I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Qing Deng smiled and said jokingly, "Lord Arima, it's been over a month since I returned to Edo. This reward is really a bit late..."

……

……

3 days later—

The seventh year of Anzheng (1860), March 1.

Today, Qing Deng wore a samurai robe embroidered with their Tachibana family crest.

During the Edo period, almost all samurai families had their own family crests.

Going back a thousand years, Qingdeng's ancestors were a branch of the Minamoto clan, one of the four most famous clans during the Heian period (794-1192).

Therefore, as a descendant of the Genji, Aoto uses the Genji's representative family crest, the gentian leaf, which has been passed down for over a thousand years.

Qing Deng's original formal attire had already been burned to ashes in the fire at home.

The clothes he is wearing today are new ones that he had made for him by a clothing store after receiving the gift money from the French legation.

After dressing in his robes, tidying his hair and face, and putting on his sword, Qing Deng left the Shieikan (Test Hall) with Kondo, Okita, and others seeing him off, and strode towards the venue of today's "Grand Elder Examination": the Hokuban-sho (Northern Office).

Upon entering the Beifan Institute, which he hadn't visited in a full month, and turning into a "meeting hall" specifically used for important meetings, Qing Deng saw many familiar and unfamiliar faces.

Because this was a meeting to assess the performance of all the "three-time" officials of the Edo South and North Offices, the colleagues of the "three-time" officials of the South Office also came.

Although everyone was a "policeman" in Edo, Aoto and his colleagues at the Nanban Police Station were not very familiar with each other, since they were not from the same system and rarely interacted.

When Qing Deng appeared in the conference hall, he immediately became the focus of the entire room.

Those who didn't know Qingdeng very well, such as the people from the Nanfan Institute, discussed in hushed tones:

“Look, that’s Tachibana Aoto from the Northern Frontier Bureau.”

"So young..."

……

Those who knew Qingdeng, or had some understanding of it, such as the people from the Northern Garrison, had complex expressions:

"That idiot Deng has really changed..."

"Sigh... If I went to Yoshiwara every day, my silly son who only knows how to play around with women could also be like Daitou... Ah, no, like Tachibana-kun, and suddenly wake up and repent."

……

When Aoto arrived at the meeting hall, the members of the "Arima Group," who were closest to him—Arima, Inoya, and Ushiyama—were already waiting inside.

Upon seeing Qingdeng arrive, Ma, Zhu, and Niu immediately raised their hands to greet him, urging him to come over to them quickly.

"Tachibana!" After Aoto came over, Inugani immediately patted Aoto's back enthusiastically. "You've been giving us surprises lately... I've already heard that a few days ago, you led the Shieikan to a great victory over the Chiba Kenkan."

******

******

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Chapter 101 Worshiping the Blade! Qing Deng's New Blade: Stabilizing Ghosts and Gods!

"I was just lucky to win that match against the Chiba Kendo Club," Qing Deng said with a modest smile.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Inugami and Ushiyama, whom he hadn't seen for some time, Qingdeng noticed that Ushiyama looked a little tired.

“Mr. Niu Shan, you look very tired. Did you not sleep well last night?” Qing Deng looked at Niu Shan with concern.

"Ah, it's nothing..." Niu Shan raised his hand and rubbed his bloodshot eyes vigorously. "The day after tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival. I've been busy preparing dolls and altars for my two daughters these past few days, so I'm just a little tired."

"The Shangsi Festival?" Qing Deng raised an eyebrow. "Oh right... the Shangsi Festival is the day after tomorrow."

The Shangsi Festival, also known as the Daughters' Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival. Before the Han Dynasty, it was celebrated on the Si day of the first ten days of the third lunar month, but later it was fixed on the third day of the third lunar month.

On this day, people go to the water's edge to bathe, and hold activities such as purification baths, sacrificial banquets, floating wine cups on a winding stream, and spring outings in the countryside.

This day is also China's Daughters' Day.

