The luxuriously decorated and quaint banquet hall of the Akagi family house is divided into an outer courtyard and an inner room.

In the room, Shirakawa is accompanying Chihiro Akagi's sixth grandfather, the patriarch of the Akagi family, Akagi Kazuhiro to appreciate treasures.

Chihiro Akagi and her mother, Aoiko Akagi, and five other elderly female clan elders are also among them.

What they show in front of them is a crystal clear jade Buddha head, the Buddha head is carved lifelike, with a shallow smile on the face, full of charm, the production process is very exquisite, quite the legacy of the Buddha statue of the Tang Dynasty.

Unfortunately, Shirakawa said that it was a fake and pointed out several flaws.

Kazuhiro Akagi was deeply convinced by Shirakawa's words, believing that Shirakawa had unique eyesight and was indeed a master of treasure appreciation.

Just as Kazuhiro Akagi was about to smash the fake and destroy it, Shirakawa proposed to collect it as an ornament.

Kazuhiro Akagi said generously, "Of course, if Takahashi-kun likes it, I'll give it to you." ”

The servant packed the Buddha's head and placed it, intending to give it to Shirakawa when he left the table.

"Thank you."

Shirakawa looked at Kazuhiro Akagi gratefully, and planned to mail the national treasure to the Hwakoku Museum when he returned.

Sure enough, after people have achieved a little something, they will naturally want to do a little public welfare.

Shirakawa thought to himself.

The last broken sword was identified as a samurai belonging to a certain samurai in the island country, because it was broken, and the samurai was not well-known enough, so the collection value was not obvious.

"Takahashi-kun, do you want to join the Treasure Appreciation Club?"

Kazuhiro Akagi invited.

"Okay."

Shirakawa is as good as a stream, and he feels that there is nothing more to his identity.

Akagi Kazuhiro smiled and pulled Shirakawa to his seat and asked his tea slave to make tea for Shirakawa himself, "Haha, me and Takahashi-kun really hit it off at first sight, Chihiro, your fiancé is good." ”

Chihiro Akagi smiled slightly, "What Takahashi-kun is best at is not actually treasure identification, but solving cases. ”

"Solve the case?"

The white-haired Akagi looked at Shirakawa with crooked eyebrows, "I didn't think that Takahashi-kun was still a detective." ”

Akagi Aoiko and several others also looked at Shirakawa curiously.

Bai Chuan waved his hand and said modestly, "Detective can't talk about it, it's just that he can solve ordinary cases." ”

Akagi took out a jade bracelet from his hand, "There is a total of a pair of jade bracelets, one I have always carried, and the other is my sister Luansheng, but unfortunately she died early, and my mother handed over her jade bracelet to me for safekeeping, I have been putting it on the bedside table, but half a year ago, I suddenly couldn't find it, asked all the servants, they all said that they had not taken it, can Takahashi-kun help me find it?" ”

"Okay, I'll give it a try, but there's no guarantee I'll get it back."

Shirakawa looked at Akagi and then at the jade bracelet.

"Third grandmother, Takahashi-kun is good at criminal cases, don't embarrass him for things like finding things."

Chihiro Akagi said lightly.

Shirakawa smiled, this was the first time he had heard Chihiro Akagi speak for himself.

"It's okay, it's simple."

From the moment she entered the inner room, Shirakawa had observed all the clan elders here, this Akagi Yai had always maintained a kind smile, and was the best person to get along with, and when she looked at Shirakawa's treasures, she would even show a child's surprised expression, which was in stark contrast to the other four old men who were moody.

Even without identification, Shirakawa could see that she was different from the others.

"Grandma Akagi, do you have a granddaughter named Masako Akagi?"

"yes."

Akagi said.

"She should have come to the banquet too, right?"

"Here we are."

Akagi replied.

"That trouble brought her in."

Shirakawa said.

Chihiro Akagi turned around and looked at the servant, who exited the inner room, came to the outer courtyard, and invited Masako Akagi in.

Everyone was amazed at what Shirakawa was going to do.

Masako Akagi is a 12-year-old girl who looks cute in a pink kimono with a face that has not yet lost her baby fat, and she first salutes Chihiro Akagi and then to the clan elders.

"Hello master."

"The eldest grandmother, the second grandmother, the third grandmother, the fourth grandmother, the fifth grandmother, and the sixth grandfather are good."

"Good boy, come here."

Akagi waved at Masako Akagi and called her over.

She tilted her head and looked at Shirakawa curiously.

She was young, and when she attended the family banquet, she also sat at the last seat, and she couldn't observe Bai Chuan up close, but could only look at him from a distance.

