"I was lucky enough to win the Little Chiba Kenkan in that match." Qingden smiled humbly.
After exchanging pleasantries with Inoya and Ushiyama, whom he hadn't seen for a while, Qingden noticed a slight look of fatigue on Ushiyama's face.
"Mr. Ushiyama, why do you look so tired? Is it because you didn't sleep last night?" Qingden cast a concerned look at Uiushan.
"Ah, it's okay..." Ushiyama raised his hand and rubbed his eyes with many red bloodshot eyes vigorously, "The day after tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival. In the past few days, I have been preparing Hina dolls for my two daughters. He Hintan is busy with extra work, so he is just a little tired."
"Shangsi Festival?" Qing Deng raised his eyebrows, "Yes... the day after tomorrow is Shangsi Festival."
Shangsi Festival: also known as Daughter's Day, a traditional Chinese festival. Before the Han Dynasty, this festival was set as Si Day in early March, and later it was fixed on the third day of March.
On this day, people go to the waterside to bathe together, and hold activities such as purification baths, sacrificial banquets, drinking wine in the winding water, and spring outings in the countryside.
This day is also China’s Daughter’s Day.
Girls usually hold a coming-of-age ceremony on this day: "Hairhair Ceremony". Girls "play in spring", walk along the water, play orchids by the water, put on beautiful clothes, sing and dance to drive away evil spirits.
The meeting of men and women is one of the activities of Shangsi Festival, so Shangsi Festival is also regarded as Chinese Valentine's Day. On this day of Shangsi Festival, go on an outing with your favorite girl, which is extremely romantic.
Unfortunately, with the rise of Neo-Confucianism, which advocated "preserving natural principles and destroying human desires", the Valentine's Day attribute of Shangsi Festival was almost gone by the Song Dynasty, and with it, the winding water of Shangsi Festival was eliminated. Customs such as bathing gradually declined.
To put it simply - due to the rise of Neo-Confucianism, the Shangsi Festival has no "festival flavor" since the Song Dynasty, and people no longer spend the Shangsi Festival grandly.
The Shangsi Festival has declined in China, but Japan on the other side still treats this festival with great solemnity.
Thousands of years ago, when Japan comprehensively studied the advanced culture and systems of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it also learned the Shangsi Festival.
After thousands of years of development and cultural integration, Japan’s Shangsi Festival has developed a way of celebrating the festival that is completely different from China’s.
By the Edo period, Japan's Shimi Festival basically only had the attribute of "Girls' Festival".
On this day of Shangsi Festival, in order to pray for their girls, families with girls will set up a high platform at home to display a kind of exquisite doll called "Hina Doll". The high platform on which the Hina dolls are placed is called "Hinadai", and then the whole family eats chirashi sushi, clam soup and other foods with beautiful meanings together.
The Jomi Festival is one of the most important festivals in the Edo period. On this day, Aonto and other officials in the government would have a day off.
The day after tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival, and this upcoming festival obviously has nothing to do with Qingdeng - because he has no daughter at all, how will he celebrate the Shangsi Festival?
Aoto could imagine how he would spend the Tomorrow's Tomb Festival holiday - spending the whole day practicing swordsmanship with Kondo, Okita and the others in the Imperial Guard Hall with nothing to do.
After Ushiyama mentioned topics related to the Shangsi Festival, he successfully aroused the desire to chat with Inoya, who also has a pair of daughters.
"Those Hina dolls made by famous craftsmen are really ridiculously expensive..." Inotani twitched his lips, "The day before yesterday, I visited the 'Gojo Doll House' in Jugen Town, planning to buy some new Hina dolls. To my daughters.”
"I was shocked when I went to the Gojo Doll House. Do you know how much the most expensive Hina doll sold there is? 120 taels of gold... Is that doll made of pure gold..."
"The master craftsman of 'Gojo Dolls': Gojo Shingua is a well-known craftsman." Arima interjected calmly at this time, "Their top-quality dolls are naturally more expensive."
"Ah, having said that -" Inotani turned to look at Arima, "When the festival comes, Arima-sama, you will be busy again..."
