At the beginning of the afternoon of June 13, Asahina Taehyung and his entourage finally arrived on the outskirts of Okazaki, their destination. There was still some distance from the west gate of Okazaki, and Yu Qiuping saw in the distance that there seemed to be a group of people gathered in front of the castle town. When he got a little closer, Yu Qiuping immediately recognized the Tokugawa three-leaf Aoi family crest that often appeared in later games, and of course it was still Matsudaira Three-leaf Aoi.

"The future shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu!" Yu Qiuping leaned over a little excitedly, his move made Kondo Yasuso miserable, he lost his balance and almost fell off the horse, hurriedly clamped the horse's belly, the horse rushed forward, and he used his speed to stabilize his body.

"Pingjun, what are you messing about, sooner or later you will be killed!" Kondo muttered. Yu Qiuping hurriedly apologized, and the two of them tossed around on the horse for a long time, only to find that the team had come closer.

When I looked closely, I saw that at the entrance of the castle town, dozens of people had already knelt down under the banner of the Matsudaira family, respectfully waiting for the arrival of Asahina Taehiro. The figure at the head was a little thin, wearing a loose samurai uniform, with a samurai bun tied neatly, and all the hair on the forehead and head was shaved. This is the same as Yu Qiuping's ponytail and Asahina Taehyung's nondescript samurai bun. After realizing that the arrivals had already arrived, the thin figure trembled obviously, but the dozens of people still knelt in an orderly manner, without other movements. During the Warring States period in Japan, this etiquette can already be regarded as welcoming the head of the family. Of course, Yu Qiuping didn't understand these etiquette.

He saw so many people kneeling and riding on his horse, a little uncomfortable, so he subconsciously jumped off the horse and began to walk. However, to his embarrassment, none of the other dozens of people in his company dismounted, and they all rode on their horses proudly. However, the group was about to arrive in front of the Matsudaira family, and Yu Qiuping couldn't climb on the horse anymore.

"Humble Matsudaira Motoyasu, greetings to Asahina-sama!" When he felt the sound of horses' hooves passing in front of his forehead, Matsudaira Motoyasu knocked his head three times and shouted respectfully.

"Matsudaira family, greetings to Asahina-sama!" Immediately afterward, dozens of retainers behind him also shouted respectfully.

"Everyone, please." Chao Bina Taehyung cleared his throat and put on a full official stand.

"Thank you, sir!" After another neat sound, Matsudaira Motoyasu stood up, and it was Yu Qiuping who was facing him.

Matsudaira Motoyasu has been kneeling here for an hour.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, a messenger from Yoshida Castle arrived, saying that Asahina Taehyung had arrived at Yoshida Castle. Matsudaira Motoyasu began to prepare for the greeting. As a vassal family that has been completely controlled by the Imagawa family, and it is also a stumbling block to the Imagawa family's complete control of Mikawa, Matsudaira Motoyasu knows very well that he must do everything and not give others a handle in order to keep his hard-won power. If anything goes against the will of the Imagawa family, it will be punished at least and the family will perish. For as long as I can remember, I have lived cautiously and tried to be deferential to everyone. He married the daughter of Imagawa Yoshimoto, a woman much older than himself. More than a decade of humiliation and bullying finally paid off when he was released from house arrest in Sunburg Castle back to Mikawa last year. He was allowed to lead the old Matsudaira clan at Mikawa-Okazaki Castle, but the actual power remained in the hands of the Imagawa family.

In order to retain this hard-won freedom, he can only continue to humble himself. Whenever an important member of the Imagawa family came to Okazaki, he would respectfully lead his retainers to kneel to greet him with a big salute to greet the governor. The previous Okabe Motonobu and Uden Nagasho both enjoyed such treatment. They didn't feel the slightest bit wrong, and let the dust raised by the horse's hooves fall on Matsudaira Motoyasu's face.

Today, although it is only the younger brother of the head of the Asahina family, Matsudaira Motoyasu understands that the Asahina family is the direct line of the Imagawa family, and the younger brother of the head of the family is still incomparable to himself as a puppet vassal. So he still obediently knelt at the castle town.

In order to show deference and let the other party find out that he was kneeling at the first time in the distance, Matsudaira Motoyasu knelt down at the gate of the city early, and it had been a full hour, and he hadn't had time to eat lunch yet. The sun was scorching, wearing a heavy samurai uniform, and Matsudaira Motoyasu, who kept his posture unchanged, was only a sixteen-year-old child after all, and he was already so tired that he was a little dizzy.

So, at the moment of getting up, he suddenly felt a flower in front of him, and he was about to fall to the ground.

A pair of hands held him.

After a moment of trance, Matsudaira Motoyasu immediately realized that this was an extremely faux pas, and he hurriedly gritted his teeth and tried to stand up, his wandering gaze focusing again in front of him.

Dozens of people on horseback, high on their toes.

A young man with a ponytail and oblique bangs on his forehead looked at him levelly, his eyes full of concern and worry. The outstretched hand is still on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Yu Qiuping asked.

He's asking me, is there anything wrong? Is this a concern?

