I formed the strongest swordsman group

Qingdeng carried his lunch box, and under the leadership of a certain Yuzhong, he walked quickly to the depths of the Honmaru of Edo Castle.

[Note · Yuzhong: A kind of Ooku official position in the Edo period. Mainly responsible for serving the general or the Imperial Palace, and also the main class of candidates for the general’s concubine】

In a short while, the two came to a secluded and deep area.

Yu Zhongjie walked into the imperial seat room with small steps, knelt down on the ground, and respectfully said to the imperial seat room in front of him:

"Your Highness Tianzhangyuan, Mr. Ju has arrived."

Tokima, Gozama—both are functional areas in the rooms of ancient Japanese palaces. The former is the place where the subordinates report the news to the lord and the lord gives instructions; the monarch usually sits in the latter to accept the worship of the courtiers, listen to the news reported by the subordinates, and summon or give instructions.

As soon as Yu Zhongjie's words fell, a soft female voice, which was extremely familiar to Qing Deng, came from the throne room:

"Let him in. And, you all stand back."

Yu Zhongyan lowered his shoulders, pressed the index finger, middle finger, and ring finger of both hands lightly on the tatami mat, bent his waist, and put his forehead almost on the ground, and responded in a respectful yet neutral voice:

"yes!"

Immediately afterwards, the two Yu Xiao surnames, who were kneeling on the left and right sides of the door of the throne room, stretched out their slender arms at the same time, and slowly opened the door in a uniform manner.

[Yu Xiao's surname: The personal maid of the Royal Terrace. It is held by girls from the Banner family aged 7 to 13. (After the 13-year-old Yuanfu, it will be "Yuanfu Xiaosurname"), and have the opportunity to be promoted to Yuzhong]]

Spotless tatami mats, tasteful interior decorations, well-trimmed green potted plants, graceful and stunning beauties...

The moment Qingdeng met the beautiful woman's eyes, she showed a magnificent smile.

There are mainly two types of dressing styles for Sanako on weekdays.

One is the "Yamato Nadeshiko Mode" in which she wears a women's kimono and wears her hair in a Shimada bun.

The other is the "female samurai mode" in which she wears a women's kendo uniform and her hair is tied into a high ponytail.

Tianzhangyuan also has two types of dressing styles on weekdays.

One is the "witch mode" that is only worn in Tsukinomiya Shrine.

The costume is a high-level shrine maiden uniform with white top and purple bottom, and the hairstyle is also a typical shrine maiden hairstyle: the hair is tied into a low ponytail that drags behind the back, the root of the braid is wrapped with white washi paper, and tied with white and red thread.

The other is the "Odaisho model" that is most widely known to the shogunate bureaucrats.

Her hair is tied into a short ponytail with a white headband; because she has become a nun, she can't wear too bright and exaggerated clothes, so the overall dressing style of "Odaisho Mode" is more elegant, with a purple smock on the outside , the middle layer is blue sleeves, and the innermost layer is a pure white undershirt, which is solid color from the inside to the outside. There are no delicate patterns on the fabric, and there are no hair buns or other decorations on the head.

Just as Sanako's "Yamato Nadeshiko Model" and "Woman Warrior Model" can give people completely different perceptions, the two models of Tianzhangyuan can also make people have completely different feelings.

If we say that Tianzhangyuan in the "witch mode" is a quirky big sister.

Then, Tianzhangyuan in the "Odaisho model" is a steady and calm luxurious queen, and people can intuitively feel that the woman in front of her is one of the most distinguished figures in the Edo shogunate!

Qingdeng stood up and strode with ease, walked across the second room, and stepped into the imperial seat room.

As soon as his front foot stepped on the comfortable and soft tatami, there was the sound of the door being closed behind his back foot.

Immediately afterwards, the sound of small footsteps gradually faded away... Yu Zhongyan and Yu Xiaoxing all obeyed the order of Tianzhang Yuan just now, and walked away quickly without stopping for a moment.

In this quiet space, there is only a pair of lonely men and widows who are looking at each other.

The moment the footsteps of Yu Zhongyan and Yu Xiaoxing completely disappeared——

"Haaah...I'm exhausted...This kind of rigid sitting posture is really tiring...!"

The waist of Tianzhangyuan bent down instantly as if it lost its bones.

