I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Tokugawa Iemochi raised his head and, in perfect Kishu accent, announced loudly to the stall owner:

"Your cooking skills are really good!"

"Thank you for the compliment!"

The stall owner laughed a few times.

"Sir, judging from your accent, you must be from Jizhou, right?"

"Oh?"

Tokugawa Iemochi raised an eyebrow.

"Your ears are amazing! Yes, I'm from Jizhou!"

Tokugawa Iemochi straightened his posture slightly and straightened his clothes.

“I am Asano Shigeshige, a samurai of the Kishu Domain. This is my elder sister, these two should be my servants, and this is my bodyguard.”

Tokugawa Iemochi's fingers pointed to Tenshōin, the two sisters, and Aoto.

"Hahaha, I've been selling monjayaki in Edo for over thirty years! I've seen people from all over the place, so naturally I've developed a good ear!"

"Kishu is great! It's prosperous and in a good location. Not only is it close to the sacred Mount Koya, but it's also not far from Kyoto and Osaka. Whether you're shopping in a big city or going to pray to the gods, it's very easy!"

Mount Koya: The head temple of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism, this sacred Buddhist site with a history of over a thousand years is located within the territory of the Kishu Domain.

"Judging from your attire... are you travelers?"

"Well, yes."

Tokugawa Iemochi answered.

"To be honest, I have had a dream since childhood to visit all the famous historical sites in the world. Edo is the largest city in Japan. Wouldn't it be a pity not to see it for myself?"

At this point, Tokugawa Iemochi shifted his gaze, scanning the street scene around him, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"This trip to Edo was truly worthwhile. Edo's size and prosperity are indeed well-deserved."

The praise of Edo by Tokugawa Iemochi, an "outsider," seemed to make the stall owner, a "long-time Edo resident," very happy.

"Of course!"

The stall owner stood with his hands on his hips, a proud look on his face.

"This is the residence of the Shogun! How could it not be big or prosperous enough?"

"..." Tokugawa Iemochi remained silent, giving the stall owner a meaningful glance.

After a long while, he finally said in a low voice:

"Hmm... I really hope this city can continue to prosper like this..."

Tokugawa Iemochi closed his eyes and exhaled.

When he opened his eyes again, he quickly burned and ate all the words in his hand.

"Boss, thank you for your hospitality. I hope we'll meet again someday. If I have the chance, I'll definitely come back again."

"Alright! Sir/Madam, I wish you a smooth and successful trip!"

"Hahaha! Good! Thank you for your kind words!"

Led by Tokugawa Iemochi, Aoto and his group swaggered away from the monjayaki stall.

"Orange-kun".

Suddenly, Dejia turned around and asked Qingdeng, who was walking behind him.

"Besides Sugiibashi-Mimonuchi-Hirokoji Street, are there any other well-known downtown areas nearby?"

Qingdeng pondered for a moment, then answered:

"If we're talking about any bustling downtown area around here... Nihonbashi is definitely the place to be."

“Nihonbashi…” Tokugawa Iemochi nodded. “Alright, let’s go to Nihonbashi then!”

The group made an abrupt right turn and hurried toward Nihonbashi.

"Whirring whirring……"

Although it was very subtle, thanks to his innate ability as a "wind sensor," Qing Deng clearly heard the tense, rapid breathing coming from beside him.

He glanced to the side—and there was his lovely senior, Miss Yae, repeatedly opening her red lips and taking deep breaths. She was using the large, rapid thumping of her chest to soothe her anxiety.

Saeshige was more composed than her sister.

However, upon closer inspection, one can see that Sage's facial features are taut, and her expression is slightly unnatural.

It is clear that her inner state is not as calm and collected as she appears on the surface.

“…Ms. Sae, senpai.”

A faint smile played on Qingdeng's lips as she leaned towards the two sisters, lowering her voice to a whisper that only the three of them could hear:

“I heard that writing the character ‘人’ (person) on your palm and then nibbling on your palm while making ‘ah-uh-uh’ noises can effectively relieve tension.”

Upon hearing this, Sha Chong glared at Qing Deng with annoyance.

"Mr. Tachibana, although Yae and I look like children, please don't treat us like children and make fun of us..."

"Ahhhh..."

"Hey! Stop sucking your thumb! Are you crazy? Spit your hand out right now!"

Watching the older sister slap the back of her younger sister's head as she gnawed on it with "Ooh ooh ooh," and the younger sister with tears welling up in her eyes, her head still heavy from the blow, Qingdeng smiled happily.

Whether the sisters' tension has been relieved, Qing Deng does not know.

Anyway, after seeing such interesting interactions between the sisters, he relieved a lot of his own pressure.