Matsudaira Motoyasu only felt his heart tighten, and tears almost burst out of his eyes. But years of concentration still made him quickly adjust his state, and that humble smile appeared on his face again.

However, the "thank you" was choked up and could not be spoken.

"What's the matter, won't Lord Yuanyasu invite us into the city?" Fujita Nakaharu asked dissatisfiedly.

"How dare you," Matsudaira Motoyasu glanced apologetically at Yu Qiuping, and quickly turned around and bowed to Fujita Nakaharu, "Please enter the city, my humble duty has already held a banquet for you!" ”

When they arrived at the castle tower of Okazaki Castle, the Matsudaira family had already prepared a banquet. The Matsudaira family doesn't have a lot of money right now, but the dishes on each table still make up the best food. For this reason, the Matsudaira family had to cut their diet budget for several days later. Starting with the head of the house, everyone eats only two meals.

At the banquet, Matsudaira Motoyasu politely invited Sekiguchi Shihiro, his de facto father-in-law, to sit as chairman. He also gave up the main seat of the left-hand seat to Chaobina Taehyung and his party, and he and his retainers honestly did the guest seat on the right-hand side.

"I'm afraid this is not appropriate," Sekiguchi said with a false excuse, "Okazaki Castle is the residence of the Matsudaira family, so how do we feel that the dove occupies the magpie's nest?" ”

"What did the adults say," Matsudaira Motoyasu shook his head, "The Imagawa family is as kind to the Matsudaira family as a mountain, and this Okazaki Castle is also a gift from the Imagawa family to the Matsudaira family. We're just guarding Okazaki on behalf of the Imagawa family! ”

"In that case, then I'll be disrespectful," Hiroji Sekiguchi did the chairmanship without saying a word, and Asahina Taehyung also unceremoniously achieved the main position of the left hand. Yu Qiuping quietly glanced at the people of the Mikawa retainers, and the older ones were all indifferent, and they didn't know which of them was the famous Sakai Tadaji. The young retainers behind them all looked solemn, and one of them seemed to have tears in his eyes.

During the whole banquet, except for the speeches at the beginning and the explanation of the reception of the Asahina family's troops, the people of the Imagawa family were basically chattering about their daily routines, while the people of the Matsudaira family were listening to the audience in a regular manner, and Matsudaira Motoyasu carefully accompanied the smiling faces to talk, laughing loudly for every joke that was not funny, and did not eat much during the whole process, listening carefully to their conversation.

After the banquet was dismissed, everyone left, and Matsudaira Motoyasu stayed behind to direct the servants to clean the hall. When Yu Qiuping was about to say goodbye, a retainer of the Matsudaira family came over and stopped him.

"My lord," the retainer's thick Mikawa country accent made Yu Qiuping, who was used to hearing Suruga's Japanese official dialect, almost not understand, "My lord, please." ”

When Yu Qiuping came over, Matsudaira Motoyasu had just arranged the work of the next person, and when he saw Yu Qiuping coming, he hurriedly turned around and bowed, but was stopped by Yu Qiuping reaching out his hand. The retainers around Matsudaira were stunned, and several guards of the Matsudaira family pressed the hilt of their knives as if they were facing a great enemy, and they would react immediately if Yu Qiuping made any move.

"No need to bow, Matsudaira-sama," Yu Qiuping looked at this young man who was about the same age as himself and groveled for an afternoon, and couldn't help but feel a little distressed in his heart, "I'm not an adult, I'm just a person from the Ming Kingdom, and my name is Yu Qiuping." The righteous brother of Prince Asahina. I don't have an official position in the Imagawa family, so it stands to reason that I should bow down to my lordship. ”

"How dare you," Matsudaira Motoyasu glanced at Yu Qiuping unexpectedly, "Since he is the younger brother of Childe, he is also the object of respect for his humble position." He added, "Thank you very much for being at the city gate just now." ”

"Adults, let's eat something," Yu Qiuping sighed, "I see that adults haven't eaten much for dinner, and their faces are not very good, and their stomachs are always unbearable." ”

Matsudaira Motoyasu froze in place.

He reminded me to have dinner.

Is he concerned about himself?

Care. It's, what a strange feeling.

For as long as he can remember, he was a man who was destined not to be cared for.

In front of outsiders, he must be the puppet who grovels and is grateful to the Imagawa family. Naturally, the people of the Imagawa family did not care about him, but despised him arrogantly.

In front of the retainers, he must be the lord who endures humiliation and burden, no matter at any time, he must not show his discouragement, and he will always be the backbone of this retainer group who has gone through ups and downs. Therefore, no one will care about him either.

My father was unfortunately killed a long time ago, and my mother has remarried and has not been seen for more than ten years.

has been more than ten years, and he has borne all the hardships and tiredness by himself.

Today, is there finally someone who cares about him?

He lowered his head, tears rolling in his eyes. But he can't cry, he can't cry in front of his retainers.

So, a thousand words were only turned into two words.

"Thank you."

Yu Qiuping didn't know how much influence his concern had on Matsudaira Motoyasu.

He just smiled and nodded, wanting to encourage this hard-won teenager who had gone through ups and downs: "Work hard, you will definitely be able to." ”