A trace of helplessness appeared on Arima's face at this moment: "Oh... I really hope that I can spend time with my daughter on the day of the Shangsi Festival..."
There is another custom of the Kamisaki Festival in the Edo period: early in the morning on this day, all officials of a slightly higher rank in Edo need to go to Edo Castle and celebrate the Kamisaki Festival in the Ohiro Room with the shogun.
Edo Castle and Edo are two completely different things.
Edo Castle is located in the center of Edo, surrounded by a moat. It is the residence of the shogun and the place where government affairs are handled.
To give a vivid metaphor - the relationship between Edo City and Edo is similar to the relationship between the Forbidden City and BJ.
"Sanchai" concentrics like Aoto and Inoya were not qualified to enter Edo Castle to celebrate the festival with the shogun because of their lower grades.
But not with horses.
An official of Arima's level needs to go to the city to accompany the shogun to celebrate the Shangsi Festival, so Inoya just said "Arima will be busy again on the day of the Shangsi Festival".
After chatting with the horse, pig, and cow about "Shangsi Festival"-related topics for a while, Qingdeng suddenly heard a conversation coming from the side that made him involuntarily prick up his ears.
"Ha... I'm so nervous... I haven't met Mr. Jing Yi yet..."
"I heard that he is very serious. He always keeps a straight face and is not angry."
"Huh? How come I heard that Mr. Ii, who is a tea ceremony celebrity and is also proficient in poetry and drama, is a very elegant person?"
"Everything you said is different from what I heard... What I heard was Elder Ii who is proficient in Iaido, and every word and deed he says is like a warrior..."
…
The hosts of this conversation were several colleagues from Nanfansuo whom Qingto didn’t know.
Listening to the conversation between these people just now, Qingdeng thought to himself:
——It seems that Elder Jingyi will personally participate in and preside over this assessment event today has been completely spread...
Qingto has never met Ii Naobi. After all, he is just a small concubine with a humble status. He does not have the opportunity to meet the country's current highest power holder. He has only heard some anecdotes about Ii Naobi.
As far as Aonto knows, Ii Naoki is a strange man with quite a legendary experience.
He was originally the 14th son of Ii Naonaka, the 13th lord of the Hikone Domain, and his wife.
Ranked 14th... Logically speaking, no matter what the turn, it would not be his turn to inherit the position of feudal lord.
But things are so unpredictable. The 13 brothers ahead of him either died or were given out as adopted sons. Therefore, the fourteenth eldest brother miraculously succeeded him as the new lord of the Hikone Domain in 1846.
As soon as he took office, he carried out drastic reforms in the domain with his superb political methods and tough governance skills, rectifying the domain's politics, and greatly increasing the national power of the Hikone Domain. Because of his outstanding political achievements, Ii Naomi was recognized by countless people at that time Mingjun.
After Japan's door was knocked open by Western powers and the country fell into unprecedented danger, he was appointed at the critical moment and took the position of "elder brother" and has been in charge of the country to this day.
From the fourteenth son who was not taken seriously by anyone, he has gradually become the "one person below ten thousand people" today. His experience is nothing short of legendary.
In addition to his superb political ability, Naomi Ii's other talents are also quite outstanding.
He is both civil and military.
He is proficient in Iaido and is a well-known master of Iaido. He created a new school of Iaido: "New Heart and New Style".
He can write Japanese songs, kyogen, and Noh music, and is proficient in tea ceremony. He is a tea ceremony celebrity.
In short - he is an extraordinary person who can be sensed just by looking at his life resume.
At this time, all the officials from the "Three Chapters" of the Southern and Northern Divisions had arrived.
Everyone from the "Tōjo-gumi" who often confronts and competes with the "Arima-gumi" has also arrived.
Because today's assessment meeting is not a meeting that can be taken lightly, Dongcheng, who is always sloppy on weekdays, is very rare to clean himself up today.
Her hair was neatly combed and her clothes were clean.
But his every move was still so dirty that it was difficult to look at him directly.
Yawning vigorously, he stretched out his right index finger to pick his ear. After picking his ear, he put the finger that had just picked out the earwax into his nostril to dig his nose...
