In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

The size is just right.

Zuo Cun thought to himself: What a wonderful girl! I just wonder which lucky lad will be fortunate enough to marry her in the future.

......

Early the next morning.

Zuocun got up before dawn.

He put on the wufu, looked at the haori that Kanna had cut for him, smiled slightly, and put it on.

He concealed the poisonous feathers inside his clothes and rearranged the positions of the crane's wings and pheasant feathers.

A few strands of hair fell down, covering Zuo Cun's eyes.

Zuocun ignored it and simply put on his straw hat.

With a sigh, Zuo Cun jumped up.

He was going to Kyoto to find a boy.

It's already mid-May.

Kyoto is very large and is divided into various areas.

Instead of looking for someone first, Zuo Cun went to a hospital.

A familiar clinic.

The clinic's door was open, not closed.

Zuocun went inside.

The young Western doctor was still sitting behind the counter, writing something on a piece of paper.

"See a doctor or get medicine?" Luslan asked directly without even looking up.

"It depends on the person," Zuo Cun said with a smile.

Ruslan felt the voice was somewhat familiar and looked up.

"Zuocun?" Luslan raised his eyes. "Why did you go back to Kyoto?"

"I came to take care of some business and just wanted to drop by." Zuo Cun placed a bag on the counter. "This is a souvenir I brought."

"Oh, thank you." Luslan smiled and placed the bag under the counter. "How have you been lately? I haven't heard much about you."

"I haven't been very active. I've mainly been taking care of the kids, and I probably won't be making any big moves near Kyoto in the future." Zuocun didn't mince words, since there was no one else in the shop anyway. "It's quite deserted here."

"It's morning now, so it's normal for business to be slow."

"...You really are bold. With such a strong call for expelling foreigners from Japan, aren't you afraid?"

“What’s so scary?” Ruslan stretched. “Just a bunch of rabble.”

Zuocun was taken aback, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"You're right, they are indeed just a rabble. If they don't change their mindset, they'll die under your foreign cannons sooner or later."

Ruslan didn't respond to that, silently changing the subject: "Are you taking care of the child? Are you married?"

Zuo Cun shook his head: "No, they are just children I adopted."

"I see." Luslan walked to the cabinet, took out a bottle of milk without asking any questions, and tossed it to Zuocun.

Zuocun caught the milk, laughed, and said, "I don't like drinking this stuff." Then he unscrewed the stopper and drank it all in one gulp.

"I have to go take care of my own things now. Goodbye."

Luslan looked at Zuocun, who was waving with his back to him, smiled, and said nothing.

......

"Captain! We just found a... somewhat suspicious person in the South District." Inoue Genzaburo walked into Okita Souji's office and reported to him.

Inoue Genzaburo is quite capable, but the Shinsengumi is currently too small, so he has been temporarily assigned to the First Division and placed under the command of Okita Souji.

“A capable person? What did he do?” Okita Souji flipped through the scroll.

Since the Shinsengumi took over the security of Kyoto, the city's safety has improved significantly.

However, the Shinsengumi's rather violent methods frightened everyone.

“That man went into the clinic at the end of Second Street in the South District… run by an American, Luslan Jefferson.”

"Maybe it's just a medical appointment," Okita Souji waved his hand.

“…That person,” Inoue Genzaburo said slowly, “was accompanied by crane wings and pheasant feathers.”

Click.

The pen in Okita Souji's hand broke.

------------

Chapter 377 Crown Prince Muren

Four or five samurai dressed in light blue haori (traditional Japanese samurai robes) moved quickly through the street.

The one leading the group was a swordsman who had already made a name for himself around Kyoto in just one month after taking office.

Okita Souji, captain of the first division of the Shinsengumi.

Okita Souji frowned, pondering what Inoue Genzaburo had just told him.

The Ruslan Medical Clinic is a very problematic place in Kyoto, and no one can shake its ability to continue operating in that location.

What is that guy, Zuocun, doing in that place?

After crossing two streets, Okita Souji looked at the clinic, which did not occupy a large area.

"Guard the entrance and don't let anyone in." Okita Souji's eyes were sharp as he gave orders to his subordinates. "Inoue, go in and clear the area."

"Yes."

Several members of the Shinsengumi skillfully carried out their operation.

Passersby, upon seeing the light blue haori, hurriedly moved away in fear.

Okita Souji didn't say much and went straight into the Luslan Medical Clinic.

Inoue Genzaburo escorted several people who had come to see the doctor out, and kindly closed the door behind him.

Okita Souji looked at the young man who remained calm despite being approached by the Shinsengumi, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

“You should know what this haori represents,” Okita Souji said first.

“I do know,” Ruslan smiled nonchalantly, “but I haven’t done anything dangerous.”

"I haven't done anything wrong, so why should I be afraid?" Luslan smiled as he looked at the somewhat hesitant girl.

“I have intelligence indicating that a samurai who entered Kyoto without reporting has come here, just to inquire about something,” Okita Souji sighed.

It seems that the foreigner wasn't intimidated.

“I know who you want to find out about, Captain Okita… no, Miss Okita.”

Luslan suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Okita Souji frowned.

Since she took office as the captain of the Shinsengumi's First Division, she has always claimed to be male and has even used a breast wrap to cover it up... How did this person know?

"It was Zuocun who told me," Luslan interrupted Okita Souji before she could finish speaking.

Instead of trying to cover up the facts, it's better to tell the truth.

Anyway... Zuocun really mentioned Ms. Okita to him quite a few times.

"Him, you, me." Okita Souji's thoughts were completely disrupted by Ruslan's words. "What's your relationship?"

"Zomura once saved my life, and we're very good friends," Luslan said with a chuckle. "We've known each other for a long time."

Finally, Okita Souji, the captain of the first division of the Shinsengumi, returned to the Shinsengumi's base with a flushed face after talking with Roslan for a long time.

Luslan inadvertently averted a crisis for himself.

......

Zuo Cun leisurely strolled to the vicinity of the palace.

Xiaoming and Mutsujin had a bad relationship, so Mutsujin lived alone in a separate courtyard.

Muren is only eleven years old this year, but he is a precocious prodigy who has his own opinions on many things.

This is also the root cause of the discord between the father and son.

Outsiders only know that the two are not on good terms, but they don't know the real reason for their discord.

Takaaki was single-mindedly focused on promoting the unification of the court and the military, making the shogunate the perfect shield for the imperial court. He didn't care about losing some of his ambition for this, as he was willing to exchange his already limited power for security.

However, Emperor Mutsuhito's ideas were completely different from Emperor Kōmei's. In Mutsuhito's mind, it would be better to let the Emperor hold the power that should be held by him and let the Emperor govern the country.

Zuo Cun wandered around for a while, and then, seizing an opportunity when no one was paying attention, he slipped into an alleyway inside the palace.

Takeshi Ruishan managed to get the location of Mutsuhito's courtyard, and Zuocun's goal was that separate little courtyard.

Mutsuhito sat alone in the courtyard.

It's late spring/early summer now, and the weather is cool.

Muren sat at a stone table, writing something with a pen.

Suddenly I heard a sound and looked up.

A samurai dressed in a black and white haori is sitting on a tree in his courtyard.

when--!

Muren's heart tightened involuntarily.

Samura greeted him with a smile: "Hello, Prince Mutsuhito."

Mutsuhito looked around and suddenly remembered that he had been "isolated" by his father, the emperor, with only two guards at the door.

“Your Highness, you’d better not think about calling those two guys at the door.” Zuo Cun stared intently at Mutsuhito. “I think you wouldn’t want any bloodshed in the palace.”