Time!【4200】

In the second year of Wanyan (1861), early morning on January 1st——

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinagayanagicho, Imperial Guard Hall, Garden——

The pale yellow morning sun rises slowly from behind the mountains in the east, and the bright dawn penetrates the layers of haze.

The dark sky first slowly turned blue, with a bit of purple, then gradually changed to gray, then the gray deepened, turned into light red, and then gradually turned into a pinkish pink with a hint of gold.

The misty night slowly faded away. The black veil covering the sky was completely lifted.

A new day...the first day of the new year has arrived.

The sun comes into contact with the morning dew and mist, and the three mix into a scent that makes people feel relaxed and happy after smelling it.

Having such nice weather on the first day of the New Year is indeed a good sign.

When the sky was still dark, Zhou Zhu led Qingdeng and others to line up beside the well in the courtyard.

Seeing that the sun was about to rise, Zhouzhu, who was dressed in formal clothes, quickly drew a bucket of cold water from the well with his own hands.

This is a samurai custom in the Edo period.

Near dawn on New Year's Day, the head of the family will put on formal clothes, go to the well in person, and use a new bucket to draw water. This ceremony is called "Ruoshui".

In addition to using this bucket of water to wash your face and clean your hands, you will also use it to make lucky tea and cook a traditional dish that Japanese people often eat during the New Year: zizhi, which symbolizes the beginning of the year.

Zazoi: A dish in which the main ingredient mochi and vegetables such as carrots, daikon, and green onions are added to a soup seasoned with miso or miso.

The history of mixed cooking is very long, generally dating back to the Heian period (794-1192). The Japanese have believed that mochi is an auspicious food since ancient times and is often eaten during celebrations, happy events or special days.

The time to draw water coincides with the sunrise. The house with a good view will be in the courtyard, and the house with a limited view will go to a nearby high platform. The whole family will pray to the great sun on New Year's Day for good luck throughout the year.

The Trial Guard Hall is now considered a big family, with a permanent population of more than ten people.

Logically speaking, for a large-scale event like this that "requires the whole family to come together", Shuzuke should have a large group of talented people standing behind him.

As a result, at this moment, Zhouzhu's backside was extremely deserted.

Only Aoto, Saito, Abi, Kubei, and Matsui Tsune stood respectfully behind him.

The rest of the people, including the Director-General, without exception, were all drunk and unconscious last night. They were so hungover that they were unable to get up.

Qingdeng was far from the only one who overplayed his game last night.

Except for "reliable brother" Saito, who still refuses to change his principle of "never getting drunk" even during the annual carnival, all the young people in the trial hall drank too much last night.

Or almost drank the tablet.

Since possessing the god-level talent "God of Sleep", Qingdeng slept for such a long time for the first time.

If it weren't for the extraordinary sleep quality granted by the "Sleep God", it's really unknown whether Qingto could stand behind Shusuke like he is now.

However, even so, Qingdeng's consciousness was still in a trance, his body was swaying, his steps were weak, and he was top-heavy.

It felt like a large amount of water had been stuffed into my head. When I shook my head, I could vaguely hear a "gu-dong-gu-dong" sound.

The blood vessels in the temples on both sides kept beating, and there was a constant swelling and pain.

——Hangover is really uncomfortable... It would be great if there was a talent that could strengthen liver function... or directly enhance metabolism and detoxification ability...

Qingden yawned vigorously, then lowered his head again, looking at his nose and heart.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Qingdeng is completely absent-minded now, as if he has something on his mind.

In fact, Qingdeng did have something on his mind - but it was something full of sweetness.

Qingto quietly looked at his left and right sides with the corner of his eyes. After confirming that Saito and others beside him were not paying attention to him, he secretly rolled his eyes and scanned his surroundings.

No matter which direction he looked, he could not see that petite and cute figure.

A touch of regret suddenly appeared in Qingdeng's eyes.

——Miss Okita still hasn’t gotten up yet...

Compared to the sun on New Year's Day, he looked forward to seeing that energetic smile as bright as the sun on New Year's Day morning.

Although several hours had passed, the scene he spent with the General Secretary on New Year's Eve last night...the scene full of peachy flavor was still vivid in Qingdeng's mind.

