I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The beautiful woman, a hint of worry on her face, sighed softly.

"Ah Wu is good in every way, except that her personality is a bit too naive and innocent... She's too easily swayed and can be very easy to coax. She can also be quite stubborn at times."

"People with her personality are particularly susceptible to being fooled and deceived by some wicked people who are good at sweet talk."

"To be honest, given A-Wu's personality... I wouldn't be surprised if she were foolishly tricked into becoming someone else's mistress or concubine in the future."

“A-Ming, you’re overthinking it.” The middle-aged man smiled dismissively. “A-Wu is no longer an immature child. You can give her more trust.”

"Besides—isn't Mamiya-kun still here?"

"Lord Youjian is in charge of looking after Awu, what are you afraid of?"

"If A-Wu shows any sign of going astray, Mamiya-kun will definitely take immediate action to pull A-Wu back from the wrong path."

“That’s true…but…” Atachi was about to say something more, but was interrupted by the middle-aged man:

“Besides Mamiya-kun, there’s also Rin-san, Maki-kun, you, and me… With so many of us supporting A-Ma, there’s probably no girl in the world safer than A-Ma.”

The middle-aged man revealed a confident and meaningful smile, then raised his right hand and placed it on the hilt of the sword at his left waist.

"Although I don't have the ability to persuade A-Wu to turn back from her wrong path, I do have the ability to deal with the bad guys who dare to bully and deceive A-Wu."

"And it's very big."

……

……

The next day—

The first year of Wanyan (1860), December 1th——

August, a lively and exciting month filled with various wonderful summer activities, has finally come to an end.

For most people, today is just the first day of September, an ordinary and unremarkable day.

But for Kondo, for Shusuke, and for Abi, today... the day they have been waiting for; the day they have been preparing for; the day of Kondo Isami and Matsui Tsune's wedding, will surely be an unforgettable day for them!

Despite having rehearsed every aspect of the wedding countless times beforehand, when the day of "real-life" wedding finally arrived, Shusuke, Abi, Kondo, and their family couldn't help but reveal intense nervousness on their faces.

Amidst this tense yet festive atmosphere, the Shieikan Stadium welcomed the sunshine of September 1st...

Edo, Koishikawa, Kohinata-Yanagi-cho, Shieikan, main gate—

"Hey! Yuan! Long time no see!"

"Hahaha! Mr. Amane!" Inoue stood up quickly with a beaming smile and strode towards a young couple who were walking briskly toward him. "It really has been a long time since we last met! Come, come, please come in!"

"Congratulations on your wedding today! Congratulations to your young master on your marriage! Here, please accept these gifts! They are just a small token of my appreciation!"

"Mr. Amane, you're too kind!" Inoue raised his hand and refused the packet of money Amane offered him as a gift. "We're already very happy that you and Rei-sei are willing to attend the young master's wedding today! There's no need for such formalities! Don't just stand there waiting! Please come in!"

Just as Inoue led the Amane couple into the Shieikan, a new group of guests arrived. Inoue immediately put on a warm smile again and quickly returned to the gate of the Shieikan, back to his post.

Ancient Japanese weddings were mainly divided into three types: Shinto weddings, Buddhist weddings, and weddings in front of people.

The differences between these three types of weddings can be roughly inferred from their names alone.

A Shinto wedding, as the name suggests, is a wedding held inside a shrine. It is the most complex of the three types of weddings.

A Buddhist-style wedding, which takes place in a Buddhist temple, is the least common of the three types of weddings.

As for public weddings, these are weddings held at home.

Whether it's a wedding held before the gods or a wedding held before Buddha, the procedures are quite complex.

Take the most complex Shinto wedding as an example. The Shinto wedding involves the following steps: the initiation ceremony, the purification ceremony, and the consecration of prayer by the officiant.

After these three ceremonies are completed, the wedding officially begins. The bride and groom will then perform the Three Offerings Ceremony, recite vows, have the shrine maiden perform a blessing dance, and offer jade beads to the shrine...

If you were to hold a complete Shinto wedding, just going through all the complicated procedures could take half a day.

In terms of complexity, Buddhist-style weddings and temple-style weddings are equally impressive.

Because both religious and Buddhist weddings involve numerous steps and are quite elaborate, only wealthy individuals can afford to host these two types of weddings.

Due to limited financial resources, most commoners and samurai held simpler, low-cost weddings in public.

Public weddings are typically held at the groom's home.

The groom takes the bride to his home, where they then perform the Three Offerings ceremony and recite their vows in the presence of family and friends. After the vows are recited, the wedding ceremony is considered complete.

If you find it too troublesome, you can even skip the three offerings ceremony. After bringing the bride to your home, you can read the vows in front of relatives and friends, and then the banquet can begin.

Because of the fewer steps involved, and if the actions are quick, a public wedding ceremony can often be held in just 10-15 minutes.

After the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom, along with their relatives and friends who had traveled from afar, enjoyed a lively banquet together.

The Kondo family was not a wealthy or noble family, so the wedding ceremony they adopted was a very common, ordinary, and down-to-earth public wedding.

Just after 8 a.m., relatives and friends from the Kondo and Matsui families began arriving at the Shieikan in a steady stream.

Shusuke assigned Inoue Genzaburo, who was both well-mannered and mature due to his age, and knowledgeable in "adult social etiquette," to be in charge of "guarding" the gate of the Shieikan and receiving all the guests.

Today's weather is truly perfect for the Kondo family.

Since the beginning of summer, sunny days have been quite rare. The scorching sun, like a whip with nails, relentlessly tortures everything exposed to its rays.

