Trial Guard Hall, living room——
"Tea please..."
When Abi handed two cups of freshly brewed hot tea to Anthony and Elodie, his eyes couldn't stop glancing at the faces of Anthony and Elodie.
Anthony, who was kneeling on the ground in a slightly awkward posture, thanked Ah Bi with a smile: "Thank you."
Elodie, who was sitting side by side with Anthony, bowed to Abi very politely and thanked him.
After nodding his thanks to the grandfather and grandson, Abi quickly left the living room holding the tea tray.
After leaving the living room, Abi saw Zhousuke, Kondo, and Okita standing in the corridor outside the living room.
"Auntie." Okita asked in a low voice, "What color are the eyes of those two people?"
"Blue." A Bi, who looked like he had just escaped from the dragon's den, nodded his head seriously, "The pupils of those two are blue."
Hearing what Abi said, Okita quickly put his eyes on the gap in the living room's paper sliding door: "It turns out that Westerners' eyes are really not black..."
At this time, Zhousuke and Kondo also put their eyes close to the crack of the paper sliding door with curious faces, trying to get a good look at Anthony and Elodie through the crack.
Kondo and his family had never seen a Westerner up close and personal, and they couldn't stop the curiosity in their eyes.
"Stop standing here." Abi frowned and drove Okita and others away, "Surrounding outside the living room and looking at others through the crack in the door, how rude is this? They are almost leaving."
While Abi was driving Okita and others outside the hall, Qingden inside the hall had already started talking to Anthony and Elodie.
"Mr. Angoulême, Miss Angoulême, long time no see. Has your health gotten better recently?" Qingdeng first smiled and greeted politely.
Because they want to hide their Western identities, Anthony and Elodie are now wearing kimonos.
Today's Elodie brought a bit of freshness to Qingto - because she was wearing a white and yellow women's kimono that he had never seen her wear before.
Maybe it was because Elodie's hair color was light blond, but Aoto felt that this yellow kimono matched Elodie quite well.
Apart from her clothes, Elodie is no different from the Elodie that Qingden knew so well in his memory - her beautiful golden hair is tied into a three-strand braid that falls from her right shoulder to her chest, with "air bangs" " style forehead hair neatly placed on the smooth forehead, eyes flashing with lively light.
It’s true that I haven’t seen these two grandsons for a long time. I haven’t seen these two people since I returned to Edo at the end of January.
"Mr. Ju, thank you for your concern." Anthony showed a somewhat grateful smile to Qingdeng, "Shesun and I have almost recovered."
Although Anthony's Japanese is not fluent, he can pick up all kinds of honorifics and modesty at his fingertips.
In that "Snowy Night Fight", after being severely frightened and seeing the bloody scene of mutilated limbs everywhere, Anthony and Elodie both suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Until they returned to Edo and parted ways with the grandfather and grandson, they were still in a very depressed state.
Now more than a month has passed, and the mental state of the grandfather and grandson seems to have made great progress, especially Elodie, whose eyes have returned to their original brightness.
It seems that they have all recovered from the "psychological trauma".
Qingdeng quite liked the old man Anthony.
Not only because Anthony looks very similar to the old man from KFC, it makes him look very honest and lovable.
It is also because of his gentle and polite personality that it is very comfortable to get along and chat with him.
After exchanging pleasantries with Anthony, the conversation gradually got down to the main topic - Anthony began to talk about the reason for his and Elodie's sudden visit tonight.
The purpose of their sudden visit was also very simple - to express their gratitude to Qingdeng, who had saved their grandfather and grandson on that snowy night.
Anthony said that they had wanted to come and say thank you for a long time, but due to his and Elodie's poor mental condition, they could only postpone the visit again and again.
In the past two days, after his and Elodie's mental condition had been greatly recovered due to a long period of rest, Anthony immediately asked the government about Qingdeng's current residence, and then without hesitation, he pulled Elodie over tonight. Come and thank Qing Deng for visiting.
"Mr. Tachibana. I'm very sorry." Elodie folded her hands on her legs, bowed her waist generously and gracefully, and bowed to Qingden. No matter how harsh the critic, it would be difficult to find any faults. Bowing in style, "It took us more than a month to come and thank you."
"Ah, it's okay, it's okay." Qingden waved his hand quickly, signaling Elodie to straighten her waist, "I don't mind."
Anthony and the others came with generous thank-you gifts.
As expected of a multinational businessman who can travel across the ocean to do business in Japan, Anthony's financial resources are truly astonishing.
