I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Please have some tea..."

As Abi handed two cups of freshly brewed hot tea to Anthony and Elodie, his eyes couldn't help but dart towards their faces.

Anthony, kneeling on the ground in a slightly awkward posture, smiled and thanked Abi, saying, "Thank you."

Elodie, who was sitting next to Anthony, also bowed very politely to Abi in thanks.

After thanking the grandfather and grandson and nodding in thanks, Abi quickly walked out of the hall carrying the tea tray.

Upon exiting the hall, Abi saw Shusuke, Kondo, and Okita standing in the corridor outside the hall.

"Auntie," Okita asked in a low voice, "what color are those two people's eyes?"

“Blue.” Abi, who looked like he had just escaped from a den of thieves, nodded seriously. “Their eyes were both very blue.”

Upon hearing what Abi said, Okita quickly pressed his eyes to the crack in the paper sliding door of the hall: "So Westerners' eyes really aren't black after all..."

Shusuke and Kondo, both looking on with curiosity, pressed their eyes close to the crack in the paper sliding door, trying to get a good look at Anthony and Elodie.

None of Kondo's family had ever seen what Westerners looked like up close before, and at this moment they couldn't suppress the curiosity in their eyes.

"Don't stand here anymore." Abi frowned and shooed Okita and the others away. "It's so rude of you to be standing around outside the hall and peeking through the crack in the door. Everyone, please disperse."

While Abi was chasing away Okita and the others outside the hall, Aoto inside the hall had already begun talking with Anthony and Elodie.

"Mr. Angoulême, Miss Angoulême, it's been a long time. Have you been feeling any better lately?" Qing Deng greeted them politely with a smile.

To conceal their Western identity, Anthony and Elodie are both wearing kimonos.

Today, Elodie brought a sense of novelty to Qingdeng—because she was wearing a white and yellow women's kimono that he had never seen her wear before.

Perhaps it was because Elodie's hair was light blonde, but Qingdeng felt that the yellow kimono suited Elodie quite well.

Apart from her clothes, Elodie was no different from the Elodie Qingdeng remembered—her beautiful golden hair was tied into a three-strand braid that fell from her right shoulder to her chest, her "air bangs" neatly draped over her smooth forehead, and her eyes sparkled with a lively light.

It had indeed been quite a long time since I had seen this grandfather and grandson. I hadn't seen them since returning to Edo at the end of January.

“Mr. Ju, thank you for your concern.” Anthony smiled gratefully at Qingdeng. “Shesun and I have almost fully recovered.”

Although Anthony's Japanese was not fluent, he could use various honorifics and humble terms with ease.

During that chaotic battle in the snowy night, both Anthony and Elodie suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after being severely frightened and witnessing the bloody scene of dismembered limbs scattered everywhere.

Even when they returned to Edo and parted ways with the grandfather and grandson, the two were still in a rather dejected state.

Now, more than a month has passed, and the grandfather and granddaughter seem to have made great progress in their mental state, especially Elodie, whose eyes have regained their original liveliness.

It seems that they have indeed recovered from their "emotional trauma".

Qing Deng quite likes this old man, Anthony.

It's not just because Anthony looks so much like Colonel Sanders that he appears very kind and endearing.

It's also because of his gentle and polite personality that it's very comfortable to be around and chat with him.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Anthony, the conversation gradually turned to the main topic—Anthony began to explain the purpose of his and Elodie's unexpected visit that night.

Their sudden visit had a simple purpose—to express their sincere gratitude to Qingdeng, who had saved them on that snowy night.

Anthony said they had wanted to come and express their gratitude for a long time, but due to his and Elodie's poor mental state, they had to postpone their visit.

After both he and Elodie had recovered considerably from their long period of rest in the past two days, Anthony immediately inquired with the authorities about Qingdeng's current residence. Without hesitation, he brought Elodie tonight to express his gratitude to Qingdeng.

