I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

However… although Qing Deng understood Tenshōin's good intentions quite well, and knew that Tenshōin's actions just now were "a gentleman's act," but… but… that fragrance, that touch, lingered deep in his nasal cavity, deep under his skin, for a long time…

Qingdeng unconsciously looked away slightly, not daring to look directly at the beauty opposite him.

"Your Highness."

To cover up his confused expression, Qingdeng asked:

"Why are you sitting so far away? Isn't it sunny there? Sit closer."

After releasing Aoto, Tenshōin retreated and sat on the tatami mat five steps away—a spot next to the doorway, bathed in the warm sunlight streaming in through the crack in the door.

In other words, Tenshōin is currently sitting directly in the bright sunlight.

"Don't worry about me."

No sooner had Qingdeng finished speaking than Tianzhangyuan immediately replied.

"Today is a rare sunny day, so I want to soak up the sun after a long time."

Qingdeng blinked.

—Sunbathing…If you want to sunbathe, you can simply go to the courtyard. There are plenty of spacious courtyards in the Moon Palace Shrine. Why sunbathe in this way?

Although he still had many doubts, since Tenshōin had said so, he couldn't say anything more about it.

It's funny to think about.

What Qing Deng didn't know was that Tianzhangyuan was secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

—Sheng Qing… probably hasn’t noticed…

Tenshōin raised her slender hand, pretending to brush a strand of hair from her temple, but actually secretly testing the temperature of her cheek with her fingers—it was still a little hot…

Qing Deng's speculation is correct.

That gentle embrace just now was indeed a spur-of-the-moment thing for Tenshōin.

When he embraced Qingdeng, Tenshōin had already figured out the true nature of that "impulse"—it was a collection of countless emotions.

When he mistakenly thought that Qing Deng was having trouble sleeping due to emotional turmoil, a mix of emotions welled up in Tenshōin's heart.

Surprise, reluctance, sadness... and many other emotions that Tenshōin couldn't name.

In short, driven by an "impulse" formed from a mixture of emotions, she stepped forward... The rest is history.

However, Qing Deng did not realize that... it wasn't just Tenshōin's fragrance and touch that lingered in his nostrils and on his skin.

His warmth and his presence also left a deep mark on Tenshōin.

The moment their figures overlapped, the masculine aura unique to young men seeped directly into Tenshōin's skin.

Strong bones and muscles...

Her waist is surprisingly slim...

You can clearly feel the incredibly strong arms just by touching them...

Everything about Qing Deng, from his aura to his physical body, made Tenshōin's heart tremble involuntarily.

When she came to her senses, she was surprised to find her face burning...

When was the last time my cheeks felt hot?

I have absolutely no recollection of it.

In order to prevent Qing Deng from noticing her current unusual state, Tian Zhangyuan deliberately retreated a little further, until she was in the sunlight, using the orange sunlight to cover the blush on her face.

In terms of results, Tenshōin's strategy of "hiding in the sunlight" was very successful.

Qingdeng did not notice that the high and mighty widow in front of him also had a side where her face would blush with emotion.

……

Tenshōin's embrace of Seidō, and the series of chain reactions it triggered, were merely a beautiful interlude.

Before long, the man and woman, who were alone together, had both calmed down.

"Your Highness."

Qing Deng cleared his throat and said seriously.

"Why did you suddenly come to see me so early in the morning?"

"It's nothing, I was just curious about how you were doing, so I came to check on you."

"...Your Highness, have Kitahara Konosuke and the others spoken yet?"

Tenshōin gently shook his head.

"These people are surprisingly tight-lipped..."

Qing Deng lowered his head, staring solemnly at the tatami mat in front of him.

"I see..."

Last night, after returning to the Moon Palace Shrine, Aoto asked Tenshōin to send someone to Yoshiwara to bring back the man with the birthmark who was temporarily being looked after by Uryuu Hide.

Including Kitahara Konosuke and others captured alive during the raid on Yamato-ya, Aoto brought back a total of 6 prisoners last night—enough for interrogation.

After taking Kitahara Konosuke and the others into the interrogation room, the new Oniwabanbanshi, who were in charge of the interrogation, did not hold back and immediately punished each of them with an extremely torturous "standing punishment".

However... under the pressure of torture, Kitahara Kōnosuke and his group showed amazing perseverance and fighting spirit.

No matter how the interrogators tortured or intimidated them, they remained unmoved and didn't utter a single sound.

