Long Shaocong and Gen Saburo hid behind the paper door and secretly eavesdropped on the conversation outside.

At this time, Genzaburo's mother, Emi Hijikata, was kneeling in the corridor outside the house, next to her daughter Hideko, and behind the two stood Meko.

In the courtyard, there is a person standing in front of it, it is Niwa Nagahide, the lord of Sawa Mountain Castle, he has received a rumor yesterday, knowing that Mrs. Hijikata has something to discuss with him, so after presiding over the artifact jade unicorn invitation, after the enthronement ceremony, he rushed to the west hall non-stop.

Speaking of this Niwa Nagahide, he is one of the four elders of the Oda family, and the other three are Shibata Katsuie, Hashiba Hideyoshi and Sakuma Nobumori.

Since the Battle of Inayu, he has served the Oda family for 24 years, and it can be said that he has personally experienced Oda Nobunaga's road to hegemony, and has made great contributions in the battle against Mino Inabayama Castle and the direct capture of the Rokkaku clan's Kannonji Temple Castle. At the same time, he married Oda Nobunaga's adopted daughter, and was highly favored, and his status in the Oda family was unmatched.

Because of the difference between men and women, Mrs. Hijikata is pious to the Buddha on weekdays, so she rarely comes forward to take charge, but this time it was her youngest son who begged hard, and her daughter also followed to help, Emi Hijikata was really reluctant, so she agreed to help open this mouth, but in order to avoid suspicion, she had to wronged Niwa Nagahide, and on a cold day, she had to kneel in the courtyard and talk to the autumn wind.

"Niwa-sama, this time I came to Azuchi Castle, and the political affairs can be handled smoothly?"

"If Mrs. Hui is concerned, it will be all the best for the lord Hongfu." After Niwa Nagahide finished speaking, he bowed slightly.

Since entering this courtyard, Niwa Nagahide has lowered his eyebrows from beginning to end, never glanced up arbitrarily, and always spoke politely, but his gestures were extraordinary, and he had the style of a Confucian general. Emi Hijikata felt that the general was sitting there, without a trace of battlefield killing, and couldn't help but be secretly frightened, and she was also happy that her husband had this good talent.

"Those important military affairs have always been your men's worries, and as our women's families, we can't intervene." Emi Hijikata changed the conversation and said, "I invite you to come over this time, because I want to ask your opinion on a private matter. ”

"Ma'am, but it doesn't hurt to speak."

"I heard, you passed away a daughter a few days ago?"

Suddenly hearing Mrs. Hijikata mention this, Niwa Nagahide couldn't help but feel a pain in his heart, and sighed: "This woman is twelve years old, her name is Taketsuru, she was originally smart and clever, Xiuhui was well-behaved, and she was even loved by the old man and Uchiko, but when she got up one morning, she suddenly became stupid, she couldn't speak, and she couldn't eat all her ......" Speaking of this, Niwa Nagahide was sad again, and secretly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his clothes.

As a famous general, he cried for a little girl, which is rare in a male-dominated society, and Emi Hijikata saw it in her eyes, and her good impression of Niwa Nagahide added another layer, and she said emotionally: "Alas, it's really a blessing and a curse, but it's a stupid disease, and it shouldn't cause death." ”

"Alas, the lady didn't know, the little girl got this disease, and invited many doctors, but they were helpless, guessing that it was caused by a stroke, and after taking a few medicines, it did not get better. In the end, there was no way out, so I had to let my family take care of me left and right, but I didn't pay attention and fell into the well and drowned. After saying that, he sighed there, and couldn't suppress his sadness.

Emi Hijikata looked at it and hurriedly said: "You see, I am really ignorant as a woman, and a few words have aroused the sadness of adults, it is really a sin, a sin ......" After speaking, he put his hands together and prayed to the Buddha a few words.

"It's not in the way, the old man is also old, so he is useless, and I would like to thank Mrs. for her concern."

"Originally, I invited my lord here today to have a happy event to say, but our family was clumsy and said something that made me very sad." After speaking, Mrs. Hijikata waved back and asked Meizi to kneel beside her, "I have a daughter by my side, smart and well-behaved, and her appearance is reasonable. ”

Before Niwa Nagahide could speak, Mrs. Hijikata said again, "Meizi, come over quickly and let the adults take a look." ”

Meizi responded, got up and moved the lotus step lightly, Tingting walked in front of Niwa Changxiu, knelt down and saluted: "The little girl greets the adult." ”

The two people hiding behind the paper door couldn't help but be stunned when they saw the soft and beautiful shadow of Meizi, and Genzaburo swallowed a few saliva in hatred.

