Swallow Return

Therefore, Liu Yun could understand Lady Gui Die's coldness today, although he still couldn't help feeling a little regretful...

Then he greeted the dignified, elegant, and poised Madam Ningning.

This time, I received a gentle and virtuous smile in response, which warmed and comforted my heart.

With a hint of concern, Liu Yun inquired, "I heard you suffered from a heart ailment recently? You've harvested the 'Number One Fragrant Wood in the World,' Lan Shedai, as medicine. I wonder if it's had any effect?"

Lady Ningning smiled gently, slowly rose, bowed, and said softly, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Sasaki. I was indeed suffering from a heart ailment for several months, but fortunately I received a piece cut off by Lady Lanshe, and I have now fully recovered."

Liu Yun felt deeply comforted and nodded happily: "That would be perfect."

Lady Ningning paused for a moment, then bowed and thanked him, saying, "I learned from Lord Hideyoshi that it was thanks to Lord Sasaki's efforts that we were able to successfully seize Ranshatai in Nara. You have truly been kind to me..."

She seemed to want to say something more, but Lady Guidie suddenly coughed twice expressionlessly.

Then, Madam Ningning showed a helpless expression, gave a subtle look, and gently shook her head and lowered her head without saying a word.

Logically speaking, unless they are long-term partners who are very familiar with each other, it is difficult to convey specific information through eye contact alone.

However, Liu Yun and Lady Ning Ning had formed a close soul bond due to the great demon Tiger God, so they naturally had an extraordinary understanding. With just a glance, they could express a lot.

and so--

Why is Miss Aichi here?

Liu Yun had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Of course, if it were any other samurai retainer, even if they knew the situation, they would probably feel awkward in this environment and find it inconvenient to ask in person.

However, Ryuun never paid much attention to etiquette. After giving Miss Oichi a standard but emotionless, mechanical greeting, he went straight to the point and said, "Welcome to the Sasaki residence, ladies. It is a pleasant surprise that Miss Oichi has graced my humble abode with her presence. Is there anything you wish to ask me?"

At this moment, Miss Oichi's face flushed, revealing a hint of sadness and embarrassment. She nodded and remained silent, and for no reason, a sense of resentment emanated from her.

Madam Ningning maintained a slight smile without speaking.

Lady Guicho frowned slightly, raised her eyes, and said calmly, "Because Oichi and Nene have recently encountered some trouble, I brought them to Lake Biwa to relax. Lord Sasaki, you don't think we came here specifically to see you, do you?"

The last sentence, while slightly teasing, was more of a question.

Liu Yun didn't take it to heart, putting on a relieved expression and letting out a sigh of relief: "That's wonderful. I'm afraid I've done something terrible in the past, offending the ladies without realizing it! Come to think of it, how could they have come specifically to see me?"

Upon hearing this—

Miss Ashi lowered her neck even further and unconsciously shrank her shoulders, making her look somewhat pitiful.

Madam Ningning's smile gradually froze, and a look of worry appeared on her face.

Lady Kicho, who was clearly in charge, remained expressionless. After a moment of silence, she suddenly pointed and asked, "Lord Sasaki, why is your wife not here? Is she perhaps out?"

The topic shift was a bit too abrupt, and Liu Yun paused for a moment before answering truthfully, "She didn't go out; she just went to a nearby temple to pray for blessings with her sister. I've already sent someone to inform her, and she should be back soon."

Lady Guicho nodded and said in an unquestionable tone, "Then I'll trouble your Lady Iori to be our guide and show Nene and Oichi the scenery of Lake Biwa! I happen to have something I'd like to ask Lord Sasaki."

Liu Yun thought this was a good idea and nodded in agreement.

A short while later, Iori hurriedly returned. Before she could even rest, she learned that she was to be responsible for receiving two distinguished female guests, and she immediately became flustered. Fortunately, Saeko helped her to avoid losing her composure, and with Sara's silver tongue helping her to mediate, she was able to manage.

Madam Ningning gave Liuyun a look before leaving.

Miss Ashi remained head bowed, timidly accepting the arrangements; her demeanor was so delicate and pitiful that it evoked pity in me.

The hall suddenly felt much emptier. Lady Guicho's "domineering female CEO" demeanor finally softened a bit. She sighed twice and asked Liuyun in a hoarse voice, "Lord Sasaki, as far as I know, you were originally a monk in a temple in Mutsu. You only returned to secular life three years ago to take over the family business and marry your widowed adoptive sister, who is now Lady Iori, right?"

