By the time Hosokawa Noriyuki started to investigate the source of the rumors, it was already too late. The rumors had been circulating for who knows how many days. He worked hard for several days, but in the end he was still confused and couldn't find where the rumors came from. Even in the process of spreading rumors, countless people distorted the rumors on their own for various reasons, so that there was no way to trace them.
Hosokawa Mochizuki looked miserable, and went to report to Komatsu Reiko.
After listening to his report, Komatsu Reiko looked at him coldly and said, "After investigating for so many days, you just use these things to deal with me?"
Cold sweat suddenly fell from Hosokawa Mochizuki's forehead, and he bowed repeatedly: "Master, please give me a chance. I will definitely investigate the source of the rumors... Please give me a chance... ..."
"No need!" Komatsu Lingzi waved his hand suddenly.
Hosokawa Mokiyuki's heart instantly sank to the bottom, and the eyes he looked at Komatsu Reiko were filled with despair.
Komatsu Reiko did not punish him, but said to herself: "I have already guessed who is causing trouble~"
When he said the last word, Komatsu Reiko gritted his teeth, as if he wanted to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin!
Seeing this, Hosokawa Mochizuki suddenly felt something in his heart and blurted out: "Master, do you think it's Han Du?"
Komatsu Lingzi turned around unexpectedly and glanced at him with a smile: "Yes, I didn't realize that you still have such knowledge. After we came to Daming, in addition to the officials who were good friends with us, there were also Who has anything to do with us?"
"It's all thanks to the master's advice." Hosokawa Noriyuki quickly complimented, knowing that he had barely passed this level.
He quickly replied: "Of course it's Han Du."
Xiaosong Lingzi smiled and asked: "Then who least wants us to be friendly with Ming officials, and who most wants us to have a bad relationship with those officials?"
"Handu!"
"So, there is no need to check anymore, it must be Han Du who is up to something." Xiaosong Lingzi focused his eyes and glanced in the direction of the Zhenguo Palace, and said with absolute certainty.
Hosokawa Noriyuki nodded and said: "My subordinates also thought it was strange before. A rumor like this spreads all over the place in just a few days. It would be impossible without a pusher behind it. And such a thing can be Not everyone can do it, the money spent alone is not a small amount, let alone such a careful deployment."
"But these are nothing to Han Du." Xiaosong Lingzi took over the words and continued: "The damn thing, after eating it and wiping it clean, you put on your clothes and don't recognize anyone, and now you are deliberately driving a wedge between me and Those officials..."
Hosokawa Mochizuki was silent when he heard the words. Such words meant that the master dared to say them casually. If it were a woman from the Ming Dynasty, she would probably die without being able to say these words.
Taking a deep breath quietly, he pushed out his distracting thoughts and asked, "Master, Qi Tai is Han Du's opponent. If we tell him that the rumor was fabricated by Han Du, maybe that will clear up the previous misunderstanding?"
"Haha..." Xiaosong Lingzi sneered, "Do you really think that Qitai and the others backed down because of Han Du?"
Without waiting for Hosokawa Mochiyuki's answer, Komatsu Reiko continued: "If it is really because of Han Du, not only will Qitai not back down, but I am afraid that he will take the initiative to confront Han Du head-on."
"Why is that?" Hosokawa Mochizuki asked puzzledly.
"Hmph~" Komatsu Lingzi made a sound in her nose and said with a look of disdain: "It hasn't been long since I came to Ming Dynasty, but I found that the civil servants of Ming Dynasty are all a group of sanctimonious hypocrites. They are full of intrigues, male thieves and female prostitutes, but on the surface they are very concerned about it. Criticism, they cherish their feathers and take into account their reputation very much. As long as it is good for their reputation, they will swarm on it like flies smelling a fishy smell. But as long as it is something that is detrimental to their reputation, even in their hearts Even if they really want to come, they can't wait to avoid it. Now they are afraid to avoid us, so how can they stand with us?"
"Then...is there nothing even the master can do? Is there no way to save Japan?" Hosokawa Noriyuki's face was filled with sadness.
Xiaosong Lingzi's expression also became extremely solemn, and he paused and said: "To untie the bell, you must tie the bell. Since Han Du is leading all this, maybe finding him is the best way."
"But, isn't he unwilling?" Hosokawa Mochizuki was puzzled. He had obviously already approached Han Du, and Han Du had also made it clear that it was impossible. Would it be any different to look for him now?
"I have to give it a try." Komatsu Reiko murmured to herself. Finally, she seemed to have made up her mind. She turned back to Hosokawa Mochiyuki and said, "Go and make arrangements. I want to see Han Du tomorrow." "Subordinate. As commanded.”
...
Han Du was hiding in the study, secretly admiring a painting. A painting that Han Du valued so much was certainly not an ordinary thing. Han Du had just acquired it from Zhu Biao's treasure house.
"What are you looking at, husband?" An Qing walked in with a smile, holding a name card.
After taking a look, he said in surprise: "Isn't the "Han Xizai Night Banquet" in the imperial study room of Qianqing Palace? How did it get into the hands of my husband?"
"Ah~ The emperor just gave it to me." Han Du replied with a smile while putting the painting away.
