In the early morning of October 7, Yu Qiuping woke up in a daze, and felt that his head hurt to burst, but he felt a warmth between his eyebrows and temples. He struggled to open his eyes, narrowing into a slit, his gaze gradually focusing. Kaede Imagawa had finished dressing, her waist-length hair was tied up in the shape of a woman, and the flush from last night's passion had not yet faded from her cheeks. She didn't realize that Yu Qiuping had woken up, but took care of herself washing towels in the basin with hot water, and after folding them neatly, she gently applied them to Yu Qiuping's forehead. Then he massaged between his eyebrows and temples - the kind that seemed to be a sobering massage, which was what several maids had pressed the last time Yukihei saw Asahina Taehyung drunk.

Yu Qiuping's heart warmed, and Imagawa Kaede unexpectedly pressed it very comfortably, and the soft fingers made Yu Qiuping throb for a while. He smiled slightly, opened his eyes, and took Kaede Imagawa's hand. She was startled and quickly tried to pull her hand away, but failed. She was stunned for a moment, leaned over and smiled, and the red leaf pendant around her neck hung down.

When Yu Qiuping saw the pendant, he was suddenly touched.

Yes, last night's lingering compassion and affection are just like cherry blossoms, fleeting happiness. Next, what punishment they will encounter, Yu Qiuping does not dare to think about it, and it is difficult to imagine.

But he has to think, he has to take responsibility. This is what a man should do for his woman.

He endured the intense pain and struggled to straighten up.

"Does your head still hurt?" Imagawa Kaede asked with some distress, "I really don't know, how can Ping be so able to drink... Dozens of bottles of spirits. ”

The sentence "It's okay" on Yu Qiuping's lips almost blurted out. But he was stunned for a moment, looking at the girl's reddish eyes and worried tone, remembering what the girl said last night, unwilling to let him suffer alone, unwilling to be isolated.

"It hurts." Yu Qiuping said honestly. He found that a shallow smile suddenly appeared on Imagawa Kaede's face, and the two small dimples were particularly cute. What she wants is for him to open up with her, so that she can also share the pain for herself.

"Don't drink like this in the future." Imagawa Kaede shook his head, "Ping said yourself, drinking alcohol is not good for your health." ”

"Didn't Feng'er say it was a fallacy?" Yu Qiuping said with a smile.

"It was a fallacy then, but not now." Imagawa Kaede pouted like a temper, "Anyway, if you dare to get drunk in the future, I won't let you go easily!" ”

"Good, good." Yu Qiuping smiled bitterly, "Later, I'm going to ask to see the Governor's Palace." ”

Kaede Imagawa also tightened, and the two glanced at each other.

The two of them have already committed a heinous crime.

The middle of the family will have an affair with a princess who is engaged... This is probably a sin for Yu Qiuping to rob his family and exterminate his family.

"Do you regret it?" Imagawa Kaede hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice with some grievances.

"Never." Yu Qiuping looked at Imagawa Kaede's pitiful appearance, hugged her into his arms, and gently scraped her little nose.

"Ling Zun taught me that I must make a choice without regrets in this life." Yu Qiuping said softly: "And being able to talk to my Feng'er about everything last night, see each other honestly, and get back together is the most regrettable decision I have made in my life." ”

Yuqiu got up slowly and opened the window. The snow had stopped, and the cold wind was blowing into the house with the paper leaves on the ground.

"I want to marry you, I want to be with you." Yu Qiuping said with a smile: "Even if it's only one night, there are no regrets in this life." ”

Imagawa Kaede was stunned for a moment and smiled, but tears flowed out. "I'll go with you."

"Feng'er? You—" Yu Qiuping asked in surprise.

"Ping, you've always done what you say, haven't you?" Kaede Imagawa took a few steps forward and stood side by side with Yu Qiupei by the window, facing the cold wind outside the window. "We have to face all difficulties together and be each other's autumn leaves, instead of bearing all the pain alone for the other party, you promised me."

"Hmm." Yu Qiuping nodded.

"If the family is strict and wants to deal with Ping, Feng'er will never be alone." This 17-year-old girl made a promise very firmly, "When I get to the bank of the Santu River, I want you to help me origami red leaves." ”

"Nope." Yu Qiuping suddenly refused, he turned around, put his hands on Imagawa Kaede's shoulders, stared at her, and said solemnly: "I want you to make an agreement with me, just in this maple leaf forest, swear to the red leaves." ”

"Whichever side of us has suffered misfortune. The other party must live firmly, and there must be no martyrdom. Yu Qiuping looked directly into Imagawa Kaede's eyes, "Because as long as you live, you can still remember the appearance of the other party, remember every bit of the past, and remember how beautiful this world used to be." ”

"To see the world for another person that he has not been able to see, to experience the life that he has not been able to experience, and to fulfill the ideals that he has not been able to accomplish."

In the early morning of October 7th, the northern gate of Sunpu Castle had just opened, and Kaede Imagawa and Yu Qiuhei walked into the gate side by side. The guards were completely stunned for a moment, not knowing what was happening.

