Swallow Return

At this moment, the old servant of the Hanakain family named "Mita" came over to tidy up the seats and tables. Seeing the second young lady's shameful posture, he let out a very soft, almost inaudible sigh, turned his head away with a look of utter despair, and pretended not to see or hear anything.

Liu Yun somewhat understood the old man's feelings...

Ultimately, Iori was a person who cared about her reputation and was thin-skinned. However, she couldn't resist Sara's persistent pleading and had no choice but to agree.

Sara bowed happily and said, "Thank you, elder sister!" Then she gave a few simple instructions to the old servant Mita, without saying anything about bringing anything or changing her clothes. Dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, she became his little follower.

So the final result is—

Liu Yun brought generous gifts and accompanied his wife to visit her parents' home. He learned that the Hua Kaiyuan family was in dire straits and that all their elders had passed away. Then, when he left, he took his sister-in-law with him.

Upon closer examination, something seems off about this plot development.

However, Liu Yun, being a straight man, didn't feel anything.

After boarding the oxcart, Iori remained dignified and graceful, with a gentle smile. Sara, meanwhile, kept tugging at her sleeve, asking all sorts of questions, as lively as a little bird.

Seeing that there was nothing unusual, Liu Yun didn't take it to heart.

He instructed the coachman not to rush home, but to head towards Nijo Castle first.

There, I need to visit a colleague from the Oda clan whom I've met a few times to handle a matter that is both official and private.

……

The oxcart traveled for half an hour before arriving at Nijo Castle.

This castle doesn't actually have a long history. It was expanded and renovated by the Oda clan four or five years ago, based on the existing palace, as a generous gift to Ashikaga Yoshiaki. At that time, the two sides were still in their honeymoon period.

Times have changed. Ashikaga Yoshiaki has been kicked out of power, and Nijo Castle has become the stronghold of the Oda clan's Kyoto Magistrate's Office.

Currently, there are four people who have been officially appointed as "Kyoto Magistrates" by Oda Nobunaga, in order of rank: Murai Sadakatsu, Takei Yuan, Akechi Mitsuhide, and Hanawa Naomasa.

The only one Liu Yun could be considered familiar with was Takei Xi'an.

At this moment, the area outside Nijo Castle, spanning four hundred meters in radius, was bustling with people and vehicles. Many well-dressed, pampered individuals waited anxiously outside the gate, including wealthy merchants, high-ranking monks, and local lords. It was unclear whether they genuinely had important matters to discuss with the Kyoto Magistrate's Office or were simply there to offer gifts, meals, and cultivate relationships.

Several Oda clan soldiers were maintaining order at the entrance, but the road was still mostly blocked, with long queues forming on the street.

In reality, there might not be that many people in line, but since they were all important people, it was considered a small number to bring two or three attendants. Some people even came with three oxcarts and more than a dozen servants.

Seeing this, the driver turned around and expressed his predicament.

Liu Yun wasn't bothered at all. He waved his hand and pointed the way, ordering them to take a detour of two streets to the back gate.

The back door is theoretically not for receiving guests, but nowadays, anyone in the Oda family with a bit of status can recognize Sasaki Ryuun's appearance, so it's a special case.

The car was parked outside, and Liu Yun went into the city alone. He met Wu Jingxi'an, exchanged a few pleasantries, explained his purpose, and handed over the letter he had obtained from his sister-in-law. He thought he could retire successfully.

Unexpectedly, Takei Yuan learned of this matter and took it very seriously. He immediately summoned Murai Sadakatsu and Hanawa Naomasa to discuss it together.

After discussing for a while, they surprisingly suggested that they wanted to ask the person involved to get firsthand information.

Liu Yun inwardly cursed the trouble, but seeing his colleagues so serious, he had no choice but to cooperate.

He went out again and brought Iori and Sara inside.

The two ladies had never seen anything like it before, and they were both a little uneasy.

Iori is alright, since she doesn't have much to do with her.

Although Sharo was the second daughter of a noble family, she was actually far removed from the core power circle. At the same time, she was being seriously questioned by three strong-willed warriors, and she was immediately terrified. In her haste, she grabbed Liuyun's sleeve and was able to barely manage to speak clearly.

Seeing that she was genuinely frightened and didn't seem to be up to any tricks, Iori only frowned and gave her a quick, furrowed glare, not taking it to heart.

