I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"It is my pride to serve as the vanguard general of the shogunate and to be able to carry the torch for the Tokugawa main family."

"Please, General, do not take away my pride!"

……

……

"Mother..."

"Shogun." Tenshōin quickly looked up at Tokugawa Iemochi, who was slowly walking towards her.

She wanted to ask how her talk with Ii Naosuke had gone.

However, upon seeing Tokugawa Iemochi's expression at that moment, she already knew the answer to the question.

“I see…” Tenshōin murmured, “Is he unwilling to step down from his position as Grand Elder for the time being…”

Tokugawa Iemochi, whose expression was extremely complex, remained silent.

He slowly lowered his gaze, looking at the "talent list" that Ii Naosuke had just given him, which he was clutching tightly in his left hand...

“Since Ii is unwilling to step down from his position as Grand Elder for the time being…” Tokugawa Iemochi said softly, “then we can only try to strengthen Ii’s guard.”

"Mother, I would like to select a group of strong and capable samurai to supplement Ii's guard. What do you think?"

Tenshōin nodded slightly without thinking for long: "That's the only way."

……

……

Rewind to the time before Ii Naosuke met Tenshōin—

Edo, Koishikawa, Kohinata-Yanagi-cho, Shieikan, outside the main gate—

"Kondo-kun, Kyubei, see you tonight then." Aoto tightened the black scarf around his neck.

Although it is already March, the weather is still unusually cold.

In such cold weather, it might snow, so just in case, both Aoto and Saito wore straw hats to protect themselves from the snow.

"Odd-numbered months" refer to the months when the Northern Frontier Administration was responsible for governing Edo, while "even-numbered months" refer to the months when the Southern Frontier Administration was responsible for governing Edo.

With February over and March in the air, Qingdeng has resumed his life as a civil servant, working from sunrise to sunset.

"Okay. Be careful on the road." Kondo waved to Aoto.

Watched by Kondo and Kyubei, Aoto and Saito each carried the bento that Kyubei had prepared for them and hurried to the Hokuban-sho, one after the other.

After receiving permission from Abi to freely use the kitchen of Shieikan, Kyubei still maintained his old habit—preparing lunch boxes for Aoto every morning when Aoto needed to go to work.

With the addition of Saito as a new family member, the habit changed to preparing meals for Aoto and Saito every day.

Qingdeng walked down the high slope where the Shiwei Hall was located, facing the slightly cool and biting morning wind.

Suddenly, he spotted a very familiar, almost uncanny, back view ahead of him...

It was Yamanami Keisuke.

Qingdeng slightly raised the brim of his straw hat and called out to the retreating figure of Shannan, who was walking ahead of him in a hurry, seemingly heading in an unknown direction:

"Shannan-kun!"

Upon hearing Qingdeng's voice, Shannan immediately stopped and turned around.

"Hmm? Tachibana-kun?"

Shannan winked at Qingdeng in surprise, then grinned.

“We seem to have a special connection lately.” Shan Nan quickly moved closer to Qing Deng and continued teasingly, “I ran into you at the noodle shop yesterday, and I ran into you on the street today.”

"Shannan-kun," Qingdeng asked, "what are you doing here?"

“Tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival.” Yamanami crossed his hands and put them into the sleeves of his haori. “I plan to go to Nihonbashi while it’s still early and not too crowded to buy a gift for a Chinese studies teacher who has helped me a lot tomorrow.”

During the Edo period, the Shangsi Festival was a time for praying for the unmarried girls in the family, as well as for giving gifts and food to scholars and craftsmen.

However, this custom is somewhat obscure, and very few people observe it during the Shangsi Festival.

After explaining to Qingdeng why he was there, Shannan looked at the lunchbox that Qingdeng was carrying.

"Tachibana-kun, are you on your way to the Northern Frontier Office to perform your duties?"

Qingdeng nodded.

“I see…” Shan Nan said with a smile, “Then we happen to be on the same route for a part of the way.”

Yamanami, who was planning to go to Nihonbashi to buy a gift, and Aoto, who was on his way to work, happened to be going the same way for a short distance.

So, the two of them naturally walked side by side.

"Oh, right, Tachibana-kun." After walking a few steps with Aoto, Yamanami asked him curiously, "How is Okita-kun now? He should be alright, right? He seemed quite drunk yesterday."

“Oh… Okita-kun…” Aoto gave a helpless dry laugh. “Okita-kun is fine.”

"He's still sleeping now, and I reckon he won't be waking up until noon."

Last night, after running into Shannan at that noodle shop, Qingdeng and the others chatted with Shannan for a long time.

Shannan is highly educated, knowledgeable, and eloquent, so chatting with him is never boring.

They initially discussed the grudges and affections between Ii Naosuke and the Mito Domain.

As they chatted, the topic suddenly shifted to swordsmanship training.