"Takahashi-kun, it's the first time we meet, please take care of me."

Masako Akagi said politely.

Shirakawa smiled and said, "Miss Masako, please take care of you when you meet for the first time." ”

"Takahashi-kun, can you say why you are calling Masako now?"

Akagi asked.

Kazuhiro Akagi drank his tea and guessed, "It can't be Masako who took the bracelet, right?" ”

"No, it's a senior who gave the bracelet to Masako half a year ago."

Bai Chuan said lightly.

"Is that so?"

The eldest Akagi Akiun asked, and Akagi Kazuhiro shook his head, "I don't remember. ”

Masako Akagi was stunned, as if she realized something, she rolled up her sleeves, revealing the jade bracelet,

"Third grandma, this is indeed a gift from you, are you looking for it? If you want to take it back, I'll give it back to you right away. ”

"Good boy, since I gave it to you, it's good for you to wear it."

Akagi said with a smile, "My memory is really bad. ”

"Have you been forgetting something lately?"

Shirakawa asked.

Akagi Yayi bowed slightly, "Yes, I can't remember things lately, probably because I'm old, but I remember things very clearly when I was young." ”

"You should take the time to go to the hospital."

Shirakawa guessed that Akagi should have suffered from Alzheimer's disease, so she forgot about giving away the jade bracelet.

"The doctor will come to check on me regularly, I have been taking medicine lately, but it can only delay the condition, sorry, I hid it from everyone, I was actually diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease a year ago."

Akagi said.

The clan elders looked at each other, and they couldn't imagine that Akagi Yayi, one of the six elders of the family, was suffering from Alzheimer's.

"Grandma, you should tell me."

Chihiro Akagi has too many things to deal with on weekdays, and she doesn't often live with Akagi Yui, so she doesn't know.

The other clan elders also ignored the issue.

"yes, Yiyi, you should have told us."

"Sister, it's okay, we will accompany you through the last days of your life."

They comforted Akagi one after another, and the atmosphere became sad.

Especially the young Masako Akagi, thinking that her grandmother was terminally ill, immediately began to cry.

"Woo woo, woo woo, three grandma, three grandma don't leave us."

"Masako, grandma won't die yet, but she may gradually forget everyone, don't cry."

Akagi comforted gently.

"Where's the restroom?"

Shirakawa asked the servant, who got up and took Shirakawa to the bathroom.

After returning, Shirakawa asked a few more people to chat for a while before handing Chihiro Akagi a small transparent box containing a capsule.

"What is this?"

Chihiro Akagi asked.

"I didn't prepare a gift when I came, so I thought it would be the best thing to give this to you."

Shirakawa smiled and said, "I should be thankful for the gift of the Buddha's head." ”

"For me?"

Chihiro Akagi looked at Shirakawa in surprise, could it be that Shirakawa already knew how to heal himself?

"No, Miss Chihiro's treatment hasn't started yet, this is for my seniors, Alzheimer's disease."

Shirakawa said.

"Miracle medicine?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Chihiro Akagi's eyes, but more of disbelief.

Bai Chuan bowed slightly, "It has been tested by someone, and it does work." ”

"Thank you."

Chihiro Akagi accepted the potion and handed it to the servant.

The servant brought the medicine to Akagi and whispered something.

Akagi looked at Shirakawa in surprise, and her gaze returned to Chihiro Akagi.

"Takahashi-kun has his own pharmaceutical company that develops drugs, don't worry, if there is a problematic drug, Takahashi-kun will not take it out."

Chihiro Akagi explained.

Akagi took the special medicine and said with a smile, "After that, please leave the medicine to Takahashi-kun." ”

"In your case, you only need to take one."

Shirakawa said.

Everyone looked at Bai Chuan in surprise, they thought that the special medicine, at least a few courses of treatment, can alleviate the condition, this is only need to take one to completely solve the problem, is it poison?

"I can get my GP to check it out tomorrow."

Shirakawa believes that the Akagi family is so big that there must be a dedicated family doctor.

Akagi still couldn't believe it.

Chihiro Akagi asked,

"What does Takahashi-kun mean is that if you eat one, you can be cured, or will you delay the disease?"

"Healed."

Shirakawa said, "When you're old, memory loss doesn't count. ”

"Takahashi-kun is kidding, how can there be such a medicine?"

Kazuhiro Akagi and several other old-timers all had expressions of disbelief.

Shirakawa didn't explain too much, but asked Akagi how she felt.

