Although she resented Han Du extremely, Xiaosong Lingzi would come as promised every time she received a famous invitation from Han Du, and she never failed to make an appointment.
As time passed, Komatsu Reiko's resentment towards Han Du changed and gradually turned into a feeling.
Hosokawa Noriyuki watched Komatsu Reiko's expression gradually change from the beginning, and an unpleasant feeling suddenly emerged from the bottom of his heart.
Something is wrong, very wrong...
"Owner."
One day, when Reiko Komatsu had just returned from an appointment, Noriyuki Hosokawa quickly stepped forward to block her way.
"Huh? What's the matter?" It could be seen that Xiaosong Lingzi, who had just met Han Du, was in a very good mood.
These days, Han Du took her to visit almost all the fun places in the capital. Although Han Du always brought his wife, she was still happy in her heart.
When Hosokawa Mokiyuki saw his master's expression, his heart sank even more. He immediately knelt down and said in a solemn tone: "Master, Han Du is full of tricks. He must have some agenda to get close to the master like this. Master, please think twice."
Hosokawa Noriyuki's actions startled Komatsu Reiko. After hearing this, she thought for a moment and didn't notice anything wrong.
He asked doubtfully: "What plans could he have? He has been with me these days, and he has never talked to me about the court affairs..."
】
The two of them did not talk about family and country affairs, but instead made Reiko Komatsu feel unspeakably relaxed. She had never had such an idyllic experience since she was a child.
After hearing this, Hosokawa Mochizuki's expression became even more solemn, and he couldn't help but said: "Master, Han Du is not only the Duke of the Ming Dynasty, but also the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty. He has to deal with many things every day, does he have so much time to spend on the master?"
"Presumptuous!" Komatsu Reiko shouted angrily, stared at Hosokawa Mochiyuki and said solemnly: "Do you mean to say that I am not worthy?"
Hosokawa Noriyuki did not dare to continue the direct confrontation, so he softened his tone and said tactfully: "Master, in the hearts of my subordinates, the master is naturally a figure in the sky, and no one is worthy of him. But this matter mainly depends on Han Du, Master, ask yourself, if Han Du had no other purpose, would he treat his master like this?"
Komatsu Reiko is not stupid. In the past, she was just caught up in the sweetness of being with Han Du, and she deceived herself and others and didn't want to expose it. Now being exposed by Hosokawa Mochizuki, Komatsu Reiko had to admit that based on Han Du's attitude towards her when she first came to the Ming Dynasty, Han Du has indeed taken a completely opposite turn now.
If Han Du had no purpose in doing this, Xiaosong Lingzi himself wouldn't believe it.
After pondering for a moment, Komatsu Reiko sighed and asked: "What news did you hear, or what evidence do you have in the future?"
Hosokawa Mokiyuki was stunned when he heard this, then shook his head slightly: "No. But my subordinates always feel that this matter is a bit strange..."
"You are just suspicious." Xiaosong Lingzi felt relieved and interrupted with a wave of his hand: "Even if Han Du has some purpose, we are envoys now, and he can't do anything to us."
"But..." Seeing that his master did not take this matter to heart, Hosokawa Mochiyuki couldn't help but speak.
However, Komatsu Lingzi said first: "If you have any concerns, then go and check it out."
"This... okay, I will obey my orders." Having said this, Hosokawa Mokiyuki had no choice but to agree. He also felt that the master was right, and it would be good for him to check first. If Han Du really had any purpose, it would not be too late for him to find out and report it to his master.
...
However, after eight months of continuous investigation, Hosokawa Noriyuki could not find any information about Han Du that would be detrimental to them. But Hosokawa Mochiyuki's sense of crisis became more and more urgent, which not only puzzled him.
He even once doubted whether he had wronged Han Du. Didn't the uneasiness in his heart come from Han Du?
Just when Hosokawa Mochiyuki was about to give up, he once drank with his subordinate officials. The fine wines of the Ming Dynasty far surpass those of the Japanese. After the people from the mission came to the Ming Dynasty, their favorite thing was to buy all kinds of fine wines of the Ming Dynasty to drink.
When everyone was tipsy, one of the officials suddenly started crying. The people around him were confused by his behavior. Why did he suddenly start crying when he was eating and drinking so happily just now?
Hosokawa Mokiyuki was also a little unhappy. He cried at this time. Was this not giving him the face of the mission leader?
Putting down the glass, he looked at the man and asked slowly: "Ueno-kun, are you encountering any difficulties? Tell me, and maybe I can help you."
The others showed a strange smile when they heard this. Everyone knew that the chief officer was just asking a polite question. If they really thought that the chief officer wanted to help them, then?????????? ????It’s so stupid, as stupid as a pig!
Ueno was not stupid, and immediately noticed the boss's displeasure, and quickly explained: "I...I just...just left my hometown for too long, and I miss the wilderness..."
Hosokawa Mokiyuki was very satisfied with Ueno's answer. Even if he guessed that this was just an excuse that Ueno came up with, he didn't care. He laughed to lighten the atmosphere: "Ah, it's understandable that Ueno-kun misses his hometown wilderness. It’s the original…”
"Ah~ yes, yes, yes! Mr. Hosokawa is right..."
