I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Anyway, these conditions were harmless, so he agreed to them all.

Thus, Kazumi became the current Odai-no-sho (the principal wife of the Shogun, similar to an empress) of the shogunate.

At that time, Qing Deng served as a side retainer and the chief servant of the emperor, in charge of managing the shogun's page, concubines, and physicians, as well as the miscellaneous affairs of the senior councilors and the shogun, and overseeing all affairs of the Ōoku (the shogun's harem).

As an official in charge of the harem, Qing Deng was naturally familiar with the palace, and they had had many exchanges.

Of course, due to the huge difference in their status, Qing Deng and He Gong himself never had any direct communication.

Even in face-to-face situations, it was the Imperial Guard, who served as the messenger, who relayed the message.

[Note: Imperial Lady: A high-ranking female official serving the Imperial Palace, who could not marry and even the Shogun himself could not have physical intimacy with her.]

Therefore, Qing Deng mainly had more contact with the group of female officials around the palace.

For this reason, Qing Deng deeply understood the regional discrimination of the people of Kyoto, and how annoying these women from the imperial court were, each and every one of them was a troublemaker.

Qingdeng rarely swears and dislikes belittling others with words. He prefers to take action rather than talk.

However, he unusually referred to the female officials around the palace as "stinky bitches," which shows that Aoto disliked them.

Sometimes they would demand that Qing Deng purchase authentic official clothing and Kyoto utensils, and sometimes they would "suggest" that Qing Deng learn the noble Kyoto accent and stop speaking in the rude Kanto accent... The endless demands tormented Qing Deng in various ways.

If Aoto had the slightest objection, they would bring up their usual argument—"You are the Empress Dowager's servant, serving the Empress Dowager is your duty"—to pressure Aoto.

That would have been bad enough, but what's even more infuriating is that Qingdeng has to endlessly endure their sarcastic remarks.

Regional discrimination in Kyoto will not be affected by your status or title, even if you are a "Nioh" who has made countless military achievements.

When these gossipy women talk to Qingdeng, they always end up subtly criticizing him.

They either mocked Qingdeng's accent or ridiculed his outfits... In short, they used belittling people from Kanto to show off their superiority.

For a period of time, Qingdeng would feel nauseous and break out in a cold sweat whenever he heard a woman's voice with a Kyoto accent—that was the extent of the harm these shrewish women had caused him.

Only recently has his "Kyoto accent phobia" finally begun to ease.

However, Qing Deng had no feelings for Kazumiya himself, neither liking nor disliking him—after all, they had never even exchanged a single word.

That being said, Qing Deng really didn't want to meet with He Gong because of his disgust for those shrewish women.

Because wherever He Gong is, there will definitely be those stinky bitches.

But since the palace had summoned him, he had no choice but to reluctantly comply, no matter how unwilling he was...

……

……

The Ooku was the harem of the Shogun, and it was the residence of the Shogun's principal wife, concubines, and children.

According to the regulations of the shogunate, unless it was a special case such as "calling a doctor to see a patient" or "calling a carpenter to repair a room", no male animal other than the shogun was allowed to enter the inner palace.

All the servants in the Ooku, whether they were sweeping or washing clothes, were women, and even pets could only be female.

Even during his time as a servant of the Imperial Attendant and the Imperial Chamberlain, Aoto never set foot in the Inner Palace.

However, the Odai-sho (the shogun's wife) can meet with her date at the "opposite place" in the Ooku.

At this very moment, led by Mihiro Zashiki, Aoto strode quickly toward the opposite location.

[Note: Mihirozashiki: The miscellaneous affairs department of the Ōoku (inner palace) would be on standby at the Mihirozashiki. When officials visited the Ōoku, the person holding this position would be responsible for receiving them.]

During this time, he met many acquaintances.

"Ah! Lord Niou! It's been a long time!"

"Lord Niou, do you still remember me?"

"Lord Renwang! Greetings!"

Upon entering the inner palace, countless orioles and swallows immediately surrounded Qing Deng.

Although Aoto's tenure as a servant of the Imperial Household and the Imperial Palace Attendant was not particularly long, he successfully won the favor of most of the ladies-in-waiting in the Ooku (inner palace) thanks to his outstanding work ability and exceptional personal charm.

Upon seeing Aoto's long-awaited arrival at the inner palace, the ladies-in-waiting perked up and greeted him warmly.

Upon hearing that "King Ren has arrived," some female officials even put aside all their affairs and rushed over to meet Qingdeng.

Due to the time constraints, Qingdeng didn't have time to chat with them. He could only give a brief greeting and then hurriedly say goodbye.

……

……

The rest room is located in the central area and is the general's room adjacent to the Hagi Corridor. It is divided into upper and lower sections.