“Mr. Tachibana. I’m so sorry.” Elodie, with her hands folded on her lap, bowed gracefully and politely to Aoto in a Japanese-style bow that even the harshest critic could hardly find fault with. “We’ve waited more than a month to come and thank you.”

"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing." Qingdeng quickly waved his hand, gesturing for Elodie to straighten up. "I don't mind."

Anthony and his companions arrived with generous gifts.

As expected of a multinational businessman who could travel across the ocean to do business in Japan, Anthony's financial resources are truly astonishing.

After he and Elodie solemnly bowed to Qingdeng in thanks, he directly handed Qingdeng a large brocade box containing 120 taels of gold...

Such a huge gift of gratitude made Qing Deng feel somewhat flattered.

Faced with the brocade box filled with gleaming gold coins that Anthony handed him, Qingdeng first offered a polite and solemn thank you, then said to Anthony in a somewhat helpless tone:

“Mr. Angoulême, you really didn’t need to make a special trip to thank me.”

"You probably know that Edo hasn't been very peaceful lately. It would be best if you and Miss Angoulême stayed home as much as possible."

Before Anthony could reply, Elodie smiled and answered for her grandfather in a half-joking tone, "You have done us such a great favor, it would be too impolite not to pay a visit in person!"

Anthony nodded, then added, "Don't worry about me and Elodie. I know Edo hasn't been very peaceful lately, which is why I specifically chose to visit in the evening and brought the bodyguards that a friend recommended to me."

"At night, when it's quiet and there aren't many people on the street, it's not easy for strangers to discover that Elodie and I are Westerners."

"The eight samurai who remain outside are all bodyguards recommended to me by an English friend who has lived in Japan for a long time. They are strong and reliable."

Anthony and his bodyguards are now waiting outside the trial hall, quietly waiting for Anthony and Elodie to come out of the trial hall.

The fact that Anthony and Elodie insisted on visiting their benefactor despite knowing that Edo was in chaos made Qing Deng feel more favorably toward the grandfather and granddaughter.

Qingdeng has always had a good impression of people who value relationships so much.

After respectfully and gracefully accepting the gift from Anthony, Qing Deng began chatting with Anthony.

Before they knew it, they were talking about Komuro and others who had fought alongside Aoto against the "anti-foreign faction" that night.

Because many of their injuries have not yet healed, Komuro and his comrades are still in Edo and have not yet set off to return to Osaka. In the middle of last month, Aoto even took some time to visit his comrades who had fought alongside him.

During his visit to Komuro and his group, Komuro mentioned to Aoto that they would probably not be able to return to Osaka until the end of March.

Anthony said that he had visited Komuro and others who had also saved their lives yesterday with Elodie, and gave them very generous gifts. Anthony also did not hesitate to provide compensation to those who had died in battle.

……

……

Although they had strong bodyguards with them, the current security situation in Edo made it unsuitable for Westerners like Anthony and Elodie to stay outside for too long.

The gratitude and gifts have been delivered, and the purpose of this trip has been achieved.

After chatting casually with Qingdeng for a while, Anthony prepared to take his leave.

Qingdeng personally escorted Anthony and Elodie to the gate of the Examination Hall, then stood there, quietly watching the grandfather and grandson, whose faces were now completely covered by straw hats and face masks, gradually disappear into the night.

"That little girl is so pretty." At that moment, Okita suddenly darted out from behind Aoto, standing on tiptoe to look at Elodie, whose figure was beginning to blur in the shadows.

"What?" Qing Deng joked, "Okita-kun, have you fallen for her?"

"No way." Okita scoffed without hesitation. "I would never like someone younger than me. That girl is probably no more than 14 years old, right?"

Qingdeng nodded: "Miss Angoulême is 12 years old this year."

"Only 12..." Okita exclaimed in surprise, "So young and already so cute..."

