I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As soon as Kazumiya moved into the Ooku, she began to have conflicts with Tenshōin.

The values ​​and lifestyles of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are vastly different.

Tenshōin is a typical daughter of a samurai family; she loves archery, horseback riding, and all sorts of energetic things.

Kazumiya is a typical noblewoman who loves poetry, singing and dancing, and all things elegant.

Tensho-in disliked his daughter-in-law's bureaucratic air.

Kazumiya was also very annoyed by her "rude" mother-in-law.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law disliked each other.

Not only did Princess Kazumi have a strained relationship with Tenshōin, but she also had terrible relationships with other important figures in the Ooku.

There were also significant frictions between Princess Kazu and several of these people, including Jisei-in (Tokugawa Iemochi's mother), Honju-in (Tokugawa Iesada's mother), and Miyonori Takiyama.

[Note: Otoshiyaki: In charge of all affairs of the inner palace (Ōoku). While the Odai-sama (Prime Minister) was in charge of external affairs, Otoshiyaki was in charge of internal affairs. He could also serve as one of the shogunate retainers, participating in political discussions; his power was comparable to that of the Rojū (senior councilors).]

Ultimately, Kazumiya's unwillingness to accept the samurai lifestyle, her insistence on maintaining her original habits, and her desire to be different are inherently annoying.

However, Kazumiya and Tokugawa Iemochi got along quite well.

Although Qingdeng did not witness it firsthand, according to others, the young couple lived in harmony and treated each other with utmost respect.

Qing Deng wasn't particularly surprised by this.

After all, Tokugawa Iemochi was someone who could completely overturn the stereotypes of Kyoto people about "Eastern Barbarians".

He was both learned and skilled in martial arts, possessed extraordinary demeanor, treated scholars with respect, had a wide range of interests, and could wield a samurai's sword as well as gently wave a courtier's paper fan... Logically speaking, even if one didn't like Tokugawa Iemochi, one wouldn't necessarily dislike him.

Aoto wasn't familiar with Kazumiya, so he had no feelings for her. He had only seen her once, at her wedding to Tokugawa Iemochi, and the two had no interaction whatsoever.

However, Qing Deng really disliked those court ladies who came with Princess Kazuki as part of her dowry and were responsible for serving her!

In modern terms, these female officials in the imperial court were all damn fussy!

They are all incredibly arrogant and disgusting.

They sometimes complained about the bad climate of Edo, sometimes about the hard water, sometimes about the lack of taste among the people of Edo, and sometimes about the unpleasant Edo accent.

If it were just regional discrimination and badmouthing Edo and its people, that would be one thing, but as a transmigrator, Aoto didn't have any deep feelings for the land beneath his feet.

The problem is... these annoying women come to bother him every few days! It's driving him crazy!

*******

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If you, the readers of Tenshōin, don't vote for this book today, then it would be truly inexcusable! (Crying leopard head.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

P.S.: Leopard isn't praising Tokugawa Iemochi. The historical Tokugawa Iemochi was indeed an outstanding young man. Countless people criticize his political achievements and abilities, but his character is almost universally acknowledged.

Chapter 492 The Fourth Generation Leader of the Natural Rishin-ryu School is Born! [5200]

Some people complained that the clothes were too outdated and asked to buy new ones.

Some complained to Aoto that the official cuisine cooked by the Onakama was not authentic enough.

Some people reported to Qingdeng that Tenshōin, Honshōin, Takiyama and others were too rude and offensive to public morals.

Although in terms of function he was indeed the chief steward of the inner palace, he could get quite annoyed by being constantly bothered by these trivial matters.

What's even more infuriating is that these stinky bitches not only cause a lot of trouble, but their attitude is also extremely rude!

Since his transmigration, Aoto has basically never left Edo.

Therefore, the arrival of Kazuya and others marked his first real-life encounter with the people of Kyoto.

Prior to this, Aoto's understanding of the people of Kyoto was limited to hearsay—mostly negative news.

The impressions that Edo residents had of Kyoto residents were always the same: arrogant, considering themselves "residents of the emperor's land," and particularly looking down on outsiders, especially those from the eastern provinces; using too much honorifics, making it tiring to listen to Kyoto people speak; having a light diet and a penchant for following trends...

At first, Qingdeng thought these rumors were just exaggerated regional stereotypes.

It wasn't until he interacted with the court ladies around the palace that he truly realized: these rumors weren't just baseless slander!

The actions and words of these sluts perfectly matched the stereotypes that Edo people had about Kyoto people!

Their arrogance is truly ingrained in their bones.

Qingdeng had heard or witnessed, either indirectly or directly, their unbridled mockery of the Edo people's daily life on more than one occasion.

They always say things like "Dongyi are so old-fashioned" and "Dongyi have no taste," but Qingdeng doesn't think their fashion sense is anything special.

In their eyes, the people of Edo were just a bunch of barbaric monkeys who had just learned to dress and only knew how to fight and kill.

Aside from its cultural influence, the Kyoto court, lacking power, military strength, and financial resources—merely a "three-no regime"—was simply no match for the Edo Shogunate, which had ruled Japan for nearly three hundred years.

However, despite this enormous disparity in strength, government officials still maintain a strong sense of psychological superiority.

Even if they are just lowly servants, the thought that they are government dogs can make them proudly hold their heads high—this is the true psychological portrayal of government servants.

Even when meeting high-ranking officials of the shogunate like Seito, the ladies-in-waiting around the princess often behaved rudely.

