"Remember one thing that will challenge you for the rest of your life to see if you can beat yourself." When Yu Qiuping walked to the door, Imagawa Yoshimoto suddenly said.

Yu Qiuping turned around and listened attentively, and that sentence was imprinted into the young man's mind from then on, and accompanied him throughout his life.

"Make a choice with no regrets."

Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, blinked violently, and his eyes slowly focused in front of him again, and the light rain was still falling. What happened just now, why did I suddenly think of what the Governor's Hall said to me before.

Do you have no regrets? In my mind, this sentence came to mind subconsciously.

Yu Qiuping clenched the pendant on his chest and carefully protected the greeting card in his arms to prevent it from getting wet from the rain.

"Do I regret it?" Yu Qiuping raised his head blankly and looked at the dim sky.

Not long ago, I had a couple who loved me and a beautiful love, and now, because of this choice, there is nothing left.

However, do you really want to selfishly lose the future of Kaede Imagawa for your own love? Let her exhaust her youth and wait for the rain and autumn that she may not be waiting for? She will have to endure countless gossip and family pressure, not to mention whether Imagawa Yoshimoto will agree to his daughter's nonsense, even if he really agrees. What if I don't make it to the top myself, what should Kaede Imagawa do?

The young boy is right, that would be too selfish.

Isn't loving her just that you should bear the pain for her?

Yu Qiuping let out a long sigh and tried to straighten up. I'm a man, and I deserve to bear all this for her. Let her be more relaxed, no matter who she marries in the end, she can reap a happy future.

And I'm going to fight hard until one day I can get a status worthy of her. Although, at that time, she was probably already married. But that's the better outcome for her, isn't it?

Feng'er, I will spend my life guarding your happiness, whether the people around you are me or not. Letting go is loving you.

I don't regret my choice.

Yu Qiuping took one last look at the castle tower, the direction of Imagawa Kaede's boudoir, the window was closed, and she didn't look at herself again. He sighed and left the garden. Holding in his hand the gift that he couldn't give, and the "Happy Birthday" that he couldn't say. ”

Little did he know that in his own room, the window was slightly opened. A young girl, watching him drift away, couldn't stop crying.

Back in the territory, Yu Qiuping is like a different person, no longer the usual teenager who talks and laughs, but has become a workaholic who does not smile and is buried in his work.

Whether it is the formulation and improvement of military law or daily training, he has done it himself. As for the training of cavalry, although Yu Qiuping invited the head of the training from Asahina Taehyung to help with the training, he still asked the cavalry to undergo standing posture training and three-sided rotation training like the infantry. The cavalry was even required to line up in a horizontal and vertical phalanx, marching in the same order as the infantry, and if the phalanx was not neat enough, the riders had to do push-ups.

All the cavalry went to Mizenzaki Nakahide angrily after training to settle accounts, because it was the latter who made fun of Yu Qiuping when he was thinking about how to train cavalry: "Adults will only train infantry, and there will be no way to take cavalry!" As a result, it touched the mold of Yu Qiuping, who didn't say much, and trained the cavalry with the method of training infantry.

In life, the only thing that Yu Qiuping still bears some resemblance to the previous Yu Qiuping is that he has resumed the tradition of folding red leaves, and he will origami red leaves by the oil lamp every night. The folded autumn leaves were distributed to the more than 50 recruits who were training. The surplus was burned on the flame of the oil lamp after Yu Qiuping was broken.

"What's wrong, my lord?" Fukushima Yasunari and his entourage once asked Naoe Tadahei privately. Although everyone guessed some clues, it was not easy to be sure.

"Don't ask, you're annoying." Naoe shook his head, "We can't help much. ”

"You kid, don't you still want to wear red leaves?" When Mimasaki Nakahide saw Honda Nakabe Nosuke who was following Naoe Tadahei, he teased, "Seeing that we are so powerful, are you tempted?" ”

"Down there are the samurai of the Matsudaira family." Honda Nabenosuke said without a smile.

"Really? Then I see that when you hold up the horse seal of an adult, you are very proud! Mizenzaki Nakahide's tone became yin and yang again, "Raise it straight, and you won't shake it for a while!" ”

"That's the duty of the next generation, to be loyal to the temporary master's house!" Hontabe Nosuke's face turned red and he roared in a low voice.

"Zhongxiu, don't be sarcastic about others all day long." Fukushima Yasunari patted the adult on the shoulder, "Go back to training quickly, don't bother the adult." ”

On April 12, Sena sent a herald to Yuqiuhei's territory and asked him to return to Sunfu to help him deal with the spring accounts.

On the way back to Junfu, Yu Qiuping had mixed feelings in his heart. There is some anticipation and joy, and I hope to have the opportunity to see Kaede Imagawa again. But he was full of sadness and worry, for fear that Imagawa Kaede would ignore him coldly.

When he stepped into the Imagawa family's mansion in Sunpu Castle again, a wave of sadness beat against his heart like a tidal wave. The beautiful garden is colorless at the moment, and there are many places that have left good memories for the two of them - the rockery, the open space for snowball fights, the fitting room, and Yu Qiuping doesn't even dare to approach at the moment. He walked straight up to the castle tower and up the stairs to the fourth floor, to the office of Shoto Sena.

When he walked to the corner of the third floor, suddenly, Yu Qiuping's heart trembled. He stopped and looked up. A moment later, the girl who was haunted by her dreams also happened to be alone and was going downstairs. The two still met around the corner of the third floor. It's like an encounter dozens of days ago.

Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, his eyes were a little expectant, but he dodged and looked at Imagawa Kaede. The latter lowered his eyelids and walked silently past him, as if the two had never known each other. This time, it's really as if the two have never known each other.

The boy's sudden choking sound made Imagawa Kaede feel a sharp pain in his heart. In particular, she could hear the boy trying to suppress the choked voice from her. She could barely resist the urge to look back at him again.

Yu Qiuping listened to the footsteps of Kaede Imagawa slowly moving away, raised his head, looked at the ceiling, and tried not to let the tears flow.

The sweetness and warmth, playfulness and cuteness of the past, are gone. Only cold faces remained. Knowing this, it is better to let time stay forever in the autumn of last year, when the maple leaves are red all over the mountain, the day when the two met - at least that day, you can still see the girl's smile.

Yu Qiuping went upstairs step by step, not noticing, the girl's footsteps had already stopped abruptly.

At the corner of the stairs on the second floor, Imagawa Kaede leaned against the wall, silently listening to the heavy footsteps of the young man, and the brisk and joyful footsteps of the past. How she misses that boy who smiled so brightly. It's just that he doesn't understand anything, and until now he still doesn't understand her mind and the meaning of the song.

After Yuqiuping and Sena Shijun had finished dealing with a series of accounts, Yuakihei was ready to take his leave and return to the territory.

"I often need your help these days." Sena said, "It's better to live in the castle tower, and you don't have to go back and forth." ”

Yu Qiuping hesitated for a moment and agreed. "I'll go out for dinner and I'll be back later."

Yu Qiuping had just taken a few steps out of the room when he saw Kaede Imagawa wandering on the third floor through the corridor. Yu Qiuping quietly leaned against the railing, staring at her from a distance, but the latter did not find himself. Yu Qiuping enjoys this kind of time very much, and he can wait for the girl without embarrassment and sadness. Seeing that the girl's face was also full of melancholy, Yu Qiuping's heart suddenly felt some relief for no reason. Perhaps, she also cares about herself.

Suddenly, Kaede Imagawa suddenly felt some throbbing in his heart. She looked up blankly, just as she saw Yu Qiuping staring at herself on the fence. The eyes of the two met, and they looked at each other for a moment, and then they both hurriedly looked away. Both of them felt a pain in their hearts, and they couldn't help but look back again, and looked away again.

Just as Yu Qiuping was embarrassed and about to leave, suddenly, he heard a rush of footsteps from the third floor. He hurriedly looked down at the fact that it was Okabe Masatsuna and several attendants behind him.

There were still a few steps away, and Okabe Masatsuna bowed down and saluted loudly: "I have seen Her Royal Highness the Princess!" ”

"Okabe-sama is gracious." Imagawa Kaede was stunned for a moment, his eyes wandered, and he quickly glanced at Yu Qiuping.

"A few days ago, I gave a birthday gift to Her Royal Highness the Princess, I wonder if Her Highness is satisfied?" Okabe asked, straightening up. Although it is a questioning statement, it is full of showing off.

Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, his heart was sour, and his face was buried in the shadows all of a sudden. I prepared a gift for so long, but I couldn't give it, and I didn't as good as Okabe Masatsuna.

Imagawa Kaede saw Yu Qiuping's loneliness in the afterglow, and his heart was also uncomfortable for a while, but he still had to hold back a smile, and thanked: "The hairpin is very beautiful, thank you, Lord Okabe." With that, she prepared to turn and leave.

"Then why don't you see Her Royal Highness wearing it?" Okabe Masatsuna was entangled, and continued to ask, "The maple leaf on His Highness's head is not as good as a hairpin from above and below." ”

Hearing this, Yu Qiuping looked at Imagawa Kaede. She did have a hairpin on her head, and at the end of the hairpin, she was wearing a paper red leaf folded in rain and autumn. "When did she put it in the hairpin... I've never seen her go through it like this before. ”

Imagawa Kaede's heart ached, and he quietly glanced at Yu Qiuping upstairs. But because of etiquette, he could only say: "The hairpin of the adult is indeed very beautiful." As soon as the words came out, she couldn't stop feeling uncomfortable. This sentence should hurt Yu Qiuping's heart a lot.

Yes, this paper red leaves, how can it be as good as the precious hairpin sent by Okabe Masatsuna. Yu Qiuping looked sad and sighed.

Yu Qiuping, what are you thinking! Yu Qiuping yelled at himself inwardly. Obviously they have already decided to let go, why do you still think about this.

In fact, Okabe Masatsuna, as the second son of the Okabe family, is also of the right age, so he is the most suitable marriage partner for Imagawa Kaede. The Governor's Hall must have thought so.

Yu Qiuping's expression was gloomy again, and he turned around and was about to leave.

Imagawa Kaede saw Yu Qiuping's gloomy expression, and felt that the softest corner of his heart collapsed suddenly. She almost blurted out his name, telling him that the paper red leaves he folded with his own hands were much more beautiful than the hairpins that these rich boys bought with their own money. But he couldn't say it.

In the days that followed, every encounter was a torture of Yu Qiuhei and Kaede Imagawa. Obviously, the two hearts are so close, but they can only be like strangers.

Every night, the girl appears in her dreams, still his sweet lover. The two can snuggle up to each other and talk about love, have snowball fights together, and watch autumn leaves together. So much so that every morning when he woke up, he was in agony and wished he would never wake up.

This situation can be recalled, but it was already clear at the time.