After he and Elodie solemnly bowed to Qingdeng to express their gratitude, he directly handed Qingdeng a large brocade box containing 120 taels of gold...
Qingdeng couldn't help but feel a little flattered by such a huge thank you gift.
Facing the brocade box filled with Huang Chengcheng's large award money that Anthony handed to him, Qingdeng first politely and solemnly thanked Anthony, and then said to Anthony in a somewhat helpless tone:
"Mr. Angoulême, you don't actually need to come here to say thank you."
"You should also know, right? Edo has not been very peaceful recently. It is better for you and Miss Angouleme to go out less now."
Before Anthony could answer, Elodie smiled and answered for her grandfather in a half-joking tone: "You have such great kindness to us, it would be rude not to visit in person! "
Anthony nodded, and then added: "Don't worry about Elodie and I. I also know that Edo has not been very peaceful recently, so I specially chose to visit at night and brought the bodyguard recommended to me by a friend. them."
"It is quiet at night and there are no people on the road. It is not easy for outsiders on the street to discover that Elodie and I are Westerners."
"The eight samurai who are staying outside now are all bodyguards recommended to me by an English friend of mine who has lived in Japan for a long time. They are strong and reliable in character."
Anthony and his bodyguards are waiting outside the trial hall, waiting quietly for Anthony and Elodie to come out of the trial hall.
Anthony and Elodie's attitude of insisting on visiting their benefactors even though they knew Edo was in chaos now made Qingden feel a little more fond of the two grandfathers and grandsons.
Qingdeng has always had a good impression of people who value friendship.
After respectfully and dignifiedly accepting the gift of thanks from Anthony, Qingdeng began to chat with Anthony.
Unconsciously, they talked about Komuro and others who fought with Qingdeng to the death against the "anti-barbarian faction" that night.
Because many people have not yet recovered from their injuries, Komuro and the others are still in Edo and have not yet set off to return to Osaka. In the middle of last month, Ayoto took the time to visit these people who had fought side by side with him. Comrades who have passed.
When visiting Komuro and the others, Komuro mentioned to Aomuro that they would not be able to return to Osaka until the end of March.
Anthony said that yesterday he took Elodie to visit Xiao Shi and others who had also saved their lives. He also gave Xiao Shi and others a very generous gift of thanks. Anthony did not begrudge those who unfortunately died in the battle. Compensation.
…
…
Although there are strong bodyguards, the current security situation in Edo is still not suitable for Westerners like Anthony and Elodie to stay outside for too long.
The thanks and gifts have been sent, and the purpose of this trip has been achieved.
So after chatting casually with Qingdeng for a while, Anthony was about to leave.
Qingdeng personally sent Anthony and Elodie to the gate of the trial hall, then stood and watched quietly as the figures of his grandfather and grandson, who had once again covered their faces with bamboo hats and face towels, disappeared little by little. In the night.
"That little girl is so beautiful." At this moment, Okita suddenly sprang out from behind Qingto, standing on tiptoes to look at Elodie, whose figure had begun to become blurry under the shadow.
"What?" Qingto joked, "Okita-kun, do you like her?"
"No." Okita curled his lips without hesitation, "I won't fall in love with someone younger than me. That girl shouldn't be more than 14 years old, right?"
Qingden nodded: "Miss Angouleme, she is 12 years old."
"You're only 12..." Okita was stunned, "You're already so cute at such a young age..."
While Okita was silently sighing at Elodie's cute appearance, Qingto couldn't help but raise his gaze and glance a few more times at Elodie's back, which was almost hidden in the darkness.
Qingden was deeply impressed by Elodie's behavior today.
Before this, Qingden's impression of Elodie was that she was lively, active, and friendly to others.
It was only just now that Qingden saw the solemn and elegant side of Elodie for the first time.
Just now, Elodie's every move was so generous, neither humble nor overbearing.
Sitting quietly next to her grandfather, she saluted and thanked Qingdeng together with her grandfather in a very decent manner.
Among all the people Qingto knows... probably only Chiba Sanako can compete with Elodie to see "whose movements are more elegant."
If Elodie is asked to put on a grand costume and then keep her elegant behavior just now, people might mistakenly think that she is a princess from some European kingdom.
After Elodie and others completely disappeared from sight, Qingto returned to the house with Okita, who ran out to join in the fun.
Okita returned to his room on the second floor.
Qingdeng returned to the living room and packed up the box of thank-you gifts that Anthony had just handed to him.
