Takigawa finally realized what kind of big shot this person who suddenly appeared in front of him was.
If Matsudaira Sadanobu showed up just now, it was like hitting Takigawa on the head with a small hammer.
So after Matsudaira Sadanobu said, "Mashima Goro is my guest," Takigawa felt as if the entire Mount Fuji hit his head from top to bottom.
With this strong impact, the consciousness that was somewhat chaotic due to drunkenness immediately regained consciousness.
From some perspectives, Takigawa's reaction was stronger than Guasheng's.
Both of Takigawa's lips trembled with shock.
Guest, guest?!
Isn't he... just a ronin...?
No matter what, Takigawa could not equate "ronin" with "laozhong's guest".
What kind of person is Laozhong? Apart from the shogunate and the non-permanent position of elder, he is the person who holds the highest power in the shogunate.
How could a mere ronin, who had just found a job at the Shirobei Club not long ago, become a ronin of old age?
The shock was so intense that Takigawa's mind went blank.
While Takigawa was still frozen in place because his mind was blank, Uesaka, who was standing next to him, was the first to react.
Uesaka, who had just bowed to Matsudaira Sadanobu in Dogeza position, stood up directly. Although there was still fear in his eyes, Uesaka still tried his best to maintain a neither humble nor arrogant posture, bowing to Ogata,
He said in an apologetic tone:
"I didn't know that I was the guest of Mr. Lao Zhong. I was confused. Please forgive me."
Because Takigawa did not tell anyone in detail about his grievances with Ogata, Uesaka did not know what exactly happened between Takigawa and Ogata.
It wasn't until Matsudaira Sadanobu appeared just now and through Takigawa's conversation that Uesaka knew who "Mashima Goro" was.
Uesaka didn't even know why he, who seemed to be just a young samurai working in a tea house in Yoshiwara, would be a guest of the old man.
He only has one idea now: he must do his best to resolve the current crisis at the lowest cost.
In fact, let alone Gua Sheng, Takigawa and the others.
Ogata himself is now in a state of confusion.
Guest? Who? Me?
The above is what Ogata was thinking when he heard the mysterious man respectfully called "Lao Chu" say that Goro Majima was his guest.
Ogata can guarantee that this is the first time he has met this old man.
His only impression of the current veteran of the shogunate is that his name is "Matsudaira Sadanobu", and he is now vigorously launching a large-scale shogunate reform and has launched many reform projects.
"I have just heard from other people what exactly happened." Matsudaira, who was still holding his hands behind his back, said in a calm tone, "I didn't expect that the cause of the incident was just because the hilt of your saber was not used by the maiko.
The wine that spilled from the bottle that I accidentally knocked over just stained it."
Matsudaira Sadanobu turned his head and looked at Takigawa with an indifferent gaze that seemed to contain no emotion.
His eyes were so calm that using the word "glare" to describe him seemed too intense and inappropriate.
"It's really inappropriate to draw a knife just for this kind of thing."
Matsudaira Sadanobu did not say any long speech.
It was just two ordinary sentences that were not too long.
But just these two short sentences made Takigawa's face, which was already pale as if there was no color at all when he learned that Ogata was Matsudaira Sadanobu's guest, become even paler.
Like a conditioned reflex, just after Matsudaira Sadanobu finished speaking, Takigawa turned around, facing the direction of Matsudaira Sadanobu, bent his knees, lay down on the tatami, and assumed a very standard soil seat.
"I am confused! Please forgive me, Mr. Lao Zhong!"
Takigawa actually didn't feel that he had done anything wrong just now.
The low-level maiko had stained the "soul of the samurai" and he drew his sword to kill him. What was wrong?
But he doesn't dare to tell his true thoughts now.
He had just heard that Matsudaira Sadanobu was very dissatisfied with his action of drawing a sword against the maiko just now.
At this moment, he just wanted to quickly seek Lao Zhong's forgiveness.
Matsudaira Sadanobu held great power and was very trusted and reused by the young general who had just ascended the throne and was only 17 years old this year.