After exchanging their experiences in swordsmanship, the conversation inexplicably veered to the local delicacies of their respective hometowns.

Okita and Yamanami are practically from the same hometown; they're both from Northeast China.

Okita's hometown is the Shirakawa Domain in northeastern Japan, while Yamanami's hometown is the Sendai Domain in northeastern Japan.

Although Okita's hometown is the Shirakawa Domain in the Tohoku region, he was born and raised in Edo and rarely returned to his hometown. He can't speak a word of Tohoku dialect; he can only speak the standard language of the time, which is Kanto dialect.

While everyone was chatting happily, a wine merchant suddenly walked into the noodle shop, hawking his wines.

The wine merchant claimed that his wine was a carefully crafted masterpiece, with a taste and strength unlike any other wine on the market.

This piqued Okita's interest.

Due to his personality, Okita never lacked curiosity and a spirit of exploration when it came to new things that he had never seen before.

After hearing the wine merchant say that his wine was different from other wines on the market, Okita immediately became very curious. Seeing that the price was not expensive, he bought a bottle and tried it with Aoto and the others.

The wine merchant wasn't talking nonsense; the wine he sold was indeed extraordinary—its "delaying" effect was exceptionally strong.

When you first taste it, you don't realize how strong the liquor is.

But after a while, a strong, lingering sensation will surge up, making you feel dizzy and your cheeks swell.

Qingdeng and Shannan are both people with a decent alcohol tolerance, so they were able to withstand the impact of the alcohol.

But Okita was different.

Perhaps because he is still very young, Okita's alcohol tolerance is quite average.

He was completely knocked out by the strong aftereffects, returning to the state he was in after the celebration banquet a few days ago—so drunk he was practically limp, and Qingdeng had to carry him back again.

"Okita-kun is still sleeping..." Yamanami chuckled, "It's good that he's alright."

As they talked, the two arrived at a shopping street lined with shops.

It's only a little before 8 a.m., but the shopping street is already showing signs of bustling activity.

Shops opened one after another, and pedestrians strolled back and forth on the street, laughing and chatting.

At first glance, it presents a scene of peace and prosperity.

But upon closer inspection, one will discover that beneath this "grand scene" lies a shocking and sordid reality.

Beggars can be seen everywhere on the roadside; impoverished wanderers who have lost their salary and come from who-knows-where; merchants with worried faces as their business becomes increasingly difficult due to the deteriorating economy... These scenes hidden in the corners of "Shengjing" silently tell passersby: this is not an era worth yearning for.

Looking at these filthy scenes lurking in every corner of the street, Shan Nan suddenly said quietly:

"It seems like there are more and more beggars and vagrants on the streets..."

No sooner had he finished speaking in the Shannan dialect than Qingdeng immediately replied in a half-joking tone:

"In this day and age, it would be strange if the number of beggars and vagrants didn't increase, wouldn't it?"

Shan Nan paused for a moment, then chuckled softly and silently, "That's true..."

"If you think about it calmly—it's already quite an achievement that the shogunate can maintain the general stability of the country right now."

Yamanami raised his head and looked at the vague silhouette of Edo Castle, which was located in the center of Edo and could be seen in the distance.

"Although I don't particularly like Grand Elder Ii's overly forceful governing style, which disregards even the Emperor's will, it is undeniable that he is an indispensable figure in this country at present."

"He suppressed countless ambitious individuals who harbored malicious intentions after the prestige of the shogunate was severely damaged by the powerful ships of the Western countries."

Just then, they happened to pass by the torii gate of a shrine.

Yamanami raised his gaze and glanced at the shimenawa (sacred rope) wrapped around the torii gate, which held a very sacred meaning.

"...Lord Ii was like a demon-slaying arrow, suppressing countless demons and monsters."

Hearing Shannan's somewhat vivid analogy, Qingdeng couldn't help but chuckle: "The Demon-Slaying Arrow... Your analogy is quite apt..."

Demon-expelling arrow: A ritual object used in Japanese Shintoism to ward off evil and bring good fortune.

Aoto's current knowledge of Ii Naosuke is almost entirely derived from the memories of "Haru Tachibana Aoto".

Perhaps because Hara Tachibana Aoto was a government official, his memories of Ii Naosuke were quite positive.

In Hara Tachibana Aoto's memory, Ii Naosuke's image... is quite similar to what Yamanami just said—although he can't be considered a great minister with extraordinary talent, his existence is indeed like a demon-slaying arrow, sealing away countless demons.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at a crossroads.

Qingdeng should go to the left, while Shannan should go to the right.

"Mr. Shannan, then I'll take my leave for now."

"Okay." Shan Nan waved to Qing Deng. "See you later."

After saying goodbye to Yamanami, Aoto and Saito left in a huff.

Shannan did not leave immediately.

He stood still, watching Qingdeng's figure shrink as it appeared in his field of vision.