She first leaned her upper body forward, then fell to the left side, and her whole body collapsed on the tatami like mud.

Well, the eccentric big sister that Qingdeng knows is back.

"Your Highness, if the female officials of Ooku and the cabinet ministers of the shogunate saw your current appearance, they would be paralyzed in fright."

Qingdeng complained half-jokingly, while sitting cross-legged directly opposite Tianzhang Courtyard.

In the absence of outsiders, his relationship with Tokugawa Jiamao and Tenzhangin has always been very casual.

"That's why I sent them away."

Tianzhangyuan, who was lying on his side on the ground, turned over, and while facing Qingdeng, he raised his left forearm and supported his head, and continued with a smile:

"With no other people to disturb you, you and I can relax a lot, can't we?"

"That's right."

Qingdeng nodded to show his approval.

Then, he changed the subject:

"Okay, let's get back to the topic. Your Highness, you suddenly called me here, what do you want?"

"It's nothing, I just want to have lunch with you suddenly, by the way... Let's play Double Six together?"

As she said that, like a magic trick, she took out a set of 'Double Six' from behind and pushed it to Qingdeng's lap.

"'Double Six'?"

Qingdeng raised his eyebrows.

"Double Six" can be understood as a board game in the Edo period, a very old popular game, a kind of imported product, not created by the Japanese.

It originated in Mesopotamia in 2600 BC, spread to China via India, and spread to Japan in the Nara period (710-784).

This game is similar to modern day "Monopoly". Throw the dice to determine the points, and play the game according to the points. The first to reach the finish line wins.

The chessboard is full of good or bad "life experiences" such as a fire at home, broken hands and feet, sudden inheritance and becoming a super rich man.

The reason why it is named "Double Six" is because this game requires two dice, and the maximum points of two dice are two sixes.

In Qingdeng's eyes, in this age without electronic products and board games, "Double Six" is the most fun board game.

When he is very bored on weekdays, he will occasionally play "Shuangliu" with the general manager, Harada Sanosuke and others.

Qingdeng raised his eyes and stared straight at Tianzhangyuan's face, as if he was looking for something.

Before Tianzhangyuan found out about his little move, he nodded slightly.

"I see, let's play."

After all, he opened the game box in front of him and began to arrange the chess pieces.

At this time, Tianzhangyuan sat up.

"Tsk... This kind of dress with a very long and tight skirt really gets in the way..."

The clothes worn by Tianzhang Courtyard under the "Dayudaisuo Model" are very typical aristocratic clothing.

The skirt on the lower body is very narrow, as if the legs are tightly tied together, it is too narrow to swing the legs greatly, and can only take small steps when walking.

At the same time, because the skirt is very narrow, it is impossible to choose other sitting postures except "kneeling".

But... this is not a problem for the unrestrained Tianzhang Courtyard.

"Well, it's still more comfortable like this."

She pulled up the hem of the skirt in one breath, pulled it above her knees, and then sat cross-legged like Qingdeng.

Suddenly, the room became a little brighter.

Of course it wasn't because candles were lit, or because the sun was shining in - it was purely because the legs of Tianzhangyuan were reflecting light.

Her two calves were slender and well-proportioned, slender yet sensual, as white as jade, and as smooth as the embodiment of silk.

Seeing this, Qingdeng couldn't help but feel emotional: Naturally beautiful girls like Tianzhangyuan, Sanako, Kinoshita Mai, Zongsi, and Ai Luodi are really magical creatures. Don't they all grow body hair? ?

If the person sitting in front of him at this time is Sanako, Kinoshita Mai or the chief secretary, he will definitely open his eyes wide open and openly take a panoramic view of this alluring beauty.

However... the target is his friend and boss.

He treats the women he loves with hunger and thirst; he treats ordinary women with politeness - this is the greatest confidence in Qingdeng's insistence that he is a gentleman and hates others saying that he is lustful.

So, he subconsciously turned his eyes away from Tianzhangyuan's beautiful legs - his actions were completely captured by Tianzhangyuan.

"Ouch~~"

She narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth were slightly raised, and her red lips were bent into the shape of a "ω" cat's mouth.

"Mr. Ju, you don't need to be so polite~ I just showed off a part of my calf, why do I need to be so shy? So you children are really good~~ When you see your calf, you immediately think of 'this' and bastards."

