I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As Kondo Shusuke carefully perused the latest tabloid he had just bought, he rubbed his smooth chin, occasionally letting out his signature "hohohohoho" laugh.

Souji's older sister, Hikaru Okita, sat next to Shusuke Kondo, reading the newspaper with him.

After reading it, she touched her forehead with her hand, her face showing a complex expression that was hard to tell whether it was helplessness or relief.

"That guy... actually put the 'three wives' into practice..."

At the same time, Kondo Shusuke put down the newspaper he was holding and smiled happily:

"Hehehehe~ Xiao Si is such a good boy. Tachibana-kun is so lucky to have such a wife!"

Abi, who was sitting not far away, glared at him irritably.

"What? From your tone, you seem to envy Tachibana-kun?"

No sooner had Abi finished speaking than Kondo Shusuke suddenly straightened his back, his face full of righteous indignation:

"Madam, you're joking! How could I possibly envy Mr. Tachibana? My wife is the best woman in the world! It's more like Mr. Tachibana is envious of me!"

Abi rolled her eyes, muttering with a mixture of dissatisfaction and smugness:

"Hmph, I really wish you could speak this sweetly all the time..."

After skillfully coaxing Abi, Kondo Shusuke got back to the main topic:

"Madam, Xiao Guang, we should now make preparations for our long journey."

"It won't be long before we go to Otsu for Tachibana-kun's wedding... Ah, no, it should be called 'Hakitsu Domain' now."

At this point, he seemed to have thought of something, and after a moment's thought, he turned to Abi and said:

“Madam, when I have some free time, let’s go to the Wufu shop together. Hehehe~~ Now we can finally openly give Xiaosi some nice clothes.”

Abi nodded gently:

"What a coincidence! A few days ago, when I passed by a kimono shop in Nihonbashi, I happened to find several clothes that would suit Xiao Si very well."

……

……

Edo, Edo Castle, Ooku—

Tokugawa Iemochi: "..."

Tensho-in: "..."

The mother and son stared at each other in silence, their eyes meeting.

Just now, they received Qingdeng's wedding news one after the other.

The two men were quite worldly-wise, but even so, they were still dumbfounded after witnessing Qing Deng's extraordinary feat of "marrying three wives".

The silence is only temporary.

After a short while, Tianzhangyuan murmured softly:

"Sheng Qing has quite an appetite."

"Marrying three women at the same time...can he manage to take care of them all?"

"But... this is for the best."

"As the ruler of a country, getting married and having children as soon as possible can stabilize the morale of the army and the people, which is beneficial in every way."

Tokugawa Iemochi nodded slightly in agreement—he kept his head down, seemingly deep in thought about something important.

Because he had his head down, he didn't notice that as soon as he finished speaking, Tianzhangyuan turned his head to the side, looking at the distant horizon, a meaningful emotion flashing in his eyes.

"Sheng Qing... got married..."

She muttered this in a voice only she could hear.

……

……

Kyoto, the home of the Komaki couple—

"...A-Machi, look! The 'wedding of Tachibana-kun and A-Mai' that you've been longing for is finally here!"

As he spoke, Goro Komaki waved the small newspaper in his hand.

Upon hearing this, Atachi was overjoyed.

She darted to his side in a flash.

The next moment, Komaki Goro's palm was empty—the tabloid was in her hands.

At this moment, her face was still full of smiles.

But in no time—the instant she finished reading the tabloids—the smile on her face froze.

"This...this..."

She glanced at her husband, then at the tabloid in her hand, her eyes widening in disbelief.

About 10 seconds later, she turned her surprise into a sound:

"Osaka should have received the news by now, right? I wonder how Rin will respond..."

Goro Komaki smiled slightly:

"First of all—a thrilling battle is definitely inevitable."

……

……

Osaka, Gourd House, a quiet courtyard—

Kinoshita Rin sat gracefully on the veranda, facing the courtyard, gazing into the distance, leisurely savoring the fragrant tea in her hand, enjoying this peaceful and tranquil moment alone.

Suddenly, a male voice, devoid of joy or sorrow, came from behind him:

"My lord, an urgent message has arrived from the capital."

A middle-aged man of average build and appearance emerged from the shadows in the corner of the corridor and knelt on one knee.

"The lord of the Hatazu Domain, the governor of Aki Province, and the governor of the capital region, Tachibana Aoto, announced that he will be getting married soon."

Kinoshita Rin's expression immediately changed.

She turned her face and cast a sharp, dagger-like gaze at the middle-aged man.

"A wedding? Jiaqing, who is his bride-to-be?"

The middle-aged man, addressed as "Jiaqing," calmly replied:

"Kinoshita Mai, captain of the 9th Division of the Shinsengumi's Battōtai."

Upon hearing this name, Kinoshita Rin's expression softened slightly.

However... when Jiaqing uttered the next sentence, her facial expression froze again.

"as well as……"

"as well as?!"

"Chiba Sanako, captain of the 7th Division of the Shinsengumi's Sword-Drawing Squad. And..."

"besides?!"

"Okita Souji, captain of the first division of the Shinsengumi's Battōtai. It is said that Okita Souji is actually a woman, and her original name is 'Okita Tsukasa'."

Jiaqing paused at this point.

His expression, which had remained perfectly calm since the beginning, underwent a subtle change—a strange color appeared on his cheeks.

After a short while, he continued speaking quietly:

"Furthermore, Tachibana Seiden publicly declared that the three girls he was going to marry would all be his principal wives, and there would be no distinction between wives and concubines."

"...Huh?!"

*******

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Chapter 771 The remnants of the Great Salt Party! 【4600】

This trip to Osaka can be considered a clandestine visit.

Therefore, in order to facilitate the operation and to avoid suspicion, Qingdeng reduced the number of people accompanying him to the limit.

He only brought two attendants with him—Mr. Kiryu and Mai Kinoshita.

One of them was an elder of the Gourd House, and the other was the young master of the Gourd House.

With their company, it will surely save a lot of trouble and effort when dealing with the gourd house.

Of course, there was another reason why Aoto brought Kinoshita Mai along—Osaka is her hometown, and taking her to Osaka is a way of taking care of her and giving her a chance to go home and visit her family.

Qingdeng has always been known for his decisive and efficient work style.

He announced his trip to Osaka to his generals at the meeting today, and by tomorrow morning, he and his party will have already quietly set off.

This time, he didn't ride a radish.

Nioh's mount is a large black bull—this is common knowledge.

Riding a radish out is no different from having a large sign on your face that says "I am Ju Qingdeng".

Led by Mr. Kiryu, they rode their fast horses southwards, heading straight for Osaka.

Kyoto and Osaka are close neighbors separated only by a narrow strip of water.

The Keihan area is the birthplace of the Yamato people, and after thousands of years of development, the transportation between the two areas is quite advanced.

In just two days, the sound of the waves in Osaka Bay gradually became clearer in Qing Deng's ears.

……