Liu Yun, of course, would not deny the facts and immediately nodded in agreement.

Lady Guicho remained silent for a while, then stood up, took two steps, and continued, "In that case, Lady Iori becoming your principal wife was actually just a coincidence. The marriage was short-lived and did not involve any alliances with other families."

“That’s true.” Liu Yun still gave an affirmative answer, but then said seriously, “Even so, Iori’s words and deeds have always been the perfect example of a samurai’s wife, and there is not a single fault to be found.”

"I don't think so," Lady Guidie said quietly as she turned away, showing only her back. "Having not given birth to an heir in three years, isn't that the greatest dereliction of duty for a wife of a samurai?"

"Hehe..." Liu Yun was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but burst into laughter: "This is really interesting!"

"Is what I'm saying so ridiculous?" Lady Guidie's voice was icy cold.

“There’s nothing funny about it,” Liu Yun said with a hint of sarcasm. “But it’s quite funny that you and Madam Ningning came to tell me this.”

"You—" Lady Guidie turned her head and shot her a sharp look, clearly enraged and embarrassed: "How dare you—"

As is widely known, Kicho did not bear any children for Nobunaga.

There were even rumors that the couple had a long-standing feud, and the number of times they tried to conceive was highly questionable. After all, Nobunaga's concubine had given birth to a lot of children, so it was inevitable that rumors would spread if his wife remained childless.

At the same time, Lady Nene did not produce any offspring of the Hashiba family.

On this point, people questioned Hideyoshi more, because there was no news about the other concubines and maids of the Monkey King...

In short, Liu Yun's words were indeed full of sarcasm.

Although Lady Guidie usually acts like an extremely free-spirited and domineering female CEO, she was ultimately born in the 16th century and could not possibly be indifferent to the issue of having offspring.

Being hit where it hurts, he was genuinely quite annoyed.

"Lady Guicho, don't you know I'm used to being presumptuous?" Ryuun glared back defiantly at first, then sighed softly and softened his tone, saying, "It's really going too far for Lord Oda (Nobunaga) to send you to act as an envoy. Didn't he consider the actual situation?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Kicho quickly turned her head back, refusing to show any expression. She remained silent for a long time before finally speaking softly, "Lord Sasaki, I have been referring to myself as 'this old woman' all along, which is inconsistent with our previous agreement... Why don't you correct me? No, I should say, why don't you correct me?"

Chapter 264 A Decisive Refusal

Why don't you correct me?

This refers to a past event.

When Liu Yun first met Lady Gui Die, he said to her, "You are quite young, why do you always refer to yourself as 'this old woman'?"

At that time, I didn't mean anything by it. I just felt that the other person was decisive and capable, unlike an ordinary woman. However, her language was very conservative. The two were somewhat incongruous, so I pointed out what I thought was the inconsistency.

Lady Guidie readily accepted the suggestion and agreed to change how she referred to herself when they were alone together in the future.

The idea of ​​"being alone" made Liu Yun feel slightly uncomfortable.

However, considering the "domineering female CEO" style of behavior, it is possible that she is arrogant and disdains to care about worldly matters and avoid suspicion.

In subsequent encounters, whenever there were no other people around, Lady Guidie indeed kept her promise and no longer referred to herself as "this old woman," but instead used the term "this concubine," which was common among noblewomen.

Liu Yun greatly admired her, believing that she was a woman of her word, generous and decisive, and without any hesitation, truly a heroine among women.

Then I didn't think too much about it.

I don't feel like I've received any special treatment, nor do I feel like I have much of a connection with the "domineering female CEO".

But unexpectedly, under these circumstances today, Madam Guidie suddenly brought up this matter again.

Moreover, her tone was very subtle, and one could hear a hint of sorrow and wavering in her words.

Lady Guidie remained standing upright, looking out the window, showing only her back and refusing to reveal her face.

But Liu Yun could sense that she was no longer as calm and composed as before, but had become much more vulnerable.

This surprised Liu Yun, and also puzzled him a little.

Because of a harsh word I said, my friend is clearly in a low mood. Should I go up and comfort him/her?

It feels inconvenient in every sense...

Lady Guidie's emotional fluctuations lasted only a moment. After saying those words, she immediately composed herself, breathed a sigh of relief, and calmly turned around, her expression completely calm.

They didn't give Liu Yun much time to hesitate.

This relieved him.

Then Lady Guicho returned to the state she had been in when she first entered, speaking in a mechanical, routine tone, with undisguised weariness and impatience, and said expressionlessly, "Lord Sasaki, you probably already guessed the purpose of my visit, didn't you?"

