】

"...Jing Yi."

After taking a final, deep look at the "talent list" in his hand, Tokugawa Iemo closed the booklet.

"Are you really... unwilling to temporarily step down from your position as the elder to avoid the spotlight?"

"Sir General." Ii Naobi laughed, "I am a descendant of the 'Red Yasha' Ii Naomasa who made countless heroes fearful during the Warring States Period three hundred years ago."

Ii Naobi raised his head slightly, his eyes full of pride.

"Thinking back to those days, my ancestor Ii Naomasa personally led the "Ii Akabei Corps" and served as the vanguard of the army many times, overcoming obstacles for the Tokugawa clan."

"My ancestors were so brave, how could I, as a descendant of them, shrink back?"

"It is my pride to serve as the vanguard general of the shogunate and serve the Tokugawa clan."

"Please, General, please don't take away my pride!"

…

…

"Mother mother..."

"Sir General." Tianzhangin quickly raised his eyes and looked at Tokugawa Iemo who was slowly walking towards her.

She originally wanted to ask how the conversation with Ii Naobi went.

However, after seeing Tokugawa Iemo's expression at this time, she already knew the answer to this question.

"Is that so..." Tianzhangyuan murmured, "Isn't he willing to temporarily step down from his position as the elder..."

Tokugawa Iemo, who had an extremely complicated expression on his face, remained silent.

He slowly lowered his gaze and looked at the "Talent List" that Naoki Ii had just given him, which he was clutching in his left hand...

"Since Ii is not willing to step down from his position as the elder..." Tokugawa Iemo said softly, "The only way we can do this is to strengthen Ii's bodyguards."

"Mother, I would like to select a group of warriors who are strong enough to supplement Jingyi's escort team. What are your intentions?"

Tianzhangyuan nodded gently without thinking for too long: "That's the only way it can be."

…

…

Time goes back to when Naoki Ii had not yet met with Tianzhangin——

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinagayanagicho, outside the main gate of the Imperial Guard Hall——

"Kondo-kun, Kyubey, I'll see you tonight." Aonto tightened the black scarf around his neck.

Although it is already March, the weather is still surprisingly cold.

In such a cold weather, it might snow, so as a precaution, both Ayoto and Saito wore hats to protect their heads from snow.

The "odd months" are the months when the Northern Division is responsible for governing Edo, while the "even months" are the months when the Southern Division is responsible for governing Edo.

Now that February has passed and March has arrived, Qingdeng has resumed his civil servant life of "working at sunrise and resting at sunset".

"Yes. Be careful on the road." Kondo-kun waved to Qingto.

Under the watch of Kondo and Kyuubei, Aoto and Saito each carried the lunch boxes that Kyuubei made for them and rushed to the Kitabansuo one after another.

After getting Abi's permission to freely use the kitchen of the Kaiwei Hall, Kubei still maintained his previous habit of preparing lunch lunch for Aoto every morning when Aoto had to go to work.

After adding Saito as a new family member, this habit became preparing meals for Aoto and Saito every day.

Qingdeng faced the slightly cold and biting morning wind and walked down the high slope where the trial defense hall is located.

Suddenly, he saw a figure in front of him who looked very familiar to him...

It's Shannan Jingsuke.

Qingdeng slightly raised the edge of the bamboo hat on his head, and shouted towards the back of Shan Nan who was walking in front of him, not knowing where he wanted to go in a hurry:

"Shannan-kun!"

After Shannan heard Qingdeng's voice, he immediately stopped and turned around.

"Hmm? Tachibana-kun?"

Shannan blinked at Qingdeng in surprise and then smiled.

"The two of us seem to be particularly connected recently." Shannan quickly approached Qingdeng and continued joking, "I ran into you by chance at the noodle shop yesterday, and I bumped into you again on the street today."

"Shannan Jun." Qingdeng asked, "Why are you here?"

"Isn't it Tomorrow's Tomorrow?" Shannan crossed his hands and dug into both sides of Haori's sleeves, "I plan to take advantage of the fact that it's still early and there aren't too many people, so I can go to Nihonbashi and buy some for tomorrow.