The upper section is where the general sleeps. After the general gets up, he will order his servants to comb his hair in a tsunami style.

After the meal, I will receive a diagnosis from Dr. Ao, and then handle government affairs in the next stage.

"Mother, please!"

Tokugawa Iemochi gestured for him to enter and led Tenshōin into the upper section of the rest area.

"Jiamao, what's wrong? Why did you invite me here so suddenly?"

As Tenshōin stepped into the room, he cast a questioning glance at Tokugawa Iemochi.

"It's nothing, I just had some rare free time today and wanted to have a long-awaited chat with my mother."

After saying that, Tokugawa Iemochi revealed a harmless smile.

"I see... Well then, let's have a good chat today and strengthen our bond."

Trusting Tokugawa Iemochi, she had no suspicions and casually sat down with her knees bent.

Because she trusted him completely, she didn't notice Tokugawa Iemochi's strange behavior—the moment she sat down, Tokugawa Iemochi curled up his lips, revealing a strange "plan-savvy" expression.

The next moment, with the blessing of his innate "Emperor's Art", he quickly returned to his original state and sat calmly opposite Tianzhangyuan.

[Note: The art of emperors: exceptional control over facial muscles]

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Chapter 882 Jiamo: "Tachibana-kun, will you be my father?" [5500]

Da'ao, meeting place——

The tatami mats exuding a pleasant fragrance, the spotless environment, the exquisite decorations, the subtle scent of cosmetics... everything is just as it always has been.

Qing Deng had visited the meeting place quite often before.

When the princess or her ladies-in-waiting had any tasks to assign to Aoto, they would summon him to this meeting place.

Tenshōin would occasionally meet with Seito at the meeting place.

Returning to this familiar room after so long evoked a sense of nostalgia in him.

At this moment, Qing Deng sat upright in the center of the meeting place, bowing with a blank expression.

A moment later, he heard a deep, middle-aged woman's voice drifting from ahead:

"General Tachibana, please rise."

It was the voice of the Emperor.

After obtaining the official position of "Left Guard General", Aoto was given the honorific title of "General Tachibana" after "Tachibana Yasuki".

Qingdeng slowly raised his head and looked straight ahead.

The first thing that caught his eye was a vibrant array of colors.

There were quite a few women sitting in front of and on either side of it.

Roughly speaking, there were about twenty people, of varying ages, ranging from ten to forty or fifty years old.

Right in front of Qingdeng, at the main seat of the meeting place, a young girl dressed in an exquisite blouse, top and Tang-style clothing, with her hands neatly folded on her lap, looked at Qingdeng expressionlessly, their eyes meeting.

She is Kazumiya.

In terms of appearance alone, Kazumiya's looks are not particularly outstanding.

She was neither beautiful nor ugly, just average.

However, because she lived in the palace for a long time and rarely got to be exposed to the sun, and because she never participated in physical labor, her skin was very fair and delicate.

As for the other women present, they were all close female attendants of the palace, the kind of sluts that Qing Deng deeply despised.

When Kazumi married into the Kanto region, all those gossipy women accompanied her to Edo.

Originally, according to the custom of the shogunate, the Odai-no-sho (official residence) who was married off from a distant place should not have brought so many servants.

Once they reach the inner palace, experienced servants will naturally be assigned to the palace.

When Tenshōin took over the Ooku, he only brought a handful of people from Satsuma.

However, due to Princess Kazu's strong request, the shogunate could only make an exception and allow her to bring her entire staff of attendants from when she lived in the Imperial Palace.

These stinky old hags, like the palace maids, have the privilege of "preserving their previous lifestyle habits."

Therefore, they wore both court attire and had their hair styled in the official style.

The court favored long, straight, black hair, so women in the court would comb their hair back and tie it into a long, low ponytail, unlike samurai women who would style their hair into elaborate styles such as the Shimada bun or the Maru bun.

Looking at these shrewish women who had caused him so much trouble, Qingdeng felt a jolt in his stomach, and all sorts of terrible memories flooded his mind.

However, to be fair, the official-style clothing is indeed beautiful; the intricate patterns and gorgeous colors alone are dazzling.

These beautiful clothes greatly alleviated his discomfort.

Qingdeng composed himself slightly, then raised his gaze, looked directly at He Gong, and said solemnly and deliberately:

"Your Highness, it has been a long time since I last inquired about your health. I am deeply concerned for your well-being."

When facing Prince Kazu, Aoto naturally couldn't be as casual as he had been with Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin. So, he spoke in a long-unheard, solemn tone.

Kazumi nodded slightly to acknowledge Aoto's greeting, then turned her head to glance at the Imperial Guard beside her.

The Emperor understood immediately and leaned to the side, pressing his ear against the Princess's lips.