Upon seeing this, Qing Deng knew he was in trouble—with such a tough guy as his opponent, it was unlikely he would be able to extract any valuable information anytime soon…

Now it seems that this is indeed the case.

Even after a whole night, Kitahara Konosuke and the others remained silent.

It looks like we're in for a tough, drawn-out battle...

That's how interrogations work—those who are willing to talk will talk soon; those who aren't may never talk...

Just then, Tenshōin's voice suddenly rang out:

“…Sheng Qing”.

"Ok?"

Qing Deng turned his gaze from the tatami mat in front of him to Tenshō-in.

"What are your plans for the future?"

"..."

Qingdeng isn't stupid.

He certainly knew what Tenshōin meant by asking, "What are your plans next?"

Last night, every scene and every word that happened after he was summoned to meet Tenshōin was still vivid in Qingdeng's mind and still ringing in his ears.

(A long time ago, an official from the Northern Barbarian Bureau, known as "Sanhui," had been secretly investigating the elusive drug.)

(And that person... has quite a history with you.)

(That person's name is... Tachibana Takayuki, from Hokuban-sho-cho Doshin!)

Qing Deng didn't know how to use detailed words to describe his feelings after hearing Tenshōin's words.

Tachibana Takayuki... Aoto has always held rather complicated feelings towards this person.

On the one hand, whether from a legal or moral perspective, he is Qingdeng's father.

On the other hand, since Aoto is a transmigrator whose soul traveled to this world, from this perspective, Tachibana Takayuki is the father of "Original Tachibana Aoto," and he has no relation to Aoto at all.

Therefore, Aoto felt that "although he is my father, I am not very familiar with him."

A familiar stranger – that's probably the feeling.

All of my impressions of Tachibana Takayuki come from the memories of "Haru Tachibana Aoto".

He was devoted to the town of Hokuban-sho; although he worked very hard, his political achievements were mediocre; he suddenly became addicted to gambling and incurred huge gambling debts; he died in bed—these were all the impressions Aoto had of Tachibana Takayuki.

Previously, Tachibana Takayuki had always been law-abiding and well-behaved, but suddenly he became a gambler who drank heavily and made wild guesses—something that Aoto never found strange.

There's a saying that goes: It's hard to learn good things, but it's easy to learn bad things.

It is easy to turn from good to evil, but difficult to turn from evil to good.

For an ordinary person to change from evil to good, it requires a gradual and lengthy process; but to change from good to evil, it only takes one night, or even just a moment in extreme cases.

Whether human nature is inherently "good" or "evil" is an age-old question that has been debated by countless masters without reaching a definitive conclusion.

However, putting aside this philosophical dilemma, one thing is certain: kindness, gentleness, and other such fine qualities are very luxurious things.

Humans can become heinous villains overnight simply by indulging their desires.

Evil people don't need to do anything; they just need to indulge themselves.

Conversely, those who are wholeheartedly devoted to goodness need to maintain their resolve and spend a long time to reach the state of perfect purity.

In his previous life, Qing Deng was a police academy student.

For this reason, he had seen many cases of "good people suddenly turning into bad people", so he never felt anything unusual about Tachibana Takayuki's fall from grace.

Moreover, what Takayuki Tachibana is obsessed with is gambling, which can easily destroy a person's mind.

If so many people are addicted to gambling in the 21st century, a time of abundant entertainment, then it's no wonder that the Edo period was filled with oppression.

The entertainment activities of ordinary people in this era are nothing more than playing with women, playing cards, and drinking.

Having grown accustomed to a dull life, suddenly being exposed to gambling where one can gamble away tens of taels of gold per second and experience a surge of adrenaline every time a poison is activated... how can an ordinary person resist the temptation?

Don't underestimate the harm of gambling! Never get involved in gambling! It really can turn a decent person into a useless person overnight!

Takayuki Tachibana died young—Aoto thought that his bond with him had come to an end.

However... Qing Deng never expected that the name "Takayuki Tachibana" would enter his life in such a way.

The officers responsible for reviewing past files from departments such as the Magistrate's Office and the Fire and Thieves Bureau were able to collect very little information.

Currently, it is only known that Takayuki Tachibana informed his superiors of the existence of the "strange drug" nearly two years ago.

Judging from the subsequent contents of the case file, Takayuki Tachibana's report went unanswered and received no response.

After that, the staff could not find any more files involving Takayuki Tachibana's name.