Returning to the hotel, Imagawa Yoshimoto found that everyone did not rest, but instead gathered around the pier. He then looked over there and found that Taiyuan Xuezhai was leading a group of people to confront another group of fishermen at the port.
"What's wrong?" Imagawa Yoshimoto asked as he walked beside Taiyuan Xuezhai.
"You came back quite early?" Taiyuan Xuezhai was a little surprised. "Madam is still a little anxious. I'm afraid something might happen to you, so I sent Tuyuan there. It seems I missed you."
"Haha, I met Miyoshi Chikuzen, and we had a close relationship. He didn't make things difficult for us." Imagawa Yoshimoto answered truthfully, and then pointed to the scene of the conflict, "What's going on there?"
"Oh, there are little mice following us." Taiyuan Xuezhai replied with a smile, "Yesterday before we stopped the boat, we felt someone following us behind us, and now we are chasing them directly to the shore."
"Master, don't be ridiculous. We are just passing fishermen. Why are we surrounded here and not allowed to go ashore?" The young man in the lead obviously heard what Taiyuan Xuezhai said and immediately responded loudly.
"Haha, children are so young after all. How can someone who lives on the water all day long have such thin skin and tender flesh like you?" Taiyuan Xuezhai said to the leading boy, "Go and tan your skin, and then you can dress up again." Hairen."
"Is the person coming here, Anzai Jintaro?" Imagawa Yoshimoto remembered Miyoshi Nagakei's previous instructions, and he took the initiative to say, "Here is the order from His Highness Chikuzen. We are the envoys of the Imagawa family. We are passing by on this trip and have already met with His Highness Chikuzen. Say hello."
"Yes." Upon hearing this, An Zhai Dongkang hurried forward and saluted, "I'm really sorry for being so rude to you. I didn't know that you all came here with an appointment. I apologize to you."
"There is no need to be so polite." Imagawa Yoshimoto replied cheerfully, while handing the order to Anzhai Fuyasu.
After Anzhai Dongkang confirmed that it was correct, he bowed to Taiyuan Xuezhai and others again to apologize: "I made this master laugh. I will definitely practice hard in the future, and I will no longer shelter from the sun and rain, making people laugh."
"Have ambition." Taiyuan Xuezhai encouraged him.
"Then let's say goodbye first and return to Settsu." Anzai Toyasu bowed his head to Imagawa Yoshimoto and said, "The boat is left at Lake Biwa. If you need it, you can use it as much as possible. The Miyoshi family has always treated envoys well, and you are an old acquaintance of my brother. We should treat each other with courtesy."
"Thank you." Imagawa Yoshimoto also returned the gift with his hand, indicating to his subordinates to get out of the way and let Anzhai Fuyang's people leave.
Most of these soldiers are dressed like fishermen, their skin is tanned and rosy, and their hands are covered with calluses. However, among them, there was a boy in his early ten years who was incompatible with these rough guys. The child was quiet, delicate and taciturn. He followed the team quietly, holding a kitten in his arms.
"Do you have a cat?" Imagawa Yoshimoto became curious and took the initiative to greet the boy.
The young man nodded but did not answer. The kitten seemed to be frightened by seeing a stranger, and started to stir in the arms. The young man hurriedly rubbed the cat's neck gently, comforting it to calm down.
"This is my younger brother, and he will soon go to Shikoku Sanuki Country to inherit the Toga family business." Anzhai Fuyayasu saw that his younger brother did not salute, so he quickly stepped forward and said, "Fourth brother, why don't you say hello to your lord? "
"Shi He Yi Cun, I have met you, sir." The young man replied briefly.
"This is your name after the Yuan Dynasty. How can you use it indiscriminately now?" Anzai Fuyasu scolded in a dumbfounded voice, and once again apologized to Imagawa Yoshimoto for Tokawa Issun's rudeness.
"Sir, do you also have a cat?" Toga suddenly asked Imagawa Yoshimoto without knowing why.
"Yes." Imagawa Yoshimoto responded with a smile, "What's wrong, can you see it?"
"Hmm..." Tokawa Icun was obviously a little shy and failed to follow Imagawa Yoshimoto's conversation well. After frowning and hesitating for a moment, he decided to speak directly, "I'm really rude. But I don't know if I can keep this cat with you? I'm going to Shikoku soon, and the eldest and second brothers won't allow it. I brought the cat, saying that it would make the Shihe family laugh and look down on me. But there is no one around to raise a cat, and they are not willing to take care of it for me. I think it is too childish and is not what the Wu family should do."
"Of course." Before Imagawa Yoshimoto could answer, Ginkgo, who came over at some unknown time, answered first, "This cat is so cute, what's its name?"
"It's called Mo Qiu." Shihe Yicun gently touched the cat in his arms and mentioned it, with a slight smile on his face. "Although it is a white cat, there are three black spots on its back, like The ink dots are the same, so they are called ink balls.”
"No problem, Mo Qiu." Ginkgo smiled and bent down, taking the kitten from Toga Ichan's hand - it looked less than a year old. Mo Qiu left his master, screamed nervously, and waved his little paws frantically to get back to his master.
"Be good, Mo Qiu." Shihe Yicun stepped forward, rubbed Mo Qiu's neck with both hands, and rubbed his face hard against him, his eyes full of reluctance, "Big brother said, wait for me later Once I have made great achievements and established a firm foothold in the Shihe family, no one will gossip about me, and I can take you back when the time comes. Until then, you must take care of yourself in Dongguo and don't cause trouble for others."