Girls usually hold their coming-of-age ceremony, the "hairpin ceremony," on this day. On the third day of the third lunar month, girls would "play in the spring," walking along the water's edge, picking orchids, wearing beautiful clothes, and singing and dancing to ward off evil spirits.

Meetings between men and women are one of the activities of the Shangsi Festival, thus the Shangsi Festival can be considered China's Valentine's Day. On this day, going on a spring outing with a girl you like is incredibly romantic.

Unfortunately, with the rise of Neo-Confucianism, which advocated "preserving heavenly principles and eliminating human desires," the Valentine's Day aspect of the Shangsi Festival almost disappeared by the Song Dynasty, and customs such as the winding stream party and purification baths of the Shangsi Festival gradually faded away.

Simply put, due to the rise of Neo-Confucianism, the Shangsi Festival lost its "festival flavor" after the Song Dynasty, and people no longer celebrated it with great fanfare.

The Shangsi Festival has declined in China, but Japan still treats it with great importance.

A thousand years ago, when Japan was learning about the advanced culture and systems of the Sui and Tang dynasties, it also adopted the Shangsi Festival.

After thousands of years of development and cultural integration, Japan's Shangsi Festival has evolved into a celebration style that is completely different from that in China.

By the Edo period, the Japanese Shangsi Festival had essentially become just another "girls' festival."

On the Shangsi Festival, families with daughters would set up a special platform in their homes to display delicate dolls called "Hina-dolls" in order to pray for their daughters' well-being. This platform was called the "Hina platform," and the whole family would eat foods with auspicious meanings, such as chirashi sushi and clam soup.

The Shangsi Festival was one of the most important festivals in the Edo period. On this day, officials like Qing Deng would have a day off.

The day after tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival, and this upcoming festival obviously has nothing to do with Qingdeng—because he doesn't have a daughter at all, so how is he going to celebrate the Shangsi Festival?

Qing Deng could easily imagine how he would spend the Shangsi Festival holiday the day after tomorrow—idly practicing swordsmanship with Kondo and Okita at the Shieikan.

After Niu Shan brought up the topic of the Shangsi Festival, he successfully piqued the conversation of Zhu Gu, who also has two daughters.

“Those Hina dolls made by master craftsmen are ridiculously expensive…” Inoya’s lips twitched. “The day before yesterday, I visited ‘Gojo Doll Shop’ in Jukencho, intending to buy a few new Hina dolls for my daughters.”

“When I got to the ‘Gojo Doll Shop,’ I was shocked. Do you know how much the most expensive Hina doll they sell there costs? 120 taels of gold… Was that doll made of pure gold…”

"The craftsman of 'Gojo Dolls': Gojo Shinka is a renowned craftsman far and wide." Arima casually interjected at this moment, "Their top-quality dolls are naturally more expensive."

“Ah, speaking of which—” Inoya turned to Arima, “Once the Shangsi Festival arrives, you’ll be busy again, Arima-sama…”

Arima's face showed a hint of helplessness: "Sigh... I really wish I could spend some quality time with my daughter on the Shangsi Festival..."

Another custom of the Shangsi Festival in the Edo period was that early in the morning, all officials of some rank in Edo had to go up to Edo Castle and celebrate the Shangsi Festival with the Shogun in the Grand Hall.

Edo Castle and Edo are completely different things.

Edo Castle is located in the center of Edo, surrounded by a moat. It was the residence of the Shogun and the place where he handled government affairs.

To use a vivid analogy, the relationship between Edo Castle and Edo is similar to that between the Forbidden City and Beijing.

Those who were "three-times" of the same rank, such as Aoto and Inoya, were not qualified to enter Edo Castle to celebrate the festival with the shogun because of their lower rank.

But having a horse won't work.

Arima, an official of the rank of Yukichi, was required to go up to the castle to celebrate the Shangsi Festival with the Shogun, which is why Inoya just said, "Arima will be busy again on the Shangsi Festival."

