I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Therefore, she had barely finished speaking when she abruptly changed her words, saying:

"By the way, did you know? This shrine is said to be very efficacious."

As she spoke, she turned her head to look at the shrine behind her.

Qingdeng followed suit and turned his gaze.

This is an Inari shrine, so the deity it enshrines is naturally the famous Inari god.

Speaking of Inari, Qing Deng has quite a connection with Him.

The headquarters of the new Oniwaban, one of the places he frequented most in Edo—Tsukimiya Shrine—was an Inari shrine.

The shrine where he married Sanako, Omai, and Souji is also an Inari shrine, and it is the head shrine of the Inari shrine, "Fushimi Inari Taisha".

Tonight, the venue for his wedding to Tenshōin is still the Inari Shrine.

It has to be said, it's truly a wonderful coincidence.

Because of this wonderful connection, he now feels a strange sense of familiarity whenever he sees the iconic fox statue outside the Inari Shrine.

"Very effective? Does it mean your wishes come true?"

"That's right, it's said that you can make any wish."

"Inari God is amazing."

If Qing Deng remembers correctly, Inari is the god of grain and food in Japanese mythology, in charge of the harvest.

You can make any wish... How can a god in charge of harvests have such great supernatural powers?

As we all know, anything involving superstition cannot withstand scrutiny and is not worth pondering.

Therefore, Qingdeng stopped thinking about it immediately.

Before Tianzhangyuan could finish speaking:

"I didn't just make that up."

"The residents around here all know this shrine."

“Every day, many people rush here to make a wish.”

"Although it's just a rumor, I've heard that there's a little trick you can use when making a wish at this shrine."

"Once you use this little trick, no matter what your wish is, it will be easier to fulfill."

Qingdeng casually followed up with a question:

"What little trick?"

"That is to speak your wish aloud. In this way, the gods will be able to hear your wish."

"To speak out one's wish...isn't that a bit too shameful?"

"How about it? Do you want to give it a try? Maybe it really will work."

"I don't need to. I have no interest in things like gods and ghosts."

As he spoke, he cast a look at the other person that seemed to ask, "What about you? Do you want to make a wish?"

Tenshōin pursed his lips and shook his head.

"I don't need to."

Suddenly, Tenshōin's body began to sway gently, like a kite in the air, as if he might collapse to the ground at any moment.

Upon seeing this, Qingdeng immediately reached out to support the other person and quickly asked:

"Yu Yi, what's wrong?"

Tenshōin raised his hand with a wry smile, gently touching his forehead, looking quite uncomfortable.

"It's nothing... I'm just... a little drunk..."

"...Are you drunk?"

The unexpected answer startled Qing Deng.

"Hmm... that glass of wine just now... made me a little drunk..."

Qingdeng looked down and, by the faint moonlight, he could indeed see that Tianzhangyuan's cheeks were flushed from drinking.

This is just a shallow sake cup, and it's for sake with a very low alcohol content...

"Yu Yi, you really can't hold your liquor."

Tenshōin glared at him irritably, weakly defending himself:

“What do you know… ‘Getting drunk easily’ is a precious charm.”

Qingdeng sighed softly, half amused and half helpless.

"Since you're drunk, let me help you to rest. Can you stand up?"

After saying that, he hugged Tianzhangyuan's shoulders tightly, trying to help him up.

However, the other person reached out and tugged at his sleeve, as if unwilling to leave.

"No...I...I don't want to rest yet..."

As she spoke, she lowered her head, burying it very low, as if she didn't want Qingdeng to see her current expression.

"Tonight... is our wedding night... since it's our wedding night... we have to go all the way to the very end..."

"Wedding night" and "to the very end"—anyone with even a slight understanding of the relevant context knows what Tenshōin's implied meaning is.

In an instant, Qingdeng stood frozen in place.

The next moment, he felt all the blood rush to his head, and the veins in his temples throbbed wildly.

My body temperature seemed to rise several degrees in that instant, and I even broke out in a sweat.

Immediately afterwards, Tenshōin, who had been hiding his face since earlier, finally raised his head.

She observed Qingdeng from bottom to top... Her face was as red as blood, and it was impossible to tell which part was the flush of drunkenness and which part was the bright red of embarrassment.

She slowly changed her posture, pinching Qing Deng's sleeve with her left thumb and forefinger, and raising one forefinger of her right hand, pointing into the depths of the shrine.

"Come with me...we're going inside..."

……

……

A moment later—

A room deep inside the shrine—

This is a small room, but it is very clean.

In the very center of the room, there were two sets of bedding and two sets of pajamas... It seemed that Tenshōin had made very thorough preparations.

Upon entering the room, Tenshōin didn't even change his clothes. He darted into one of the bedding sets at incredible speed, spread out the blankets, and wrapped himself tightly in them, not revealing a single limb, turning himself into a round, plump daifuku (a type of Japanese steamed bun).

[Note: Daifuku is a traditional Japanese confectionery with a soft and smooth texture. It consists of an outer layer of glutinous rice and an inner filling.]

This situation was both unexpected and reasonable... Qing Deng sat cross-legged beside her, unsure of what to do.

"Yu Yi, can you come out now?"

"Wait... give me five more minutes..."

“I’ve already heard the same words before.”

"Give me five more minutes... I need to calm down..."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng smiled helplessly.

Although the other person is a mature woman nearing thirty, she often reveals a girlish side due to her lack of relevant experience.

He couldn't very well pull back the covers and drag the other person out, so he could only wait quietly.

This time, Tenshōin kept his word.

About five minutes later, the "daifuku" in front of Qingdeng's eyes began to shake slightly...

Tenshōin pulled the blanket over himself open a crack and poked half his head out.

With the help of his innate "night vision," Qingdeng was able to see the face she had etched.

Compared to before, her face was even redder.

She still clung tightly to the blanket, as if it gave her a great sense of security.

"I...I've already warmed the bed for you...You can come in now..."

—That's such a lame excuse...

Although he was internally ranting, Qing Deng remained calm and quietly took off his haori and crawled into bed.

In the cramped space, the two clung tightly to each other.

Tenshōin was at a loss, his whole body stiff, as if every bone and muscle had turned to stone.

In comparison, Qing Deng's every move was effortless—after all, this was his second wedding night.

Even so, his heart was still pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of his throat at any moment.

Considering her mood and state of mind, he didn't immediately get to the point. Instead, he gently hugged her and stroked her hair repeatedly until she calmed down.

Suddenly, Tensho-in lowered his head and buried his face in Aoto's chest.

Immediately afterwards, a weak sound, as soft as a mosquito's hum, drifted out:

“Let me state this beforehand… After Tokugawa Iesada married me, he hid in the inner palace all day and refused to see anyone. I barely even saw his face a few times… So… he never touched me…”

Qingdeng chuckled to himself:

"I already knew about this."

To ease the tension in Tenshōin's room, and also because he had suddenly recalled this past event, he abruptly spoke up:

"Yu Yi, you once told me that your ideal husband was 'Japan's number one man.' So... in your eyes, do I deserve that title now?"

Upon hearing this, Tianzhangyuan chuckled.

"So you still remember this... I almost forgot about it."