Nishino, who was standing behind Dongcheng, half-closed his eyes and looked at his nose and heart.
At this time, Dongcheng's group discovered Qingdeng and others standing not far from them.
Dongcheng grinned, revealing his slightly yellowed teeth, and then led his subordinates headed by Nishino to walk towards Qingdeng and the others in a swaggering manner.
"Gui'an, Lord Arima."
Arima smiled and nodded to Dongcheng: "Gui'an, Lord Dongcheng."
Although Dongcheng is the leader of the "Dongcheng Group", neither Qingdeng nor Ma, Pig, and Niu have much dislike for this sloppy fat man.
Dongcheng's people... at best, he is "free and easy in doing things", but at worst, he is "too haphazard in his work".
The affairs that I am responsible for are all handled with an attitude of "as long as I can handle the task". I will not do one less thing, but I will never do one more thing.
He basically adopts a "free-range policy" for his subordinates such as Nishino, and rarely manages their daily activities. As long as nothing too extreme happens, he doesn't care about their subordinates' affairs.
Therefore, Dongcheng almost never took the initiative to participate in the "competition for merit" with the "Arima Group". It was mainly his three subordinates headed by Nishino who actively competed with the "Arima Group" for cases and political achievements.
It is precisely because the relationship with the "Arima group" is not tense or bad that Dongcheng can greet Arima as naturally as he does now.
After a few brief greetings with Arima, Arima turned his gaze and looked at Qingto aside.
"Mr. Ju." Dongcheng said to Qingdeng in a calm tone, "Have the injuries you suffered during the battle with the 'radical anti-foreigners' faction healed?"
"Thank you for your concern." Qingdeng said, "My body is no longer seriously injured."
"That's good." Dongcheng grinned a little wider, "You said you had changed your past...it seems like you weren't talking nonsense."
"Now, no one can call you 'Stupid' anymore."
When Dongcheng praised Qingteng in a calm tone, Nishino, who was standing behind Dongcheng, raised his eyes and cast a complicated look at Qingteng.
The other two colleagues of the "Dongcheng Group" also looked at Qingden with complicated expressions. Unlike Nishino, there was a hint of jealousy in the eyes of these two colleagues...
Suddenly, at this moment - Bo Jing's white and fat body hurriedly flashed from outside the room into the room.
Behind him was a very thin middle-aged man - this man was the town official of Nanbansuo: Atsukawa Chugoro.
After seeing the two "Mayors of Edo City" rushing into the room, Susui, who was walking at the front, said solemnly with a solemn face:
"Everyone be quiet, everyone be quiet! Elder Jing Yi is here! Hurry up and sit down! Sit down!"
As soon as Bo Jing finished speaking, the expressions of everyone in the meeting room immediately straightened.
The sound of small conversations turned into noisy footsteps.
Hakui led everyone in the Beifan Institute to face the north and kneel down on the west side of the meeting room.
Houchuan led everyone from the Nanfan Institute to kneel and sit in the east of the meeting room.
Everyone sat down, and the discussion became audible.
This strange silence was broken after a while by a faint sound of the door being pulled open.
Crash... The paper sliding door located in the north corner of the meeting room was slowly opened.
Seeing the door open, Susui and Atsukawa, who were kneeling at the front of the crowd, quickly lowered their heads, bowed their waists, and put their hands on the tatami.
Qingdeng and others who were sitting behind them quickly followed, bowing their heads to the north of the room where there was still only a ball of air.
Because his head was hanging down, Qingto could only see the dark green tatami.
Although the eyes cannot see, the ears can hear.
Qingdeng heard several footsteps extending toward the meeting room along the side door that was opened.
The footsteps stopped directly opposite them, and then turned into the sound of lifting the hem of clothes and kneeling down on the ground.
"Everyone, please straighten up."
A slightly hoarse voice clearly reached Qingdeng's ears.
Qingdeng slowly raised his gaze inch by inch.
To the north of the hall, there were five more people at this time.
A middle-aged man with black and white hair and a short beard on his chin sat in the center of the north side of the hall.