"Last night the princess ran out... Are you going to meet Momiji-sama? ”

"I don't know, but isn't Her Royal Highness the Princess getting married? Why do you seem so close to Momiji-sama? ”

"Last night, we went to report to His Royal Highness the Governor, but we didn't get any reply, and we don't know what the situation is?"

A few doormen talked to me word by word, but they couldn't discuss the reason.

Early in the morning, there were not many pedestrians in the city. Yuakihei and Kaede Imagawa walked quickly to the outside of the castle tower and reported to the guards that they would meet Imagawa Yoshimoto.

"His Royal Highness the Governor said that if Lord Yuqiu and Her Royal Highness the Princess ask to see each other in the morning, you can go in directly." The guard bowed, "Please." ”

Yu Qiuping and Imagawa Kaede were stunned for a moment, not understanding the meaning of this order, but they still walked upstairs quickly. For some reason, the hallway inside the castle tower was empty. The two of them came to the outside of Imagawa Yoshimoto's office without hindrance.

Yu Qiuping and Imagawa Kaede glanced at each other, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door together.

"Yuqiu, Kaede, come in." Imagawa Yoshimoto's voice was heard from inside the house.

Yuakihei and Kaede Imagawa opened the door and walked inside. Yoshimoto Imagawa's desk uncharacteristically did not spread out the usual landscape paintings of flowers and birds, but instead was a brown scroll.

Yuqiuhei and Imagawa Kaede sighed and bowed down together. Yu Qiuping swallowed his saliva, made a lot of determination, and kowtowed heavily and said, "I deserve death for my crime!" Please punish the Governor's Palace! No matter what the punishment, take it orally! ”

"Oh?" A cynical smile suddenly hung on Imagawa Yoshimoto's face, which made Yu Qiuping even more creepy. "I don't know if Yuqiu knows what his crime is?"

Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, and he could feel that Imagawa Kaede beside him was also trembling slightly. Yu Qiuping was a little unspeakable for a while.

"I don't know, then I'll tell you." Imagawa Yoshimoto snorted and prepared to speak.

The hearts of Yuakihei and Kaede Imagawa beat so fast that they could feel a tingling pain in their eardrums. Breathing becomes rapid and disorganized, as if you don't breathe deliberately, you won't breathe. Yu Qiuping gulped fresh air into his lungs, hoping to relieve the tension, but in vain.

Imagawa Yoshimoto's voice rang out. Yu Qiuping seems to be able to feel the knife falling from his neck, and the fear of the head falling to the ground.

"Having a private meeting with a fiancée is inconsistent with etiquette."

"Huh?" Yuakihei and Imagawa Kaede looked up in unison and looked at the playful smile on Imagawa Yoshimoto's face in disbelief. The two looked at each other in surprise again, and saw surprise, ecstasy, and disbelief in each other's eyes at the same time. They all wondered if they had heard it wrong, but they didn't dare to ask, for fear that they would get a reply like "You heard it wrong."

"You two heard it right," Imagawa Yoshimoto laughed out loud when he saw the cramped appearance of his favorite offspring and his favorite daughter, "It is not in line with etiquette to meet his fiancée in private." ”

"Daddy! But! Imagawa Kaede opened his mouth in surprise and wanted to ask, but was interrupted by Imagawa Yoshimoto waving his hand.

"I just told you that you were going to get married, but did I tell you who I wanted to marry?" Imagawa Yoshimoto asked rhetorically, "Who the hell is it, who is coming to me to make a fuss if you don't know what's going on?" ”

"But!" Imagawa Kaede's face turned red, "Daddy, after you asked Okabe to come to your room, Okabe went back to Okabe Castle and never came back." ”

"That's because I told him that the person Kaede is going to marry is not you, and I'm afraid that you will be sad, so I'd better stay at Okabe Castle." Yoshimoto Imagawa laughed.

"What?" Kaede Imagawa and Yu Qiuhei were both taken aback, "Then why... Everyone else thinks it's... What about Kimi Okabe? ”

"What do they think, what's the matter with me?" Imagawa Yoshimoto's face showed that cynical signature smile, "No one would have thought that you Yuqiu would be able to change from a small businessman who reckoned accounts to a member of the Imagawa family in just two years." ”

"It's actually a joke." Imagawa Yoshimoto laughed, "Do you two really think that paper wrapping can hold the fire?" Or do you think that I, Imagawa Yoshimoto, will let my daughter play in the mountains without sending someone to protect her? ”

"The first time you met, my ninja told me. I had the intention of promoting Yuqiu at the time, so I didn't stop it, but I didn't think you could make any progress with Feng. I didn't expect you to actually snatch my cherished treasure. Imagawa Yoshimoto frowned, "Moreover, my ninja also saw Goro's ninjas spying on you. I guess you had a cold war for a while, and it was because Gorou got in the way, that self-righteous kid. ”