When talking about "this", Tianzhangyuan raised the little finger of his right hand - in the Edo period, the little finger represented a girlfriend or mistress.

After hearing this, Qingdeng couldn't help but said in a helpless tone:

"First of all, I am not shy; secondly, I am 20 years old this year, and I am not a child; finally, when I see a calf, I think of mistresses and illegitimate children. People who have this kind of imagination are no longer children, but Should you see a doctor's patient?"

Qingdeng's explanation did not win Tianzhang Court's approval.

She made a "hee hee hee" laugh full of jokes "in pursuit".

"Ouch~ I'm starting to argue~~ I think you're really shy."

"You are 20 years old this year, so what? I am 26 years old this year...of...of..."

The more Tianzhangyuan said, the lower the tone became.

First, the volume gradually decreased, turning into a mosquito humming, and in the end, I couldn't even speak.

Along with it, "lowered" was her scorpion head.

I saw that every time she uttered the word "de", her head lowered a little, and the light in her beautiful eyes also dimmed a lot.

"...Your Highness, why do you say something like killing eighty enemies and hurting yourself ten thousand?"

"Nothing, no road race!"

Tianzhangyuan blushed, gritted his teeth, and stared at Qingdeng.

"In short, I am an elder who will always be 6 years older than you! In my eyes, you will always be a child!"

Looking at Tianzhangyuan, who obviously cared about his age in the third year, but insisted on calling himself a "mature elder", Qingdeng felt his facial lines relax unconsciously.

For some reason, an idea suddenly sprouted in his heart that he wanted to play tricks on the other party.

"Your Highness, since you just said 'you don't need to be so polite', then it shouldn't be a problem for me to appreciate your beautiful figure with my eyes wide open, right?"

"That's natural."

Tianzhangyuan replied without thinking.

"That being the case, I will not be polite."

With that said, Qingdeng straightened his gaze, staring straight at Tianzhangyuan's calf.

"Huh?"

Tianzhangyuan was surprised.

"Huh? Ah! Wait, wait! Are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious."

Qing Deng said seriously.

"Your Highness, as a mature elder, you will definitely not care about the immature eyes of a child like me, right?"

"That, that's natural! Come on, just look at it! But you are only allowed to look at it, and you are not allowed to touch it. If you touch me, I will directly shout 'Ju Qingdeng is molesting me', and you will be ruined. "

What a ruthless trick... And if you insist, you are clearly teasing me... Qing Deng slanders.

Ju Qingdeng molested Du Ji of Tianzhang Court—if the news spread, it would not be as simple as losing her reputation...

Qingdeng collected his messy thoughts, sat up straight, and stared straight at Tianzhangyuan's legs with a solemn face as if admiring a miracle.

"Oh~ Ju-kun, your eyes are full of explicit desire, it's really obscene~~"

Tianzhangyuan's red lips changed back to the shape of a cat's mouth, and the tone of voice was a little more interesting.

"..."

"It's a child after all, it's so easy to be charmed by me."

"..."

"Hey, hey! Don't keep silent! Your behavior of staring at other people's legs without saying a word is quite creepy!"

"..."

"Hmph! So you children who don't have enough experience, really..."

"..."

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu~!"

Little by little, the cheeks of Tianzhangyuan were blush like sunset.

"..."

"Cuckoo, blah blah blah...!"

The cute toes wrapped in the white foot pockets began to grasp and grasp anxiously.

"..."

"Enough, enough! It's almost time to see enough! Don't watch any more!"

Tianzhangyuan stretched out his hands, tightly blocking his calves.

"Isn't the person who told me to look at it casually, Your Highness?"

Qing Deng asked innocently.

"No road race! I didn't tell you to keep watching without blinking, did I? In short, don't watch it anymore! If you watch it again, I will really shout 'I was molested by Ju Qingdeng'!" Now, hurry up and play 'Double Six'!"

After all, in order to get rid of her shy emotions, she bent down and lowered her head, "concentrating" on arranging the "double six" chess pieces.

Tianzhangyuan, who knew that he was defeated by Qingdeng, secretly cast a resentful look at Qingdeng.

"Tch... it's just a kid 6 years younger than me..."

Qingdeng pretended not to hear, and with a smile of "returning from victory", he laid out the "Double Six" chess pieces with his opponent and opened his lunch box contentedly.