As Okita silently admired Elodie's adorable appearance, Aoto couldn't help but raise his gaze and take a few more glances at Elodie's back, which was already almost disappearing into the darkness.

Elodie's behavior today left a very deep impression on Qing Deng.

Prior to this, Qingdeng's impression of Elodie was that she was lively, active, and friendly.

Until just now, Qing Deng had never seen Elodie's dignified and elegant side for the first time.

Just now, Elodie's every move was so graceful and poised.

She sat quietly beside her grandfather, and together with him, she bowed and thanked Qingdeng with great propriety.

Of all the people Qingdeng knows... probably only Chiba Sanako can compare with Elodie in terms of "whose movements are more elegant".

If Elodie were dressed in elaborate gowns and then allowed to maintain her elegant demeanor, she might be mistaken for a princess from some European kingdom.

After Elodie and the others completely disappeared from sight, Qing Deng led Okita, who had come out to join the fun, back into the house.

Okita returned to his room on the second floor.

Qingdeng returned to the main room to pack the box of thanks that Anthony had just given him.

He opened the brocade box—the golden light shining from inside made Qing Deng squint.

After his eyes gradually adjusted to the golden light, Qingdeng sighed, "At least my wallet isn't so tight anymore..."

Anthony gave him 120 taels of gold. Including the 80 taels of gold he had received as a gift from the French legation and the 50 taels of gold he had received as a reward from the shogunate, Qing Deng's personal assets, which had been wiped out by the burning of his house, became abundant again.

Although at first glance, Qingdeng seems extremely wealthy, with his personal savings exceeding 200 taels of gold, this amount is still insufficient to solve his current financial problems.

First of all, this money is far from enough for Qingdeng to rebuild his home.

To rebuild their home on the land belonging to the Tachibana family in Hatchobori, they would need to buy a large amount of timber and then hire a group of reliable carpenters to help them build the house.

We need to buy timber, hire workers, and after the new house is built, we'll need to buy new furniture...

The cost of rebuilding so many homes is beyond what Qingdeng can afford at present.

Secondly—and most importantly—Qingdeng also had to help his father pay off his gambling debt of 520 taels of gold.

In short, Qingdeng's current savings are not enough to fill his current funding gap.

But now that I have a little more money in my pocket, it's a good thing.

There's no rush to rebuild his home. He can live in the test facility now and save up little by little until he has enough money to build a house.

As for his father's gambling debt, he wasn't in a hurry, because he didn't need to pay off this huge debt all at once; he could pay it back in installments, little by little.

As long as Qingdeng can pay off his debts whenever debt collectors come to his door, the "Qingshui Clan" won't make things too difficult for him.

Qingdeng carried the box of money back to his lodging, the "Diner's Room."

As he climbed the stairs to the second floor, Qing Deng muttered to himself, "Ah... now I can try to recruit Gang Yin..."

After Ii Naosuke was killed, and these "three-times" samurai became extremely busy due to the shogunate's death order to "severely crack down on anti-foreign patriots," Aoto deeply felt the inconvenience caused by the shortage of manpower...

The other members of the same group could assign their subordinates to help with miscellaneous tasks, but Qingdeng, who had no spare money and could not hire any subordinates, had to do everything himself.

When he wasn't so busy before, Qing Deng didn't feel too inconvenienced by not having subordinates.

But now... things have changed.

Faced with the sudden increase in workload, Qingdeng, who has no subordinates to transfer, is already feeling overwhelmed.

Now that his wallet is fuller, he can indeed consider hiring two or three Gang Yin to work for him.

While Qing Deng was seriously considering the matter of inviting Gang Yin, he put his box of money back into the "diners' room".

When Aoto came out of the "diners' room", he happened to bump into Okita, who was leaving his room at the same time, in the corridor.

"Hmm? Tachibana-kun, what's wrong?" Okita noticed the thoughtful look on Aoto's face. "Why do you look so preoccupied?"