Edo, a certain izakaya—

"Hey, have you heard of that?"

"What's the matter?"

"Just, that's...uh..."

"Why are you stuttering? Just say something quickly!"

"Cough, ache, what I'm going to say next may be terrifying. You should be careful and don't scream."

"Tell me quickly, don't suck my appetite!"

"It is said...it's really just said that Lord Niang is preparing to raise an army to rebel."

"What?!Make..."

"Shh! Don't shout, I've reminded you all!"

"Hug, sorry... is it true? Lord Nio wants to rebel?"

"Oh, I just heard from others, I don't know whether it's true or not."

"It must be fake! Most of the guy who hates Lord Ren Wang is making up these boring rumors!"

"I hope it's fake too...ah...I just returned to Edo and I, really don't want to avoid military disasters anymore..."

...

...

Edo, a tea house—

"The Dashu Gong is unconscious, which is a great time to usurp power and seize the throne. If Lord Ren is really willing to betrayal, then now is the best time to start."

"Hey, you all put your heads over, hurry up. I heard that Dashu Gong had long been dead. Lord Ren concealed the news of Dashu Gong's death, and kept silent about the funeral, pretending to be the illusion that Dashu Gong was still alive,

By deceiving the world, he would take the opportunity to mobilize troops and prepare for seizing power."

"I don't believe it! Lord Ren is unparalleled and loyal! How could he do such a traitorous thing!"

"Ha, you are too naive! How did Bai Letian say that poem? Ah, yes, 'Duke Zhou is afraid of rumors, and Wang Mang has not usurped the times', people's ambitions will change and grow. In'

Before the Honnoji Incident happened, who could have thought that Akichi Mitsuhide would rebel?”

"I still can't believe... Lord Ren enjoys all his wealth and glory, and wants money and fiefs, so why should he rebel?"

"Oh, who would think that his power is too small? A hero like Lord Ren Wang has long no longer cared about money and fiefdom."

...

...

Edo, a bathhouse—

"This may be another 'super-at-the-cap and anger for the beauty'."

"What do you mean? Who did Lord Niang fall in love with?"

"Who else can it be? Of course it is Your Highness of Tianzhangyuan! According to legend, Lord Ren admires His Highness of Tianzhangyuan very much, but he is a minister and the other party is the Great Imperial Office. The two of them will never be able to unite. So Lord Ren held his breath secretly and prepared at all times.

He was about to grab His Highness Tianzhangyuan. As long as he held supreme power, no one could stop him from marrying His Highness Tianzhangyuan."

"Is that Tianzhangyuan so beautiful? It's worth taking the risk of Lord Niang..."

"Who knows. Maybe His Highness of Tianzhangyuan took the initiative to seduce Lord Ren. She was a widow at a young age, so it was normal for her to have that desire."

...

...

Edo, a family-

"Wife! Get your luggage ready!"

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"

"I'm not very clear either... I just heard that Lord Ren might rebel, and maybe he'll have to fight again."

"Ah? We're going to fight again? Isn't this just finished a war?"

"It's different. The last battle was against the people of Choshu and the foreign war. This time the battle was a battle within the shogunate and a civil war."

"Ahhh...it doesn't matter who is in power. Let's live a stable life..."

"Anyway, pack your luggage quickly! Be prepared to escape at any time! It's time to stop fighting. If there is another war, we can leave Edo as soon as possible!"

...

...

"Lord Ren is going to rebel", "Lord Ren will create the 'Koi Shogunate'", "Lord Ren raised an army for His Highness Tianzhangyuan"... It was like a spring bamboo shoot after the rain, this rumor suddenly popped up!

Unexpectedly!

People say things, and there are many different opinions.

Rumors that are difficult to distinguish between true and false are spreading rapidly.

Trouble is spreading widely.

In fact, not all these rumors are directed at Qingdeng.

Almost at the same time when the news of "Niwang is about to rebel", another rumor emerged: "The person who wants to rebel is not Juiceng, but Yiqiao Qixi!"

What if... Although the latter is more likely, its spread is far less than the former.

The specific reason is not complicated, it is very simple - the people are not familiar with Yiqiao Qingxi at all!

As of today, Yiqiao Qingxi has lived in seclusion for too long, and it is enough for the people to forget him.

This year happens to be a year of many disasters. One big event that can be recorded in history is dazzling, and people have no time to pay attention to the joy of Yiqiao.

In fact, even before he lived in seclusion, his popularity was far less than that of Qingdeng.

When talking about the name "Yiqiaoqingxi", the public's impression is basically "Oh, he seems to be a 'deputy general', he has no impression."

In this way, its transmission is naturally much weaker.

Compared to Keiki Ichihashi, who is not well-known, everyone is more willing to discuss Renwang!

What’s the point of talking about Yiqiao Qingxi? The great master Ren Wang, who is suspected of having an affair with His Highness Tianzhangyuan, has even more talked about it!

In this way, there was a strange thing that "both sides could rebel, but the people only discussed Qingdeng."

At the moment when rumors are everywhere, the public is already very nervous.

The "release of the new selection group" announced by the shogunate at noon today has further aggravated this tension.

No matter how gorgeous the rhetoric is, this fact cannot be avoided: Aoden, who is in charge of the "Thirty-Six Sees" has already controlled the entire Edo Castle!

As long as he has that intention, he can spend the night with Tenzhangyuan in Edo Castle tonight! The harem of lewdness!

Despite the hardships of the current situation, life still needs to be lived.

People work as usual, buy New Year's goods and prepare for the festival.

Batches of Jingcakes and Tusu wine were bought.

Bales of door pine, and the ornaments were placed at the doorstep.

At first glance, everything is as usual.

But under this strong "New Year's atmosphere", there is a surging undercurrent!

...

...

December 28, late at night—

Edo, Edo Castle, Sannomaru—

Mianomaru in Edo Castle was once the residence of the fifth general Tokugawa Tsunayoshi in front of the Monfu, so in addition to fortifications, Mianomaru also built many livable bedrooms.

At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in a corridor in Sannomaru - Taro Katsura, holding a candlelight, walking hurriedly, and heading straight forward.

He did not carry any followers, and was alone.

After a while, he came to a door.

He didn't say hello, but just reached out and pulled the door.

As the door slowly opened, he saw Qing Deng, who had been here for a long time.

Aoden, who was bowing down in front of the desk, raised his gaze and looked at Katsura Taro.

The two looked at each other, nodded at the same time, and made a silent greeting.

Katsura Taro moved to Aoden case without hesitation, sat cross-legged, and said bluntly:

"Qingdeng, your troops have all entered the key points of the 'Thirty-Six See', and the process is even smoother than I thought."

Qingdeng nodded gently and said softly:
To be continued...