According to the etiquette of the Edo period, when meeting someone of higher status, one should look at their chest; looking too high or too low is considered impolite.

However, when they met with Qingdeng, they often tilted their heads back and looked directly into Qingdeng's eyes without any hesitation.

Although Qingdeng was not the kind of person who was bound by feudal etiquette, their behavior, which was clearly disrespectful to him, really displeased him.

In addition, their honorific system is frighteningly advanced, and communicating with them is really exhausting.

Qingdeng still doesn't understand: why can they expand a simple "thank you" into a long and complicated sentence of dozens of words?

In short, Aoto has no feelings for Kazumiya himself, but he has a lot of opinions about the group of stinky bastards around him.

Thanks to them, Aoto now feels irritable whenever he hears the name Kyokotoha.

[Note: Kyoto dialect: A Japanese dialect spoken in Kyoto. It is pronounced slowly, uses many long vowels, and has a highly developed honorific system.]

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Just then, the melodious sound of bells drifted from afar.

The first tone is longer, while the second and third tones are very rapid.

The Clock of Time – a timekeeping device installed by the shogunate to inform the citizens of Edo of the current time.

Clocks are mostly placed in temples and shrines.

Clocks were installed in more than a dozen places, including Kan'ei-ji Temple, Senso-ji Temple, Ichigaya Hachiman Temple, and Yotsuya Tenryu-ji Temple, and their chimes covered most of Edo.

The bell that Seido and Tenshōin heard was the clock bell from the Chōmanji Temple in Akasakata-chō, the closest clock tower to Edo Castle.

The three chimes just now were the "pre-ringing" of the Time Clock, indicating that preparations were about to be made to keep time.

Before long, the melodious chimes rang out again:

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Eight chimes... 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

"Your Highness, it's almost time. I should go back and continue with my official duties."

As he spoke, Qing Deng stuffed the empty lunchbox beside his legs back into the furoshiki.

[Note: Furoshiki: A traditional Japanese wrapping cloth used for carrying or storing items]

"It's already eight o'clock, how boring... Oh, right, Sheng Qing, wait a minute, there's something very important I almost forgot to tell you."

"Ok?"

Qingdeng sat back down on his lap, having already lifted his buttocks halfway up.

"Although you will learn of this news as early as tomorrow or as late as a few days later, I'd like to let you know in advance."

"Iemochi is preparing to hold a 'plum blossom viewing banquet' at the plum grove in Fukiage on December 18th. Iemochi, myself, Prince Kazu, Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu, Matsudaira Harugaku, the high-ranking cabinet ministers of the shogunate, the Kyoto court nobles led by Iwakura Tomomi, and the daimyo currently remaining in Edo are all required to attend."

Fukiage—a vast area located west of the Nishinomaru of Edo Castle, also known as "Daikancho".

The fuss was to Edo Castle what the Imperial Garden was to the Forbidden City.

Initially, before this area of ​​Edo Castle was called Fukiage, it was filled with many samurai residences and shogunate facilities.

During the Kan'ei period (1624-1644), the vast residences of the three great families—the Owari Tokugawa family, the Kii Tokugawa family, and the Mito Tokugawa family—were all located here.

However, after the Great Fire of Meireki (1657), the shogunate moved all the residences of the three great families to outside Edo Castle, and then built Fukiage on the original site of the three great families' residences.

Afterwards, the shogunate took advantage of the fire that occurred in 1697 and spread to Michidaikan-cho to relocate all the remaining samurai residences to outside Edo Castle.

Starting in 1708, part of Daikan-cho was incorporated into the garden, and formal garden maintenance began. In 1710, Fukiage-go-tei was built.

Through generations of maintenance and improvement, Fukiage has now become a grand garden covering an area of ​​0.49 square kilometers, exclusively for the Shogun and his family to enjoy the changing seasons.

In addition to numerous attractions such as Hanzoho and Chidorigafuchi, there are also recreational facilities such as the Royal Horse Ranch, the Korean Horse Ranch, the Horse Archery Ranch, the Shanglansou, teahouses, and waist-gap (rest areas).

Zhuli Mountain, Lishan Mountain, Meilin and other places are planted with seasonal flowers, trees and shrubs such as cherry blossoms, lotus flowers, maple trees and plum blossoms, so that the General's family can enjoy the beautiful natural scenery every day and every season.

In addition, the shogunate also used water from the Tamagawa River to create a spring and an artificial river that runs through Fukiage.

Fukiage also served as a refuge during fires in Edo Castle, functioning as a "fire-prevention site"... that is, preventing the spread of fire.

"All the high-ranking cabinet ministers of the shogunate have to attend... so I must be among them, right?"

Qing Deng asked in a joking tone.

"of course."

Tenshōin gave Shōdō a look that seemed to say, "Aren't you just talking nonsense?"

"Who doesn't know that you, Ju Qingdeng, are called a 'side servant' but are actually a 'side hand'? What kind of decorum would it be if you weren't on the banquet guest list?"

Qingdeng raised his hand, scratched the back of his head, and looked troubled.

Tenshōin noticed the change in his expression.

"What's wrong? Sheng Qing, don't you want to attend the banquet?"

Qingdeng quietly shook his head.

"No, it's just... I don't really like Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi, and I suspect he probably doesn't like me much either. The thought that Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi would also be attending this 'plum blossom viewing party' makes me lose interest."

Tenshōin paused for a moment, then smiled—a bitter smile tinged with helplessness.