"!【8500】

"..."

Tianzhang Academy did not seem to be surprised at all by Tiancang Xiao's remarks.

She looked at the night scene in the distance with a calm expression... After a long while, she slowly asked in a tone of neither sadness nor joy:

"how you said that?"

"...Master Yu Du. The talent and character that Ju Qingden showed today... make me feel terrible."

"Although he is extremely talented in swordsmanship, I didn't expect that he also has such an amazing talent in ninjutsu."

"Unless he is willing to degenerate in the future, his future will be limitless."

Tiancang Xiao raised his white eyebrows and glanced at Tianzhang Courtyard in front of him.

After confirming that there was no abnormal reaction from Tianzhang Academy, he took a deep breath and continued:

"It may be our great fortune that Lord Yu Du can accept such a talent into our new Imperial Palace... or it may be our great misfortune."

"It would be best if he could be loyal and serve us wholeheartedly."

"But if he has a different intention..."

Tiancang Xiao did not continue speaking. He stopped his words at a just right place and allowed Tianzhangyuan to think about the next content.

After a moment of pause, Tiancang Xiao changed the subject:

"Although that Ju Qingden appears to be indifferent to fame and wealth at the moment and has no fight with the world... no one can tell whether he will develop any strange desires... or ambitions in the future!"

"So, what I say may be a bit presumptuous, but... I still ask Master Yu Du to keep an eye on Ju Qingdeng."

"Don't let the 'Benevolent King'... really become the 'King'...!"

After finishing speaking, Tiancang Xiao humbly lowered his head and waited for Tianzhangyuan's response.

Tianzhangyuan did not keep Tiancang Xiao waiting for too long.

As soon as Tiancangxiao finished speaking, Tianzhangyuan smiled as if he had heard some interesting anecdote:

"I understand. Thank you for your suggestion. I will seriously consider your suggestion. Is there anything else you want to report to me?"

Tiancang Xiao shook his head: "No more..."

"If you have nothing to report to me, please retreat first. Now I want to watch the night view quietly by myself and blow the night breeze."

"yes."

Tiancang Xiao said "yes" and bowed lightly to Tianzhangyuan, then quickly walked towards the darkness not far away.

Outside the torii gate of Tsukinomiya Shrine, Tenjoin was the only one standing alone.

Poker face.

It's like eyes looking at another world, staring straight at the distant sky.

…

…

The next day——

The first year of Wanyan (1860), August 30——

The calendar currently used in Japan is still the old calendar...that is, the lunar calendar.

There is no 31st day in each month of the lunar calendar, so today is the last day of August.

In other words - tomorrow is the wedding day of the highly anticipated wedding of Kondo Isamu and the girl named Matsui Tsune who has been preparing for the trial for a long time!

In order to welcome the arrival of this important day, these diners, including Nagakura and Saito, were all mobilized to clean the inside and outside of the test hall.

Qingdeng also came to help, but he didn't do anything serious today. Starting this morning, he started helping with the general cleaning, thinking it was a day off for himself who was so busy lately.

In the evening, in order to celebrate Kondo Isamu's successful divorce and no longer a bachelor in his late 30s, everyone held a lively celebration party.

…

That night--

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Imperial Guard Hall——

"Everyone! Please look over here!"

Harada's shout attracted everyone's attention and attention.

Harada let out a "burp" and let out a wine burp that was full of the smell of wine. Then he stood up, retracted his hands into his yukata, and then took off his upper body clothes.

"Everyone, have you seen it?"

Harada pointed at a large horizontal scar on his stomach.

"This is the scar I got when I committed seppuku!"

"Back then, before I became a ronin, and when I was an official in the Iyo Matsuyama Domain, a nasty guy slandered me as a 'little official who doesn't even know how to commit seppuku'."

"I just love to be serious. Didn't he say that I couldn't even commit seppuku? I pulled out my wakizashi on the spot, stabbed it into my own belly, and committed seppuku on the spot to show him!"

"Hahahaha! That man was so scared that he collapsed on the ground! I can remember his dumbfounded expression forever!"

"The thing that made that person even more stunned was yet to come! I stabbed the knife directly into my stomach and made such a big gash, but I didn't die! After a period of treatment, I became alive and kicking again.

It’s over!”

"Since then, I have had a nickname: 'Immortal Harada'!"

After listening quietly to Harada bragging about the origin of the scar on his stomach, Aoto sighed with a wry smile:

"Harada...we have heard your story of 'haram seppuku without dying' many, many times..."

At every banquet, whenever Harada was drunk, he would definitely lift up his shirt and tell everyone the story of how he "committed seppuku in front of others when they disagreed with each other, and he did not die."

Ayoto couldn't count how many times he had heard Harada bragging about his "heroic past."

However, Harada's sudden story-telling had a certain positive effect on the current banquet atmosphere.

"Yong, drink less, you are the protagonist of tomorrow's wedding."

Shusuke, who was sitting side by side with Kondo, persuaded Aiko beside him.

"How would it be appropriate to have such a hangover that you can't get up tomorrow or smell like alcohol?"

"Huh? Hahahaha! Father, don't worry! This little wine won't make me drunk!"

Kondo, whose cheeks were red from drinking and who didn't listen to his old father's advice at all, laughed a few times and clapped his hands hard several times.

"After a while... I'm getting drunk... Hey! Ah Sui! Let's sing some songs to cheer up the fun!"

How could Hijikata, who had a close relationship with Kondo, be absent from the banquet celebrating Kondo's breakup?

Sitting next to Kondo, Hijikata, who had also drunk a lot of wine and was blushing fiercely, put down the chopsticks in his hands without saying a word after hearing Kondo say this, beat time with both hands, and sang:

"Ahh~~"

"So cute~~"

"Make a wish to Mr. Baishan~~"

"Serve tea, cut off salt, and even fast for thirty-seven-twenty-one days~~"

"Even so~ If there is no fate, then there will be no God~~"

"Ahh~~"

This was the first time Qingden heard Hijikata singing.

I have to say - the singing is very nice.

Singing a cappella without any accompaniment can still make almost everyone, including Qingdeng, mesmerized.

Everyone put down their bowls, chopsticks and wine bottles and listened quietly to Hijikata's singing.

The hall, filled with the sounds of people drinking and drinking, suddenly became extremely quiet.

Qingdeng didn't do any research on music, so he could only roughly tell the folk song from which place it was based on the style of music.

The beautiful singing voice coupled with Hijikata's handsome face... people who don't know better would probably mistake Hijikata for a well-known singing and dancing artist.

When Hijikata finished singing the song, everyone clapped and applauded.

Harada, the big boy, was the one who drummed the most energetically - he cheered loudly and lay on his back on the ground with his belly in the air. While applauding with both hands, he also clapped the soles of his feet to each other.

"Hijikata, you sing so beautifully! I didn't expect you to be so good at singing. What song did you sing just now?"

After saying that, Nagakura, who was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Hijikata, picked up the wine bottle at hand and filled Hijikata's glass.

Hijikata grinned and accepted everyone's compliments humbly and without ceremony.

"The song I just sang is from the hometown of Asheng and I: a folk song from the Tama area: 'Tama's Ise Onto'. Is it nice? Don't look at me like this. I still like singing and dancing, and elegant poems such as haiku

of things.”

Inoue interrupted with a smile:
To be continued...