Probably because they are getting more and more familiar with each other, so whenever the two of them are alone, Tianzhangyuan will always show an "easy-going" appearance that is becoming less and less serious and less and less like a gentleman.

There is no so-called canteen in Edo Castle.

Therefore, cabinet officials like Qingdeng who commute to get off work in Edo Castle must bring their own lunch if they want to eat lunch.

The person responsible for preparing bento for Aoto is sometimes Abi (wife of Shusuke Kondo), A Chang (wife of Isamu Kondo), sometimes Genzaburo Inoue, and most of the time the chief executive—she is here to give Aoto today. Make bento.

The bento prepared by the general manager for Qingdeng today is rice balls stuffed with tuna, and there are 8 big ones.

Onigiri made of rice and stuffed with tuna... This was a rare delicacy in the Edo period.

The chief executive's culinary skills have never disappointed Qingdeng.

The vinegar-flavored rice grains are very springy, just lightly bite the fish wrapped deep in the rice grains, and the rich umami taste spreads from the tip of the tongue to the entire mouth...it is really delicious.

Qingdeng held the rice ball with one hand, and accompanied Tianzhang's "Double Six" with the other hand.

The Tianzhang Courtyard on the opposite side is also eating and playing games at the same time.

Naturally, it is impossible for the distinguished Tianzhang Courtyard to eat common people's food like Tuan.

The food she ate was naturally the exquisite food cooked by Yu Zhongju and the poison tested.

【Note·Yu Zhongju: The female officer in charge of arranging meals and testing poison in Oli. 】

Not only crossing his legs, but also playing "Double Six" while eating. When it was his turn to play chess, he immediately put down the bowls and chopsticks in his hand, chewing the food in his mouth that bulged his cheeks, while Concentrate on throwing dice and moving chess pieces; when it's Qing Deng's turn to play chess, he picks up the bowl and chopsticks and continues cooking.

Such an appearance... not at all the demeanor that the Great Royal Terrace should have.

However, this is her most relaxed and true appearance.

Because it is played by 2 people, the pace of the game is very fast.

When Qingdeng swallowed the last piece of rice balls, they just finished the third round of the game - the result was that Tianzhangyuan won 2 games and Qingdeng lost 1 game.

This time, Tianzhang Court did not put the chess pieces back to their original taste, but let out a long breath.

"Okay... let's stop here. Oh, I haven't played 'Double Six' with anyone for a long time. This game is really fun."

Qingdeng glanced at Tianzhangyuan's expression, then put the chess piece back on the board, and said softly:

"Your Highness, after I played around with you, did you feel better?"

"Um?"

Tianzhangyuan was startled.

Qingdeng continued the words silently:

"You're having trouble with He Gong again, aren't you?"

"..."

Tianzhangyuan was silent for a while, then let out dry laughter.

"Hahaha... I saw it...Yeah, I was having trouble with He Gong again, and I was very depressed, so I brought you over to play games with me. Thanks to you, I am in a much better mood now gone."

Qing Deng smiled.

"That's good."

It was no secret in Edo that Tianzhangyuan and Hegong were incompatible.

In recent years, there have been rumors of discord between Tianzhangyuan and the Palace in Edo's marketplace.

What "Tianzhangyuan and Hegong quarreled again", what "Tianzhangyuan fought against Hegong"...you can say anything.

Regarding these rumors, as an insider, Qingdeng dared to pat his chest and guarantee that there must be no fights between the Tianzhang Court and the Palace of Harmony, but it is common for them to quarrel.

Since ancient times, it has been a common thing for mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to quarrel, even in the deep palace.

However, the conflict between Tianzhang Court and the Palace of Harmony... really cannot be taken lightly.

This matter had to start before He Gongxia married.

Under the coercion of Ando Nobumasa and Iwakura Tomomi, the marriage between the shogunate and the imperial court was finally successfully facilitated.

However, although He Gong agreed to marry, she put forward additional conditions - after marrying far away in Guandong, she must maintain her original living habits, food, clothing, furniture, and interior decoration, all according to the old things in Kyoto.

Because these requests were not too much, Nobumasa Ando, ​​as the representative of the shogunate, agreed to them all.

During that period of time, Qingdeng, who had already been employed by the imperial platform and was in charge of all affairs of Ooku, was really busy.