Opening the brocade box - the golden light coming out of the box made Qingden squint his eyes.
After his eyes gradually got used to the golden light, Qingdeng sighed: "Finally, my wallet is not so tight anymore..."
Anthony gave him 120 taels of gold, including the 80 taels of gold given to him by the French Legation and the 50 taels of gold as a reward from the shogunate... Qingden's personal assets that had been wiped out due to the burning of his home became abundant again.
Although at first glance, Qingdeng seems to be extremely wealthy now, with his personal savings exceeding 200 taels of gold, this amount is not enough to solve Qingdeng's current financial problem.
First - the money was nowhere near enough for Qingdeng to rebuild his home.
To rebuild their home on the land belonging to the Tachibana family in Hatchobori, they had to buy a large amount of wood, and then hire a group of reliable carpenters to help him build the house.
You have to buy wood, hire people, and after building a new house, you have to buy new furniture...
Qingdeng cannot afford so many expensive projects necessary to rebuild his home.
Secondly - and most importantly, Qingdeng also had to help his father pay off the 520 taels of gambling debt.
In a word, Qingdeng's current savings cannot fill his current funding gap.
But now my wallet is a little richer, which is always a good thing.
There is no rush to rebuild his home. Anyway, he can now live in the Trial Guard Hall. By saving little by little, he will always be able to save enough money to build a house.
As for his father's gambling debt, he is not in a hurry, because he does not need to pay off this huge debt in one go. He can pay it back in batches, bit by bit.
Anyway, as long as Qingdeng can come up with a certain amount of money to repay the debt every time a debt collector comes, the people of the "Qingshui Clan" will not embarrass Qingdeng too much.
Qingdeng held the box of money and returned to the "diners' room" where he lived.
As he climbed the stairs leading to the second floor, Aomori said to himself: "Ah... now we can try to recruit Okabiki..."
After Ii Naoki was killed and these "three times" samurai became extremely busy due to the shogunate's death order to "severely crack down on the anti-barbarian patriots", Aoden deeply realized the inconvenience caused by the shortage of manpower...
Other co-workers can assign their respective Oka Yin to help with some chores, but Qingteng, who did not hire Oka Yin because his family had no money, could only do everything himself.
When he was not very busy in the past, Qingden Shang did not feel too inconvenienced by not having any subordinates.
But now... things have changed.
Faced with the sharply increased workload, Qingdeng, who has no subordinates to adjust, already feels a little overwhelmed.
Now that his wallet is bulging, he can indeed consider asking 2 or 3 people to work for him.
While Qingto was thinking seriously about inviting Oka Hiki, he put his box of money back into the "diners' room".
When he came out of the "diners room", Qingto happened to bump into Okita in the corridor who had left his room at the same time.
"Huh? Tachibana-kun, what's wrong?" Okita noticed the thoughtful look on Qingto's face, "Why do you look so worried?"
"I'm not worried." Qingden smiled, "I'm just thinking about hiring some gangsters to help."
Ayoto informed Okita of his plan to hire Okabiki.
Finally, Qingden paused, and then asked Okita in a half-joking tone:
"Okita-kun, aren't you very interested in the work of 'Sankai'? Are you interested in being my Okabiki?"
"Okabiki?" Okita's eyes lit up.
But in just a blink of an eye, the light in Okita's eyes faded.
"I'm quite interested in being your Okabiki..." Okita stretched out his hand and smoothed the ponytail on the back of his head, with a hint of regret on his face, "But I probably don't have much time..."
"At this stage, I still want to focus on practicing my sword skills and helping to run the trial gym."
Okita declined his invitation - but Qingto was not upset, after all, it was just a casual question.
"Now I want to recruit Oka Yin." Qingden smiled helplessly, "But I don't know where to find a reliable candidate."
"Do you want to ask your seniors?" Okita asked, "Your seniors should have relevant methods, right?"
Qingden raised his hand and touched the back of his neck: "Well, that's all we can do... huh?"
His voice suddenly paused.
The fingers that were rubbing the back of his neck also stopped.
"Yes...how could I forget..." Qingdeng grinned and murmured in a volume that only he could hear clearly, "Isn't there a good channel for me to find migrant workers..."
"Okita-kun." Qingto put down the hand that was touching the back of his neck, "Can I ask you to do something for me tomorrow?"
"Huh? What's the matter?"
"I would like to invite you to go to Boss Kiryu's Thousand Houses tomorrow..."