"Woo--" Mo Qiu muttered in aggrieved tone, lowering his head pitifully, but he also calmed down and stopped making noises.
"Please." Tokawa Yisun bowed deeply to Imagawa Yoshimoto and Ginkgo.
"Don't worry." Imagawa Yoshimoto smiled and comforted the boy in front of him, "I wish you success as soon as possible and bring Mo Qiu home."
·
After Imagawa Yoshimoto and Ginkgo returned to the house with the ink balls, they happened to meet Takeda Harunobu who came for a spin, and immediately incurred sharp complaints from the latter:
"Why is there another cat? Will there be another cat every time you two come out?"
"It was fostered by someone else." Ginkgo explained to Takeda Harunobu, "It seems that his name is... Juga Ichin? He said that he was going to Shikoku and adopted someone else's home, so he could only entrust his cat to someone else."
"Hey, that child is such a gentle warrior, so good to cats." Imagawa Yoshimoto recalled the young and shy boy just now, and couldn't help but sigh: "It would be great if such a child was born in peacetime. Reciting poems, composing poems, playing the flute and reciting songs, he can be regarded as a talented man and a beautiful woman of a generation. But he was born in this troubled times and suffered. If he went to a strange environment and a strange home, he might encounter a lot of trouble, and he might even go to the battlefield in the future. He continued If you can’t bear to let go of the cat, how can you be so cruel as to kill someone? It’s so cruel..."
"Don't be so sentimental and think of others as weak." Takeda Harunobu ridiculed Imagawa Yoshimoto, "Do you think everyone is the same as you? That child might become a fierce general like a demon in the future, chasing and killing him. You cry for father and mother."
"How is it possible?" Imagawa Yoshimoto didn't believe this.
·
At the same time, on Seta's carriage heading towards Kyoto, Toga Ichimori kept looking at the way to the west reluctantly, pursed his lips tightly, and his eyes were slightly red.
"Think about Mo Qiu?" The considerate Anzhai Dongkang naturally understood what Shihe Yicun was thinking. Shihe Yicun didn't answer, just nodded quietly.
"It's okay. The elder of the Imagawa family also said that after the fourth brother has established a firm foothold in the Shihe family, he can take Mo Qiu back." Anzhai Fuyukang touched his brother's head, gently He comforted.
"The Imagawa family... is on the other side of the Suruga River. It's hundreds of miles away from us. It's so far away." Juga Yisun muttered softly, and his eyes gradually dimmed. "The war is chaotic, life and death are uncertain, there may not be any Goodbye chance.”
"This is how troubled times are." An Zhai Dongkang also sighed, but remained as optimistic as ever in front of his younger brother, "It's okay, look at that couple who are also very gentle people, and will take good care of Mo Qiu. .”
Shihe Yicun curled his lips silently.
·
On February 25, the twelfth year of Tianwen (1543), a group of people settled down in the Kennin Temple in Kyoto, the mountain city. They were finally going to start their mission in Luo - to manage the relationship between the two families in Kyoto and to create a better future for Imagawa Yoshi. Yuan and Takeda Harunobu sought two official positions in the imperial court to show their prestige.
Kenninji Temple is located east of Kyoto. It is the third most famous temple in Kyoto. Its mountain name is Higashiyama and it is also the headquarters of the Kenninji Temple of the Rinzai Sect. It is said that its founder was Minamoto no Yoriie, the second generation shogun of the Kamakura shogunate. During the Yingren Rebellion, most of the Jianren Temple was destroyed by the war. After generations of repairs, it was restored to its original appearance.
When Imagawa Yoshimoto was young, he followed Taiyuan Xue Zhai to practice in Kyoto's Kennin Temple, and his monastic name, Yue Chengfang, was given to him by the abbot of Kennin Temple at that time, Chang'an Ryuchu. It's a pity that Chang'an Longchong is already counting
He died of illness two years ago, and Imagawa Yoshimoto did not have the chance to visit his childhood mentor again.
"Master, I have had breakfast before going to visit various dignitaries. Mrs. Sanjo has already arranged the itinerary. How about you, Chengfang?" Taiyuan Xuezhai drank rice porridge in large gulps and wiped it with his sleeves. He opened his mouth and said casually to Imagawa Yoshimoto: "You are not going to Luolai with me as your teacher, just to watch the show without doing anything, right?"
"Old man, you will have to wear this suit to meet people later." Imagawa Yoshimoto couldn't bear to look at the water stains and rice grains on Taiyuan Xuezhai's sleeves, and said with disgust on his face: "Take care of yourself first, like this How can we have a relationship when we go out?"
"You're a well-dressed kid. Who can see you if you're hiding in a temple?" Taiyuan Xuezhai stood up angrily. He wanted to wipe his mouth with his sleeve again, but got annoyed after being glared at by Imagawa Yoshimoto. Instead, he wiped it with his hands - and then wiped it on the hem of his clothes with his backhand.
"I will also go out, old man, everyone has made an appointment." Imagawa Yoshimoto impatiently took out the green-edged folding fan, opened it with a swipe, and fanned Taiyuan Xuezhai as he walked in.
"Oh? Who are you dating?" Taiyuan Xuezhai's smile was full of doubt, "Is this brat meeting a girl by chance again?"
"They are all powerful ministers of the dynasty, okay?" Imagawa Yoshimoto shook his head helplessly, "There is really nothing we can do, you stinky old man."
