In the spring of the fourth year of Eiroku, Okazaki Castle is filled with the fragrance of white and red plums that have not been seen for a long time.

Eight months have passed since Yoshiyasu Kira entered Okazaki Castle. The people of Okazaki are now neatly dressed, which is not comparable to what it used to be, and it is not all because the rice grain that has been levied by the Sunfu people for more than ten years has finally begun to nourish them. After the news of Ekee An's seizure of Okazaki Castle spread, various ships came to the castle through the Yasu River and the Eisheng River to trade in a large number of cities, and Okazaki Castle gradually regained its vitality and prosperity.

The people, who had been trying to hide their food before, were finally relieved. Torii Iga Mamoru donated the gold, silver, and food he had accumulated over the years to repair the castle. The moats have been renovated, the stone walls have been restored, and the roof of the main entrance is imposing. The city was renovated and immediately became the pride of the lords, attracting more and more merchants to trade and the market to prosper.

With the completion of the restoration of various buildings, the atmosphere in the castle, the Buddha Hall, the two castles, the east castle, and the three castles has gradually become lively and bright, as if the world has changed. At this time, the people of Okazaki ushered in the first spring after their return.

Led by the young lord of the castle, a new personnel arrangement was made.

The heads of the families happily retired from the front line, and Tadaji Sakai, Ishikawa Iesei, Ishikawa Shumasa, and Uemura Ietsu were appointed as the new family leaders. Of course, this arrangement is not decided by the elder of the family, the young lord of the city dominates everything, and the old man is the advisor of the lord of the city. And now there are two envoys that make the young city lord and these advisers quite nerve-wracking. One was naturally from the Imagawa clan, and the other was sent by Sena Hime, who stayed in Sunfu with Takechiyo.

The envoy sent by Shizhen reprimanded in a questioning tone: "What kind of system have you become when you entered Okazaki Castle without permission and did not report to the Junfu for a long time! In response to this accusation, Ngiyasu replied, "If we do not enter Okazaki Castle, the Owari army will not only capture Mikawa, but also Suruga and Enoe." If you think it doesn't matter if the Oda army hits Sunfu, we can withdraw from Okazaki at any time. Please tell me what I said. ”

The envoy's tone suddenly softened a lot: "It's really well-intentioned to stop the Oda army here!" However, I would like to ask you to go to Sunfu and consult with the generals to defend Okazaki Castle together. ”

Yi'an shook his head and immediately refused: "Junfu is probably short of manpower at this time, and I can't let just one Okazaki City contain the troops, and I, Yi'an, am enough to resist the attack of the Oda army, please rest assured!" "Now, he doesn't care if the clan really interferes.

But the messenger sent by his wife could not be easily dispatched. Senahime's letter is written with sincerity. She asked Ngee An to go back anyway and save Takechiyo. She also said that she would go to negotiate with Shizhen and ask for the release of Kira's people.

Sena Hime sent another secret envoy. This time it was a retainer of the Sekiguchi family of Sena Hime's mother's family, and he brought a heavy letter box.

On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, after paying homage to the ancestral shrine in the Buddha hall, Nghe An was walking while watching the snow-white plum blossoms blooming in the wine valley, when he suddenly heard the envoy's affectionate voice: "Hey, Lord Kira! I'm a man sent by Madame. ”

After the envoy finished speaking, he looked at the surrounding scenery with a big grin. Presumably he had been to Sakai Masarasuke's house, because Arasuke's attendants were following him. "This city is magnificent! Madame probably didn't expect Okazaki to be so magnificent. She had been looking forward to her return to Sunfu, but if she saw Okazaki, she would immediately like it. ”

Looking at this subordinate named Kosugi, Yi'an couldn't help but smile bitterly. He could clearly feel the prejudice of the people of Sunfu, including Sena Hime, revealed by this person.

Senahime believes that there is no better place in this world than Sunfu, and in her opinion, everything outside Sunfu is a "wild place". Perhaps in her impression, the castle of Okazaki is equivalent to the rural homes of Sunfu. Therefore, although she repeatedly poured out her love and longing for Ngee An in her letters, she never mentioned coming to Okazaki.

Don't stay in that kind of place, go back to Sunfu, come back to me—Senahime's words stung Ngiyaan's pride deeply, and now he felt the same contempt from the messenger's words. If it was Nobunaga, he would be able to overwhelm the other party at this time, but Yoshian's personality was diametrically opposed to him.

"No, it's just a small town to worry about. Please come with me. Ngee An led the messenger and deliberately bypassed the gate and entered the city through the side gate. Moreover, instead of leading the messenger into the hall, he walked down the narrow corridor into the lounge of the small academy.

"It's amazing. Be sure to let Madame see all of this too. Kosugi kept marveling. The reason why he said this was probably because Sena Hime once said that she hated living in Okazaki City, and maybe she would say that it would be better to let her live in Okazaki Castle than to die, and it might be even more harsh than that.

"First of all, congratulations to you on the successful arrival of the New Year." Only when he entered the rest room did the messenger remember to greet him, and immediately handed the letter box to Motoyasu. "Madame asked me to tell your lord that she wants your lord to return to Sunfu one day sooner."

"You've worked hard. How are the kids? ”

"They are all healthy and lively, and they hope that you can go back soon."

When he saw Motoyasu casually put Senahime's letter on the table, he seemed to feel uncomfortable, and said, "Please read it immediately, Madame will let you reply." ”

Yuan Kang ignored it, gently pushed the letter box aside, and asked lightly: "What, isn't Lord Zhen going to take revenge?" ”

"I don't know, but Lady Shin doesn't like to retaliate with a tooth for a tooth."

"If that's the case, there's nothing more than-"

"Ngee An-sama!" The emissary's expression suddenly became grim, "With all due respect, this matter must not end here. ”

"And revenge?"

"No, I mean ma'am."

Ngee An seemed to look out a little lonely. The warm morning sun shone through the windows, and the chirping of warblers swirled through the early spring air.

"The iron-clad samurai probably can't understand the subtleties of a woman's mind. For example, the young lady of the Yoshiya Miura, who went out to catch fireflies with the person she admired, touched their hands in the dark. When she gently put her cheek to the other person's hand, she dispersed with the other person because she smelled something else. ”

"Oh.

"A man who was in love with the young lady accidentally dropped the pickles off his chopsticks while eating dinner, and he used his hands to pick up the pickles...... And the young lady immediately saw through his life experience, and this subtle psychological feeling is the nobility of the young lady. ”

Hearing this, Nghe An stopped looking at the other party's face, pretended to be watching the scene, and nodded.

"Madame is very sensitive. And the young master also knows more about customs than before. “

"Is it true?"