Niwa Nagahide raised his eyes to see Meizi's appearance, and was secretly shocked in his heart, and found that he was similar to his little girl in an eight-point shape, although he was a few years older in age, but his petite and beautiful face was very cute.

Mrs. Hijikata said again: "I don't dare to hide it from my lord, this woman is from the countryside, and she is currently working as a personal maid beside the little girl Xiuzi, although the time is not long, but our family sees her doing things quickly, speaking well-behaved, and she is very popular." The Lord worked day and night for the Oda family, and the credit was very great, and there was nothing that our family could help in the affairs of the country, but in trivial matters, His Royal Highness Nobunaga cared about the courtiers, so he planned to give this woman to the Lord, hoping to comfort the pain of the loss of his daughter. ”

Niwa Nagahide sat there on his knees, listening carefully to Mrs. Hijikata's words, but he couldn't guess the true intention of this move, but he believed that such a stirring up of teachers was not just to comfort his own pain of losing his daughter.

For the Lady of the Hijikata in front of him, Niwa Nagahide also knows something, although it is not the main room, but he has four sons for Oda Nobunaga, four daughters, the third princess Hideko and the fifth son Genzaburo, all of whom are deeply loved by Nobunaga, especially this Genzaburo, who will be in Yuan in a few days.

Thinking of this, Niwa Nagahide suddenly felt a pang in his heart, guessing whether Mrs. Hijikata's move would be related to her son's Yuanfu, and kept guessing along this line of thought, and then comparing the age between Genzaburo and Meiko, Niwa Nagahide smiled slightly, and he already knew it.

His smile was unusually slight and vague, so that the lady on the opposite side did not notice it at all. Immediately afterwards, Niwa Nagahide thought that this Mrs. Hijikata's father, Yuhisa Hijikata, was also a member of the Oda family, and he had made great contributions in the battle to pacify Iga Province.

Furthermore, if you can really become a family with Oda Nobunaga in the future, then you will have a more stable backer in your future career......

In a short period of time, Niwa Nagahide guessed the ins and outs of this matter, and thought about it quite thoroughly, it can be said that he is quite alert and smart, and because of this, Nobunaga's evaluation of him is much higher than that of Shibata Katsuya, who only has the courage of a horseman.

Mrs. Hijikata saw that Niwa Nagahide was silent, and secretly thought that this matter might be that I was too abrupt, and Niwa-sama was a little unable to get off the stage, so she said: "Niwa-sama doesn't have to be too embarrassed, we are women's families, and it is inevitable that there is something wrong with considering the problem. After speaking, the pink sleeves covered his cheeks, pursed his lips and laughed.

Niwa Nagahide hurriedly bowed down and said, "Madame said that she laughed, the humble position is just considering that she has not yet informed the Meizi girl's family, which is a bit abrupt. ”

When Mrs. Hijikata heard this, she immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry, my lord, this woman only has one grandfather, and she is currently working as a medical officer in Azuchi City, and our family has already asked in advance on behalf of your lord." ”

"In this way, I thank Madame for her kindness." After that, he bowed deeply.

As soon as Mrs. Hijikata saw that the matter was completed, she immediately said to Meizi: "Silly girl, why are you still stunned there, come and see my father." ”

When Meizi heard this, she said loudly: "Father, please accept the little girl's worship." After speaking, he kowtowed three times to Niwa Nagahide.

Niwa Nagahide immediately stretched out his hand to help him up, looking at his beautiful daughter, his heart was overjoyed, his eyes were full of love, and he took off a jade pendant on his body and gave it to Meizi as a meeting gift.

Immediately afterward, he asked Mrs. Hijikata to give Meizi a name. Mrs. Hijikata thought for a moment and said, "Just take one of the 'bamboo' characters in your deceased daughter's name to show her nostalgia. ”

When Niwa Nagahide heard this, she was charming and beautiful and very suitable for her daughter's appearance, and she was like a bamboo, and she was very similar to the character of this woman, and she felt that Mrs. Hijikata was very good at naming names, so she nodded and thanked her.

Seeing that this matter was done, Yuan Saburo inside almost jumped up, but fortunately, Long Shaocong reacted in time and held him down, otherwise he would have to be exposed.

Long Shaocong looked at his beautiful expression, and said secretly in his heart, look at your little talent, but after thinking about it carefully, in fact, he is not much better than him......

At this time, Niwa Nagahide outside was already preparing to leave, but he heard Oda Hideko say: "Uncle Niwa, I have something to ask for, and Uncle Fulao will definitely agree." ”

Niwa Nagahide turned his body around again, bowed down and saluted, "May I ask Princess Hideko what she commands." ”

Oda Hideko chuckled: "Uncle Niwa is so polite, Hideko doesn't dare to be, I have a deep sisterhood with Meiko, I ask my uncle to give me a two-day grace, let our sisters catch up with the old days, and then take her back to Sawa Zhuangcheng, okay?" ”

When Mrs. Hijikata heard this, she glared at her daughter, and complained in her heart, since she is the adopted daughter of Niwa-sama, Meizi naturally wants to follow her father, how can she still stay by your side.