No matter how much courage he gave Takigawa, he would not dare to offend Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Uesaka, who was standing next to Takigawa, and the rest of Takigawa's friends hesitated for a while, and then decided to kneel on the ground with Takigawa and beg Lao Zhong for forgiveness.
After all, if Lao Zhong is blamed, they will definitely bear some joint responsibility...
Takigawa glanced at Takigawa with still indifferent eyes:
"Don't do anything to that maiko who accidentally made a mistake again."
"Don't think about revenge or anything like that."
"I don't want to hear the news that this maiko died inexplicably on the street someday in the future, do you understand?"
"Understood!" Takigawa, who was covered in cold sweat and still maintained his seated posture, lowered his head and pressed his forehead tightly against the tatami.
"Also, remember to compensate the store. If you make such a fuss, the store will lose a lot of money."
"Yes!" Takigawa said loudly again.
"And your behavior should be considered as disturbing the order of Yoshiwara. Please report to the Shirobei Club later to receive the punishment you deserve."
"Yes!" As soon as Matsudaira Sadanobu finished speaking, Takigawa hurriedly echoed loudly again.
Takigawa has made up his mind.
No matter what Matsudaira Sadanobu said, he agreed one by one and tried his best to restore his image in the eyes of Matsudaira Sadanobu.
After silently stating the three conditions that Takigawa and others were required to fulfill, Matsudaira Sadanobu turned his head and looked at Shirobei who had just followed him.
"Tonight's dispute was caused by nothing more than a trivial matter."
"So let's end it here. What do you think? Shirobei-sama."
"Of course!" Shirobei nodded hastily, "What a perfect solution!"
At the end of the story, Shirobei did not forget to flatter Matsudaira Sadanobu a little.
"Then let's do it." Shirobei nodded slightly, "That's the end of tonight's incident. You guys remember to go to the Shirobei Club to receive the punishment you deserve."
…
…
With a few words from Matsudaira Sadanobu, this dispute that almost broke out into violent conflict ended with a peaceful and perfect ending.
After personally mediating the incident, Matsudaira Sadanobu led the young man who had been following him away from the scene and went to an unknown destination.
It is worth mentioning that before leaving, Matsudaira Sadanobu first walked to Shirobei and whispered something to Shirobei.
After whispering to Shirobei for a while, Matsudaira Sadanobu slowly walked away from everyone's sight.
When Matsudaira Sadanobu was whispering something to Shirobei, Shirobei kept nodding vigorously. Shirobei's serious nodding look seemed to be saying: Okay, I understand.
Because Matsudaira Sadanobu was whispering into Shirobei's ear, no one except Shirobei knew what Matsudaira Sadanobu said to Shirobei.
After Matsudaira Sadanobu finished whispering, Shirobei immediately said something to a subordinate who had just followed him to the bayberry house.
After Shirobei's subordinate whispered "I understand", he immediately followed Matsudaira Sadanobu and left the scene with Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Naturally, Takigawa, Uesaka and the others no longer had the composure to hold banquets here anymore. They obediently followed Matsudaira Sadanobu's instructions and gave Arbutus House a large amount of compensation. With white faces, they slowly left Arbutus House and walked towards
Shirobei Club, preparing to receive the punishment he deserves.
After Takigawa and others left, Shirobei also left.
Because Takigawa and the others were of high status, Shirobei had to personally decide how to punish these people who disrupted the order of Yoshiwara.
Before Shirobei left, Ogata specifically asked Shirobei what kind of punishment Takigawa and the others would receive.
According to Shirobei, the mistakes Takigawa and the others made tonight only caused some property damage to the Bayberry House, disrupted the operation of the Bayberry House, and made bad remarks to the servants of Shirobei Club.
No bigger mistake was made.
Therefore, the punishment they received was, at most, only to pay a fine and then live in the prison of their Shirobei Club for 2 or 3 days.
The incident has been resolved peacefully. Naturally, Ogata and his group of clubhouse servants who were sent to support the Arbutus House went back to their respective places. He would go back to wherever they were on duty before Takikawa and others made trouble.
However, Ogata did not continue to be on duty in the Yangmei House.
When Shirobei left, he took Ogata back to Shirobei's club.