Today, however, the sun's "temperament" has become quite mild.

The sunlight has transformed from a "studded whip" into "smooth silk." Although it's still hot, the burning, stinging sensation is gone.

The warm sunlight enveloped the Shiwei Hall, making it look like a golden screen had been erected for it.

It's as if even God is blessing this marriage today.

In terms of status, Aoto, Nagakura, and Saito are all guests of Shieikan today.

Therefore, Qingdeng, as a guest, doesn't need to do anything today; he can just sit and wait for the wedding to begin, and then sit and wait to eat.

When attending someone else's wedding, dressing formally and properly is basic etiquette.

To avoid being impolite, Qing Deng changed into his most formal and gorgeous clothes early this morning: a white robe and black hakama, with a wine-red haori draped over his upper body. Both the haori and the upper body were embroidered with the Tachibana family crest: the gentian leaf.

There was still nearly half an hour before the wedding officially began.

Less than a third of the guests have arrived.

Aoto, who was currently bored out of his mind, was sitting side by side with Souji, who was also bored out of his mind, in a corner of the banquet hall, chatting casually.

"Tachibana-kun, that physically strong person is Kondo's older brother: Miyagawa Otogoro."

The general manager, who was introducing each guest to Qing Deng, pointed to a young man in the distance.

Qing Deng looked in the direction that the commander was pointing.

The young man Souji pointed to had features strikingly similar to Kondo's... especially his large mouth. This young man had a mouth as big as Kondo's, a mouth that looked like it could fit an entire adult's fist.

"Although Kondo was adopted by his master into the Kondo family, he still maintains close ties with his original family and some people from his hometown... Ah, Ms. Oshin and the others have arrived as well. Tachibana-kun, do you see that couple over there? That couple is Mr. Hijikata's sister and brother-in-law: Ms. Oshin and Mr. Sato Hikogoro."

"Hijikata's relatives are here too?" Qing Deng blinked in surprise.

Of course.

The commander chuckled.

“Mr. Sato Hikogoro is an old acquaintance of our Shieikan. He is a large landowner from Tama... that is, the hometown of Mr. Kondo and Mr. Hijikata.”

"In order to guard against mountain bandits and robbers, many rural areas often pay for samurai to teach them martial arts during the off-season... Tama is no exception."

"Tama has a strong martial spirit, and the people of Tama take pride in practicing martial arts."

"The simple yet powerful Natural Rishin-ryu style is very popular among the people of Tama."

"So when he was young, the master was often hired by the people of Tama to teach them the Tennen Rishin-ryu style."

"That's why the Natural Rishin-ryu style is so popular in Tama."

"That's why Tennen Rishin-ryu was often scornfully called 'farmer's swordsmanship' by busybodies, because the main practitioners of Tennen Rishin-ryu in the past were farmers from Tama."

"My master met Kondo-san and Mr. Sato Hikogoro when he was teaching swordsmanship in Tama."

“Mr. Sato Hikogoro once studied under our master and practiced Tennen Rishin-ryu for a period of time, so he can be considered our senior brother.”

"It was probably more than ten years ago when Mr. Sato Hikogoro built a dojo of the Tennen Rishin-ryu school in Tama: 'Sato Dojo,' and often invited his master and Kondo to come and give guidance."

"It was through this dojo built by his brother-in-law that Mr. Hijikata got to know the Tennen Rishin-ryu school and Kondo-san, who often appeared at the dojo."

"After that, Mr. Hijikata, who developed a strong interest in the Tennen Rishin-ryu school and was determined to further improve his swordsmanship, formally became a disciple of the master last year and transferred from the Sato Dojo to the Shieikan."

"So, the reason why Kondo and I were able to get to know Mr. Hijikata and become close friends with him is all thanks to Mr. Sato Hikogoro."

"Thanks to Mr. Sato Hikogoro and Mr. Hijikata, the Kondo family and the Hijikata family are so close that they are practically one family."

"So when Kondo got married, it was impossible for Hijikata's relatives not to come and celebrate."

After listening attentively to Souji's brief account of Kondo and Hijikata's past, Aoto nodded slightly.

"I see... So Kondo-kun and Hijikata-kun have this kind of bond..."

Japan is a mountainous island nation, with nearly three-quarters of its land consisting of hills and mountains.

Such a country's terrain is simply the perfect breeding ground for bandits and thieves.

Farmers have long been plagued by bandits and robbers, so many rural areas spontaneously collect weapons such as wooden knives and form defensive forces.

Although the Edo Shogunate did not allow commoners to carry swords, this rule had a loophole—it did not prohibit commoners from practicing martial arts or using swords.

Furthermore, the Edo Shogunate only prohibited ordinary people from carrying katana, but did not exercise any control over wakizashi. Therefore, many commoners would carry wakizashi for self-defense when they went out.

The chief pointed in the next direction, preparing to continue explaining to Qing Deng the identity and background of the next guest.

But at that moment, Hijikata's voice suddenly drifted from afar:

"Hey! Souji!"

Hijikata, who usually dresses casually, dressed up for once today.

The hem of their elaborate robes, embroidered with the Hijikata family crest, swayed slightly as Hijikata walked briskly.

Earthmoving workers traveled very quickly.

As soon as Aoto and Souji looked up at the sound, Hijikata was already standing in front of them.

"What's wrong?" Souji asked.

"We're getting more and more guests, and Uncle Yuan is getting a bit overwhelmed, so Master wants to ask the two of us to come over and help him out."