Akagi touched her head, "I can't say it now, I just feel a little sleepy and want to rest for a while." ”

"Then look at tomorrow."

Shirakawa said.

The family banquet continued, and Shirakawa did not stay in the room to talk to the clan elders, but walked out with Chihiro Akagi to meet various people of the Akagi family.

He wanted to get more clues from them about Chihiro Akagi's frailty.

At the same time, I got to know this partner better.

This time it didn't take much to gain, but it revealed the complicated family relationships of the Akagi family.

For example, the Akagi family once had internal marriages, and for a long time, in order to ensure the purity of the family's bloodline, many deformed children were born.

It wasn't until the third generation of the Akagi family head found that this was not the way to go, so he chose to optimize the bloodline and forbid intermarriage within the family.

Each generation of the head of the Akagi family has a long lifespan, but in the generation of Akagi Kao, Chihiro Akagi has been frail since she was a child, and the family has chosen two heirs for her, namely her cousin Rika Akagi and sister Riko Akagi.

Harumi Akagi is Rika Akagi's own sister, and she has always believed that her sister is more qualified than Akagi Kamiru to inherit Chihiro's name and bring the family to prosperity.

Rika Akagi was also at the banquet, but she was very low-key and got along well with the people around her.

Riko Akagi did not attend the family dinner, she has been raised abroad to receive an elite education, and rarely returns home.

After the tea and networking session, the servants served a series of beautifully prepared dishes, which were equivalent to high-end kaiseki dishes.

Everyone's table is served with exquisite dishes, and the sashimi is made up of the freshest sea fish.

The chef fills the fish on the spot and brings it to each small table.

Although Shirakawa doesn't like to eat sashimi, he thinks that the fillet is indeed delicious and melts in his mouth.

After the main meal, most of the young people went on a cruise.

Shirakawa and Chihiro Akagi sat on a small but unique ship.

On the boat, there are maids in green clothes playing the qin, and there are maids in gray who are warming wine.

Chihiro Akagi and Shirakawa sit in the cabin of the ship, looking through the window at the scenery outside.

Soft and classical music is always around.

The maid handed the warm wine to Chihiro Akagi and Shirakawa.

"Sorry, I can't drink ice wine."

Chihiro Akagi said.

"Drinking warm sake in the summer is also an experience."

Shirakawa smiled, raised his glass with Chihiro Akagi, and took a sip.

This is a sake with a low degree of sake.

"I was still thinking about why you have the confidence to cure me, but now when I see you take out a special medicine for Alzheimer's disease, I realize that you are not lying, it turns out that you really didn't think about marrying me."

Chihiro Akagi said with a smile.

"It looks like Miss Chihiro has some regrets."

Shirakawa placed the delicate white jade wine glass on the table.

The Akagi family and the Chiyuki family gave him a completely different feeling, with a strong feeling of the old aristocracy before the Meiji Restoration, a proper feudal remnant.

On the riverbank, Shirakawa can still see men in samurai uniforms practicing swords.

"You're really confident, and if I have regrets, it's not because of you."

Chihiro Akagi said lightly.

"So Chihiro-san, what are your regrets?"

"Probably there is no happy childhood and willful youth like my peers."

"You're still young."

Chihiro Akagi smiled, "That's because you haven't been in contact with me in your usual life, my mental age is about the same as that of the clan elders, and when I look at the people around me, I will have a feeling of looking at my juniors." ”

"Are you laughing at their ignorance?"

"No, I envy their ignorance."

Chihiro Akagi's cheeks flushed slightly, this was because she had drunk alcohol, she held her cheek with one hand and looked at Shirakawa,

"I also envy you and the young lady of the Qianxue family, you can talk about love as if no one is around, there is no such thing in my world."

Shirakawa looked at Chihiro Akagi and suddenly realized that she was a very high in her bones, but also a very pitiful genius.

"Do you like being the head of the house?"

Shirakawa asked suddenly.

"I was born to be the head of the house, and it's my responsibility."

Chihiro Akagi said lightly.

"If I can't save you, you have to stay in this house for the rest of your life?"

Shirakawa asked.

Chihiro Akagi's beautiful peach blossom eyes flickered slightly, and she looked at Shirakawa with interest,

"If you can't save me, your best time, you have to stay in this house with me, oh, what the girl of the Qianxue family said can't be realized, because if I die, my husband will be buried, this is the tradition of our Akagi family, so you can't marry again, and you can't take away a penny of my property."

"Sure enough, it is a remnant of feudalism, and such a cruel way of burial has been preserved."

"Only the head of the family has this preferential treatment."

(End of chapter)