…
…
Edo, the land leased by overseas powers, the home of Anthony and Elodie——
Anthony and his family bought this new house in Edo from a friend of his at a relatively low price.
Although it is a "second-hand house", both the walls and furniture are quite new.
Elodie, who had just taken a comfortable hot bath, took cheerful steps in the direction of her bedroom, accompanied by the maid Leroy.
Because she had just taken a shower, Elodie's body was still filled with warm steam. She had long, curly light blond hair hanging casually behind her. She was wearing a white French dress, with pink and white hair. Her young feet were wearing a pair of cotton velvet slippers made in the Middle East.
"Miss." Leroy, who was following Elodie step by step, asked at this time, "You seem to be very happy. Did you encounter something happy?"
"Hehe." Elodie turned her head and showed a big smile to Leroy, "Yes, I did encounter something happy."
Elodie raised her right palm and placed it against the top of her head.
"I measured my height just now when I was taking a shower - I seem to have grown taller!"
Looking at Elodie who showed such a pure and bright smile because of such a thing, Leroy was startled, and then smiled happily:
"That's right...that's indeed something to be happy about."
While chatting and laughing, the master and servant passed by the still-lit hall.
In the hall, Anthony sat alone on the soft sofa.
Because Anthony is facing away from Elodie, Elodie cannot see Anthony's current face and expression. She can only see Anthony's shadowy back under the candlelight.
Winking at her grandfather's back, Elodie's smile grew a little wider.
She decided to share the joy of growing taller with her grandfather.
So, she asked Leroy to go back to her bedroom alone to wait for her, and then quietly entered the living room.
"Grandpa..." Elodie called Anthony sweetly and walked to Anthony.
Immediately afterwards, Elodie froze on the spot.
She saw her grandfather huddled in the sofa with a sad face.
"Oh... Elodie." Seeing Elodie coming, Anthony quickly forced a smile on his face without realizing it.
Although he had turned his scowl into a smile as fast as he could, it was still half a step too late, and Elodie had completely seen his expression just now.
"Grandpa, what's wrong?" Elodie quickly ran to Anthony's knees, "Why do you look so sad? Did you encounter something troublesome?"
Looking at Elodie with a concerned look on her face, Anthony was moved and smiled.
He raised his old, rough hand and gently touched Elodie's pale golden hair while sighing heavily.
"...It's okay. I was just wondering...whether it was a wrong decision to take you to escape to this Far East island country..."
After finishing speaking, Anthony sighed heavily again.
"The 'anti-foreigners' in this country are far more xenophobic and radical than I thought before..."
"Last time, if we hadn't been lucky and Mr. Tachibana and Mr. Komuro protected us, we might have been killed by those 'anti-foreigners'."
"After living in this Far East island country for such a long time, the country's 'wind of rejection' has not only not subsided, but has intensified now..."
A wry smile appeared on Anthony's face.
"I'm so guilty... I promised you that I would take you to a safe place away from that empire..."
"This is indeed far away from that empire...but it's not safe at all."
Anthony sighed again.
After he sighed, silence dominated the entire hall for a moment.
It wasn't until the night wind outside the window suddenly made a whirring sound that I finally heard Elodie break the silence of the hall with her childish voice.
"Grandpa, what are you talking about?"
Elodie gave Anthony a big smile.
Then...she raised her hand and stroked Anthony's cheek with a gentle movement as if she wanted to smooth out the wrinkles that were squeezed together due to her sad face.
"You have nothing to feel guilty about?"
"Although some people in this country hate us foreigners, it can't ruin my current happiness at all."
"I've had a great time every day since escaping to this country with you."
"There are so many beautiful scenery here that I have never seen before."
"There's a lot of really good food here."
"I also made valuable friends like Miss Wu here."
"What's more important - I can now play with you without any worries!"
Having said this, Elodie took half a step back, then stretched out her hands, pinched both sides of the long white dress she was wearing, lifted the dress slightly, bent down, and gave an extremely elegant French salute to Anthony.
"I am no longer the princess of that empire, I am the daughter of an ordinary French businessman - Elodie de Angoulême."
"For me, just being like this is enough to make me feel extremely happy."
After saying that, Elodie smiled brightly at Anthony.
This is a smile like an angel descending to earth.
*******
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Requesting monthly tickets after a long time! (Leopard head crying.jpg)
Thanks to the leader of the book friend [East China Sea Small Fishing Village] for the reward! Thank you so much! Qaq, I haven’t seen the alliance leader for a long time.
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