Last night...or rather early this morning, Qingneng and Souji hugged each other for a long, long time on the veranda of the courtyard of the Imperial Guard Hall...

It took so long that the moon was far away from its highest point.

After a long time, the general secretary fell asleep in Qingteng's arms.

Qingden was deeply fascinated by the warmth transmitted from Souji's delicate body.

Therefore, it was not until he heard even and steady breathing coming from his chest that he belatedly realized that Souji had fallen asleep at some point.

She slept peacefully and sweetly, her red lips slightly curved.

She must be dreaming of some particularly beautiful dream - Qingdeng was strongly convinced of this.

Afterwards, the person who escorted the general manager back to his room to sleep was naturally Qingto.

In order not to wake Souji up, Aomori gently carried Souji back to her bedroom like a princess, as if he were holding something fragile.

The process went quite smoothly, until Qingteng tucked him into the bed, the general manager fell into a deep sleep - and so he did until now.

"General Secretary! General Secretary! Wake up! Wake up!"

Just now, Abi personally went to wake up the chief executive.

While shouting loudly, he was assisted by slaps - slapping the Souji on the face like a ball.

The elastic and delicate face made crackling sounds after being photographed.

Souji, whose cheeks were even slightly red from being patted, said "um", chewed something in his mouth, and murmured slowly:

"Hey...why is this Jinping candy so salty..."

Abi gave up on the spot and asked the chief executive to get up and participate in the activity of collecting water and praying to the sun.

Qingdeng felt very sorry for this.

He originally wanted to discuss the relationship between the two of them in depth with the Director-General this morning and how to deal with it in a qualitative way.

The Edo period is no better than the 21st century.

Influenced by feudal ethics, Japanese people in this era were very conservative and reserved in their treatment of the relationship between men and women.

Whether it is the warrior class or the civilian class, the most mainstream way of communication between men and women is "the orders of parents and the words of matchmakers."

Getting married first and falling in love later, and not knowing what your future husband and future wife look like until the wedding ceremony - this kind of thing was not uncommon in the Edo period.

Natural love between men and women... although it exists, it is rare.

Single men and women who are not engaged talk to each other and confess their feelings to each other - this is a very bold and unrestrained behavior in the values ​​​​of the current era.

However... there is a small problem - Aomori and Souji do like each other, but they have not yet settled on a relationship.

To put it in easy-to-understand modern terms, the director-general didn’t ask Ayoto, “Will you be my boyfriend?”

And Qingteng was too excited and excited after confessing his love to the director, and forgot to ask the director, "Will you be my girlfriend?" When he came to his senses, the director had already fallen asleep.

Missed the best opportunity to ask questions.

This makes Qingdeng a little difficult to handle.

Without any certainty, he could not determine the current and future "distance" between himself and the General Secretary.

Just pretend that nothing happened and continue to be good friends?

Or... just become a couple?

For Qingdeng, he is naturally happy to see the latter.

It's just that...this leads to a new, more serious question.

Qingteng's love for the general secretary is real and not mixed with any false emotions.

If conditions permit, he wouldn't even mind marrying Souji now - anyway, he and Souji are both adults who have reached the "marriageable age".

Qingdeng is devoted to the General Secretary.

But he was also devoted to the other two girls... to Mai Kinoshita and Sanako!

At the beginning, after confessing his love to Kinoshita Mai and Sanako and threatening to marry them both, Qingden was ready to embark on the "Way of Shura" full of thorns and never look back.

Qingdeng loved them and didn't want to be separated from any of them.

Since the era he was currently living in was an era without the crime of bigamy, Qingdeng did not want to give up his wish to "be with them forever" until everything came to an end.

Now, Qingdeng's wish has become more ambitious.

The number of girls he wanted to marry increased from two to three.

Marrying two is a marriage, and marrying three is a marriage! Qingden has made up his mind that from now on, he will work hard to "marry Kinoshita Mai, Sanako and Souji"!

How should I explain my "ambition" to the General Manager?

How should we deepen and maintain our friendship with Souji on the premise of "never alienating Kinoshita Mai and Sanako"?

These are big questions and big dilemmas that require great effort and careful study.
To be continued...