I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

P.S.: The beds for family members in the hospital are really uncomfortable...it's so hard to sleep in. (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 329 A Disguised Visit! The Benevolent King and the General of the Expedition Tour the Countryside! [4200]

On the morning of January 1th, the second year of the Wanyan era (1861)—

Edo, Koishikawa, Kohinata-Yanagi-cho, Shieikan, Garden—

The pale yellow sun slowly rose from behind the eastern mountains, its brilliant rays piercing through the layers of gloom.

The pitch-black sky first slowly turned blue, then with a hint of purple, gradually changing to gray. The gray deepened, turning into light red, and then little by little, it became a peachy pink with a touch of gold.

The misty night slowly faded away. The black veil that had shrouded the sky was completely lifted.

A new day... The first day of the new year has arrived.

The sunlight, combined with the morning dew and mist, creates a scent that is refreshing and invigorating.

To encounter such fine weather on the first day of the new year is truly a very auspicious sign.

While it was still barely dawn, Zhou Zhu led Qing Deng and the others to line up in a row by the well in the courtyard.

As the sun was about to rise, Zhou Zhu, dressed in formal attire, quickly drew a bucket of cool water from the well.

This was a custom of samurai families during the Edo period.

On New Year's Day, as dawn approaches, the head of the household will dress in formal attire and personally go to the well to draw water with a new bucket. This ritual is called "Ruoshui" (若水).

Besides using this bucket of water to wash one's face and clean one's hands, it is also used to brew Fukucha (lucky tea) and cook Zōni (a traditional dish that Japanese people often eat during the New Year), symbolizing the beginning of the year.

Zōni: A dish made by adding mochi as the main ingredient, along with vegetables such as carrots, daikon radishes, and green onions, to a broth seasoned with miso or soy sauce.

The history of zōni is very long, generally dating back to the Heian period (794-1192). The Japanese have long regarded mochi as an auspicious food and often eat it during celebrations, happy occasions, or special days.

The time for taking water is right at sunrise. For houses with a good view, they will go to the courtyard, while for houses with a limited view, they will go up to a nearby high platform and pray together to the sun on New Year's Day for good luck throughout the year.

Shieikan is now quite a large family. There are more than a dozen permanent residents.

Logically speaking, for a large-scale event like this that "requires the whole family to come together," Zhou Zhu should have a large group of people standing behind him.

As a result, the area behind Zhou Zhu was eerily quiet.

Only five people—Qing Deng, Saito, Abi, Kyubei, and Matsui Tsune—stood respectfully behind him.

Everyone else, including the chief, was completely drunk last night, suffering from a severe hangover and unable to get out of bed.

Qingdeng wasn't the only one who went too far last night.

Apart from Saito, the "reliable guy" who still adheres to the principle of "never getting drunk" even during this annual carnival, all the young people at Shieikan got completely drunk last night, or almost did.

This is the first time Qingdeng has slept for such a long time since he acquired the god-level talent "Sleep God".

If it weren't for the extraordinary quality of sleep bestowed upon him by the "God of Sleep," it would be uncertain whether Qing Deng could stand firmly behind Shusuke as he does now.

Even so, Qingdeng's consciousness was still hazy, his body swayed, his steps were unsteady, and he felt dizzy and lightheaded.

My head felt like it was being filled with a lot of water, and when I shook my head, I could vaguely hear a "glug-glug" sound.

The blood vessels in my temples throbbed constantly, sending out a throbbing pain.

—Hangover is awful... If only I had a talent that could enhance liver function... or directly boost metabolism and detoxification...

Qingdeng yawned forcefully, then lowered his head again, focusing on his inner thoughts.

Anyone with eyes could see that Qingdeng was completely absent-minded, as if he had something on his mind.

In fact, Qingdeng did have something on her mind—but it was a sweet one.

Qing Deng secretly glanced at his left and right sides out of the corner of his eye. After confirming that Saito and the others beside him were not paying attention to him, he secretly rolled his eyes and scanned his surroundings.

No matter which direction he looked, he couldn't see that petite and lovely figure.

A faint trace of regret immediately appeared in Qing Deng's eyes.

—Is Ms. Okita still not awake...?

Compared to the sun on New Year's Day, he looked forward to seeing that radiant, energetic smile that was no different from the sun on New Year's Day morning.

Although several hours have passed, the scenes of spending New Year's Eve with Souji last night... full of eroticism, are still vivid in Aoto's mind.

Last night... or rather, in the early hours of this morning, Aoto and Souji embraced each other for a long, long time on the veranda of the Shieikan courtyard...

So long that the moon had long since moved far from its highest point.

It was so long that Souji fell into a deep sleep in Aoto's arms.

Aoto was deeply fascinated by the warmth emanating from Souji's delicate body.

