I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

With a smile, Arima Hideyuki raised his glass and offered his sincere blessings to Aoto.

Immediately following him, Hanjiro Inoya and Masaji Ushiyama raised their wine glasses.

The three of them drank it all in one gulp.

At the same time, Qing Deng also raised his glass and drank heartily, with water dripping from the corners of his mouth.

After setting down his wine glass, Arima Hideyuki murmured, overwhelmed with emotion:

"If Longzhi saw that you were married, he would be very pleased..."

Takayuki—that is, Tachibana Takayuki, Ayoto’s late father.

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng chuckled a few times.

About a month ago, despite knowing that the invitation would not receive any response, Aoto still asked someone to send his wedding invitation to Takayuki Tachibana's grave.

Having drunk quite a bit and already somewhat out of his mind, Inoya Hanjiro stammered, hiccuping as he spoke:

"Orange, Orange-kun... hiccup...! You must have a baby soon!"

Upon hearing this, the three women blushed slightly.

Qing Deng chuckled and half-jokingly changed the subject:

"Yes, I will try my best."

……

Since the start of the banquet, people have been coming in droves to toast the bride and groom.

The Shinsengumi generals, the daimyo of various domains led by Matsudaira Katamori, old acquaintances led by Arima Hideyuki… one after another. Their numbers were so vast that even Aoto couldn't remember the specifics.

Anyway, as long as someone comes,

When guests offer toasts, the woman can use the excuse of "taking a small sip of wine" to get away with it.

The man, however, is not suitable.

Whenever someone offered him a toast, he would readily and decisively drink it down... and so it went on and on.

Before he knew it, a considerable number of empty wine bottles had accumulated around his legs.

Even with the "Dionysus +3" boost, such heavy drinking left him feeling somewhat tipsy.

Finally, the flow of people coming forward to offer toasts gradually subsided.

Qingdeng waited for a while longer, but still no one came forward.

Most of the close relatives and friends have already been toasted.

Sitting here like this all the time is rather boring.

So Qingdeng stood up and took a pot of wine with him—he planned to go directly among the guests to see if there were any relatives or friends who had not yet shared a drink with him.

The shrine is no longer as solemn as it once was.

Everywhere you look, there is shouting and laughter.

Under the influence of alcohol, people gradually shed their "pretense" and revealed their true selves.

Some people who got too drunk even started to dance comically in public.

Thanks to the noisy and chaotic environment, Qingdeng was able to cleverly hide himself and not be discovered by too many people.

Just as Qingdeng was scanning his surroundings, looking for someone he knew—

"Congratulations, Mr. Orange! Wishing you a happy marriage!"

Qingdeng was stunned for a moment, then looked in the direction of the sound with great excitement—what came into view was a middle-aged couple holding hands.

"Mr. Old English Sheep! Ms. Old English Sheep!"

Qingdeng greeted him and rushed over to meet him.

The middle-aged couple were none other than Goro Komaki and Machi Komaki.

"Mr. Gomak, I knew you would come!"

Goro Komaki smiled slightly:

“There’s no way we wouldn’t come, right? After all, this is your wedding with Kinoshita Mai.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Atachi followed up:

"I love attending other people's weddings! Whenever I see beautiful women in white kimonos, it makes me feel so happy!"

Looking at the couple in front of him, Qingdeng couldn't help but chuckle.

In fact, the time he spent with them was far from long.

Whether we can be considered friends is really hard to say.

Strangely, however, Goro Komaki always gave Aoto an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Under the influence of this strange feeling, Qingdeng developed a strong liking for the couple.

Seeing that they had also come to his wedding, Qingdeng was genuinely happy.

Suddenly, Komaki Goro adopted a meaningful tone and said quietly:

"Tachibana-kun, to be honest, I've heard many times that you have a very ambiguous relationship with Chiba Sanako and Okita Souji."

"I once wondered: who will you ultimately choose as your legal wife?"

"I never expected... that you would choose 'I want them all'."

"I would consider myself a well-informed person."

"However, a wedding where three brides are married at the same time... this is truly the first time I've ever seen one."

He had barely finished speaking when Qingdeng said in a joking tone:

"From this day forward, our life experiences will both become richer!"

Qingdeng wanted to chat with the Old Mu couple a little longer.

But just then, his sharp eyes caught sight of a petite figure that looked remarkably familiar.

The figure was loitering not far away, quite conspicuous.

He looked closely and quickly confirmed the other person's identity.

Petite figure, cute appearance, and arrogant expression—without a doubt, this is Aoto's senior in Shin-Omachiban: Yae.

It seems that Yae deliberately let Aoto discover her.

She stood with her hands on her hips not far from Qingdeng, staring intently at him.

After Qingdeng spotted her, she immediately waved to him and then turned and left.

Yae and her sister Sae are Tenshōin's confidantes and bodyguards.

Since Yae appeared here... Qing Deng instantly understood something.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gomak, I must take my leave now!"

After leaving those words, Qing Deng bypassed Komaki Goro and strode after Yae.

Goro Komaki turned his head and glanced at Aoto's rapidly receding figure.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, he raised an eyebrow sharply, then slowly said with a strange expression:

"Jiulang, it's been a long time."

Just a second ago, there was no one beside Komaki Goro.

But at that very moment, Kiryu suddenly appeared beside him! Standing shoulder to shoulder with him!

"Yes, it's been a long time. How are you all doing?"

*******

*******

The next chapter is the wedding night, so next up... the "Apricot Love Chapter" is officially launched! (Laughing Leopard.jpg)

Okay, there's no way there will be any content like that... (crying leopard head.jpg)

Chapter 796 Qingdeng's Wedding Night [7500]

Goro Komaki shrugged and said in a humorous tone:

"With 'physical' features like ours, it would be difficult for us not to do well, right?"

At this point, Goro Komaki seemed to recall something, paused in his speech, and remained silent for a while.

Then, without any emotion, he asked in return:

"...Kuro, I've already heard from Rin...you came back from Edo to clean house, right?"

It has the structure of a rhetorical question, but the tone of an affirmative sentence.

"Ogata-kun, today is my beloved student's big day. Can we put this aside for now?"

Goro Komaki turned his head to look at Kiryu, then sighed silently.

"Alright... since you've made up your mind, I won't say anything more."

"only……"

As the conversation abruptly shifted, Goro Komaki's eyes sharpened.

“Jiulang, don’t blame me for being blunt—you couldn’t beat him before, and you have even less chance now.”

In response to Goro Komaki's well-intentioned reminder, Mr. Kiryu chuckled a few times, his expression calm.

“Ogata, I already know this without you having to remind me.”

"But... sometimes, some battles, are unavoidable."

"You should be able to understand how you feel, right?"

Goro Komaki remained silent for a while.

About 10 seconds later, he raised a new question: