"That's Prince Yoshikonai, commonly known as Yoshiko Akishinomiya." Seeing that Nanami Hashimoto had already discovered Yoshiko, Chiya smiled and patted her on the shoulder: "Okay, let's go down." ”

The attendant who had been waiting for a long time opened the car door, and after Chiya walked down, he stood next to the car door and stretched out his hand to Nanami Hashimoto.

Nana Hashimoto, who was still in a state of shock, was a little ignorant and got out of the car with Qianye's little hand, and Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko, who had been waiting for a long time, saw Qianye get out of the car, so they greeted them together: "Mr. Chiba, welcome to you!" ”

Qianye smiled and said, "It's been a long time, Your Highness Wenren." The last time I saw His Highness, it was still His Highness's coming-of-age style, but I didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, His Highness's children were already adults. After speaking, he glanced at Prince Makonai, who was standing behind Prince Fumihito, and smiled very kindly.

"Mr. Chiba has not set foot in the Imperial Palace for a long time, and it is really an honor for Fumihito to be able to participate in this year's cherry blossom viewing tea party this time. On behalf of the Imperial Family, I would like to welcome Mr. Chiba once again. After speaking, he bowed to Qianye, and Qianye also smiled and returned the salute. Nana Hashimoto, who was following behind Chiya, seemed a little at a loss, and the girl, who had never experienced such a scene, obviously didn't know how to deal with court etiquette. Just when Nana Hashimoto was not worried, a gentle force controlled her body and made her make a salute movement.

Feeling the same feeling as being controlled by Shikigami during the Kagura dance last time, Nanami Hashimoto glanced at Senya in front of him, felt a sense of relief, and put his mind at ease. As long as there is this man in front of you, all problems can be solved, right? Nana Hashimoto couldn't help but think in his heart.

Princess Noriko noticed Nanami Hashimoto behind Senya when Prince Fumihito was talking to Senya, and was a little curious about the little girl who was following Chiya. Although the illusion cast by Senya made Nanami Hashimoto look more mature than her real appearance, Princess Kiko, who already had two daughters and a son, was still a little girl.

Chiya noticed that Princess Noriko was looking at Nanami Hashimoto, so she smiled and introduced, "This is Miss Hashimoto, she is here today as a female companion to enjoy the cherry blossoms with you." ”

Qianye's introduction made Prince Fumihito and Princess Noriko also friendly with Nana Hashimoto to greet him: "Miss Hashimoto, hello." You are welcome to visit the Imperial Palace. ”

Although Nanami Hashimoto was still a little flustered at this time, under the control of that soft force, he still dealt with Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko decently. Yoshiko, who was standing behind Princess Noriko, felt a little familiar when she saw Nanami Hashimoto, and when she heard Qianye's introduction, she immediately recognized Nanami Hashimoto. Yoshiko, whose eyes widened, looked at Nanami Hashimoto, remembering that she had asked her for an autographed CD, and was very curious about the relationship between her and Chiya.

"Mr. Chiba, Miss Hashimoto, please come inside." After the courtesy, Prince Fumihito invited the two to walk into the palace.

Senya and Prince Fumihito walked in front, while Princess Noriko and Nanami Hashimoto walked beside them, and Yoshiko and her sister Prince Makonai followed them with Prince Yuhito, who was only five years old. Under the guidance of the attendants, the group passed through the north and entered the interior of the Changhe Palace.

As the core of the Imperial Palace, the palace is a place where the emperor and the imperial family of Japan perform their daily state affairs, meet with foreign dignitaries, hold ceremonies and carry out various activities, and after the Meiji moved the capital, a large-scale building complex was built here, the exterior inherited the traditional Japanese architectural form, and the interior was decorated in an eclectic style of Japanese and Western, known as the "Meiji Palace", and all of these buildings were burned down during the bombing of Tokyo by the U.S. military in 1945. The current palace was redesigned in 1964 after the war, in a style that combines tradition and modernity. In order to distinguish it from the "Meiji Old Palace", it is also called the "New Palace".

The entire "new palace" is made entirely of Japanese wood, mainly cedar and pine. The concrete frames of the buildings are clad in bronze, and the roofs are made of copper with artificial patina – a sign of age, "when sacred materials do not indicate the antiquity of the building, at least it must indicate the immortality of the building." ”

In Japan, every year on the emperor's birthday, and the second day of the New Year (January 2), the Imperial Palace is open to the general public, and the members of the Japanese imperial family will appear collectively on the balcony of the "Chowaden" to accept the worship of tens of thousands of Japanese people, and the emperor will make a short speech at each pilgrimage event, and the people will shout long live in the square mountain.

There is an east-west "corridor" on the south side of the Changhe Hall, and you can reach the "main hall" of the "palace" along the corridor. The doors on the left and right sides of the "Cloister" are movable, and when you open the door on the south side of the "Cloister", you can enjoy the scenery of the south garden. At this moment, there are already cherry blossoms blooming in the south garden, and under the warm spring light, the brilliant cherry blossoms are like a pink and white cloud, like clouds.

"The Emperor is holding a succession ceremony in the main hall here, right?" Qianye admired the scenery of the South Garden, and suddenly turned back to Prince Fumihito and asked.