A gift to express condolences to a sinology master who has given me a lot of care."

During the Edo Period, in addition to praying for unmarried girls in the family, there was also the custom of giving gifts, food, etc. to masters of knowledge and various skills.

However, this custom is a bit unpopular, and very few people will celebrate this custom during the Shangsi Festival.

After explaining to Qingdeng why he was here, Shannan looked at the lunch box Qingdeng was holding.

"Tachibana-kun, are you on your way to Beifan to pay your respects now?"

Qingden nodded.

"That's it..." Shan Nan smiled, "Then we happen to be traveling on the same road for a while."

Shannan, who was planning to go to Nihonbashi to buy gifts, and Aoto, who was about to go to work - they happened to be traveling on the same road for a short distance.

So, the two naturally walked side by side.

"Ah, by the way, Tachibana-kun." Shannan had just walked a few steps with Qingto, and asked Qingto curiously, "How is Okita-kun doing now? He should be fine, right? I think he seemed to be quite drunk yesterday.

It’s pretty awesome.”

"Oh...Okita-kun..." Qingteng smiled helplessly, "Okita-kun, there's nothing serious about him."

"He's still sleeping now. According to my estimation, he won't be able to wake up until noon."

Last night, after meeting Shannan by chance in that noodle shop, Qingdeng and the others chatted with Shannan for a long time.

Shannan is very knowledgeable, well-informed, and has a great talk, so chatting with him is not boring at all.

They started by talking about the feud between Ii Naobi and the Mito clan.

While we were chatting, the topic suddenly turned to the practice of swordsmanship.

After exchanging their experiences on practicing swordsmanship, the topic inexplicably turned to the special delicacies of their respective hometowns.

Okita and Shannan are half fellow villagers, they are both from the Northeast.

Okita's hometown is Shirakawa Clan in Northeast Japan, and Shannan's hometown is Sendai Clan in Northeast Japan.

However, although Okita's hometown is the Shirakawa clan in Tohoku, he was born and raised in Edo. He has never even been back to his hometown a few times. He can't speak a word of Tohoku dialect. He can only speak the standards of this era.

language, that is, Guandong dialect.

While everyone was chatting, a wine merchant suddenly entered the noodle shop and peddled his wine.

The wine merchant said that his wine is a carefully crafted high-quality product, and its taste and intensity are different from all the wines on the market.

This piqued Okita's interest.

Due to his personal personality, Okita never lacks curiosity and exploration spirit when it comes to new things that he has never seen before.

After hearing the wine merchant say that his wine was different from other wines on the market, Okita immediately became curious. Seeing that the price was not expensive, he bought a bottle and tried it with Aomori and others.

This wine merchant is not talking nonsense. The wine he sells is indeed extraordinary - the "delay" effect is extremely strong.

When I first drank it, I didn't realize how strong the wine was.

But after a while, there will be a wave of extremely strong energy that makes people feel dizzy and makes their cheeks swell.

Qingdeng and Shannan are both pretty good drinkers, so they can withstand the impact of this wave of energy.

But Okita can't.

Perhaps because of his young age, Okita's drinking capacity is quite average.

He fell down directly due to the strong stamina, and returned to the state after the celebration banquet a few days ago - drunk and "limp", and Qingdeng had to carry him back again.

"Okita-kun, he's still sleeping now..." Shannan laughed dumbly, "It's fine that he's fine."

While talking, the two of them came to a shopping street full of shops.

It's only 8 o'clock now, and this shopping street is already gradually showing its prosperity.

Shops opened one after another, and pedestrians walked back and forth on the street with laughter.

At first glance, it looks like a peaceful and prosperous scene.

But after taking a closer look, you will find that under this "grand scene", there are shocking things hidden everywhere.

Beggars can be seen everywhere on the roadside; poor wanderers who have lost their salaries and have wandered from nowhere; sad-looking merchants who have become increasingly difficult to do business due to the deteriorating economy...these are scenes hidden in the corners of "Shengjing"

, all silently telling the onlookers coming and going: This is not an era worth looking forward to.
To be continued...