Murai Sadakatsu, Takei Yuan, and Hanawa Naomasa repeatedly inquired about many details; some of these Sara could answer, while others she didn't. In the end, the three magistrates looked quite satisfied and thanked Ryuun very sincerely.

After exchanging a few more polite words, he then took his leave.

As they parted, the youngest Kyoto magistrate, Hanawa Naomasa, smugly remarked, "It seems it's time to change the position of Kanpaku."

These words greatly alarmed and terrified both Iori and Sara.

Liu Yunqi said, "I thought this matter needed to be kept secret for the time being."

The young and impetuous Naomasa Hanawa said arrogantly, "We will launch an attack first thing tomorrow morning. Even if word gets out today, it won't matter much, as the other side won't have time to make preparations."

Liu Yun felt that this guy was so rash, and that he must have done something wrong.

Looking to the side, one could see that Murai Sadakatsu and Takei Yuan, two older and higher-ranking magistrates, both looked dissatisfied but remained silent.

Liu Yun thought that this might involve the "office politics" of the Oda family, so he didn't say anything more and immediately took his leave.

Back in the car, Iori and Sara were both trembling with fear, full of suspicion but dared not ask.

Just now in Nijo Castle, a civil official from the Oda clan presumptuously suggested changing the position of Kanpaku!

This kind of thing was enough to shatter the values ​​of two young ladies from noble families.

Liu Yun pondered for a while longer. It was probably true, as that fellow Hana Naomasa said, that the other party was powerless to resist the matter, so it wouldn't matter if it was leaked.

However, it was ultimately inappropriate for a high-ranking civil official to speak so frivolously and arrogantly.

……

It's actually not a complicated matter.

It all started when Ryuun first arrived in Kyoto.

At that time, he happened to be qualified enough to participate in the upper echelons of the Oda clan's social activities, where he heard about the plan to remove the current regent, Nijō Haruyoshi.

Why did I suddenly decide to deal with the head of all the officials?

The reason is that Haruyoshi Nijo and Yoshiaki Ashikaga are extremely close, practically inseparable.

Now that Oda Nobunaga has broken with Ashikaga Yoshiaki and driven the dignified Shogun out of Kyoto, he naturally wants to erase all traces left by the other party in every aspect.

Therefore, he planned to support Konoe Maekichi, Nijo Haruyoshi's political rival, to become the Kanpaku (regent).

All preparations were in place; all that was missing was a pretext for impeachment.

Just then, when Ryuun visited the Kakaiin family, he found evidence that was detrimental to Nijo Haruyoshi, so he sent it to Nijo Castle for both official and private reasons.

The whole thing is that simple.

Actually, Liu Yun only got involved by chance.

However, from the perspectives of Iori and Sara, they see things differently.

All they knew was that the Oda clan had the power to dismiss the regent.

Moreover, Ryuun is qualified to participate in the action to remove Kanpaku!

Iori gained a new understanding of her husband's talent and status, and even felt a vague sense of awe and fear.

Sara, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden's outfit, was trembling with fear, yet her eyes gleamed with excitement. She resembled a gambler who had received inside information and was about to wager their meager savings on a high-stakes gamble.

"My sworn brother is truly amazing!" she murmured to herself involuntarily.

Chapter 138 Sprinkling salt on the ground? What grudge could there be?

Terauchi, the town of Ichijoji, is located northeast of Kyoto, about two kilometers away from Nijo Castle, separated by a river and requiring a bridge to cross. This arrangement avoids both cramped housing due to high land prices and excessive desolation due to its distance from the city center.

Therefore, the fee was not expensive. The group of thirty or forty people, including master and servants, had a daily accommodation cost of 720 coins, food expenses of 700 coins, and an additional 450 coins for oxen, horses, and carts, for a total of 1,870 coins.

Of course, this "not expensive" refers to Liuyun.

His 10,000 shi of grain was equivalent to about 2,000 guan of annual income, not to mention the cash rewards he often received.

This amount of money could last an ordinary family for several months.

The lower-ranking noble family, the Hanakain family, lived in a large mansion, kept servants, and occasionally participated in high society social events, yet their annual expenses were only twenty or thirty kan.