But when Niwa Nagahide heard this, he strengthened his previous judgment, thinking that I might as well do this favor to the end today, so he said: "What did the princess say? The princess and the little girl have a deep relationship, and it is too late for the lowly to be happy, and there is no need to set a time, so let Meizi accompany the princess, and when she is free another day, the lowly will bring the lowly to visit again, so that she is also happy. ”

After saying that, Niwa Nagahide gave another salute to Mrs. Hijikata, saying that there was still something important, and turned to leave.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

On the outskirts of the castle town, under a thick hanging pine, two people wearing Taoist robes sit opposite each other, and delicate tea sets are placed on the bamboo mats, and the fragrance of tea is curling and refreshing.

"Akiyama Divine Lord, this time to revitalize the dragon vein of Lake Biwa, the divine lord has made great contributions." The speaker was Kenkazu Yoshida, who was sitting on the left, and opposite him was Hiroki Akiyama, the deor of Mt. Fuji Asama Shrine.

According to Shinto canon, Akiyama Hiroki, who was supposed to be in Kyoto as the head of the first generation, moved to the main god of Mt. Fuji despite the opposition of his disciples in order to survive the last 12 years. And Yoshida Kenkazu was a fisherman, freed from the hardships of hiding in the mountains and forests, and could sit firmly at the Kyoto Shrine and enjoy the blessings, but he was still not satisfied and always coveted the position of the head of the sect.

"My generation of Taoists does not compete with the world for profit, this great word, Taoist friends are wrong." When Akiyama Hongyi heard this, his face was calm, and he was not moved by this flattery.

"What the bishop of God teaches is that humility knows wrongness." After speaking, he picked up the teacup in front of him, raised his hands in front of him reverently, turned around three times to appreciate the delicate cup pattern, and then took a sip gently, and said unfinished: "The astringency of tea, the slight Zen nature, is really the way of cultivation, first bitter and then pure heart and quiet desire." After speaking, he handed the teacup to the other party.

Akiyama Hongyi took it, and also repeated Yoshida's modest action just now, and took a bite lightly, but he still frowned, as if he was preoccupied.

Yoshida Kenkazu didn't care about the expression of the head of the sect at this time, but continued: "In a few days, it will be the day of His Royal Highness Nobunaga's fifth prince Yuanfu, and Nobunaga Gong also intends to invite him, why don't the gods stay for a few more days?" ”

Akiyama Hongyi didn't answer his words, but said thoughtfully: "Two days ago, you and I visited a number of daughters with dementia, which is really incredible. When it comes to different diseases, you and I can't see any clues in the Dao Sect, it's really ......"

"There is no need to filter more, I guess this matter is likely to be related to a plague, and the government will come forward to organize medical officials and doctors to rectify and prevent it, and there should be no major problems."

When Akiyama Hiroki heard this, he didn't agree in his heart, if the plague should be a mass infection, how could only unmarried young women get sick?

Young Girl, Young Girl......

Thinking of this, Akiyama Hongyi seemed to have grasped something, two months ago, Middle-earth Taoist Ichikiko was entrusted by his junior brother and made a special trip to visit him, talking about the birth of the wine demon and the cruelty of sucking the heart of a virgin.

And the women here are all stupid and stupid, very much like the brain spinal cord has been sucked away, but there are no external injuries, otherwise......

Wrong! Akiyama Hongyi finally figured out a little, he had seen every woman's Tianling Gai, there was a small dark red mark, which did not attract his attention at first, but now that he thinks about it, the crux should be here, thinking of this, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, feeling that this demon is extremely cunning, using such a concealed method to hide people's eyes and ears.

Moreover, he had agreed with Xiaoyaozi before to meet in Azuchi, but seeing that the agreed date had passed earlier, he was nowhere to be seen, so there must have been some accident in the middle, and there was more than luck......

Yoshida Kenkazu couldn't help but see the change in his expression, his face was full of sadness for a while, and his sword eyebrows were raised for a while, and he couldn't help shouting: "God Lord, God Lord ......"

But Akiyama Hiroki acted as if he hadn't heard it, and hurriedly turned around and walked in the direction of Azuchi Castle......

Yoshida Kenkazu looked at the reaction of the master, thinking about why he should go east to Mt. Fuji when he returned to Azuchijo, and couldn't help but frown, and there was a trace of worry in his eyes......