Liu Yun nodded in agreement.

Lady Guicho frowned, her annoyance becoming more pronounced. She patiently took a step and a half closer and lowered her voice, saying, "Then I will be frank with you! His Highness Nobunaga wishes for you to break off your relationship with your current wife and marry Miss Oichi. It is inconvenient to entrust this matter to a senior retainer, so he insisted that I and Nene act as intermediaries."

"As expected..." Liu Yun wasn't surprised at all, and asked instead, "Is it because of that... the so-called bet with the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

"A nine-tailed fox? Perhaps..." Lady Kicho shook her head, indicating she wasn't sure—and probably also indicating her disinterest: "In any case, His Highness Nobunaga has made a request and needs your reply. Lord Sasaki, what is your reply?"

"Of course it's not true." Liu Yun came to a clear conclusion without the slightest hesitation, and at the same time lowered his head slightly to look at Lady Gui Die seriously: "I don't care about things like the hierarchy of legitimate and illegitimate children, but Yi Zhi has not made any mistakes in the past three years and should not be punished."

"At least... at least she didn't have any children..."

Lady Guidie's words were not firm at all, and she was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

“That’s an absurd argument,” Liu Yun retorted bluntly. “Let’s not even talk about whether not having children is a fault. Even if it is, the problem isn’t necessarily on her side. Besides, Iori is trying to solve this problem… The last sentence is not worth mentioning.”

"I understand." Lady Kicho was not surprised by the result, and even a slight smile appeared on her lips, but her eyes remained very cold. She continued solemnly, "But Lord Nobunaga is not used to people rejecting his proposals. The last example was Kubo (Ashikaga Yoshiaki), who was driven out of Kyoto, so he was driven out of Kyoto."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yun laughed and said, "Luckily, I don't live in Kyoto and I have no plans to move there, so I don't have to worry about being kicked out."

"Lord Sasaki, you know I'm not joking." Lady Kicho's lips curved slightly wider, but at the same time, the worry in her eyes deepened. She solemnly said, "Lord Nobunaga is an unparalleled hero, but he has never been kind."

“I understand.” Liu Yun showed no fear. “However, in this world where demons and monsters often appear, the reason I have survived until now is not because of the kindness of others.”

“However, Lord Nobunaga… he is no ordinary person!” Lady Kicho remained worried, her eyes fixed intently on him.

“But I’m not an ordinary person either,” Liu Yun replied calmly. “You probably understood that last time in Kyoto, Madam.”

“Indeed… your actions in turning the tide back then were truly impressive.” After a moment, Lady Guidie nodded and stopped asking questions. She turned her back to Liuyun again, and her tone suddenly became more relaxed: “Then I understand, Lord Liuyun. Please be careful about what may happen next.”

Without her noticing, she changed how she referred to herself again, and her words revealed a hint of concern.

"Thank you for the reminder, Madam. I know what I'm doing."

Liu Yun accepted it calmly.

"Hmph..." Lady Guidie, with her back to Liuyun, became cheerful, even teasing him: "If it were any other samurai, upon hearing such a proposal, they would surely be overjoyed inside, but on the surface they would pretend to be troubled, feigning hesitation, and then using reasons like 'family' and 'righteousness' as excuses to show that they 'reluctantly accept'!"

"This—" Liu Yun smiled nonchalantly, "It can't be that bad, can it? Do you think I'm the only one who would refuse Lord Nobunaga's suggestion?"

"Who knows..." Lady Kicho said softly, "At least ten years ago, when Lord Asai Bizen (Nagamasa) learned that he could marry Oichi and become related to the Oda family by marriage, he did not hesitate to kick his wife out of the house."

"Really? Was he attracted by the beauty, or was he greedy for power?" Liu Yun teased, "Look at the Asai family now, they're dead and wiped out. So this is a lesson we need to learn from."

"You're absolutely right." Lady Guicho nodded with feigned seriousness, then couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Haha... Before I came here, I thought that whatever the outcome, it would only be unpleasant. But after hearing the reply, I feel there's no need to worry too much. Indeed, it's Lord Sasaki who says that there might really be a way to solve this."

"It is my great honor to receive your kind favor."

Liu Yun calmly replied.

Then Lady Guidie calmly took her seat in the living room.

Liu Yun ordered his servants to serve tea and refreshments.

The two stopped talking about serious matters, but the atmosphere in the room gradually became relaxed and pleasant.