Imagawa Yoshimoto stared at the stunned Yu Qiuping, got up and walked over the table in front of him, and patted him lightly on the shoulder, "I owe Kaede a lot, so I hope that she will not repeat the mistakes of the past, and I hope that she can marry a man who not only truly loves her, but also treats her well." Instead of becoming a victim of a political marriage like a samurai woman. ”

"So I deliberately did not disturb your association, nor did I tell you about your marriage. Use this discordant etiquette and deviant method to see where your relationship has come. Imagawa Yoshimoto chuckled, "I'm satisfied with the result." You, this kid, will hang the mountains full of red leaves for her and carry out such a dangerous mission, and she will also break through the city gate in order to see you. ”

"So... What did you two do last night? My ninja was too embarrassed to approach and stayed far away from the house, so I didn't know what was going on. Imagawa Yoshimoto raised his eyebrows with a wicked smile, watching Yu Qiuhei and Imagawa Kaede's faces turn red quickly, and laughed.

"Don't make trouble, I apologize to you, I shouldn't hide it from you." Imagawa Yoshimoto said: "So, Yuqiu, what are you going to hire?" ”

Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, he didn't know what to do in this era, if he wanted to marry the daughter of a daimyo.

"The paper red leaves that he hung for me are the dowry." Imagawa Kaede saw Yu Qiuping's hesitation and said something to relieve the siege.

"Then, you gave him a shawl back, even if you were privately engaged, and you didn't say a word to my father at all." Imagawa Yoshimoto teased again, turned around and walked to his desk, and said, "Since you have been hired in advance, I will also give you a part of my daughter's dowry in advance." ”

"The main hall doesn't have to be like this..."Yu Qiuping blushed and hurriedly kowtowed, but Imagawa Yoshimoto shook his head unrelentingly.

"This Chidori is the dowry that was brought to you in advance." Imagawa Yoshimoto picked up a brand-new katana from under the table. The scabbard is blue-blue, carved with a beautiful bird pattern, and the handle is jet black. Imagawa Yoshimoto pulled the knife out of the scabbard by an inch slightly, and the moment the blade came out of the sheath, it suddenly made a sharp sound many times louder than when an ordinary katana was unsheathed, like a birdsong. Because of its sharpness, the blade reflects Yu Qiuping's face. The blade is not a normal transparent color, but has a subtle blue-blue color. If you sniff closely, you can also smell a faint, familiar smell of incense - it is the smell of the Chidori incense burner!

Yu Qiuping was taken aback, and quickly swiped it on the table, the Chidori incense burner that Imagawa Yoshimoto's favorite was gone. "The main hall has melted the thousand bird incense burner and forged this thousand birds!"

"That's right." Imagawa Yoshimoto held the junction of the scabbard and the handle with one hand and stretched out the knife in front of Yu Qiuping. Yu Qiuping stretched out his hands in a daze, took the thousand birds, and asked in disbelief: "But that's not the Imagawa family... Heirloom? ”

Isn't that his favorite incense burner in the main hall? Isn't it the incense burner that has always been inseparable from him and placed on the table?

"Do you think it was given to Yuqiu for nothing?" Imagawa Yoshimoto stroked his palms and laughed, "Guess wrong. ”

"I gave you Chidori to swear that you will dedicate all your loyalty and talents to the Imagawa family in this life and this life." Imagawa Yoshimoto stared into Yu Qiuping's eyes, "I just made a choice. Why is it so difficult to choose between this heirloom and an unborn talent? Even if I had to use all the scroll treasures from all the top and bottom of the Quanjun Mansion to make a choice with you, I'm still—"

Imagawa Yoshimoto shook his hand and snapped his fingers crisply, pointing his index finger directly at Yu Qiuping's eyebrows.

"It's you!"

"The main hall..."Yu Qiuping choked up suddenly, and hugged the thousand birds tightly.

This kindness... From the time when I was still a small account, I was optimistic about myself and promoted myself; Give yourself the opportunity to show your abilities, affirm your talents and pursuits, and teach like a teacher; Understand your own ideals and recognize your own value; Melt down your beloved heirloom and forge your own katana; Married the most beautiful girl in the world to himself...

Death for a confidant.

He kowtowed three times on the tatami mat, and promised from the bottom of his heart: "In this life and this life, Yu Qiuping will never forget the main hall Longen!" Life should be the head, death should be the grass, in order to repay Imagawa! ”

"And my punishment for your private fiancée this time is - the dowry should be given more, and those are not enough." Imagawa Yoshimoto said with a smile.

"I wonder what kind of dowry the hall wants to give?" Yu Qiuping asked, "What can be worthy of Princess Feng must be a priceless treasure, and I am afraid it will be difficult to give it in the future." ”

"No, you did." Imagawa Yoshimoto said with a smile, picked up the scroll on the table with his backhand, and with a shake of his hand, the scroll unfolded in Yuqiuping from top to bottom - it was a map of the sixty-six countries under heaven!

"I want you to take this world—take it down to me!"