After chatting with the horse, pig, and cow about the Shangsi Festival for a while, Qingdeng suddenly heard a conversation next to him that made him involuntarily prick up his ears.

"Ha... I'm so nervous... I've never met Lord Ii before..."

"I heard he was very serious, always with a stern face, and had an imposing presence even without anger."

"Hmm? I've heard that Ii Taisho, a renowned tea master who is also well-versed in poetry and drama, is a very refined person?"

"What you're saying is completely different from what I've heard... I've heard about the master Ii, who is a master of Iaido, and whose every word and action exudes the demeanor of a martial artist..."

……

The people involved in this conversation were several members of the Nanfan Institute who were not acquainted with Qing Deng.

Listening to their conversation, Qingdeng thought to himself:

—It seems that word has already spread that Lord Ii will personally attend and preside over this assessment event today…

Qing Deng had never met Ii Naosuke. After all, he was just a lowly Tongxin with a humble status and had no opportunity to meet the current highest authority in the country. He had only heard some anecdotes about Ii Naosuke.

As far as Qing Deng knows, Ii Naosuke was a remarkable man with a rather legendary life.

He was the 14th son of Ii Naonaka, the 13th lord of the Hikone Domain, and his concubine.

He was ranked 14th... Logically speaking, no matter how the succession was arranged, it shouldn't have been his turn to inherit the position of feudal lord.

But life is unpredictable. His 13 older brothers either died or were given away to be adopted. So, he, the fourteenth son, miraculously succeeded as the new lord of the Hikone Domain in 1846.

Upon assuming office, he implemented sweeping reforms within the domain with his skillful governance and strong ruling style, reorganizing the domain's administration and greatly boosting the national strength of the Hikone Domain. Due to his outstanding achievements, Ii Naosuke became a universally recognized wise ruler.

After Japan's doors were forced open by Western powers and the country was plunged into an unprecedented crisis, he was appointed to the position of "Grand Elder" and has been in charge of the country ever since.

From being an unappreciated fourteenth son to becoming "second only to the emperor," his journey is nothing short of legendary.

Besides his exceptional political abilities, Ii Naosuke also possessed other remarkable talents.

He was skilled in both literature and martial arts.

He was a master of Iaido, a renowned Iaido expert, and created a brand-new school of Iaido: "New Heart, New Stream".

He could write waka, kyogen, and Noh plays, and was an expert in the tea ceremony, making him a famous tea master.

In short—he's an extraordinary person whose remarkable qualities can be discerned simply by looking at his resume.

At this time, all the officials from the Southern and Northern Barbarian Offices who had returned three times had arrived.

The members of the Tojo Clan, who are often at odds with and compete with the Arima Clan, have also arrived.

Because today's assessment meeting was not one that could be taken lightly, Dongcheng, who was usually sloppy, unusually dressed himself up quite neatly today.

Her hair was neatly combed, and her clothes were clean.

However, his every move was still so filthy that it was hard to look at him directly.

He was yawning vigorously when he reached out his right index finger and picked at his ear. After picking at his ear, he stuck the same finger, which he had just used to remove earwax, into his nostril to pick his nose...

Standing behind the east side of the city, Nishino had his eyes half-closed, seemingly lost in thought.

At this moment, Dongcheng and his group noticed Qingdeng and the others standing not far from them.

Dongcheng grinned, revealing a set of slightly yellowed teeth, and then led his subordinates, with Xiye at the head, swaggering towards Qingdeng and his group.

"Greetings, Lord Arima."

Arima smiled and nodded to Higashijo: "Greetings, Lord Higashijo."

Although Dongcheng was the head of the "Dongcheng Group", neither Qingdeng nor Ma, Zhu, and Niu had much ill feelings towards this slovenly fat man.

Dongcheng... to put it nicely, he's "carefree in his work"; to put it bluntly, he's "too careless in his work."