An Qing did not stop Han Du. She had seen this painting more than once. Instead, he smiled meaningfully and said, "Oh? Brother Huang just gave it to you? I think you came along."
"Shh~" Han Du deliberately gestured towards An Qing and said, "Don't make trouble, I want to keep this thing and pass it on to my descendants."
When An Qing heard that it was left for his children, he immediately stopped saying anything.
After Han Du put away the painting, he turned around and asked An Qing, "By the way, you came to me in such a hurry, what's the matter?"
"Good thing." An Qing smiled meaningfully.
"A good thing?" Han Du didn't believe it. An Qing's current expression didn't look like he was happy at all. If it was really a good thing, why wouldn't she be happy?
"Of course it's a good thing for your husband." An Qing said with a smile: "Well, Xiaosong Lingzi has handed over the name card again. It seems that she has never forgotten her husband and is so eager to see you."
An Qing originally wanted to tease Han Du, but after hearing this, Han Du's expression gradually became serious, and finally he smiled helplessly.
"You really can't underestimate this woman!"
Looking at Han Du's expression, An Qing knew there was something she didn't know about, and couldn't help but curiously asked, "Oh? What happened?"
Han Du smiled lightly and told An Qing about the people he sent to spread rumors.
"Just a few rumors made her want to come to you so impatiently?" An Qing didn't believe it.
Han Du shook his head slightly and said: "Of course it's impossible just for rumors, but with these rumors, those officials will be emboldened and they will not dare to continue to interact with Xiaosong Lingzi. Do you think she will be furious?"
"Giggle...husband, you are so bad!" An Qing smiled and narrowed his eyes, pointing at Han Du and said: "I used to think that my husband was upright, but I didn't expect that he was full of bad ideas."
Han Du smiled and sighed: "There is no way. If you want to settle down in this world, integrity and kindness are not enough."
An Qing then shook the name card in front of Han Du a few times, and asked rather jealously: "What should we do now? Or should we turn her away?"
Han Du thought for a moment, shook his head and said: "No! Xiaosong Lingzi can guess that I am driving a wedge between her and the officials, which shows that she is not simple. If she avoids her, it seems that I am afraid of her. It is better to just make peace with her. She met her once, so I can give her a reference on what to do next.”
"Ha~ man!" An Qing threw the name card to Han Du with doubt in his eyes.
Although Han Du's reasons were well founded, An Qing's own feeling told him that Han Du's words at this time were a bit strange.
Seeing An Qing going out with an unhappy face, Han Du quickly shouted after her: "I really just wanted to see what tricks she had. It's not what you think at all. Don't get it wrong!"
But Han Du didn't say anything. Fortunately, when he mentioned An Qing, he walked faster and left with an angry look on his face without looking back.
Seeing this, Han Du had no choice but to look down at the name card in his hand and sighed helplessly: "Why doesn't anyone believe the truth? Why is it so difficult to be an honest person?"
...
"Xiaosong Lingzi pays homage to the Duke of Zhenguo."
Komatsu Reiko specially wore a red dress today, deliberately wearing it very loosely. When she bent down to bow to Han Du just now, the clothes on her chest easily fell apart, revealing a large amount of snow-white underneath.
Although he did not raise his eyes to look at Han Du, from an angle that Han Du could not see, a smile appeared on the corner of Komatsu Lingzi's lips.
Without waiting for Han Du to speak, Xiaosong Lingzi knelt down in front of Han Du, kowtowed and said, "Lingzi asks the Lord to let the Japanese go."
Han Du originally wanted to find some excuses to cover up what he said, but when he suddenly saw Xiaosong Lingzi's actions, he immediately knew that her purpose had been guessed by her. In other words, Han Du can no longer pretend.
Han Du didn't expect that she would do something like this, and he didn't know how to end it. He just looked coldly at Xiaosong Lingzi who was kneeling on the ground and raised his little face to look up at him.
After a while, Han Du slowly woke up, breaking the frozen air in the room.
"it's out of the question."
"Why is it impossible?" Komatsu Reiko was so excited that she stood up regardless of etiquette and glared at him aggressively.
"The Japanese country has always been very respectful to the Ming Dynasty and has never done anything offensive. The Japanese country just wants to be able to live in a corner beside the Ming Dynasty. Why does the Ming Dynasty have to force the Ming Dynasty to a desperate situation?"
Han Du sneered: "How respectful is the Japanese country to the Ming Dynasty? Can you really say this without blushing at all? When the Ming Dynasty was founded, Emperor Taizu Gao ordered the foreign countries to come to the DPRK. Ryukyu, Siam, Goryeo and others came one after another, but Japan did not come. Not only that, you also killed the envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty. Do you know what the envoys of the Ming Dynasty represented? That was the face of the Ming Dynasty. Killing the envoys , the Japanese country brought great disgrace to the Ming Dynasty! Tell me, how did you see that the Japanese country was very respectful to the Ming Dynasty and did not offend the Ming Dynasty at all? "
"The Duke of Zhenguo misunderstood. It was the shogunate from the north who killed the Ming Dynasty envoy, not us!" Komatsu Reiko said seriously without any hint of debt.