He crossed his legs casually, and his clothes were embroidered with the Ii family's crest: orange blossom.
Except for this middle-aged man, the other four people are relatively young, and the oldest one should not be more than 30 years old.
Three of the four people were kneeling on the left and right sides of the middle-aged man in the most standard posture with solemn expressions. The only exception was the man holding a sword that was red from the handle to the scabbard. , wearing a black and white knife, kneeling on one knee behind the middle-aged man.
Wearing clothes embroidered with the Ii family's crest, the four young men were respectfully accompanying him - the identity of this middle-aged man was self-evident.
——Is this Ii Naoki?
Qingto swept his eyes uncontrollably and looked at Ii Naobi.
Almost everyone present, who had never seen Ii Naobi before, could not help but cast curious glances at Ii Naobi like Qingto.
The first impression Ii Naoki brought to Qingto was - ordinary.
He has a neatly shaved head, his figure is neither fat nor thin, and his facial features are neither ugly nor handsome.
His face was not majestic, but there was a faint smile on his lips and eyes.
At first glance, he looks like an ordinary middle-aged man.
There is no aura of self-reliance, no elegant temperament, or the spirit of a warrior.
Aoto felt that if Ii Naoki put on civilian clothes and walked to the streets of Edo, he would be able to blend in perfectly with the crowd on the streets.
While Ayoto and others were still looking at Ii Naoki... Ii Naoki spoke——
"Presumably... you also know who I am, right? So I won't take the time to introduce myself."
Ii Naobi's tone was very slow, with a faint smile.
"This is the first time that most of you and I have met."
"How is it? Is the famous Ii Naobi not as majestic as you think?"
Naoki Ii opened his hands in a posture of "spreading his wings", as if he wanted people around him to see him more clearly.
"I often hear: There are always rumors outside that I am a very majestic-looking person who is not angry or self-defeating."
Naoki Ii smiled and raised his hand to touch the short beard on his chin.
"Half a year ago, I seriously considered: Should I cooperate with this rumor and make myself more dignified? If I can really succeed in making my face more dignified, then I can do many things. It’s a lot more convenient.”
"So I tried growing the beard on my chin a little longer."
"As a result, after I grew a beard, my majesty did not increase, but my ageing increased, which caused me to be laughed at by my wife."
Ii Naoki's funny words made many people in the hall laugh.
The corners of Qingdeng's mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.
In the meeting hall, the slightly tense atmosphere that was originally tense due to the appearance of Ii Naobi instantly relaxed a lot.
"I don't like to talk about empty talk, and I don't have enough time, so I'll get straight to the point."
Naoki Ii cleared his throat gently, and the smile on his face became a little stronger.
"I have personally reviewed all the achievements you have made in recent times."
"The achievements of many of you make my eyes shine."
"There are even more achievements of some individuals...so dazzling that I couldn't believe my ears when I first heard about them."
Having said this, Naoki Ii raised his head and spoke in a louder voice:
"Who is Tachibana Aoden?"
As soon as Ii Naobi finished speaking, everyone in the audience tilted their heads and focused their attention on Qingto.
"Oh..." Naoki Ii looked at Tachibana Aoden, who stood out from the crowd even though he was kneeling on the ground because of his height, "You are Tachibana Aoden..."
Having said this, Ii Naobi sat up a little straighter, and then gestured in front of him: "Tachibana Aoden, come forward."
Hearing Ii Naobi ask him to come forward, Qingden quickly said "yes" loudly, then stood up and walked out of the queue, quickly ran to Ii Naobi and knelt down on the ground again.
"Tachibana-kun, I have wanted to see you for a long time." Ii Naobi smiled at Qingden, "You are much more handsome than I thought."
"When I first heard about your feat of 'defeating powerful enemies on a snowy night', I checked it several times with the person who came to report the news to me, and finally confirmed that I heard it correctly."
"Haha... I have never heard such good news that makes people proud."
"The shogunate will never treat anyone who has made outstanding achievements unjustly."
When saying this, Naoki Ii raised his head and quickly glanced at the other people in front of him, led by Hakui and Atsukawa.