Therefore, it wasn't until he heard even, steady breathing coming from his chest that he belatedly realized that Souji had fallen asleep at some point.

She slept so peacefully, so soundly, with a slight curve to her lips.

She must be having some wonderful dream—Qingdeng was strongly convinced of this.

Afterwards, it was naturally Aoto who escorted Souji back to his room to sleep.

In order not to wake Souji, Aoto gently carried her back to her bedroom in a princess carry, as if she were holding a fragile object.

The process went quite smoothly, and until Qingdengsai put him back in bed, the commander was fast asleep—and he has been fast asleep ever since.

"Sōji! Sōji! Wake up! Wake up!"

Just now, Abi personally went to wake up the Chief.

While shouting loudly, he also slapped Souji's face like a ball.

Her bouncy, delicate face was slapped repeatedly.

Souji, whose cheeks were slightly red from being slapped, made a soft "hmm" sound, chewing something and slowly muttering:

"Huh... why does this konpeito taste salty..."

Abi immediately gave up on calling Souji to participate in the activity of fetching Ruoshui and praying to the sun.

Qing Deng felt very sorry about this.

He had intended to have an in-depth discussion with the Chief this morning about their relationship and how to handle and define it.

The Edo period was not like the 21st century.

Influenced by feudal ethics, the Japanese of this era were very conservative and reserved in their attitude towards romantic relationships.

Regardless of whether they were samurai or commoners, the most common way for men and women to interact was through arranged marriages.

It was common in the Edo period for couples to get married first and fall in love later, only finding out what their future husband or wife looked like at the wedding.

Natural romantic relationships between men and women... although they exist, they are very rare.

Single men and women who are not engaged confess their feelings to each other—in the current value system, this is considered an extremely bold and unrestrained act.

However... there is a small problem—Aoto and Souji have indeed confessed their feelings for each other, but they haven't officially defined their relationship yet.

In layman's terms, it means that Souji didn't ask Aoto, "Would you like to be my boyfriend?"

In his excitement and overwhelmed after confessing his feelings to Souji, Aoto forgot to ask Souji, "Would you like to be my girlfriend?" By the time he realized what he'd done, Souji was already asleep, and he'd missed the perfect opportunity to ask.

This put Qingdeng in a difficult position.

Without a definite answer, he couldn't gauge the "distance" between himself and the commander-in-chief, both now and in the future.

Should we pretend nothing happened and continue being good friends?

Or... should we become a couple?

As for Qing Deng, he would naturally be happy to see the latter.

However... this leads to a new and more serious problem.

Aoto's love for Souji was genuine and unadulterated, without any false emotions.

If conditions allowed, he wouldn't even mind marrying Souji right now—after all, both he and Souji were adults of marriageable age.

Aoto is devoted to Souji.

But he was also devoted to the other two girls... to Kinoshita Mai and Sanako!

Back then, after confessing his feelings to Kinoshita Mai and Sanako, and declaring that he would marry them both, Aoto was prepared to embark on the thorny "path of demons" and never turn back.

Qingdeng loves them and doesn't want to be separated from any of them.

Since he was currently living in an era without the crime of bigamy, Qingdeng did not want to give up his wish to "be with them forever" until all was over.

Now, Qingdeng's wish has become even more ambitious.

The number of girls he wanted to marry increased from two to three.

Marrying two is the same as marrying three! Qing Deng made up his mind that from now on, he would work hard to "marry Kinoshita Mai, Sanako, and Souji all at once"!

How should I explain my "ambition" to the head of the company?

How can one deepen and maintain their friendship with Souji while adhering to the fundamental principle of "never distancing oneself from Kinoshita Mai and Sanako"?

These are all profound questions and major challenges that require careful and in-depth study.

Judging from the current state of the Souji, there's no way she'll wake up before the afternoon—but from another perspective, that's actually a good thing.

Thanks to this, Qingdeng had enough time to slowly consider how to solve this series of problems.

—Let's put Ms. Okita's matter aside for now.

Qingdeng exhaled.

—For now… let’s focus our energy on the secret mission this afternoon…!

Since being granted the talent of "photographic memory", Qing Deng has found it difficult to forget things.

Therefore, he naturally remembered the solemn instructions Tenshōin had given him a few days earlier—to come to the assembly platform of Tsukimiya Shrine at 9:00 AM (2:00 PM) on New Year's Day! I have an important secret mission to entrust to you.

……

……

The weather was perfect this morning, allowing Qingdeng and his companions to successfully complete the rituals of fetching Ruoshui (a type of water) and praying to the sun.

Next, it's time to move on to the next phase of the activities—

Qingdeng and his group changed into new clothes and gathered in the master's room, which was Zhouzhu and Abi's bedroom.