In order to meet the requirements of the palace, he had to contact the merchants in Kyoto to purchase Kyoto-style furniture, decorations, and clothing. He also had to invite professionals familiar with public culture to decorate the bedrooms of the palace. In addition, he had to contact the imperial court. , confirm the itinerary of He Gong...

To this day, whenever Qingdeng recalls this painful time, his back will break out in uncontrollable cold sweat...

He would rather attack Qingshui Mansion again than take on this torturous and troublesome task again.

However, thanks to this task, he got to know a group of Kyoto businessmen, and he built a rough "Kyoto network" tentatively.

Under the fury of Qingdeng and Da'ao's female officials, she finally arranged her bedroom in Da'ao before the arrival of He Gong.

Qingdeng only met Kazumiya once, at her wedding with Iemo Tokugawa.

He Gong's first impression of Qingdeng... In a word: She really looks like a porcelain doll—the type that breaks when touched.

The face is not pretty, but the skin is very fair.

Very short, only in his early 1.4 meters.

Very thin, feels less than 35kg.

Such a thin body... It's normal to think about it, after all, the public diet is notoriously light.

Qingdeng once tasted a public meal, and his evaluation of it was—it was worse than kaiseki cuisine.

Eating this kind of bland food that even tastes better than the weeds on the roadside will make the body stronger.

As soon as Hegong moved into Da'ao, he started to have conflicts with Tianzhangyuan.

The three views and living habits of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are really very different.

Tianzhangyuan is a standard daughter of a samurai who likes archery, horseback riding, and all kinds of energetic things.

He Gong is a standard public daughter, who likes poetry, singing and dancing, and all kinds of elegant things.

Tianzhang Court dislikes the public atmosphere of the daughter-in-law very much.

And He Gong is also very disgusted with the "rude" mother-in-law.

Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law hate each other.

Not only did He Gong have a bad relationship with Tianzhang Yuan, she also had a bad relationship with other big figures in Da'ao.

Shiseiin (Tokugawa Iemo's birth mother), Honjuin (Tokugawa Iesada's birth mother), and Onenyori Takiyama... There are also great frictions between Kazumiya and these people.

[Note·Yu Nian Ji: In charge of all the affairs of Da'ao, the imperial platform employs people outside, and Yu Nian hosts inside. It can also be used as one of the vassals to discuss politics, and its power is comparable to that of the old middlemen. 】

In the final analysis, He Gong's reluctance to accept the life style of the samurai family, insisting on maintaining the original living habits, and wanting to engage in such special behaviors is already very annoying.

However, Kazumiya and Tokugawa Jiamo get along well.

Although Qingdeng didn't witness it with his own eyes, but according to others, the young couple are friendly and respect each other like guests.

Qingdeng was not surprised by this.

After all, Iemo Tokugawa is an existence that can directly subvert the stereotype of "Dongyi" in Kyoto.

Yunwenyunwu, extraordinary bearing, virtuous corporal, wide range of interests, can wield a samurai sword as well as lightly shake a public paper fan... According to common sense, even if a man like Tokugawa Iemo doesn't like him, he doesn't like him. As for hating him.

Qingdeng is not familiar with Kazuya, so he has no feelings for her. He only met her once at her wedding with Tokugawa Iemo from the beginning to the end, and the two sides had no communication.

On the contrary, those imperial court ladies who followed He Gong as a dowry and were in charge of serving He Gong...Qingdeng really hates it!

In modern terms, these court ladies are all fucking bullshit!

One is arrogant, one is disgusting.

They sometimes complained about the bad climate in Edo, sometimes complained that the water quality in Edo was too hard, sometimes complained that the Edo people had no taste, and sometimes complained that the Edo accent was ugly.

If it's just regional discrimination and speaking ill of Edo and Edo people, then that's fine. As a time traveler, Qingdeng doesn't have deep feelings for the land under his feet.

But the problem is... these stinky women come to disturb him every now and then! It annoys him so much!

*****

*****

If book lovers who like Tianzhangyuan don't vote monthly for this book today, then it is really unreasonable! (Crying Leopard Leopard Head.jpg)

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PS: Leopard Leopard is not touting Iemo Tokugawa. The Tokugawa family Mao in the historical facts is a very good young man. There are countless people who criticize his political achievements and abilities, but his character is the only one that almost no one criticizes.