Seeing Qianye asking, Prince Fumihito on the side nodded, although he was a little confused, but he quickly replied: "When my father ascended the throne, due to security and other factors, the government changed the ceremony to Tokyo, so the 'Rite of the Purple Palace' was also changed to 'The Ceremony of the Main Hall'. Chiba-san, is there anything wrong? After saying that, he looked at Qianye a little nervously.

As a member of the imperial family, Prince Fumihito is aware of the existence of a thousand nights. This great onmyoji, who was as famous as Abe Harumi in the Heian period, although it is not recorded in any historical books, the imperial family has always been clear about his existence. It is clearly recorded in the secret scrolls of the imperial family that in the Heian period, Senya and Abe Harumi were entrusted by the incarnation of Amaterasu to protect Kyoto and the imperial family, so that the imperial family was able to maintain the inheritance of the imperial family during the period when imperial power was declining.

However, in the Meiji era, because Emperor Meiji believed in Western technology and culture, vigorously reformed, and did not believe in traditional culture such as yinyangjutsu, he not only moved the capital to Tokyo, but also abolished the on-yang way at that time, and later launched a war to invade China, so that Chiya almost no longer sheltered the imperial family. Therefore, when I heard Chiya mention the emperor's succession ceremony, I couldn't help but feel worried.

Qianye shook his head and said with a sigh: "When I moved the Taisha from Kyoto to Edo, I already encountered the decline of Kyoto, but I didn't expect that the years passed, and the 'Rite of the Purple Palace', the last symbol of royal power in Kyoto, was abandoned like this. After saying that, when Chiya saw that Prince Fumihito was a little embarrassed and didn't know how to answer, he said to him with a smile: "Zai Xia is just lamenting the changes in the world, after all, even Zai Xia himself has given up the responsibility of guarding Kyoto, how can he ask others to continue to follow the tradition." ”

Seeing Qianye say this, Prince Fumihito was relieved.

The group walked through the cloister and did not go to the main hall, but entered the south courtyard.

As an imperial garden adjacent to the "palace", the south garden is not only planted with flowers and trees, but also has a waterfall as a decorative landscape, which fully reflects the flavor of the Japanese garden.

At this time, a curtain has been laid under the cherry blossom trees in the south garden, and felt and mats have been laid according to tradition. There is also a low table on the mat, and snacks and drinks are placed on the table.

After Prince Fumihito invited Chiya to sit down, he sat down with his family on the mat that had already been laid out.

After seeing Kako pull the five-year-old Yuhito who wanted to play, Chiya looked at Nanami Hashimoto, who was sitting next to him, who was obviously a little nervous despite the perfect etiquette with the help of spells, and smiled and said to Prince Fumihito: "Your Highness Fumihito, don't pay attention to these false courtesies. Cherry blossom viewing is a relaxing thing, but these false etiquette makes people restrained. If you don't like etiquette, you will be presumptuous. With that, he sat cross-legged on the mat.

Seeing that Qianye was so informal, Prince Fumihito thought for a while, simply waved his hand, and after letting the attendants standing on the side retreat, he also adjusted his sitting posture from the original kneeling to sitting cross-legged, and said with a wry smile to Qianye: "Actually, I'm not used to these classical etiquette, but as a royal family, every word and deed represents the majesty of the royal family, and I really can't relax." ”

"That's why I don't like to come to the Imperial Palace to enjoy cherry blossoms, it's too troublesome." Chiya picked up the plate-like wine cup on the table, and let Nana Hashimoto drink it all in one gulp after filling it for him.

Nana Hashimoto couldn't help but pull Qianye's sleeve with some concern, and whispered to him: "Don't drink so fast, be careful of hurting your body." ”

Chiya glanced at Nanami Hashimoto dotingly, then put down the wine cup in his hand and leaned on the mat. Nanami Hashimoto looked at the thousand nights leaning on the mat in a white hunting suit and the surrounding antique garden, and softly recited the waka: "花の色は、うつりにけりな、いたづらに、わが身世にふる、ながめせしまに." ”

"The waka of Ono Komachi." Chiya glanced at Nanami Hashimoto, smiled and asked, "Nanamin, do you like waka too?" After saying that, after seeing Yoshiko sitting next to Princess Kiko handing over Yuhito to her mother, she looked at her side with some hope, so she waved at Kako and said, "Your Royal Highness Yoshiko, come over if you want to." ”

Yoshiko happily looked back at her parents, and after getting permission, she happily stood up and walked to Senya and Nanami Hashimoto to sit down.

After sitting down, Yoshiko looked at Nanami Hashimoto with some curiosity, wondering why her appearance was different from what she had seen, but her good upbringing made her not take the liberty of asking questions, but saluted the two of them: "Mr. Chiba, Miss Hashimoto." ”

After Qianye bowed his head, he pointed to the wine cup on the low table, signaling that Nana Hashimoto had not poured wine for herself.

Nana Hashimoto glanced at Qianya before picking up the wine pot on the table and filling it for him again. Qianye picked up the wine cup, but did not drink it, but his eyes were confused as if he was remembering something. At this moment, a gust of wind blew, blowing off the cherry blossom petals on the branches and scattering them on the three people sitting under the tree, and a few petals fell into the wine cup.

"Snow ゆきの内うちに春はるは來きにけり" Chiya took a sip of the sake cup and recited the waka song.

"鶯うぐひすの凍こほれる涙なみだ今いまや溶とく覧" Nanami Hashimoto smiled and continued the second half of the sentence.