"As long as you can make outstanding achievements, the reward you should receive will never be less."
After finishing speaking, Ii Naobi turned his head and glanced at a young man kneeling on his left.
After receiving the signal from Ii Naobi's eyes, the young man nodded briefly, and then took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his arms.
After spreading out the paper, the young man grabbed the left and right ends of the paper and read aloud the words written on the paper.
He first made a lot of complicated opening remarks in obscure sentences.
Then he began to report Qingdeng's specific contribution and contribution in that "snowy night battle".
At this moment, Qingdeng's eyes were vaguely filled with anticipation.
It turns out that Arima was right a few days ago, and Naoki Ii really wanted to give him a reward personally in this "eldest boss assessment".
Just listening to what the young man is currently reading, we can tell that the piece of paper in his hand is an official document used to announce what reward should be given to Qingdeng.
Because it is the most formal government document, Qingdeng is called Qingdeng by his most formal name: "Juyuan Shengqing" in this document.
Everyone in the hall now pricked up their ears and listened carefully.
They are all curious.
He was curious about what kind of reward the shogunate would give Ayoto.
After reading a bunch of lengthy content that no one would listen to seriously, the young man finally read to the end and read what everyone had been waiting for——
"...In view of Juyuan Shengqing's achievements, I will grant you 50 taels of gold and a sword!"
——A treasured sword?
Qingden's brows jumped sharply.
The rest of the people on the field also looked surprised.
At this time, Ii Naoki stood up.
He waved to the young man kneeling behind him on one knee.
The young man quickly presented the sword with a red and black handle and scabbard that he had been holding in his hand to Ii Naobi with both hands.
"Tachibana-kun, this sword was made by the famous craftsman: Shikisaki Kiki."
"Name: Ding Gui Shen!"
Having said that, Ii Naobi raised his hand and grabbed the hilt of Dingguishen——
Choking, choking, choking, choking…
The blade was pulled out of the sheath inch by inch, making a clear sound like flowing water from a spring.
The blade of this knife is very long.
The length of a general knife blade is generally about 65cm, but according to Qingdeng's visual inspection, the length of this Dingguishen blade is close to 70cm.
The blade is narrow and has a large arc. With the red and black handle, it looks majestic.
If you look carefully, you can find that the texture of the blade is quite delicate.
Boiling point lines are closely spaced.
The hamon is irregular and jumping in the shape of mountain peaks.
A ray of clear and soft morning sunlight happened to pass through the window next to it and hit the sword of Dingguishen.
The blade's edge shone with a dazzling blue light under the sunlight.
Qingdeng didn't know how to appreciate swords.
But even if he didn't know anything about sword appreciation, Qingdeng could tell at a glance that this sword was a rare masterpiece.
Some people in the hall looked at the Dingguishen in Ii Naobi's hand, and their eyes turned green. A few people even used exaggerated movements to swallow their saliva hard.
Expensive and good swords - this has a fatal attraction for those warriors who love swords and swordsmanship.
What's more, this sword was given by the government and can be passed down from generation to generation as a family treasure.
After staring at Ding Guishen with green eyes for a while, these people turned their gazes to Qingdeng.
His eyes were full of envy and jealousy.
"The sword is worthy of its master." After showing Qingteng the "full picture" of Dingguishen, Ii Naobi put the sword back into its sheath with a smile, then held the Dingguishen with both hands and handed it to Qingteng's head, "Tachibana-kun, I hope your actions in the future will live up to this sword."
"I hope you can continue your efforts in the future."
"Continue to make achievements that will earn you such a generous reward again."
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
I know that some book friends may think after reading this chapter:
Oops, author, this chapter of yours is so good. Why did you spend so much time introducing the lives of Kamisaki and Ii Naomi? It’s so boring. I just want to see Aoto show off, not Aoto. The plot is full of water words, a little bit~
To this... I can only say——
[You will know why I want to write this when you see it later]
I believe that some people who know the history of the Bakumatsu period in Japan have smiled knowingly when they saw me describing what the Joomi Festival is and understand why I want to focus on the way of celebrating the Joomi Festival in the Edo period in this chapter.
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