Sara, dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, was already captivated by her "sworn brother's" generosity and the large entourage surrounding him, and was completely overjoyed.

In the past, when the head of the Hanakain family needed to travel on official business, he would rely on his connections to stay at the homes of local luminaries or monks. He could only stay comfortably with kind and generous people; if he encountered a stingy and miserly person, he might even have to sleep in a thatched hut.

What kind of extravagant spending spree is this?

The room where Liu Yun stayed was quite unique. Although it was a brand-new luxury suite, it still retained the antique charm of the Heian period, without being ostentatious at all. There was an entrance hall in front and a courtyard in the back. Washing and refreshments, as well as meals and tea, were delivered to the room on time in the morning and evening. The room was cleaned no less than five times a day, and there were also dedicated staff on duty day and night in the outer room to provide any emergency services needed by the distinguished guests.

The most formal meal of the day consisted of ten traditional dishes—three sauces, seven vegetables, and two types of Nanban-style desserts—served on three plates. Most of the ingredients were not expensive, and the portions were average, but the preparation was quite exquisite and beautiful. However, the taste was a bit too bland—supposedly suited to the tastes of traditional Kyoto nobility.

Liu Yun couldn't get used to the bland, watery food, and there were often leftovers after each meal.

When Sharo saw it, he was amazed and even hesitated to pick up his chopsticks.

……

During the leisure time after the meal, Takei Yuan from the Oda family came to visit.

He expressed his verbal gratitude for providing the information to Ryuun and informed that: at this morning's court meeting, the court nobles who were close to the Oda clan proposed to deal with the land lawsuit between the Kakeruin and Shirakawa clans two years ago, and at the same time to impeach the current Kanpaku Nijō Haruyoshi, and made good progress.

Konoe Sakihisa, who had been ousted by Ashikaga Yoshiaki, returned to Kyoto.

However, Nobunaga changed his mind at the last minute. Instead of forcing Nijō Haruyoshi to step down, he only made him apologize and then treated him leniently.

Liu Yun didn't understand the reason behind this, nor did he care to care.

What he needed to know was that the unjust verdict from back then had been overturned, and the ancestral twenty-fold name field had finally returned to the name of the Kakaiin family!

Takei Yuan made a special trip to visit, and the implied meaning seemed to be a reminder that Oda Nobunaga's attitude had changed and that his opposition to the current regent had come to an end.

However, Liu Yun never intended to cause trouble; it was just a matter of convenience for both public and private purposes.

It's just what I wanted to do to stop now.

After seeing off Takei Yuan, Ryuun felt it was good to help to the end, so he took Sara—and after thinking about it, he also took Iori along to avoid some unnecessary embarrassment—and went to the official residence in the inner palace to obtain the official judgment document. Then he went to the residence of the Kakaiin family, called the few remaining servants, and went to receive the ancestral property.

That was the twenty paddy fields along the Yodo River in the southern suburbs of Kyoto. The soil was quite fertile, and if planted properly, each paddy field could yield nearly two shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice.

Converted, the annual land rent income is about seven to eight strings of cash.

Before the Hanakain family regained its male members' authority, it could not activate its ability to "exchange face for money," nor could it receive a share of the court's annual ceremonial income, which ranged from several thousand to several hundred kan.

They can only survive on these land rents.

In fact, as one of the 130 noble families, their wealth and influence were theoretically much greater than this.

Several hundred years ago, the ancestors of the Kakaiin family owned more than thirty properties in five provinces: Yamashiro, Kawachi, Yamato, Tanba, and Wakasa. These properties totaled more than 700 paddy fields and more than 400 dry fields, roughly equivalent to 1,600 koku of rice.

However, the court later declined, power fell into the hands of others, and government orders could not be effectively issued beyond the capital. Warriors from all over the country burned accounts and seized the property that originally belonged to the royal family and officials.

Therefore, like other noble families, the Hanakain family lost most of their properties located outside the village, leaving only the properties near their home that they could still hold onto.

Of course, rather than defending it, it's more accurate to say that being too close to the imperial court and acting recklessly would attract attention. Considering the impact on public opinion, the samurai felt it wasn't worth ruining their reputation for a little bit of profit, so they didn't take action.

Throughout the journey, the sister-in-law continued to wear her red and white shrine maiden outfit.