Judging from the content, the task that Aoto and the Nie sisters have to shoulder today is very simple: to protect the personal safety of Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin when they go on their incognito visit.

However... at the same time, this task is very difficult—if anything goes wrong, Qing Deng and the two sisters probably wouldn't have enough heads to chop off even if they had ten...

Protect the Shogun and the Imperial Palace—just saying this is enough to terrify a large group of people.

Why did Tokugawa Iemochi choose to visit Edo incognito on this day?

The reasons for this are not difficult to explain.

In 1858, Tokugawa Iemochi, the lord of the Kishu Domain, succeeded to the position of Shogun with the support of Ii Naosuke and other members of the Nanki faction, and entered Edo.

Therefore, roughly speaking, Tokugawa Iemochi had been ruling the Edo Shogunate for nearly three years—he wanted to see firsthand how the people's sentiments in the country had changed under his rule for more than two years.

A nationwide tour—that's something we don't have the resources to implement.

But it's not a problem to wander around Edo, which is "right at the feet of the emperor".

As early as the end of last autumn, Tokugawa Iemochi had planned to visit Edo incognito, but due to his busy political affairs and the endless stream of important matters that needed to be resolved immediately, he was unable to find any free time to spare.

It wasn't until New Year's Day this year that I was finally able to break free from the mountain of work and finally put my long-awaited "visit to Edo" on the agenda.

Thus, we have the scene we see today of "Tenshōin and her son walking side by side through the streets of Edo, hiding their identities."

After cracking a little joke with the two sisters, Qing Deng turned his gaze back to what was in front of him and focused his energy back on the guard duty at hand.

Watching the retreating figures of Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin ahead, Aoto couldn't help but think to himself:

—This mother and son really have a lot of respect for me…

Since they were leaving the impregnable Edo Castle to experience the lives of ordinary people in the bustling city, it was impossible for them to leave without bodyguards.

The best bodyguards would naturally be the members of the newly appointed Imperial Guard, who were trained by Tokugawa Iemochi as his personal guard.

Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin chose the Nie sisters as their entourage for this trip—Aoto was not at all surprised by this.

Although the two sisters are young, their loyalty and martial prowess are impeccable, making them the most trusted confidantes of Tenshōin and his mother.

Besides the two sisters, there are many other people in the new Oniwabanshu who are very suitable to be selected as guards.

For example, Qingdeng's "Indoor Combat Method" teacher: Tian Cangxiao.

As a result, none of them were selected—except for Qing Deng.

This surprised Qing Deng somewhat.

He hadn't been with the new Imperial Court for very long, less than six months at most.

As far as Qingdeng knows, there is currently no newcomer in the entire new Oniwabanshu who is more youthful and fresh-faced than him.

Logically speaking, such a demanding task requiring both loyalty and combat prowess should not have been entrusted to a newcomer like him.

But the reality is just that dramatic.

Anyone with a modicum of insight should easily discern the political signals at play: Tenshōin and his mother truly trust and value Seiden immensely! They genuinely regard Seiden as an absolute confidant with whom they can entrust their backs!

Thinking of this, Qingdeng couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, his expression becoming strange and indescribable.

To be trusted by Tokugawa Iemochi, the current ruler of the country... This is a wonderful thing that many people wouldn't even dare to dream of!

Presumably, in the eyes of many people, the opportunity that Qingdeng encountered was not just a stroke of good luck, but a sign of great fortune!

However, for Qing Deng... he felt that becoming a member of the "Jia Mao Tian Zhang Yuan" camp was not necessarily a good thing...

Based on Aoto's limited knowledge of Japanese history, the Edo Shogunate undoubtedly collapsed on some future year and some future day.

But when exactly did the shogunate fall, and whether the retainers and the Tokugawa family, led by Tokugawa Iemochi, met a peaceful end... Aoto was completely clueless.

To be honest, Qing Deng doesn't really want to get involved in politics.

He's only good at killing people; he doesn't think he has any political acumen.

However, his current status and popularity have destined him to be unable to escape this vortex called politics.

Even if Ching Teng doesn't pay attention to politics, politics will still pay attention to Ching Teng.

At present, Tokugawa Iemochi is using his position to bring Aoto into his personal army, namely the new Oniwaban.

From this day forward, Qing Deng will bear the mark of having "served Tokugawa Iemochi and Tenshōin".

Judging from the current situation, the degree of "closeness" between Qingdeng and the mother and son of Tenshōin is showing a trend of continuous tightening, so this imprint is showing signs of becoming deeper and deeper.

Even if Qingdeng wanted to sever ties with Tenshōin and his mother, he wouldn't find an opportunity—at least not now.

—We can only take it one step at a time for now…

Qingdeng raised his hand and scratched his hair with a helpless expression.