But facing the compliments from others, Hosokawa Mochiyuki suddenly froze, and the voices of the people around him seemed to be rapidly moving away from him.
'Yes, we have been away from Japan for so long, how come there is no news about Japan recently? Even if the Japanese country did not send anyone to the Ming Dynasty, there were so many businessmen from the Ming Dynasty going to Jeolla Province every day. How could there be no news at all? Moreover, when I first came to Ming Dynasty, news about Japan came intermittently. But how long has it been since the last time I heard news about Japan? It's been at least more than a month, right? Why is there no news at all? '
"Lord Hosokawa, what's wrong?"
A person next to him looked at Mr. Hosokawa holding a wine glass and was stunned. He didn't understand what happened, so he asked cautiously.
Hosokawa Noriyuki turned around, his eyes were like torches, and he looked at everyone slowly. He did not explain to everyone present, but directly ordered: "Let's stop here today."
He said putting down the wine glass.
When the others saw it, they also put down their wine glasses and looked at Hosokawa Mochiyuki.
Hosokawa Mochiyuki said in a deep voice: "You immediately go outside to inquire about news from the country, especially those Ming maritime merchants. You must learn the current situation in the country from them at all costs."
"Hosokawa-sama, what's going on?" Someone asked in confusion, why would a good person want to inquire about news from the country?
"Go quickly!" Hosokawa Mochizuki couldn't help but look gloomy and shouted loudly.
Everyone was so frightened that they all stood up and bowed respectfully: "Subordinates, please obey!"
Just one day later, Hosokawa Noriyuki received a reply from his subordinates.
"No......"
"......No......"
"still none!"
The people of the Japanese mission tried their best, but could not get any news from the country. By now, even people who didn't understand why Hosokawa Mochiyuki asked them to inquire about domestic news at first realized that something was wrong.
Hosokawa Mokiyuki took the results of everyone's inquiries and went to find Komatsu Reiko early in the morning.
Komatsu Reiko was dressing up carefully in front of the dressing mirror. Ever since she moved into this house, she had been attracted by this huge dressing mirror. This dressing mirror can reflect every detail of a person's reflection, which is 10,000 times better than the basin and bronze mirror of Japan!
Every time she looked in the mirror, Komatsu Reiko was very satisfied with the charming face in the mirror.
Dong-dong-dong, three knocks on the door sounded.
"Who is it?" Komatsu Reiko asked casually without turning around.
"I would like to see the master." Hosokawa Mochiyuki's voice sounded outside the door.
Hearing that it was Hosokawa Mochiyuki, Komatsu Reiko didn't think much. She focused on dressing up and said calmly: "Come in."
Hosokawa Mokiyuki came in, lowered his head and did not dare to look at the mirror in front of Komatsu Reiko, and said respectfully: "I pay my respects to the master."
Komatsu Reiko kept staring at the mirror, arranging her hair sideways, and asked lightly: "Tell me, what happened?"
"Master, how long has it been since we received news from the country?" Hosokawa Mokiyuki suddenly raised his head and stared at the back of Komatsu Reiko with a solemn expression.
Komatsu Reiko paused while arranging her hair. After a few breaths, she said with some uncertainty: "Maybe it's because there hasn't been any important news recently..."
But Komatsu Reiko herself didn't believe this.
Hosokawa Mokiyuki replied solemnly: "After my subordinates discovered it yesterday and the day before, they sent everyone to inquire about domestic news, especially those Ming maritime merchants. However, the news they received was that they had not heard anything about it. According to domestic news, even some maritime merchants have abandoned the route from the Ming Dynasty to Japan and switched to Nanyang for business. The master should understand what this means..."
Komatsu Reiko suddenly turned around, sat on the stool and stared at Hosokawa Mokiyuki from a high position, and asked: "You mean, Han Du is causing trouble?"
Hosokawa Mokiyuki looked into Komatsu Reiko's eyes without flinching, and said bluntly: "Master, does he know when we started to have no news from the country? It was just after Han Du took the initiative to find the master. "
"That's enough!" Komatsu Reiko's face was ashen. She hoped from the bottom of her heart that all Han Du's recent actions towards her were sincere, but Hosokawa Mokiyuki told her that Han Du's change in attitude contained other plots.
This made Komatsu Reiko's heart suddenly hurt, and her face couldn't help but look ugly.
Hosokawa Mokiyuki looked at the extremely uncomfortable Komatsu Reiko. He didn't want this. He also wanted his master and Han Du to have a happy outcome, but the facts told him that Han Du had an ulterior motive for this move.
"Owner......"
"Stop talking!" Komatsu Reiko suddenly waved his hand to interrupt Hosokawa Noriyuki, took a deep breath and said solemnly: "I will see Han Du today, and I want to ask him personally!"
Hosokawa Mochiyuki couldn't bear it, but he still insisted: "Master, whether it is true or not, the best way for us now is to rush back to the Japanese country immediately. As long as the master can return to the Japanese country, I believe that with the master's wisdom, regardless of the Japanese country No matter what the current situation is, Master can also stabilize the situation."