…
…
Ogata: "Lord Shirobei. What's the matter with bringing me back to Shirobei Club?"
Shirobei and Ogata walked one after another on the road back to Shirobei Club.
"Well..." Shirobei showed a helpless smile, "It's not convenient to go into details now, you will know later."
Because Arbutus House and Shirobei Club are not far apart, not long after leaving Arbutus House, Ogata and Matsudaira Sadanobu saw the building with a lantern with the two Chinese characters for "Club" hanging at the door.
A magnificent mansion.
Shirobei led Ogata into the club, turned through the corridors and stairs, and arrived at the top floor, which was a room on the third floor.
Ogata knew what kind of room this room was.
It is a reception room specially used to receive visiting distinguished guests.
Ogata had heard from Gua Sheng that this room had not been used for a long time because distinguished guests rarely came, but he still cleaned the room conscientiously every day to prepare for emergencies.
"Mashima-kun, please go in." Shirobei said seriously, "There is... a guest waiting for you inside."
"Guest?" Although Ogata was confused, he nodded vigorously, "I understand."
guest……?
This is the second time Ogata heard this word tonight.
After hearing the word "guest" from Shirohei's mouth, Oubon suddenly thought: Could it be that person...?
Ogata slowly opened the door to the room while thinking "could it be that person?"
The room was very bright, with six candles inserted in six different corners of the room, illuminating the room as brightly as day.
On the tatami on the north side of the room, two people were sitting.
2 people... Ogata just met.
Looking at the two people who were sitting upright, as if waiting for someone, the corners of Ogata's mouth twitched involuntarily.
It's really that person...
The identities of the two people sitting in the room accurately hit Ogata's guess just now: Matsudaira Sadanobu, the old man, and the young man who had been following Matsudaira Sadanobu.
"Lao Naka-sama." Shirobei said respectfully to Matsudaira Sadanobu, "Mashima Goro-kun is here."
"Thank you for your hard work." Matsudaira Sadanobu nodded slightly, "Shirobei, please go down first."
"yes."
After a respectful response, Shirobei turned and left.
But when leaving, Shirobei whispered to Ogata beside him:
"Mashima-kun, come in quickly. It would be rude to stand at the door of the room."
Hearing Shirobei's words, Ogata hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked into the room, holding Daishakuten in his right hand.
After Ogata entered the room, Shirobei who stayed outside the room helped Ogata close the door.
The light in this corridor also became dim as the door of this room was closed again.
After closing the door, Shirobei let out a long sigh of relief.
The main content of what Matsudaira Sadanobu whispered into his ear just now, if simplified, is this: Prepare a quiet room in your Shirobei Club where no one will disturb you, and then put
Majima Goro-kun brought it here.
After receiving this order from Matsudaira Sadanobu, Shirobei asked his reliable subordinates who followed him to the bayberry house to lead Matsudaira Sadanobu back to the club, and then cleaned this room, which was not usually used much but was always cleaned.
The reception room was freed up to give credit to Matsudaira.
After successfully bringing Ogata in accordance with Matsudaira Sadanobu's instructions, Shirobei no longer stayed here and quickly left from the door of the room.
…
…
In the room
Ogata knelt in front of Matsudaira Sadanobu in an extremely standard posture.
Daishi Tian was lying quietly on the tatami on the right side of his body.
Matsudaira Sadanobu did not speak to Ogata immediately.
Instead, he turned his head and said to the young warrior sitting next to him:
"Tachibana, you should go out first."
"You stay at the door and don't let anyone get close to here."
"Yes." The young warrior answered without any hesitation.
He nodded vigorously, picked up the sword placed on the tatami on the right, and quickly exited the room.
As the young samurai left, only Ogata and Matsudaira Sadanobu were left sitting face to face in the room.
It wasn't until the young samurai left that Matsudaira Sadanobu finally said to Ogata tonight... no, it should be said to be the first words the two had said since they met.
"Mashima Goro-kun."
A faint smile appeared on Matsudaira Sadanobu's face.
"I finally see you."
"Don't be so formal."
"Just relax a little."
"Just imagine... chatting with a friend."
"Come with me and have a good chat tonight, Majima Goro-kun."